Globafricalisation and Sustainable Development: Research and Researchers' Assessments, 'Publish or Perish', Journal Impact Factor and Other Metrifications

Western colonization of nations has long ended; however, it appears that many of the affected people, particularly Africans, are still captive of Western-imposed mentality and standards. "Globafricalisation , a newly coined term partly expressed as "the westernisation of researches and research outputs from Africa is critically examined in this study. The emphasis on the global outlook and worldwide rating or ranking of researchers, their researches and their institutions partly prompted this research work. The perspectives of researchers from developing countries were sought through the administration of online survey and data obtained and were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The survey results indicate that majority of African academics are concerned about the issue and desire a paradigm shift to be supported by institutional administrators and policy makers. The phenomenon of Globafricalisation which includes the pressure to fit into the Western-imposed model despite the deficit of research support infrastructures may in part be fueling the push for global institutional and research rating by various institutions in Africa. No doubt, all institutions want a high ranking on a global scale but the apparent questions are: what parameters are ranked, and how acceptable, reputable and transparently flawless are the processes involved? In the same context, the ranking and/or assessment of academics and researchers ranking based on a journal impact factor or prevalent citation metrics is inherently flawed with several consequences particularly for the developing nations; it not only impairs the development of sound science but limits the sustainable exploration and expansion of indigenous knowledge for regional advancement. Numerous major flaws in the rating and ranking of researchers and institutions respectively were highlighted in this work. Furthermore, a detailed perspective of researchers in the African region was analyzed and