Resumo em Inglês:

Different theories of organization and management are based on implicit images or metaphors. Nevertheless, a quantitative approach is needed to minimize human subjectivity or bias on metaphors studies. Hence, this paper analyzed the presence of metaphors and clustered them using fuzzy data mining techniques in a sample of 61 Brazilian companies that operate in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. For this purpose the results of a questionnaire answered by 198 employees of companies in the sample were analyzed by R free software. The results show that it is difficult to find a clear image in most organizations. In most cases characteristics of different images or metaphors are observed, so soft computing techniques are particularly appropriate for this type of analysis. However, according to these results, it is noted that the most present image in the organizations studied is that of "organisms" and the least present image is that of a "political system" and of an "instrument of domination".

Resumo em Inglês:

This paper aims to propose an alternative method for retrieving documents using Multiwords Expressions (MWE) extracted from a document base to be used as descriptors in search of an Information Retrieval System (IRS). In this sense, unlike methods that consider the text as a set of words, bag of words, we propose a method that takes into account the characteristics of the physical structure of the document in the extraction process of MWE. From this set of terms comparing pre-processed using an exhaustive algorithmic technique proposed by the authors with the results obtained for thirteen different measures of association statistics generated by the software Ngram Statistics Package (NSP). To perform this experiment was set up with a corpus of documents in digital format.

Resumo em Inglês:

Aspects related to the users' cooperative work are not considered in the traditional approach of software engineering, since the user is viewed independently of his/her workplace environment or group, with the individual model generalized to the study of collective behavior of all users. This work proposes a process for software requirements to address issues involving cooperative work in information systems that provide distributed coordination in the users' actions and the communication among them occurs indirectly through the data entered while using the software. To achieve this goal, this research uses ergonomics, the 3C cooperation model, awareness and software engineering concepts. Action-research is used as a research methodology applied in three cycles during the development of a corporate workflow system in a technological research company. This article discusses the third cycle, which corresponds to the process that deals with the refinement of the cooperative work requirements with the software in actual use in the workplace, where the inclusion of a computer system changes the users' workplace, from the face to face interaction to the interaction mediated by the software. The results showed that the highest degree of users' awareness about their activities and other system users contribute to a decrease in their errors and in the inappropriate use of the system.

Resumo em Inglês:

The need for outsourcing IT services has shown a significant growth over the past few years. This article presents a proposal for a measurement model for Software Tests with a focus on the management of these outsourced services by governmental organizations. The following specific goals were defined: to identify and analyze the test process; to identify and analyze the existing standards that govern the hiring of IT services and to propose a Measurement Model for outsourced services of this type. As to the analysis of the data collected (documentary research and semi-structured interviews), content analysis was adopted, and in order to prepare the metrics, the GQM - Goal, Questions, Metrics - approach was used. The result was confirmed by semi-structured interviews. Here is what the research identifies as possible: to establish objective and measurable criteria for a measurement size as the input to evaluate the efforts and deadlines involved; to follow up the test sub-processes and to evaluate the service quality. Therefore, the management of this type of service hiring can be done more efficiently.

Resumo em Inglês:

With the development in information technology resources, a way of working has been standing out: telecommuting. This manner of working from a distance may offer a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining highly skilled professionals. The purpose of the research presented in this article is to identify guidelines for the implementation and management of telecommuting, as an alternative to overcome the shortage of qualified professionals in Information Technology (IT). The results, based on a case study of a Brazilian subsidiary of a multinational organization that provides IT services, show that telecommuting (1) contributes to attracting and retaining qualified professionals in IT, (2) should be based on trustworthy relationships, (3) has to be supported by a strategy of decentralization of both structure and organizational assets.

Resumo em Inglês:

This article aims at giving an overview of the scientific production about Entropy and Information Theory in national periodical publications in Qualis/CAPES. This article is a descriptive research and a bibliometric study with a quantitative approach. Its sample is composed of 31 articles from periodic publications from different areas, such as: Accounting, Economy, Computer Sciences, Electrical and Hydraulic Engineering, Sciences, Mathematics, Physics and, also, articles that were published in an electronic library called Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo) from 2002 to 2009. Among the results, one was able to notice that the "B5" (Qualis Capes) classification has shown a higher number of articles, as well as that 2008 was the year with a higher number of publications.

Resumo em Inglês:

Controllership and Information Technology provide ways for companies to adapt to the competitive context of business environments. As such, the aim of this research is to identify and analyze the impacts of ERP systems on Controllership functions, verifying the relationships between the use of solutions and possible improvements in such functions. The need for management control and operations control were observed. This research is descriptive and exploratory of the survey kind. The subjects mentioned in this research are managers involved in Controllership activities in large companies from the Auto Parts sector in the State of São Paulo. The data obtained through a questionnaire by non-probabilistic samples were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics. According to the subjects, ERP systems modify Controllership functions and better serve the control needs of the operations. The results showed problems to be overcome in management control.

Resumo em Português:

Confinado com o volume explosivo de informações na Internet, é difícil a um utilizador, manter-se informado sem um esforço enorme. A abundância de informações na Internet não veio simplificar o processo de escolhas. Paralelamente, as empresas, no sentido de reterem os seus consumidores, empregam cada vez mais amiúde sistemas de recomendação nos seus sites, e os utilizadores parecem encontrar nesta alternativa, uma estratégia prescritiva para resolver os seus problemas de procura de informação e consequente tomada de decisão. Como é que a recomendação pode influenciar a tomada de decisão? Isolando esta pergunta, aspirou-se a encontrar atributos que lançassem a pesquisa e que definissem caminhos e objetivos. Na materialização da pesquisa, refuta-se a recolha de elementos em ambientes laboratoriais, ao invés disso, a atenção da pesquisa centra-se nas pessoas reais que executam tarefas reais em condições reais, com a pesquisa centrada no processo pelo qual as decisões são tomadas no ambiente de cada pessoa. A pesquisa segue uma abordagem qualitativa do processo natural de procura de informação produzida num quadro quasi-experimental. Os resultados da pesquisa indicam que, para resolver os seus problemas de tomada de decisão, na fase de procura de informação, as pessoas avaliam as recomendações que os sítios lhe fornecem progressivamente, com recurso a uma procura interna dentro dos sítios das empresas, deixando praticamente de recorrer aos tradicionais motores de procura.

Resumo em Inglês:

Overwhelmed by an extremely large volume of information on the Internet, it is difficult for a user to keep informed without a huge effort involved. The information that abounds on the Internet does not simplify the process of choice. In parallel, companies, in order to retain their consumers, more often use recommender systems on their websites, and their users seem to regard this alternative as a prescriptive strategy to solve their problems in their search for information and the consequent decision making process. How can recommendations influence a decision making process? By isolating this question it was possible to find the attributes that defined ways and objectives to begin this research. In the materialization of the research, the choice of elements in laboratory environments was rejected; instead, the research focuses its attention on real people, who perform real tasks in real conditions as well as on the process through which decisions are made in each individual´s environment. A qualitative approach is adopted related to the natural process of search for the information produced in a quasi-experimental basis. The results of the research show that, in order to solve one´s decision making problems in the phase of information search, people evaluate recommendations that websites progressively provide them, with the possibility of performing an internal search on companies websites and resorting to traditional search engines is practically not necessary.

Resumo em Português:

O artigo apresenta o status quo do programa Piraí Digital, com base na Teoria Ator-Rede (ANT) e no modelo heurístico de inclusão digital (2iD). Numa primeira etapa desta pesquisa, o modelo heurístico original foi expandido com base nos pressupostos da ANT, gerando uma versão mais adequada (e2iD) para a observação do fenômeno da infoinclusão em Piraí. Em seguida, a ANT foi adotada como suporte metodológico para que os autores, por meio de entrevistas e observação direta, compreendessem, sob a ótica dos atores ouvidos, como a infoinclusão tem ocorrido no município de Piraí. A partir daí, os resultados são apresentados com base na taxonomia da ANT e dos elementos do modelo e2ID. O presente trabalho de pesquisa sobre a infoinclusão em Piraí começou em 2007 e se estendeu até os últimos meses de 2009. Concluiu-se que a inclusão digital em Piraí tem sido uma realidade na administração pública local, na educação e na saúde. Porém, percebeu-se que o setor produtivo e a sociedade civil local, pouco ou nada tem se beneficiado do programa em questão. Finalmente, foi possível compreender o papel dos vários atores públicos nas redes de atores da ANT e explicar porque os resultados de Piraí Digital não têm, até agora, impactado homogeneamente a sociedade local.

Resumo em Inglês:

This paper presents the Piraí Digital status quo, based on the Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and on the heuristic model of digital inclusion (2iD). In the first phase of this research, the original heuristic model was expanded from the ANT assumptions, giving rise to a more suitable version (e2iD), aiming at the observation of the digital inclusion process (infoinclusion) in the City of Piraí. Next, the ANT was adopted as a methodological support so that authors, by means of interviews and direct observation and from the standpoint of the authors interviewed, could understand how digital inclusion (infoinclusion) is developed in the City of Piraí. From that point on, the results are presented based on the ANT taxonomy and on the elements of the e2ID model. This research work about digital inclusion (infoinclusion) in the City of Piraí began in 2007 and extended up until the last few months of 2009. It is concluded that digital inclusion in the City of Piraí has been a reality to the local public administration and to the educational and health systems. Nevertheless, it is noticed that both the productive sector and the local civil society have had few or no benefits from the program in question. Lastly, it is possible to understand the role of the various public players in the ANTs and explain why the results of the Piraí Digital have not homogeneously impacted the local society so far.