This article examines the relationship between the technical characteristics of photographic equipment and the author's vision as factors determining the artistic value of a photograph. Drawing on historical examples (A. Cartier-Bresson, J. Sudek, and W. Mayer), data on the psychology of visual perception, and an analysis of the capabilities of modern computational photography, it substantiates the thesis that the photographer's visual thinking takes precedence over their instruments. It demonstrates that the key parameters of an expressive image—composition, light, moment, and semantic content—are not directly dependent on the class of equipment, whereas constant camera accessibility statistically increases the likelihood of capturing successful images. The limits of applicability of this thesis in genres with increased technical requirements are outlined, and practical recommendations for amateur photographers are formulated.

Mining has been central to South Africa's economic development for over a century, contributing significantly to national income, employment, exports and industrialisation. However, despite their substantial economic contribution, many mining towns continue to experience persistent socio-economic challenges, including unemployment, poverty, deteriorating infrastructure, environmental degradation, weak municipal governance and limited economic diversification. This study examines the effectiveness of South Africa's policy and governance framework in revitalising mining towns into sustainable, resilient and inclusive communities. It seeks to develop a comprehensive policy-driven framework that promotes long-term socio-economic development, environmental sustainability and post-mining community resilience. The development of South African mining towns has largely been driven by extractive economic activities rather than sustainable territorial development. Although the country has established an extensive legislative and policy framework—including the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, the Mining Charter, Social and Labour Plans, the National Development Plan 2030, the District Development Model and the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act—implementation remains fragmented, poorly coordinated and inconsistently monitored. Consequently, many mining communities continue to experience governance failures, inadequate service delivery, declining municipal capacity and economic vulnerability, particularly in the context of mine closures and the Just Energy Transition. The absence of an integrated policy framework for sustainable mining-town revitalisation represents a significant gap in both policy and scholarly literature. The study adopts a qualitative research approach based on an extensive review and critical analysis of secondary data. Data were obtained from peer-reviewed journal articles, government legislation, policy documents, official reports, municipal governance reports, international development publications and industry reports relating to mining-town development in South Africa. A thematic content analysis was employed to identify recurring governance, policy, socio-economic and environmental issues affecting mining communities. The analysis further examined the alignment and effectiveness of existing legislative and institutional frameworks in promoting sustainable local development and identified international best practices relevant to the South African context. The study finds that South Africa possesses a comprehensive legislative and policy framework to support sustainable mining-community development; however, implementation is constrained by fragmented governance, weak intergovernmental coordination, limited municipal capacity, inadequate monitoring of Social and Labour Plans and insufficient community participation. The findings further reveal that many mining towns remain economically dependent on mineral extraction, making them vulnerable to mine closures, commodity market fluctuations and the transition towards a low-carbon economy. Environmental degradation, deteriorating infrastructure and limited economic diversification continue to undermine long-term community resilience. The study concludes that sustainable revitalisation requires integrated governance, stronger institutional collaboration, effective policy implementation, economic diversification, environmental rehabilitation, inclusive stakeholder participation and improved municipal planning. The study concludes that the future sustainability of South Africa's mining towns depends on a deliberate transition from extraction-driven development towards integrated, policy-driven community revitalisation. Sustainable mining communities cannot be achieved through isolated corporate social investment initiatives or fragmented government interventions alone. Instead, coordinated governance.

The widespread consumption of energy drinks has become common among different segments of society, especially among young people, due to their association with increased overall physical activity. The general effect of these drinks is attributed to their content of active ingredients such as caffeine, various sugars, taurine, as well as some herbal extracts. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential physiological effects of these beverages on several vital body indicators, including heart rate, blood glucose level, and blood pressure. The research was conducted on 32 student volunteers (28 males, 87.5%, and 4 females, 12.5%). Vital indicators were measured before the consumption of energy drinks and again two hours after intake. The results of the current study indicated a slight increase in heart rate after consumption; however, this effect was not statistically significant. In contrast, systolic blood pressure showed a strong statistical association after the intake of energy drinks, indicating a clear effect of these beverages on blood pressure. As for blood glucose levels, the effect was moderate but statistically significant, suggesting that the increase in glucose levels after consuming energy drinks was not random but clearly associated with the intake. Finally, there was no correlation between weight, gender, and the consumption of energy drinks, as the study was conducted over a short (cross-sectional) period.

The poultry industry has developed rapidly in response to the increasing global demand for high-quality animal protein. However, modern poultry production faces several challenges, including increasing feed costs, antibiotic resistance, environmental pollution, heat stress, and the need to improve feed efficiency. Consequently, recent research has increasingly focused on precision nutrition, intestinal health, gut microbiome modulation, alternative feed ingredients, and smart technologies. This review summarizes recent advances in these areas, with particular emphasis on the relationship between dietary interventions, gut microbiota, intestinal barrier integrity, immune function, and productive performance in broiler chickens. Recent evidence indicates that probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics, fermented feeds, and alternative protein sources may improve gut health and contribute to sustainable poultry production. In addition, heat stress can alter intestinal microbiota and compromise intestinal integrity, highlighting the importance of nutritional and management strategies for maintaining gut function under challenging environmental conditions. The integration of precision nutrition with artificial intelligence, sensors, and computer-vision technologies represents another promising direction for modern poultry production. Overall, future poultry systems are expected to increasingly integrate nutrition, microbiome management, environmental monitoring, and artificial intelligence to improve productivity, animal health, welfare, and sustainability.