Coverage and Framing of Emerging STI and STEM by Four Major Nigerian Newspapers and Implications for National Development

In Nigeria, there is a gross deficit of empirical research on emerging Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) content in the media. This paper focuses on investigating four prominent newspapers in Nigeria to ascertain the extent to which Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and emerging STI are covered and framed. We posed research questions covering reportage, sourcing, framing, and implications. The methodology involved content/framing analysis of Daily Trust, Leadership, The Guardian, and The Punch newspapers. A census sampling of 728 newspaper issues was conducted covering a period of six months spanning between December 1, 2020, and May 31, 2021. The results indicate a near zero coverage of emerging STI in the four dailies. Other results show that of the eight areas of STEM examined, medical/health sciences (48%), agricultural sciences (24%), and ICTs/engineering (19%) received more coverage. Earth/environmental sciences, physical and chemical sciences, marine, space, and mathematical sciences were accorded near zero coverage. On sourcing of STEM stories in the four dailies, 54% was sourced in-house by the journalists, 33% came from national STI institutions, while 13% was obtained from foreign and internet sources. On framing, 42% STEM stories were framed in terms of health, risk, and safety; 39% in economic and political frame; while academic, environmental, ethical and “other” frames scored between 7% and below. The conclusion of the study is that newspaper coverage of emerging STI was near zero reflecting and projecting the dismal status of emerging STI in Nigeria while the coverage and framing of STEM depicted the media agenda of concentration on medical, agricultural, and ICT endeavours to the neglect of others. Deeper coverage and broader framing of emerging STI are germane to national development

Coverage and Framing of Emerging STI and STEM by Four Major Nigerian Newspapers and Implications for National Development

In Nigeria, there is a gross deficit of empirical research on emerging STI content in the media. This study investigated four prominent newspapers in Nigeria to ascertain the extent to which STEM and emerging STI are covered and framed. We posed the following research questions covering reportage, sourcing, framing, and implications. The methodology involved a content/framing analyses of Daily Trust, Leadership, The Guardian and The Punch. A census sampling of 728 newspaper issues was conducted covering a period of six months spanning between December 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021. The results indicate a near zero coverage of emerging STI in the four dailies. Other results show that of the eight areas of STEM examined, medical/health sciences (48%), agricultural sciences (24%) and ICTs/engineering (19%) received more coverage. Earth/environmental sciences, physical and chemical sciences, marine, space, and mathematical sciences were accorded near zero coverage. On sourcing of STEM stories in the four dailies, 54% was sourced in-house by the journalists, 33% came from national STI institutions, while 13% was obtained from foreign and internet sources. On framing, 42% of STEM stories were framed in terms of health, risk, and safety; 39% in economic and political frame, while academic, environmental, ethical and “other frames scored between 7% and below. The conclusion of the study is that newspaper coverage of emerging STI was near zero reflecting and projecting the dismal status of emerging STI in Nigeria while the coverage and framing of STEM depicted the media agenda of concentration on medical, agricultural, and ICT endeavours to the neglect of others

Coverage and Framing of Emerging STI and STEM by Four Major Nigerian Newspapers and Implications for National Development

In Nigeria, there is a gross deficit of empirical research on emerging STI content in the media. This study investigated four prominent newspapers in Nigeria to ascertain the extent to which STEM and emerging STI are covered and framed. We posed the following research questions covering reportage, sourcing, framing, and implications. The methodology involved a content/framing analyses of Daily Trust, Leadership, The Guardian and The Punch. A census sampling of 728 newspaper issues was conducted covering a period of six months spanning between December 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021. The results indicate a near zero coverage of emerging STI in the four dailies. Other results show that of the eight areas of STEM examined, medical/health sciences (48%), agricultural sciences (24%) and ICTs/engineering (19%) received more coverage. Earth/environmental sciences, physical and chemical sciences, marine, space, and mathematical sciences were accorded near zero coverage. On sourcing of STEM stories in the four dailies, 54% was sourced in-house by the journalists, 33% came from national STI institutions, while 13% was obtained from foreign and internet sources. On framing, 42% of STEM stories were framed in terms of health, risk, and safety; 39% in economic and political frame, while academic, environmental, ethical and “other frames scored between 7% and below. The conclusion of the study is that newspaper coverage of emerging STI was near zero reflecting and projecting the dismal status of emerging STI in Nigeria while the coverage and framing of STEM depicted the media agenda of concentration on medical, agricultural, and ICT endeavours to the neglect of others

The downward spiral of mental disorders and educational attainment: a systematic review on early school leaving.

BACKGROUND: Most psychiatric disorders present symptom patterns that cause severe impairment on the emotional, cognitive and social level. Thus, adolescents who suffer from a mental disorder risk finding themselves in a downward spiral caused by the reciprocal association of psychological symptoms and negative school experiences that may culminate in early school leaving. In addition to previous collective work that mainly focused on school refusing behaviour among children and was presented as an expert's opinion, the following systematic review fills the knowledge gap by providing a structured overview of the bidirectional association between mental health and secondary school dropout based on a sound methodology and with a particular focus on mediating factors. METHODS: Four electronic databases were searched from January 1990 until June 2014. Selected references were assessed for study details, main results, mediating factors and methodological limitations. Standardized risk of bias assessment was conducted. RESULTS: Mood and anxiety disorders seemed to have a less consequential direct effect on early school leaving than substance use and disruptive behaviour disorders. The association between externalizing disorders and educational attainment was even stronger when the disorder occurred early in life. On the other hand, internalizing disorders were reported to develop as a consequence of school dropout. Only few studies had addressed gender differences, with discrepant results. Socio-economic background, academic achievement and family support were identified as significant mediating factors of the association between mental disorders and subsequent educational attainment. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggested a strong association between mental health and education, in both directions. However, most studies focused on mediating factors that could not be targeted by intervention programs