This article investigates the accessibility and usage of e-resources among agricultural researchers and extension staff in five out of seven agricultural zones in Tanzania. The study identifies sources of e-resources used by these researchers and staff, as well as assessing their information literacy levels and the factors influencing their usage of e-resources. The research used a survey approach based on convenient non-probability sampling. Findings show that usage of e-resources from popular agricultural databases remains low. Factors limiting access to e-resources include poor institutional ICT infrastructure, limited funds for e-resources and low information literacy levels. Recommendations include improvements to ICT infrastructure and budgets, as well as developing electronic institutional repositories to improve extension staff access to research outputs, creating a sustainable link between agricultural research and farming activities. Information literacy modules in agricultural training institutes could also support effective access to, and use of, e-resources.
This study explored academic staff engagement in depositing locally produced content in open access institutional repositories in public universities in Tanzania. The general objective of this study was to establish the extent to which academic staff are engaged in depositing locally produced content in open access institutional repositories. The study employed a cross-sectional research design. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire, which was administered to 292 academic staff selected through systematic random sampling. Purposive sampling was used to select 14 key informants. The results reveal that 92.5% of the respondents were aware of the presence of open access institutional repositories and 46.2% of the respondents had self-archived their academic work in open access institutional repositories. Poor Internet connectivity, low bandwidth, and a time-consuming and unstable power supply were the challenges encountered by the academic staff in the process of uploading their work. Several recommendations are suggested to expedite the process.
The current study investigated the extent to which agricultural researchers and extension workers were aware of Web 2.0 technologies and put them into practice in their daily work. The study involved 107 respondents in the first phase and 148 in the second phase. Respondents were from agricultural research and training institutions as well as agricultural extension departments from selected districts across the country. Structured questionnaires were administered to selected respondents. Findings show that 43.9% of the respondents were aware of Web 2.0 while 56.1% knew nothing about this concept. Facebook and Wikipedia were found to be the most used Web 2.0 tools by many respondents while Delicious, Pbworks, Picasa and Digg were identified as among the less commonly used tools by majority of the respondents. The study recommends the need for providing appropriate Web 2.0 training packages to agricultural extension workers, researchers, trainers and other stakeholders in order to enhance knowledge sharing among them for improved agricultural productivity in the country.
In this study, the literature on the opportunities and challenges for infopreneurship was compiled using the systematic literature review (SLR) method. The study's specific goal was to look at the infopreneurship opportunities that are available and the obstacles that LIS graduates must overcome in order to take use of them. In a methodical manner, relevant research publications from journals were downloaded, reviewed, and interpreted. The researchers used numerous research strategies, such as keyword and phrase searches, to assure the precision of the study papers collected. Because basic phrase and key word searches produced substantial results, advanced search tactics like truncation and Boolean operators were not employed in this investigation. The researchers employed multiple databases, including emerald, research4life, Ebsco host, FullfreePDF, and Google scholar, with base search serving as the primary search engine. The study found out several opportunities that existed on infopreneurship, some of which include Internet blogging, software and hardware installation, graphic design, using information, customized information, facilitating access to information, repackaging information, increasing the flow of information, digitization and internetworking. The study further found a number of challenges that make it less likely for infopreneurs to seize and exploit these opportunities such as financial constraints, the price of necessary equipment, a lack of infrastructure, the legal registration process, graduates' lack of skills, and poor planning. The study concludes that information entrepreneurship is essential to any nation's economic sector. The study suggests that by reviewing LIS curricula we can increase student understanding of infopreneurship practice.
Background of the study: Inadequate and improper storage facilities, absence of electronic records management system, inadequate space for records storage, human resource officer’s lack of records management skills and lack of internal training were the main challenges affecting the management of personnel records in Liwale district council. Purpose: The study aimed at investigating the personnel records and the challenges faced in management of these records in Liwale district council (LDC) in Tanzania. Method: The study used a qualitative approach in which 30 respondents were purposely selected. Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to collect data. Quantitative data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 20 while qualitative data were subjected to content analysis. Findings: Findings revealed that appointment letters and letters of confirmation were the most cited (16.7%) type of personnel records readily available in various departments at Liwale District Council. Others include health and social security records, letter of transfer, notification of termination/death and retirement, medical report, wages and salary slip, and copy of birth certificate. Conclusion: It is recommended that Liwale district council should address the challenges faced in the management of personnel records for better and fair decision-making.
Digitization initiatives and Knowledge Management have become a part and parcel of each other in the changing global information society. Where as Knowledge Management (KM) comprises a range of practices used by organizations to identify, create, represent, and distribute knowledge, digitization initiatives refer to either jointly or collaborative efforts to translate existing library holdings whether in print, graphical, audio or combination of all, into digital format commonly known as electronic resources. Digitization initiatives have become a corner stone for KM in today’s electronic environment. The term ‘digital library’ emanates from ‘digitization’ referring to the libraries where some or all of the information sources are available in electronic format and are made available electronically over the Internet for user access. East African university libraries, through digitization should provide coordinated access to digital information contained within their libraries creating conducive electronic environment in all universities for access to e-resources and provision of universities’ generated literature on-line to users outside campuses. Furthermore, incorporating data mining techniques, access to these resources could be improved and the system could be made more efficient in making intelligent decision. The chapter discusses the problems of digitization, challenges and future opportunities for East African university libraries with focus on collaborative efforts and strategies backed up with policies for investments in ICTs training and integration of ICTs into the core university activities for effective Knowledge Management (KM) and information dissemination. It is argued in the chapter that digitization of library information will add value to more effective university KM, information access and use in multidisciplinary fields including local content.
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