Struggling to find academic material for your assignment, research proposal, or thesis?The Library can help with a literature search—a systematic and comprehensive search for published academic resources on your topic.
How to request a literature search:
Complete our online form or use the Unisa Student App (available on the Android Play Store and iStore). In the app, go to Library and select Literature Search Form.
Current awareness is the term used to describe staying informed by keeping up to date with the latest publications, research and news in your field.
The perspective of current awareness is the present and the forthcoming, as opposed to the retrospective.
Current awareness ranges from looking for information on specific topics on a regular basis (and this usually involves the assistance of your Personal Librarian to help you set up a search profile matched to your research interests) to embracing a wider, more general, and cross-disciplinary view that brings an element of serendipity into your search for the latest information.
Informally, researchers remain alert in all contexts for useful information and insights that will inform their daily practice, their research, and spark off innovative and creative ideas for new avenues of research.
https://peacekeeping.un.org/en
United Nations Peacekeeping helps countries torn by conflict create the conditions for lasting peace. We are comprised of civilian, police and military personnel.
United Nations Peacekeeping is a joint effort between the Department of Peace Operations and the Department of Operational Support.
We operate in some of the toughest and most dangerous places in the world, going where others cannot or will not. We tailor each deployment to suit the specific needs on the ground and we adapt to new threats and challenges protecting more people than ever before. Our peacekeepers are actively engaged in protecting civilian populations, helping prevent conflict, reducing violence and strengthening security in the field where it matters most.
This database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 2,850 academic periodicals and includes full text for more than 1,800 journals, 550 books and monographs, education-related conference papers, citations for over 4 million articles including book reviews and over 100,000 controlled and cross-referenced names of educational tests. Coverage in Education Source spans all levels of education from early childhood to higher education and also includes educational specialties such as multilingual education, health education and testing. Subject matter includes Adult Education, Continuing Education, Distance Learning, Government Funding, Multicultural/Ethic Education, Social Issues, Student Counseling, Vocational Education as well as many others.
The following sites on Unisa Open contains useful information for Unisa staff.
The year is marked with many special days, weeks, and months dedicated and devoted to raising awareness about important issues.
This monthly post, compiled by the Information Search Librarians Team, will note special dates and themes, and draw your attention to possibly interesting cross-disciplinary topical references intended to inform and to inspire ideas for research.
Why do we mark International Days?
International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.
03 May 2025
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO's General Conference. Since then, 3 May, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek is celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day.
05 May 2025
The date of 5 May was officially established in 2009 by the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) - an intergovernmental organization that has been in official partnership with UNESCO since 2000, and which brings together peoples with the Portuguese language as one of the foundations of their specific identity - to celebrate the Portuguese language and Lusophone cultures. In 2019, the 40th session of UNESCO's General Conference decided to proclaim 5 May of each year as "World Portuguese Language Day".
Time for Remembrance and Reconciliation for those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War
08-09 May 2025
On 2 March 2010, by resolution 64/257, the General Assembly invited all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations and individuals to observe 8-9 May in an appropriate manner to pay tribute to all victims of the Second World War. A special solemn meeting of the General Assembly in commemoration of all victims of the war was held in the second week of May 2010, marking the sixty-fifth anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
15 May 2025
During the 1980's, the United Nations began focusing attention on issues related to the family. In 1983, based on the recommendations of the Economic and Social Council, the Commission for Social Development in its resolution on the Role of the family in the development process (1983/23) requested the Secretary-General to enhance awareness among decision makers and the public of the problems and needs of the family, as well as of effective ways of meeting those needs.
International Day of Living Together in Peace
16 May 2025
The declaration came about as a result of the long-held and cherished concept — contained within the Constitution of UNESCO — that "since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed." The Declaration embraces the principle that peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but also requires a positive, dynamic participatory process, in which dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are resolved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation.
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
17 May 2025
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) 2025 highlights the pressing need to advance digital gender equality, so that women and girls everywhere can also benefit from and contribute to digital transformation.
As the world marks 30 years since the Beijing Platform for Action, WTISD-25 is a critical moment to accelerate collective action that ensures digital transformation delivers opportunity for everyone, everywhere.
World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
21 May 2025
In 2001, UNESCO adopted the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Next, in December 2002, the UN General Assembly, in its resolution 57/249, declared May 21 to be the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, and in 2015, the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution on Culture and Sustainable Development A/C.2/70/L.59, affirming culture’s contribution to the three dimensions of sustainable development, acknowledging further the natural and cultural diversity of the world, and recognizing that cultures and civilizations can contribute to, and are crucial enablers of, sustainable development.
International Day of UN Peacekeepers
29 May 2025
Despite the challenges, peacekeepers persevere, alongside many partners, in the collective pursuit of peace. The International Day pays tribute to the service and sacrifice of peacekeepers and the resilience of the communities that they serve. It honours the more than 4,000 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving for peace.
This campaign also calls on each of us to join the global movement for peace. Alone, we can never succeed. But, together, we can be a strong force for change.
The university has identified ten (10) catalytic niches that will assist the institution in catalysing research, innovation and engaged scholarship These are as follows:
Click on the links below for information on Student Support and Co- Curriculum activities.
(Student support” OR academic support” OR student services) AND Co – curriculum activities”
“Student Support” OR “academic advising” OR “career counselling”
Co – curricular OR extracurricular AND student engagement AND student success
E – books on Student Support and Co – Curriculum activities
Conference Proceedings on Student Support and Co- Curriculum activities
Dissertation on Student Support and Co- Curriculum activities
Student Supports: Developmental Education and Other Academic Programs
Eric P. Bettinger, Angela Boatman, Bridget Terry Long
Vol. 23, No. 1, Postsecondary Education in the United States (SPRING 2013), pp. 93-115 (23 pages)
Published by: Princeton University
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23409490
Abstract
Low rates of college completion are a major problem in the United States. Less than 60 percent of students at four-year colleges graduate within six years, and at some colleges, the graduation rate is less than 10 percent. Additionally, many students enter higher education ill-prepared to comprehend college-level course material. Some estimates suggest that only one-third of high school graduates finish ready for college work; the proportion is even lower among older students. Colleges have responded to the poor preparation of incoming students by placing approximately 35 to 40 percent of entering freshmen into remedial or developmental courses, along with providing academic supports such as summer bridge programs, learning communities, academic counseling, and tutoring, as well as student supports such as financial aid and child care. Eric Bettinger, Angela Boatman, and Bridget Terry Long describe the role, costs, and impact of these college remediation and academic support programs. According to a growing body of research, the effects of remedial courses are considerably nuanced. The courses appear to help or hinder students differently by state, institution, background, and academic preparedness. The mixed findings from earlier research have raised questions ranging from whether remedial programs, on average, improve student academic outcomes to which types of programs are most effective. Administrators, practitioners, and policy makers are responding by redesigning developmental courses and searching for ways to implement effective remediation programs more broadly. In addition, recent research suggests that colleges may be placing too many students into remedial courses unnecessarily, suggesting the need for further examining the placement processes used to assign students to remedial courses. The authors expand the scope of remediation research by discussing other promising areas of academic support commonly offered by colleges, including advising, tutoring, and mentoring programs, as well as supports that target the competing responsibilities of students, namely caring for dependents and balancing employment with schoolwork. They conclude that the limited resources of institutions and equally limited funds of students make it imperative for postsecondary institutions to improve student academic supports and other services.
In line with UNISA’s Strategy, the mission of ARCSWiD is to create an enabling teaching, learning, research, and student engagement environment that will lead to the full participation and equalisation of opportunities for students with disabilities by:
Focus Areas
We currently have two focus areas and these are:
Student Support and Administration
Advocacy and Training
If you are looking for forthcoming conferences, the following websites are helpful:
