Department of Sociology

In most human societies, the socio-cultural practices cause the prevalence of male child preference among couples. In fact, the issue of male-child preference has attracted global attention ranging from individuals, scholars, intellectuals as well as other relevant professions among others. It is on this ground that, this study looked at the socio-cultural factors responsible for male child preference among couples in Ilorin. To execute the research agenda, the study used cross-sectional survey, while multi-stage random sampling was used to select 384 respondents. Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS/PC) Version 20.0 was used to analyze the quantitative data. The statistical methods employed in the analysis included the percentages, the mode, and cross-tabulation. Chi-square was used to test the two hypotheses formulated. The study discovers that there is a significant relationship between the understanding of religion and preference for male child. The research also discovers that there is a significant relationship between culture and male child preference. Based on these findings, the study recommends that the cultural practices that oppress women or see women as subordinate such as the small inheritance rights given to women and the tradition that forbids women from bearing their fathers' name after marrying should be abolished.

Information and communication technology is inherent and fundamental part of modern life. Sadly, ICT is now an essential tool for perpetrating a crime known as e-crime. E-crime has become a global malady which has affected virtually all countries of the world. Although, the quests to understand the factors affecting e-crime and its effects have dominated public debate in recent years, the parental socioeconomic factors responsible for e-crime are seldom highlighted in Nigeria. Thus, the study examines the effects of social and economic conditions of parents on e-crime. Cross sectional survey was used to generate data for the study, while multi-stage sampling was used to select eligible respondents. Three hypotheses were formulated for the study, and they were tested using Chi-square technique. The paper found that parental education, parental income and parental occupation have a significant relationship with e-crime. Consequently, it is imperative for government at all levels to come up with a sustainable poverty eradication programme that will effectively tackle poverty in the country and create sustainable jobs for the unemployed men and women in the country so that they would be able to cater for their children's needs.

The rise of Boko Haram insurgency has introduced a criminal dimension, hitherto unknown and uncommon in the Nigerian society. Boko haram has continued to unleash terror on people and has been a major threat to social and economic activities. The influence of security on the economic prosperity of a nation cannot be overemphasized. This is because without a serene environment, industrial activities, trade and production would forever remain elusive. Different studies have examined the horrendous effects of terrorism on national and global economy. However, there is a paucity of studies regarding the effects of Boko haram menace on the Nigeria's economy, especially during President Jonathan's regime. This identified gap is the major rationale for this study. The paper was anchored on structural functionalism theory. The paper discovers that the Boko-Haram activities discourage foreign direct investment and trade flows during Jonathan's regime. Hence, efforts should be geared towards extricating Boko haram insurgency in order to have a viable economic development.

The phenomenon of child gender preference is not new; it has existed for centuries. In fact, in the last few decades, many studies have been conducted on it, particularly in South Asia and North Africa. In Nigeria child gender preference has seldom been examined with keen emphasis on the social and financial factors. Thus, this study examines the social and financial factors underlying child gender preference among the Igbo people in Lagos West Senatorial District. The study uses the survey method to execute the research agenda. Multi-stage random sampling was used to pick respondents for the survey. The symbolic interactionism theory was used to explain the prevalence of gender preference for children in the study location, while chi-square was used to test the two formulated hypotheses that centre on socio-financial factors and child gender preferences. The paper found that there is a significant relationship between education and parental preference for the gender of their children. The higher the education of the parents, the lower the parental preference was for a particular gender. Also, the study finds that income is significantly related to parental preference for the gender of their children. The lower the income and wealth of the household, the higher the parental preference to have a male child. The study concludes that efforts should be made to raise the educational level of people and to ensure that the government tackles poverty aggressively in the society.

Rural development is not a new phenomenon as it has been written about by many scholars due to the importance of these areas to the nation. It is believed by many that the development of societies is the sole responsibility of the government as it is saddled with the responsibility of taking care of the citizens' welfare. However, the government cannot do it alone as other stakeholders like companies that carry out businesses in rural areas have the responsibility of taking care of their environment. Corporate Social Responsibility is a phenomenon that needs to be given attention to for the betterment of the society and the company as well. It is for this reason that the study seeks to find out whether companies in rural Asa LGA of Kwara state carry out CSR and also to know whether CSR has led to rural development. This was done by using a purposive sampling technique to select 255 respondents from Asa LGA of Kwara state, Nigeria. The study found out that organizations do not carry out CSR adequately in the area of study. Also, it was discovered that if companies start to pay attention to CSR, rural areas will benefit in terms of development. The study finally concludes that there should be stringent laws on the implementation of CSR.

The current troubles facing the Nigerian economy seem insurmountable. Should we speak of the current recession or the oil crash experienced in the international market? Should the case of oil-pipe vandalization as well as that of insurgency be breached? We could as well debate on the fall of the naira as against the US dollars and other recognized currencies in the international market. This could go on and on. It is as a consequence of this that this study tried to look at the central position of rural communities in finding lasting solutions to these economic woes. The utilitarian theory was employed in examining the phenomenon. The study revealed that rural areas can go a long way to advance the Nigerian economy if properly taken care of but if the current underuse of rural resources continues, the economy could be derailed. It is therefore recommended that renewed efforts should be made to explore the resources available in rural areas in order to tremendously increase the wealth of the nation as soon as possible.

The relationship between gender and crime is intense and persistent. Both women and men commit and are victims of crime, but their perspectives, understanding, and interpretation of the crime are likely to be different. While attempts have been made to explain the causes and horrible implications of crime in Nigerian society, not much has been done in terms of research to link gender with commission of crime. Thus, this paper examines the relationship between gender and crime in Nigeria. The paper enunciates the reasons for gender differential in crime and also uses the containment theory and the opportunity theory of female criminality to explain these differences. The Nigerian Prisons Service Statistics on all inmates across all the prisons in Nigeria was considered. Using the available data, the paper contends that women's crime rates are far lower than men's crime rates. The paper concludes with suggestions on how to reduce the crime rate of men, by them being closely supervised and discouraged from misbehaviour. Men should also be socialized heavily towards greater empathy.

Social relationship is one of the basic features of human beings. This is so because of the fact that life could not be convenient without living with fellow human beings in the society. However, it is important to note that social relationship has basic processes in which if not balanced could lead to social conflict. This is evident in all human social settings especially the industrial settings; the process of relationship between the employees and employers is usually referred to as employment relationship. Employment relationship is the communication that takes place between the representatives of employees and employers on the issue of work relations. Balanced employment relationship is indispensable to the stability of any industrial organizations; it also facilitates the growth and development of industries in any country. The maintenance of a good human relationship is the main theme of industrial relations because its absence may cause the whole organizational structure to crumble. Years back, efforts exerted by employees, employers and their representatives as well as government to balance employment relations have not yielded much results and most often resulted into various industrial conflicts which have caused lots of setbacks to industrial development in the country. It is against this background that attempt is made in this paper to examine the role of balanced employee and employer relationship in the development of industries in Nigeria.

The role of mass media for sustainable democracy cannot be overemphasized. Although, the primary responsibilities of the media is to entertain without slander or libel, inform based on accurate facts and educate on current relevant issues. Apart from these roles, development scholars and professionals have widely recognized the utility of mass media in the sustenance of viable democracy. Democracy is the most popular form of government particularly because it guarantees popular participation. Though, it recognizes and guarantees individual participation, it also derives its synergy from other institutions like the mass media. The mass media are supplying the political information that voters base their decision on. They identify problems in the society and serve as a medium for deliberation. It is against this background that this paper addressed the factor of mass media for sustainable democracy in Nigeria and concluded that the mass media have significant role to play in establishing stability and security as necessary environment for sustainable democracy in Nigeria. The mass media can be effective in establishing a good atmosphere were growth and development can take place, particularly in the elimination of ignorance which often leads to conflicts, especially in politics.

In many ways, mass media seems to be associated with development. The attainment of sustainable development depends on socioeconomic and political environment where the role of mass media is important. The media are meant to serve both elite and those at the grassroot levels. They are expected to focus their time and resources on sensitive issues that matter most to the people. They produce stories that help to make sense of, and sensibilities about social order. Media houses do focus on policy and always see the relevance of their stories to policy bringing about development. They are supposed to bring to the limelight what the people need and what they expect from the government. The media houses are supposed to show case news that are crucial to man's effort to gain a greater control of his life. They are expected to explain, interpret and comment on the implication of events and issues especially as they relate to development. However, certain factors are hindering the ability of the press to carry out some of their development goals in the society. It is against this background that this paper examines the concept of development as well as the challenges and constraints that hider the media from performing their sustainable development roles in Nigeria. It concludes that the role that mass media play in sustaining the development of a society cannot be overemphasized; any media house must strive to live up to the expectations of the people no matter the constraints and challenges that might stand in its ways.

Despite the cross-cultural variations among human societies, there are some aspects of life that are common to all. One of these is name, a phenomenon that is acknowledged as universal, although it is also remarkably particularistic. It is particularistic in the sense that the style and pattern of naming varies across human societies. In Africa, personal names play a significant role in virtually all aspects of human life. Among African people, it is conceived that the name an individual bears can exert enormous influence on their general lifestyle and life prospects. On a societal level, the names people of a particular region are reflections of series of issues regarding their socio-cultural existence. However, despite the sociological importance of name in virtually all African societies, little academic work has been done by African sociologists. With the aid of certain sociological theories, this introduction provides practical examples from various African societies to show that a name does not only have sociological connotations, but it is also a reflection of the dynamic nature of everyday life among African people.

The oil industry in Nigeria is very important to the nation as it contributes significantly to the country's economic fortunes. Fuel as known is used by virtually every human for one purpose or another. Fuel subsidy removal therefore has direct effects on every individual in various ways. However, the interest of this study is to examine the extent to which fuel subsidy removal affects the lives of rural dwellers in Nigeria. Secondary sources of data such as newspapers, journals, online materials among others were adopted to gather information for the research and Karl Marx's social conflict theory was employed as basis to justify this concern. The study then concluded that fuel subsidy removal has negative effects on the lives of rural dwellers. It was recommended that the government should not remove subsidy on petroleum products. However, if fuel subsidy removal would be totally sustained, efforts should be made to provide adequate infrastructural facilities to improve the standard of living of these ruralites.

Ingratiation represents a mundane behavior in business life. It takes place in both public and private sectors. With traditional researches on the subject of influence within organizations often directed on that of management on the subordinates, it is therefore relevant to go in a different direction by examining the perceived influence of subordinates on the management in organizations. It becomes relevant to explore how ingratiation has led to reduced meritocracy.It is in line with this that this study sought to find out the basis on which ingratiation occurs most in organizations. The study was carried out via the lens of the social exchange theory. The data used in this study were obtained from 250 respondents selected with the use of multistage sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed with the use of the Pearson correlation method. The study revealed a strong relationship between the factors of religion, ethnicity, gender and ingratiation leading to low organizational performance. Based on this, the study recommends that organizations should employ the principle of meritocracy in a stringent manner in all issues relating to organizational behavior.

Religion is conceived to be greater than an array of beliefs by some people as they are often translated into action. These actions are often showcased in a multitude of ways ranging from the erection of cathedrals of worship to dressing in a particular manner. A key purpose of religious dressing is to exemplify holiness or purity which is usually interpreted to mean morality. Morality entails actions viewed to be proper as distinguished from improper ones. It is in line with this that a study was carried out in Ilorin metropolis in order to establish if there is a significant relationship between the adornment of religious attires and the engagement in moral acts. The social control theory was employed to explain this phenomenon with purposive sampling used in the selection of respondents. The analysis was based on 210 respondents with the use of the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences. The study revealed that the adornment of religious attires has a significant relationship with the engagement in moral acts. Based on this, the study recommends that people should be encouraged to dress to their religious requirement as long as the general public is not put in danger.

The nomadic populace of the country represents a section that could be said to be held with levity. The flame of literacy is close to being snuffed out among the nomadic masses. Not only should literacy be valued over illiteracy but literacy somewhat guarantees the nomads a life beyond their current one. It offers them a lifeline into the modern world, shedding the skin of illiteracy for that of the well-read. It is in line with this that a study was done in Orelope local government of Oyo State to find out if the establishment of nomadic schools have significantly modernized their lifestyle. The study also tries to know if there is any significant relationship between nomadic education and rural development, in terms of the availability of social infrastructures. The survey method was employed with a two-stage sampling technique to select a sample size of 125. The chi square method was then used to analyse the data collected. The study discovered that there is no relationship between nomadic schools and rural development. Also, the schools have not significantly changed the lifestyles of the nomads. Based on these, the study recommends that conducive learning environments should be made available, the amendment of the educational syllabus to suit the lifestyle of the nomads should be given priority.

The relationship between gender and crime is intense and persistent. Both women and men commit and are victims of crime, but their perspectives, understanding, and interpretation of the crime are likely to be different. While attempts have been made to explain the causes and horrible implications of crime in Nigerian society, not much has been done in terms of research to link gender with commission of crime. Thus, this paper examines the relationship between gender and crime in Nigeria. The paper enunciates the reasons for gender differential in crime and also uses the containment theory and the opportunity theory of female criminality to explain these differences. The Nigerian Prisons Service Statistics on all inmates across all the prisons in Nigeria was considered. Using the available data, the paper contends that women’s crime rates are far lower than men’s crime rates. The paper concludes with suggestions on how to reduce the crime rate of men, by them being closely supervised...

The oil industry in Nigeria is very important to the nation as it contributes significantly to the country’s economic fortunes. Fuel as known is used by virtually every human for one purpose or another. Fuel subsidy removal therefore has direct effects on every individual in various ways. However, the interest of this study is to examine the extent to which fuel subsidy removal affects the lives of rural dwellers in Nigeria. Secondary sources of data such as newspapers, journals, online materials among others were adopted to gather information for the research and Karl Marx’s social conflict theory was employed as basis to justify this concern. The study then concluded that fuel subsidy removal has negative effects on the lives of rural dwellers. It was recommended that the government should not remove subsidy on petroleum products. However, if fuel subsidy removal would be totally sustained, efforts should be made to provide adequate infrastructural facilities to improve the standa...

Rural development is not a new phenomenon as it has been written about by many scholars due to the importance of these areas to the nation. It is believed by many that the development of societies is the sole responsibility of the government as it is saddled with the responsibility of taking care of the citizens' welfare. However, the government cannot do it alone as other stakeholders like companies that carry out businesses in rural areas have the responsibility of taking care of their environment. Corporate Social Responsibility is a phenomenon that needs to be given attention to for the betterment of the society and the company as well. It is for this reason that the study seeks to find out whether companies in rural Asa LGA of Kwara state carry out CSR and also to know whether CSR has led to rural development. This was done by using a purposive sampling technique to select 255 respondents from Asa LGA of Kwara state, Nigeria. The study found out that organizations do not carry out CSR adequately in the area of study. Also, it was discovered that if companies start to pay attention to CSR, rural areas will benefit in terms of development. The study finally concludes that there should be stringent laws on the implementation of CSR.