Publishers Without Borders

Dr. Leonard Mboera, Editor of the Tanzanian Journal of Health Research, on publishing research, building networks and accessibility of research “What is coming out of research in this country is not that adequate. It does not reflect what is being done. We have contributed a lot, especially in the health research arena. … There is a need to build a culture for scientists to publish.” Those are the… [Read more]

Walter Bgoya on Tanzania’s reading culture and a new consortium of academic publishers “There are now 20 universities in Tanzania and many more are coming. Every university wants to do two, three journals. The resources don’t really permit. I think it would be much better if several universities came together and produced one journal at a time together.” says Walter Bgoya, managing director of Mkuki na Nyota Publishers,… [Read more]

As an editor, finding hidden gems requires dedication and collaboration, no matter where you are Like many people, I had never heard of tanzanite until I saw it at a museum. Tanzanite, or blue zoisite, is a gemstone found exclusively in Northern Tanzania; it’s rare and was discovered only about 50 years ago. The processed gem is prized for its intense blue-purple color, which is not as remarkable… [Read more]

Tanzanian scientists are passionate about research despite lack of funding and encounters with predatory journals Scientists “John” and “Michael” are working hard to become internationally recognized scholars, but they are struggling to compete with worldwide experts in their field. The researcher’s life is not easy for them. Like when it comes to publishing in peer-reviewed journals: which are most suitable and widely read? What are the ethical standards… [Read more]

Volunteers travel to Tanzania to give workshops for our Publishers Without Boarders project   An old Ethiopian proverb is inscribed on the wall outside the Addis restaurant in Dar es Salaam: “When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.” This saying came to mind on my last day in Tanzania as I sat in the sun on my hotel terrace reflecting on the four weeks I… [Read more]

When I volunteered to spend November in Tanzania working with the Elsevier Foundation’s Publishers Without Borders program, it felt like a big deal to me. It wasn’t just that I had to make sacrifices of my own, but I had to ask my family and Elsevier colleagues to make sacrifices as well. My family had to do without me for all of November (including Thanksgiving), and the people I… [Read more]

“As I type this, I am listening to Christmas music with my feet up, the air conditioning cranked, looking out at construction workers carrying buckets of cement on their heads with the sun-drenched Indian Ocean in the distance. It all feels very incongruous to the Novembers I’ve always known. I keep forgetting that Thanksgiving is coming up, and seeing pictures of people’s snowy yards on Facebook makes me… [Read more]

Many Tanzanian academics are heavily involved in teaching and do consultancy activities on the side. This leaves them little time to conduct research, let alone publish. If they do conduct research and wish to publish, often they lack the knowledge on how to write a good publication proposal that will ultimately enable them to get published, or simply their English language skills are not adequate enough. To address… [Read more]