1.1 Introduction
Computer village identity management is the process, policies and technologies used to administer the complete lifecycle of user identities across a system and to control user access to the system resources by associating their rights and restrictions. Identity management is a broad administrative area that bothers on distinguishing people in a system and controlling their access to resources in that system by associating user rights and limitations with the built up identity (Thuan, 2007). Identity Management is one of the most important concerns of today's technology-centric world as it is a key for access control and authentication. Identity management has become a very important issue in the cloud environment also, where hosted applications are accessed by different kinds of users cutting across time and space.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
In this era of globalization, computing is being preferred for management and maintenance of data and services across sectors such as health, banking, manufacturing, national security services etc. Therefore, it becomes extremely important to make ample provision for data confidentiality and privacy. In short, data security is a very important issue which needs to be addressed properly to enhance the usage of cloud computing. In this manuscript, some vulnerability issues have been identified in the conventional identity management (IDM) systems that are used currently.
An identity Management (IDM) policy is, thus, an official articulation which delineates the destinations, objectives, standards, methodologies, and so on meant to manage and control the improvement, operation and application of identity management. Identity management policies must take into account other policies such as immigration policy, education policies, trade and investment policies, foreign policy, security policy, monetary policy, transport policy, etc.
Identity management is the key to the economic success of developing countries. For developing countries to make good progress in the global space, they must be able to orderly develop a national identity management system and also ensure the proper execution of such policies (Adjei, 2013). However, extant studies have indicated that most developing countries are yet to fully embrace the application of identity management policy to the socio-economic and political life of their citizens (Olesen, 2011). The major impediment with regard to the adoption and implementation of identity management policy in Nigeria is the government’s indifference towards adequate investment on identity management technologies.
Al-khouri (2012) opined that the greatest obstacle to identity management improvement has been the disposition of the government and the longing to control the populace. Most times, it is only the enormous cost that is looked at oblivious of the myriad advantages to a developing country from setting up an effective identity management infrastructure. A good number of seminars, workshops and conferences have been organized by the Nigerian government, yet there is no significant achievement.
The technologies used to implement the system are web based programming language and MySQL database. The programming language is used to create an interface that would be used to capture commuter details and the information can be saved to the database. Also, it aids finding or verification of computers details.
1.3 Statement of Problem
Investigation revealed that several problems are faced in urban areas due to improper management of commuters’ record such as:
- The managers of the taxi parks in computer village manually record information and this makes it difficult to get relevant reports or to confirm needed information pertaining to the taxi.
- There is no system to register commuters.
- It is difficult to verify the identity of commuters.
- It is difficult to obtain reports of registered commuters.
To overcome these problems, there is need for an automated database system to aid the registration and verification of the identity of computers.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is to design and implement a computer village identity management system. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows to develop an application software that will:
- Electronically record information and ease reports generation for management decision making.
- Enhance the security and solve the mentioned issues.
- Evaluate the performance and security measures of proposed computer village identity management system.
- Ensure conducive and convenient environment for an effective identity management.
- Present basic reports pertaining to drivers when the database is queried.
1.5 Significance of Study
The significance of the study is that it will enable Akwa Ibom Transport Company (AKTC) to effectively manage the identity of its drivers and to ensure that they are properly registered before they operate. It will help in providing useful information that will help the management of AKTC track down drivers that have been reported for one reason or the other. The study will also serve as a useful reference material to other researchers seeking for related information.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.6 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Design and Implementation of a Computer Village Identity Management System. This study covers Computer vehicle identity management system of Akwa Ibom Transport Company (AKTC). It is centered on maintaining the basic identity information of drivers.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).
1.8 Definition of Terms
Computers: People that help commute people such as taxi and bus drivers.
Management: The organizing and controlling of the affairs of a business or a sector of a business.
