"The main objective of this study was to explore the effectiveness of handwashing, face masking and social distancing in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Mixed-method research design was adopted, while questionnaire was shared on Facebook and WhatsApp to collect quantitative data. The daily cases
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from World Health Organisation (WHO) and Worldometers were analysed and compared and a structured interview was conducted with seven participants from around the world to understand the global perception and compliance to hand washing, face masking and social distancing. The findings showed that there is a global awareness of the severity of COVID-19 and that the measures of face mask, hand washing, social distance and lockdown were sure ways to prevent the spread. The researchers concluded that, although, the implementations and faithfulness of these measures are inadequate, they remain effective ways to stop the spread of COVID-19 for now. It was, therefore, recommended among others, the creation of awareness and education of the general populace on the importance of wearing masks, washing hands, keeping social distance and the need for the lockdown, rather than making it a rule of law." (Abstract)
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"Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa is not left out in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak that continues to ravage the entire universe. The deadly virus as of 26th June 2021 has infected more than 181.3 million people and killed over 3.9 million people globally. In Nigeria alone, it h
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as infected over 167 thousand people and killed 2,119 people between February 27th, the day the first case was recorded and 26th June 2021. Unfortunately, as the virus continues to spread worldwide, there is also a rapid increase in the rate of infodemic - information overload majority of which are fake, disinformation and misinformation - about the virus, its transmission and cure. Thus, this paper interrogates the present reality of the infodemic in Nigeria, especially in the present COVID-19 pandemic and the vision of media and information literacy. The problem concerned the extent to which infodemic could precariously engineer crisis, disgust, fear, hostility and panic which might degenerate to conflict, insecurity, stigmatisation and eventual death. Combining textual analysis with receptor oriented, the article critically examined the social media platform posts and activities in this domain. Major findings apart from revealing that the free and unlimited access to information on social media platforms have been the active driver of the current experience, also showed that the inability of people to discern the veracity and authenticity of information within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic have made many vulnerable. Thus, the present article concluded that media and information literacy is a necessity in fighting the challenge of infodemic in Nigeria and promoting healthy information in media and technological environments. Therefore, among others, the introduction of media and information literacy to both literate and illiterate sectors of society is recommended." (Abstract)
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"Before the outbreak of COVID-19 from the city of Wuhan, China in December 2019, many people across the globe, Nigerians inclusive already relied on social media to gather and disseminate information and news. Since the outbreak of the virus on February 27th, 2020 in Nigeria, people have depended on
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social media to obtain information about the virus. No doubt, social media has a lot of potentials to keep the users abreast of many areas such as academic, economic, socials, health, religions etc. Nowadays, social media are often seen as fast and effective platforms for searching, sharing, and distributing health information among the general population. During sudden outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the public needs access to timely, objective and reliable information about the disease symptoms, preventions and cure. Regrettably, these same platforms are also being deployed to spread fake news, rumours about the virus and cause fear, panic and death. Certainly, the scenario poses danger to both individual and public health in Nigeria. Based on this, the present article employed conceptual analysis with a receptor-oriented method to examine the extent to which the potential of social media can be beneficial or injurious to public health during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was discovered among others that; social media causes more harm to people’s health during the pandemic. Therefore, social media literacy and media content censorship among others were suggested as the way forward in promoting public health during a pandemic situation." (Abstract)
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"Social media sites allow students particularly in tertiary institutions to adopt different types of social networking sites to interact; keep in touch with their families and friends and keep up with their academic assignments. Conversely, there has been a growing concern that students at the terti
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ary level in Nigeria have devoted much of their time to communication through social networking sites at the expense of serious academic work. Thus, the study investigated how the undergraduate students of the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria make use of social media sites for academic purposes. It also examined how much time the students allotted to socialisation and academic work in the use of online media. Anchored on the Uses and Gratification Theory, the survey research design was adopted while questionnaire was used as the instrument of data collections. Data were generated from a sample of 600 respondents randomly selected from six faculties from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Findings showed that most undergraduate students devoted more time to social networking sites mainly for socialisation and only used the sites for academic purposes when they were given assignments or when researching on a particular topic. The findings also revealed that the length of time spent on social networking sites socialising reduced the respondents’ ability to concentrate on academic work and eventually led to poor performance of undergraduate students. Based on the findings and conclusion, it was recommended among others, that media literacy education as a course should be introduced and integrated into the tertiary institutions’ progammes, especially at the undergraduate level." (Abstract)
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"This study analysed the media-literacy content in curricula of nine select universities in Africa’s most populous nation: Nigeria. Some key findings revealed that: (a) media-literacy courses proper were not on the curricula; (b) media-literacy-related courses, which stood as proxies, accounted fo
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r about two per cent of the curricula; and (c) media-literacy-related courses were available to students only as electives. The present research indicates that media-literate students tend to be skilled in accessing information about their health, environment, education and work. They would also be able to evaluate media content critically and to make informed decisions as users of digital technology sources, as well as to becoming producers of media contents in their own right. Based on the accumulated skills of media literacy for contemporary young people, it was recommended that communications programmes redesign their curricula to include media literacy and related courses. Also, communication educators should be more receptive to the importance of media literacy skills in the education of their students." (Abstract)
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"Information Technology (IT) has changed the modern workplace because of its development of new knowledge and skills. E-learning is the wholesome incorporation of information and communication technology (ICT) resources, particularly the Internet, into the process of teaching and learning. Although
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this is relatively new in Nigeria, some institutions are already using it to promote distance education (DE) and lifelong learning. Thus, this study appraises the extent of the use of modern ICT in e-learning in select secondary schools in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. It employed descriptive survey with a tested questionnaire and interview guide as major instruments for data gathering. The findings confirmed that schools in Port Harcourt are just beginning to adopt ICTs as an e-learning method. It also found that the available ICT tools are not in use because the teachers are not skilled in computer application. It is therefore recommended that the government and school authorities should make provision for adequate e-learning facilities in schools and that both teachers and students should be encouraged to make use of the materials to enhance their academic performance and learning experience generally." (Abstract)
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