Design and Implementation of an Online Petition Management System
Chapter One
AIMS AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main aim of this research is to Design and Implement an Online Petition management System that will allow citizens in a democratic society send in electronic petitions to assist government / institutional laws for better reforms with the following objectives:
- Enable Sending in of petitions electronically over the internet.
- Petitions sent in can be easily managed, as government receive thousands of petitions daily.
- Increase accountability, better governance among top government institutions and the legislative aim of government.
- Improve the way petitions are handled and managed to help improve good governance.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. Typically, after there are enough signatories, the resulting letter may be delivered to the subject of the petition, usually via e-mail. The online petition may also deliver an email to the target of the petition each time the petition is signed.
PROS AND CONS
The format makes it easy for people to make a petition at any time. Several websites allow anyone with computer access to make one to protest any cause, such as stopping construction or closure of a store. Because petitions are easy to set up, the site can attract frivolous causes, or jokes framed in the ostensible form of a petition (Stork Fountain Experiment (2019).
Online petitions may be abused if signers don’t use real names, thus undermining its legitimacy. Verification, for example via a confirmation e-mail can prevent padding a petition with false names and e-mails. Many petition sites now have safeguards to match real world processes; such as local governments requiring protest groups to present petition signatures, plus their printed name, and a way to verify the signature (either with a phone number or identification number via a driver’s license or a passport) to ensure that the signature is legitimate and not falsified by the protestors (Mikkelson, 2007).
There are now several major web initiatives featuring online petitions, for example Change.org, Avaaz.org, and 38 Degrees. These are growing in popularity and ability to achieve political impact. The Economist commented that Avaaz has had “some spectacular successes”, but raises questions about what objective measures can be used to assess “the reach of a global e-protest movement” (The Economist, (2010). Recently, several petitions on Change.org have been attributed to the reversal of a United Airlines Dog Policy (Chicago Tribune, 2012).
Some legitimate non-governmental organizations (NGOs) shun online petitions. Reasons include the paucity of examples of this form of petition achieving its objective. Critics frequently cite it as an example of slacktivism (Mikkelson, 2007).
In February 2007 an online petition against road pricing and car tracking on the UK Prime Minister’s own website attracted over 1.8 million e-signatures from a population of 60 million people. The site was official but experimental at the time (BBC NEWS, 2007) Shocked government ministers were unable to backtrack on the site’s existence in the face of national news coverage of the phenomenon. The incident has demonstrated both the potential and pitfalls of online e-Government petitions (UK GOVERNMENT, 2008).
CHAPTER THREE
SYSTEM ANALYSIS
System analysis is the process of gathering and interpreting facts, diagnosing problems and using the information to recommended improvements on the system. System is a problem solving activity that requires intensive communication with the system users and the system developers. The system is studied to the minutest detail and analyzed. The system analyst plays the role of the interrogator and dwells deep into the working of the present system. The system is viewed as a whole and the input to the system are identified. The outputs from the organizations are traced to the various processes.
A detailed study of the process must be made by various techniques like interviews, questionnaires etc. The data collected by these sources must be scrutinized to arrive to a conclusion. The conclusion is an understanding of how the system functions. This system is called the existing system. Now the existing system is subjected to close study and problem areas are identified. The designer now functions as a problem solver and tries to sort out the difficulties that that the enterprise faces. The solutions are given as proposals. The proposals are then weighted with existing system analytically and the best one is selected. The proposal is presented to the user for an endorsement by the user. The proposal is reviewed on user request and suitable changes are made. This loop that ends as soon as the user is satisfied with the proposal.
CHAPTER FOUR
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SYSTEM
PROGRAMMING ENVIRONMENT
HARDWARE SPECIFICATION
The hardware is the place where all the information and data are stored permanently. So hardware must be reliable and cost effective. The hardware must suit all the application development. It is fast enough to complete and do all the jobs and executions.
- PC with intel core2duo processor
- Memory – 2GB RAM Minimum, 2GB or higher recommend.
- DVD ROM drive.
- OS-MS Windows XP or above
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY
Online Petition Management system is aside from being feasible, more advantageous than the traditional method of storing records. Because it can be run on the Internet, one does not have to be at the storage servers to access stored records.
The developed System supports user access, securely stores records, and performs automatic computations, thus addressing several issues encountered in using the traditional filing system: security issues, slow record retrieval, manual computation, etc. among others.
The aforementioned features of the system make it robust, flexible and can be integrated with another Database Management System, if the need arises. Various software development methodologies were also reviewed, and the desired one implemented.
CONCLUSION
The project entitled ONLINE PETITION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM is done in an effective manner. Online Petition management system is an efficient, time saving and easy way to report, view and control the version of a file. All the operations are done efficiently. To use one, start by registering a collection of source files. Thereafter, when you want to edit one of these files, you have to check out the file — assert an exclusive lock on it. When you’re done, you check in the file, adding your changes to the archive, releasing the lock, and entering a change comment explaining what you did.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on findings of the study, the following recommendations are suggested for consideration:
- The management should replace the traditional filing system with the developed computerised Petition Management System.
- The management should set up a wider range inter-network than the one in place now, one accessible from anywhere within the campus with which the System can be accessed. Wi-Fi repeaters, in conjunction with the installed network routers and switches, may be used to enable this function.
- A unique team of staff with the necessary skillset should be employed by the organization to manage the Online Petition System, among which is the System Administrator.
- Since the Online Petition System is built on the web platform, the software and the computer systems in it should be made available for the user without their own PCs to access the System.
- 24/7 power should be made available to power up the servers, as well as the network devices in use. This can be implemented with the provision of a backup generator that starts up in the event of a power failure.
- The Online Petition management System should be studied more to improve it, maintain and debug the system in the event of issues coming up.
REFERENCES
- “Stork Fountain Experiment #1: Why Facebook groups are not democratic tools | Virkeligheden”. Virkeligheden.dk. 23 September 2009. Archived from the originalon 20 December 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- · Mikkelson, Barbara (9 June 2007). “Internet Petitions”. Snopes.com.Copy of the article now available at http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Practical/Shop–ToDo/Activism/InternetPetitions.htm
- · A town crier in the global village, The Economist, 2 September 2010. Accessed 20 January 2011.
- · Cheung, Helier (26 March 2019). “Brexit debate: Do petitions ever work?”. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
- · Gruenberg, Mark (10 June 2020). “‘Justice for George Floyd’ petition sets record: 17 million names”. People’s World. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- · “Breonna Taylor petition draws 10M signatures, 2nd-highest ever on website”. NBC News. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- · “British e-petition”. City of Adelaide – the Splendid Clipper Ship. CSCOAL. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- · Connor, Gary (30 October 2015). “Are e-petitions a waste of time?”. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- · “Popular e-petitions will now be debated in Parliament”. 29 July 2011. ISSN0307-1235. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
