Gustavo Hermínio Salati Marcondes de Moraes

Measurement of perceived service quality in higher education institutions: A review of HEdPERF scale use

Purpose This study aims to find evidence of the HEdPERF scale use for measuring the perceived service quality from the perspective of students in higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of the literature was conducted to find evidence of the scale use in articles published between January 2005 and May 2017, according to databases Emerald, SciELO, Scopus, Web of Science, and Wiley Online Library. The articles were searched on the databases on Jun 17, 2017 and at the end of the selection of articles, were kept 12 distinct documents. Findings The articles found pointed towards classic SERVQUAL and SERVPERF scales as being well substantiated for measuring perceived service quality. The HEdPERF scale was applied in articles about perceived service quality in HEI in studies in Brazil, China, Croatia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Sri Lanka and Turkey. Originality/value The paper attempts to gather some articles on the measurement of service quality in higher education institutions, by the HEdPERF scale use. This study indicates that SERVPERF scale can also be an appropriate model to measure service quality in HEI context, that is, it is not yet possible to defend a single instrument as a standard for this purpose.

User’s Perspective of Eletronic Government Adoption in Brazil

The objective of this work was to study which factors influence the use of e-government in Brazil, focusing on investigating government computerization initiatives of fiscal control mechanisms, through a study on the Nota Fiscal Paulista program. We interviewed approximately 3,500 citizens who have used the program, in 11 cities in the State of Sao Paulo. Of this total, 715 responses were considered valid. We used a quantitative methodology for the development of this research, through the multivariate analysis technique of structural equation modeling. The study presented a robust model with a high explanatory power, in which the influencing factors are: Perceived Benefit; Perceived Ease of Use; Social Influence; Perceived Security; Trust in the Government and Habit.

A TECNOLOGIA NA SALA DE AULA: Utilização de aplicativos educacionais por estudantes universitários

Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo identificar quais sao os fatores que levam o estudante universitario a intencao de utilizar aplicativos disponibilizados pelas instituicoes de ensino. Foi realizada uma pesquisa com 133 estudantes que utilizaram aplicativos educacionais e a analise foi desenvolvida por meio de modelos de equacoes estruturais. Os resultados evidenciam que o auxilio nas atividades academicas cotidianas, a diversao proporcionada e o habito influenciam positivamente na intencao de uso. Ja a parte tecnica envolvida nesse procedimento (baixar, instalar e buscar informacoes) e a influencia de outras pessoas, esses fatores nao sao influenciadores da utilizacao. O estudo amplia o entendimento dos aspectos relacionados aos aplicativos educacionais, possibilitando, dessa forma, utilizar-se dos resultados para tomar decisoes sobre a disponibilizacao e desenvolvimento de apps para essa finalidade.

Será o Fim do Papel? Os Avanços Tecnológicos e seus possíveis Impactos no Consumo de Papel

The supply and use of information technology have changed the profile of individuals worldwide. The analysis of the profile of Brazilian citizens indicates that the supply of information technology and the profile of the population changed in recent decades, separately or together. By obtaining an index such as, education, access to mobile telephony and computers with internet access, we can perceive changes in the habits of Brazil in recent years. With the increasing technological advances such as the emergence of tablet-PCs, e-paper, smartphones, digital cameras, among others, there is a growing expectation of a decrease in paper consumption. On the other hand, greater access to information - with internet available in several locations at low cost - and technologies such as printers increasingly affordable prices, tends to increase the volume of impressions, as well as the consumption of equipment increases the consumption of packaging based on paper. This study drew statistical studies between the increased use of information technology and paper consumption in the Brazilian market, using data for twenty years - from 1990 to 2009 - Bracelpa (Associacao Brasileira de Celulose e Papel) and the Annual Survey of Management Resources for Informatics at the Fundacao Getulio Vargas – Escola de Administracao do Estado de Sao Paulo (FGV-EAESP). Through the literature review on the topic and statistical tests, it was investigated whether corporate investments in information technology provided to reduce the consumption of certain types of papers in Brazilian marketplace. To answer the hypotheses, we performed a correlation between the development of paper consumption, according to the types (newsprint, printing and writing), and investments in information technology, according to the sectors (services, industry and trade). The results corroborate the earlier study, developed by Moraes Meirelles and Nacimiento (2010), which was analyzed in a period of six years, indicating that the use of IT did not bring benefit to the reduction of paper consumption in the Brazilian market, considering the types of roles impacted by this use. It is evident through this study that the values of IT investments by companies participating in this research had positive correlation with the fall in consumption of newsprint and writing paper type, indicating that, possibly, access to digital information through reduced the use of newspapers for circulation of news. It is also evident in the increased consumption of other types of paper such as newsprint and packaging, consumption increased along with IT investments, thus we can deduce that the easy access to computer equipment, including printers would lead to the printing of electronic files, unnecessarily, as well as increased sales of electronic equipment tends to increase the use of paper packaging.