Browsing by Author "Mushi, Gilbert Exaud"

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Research data management and services: Resources for different data practitioners
(IASSIST Quarterly, 2021-12-26) Mushi, Gilbert Exaud
The emergence of data-driven research and demands for Research Data Management (RDM) has created interest in global academic institutions and research organisations. Some of the libraries, especially in developed countries, have started offering RDM services to their communities. Although lagging, some academic libraries in developing countries are planning or implementing the service. However, the level of RDM awareness is deficient among researchers, librarians and other data practitioners. This paper aims to present available open resources for different data practitioners, particularly researchers and librarians. It includes training resources for researchers and librarians, Data Management Plan (DMP) tool for researchers, a data repository available for researchers to freely archive and share their research data to the local and international communities. A case study with a survey was conducted at the University of Dodoma to identify relevant RDM services so that librarians could assist researchers in making their data accessible to the local and international community. The study findings revealed a low level of RDM awareness among researchers and librarians. Over 50% of the respondent indicated their perceived knowledge as poor in the following RDM knowledge areas; DMP, data repository, long term digital preservation, funders RDM mandates, metadata standards describing data and general awareness of RDM. Therefore, this paper presents available open resources for different data practitioners to improve RDM knowledge and boost the confidence of academic and research libraries in establishing the service.
State of agricultural e-government services to farmers in Tanzania: toward the participatory design of a Farmers Digital Information System (FDIS)
(MDPI, 2024-03-15) Mushi, Gilbert Exaud; Burgi, Pierre-Yves; Serugendo, Di Marzo Giovanna
The projected population increase and drastic climate changes are a great setback to food security through sustainable agriculture. However, governments need to play key roles in supporting the agriculture sector, which creates considerable employment and contributions to most countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) outcomes. In many countries, the governments already support the agriculture sector with services based on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to reach many stakeholders, including smallholder farmers. This paper investigated the status of e-Government services in the agriculture sector for farmers in order to understand the functions and scope of e-services, the challenges faced by farmers, both addressed and unaddressed, and the challenges of ICT-based services for farmers and other stakeholders in Tanzania. We used a qualitative research approach to interview the Ministry of Agriculture, farmers, extension workers, and agriculture processing industries. The main finding reveals that e-government services play a major role in the agriculture sector in Tanzania. Our results show that the pre-existing ICT services identified for farmers cannot meet the needs of farmers in a complete farming cycle. Moreover, lack of awareness, digital illiteracy, and poor infrastructure are the major challenges faced by farmers and other stakeholders when it comes to ICT-based services. These results justify the need for a comprehensive digital platform, particularly the proposed Farmers Digital Information System (FDIS) to enable farmers and other stakeholders to access essential services in a complete farming cycle for a more sustainable agriculture.