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
Whistleblower protection (OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
This website offers a number of useful reports on the role that whistleblowers and whistleblower protection play, good practices for the protection of persons reporting corruption, country reports, among others, in several languages.
We are indebted to Professor Koliswa Moropa, Project Leader of the Language Unit in the Department of Tuition Support and Facilitation of Learning at the University of South Africa, for drawing the Unisa Community’s attention to the two websites below on the 11th August 2021. The lists provide students, researchers and members of the public with glossaries of technical and scientific terms in their preferred language to support understanding and the standardisation of the terminology used in all official languages, giving special attention to South Africa's indigenous languages:
Department of Sport, Arts and Culture: Multilingual Terminology List
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.
Months: Women's Month (South Africa)
Week: WHO World Breastfeeding Week 1 August to 7 August 2021
See: 1990 Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding
9 Aug: UN International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
9 Aug: National Women's Day (South Africa)
12 Aug: UN International Youth Day
16 Aug: Landslide election in Zambia
19 Aug: UN World Humanitarian Day
21 Aug: UN International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism
22 Aug: UN International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
23 Aug: UN International Day for the Slave Trade and Its Abolition
27 Aug: Gauteng government commends SAPS for swift action in Ms Babita Deokaran murder case
27 Aug: Scenes of chaos continue in Afghanistan
29 Aug: UN International Day Against Nuclear Tests
29 Aug: Minister Angie Motshekga: Learning losses due to pandemic
30 Aug: UN International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances
31 Aug: WHO African Traditional Medicine Day
31 Aug: International Day for People of African Descent
31 Aug: UN commits to staying in Afghanistan, with basic services close to collapse
If you are looking for forthcoming conferences, the following websites are helpful:
QUIGLEY, Maria A. ... et al. (2012) "Breastfeeding is associated with improved child cognitive development: A population-based cohort study." The Journal of Pediatrics, vol. 160, no. 1, pp. 25-32, Jan. Note: Glide your cursor over the embedded link and enter your student number and myUnisa password or Unisa staff Network username and password and then click on LOGIN to access the full text article.
HEWSON, Mariana G.A'B. (2014) Embracing indigenous knowledge in science and medical teaching. Doredrecht: Springer. Note: Glide your cursor over the embedded link. Click on View full text e-book at Springer and enter your student number and myUnisa password or Unisa staff Network username and password and then click on LOGIN to access the e-book.