dhis2-users team mailing list archive

[Bob Jolliffe <bobjolliffe@xxxxxxxxx>]

Using 'Software' in the name of a piece of software is quite unusual.  In
fact I can't think of other examples.

It would be like the thing I drive being branded an "Opel Car" :-)

'System' is more common, though agree with Jason and Arthur that there is a
big difference between the software system and all the components of the
functioning information system.


On 2 May 2013 15:00, Arthur Heywood <arthurheywood@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Aha ... at last a point of (semantic) disagreement!!
> We ARE talking about a district health system .... that DOES involve
> people, governance, leadership etc .... all the WHO building blocks .... of
> which the District health Information System is a key one (the main one for
> us HISPers) .....
> As I see it, the DHIS Software is merely a great piece of software to
> support that district health information system
>
> Maybe we should talk about the DHISS when we talk about the software??
>
> Yours semantically
> Arthur
>
> *Without deviation from the norm, there can be no progress *(Frank Zappa)
> *Skype* arthur_heywood_za
> *Tanzania* +255-773-669393
> *Nigeria *+234 8168883965
> *S. A.* +27837383100
>
>
>
>
>
> On 2 May 2013 14:37, Jason Pickering <jason.p.pickering@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> I am all for calling "it" what you want, but I do think "system" might be
>> going a bit too far actually.
>>
>> DHIS is simply the software. What it is not, is the "system" which
>> supports the software, the typical distinction between the "Health
>> Information System" and the "Health management information
>> software/system". In some cases, "system" and "software" are
>> used interchangeably, and often a lot of focus is placed on the software,
>> while the "system" which the software simply supports, is not provided the
>> same level of thought, and is often much more complex because it involves
>> people.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Jason
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 8:24 PM, Lars Kristian Roland <lars@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>
>>> As an example of an abbreviation that has changed meaning, I would
>>> mention GSM, which I believe first meant Group Speciale Mobile (excuse my
>>> french) and later Global System for Mobile communication.
>>>
>>> I would support Prosper's observation that District may not cover the
>>> distributed system that DHIS2 has become.
>>>
>>> MobiLars
>>> On 2013 5 2 15:12, "Knut Staring" <knutst@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>
>>>> There is indeed a long history, as Jason points out, and the "district"
>>>> focus took its inspiration from the WHO Alma Ata Declaration from 1978 and
>>>> its focus on Primary Health Care and "Health For All"
>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma_Ata_Declaration
>>>>
>>>> Furthermore, the very first versions of DHIS came out of close
>>>> collaboration with three pilot districts in Cape Town:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.mn.uio.no/ifi/english/research/networks/hisp/hisp-history.html
>>>> http://folk.uio.no/patrickr/refdoc/BraaHedberg02.pdf
>>>>
>>>> http://www.mn.uio.no/ifi/english/research/networks/hisp/integrated-health-information-architecture.html
>>>>
>>>> However, by this stage, it seems to me that the acronym DHIS has also
>>>> acquired quite an identity of its own, a bit like e.g. IBM, a name much
>>>> like others, which could be used without necessarily going into "what it
>>>> stands for".
>>>>
>>>> Knut
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 2:54 PM, Jason Pickering <
>>>> jason.p.pickering@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi Proper,
>>>>>
>>>>> Remember, with open source software, you are free to call it what you
>>>>> want! I know of a private company who has now forked DHIS2 and are calling
>>>>> it something entirely different, for their own reasons. In other countries,
>>>>> DHIS2 has been  branded differently, according to their own acronyms.
>>>>>
>>>>> I would however, not expect a change on this, given the long history.
>>>>> :)
>>>>>
>>>>> My two cents,
>>>>> Jason
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 7:41 PM, Prosper BT <ptb3000@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Dear team,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Quite often end users especially below and above the district level
>>>>>> have asked Why 'District' and we have struggled to explain this by first
>>>>>> telling history. In passing someone suggested renaming District to
>>>>>> Decentralized and Software to System.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> What it if in respect of maintaining the acronym it becomes
>>>>>> "Decentralized Health Information System - DHIS?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 'Don't kill the messenger'
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Regards
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Prosper Behumbiize, MPH
>>>>>> Phone:        +256 414 320076
>>>>>> Cell:            +256 752 751776
>>>>>>                    +256 702 762707
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~dhis2-users
>>>>>> Post to     : dhis2-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~dhis2-users
>>>>>> More help   : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~dhis2-users
>>>>> Post to     : dhis2-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~dhis2-users
>>>>> More help   : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Knut Staring
>>>> Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo
>>>> +4791880522
>>>> http://dhis2.org
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~dhis2-users
>>>> Post to     : dhis2-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~dhis2-users
>>>> More help   : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~dhis2-users
>> Post to     : dhis2-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~dhis2-users
>> More help   : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~dhis2-users
> Post to     : dhis2-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~dhis2-users
> More help   : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
>
>