This paper describes the Open Tourism Initiative (OTI) as a framework to support tourism activities, following the Tourism Virtual Enterprise (TVE) organizational model and pragmatics based... Show More

This paper describes the Open Tourism Initiative (OTI) as a framework to support tourism activities, following the Tourism Virtual Enterprise (TVE) organizational model and pragmatics based collaboration decisions. To assure the better alignment among tourism services providers and client’s expectations, the framework (and its architecture) must support reliable interoperability and dynamic networking reconfiguration as well as the (co-)creation of the tourist’s activity regardless of information systems and using real-time collaboration mechanisms. When a member of the TVE scheduled to provide a given service is somehow conditioned, unable to participate, has to be disentailed from the network, or due to events not necessarily measurable or deterministic, the it is necessary to reconfigure the VE in almost real time. The need to reconfigure could result from changes in controlled (measured) parameters as well as from uncontrolled (contextual and pragmatic) ones. OTI enhances dynamic tourism packages management under the requirements of reconfigurable environments and human direct participation. This article proposes a logical model for TVE organizations as well as an UML formalization for its supporting architecture.

Information Systems in the past few years became a keystone of society. History shows that in some Information Systems one simple failure can lead to disproportioned economic and social damages.... Show More

Information Systems in the past few years became a keystone of society. History shows that in some Information Systems one simple failure can lead to disproportioned economic and social damages. Initially used in structural systems, the theory of vulnerability searches for this type of failure. This theory identifies failures in which small damage can have disproportionate impact consequences in terms of the functionality of the whole system. To test and evaluate these failures injections and analyze the impacts of them in sensitive Information Systems, simulation provides an interesting approach. By mimicking systems and representing them through models, simulation studies an imitated system without disrupting the system itself. Simulation provides a safer approach to explore and test the system in damage scenarios without real consequences. This paper discusses the use of the theory of vulnerability in Information Systems simulation.

The relationship between Information Technology and Business has been growing, materialized through increasing investment in IT. This is typically considered a burden, as such companies have been... Show More

The relationship between Information Technology and Business has been growing, materialized through increasing investment in IT. This is typically considered a burden, as such companies have been seeking alternative supplying approaches like Outsourcing, Managed Services, or Cloud Computing. In this paper, the authors examine how investment is made and stress the balance that has to be reached between the expectations of the business versus the capabilities and cost of IT. A framework for assessing investments in IT that seeks to highlight the advantages of merging IT Benefits Management with an Enterprise Architecture is presented.

The Portuguese Air Force has made an effort to remain at the forefront of organizations, examining problems like the inadequacy of Information Systems and the treatment of business as rigid... Show More

The Portuguese Air Force has made an effort to remain at the forefront of organizations, examining problems like the inadequacy of Information Systems and the treatment of business as rigid hierarchical structures. The process of change initiated in 2009, which is transversal to the organization, recommends a set of actions, including the definition of business processes, to determine the organizational “AS IS” important to the establishment of “TO BE”. Simultaneously, the Air Force is studying concepts related to enterprise architecture while trying to deepen the relationship between mission, vision, goals, objectives, strategy, tactics, policy, business rules, and process architecture. In this context, considering important creating and identifying a way to validate the consistency between Enterprise Architecture and Process Architecture important, the authors propose the creation of a value matrix, representing objectives and processes associated with a set of rules for its creation and update.

The international stability is viewed as corollary of the sustainable growth. This has only technology-driven solution, at global village extension, with required appropriateness and shared... Show More

The international stability is viewed as corollary of the sustainable growth. This has only technology-driven solution, at global village extension, with required appropriateness and shared acceptation. The survey, on such guess, looks at the robot age potential, as supplementary aid in the balanced world deployment that adds to the socio-economic and politico-legal frames. The analysis moves from the globalisation issues, at the known (economic) global and (ecologic) no-global pictures, to outline the traits of the post-global robot age, consistent with the sustainable growth, international stability, and grounded on the force of the law. Stability based on the law of the force was the past option, even allowing steady truces. In this analysis, globalisation makes this choice unfit, having doubtful economic and social sustainability and not achieving ecologic sustainability consistently and for the long term.

Creating and negotiating an inter-organizational business case (BC) for multiple-stakeholder enterprise systems is a major challenge. This paper looks closer into the factors that influence the... Show More

Creating and negotiating an inter-organizational business case (BC) for multiple-stakeholder enterprise systems is a major challenge. This paper looks closer into the factors that influence the stakeholders’ willingness to share information necessary for the BC development. The authors develop an explanatory framework showing the effect that project constellation has on the development of a shared BC. They identify several factors, such as goal consensus, cultural and semantic similarities and willingness to share information, that mitigate this effect. Subsequently, the authors apply the framework in an inter-organizational case study in which a BC is developed. The findings show that current BC development methods need to be re-stated and complemented by new tools and interventions to support stakeholders in the inter-organizational specific setting. The authors elaborate on the possibilities that group decision support systems might offer to overcome challenges that might be experienced in the BC development process.