Organisational impact of information technology on the banking and insurance sector in Nigeria
Abstract The importance of information technology (IT) in the modern day business transaction cannot be over-emphasised. The impact assessment of the technology on any business is expedient so as to objectively determine its influence on a specific aspect of the organisation. This study therefore assessed the organisational impact of IT on some banks and insurance firms in Nigeria. Eight leading commercial banks and six highly rated insurance firms which have branches in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, and two other important state capitals, were selected for this study. Data were obtained from both the customers and workers at the banks and insurance firms. The data were analysed using percentage and five-point Likert scale to objectively determine the local and global impacts of IT on the banks and insurance firms. The local impact criteria considered are: time savings, error rate reduction, enhanced management decision making, and improved service delivery. On the 5-point likert scale, there was positive impact on IT on the local criteria in the mean range of 1–3 at Lagos and Ibadan with Osogbo having a mean in the range of 3–5 which indicates otherwise. Also, the calculated mean of the IT impact on global criteria such as competitive advantage, high revenue generation, market segmentation and forecasting are in the range of 1–3 for all sampled cites. The study also revealed that there was positive impact of IT on both the induced local and global criteria. The induced local impact criteria identified are competitive advantage, market segmentation, high revenue generation, and forecasting while development of business niche, increased market share and network insecurity constituted the induced global impact criteria.
The Impact of Information Technology in Nigeria's Banking Industry
Today, information technology (IT) has become a key element in economic development and a backbone of knowledge- based economies in terms of operations, quality delivery of services and productivity of services. Therefore, taking advantage of information technologies (IT) is an increasing challenge for developing countries. There is now growing evidence that Knowledge- driven innovation is a decisive factor in the competitiveness of nations, industries, organizations and firms. Organizations like the banking sector have benefited substantially from e-banking, which is one among the IT applications for strengthening the competitiveness. This paper presents the current trend in the application of IT in the banking industries in Nigeria and gives an insight into how quality banking has been enhanced via IT. The paper further reveals that the deployment of IT facilities in the Nigerian Banking industry has brought about fundamental changes in the content and quality of banking business in the country. This analysis and clarification of how Nigerian Banks have used IT to reengineer their operations is detailed through literature review and observation. Three categories of variables that relate to the use and implementation of information technology devices were considered in this paper. These include the nature and degree of adoption of innovative technologies; degree of utilization of the identified technologies; and the impact of the adoption of IT devices on the bank operations. Index Terms-Information and Communication Technology, Information Technology, Banking ——————————  ——————————
Dopamine Release is Involved in Antinociceptive Effect of Theophylline
ABSTRACT The methylxanthines, e.g., theophylline, are widely used for the treatment of bronchial asthma. Additionally, a pain relieving effect of theophylline has been reported in patients as well as in experimental animals. The mechanism of this antinociceptive action is not clear. In this study, involvement of dopaminergic system in theophylline-induced antinociception was evaluated using tail flick test model. Swiss albino mice, (either sex, weighing 25–30 g) with base line tail flick latencies (TFL) between 2.0 and 3.5 s, were used. TFL was recorded before and at intervals of 15, 30, 45, and 60 min. after drug treatment. The experimental protocol was duly approved by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. To determine the role of dopaminergic system, the mice were pretreated with either D1 or D2 dopaminergic receptor antagonists SCH 23390 and haloperidol, respectively, prior to treatment with theophylline. Another group of animals received apomorphine along with theophylline. The dose of theophylline used, i.e., 10 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.), had shown a significant increase in TFLs. The theophylline-induced antinociception, 10 mg/kg, i.p., was reversed by pretreatment with both D1 and D2 dopaminergic receptor antagonists SCH 23390 and haloperidol as well as with apomorphine (1 mg/kg) pretreatment. The results suggest that theophylline-induced antinociception is due to release of dopamine.