Internet use behaviour of cybercafé users in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania

Data on internet use behavior was obtained from 137 users in 10 cybercafés through questionnaires and the data thusobtained was analyzed using SPSS. The findings indicate that most cybercafé users in the study were young, male, bettereducated and mostly students. Many cybercafé users were computer literate but most had limited web using skills. TheInternet was primarily used for searching academic information, communication as well as obtaining news and currentaffairs. There were weak correlations between demographic characteristics of respondents and the purposes of using theInternet. While many cybercafé users preferred search engines particularly Google and Yahoo, only a few were using websubject directories. The use of tools such as search engines, browsers, and social media in the study area correspond to manyother world ratings. No adverse Internet addictive behaviours were exhibited by cybercafé users in the study area. Problemsencountered in using the Internet are similar to those cited frequently in Africa. Increasing bandwidth and availability ofelectricity would improve connectivity and reduce Internet costs. It is also recommended that computer training programmesshould include information literacy and ICT use for purposes such as e-business. Possible future research is also suggested

Web Search Behaviour of Postgraduate Students at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania

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 e-resources into OPACs for greater visibility and to enable users search several databases simultaneously

Analysis of Contents of Tanzanian University Library Websites

A study was carried out between January and February 2013 to analyze the contents of 16 university and university college library websites in Tanzania using content analysis method. The consolidated data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and presented in tabular form. The study findings revealed that although many university library websites have some commonalities, these websites miss many important features. Some library websites have very little content that do not provide a real picture about their collections, resources and services. The websites also lack uniformity despite many similarities that university libraries possess. There is poor presentation of details on e-resources and library services. It is recommended that the design of library websites should be driven by the information needs and seeking behaviour of target users rather than technology or library functions. Website designers should make use of current and emerging technologies to provide library users with opportunities to locate and retrieve information efficiently. Furthermore, library websites should be updated regularly in order to respond to users’ changing needs. Recommendations on future research are also provided.Keywords: library website, university, library services, Tanzani

Analysis of gender stereotypes in Tanzania’s television commercial advertisements

This study analysed gender stereotypes in Tanzania’s television commercial advertisements. In all, 71 advertisements were recorded from nine television channels—TBC1, ITV, Azam One, Azam Two, Sinema Zetu, Channel 10, Clouds TV, Star TV and East Africa TV. The units of analysis were television commercials that contained at least one adult female or male character. The recorded advertisements were then subjected to content analysis. Quantitative data was analysed with the help of SPSS. The study findings indicate that there was an equal distribution of male and female characters in television adverts and that the majority of central figures were aged between 18 and 35 years. A central figure in this study was an adult person playing a major role by virtue of either speaking or having an exposure on a screen. Women in television commercials were younger than their male counterparts, were portrayed mostly in home settings and as non-professionals, with their primary occupation being homemakers. Women were also primarily associated with the promotion of household products and they frequently appeared wearing non-formal attire. The findings also indicate that men dominated the ad voiceovers and that they often provided scientific arguments in television commercials. The findings of the study imply that, despite many efforts made to address gender inequalities in the country, Tanzania’s televisions continue to perpetuate such inequalities through stereotypical portrayal of men and women. Thus more efforts are necessary to make the media broadcast gender-sensitive and gender-responsive content.Keywords: Gender, gender stereotypes, television, commercials advertisement

Analysis of top cited papers in library and information science that have stood the test of time

Analysis of 10 top cited papers in the field of library and information science was carried out to understand their main characteristics and features such as bibliographic details, authorship collaboration, author affiliation, citation counts and specialty. This list of classic papers was extracted from Google Scholar Metrics in June 2018. These most cited articles were published in 2006 and the list was released in June 2017. The findings indicate that these 10 papers originated from 10 different institutions in six countries mostly in North America and Europe. The number of citations ranged from 410 to 3051, the mean number of authors per article is 2.3 and the mean number of citations per year was 98. Nine out of the 10 articles reported citation analyses. This suggests that LIS research has shifted towards exploring scientific publications and their impact through citation analysis, bibliometrics and scientometrics.Keywords: citation analysis, classic papers, library and information science, scientometrics, bibliometric

Usage of E-resources in Postgraduate Research at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences: A Citation Analysis

A citation analysis was conducted to examine the use of e-resources in postgraduate research at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Tanzania. A total of 549 masters dissertations produced between 2002 and 2011 were examined. Collected data were analysed in Microsoft Excel. The findings indicate that a total of 30,405 references were extracted giving an average of 55.4 references per dissertation. References to print journal articles accounted for 70% of the total references. E-resources made up only 5.2% of the total references and citations to e-journals were even fewer (0.3%). The highest citation to e-resources was recorded in 2008 and there were no e-journal citations for the years 2002 and 2004. In general, the number of e-journal citations has remained very low during the ten years period. The findings therefore paint a picture that eresources were underutilized by postgraduates at MUHAS. However, there is possibility that some of the journal articles cited were retrieved from CD-ROMs databases or retrieved from the web but they were cited as print sources due to lack of skills in using correct citation styles. It could also be that students incorrectly cite secondary references. It is recommended that universities should intensify provision of information literacy programmes (including the use of various citation styles) for students and staff as well as promoting the use of e-resources. Future research may combine citation analysis and other methods to establish reasons for the low usage of e-resources.Keywords: citation analysis, bibliometrics, dissertations, e-resources, Tanzani

Newspaper coverage of agricultural information in Tanzania

This study examined the coverage of agricultural information in Tanzania’s newspapers published between 2009 and 2013. Four newspapers—Mwananchi, Habari Leo, The Guardian and Daily News—comprising 840 editions were selected for the study. Data were collected using a checklist and analysed using Microsoft excel and SPSS. The study findings show that of the 63,609 news articles in all the four newspaper editions, only 836 (1.3%) articles were on agriculture. The proportion of agricultural news articles published ranged from 0.79 percent in 2010 to 1.92 percent in 2012. Habari Leo had an average of 61.4 agricultural articles followed by Mwananchi with an average of 39.4 articles. The prominence of agricultural information was as low as 4.9 percent in all the newspapers. It is recommended that the government should formulate and institute policies aimed to increase the coverage of developmental topics such as agriculture in the newspapers. Keywords: Agriculture, information, Tanzania, newspaper

ONLINE VISIBILITY OF PHARMACY RESEARCH IN TANZANIA: A SCIENTOMETRIC STUDY

Objective: This scientometric analysis was carried out to map the online visibility of pharmacy research at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) from 1981 to 2016.Methods: Publish or Perish software was used to collect data for 33 scientists from the School of Pharmacy at MUHAS. We retrieved data on scholars' publications, citation counts, the number of authors per publication, average citations per paper, average citations per year, h-index, g-index, contemporary H-index (Hc index) and the HI-norm index.Results: A total of 499 publications were recorded for all scholars and the most (61; 12.2%) productive was 2013. The whole study period recorded the mean relative growth rate (RGR) and doubling time (Dt) of 1.62 and 0.46 respectively. A great majority (484; 97%) of the publications were multiple-authored with nearly one third (157; 31.5%) of these being jointly contributed by six or more authors. The maximum number of citations received in a single publication was 241. The degree of collaboration among scientists was as high as 0.97. The top ranked pharmacy researchers showed variation in various metrics.Conclusion: The study findings indicate a continuous growth of pharmacy publications at MUHAS since 1981. There is a high level of collaboration among scholars and many publications have made a great impact through citations.Â

E-learning uptake among academicians and students in Tanzanian universities

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the extent of current e-learning uptake in Tanzanian universities. The quantitative approach involving survey design was adopted in the collection of data. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 400 respondents, with a rate of return 85.5%. The average reliability of variables 0.949 was determined using Cronbach's Alpha. Fuzzy Logic model and t-test were adopted for data analysis. The findings revealed that the average extent of current e-learning uptake among students and academicians were less than half of threshold amounting to 50% (i.e. level of awareness was 16%, availability was 20.6%, accessibility was 17%, attitude was 15% as variables used). There was no statistically significant difference in e-learning uptake among students and academicians as the value of p > 0.05. The findings of this study established a base ground and guidelines to inform the e-learning stakeholders and policymakers to find and establish suitable policy as well as mechanism to adopt and encourage sustainable use of e-learning systems for life-long teaching and learning. The originality of this study is based on the addition of new variables and methodologies employed as empirical evidence based on the extent of e-learning uptake in Tanzanian universities.               Keyword:  ICTs, e-learning uptake, fuzzy logic model, students, academician