The Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) is a voluntary, non-jeopardy reporting program supported by commercial airlines. The program provides pilots with a way to report unsafe occurrences, including their own errors, without risk of punitive action on the part of the airlines or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Through a set of on-site visits to airlines with ASAP programs, deficiencies were identified in the way airlines collect ASAP reports from pilots. It was concluded that these deficiencies might be limiting the ability of airlines to identify hazards contributing to reported safety events. The purpose of this research was to determine if the use of an ASAP reporting form based on a human factors model, referred to as the Threat and Error Management (TEM) model, would result in pilots providing a larger quantity and higher quality of information as compared to information provided by pilots using a standard ASAP reporting form. The TEM model provides a framework for a taxonomy that includes factors related to safety events pilots encounter, behaviors and errors they make, and threats associated with the complexities of their operational environment. A comparison of reports collected using the TEM Reporting Form and a standard reporting form demonstrated that narrative descriptions provided by pilots using the TEM Reporting Form included both a larger quantity and higher quality of information. Quantity of information was measured by comparing the average word count of the narrative descriptions. Quality of information was measured by comparing the discriminatory power of the words in the narrative descriptions and the extent to which the narrative descriptions from the two sets of reports contributed to a set of latent concepts. The findings suggest that the TEM Reporting Form can help pilots provide longer descriptions, more relevant information related to safety hazards, and expand on concepts that contribute to reported safety events. The use of the TEM Reporting Form for the collection of ASAP reports should be considered by airlines as a preferred collection method for improving the quantity and quality of information reported by pilots through ASAP programs. / text

Darbo apimtis 69 puslapiai, 14 lentelių, 26 paveikslai, panaudotas 31 literatūros šaltinis, 4 priedai. Darbo tikslas yra ištirti sistemos „žmogus-mašina-aplinka“ elementų informacinį patikimumą ir išsiaiškinti garsinių signalų sklidimo triukšminga aplinka trukdžius bei įvertinti garsinės informacijos tokioje aplinkoje, kokybę. Darbe nagrinėjamas sistemos „žmogus-mašina-aplinka“ informacinis patikimumas ir jo neatitiktys situacijai, sukeliančios nepaprastuosius įvykius. Literatūros apžvalgoje didelis dėmesys skiriamas girdimosios informacijos kokybės pokyčių analizei esant triukšmui, aptariama klausos apsaugos priemonių įtaka darbuotojo informaciniam komfortui. Teoriniuose tyrimuose daug dėmesio skiriama erdvinės girdos ir garso šaltinio lokalizacijos biologiniams aspektams, analizuojami garsinio signalo kokybinio vertinimo rodikliai. Tyrimų rezultatų analizė rodo jog didelę reikšmę informacijos sklidimui turi jos amplitudinė dažninė charakteristika, o žmogus gali iš aplinkos išskirti net tuos signalus, kurių kalbos interferencijos rodiklis (SIL) mažesnis už 5dBA. Taip pat nustatyta, jog informaciniai signalai informatyvūs, kai jų lygis vienoje iš 4 oktavinių juostų bent 5 dBA aukštesnis, o klausos apsaugos priemonių slopinimas ne didesnis kaip 20 dBA. Darbe gauti rezultatai gali būti panaudoti kaip priedas vertinant profesinę riziką darbo vietose. / Work consists of 69 pages, 14 data tables, 26 illustrations, 4 attachments, 31 literature sources is used The purpose of this work is to investigate informational reliability of the “man-machine-environment” system and find out the difficulties of audible information spread in noisy environment and also estimate the quality of this information. „Man-machine-environment“system informational reliability is being analyzed in literature review section. An extensive attention intended for audible information quality in noise, influence of using hearing protectors also discussed. Finally spatial hearing and sound localization biological aspects reviewed, qualitative indexes of audible signal analyzed. Research analysis showed that significant account for audible information propagation has its amplitude frequentative characteristic but man can dissociate even these audible signals, of which speech interference level (SIL) is poor, or less than 5 dBA. Also determined that informational signals are informative when their level is at least 5 dBA higher in one of four octave bands and when hearing protector suppression is less than 20 dBA. Results can be used as extra information for professional risk assessment.

Organizations make large investments in Information Systems (IS) expecting positive impacts to the organisation and its functions. Yet, there exists much controversy surrounding the 'potential' impacts of these systems, with some studies reporting broadly positive impacts of IS across organizations (Barua, Kriebel and Mukhopadhyay 1995; Barua and Lee 1997; Brynjolfsson and Hitt 1996; Lehr and Lichtenberg 1999; Mukherjee, Ray and Miller 2001), while others have shown nil or detrimental impacts (Attewell and Rule 1984; Brynjolfsson and Yang 1996; Cameron and Quinn 1988; Wilson 1993). Various authors have suggested that these conflicting results may be due to poor measurement - E.g. incomplete or inappropriate measures of success (DeLone and McLean 1992; Gable 1996; Melone 1990), lack of theoretical grounding and hence agreement on appropriate measures of success (Bonner 1995; Myers, Kappelman and Prybutok 1998), myopic focus on financial performance indicators (Ballantine, Bonner, Levy, Martin, Munro and Powell 1996; Kaplan and Norton 1996), weaknesses in survey instruments employed (Gable, Sedera and Chan 2003) (e.g., constructs lacking in validity), or (5) inappropriate data collection approach (Seddon, Staples, Patnayakuni and Bowtell 1999; Sedera and Gable 2004) (e.g., asking the wrong people, unrepresentative sample). Enterprise Systems (ES) have over the past decade emerged to be one of the most important developments in the corporate use of information technology. Anecdotal evidence reveals discontent with these large application software packages. Yet Enterprise System investments are seldom systematically evaluated post-implementation; the review process and measures typically being idiosyncratic and lacking credibility. Impacts resulting from 'Enterprise Systems' are particularly difficult to measure, with an Enterprise System entailing many users ranging from top executives to data entry operators; many applications that span the organization; and a diversity of capabilities and functionality. Despite the substantial investments made by organizations and the anecdotal evidence of discontent, systematic attempts to measure their success have been few. The primary objective of this research is to develop and test a standardized instrument for measuring ES-Success. Other related objectives of this research include: (1) to identify the dimensions and measures of ES-Success, (2) to validate a maximally generalizable measurement model and survey instrument for gauging ES-Success; (3) to develop an understanding of the state of Enterprise Systems using descriptive/comparative statistics, and (4) to identify and test an antecedent of ES-Success. With the above objectives, and in attention to the weaknesses identified in past IS-success research, this study follows and extends the 'research cycle' guidelines of Mackenzie and House (1979) and McGrath (1979). The research cycle entails two main phases: (1) an exploratory phase to develop the hypothesized measurement model, and (2) a confirmatory phase, to test the hypothesized measurement model against new data. The two surveys (termed as identification-survey and specification-survey) conducted in the exploratory phase of this research go beyond the activities recommended by Mackenzie and House (1979) and McGrath (1979). A third "confirmation-survey" was completed in the confirmatory phase of the research cycle. The three surveys gathered and analyzed data from six hundred (600) respondents. The purpose of the identification-survey was to discover the salient ES-Success dimensions and measures to include in an a-priori ES-Success model. Data from 137 respondents representing 27 Australian State Government Agencies that had implemented SAP R/3 in the late 1990s were analyzed. The analysis of identification-survey data yielded an a-priori model with 41 measures of 5 dimensions of ES-Success that provide a holistic view across the organization from strategic to operational levels. The specification-survey was employed to validate the a-priori ES-Success measurement model derived in the preceding identification-survey. Employing 310 responses from the same 27 public sector organizations, exploratory data analysis validated 27 measures of success pertaining to the 4 dimensions: information quality, system quality, individual impact and organizational impact. Data for testing the influence of an antecedent of ES-Success was simultaneously gathered during the specification-survey. This analysis, based on the Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST), investigated the influence of Knowledge Management Structures Adequacy (KMSA) on ES-Success. Preliminary results indicate a strong relationship between the Knowledge Management Structures Adequacy and ES-Success. The purpose of the confirmation-survey was to further validate the dimensions and measures of the ES-Success model, using new data, employing confirmatory statistical techniques. Data was gathered from 153 respondents across a large University that had implemented the Oracle Enterprise System, which facilitated further construct validity of the ES-Success measurement instrument was further established using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

[pt] Com crescente número de sites de consumo colaborativo, cresce também a necessidade de se criar ambientes online que permitam a geração de confiança entre indivíduos desconhecidos a partir de sistemas de reputação. Os sistemas de reputação online têm a função de coletar informações de comportamentos passados dos usuários para tentar prever seus comportamentos futuros. Diversos estudos sobre o assunto surgiram nos últimos anos, porém esses estudos apresentam definições de reputação online e descrições de sistemas de reputação que desconsideram o indivíduo, alvo da reputação, como agente formador de sua própria reputação, ou seja, para esses estudos, a reputação de um indivíduo pode ser influenciada apenas por terceiros. Este estudo esteve focado na geração de reputação em sites de hospedagem entre indivíduos, ou seja, sites que possibilitam que anfitriões (prestadores de serviço) aluguem seus imóveis ou parte deles, como um quarto, para hóspedes (consumidores), que na maioria das vezes são desconhecidas. O objetivo desse estudo foi investigar se o alvo da reputação (anfitrião) poderia ser um agente influenciador de sua própria reputação online e se essa influência poderia gerar informações formadoras de reputação com mais qualidade. Além disso, buscou-se saber se esse envolvimento ativo do anfitrião gerou reputações mais precisas e consequentemente afetou a confiança e a desconfirmação de terceiros. Para realizar esse estudo, foi proposto um novo modelo gerador de reputações online e foram realizados 4 experimentos que buscaram investigar a influência do alvo da reputação: (1) na qualidade das suas informações de reputação; (2) na percepção de sua reputação por terceiros; (3) no impacto na confiança online de terceiros sobre ele; (4) e na confirmação (ou desconfirmação) da expectativa de seus parceiros de transação. Este trabalho contribui para literatura oferecendo uma nova definição para o construto reputação online. Ele também provê um novo método capaz de capturar informações de reputação mais acuradas e confiáveis, que se adotado por empresas de hospedagem online podem proporcionar a seus usuários informações mais relevantes para a escolha de anfitriões. / [en] With the growing number of collaborative consumption websites, there is also a growing need to create online environments, and online reputation systems that enable the creation of trust among unacquainted individuals. The function of online reputation systems is to collect and store information about the past behaviors of users and use it as a predictor of future behavior. In recent years, several studies on this subject have emerged, however, they present definitions of online reputation and descriptions of reputation systems that disregard the reputed individual as an agent in the creation of his/her own reputation. That implies that an individual s online reputation is solely determined by third parties, and that he/she plays no role in that process. This study focused on the generation of reputation parameters in peer-to-peer hospitality websites. These websites allow hosts (service providers) to rent their home, or part of it, such as in the case a single room, to guests (consumers) who are often unknown to them. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the reputation target (the host) could be an influencing agent in the formation of his/her own online reputation. Moreover, it sought to whether this active involvement of the host was likely to generate more accurate information about the his/her reputation, thus affecting the levels of trust and disconfirmations of guests. To develop this study, a new model for the generation of online reputation was proposed, and four experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of the reputation target (host): (1) on the quality of its reputation information; (2) on the perception of the host s reputation by third parties; (3) on the levels online trust that third parties (guests) display in relation to the host; and (4) on the confirmation (or disconfirmation) of these third-party expectations. This paper contributes to literature by offering a new approach to the online reputation construct. It also provides a novel method for the construction of more accurate and reliable online reputation parameters, which, if adopted by online hospitality companies could provide their users with subsidies to make better informed choices regarding hosts.

O valor da Tecnologia da Informação (TI) para o negócio, na perspectiva de recursos isolados de TI, tem apresentado resultados mistos. Além disso, esse valor tem sido avaliado no nível da Firma, por meio de medidas agregadas de desempenho como rentabilidade, participação no mercado e eficiência. Como alternativa a essa abordagem, esta pesquisa adota o conceito de Capacidades de TI como um conjunto de recursos em uso pelas organizações. Também, outros construtos em níveis inferiores ao Desempenho da Firma (DF) são considerados – Qualidade da Informação (QI) e Desempenho no Nível de Processos (DP). Portanto, alternativamente às abordagens de valor da TI, esta pesquisa tem o objetivo de identificar o valor das Capacidades de TI e o seu impacto sobre a Qualidade da Informação e sobre o Desempenho Organizacional nos níveis de Processos e da Firma. O teste das hipóteses de pesquisa é precedido por entrevistas com especialistas de TI (gestores), no intuito de validar o modelo proposto. Adicionalmente, procedeu-se à tradução das variáveis para a survey. Especialistas em SI (pesquisadores) também participaram da avaliação das variáveis do modelo de medida, julgando sua permanência ou exclusão. Surveys Pré-teste e de Estudo Piloto foram realizadas com vistas ao refinamento do instrumento de coleta e do modelo de medida, respectivamente. Na survey completa participaram 150 gestores de TI e de negócios ligados a grandes organizações brasileiras. Os dados foram analisados com Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, a fim de validar o modelo de medida e testar as hipóteses do modelo. Pelo teste do modelo estrutural na survey completa, constatou-se que as Capacidades de TI Internas estão associadas ao nível de Qualidade da Informação e ao Desempenho no Nível de Processos. As Capacidades de TI Externas, por outro lado, não impactam positivamente na QI nem sobre os níveis de desempenho (Processos e Firma). Um modelo de mediação do Desempenho de Processos foi testado na survey completa. Constatou-se a mediação completa, sustentando a hipótese de que as Capacidades de TI Internas exercem impacto sobre o Desempenho da Firma, mediado por processos de negócio. Os resultados são apoiados por estudos que defendem que o valor da TI é captado direta e primeiramente em nível de Processos. As contribuições, limitações e recomendações da pesquisa constam nas Considerações Finais da tese. / The value of Information Technology (IT) to business, from the perspective of individual IT resources, has shown mixed results in the literature. Furthermore, this value has been evaluated at the firm level, through aggregate measures of performance such as profitability, market share and efficiency. As an alternative to such perspective, this research adopts the concept of IT Capabilities as a set of resources in use by organizations. Likewise, other constructs at lower levels than the Firm Performance are considered – namely Information Quality (IQ) and at the Process level Performance. So, alternatively to approaches about the value of IT, this research aims to identify the value of IT Capabilities and theirs impacts on the Information Quality and on the Performance, at the Processes and the Firm levels. The test of research’s hypothesis is preceded by interviews with IT specialists (managers) in order to validate the research model. Additionally, we proceeded to the translation of the variables for the survey. Information Systems experts (researchers) also participated in the evaluation of the variables to the measurement model, judging its presence or deletion. Surveys Pre-test and Pilot Study were conducted with a view to refining the data collection instrument and the measurement model, respectively. The full survey was answered by 150 IT’s and business’s managers in large Brazilian organizations. Data were analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling in order to validate the measurement model and testing hypotheses of the research model. For the test of the structural model in the full survey, it was found that the Internal IT Capabilities are associated with the level of Quality of Information and at the Process Level Performance. The External IT Capabilities, on the other hand, do not impact positively on IQ, neither on the performance levels (Processes and Firm). One model of mediation for Process level Performance was tested in the full survey. It was found full mediation, supporting the hypothesis that Internal IT Capabilities exert impact on the performance at the Firm level, mediated by business processes. The results are supported by researches that argue value of IT is captured direct and firstly at the Processes level. The contributions, limitations and recommendations of the research are contained in the end of the thesis.

Since the development of the Internet, the amount of individuals and organisations making use of the World Wide Web (or Web) has grown significantly, and it is likely to continue increasing as the world continues to become intertwined. With the Internet, users are able to conduct various activities online, one being online shopping which has changed the retailing sector. Online shoppers are able to purchase goods and services over the Web in the comfort of their own homes without having to set foot into a physical store. Due to the fact that greater numbers of South African consumers are becoming accustomed to online shopping and the number of online retailers is growing, there is a need to determine which quality factors of websites influence these consumers when shopping online, which is the primary purpose of this study. A broad and in-depth literature review was provided on online shopping as well as the website quality factors influencing online shopping. An empirical study was conducted, where the data were collected from South Africans who met the requirements by means of an Internet-based self-administered questionnaire. The study followed a quantitative approach in order to satisfy the research objectives of the study. Based on the research results, it was found that all system, information and service quality factors influence respondents when shopping online and therefore need to be taken into consideration by online retailers when developing shopping sites. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Submitted by Izabel Franco (izabel-franco@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-11T12:19:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseLCB.pdf: 19957803 bytes, checksum: 66c9854c5f0067734f1a81f62cc661b0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-21T12:06:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseLCB.pdf: 19957803 bytes, checksum: 66c9854c5f0067734f1a81f62cc661b0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-21T12:06:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseLCB.pdf: 19957803 bytes, checksum: 66c9854c5f0067734f1a81f62cc661b0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-21T12:06:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseLCB.pdf: 19957803 bytes, checksum: 66c9854c5f0067734f1a81f62cc661b0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-01-26 / Não recebi financiamento / Situational Awareness (SAW) is a cognitive process widely spread in areas that require critical decision-making and refers to the level of consciousness that an individual or team has about a situation. In the emergency management domain, the situational information inferred by decision support systems affects the SAW of human operators, which is also influenced by the dynamicity and critical nature of the events. Failures in SAW, typically caused by high levels of stress, information overload and the inherent need to perform multiple tasks, can induce human operators to errors in decision-making, resulting in risks to life, assets or to the environment. Data fusion processes present opportunities to improve human operators’ SAW and enrich their knowledge on situations. However, problems related to the quality of information can lead to uncertainties, especially when human operators are also sources of information, requiring the restructuring of the fusion process. The state of the art of data and information fusion models presents approaches with limited participation of human operators, typically reactive, besides solutions that are restricted in mechanisms to manage the quality of information throughout the fusion process. Thus, the present work presents a new information fusion model, called Quantify (Quality-aware Human-driven Information Fusion Model), whose major differentials are the greater involvement of human operators and the use of the information quality management throughout the fusion process. In order to support the Quantify model, an innovative methodology was developed for the assessment and representation of data and information quality, called IQESA (Information Quality Assessment Methodology in the Context of Emergency Situation Awareness) specialized in the context of emergency situational awareness and which also involves the human operator. In order to validate the model and the methodology, a service-oriented architecture and two emergency situation assessment systems were developed, one guided by the Quantify model and another driven by the state-of-the-art model (User-Fusion). In a case study, robbery events reported to the emergency response service of the S˜ao Paulo State Military Police (Pol´ıcia Militar do Estado de S˜ao Paulo - PMESP) were submitted to the systems and then evaluated by the PMESP operators, revealing higher rates of SAW by the application of the Quantify model. These positive results confirm the need of this new model and methodology, besides revealing an opportunity to enrich the current emergency response system used by PMESP. / Situational Awareness (SAW) is a cognitive process widely spread in areas that require critical decision-making and refers to the level of consciousness that an individual or team has about a situation. In the emergency management domain, the situational information inferred by decision support systems affects the SAW of human operators, which is also influenced by the dynamicity and critical nature of the events. Failures in SAW, typically caused by high levels of stress, information overload and the inherent need to perform multiple tasks, can induce human operators to errors in decision-making, resulting in risks to life, assets or to the environment. Data fusion processes present opportunities to improve human operators’ SAW and enrich their knowledge on situations. However, problems related to the quality of information can lead to uncertainties, especially when human operators are also sources of information, requiring the restructuring of the fusion process. The state of the art of data and information fusion models presents approaches with limited participation of human operators, typically reactive, besides solutions that are restricted in mechanisms to manage the quality of information throughout the fusion process. Thus, the present work presents a new information fusion model, called Quantify (Quality-aware Human-driven Information Fusion Model), whose major differentials are the greater involvement of human operators and the use of the information quality management throughout the fusion process. In order to support the Quantify model, an innovative methodology was developed for the assessment and representation of data and information quality, called IQESA (Information Quality Assessment Methodology in the Context of Emergency Situation Awareness) specialized in the context of emergency situational awareness and which also involves the human operator. In order to validate the model and the methodology, a service-oriented architecture and two emergency situation assessment systems were developed, one guided by the Quantify model and another driven by the state-of-the-art model (User-Fusion). In a case study, robbery events reported to the emergency response service of the S˜ao Paulo State Military Police (Pol´ıcia Militar do Estado de S˜ao Paulo - PMESP) were submitted to the systems and then evaluated by the PMESP operators, revealing higher rates of SAW by the application of the Quantify model. These positive results confirm the need of this new model and methodology, besides revealing an opportunity to enrich the current emergency response system used by PMESP. / Consciência Situacional (Situational Awareness - SAW) é um processo cognitivo amplamente difundido em áreas que demandam a tomada de decisão critica e se refere ao nível de consciência que um indivíduo ou equipe detém sobre uma situação. No domínio de gerenciamento de emergências, a informação situacional inferida por sistemas de apoio à decisão afeta a SAW de operadores humanos, a qual é também influenciada pela dinamicidade e natureza crítica dos eventos. Falhas de SAW, tipicamente provocadas pelo alto nível de stress, sobrecarga de informação e pela inerente necessidade de realização de múltiplas tarefas, podem induzir operadores humanos a erros no processo decisório e acarretar riscos `a vida, ao patrimônio ou ao meio ambiente. Processos de fusão de dados apresentam oportunidades para aprimorar a SAW de operadores humanos e enriquecer o seu conhecimento sobre situações. Entretanto, problemas referentes `a qualidade da informação podem gerar incertezas, principalmente quando operadores humanos são também fontes de informação, demandando assim a reestruturação do processo de fusão. O estado da arte em modelos de fusão de dados e informações apresenta abordagens com limitada participação de humanos, tipicamente reativa, além das soluções serem restritas em mecanismos para gerir a qualidade da informação. Assim, este trabalho apresenta um novo modelo de fusão de informações, denominado Quantify (Quality-Aware Human-Driven Information Fusion Model), cujos principais diferenciais são a intensificação da participação humana e o emprego continuo da gestão da qualidade da informação ao longo do processo de fusão. Em suporte ao modelo Quantify, foi desenvolvida uma metodologia inovadora para a avaliação e representação da qualidade de dados e informações, denominada IQESA (Information Quality Assessment Methodology in the Context of Emergency Situation Awareness), especializada no contexto de consciência situacional de emergências e que também envolve o operador humano. Para validar o modelo e a metodologia, uma arquitetura orientada a serviços e dois sistemas de avaliação de situações de emergência foram desenvolvidos, um deles orientado pelo modelo Quantify e outro dirigido pelo modelo do estado da arte (User-Fusion). Em estudo de caso, eventos de roubo relatados ao serviço de atendimento a emergências da Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo (PMESP) foram submetidos aos sistemas e avaliados por operadores da PMESP, revelando índices superiores de SAW pelo emprego do modelo Quantify. Tais resultados positivos corroboram com a necessidade deste novo modelo e metodologia, além de revelar uma oportunidade de enriquecimento do sistema atual de atendimento a emergências utilizado pela PMES

O valor da Tecnologia da Informação (TI) para o negócio, na perspectiva de recursos isolados de TI, tem apresentado resultados mistos. Além disso, esse valor tem sido avaliado no nível da Firma, por meio de medidas agregadas de desempenho como rentabilidade, participação no mercado e eficiência. Como alternativa a essa abordagem, esta pesquisa adota o conceito de Capacidades de TI como um conjunto de recursos em uso pelas organizações. Também, outros construtos em níveis inferiores ao Desempenho da Firma (DF) são considerados – Qualidade da Informação (QI) e Desempenho no Nível de Processos (DP). Portanto, alternativamente às abordagens de valor da TI, esta pesquisa tem o objetivo de identificar o valor das Capacidades de TI e o seu impacto sobre a Qualidade da Informação e sobre o Desempenho Organizacional nos níveis de Processos e da Firma. O teste das hipóteses de pesquisa é precedido por entrevistas com especialistas de TI (gestores), no intuito de validar o modelo proposto. Adicionalmente, procedeu-se à tradução das variáveis para a survey. Especialistas em SI (pesquisadores) também participaram da avaliação das variáveis do modelo de medida, julgando sua permanência ou exclusão. Surveys Pré-teste e de Estudo Piloto foram realizadas com vistas ao refinamento do instrumento de coleta e do modelo de medida, respectivamente. Na survey completa participaram 150 gestores de TI e de negócios ligados a grandes organizações brasileiras. Os dados foram analisados com Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, a fim de validar o modelo de medida e testar as hipóteses do modelo. Pelo teste do modelo estrutural na survey completa, constatou-se que as Capacidades de TI Internas estão associadas ao nível de Qualidade da Informação e ao Desempenho no Nível de Processos. As Capacidades de TI Externas, por outro lado, não impactam positivamente na QI nem sobre os níveis de desempenho (Processos e Firma). Um modelo de mediação do Desempenho de Processos foi testado na survey completa. Constatou-se a mediação completa, sustentando a hipótese de que as Capacidades de TI Internas exercem impacto sobre o Desempenho da Firma, mediado por processos de negócio. Os resultados são apoiados por estudos que defendem que o valor da TI é captado direta e primeiramente em nível de Processos. As contribuições, limitações e recomendações da pesquisa constam nas Considerações Finais da tese. / The value of Information Technology (IT) to business, from the perspective of individual IT resources, has shown mixed results in the literature. Furthermore, this value has been evaluated at the firm level, through aggregate measures of performance such as profitability, market share and efficiency. As an alternative to such perspective, this research adopts the concept of IT Capabilities as a set of resources in use by organizations. Likewise, other constructs at lower levels than the Firm Performance are considered – namely Information Quality (IQ) and at the Process level Performance. So, alternatively to approaches about the value of IT, this research aims to identify the value of IT Capabilities and theirs impacts on the Information Quality and on the Performance, at the Processes and the Firm levels. The test of research’s hypothesis is preceded by interviews with IT specialists (managers) in order to validate the research model. Additionally, we proceeded to the translation of the variables for the survey. Information Systems experts (researchers) also participated in the evaluation of the variables to the measurement model, judging its presence or deletion. Surveys Pre-test and Pilot Study were conducted with a view to refining the data collection instrument and the measurement model, respectively. The full survey was answered by 150 IT’s and business’s managers in large Brazilian organizations. Data were analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling in order to validate the measurement model and testing hypotheses of the research model. For the test of the structural model in the full survey, it was found that the Internal IT Capabilities are associated with the level of Quality of Information and at the Process Level Performance. The External IT Capabilities, on the other hand, do not impact positively on IQ, neither on the performance levels (Processes and Firm). One model of mediation for Process level Performance was tested in the full survey. It was found full mediation, supporting the hypothesis that Internal IT Capabilities exert impact on the performance at the Firm level, mediated by business processes. The results are supported by researches that argue value of IT is captured direct and firstly at the Processes level. The contributions, limitations and recommendations of the research are contained in the end of the thesis.

O valor da Tecnologia da Informação (TI) para o negócio, na perspectiva de recursos isolados de TI, tem apresentado resultados mistos. Além disso, esse valor tem sido avaliado no nível da Firma, por meio de medidas agregadas de desempenho como rentabilidade, participação no mercado e eficiência. Como alternativa a essa abordagem, esta pesquisa adota o conceito de Capacidades de TI como um conjunto de recursos em uso pelas organizações. Também, outros construtos em níveis inferiores ao Desempenho da Firma (DF) são considerados – Qualidade da Informação (QI) e Desempenho no Nível de Processos (DP). Portanto, alternativamente às abordagens de valor da TI, esta pesquisa tem o objetivo de identificar o valor das Capacidades de TI e o seu impacto sobre a Qualidade da Informação e sobre o Desempenho Organizacional nos níveis de Processos e da Firma. O teste das hipóteses de pesquisa é precedido por entrevistas com especialistas de TI (gestores), no intuito de validar o modelo proposto. Adicionalmente, procedeu-se à tradução das variáveis para a survey. Especialistas em SI (pesquisadores) também participaram da avaliação das variáveis do modelo de medida, julgando sua permanência ou exclusão. Surveys Pré-teste e de Estudo Piloto foram realizadas com vistas ao refinamento do instrumento de coleta e do modelo de medida, respectivamente. Na survey completa participaram 150 gestores de TI e de negócios ligados a grandes organizações brasileiras. Os dados foram analisados com Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, a fim de validar o modelo de medida e testar as hipóteses do modelo. Pelo teste do modelo estrutural na survey completa, constatou-se que as Capacidades de TI Internas estão associadas ao nível de Qualidade da Informação e ao Desempenho no Nível de Processos. As Capacidades de TI Externas, por outro lado, não impactam positivamente na QI nem sobre os níveis de desempenho (Processos e Firma). Um modelo de mediação do Desempenho de Processos foi testado na survey completa. Constatou-se a mediação completa, sustentando a hipótese de que as Capacidades de TI Internas exercem impacto sobre o Desempenho da Firma, mediado por processos de negócio. Os resultados são apoiados por estudos que defendem que o valor da TI é captado direta e primeiramente em nível de Processos. As contribuições, limitações e recomendações da pesquisa constam nas Considerações Finais da tese. / The value of Information Technology (IT) to business, from the perspective of individual IT resources, has shown mixed results in the literature. Furthermore, this value has been evaluated at the firm level, through aggregate measures of performance such as profitability, market share and efficiency. As an alternative to such perspective, this research adopts the concept of IT Capabilities as a set of resources in use by organizations. Likewise, other constructs at lower levels than the Firm Performance are considered – namely Information Quality (IQ) and at the Process level Performance. So, alternatively to approaches about the value of IT, this research aims to identify the value of IT Capabilities and theirs impacts on the Information Quality and on the Performance, at the Processes and the Firm levels. The test of research’s hypothesis is preceded by interviews with IT specialists (managers) in order to validate the research model. Additionally, we proceeded to the translation of the variables for the survey. Information Systems experts (researchers) also participated in the evaluation of the variables to the measurement model, judging its presence or deletion. Surveys Pre-test and Pilot Study were conducted with a view to refining the data collection instrument and the measurement model, respectively. The full survey was answered by 150 IT’s and business’s managers in large Brazilian organizations. Data were analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling in order to validate the measurement model and testing hypotheses of the research model. For the test of the structural model in the full survey, it was found that the Internal IT Capabilities are associated with the level of Quality of Information and at the Process Level Performance. The External IT Capabilities, on the other hand, do not impact positively on IQ, neither on the performance levels (Processes and Firm). One model of mediation for Process level Performance was tested in the full survey. It was found full mediation, supporting the hypothesis that Internal IT Capabilities exert impact on the performance at the Firm level, mediated by business processes. The results are supported by researches that argue value of IT is captured direct and firstly at the Processes level. The contributions, limitations and recommendations of the research are contained in the end of the thesis.

Submitted by Irene Nascimento (irene.kessia@ufpe.br) on 2016-10-17T18:07:42Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertação - Everaldo Costa Silva Neto (final).pdf: 1973752 bytes, checksum: 18ff29972829bab54f92cc990addf923 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-17T18:07:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertação - Everaldo Costa Silva Neto (final).pdf: 1973752 bytes, checksum: 18ff29972829bab54f92cc990addf923 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-24 / Atualmente, um massivo volume de dados tem sido produzido pelos mais variados tipos de fontes de dados. Apesar da crescente facilidade de acesso a esses dados, identificar quais fontes de dados são mais adequadas para um determinado uso é um grande desafio. Isso ocorre devido ao grande número de fontes de dados disponíveis e, principalmente, devido à ausência de informações sobre a qualidade dos dados. Nesse contexto, a literatura oferece diversos trabalhos que abordam o uso de critérios de Qualidade da Informação (QI) para avaliar fontes de dados e solucionar esse desafio. No entanto, poucos trabalhos consideram o aspecto dinâmico das fontes na etapa da avaliação da qualidade. Nesta dissertação, abordamos o problema de avaliação da qualidade em fontes de dados dinâmicas, ou seja, fontes de dados cujo conteúdo pode sofrer modificações com alta frequência. Como contribuição, propomos uma estratégia onde os critérios de QI são avaliados de forma contínua, com o objetivo de acompanhar a evolução das fontes de dados ao longo do tempo. Além disso, propomos a criação de um Perfil de Qualidade, que consiste de um conjunto de metadados sobre a qualidade de uma fonte, onde seu uso pode ser aplicado para diversos fins, inclusive no processo de seleção de fontes de dados. O Perfil de Qualidade proposto é atualizado periodicamente de acordo com os resultados obtidos pela avaliação contínua da qualidade. Dessa forma, é possível refletir o aspecto dinâmico das fontes. Para avaliar os resultados deste trabalho, mais especificamente a estratégia de avaliação contínua da qualidade, utilizamos fontes de dados do domínio Meteorológico. Os experimentos realizados demonstraram que a estratégia de avaliação proposta produz resultados satisfatórios. / Nowadays, a massive data volume has been produced by a variety of data sources. The easy access to these data presents new opportunities. In this sense, choosing the most suitable data sources for a specific use has become a challenge. Several works in the literature use Information Quality as a mean of solving this problem, however, only few works employ a continuous strategy. In this work, we address the problem of performing assessment continuously, looking to dynamic data sources. We also propose the creation of a data source Quality Profile, which consists of a set of metadata about the data source’s quality and may be used to help the selection of data sources. To reflect the real quality values of a data source, we propose a continuous updating of the Quality Profile, according to the data source’s refresh rate. In order to evaluate our proposal, we carried out some experiments with meteorological data provided by institutions that monitor weather conditions of Recife. The experimental results have demonstrated that our strategy produces more satisfactory results than others, regarding the trade off between performance and accuracy.