Abstraction and concretizing in information systems and problem domains : implications for system descriptions and theoretical frameworks

“Abstraction” is used both for denoting relations in the problem domain of an information system, and for denoting relations inside software and hardware of a computer. This calls for a clarification of the concept, such that frameworks of information system concepts and techniques for analysis and design can distinguish and compare different types of abstractions. Abstraction is specialized in the paper as follows: representation, classification, generalization, aggregation, and role-realization. The latter relation occurs often when modelling reality, but it is presented with erroneous direction of abstraction in the literature, and it is not supported by techniques for analysis. It is also shown that separating abstraction in analysis of problem domains from abstraction when designing information systems clarifies the direction of abstraction. Abstraction relations in a taxonomy of concepts for information systems science and the FRISCO framework are discussed, and improvements suggested. Jackson System Development, object-oriented analysis and design, and dataflow diagrams can be improved through extensions with the abstraction relations specified in this paper

Forskningsprogrammet SYDPOL : system development environment and profession oriented languages

SYDPOL er et kunnskapsutviklingsprogram som baseres på nasjonalt prioriterte og finansierte utviklingsprosjekter. Deltakere er både forskere innen fagområdene systemutvikling, systemutviklingsomgivelser og dataspråk, innen samfunnsfag og brukere av EDB-teknologi. SYDPOL-programmet behandler forholdet mellom språk, yrke og teknologi

Mobilities of the Community Health Work Practice: Mobile Health system Mediated Work

New technologies have been implicated in various forms of mobilities creating new realities and questioning normative categories and the order in contexts where they are applied. Our study argues that through understanding technology mobilities, we uniquely bring to light new forms of social phenomena that materialize with interactions between mHealth systems and the work of Community Health workers in Malawi. Through the analysis, we also elaborate the role of both human and non-human actants in work transformations. This is important in managing technological innovations and theorizing electronically supported work practices

Obstacles of eHealth Capacity Building and Innovation Promotion Initiative in African Countries

eHealth applications and tools have the potential to improve coordination, knowledge, and information sharing between health professionals as well as continuity of care. One of the main obstacles hindering its full integration and use, particularly in the healthcare sector in developing and low and middle-income countries is the lack of qualified staff and healthcare personnel. To explore obstacles that hinder capacity and innovation promotion initiatives, a survey was conducted among BETTEReHEALTH partners. A questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from 37 organizations. Although there are different buckets of capacity-building and innovation promotion activities going on, the findings showed very few targeting policymakers and eHealth specialists. The findings found that obstacles to capacity building and innovation promotion include lack of finance, poor infrastructure, poor leadership, and governance, and these obstacles are context or region specific. Findings from our study concur with those from previous research on the need to identify practical solutions and simple interventions to address eHealth obstacles to capacity building in developing countries. As measures to mitigate these obstacles, our study proposed the need for adequate policies, strong political commitment, the development of academic modules to be integrated into existing educational programs, and the creation of more in-country and on-site capacity-building activities. While this study contributes to the discourse on eHealth capacity-building and innovation promotion initiatives among healthcare and public health professionals, the study has a limitation as data was collected only from BETTEReHEALTH partners.publishedVersio

Organizations failing to learn: Roadblocks to the Implementation of Standardized Information Systems

Purpose: Implementing standard health indicators aims at harmonizing fragmented information systems. However, they have not always met this expectation. This article argues that standard information systems fail because organizations fail to learn effective ways of solving problems. Design: Using an interpretive phenomenological approach, we draw examples from the implementation of standard health indicators in Cameroon to explore why organizations fail to learn. We collected data from April and September 2017 from 25 staff in healthcare facilities and district offices. Findings: Staff at the peripheral level encountered multiple levels of organizational challenges. We argue that these challenges are deeply rooted in the organizational structure. Using organizational learning as a lens, we theorize the factors (i.e., a disincentive for learning, educational barriers, and organizational culture) that hinder learning. Then identify three beliefs (i.e., technological fix, silver bullet, and emperors of the same empire) embedded in organizational structure that hinder organizational learning. Finally, we propose practical measures to mitigate the challenges that impede the implementation of standard health indicators in Cameroon and beyond. Conclusion: Organizations often misplace their attention on what and how they should learn. While they are fast to learn from external sources and are often eager to accommodate information systems, they fail to provide a conducive atmosphere where local experiences thrive, do not value learning from experiences, and adopt few processes to promote learning. Originality: Linking the challenges encountered by staff at the peripheral level after implementing standard health indicators to poor organizational learning opportunities offers a novel perspective to conceptualize the challenges of implementing information systems in low and middle-income countries

Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) in Malawi: Implementation gaps and challenges for timely alert.

ObjectiveThe recent 2014 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreaks rang the bell to call upon global efforts to assist resource-constrained countries to strengthen public health surveillance system for early response. Malawi adopted the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) strategy to develop its national surveillance system since 2002 and revised its guideline to fulfill the International Health Regulation (IHR) requirements in 2014. This study aimed to understand the state of IDSR implementation and differences between guideline and practice for future disease surveillance system strengthening.MethodsThis was a mixed-method research study. Quantitative data were to analyze completeness and timeliness of surveillance system performance from national District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2) during October 2014 to September 2016. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with 29 frontline health service providers from the selected district and 7 key informants of the IDSR system implementation and administration at district and national levels.FindingsThe current IDSR system showed relatively good completeness (73.1%) but poor timeliness (40.2%) of total expected monthly reports nationwide and zero weekly reports during the study period. Major implementation gaps were lack of weekly report and trainings. The challenges of IDSR implementation revealed through qualitative data included case identification, compiling reports for timely submission and inadequate resources.ConclusionsThe differences between IDSR technical guideline and actual practice were huge. The developing information technology infrastructure in Malawi and emerging mobile health (mHealth) technology can be opportunities for the country to overcome these challenges and improve surveillance system to have better timeliness for the outbreaks and unusual events detection

Challenges in Implementing a Computerized Name-based Information Tracking System: Practical Experiences from Maternal Health Care

This paper presents challenges encountered in implementing a computerized name-based system for tracking information of pregnant women and children in rural clinics. Results indicate that the implementation of a computerized name-based system faces potential challenges that include; understanding the complexity of local healthcare practices within the community as well as correlating standardised and improvised data collection tools used in health facilities. Other challenges are; application of localised and standardised procedures in healthcare provision, replacing the paper-based system and lastly gradual learning curve during the implementation. These are initial findings drawn from a qualitative research study conducted in the Coastal region of Tanzania. This study intends to improve data reporting and utilisation of health facility services for pregnant women, children and other key community members. Copyright remains with the authors. No paper or part thereof may be reproduced without the written permission of the appropriate author(s)