The Evolution of an Architectural Paradigm - Using Blockchain to Build a Cross-Organizational Enterprise Service Bus

Cross-organizational collaboration and the exchange of process data are indispensable for many processes in federally organized governments. Conventional IT solutions, such as cross-organizational workflow management systems, address these requirements through centralized process management and architectures. However, such centralization is difficult and often undesirable in federal contexts. One alternative solution that emphasizes decentralized process management and a decentralized architecture is the blockchain solution of Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Here, we investigate the architecture of this solution and examine how it addresses the requirements of federal contexts. We find that the solution’s architecture resembles an improvement and cross-organizational adaption of an old architectural paradigm, the enterprise service bus

Deriving Facilitators for Electronic Health Record Implementation: A Systematic Literature Review of Opportunities and Challenges

Electronic Health Records aim to remove information asymmetries between healthcare providers and contribute to improved healthcare quality and safety. Nevertheless, the successful and comprehensive implementation remains challenging and complex. Recently, increased interest of patients in their healthcare and enhanced technological opportunities led to new challenges and an emerging amount of research. To achieve an overarching overview of facilitators for EHR implementation, the perspectives of relevant stakeholders were considered. Therefore, we conducted a multidisciplinary systematic literature review involving five databases from public health, information systems, and interdisciplinary research. As a result, we first identified opportunities and challenges according to the stakeholder groups, environmental context, and implementation stages. Second, we derived five facilitators (individual stakeholder readiness, change management, accessibility and ownership, EHR structure, and external factors). Therefore, we lay a state-of-the-art foundation for EHR implementation for scientific studies and development activities in practice with our research

Antagonizing Integrin β3 Increases Immunosuppression in Cancer

Integrin β3 is critical for tumor invasion, neoangiogenesis, and inflammation, making it a promising cancer target. However, preclinical and clinical data of integrin β3 antagonists have demonstrated no benefit or worse outcomes. We hypothesized that integrin β3 could affect tumor immunity and evaluated tumors in mice with deletion of integrin β3 in macrophage lineage cells (β3KOM). β3KOM mice had increased melanoma and breast cancer growth with increased tumor-promoting M2 macrophages and decreased CD8+ T cells. Integrin β3 antagonist, cilengitide, also enhanced tumor growth and increased M2 function. We uncovered a negative feedback loop in M2 myeloid cells, wherein integrin β3 signaling favored STAT1 activation, an M1-polarizing signal, and suppressed M2-polarizing STAT6 activation. Finally, disruption of CD8+ T cells, macrophages, or macrophage integrin β3 signaling blocked the tumor-promoting effects of integrin β3 antagonism. These results suggest that effects of integrin β3 therapies on immune cells should be considered to improve outcomes. Cancer Res; 76(12); 3484–95. ©2016 AACR

Facilitating cooperation of smallholders in developing countries: design principles for a cooperative-oriented decentralized autonomous organization

peer reviewedClimate change and an increasing food demand due to a growing world population pose significant challenges for agriculture. Smallholders play a decisive role in establishing a sustainable and efficient future agricultural system since they already provide up to 80% of food in developing countries. However, they often face severe obstacles, especially in developing countries, hampering effective and efficient cooperation and productivity. Even though organizations in the form of cooperatives could help overcome some of the challenges of facilitating smallholders' cooperation, they still suffer from structural problems. Further, in many countries, a lack of formal mechanisms to enforce contractual agreements exists. Given such challenges, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) have already proven to provide alternative forms of governance independent of formal contracts or intermediaries. Therefore, this study follows the design science research paradigm to design, develop, and evaluate a decentralized autonomous organization in the agricultural sector that makes use of cooperative principles. This cooperative-oriented DAO is governed by smart contracts and technically enabled by blockchain technology as the underlying infrastructure. Through our developed and evaluated artifact, the AgriDAO, we guide researchers and practitioners on how such a cooperative-oriented DAO could look to solve existing problems related to smallholders and cooperatives. Additionally, we present eight design principles that will guide the development of cooperative-oriented DAOs. Finally, our research shall initiate lively discussion and extensive exploration of this new form of organization.9. Industry, innovation and infrastructur

You Can’t Manage What You Can’t Define: The Success of Blockchain Projects Beyond the Iron Triangle

Companies across industries aim to disseminate blockchain through respective projects that evaluate, design, or implement use cases. However, due to its novelty and complexity, blockchain poses novel challenges in carrying out such projects. Companies use success criteria to constantly evaluate projects. Even though literature provides frameworks for the general evaluation of projects, no research yet investigated if success criteria fundamentally differ for blockchain projects due to the characteristics of the technology. Therefore, we assess success dimensions and criteria, deduced and evaluated from an in-depth interview study with blockchain experts from 12 different projects. We contribute to the theory on blockchain project management by introducing a new success dimension and specific success criteria for blockchain projects. Our findings help to elaborate the value of blockchain in companies and novel possibilities to evaluate respective projects. We provide additional insights by assessing their relative importance and discussing implications for theory and practice