Using SNSs for early detection of disease outbreak in developing countries: evidence from COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

Developing countries, particularly Nigeria, continually find it challenging to proactively and actively carry out early-stage surveillance for disease outbreaks due to the lack of quality workforce, a dearth of public health data, and the absence of automated surveillance systems in the country. This study presents the potential and ability of Twitter in tracking early detection of COVID-19, monitoring the dissemination of information, and exploration of public awareness and attitudes among Nigerians. Tweets mentioning COVID-19 and related keywords were collected in 11 batches via the NCapture™ plugin available on Google Chrome from February 20 - May 6, 2020. The analysis includes a time series analysis to track the distribution of data and content analysis to analyze the knowledge and attitudes of Nigerians. A total of 67,989 tweets (1,484 unique and 66,505 retweets) citing COVID-19 and related keywords were returned. The Tweets started to emerge earlier to the first confirmed case in Nigeria while maintaining a dangling-upward movement up to the 11th week under study. Matters arising from the tweets include a dearth of information on COVID-19 and optimism among others. The results provide insight into the intersection of SNSs and public health surveillance. Results show how helpful Twitter is to educate education in public health. Health organizations and the government may benefit from paying attention to both amusing and emotional contents from the Twitter community to formulate a viable policy for treatment and control.

Megamalls and lifestyles of urban dwellers in selected cities in southwest, Nigeria.

The globalization trend in the 21st century has come with tremendous impacts across the nations of the world. Notable among the impacts is the emergence of megamalls and people's changing lifestyles, resulting in socio-economic and infrastructural development. This study examines megamalls as an offshoot of the globalization process and the changing urban landscape in many cities with their growing population in Nigeria. It focuses on examining the relationship between megamalls and urban dwellers' lifestyles in Nigeria with implications on population and human infrastructure for sustainable development. The study was conducted in three main cities of Ibadan, Lagos, and Ota in Southwest Nigeria. The study employs a descriptive research design using quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (interview) research instruments to elicit information on respondents' views on shopping malls and how it has contributed to human infrastructure and urban centers' development. The modernization theory was employed to provide a theoretical guide for the study. Findings show that megamalls, with their aesthetic and magnificent structures, have contributed immensely to the development of urban centers and their dwellers by beautifying the urban environment, sales of quality and affordable goods, and a place for social gatherings relaxation. Therefore, it was recommended that more megamalls be built to meet up with urban dwellers' growing demands and attract more social development.

Gambling in Transition: Assessing Youth Narratives of Gambling in Nigeria.

Nigeria has witnessed some significant changes in gambling which have resulted in more people becoming interested in the activity. In an attempt to increase participation, bookmakers have introduced a variety of innovations. Literature has established that this increased participation is inter-generational, cross-cultural, and inter-religious. Particularly among Nigerian youth, participation in gambling cuts across all age groups, socio-economic status, and gender. Both financial and social rewards have been identified as reasons why many youths gamble. Through a qualitative lens, this study investigates how the dynamics of gambling in recent times have affected the biographies of youth within a relatively deprived socio-economic locality in Kwara State, Nigeria. Thirty young gamblers between the ages of 15 and 29 were engaged in a semi-structured interview session. Drawing from the meaning of 'youth' from a sociological lexicon, one can advance this unique narrative of the transitions in gambling activities which can occur as a result of the youths' biographies and socio-economic status. Nigerian youth adopt three specific gambling types as a coping strategy in the face of a crisis-ridden socio-economic structure characterised by poverty, and unemployment. As such, gambling has become a normative activity experimented by the youth to survive the harsh economic conditions. This study therefore argues the need to situate the discourse of youth gambling within the social, cultural, and economic context in which they are located in Nigeria. In addition, the authors provide a framework for understanding the complexity of youth gambling in Nigeria.

Community participation in crime prevention and control in rural Nigeria.

The rural areas in Nigeria have become notorious with all kinds of crime. Inadequate amenities such as good roads and communication infrastructure in rural areas in Nigeria have made it difficult for the Nigeria Police to effectively detect and prevent crimes in rural Nigeria. It is consequent on these escalations of criminal activities that rural communities in Nigeria have evolved community policing to protect their neighbourhoods. This article presents the benefits of using qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection to unravel the potentials inherent in informal crime prevention and control in rural localities in Nigeria. The social capital theory was used to bring out the benefits of community participation in crime control in rural Nigeria. Findings from the study indicated high theft cases as common crime in rural Nigeria. Youths were observed to constitute greater percentage of suspects at police stations for crime. Unemployment and poverty among the rural populace especially youths were responsible for these criminalities. The absence of social infrastructure, inadequate police presence and government support to unemployed youths made the crime situations worse in rural areas. There was low level of community interactions with the police in crime prevention and control in rural Nigeria. The study recommended increased police-public partnership in crime prevention and control in rural Nigeria.

Use of social media in the marketing of agricultural products and farmers' turnover in South-South Nigeria.

Background: The study investigated the use of social media in the marketing of agricultural products and farmers turnover in South-South Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which the usage of social media in the marketing of agricultural products in Nigeria can enhance efficiency and farmers' sales turnover. Methods: It employed the survey research design and data were collected with the help of a structured questionnaire. Research data were analysed using a t-test and least squares method.  Results:  The use of social media (WhatsApp and Instagram) in the marketing of agricultural products was found to enhance efficiency and turnover of farmers through a significant reduction in the cost of marketing agricultural products as well as increased demand for agricultural products. Conclusions: The use of social media (WhatsApp and Instagram) in the marketing of agricultural products significantly influences cost reduction and hence efficiency in marketing as well as enhances turnover of farmers through increased demand for agricultural products. Contribution: The examination of the implications of the usage of social media usage in agricultural marketing on marketing efficiency and sales turnover in Nigeria.