Business-to-consumer e-commerce in Nigeria: Prospects and challenges

The growth of Internet usage in Nigeria continues to increase, recording over 90% growth rate between 2000 and 2008. While businesses in Nigeria are reported to have online access with opportunity for ecommercial activities, customers in the country however access business websites only to source for information but make purchases the traditional way. This paper aims at assessing the prospects and challenges of Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce implementation in Nigeria from the consumers’ perspective. Survey research was adopted for this study. Research hypotheses were formulated and questionnaire designed and administered randomly to 900 respondents. Collected data was used to evaluate the acceptance of B2C e-commerce using the extended technology acceptance model (TAM). The extended TAM combines task-technology fit, relationship related construct: trust and risk, and the two TAM constructs to determine factors influencing consumer acceptance of B2C e-commerce in Nigeria. Findings revealed that there are significant relationships between the model variables. Tasktechnology fit and perceived usefulness have significant relationships with intentions to use, having a correlation coefficient of 0.2623 and 0.2002 respectively. Similarly, the interrelationship among trust, perceived risk, and behavioral intention are significant. The effect of risk on trust was statistically showing that risk is a predictor of trust. Risk has a high significant on trust and trust in turn has low significant effect on behavioral intention. Adding TTF and its relationships to the TAM also fit the data. The relationship between task-technology fit, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and intention are significant

The Impact of Information Technology (IT) on Human Resource Management (HRM): Empirical evidence from Nigeria Banking Sector. Case Study of Selected Banks from Lagos State and Oyo State in South-West Nigeria

Information technology (IT) has become an indispensable part of contemporary world while human resource management globally has equally being affected in a number of ways through its adoption and application. Despite the considerable growth in the use of information technology in human resource management (HRM), the level of impact is still under-researched. Using the descriptive statistics, this study seeks to harness the overall and generalized impact of IT on HRM in the Nigeria Banking Sector by exploring some aspects of HRM that have been affected by IT and the effect of such adoption on HRM activities through primary data collected with a structured questionnaire administered to selected Banks in South-West Nigeria.It was revealed that IT has significantly increase the efficiency of HR management activities and processes through an effective and efficient employee communication and engagement while the roles and skills of HR managers has expand considerable overtime due to their adoption and continuous upgrade of knowledge in the use of IT in the discharge of their primary functions. Hence, it is duty bound for Banks policy formulators to determine the right size of IT required to derived the best result in an organisation. Keywords: Technology, Information Technology (IT), Human Resource (HR), Human Resource Management (HRM), Nigeria Banking Secto

Liver cirrhosis from autoimmune hepatitis in a nigerian woman: A case report

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a rare cause of chronic liver disease (CLD). It presents with varied clinical features from acute hepatitis to CLDs like chronic viral hepatitis and alcoholic liver disease, making it difficult to diagnose in the absence of a high index of suspicion and adequate laboratory support. Autoantibody-mediated hepatocyte injury is the major feature of AIH. We present a 44 year old woman with recurrent jaundice, ascites, splenomegaly, coagulopathy, negative chronic viral hepatitis screening, elevated IgG and positive anti-smooth muscle antibody. The patient responded well to immunosuppressive therapy. This report brings to the fore the need for physicians to maintain a high index of suspicion and thoroughly evaluate all CLD cases of seemingly ‘unknown’ etiology for AIH in order to prevent progression to end-stageliver- disease, since the disease is highly amenable to immunosuppressive therapy.Keywords: Autoimmune hepatitis, Autoimmune liver disease, Chronic liver disease, Nigeri

GEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATION OF PROPOSED DAM SITE ALOMG RIVER ADUNIN, OGBOMOSO, SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA.

ABSTRACT Dams are vital structures that store water for consumption, irrigation, electricity production and industrial purposes.The design and construction is very important to prevent the collapse of the structure .Thirty (30) Vertical Electrical Sounding points were investigated. Very Low Frequency profiling at 5m inter station along five profiles were carried out. The interpretation of geophysical data were achieved using the following software; Res 2D, Win Resist, Surfer 11, Arc GIS 3.3 and Excel. Six resistivity sounding curve types were obtained from the study area and these are the H, HA , KH, HKH, and KHA curves. The geologic sequence beneath the study area is composed of top soil, weathered basement, fractured basement, and fresh basement. The topsoil is composed of clayey-sandy and sandy-lateritic hard crust with resistivity values ranging from 339-1971 ohm-m and thickness of 0.7-1.3 m. The weathered basement resistivity is within the range of 98-3026 ohm-m and thickness value of 0.3-7.0m.The fractured basement layer resistivity values vary from 163–4049 ohm-m while its thickness ranges from 2.7 to 17m. Fresh basement has resistivity value range of 228 to14793 ohm-m. The bedrock is highly fractured beneath the river axis and extended toward the left abutment while fresh basement is closer to the surface at the right abutment.The fractures beneath the proposed dam axis may pose serious threat to the dam in term of future seepage. The dam should be shifted toward the right abutment by 20m and excavation should be made up to depth of about 5m, the materials so removed could be used for the construction of the embankment and the filter materials

YIELD ASSESSMENT AND QUALITY ANALYSIS OF GROUNDWATER IN LADOKE AKINTOLA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY CAMPUS OGBOMOSO, NIGERIA.

The problem of shortage of water supply is athreat to inhabitants that do not have access to potable water supply. The research is aimed at determining the quality and quantity of groundwater in LAUTECH community, Ogbomoso with the mind of ascertaining the hydraulic properties of boreholes and the suitability of the water resources for domestic and agricultural purposes. Pump testing was conducted in LAUTECH to determine the actual discharge. Water samples were collected and analysed for physicochemical parameters and bacteria using Standard method.Quality Indexes such as Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Soluble Sodium Percentage (SSP) and Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC) were used to assess the suitability of water for agricultural purposes.The range of hydraulic properties of aquifers (Transmissivity (0.095 m2/day to 7.591 m2/day), Hydraulic conductivity (0.003 m/day  to 0.278m/day), Specific capacity (0.250 m3/ day/m to 16.506 m3/day/m) and Yield (0.341l/s -1.66l/s), shows that four (4) out of the seven (7) borehole have moderate yield which are quiet prolific. All  the water samples within the study area falls below the WHO,2004 indicating that there is no contamination and that LAUTECH groundwaters are suitable but the biochemical result showed  that LAUTECH stream  are highly polluted .The prolific boreholes which include  engineering workshop, work’s workshop, new ICT, and health center  have moderate yield and rapid recharge rate and this  contribute to minimum quantity of water supply on campus while the  less prolific ones which are those at FAG (Faculty of Agriculture), mathematics department, and senate building  have  low yield  and with very slow recharge rate .Hence it is recommended Recconnaissance survey through the use of Very Low Electromagnetic (VLF-EM) Method should be duly incorporated alongside Geophysical survey to avoid the problem of dry boreholes or seasonal well in Borehole drilling

Occupational Hazards and Productivity of Poultry Farmers in Osun State of Nigeria

Abstract: This study examined the degree of occupational hazards among Osun state poultry farmers and how it affects their productivity. A structured questionnaire was designed to obtain relevant information from 70 poultry farm owners chosen through random sampling techniques. Descriptive statistics and a linear production function were employed to analyze the data. The results showed that youths were the major set of people in poultry business in the state. All the poultry farmers and farm workers in the study area were educated. Given multiple responses, about 93% of the farm owners experienced physical hazards while 91% were involved in accident at one point or the other. Those who complained of chemical hazards were found to be 86%. An increase in the expenditure on drugs will lead to a decline in net revenue of the poultry farmers per hectares

Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage, emergence, clearance and population sex ratios in anaemic and non-anaemic malarious children

Anaemia in falciparum malaria is associated with an increased risk of gametocyte carriage, but its effects on transmission have not been extensively evaluated in malarious children. Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage, emergence, clearance, population sex ratios (SR) (defined as the proportion of gametocytes that are male), inbreeding rates and temporal changes in SR were evaluated in 840 malarious children. Gametocyte carriage pre-treatment was at a level of 8.1%. Anaemia at enrolment was an independent risk factor for gametocyte carriage post-treatment. The emergence of gametocytes seven days post-treatment was significantly more frequent in anaemic children (7/106 vs. 10/696, p = 0.002). In the initially detected gametocytes, the proportion of children with a male-biased SR (MBSR) (> 0.5) was significantly higher in anaemic children (6/7 vs. 3/10, p = 0.027). Pre-treatment SR and estimated inbreeding rates (proportion of a mother’s daughters fertilised by her sons) were similar in anaemic and non-anaemic children. Pre-treatment SR became more female-biased in non-anaemic children following treatment. However, in anaemic children, SR became male-biased. Anaemia was shown to significantly increase gametocyte emergence and may significantly alter the SR of emerging gametocytes. If MBSR is more infective to mosquitoes at low gametocytaemia, then these findings may have significant implications for malaria control efforts in endemic settings where malaria-associated anaemia is common

Therapeutic Efficacy and Effects of Artemether-Lumefantrine and Artesunate-Amodiaquine Coformulated or Copackaged on Malaria-Associated Anemia in Children with Uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum Malaria in Southwest Nigeria

The therapeutic efficacy and effects of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and artesunate-amodiaquine coformulated (AAcf) or co-packaged (AAcp) on malaria-associated anemia (MAA) were evaluated in 285 children < 12 years of age with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria randomized to receive one of the three drug combinations. Fever and parasite clearance times were similar in all treatment groups. Mean drug-attributable fall in hematocrit (DAFH), defined as difference between hematocrit values pre- and 3 d post- initiation of treatment, was low (< 4.5%) and rates of recovery from MAA were similar with all treatments. Mean areas under curve (AUCs) of the plot of deficit in hematocrit levels from 30% versus time in anemic children were similar in all groups. All regimens were well tolerated. AL, AAcf and AAcp cleared fever and parasitemia rapidly and had similar rates of resolution of MAA after treatment in malarious Nigerian children. * Address corresp