CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 General Introduction

Registration is a vital process undertaken by Governments around the world in order to Know
the status of their populations and also to further plan for the utility of resources. When babies
are born records are kept at respective hospitals in the form of birth certificates for further use
such as carrying out a census every decade to know the population status. In terms of
Government planning for the resources it is vital in that they can plan resources according to the
amount of people that are there in a particular country e.g. food, water, education are all major
factors for a government as they need to estimate how much of a resource they need to cater for
the population. Death certificates are equally important in this aspect as they also help in
determining a population status for a government.

One way of trying to solve this problem here in Uganda is by enacting an online registration
system which helps to register births and deaths across the country. This in itself helps in solving
a number of problems such as bribery, bureaucracy, corruption, forgery, security and poor
records management of which is currently done manually. This makes the Processing of
documents slow and more hectic. In Uganda the Organization responsible for carrying out this
process is the Uganda registration services bureau. The Organization was established in October
1998.

1.1 Background

In Uganda the problem of manual registration has been solved by the introduction of online
registration which counters weaknesses involving document handling as people falsify their
details. Therefore the government of Uganda through the Uganda registration services bureau
has come up with an automated birth certificates records management system. The bureau was
created to take over the functions of the Registrar General’s Office under the Ministry of Justice
and Constitutional Affairs. The Act came into force on the 16th of August, 2004 and the self-
Accounting status was granted in July, 201 0. The bureau is governed by the Board of Directors
and the Chief Executive Officer is the Registrar General.
1.2 Problem statement

Most low developing countries are facing a number of problems in birth certificates processing
and these include; bureaucracy, bribery, corruption, forgery, security and poor records
management. This makes the processing of documents slow and more hectic hence the
government of Uganda needs to come up with an automated birth certificates records
management system to help reduce these problems through embracing Information and
Communication Technology (ICT). Therefore there is need to carry out research so as to come
out with a secure and a more effective automated system to streamline some business processes
such as registration and applications to improve efficiency, enhance planning and decision
making.

1.3 Objectives

1.3.0 Main Objective

To design and implement an online Births Records Management System.

1.3.1 Specific Objectives

a) To design a web based database to efficiently manage births processing in Uganda

b) To design and implement a database system

c) Test and validate the system

1.3.2 Research Questions

1. How can one design a web based database that can efficiently manage births processing in
Uganda?

2. How can one implement an online database system to manage births processing?

3. How can one test and validate an online database system?

1.4 Scope
This project focuses on the development of an online births and deaths records management
system. The system will serve to make information and other computer based resources available
to all the clients, improve planning and decision making in the office of the registrar general of
Uganda.

1.5 Significance of study

The online births and deaths registration system aims to reduce the delays in the processing of
death and birth certificates in Uganda. The practical uses of the system are discussed below:

The system solves the archived-records dilemma where pre-existing birth and death certificates
records are in paper form.

An electronic record in this case will create a viable solution in storing both archived and active
records in a centralized database.

The system is cost-effective and technologically-viable alternative to manually paper-based

record keeping.

It efficiently reduces documentation time, and confidently translate into better service delivery
system, paper work is minimized by an electronic system.

It improves on information management of records at the Registrar General through setting up

an Integrated Information Management System.

It makes information retrieval easy for the staff and provides a backup in case of data loss.

It eliminates data redundancy and improves on protection of confidential information.

It makes easy generation of reports such as birth and death certificate reports hence increasing
on the accuracy and efficiency.

It adds on the existing literature which enriches the field of academics and may be adopted to
design more systems.

1.6 Limitations
(i)Time: Time was a big constraint for this project trying to meet deadlines was not easy as
changes to the project had to be made at various times.

ii) Software: Software plays a big factor in the final outcome of the project therefore getting the
right ones was vital and also incorporating them into the project.

iii) Availability of personnel: Getting held of employees to ask questions about the

Organization was next to impossible at times.

(iv) Finance: Getting the finances for transport to meet up for discussions was abit of a
challenge.

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW

2:0 Introduction

A literature review is account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and
researchers. The purpose is to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been
established for a particular topic and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

The automated online death and birth certificates records management system is an Information
System that will serve to capture, store, retrieve and disseminate information about birth and
death certificates, records management in the office of the administrator general of Uganda.
Information Technology is defined by (Laudon, 2002), as any form of technology comprising of
mainly hardware and software used by people to handle information. Information technology is
any technology that powers or enables storage, processing and information flow within an
organization. Anything involved with computers, software, networks, intranets, web sites,
servers, databases and telecommunications falls under the IT umbrella. Citing that most modern
businesses depend heavily on information systems; from employee e-mail to database
management, to e-commerce web sites, to Hospitals that have large patient databases to
maintain, and Universities which have sprawling networks to administer. The use of information
technology in the provision of birth and death certificates has advantages such as: leading to
error reduction, improving communication, record keeping and enhancing efficiency in the
services offered by the office of the administrator general through endorsing information
technology which is the only source of success in today’s business. In the past two decades,
Information Technology (IT) has revolutionized virtually every facet of people’s everyday lives.
Organizations of all types have long seen that Information Technology—viewed
comprehensively and deployed effectively; can replace old challenges with new possibilities. For
over half a century, Population Studies has reported significant advances in methods of
demographic analysis, conceptual and mathematical theories of demographic dynamics and
behaviour, and the use of these theories and methods to extend scientific knowledge and to
inform policy and practice.

The JournaPs coverage of this field is comprehensive: applications in developed and developing
countries; historical and contemporary studies; quantitative and qualitative studies; analytical
essays and reviews, The subjects of papers range from classical concerns, such as the
determinants and consequences of population change, to such topics as family demography and
evolutionary and genetic influences on demographic behaviour. ( Francis, 2005). According to
Gilland, (2002), Fertility rate and Overpopulation is related to the issue of birth control; some
nations, like the People’s Republic of China, use strict measures to reduce birth rates. Religious
and ideological opposition to birth control has been cited as a factor contributing to
overpopulation and poverty. Some leaders and environmentalists (such as Ted Turner) have
suggested that there is an urgent need to strictly implement a China-like one-child policy
globally by the United Nations, because this would help control and reduce population gradually
and most successfully as is evidenced by the success and resultant economic-growth of China
due to reduction of poverty in recent years. Indira Gandhi, late Prime Minister of India,
implemented a forced sterilization programme in the 1970s. Officially, men with two children or
more had to submit to sterilization, but many unmarried young men, political opponents and
ignorant men were also believed to have been sterilized. This program is still remembered and
criticized in India, and is blamed for creating a wrong public aversion to family planning, which
hampered Government programmes for decades. Unplanned population increase in the world has
resulted into a number of problems which include; Inadequate fresh water-for drinking as well as
sewage treatment and effluent discharge. Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, use energy-
expensive desalination to solve the problem of water shortages hence depletion of natural
resources, especially fossil fuels. Increased levels of air pollution, water pollution, soil
contamination and noise pollution. Once a country has industrialized and become wealthy, a
combination of government regulation and technological innovation causes pollution to decline
substantially, even as the population continues to grow. Deforestation and loss of ecosystems-
that sustain global atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide balance; about eight million hectares
of forest are lost each year hence changes in atmospheric composition and consequent global
warming Irreversible loss of arable land and increases in deforestation and desertification can be
reversed by adopting property rights, and this policy is successful even while the human
population continues to grow. Mass species extinctions, from reduced habitat in tropical forests
due to slash-and-burn techniques that sometimes are practiced by shifting cultivators, especially
in countries with rapidly expanding rural populations; present extinction rates may be as high as
140,000 species lost per year. High infant and child mortality. High rates of infant mortality are
caused by poverty. Rich countries with high population densities have low rates of infant
mortality. Intensive factory farming to support large populations which results into human
threats including the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria diseases, excessive air
and water prohibition, and new virus that infect humans. Increased chances of emergence of new
epidemics and pandemics. For many environmental and social reasons, including overcrowded
living conditions, malnutrition and inadequate, inaccessible, or non-existent health care, the poor
are more likely to be exposed to infectious diseases. Starvation, malnutrition or pool’ diet with ill
health and diet-deficiency diseases (e.g. rickets). However, rich countries with high population
densities do not have famine.

Poverty and inflation are aggravated by bad government and bad economic policies. Many
countries with high population densities have eliminated absolute poverty and keep their
inflation rates very low. Unhygienic living conditions for many based upon water resource
depletion, discharge of raw sewage and solid waste disposal. However, this problem can be
reduced with the adoption of sewers. For example, after Karachi, Pakistan installed sewers, its
infant mortality rate fell substantially.

Elevated crime rate due to drug cartels and increased theft by people stealing resources to
survive Conflict over scarce resources and crowding~ leading to increased levels ofwarfare. Less
Personal Freedom I More Restictive Laws. Laws regulate interactions between humans.

Law “serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people.” The higher the
population density~ the more frequent such interactions become, and thus there develops a need
for more laws to regulate these interactions.

Urban designer Arth has proposed a “choice-based, marketable birth license plan” he calls “birth
credits.” Birth credits would allow any woman to have as many children as she wants, as long as
she buys a license for any children beyond an average allotment that would result in zero
population growth (ZPG). If that allotment was determined to be one child, for example, then the

first child would be free, and the market would determine what the license fee for each additional
child would cost Extra credits would expire after a certain time, so these credits could not be
hoarded by speculators. Another advantage of the scheme is that the affluent would not buy them
because they already limit their family size by choice, as evidenced by an average of 1.1 children
per European woman. The actual cost of the credits would only be a fraction of the actual cost of
having and raising a child, so the credits would serve more as a wake-up call to women who
might otherwise produce children without seriously considering the long term consequences to
themselves or society.

Historically, human population control has been implemented by limiting the populations birth
rate, usually by government mandate, and has been undertaken as a response to factors including
high or increasing levels of poverty, environmental concerns, religious reasons, and
overpopulation. While population control can involve measures that improve people’s lives by
giving them greater control of their reproduction, some programs have exposed them to
exploitation. Worldwide, the population control movement was active throughout the l960s and
l970s, driving many reproductive health and family planning programs. In the 1980s, tension
grew between population control advocates and feminist women’s health activists who advanced
women’s reproductive rights as part of a human rights-based approach. Growing opposition to
the narrow population control focus led to a significant change in population control policies in
the early l990s. More often in our daily lives, we rely on dynamic information even for making
timely online decisions. This ranges from real-time weather and traffic information to stock
quotes to financial and news alerts. Indeed this is in total agreement with the quest for real-time
information dissemination systems. Therefore there is need for developing systems that use
internet technology but which are fully customized so as to provide a comprehensive solution to
the problem at hand.

2.1 Records Management System

According to Records Management Vendor, 2006, Records Management system is a computer
program (or set of programs) used to track and store records, they commonly provide specialized
security and auditing functionalities tailored to the need of users. In this case, the URGMIS will
be used to take and store records such as birth and death certificates. International Standard
Organization (ISO), (2001) defines record management as “The field of management responsible
for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, recipient, maintenance, use and
disposition of records including the processes for capturing and maintaining audience of
information about business activities and transaction in form of a record.”

Conolly, (2002) defines a record as digital information with value to an organization like
database. Databases are now such an integral part of our clay-to-day work that we are not aware
we are using one. Charles (2002) noted that, a records management system is an agency- wide
system that considers the reasons, the processes, and the means necessary for a document to exist
and be used in Record Management System (RIVIS) must cover the entire life span of the
document, from its generation to its destruction. It provides for the effective storage, retrieval,
manipulation, achieving and viewing of information, records, documents, or files that are related
to a single subject. RMS allows one resource of data input and multiple reporting mechanisms
and enables an agency to deal with its records in a simple environment. It should provide the
ability to generate project statistics for management.

2.2 Types of Record Management

2.2.0 Manual Record Management This involves a variety of diverse disciplines. At the simplest,
it indexes and organizes paper documents. In the registrar department, this is usually a matter of
filing the deaths and births documents and making them available for retrieval. BeIl,(2001).

2.2.1 Problems Associated with Manual Records Management System. Records retrieval with
manual system is time consuming. A lot of storage space is required for manual record. Poses
security threats to individual records. Difficulty in records management.

2.2.2 Online Records Management System. This is a computer program (or set of programs)
used to track and store records .It ensures that all data generated by the registrar department is
properly classified, categorized and stored in the repository and made available when needed by
the users. The system also has to be selected with care taking into consideration the needs of the
business, the type of data generated, how it will be stored, and how it will be published or
displayed and in what format.

2.2.3 Web based information systems

An information system is a set of interrelated components working together to collect, process,

store, and disseminate information to support decision- making, coordination, control, analysis
and visualization in an organization Laudon and Laudon, (2002). Within the context of
information dissemination, this implies that an information system should among its components
have source, interface, dissemination channel, database (storage) and recipient interface. The
World-Wide Web, along with other Internet based services, has emerged as the most appropriate
universal platform for information dissemination, sharing, and computer-mediated
communication.

Although the Web has evolved greatly since its inception, dissemination and delivery of iapidly
changing information to large user communities remains a challenge. More often in our daily
lives, we rely on dynamic information even for making timely online decisions. This ranges from
real-time weather and traffic information to stock quotes to financial and news alerts. Indeed this
is in total agreement with the quest for real-time information dissemination systems.

Therefore there is need for developing systems that use internet technology but which are fully
customized so as to provide a comprehensive solution to the problem at hand.

2.3 Databases

Databases are a shared collection of logically related data, and a description of this data is
designed to meet the information needs, Connolly and Begg, (2004). Computer-based databases
have reduced data storage requirements and improved the efficiency of data retrieval. As a result,
raw data from many users and organizations can be reported very quickly and most importantly
— amazingly accurately. They can be online (web-based) or offline. Online discussion
forumscontain web-based databases.

Databases have several components which include: a System catalog (Data dictionary or

Metadata) — which provides a description of data to enable program—data independence.

Database systems are managed using Database Management Systems (DBMS) which is a
software system that enables users to define, create, maintain, and control access to the database.

Databases are built on architectures, which address the system design issues that make the
DBMS work. It is an invaluable reference for database researchers, practitioners and for those in
other areas computing interested in the system design techniques for scalability and reliability.
Key uses of databases include; helping in the storage, management and retrieval of vast amounts
of information.

.3.1 The Architecture of Web Based Databases

With the wide availability of information via the Internet, the modern network has developed
from the traditional mode to a three-tier architecture consisting of presentation, application logic
tier and data storage tier. As illustrated in figure below, the three-tier architecture (web-based
database system) has a capability for dynamic information support.

2.4 The Case for Web Based Systems The merits of using the web for information management
as: First, information on the web is multimedia, which is richer than the traditional computer-
based data presentation. Second, all data are stored and presented in standard format. This makes
it much easier for independent of others and has a very strong autonomy. Any modification of
existing information has virtually no effect on other information available on the information
integration and has hoc retrieval. Third, the web was scalable. That is, new information was
easily added to the web with little restriction. Fourth, the web adopts distributed data processing.
Every site on the web. Finally, web documents allow non-linear organization to better fit human
cognition. Instead of relying on sequential presentation, web uses hyperlinks to organize
multimedia documents, which adds richness to the human-machine communication process. The
nature of web offers an information environment in which every user is both information
consumer and provider. On the merits of using the web to disseminate and retrieve information
Laudon and Laudon, (2002) contend that Web browser software is extremely easy to use,
requiring much less training than even user-friendly database query tools. The Web interface
requires no changes to the internal database. Companies leverage their investments in older
systems because it costs much less to add a Web interface in front of a legacy system than to
redesign and rebuild the system to improve user access.

Accessing corporate databases through the Web is creating new efficiencies and opportunities. In
some cases even changing the way business is being done as well as using Web technology to
provide employees with integrated finn-wide views of information. The major enterprise system
vendors have enhanced their software so that users can access enterprise data through a Web
interface.
CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction This section presents the area to be studied, methods and techniques that are to
be used in data collection, analysis and processing.

3.1 Data Collection Techniques

3.1.1 Observation

The observation method involved a careful study of existing birth and death certificates
processing system in the office of the registrar general. The existing Information System was
observed in order to understand information flow and how this data was being utilized in the
office.

This method helped the researchers to learn about the problems related to birth and death
certificates production in the office of the registrar general as well as any pressing concerns with
the existing Information System. This method was cheap, easy to use and readily available to the
researchers.

3.1.2 Reading existing Documentations

This involved carrying out research and extensive reading of existing materials and
documentation regarding prenatal, antenatal, and infant health care; the requirements, design and
implementation of information systems and all the already mentioned technologies.

Resources such as libraries and the internet were exploited. This method was easy to use and
provided lot of background information.

3.2 Data Processing and Analysis

All the data captured during data collection was closely studied, edited and compared removing
any noted inconsistencies, so rendering it useful to the researcher. It involved looking for key
events that drive the group’s activity, patterns of behavior, testing data sources against each
other, triangulation of data, and reporting findings in a convincing and honest way to produce
information that was accurate, relevant and viable in system design and developmenL
Qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis were employed on the collected data to
transform it into useful information. We used Qualitative analysis which is a research technique
that is used to gain insight into the underlying issues surrounding a research problem by
gathering non-statistical feedback and opinions rooted in people’s feelings, attitudes,
motivations, values, perceptions it was used for gathering what was known as soft data.

3.3 System Design tools Design tools such as Data Flow diagrams (DFDs) and Enhanced entity
relationship diagrams (EERDs) were used in the development of the system database. Enhanced
Entity Relationship Diagrams shows the clear breakdown of entities, the relationship between
them and their attributes. DFDs helped us understand the flow of information for the
organization. DFDs and EERDs were easy to use, interpret and they were used to address/model
a wide range of problems.

3.4 Technologies Most of the software that we used in system implementation was chosen basing
on the fact that: it is readily available, cheap, and most importantly supported rapid development
time.

(i) HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language): is the predominant mark-up language for Web pages.
It provided us with means to describe the structure of text-based information in a document—by
denoting certain text as links, headings, paragraphs, lists, and so on—and to supplement that text
with interactive forms, embedded images, and other objects. HTML was written in the form of
tags, surrounded by angle brackets.Htrnl also served to help in the creation of a website that
enabled 2 register a user.

VII. The system allows access to only authorized users who are expected to have a username and
password.

VIII. The system is easy to learn and use by its end users.

4.2.3 System Specifications

In order for the system to perform as expected, these are its specifications for hardware and
software

Table 5: Hardware Requirements

Hardware Minimum System Requirements

Processor AMD phenom 11 650 duo core processor 2.60ghz

Memory 3 GB

Hard Drive space 279GB

Monitor display 1024 X 768 High color-16 bit Recommended

Table 6: Software Requirements

Software Minimum System Requirements

Operating Systems Windows 7 ultimate Windows Server 2003

Database My SQL Server

Server My SQL Server

Adobe cs4

Php

4.2.5 System Constraints

i. The system will only be accessible by authorized users.

ii. A user may only register once.

iii. Different users are limited to particular views of information.

iv. Internet connection is required.

4.3 System Design

System design is concerned with how the system functionalities are provided by different
components of the system. System design tools such as: DFDs, EERDs were used in the
development of the system and its database respectively.

4.3.1 Data Flow Diagrams

These are tools for structured analysis that examine inputs, outputs, and processes. They show
how data moves and changes through a specified system in a graphical lop-clown fashion that is
a graphical representation of a system’s components, processes and the interfaces between them.
They represent a logical model that shows what a system does, not how it does it; stressing the
flow of data within a system

4.3.2. Enhanced Entity Relationship Modelling Concepts

Concepts employed are:

Specialization

Generalization

This is the modelling of super classes and subclasses that adds more information to the data
model, as well as bringing more complexity to database system development.

Specialization is the process of maximizing the differences between members of an entity by

identifying their distinguishing characteristics Generalization is the process of minimizing the
differences between entities by identifying their common characteristics.

The models V (Figure 4.7) that are illustrated below have a constraint {Mandatory, Or} implying
that from the super classes: Supplier, there exist only the stated subclasses and the corresponding
instances of these given subclasses can only belong to one particular subclass.