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
The website of the month is:
"WHO began when our Constitution came into force on 7 April 1948 – a date we now celebrate every year as World Health Day. We are now more than 7000 people from more than 150 countries working in 150 country offices, in 6 regional offices and at our headquarters in Geneva.
Our primary role is to direct and coordinate international health within the United Nations system."
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.
October: Marine Month (South Africa)
October: Mental Awareness Month (South Africa)
October: Breast Cancer Awareness Month (South Africa)
October:Transport Month (South Africa)
October: Social Development Month (South Africa)
1 October: International day of Older Persons
7 October: World Habitat Day
10 October: World Sight Day
10 October: World Mental Health Day
11 October: International Day of the Girl Child
12 October: World Hospice and Palliative Care Day
12 October: World Athritis Day
15 October: International Day of Rural Women
16 October: World Food Day
16 October: World Spine Day
17 October: World Trauma Day
17 October: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
20 October: World Osteoporosis Day
27 October: World Day for Audiovisual Heritage
28 October- 3 November: World Stroke Awareness Week
31 October: World Cities Day
If you are looking for 2019's forthcoming conferences, the following websites are helpful:
Fincham, J.E. (2011) Health policy and ethics. London: Chicago: Pharmaceutical Press
This text provides comprehensive yet concise coverage of international health policy and ethics. It promotes understanding of health policy and its influencers, and explains how policy directly affects health and health care. An in-depth review of pertinent background concepts, current issues, future needs and assessments is provided. Coverage includes: health care systems, policies, impacts and influencers; health care quality concerns; justice and access to care; social and cultural issues; regulatory actions; global public health problems. Health Policy and Ethics is an essential resource for graduate students in pharmacy administration, social pharmacy and health policy, PharmD students, and those involved in health policy decision making.
Iwu, M.M. (2014) Handbook of African medicinal plants. Boca Raton: CRC Press
With over 50,000 distinct species in sub-Saharan Africa alone, the African continent is endowed with an enormous wealth of plant resources. While more than 25 percent of known species have been used for several centuries in traditional African medicine for the prevention and treatment of diseases, Africa remains a minor player in the global natural products market largely due to lack of practical information. This updated and expanded second edition of the Handbook of African Medicinal Plants provides a comprehensive review of more than 2,000 species of plants employed in indigenous (...read more)