Abstract
This study was on Using Radio Communication to Empower Communities to Deal with Early Marriages, Teenage Pregnancies and Alcohol Abuses in Nigeria. Three objectives were raised which included: Evaluate the communication strategies used by AKBC radio in helping Akwa Ibom fishing community address issues of early marriages, alcohol abuse, and teenage pregnancies, Find out the communication relationship between AKBC radio and the members of the fishing community and the communities near it, Assess strategies in order to enhance and increase participation of the Akwa Ibom fishing community members and other communities and Determine how far AKBC radio has achieved its objectives. A total of 77 responses were received and validated from the enrolled participants where all respondents were drawn from AKBC radio. Hypothesis was tested using Chi-Square statistical tool (SPSS).
Chapter one
Introduction
1.1Background of the study
Communication is critical to the development of Communities, Continents and the whole global village. Through Communication people are able to understand issues and forge relationships that help to develop their standards of living. Many Countries in the world have different issues of development that they grapple with every day, and Nigeria is no exception.
One of the many issues contributing to underdevelopment is ignorance. And so, information sharing & dissemination becomes crucial in bringing about integral development. An informed population makes informed decisions. The media is seen as a source of information provision, and a tool to provoke both inter and intrapersonal dialogue with the potential to create positive action among community members.
Among different media, radio has been widely used in the fight against early marriages, alcohol abuse, illiteracy and teenage pregnancies in the quest to bring about human development. Radio has been widely used because of its obvious advantages over other media due to its wide availability and accessibility both to the illiterate and literate.
The introduction of Community Radio has greatly benefited different Communities in addressing various social problems. Alcoholism, early marriages and teenage pregnancies are some of the world social problems that the community Radio has fought to address.
Teenage pregnancies, alcoholism and early marriages are some of the problems that affect the Nigeria Society. Community radio, in its content and programming focuses on the needs of the community in which it is located and to which it is broadcasting. It uses the language that is understood by the people in its catchment area. In the words of Patrick Tor Alumuku (2007), community radio is “the oil which helps the community development machine to keep running without breaking down. It provides new ideas and it facilitates relationships and promotes collaboration which are necessary for the process of change and development.”
This study looks at the usage of communication tools to empower communities to deal with issues of early marriages, teenage pregnancies and alcohol abuse..
Statement of the problem
This study looks at how AKBC radio uses communication to bring about integral development in the fishing community of Akwa Ibom state and its surrounding communities in particular by empowering the communities with communication tools to deal with issues of early marriages, teenage pregnancies and alcohol abuse. Berelson (1964), understands communication as a process of transmitting information, opinions, ideas from one person to another through the use of symbols such as words, gestures, art and that it is pertinent to any social human being. The manifestations of poverty in Nigeria are very visible. The current statistics on poverty stood at 85 percent in the rural areas and 34 percent in urban areas. This is so due to lack of government funding to key sectors of the country (m.lusakatimes.com/2011/08/10/ Zambia…). Despite many radio programs on early marriages, alcohol abuse and teenage pregnancies, it appeared to the researcher/student who had worked in Akwa Ibom state as a priest that the local people of Akwa Ibom state fishing community did not generally receive the information. Lack of sensitization in the communities could be deduced by indicators such as drunkenness, illegal abortions, rampant divorces, gender based violence and illiteracy. The situation called for a research to determine the gap between the levels and nature of communications on the problems, and the ideals required. Akwa Ibom state Community radio being a Catholic Institution whose mission is to bring about integral development in the world has coverage to this area and it is with regard to this background that this research has been undertaken in order to ascertain the role that Akwa Ibom state Community Radio has played in helping people to deal with problems of teenage pregnancies, early marriages and alcoholism.
Objectives of the study
The objectives of the study are to:
1) Evaluate the communication strategies used by AKBC radio in helping Akwa Ibom fishing community address issues of early marriages, alcohol abuse, and teenage pregnancies.
2) Find out the communication relationship between AKBC radio and the members of the fishing community and the communities near it.
3) Assess strategies in order to enhance and increase participation of the Akwa Ibom fishing community members and other communities.
4) Determine how far AKBC radio has achieved its objectives.
Research hypotheses
The following research hypotheses were formulated;
H0: there are no communication strategies used by AKBC radio in helping Akwa Ibom fishing community address issues of early marriages, alcohol abuse, and teenage pregnancies
H1: there are communication strategies used by AKBC radio in helping Akwa Ibom fishing community address issues of early marriages, alcohol abuse, and teenage pregnancies
H0: the communication relationship between AKBC radio and the members of the fishing community and the communities near it.
H2: the communication relationship between AKBC radio and the members of the fishing community and the communities near it.
Significance of the study
The study will be very significant to students, parents and policy makers. The study will give a clear insight on the Using Radio Communication to Empower Communities to Deal with Early Marriages, Teenage Pregnancies and Alcohol Abuses in Nigeria. The study will also serve as a reference to other researcher that will embark on the related topic
Limitations of the study
The researcher had a number of challenges in the process of carrying out this work.
The time factor was one of the challenges that the researcher grappled with because a research of this kind would need a slightly longer period than the six months given for the research. A research of this magnitude presupposes some sound financial muscle to completely deal with all intricacies surrounding the topic but since it is a self-sponsored investigation, money was a limiting factor. This very well dovetailed with the limitation in the sample size in the sense that the researcher was not able to make every member of this fishing community to be part of this study for financial reasons.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
USING RADIO COMMUNICATION TO EMPOWER COMMUNITIES TO DEAL WITH EARLY MARRIAGES, TEENAGE PREGNANCIES AND ALCOHOL ABUSES IN NIGERIA
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