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
Our attention was drawn to the IDEA website by the following publication:
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) (2019) The Global State of Democracy 2019: Addressing the Ills, Reviving the Promise, edited by Annika Silva-Leander
Apart from IDEA's publications, which include coverage of the impact of COVID-19 on democracy, and their upcoming webinars, take a look at the link to DATA & TOOLS. This site is worth exploring:
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)
The second website that came to our attention is that of the African Studies Centre at the University of Oxford. The link to the home page has been embedded in the previous sentence, but the part of the website we wish to draw to your attention is the Seminar and Podcasts page which links you through to the archive of podcasts (the oldest is 5 May 2009 and the most recent to date is 19 November 2020):
University of Oxford: African Studies Centre: Podcasts
A sample of the topics discussed include:
Click on the embedded link to view books in the Unisa Library Catalogue on the subject of violence against women and children:
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.
3 Nov-3 Dec: Disability Rights Awareness Month (South Africa)
18 Nov to 24 Nov: World Health Organization (WHO) World Antimicrobial Awareness Week
25 Nov to 10 Dec: 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children (South Africa)
“WHAT IS THE 16 DAYS ACTIVISM?
- It is a WORLDWIDE Campaign to OPPOSE VIOLENCE against WOMEN and CHILDREN
- It aims to raise awareness of the NEGATIVE impact that VIOLENCE and ABUSE have on WOMEN and CHILDREN and to RID society of ABUSE PERMANENTLY
WHEN DOES THE CAMPAIGN TAKE PLACE?
- The 16 Days of Activism Campaign is held from 25 November to 10 December every year
- However, the success of this campaign rests on our daily individual and collective actions to safeguard our society against this cycle of abuse
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CAUSES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN?
It stems from the low status of women in the home and in society
It happens when men abuse POWER and positions of authority in order to CONTROL women and children
WHAT IS ABUSE?
Any form of behaviour that causes:
- fear
- bodily harm
- a person to do things against their will …”
Visit this page to learn what laws Parliament passed to protect women and children from violence.
1 Nov: Mukhwana, AM & Omumbo, J (2020) "Study sheds light on what it takes for women to succeed - or not - in science in Africa"
2 Nov: UN International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
3 Nov Bilateral Meeting between South Africa and France, Pretoria, South Africa
5 Nov: United Nations World Tsunami Awareness Day
6 Nov: SADC Malaria Day
6 Nov: UN International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
10 Nov: "Cardinal Parolin on McCarrick Report: Moved by the truth to avoid past errors" (includes link to full report)
11 Nov: The New England Journal of Medicine published the following articles:
Ellis, Josh (et al) (2020) “Interviewed while Black”
10-12 Nov: African Forum on Women Peace and Security, Cape Town, South Africa
12 Nov: Peters, Adele "Solar fridges and powdered vaccines: How to get a COVID-19 vaccine to the developing world"
12 Nov: “US election results 2020: Biden wins presidency, defeating Trump” The Guardian, 12/11/2020
14 Nov: WHO World Diabetes Day
15 Nov: Glenn, Caroline and Fraser, Trevor "Not a test anymore: SpaceX, NASA launch 4 astronauts from Cape in historic mission"
17 Nov: WHO World Remembrance Day for Victims of Road Accidents
18 Nov: WHO World Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Day (COPD)
18 Nov: Farid, Hany and McGregor, Jeff "We have the technology to fight manipulated images and videos. It's time to use it"
19 Nov: UNICEF World Toilet Day
19 Nov: UNESCO World Philosophy Day
20 Nov: UN Universal Children's Day
20 Nov: UN Africa Industrialization Day
20 Nov: Rubenson, David "Why your scientific presentation should not be adapted from a journal article"
21 Nov: UN World Fisheries Day
21 Nov: UN World Television Day
25 Nov: UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
29 Nov: UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
30 Nov: UN Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare
If you are looking for 2019's forthcoming conferences, the following websites are helpful: