John Effah

Bio: John Effah is an academic researcher from University of Ghana. The author has contributed to research in topics: Developing country & Information system. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 60 publications receiving 513 citations. Previous affiliations of John Effah include University of Salford.

Standardizing a developing country health information system through proprietary software: Ghana's experience

Abstract: This study aims to understand a developing country’s experience with health information system (HIS) based on standard proprietary software compared with that based on free and open source software (FOSS) as documented in the literature. The developing country HIS literature has focused more on experiences with manual systems or FOSS. Less is therefore known about the development and use of HIS based on standard proprietary software. Using qualitative, interpretive case study methodology, this study investigates Ghana’s experience with the development and use of proprietary software to standardize HIS across the national, regional, district and hospital levels. The paper highlights the inflexible nature of the standardized proprietary approach to HIS under top-down development in developing countries and the resultant challenges and recommends FOSS based on bottom-up participatory development as a better alternative.

Business Intelligence Architecture Informed by Organisational Semiotics

Abstract: This study draws on organisational semiotics and design science methodology informed by abductive reasoning to develop a business intelligence (BI) architecture. Organisational semiotics research has so far paid limited attention to BI in general and its architecture in particular. Moreover, BI research in information systems (IS) focuses largely on either technical or social activities. Organisational semiotics offers frameworks and model which can be used to develop a BI architecture with combined technical and social views. This study therefore develops a BI architecture based on knowledge hierarchy, semiotic framework, and semiotic activity hierarchy. The paper uses a manufacturing company’s BI experience as a case study to inform and evaluate the proposed architecture. The study’s contribution stems from its development of the organisational semiotics informed BI architecture and its implications for research and practice.

Examining Client-Vendor Relationship in the Outsourcing of a Work Environment Virtualisation: An Activity Theory Perspective

Abstract: This study provides an insight into the duality of client and vendor relationship (CVR) in information technology (IT) outsourcing by adopting a composite view of a subject in activity theory analysis. Evidence in the literature shows a trend that outsourcing relationships have become strategic assets with clients scouting for not only technical outcomes but for business ideas and innovation from their suppliers. Whilst extant literature demonstrates the critical role of outsourcing relationships in outsourcing success and value, the research on IT outsourcing has largely examined outsourcing relationships in general, focusing on the factors, challenges and a one-sided view of the CVR and providing no insights on the relationship between the client and vendor from a composite perspective. To explore this, our study employed an interpretive qualitative case study method and activity theory as the lens. Drawing on hermeneutics to analyse the data, the findings show the need for activity theory to cater for the duality of subjects in a collaborative way. Implications of the study for practice and policy are then provided.

Activity theory analysis of the virtualisation of teaching and teaching environment in a developing country university

Abstract: This study aims to understand how a developing country higher education institution (HEI) attempted to digitalise teaching The Internet has disrupted the traditional teaching environment and teaching practices leading to the migration from physical face-to-face teaching to online teaching changing the work environment of the teacher Information systems literature has examined the academic environment of HEIs from student’s perspective in a virtual learning environment but not from the instructor’s perspective in a teaching work environment How the teaching work environment can be virtualised has not also been widely explored Using activity theory and an interpretive case study approach data was obtained from interviews, documents and participant observation Using hermeneutics as the mode of analysis the findings reveal how tools: an open source technology and rules are modified through the resolution of contradictions to suit developing country context of the HEI The study provides practitioners insights on how emerging contradictions in tools, implementers and rules in a teaching work environment virtualisation can be used as an avenue for development It also offers insight into how HEIs can migrate their physical teaching environment to online

Health Informatics and Brain Drain Mitigation in Ghana.

Abstract: Migration of health workers has been a major issue of concern for most developing countries including Ghana. Extant literature has revealed that several attempts have been made from various disciplines to counter this menace in some developing countries. In this paper, the field of Information Systems (IS) tries to uncover how technology can also be used to mitigate brain drain in the health sector of developing countries, using Ghana as a case. This study adopts the theory of affordance, Maslow’s theory of motivation, and Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory to support the development of a conceptual framework. An exploratory research approach using a qualitative research method was adopted. Theoretically, this paper contributes to the IS literature on migration. Practically, the paper presents a basis for more technological adoption within the health sector of Ghana and other developing countries that experience medical brain drain as a challenge.

The Human Condition.

Abstract: Human beings are described by many spiritual traditions as ‘blind’ or ‘asleep’ or ‘in a dream.’ These terms refers to the limited attenuated state of consciousness of most human beings caught up in patterns of conditioned thought, feeling and perception, which prevent the development of our latent, higher spiritual possibilities. In the words of Idries Shah: “Man, like a sleepwalker who suddenly ‘comes to’ on some lonely road has in general no correct idea as to his origins or his destiny.” In some religious traditions, such as Christianity and Islam, the myth of the ‘Fall from the Garden of Eden’ symbolizes the loss of the primordial state through the veiling of higher consciousness. Other traditions use similar metaphors to describe the spiritual condition of humanity:

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.