The Journal of Society and Media

Theatre-for-Development as Information Panacea for Rural Dwellers in Nigeria during a Pandemic: Lessons from COVID-19

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0700

The subject of COVID-19 (coronavirus) in Nigeria emerged with various misrepresentations and conspiracy theories, such as the notion of COVID-19 as a forerunner of the Anti-Christ or the commencement of a 'New World Order' occasioned by the 5G network. COVID-19 information in Nigeria was managed by the Presidential Task Force through daily media briefings. This paper examined the PTF's information dissemination structure and its impact on four indigenous communities in south-eastern Nigeria: Ikwo in Ebonyi State, Iva-Valley Forestry Hill Camp 1 in Enugu State, Umualumu Old Road in Imo State, and Ogbagu Obukpa in Enugu State. TfD was used during lockdown to inform indigenous communities and promote necessary health precautions. The project used TfD and Brecht's Epic Theatre Theory in 4 Nigerian communities to show how TfD can complement other media in informing rural residents about COVID-19. TfD mobilized indigenous communities in southeastern Nigeria to understand Igbo and take COVID-19 precautions despite PTF's robust information dissemination structure. TfD could have helped the PTF share vital COVID-19 info with rural communities in Nigeria. The Nigerian government should establish a robust infrastructure for raising awareness and combating COVID-19 and other pandemics in rural areas through TfD

Nurturing Political Engagement: Political Communication Strategies for Generation Z in the Lead-up to the 2024 Election in West Java

Evie Ariadne Shinta Dewi, Hadi S Arifin, Ikhsan Fuady — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0700

President Joko Widodo stated that in 2045, Generation Z (gen-Z) will change the face of Indonesian politics. The demographics of Generation Z in significant numbers will influence the direction of Indonesian politics due to their ability to control election votes. Gen-Z, which has grown up with the development of technology and is vulnerable to the impact of misinformation, disinformation, and misinformation, must be strengthened through political education. For this goal, parties and KPU need to devise new strategies for younger generations. Data was collected from political party leaders and KPU commissioners in West Java through questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The results show that Gen-Z West Java is an active social media user, the time spent every day is on average above four hours (46.2%), with the choice of the top four platforms, WhatsApp (94.2%), Instagram (89.7%), Youtube (69.9%), Tiktok (66.7%) and Facebook (44.8%). Gen-Z prefers research, podcasts, memes, and political humor for political communication. However, regional KPU staff and political parties struggle to meet their needs for voter education mediaApproximately 80% of Gen-Z in West Java plan to vote in the 2024 elections. KPU and political parties need skilled Content Creators to engage Gen-Z and encourage their participation in elections.

Using Social Media for Health Services: Bibliometric Analysis

Ahmad Palemba, Achmad Nurmandi — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0700

This study aims to analyze the role of social media in using public policy on health services in the literature Scopus indexed. Deep social media government has become more critical in e-government. Considering social media for taking the policy, the government is the internal medium to push public policy on services and health to increase the government's performance. This research analyzed 454 Scopus database documents from 2018-2023 using "health service," "policy," and "service use" as keywords. The data was filtered using bibliometrics based on the relevance of keywords, author's country, and year of publication, limited to the last five years. Information is saved in RIS format and processed through device soft Citespace. CiteSpace software is used for publication data visualization and government plan formulation. Effective social media policy requires good management for public decision-making. The study analyzed only one topic on Scopus without using international index databasesI'll summarize three research by presenting papers based on criteria like publications, origin countries, fields of study, authors, institutions, issues, and citations. Medicine studies with percentages are dominant, King's College London leads, Draheim contributes the most, and the US is the biggest contributor.

Analysis of Local Government Financial Capability and its Implications for the Sustainability of Regional Autonomy: The Perspective of Public Interest

Syarief Makhya, Mustofa Usman; Warsono Warsono ; Maulana Mukhlis — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0700

Regional autonomy, or regional financial capacity, is an indicator used to assess the level of regional autonomy as one of the requirements for financing public services and development. The government's function will not be practical unless it receives maximal budget assistance; the government must have adequate local sources of revenue. This research aims to examine the diversity of regional financial capacity levels and their implications for the sustainability of regional autonomy from the perspective of community interests. This research method utilized multivariate statistics, profile analysis, and variance analysis. Data related to locally generated income, total regional income, total routine expenditure, and fund balance during 2013–2017 were analyzed and compared to assess the level of autonomy. In Lampung Province, 14 regional governments showed low levels of fiscal autonomy, routine expenditure index, and regional financial capacity. These regions were highly dependent on central government assistance through intergovernmental transfers. Between 2013 and 2017, only Bandar Lampung City and Metro City saw an increase in Local Government Revenue (PAD). Other regions stagnated, indicating low financial autonomy in the future due to fund transfers. This makes it difficult to meet public satisfaction levels in infrastructure, health, education, and social development due to budget limitations.

Emergent Trends in Nigeria’s Popular Entertainment: Cross-Dressing and Blurred Identity in Social Media Skits

Elizabeth Onyewuchi Ben-Iheanacho, Emefiele Felix Gbenoba, Shaibu Husseini — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0700

This paper explores the relationship between mass media and its audience, specifically in Nigeria where this field is under-studied. Since its debut in 1959 as a medium of domestic entertainment, television in Nigeria has been a wonderland for new vistas and foreign and strange concepts that became trendsetters for viewers’ astonishment and enthusiastic lifestyle emulation. This study uses qualitative methods, including Key Informant Interviews and secondary analysis, to explore cross-dressing as a cultural phenomenon. The theoretical framework is based on the gratification and technological determinism theories. The study examines how technological advancements have enabled the normalization of "sophisticated, imported" options in entertainment culture. The paper explores gender fluidity and identity blurring in the artist's perception. The findings showed that the incursion of technology, especially television and its more sophisticated variant, social media, are the purveyors of democratized ideas of individual identity and blurred sexuality profiling that disrupted existentialist binary notions. The study results also showed that cross-dressing, as employed in skit-making, has earned respect on the employment index of the creative sector and art community. Tech shapes youth culture, paving the way for new norms in human relationships and personal expression