Atualmente, pesquisadores e acadêmicos têm beneficiado-se muito com o crescimento acelerado das tecnologias Web, pois os resultados de pesquisa podem ser publicados e acessados eletronicamente tão logo a mesma tenha sido realizada. Esta possibilidade é vantajosa na medida em que minimiza as barreiras de tempo e espaço associadas à publicação tradicional. Neste contexto, surgem as Bibliotecas Digitais como repositórios de dados que, além dos documentos digitais propriamente ditos, ou de apontadores para estes documentos, armazenam os metadados associados. Para permitir que diferentes Bibliotecas Digitais possam interoperar surgiu a Open Archives Initiative (OAI) e, para resolver a questão da padronização dos metadados utilizados pelos repositórios, foi criado o formato Dublin Core (DC). Por outro lado, a enorme quantidade de documentos digitais disponíveis na Web tem causado o fenômeno conhecido como “sobrecarga de informação”. Com o objetivo de suprir esta dificuldade, Sistemas de Recomendação têm sido propostos e desenvolvidos. Estes sistemas visam prover uma interface alternativa para tecnologias de filtragem e recuperação de informações, tendo como foco a predição daqueles itens ou partes da informação que o usuário acharia interessante e útil. Portanto, os Sistemas de Recomendação atuam baseados em personalização da informação sendo que as predições geralmente são realizadas utilizando-se um perfil de cada usuário. A personalização está relacionada com o modo pelo qual a informação e serviços podem ser ajustados às necessidades específicas de um usuário ou comunidade. Esta dissertação descreve um Sistema de Recomendação de artigos científicos, armazenados em bibliotecas digitais. Este sistema é dirigido à comunidade científica da área da Ciência da Computação. Tecnologicamente, o sistema proposto foi desenvolvido sob a perspectiva da Web Semântica, à medida que faz uso de suas tecnologias emergentes tais como: uso de metadados padrão para a descrição de documentos - Dublin Core, uso do padrão XML para a descrição do perfil do usuário - Currículo Lattes, e provedores de serviços e de dados (OAI) envolvidos no processo de geração das recomendações. Este trabalho ainda apresenta e discute alguns resultados de experimentos baseados em avaliações quantitativas e qualitativas de recomendações geradas pelo sistema. / Currently, researchers and academics have been benefited by the expressive growth of web technologies, due to the possibility of publishing and accessing research results as soon as they are achieved. This possibility is advantageous as it minimizes the time and space barriers that traditional publications present. In this context, Digital Libraries emerged as data repositories that, beyond digital documents or links to them, store associated metadata. To allow the interoperability among different Digital Libraries, the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) was defined and, to solve the problem of metadata standardization, the Dublin Core standard (DC) was created. On the other hand, the great amount of available digital documents in the Web has caused the phenomenon known as “information overload”. In order to avoid this difficulty, Recommender Systems have been proposed and developed. These systems intend to provide an alternative interface for information filtering and retrieval technologies, focusing on the prediction of items or information parts that are interesting and useful for the user. Therefore, Recommender Systems act based on information personalization, and the predictions are generally generated using each user’s profile. The personalization is related to the way the information and the provided services can be adjusted to the specific necessities of a user or community. This dissertation describes a Recommender System for scientific articles stored in digital libraries. This system is geared towards the Computer Science scientific community. Technologically, the proposed system was developed under the Semantic Web perspective, as it explores its emergent technologies such as: use of standard metadata for document description - Dublin Core, use of the XML standard for users’ profile description - Lattes Curriculum Vitae, and services and data providers (OAI) involved on the recommendations generation process. In addition, this work presents and discusses some experimental results; the experiments are based on quantitative and qualitative evaluations of recommendations generated by the system.

Atualmente, pesquisadores e acadêmicos têm beneficiado-se muito com o crescimento acelerado das tecnologias Web, pois os resultados de pesquisa podem ser publicados e acessados eletronicamente tão logo a mesma tenha sido realizada. Esta possibilidade é vantajosa na medida em que minimiza as barreiras de tempo e espaço associadas à publicação tradicional. Neste contexto, surgem as Bibliotecas Digitais como repositórios de dados que, além dos documentos digitais propriamente ditos, ou de apontadores para estes documentos, armazenam os metadados associados. Para permitir que diferentes Bibliotecas Digitais possam interoperar surgiu a Open Archives Initiative (OAI) e, para resolver a questão da padronização dos metadados utilizados pelos repositórios, foi criado o formato Dublin Core (DC). Por outro lado, a enorme quantidade de documentos digitais disponíveis na Web tem causado o fenômeno conhecido como “sobrecarga de informação”. Com o objetivo de suprir esta dificuldade, Sistemas de Recomendação têm sido propostos e desenvolvidos. Estes sistemas visam prover uma interface alternativa para tecnologias de filtragem e recuperação de informações, tendo como foco a predição daqueles itens ou partes da informação que o usuário acharia interessante e útil. Portanto, os Sistemas de Recomendação atuam baseados em personalização da informação sendo que as predições geralmente são realizadas utilizando-se um perfil de cada usuário. A personalização está relacionada com o modo pelo qual a informação e serviços podem ser ajustados às necessidades específicas de um usuário ou comunidade. Esta dissertação descreve um Sistema de Recomendação de artigos científicos, armazenados em bibliotecas digitais. Este sistema é dirigido à comunidade científica da área da Ciência da Computação. Tecnologicamente, o sistema proposto foi desenvolvido sob a perspectiva da Web Semântica, à medida que faz uso de suas tecnologias emergentes tais como: uso de metadados padrão para a descrição de documentos - Dublin Core, uso do padrão XML para a descrição do perfil do usuário - Currículo Lattes, e provedores de serviços e de dados (OAI) envolvidos no processo de geração das recomendações. Este trabalho ainda apresenta e discute alguns resultados de experimentos baseados em avaliações quantitativas e qualitativas de recomendações geradas pelo sistema. / Currently, researchers and academics have been benefited by the expressive growth of web technologies, due to the possibility of publishing and accessing research results as soon as they are achieved. This possibility is advantageous as it minimizes the time and space barriers that traditional publications present. In this context, Digital Libraries emerged as data repositories that, beyond digital documents or links to them, store associated metadata. To allow the interoperability among different Digital Libraries, the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) was defined and, to solve the problem of metadata standardization, the Dublin Core standard (DC) was created. On the other hand, the great amount of available digital documents in the Web has caused the phenomenon known as “information overload”. In order to avoid this difficulty, Recommender Systems have been proposed and developed. These systems intend to provide an alternative interface for information filtering and retrieval technologies, focusing on the prediction of items or information parts that are interesting and useful for the user. Therefore, Recommender Systems act based on information personalization, and the predictions are generally generated using each user’s profile. The personalization is related to the way the information and the provided services can be adjusted to the specific necessities of a user or community. This dissertation describes a Recommender System for scientific articles stored in digital libraries. This system is geared towards the Computer Science scientific community. Technologically, the proposed system was developed under the Semantic Web perspective, as it explores its emergent technologies such as: use of standard metadata for document description - Dublin Core, use of the XML standard for users’ profile description - Lattes Curriculum Vitae, and services and data providers (OAI) involved on the recommendations generation process. In addition, this work presents and discusses some experimental results; the experiments are based on quantitative and qualitative evaluations of recommendations generated by the system.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2016-07-01T14:49:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcio Venancio Da Silva.pdf: 1612176 bytes, checksum: f4a65a67c6e926bca48180e5eff07fe1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-01T14:49:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcio Venancio Da Silva.pdf: 1612176 bytes, checksum: f4a65a67c6e926bca48180e5eff07fe1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-29 / Due to the globalization, the numbers of international companies are in continuous expansion, along with logistics service providers which offer abilities to deal with relevant complexities to international trade. Freight Forwarders are considered the main international trade intermediaries. They are responsible for all functions involved in transport after the cargo is available. Therefore, selecting a freight forwarder and the criteria considered in this selection are important elements in the success of a company. This work’s purpose is to identify and classify the utilization degree of the criteria considered in international transport selection process of less than a container load (LCL), maritime modal, from the perspective of the Brazilian freight forwarders. After the literature review, 52 sub-criteria were identified, which were analyzed and organized into 13 criteria. The study was conducted with 6 freight forwarders, 2 small-sized, 2 medium-sized and 2 large-sized. This research concludes that the utilization degree of the criteria considered in the international transport of LCL, maritime modal, is influenced by the size of the companies studied. The price is the most widely used criterion for small-sized freight forwarders while delivery is the most widely used criterion for medium-sized and large-sized freight forwarders. This research concludes further that the environmental criterion is not used by importers and exporters in the selection process a freight forwarder. / Por causa da globalização, o número de empresas que operam no exterior está em contínua ampliação, juntamente com os prestadores de serviços que oferecem a capacidade de lidar com as complexidades pertinentes ao comércio internacional. Os agentes de cargas são considerados os principais intermediários no comércio internacional. Sua tarefa é gerenciar todas as funções envolvidas no transporte após a disponibilização das respectivas cargas. Assim sendo, a seleção de um agente de cargas e os critérios considerados nessa seleção são elementos importantes no sucesso de uma empresa. O objetivo deste estudo é identificar e classificar o grau de utilização dos critérios considerados no processo de seleção de transporte internacional de carga fracionada, modal marítimo, sob a ótica dos agentes de cargas brasileiros de pequeno, médio e grande porte. Após a revisão da literatura foram identificados 52 subcritérios, que foram analisados e agrupados em 13 critérios. O estudo de caso foi realizado junto a 6 agentes de cargas, sendo 2 de pequeno porte, 2 de médio porte e 2 de grande porte. Conclui-se nos casos estudados que o grau de utilização dos critérios considerados no transporte internacional de carga fracionada, modal marítimo, são influenciados pelo porte das empresas estudadas. Para os agentes de cargas de pequeno porte o preço é o critério mais utilizado enquanto para os agentes de cargas de médio e grande porte, a entrega é o critério mais utilizado. Conclui-se ainda que o critério ambiental não é utilizado pelos importadores e exportadores durante o processo de seleção de um agente de cargas independente do porte analisado.

Molntjänster i olika former har fått en allt större roll för IT-drift inom många organisationer. Framförallt grundat i det faktum att molnteknik bidrar till förbättrad drift genom tillgång till ökad skalningsförmåga, vilket möjliggör att organisationer på ett flexibelt sätt kan hantera snabba förändringar vid inkommande arbetsbelastning. Att implementera egen lokal IT kräver även en hög kapacitet och stark resurstillgång, faktorer som inte alltid finns till hands. Beskrivna anledningar tillsammans med effekterna av Covid-19 pandemin har gjort att implementering och bruk av molntjänster ökat.  Fördelarna kommer dock inte utan nackdelar, molntjänster erbjuds ofta via molnleverantörer, vilket i sig inte behöver innebära en riskfaktor. Molntjänsternas struktur går däremot att koppla till en uppsjö av relaterade säkerhetsrisker, vilka till största del måste hanteras av leverantören. Konsumenten blir således beroende av att leverantören bibehåller säkerheten i molnet, ett stort förtroende placeras därmed till en extern aktör. Detta arbete fokuserar därför på att analysera hur konsumenten upplever förtroendet till leverantörens förmåga att bibehålla säkerheten relaterat till de säkerhetsrisker som kunnat kopplas till molntjänster. För att undersöka konsumentens upplevda förtroende till leverantören har en fallstudie med intervjuer som datainsamlingsmetod genomförts, fokus låg på att undersöka individer verksamma inom IT-branschen relaterat till molnfrågor.  Resultat visade på att förtroendet till leverantören i generell bemärkelse är högt, konsumenten litar på leverantörens förmåga att skydda tjänsterna mot intrång och bibehålla tillgängligheten. Vanligen rör det sig om stora välkända aktörer, konsumenten upplevde att detta talade för kapacitet och därmed en säkrare tjänst. Komplikationer uppkommer snarare kring juridiska aspekter och vem som äger tillgång till data, i detta anseende ansågs leverantörerna som mindre förtroendeingivande.

The development of Internet applications, as well as new technologies to provide Internet access to users, has caused a massive increase in the amount of data traffic in networks and the need of cost-efficient solutions for various networks. This motivated the development of such technologies as Internet Protocol (IP) and Ethernet. Ethernet originally aimed to serve the needs of Local Area Networks. The deployment of Ethernet in metropolitan area networks worldwide (also known as Carrier Ethernet) has made it both a competitive and preferable technology in comparison to technologies such as SONET/SDH and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). This thesis research investigates the requirement of various stakeholders to Carrier Ethernet technology. The following stakeholders were identified during the research: customers, standardization bodies, vendors, and providers. Each stakeholder was closely investigated and its needs, requirements and interconnection with other target groups were analysed and gathered into one communication map called Carrier Ethernet eco-system. Moreover this thesis identifies more specific recommendations to each stakeholder that could improve the development of Carrier Ethernet technology in general and ensure the satisfaction of the customer and leave more space for future innovation. / Internettillämpningars utveckling har framkallat en massiv ökning av datatrafiken i näten och dess krav har drivit fram införande av Internet Protocol (IP) och Ethernet-teknologi i globala nätverk. Ethernets teknologi har ursprungligen utvecklades för Local Area Networks. Ethernets spridning i globala näten (också känd som Carrier Ethernet) har gjort det till en både konkurrenskraftig och eftersökt teknologi i jämförelse med SONET/SDH och Våglängdsmultiplexering (WDM) tekniker. Denna rapport utreder kraven på Carrier Ethernet som kommer från följande intressenter: kunder, standardiseringsorgan, telekommunikations företag, och leverantörer. Detta examensarbete undersöker varje intressent och identifierar vilka funktioner de behöver och hur de är i förbindelse med andra målgrupper. Resultatet av analysen samlades i en karta som kallades Carrier Ethernet ekosystem. Dessutom kommer denna uppsats identifierar mer specifika rekommendationer för varje aktör som kan ge en förbättrad utveckling av Carrier Ethernet-teknik i allmänhet och motivera framtida innovationer i tekniken.

Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa often send financial support to their relatives in Zimbabwe. This financial support is known as remittances and is sent as cash or in-kind. This study investigated the characteristics of the South African-Zimbabwe remittance corridor. A critical investigation of the remittance channels used, the type of remittances sent, and the remittance transaction costs involved was done. Data for use in this study was collected through interviews with remittance service providers and by actual remittance transfers to Zimbabwe. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of data using statistical analysis techniques was done. From the analyzed data, it was observed that remittance service providers fall into two channels: formal and informal. The informal remittance channels were found to be the most popular in this corridor. The popularity of informal channels can be attributed to lower transaction costs and a lack of documentation needed from the sender. Informal remittance channels do not require the remittance sender to provide any identification document, therefore, undocumented Zimbabwean migrants opt for them. Long-distance buses that serve the South Africa-Zimbabwe route were found to be a popular channel of sending remittances - both cash and in-kind - to Zimbabwe. In-kind remittances have gained popularity due to the perennial lack of household consumer goods in Zimbabwe. Due to the national lockdown imposed in South Africa as a response to the Covid19 global pandemic, the study was unable to find the volume of remittances that is sent through the informal longdistance buses and trucks. The lockdown resulted in the closure of borders and non-essential travel was not permitted. The study found that the remittance transaction cost in the South AfricaZimbabwe corridor was higher than the global average cost of 6.84% (for formal channels) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of 3% by the year 2030.

Background: Collaboration between humanitarian organisations and commercial as well as humanitarian logistics service providers has become of utmost importance when outsourcing logistics activities. Selection criteria for choosing suitable logistics service providers areessential for the success of outsourcing collaboration and disaster operations. Yet, the selection of logistics service providers and the influencing factors for the development of outsourcing collaboration have been neglected by existing literature. Thus, there is a need to generate knowledge about the correlation between collaborative outsourcing and humanitarian logistics. As the UN system is the most relevant humanitarian system for responding to disasters, this case was chosen to provide the study context. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the outsourcing collaboration between humanitarian organisations and commercial as well as humanitarian logistics service providersin each of the disaster cycle phases, namely preparedness, response, and recovery. In particular, the selection criteria for collaboration with suitable logistics service providers when outsourcing logistics services within the context of the UN system are investigated. Method: This qualitative research employs an inductive single case study approach based on the context of the UN system. Data was collected and analysed through triangulating multiple data sources including semi-structured interviews, company reports and websites. Data from the different sources was compared and analysed by using a grounded analysis approach.  Conclusion: The study showed that the influence of the factors for outsourcing collaboration are closely connected to the humanitarian needs. This correlation affects the selection criteria for commercial and humanitarian logistics service providers and underlines the need to apply selection criteria for collaboration throughout the disaster cycle. The study further showed that the way of initiating collaboration substantially differs between the types of logistics service provider as it has an impact on the selection of logistics service providers.

Culture, resource, and regulatory concerns are elevating the importance of business expansion inthe contemporary world. Everyone, including service providers, must overcome the obstacles.Change readiness assists individuals and organizations in accepting and embracing obstacles. This study seeks to evaluate the different types of services offered to the elderly as well as the obstacles that arise when attempting to expand them, taking into account the diverse cultural backgrounds of the country's population, the dearth of available resources, and regulatory hurdles. In this research, a qualitative method was undertaken, followed by an exploratory analysis. This thesis investigates the service offerings and problems of eleven Bangladeshi service providers using primary data gathered from semi-structured interview. This also utilizes previous scholarly articles and published data from other academic sources.The study's findings highlight service provider challenges and offer a research paradigm for theservice business, notably elderly care. The results indicate that the majority of aged care services provided by different institutions are identical. Healthcare, along with other services like social and recreational programs, and educational and training courses, are all part of this category. Italso demonstrates that cultural, resource, and regulatory constraints are major roadblocks to this industry's development. Furthermore, research finding shows, currently providers are not ready tomeet the incremental demand and subsequent changes will take place in the near future.This thesis contributes to the literature on business development by examining organizational readiness to change (ORC) and the challenges faced by business. Despite focusing on a singlenation, this research provides a comprehensive evaluation of the importance of organizational change preparedness for service growth. This study suggested a conceptual model that relates institutional care obstacles from the provider's perspective.

Purpose The aim of this thesis is to find out the perception of the usefulness of key performance indicators (KPIs) among Logistics service providers (LSP) who are in the category of Micro and Small enterprises (MSEs) companies in Dhaka and Chittagong in Bangladesh. What is the perception of the usefulness of Key performance Indicators (KPIs) among the managers of LSP MSEs in Bangladesh? Methodology The data for this thesis was collected through qualitative research techniques through semi-structured interviews with 7 LSP MSE companies In Bangladesh. Theory Theory section highlighted the challenges LSP MSE companies continuously face. With an increasing number of companies, the number of LSPS are growing at a faster pace to support those companies. LSP MSE companies have to compete more in a vibrant market for which it is crucial for them to track the performance of their company and make continual improvements. KPIs are a performance measurement tool which can help the LSP MSE companies to be more competitive in the market as business survival is one of the main priorities of these companies.  Empirical findings, Analysis and Discussion This part presents the responses from the managers of LSP MSEs and then the narratives are explained with supportive theories. Findings show a moderate level of adoption of KPIs among the companies. With the right KPIs companies are able to turn the complex matter into a simple form with KPIs. KPIs can enable the companies towards better decision making processes with a clear picture about the direction. To improve the business performance, interviewed companies perceive that on time delivery, customer order cycle time, supply chain cycle time, on time shipping rate, number of customer returns, returns on investment, paying and returning customers are the most suitable for them. With KPIs they are able to act quickly when there is a downward trend in the company. Interviewed companies assert that KPIs provide a clearer view of the overall health of the organization than other performance assessment techniques.

<p>Interrogating the concept of power is ethical social work practice. This research aims to investigate the manner in which visible minority women social service providers perceive the concept of power as non-managerial employees in the women’s shelter system. Therefore, the necessity to delineate the ongoing challenges and contradictions that shape the work experiences of visible minority women social service providers contributes and furthers our understanding of social justice, critical social work practice, and strategies to enhance workplace equity. In addressing the phenomenon of power from the viewpoint of those affected, this ultimately helps to broaden the understanding how as social workers it remains pivotal to raise awareness about the ongoing power imbalances in social services settings. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with visible minority women employed in the women’s shelter system in southern, Ontario were conducted and complement the author’s own personal reflections as a visible minority woman previously employed in the Violence Against Women’s shelter system. This research suggests that due to ongoing power differentials, neoliberal restructuring and discriminatory incidents, continued attention is required in order to address social inequality and enhance workplace equity.</p> / Master of Social Work (MSW)