Twenty years of the Foundation of the School of Library, Documentation and Information of the National University Intellectual Property in Costa Rica - The information technology environment

This year the School of Library, Documentation and Information is twenty years from its beginning as Unit Library.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS IN NONPROFIT UNIVERSITY: A PROJECT GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVE

The universities rely on the Information Technology (IT) projects to support and enhance their core strategic objectives of teaching, research, and administration. The researcher’s literature review found that the level of IT funding and resources in the universities is not adequate to meet the IT demands. The universities received more IT project requests than they could execute. As such, universities must selectively fund the IT projects. The objectives of the IT projects in the universities vary. An IT project which benefits the teaching functions may not benefit the administrative functions. As such, the selection of an IT project is challenging in the universities. To aid with the IT decision making, many universities in the United States of America (USA) have formed the IT Governance (ITG) processes. ITG is an IT decision making and accountability framework whose purpose is to align the IT efforts in an organization with its strategic objectives, realize the value of the IT investments, meet the expected performance criteria, and manage the risks and the resources (Weil & Ross, 2004). ITG in the universities is relatively new, and it is not well known how the ITG processes are aiding the nonprofit universities in selecting the right IT projects, and managing the performance of these IT projects. This research adds to the body of knowledge regarding the IT project selection under the governance structure, the maturity of the IT projects, and the IT project performance in the nonprofit universities. The case study research methodology was chosen for this exploratory research. The convenience sampling was done to choose the cases from two large, research universities with decentralized colleges, and two small, centralized universities. The data were collected on nine IT projects from these four universities using the interviews and the university documents. The multi-case analysis was complemented by the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to systematically analyze how the IT conditions lead to an outcome. This research found that the IT projects were selected in the centralized universities in a more informed manner. ITG was more authoritative in the small centralized universities; the ITG committees were formed by including the key decision makers, the decision-making roles, and responsibilities were better defined, and the frequency of ITG communication was higher. In the centralized universities, the business units and colleges brought the IT requests to ITG committees; which in turn prioritized the IT requests and allocated the funds and the resources to the IT projects. ITG committee members in the centralized universities had a higher awareness of the university-wide IT needs, and the IT projects tended to align with the strategic objectives. On the other hand, the decentralized colleges and business units in the large universities were influential and often bypassed the ITG processes. The decentralized units often chose the “pet” IT projects, and executed them within a silo, without bringing them to the attention of the ITG committees. While these IT projects met the departmental objectives, they did not always align with the university’s strategic objectives. This research found that the IT project maturity in the university could be increased by following the project management methodologies. The IT project management maturity was found higher in the IT projects executed by the centralized university, where a full-time project manager was assigned to manage the project, and the project manager had a higher expertise in the project management. The IT project executed under the guidance of the Project Management Office (PMO) has exhibited a higher project management maturity, as the PMO set the standards and controls for the project. The IT projects managed by the decentralized colleges by a part-time project manager with lower project management expertise have exhibited a lower project management maturity. The IT projects in the decentralized colleges were often managed by the business, or technical leads, who often lacked the project management expertise. This research found that higher the IT project management maturity, the better is the project performance. The IT projects with a higher maturity had a lower project delay, lower number of missed requirements, and lower number of IT system errors. This research found that the quality of IT decision in the university could be improved by centralizing the IT decision-making processes. The IT project management maturity could be improved by following the project management methodologies. The stakeholder management and communication were found critical for the success of the IT projects in the university. It is hoped that the findings from this research would help the university leaders make the strategic IT decisions, and the university’s IT project managers make the IT project decisions.

Impact of Information Technology Investments on Firm Productivity in Peripherals Countries: The Case of Portugal

IS/IT investments are seen has having an enormous potential impact on the competitive position of the firm, on its performance, and demand an active and motivated participation of several stakeholder groups. The shortfall of evidence concerning the productivity of IT became known as the ‘productivity paradox’. As Robert Solow, the Nobel laureate economist stated “we see computers everywhere except in the productivity statistics”. An important stream of research conducted all over the world has tried to understand these phenomena, called in the literature as «IS business value» field. However, there is a gap in the literature, addressing the Portuguese situation. No empirical work has been done to date in order to understand the impact of Information Technology adoption on the productivity of those firms. Using data from two surveys conducted by the Portuguese National Institute of Statistics (INE), Inquiry to the use of IT by Portuguese companies (IUTIC) and the Inquiry Harmonized to (Portuguese) companies (accounting data), this study relates (using regression analysis) the amounts spent on IT with the financial performance indicator Returns on Equity, as a proxy of firm productivity, of Portuguese companies with more than 250 employees. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the Portuguese situation concerning the impact of IS/IT on the productivity of Portuguese top companies. Empirically, we test the impact of IT expenditure on firm productivity of a sample of Portuguese large companies. Our results, based on firm-level data on Information Technology expenditure and firm productivity as measured by return on equity (1186 observations) for the years of 2003 and 2004, exhibit a negative impact of IT expenditure on firm productivity, in line with “productivity paradox” claimants.

Benefício do uso de tecnologia de informação no desempenho empresarial

A Tecnologia de Informação tem sido considerada como um dos componentes mais importantes do ambiente empresarial atual, sendo que as organizações brasileiras têm utilizado ampla e intensamente esta tecnologia tanto em nível estratégico como operacional. Este nível de utilização oferece grandes oportunidades para as empresas que têm sucesso no aproveitamento dos benefícios oferecidos por este uso. Ao mesmo tempo, ele também oferece o desafio de identificar o nível de contribuição que esta tecnologia oferece aos resultados das empresas. Este projeto tem como objetivo principal identificar os benefícios efetivos da utilização de Tecnologia de Informação, por meio da identificação dos vínculos dos benefícios oferecidos pelos projetos e infra-estrutura desta tecnologia com o desempenho empresarial, expressados em indicadores e métricas, mesmo que intangíveis e indiretos. O foco do projeto será um caso de empresa com gastos e investimentos significativos em Tecnologia de Informação. A sua contribuição é aprofundar o conhecimento da administração de Tecnologia de Informação, em especial na sua relação com os resultados empresariais, permitindo criar uma estrutura de análise dos gastos e investimentos nesta tecnologia nas empresas que ofereça subsídios para a sua administração bem sucedida. Este projeto está inserido na linha de pesquisa Administração, Análise e Tecnologia de Informação, nos projetos de pesquisa do Centro de Informática Aplicada (CIA) e está relacionado com outros projetos recentemente desenvolvidos com o apoio do Núcleo de Pesquisa e Publicação (NPP) da FGV-EAESP.

Valor da tecnologia da informação e sua relação com métricas de desempenho empresarial: o caso de uma multinacional do ramo químico

O cenário globalizado e competitivo impulsiona os avanços tecnológicos e proporciona novas oportunidades para o desenvolvimento de inovações e novas soluções. Neste contexto, o papel da Tecnologia da Informação antes atribuído às atividades mais operacionais evolui para um enfoque mais estratégico e de parceria na criação de vantagem competitiva sustentável e assim, contribui para a geração de valor nos negócios. O aumento nos investimentos de TI nas últimas décadas tem sido acompanhado de questionamentos a respeito de retornos de investimento. Apesar dos diversos trabalhos desenvolvidos na área, há ainda controvérsias a respeito do real valor de TI o que torna o tema ao mesmo tempo desafiador e interessante para ser trabalhado. Neste sentido, este trabalho apresenta um estudo de caso de uma empresa multinacional do ramo químico no Brasil, na qual foi implementado um Sistema de Informação Gerencial, o Business Intelligence. Verificar-se-á se o uso de TI através da ferramenta de BI trouxe benefícios para a Organização. O Modelo simplificado de uso de Tecnologia da Informação em benefícios dos negócios e o Balanced Scorecard foram utilizados para sistematizar e auxiliar a condução do trabalho. Os fundamentos teóricos utilizados na discussão e análise do caso abrangem o Uso de TI, a Gestão de TI, Sistemas de Informação, Benefícios e Valor de TI.

Utilização de um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem: um estudo na perspectiva da prática docente

Advances related to information technology are visible and inherent to the management of contemporary organizations, regardless of industrial action. Synchronized with this dynamic, educational institutions are incorporating technological tools that assist its management and academic support to teachers in teaching and interaction with the students. Given that technological innovations are not always taken homogeneously and with the same degree of coverage, remain current and relevant studies on how these technologies are being used in academia. The objective of this research is to identify the usage profile of the functionality of a virtual learning environment related to teaching (undergraduate or postgraduate), demographic variables (age and gender) and institutional (time of admission and academic center of origin.) The methodology applied to the study is descriptive and quantitative. The research is characterized as census, covering all 2152 teachers of undergraduate and graduate students of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, who accessed the virtual classes of the Integrated Management of Academic Activities. The study findings revealed that there is a statistically significant difference regarding the use of these tools to teachers who work with undergraduate (49.3%) compared to graduate (6.6%). Regarding gender, women (40.1%) use the system more than men (38.5%). It was also observed that the younger teachers, aged 37 years, are the most active users (42.5%) of the Virtual Class with respect to their elders. For teachers with up to three years time of admission to the UFRN, the pattern of use is more advanced than those with more seniority, as well as the faculty of the Center for Science and Technology are the least likely to use the tools available in relation to other academic centers. It is hoped that with this study managers can direct actions to improve and expand the use of this environment by teachers

Utilização de um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem: um estudo na perspectiva da prática docente

Advances related to information technology are visible and inherent to the management of contemporary organizations, regardless of industrial action. Synchronized with this dynamic, educational institutions are incorporating technological tools that assist its management and academic support to teachers in teaching and interaction with the students. Given that technological innovations are not always taken homogeneously and with the same degree of coverage, remain current and relevant studies on how these technologies are being used in academia. The objective of this research is to identify the usage profile of the functionality of a virtual learning environment related to teaching (undergraduate or postgraduate), demographic variables (age and gender) and institutional (time of admission and academic center of origin.) The methodology applied to the study is descriptive and quantitative. The research is characterized as census, covering all 2152 teachers of undergraduate and graduate students of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, who accessed the virtual classes of the Integrated Management of Academic Activities. The study findings revealed that there is a statistically significant difference regarding the use of these tools to teachers who work with undergraduate (49.3%) compared to graduate (6.6%). Regarding gender, women (40.1%) use the system more than men (38.5%). It was also observed that the younger teachers, aged 37 years, are the most active users (42.5%) of the Virtual Class with respect to their elders. For teachers with up to three years time of admission to the UFRN, the pattern of use is more advanced than those with more seniority, as well as the faculty of the Center for Science and Technology are the least likely to use the tools available in relation to other academic centers. It is hoped that with this study managers can direct actions to improve and expand the use of this environment by teachers

Utilização de um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem: um estudo na perspectiva da prática docente

Advances related to information technology are visible and inherent to the management of contemporary organizations, regardless of industrial action. Synchronized with this dynamic, educational institutions are incorporating technological tools that assist its management and academic support to teachers in teaching and interaction with the students. Given that technological innovations are not always taken homogeneously and with the same degree of coverage, remain current and relevant studies on how these technologies are being used in academia. The objective of this research is to identify the usage profile of the functionality of a virtual learning environment related to teaching (undergraduate or postgraduate), demographic variables (age and gender) and institutional (time of admission and academic center of origin.) The methodology applied to the study is descriptive and quantitative. The research is characterized as census, covering all 2152 teachers of undergraduate and graduate students of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, who accessed the virtual classes of the Integrated Management of Academic Activities. The study findings revealed that there is a statistically significant difference regarding the use of these tools to teachers who work with undergraduate (49.3%) compared to graduate (6.6%). Regarding gender, women (40.1%) use the system more than men (38.5%). It was also observed that the younger teachers, aged 37 years, are the most active users (42.5%) of the Virtual Class with respect to their elders. For teachers with up to three years time of admission to the UFRN, the pattern of use is more advanced than those with more seniority, as well as the faculty of the Center for Science and Technology are the least likely to use the tools available in relation to other academic centers. It is hoped that with this study managers can direct actions to improve and expand the use of this environment by teachers

Fact Findings and Lessons Learned from the Comparative Study on Information Techonology (IT) Usage by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America and Asia

ECLACs International Trade and Integration Division (DCII) will launch the book titled Information Technology for Development of Small and Medium-sized Exporters in Latin America and East Asia in the end of September 2005. The report provides an overview of the present condition of Information Technology (IT) and its use to promote international trade. It focuses on the experiences of IT usage by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Latin American and Asian-Pacific regions, with a special focus on SME exporters in the 13 researched countries, that were selected from the Forum for East Asia - Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) member countries. This issue of the FAL bulletin is produced based on the executive summary of the book.

Information and Technology Implementation Issues in AAL Solutions

With the population ageing effect, the technological developments, and pressure to reduce the cost with healthcare, are reunited the conditions for the development of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) solutions. This work is a revision of the current state of the art. Its aim is the characterization of the AAL solutions, within the AAL4ALL scope. Therefore, it is presented features, scenarios and projects, referring the limitations and the opportunities for the future developments of prototypes using high level information and technology in AAL environments. Moreover, it is presented guidelines of operation, exposing the conceptual approach, and the discussion and conclusion, which present recommendations and current AAL4ALL project positions in terms of concepts and technologies.

Understanding the internet banking adoption by Portuguese customers - a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and perceived risk application.

Trabalho de Projeto apresentado como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Estatística e Gestão de Informação

A technology diffusion perspective of Enterprise Resource Planning across European Small and Medium Enterprises: from determinants to Use to Value

Tese apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Doutor em Gestão de Informação

Technology-enhanced education for Millennials: how the Information Society is changing the way of learning

The Information Society has provided the context for the development of a new generation, known as the Millennials, who are characterized by their intensive use of technologies in everyday life. These features are changing the way of learning, prompting educational institutions to attempt to better adapt to youngneeds by incorporating technologies into education. Based on this premise, wehave reviewed the prominent reports of the integration of ICT into education atdifferent levels with the aim of evidencing how education is changing, and willchange, to meet the needs of Millennials with ICT support. The results show thatmost of the investments have simply resulted in an increase of computers andaccess to the Internet, with teachers reproducing traditional approaches to education and e-learning being seen as complementary to face-to-face education.While it would seem that the use of ICT is not revolutionizing learning, it isfacilitating the personalization, collaboration and ubiquity of learning.

Bridging the digital divide in developing countries: The role of mobile technology in bridging the digital divide

This thesis investigates how mobile technology usage could help to bring Information and communication technologies (ICT) to the people in developing countries. Some people in developing countries have access to use ICT while other people do not have such opportunity. This digital divide among people is present in many developing countries where computers and the Internet are difficult to access. The Internet provides information that can increase productivity and enable markets to function more efficiently. The Internet reduces information travel time and provides more efficient ways for firms and workers to operate. ICT and the Internet can provide opportunities for economic growth and productivity in developing countries. This indicates that it is very important to bridge the digital divide and increase Internet connections in developing countries. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how can mobile technology and mobile services help to bridge the digital divide in developing countries. Theoretical background of this thesis consists of a collection of articles and reports. Theoretical material was gathered by going through literature on the digital divide, mobile technology and mobile application development. The empirical research was conducted by sending a questionnaire by email to a selection of application developers located in developing countries. The questionnaire’s purpose was to gather qualitative information concerning mobile application development in developing countries. This thesis main result suggests that mobile phones and mobile technology usage can help to bridge the digital divide in developing countries. This study finds that mobile technology provides one of the best tools that can help to bridge the digital divide in developing countries. Mobile technology can bring affordable ICT to people who do not have access to use computers. Smartphones can provide Internet connection, mobile services and mobile applications to a rapidly growing number of mobile phone users in developing countries. New low-cost smartphones empower people in developing countries to have access to information through the Internet. Mobile technology has the potential to help to bridge the digital divide in developing countries where a vast amount of people own mobile phones.