Browsing by Author "Sife, Alfred S."

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Challenges of managing information and communication technologies for education: experiences from Sokoine National Agricultural Library
(International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT),, 2008) Emmanuel, Grace; Sife, Alfred S.
Like many other libraries, the Sokoine National Agricultural Library (SNAL) has already computerized most of its services. The library has acquired a number of ICT facilities that contribute positively to provision of information services. However, the new technologies provide new challenges related to acquisition, preservation, maintenance and security issues, training of users, and lack of awareness and commitment among key stakeholders. This paper discusses some of the challenges experienced by SNAL, highlights measures taken to overcome some of these challenges, and proposes strategies for proper management of ICTs in libraries.
Dual function national libraries: A SWOT analysis of the Sokoine National Agricultural Library, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2013) Sife, Alfred S.; Ernest, Ester; Bernard, Ronald
A SWOT analysis was conducted for the Sokoine National Agricultural Library (SNAL) in order to understand its strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities and how these affect its performance as a dual function library. This SWOT analysis was achieved through authors’ experience and review of existing documents. The analysis revealed that the strength of the library was on its staff, collection, ICT services and training programmes. SNAL’s weaknesses include limited financial resources, lack of user education programme, inadequate library security, insufficient library facilities and space, underutilization of e-resources and dysfunctional printing unit. A serious weakness is the low attention given to the library’s national mandate, implying that SNAL has not adequately played its role as a national agricultural library. Available opportunities for SNAL include ICT development, legal deposit legislation, joining library consortia, funding opportunities, and outreach activities whereas budgetary constraints and changes in technology are the library’s threats. The library could build on these strengths and opportunities to overcome its weaknesses and threats. Several recommendations have been made based on the SWOT analysis.
Effectiveness of Sokoine National Agricultural Library (SNAL) in disseminating veterinary information
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2000) Sife, Alfred S.; Chilimo, Wanyenda
The Sokoine National Agricultural Library (SNAL) was established by Parliamentary Act No. 21 of 1991, which elevated the former University Library to a national agricultural library. Therefore, SNAL serves both as a University Library as well as a national agricultural library. SNAL’s overall goal is to develop and maintain library and information services in agricultural sciences and related disciplines. As a university library, SNAL aims at supporting efficiently and effectively teaching, research, extension, consultancy and other academic activities of Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). The Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) consists of many academic units that include four faculties; namely; the Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Science, and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. This paper examines the capacity of SNAL in disseminating veterinary information. Electronic information resources available at SNAL are assessed with the aim of examining the coverage of veterinary information in comparison to other agricultural related fields offered by SNAL. Major electronic information resources include: CD-ROMs, e-journals and an OPAC. Additionally, the information needs and seeking behavior of veterinary scientists and students at SUA are identified in order to establish the extent to which SNAL meets their needs. The quality of library human resources at SNAL in relation to their capacity to provide veterinary information was observed as well.
From collection management to knowledge management practices: considerations for the Sokoine National Agricultural Library in Tanzania
(2006) Lwoga, Edda T.; Sife, Alfred S.
“collection management” to present day “knowledge management”. Developments in ICTs are mainly responsible to the shift. This paper discusses how university libraries in developing countries can transform from collection management to knowledge management practices, focusing on the Sokoine National Agricultural Library in Tanzania. Challenges for implementing KM practices in the universities are also discussed. Recommendations are also made on how libraries including SNAL can implement KM practices, and move beyond the inherent collection management practices.
From collection management to knowledge management practices: considerations for the Sokoine National Agricultural Library in Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2006-07) Lwoga, Edda T.; Sife, Alfred S.
In the last few decades there has been a shift from “collection development” to “collection management” to present day “knowledge management”. Developments in ICTs are mainly responsible to the shift. This paper discusses how university libraries in developing countries can transform from collection management to knowledge management practices, focusing on the Sokoine National Agricultural Library in Tanzania. Challenges for implementing KM practices in the universities are also discussed. Recommendations are also made on how libraries including SNAL can implement KM practices, and move beyond the inherent collection management practices.
The impact of microfinance on rural China women’s lives: a case study of the pucheng county women’s sustainable development association
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2013) Kahamba, J.S; Sife, Alfred S.
In rural China, women have remained vulnerable to poverty and gender inequality is still widespread. Women’s Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) including NGO-microfinance institutions have been established with the goal of helping women improve their socio-economic status both inside the household and in the wider community. This study took a case of the Pucheng County Women’s Sustainable Development Association (PCWSDA) to explore the impact of microfinance on local women’s lives. The study employed qualitative methods including interviews, focus group discussion and observations. A total of 15 women borrowers, five loan officers and one leader from PCWSDA were interviewed, and 13 women borrowers participated in a focus group discussion. Data were analyzed qualitatively by deriving categories to code the data directly and inductively. The results revealed that microfinance services have positively impacted women’s lives through increased household income, improved living standards, increased capacity of sending their children to school, participation in entrepreneurial activities, and improved decision making power. Lessons learnt from this study include the need to involve male partners and considering other gender characteristics in providing the loans, as well as providing microcredit along with technical services such as training and expert backup support.
Internet use behaviour of cybercafé users in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania
(Annals of Library and Information Studies, 2013) Sife, Alfred S.
Data on internet use behavior was obtained from 137 users in 10 cybercafés through questionnaires and the data thus obtained was analyzed using SPSS. The findings indicate that most cybercafé users in the study were young, male, better educated and mostly students. Many cybercafé users were computer literate but most had limited web using skills. The Internet was primarily used for searching academic information, communication as well as obtaining news and current affairs. There were weak correlations between demographic characteristics of respondents and the purposes of using the Internet. While many cybercafé users preferred search engines particularly Google and Yahoo, only a few were using web subject directories. The use of tools such as search engines, browsers, and social media in the study area correspond to many other world ratings. No adverse Internet addictive behaviours were exhibited by cybercafé users in the study area. Problems encountered in using the Internet are similar to those cited frequently in Africa. Increasing bandwidth and availability of electricity would improve connectivity and reduce Internet costs. It is also recommended that computer training programmes should include information literacy and ICT use for purposes such as e-business. Possible future research is also suggested.
New technologies for teaching and learning: Challenges for higher learning institutions in developing countries
(International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 2007) Sife, Alfred S.; Lwoga, Edda Tandi; Sanga, C.
The application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is already changing the organization and delivery of higher education. The pedagogical and socio-economic forces that have driven the higher learning institutions to adopt and incorporate ICTs in teaching and learning include greater information access; greater communication; synchronous and asynchronous learning; increased cooperation and collaboration, cost-effectiveness and pedagogical improvement. However, ICTs have not permeated to a great extent in many higher learning institutions in most developing countries due to many socio-economic and technological circumstances. This paper discusses new learning and training technologies considering their pedagogical, cost and technical implications. It also discusses challenges for integrating these technologies in higher learning institutions with examples from Tanzania, and giving best practice approaches for addressing each of the challenges.
Persistence and decay of web citations used in theses and dissertations available at the Sokoine National Agricultural Library, Tanzania
(International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT),, 2013) Sife, Alfred S.; Bernard, Ronald
A study was conducted to examine the persistence and decay of web citations in theses and dissertations available at the Sokoine National Agricultural Library. Specifically, the study assessed the accessibility status of cited URLs, identified error messages and top level domains of inaccessible URLs, and calculated the half-life of web citations. Eighty-three theses and dissertations that were dated between 2007 and 2011 were stratified according to their years of publication and randomly selected for the study. These gave a total of 15,468 citations of which 1,487 (9.6%) were web citations. The findings show that a total of 862 (58%) web citations were inaccessible. The 404 File Not Found error message was the most (92.7%) encountered and the .com domain had the greatest number (28.2%) of missing URLs. The average half-life for the URLs cited in theses and dissertations was 2.5 years. The study findings therefore indicate that many web resources cited in theses and dissertations available at SNAL had disappeared fromn their original locations. Collaborative efforts are thus required from various stakeholders in order to reduce the problem of URL decay.
Research productivity and scholarly impact of forestry researchers at Sokoine University of Agriculture: A bibliometric Analysis
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2014-02-14) Sife, Alfred S.; Bernard, Ronald; Ernest, Ester
A bibliometric analysis was conducted to understand the research productivity and scholarly impact of forestry researchers at Sokoine University of Agriculture for the period of 1998 to 2013. Data were obtained using the Publish or Perish software that uses Google Scholar to retrieve scholars’ publications, citations and related metrics. A total of 1031 publications were recorded for all forestry researchers, giving an average of 64.4 publications per year and an annual growth rate of 6.3%. The year 2008 had the most (12.7%) publications followed by 2007 with 9% of all publications while the year 2003 had the lowest (3.2%) number of publications. Majority (88.1%) of the publications were multiple-authored and the degree of collaboration was 0.88. The top ten ranked forestry researchers contributed nearly half (46.3%) of all publications; hence corroborating to the Lotka’s Law of scientific productivity. However, these top ten scholars showed considerable variation since no single scholar maintained the same rank in all nine metrics. These findings suggest that many factors should be considered in combination when evaluating research performance. The study findings call for a paradigm shift for scholars to focus on the scholarly impacts of their publications.
Scientometric mapping of veterinary research at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania
(International Journal of Digital Library Services, 2016) Sife, Alfred S.; Maulilio J. Kipanyula
A scientometric analysis was conducted to examine the research productivity of veterinary scientists at the Sokoine University of Agriculture from 1984 to 2015. Data on publications, citations and related metrics for 97 scientists were retrieved using the Publish or Perish software. A total of 2,392 publications were recorded for all veterinary scientists, giving an average of 74.75 publications per year. The whole study period recorded the mean RGR and Dt of 2.10 and 0.36 respectively. The rate of growth of publications increased while the corresponding doubling time deceased. A great majority (2304; 96.3%) of the publications were multipleauthored with over one third (891; 37.2%) of these being jointly contributed by six or more authors. The degree of collaboration among scientists was 0.96. The maximum number of citations received in a single publication was 530. The top 25 ranked veterinary researchers showed considerable variation in various metrics. Veterinary scholars at SUA published their research findings in 241 different journals during the period between 1984 and 2015.
Scientometric portrait of Prof. Rudovick R. Kazwala: a public health veterinarian
(International Journal of Library and Information Studies, 2016) Sife, Alfred S.; Benard, Ronald
A scientometric analysis was conducted to assess the publication productivity of Professor Rudovick R. Kazwala. Data were extracted using the Publish or Perish software which uses Google Scholar to retrieve the number of publications, citation counts, indices and related metrics. The study findings indicate that Kazwala has produced 111 scholarly publications with three quarters (83; 74.77%) of these being journal articles. He has produced an average of four publications each year with the 4th (2005 – 2009) and 5th (2010 – 2014) quinquennial periods having 30 papers each. He attained the 50-percentile productivity life at the productivity age of 18 and he has a productivity coefficient of 0.69. Almost all (99.12%) his publications were multipleauthored and he has collaborated with 475 researchers. Kazwala is the first to third author in by-line in more than half (52.25%) of the publications. His scientific articles are published in 38 different journals; fitting the Bradford’s law of scattering. Kazwala’s publication density and publication concentration are 2.18 and 23.68 respectively. His publications have received 2057 citations although 26 publications remain uncited. The mean cites per year and mean cites per paper are 82.64 and 18.95 respectively. Kazwala has an h-index of 29, g-index of 43, hc-index of 20 and HI normindex of 12. The highest frequency keyword is tuberculosis. These findings suggest, among other things, that his research efforts have concentrated largely on the problem of tuberculosis. He is eminently qualified to be taken as a role model for the younger generation to emulate. He is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding scientists in Tanzania.
Web search behaviour of postgraduate students at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania
(University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln, 2013) Sife, Alfred S.
A study was conducted on the Web search behaviour of postgraduates at Sokoine University of Agriculture. Specifically, the study sought to understand the search characteristics of postgraduates, reasons for using the Web, usage of various web features, web search skills and problems faced while using the Web. The study population comprised of all postgraduates pursuing masters and doctoral programmes at SUA. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaire that were distributed randomly and they were analyzed using SPSS. The findings indicate that most postgraduates were experienced Web users and they accessed the Internet mostly through their own modems. Most students relied on Web resources for their research, class assignments, and communications, and they had positive attitudes towards these resources. Many students were using search engines such as Google and Yahoo as well as social media tools mostly Facebook and Wikis. The findings also indicate that majority of students were using simple search while advanced search features were rarely used. The use of e-journal databases among postgraduates at SUA was very low. Slow Internet connectivity and restrictions in downloading e-resources were regarded serious constraints in using the Web resources. It is recommended that libraries and their parent should promote e-resources and integrate information literacy into their curricular. Libraries should address contextual and technical issues in order to promote usage levels. Libraries should also look into the possibility of integrating eresources into OPACs for greater visibility and to enable users search several databases simultaneously.