Although the functional enhancement and price decrease of computer hardware have rapidly increased the popularity of computers, quality software is the key to determine the value of information systems. Unfortunately, software development is a highly uncertain business. Many projects fail or escalate. Since software development is a labor and knowledge intensive taks, proper management of team composition is a critical research issue. The purpose of his research is to explore the relationship between knowledge diversity of software team and project performance. Research on team composition and performance is not new. However, few have studied the relationship on software development team. In this research, a research framework based on conflict theory is developed and an empirical study was conducted on Taiwanese firms to examine the extended model. Major funding include (1) knowledge diversity has significant positive effects on task conflict, and the task conflict has significant positive effects on team learning, (2) value diversity has positive effects on relationship conflict, and the relationship conflict has positive effect on the quality of interaction. These findings are useful in helping decision makers to manage software project teams by selecting the right team members.

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-12T19:18:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AnaVLF_TESE.pdf: 3159699 bytes, checksum: 069d5112225096e36b990570dd69a9bb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-26 / The purpose of the present study was to conduct an ethnobotanical research about the use and handling of vegetable resources, especially medicinal, in São João da Várzea s community, Mossoró-RN, emphasizing informants perception in relation to domestic spaces and conservation of these resources. The research was divided in three chapters. First chapter refers to a general introduction and a literature review about the subject. The second chapter includes the study about the use and handling of vegetable resources present in domestic spaces of 22 productive units, emphasizing medicinal plants. The third chapter, on the other hand, includes a study realized with two key informants, in order to recover the traditional knowledge of these about the use and handling of medicinal plants and their perception about phenological aspects and species conservation. The data of the last two chapters were collected using several techniques, such as: direct and participant observation, informal and semistructured interviews, free list, history of life, participative mapping and guided tour or walk-in-the-woods. The domestic spaces of productive units realized by the 22 informants have own characteristics and functions, modeled in accordance with knowledge and particularity of each family. These spaces are consisting of a large diversity of vegetable species that being used for many purposes, especially the medicinal use. The two key informants show to have a lot of knowledge about medicinal use of species found in domestic spaces and around the productive units, as well as about phenological aspects, handle and conservation of them / O objetivo do presente trabalho foi realizar um estudo etnobotânico sobre o uso e manejo de recursos vegetais, sobretudo medicinais, na comunidade São João da Várzea, Mossoró-RN, enfatizando a percepção dos informantes em relação aos espaços domésticos e à conservação destes recursos. A pesquisa foi dividida em três capítulos. O primeiro capítulo refere-se à introdução geral e uma revisão bibliográfica sobre o assunto. O segundo capítulo abrangeu o estudo sobre o uso e o manejo de recursos vegetais presentes em espaços domésticos de 22 unidades produtivas, enfatizando-se as plantas medicinais. O terceiro capítulo, por sua vez, compreendeu um estudo realizado com duas informantes-chave, visando resgatar os conhecimentos tradicionais destas sobre o uso e manejo de plantas medicinais e a percepção das mesmas sobre aspectos fenológicos e de conservação das espécies. Os dados dos dois últimos capítulos foram coletados utilizando-se várias técnicas, tais como: observação direta e participante, entrevistas informais e semiestruturadas, lista livre, história de vida, mapeamento participativo e turnê guiada ou walk-in-the-woods. Os espaços domésticos das unidades produtivas percebidos pelos 22 informantes possuem características e funções próprias, modeladas de acordo com o conhecimento e particularidades de cada família. Estes espaços são compostos por grande diversidade de espécies vegetais que são utilizadas para várias finalidades, destacando-se o uso medicinal. As duas informantes-chave demonstraram possuir grande conhecimento sobre o uso medicinal das espécies encontradas nos espaços domésticos e no entorno das unidades produtivas, bem como a respeito de aspectos fenológicos, manejo e conservação das mesmas

Current research on knowledge integration offers valuable structural analyses of factors that influence knowledge integration, performance outcomes, and knowledge integration mechanisms. Less attention has been paid to how knowledge integration is carried out over time in cross-functional development projects. This thesis is based on a year-long field study of an Information Systems Development Project. The study shows how the knowledge integration process was repeatedly interrupted by different problems that could not be resolved by merely relying on integration mechanisms that were imposed by the top management. Instead, a bottom-up dynamic evolved where the project members and participating project managers managed to reestablish coordination and knowledge integration through the invention of different ‘collective heuristics’. A novel model of Dynamic Knowledge Integration is presented which claims that knowledge integration contains two interplaying processes; one consisting of different knowledge integration mechanisms and activities, and one consisting of the collective heuristics that were invented and employed when unexpected problems emerged. In general, this research argues that knowledge integration can be understood as a dynamic process, of which both knowledge integration mechanisms and collective heuristics constitute core elements. / Aktuell forskning inom området kunskapsintegration erbjuder värdefulla strukturella analyser av påverkansfaktorer, prestationsutfall och mekanismer för kunskapsintegration. Mindre uppmärksamhet har riktats mot att förstå hur kunskapsintegration åstadkoms över tid i tvärfunktionella utvecklingsprojekt. Avhandlingen bygger på en ett år lång fältstudie av ett informationssystemutvecklingsprojekt. Studien visade att kunskapsintegrationsprocessen ideligen avbröts av olika problem som inte kunde lösas med de integrationsmekanismer som den högsta ledningen infört. Istället utvecklades en ”underifrån-dynamik” där projektmedlemmarna och de deltagande projektledarna lyckades återställa koordinering och kunskapsintegration genom skapandet av olika ”kollektiva heuristiker”. En ny modell för Dynamisk Kunskapsintegration presenteras som visar att kunskapsintegration inrymmer två samverkande processer; en som består av olika mekanismer och aktiviteter för kunskapsintegration och en som består av de kollektiva heuristikerna som uppfanns och användes när oväntade problem uppstod. Mer generellt visar denna forskning hur kunskapsintegration kan förstås som en process i vilken mekanismer och heuristiker utgör centrala element som båda behövs för att förklara processens dynamiska karaktär.

This paper concerns the issue of ignorance about values, and how to best deal with it.I try to find out what we ought to do when we are ignorant of what it is valuable topromote. The proposed solution is an indirect system of “provisional values”, builtaround three goals that are likely to increase our chances of achieving real value,should such a thing be possible.These three provisional goals the system gives us are as follows: knowledge,optionality, and diversity.Knowledge is the traditional way of trying to relieve our ignorance and has beenthe focus of most philosophizing about value.Optionality means having options, or the power to act differently. This is likelyto become important should we ever discover what it is actually valuable to do.Finally, diversity is simply the idea that, not knowing what truly is valuable, weshould do as much as possible of everything in the hope that some of it may bevaluable. / Denna uppsats handlar om problemet med vår brist på kunskap om värde och hur manbäst hanterar det. Jag försöker ta reda på vad vi borde göra i situationer där vi ärokunniga om vilka mål som är värdefulla att uppnå. Den lösning som föreslås är ettindirekt system av ”provisoriskt värde”. Detta system är uppbyggt kring tre mål somsannolikt kommer att öka våra chanser att uppnå direkta eller verkliga värden, om ensådan sak skulle vara möjlig. Dessa tre provisoriska mål som systemet ger oss ärföljande: kunskap, optionalitet och mångfald.Kunskap är det traditionella sättet att försöka lindra vår okunnighet, och harvarit fokus för det mesta filosoferandet om värde.Optionalitet innebär att ha alternativ eller makten att agera annorlunda. Dettakommer sannolikt att bli viktigt om vi någonsin upptäcker vad det är värdefullt attgöra.Slutligen är mångfald helt enkelt tanken att om vi inte vet vad som verkligen ärvärdefullt så bör vi göra så mycket som möjligt av allt i hopp om att något av det kanvisa sig värdefullt.