SOA Governance – Road into Maturity

There is a general consensus that SOA benefits could be reached but it is unclear how to achieve this. Research shows that the problems with SOA governance in practice are among the major reasons of SOA failures. Based on a literature review, this study first proposes a list of SOA aspects to be considered when implementing SOA governance. By adopting an interpretive research methodology based on interviews, this research paper makes two contributions: it addresses the practical matters that are major concerns for organisations to achieve a higher maturity level with their SOA, and it reveals the importance of the key SOA aspects in building strong governance and consequently reaching a higher maturity level. The expected result should deliver a theoretical contribution to SOA maturity in relation to SOA governance; it could provide organisations with new awareness in assessing their level of maturity and provide recommendations

Promoting Digital Innovation for Sustainability in the Public Sector

Digital technologies and their uptake in society have advanced more rapidly than any innovation in history. However, research into how the public sector uses digital innovation has been slow to develop. Government has an essential role to play in sustainability by setting and enforcing policies around subjects such as pollution and carbon taxes, making digital innovation in government critical for digital sustainability. Further, the public sector’s values and priorities differ from those of the private sector, which confounds simple comparisons in areas such as digital ways of working and efficiency drivers. This paper draws on the public management literature and uses an exploratory and interpretive field study of a leading digital government. The research identifies six barriers to digital innovation within the New South Wales government, a world-leader in digital integration. The barriers are: varying digital maturity, non-digital mindset, slow mobilization, service-based silos, premature solutioning, and failure to align investment in digital innovation with broader government priorities. The paper identifies initiatives enabling world-class digital innovation and driving effective change. These enablers are structural service integration, ecosystem engagement, technology modernization, customer-centric strategies and processes, and agility in management. This paper finds that digital capability gaps and core rigidities interact requiring a comprehensive approach to realize the significant benefits offered to citizens and the environment

Digital Capabilities: Getting Ahead of the Curve

The covid-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for digital transformation, causing organisations to go through complex systemic organisational change. The literature shows that pressure from the public is driving digital transformation, which is causing governments and the private sector to uplift their capabilities. Practitioners and researchers are calling for investments in digital capability. This exploratory field study found fifty-one digital capability initiatives in two governments, which are partitioned into four themes: Ways of Thinking, Ways of Learning, Ways of Doing and Ways of Enabling. The study applies organisational learning theory to show how immediate needs for user-centric and agile capabilities led to second-loop investments in achieving a shift in managers’ mindsets through action learning. Respondents reported that third-loop investments were necessary to enlist previously siloed services through reorganisation and changes to funding controls. By achieving all three loops of learning through investing in the four ‘Ways of’, organisations may get ahead of the digital transformation curve

SOA Strategic Vision: role in establishing a strong SOA governance

Today’s business climate requires the organizations to respond quickly to new business models and requirements. This could not be achieved only by having up to date technology. To remain competitive organizations need to measure the value of their IT investments and gain visibility into IT operations from a business perspective. The challenge to this lies in having an agile architecture in place that allows to quickly respond to changes. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) could be the answer for such agile architecture. For organizations to succeed, they need to have SOA governance in place. SOA vision has been considered one of the most critical aspects when implementing a SAO governance framework. This paper examines the role of SOA vision when adopting an SOA governance framework based on an interpretive qualitative study; it will focus on the assessment of the importance and usage of SOA vision as seen by practitioner

Enabling Digital Innovation in the Public Sector

Although public sector digital innovation is widespread, research into how the public sector enables digital innovation in practice could be stronger. Further, the public sector’s values and priorities differ from those of the private sector, which confounds simple comparisons and requires adapting digital ways of working. This research drew on the public management literature and an exploratory and interpretive field study of a leading digital government. Five challenges to digital innovation emerged: slow mobilisation, premature solutioning, service silos, digital maturity heterogeneity, and leadership that could be more familiar with digital ways of working. Initiatives that enable digital innovation include structural service integration, ecosystem engagement, technology modernisation, customer-centric strategies and processes, and agility in management. However, the digital capability gaps and core rigidities interact with each other, which requires a comprehensive approach to capture the significant benefits for citizens

Effective Service-Oriented Governance – Theory and Practice

Today’s business climate requires the IT infrastructure of organizations to be agile and dynamic so that it can respond quickly to new business models and requirements. Every organization is faced with the need to predict change in a global business environment, to rapidly respond to competitors, and to best exploit organizational assets for growth. Large organizations are adopting a service-oriented approach to adapt to changing circumstances caused by the complexity of implementing modern technologies from different vendors and uncertainty of business needs. Research shows that the lack of clarity surrounding the role of the governance of service-oriented systems by organizations is among the major reasons of service orientation failures. The purpose of this research is to increase our understanding of the governance of service orientation in practice. Based on a literature review, this study first proposes a list of aspects to be considered when implementing Service-Oriented Governance (SOG). By adopting an interpretive research methodology using interview-based study of practices with professionals as a first phase and case studies in the second phase, this research makes three contributions: i) it studies the positioning of SOG in organizations and its relationship to other types of governance ii) it discusses how organizations practice SOG and presents which frameworks are being implemented by organizations, and iii) it discourses the importance of the governance aspects as perceived by practitioners and their actual usage in practice. This study reveals the discrepancy between governance aspects’ importance and their usage and offers possible explanation of that discrepancy. It finds that IT Governance, EA Governance and Data Governance can be regarded as prerequisites to implement effective SOG. The results provide a theoretical contribution to conceptualizing SOG (in particular its key aspects) that can be used to assess SOG practices and provide guidance to improve them. It could also lead to new insights in implementing governance frameworks

Intra-Articular Entrapment of the Medial Epicondyle following a Traumatic Fracture Dislocation of the Elbow in an Adult

Medial epicondyle entrapment after an acute fracture dislocation of the elbow is a common finding in the pediatric population, but a rare finding in adults. We present a case of an adult patient diagnosed with a traumatic fracture dislocation of the elbow joint with intra-articular entrapment of the medial epicondyle. After initial evaluation, closed reduction was done. Stability testing after reduction showed an unstable joint; thus, open reduction and internal fixation was decided

Comparative effectiveness of nafcillin or cefazolin versus vancomycin in methicillin-susceptible <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>bacteremia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The high prevalence of methicillin-resistant <it>S. aureus </it>(MRSA) has led clinicians to select antibiotics that have coverage against MRSA, usually vancomycin, for empiric therapy for suspected staphylococcal infections. Clinicians often continue vancomycin started empirically even when methicillin-susceptible <it>S. aureus </it>(MSSA) strains are identified by culture. However, vancomycin has been associated with poor outcomes such as nephrotoxicity, persistent bacteremia and treatment failure. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of vancomycin versus the beta-lactam antibiotics nafcillin and cefazolin among patients with MSSA bacteremia. The outcome of interest for this study was 30-day in-hospital mortality.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This retrospective cohort study included all adult in-patients admitted to a tertiary-care facility between January 1, 2003 and June 30, 2007 who had a positive blood culture for MSSA and received nafcillin, cefazolin or vancomycin. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess independent mortality hazards comparing nafcillin or cefazolin versus vancomycin. Similar methods were used to estimate the survival benefits of switching from vancomycin to nafcillin or cefazolin versus leaving patients on vancomycin. Each model included statistical adjustment using propensity scores which contained variables associated with an increased propensity to receive vancomycin.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>267 patients were included; 14% (38/267) received nafcillin or cefazolin, 51% (135/267) received both vancomycin and either nafcillin or cefazolin, and 35% (94/267) received vancomycin. Thirty (11%) died within 30 days. Those receiving nafcillin or cefazolin had 79% lower mortality hazards compared with those who received vancomycin alone (adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 0.21; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.09, 0.47). Among the 122 patients who initially received vancomycin empirically, those who were switched to nafcillin or cefazolin (66/122) had 69% lower mortality hazards (adjusted HR: 0.31; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.95) compared to those who remained on vancomycin.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Receipt of nafcillin or cefazolin was protective against mortality compared to vancomycin even when therapy was altered after culture results identified MSSA. Convenience of vancomycin dosing may not outweigh the potential benefits of nafcillin or cefazolin in the treatment of MSSA bacteremia.</p