CHAPTER TWO:
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. INTRODUCTION
A literature review is an evaluative report of information found in the literature related to your
selected area of study. There is considerable evidence that using technology as an instructional
tool improves student learning and educational outcomes (Hanna & de Nooy, 2003). In the field
which one has to take adventure in, it is important to know that field, what has already been
done, those who worked on it, their results, outcomes and setbacks or limitations before moving
on. As people of this generation become more dependent on the internet for information, the
need for an online clearance system becomes more apparent. The skills needed to access and
comprehend information online are becoming commonplace, and the flexibility of wireless
computing means that any coffee shop, airport or bedroom can become a classroom. Online
courses, registrations, clearance have few, if any scheduling restrictions, wellintegrated learning
resources and competitive degree options, with an online clearance system.
The introduction of computer into information technology has massively improved the
information need of institution and organisation; the success of this machine is dependent on the
knowledge base. Therefore, one can be prompted to ask aloud “what is a computer”.
Funk, (1980) defined a computer as an electronic device that can perform automatically and at a
high speed a sequence of logical operations according to instructions given to it inform of a pre-
arranged program.
Anigbogu (2000) defined a computer as an electronic device capable of accepting data and
instructions, processing the data based on the instructions to generate results or output in such a
manner that is yet to be equalled by any other known machine to mankind.
The aim of information system to admission, registration, result processing and clearance in
universities is improving the quality and accuracy of information provided to all involved as well
as assisting universities in compiling and reporting information. Information Technology has
been an integral part of academic system since almost four decades. According to, Hewlett
(1993), the world is entering “an era in which technology will literally transform every aspect of
business, every aspect of life and every aspect of society.
Since the arrival of Internet technology, school system has taken a new shape and style with a
blend of convenience and satisfaction. Information technology has always helped the university
system to educate students in better way. To explain few examples, student online clearance is a
method where the student obtains his/her clearance letter without carrying files around. This is
only possible with the help of information technology. This feature is safe, fast and has no
hazels. Filling out the documents and comparing options and waiting for approval is a time
consuming process. Through the Internet, this process is made much easier and sometimes the
approval is made within minutes. This explains an efficient way of obtaining clearance and saves
time and money for students.
In this chapter we shall look at the evolution of World Wide Web (WWW), history of websites , data
and information, similar works done by others
2.2. History of World Wide Web
By 1980, students, computer science professors and other academics were the main users of the
Internet. Ten years later, this state of affairs changed dramatically with the introduction of the
World Wide Web. Within four years of its introduction, the World Wide Web eclipsed the
Internet. Ben Segalnotes that, "in the computer networking arena, a period of 10- 15 years
represents several generations of technology evolution." It is therefore surprising "that in a
period of only three years there can be developments that radically change the whole way that
people think about computer communications. This has just happened with the Web (prototyped
in 1990-1, fully accepted over 1993-4).
Describing the critical difference between the Internet and the Web, one observer wrote: "the
Web differs from the Internet, though it uses the Net as a highway. Explore the Internet and you
find computers, routers and cables. Explore the Web and you find information. "" The critical
differences between the Internet and the World Wide Web are the use of "links" and the presence
of graphics and text together. In 1980, Tim Berners-Lee, an independent contractor at CERN,
built ENQUIRE, as a personal database of people and software models, but also as a way to play
with hypertext; each new page of information in ENQUIRE had to be linked to an existing page.
Another major development occurred when Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf introduced Transfer Control
Protocol (TCP) in 1977 for cross-network connections. Although it had used the older Network
Control Protocol (NCP) since its establishment in 1969, ARPANET and its associated networks
slowly began a transition to the new protocol during the 1970s. In 1978, Internet Protocol was
added to TCP, responsible for the routing of messages. The TCP/IP combination was officially
adopted by ARPANET and its partners in 1983, redefining the Internet as networks using the
TCP/IP network. The standardisation of network protocols helped lay the foundations for the
later growth of the World Wide Web.
In 1984 Berners-Lee returned to CERN, and considered its problems of information presentation:
physicists from around the world needed to share data, with no common machines and no
common presentation software. He wrote a proposal in March 1989 for "a large hypertext
database with typed links", but it generated little interest. His boss, Mike Sendall, encouraged
Berners-Lee to begin implementing his system on a newly acquired NeXT workstation. He
considered several names, including Information Mesh or Mine of Information, but settled on
World Wide Web.
This NeXTcube used by Berners-Lee at CERN became the first Web server. He found an
enthusiastic collaborator in Robert Cailliau, who rewrote the proposal (published on November
12, 1990) and sought resources within CERN. Berners-Lee and Cailliau pitched their ideas to the
European Conference on Hypertext Technology in September 1990, but found no vendors who
could appreciate their vision of marrying hypertext with the Internet.
By Christmas 1990, Berners-Lee had built all the tools necessary for a working Web: the first
Web browser (which was a Web editor as well), the first Web server ([Link]), and the first
Web pages that described the project itself. The browser could access Usenet newsgroups and
FTP files as well. However, it could run only on the NeXT. Nicola Pellow therefore created a
simple text browser that could run on almost any computer. To encourage use within CERN,
they put the CERN telephone directory on the web— previously users had to log onto the
mainframe in order to look up phone numbers.
Paul Kunz from the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center visited CERN in May 1991, and was
captivated by the Web. He brought the NeXT software back to SLAC, where librarian Louise
Addis adapted it as a way to display SLAC’s catalog of online documents; this was the first web
server outside CERN and the first in North America.
On August 6, 1991, Berners-Lee posted a short summary of the World Wide Web project on the
[Link] newsgroup. This date also marked the debut of the Web as a publicly available
service on the Internet. “The World Wide Web (WWW) project aims to allow links to be made
to any information anywhere. The WWW project was started to allow high energy physicists to
share data, news, and documentation. We are very interested in spreading the web to other areas,
and having gateway servers for other data. Collaborators welcome!” —from Tim Berners-Lee’s
first message
1992-1995: Growth of the WWW
In keeping with its birth at CERN, early adopters of the World Wide Web were primarily
university-based scientific departments or physics laboratories such as Fermi lab and SLAC.
Early websites intermingled links for both the HTTP web protocol and the then-popular Gopher
protocol, which provided access to content through hypertext menus presented as a file system
rather than through HTML files. Early Web users would navigate either by bookmarking popular
directory pages, such as Berners-Lee's first site at [Link] or by consulting updated
lists such as the NCSA "What's New" page. Some sites were also indexed by WAIS, enabling
users to submit full-text searches similar to the capability later provided by search engines. There
was still no graphical browser available for computers besides the NeXT. This gap was filled in
April 1992 with the release of Erwise, an application developed at Helsinki University of
Technology, and in May by Viola WWW, created by Pei-Yuan Wei, which included advanced
features such as embedded graphics, scripting, and animation. Both programs ran on the X
Window System for UNIX. Mosaic 3.0 for windows In November 1992, the National Centre for
Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
(UIUC) established a website. After graduation, Andreessen and Jim Clark, former CEO of
Silicon Graphics met and formed Mosaic Communications Corporation to develop the Mosaic
browser commercially. The company and the browser changed name to Netscape in April 1994,
and was developed further as Netscape Navigator. The first Microsoft Windows browser was
Cello, written by Thomas R. Bruce for the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School to
provide legal information, since most lawyers had access to Windows but not to UNIX. Cello
was released in June 1993.
In May 1994 the first International WWW Conference, organized by Robert Cailliau, was held at
CERN; the conference has been held every year since. In April CERN had agreed that anyone
could use the Web protocol and code royalty-free; this was in part a reaction to the perturbation
caused by the University of Minnesota announcing that it would begin charging license fees for
its implementation of the Gopher protocol.
In September 1994, the World Wide Web Consortium was founded at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology as an industry organization, with Tim Berners-Lee as director.
By 1996 it became obvious to most publicly traded companies that a public Web presence was
no longer optional. Though at first people saw mainly the possibilities of free publishing and
instant worldwide information, increasing familiarity with two-way communication over the
"Web" led to the possibility of direct Web-based commerce (e-commerce) and instantaneous
group communications worldwide. These concepts in turn intrigued many bright, young, often
The World Wide Web continued to gain popularity even though many businesses trying to
exploit it went bankrupt. Also during this time, however, a handful of companies discovered
success developing business models that would not exist if not for the World Wide Web. These
include Google's search engine and relevant advertising scheme, Apple Computer's iTunes web
music store and Expedia's web-based travel service.
This era also brought social networking websites and forums to light, that along with iTunes, are
today an extensive part of youth culture, such as MySpace, Xanga, Friendster, Facebook, and
Orkut.
2.3. History of websites
Since the inception of websites, they have changed quite a bit and now include many different
attributes and varieties. We will briefly describe the history of websites and show how we
arrived where we are today. In the early 1990’s, when websites were becoming increasingly
popular, most of the websites were static html which implied that each page was planned out and
hand coded to match the plan. Many websites created at this time were created by specialized
website development firms understanding the complexities of this new technology. Many of this
sites were created this time were simply extensions of an organization’s existing marketing
materials. At this time, the focus was to get a presence on the web quickly.
A weblog or blog is another way to say a webpage. The term blog refers to the collection of blog
entries which are just web pages. Blogging tools like WordPress offered a mechanism for
organization owners to make their websites more dynamic and most of the tools were free in
most cases. These tools utilized php codes and database functionality underneath a website to
dynamically serve content.
Let’s take a step back and think about the wonders of modern technology for one second. The
web has made it possible to participate in near-instant communication on a global scale. In
almost every corner of the Internet, you have people talking to one another: news sites, blogs,
Facebook, Youtube, email, forums, and more. But how did we get to where we are now?
Our Internet today has roots that reach back all the way to the late 1960s. That means it only took
around 40 years to go from postage-based mail to instant communication with anyone in the
world. And throughout those 40 years, the Internet as we know it has gone through a
considerable number of shifts.
In terms of the first historical milestone for online communication, there’s really no better place
to start than with the old-school bulletin board system, commonly known as BBS. It was the first
time in Internet history where user-generated content became a fundamental aspect of a service.
What is BBS? Think of a typical bulletin board, like the kinds you’d find in most offices. People
come up to the board and look at what’s already been posted to find something that interests
them. If they have something valuable to contribute, they take a pin and post it to the board. If
you’ve been curious where forum terminology like “posts” and “pinned” come from, there you
go. A BBS is an online adaptation of the bulletin board. Using a terminal program, like Telnet,
you could log onto a particular bulletin board and upload/download data. Some features of the
BBS included public message boards, direct messages between users, and interactive games. The
first BBS, called Computerized Bulletin Board System, was developed by Ward Christensen and
Randy Seuss. It went live in 1978. BBSs remained popular until the mid-1990s when other forms
of online user interaction took over.
In 1988, popularized real-time online communication becomes a reality with IRC (Internet relay
chat). IRC is basically a glorified chatroom system that started off as a way to have live chatting
between multiple users, but eventually evolved into a powerful network for data transfers and
file sharing. With IRC, multiple users can connect to a specific server and join multiple
chatrooms on that server, though the technical term would be channels. Over time, certain IRC
networks grew to specialize in particular fields (e.g., GameSurge, QuakeNET, Freenode, etc.)
while others became open grounds for anything (e.g., Undernet, EFnet, etc.). IRC is still very
much alive today, though it has recently gone down in popularity due to the continued
advancement of Internet-based user interaction.
Forums, also known as message boards, are one of the reasons why the Internet is so large. They
act as centralized locations for topical discussion, similar to BBS and Usenet but on a much
larger scale and in more specialized ways. You can find forums dedicated to anything from
paintballing to sports cars, from video games to anime, from fashion to technology and
education. The very first software dedicated to forum protocol was WIT, which was developed
by the W3 Consortium in 1994. Since then, there have been hundreds of forum software
packages, including phpBB, Invision, vBulletin, MyBB, and others. And as you might’ve
guessed, forums are still extremely popular.
Blogs find their roots in what once began as the online journal which came into existence
sometime around 1994. Back then, an online journal was a place where individuals could write
about their day-to-day life, chronicling various events and musing over whatever came to their
minds that day.
As online journals grew in popularity, Webrings began to pop up around the Internet. These
Webrings were collections of online journals typically organized around a specific theme or
purpose. Webrings were useful for finding online journals related to personal interests.
Over the years, online journals evolved into something more social–a web log, or blog. With
new features like comments, feed subscriptions, blogrolls, blogging became a social activity that
helped form topical communities. Unlike forums, however, blogs often took the form of a single
person initiating discussion followed by an audience’s response to that person.
By the mid-2000s, blogs outgrew their roots and transformed into something greater–platforms
on which people could voice their thoughts to the world. As advanced software packages
like WordPress hit the scene, blogs became a powerful way to relay thoughts and news to a
global audience.
In retrospect, social media is nothing more than the natural baby of forums and blogs. Forums
provide a centralized location for people to discuss whatever it is they want to discuss. Blogs
provide a personal platform for people to discuss whatever it is they want to discuss. What
happens when you have a centralized location where each individual has their own platform for
voicing their thoughts? Well, you’d probably get something like Facebook, and it’s no wonder
why social media has been such a hit. Thanks to social media, people are more connected than
ever–especially with the prevalence of mobile technology. Now we can participate in online
communication from anywhere.
And that’s how we’ve come to where we are now. Where will we be in another five years? To be
honest, we have no idea. However, one might be able to extrapolate the future by analysing the
past. Look at how we got here and you’ll likely see where we’re heading.
2.4. DATA AND INFORMATION
The concepts of data and information are very important in understanding issues that go with
development and implementation of a computer-based information system. The term ‘data’ and
‘information’ are used interchangeably in everyday conversation as meaning the same thing. To
many managers and information specialists, however, these terms have distinct meanings.
According to O’Leary (1996), data simply consists of raw, unprocessed facts while information
is data that have been processed by the computer. Data can be any character, text, words,
number, pictures, sound, or video and, if not put into context, means little or nothing to a human.
However, information is useful and usually formatted in a manner that allows it to be understood
by a human. Computers typically read data, but it is not necessarily something that a computer
actually understands. Through the use of formulas, programming scripts, or software
applications, a computer can turn data into information that a human can understand.
Basically, information is the message that is being conveyed, whereas data are plain facts. Once
the data is processed, organized, structured or presented in a given context, it can become useful.
Then data will become information, knowledge.
Data in itself is fairly useless, until it is interpreted or processed to get meaning, to get
information. In computing, it can be said that data is the computer's language. It is the output that
the computer gives us. Whereas, information is how we interpret or translate the language or
data. It is the human representation of data.
2.4.1. Some differences between data and information:
Data is used as input for the computer system. Information is the output of data.
Data is unprocessed facts figures. Information is processed data.
Data doesn’t depend on Information. Information depends on data.
Data is not specific. Information is specific.
Data is a single unit. A group of data which carries news and meaning is called
Information.
Data doesn’t carry a meaning. Information must carry a logical meaning.
Data is the raw material. Information is the product
2.5. Information system and computer base information system
2.5.1. Information system
An Information System is the system of persons, data records and activities that process the data
and information in a given organization, including manual processes or automated processes. An
information system is the basis for interaction between the user and the analyst. It is an open
system that allows the inputs and facilitates the interaction with the user.
2.5.2. Computer-Based Information System (CBIS)
Computer-based information systems in education are structured systems that rely on computer
hardware and software technology to collect, process, store and distribute didactical resources.
Didactical resources include sets of documents for planning, programing and realization
educational process. It, also, includes software based on principles of artificial intelligence to
collect information, measure success and evaluate teacher's and student's work. Information
system is employed to support decision making and control in an organization. Information
systems is also used to analyse problems, visualize complex subjects, and create new
technologies. Input, processing, and output are the three activities in an information system that
produce the information an organization needs
2.5.3. Component of Computer based information System
A Computer-Based Information System (CBIS) is an information system in which the computer
plays a major role. Such a system consists of the following elements:
Hardware: The term hardware refers to machinery. This category includes the computer
itself, which is often referred to as the central processing unit (CPU), and all of its
support equipment. Among the support equipment are input and output devices, storage
devices and communications devices.
Software: The term software refers to computer programs and the manuals (if any) that
support them. Computer programs are machine-readable instructions that direct the
circuitry within the hardware parts of the CBIS to function in ways that produce useful
information from data. Programs are generally stored on some input / output medium-
often a disk or tape.
Data: Data are facts that are used by program to produce useful information. Like
programs, data are generally stored in machine-readable from on disk or tape until the
computer needs them.
Procedures: procedures are the policies that govern the operation of a computer system.
"Procedures are to people what software is to hardware" is a common analogy that is used
to illustrate the role of procedures in a CBIS.
People: Every CBIS needs people if it is to be useful. Often the most over-looked element
of the CBIS is the people: probably the components that most influence the success or
failure of information system.
2.6. DATABASE
Database, also called electronic database, any collection of data, or information, that is specially
organized for rapid search and retrieval by a computer. In the early days of computerisation, it
was normal to maintain specific files for individual applications. Data were processes centrally in
batches and there was little or no online interrogation of data. This approach is wholly inefficient
for most of today’s data processing systems. Supporting this, Vossen (1991) enumerated the
problems that result from organising data using the file system:
a) There exists a high redundancy between files, which result from the fact that the
information is replicated in different places, and that these replications are not controlled
by a central monitor.
b) Inconsistencies might result from the possibilities that a program makes changes on the
files it uses without these changes being made (at the same time) by all other programs
that uses the file.
c) There exists inflexibility against changes in the application: if new actions or events arise
in the course of time, these can be realised at a substantial expense of time.
To overcome these problems, databases were developed. It is now common for large
organisations to organise their operational data using the database technology. In the words of
Dimorji (2003). “At the centre of any information system is a database, which is any collection
of related information grouped together as a simple item. The term can also apply to the ways in
which information is catalogued, analysed, stored and used manually”. In fact, all the literature
consulted seem to support the fact that a database is a collection of structured data with the
structure of data being independent of any particular application. Specifying the need for
databases, O’Leary(1996) listed the following advantages:
a) Sharing: In an organisation, information from one department can be readily shared with
others.
b) Security: Users are given passwords or access only to the kind of information they need
to know. Thus, the Payroll department may have access to employees’ pay rate, but other
departments would not.
c) Fewer Files: With several departments having access to one file, there are fewer files.
Therefore, excess storage or what is called ‘redundancy’ is reduced.
d) Data Integrity: Older filing systems many times did not have ‘integrity’. That is, a
change made in the file in one department might not be made in the file in another
department. As one might expect, this can cause serious problems and conflicts when
data is used for important decisions affecting both departments.
2.7. Some existing online clearance systems
2.7.1. FDA CLEARANCE FOR CTL MEDICAL PEDICLE SCREW SYSTEM
Dallas, Texas-based CTL Medical Corporation has secured FDA 510(k) clearance to market its
SEURAT Universal Pedicle Screw System. A March 29, 2018 company press release said this is
the second FDA clearance for the company in the first quarter of 2018. CTL Medical's in-house
research and development team designed the new system after working closely with surgeons.
According to FDA documents, the system is intended to provide immobilization and stabilization
of the spinal segments, (T1 – S2/ilium) or as an anterolateral fixation system (T8 – L5), in
skeletally mature patients as an adjunct to fusion. Furthermore, the system "is a posterior, non-
cervical, pedicle system indicated for degenerative disc disease (defined as back pain of
discogenic origin with degeneration of the disc confirmed by history and radiographic studies);
spondylolisthesis; trauma (i.e., fracture or dislocation); spinal stenosis; curvatures (i.e., scoliosis,
kyphosis, and/or lordosis); tumor, pseudarthosis; and failed previous fusion." Additionally, the
system can be used in an open approach and percutaneous approach with MIS instrumentation.
Danny Chon, CTL Medical's CEO said, "As the general population continues to age and the
reported degenerative spine cases increase, it is inevitable that the pedicle screw market and
related instrumentation challenges will continue to grow, ultimately demanding a one-stop
solution. As an answer to this need, we designed the SEURAT Universal Pedicle Screw System
to be a truly comprehensive pedicle screw offering unlike any other in the market today."
2.7.2. The Bank automated clearing system (BACS)
The Bank automated clearing system is a scheme for the electronic transferring of funds from
one bank account to another account. The account is widespread in the United Kingdom due to
the advantages it brings but has also been widely criticized for the rather slow processing time.
Bank Automated Clearing System is usually encouraged for business-to-business (B2B)
transactions with repeat or regular customers. The reason for this is that there is a faster scheme
now available in the UK called Faster Payment Service (FPS), which is used for low value
transactions. For transactions that exceed a value specified in the FPS, the BACs is still used,
especially if multiple transactions are expected.
[Link]. Some of the advantages of using BACs for B2B transactions are listed as:
Reduced time and cost in administering bulk payments – even if the transaction takes
three days to clear the fact that it is automated means less man hours in starting the
payment process, which is significant for bulk payments (i.e. more than 100 payments to
be processed). BACs are usually a free service so there is no added cost and the reduced
man-hours means less employee-time to pay.
Easier cash flow management – everything is accounted for electronically by the banks
and included in the bank statement(s) so tracking and cross-referencing is easy.
Reduced risk of loss, late payments and theft – no need to physically go the bank, write
checks, and remember dates.
2.7.3. International Clearing System
A trading system used when a futures contract transaction is entered on an international level. It
is designed to promote world trade and market efficiency. Most international clearing
transactions are administered by an international clearing house. For example, if a company
wanted to purchase a futures contract for wheat from a foreign party, they would need to contact
a clearing house, which will use the international clearing system to find another party. The other
party, who will assume the opposite position (in this case, the one who is looking to sell the
wheat contract) in the futures contract, will have also contacted a clearing house in their
respective country, who will also use the international clearing system.
2.7.4. How the cheque clearing system works
According to the Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS) cheque clearing operates
on a three-day processing cycle. On day one, the collecting bank inputs the cheque's details to the
electronic Inter Bank Data Exchange and it sets off for the paying bank's clearing centre. On the
second day each bank hands over and collects the cheques to be processed. On the morning of
the next working day, bank staff will review the cheques presented for payment and make
decisions about whether to pay or return them. Any cheques that are dishonoured (bounced) are
returned by first class post direct to the collecting branch. The earliest that each branch can know
about the bounced cheque is the morning of the fourth day. However, in some circumstances the
decision regarding a bounced cheque can be delayed until the day following presentation. In that
case and assuming the cheque is above £500, the decision to dishonour it must be telephoned to
the collecting bank by 12 noon. It is possible, due to postal delays or because the decision to
dishonour the item has been taken on the day after presentation (and the item is below the £500)
for notification to be received two or more days after presentation. "For this reason, banks and
building societies will normally not allow customers to withdraw funds until at least the fourth
day," says APACS. The whole cheque-clearing system becomes even more complicated if the
cheque turns out to be stolen. If you accept such a cheque in good faith, the money may initially
clear, but it could subsequently bounce days or weeks later. In this case you would lose out. It's
difficult not to conclude that most people will be better off accepting money electronically -
cheques should be the method of last resort.
2.8. Partial conclusion