This paper will explore some of the views that were expressed during the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) workshop held in cooperation with the UK's Digital Curation Centre (DCC) in March 2014. The event provided an ideal opportunity to assess librarians' views on the changing research data management landscape and to consider how these changes might affect the role of academic librarians in South Africa. The paper compares these views with experiences garnered through the DCC's work to support universities in the UK.

Funders and policy makers have strongly recommended the uptake of the FAIR principles in scientific data management. Several initiatives are working on the implementation of the principles and standardized applications to systematically evaluate data FAIRness. This paper presents practical solutions, namely metrics and tools, developed by the FAIRsFAIR project to pilot the FAIR assessment of research data objects in trustworthy data repositories. The metrics are mainly built on the indicators developed by the RDA FAIR Data Maturity Model Working Group. The tools' design and evaluation followed an iterative process. We present two applications of the metrics: an awareness-raising self-assessment tool and an automated FAIR data assessment tool. Initial results of testing the tools with researchers and data repositories are discussed, and future improvements suggested including the next steps to enable FAIR data assessment in the broader research data ecosystem.

Sound data intensive science depends upon effective research data and information management. Efficient and interoperable research information systems will be crucial for enabling and exploiting data intensive research however it is equally important that a research ecosystem is cultivated within research-intensive institutions that foster sustainable communication, cooperation and support of a diverse range of research-related staff. Researchers, librarians, administrators, ethics advisors, and IT professionals all have a vital contribution to make in ensuring that research data and related information is available, visible, understandable and usable over the mid to long term. This paper will provide a summary of several ongoing initiatives that the Jisc-funded Digital Curation Centre (DCC) are currently involved with in the UK and internationally to help staff within higher education institutions prepare to meet funding body mandates relating to research data management and sharing and to engage fully in the digital agenda.

CODATA and ERPANET collaborated to convene an international archiving workshop on the selection, appraisal, and retention of digital scientific data, which was held on 15-17 December 2003 at the Biblioteca Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal. The workshop brought together more than 65 researchers, data and information managers, archivists, and librarians from 13 countries to discuss the issues involved in making critical decisions regarding the long-term preservation of the scientific record. One of the major aims for this workshop was to provide an international forum to exchange information about data archiving policies and practices across different scientific, institutional, and national contexts. Highlights from the workshop discussions are presented.

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This study examined the associations between various sources of social support and academic achievement. Participants were 313 ethnically diverse students attending a low-income intermediate school in New Zealand (mean age = 11.96 years). They reported on the presence and nature of a relationship with a very important nonparental adult in their lives (VIP), and on parent, peer, and VIP warmth and acceptance. Indicators of academic achievement (standardized tests) were also gathered from the school. Results showed that 62% of the youth reported the presence of at least one VIP in their lives, and there was a significant, positive correlation between VIP presence and the majority of academic achievement variables. VIP warmth was uniquely associated with all achievement variables, while parent and peer warmth were nonsignificant in the presence of VIP warmth. The results indicate that VIPs are an important resource for youth who are at risk of low achievement.

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