Repositório RCAAP

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Based on a literature review on the theoretical foundations of information marketing and user studies were selected two master dissertations of a Postgraduate Program in Information Science that addressed user studies as a methodological procedure to understand the relationship between supply and demand. The objective of reporting the results of the two master dissertations was to highlight the alternative approach for these studies focusing on users’ perception as a methodological procedure to study the management of information supply and demand in a digital library and a management information system in an information marketing perspective. Despite the different objectives of the dissertations selected, it is inferred that alternative approach of users studies as a methodological procedure to study the users' perception about information supply and demand is possible. This theoretical and methodological approach to integrate the concepts and principles of information marketing in user studies in the context of management of information supply and demand is significant as a contribution to the knowledge on the subject studied.

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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the thematic of customer-centered quality in academic libraries and contribute to the importance of quality evaluations based on the perception of their customers for this type of library. It is especially important in Brazil, where evaluations of higher education institutions and their infrastructure items, including libraries, are compulsory. It highlights a specific methodology, the LibQUAL+®, created in the United States and used in hundreds of libraries around the world, but without any perceptible application in Brazil as yet. From the analysis of LibQUAL+® assessment procedures, the article aims to present the benefits that can be achieved from the application of this methodology as well as it intends to verify the possibilities of using it in academic libraries in Brazil. It concludes that the methodology presents aspects which can support the academic library management, as identifying strong and weak points of the services, becoming closer to the library´s customers’ needs, comparing the library performance with other libraries and defining the best practices in the field, besides contributing to a more professional management of the libraries.

The concept of Business Intelligence (BI) approaches several technologies that aim at arranging the extraction and visualization of information, and just like in a competitive company the university management must also update itself, therefore adopting the use of processes that aid and speed decision making. Information Systems (IS) are indispensable elements and should mean more than the processing of routine activities, thereby starting to contribute to a strategic vision. The Western State University of Paraná (UNIOESTE) has many IS, but its users still face difficulties in extracting information in the desired format. Thus, this paper reports the outcomes of a research developed during the dissertation of a Master's Degree on Information Technology Management which is aimed at researching BI technologies. More specifically the Online Analytical Processing (OLAP), as well as implementing an operation prototype that could facilitate the retrieval of information from the dean’s office for planning, whose sources are many UNIOESTE information systems. In order to reach that goal, an exploratory/descriptive research of the qualitative type was developed by means of a documentary and bibliographical research. A prototype with the Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) tool, which is a component of Microsoft SQL Server 2008, here integrated with Excel 2010 spreadsheet editor for end-user interface, was developed and evaluated. As part of the evaluation system, the SUS questionnaire was used to measure user satisfaction, where the average score given by participants was 91.5 on a 0 to 100 scale, which means quite a positive evaluation.

This article presents the results of a study conducted in the framework of the doctoral thesis that investigates the impacts from the (dis) satisfaction of information needs for decision making concerning strategic planning of a public organization. The research strategy adopted was the case study, involving the use of sequential methods of approach in the search for convergence and triangulation of data from different sources of evidence. The first phase consisted of document analysis, and the second expansion and validation of findings through in-depth interviews and participant observation third. Grounded in literature from the areas of Administration, Public Management and Information Science, notably, the last one, with regard to the model of information use within the ‘knowledge organizations’ proposed by Choo, investigations were carried out with the actors involved in context studied to understand the problems related to the need of information relating to strategic planning. We identified the steps and decisions related to the construction process of organizational strategy, the main difficulties of the builders of the strategic planning, focusing on the problems of information, as well as the strategies used to circumvent the unfavorable scenarios originated by informational deficiencies associated with the decision. The study shows that the unavailability of the necessary information, the lack of technical knowledge of those responsible for the search and presentation of information, associated with low quality of information obtained were the most relevant information problems. Furthermore, it is shown that, to achieve make decisions in situations where there were informational deficiencies, the stakeholders developed boundary strategies outline how decisions on grounds of personal experience (empiricism), generalization, interpretation (subjective) and indirect use of information.

This work is part of an ongoing study that aims to analyze the influence of rumors on the price dynamics in the stock market, through a case study of companies whose shares are traded much among financial agents. For this purpose we used historical prices of securities traded in the spot market of Sao Paulo Stock Exchange in the years 2007 to 2011, from files available in its website. A sample of 10 companies was selected among the stocks with higher trading volume during this period to collect the documents presented for communication of relevant facts and clarifications in stock exchange’s site. Only communications presented on the period specified that provide clarification related to news and unverified information disclosed in the press were brought within the scope of data collection. Until now, only the company communications with the most actively traded stocks were collected, whose analysis allowed the categorization of information and creation of a diagram for representing information about the rumors treated on these documents. This diagram was applied to a database where the information collected was stored for later retrieval and analysis. From this information, asset prices were retrieved to analyze the influence of rumors reported by the press in the price fluctuation of the asset. The authors Kapferer, Müller and Martins form the theoretical framework. As a result, the research has identified some rumors that interfered in the stock prices, as well as classified the rumors about the issues they address. So, as many times the rumor rises from the void of knowledge and information asymmetry, it is noted that there is no perfect competition among financial agents.

This research analyzes the informational flow of the Customer Service Channels of the Brazilian Post Office and Telegraph Company, Regional Board of Directors of Paraíba, under the perspective of information management, questioning how the information of such flow has influence on the formulation of tactical actions for decision-making. With regard to the objectives, the methodology is classified as descriptive with qualitative approach of the case study type. For data collection, the research used the guided interview and documental analysis categorizing the information according to the content analysis for interpreting them. As result, the research found that every action, in a corporate level, occurs in a standardized manner, inclusive in reference to solution and response proposed to customers. Therefore, it can be concluded that the information flow of the Customer Service Channels, if treated in a systematic manner, is a useful tool for qualitative diagnosis of the offered services so as to identify the client’s need as well as to add value to the company, by improving its image and, finally to the local society.

It discusses the relevance of information and knowledge management in an institution of public higher education. It focuses on the stimulus, which can be implemented through assertive actions in the creation and maintenance of organizational knowledge, and as a general objective, analyzing the actions of the management of information and the knowledge of the technical coordination of Accounting and Finance of the University. In the methodological aspect, the research is characterized as study of case and field, configured as a study of qualitative and quantitative, exploratory and descriptive nature. It uses as a tool for data collection an individual questionnaire, without identification, which allowed us to recognize the actions of IKM, through the ‘diagnosis of knowledge management’, in the perspective of Bukowitz and Williams, adopted as a parameter. For the organization and analysis of data, the analysis of content was made. The results obtained reveal that the findings of the survey were positive for the shares of IKM, although there is a need for improvement with regard to encouraging the sharing of knowledge in the areas that make the Coordination of Accounting and Finance of the University.

The paper presents the results of a study about information management, information technology management and behaviors and values concerning information in Brazilian institutions of higher education. The ‘information orientation’ (IO) model, developed by Donald A. Marchand, William J. Kettinger and John D. Rollins (2000) was adopted as a conceptual basis for the study. The data was collected through questionnaires filled by 83 (eighty-three) managers of higher education institutions (HEI) located in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The results show that, as perceptions of their managers, HEI are oriented towards information, although this guideline varies according to the dimensions of the construct of the HI Model, which has as central information management, information technology and informational values and behaviors. It was noted that the managers of HEI perceive each of these elements, there is a predominance of HEI Information Technology.

Information is considered a high value product, which can turn out to be the differential in an institution, and good quality of information is what distinguishes it in any administrative process, including the bidding process. This way, based in the classification of the information presented by Moresi (2000), critical, minimal and potential information, the purpose of this survey was to analyze the quality of information in the bidding processes to hiring engineering works at Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL). The methodological procedures were accomplished in two phases: (i) documental research and (ii) open questionnaire. The main results of the survey indicate the value of minimal information is about management information, and this was found in the bidding processes registration and identification data; the critics, that offers security to the actions with less imperfection, was found in many parts of the processes, with emphasis in the announcement, and the potential information, reputable as competitive edge, was used in selecting the winning firm, upon analysis of the presented proposal. The results of this survey provided the opportunity of discovery of aspects related to: (a) work experience - in front of the importance of ability to discern among the information which is more appropriate in the decision making process at hand; (b) the efficiency in the use, storage and information disposal, processes that lead one to find possible faults, flaws or divergent information, which have obstructed the improvement of work activities, with production of imperfect tasks that need modification in the course of their execution. Therefore, it’s thought to be appropriate to suggest the fulfillment of a research related to informational behavior of the managers involved in the elaboration of the technical chart and in the bidding processes of works at UEL, covering the hiring and contract alteration; due to what was verified in the work here presented.

This paper presents and discusses some of the results of practical application of Social Network Analysis for Information (SNA) to a nonprofit organization, the publishing house Cidade Nova. The article starts by presenting the empirical and methodological options and refers the social networks basic terminology, after which the research procedures are detailed. Lastly, results from the actors Information Social Network (ISN) and from the complete ISN (where alters are included) are presented, to which were used degree, closeness and betweenness centralities, the strength of weak ties of Granovetter and the lambda (?) set measures.

This paper aims to identify and analyze the actions in the Network of Libraries and Information Centers on Art in the State of Rio de Janeiro (REDARTE/RJ), in order to promote the production of new knowledge and implementation of new ideas, minimizing the difficulties met by information professionals who work in institutions which integrate the Network, so that to optimize the users services and the enrichment in the thematic field of Information on art. It investigates if the organizational and informational culture of REDARTE/RJ supports cooperation, collaborative work, information and experience sharing and the use of information and communication technology. It analyses the process of cooperation, sharing and collaboration among the participants of REDARTE/RJ, aiming to verify if the Network might be considered a social knowledge network. It seeks to understand the way that REDARTE/RJ has used and taken advantage of the interaction and collaboration as means to the accomplishment of the purposes determined in its bylaws. It comes to the conclusion that REDARTE/RJ has had a relevant role in Information on art, and has been useful to its users and to the professionals and institutions which are part of it, but in order to become a social knowledge network, there are still some aspects to be improved.

Several surveys on Information Science recurrently indicate the existence of a new field of study in economics, named information economy. According to the information impact perspective, observed along with activation procedures of organization development, from the performance, expansion, penetration and consolidation point of view on the referred market, enhancing information as a market product affects the criterion analysis sine qua non of its research procedures and use. This study corroborates the hypothesis that these studies enable enlightenment on which information flow leads company managers to appropriate and constructed knowledge. Therefore, reflecting and understanding on how knowledge is constructed entails the main object of current study and specifically, considering the manager work context and the changing nature of organizations, how information use impacts on knowledge construction. From a methodological perspective, it is featured as a longitudinal and contextual study, analyzed regarding the evaluation model of information activity. The study has focused its action on a plastics company located at State of Pernambuco, Brazil. The research noticed that the results of informational impact can evaluate the information use and its effect on decision taking, characterizing the informational process legitimacy; however the phenomenon must not be studied apart from its historical and organizational context.

This research aims to analyze the implications of the information culture of the Library System of the Federal University of Paraíba, as a facilitator for the implementation of the new organizational structure. Methodologically, the research is descriptive, with a qualitative approach. Regarding the means, it is characterized as documentary and field research. A questionnaire with open and closed questions, analysis of documents, a semi-structured interview and direct observation that allowed the using of the approach strategy of triangulation data were adopted as research instrument. To analyze the data, we employed the method of content analysis. The results indicate that the information culture, active in the Library System, does not contribute to the implementation of the new organizational structure taking into account that the demonstration of informational intricacies does not have equities in information behavior between strategic management and tactics adopted in the system. The results suggest that managers of sectorial libraries and system need to face the challenge of building together in a systematic, structured and participatory culture informational possible to concatenate in its structure the formal and informal means of communication.

It highlights the innovation importance in the current society and presents innovation indicators applied in 125 countries. We made an analysis in the 80 variables distributed through seven GII pillars, trying to identify the direct, indirect or null incidences of the knowledge conversion way described by the SECI Process. The researched revealed the fact that knowledge management, in this case specifically the knowledge conversion SECI Process, is present in the variables that, according to the GII, make clear innovative activity in countries.

Organizational environments are related to hierarchic levels existing in a determined organization, and they influence in the formal and informal flows origin and in their monitoring and/or extinction. Informational environments are a result of organizational environments, of which focus is information and knowledge. Information flows are a fundamental element to informational environments, in a way that there´s no informational environments if there´s no information flows. Informational flows are natural reflections from their environments, in terms of content and in the way they occur. This qualitative and quantitative research was developed in three stages, in a way to allow the comprehension of the phenomena related to information and knowledge environments and information flows that occur in the meat sector from the Province of Salamanca, Spain. We used Laurence Bardin´s ‘Analysis of Content’, more specifically the ‘Categorical Analysis’ technique to data analysis. As data collection procedure we accomplished a field research, applying a questionnaire as an intentional sample of the meat industries segment from the Province of Salamanca, Spain. From data tabulation and analysis, we infer that information environments and flows are relevant to these companies business development, as well as we emphasized the need of information and knowledge management deployment, in a way to insure organizational processes quality, industrial chain production and companies competition to conquer potential markets.

This paper analyses the main rules to be followed for the control of the retrieval elements in sports photographs. Therefore, the study focuses on sports journalistic photographs and the regularisation of three elements used to retrieve the information: sportsperson, sport and date. Our business reality makes it unfeasible to carry out a detailed analysis of journalistic photographs, due to the need for speed, the increase in the number of photographs due to the new digital formats being used (Sánchez-Vigil, Marcos-Recio, 2009) and the lack of human resources.

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