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 State of e-Banking Implementation in Nigeria: A Post-Consolidation Review

The most widely used e-Banking instrument in �igeria is e-Payment, particularly the automatic teller machine (ATM) card. However, with the adoption of e-Banking by all the banks in �igeria, the volume of cash in circulation has continued to increase pre-and-post bank recapitalization/consolidation exercise. Furthermore, some of the 25 banks that survived the exercise were found lately to have depleted their capital base and have lost credibility before the consumers, e-Banking implementation notwithstanding. Therefore, in this paper, we review the state of e-Banking implementation in �igeria and evaluate the influence of trust on the adoption of e-Payment using an extended technology acceptance model (TAM). Similarly, we investigate organizational reputation, perceived risk and perceived trust in the management of banks as a factor for enhancing customer loyalty. The findings in this work reveal that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness are not only antecedent to ebanking acceptance, they are also factors to retain customers to the use of e-banking system such as organizational reputation, perceived risk and trust

A FRAMEWORK FOR MOBILE HEALTH CARE DELIVERY IN DEVELOPING NATIONS: A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA

Health systems in developing nation especially low and low-middle income countries is characterised with numerous challenges which ranges from inefficient health information system, poor health delivery system, mortality and morbidity rate of disease and ailments, inadequate health manpower etc. The growth of ICT especially in developing nations has been on the increase bringing about a lot of invention amongst which mobile technology is one. Mobile technology as a significant ICT tool has the ability of penetrating into both the urban and rural areas and bringing about disruptive changes and development. The impact of technology has being seen in health system to bring across innovative inventions like telemedicine, telehealth, e- health, m-health and has provided solutions to diverse health challenges. This paper presents a mobile health (m-health) framework for providing promising sustainable healthcare services and health related information in developing countries using supporting technologies & tools support based on availability, ease to access, and affordability

The Impact of IT Investment on Service Delivery: A Case Study of Ladoke Akintola University

The past decade witnessed an extensive use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in all forms of work all over the world. It has given birth to contemporary e-Business, e-Health, e-Government and e- Education to mention but a few. This paper aims at investigating the level of investment in ICT in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, the level of usage, its impact on service delivery as well as the inhibiting factors against its use. Survey instrument was used in this study and the collected data analysed based on such issues as availability of ICTs, Organizational Readiness (OR) and Organizational Support (OS) amongst others. Findings revealed that investment on IT has positive impact on services delivery through ICT tool deployment for teaching, examination processing, student registration and assignment

PERFORMANCE AND CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF FINISHING BROILERS FED DIETS SUPPLEMENTED WITH COMBINATION OF PROBIOTICS (B. cereus) AND PREBIOTICS (MANNOSE [MOS])

The experiment aimed to investigate effect of combination of probiotics and prebiotics on the performance and carcass characteristics of broilers at finishing phase. A total number of 300 day-old Anak broiler chicks were used to determine the response of broiler chicks to diets supplemented with probiotics (Bacillus cereus) and prebiotics (Mannose). The chicks were randomly allotted to four treatment groups of 75 birds with 25 birds per replicate in a completely randomized design. The four dietary treatments comprised 500ppm MOS; 250ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS; 500ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS and 750ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS, respectively. Results showed that feed conversion ratio decreased significantly (P< 0.05) from 1.21 for groups fed det supplemented with 250ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS to 1.05 for groups fed with 750ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS  as more prebiotics were added to the probiotics. Final live weight, eviscerated weight and dressing percentage were significantly (p<0.05) influenced by combination of probiotics and prebiotics in finishing broilers. Final live weight values ranged from 2453.30g in birds fed 250ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS  to 2488.30g in birds fed 750ppm B. cereus  + 500ppm MOS, while eviscerated weight ranged from 1063.30g at 500ppm MOS to 1396.70g  at 750ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS. The same trend was observed for dressing percentage, neck, whole gizzard and liver. It was concluded that combination of probitics and prebiotics at 750ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS had positive effect on growth performance and carcass qualities of broilers at finishing phase. &nbsp

Corporate Image: A Strategy for Enhancing Customer Loyalty and Profitability

Organizations are nowadays concerned with managing their corporate image. There is a strong positive correlation between people’s perceptions of a company and pro-corporate supportive behaviour. In this study, past researchers on corporate image were incorporated to create a platform for framework which identifies the variables of relationship between corporate image and customer loyalty cum profitability. The study utilized descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation and linear regression to investigate the impact of corporate image on customer loyalty and profitability within the Nigerian service industry (banking). The study adopted the research instrument of self-structured questionnaire which was in line with the reviewed literature and focused on the main variables in the study. It was found in the model parameters that physical environment, service offering and customer loyalty have significant impact on the level of profitability. Thus, we can rightly conclude that the level of satisfaction among customers tends to affect the service offerings and customer loyalty which has a direct link with corporate profitabilit

NUTRIENT INTAKE, GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND CARCASS YIELD OF WEANER RABBITS FED GRADED LEVELS OF DRIED CITRUS (C. sinensis) PULP

A study was conducted to investigate the response of weaner rabbits to graded dietary replacement of wheat offal with dried citrus pulp (DCP) at 0, 10, 20 and 30% (weight/weight) respectively .A total of Sixty-four, male and female weaner rabbits of 56 days old, were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments with sixteen rabbits each and consisting of four rabbits per replicate in a completely ran- domized design. The study lasted for 112 days during which data was obtained on nutrient intake, performance characteristics and carcass yield. The crude protein intake of the rabbits decreased (P<0.05) significantly as the DCP inclusion in the diets increased. There were significant (P<0.01) differences in the values obtained for the final weight, total weight gain, average weight gain, meta- bolic weight gain and growth rate across the treatment groups. The growth rate was 10.29 g/d in the control fed rabbits but further decreased with increasing level of DCP in the diets with values of 11.29, 6.30 and 5.80g/d obtained respectively for rabbit fed with 10%, 20%, and 30% DCP inclusion level. The lowest feed conversion ratio was obtained at the 0% level of DCP inclusion. The retail cut parts indicated a significant (P<0.05) difference in the values for rack and ranged from 11.92 to 18.06g. It was concluded that although, rabbits fed with control diet had the highest overall performance, 10% dietary inclusion of DCP supported improved growth and better carcass yield

Corporate Image: A Strategy for Enhancing Customer Loyalty and Profitability

Organizations are nowadays concerned with managing their corporate image. There is a strong positive correlation between people’s perceptions of a company and pro-corporate supportive behaviour. In this study, past researchers on corporate image were incorporated to create a platform for framework which identifies the variables of relationship between corporate image and customer loyalty cum profitability. The study utilized descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation and linear regression to investigate the impact of corporate image on customer loyalty and profitability within the Nigerian service industry (banking). The study adopted the research instrument of self-structured questionnaire which was in line with the reviewed literature and focused on the main variables in the study. It was found in the model parameters that physical environment, service offering and customer loyalty have significant impact on the level of profitability. Thus, we can rightly conclude that the level of satisfaction among customers tends to affect the service offerings and customer loyalty which has a direct link with corporate profitability

Comparative effects of Varying Rates of Moringa Leaf, Poultry Manure and NPK Fertilizer on the Growth, Yield and Quality of Okra (Abelmoschusesculentus L. Moench)

The fertilizer management practices have not ensure the desired improvement in yield for okra (Abelmoschusesculentus L. Moench) due to differences in fertilizer types. The search continues for nutrient sources that would provide adequate nutrition for the crop on the season. A pot experiment was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria to evaluate the growth and fruit yield responses of okra (Abelmoschusesculentus L. Moench) to the application of air-dried milled moringa leaf (MML), poultry manure (PM) and NPK fertilizer. The MML was applied at 400, 800, and 1200 kg/ha; NPK 15-15-15 at 250 kg/ha and PM at 10 t/ha separately and in all possible combinations in completely randomized design in three replicates. The parameters measured were plant height, stem girth, number of leaves, leaf area, number of fruits and fruit weight. The single treatments differed significantly (P = 0.05) with the combinations of the treatments giving better performance. The 800 kg/ha MML + PM treatment gave the tallest plants (103.33 cm) and followed by single application of PM (102.33 cm). The application of 400 kg/ha MML + PM + NPK produced the highest number of fruits but 800 kg/ha MML + PM + NPK gave the highest fresh fruit (42.70 g) and dry fruit (20.50 g) weight. 800 kg/ha gave best growth performance among MML but 1200 kg/ha gave best yield. This suggests that MML can be used as source of nutrients to grow okra

PERSiST: a flexible rainfall-runoff modelling toolkit for use with the INCA family of models

Runoff generation processes and pathways vary widely between catchments. Credible simulations of solute and pollutant transport in surface waters are dependent on models which facilitate appropriate, catchment-specific representations of perceptual models of the runoff generation process. Here, we present a flexible, semi-distributed landscape-scale rainfall-runoff modelling toolkit suitable for simulating a broad range of user-specified perceptual models of runoff generation and stream flow occurring in different climatic regions and landscape types. PERSiST (the Precipitation, Evapotranspiration and Runoff Simulator for Solute Transport) is designed for simulating present-day hydrology; projecting possible future effects of climate or land use change on runoff and catchment water storage; and generating hydrologic inputs for the Integrated Catchments (INCA) family of models. PERSiST has limited data requirements and is calibrated using observed time series of precipitation, air temperature and runoff at one or more points in a river network. Here, we apply PERSiST to the river Thames in the UK and describe a Monte Carlo tool for model calibration, sensitivity and uncertainty analysi