Nigeria’s Communication Policy and News Determination

National communication policy is not a very popular area of discourse or research among mass communication scholars in Nigeria. Indeed some of them are hardly aware of its existence but it is there and affects overall government attitude and actions toward the mass media. This discursive paper examines the concept of news and the factors that affect its determination. However, its major focus is on how Nigeria’s national communication policy seeks to influence what is disseminated as news by the country’s mass media. It argues that the policy document as it affects news determination is unnecessary and that it should be reviewed to focus on other critical areas that directly affect journalism practice in Nigeria such as the protection of journalists from exploitative media owners so that the country can have a more vibrant and robust mass media industry. Keywords: News, Journalism, Communication Policy, Governmen

Audience Perception of Foreign Music within Indigenous Radio Programmes among Listeners in Lagos, Nigeria

Music is the life blood of every radio station. Ordinarily, the listeners should be the focus of every radio programme and their perception should influence radio station programming. However, the continuous use of foreign music in indigenous programming points to a contrary indication. This situation is today a source of concern to culture activists and debates among academics. This study therefore examined how audience perceive the use of foreign music within local radio programmes. To do this, the study adopted the quantitative research method with survey design. A sample of 200 respondents was taken from Lagos metropolis and a specially designed questionnaire was administered on 20 radio presenters purposively selected. Specifically, the study attempted to answer four research questions and the findings revealed that many radio listeners prefer local music, and viewed the act of playing foreign music as unpatriotic and a way of killing local culture. The paper concludes that a continuous airplay of foreign music within local programmes will debase indigenous culture and existence of a nation. Keywords: foreign music, perception, cultural imperialism, Indigenous programme

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

ADAPTING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR FORMAL LEARNING IN NIGERIA: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

ABSTRACT Educationist and communication experts have in the past advocated for a flexible learning aimed at meeting individual needs, while at the same time providing both the learner and the instructor the opportunity to interactively relate outside the structured environment. Thus when social media started out as a fun way to connect with friends and families, experts saw it as a powerful tool for education beyond their uses as avenue to socialize. Today, many students and educationists are using sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, MySpace, Flicker, Netlog, Slideshare and tools such as Skype, Ovoo, and Yahoo messenger to connect students to learning opportunities in new and exciting ways. As part of the growing influence for enhancing education, the Osun state government recently gave out smart phone dubbed "opon imo" (tablet of knowledge) to all secondary pupils in the state loaded with several learning materials. Using the exploratory method, the authors explore ways in which social media can be used to enhance formal learning by identifying opportunities and challenges inherent thereof. The authors concluded that social media provide better opportunities to help student take their learning experience outside the classroom to wherever they are but noted that cost of acquisition and sustenance could pose as challenge for those in the lower income bracket of the society