Browsing by Author "Mnzava, Ester Ernest"

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A bibliometric analysis of human-wildlife conflicts in East Africa
(IJCS, 2022) Mnzava, Ester Ernest; Sirima, Agnes Anthony
Literature appraisal reveals a sufficient number of studies (research productivity), which have been conducted in the field of human-wildlife conflicts. However, little is known about the evolution of knowledge generation in the field, trends in research output, countries of publication, and international collaborations and specifically statistical related data. To track research productivity of human-wildlife conflict in East Africa, the study examines literature growth, describes the country-wise production of literature and establishes the degree of collaboration by studying authorship patterns on human-wildlife conflicts for the last 20 years. Publish or Perish software was used, followed by the execution of the search via Google scholar database on 28 March 2019. Regarding the country-wise contribution of literature, Tanzania was found to contribute 46 (32.2%), Uganda 45 (31.5%), Kenya 44 (30.8%) and Rwanda 8 (5.6%) and none from Burundi and South Sudan. The overall research productivity in the field of human-wildlife conflicts for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda is increasing. This study provides a fairly accurate representation of research productivity on human-wildlife conflicts in East Africa from Google scholar database.
Contribution of East Africa region to open access literature: the case of OpenDOAR
(CORE, 2017) Chirwa, Mussa Ndambile; Mnzava, Ester Ernest
This paper is based on the findings of a study that evaluated the initiatives taken by East African countries to embrace the open access movement. Specifically, the study analysed the position of East African countries in disseminating open access literature in Africa and globally; determined the contribution of each East African country to global open access literature; identified the type of document as well as Open source software they used. Moreover, the study analysed the subject content of OARs and identified the language for the archived items. The study first used literature review to determine current status of open access in East Africa, then the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) were accessed to get the required data. The results revealed that East African counties make only a miniscule contribution to Open Access literature of about 0.022 percent of items found in global OARs and 1.2 percent by number of repositories. The study concluded that East African countries with a slight exception of Kenya lag far behind in open access literature. The study, therefore, recommends more efforts to be made by individual East African countries to make necessary arrangements required to adopt and use OA repositories to enhance free access to knowledge and information and, consequently, boost socio- economic development in the region.
Digital technology information-sharing prospects: a case of library websites in Tanzania during the covid-19 pandemic
(IGI Global, 2022) Mnzava, Ester Ernest
This chapter presents an experience shown by university and research library websites in Tanzania follow- ing the outbreak of COVID-19. Content analysis was the main method of data collection and analysis in which the contents of the selected websites were explored to establish various services. Thus, the analysis of the selected library website contents revealed that 12 of 24 library websites had the opening and clos- ing hours, two university library websites had information related to the outbreak of the COVID-19, and 12 had no information related to the outbreak of COVID-19 or changes in the library services following the outbreak of COVID-19. This chapter concludes that library websites provide opportunities for the libraries to serve their users conveniently. However, the experience given by some of the university and research library websites in Tanzania shows a lack of information on how particular libraries serve their users when the working environment and style changed following the outbreak of COVID-19
Evaluation of web-based online agricultural information relevant to Tanzanian maize producers
(AJIC, 2023) Mnzava, Ester Ernest; Jacobs, Lorette
This study examined the quality of web-based online agricultural information relevant to the maize industry in Tanzania. Selected online sources were evaluated to assess the agricultural information available in terms of four dimensions of quality, namely: authority, completeness, timeliness, and understandability. The study identified a wide variety of web-based online information on maize production, including information on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, and grain-handling. It was found that the information was of variable quality. Among the 39 online sites studied, several lacked contact information, had outdated content, and contained information that was missing some important details, and none provided weather information. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on online agricultural information in an African context where the agricultural sector is central to national economic development. The online agriculture information evaluation tool used in the study can potentially be of use, in its current form or adapted, to researchers beyond Tanzania.
The role of libraries in promoting health literacy for combating non-communicable diseases in Tanzania
(International Journal of Development and Sustainability, 2017) Mnzava, Ester Ernest; Katabalwa, Anajoyce Samuel
Health literacy is an important aspect to every individual in the society. This is due to the fact that a health literate person understands his/her health status, take prevention and control measures of various diseases. The purpose of this paper was to discuss how health literacy for prevention, control and treatment of non communicable diseases can be conducted by libraries in Tanzania. The researcher reviewed several literatures and found out that libraries have a big role to play to ensure that community recognize their information needs, search for relevant information and make use of the information to make informed health decisions. The study concluded that because non communicable diseases impose a double burden to the government and her people a call for immediate actions from various stakeholders’ such as health libraries is required.
Twitter library account: highlights for the users and librarians
(Emerald Publishing Limited, 2022) Mnzava, Ester Ernest
Usage of online public access catalogue (opac) by undergraduate students at Sokoine university of agriculture
(University of Dar es Salaam Library Journal, 2020) Katabalwa, Anajoyce Samue; Mnzava, Ester Ernest
This study aims to examine the usage of Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) by undergraduate students atSokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). Specifically the study aimed to determine whether the undergraduate students were aware of OPACat Sokoine National Agricultural Library (SNAL), to examine the access to OPAC by undergraduate students at SNAL,to examine the usage of OPAC by undergraduate students at SNAL and to identify the challenges encountered by undergraduate students in the usage of OPAC at SNAL. The study involved 100 purposively selected Bachelor of Information and Records Management (BIRM) students.This cross-sectional study basically used self-administered questionnairesas data collectionmethod. The data were analysed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings of the study revealed that majority of respondents were aware of OPAC. The respondents used OPAC for various reasons including knowing the librarymaterialsavailable in the collection for a short time, locating library materials, and knowing the status of books – if they are available or on loan. OPAC are accessed from various points including in Library, Hostels,and study tables and seats made of cement locally known asvimbweta.Various ICT devices such as computers in the library, smartphones and laptops are used to access OPAC. However, some challenges such as lack of basic ICT skills, lack of training, power outage were found to be hindering the usage of OPAC. The study recommends provision of training to increase skills, increase marketing strategy and purchase of a heavy-duty automatic generator to solve the power outage challenge.
Usage of Sokoine university of agriculture institutional repository among academic staff at the college of veterinary medicine and biomedical science in Tanzania
(Emerald, 2018) Mnzava, Ester Ernest; Chirwa, Mussa Ndambile
Purpose – This study aims to investigate the use of Sokoine University of Agriculture Institutional Repository (SUAIR) among academic staff at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science (CVBMS). Specifically, the study looked at awareness of, attitude, self-archiving and challenges the academic staff face when using SUAIR. Design/methodology/approach – The study used survey method. The data were collected using self- administered questionnaire with the results analysed using descriptive statistics. Findings – The study found that although there was more than one source of raising awareness on SUAIR, the university’s library, the internet and meetings were the major sources. Majority of the respondents were not aware of how to deposit their scholarly output in the institutional repository. As a result, the majority of academic staff had never deposited their scholarly work in SUAIR. Generally, the respondents had a positive attitude towards using SUAIR. Apart from lack of skills and knowledge on how to deposit research outputs, the study established that lack of time, fear of plagiarism and lack of awareness of existence of the SUAIR were significant barriers to the effective utilisation of SUAIR. Originality/value – This is the first time such a study has been undertaken focussing on the use, awareness and attitude of SUAIR in Tanzania. As such, the study findings can be used to assess the attitude of academic staff at Sokoine University of Agriculture and other universities in Tanzania and Sub-Saharan Africa with similar operational characteristics.