- Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Petter Nielsen
University of Oslo, Institutt for Informatikk, Faculty Member
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The integration of isolated software components into large‐scale and complex information systems is a topic that attracts the interest of many information systems practitioners and researchers. However, less attention is given to the... more
The integration of isolated software components into large‐scale and complex information systems is a topic that attracts the interest of many information systems practitioners and researchers. However, less attention is given to the intricate processes by which these infrastructures are built using multiple independent software components. Different actors introduce these components, which can lead to a “battleground of functional roles” where components are replacing and blocking each other. To better understand this phenomenon, we conducted multiple case studies involving the development of a large‐scale information system for communicable disease detection, prevention, and control in Vietnam. We collected empirical data through various methods, including interviews, focus groups, and participation observation. We identified different strategies employed by actors to block, remove, or replace other software components, protect their position, and find a way to join the existing and established systems. This paper contributes to this topic by theorizing a strategy called “hybrid vigor,” which allows for the combination of the strengths of individual software components and enables sustainable evolution.
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Enterprise software packages are increasingly designed as ex-tendable software platforms. These platforms are characterised by modular architecture that allows third parties to innovate and create value through the development of... more
Enterprise software packages are increasingly designed as ex-tendable software platforms. These platforms are characterised by modular architecture that allows third parties to innovate and create value through the development of complementary applications. The development process of complementary applications from scratch is resource-intensive. One way of optimising the development process is by using the component-based software engineering (CBSE) approach that focuses on software reuse and suggests building applications with reusable components. There is a considerable amount of literature on CBSE; however, there has been little discussion on how component-based software engineering can strengthen third-party application development in the context of an enterprise software platform ecosystem. Specifically, it is unclear how the challenge of component trustworthiness can be addressed in this context. To explore this, we conducted a design science research(DSR) study to answer the ...
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1Next generation mobile communication infrastructure: UMTS and WLAN – who will succeed?
The paper argues that the study of ICT usage among small and medium sized enterprises benefits from a combination of methods, including diffusion studies, institutional analyses, and studies of post-adoption behaviour. Keywords: Diffusion... more
The paper argues that the study of ICT usage among small and medium sized enterprises benefits from a combination of methods, including diffusion studies, institutional analyses, and studies of post-adoption behaviour. Keywords: Diffusion models, infrastructure, domestication, small and medium sized enterprises, SME, ICT.
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Digital health represents a research field dedicated to realising digital technologies’ potential and developing knowledge about their feasibility and impacts. Yet, drawing on a critical review of the articles in the most prominent... more
Digital health represents a research field dedicated to realising digital technologies’ potential and developing knowledge about their feasibility and impacts. Yet, drawing on a critical review of the articles in the most prominent multidisciplinary digital health journals, this paper argues that the digital health field has not profoundly engaged with its core subject, namely technology. The features of digital technologies remain in the background, and research is disconnected from the complexities of healthcare settings, including multiple technologies, established practices and people. Instead, the overarching focus in the digital health literature is the processing capabilities of digital technologies and their posited impacts. This paper proposes a research direction in digital health where technology and the context of use take a more prominent role. It argues that realising the potential of digital health requires intensive investigation drawing on different disciplines, gro...
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In this article we consider the notion of digital global public good and articulate our understanding of it. Against this conceptual foil, we examine the development of DHIS2, a global health platform inspired by public goods, focusing on... more
In this article we consider the notion of digital global public good and articulate our understanding of it. Against this conceptual foil, we examine the development of DHIS2, a global health platform inspired by public goods, focusing on the paradoxes that arise in the scaling process. We find that the scaling dynamics played out differently at the macro and micro levels, giving rise to the following paradoxes: addition of new functionalities to cater to the universe of users across the world (macro level) works counter to the needs of users in particular locations (micro level); responsiveness to the requests of the donors with a global view (macro level) distorts the production process, as the voices of users, situated in remote locations in developing countries, are not adequately heard; the system needs to be simultaneously relevant across the global (macro level) and the local (micro level), when the former calls for decontextualization and the later (re)contextualization. We then discuss challenges these paradoxes create with regard to attaining non-rivalry and non-exclusion, the defining characteristics of a public good.
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In this article we consider the notion of digital global public good and articulate our understanding of it. Against this conceptual foil, we examine the development of DHIS2, a global health platform inspired by public goods, focusing on... more
In this article we consider the notion of digital global public good and articulate our understanding of it. Against this conceptual foil, we examine the development of DHIS2, a global health platform inspired by public goods, focusing on the paradoxes that arise in the scaling process. We find that the scaling dynamics played out differently at the macro and micro levels, giving rise to the following paradoxes: addition of new functionalities to cater to the universe of users across the world (macro level) works counter to the needs of users in particular locations (micro level); responsiveness to the requests of the donors with a global view (macro level) distorts the production process, as the voices of users, situated in remote locations in developing countries, are not adequately heard; the system needs to be simultaneously relevant across the global (macro level) and the local (micro level), when the former calls for decontextualization and the later (re)contextualization. We then discuss challenges these paradoxes create with regard to attaining non-rivalry and non-exclusion, the defining characteristics of a public good.
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Digital health represents a research field dedicated to realising digital technologies' potential and developing knowledge about their feasibility and impacts. Yet, drawing on a critical review of the articles in the most prominent... more
Digital health represents a research field dedicated to realising digital technologies' potential and developing knowledge about their feasibility and impacts. Yet, drawing on a critical review of the articles in the most prominent multidisciplinary digital health journals, this paper argues that the digital health field has not profoundly engaged with its core subject, namely technology. The features of digital technologies remain in the background, and research is disconnected from the complexities of healthcare settings, including multiple technologies, established practices and people. Instead, the overarching focus in the digital health literature is the processing capabilities of digital technologies and their posited impacts. This paper proposes a research direction in digital health where technology and the context of use take a more prominent role. It argues that realising the potential of digital health requires intensive investigation drawing on different disciplines, grounded on understanding healthcare processes, related informational needs and the concrete features of digital technologies.
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In March 2020 the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Norway increased rapidly, and the efforts to trace contacts of positive cases were under severe pressure. Contact tracing in Norway is the responsibility of the municipalities, and... more
In March 2020 the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Norway increased rapidly, and the efforts to trace contacts of positive cases were under severe pressure. Contact tracing in Norway is the responsibility of the municipalities, and no standardized or coordinated contact tracing practices were at the time in place on the national level. The afflicted municipalities did their best to cope with the chaotic situation and did contact tracing using excel spreadsheets or pen and paper. These approaches have their flaws, and in particular, failed to scale in several municipalities. In this paper, we report from a case study of collaborative efforts made to address this challenging situation by the University of Oslo (UiO), the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), the Norwegian Public Health Institute (NPHI), and several municipalities. The DHIS2 software platform and experiences implementing DHIS2 for contact tracing in other countries were the basis for these ...
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The purpose of this paper is to initiate a debate about whether and how we can embed socio-economic development in information technology (IT). The ICT4D research community has spent significant efforts on critically exploring,... more
The purpose of this paper is to initiate a debate about whether and how we can embed socio-economic development in information technology (IT). The ICT4D research community has spent significant efforts on critically exploring, problematising and theorising how IT can challenge and often work against development. This paper takes a different approach by exploring if and how to embed development values in IT. The paper contributes by suggesting a concept of development by design, emphasising how to embed development throughout the design and lifecycle of IT. This concept’s basis is socio-economic development as reflected in notions of digital divides, including the values of access to IT, the relevance of IT, social inclusion through IT, and participation in digital innovation. Based on these values and inspired by ideas on how to embed values in IT, this paper also offers an early version of a framework of practice-oriented design principles. This framework can promote socio-economi...
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Software platforms present novel opportunities for innovation across heterogeneous settings, users and areas of use. We report from the case of the Health Information System Programme (HISP) that started out in post-apartheid South Africa... more
Software platforms present novel opportunities for innovation across heterogeneous settings, users and areas of use. We report from the case of the Health Information System Programme (HISP) that started out in post-apartheid South Africa more than two decades ago. The programme centres on the development of an open source software – called DHIS2 – primarily for decentralized public health management. Today, DHIS2 is a software platform with a significant global footprint. We contribute to literature on innovation for development, by identifying and examining processes of inclusive innovation pertaining to the longitudinal development of DHIS2. We find that a combination of long-term capacity building and knowledge sharing, consensus-based decision-making, and a modular platform architecture facilitates inclusive innovation. However, short term and project-oriented funding limits the sharing and scale-up of local innovations while the size of the venture and the heterogeneity of actors moderates inclusion in the development of core components of the platform.
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The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionally affecting vulnerable people and deepening pre-existing inequalities (Dreze, 2020; Qureshi, 2021), have interested the very same "development" processes that the IFIP... more
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionally affecting vulnerable people and deepening pre-existing inequalities (Dreze, 2020; Qureshi, 2021), have interested the very same "development" processes that the IFIP Working Group 9.4 on the Implications of Information and Digital Technologies for Development has dealt with over time. A global development paradigm (Oldekop et al., 2020) has emerged in response to the global nature of the crisis, infusing new meaning in the spirit of "making a better world" with ICTs (Walsham, 2012) that always have characterised ICT4D research. Such a new meaning contextualises our research in the landscape of the first pandemic of the datafied society (Milan & Trere, 2020), coming to terms with the silencing of narratives from the margins within the pandemic (Milan et al., 2021) - in Qureshi's (2021) words, a "pandemics within the pandemic" producing new socio-economic inequities in a state of global emergency.
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With adherence to treatment, HIV positives can live a normal life. Accordingly, investments are made and health systems are expanded to reach those at risk in developing countries, where HIV is reported to be most endemic. At the same... more
With adherence to treatment, HIV positives can live a normal life. Accordingly, investments are made and health systems are expanded to reach those at risk in developing countries, where HIV is reported to be most endemic. At the same time, many developing countries still rely heavily on paper-based tools which are found to be inefficient when large numbers of patients are involved and of limited use to support follow ups and assure adherence to treatment. In this paper, as we move from an existing paper base and to a digital and online information management system, we focus on improving our understanding of how to use an existing system made for collecting, aggregating and presenting population based routine data to support individual follow-up of HIV positives and their adherence to treatment. We approach this through an action research project in Sierra Leone where we have piloted a HIV patient information management system. We contribute insights on health information system sc...
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The pervasiveness of digital platforms has resulted in the emergence of digital health platforms addressing various health care needs globally. Digital platforms, typically, bring about an international division of labor between platform... more
The pervasiveness of digital platforms has resulted in the emergence of digital health platforms addressing various health care needs globally. Digital platforms, typically, bring about an international division of labor between platform owners in developed countries where they are usually developed and platform consumers in developing countries leveraging them. In this relationship, boundary resources, such as documentation and application programming interfaces, are critical elements in the efforts to leverage digital health platforms in developing countries. This paper uses the case of the digital health platform DHIS2 in Malawi to elucidate and discuss the enabling and restricting roles played by boundary resources towards efforts leveraging digital health platforms in developing countries.
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Despite increased attention paid to health information systems and their key role for improving health systems in in Low and/or Middle income countries (LMICs), it is believed that data from majority of the health information systems... more
Despite increased attention paid to health information systems and their key role for improving health systems in in Low and/or Middle income countries (LMICs), it is believed that data from majority of the health information systems contribute little to the decision-making processes due to poor data quality. We carried out an exploratory assessment of the health information system in Kenya with the main objective of determining the quality of data in terms of accuracy, timeliness and completeness. The study also considered the reasons for the observed data quality status. Data quality audits were carried out in selected health facilities. Data from the source documents at health facilities were compared to the data in the national health information systems for the same period. Key informant interviews were conducted and focus group discussions conducted during quarterly review meetings at regional levels. The study revealed that the completeness rate for the monthly reports was 86...
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In this paper, we discuss the potential of Cloud Computing in terms of how it can strengthen health information systems in developing countries. The focus is on how cloud computing can enable the integration and harmonization of... more
In this paper, we discuss the potential of Cloud Computing in terms of how it can strengthen health information systems in developing countries. The focus is on how cloud computing can enable the integration and harmonization of fragmented systems and provide real-time information to health managers for evidence based decision making. Like any new technology, cloud computing is no silver bullet. Based on a case study of the innovative use of cloud computing for the national health information system in Kenya, this paper explores related opportunities and challenges experienced. The concept of IT affordance is used to analyze cloud computing in this context, its potential and its implications. The key contribution of this paper is an improved understanding of how cloud computing can enhance health management by acting as a catalyst for integration.
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Addressing the need to theorize digital technologies and innovation processes, this paper focuses on how digital innovation can be contextualized in developing countries and made relevant to solve current development challenges. We draw... more
Addressing the need to theorize digital technologies and innovation processes, this paper focuses on how digital innovation can be contextualized in developing countries and made relevant to solve current development challenges. We draw on a current and long-term engagement in the innovation processes unfolding in a living lab established in the public health sector of rural India. Our object of analysis is innovations in the realm of digital technologies in relation to social development, in our case public health. The theoretical framework combines concepts of digital and frugal innovations to develop the notion of frugal digital innovation which emphasizes the need for building intersections between technical, social and institutional innovations. Particular attention is paid on how the material properties of digital technologies, including their ability to recombine, reuse, configure and integrate enable such frugal digital innovation processes. Another contribution of this paper is to understand “how” such innovation processes can be enabled, which we operationalize through the concept and principles of a living lab. Empirically, examples are provided of innovations that have been enabled through this lab. The paper thus makes two key contributions to IS research: one, develop the notion of frugal digital innovation, which has the potential of use in other innovation contexts; and, two, understanding how the living lab contributes to enabling such innovation processes.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore tensions in global public goods (GPG), based on the case of digital platforms for innovation. GPG designs promise normative ideals of non-rivalry and non-exclusivity, which in practice are... more
The purpose of this paper is to explore tensions in global public goods (GPG), based on the case of digital platforms for innovation. GPG designs promise normative ideals of non-rivalry and non-exclusivity, which in practice are challenged in reality and fraught with tensions. This paper draws on theory of contradictions to illustrate some of these tensions, which confronts simplistic and linear views that implementing GPG health management platforms will translate unproblematically to efficiency gains. The paper explores field data collected by the authors in the Health Information Systems (HISP) research programme around a digital platform (DHIS2) installed in over 80 countries globally, primarily in the health sector. Episodes are taken from action research undertaken by the authors drawn from experiences of multiple implementations in various countries. This paper furthers the theoretical understanding of contradictions arising from the espoused ideals of GPGs and the realities of their implementation and use. The implications focus on the need to move away from simple deterministic visions of GPG towards acknowledging the contested nature of their outcomes.
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League tables are used to compare the performance of different entities in the health systems in developing countries. The aim of this paper is to study the implementation process and its effects related to a computerized league table... more
League tables are used to compare the performance of different entities in the health systems in developing countries. The aim of this paper is to study the implementation process and its effects related to a computerized league table application in Malawi. Focusing on the health district and using a field experiment research approach, the focus is on the implementation process and how it improves information transparency for health managers. Based on routine health data recording in the health management information system DHIS2, the introduced league table was used by the district health management teams in the pilot districts to rank and compare performance among their health facilities. While the introduction of the league tables was challenging, it also showed its potential through effects including improved visibility of information and accessibility for managers, better understanding of indicators, the identification of data quality issues, skills acquisition in computing and information use and improved communication and collaboration among stakeholders.
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Scaling health information system from small scale pilots to national systems in developing countries poses a key challenge to system designers and health managers. As a consequence, many projects dissolve and die before they reach the... more
Scaling health information system from small scale pilots to national systems in developing countries poses a key challenge to system designers and health managers. As a consequence, many projects dissolve and die before they reach the scale where they are useful for information management. The concept of bootstrapping from the Information Infrastructure literature has proven useful to discuss and understand how to initiate and grow large-scale, complex and networked information systems from scratch. We use this concept to analyze and discuss an empirical case of building a large scale medical licensing system in a Southeast Asian country. Beyond describing the process leading up to the success of the licensing system, we contribute by identifying a range of factors influencing the bootstrapping process and we suggest extensions to make the bootstrapping strategy relevant in this context.
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... Braa, Jørn, E Macome, J Costa, J Mavimbe, J Nhampossa, B José, A Manave, and A Sitói. 2001. ... Ciborra, Claudio U., Kristin Braa, Antonio Cordella, Bo Dahlbom, Angelo Failla, Ole Hanseth, Vidar Hepsø, Jan Ljungberg, Eric Monteiro,... more
... Braa, Jørn, E Macome, J Costa, J Mavimbe, J Nhampossa, B José, A Manave, and A Sitói. 2001. ... Ciborra, Claudio U., Kristin Braa, Antonio Cordella, Bo Dahlbom, Angelo Failla, Ole Hanseth, Vidar Hepsø, Jan Ljungberg, Eric Monteiro, and Kai A. Simon. 2000. ...
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Copyright © with the author(s). The content of this material is to be considered preliminary and are not to be quoted without the author(s)'s permission.
Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) are envisioned to increase efficiency, transparency and equity, but realising this potential has proven problematic. We argue that insights from studies of large-scale, integrated but distributed... more
Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) are envisioned to increase efficiency, transparency and equity, but realising this potential has proven problematic. We argue that insights from studies of large-scale, integrated but distributed information systems, dubbed "information infrastructures, " are applicable. This perspective may help address an important dimension of SDIs: their character of being public goods rather than private assets. We identify and illustrate four key aspects of information infrastructures that underpin such a public good’s focus. First, we advocate the necessity of deploying a socio-technical rather than a limited technical perspective. We further argue that the notion of installed base is central, that it is important to be aware of the "politics of representations " and to accept the unavoidable "messiness " of reality. We illustrate these concepts through examples from health care in developing countries, an area particularly con...
Research Interests: Health Care, Public Good, Developing Country, Public Goods, SDI, and 9 moreInformation Infrastructure, Spatial Data Infrastructures, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Development, Spatial Data Infrastructure, Installed Base, Information Infrastructures, Geographic Information System, GIS, and Geographical Information Systems
The Health Information Systems Programme (HISP) is a sustainable and scalable research project enabling and supporting health information systems implementation in more than 100 developing countries. In this paper, we present the... more
The Health Information Systems Programme (HISP) is a sustainable and scalable research project enabling and supporting health information systems implementation in more than 100 developing countries. In this paper, we present the historical roots, the status, and discuss the future of HISP and its software (DHIS2). We also reflect on factors contributing to the project’s global success and find the open and participatory approaches to HISP and DHIS2 software development, and implementation in countries as key. For the future, we discuss strategies to stabilise as well as grow the HISP and DHIS2 community into a sustainable ecosystem.
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Generativity is introduced and argued as essential as well as interdependent with usability in technology design. Where usability is well rooted in the design discourse, generativity, or how easy independent innovators can leverage on... more
Generativity is introduced and argued as essential as well as interdependent with usability in technology design. Where usability is well rooted in the design discourse, generativity, or how easy independent innovators can leverage on technology as a platform to develop new services and applications, has had little attention. We enquire into how the elements of usability and generativity are interrelated, how they contradict and how they can be combined. The mobile phone in general, as well as the Mobile Internet and iPhone in particular is used to illustrate our argument. We discuss different configurations of mobile phones, such as open, flexible and generative devices actively inviting and supporting free innovation and sophisticatedly designed appliances offering high quality services and superior usability. As an outcome of our discussion, we describe four different design approaches and ways to combine generativity and usability, and the properties of each of them.
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Information and Communication Technologies for Development. Strengthening Southern-Driven Cooperation as a Catalyst for ICT4D: 15th IFIP WG 9.4 International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, ICT4D 2019, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, May 1–3, 2019, Proceedings, Partmore
In this paper our aim is to show even though access to technology, information or data holds the potential for improved participation, participation is wired into a larger network of actors, artefacts and information practices. We draw on... more
In this paper our aim is to show even though access to technology, information or data holds the potential for improved participation, participation is wired into a larger network of actors, artefacts and information practices. We draw on a case study of a weather information system developed and implemented by a non-profit organisation to both describe the configuration of participation, but also critically assess inclusion and exclusion. We present a set of four questions a basic, practical toolkit by which we together with the organisation made sense of and evaluated participation in the system.
Mobile Telecommunication standardization in Europe builds on a history formed by European and International standardization bodies, the governments as regulators and the R&D departments of PPT-owned telecommunication operators. This paper... more
Mobile Telecommunication standardization in Europe builds on a history formed by European and International standardization bodies, the governments as regulators and the R&D departments of PPT-owned telecommunication operators. This paper describes the standardization approach related to the implementation of the public CPA (Content Provider Access) platform and business model for provision of content services for mobile phones in Norway. CPA builds on complementary services and common incentives for mobile telecommunication operators and content providers to create an open, transparent and easy to access service platform through standardization, but is at the same time developed outside both the scope and the central control of standardization organizations and their standardization practices. The nature of this process can be attributed to processes of convergence. Applying an Information Infrastructure perspective, we discuss the standardization process as open, where the traject...
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This paper engages in a study of the conditions for convergence between information infrastructures. Inspired by the visions of convergence as one of the essential building blocks to achieve the goals of the Information Society and... more
This paper engages in a study of the conditions for convergence between information infrastructures. Inspired by the visions of convergence as one of the essential building blocks to achieve the goals of the Information Society and eEurope as well as the observation that no model has been pro- posed to address how and why convergence develops, we aim at providing a theoretical framework for studying such phenomena. To analyze the interrelat- edness of the parallel evolution of information infrastructures, we introduce a concept of co-evolution and apply it to a study of the ongoing development of the two wireless communication platforms Universal Mobile Telephone Sys- tem (UMTS) and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) in Norway. We emphasize the importance of an adequate understanding of the infrastruc- tures involved, including the installed bases and their intra- and inter-linkages, to anticipate possible trajectories of co-evolution. Focusing on the network dimension of the commun...
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The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionally affecting vulnerable people and deepening pre-existing inequalities (Drèze, 2020; Qureshi, 2021), have interested the very same “development” processes that the IFIP Working Group... more
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionally affecting vulnerable people and deepening pre-existing inequalities (Drèze, 2020; Qureshi, 2021), have interested the very same “development” processes that the IFIP Working Group 9.4 on the Implications of Information and Digital Technologies for Development has dealt with over time. A global development paradigm (Oldekop et al., 2020) has emerged in response to the global nature of the crisis, infusing new meaning in the spirit of “making a better world” with ICTs (Walsham, 2012) that always have characterised ICT4D research. Such a new meaning contextualises our research in the landscape of the first pandemic of the datafied society (Milan & Trerè, 2020), coming to terms with the silencing of narratives from the margins within the pandemic (Milan et al., 2021) – in Qureshi’s (2021) words, a “pandemics within the pandemic” producing new socio-economic inequities in a state of global emergency.
Content services for mobile phone subscribers compose a new business area based on the constellation of and symbiotic relationship between mobile telecommunication operators and content providers. In this paper we discuss the development... more
Content services for mobile phone subscribers compose a new business area based on the constellation of and symbiotic relationship between mobile telecommunication operators and content providers. In this paper we discuss the development and internationalization of the CPA (Content Provider Access) business model and platform by the Norwegian telecommunication operator Telenor. CPA is firmly grounded on and driven by common interests and incentives among operators and content providers. Through a discussion of relevant actors, we identify different factors supporting and hampering the success of CPA in different national markets. We further discuss how CPA relates and challenges traditional and institutionalized standardization approaches within the telecommunication industry.
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Usability is widely acknowledged as a desirable trait of software, referring to how usable it is to a specific set of users. However, when software is developed as generic packages, aimed at supporting variety, designing user interfaces... more
Usability is widely acknowledged as a desirable trait of software, referring to how usable it is to a specific set of users. However, when software is developed as generic packages, aimed at supporting variety, designing user interfaces with sufficient sensitivity to use-contexts is a challenge. Extant literature has documented this challenge and established that solving usability-related problems are difficult, both during software development and implementation. Adding to this discussion, this paper contributes by developing a framework to analyze what characterizes usability-related design of generic software. This includes two levels of design; generic-level and implementation-level, and two types of design; design for use and design for design. We apply this conceptual framework on an empirical case based on an ongoing action research project where a global generic health software is implemented in a large state in India. From the analysis we argue that attempts to strengthen u...
In this paper we argue for the need to expand from a perspective on a single user developer relation in designing usability to a perspective on usability as dependent on a multi-layered and distributed network of relations between... more
In this paper we argue for the need to expand from a perspective on a single user developer relation in designing usability to a perspective on usability as dependent on a multi-layered and distributed network of relations between multiple and diverse actors. Based on an empirical study of the successful premium SMS services for mobile phones in the Norwegian market we make explicit the user developer relationships related to usability in a service providing context. We describe this context with a network perspective based on the specific concepts of value networks (Stabell and Fjellstad 1998). This rich analytical perspective appreciates the critical aspects of the service providing context and provides support in solving the primary usability challenges related to premium SMS services.
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Without new products and services utilizing this infrastructure (m-services), however, these investments may never be recollected, and today there is no sure sign of demand for these new “nomadic applications” in the market. This paper... more
Without new products and services utilizing this infrastructure (m-services), however, these investments may never be recollected, and today there is no sure sign of demand for these new “nomadic applications” in the market. This paper shows how actors in the m-services value network co-ordinate their efforts to bring such applications to the marketplace. It shows their risk averse and locally optimizing strategies, which theoretically is very different from the current fascination in IS with disruptive innovation. This paper illustrates the need for a theory of ‘ordinary innovation’ in nomadic and ubiquitous
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The purpose of this paper is to define and conceptualize digital global public goods (DGPGs) and illustrate the importance of contextual relevance in ICT4D projects. Recent studies have examined the importance of digital artefacts with... more
The purpose of this paper is to define and conceptualize digital global public goods (DGPGs) and illustrate the importance of contextual relevance in ICT4D projects. Recent studies have examined the importance of digital artefacts with public goods traits, emphasizing the significant potential for socio-economic development. However, we know little about the theoretical and practical dimensions of how we can align the public goods traits of such artefacts to create relevance in the context they are implemented. To address this gap we review the literature firstly to develop a definition and conceptual basis of DGPGs and then to illustrate the importance of relevance: how to align DGPGs with context to meet local needs. The illustration draws from a case study of the District Health Information systems (DHIS2). The paper advances both the theoretical and practical understanding of DPGs in development processes.
Substantial investments are made in ICTs to support socioeconomic growth in developing countries. As a side-effect of this, the public health sectors in developing countries are commonly challenged by the proliferation of multiple and... more
Substantial investments are made in ICTs to support socioeconomic growth in developing countries. As a side-effect of this, the public health sectors in developing countries are commonly challenged by the proliferation of multiple and parallel information systems. Investments are made, but not in a coordinated manner. Based on a case study of OpenHIE, a global community of practice supporting the development of ICT standards within health, and the implementation of these standards in Tanzania and The Philippines, we discuss the relation between global standards and local development. We do so by conceptualizing the global standards offered by OpenHIE as fluid standards and standards as composed of a package of the different components necessary to make them globally and locally relevant. Theoretically, we contribute to the standardization literature by applying and expanding the concept of fluid standards within this particular context of global initiatives to reduce fragmentation of health information systems locally in developing countries. We also contribute to the development literature by exemplifying and critically discussing how the fluid nature of standards, and the networked nature of standardization processes, promote local development.
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Digital platforms are the hot topic in research and practice today and are now an area of multidisciplinary research in its own right, involving economics, accounting, entrepreneurship, management and beyond. It is also a core subject in... more
Digital platforms are the hot topic in research and practice today and are now an area of multidisciplinary research in its own right, involving economics, accounting, entrepreneurship, management and beyond. It is also a core subject in Information Systems (IS), research comprising tracks in all major IS conferences and the topic of multiple special issues (e.g., Constantinides et al., 2018) with another currently ongoing in this journal focussing on “Digital Platforms and Ecosystems”. The now mainstream research on digital platforms reflects the significance of the platform economy. Cusumano et al. (2020) points out that the top-ranked companies by market capitalization are Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google's parent company), and Amazon. Facebook, Alibaba and Tencent are not far behind. As of January 2020, these seven companies represented more than $6.3 trillion in market value, and all of them are platform-based businesses. Impressive though these figures may be on the commercial importance of digital platforms, the purpose of this special issue is to identify and foster a relatively unexplored research area concerning the nature, significance and impact of digital platforms for development. It is a response to the call from the ICT for development (ICT4D) community (e.g., Koskinen et al., 2018; Nielsen, 2017) to stimulate the development of a research agenda by inviting a variety of perspectives on digital platforms, including social, technical, economic, organisational, personal and environmental. Moreover, while existing research on digital platforms primarily focuses on the private sector, new business models and architectures in the context of the global North, we challenged the IS community to also explore non-profit platforms, platforms in the public sector and platforms in low resource and developing country settings. To proceed, contextualise and showcase the three articles in this issue, we must first get our hands around two key questions: what are digital platforms? and what is development? We leave it to the reader to explore the detailed review and definitions in this special issue, but our starting point for the first question is the definition from OECD (2019) (of ‘online’ platforms, a term used interchangeably with ‘digital’) as ‘... digital service that facilitates interactions between two or more distinct but interdependent sets of users (whether firms or individuals) who interact through the service via the Internet’ (p. 23). This broad definition includes platforms of different types across different domains of application such as for example search engines, app stores, social media, gig work, marketplaces, dating, music, video sharing and so on. By necessity, a high-level perspective must suffice and in this issue Bonina et al. (2021) offer a classification into transactional, innovation and hybrid platforms. This differentiates between transactional mediated marketplaces (e.g., Uber) and platforms offering a broad audience tools to innovate (e.g., the Android platform). There are also ‘hybrid’ platforms that display characteristics of both transaction and innovation. An example of a hybrid platform from the commercial sector is the ‘Valve’ gaming platform that enables transactional sales of the products and also the social networking on the ‘Steam’ platform. The innovation platform component known as ‘Steamworks’ contains developer resources and an app store for products built by 3rd party professional developers and amateurs. In this issue, Madon and Schoemaker (2021) consider the relevance of this typology of transaction, innovation and hybrid platforms to a development context. In addition, they build on the concept of ‘platformisation’ which refers to the process by which a closed system is transformed into an open platform for commercial purposes or for collaboration. For the understanding of digital platforms and development, Sein and Harindranath (2004) point out that ICT has come to be recognised as an important contributor to industrial and economic development, classified into three main perspectives: modernization, dependency, and human development. To this list, we can add the sustainability perspective encapsulated in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UN, 2021). In short, the modernization DOI: 10.1111/isj.12364
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The goal of this special issue on “Critical perspectives on information systems and openness: Emerging discourses, meanings, models, and implications” is to advance a critical debate in Information Systems research on the theme of... more
The goal of this special issue on “Critical perspectives on information systems and openness: Emerging discourses, meanings, models, and implications” is to advance a critical debate in Information Systems research on the theme of openness. Research in information systems on openness has focused on the nature of technology and how openness contributes to the development of new opportunities for technological and institutional enhancements even as it introduces various limitations. However, more often than not, we take for granted the positive potential of openness guided by a market‐driven focus, which tends to marginalize potential distortions understood through interpretive, critical, and contextualized social theoretical positions. The aim of this special issue is to move beyond positivist and functionalist approaches, which merely promote rhetoric and hype, and critically and interpretively explore and explain the nature of openness and its enabling and constraining role in our ...
This chapter addresses issues related to how to enable the broadest possible innovative activities by infrastructural technology design. The authors focus on the development of high-level services based on mobile telecommunication... more
This chapter addresses issues related to how to enable the broadest possible innovative activities by infrastructural technology design. The authors focus on the development of high-level services based on mobile telecommunication technologies that for matters of simplicity are termed the development of a Mobile Internet. The focus of the analysis is how features of the technology itself enable or constrain innovations. The authors do this by looking on a few embryos of the Mobile Internet (primarily the Norwegian CPA platform, but also two pre-CPA platforms in Norway and Japan's i-mode) through the concepts of end-to-end architecture, programmability of terminals, and generativity. This analysis illustrates that the change from closed infrastructures like MobilInfo and SMSinfo to more open ones like CPA and i-mode increased the speed and range of innovation substantially. At the same time, the differences between CPA and i-mode regarding programmability of terminals and the bil...
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Objectives: Achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and establishing robust Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems are two urgent priorities and grand challenges of global health, especially in Low and Middle Income... more
Objectives: Achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and establishing robust Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems are two urgent priorities and grand challenges of global health, especially in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). It is argued that addressing both these priorities requires strong supportive Health Information Systems (HIS), which to date have been elusive to develop. Methods: Two case studies are presented and discussed. The first concerns an Indian state's effort to implement a UHC HIS in primary health care while the second relates to the efforts of the Tajikistan national ministry to develop a HIS for CRVS. Results: UHC and CRVS can benefit by learning from the domain of information systems research and practice, especially relating to the design of large-scale and complex systems. From this perspective, key areas of concern in strengthening UHC and CRVS include: the role of primary health care, the role of existing systems and practices, and the fragility of technical infrastructure in LMICs. Conclusion: Implications for policymakers can be found on three levels: anchoring HIS in primary health care, renewing what already exists, and adopting hybrid rather than fully Internet-dependent systems.
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ABSTRACT This paper is based on a critical perspective on the coordination of information systems in the health sector in developing countries. Two stories of health information system implementations in West Africa are presented. These... more
ABSTRACT This paper is based on a critical perspective on the coordination of information systems in the health sector in developing countries. Two stories of health information system implementations in West Africa are presented. These are stories of integration, interoperability and architecting processes unfolding in a space where different actors pursue different and often conflicting agendas and where power and politics are at play. Our point of departure is an understanding of information systems as information infrastructures, being large scale, complex, and evolving over time. Our analysis of architecting large and complex information systems contributes to an understanding of information system architectures as a process. We argue that information system architecture is not simply made on the drawing board, but are the outcome of negotiations among actors about the division of labour, or role- making and role-taking, within the information infrastructure
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This paper theoretically and empirically discloses transformations in the 'world of standards' and the challenges it creates for current and future standardisation in the turbulent and complex environment of m-commerce. This paper... more
This paper theoretically and empirically discloses transformations in the 'world of standards' and the challenges it creates for current and future standardisation in the turbulent and complex environment of m-commerce. This paper discusses the increasing complexity and pervasiveness of standards and standardisation processes as the result of an increasing number of standards, links between them and actors involved in their
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The purpose of this paper is to initiate a debate about whether and how we can embed socioeconomic development in information technology (IT). The ICT4D research community has spent significant efforts on critically exploring,... more
The purpose of this paper is to initiate a debate about whether and how we can embed socioeconomic development in information technology (IT). The ICT4D research community has spent significant efforts on critically exploring, problematising and theorising how IT can challenge and often work against development. This paper takes a different approach by exploring if and how to embed development values in IT. The paper contributes by suggesting a concept of development by design, emphasising how to embed development throughout the design and lifecycle of IT. This concept's basis is socioeconomic development as reflected in notions of digital divides, including the values of access to IT, the relevance of IT, social inclusion through IT, and participation in digital innovation. Based on these values and inspired by ideas on how to embed values in IT, this paper also offers an early version of a framework of practice-oriented design principles. This framework can promote socioeconomic development in developing countries by ensuring values being implemented from the design and throughout its lifecycle of IT.
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The Health Information Systems Programme (HISP) is a sustainable and scalable research project enabling and supporting health information systems implementation in more than 100 developing countries. In this paper, we present the... more
The Health Information Systems Programme (HISP) is a sustainable and scalable research project enabling and supporting health information systems implementation in more than 100 developing countries. In this paper, we present the historical roots, the status, and discuss the future of HISP and its software (DHIS2). We also reflect on factors contributing to the project's global success and find the open and participatory approaches to HISP and DHIS2 software development, and implementation in countries as key. For the future, we discuss strategies to stabilise as well as grow the HISP and DHIS2 community into a sustainable ecosystem. Keywords HISP, DHIS2, health information systems implementation, participatory action research, open-source software.
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Software platforms present novel opportunities for innovation across heterogeneous settings, users and areas of use. We report from the case of the Health Information System Programme (HISP) that started out in post-apartheid South Africa... more
Software platforms present novel opportunities for innovation across heterogeneous settings, users and areas of use. We report from the case of the Health Information System Programme (HISP) that started out in post-apartheid South Africa more than two decades ago. The programme centres on the development of an open source software-called DHIS2-primarily for decentralized public health management. Today, DHIS2 is a software platform with a significant global footprint. We contribute to literature on innovation for development, by identifying and examining processes of inclusive innovation pertaining to the longitudinal development of DHIS2. We find that a combination of long-term capacity building and knowledge sharing, consensus-based decision-making, and a modular platform architecture facilitates inclusive innovation. However, short term and project-oriented funding limits the sharing and scale-up of local innovations while the size of the venture and the heterogeneity of actors moderates inclusion in the development of core components of the platform.
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The pervasiveness of digital platforms has resulted in the emergence of digital health platforms addressing various health care needs globally. Digital platforms, typically, bring about an international division of labor between platform... more
The pervasiveness of digital platforms has resulted in the emergence of digital health platforms addressing various health care needs globally. Digital platforms, typically, bring about an international division of labor between platform owners in developed countries where they are usually developed and platform consumers in developing countries leveraging them. In this relationship , boundary resources, such as documentation and application programming interfaces, are critical elements in the efforts to leverage digital health platforms in developing countries. This paper uses the case of the digital health platform DHIS2 in Malawi to elucidate and discuss the enabling and restricting roles played by boundary resources towards efforts leveraging digital health platforms in developing countries.
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With adherence to treatment, HIV positives can live a normal life. Accordingly, investments are made and health systems are expanded to reach those at risk in developing countries, where HIV is reported to be most endemic. At the same... more
With adherence to treatment, HIV positives can live a normal life. Accordingly, investments are made and health systems are expanded to reach those at risk in developing countries, where HIV is reported to be most endemic. At the same time, many developing countries still rely heavily on paper-based tools which are found to be inefficient when large numbers of patients are involved and of limited use to support follow ups and assure adherence to treatment. In this paper, as we move from an existing paper base and to a digital and online information management system, we focus on improving our understanding of how to use an existing system made for collecting, aggregating and presenting population based routine data to support individual follow-up of HIV positives and their adherence to treatment. We approach this through an action research project in Sierra Leone where we have piloted a HIV patient information management system. We contribute insights on health information system scaling with emphasis on building on existing systems in developing new functionalities rather than introducing entirely new systems. Within this approach we observe the need for technological flexibility and organizational collaboration in utilizing existing resources for efficiency gains.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore tensions in global public goods (GPG), based on the case of digital platforms for innovation. GPG designs promise normative ideals of non-rivalry and non-exclusivity, which in practice are... more
The purpose of this paper is to explore tensions in global public goods (GPG), based on the case of digital platforms for innovation. GPG designs promise normative ideals of non-rivalry and non-exclusivity, which in practice are challenged in reality and fraught with tensions. This paper draws on theory of contradictions to illustrate some of these tensions, which confronts simplistic and linear views that implementing GPG health management platforms will translate unproblematically to efficiency gains. The paper explores field data collected by the authors in the Health Information Systems (HISP) research programme around the digital platform (DHIS2) installed in over 80 countries globally, primarily in the health sector. Episodes are taken from action research undertaken by the authors drawn from experiences of multiple implementations in various countries. This paper furthers the theoretical understanding of contradictions inherent arising from the espoused ideals of GPGs and the realities of their implementation and use. The implications focus on the need to move away from simple deterministic visions of GPG towards acknowledging the contested nature of their outcomes .
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The aim of this special issue is to identify and foster a relatively unexplored research area of the significance and impact of digital platforms in developing countries in relation to socio-economic development. Increasingly, discourses... more
The aim of this special issue is to identify and foster a relatively unexplored research area of the significance and impact of digital platforms in developing countries in relation to socio-economic development. Increasingly, discourses around digitalization have become central to research and practice concerning ICT for development (ICT4D), with an emergent research agenda that centres on exploring the significance of software platforms and digital innovation in relation to socio-economic development (see Nielsen 2017 and Koskinen et al 2018). We are seeking contributions on digital platforms from developmental, social, economic, technical, organizational, personal and environmental perspectives. While platforms can facilitate transactions, their significance correspondingly relates to facilitating innovation and providing organizational flexibility. Moreover, while existing research on digital platforms primarily focuses on the private sector, platforms may be equally significant in public and not-for-profit sectors.
This is a double Special Issue for the Information Systems Journal (ISJ) and the Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC). Authors can submit their paper to the special issue in either ISJ or EJISDC.
This is a double Special Issue for the Information Systems Journal (ISJ) and the Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC). Authors can submit their paper to the special issue in either ISJ or EJISDC.
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Addressing the need to theorize digital technologies and innovation processes, this paper focuses on how digital innovation can be contextualized in developing countries and made relevant to solve current development challenges. We draw... more
Addressing the need to theorize digital technologies and innovation processes, this paper focuses on how digital innovation can be contextualized in developing countries and made relevant to solve current development challenges. We draw on a current and long-term engagement in the innovation processes unfolding in a living lab established in the public health sector of rural India. Our object of analysis is innovations in the realm of digital technologies in relation to social development, in our case public health. The theoretical framework combines concepts of digital and frugal innovations to develop the notion of frugal digital innovation which emphasizes the need for building intersections between technical, social and institutional innovations. Particular attention is paid on how the material properties of digital technologies, including their ability to recombine, reuse, configure and integrate enable such frugal digital innovation processes. Another contribution of this paper is to understand “how” such innovation processes can be enabled, which we operationalize through the concept and principles of a living lab. Empirically, examples are provided of innovations that have been enabled through this lab. The paper thus makes two key contributions to IS research: one, develop the notion of frugal digital innovation, which has the potential of use in other innovation contexts; and, two, understanding how the living lab contributes to enabling such innovation processes.
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Achieving that all people can use health services of sufficient quality without being exposed to financial hardship, i.e. Universal Health Coverage, is an urgent priority of global health, and to measure progress towards this, countries... more
Achieving that all people can use health services of sufficient quality without being exposed to financial hardship, i.e. Universal Health Coverage, is an urgent priority of global health, and to measure progress towards this, countries need to build robust supporting Health Information Systems. Because Universal Health Coverage must be rooted in Primary Health Care, Universal Health Coverage Health Information Systems also need to be sensitively anchored within the existing routine Health Information Systems. This represents a non-trivial challenge, which we study through an empirical analysis of an Indian state's effort to implement a Universal Health Coverage Health Information System within primary care. Using a theoretical lens informed by institutional theory, we seek to answer the question of “what kind of change is required to develop institutions that support the use of new technologies and associated work processes entailed by Universal Health Coverage?” We identify the contradictions that emerge when the new system clashes with what traditionally exists, and we formulate implications in terms of design of systems, work processes and institutions to support implementation. Our paper contributes by building an understanding of inherent complexities in Universal Health Coverage Health Information System design and implementation, and by providing system design guidelines.
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Achieving that all people can use health services of sufficient quality without being exposed to financial hardship, i.e. Universal Health Coverage, is an urgent priority of global health, and to measure progress towards this, countries... more
Achieving that all people can use health services of sufficient quality without being exposed to financial hardship, i.e. Universal Health Coverage, is an urgent priority of global health, and to measure progress towards this, countries need to build robust supporting Health Information Systems. Because Universal Health Coverage must be rooted in Primary Health Care, Universal Health Coverage Health Information Systems also need to be sensitively anchored within the existing routine Health Information Systems. This represents a non-trivial challenge, which we study through an empirical analysis of an Indian state's effort to implement a Universal Health Coverage Health Information System within primary care. Using a theoretical lens informed by institutional theory, we seek to answer the question of “what kind of change is required to develop institutions that support the use of new technologies and associated work processes entailed by Universal Health Coverage?” We identify the contradictions that emerge when the new system clashes with what traditionally exists, and we formulate implications in terms of design of systems, work processes and institutions to support implementation. Our paper contributes by building an understanding of inherent complexities in Universal Health Coverage Health Information System design and implementation, and by providing system design guidelines.
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Objectives: Achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and establishing robust Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems are two urgent priorities and grand challenges of global health, especially in Low and Middle Income... more
Objectives: Achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and establishing robust Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems are two urgent priorities and grand challenges of global health, especially in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). It is argued that addressing both
these priorities requires strong supportive Health Information Systems (HIS), which to date have been elusive to develop.
Methods: Two case studies are presented and discussed. The first concerns an Indian state's effort to implement a UHC HIS in primary health care while the second relates to the efforts of
the Tajikistan national ministry to develop a HIS for CRVS.
Results: UHC and CRVS can benefit by learning from the domain of information systems research and practice, especially relating to the design of large-scale and complex systems. From this perspective, key areas of concern in strengthening UHC and CRVS include: the role of
primary health care, the role of existing systems and practices, and the fragility of technical infrastructure in LMICs.
Conclusion: Implications for policymakers can be found on three levels: anchoring HIS in primary health care, renewing what already exists, and adopting hybrid rather than fully Internet-dependent systems.
these priorities requires strong supportive Health Information Systems (HIS), which to date have been elusive to develop.
Methods: Two case studies are presented and discussed. The first concerns an Indian state's effort to implement a UHC HIS in primary health care while the second relates to the efforts of
the Tajikistan national ministry to develop a HIS for CRVS.
Results: UHC and CRVS can benefit by learning from the domain of information systems research and practice, especially relating to the design of large-scale and complex systems. From this perspective, key areas of concern in strengthening UHC and CRVS include: the role of
primary health care, the role of existing systems and practices, and the fragility of technical infrastructure in LMICs.
Conclusion: Implications for policymakers can be found on three levels: anchoring HIS in primary health care, renewing what already exists, and adopting hybrid rather than fully Internet-dependent systems.
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Objectives: This paper looks at the effects on transparency and accountability of introducing league tables in the health sector in Sierra Leone and Malawi. Methods: Drawing on long-term action research in the two countries, we have... more
Objectives: This paper looks at the effects on transparency and accountability of introducing league tables in the health sector in Sierra Leone and Malawi.
Methods: Drawing on long-term action research in the two countries, we have supported development of league tables at district levels. Our practical aim of this work has been to design and develop a tool that helps districts create and change league tables as they please, based on indicators relevant for them. This has been done in a participative manner. The research covers 3 years in Sierra Leone and 2 years in Malawi.
Results: Our findings show that such tools have positive immediate effects, most notably on providing new information about relative performance, and improving data quality. They contribute to understanding of health indicators, their applicability, reliability, and relevance at various levels of the health sector. League tables are also suitable for communicating priorities, giving higher levels a way to signal what health facilities are held accountable by
Conclusion: League tables are a promising tool for advancing transparency and accountability at district levels. An implication for policy is that access to peer data is necessary to evaluate your own performance. The true benefits of league tables at district level can only be reaped when they are easily changed and replicated, becoming an integral part of routine district monitoring and evaluation.
Methods: Drawing on long-term action research in the two countries, we have supported development of league tables at district levels. Our practical aim of this work has been to design and develop a tool that helps districts create and change league tables as they please, based on indicators relevant for them. This has been done in a participative manner. The research covers 3 years in Sierra Leone and 2 years in Malawi.
Results: Our findings show that such tools have positive immediate effects, most notably on providing new information about relative performance, and improving data quality. They contribute to understanding of health indicators, their applicability, reliability, and relevance at various levels of the health sector. League tables are also suitable for communicating priorities, giving higher levels a way to signal what health facilities are held accountable by
Conclusion: League tables are a promising tool for advancing transparency and accountability at district levels. An implication for policy is that access to peer data is necessary to evaluate your own performance. The true benefits of league tables at district level can only be reaped when they are easily changed and replicated, becoming an integral part of routine district monitoring and evaluation.
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Understanding the way information systems grow and change over time and the role of different contributors in these processes is central to current research on software development and innovation. In relation to this, there is an ongoing... more
Understanding the way information systems grow and change over time and the role of different contributors in these processes is central to current research on software development and innovation. In relation to this, there is an ongoing discourse on how the attributes of software platforms influence who can innovate on top of them and the kind of innovations possible within the larger ecosystem of technologies and people these platforms are part of. This discourse has paid limited attention to innovation unfolding in the fringes of the ecosystems peripheral to and disconnected from where the central software components are developed and where the resources necessary for digital innovation are scarce. Drawing upon Zittrain’s characteristics of generativity and Lane’s concept of generative relationships, the key contribution of this paper is a socio-technical perspective on innovation and generativity in this setting. We build this perspective of socio-technical generativity based on a case study of software innovation activities in Malawi on top of the health information system software platform DHIS2 developed in Norway. This case illustrates how the technical attributes of the platform played a key role in concert with human relationships in shaping innovation activities in Malawi.
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Conference theme: Strengthening Southern-driven cooperation as a catalyst for ICT4D The Working Group 9.4 of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) gathers scholars and practitioners that deal with the issue on how... more
Conference theme: Strengthening Southern-driven cooperation as a catalyst for ICT4D The Working Group 9.4 of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) gathers scholars and practitioners that deal with the issue on how Information and communication technology (ICT) affects social development. The last three decades and in particular in the 21 st century, ICT has been viewed as playing a leading role in stimulating development by providing access and enabling communication in our society. This has spurred the attention of scholars from information systems and a variety of other areas such as development studies, political science, political economy, social anthropology, and sociology. With the proliferation of ICT related projects to support development, the southern countries are now emerging as important innovators and actors in the global adoption of ICT for the community development. A good example is seen through MPESA, a mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and micro financing service. The phenomenon has transformed lives within the local community and has penetrated in regional and global arena. Strengthening a southern-driven cooperation promotes ICT projects for, in and by developing countries. The conference theme of Strengthening Southern-driven cooperation as a catalyst for ICT4D seeks to encourage critical discussions on the different facets of Southern-driven cooperation, its promises and potential for creating a better world, and the challenges we face in achieving the promised potential. We welcome contributions from a wide range of perspectives and disciplines including (but not limited to) public administration, entrepreneurship, business administration, information technology for development, information management systems, organization studies, philosophy, and management. We encourage track proposals that directly address the theme of the conference.
Scaling health information systems from small-scale pilots to national systems in developing countries poses a key challenge to systems designers and health managers. Consequently, many projects dissolve and die before they reach the... more
Scaling health information systems from small-scale pilots to national systems in developing countries poses a key challenge to systems designers and health managers. Consequently, many projects dissolve and die before they reach the scale where they are useful for information management. The concept of bootstrapping, from the information infrastructure literature, has proven useful for discussing and understanding how to initiate and grow large-scale, complex and networked information systems from scratch. We use the concept of bootstrapping to analyze and discuss an empirical case of building a large-scale medical licensing system in a Southeast Asian country. Beyond describing the process leading up to the success of the licensing system, we contribute to the literature by identifying a range of factors influencing the bootstrapping process, and we suggest methods of making the bootstrapping strategy relevant in this context.
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While open source health information software platforms provide developing countries a low-cost, quick and less risky way to build health information systems as compared to in-house solutions, human resource capacity challenges can limit... more
While open source health information software platforms provide developing countries a low-cost, quick and less risky way to build health information systems as compared to in-house solutions, human resource capacity challenges can limit their ability to leverage such platforms. Drawing from a case study focusing on the deployment and operation phases of the DHIS2 platform in Malawi, we observe open source software platforms require a range of human resource capacities that go beyond capacity to use the platform. To fully leverage open source health information software platforms entails the availability of platform usage capacity, platform deployment capacity, platform cus-tomisation capacity and platform module development capacity. Most capacity building initiatives for information systems in developing countries have been short-term efforts focused on initial end user capacity to use such systems. However, to cope with rapid innovations and evolution associated with open source software platforms, capacity building ought to be a continuous process encompassing a range of human resource capacities not only use of the platform .
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Indicators are foundational for planning, monitoring and evaluating of health services in developing countries. Most health indicators use popua-tion-based data, to enable comparison across geographical areas and over time. This paper is... more
Indicators are foundational for planning, monitoring and evaluating of health services in developing countries. Most health indicators use popua-tion-based data, to enable comparison across geographical areas and over time. This paper is based on an interpretative case study on health indicators and how they are calculated and used at health facilities in Cameroon. We found that health managers at different levels of health systems do not share the same understanding of health indicators and we observed a widespread absence of population data. We further observed that health managers derive alternative ways of calculating indicators in the absence of population data. This paper contributes by discussing the implications of a lack of a common understanding of health indicators and the absence of population data to calculate health coverage indicators. Though this study was limited to data and program managers at district and regional levels, the findings raise issues that have wider applicability in the implementation of electronic health information system as well as how indicators such as UHC goals are calculated.
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This paper is based on a survey of the current landscape of information systems research concerned with developing countries and development. Significant gaps are identified representing a lack of focus on digital technologies and the... more
This paper is based on a survey of the current landscape of information systems research concerned with developing countries and development. Significant gaps are identified representing a lack of focus on digital technologies and the impact and significance of digital innovation for developing countries and development. We need to expand our focus from primarily addressing the challenges of access to and the ability to use ICTs, to also include how developing countries can participate in and take relevant roles in digital innovation. We are witnessing a widespread digitization of organizations and societies at large, and these significant changes warrant a new research agenda for information systems in developing countries. This paper proposes three new directions for research to support this shift; empirical research on digital innovation by developing countries; theorizing digital innovation by developing countries ; and participation in digital innovation as freedom.
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Despite increased attention paid to health information systems and their key role for improving health systems in in Low and/or Middle income countries (LMICs), it is believed that data from majority of the health information systems... more
Despite increased attention paid to health information systems and their key role for improving health systems in in Low and/or Middle income countries (LMICs), it is believed that data from majority of the health information systems contribute little to the decision-making processes due to poor data quality. We carried out an exploratory assessment of the health information system in Kenya with the main objective of determining the quality of data in terms of accuracy, timeliness and completeness. The study also considered the reasons for the observed data quality status. Data quality audits were carried out in selected health facilities. Data from the source documents at health facilities were compared to the data in the national health information systems for the same period. Key informant interviews were conducted and focus group discussions conducted during quarterly review meetings at regional levels. The study revealed that the completeness rate for the monthly reports was 86.9 percent while the timeliness of the reports was 78.7 percent. In terms of accuracy of the reports, the study showed that while there was a significant amount of low accuracy in many reports evaluated, there was a surprisingly high accuracy of reports coming from the maternity units of all health facilities visited. The accuracy of the number of deliveries could be associated with the financial incentives provided by the government to health facilities as part of the country's free maternity care project in which mothers deliver free of charge in health facilities. While most health information systems are plagued with poor data quality, a simple and practical incentive can improve accuracy, timeliness and completeness.
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The role of Health Information System is fundamental to achieve the goals of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). UHC aims at achieving equitable and sustainable health outcomes without financial hardship for citizens. For countries to... more
The role of Health Information System is fundamental to achieve the goals of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). UHC aims at achieving equitable and sustainable health outcomes without financial hardship for citizens. For countries to achieve the UHC goal, they must have a financial health system and also need to have an integrated information system; that could interact with multiple information systems, and to generate good quality information to inform-decisions, and monitor progress towards these goals. Health Information systems in Cameroon, like most other Lower-and Middle-Income countries has neither an integrated HIS nor a financial health scheme such as social health insurance. Factors contributing to this situation are the complexity of meeting multiple institutional interest and institutional logics that might be competing and conflicting. The purpose of this paper is to improve our understanding of the role (and challenges) of integrated HIS in achieving UHC. To reach this goal we analysed the case of Cameroon using institutional logics as our analytical lens. Data was obtained through in-depth interviews with officials of Ministry of Public Health and UHC focal team in the capital of Yaoundé in December 2015 and January 2016. Document review was used as secondary method of data collection. We identify two major logics; centralized HIS existing on the ground and integrated HIS proposed by the UHC initiative. We compare their interplay and discuss related implications for the integration of health information systems in order to support the goals of UHC. This study makes an interesting contribution empirically by discussing information systems for UHC as well as in the debate on institutional logics.
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In this paper, we discuss the potential of Cloud Computing in terms of how it can strengthen health information systems in developing countries. The focus is on how cloud computing can enable the integration and harmonization of... more
In this paper, we discuss the potential of Cloud Computing in terms of how it can strengthen health information systems in developing countries. The focus is on how cloud computing can enable the integration and harmonization of fragmented systems and provide real-time information to health managers for evidence based decision making. Like any new technology, cloud computing is no silver bullet. Based on a case study of the innovative use of cloud computing for the national health information system in Kenya, this paper explores related opportunities and challenges experienced. The concept of IT affordance is used to analyze cloud computing in this context, its potential and its implications. The key contribution of this paper is an improved understanding of how cloud computing can enhance health management by acting as a catalyst for integration.
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League tables are used to compare the performance of different entities in the health systems in developing countries. The aim of this paper is to study the implementation process and its effects related to a computerized league table... more
League tables are used to compare the performance of different entities in the health systems in developing countries. The aim of this paper is to study the implementation process and its effects related to a computerized league table application in Malawi. Focusing on the health district and using a field experiment research approach, the focus is on the implementation process and how it improves information transparency for health managers. Based on routine health data recording in the health management information system DHIS2, the introduced league table was used by the district health management teams in the pilot districts to rank and compare performance among their health facilities. While the introduction of the league tables was challenging, it also showed its potential through effects including improved visibility of information and accessibility for managers, better understanding of indicators, the identification of data quality issues, skills acquisition in computing and information use and improved communication and collaboration among stakeholders.
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Objectives: With the increased attention to transparency and accountability in health sector management, this paper looks at how this can be promoted at district levels in two developing countries, Sierra Leone and Malawi. Using league... more
Objectives: With the increased attention to transparency and accountability in health sector management, this paper looks at how this can be promoted at district levels in two developing countries, Sierra Leone and Malawi. Using league tables for ranking districts and facility performance, the effects on transparency and accountability is examined.
Methods: Drawing on long-term action research in the two countries, we have supported development of league tables at district levels. Our practical aim of this work has been to design and develop a tool that helps districts create and change league tables as they please, based on indicators relevant for them. This has been done in a participative manner. The research covers 3 years in Sierra Leone and 2 years in Malawi.
Results: Our findings show that such tools have positive immediate effects, most notably on providing new information about relative performance, and improving data quality. They contribute to understanding of health indicators, their applicability, reliability, and relevance at various levels of the health sector. League tables are also suitable for communicating priorities, giving higher levels a way to signal what health facilities are held accountable by.
Conclusion: League tables are a promising tool for advancing transparency and accountability at district levels. An implication for policy is that access to peer data is necessary to evaluate your own performance. The true benefits of league tables at district level can only be reaped when they are easily changed and replicated, becoming an integral part of routine district monitoring and evaluation.
Methods: Drawing on long-term action research in the two countries, we have supported development of league tables at district levels. Our practical aim of this work has been to design and develop a tool that helps districts create and change league tables as they please, based on indicators relevant for them. This has been done in a participative manner. The research covers 3 years in Sierra Leone and 2 years in Malawi.
Results: Our findings show that such tools have positive immediate effects, most notably on providing new information about relative performance, and improving data quality. They contribute to understanding of health indicators, their applicability, reliability, and relevance at various levels of the health sector. League tables are also suitable for communicating priorities, giving higher levels a way to signal what health facilities are held accountable by.
Conclusion: League tables are a promising tool for advancing transparency and accountability at district levels. An implication for policy is that access to peer data is necessary to evaluate your own performance. The true benefits of league tables at district level can only be reaped when they are easily changed and replicated, becoming an integral part of routine district monitoring and evaluation.
Research Interests:
Making software packages generic and implementing them in organizations is a key activity in systems development. This paper reports from a study of the implementation of a web shop software package in a multinational Telecom company. The... more
Making software packages generic and implementing them in organizations is a key activity in systems development. This paper reports from a study of the implementation of a web shop software package in a multinational Telecom company. The aim of the paper is to improve our understanding and conceptualization of such processes. To reach this aim, we use an ecological lens to extend the common perspective on generification and implementation of large scale and corporate-wide software systems in the existing literature. Through the discussion, we show the strengths of this perspective on generification as ecology as bringing focus to the open and multi-levelled nature of generification, the blurred distinction between generification and implementation processes as well as the co-evolving nature of parallel software package implementation projects. This paper is an argument to break up the restricted project focus in information systems research and appreciate the non-lonely nature of organisational implementation projects.
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To what extent can software 'travel' to organizations and countries for which it was not designed for, and how important are local contexts for a successful design and implementation of generic software? Information systems researchers... more
To what extent can software 'travel' to organizations and countries for which it was not designed for, and how important are local contexts for a successful design and implementation of generic software? Information systems researchers have differing views on this, some emphasizing the strengths of the generic and others the importance of contextual aspects. Contributing to this debate, Pollock and Williams have coined the term generification in order to describe how large vendors succeed in globalizing software packages through management by community , content and social authority. In this paper, we explore an approach that we call open generification, which extends Pollock and Williams' work in the sense that we acknowledge the need for and the feasibility of generic software, but propose an alternative model for the governance of it. Open generification is not about managing the community of users attached to a software package by homogeniza-tion or segmentation but aims at addressing the diverse needs of the community the software is expected to serve. Our empirical basis is a longitudinal study of the development of an open-source health information system software (District Health Information software version 2), which is being used in more than 47 countries. Its success is attributed to a continuous interplay between generic and specific software and continuous cycles of embedding (implementing the global in the local context) and disembedding (taking local innovations into the global). We identify and discuss the contingent mechanisms of this interplay.
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Generativity is introduced and argued as essential as well as interdependent with usability in technology design. Where usability is well rooted in the design discourse, generativity, or how easy independent innovators can leverage on... more
Generativity is introduced and argued as essential as well as interdependent with usability in technology design. Where usability is well rooted in the design discourse, generativity, or how easy independent innovators can leverage on technology as a platform to develop new services and applications, has had little attention. We enquire into how the elements of usability and generativity are interrelated, how they contradict and how they can be combined. The mobile phone in general, as
well as the Mobile Internet and iPhone in particular is used to illustrate our argument. We discuss different configurations of mobile phones, such as open, flexible and generative devices actively inviting and supporting free innovation and sophisticatedly designed appliances offering high quality
services and superior usability. As an outcome of our discussion, we describe four different design approaches and ways to combine generativity and usability, and the properties of each of them.
well as the Mobile Internet and iPhone in particular is used to illustrate our argument. We discuss different configurations of mobile phones, such as open, flexible and generative devices actively inviting and supporting free innovation and sophisticatedly designed appliances offering high quality
services and superior usability. As an outcome of our discussion, we describe four different design approaches and ways to combine generativity and usability, and the properties of each of them.
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As the result of a steady increase in reach, range and processing capabilities, information technologies no longer appear as independent, but rather as integrated, parts of large scale networks. These networks offer a shared resource for... more
As the result of a steady increase in reach, range and processing capabilities, information technologies no longer appear as independent, but rather as integrated, parts of large scale networks. These networks offer a shared resource for information delivery and exchange to communities that appropriate them for their respective purposes. Knowledge and understanding of such information infrastructures’ development process, in particular of how to engage in and proceed to build them over time, are in short supply. We therefore need to develop and strengthen our theoretical understanding of the process by which information infrastructures are built. The aims of this thesis are thus to: (i) develop a conceptual framework to understand the process of building information infrastructures as evolution and construction, and (ii) provide practical insights and guidance to those involved in the building of information infrastructures in the business sector of mobile content services.
In order to facilitate the understanding of the process of building information infrastructures, this thesis takes as its starting point the existing conceptualisation of information infrastructures by Ciborra, Hanseth and associates and, in particular, their concepts of heterogeneity, control, standards and evolution. Their conceptualisation pictures the developments of information infrastructure as an evolutionary process which is intrinsically linked to the interplay between human and technical components, while taking into account the distinctive properties of information infrastructures. This thesis argues at the same time that this existing conceptualisation portrays information infrastructures as autonomous and under-theorises the multiplicity, the agency of, and the interrelations between information infrastructure builders and their institutional context in building processes.
The empirical basis of this thesis develops an in-depth interpretive case study of the process of building an infrastructure (the Content Provider Access, or CPA) for mobile content services in Norway. This empirical research focuses on the activities of those engaged in the building process, their complex and highly political interrelations, their institutional contexts as well as the technical components and networks involved. From 2002 and until 2004, 39 interviews were conducted across 23 different involved organisations, and the process by which the CPA emerged has been analysed. The building process has been described as multifaceted, political and highly dependent on the fluctuating initiatives and efforts of a range of information infrastructure builders.
The contributions that arise from this research are not specific to the business sector of mobile content services and Norway, but have broad implications for information systems (IS) research, and for information infrastructure theory more specifically. In particular, this thesis develops five interrelated contributions, four theoretical and one practical. The primary contribution of this thesis is to extend the existing conceptual framework of information infrastructures by developing a conceptual framework of information infrastructure building. The building process is discussed as being shaped not only by both information infrastructures’ evolution and relative autonomy, but also by the construction activities of humans as information infrastructure builders and by the institutional context in which their activities occur. Second, the extended framework developed provides inputs to ongoing debates in IS research related to heterogeneity and complexity, to the role of standards and to the end-to-end argument. Third, the suggested framework is arguably useful for understanding qualitative differences between different types of information infrastructures. In particular, the different conceptual extensions developed help to raise a range of questions relevant across corporate, business sector and universal information infrastructures. Fourth, this framework also contributes to the understanding of scaling issues related to information infrastructures by emphasising the builders, the role of their agency as well as their institutional context. Finally, practical implications are drawn for suggesting actors involved in building information infrastructures for mobile content services to direct their attention to and strengthen their knowledge of the community of builders, the various roles played, their institutional context, the politics of standards and openness and the wider context and implications of building activities.
In order to facilitate the understanding of the process of building information infrastructures, this thesis takes as its starting point the existing conceptualisation of information infrastructures by Ciborra, Hanseth and associates and, in particular, their concepts of heterogeneity, control, standards and evolution. Their conceptualisation pictures the developments of information infrastructure as an evolutionary process which is intrinsically linked to the interplay between human and technical components, while taking into account the distinctive properties of information infrastructures. This thesis argues at the same time that this existing conceptualisation portrays information infrastructures as autonomous and under-theorises the multiplicity, the agency of, and the interrelations between information infrastructure builders and their institutional context in building processes.
The empirical basis of this thesis develops an in-depth interpretive case study of the process of building an infrastructure (the Content Provider Access, or CPA) for mobile content services in Norway. This empirical research focuses on the activities of those engaged in the building process, their complex and highly political interrelations, their institutional contexts as well as the technical components and networks involved. From 2002 and until 2004, 39 interviews were conducted across 23 different involved organisations, and the process by which the CPA emerged has been analysed. The building process has been described as multifaceted, political and highly dependent on the fluctuating initiatives and efforts of a range of information infrastructure builders.
The contributions that arise from this research are not specific to the business sector of mobile content services and Norway, but have broad implications for information systems (IS) research, and for information infrastructure theory more specifically. In particular, this thesis develops five interrelated contributions, four theoretical and one practical. The primary contribution of this thesis is to extend the existing conceptual framework of information infrastructures by developing a conceptual framework of information infrastructure building. The building process is discussed as being shaped not only by both information infrastructures’ evolution and relative autonomy, but also by the construction activities of humans as information infrastructure builders and by the institutional context in which their activities occur. Second, the extended framework developed provides inputs to ongoing debates in IS research related to heterogeneity and complexity, to the role of standards and to the end-to-end argument. Third, the suggested framework is arguably useful for understanding qualitative differences between different types of information infrastructures. In particular, the different conceptual extensions developed help to raise a range of questions relevant across corporate, business sector and universal information infrastructures. Fourth, this framework also contributes to the understanding of scaling issues related to information infrastructures by emphasising the builders, the role of their agency as well as their institutional context. Finally, practical implications are drawn for suggesting actors involved in building information infrastructures for mobile content services to direct their attention to and strengthen their knowledge of the community of builders, the various roles played, their institutional context, the politics of standards and openness and the wider context and implications of building activities.
Research Interests:
Based on the growing interest in internationalization in the information systems (IS) domain, this paper examines two attempts of internationalization. The first relates to a health information system for developing countries and the... more
Based on the growing interest in internationalization in the information systems (IS) domain, this paper examines two attempts of internationalization. The first relates to a health information system for developing countries and the second concerns a telecommunication platform for premium rated SMS services. Discussing the experiences from these cases we use concepts from information infrastructure (II) as our theoretical and analytical lens. This analysis leads us to the articulation of an extended framework for theorizing and understanding the processes of internationalization. Our discussion engages with the inherent challenges of internationalizing IS, in particular the tensions related to control. Throughout the paper we will show that internationalization processes are highly contingent upon the IIs it is growing out from and into. The discussion will in particular concern the nature of standards and relations between the global and the local as well as the choice of a process or a product approach towards internationalization.
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This paper engages in a study of the conditions for convergence between information infrastructures. Inspired by the visions of convergence as one of the essential building blocks to achieve the goals of the Information Society and... more
This paper engages in a study of the conditions for convergence
between information infrastructures. Inspired by the visions of convergence as one of the essential building blocks to achieve the goals of the Information Society and eEurope as well as the observation that no model has been proposed to address how and why convergence develops, we aim at providing a theoretical framework for studying such phenomena. To analyze the interrelatedness of the parallel evolution of information infrastructures, we introduce a concept of co-evolution and apply it to a study of the ongoing development of the two wireless communication platforms Universal Mobile Telephone System (UMTS) and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) in Norway. We emphasize the importance of an adequate understanding of the infrastructures involved, including the installed bases and their intra- and inter-linkages, to anticipate possible trajectories of co-evolution. Focusing on the network dimension of the communication platforms, we show how the various technologies, politics, interests and user preferences linked to the installed bases of each of the platforms may strongly influence the direction and speed of their co-evolution.
between information infrastructures. Inspired by the visions of convergence as one of the essential building blocks to achieve the goals of the Information Society and eEurope as well as the observation that no model has been proposed to address how and why convergence develops, we aim at providing a theoretical framework for studying such phenomena. To analyze the interrelatedness of the parallel evolution of information infrastructures, we introduce a concept of co-evolution and apply it to a study of the ongoing development of the two wireless communication platforms Universal Mobile Telephone System (UMTS) and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) in Norway. We emphasize the importance of an adequate understanding of the infrastructures involved, including the installed bases and their intra- and inter-linkages, to anticipate possible trajectories of co-evolution. Focusing on the network dimension of the communication platforms, we show how the various technologies, politics, interests and user preferences linked to the installed bases of each of the platforms may strongly influence the direction and speed of their co-evolution.
Research Interests:
The anabolic growth of ‘dot.com’ — with 3G network license auctions as the grand finale — implied a series of large investments in mobile technology. Without new products and services utilizing this infrastructure (m-services), however,... more
The anabolic growth of ‘dot.com’ — with 3G network license auctions as the grand finale — implied a series of large investments in mobile technology. Without new products and services utilizing this infrastructure (m-services), however, these investments may never be recollected, and today there is no sure sign of demand for these new “nomadic applications” in the market. This paper shows how actors in the m-services value network co-ordinate their efforts to bring such applications to the marketplace. It shows their risk averse and locally optimizing strategies, which theoretically is very different from the current fascination in IS with disruptive innovation. This paper illustrates the need for a theory of ‘ordinary innovation’ in nomadic and ubiquitous computing.
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Mobile Telecommunication standardization in Europe builds on a history formed by European and International standardization bodies, the governments as regulators and the R&D departments of PPT-owned telecommunication operators. This paper... more
Mobile Telecommunication standardization in Europe builds on a history formed by European and International standardization bodies, the governments as regulators and the R&D departments of PPT-owned telecommunication operators. This paper describes the standardization approach related
to the implementation of the public CPA (Content Provider Access) platform and business model for provision of content services for mobile phones in Norway. CPA builds on complementary services and common incentives for mobile telecommunication operators and content providers to create an open, transparent and easy to access service platform through standardization, but is at the same time developed outside both the scope and the central control of standardization organizations and their standardization practices. The nature of this process can be attributed to processes of convergence. Applying an Information Infrastructure perspective, we discuss the standardization process as open, where the trajectory of development is determined by heterogeneous actors with different and possibly conflicting agendas, powers, needs and incentives. Our aims are both to identify and describe new approaches to standardization as well as new kinds of standards within telecommunications.
to the implementation of the public CPA (Content Provider Access) platform and business model for provision of content services for mobile phones in Norway. CPA builds on complementary services and common incentives for mobile telecommunication operators and content providers to create an open, transparent and easy to access service platform through standardization, but is at the same time developed outside both the scope and the central control of standardization organizations and their standardization practices. The nature of this process can be attributed to processes of convergence. Applying an Information Infrastructure perspective, we discuss the standardization process as open, where the trajectory of development is determined by heterogeneous actors with different and possibly conflicting agendas, powers, needs and incentives. Our aims are both to identify and describe new approaches to standardization as well as new kinds of standards within telecommunications.
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This paper is motivated by health information systems having the potential to improve health systems and the health of people. The focus is on action research projects in the public health domain, and the sustainability of their outcomes.... more
This paper is motivated by health information systems having the potential to improve health systems and the health of people. The focus is on action research projects in the public health domain, and the sustainability of their outcomes. We discuss how this sustainability is enabled by the actions performed by networks of entities like institutions, organizations and people. Our focus is related to our conceptualization of these processes as networks of actions: the networks necessary for sustainable action research composed of two, interlinked, types of nodes: actions themselves and the entities (individuals, organisations or organizational units) enabling and performing them. The empirical basis of this paper is the experiences the authors have gained through participating in a global, long-term and large-scale action research project designing and implementing health information systems called HISP. The primary contribution of this paper lies in a rich description of the develop...
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) are key institutions of a country as well as the basis for assessing a country's status and development in general. Most low and medium income countries have inadequate CRVS information... more
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) are key institutions of a country as well as the basis for assessing a country's status and development in general. Most low and medium income countries have inadequate CRVS information systems, contributing to a situation where many births and deaths are not being registered, the " scandal of invisibility ". With the aim to explore possible ways in which we can improve this situation in low and medium income countries-through the modernization of the CRVS information systems-we suggest several design principles based on the well-functioning CRVS information system of Norway. The principles relate both to the strategic (public goods and institutional incentives) and operational (holistic approach, building on existing CRVS business relationships and the tactics of integration and interoperability) levels. The significance and applicability of this framework is discussed in the light of the current situation and ongoing att...
Mobile Telecommunication standardization in Europe builds on a history formed by European and International standardization bodies, the governments as regulators and the R&D departments of PPT-owned telecommunication operators. This paper... more
Mobile Telecommunication standardization in Europe builds on a history formed by European and International standardization bodies, the governments as regulators and the R&D departments of PPT-owned telecommunication operators. This paper describes the standardization approach related to the implementation of the public CPA (Content Provider Access) platform and business model for provision of content services for mobile phones in Norway. CPA builds on complementary services and common incentives for mobile telecommunication operators and content providers to create an open, transparent and easy to access service platform through standardization, but is at the same time developed outside both the scope and the central control of standardization organizations and their standardization practices. The nature of this process can be attributed to processes of convergence. Applying an Information Infrastructure perspective, we discuss the standardization process as open, where the traject...
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ABSTRACT Health systems in developing countries are commonly struggling with multiple and overlapping information systems (IS). There is a need to move away from this to reduce the burden of parallel reporting it creates and enable... more
ABSTRACT Health systems in developing countries are commonly struggling with multiple and overlapping information systems (IS). There is a need to move away from this to reduce the burden of parallel reporting it creates and enable coordinated information collection and sharing. However, this is not straightforward as it prompts intricate functional architecting activities across a range of IS domains including health staff, commodities, logistics, progress tracking, financing and health services information. This paper is based on a case study of a District Health Information Software and how it is involved in the current drive toward integrated systems. From focusing on aggregate health indicators for health management, it is becoming one component among others in larger architectures where it may take on many different roles. The aim of this paper is to strengthen our understanding of the opportunities and challenges related to functionally architecting integrated systems. Applying an information Infrastructure lens, we describe these processes as involving a range of different software components and actors not under any central control. We conceptualize functional architecting as activities performed by multiple actors to configure and re-configure the functional roles of independent software components. Based on the case study, we contribute by identifying three different architecting strategies and conceptualize them as connecting, encroaching, and charting.
Communication within organizations is more than functional transmission of information between different actors. Communication practices are also composed of ritualistic and symbolic aspects, together building a relation between context... more
Communication within organizations is more than functional transmission of information between different actors. Communication practices are also composed of ritualistic and symbolic aspects, together building a relation between context and practice. This paper discusses communication practices within and among different levels of the health information system in Mozambique and efforts to implement ICTs to support these paper-based practices. The analysis builds on a case study, based on participatory observations and interviews revealing these different aspects of communication practice. Applying our analytical lens, we describe the ongoing communication practice as shaping and shaped by the context.
This paper proposes grafting as a new perspective on information infrastructure (II) innovation. We introduce the organic notion of grafting to help explore innovation processes in settings where control is distributed and episodic. Our... more
This paper proposes grafting as a new perspective on information infrastructure (II) innovation. We introduce the organic notion of grafting to help explore innovation processes in settings where control is distributed and episodic. Our case study follows the implementation of mobile phone-based reporting of routine data from sub-district health facilities in Malawi. Initial grafting work entails the careful alignment of available resources, capacities, and interests through the proposition of an information system (IS) innovation (e.g., mobile phone-based reporting). The nurturing of the implementation involves collaborative efforts spanning technological, professional, geographical, and organizational boundaries. This work is taken forward by the identification of opportunities for merging an innovation with existing socio-technical arrangements (e.g., health management information systems in Malawi) in such a way that the parts continue to grow.
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ABSTRACT This paper is based on a critical perspective on the coordination of information systems in the health sector in developing countries. Two stories of health information system implementations in West Africa are presented. These... more
ABSTRACT This paper is based on a critical perspective on the coordination of information systems in the health sector in developing countries. Two stories of health information system implementations in West Africa are presented. These are stories of integration, interoperability and architecting processes unfolding in a space where different actors pursue different and often conflicting agendas and where power and politics are at play. Our point of departure is an understanding of information systems as information infrastructures, being large scale, complex, and evolving over time. Our analysis of architecting large and complex information systems contributes to an understanding of information system architectures as a process. We argue that information system architecture is not simply made on the drawing board, but are the outcome of negotiations among actors about the division of labour, or role- making and role-taking, within the information infrastructure
ICT diffusion and usage among Asian small and medium sized enterprises: Institutional factors, infrastructures and post-adoption behaviour Paper for the conference: " SME - Entrepreneurship Competitiveness, Challenges and Prospects in the New Global Environment ". Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel, Sela...more
The paper argues that the study of ICT usage among small and medium sized enterprises benefits from a combination of methods, including diffusion studies , institutional analyses, and studies of post-adopt ion behaviour.
ABSTRACT
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Generativity is introduced and argued as essential as well as interdependent with usability in technology design. Where usability is well rooted in the design discourse, generativity, or how easy independent innovators can leverage on... more
Generativity is introduced and argued as essential as well as interdependent with usability in technology design. Where usability is well rooted in the design discourse, generativity, or how easy independent innovators can leverage on technology as a ...
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This paper addresses issues related to how to enable broadest possible innovative activities by infrastructural technology design. In this paper, we focus on the development of high level services based on mobile telecommunication... more
This paper addresses issues related to how to enable broadest possible innovative activities by infrastructural technology design. In this paper, we focus on the development of high level services based on mobile telecommunication technologies which we for matters of simplicity term the development of a Mobile Internet. The focus of our analysis is how features of the technology itself enable or constrain innovations. We do so by looking at a few embryos of the Mobile Internet (primarily the Norwegian CPA platform, but also two pre-CPA platforms in Norway and Japan’s i-mode) through the concepts of end-to-end architecture, programmability of terminals and generativity.
This analysis illustrates that the change from closed infrastructures like MobilInfo and SMSinfo to more open ones like CPA and i-mode increased the speed and range of innovations substantially. At the same time the differences between CPA and i-mode regarding programmability of terminals, and the billing service provided by the CPA network enabling the billing of individual transactions, also contributed to, at least, basically the same speed and range of innovations around CPA as i-mode in spite of the huge differences in investments into the networks made by the owners. But the analysis also points out important differences between the Internet and the existing Mobile Internet regarding in particular technological constrains on innovations. It also points out important ways in which powerful actors’ strategies inhibit innovations and how they embed their strategies into the technology and, accordingly, creates technological barriers for innovation. These issues are first of all linked to the programmability of terminals. Therefore, we conclude that the by far most important issue regarding the enabling of more innovations related to the Mobile Internet is to improve the terminals programmability.
This analysis illustrates that the change from closed infrastructures like MobilInfo and SMSinfo to more open ones like CPA and i-mode increased the speed and range of innovations substantially. At the same time the differences between CPA and i-mode regarding programmability of terminals, and the billing service provided by the CPA network enabling the billing of individual transactions, also contributed to, at least, basically the same speed and range of innovations around CPA as i-mode in spite of the huge differences in investments into the networks made by the owners. But the analysis also points out important differences between the Internet and the existing Mobile Internet regarding in particular technological constrains on innovations. It also points out important ways in which powerful actors’ strategies inhibit innovations and how they embed their strategies into the technology and, accordingly, creates technological barriers for innovation. These issues are first of all linked to the programmability of terminals. Therefore, we conclude that the by far most important issue regarding the enabling of more innovations related to the Mobile Internet is to improve the terminals programmability.
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The anabolic growth of dot.com—with third-generation network license auctions as the grand finale—implied a series of large investments in mobile technology. Without new products and services utilizing this infrastructure (m-services),... more
The anabolic growth of dot.com—with third-generation network license auctions as the grand finale—implied a series of large investments in mobile technology. Without new products and services utilizing this infrastructure (m-services), however, these investments may never be recouped, and today there is no sure sign of demand for these new nomadic applications in the market. This paper shows how actors in the m-services value network coordinate their efforts to bring such applications to the marketplace. It shows their risk averse and locally optimizing strategies, which theoretically are very different from the current fascination in Information Systems with disruptive innovation. This paper illustrates the need for a theory of ordinary innovation in nomadic and ubiquitous computing.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT