PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE MONITORING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES THROUGH A MOBILE PERSUASIVE SYSTEM

Abstract

The research introduces a mobile persuasive system designed to address the lack of maintenance of public infrastructures in developing countries. The absence of an effective monitoring and reporting framework has deteriorated infrastructure acquired through significant fiscal investments. The proposed system employs a six-step framework for creating persuasive technologies (PTs) targeting governmental entities. It utilizes a social factor categorization method for prioritizing infrastructure issues and employs mobile crowdsourcing for data collection. The system consists of two subsystems: a mobile app for citizen reporting and a web app for administrative activities. The technology was developed using Visual Studio Code, Android Studio, Vue.Js, PHP scripting language for the backend, and MySQL for the database. Citizens can report infrastructure issues by providing details such as location, pictures, local government name, and a description. The system generates a message with map coordinates and a persuasive message based on the priority of the reported issue. This message is then sent to the identified contact of a local government official responsible for the identified infrastructure. The automation of reporting aims to facilitate citizen engagement in identifying and reporting poor infrastructure, while the persuasive messaging module assists local officials in prioritizing repairs that benefit the majority of citizens.