Infrastructures of (im)mobility: maps, mines, militarization, and the making of remote borderland in Kargil

Most of rural people, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. In Kenya, rural households who are mainly smallholder farmers rely on agriculture for most of their income. The agriculture sector plays an important role in employment creation. However, the sector is reportedly dominated by the elderly people while youths tend to shy away. These youths are actively involved on social media platforms hence social media have been used to promote their participation in agriculture. However, how utilization of such social media platforms affected their participation in agriculture was not yet known in Njoro Sub-county. This study focused on the effect of utilization of social media platforms on youth participation in agriculture in Njoro Sub-county. A descriptive survey research design was used with a target population of 3,925 and accessible population of 1,597 youth involved in agriculture in Njoro, Kihingo, and Lare wards. A random sampling technique was used to select 150 respondents. A questionnaire was used to collect data. SPSS version 22 and STATA version 12 was used to analyze data. The results revealed Facebook, Google search engine, and WhatsApp as the top three highly used social media platforms amongst the youth in agriculture in Njoro Sub-county. Besides, Facebook had highest 22 % respondents using it very often, 18% often, 14.7% sometimes and 6.7% rarely. Moreover, the results showed that the level of utilization of social media platforms had a significant effect (p=0.001) on youth participation in agriculture at a 5% level. WhatsApp had a positive effect (p=0.039) on youth participation in agriculture at a 5 % level. The study recommended that government and other potential stakeholders should invest in digital extension services to promote youth participation in agriculture. More youth participation would significantly reduce unemployment.

The study was carried out to determine the utilization of social media platforms for promoting library resources and services in Nigerians’ tertiary institutions in Cross River State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design method was employed for this study. The sample for this study comprised of 300 librarians in three Nigerian tertiary institutions in Cross River State. The questionnaire was the only instrument used for data collection. Frequency counts and mean were used to analyse the data collected. The study revealed that Facebook and Blogs are the most frequently used social media platforms for promoting library resources and services in the libraries. Findings also showed librarians utilize social media platforms in promoting two-way communication as the highest followed by making connections with library users easily, and provides forum for feedback and increases library users/usage and providing up-to date information in campus as the least. Some challenges librarians encounter was also discovered; hence recommendations were made. These include encouraging more participation on social media platform through seminars and symposiums amongst other recommendations.Keywords: Utilization, Social Media, Platforms, Librarians, Library, Resources, Services, Tertiary Institution

The Internet has significantly changed the world and so has social media. Social media has offered a free for all stage for using social network and friends to create awareness and SMEs can leverage on this and advance their business in the international arena. The general objective of the study was to analyze the effect of social media networks on SME performance in the International Arena, with special focus on those operating in Kamukunji area of Nairobi County, Kenya. The study aimed to achieve the following specific objectives; to assess the influence of use of social media networks in customer relations on SMEs Performance in the International Arena and to analyze the influence of use of social media networks while sourcing for inputs on SMEs Performance in the International Arena. Theories underpinning this study included Social Exchange Theory and Social Penetration Theory. The study employed a descriptive research design. The target population of this study comprised of 838 SME firms operating at Kamukunji in Nairobi County. Since the study population was large, the study considered 10% of the population. The researcher interviewed 84 respondents from the shops selected using stratified random sampling technique. Questionnaires were used to obtain important information about the population. Data collected was both quantitative and qualitative in nature. Descriptive statistical tools helped the researcher to describe the data and determine the extent used. Analysis was done quantitatively and qualitatively by use of descriptive statistics. This included percentages, mean and standard deviation which were presented using tables and charts to give a clear picture of the research findings. Results showed that social media platforms have the potential to promote customer relations as well as to source for inputs. Utilization of social media platforms was found to have enhanced SMEs performance in the International Arena to a great extent. The study concluded that customer relations and sourcing for inputs all have significant effects on SMEs performance in the International Arena. The study recommended that in order to promote SMEs performance in global arena, SMEs must invest in building stronger customer relationships especially through utilization of social media platforms Further SMEs should seek to learn and adopt social media tools that provide an opportunity for growth of the business through increased sales, profits and providing employment for Kenyans.

This study investigated utilization of social media platform on organization of sports in North-central zone, Nigeria. Descriptive research design of survey type was used for this study. The population for this study comprises of officials of sports council in the study area. Purposive, stratified and random sampling technique were used to select 806 respondents. Researcher structured questionnaire was used for the study. The instrument was validated by lecturers in the Department of Human Kinetics Education. The reliability level of the instrument was established through test re-test method using Pearson Product Moment Correlation PPMC with 0.86r result. The administration of instrument was done by the researcher and three (3) trained research assistants. The data collected were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation to test the hypotheses formulated for the study at 0.05 alpha level. The result revealed that digital media are effective to organization of sports, uses of blog and microblogs play a vital role in the organization of sports. The study recommends that the management staff, coaches, association secretaries and clerks of the state sports council in the North Central zone should be encouraged to acquire skills in the use of mobile application tools for their administrative operations.

This study analyzed the utilization of social media platforms and university students' attitudes towards academic activities in Cross River State. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of this study comprised all the private and public university students in Cross River State. A sample of 1,600 students, which cuts across the three universities in the area of study, was selected using the convenience sampling technique. A questionnaire (r=.849) and a rating scale (r=.786) were used as the instruments for data collection. Findings emerged amongst others that the utilization status of social media platforms by university students is generally high; the utilization of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, WeChat, Skype, Snapchat, Eskimi, Telegram and YouTube social media platforms has a significant composite influence (F=52.453, p<.05) on university students' attitudes towards academic activities. Relatively, utilization of Facebook was the highest predictor (t=11.222, β=.232, p<.05), followed by the utilization of WhatsApp (t=11.068, β=.229, p<.05), utilization of Twitter (t=5.977, β=.118, p<.05), and the utilization of Instagram (t=2.772, β=.056, p<.05), in that order. It was recommended that secondary school students should develop positive attitudes towards their academic activities and abhor activities that will lead to a decline in the learning outcomes.

The aim of the article. Analyzing the impact of social media on defense capability, the article aims to determine their role in ensuring information security, maintaining morale and using them in crisis situations. The results of the analyses. The results of the analyses reveal three key aspects of the role of social media in enhancing a country's defense capabilities. Fostering moral spirit and societal unity: the research underscores the significant role of social media in bolstering the moral spirit of the population and fostering societal unity. Through various mechanisms, these platforms have been found to positively influence public sentiment, creating a sense of collective identity and shared values. Ensuring information security via social media: an essential finding is the crucial contribution of social media to ensuring information security. The analyses indicate that these platforms serve as strategic instruments for disseminating accurate information, countering disinformation, and enhancing the overall cybersecurity posture of the nation. Using social media for crisis response: the research identifies the instrumental role of social media in effectively responding to crisis situations. By leveraging these platforms, authorities can promptly disseminate crucial information to the public, coordinate emergency responses, and mobilize support, showcasing the invaluable utility of social media in crisis management and response efforts. Conclusions and direction for further research. It was determined that social media are becoming not only a means of communication, but also a strategic tool for ensuring information security. The growth of threats and risks requires the development and implementation of new strategies to protect against cyber attacks, disinformation and other threats originating from social media. The research showed that the use of social media can effectively support the morale of the society and the unity of the nation. The formation of a positive image of the defense forces through these platforms affects the formation of patriotic attitudes and readiness to defend the country. The role of social media in crisis response is also extremely important. With the help of these platforms, it is possible to quickly inform the public and coordinate assistance in emergency situations. All of this indicates that social media are becoming not only a platform for communication, but also a strategic tool for strengthening the defense capabilities of countries in the new realities of global security. Further exploration in this domain could involve a detailed examination of specific case studies where social media played a pivotal role in shaping a country's defense narrative. Analyzing instances of successful utilization of social media platforms during crises and conflicts can provide valuable insights for policymakers and defense strategists. Additionally, investigating the potential vulnerabilities and risks associated with the extensive use of social media in defense contexts is crucial to develop robust frameworks that safeguard national security in an evolving digital landscape. Moreover, further research endeavors could involve a detailed examination of specific case studies where social media played a pivotal role in shaping a country's defense narrative. Analyzing instances of successful utilization of social media platforms during crises and conflicts can provide valuable insights for policymakers and defense strategists. Additionally, investigating the potential vulnerabilities and risks associated with the extensive use of social media in defense contexts is crucial to develop robust frameworks that safeguard national security in an evolving digital landscape. Furthermore, studying the effectiveness of different strategies in using social media for defense purposes, including analyzing public reactions to information disseminated on military social networks and platforms, could be a fruitful avenue for future research.

The aim of this research was to reduce the dissimilarities in the literature regarding the use of social media platforms (SMPs) for training and its impact on students‟ satisfaction and academic performance in higher education institutions. The main method of data collection for task-technology fit (TTF) was a questionnaire survey. This research hypothesizes that TTF applied to social media platforms for learning will affect technology, task, and social characteristics that in turn improve students‟ satisfaction and students‟ academic performance. The data collection questionnaire was conducted with 351 students familiar with social media platforms. Quantitative structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the results. A significant relationship was found between technology, task, and social features with TTF for utilizing social media platforms for academic purposes that positively affected satisfaction and achievement. Therefore, the study indicates that TTF theory to use social media improve the active learning of students and enable them to efficiently share knowledge, information, and discussions. We recommend that students utilize social media platforms in pursuit of their educational goals. Educators should also be persuaded to incorporate social media platforms into their classes at higher education institutions.

"This article delves into the exploration of social media platforms as crucial components of brand marketing strategies. It characterizes the essence of social media platforms, emphasizing the significance of social networks within this context. The primary objectives of brand strategies, specifically those deployed on social media, are explicated. Contemporary brand strategies employed on social media platforms are elucidated. The study also scrutinizes the distinct features of brand marketing strategies utilized for positioning within social networks. This research aims to unveil the intricacies surrounding the utilization of social media platforms as pivotal elements within brand marketing strategies. The object of this study centers on social media platforms functioning as integral components of the virtual environment. The research employs various methodologies, including description, analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, and content analysis, to achieve comprehensive insights into the subject matter. This article focuses on the examination of social media platforms as vital elements within brand marketing strategies. To fulfill the objectives of this study, an exploration is conducted on the role of social media platforms in individuals’ lives, encompassing the essence of social networks and the positioning of brand promotion within their life cycle. Additionally, the article characterizes the business opportunities arising from the integration of social media platforms as components of marketing strategies. This paper provides an in-depth examination of the advantages and disadvantages associated with leveraging social media platforms for brand promotion. It defines contemporary strategies adopted by brands on social media platforms. Additionally, the research sheds light on the pivotal role of targeting within the realm of brand promotion."

PurposeThis research shows how social media has affected learning at present during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has become the largest and most convenient area of communication. In the current scenario, it seems that social networking sites not only had a profound impact on our social structure and intra-social interaction, but also affected education in general and learning English language in particular. It has been proven that these various social media platforms have created a realm of digital environment in today's new-age learning. Social media platforms are social networking sites through which people interact and communicate with each other easily and conveniently. Undoubtedly and unquestionably, social networking has been proven to be a global phenomenon that has caused a vast paradigm shift in the world of Learning and education during the current pandemic. Therefore, the present study aims to reach the extent of the impact of the various social media platforms on learning English language during the COVID-19 pandemic from the students' point of view.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted at the undergraduate level for English language learners. The sample comprised 166 undergraduate students at Najran University. A survey questionnaire was administered to find out the impact of various social media platforms and social networking sites on learning English language in the academic year of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to highlight possible suggestions for improving future virtual language learning.FindingsThe findings of the study contributed to the area of online learning of English language during the COVID-19 pandemic. Final results confirmed that the utilization of social media has been significantly perceived to have positively impacted learning English language in terms of writing style, reading skills, listening and lexical variation, communication skills and grammar usage.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study can serve as fundamental indicators to implement prompt pedagogical reformations, for which a number of pedagogical implications can be proposed. Another equally important pedagogical implication is to design and provide professional development and training sessions to both students and educators on the ultimate utilization of social media as instructional technologies in the context of English language teaching and learning.Originality/valueThis research provides insights in developing policies to assist with the integration and utilization of social media platforms as instructional technologies in the context of English language teaching and learning and how institutions can respond to the advent of advancing technology, especially during and after the COVID-19 era. A model to improve online English language learning process is recommended as a guideline for all educators offering online learning.

This study aims to assess how social media platforms contribute to the information, ideas, and innovations that are shared among employees of government organizations. The following will be the research's main purposes; (A) To evaluate the degree to which social media platforms increases knowledge and ideas between employees in organizations (B) To access how social media platforms encourage ideas generation procedure between employees within organizations. (C) To scrutinize how social media platforms encourage innovation procedure between employees within organizations. 210 employees in total will be chosen as sample from various South Punjab government organizations. At the first stage, three divisions of South Punjab will be chosen purposefully. At the second stage, two districts will be selected from each division. In the third stage, five government organizations will be selected using a simple random sample method. At the fourth stage, seven (7) employees will be chosen from each district's government departments, to complete a total of two hundred and ten employees’ sample, so that the conclusion derived from the sample may be general to the full population. Data will be collected using a digital survey questionnaire (created and distributed using Google Forms). After gathering the data, the investigator will utilize the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software to perform various statistical analyses. The data demonstrates that 52.9% of government office personnel utilized social media to a great extent and 47.1% who used it to some extent. According to collected data it was determined that 61.0% of the respondents used social media. primarily for learning purposes. The bi-variate investigation hypothesis outcomes demonstrates that there is helpful connection among the utilization of social media platforms by employees and openness and Flexibility during interactions. There is a helpful association among official communication and information sharing and employees are motivated and connected. There is the positive Association between social media sites help to overcome communication obstacles and organization work together and share knowledge. Results show that there is a positive correlation between time spent on social media and employees are allowed to express their innovative ideas. Results show that there is a positive link among the use of social media for sharing updates and announcements and employees engage in work-related conversations and discussions. Results show that there is an optimistic link among time spend on social media and opportunities to employees for sharing ideas and expertise.

The existence of technology such as social media platforms have led individuals and health experts to use it as a supplementary tool. Providing healthcare purposes through social media platforms can facilitate and encourage individuals to gather information as well as acquire social support. Integrating social media platforms into healthcare context is a developing area of behavioral research. It is also found that there is a limited number of studies that reported the benefit acquire from the utilization of social media platforms in healthcare context. Thus, this study reported several benefits that individuals can acquire from the usage of social media platforms for healthcare context.

Purpose of ReviewWe explore the utility of social media platforms as educational tools in dermatology, providing a summary of how these sites are used by the public and dermatologists alike, and demonstrating ways these findings may be applied for educational purposes.Recent FindingsOver half of the world’s population utilizes social media platforms. More recently, these platforms have increasingly been used for educational purposes. In the field of dermatology, a large portion of the educational content is coming from users with no formal medical or dermatologic training.SummaryEach of the top five social media platforms in the world (Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook) has unique qualities which people may utilize to educate fellow users. As more of the population seeks online health information and education, it is important that dermatologists, while taking ethical considerations into account, become more comfortable facilitating educational content on social media.

Researchers and practitioners agree that stakeholder engagement is an important aspect of universities in the 21st century. Social media is changing the way people and businesses communicate and collaborate. Research shows that organizations struggle to develop social media management systems to engage with stakeholders. In today's digital age, social media platforms have become powerful tools for communication and engagement. However, there is limited research examining the role of social media in facilitating stakeholder engagement in universities in Kenya. Therefore, this study sought to fill this knowledge gap by exploring how social media is utilized and its impact on stakeholder engagement within the university setting. The research objectives were formulated to guide the study and include: Assessing the current use of social media platforms by universities in Kenya for stakeholder engagements: Identifying the key stakeholders involved in social media engagements by universities: Examining the benefits and challenges associated with using social media for stakeholder engagements: This study used innovation diffusion theory and excellence theory. To achieve the study objectives, a mixed-methods approach was utilized. The target group included 270 participants. The sample size was 161 participants. Stratified random sampling was used to provide representation from the various universities and departments. data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 and thematic analysis to derive meaningful insights. Analyzed quantitative data was presented through mean, frequency, and standard. The assessment of current social media used by universities indicated that they are actively utilizing platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to engage with their stakeholders. The identification of key stakeholders involved in social media engagements highlighted the importance of targeting students, prospective students, alumni, and the wider community. The examination of benefits and challenges associated with using social media for stakeholder engagements revealed that social media platforms provide opportunities for increased reach, immediate communication, and fostering a sense of community. However, maintaining content quality, and managing negative feedback were also identified. Furthermore, the analysis of the impact of social media on stakeholder perceptions and relationships showed that effective use of social media can enhance stakeholder satisfaction, create a positive institutional image, and foster stronger connections between universities and their stakeholders. However, ineffective use or mismanagement of social media can lead to negative perceptions and strained relationships. The paper concluded that social media plays a vital role in facilitating stakeholder engagements in universities in Kenya. Effective utilization of social media platforms leads to improved stakeholder relationships, enhanced reputation, and increased engagement with the university community. The study recommended that universities should develop a comprehensive social media strategy aligned with the university's goals and target audience and regularly monitor and analyze social media engagement metrics to evaluate effectiveness. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights specific to the context of universities in Kenya and emphasizing the significance of social media in stakeholder engagements

Social media platforms exert a substantial influence on the improvement of learners' spoken communication abilities. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of incorporating social media platforms on enhancing the development of oral communication abilities among English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners enrolled in the English Department at Qassim University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This study aims to examine the correlation between the utilization of social media applications and the enhancement of oral communication abilities among EFL learners, to determine the impact of social media on oral communication skills. The present study employed a descriptive-analytical methodology to explore the effects of utilizing social media applications on enhancing students' proficiency in oral communication abilities. To get adequate data for this study, a survey was conducted among a sample of 40 participants. The purpose of the questionnaire is to gather data regarding the learners' perspectives on their attitudes toward utilizing social media as a means of enhancing their oral communication abilities. The questionnaire comprises a total of ten items. The survey instrument employed in this study utilizes a close-ended question format, wherein participants are instructed to select the most suitable response option by marking it. The Likert Scale questionnaire was utilized to gather statistical data. The results of the study indicated that the utilization of social media platforms among EFL learners majoring in English at universities in Saudi Arabia yielded favorable results, leading to improvements in their spoken communication abilities.

P013 UNREGULATED: MEDICAL COMPANIES USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO SELL ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS FOR INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE