The successful elimination of the Y2K vulnerability from the information technology (IT) systems of a large, complex critical sector organization provided a model to study how organizations contend with problems affecting the security of electronically stored and transmitted information, and how context influences their solutions. This dissertation proposed that the institutionalized environments of sub-unit business areas influenced compliance solutions during the Year 2000 Program process at Delta Air Lines, Inc. The investigation applied rival organization theories. A comparative case study method was employed to explain the Y2K compliance solutions of four business areas as embedded sub-cases. Data for the study were the Delta Year 2000 Program archive, and personal interviews with individuals related to the Delta Year 2000 Program. Data analysis revealed characteristics of both the institutional and the rational-contingency models. Case results showed that: * A positive relationship among entities in the sectoral environment benefited the air transportation field in addressing the Y2K problem. In this cooperative setting, addressing common issues in one place helped a vast network of related organizations. Recognizing that all were stakeholders made it work. * Business area decisions were influenced by the institutionalized environments of their respective fields. * The Year 2000 Program team lacked awareness that the Y2K bug was an information security issue. * In the process of eliminating the Y2K bug from the Delta systems, new vulnerabilities were introduced. While tradeoffs are always required among security, functionality, and efficiency within the IT structures and systems of the present time, this negative effect might have been anticipated; but it was not. * The success of this complex, short-term project at Delta underscored the importance of leadership, understanding of IT, vision, motivation, IT skills, understanding of assets, and appropriate strategy. The Delta case study contributes to the fields of information security and organization studies. Results have implications for policymaking and for future research in the field of information security.

Fundação de Apoio a Pesquisa e à Inovação Tecnológica do Estado de Sergipe - FAPITEC/SE / This study examines the process of emergence of black leaders in institutional governance spaces in Sergipe. Thus questioning about why these militants are in these areas and the conditions of access to them, the study not only shows the current scenario in which it operates racial politics in Sergipe, but also reflects on the dynamics of action, interaction and identity that black movements and government representatives trigger forward to these new joints. Although the investigative cut focus on the reality of the State of Sergipe, the study also aims to contribute to a broader reflection on the meaning of what is, for the state (governments) and civil society (black leaders), maintain a relationship of "partnership" and "consensus"; what are the real conditions of power faced by black leaders when they step into spheres of government; and what are the speeches and criteria triggered by the black movements and government representatives to defend the view that only blacks are the legitimate representatives of the black cause. Thus, the study has three main stages: first, an analysis of the narratives that advocate on the need for blacks represent blacks and thus step into the spheres of power; second, investigates the daily practices of "be in power" by checking the sites, forms and conditions for the participation of black militants in the institutional spheres; and third, it analyzes the process of fragmentation and disintegration of the promotional institutions of racial equality, causing disbelief of black activists in relation to the party and government spheres. At the end, we concluded that in the last ten years, black movements in Sergipe spent battling defenders, via governmental institution, to critics and disbelievers with it, seeking to remake its militancy based on a discourse of autonomy (party and institutional) and the specific direction for the race. / O presente estudo analisa o processo de emergência de lideranças negras nos espaços institucionais de governo em Sergipe. Assim, questionando sobre o porquê de estes militantes estarem nestes espaços e quais as condições de acesso aos mesmos, o estudo não só evidencia o atual cenário em que se insere a política racial em Sergipe, como também reflete sobre as dinâmicas de ação, interação e identidade que movimentos negros e representantes governamentais acionam frente a estas novas articulações. Apesar de o recorte investigativo concentrar-se sobre a realidade do Estado de Sergipe, o estudo pretende contribuir também para uma reflexão mais abrangente sobre o significado do que é, para o Estado (Governos) e a sociedade civil (lideranças negras), manter uma relação de “parceria” e “consenso”; de quais são as reais condições de poder encontradas pelas lideranças negras quando as mesmas adentram as esferas governamentais; e de quais são os discursos e critérios acionados pelos movimentos negros e por representantes governamentais para defenderem a perspectiva de que só os negros são os legítimos representantes da causa negra. Para tanto, o estudo apresenta três momentos principais: primeiro, uma análise das narrativas que advogam sobre a necessidade de negros representarem negros e, assim, adentrarem às esferas de poder; segundo, investiga as práticas cotidianas do “estar no poder”, verificando os locais, as formas e as condições de participação dos militantes negros nas esferas institucionais; e terceiro, analisa o processo de fragmentação e desestruturação das instituições de promoção da igualdade racial, acarretando a descrença dos militantes negros em relação às esferas partidárias e governamentais. Ao final, concluímos que, nos últimos dez anos, os movimentos negros em Sergipe passaram de defensores da luta, via instituição governamental, a críticos e descrentes para com a mesma, buscando refazer o seu militantismo com base em um discurso de autonomia (partidária e institucional) e o direcionamento específico para a questão racial