This dissertation analyzes the strategic implications of customization policies available to companies that must simultaneously provide service and learn about their customers through automated interfaces. The first part of the dissertation lays out the theoretical framework within which the analysis…

How can we insure that knowledge embedded in a program is applied effectively? Traditionally the answer to this question has been sought in different problem solving paradigms and in different approaches to encoding and indexing knowledge. Each of these is…

(cont.) as well, firms have an incentive to require coordinated investments in technology across the enterprise. Still, research in IS has also highlighted the fact that the productivity of computer investments is highly dependent on co-investment in complementary assets (for…

In this work five different ways of intervention, strategically articulated, on the social world, are established. And it includes two approaches regarding the realm of knowledge and that of social change. In the second approach, five basic categories are proposed:…

This article presents a procedure for constructing a taxonomy of COTS products in the field of Requirements Engineering (RE). The taxonomy and the obtained information reach transcendental benefits to the selection of systems and tools that aid to RE-related actors…

Trust Management is a growing problem in large corporations today. In industries like financial services, firms need to comply with constantly changing regulations, security requirements and business policies. Information technology is often the backbone of the processes that are regulated…

Nearly 2% of all live births are very premature (gestational age less than 32 weeks), and 50% of all new cases of cerebral palsy occur in survivors of premature birth (gestational age less than 37 weeks). Because of their underdeveloped…

This thesis describes some aspects of a computer system for doing medical diagnosis in the specialized field of kidney disease. Because such a system faces the spectre of combinatorial explosion, this discussion concentrates on heuristics which control the number of…

Determining an optimal schedule to minimize the completion time of the last job abandoning the system (makespan) becomes a very difficult problem when there are more than two machines in the flow shop. Due both to its economical impact and…

The present paper intends to put forward some conclusions resulting from the research we have done with elderly people in the Elderly Permanent Education Program (PEPAM), pertaining to the Secretary Extension of the Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences of…