The climate and environmental changes in the Global South have devastating effects on vulnerable populations, which have been perpetuated by socio-economic and political as well as gender inequalities and non-existent interventions to adapt and mitigate its adverse effects. Underpinned by the Protection Motivation Theory and Social-Cognitive Preparation model, this systematic literature review article depicts how vulnerable populations are impacted by climate change in the Global South. Using the empirical data from credible databases including the Web of Science and Scopus, 23 articles published since 2018 were searched, retrieved, coded, and classified with three themes emerging from the synthesised literature. The analysis of the literature confirms that climate change indeed impacts vulnerable populations adversely; the adaptability mechanisms are not applied by governments which are contrary to the international frameworks; and lastly, that such groups are discriminated against, undermined, and overlooked in societal programmes and interventions to mitigate the impacts of climate-induced disasters. Climate change impacts have severely destroyed the livelihoods of vulnerable populations and are exacerbated by socio-economic and political inequalities, with the adaptation and mitigation mechanisms deemed ineffective. Gaps in current research studies include the paucity of empirical data shedding light on the interventions provided for sexual gender-based violence victims and punitive actions issued against the perpetrators during and in the aftermath of the climate-induced disasters. There is also scant empirical data testing the adaptation and mitigation mechanisms’ effectiveness.

African countries continue to be prone to drought, caused mainly by unfavorable weather patterns and climatic variations which have an adverse impact on rural households and agricultural production. This literature review article accounted for the aforesaid drawbacks and attempted to assess the effect of drought on food insecurity in African countries. This article further sought to dissect the resilience and climate change adaptation strategies applied by African countries to mitigate the adverse effects of drought on food insecurity in rural livelihoods. The hermeneutic framework was adopted in this study, where the secondary data sources were searched from credible bibliographic and multidisciplinary databases and organizational websites. Thereafter, it was classified, mapped, and critically assessed using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo to generate patterns and themes. The NVivo program is a qualitative data analysis software package produced by QSR International and which helps qualitative researchers to organize, analyze, and find insights in qualitative data; for example, in journal articles where multilayered analysis on small or large volumes of data are required. This article has the potential to contribute in theory, concept, policy, and practice regarding best practices, resilience, and climate change adaptation strategies that can be harnessed by rural people. Furthermore, this article has the potential to shed light on the role played by traditional leadership and policy improvements in ensuring there is sufficient food during periods of drought.

The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research (TD) is a journal dedicated to promoting the concept of transdisciplinary research. It is aimed at creating knowledge with the collaboration of the formal sectors of the natural and human sciences as base. Over and above this, the intention is to focus on levels of knowledge that are to be found at grassroots level. It is important to explore this knowledge because it becomes the groundwork for further knowledge, which is often not confined to a fixed formal discipline or area of knowledge. The editorial team of the journal welcomes contributions of a theoretical nature, as well as material based on empirical research. Preference is given to southern Africa as a region of focus. However, should submitted articles show the potential for making a contribution towards our understanding of science beyond the confines of single disciplines, it would enjoy favourable consideration.

Purpose: The rising threat of tropical cyclones in Zimbabwe is of great importance in establishing the general sources of humanitarian supply chain risks and assessing their negative impact on relief operations. There is a scarcity of studies that collate such evidence toward enhanced humanitarian supply chains in Southern Africa. With this in mind, this study explored scattered evidence on supply chain risks in the delivery of humanitarian aid to victims of Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe.Design/methodology/approach: This reflective study evaluates supply chain risks associated with Cyclone Idai humanitarian relief operations through qualitative in-depth interviews with relevant actors in the field. The data were triangulated with secondary information from associated publications, blogs and newspapers to reflect the truth about the phenomena under investigation.Findings: The results show that Cyclone Idai disaster response operations were adversely affected by social, economic and political/governmental risk factors. In the same breath, poor or inadequate infrastructure and environmental factors were also contributing factors toward the futility of humanitarian relief operations.Practical implications: This study is significant as it endeavors to contribute toward humanitarian supply chain management, specifically in assisting humanitarian organizations with suggested strategies that would work toward making humanitarian relief supply chains more resilient. However, more research needs to be done toward optimized implementation strategies for the suggested framework.Originality/value: It is to the best knowledge of these researchers that this is a unique study carried out to examine humanitarian supply chain risk factors in Cyclone Idai relief operations in Zimbabwe.

In this epoch of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), digital advancement, technological initiatives, and advancements, as well as their imperative role, have improved universities’ performance and transformed business models, practices, and processes. This study aimed to systematically review the existing digital transformation discourses as the main axis for the higher education (HE) sector. It elucidates the required skill sets, benefits, barriers, and challenges brought about by digital transformation. The article commences by identifying the relevant literature on digital transformation in general, which is not confined to one methodology. It also includes the case studies that were conducted across the globe, the skills needed to drive the transformation agenda, the benefits, the barriers, and the challenges that impede digital transformation in the HE sector. This article found that the sector has been exploiting digital tools to improve performance, business processes, restructuring systems, structures, and practices. The myriad of digital transformation impacts, benefits, and skills to drive the digital transformation have been overshadowed by diverse barriers and challenges in the HE sector. Constraints such as inadequate funding, employee resistance, limited digital literacy, and insufficient infrastructure stand in opposition to the principles of the connectivity theory, which emphasises access, interaction, and the knowledge flow as prerequisites for effective digital integration.

Town and Regional Planning is a South African accredited journal for independently adjudicated research articles on applicable topics in town, urban and regional planning. Each peer refereed article is indicated as such in the journal. The editorial staff considers articles in English and Afrikaans, written from any responsible point of view on subjects in any applicable field of scholarship, i.e. town, urban and regional planning. Authors are requested to write their manuscripts in a manner and style that is intelligible to specialists and non-specialists alike. Research contributions, which are peer reviewed, are of two kinds: Review Articles and Research Articles. Book reviews are also considered.