bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pour une psychologie sociale de la communication
Authors: Chabrol Claude
Published: December 2012

Résumé La psychologie de la communication est une problématique qui naît dans les années 1990 des travaux des psychologues sociaux et des analystes du discours. Ses analyses et observations montrent que nous sommes avant tout des êtres communicants, agissant et pensant dans un monde de signes, de gestes et d’objets signifiants dont la signification est présumée mais négociable selon les types de contrats de communication en cours dans le contexte de structurations sociales données. On y souligne la prédominance des structures interactionnistes et interlocutives, comme le primat des multiples stratégies possibles d’actions cognitives et affectives des récepteurs face aux productions discursives et gestuelles ou iconiques des émetteurs. Cette orientation trouve particulièrement ses applications pour les activités verbocentrées, surtout évoquées ici : réception des médias, prévention sanitaire ou routière, réception de la publicité, protection de l’environnement, gestion des conversations, etc., mais aussi pour celles qui sont praxéo-centrées : organisation du travail sur machines et structurations de la coopération des intervenants, implantations dans l’espace et programmation gestuelle?
Pratiques professionnelles, évaluation et recherche-action
Authors: Boutanquoi Michel
Published: December 2012

Résumé L’article se propose de souligner l’intérêt du recours à la recherche-action dans le cadre de l’évaluation des pratiques professionnelles. Après avoir précisé le cadre de référence pour penser la recherche-action et l’évaluation, deux recherches sont présentées : l’une porte sur un dispositif de soin pour mineurs auteurs de violences sexuelles, l’autre sur les pratiques d’évaluation des situations en protection de l’enfance. Le propos se concentre sur la construction de la démarche entre professionnels et chercheurs. Contextes, mis en oeuvre et déroulement sont décrits puis, dans une logique comparative, sont analysées les difficultés rencontrées et les manières de les surmonter. Quelques résultats sont mis en avant.
L'affiliation psychosociologique au cœur des mutations institutionnelles
Authors: Rivière Maud , Baranowski Victor-Georges
Published: December 2012

Résumé Cet article s’attache à mettre en exergue la pertinence des premiers volumes de la revue Connexions (entre 1972 et 1976) pour l’intervention psychosociologique actuelle dans un contexte hypermoderne. Face aux duplicités des modèles gestionnaires et normatifs traversant actuellement les institutions et les organisations, les apports publiés il y a quarante ans sont toujours criants d’actualité et permettent aux jeunes intervenants de composer créativement avec ce contexte. À la lumière de ces premiers articles, des questions actuelles que rencontrent les psychosociologues en institution sont abordées, telles que l’accélération du temps, la place de l’imaginaire dans les organisations, la tendance à la procéduralisation, la transparence, ou encore la généralisation d’une novlangue managériale.
Facteurs de résilience chez les femmes atteintes par le VIH en assistance médicale à la procréation
Authors: Bourdet-Loubère Sylvie , Mazoyer Anne-Valérie
Published: December 2012

Résumé Depuis plusieurs années, l’assistance médicale à la procréation (AMP) est accessible en France aux couples dont la femme est infectée par le VIH. L’objectif de cette étude est de mieux comprendre la place de la maladie dans le désir d’enfant de ces couples et de repérer et discuter les facteurs de résilience et de vulnérabilité rencontrés dans notre pratique clinique en service d’AMP. Des entretiens cliniques semi-directifs ont été menés, dans une approche strictement qualitative et subjectivante, en amont du début de la prise en charge en AMP. Les données verbales recueillies laissent apparaître des indicateurs d’un processus résilient, adossés à des ressources internes comme externes mais également de soulever des points de vulnérabilités qui demandent à être soutenus par un accompagnement psychologique.
Quelle Europe pour les Turcs ?
Authors: Servantie Alain
Published: December 2012

L’Europe est un concept récent pour les Turcs, symbole plus de changements technologiques et économiques que d’une évolution des valeurs, que d’une intégration de diversités. Les obstacles rencontrés par les Turcs dans les négociations d’une adhésion à l’UE sont attribués à l’incompréhension de la situation du pays par les hommes politiques des Etats-membres. Mais, les Turcs savent-ils vraiment ce que sont les valeurs européennes, ce qu’est l’évolution de l’intégration ? Il ne semble pas que l’enseignement ou les médias fassent passer cette information : dans les sondages, dans les études d’opinion, dans les déclarations publiques, l’Europe reste lointaine.
Tentative de mise en perspective de la politique extérieure de la Turquie
Authors: Billion Didier
Published: December 2012

Actualité oblige, les commentaires sur la politique extérieure de la Turquie se sont multipliés au cours des dernières années. Les théorisations hâtives et les contresens se sont malheureusement accumulés sur le sujet. C’est pourquoi il est nécessaire de mettre en perspective cette politique pour en comprendre les dynamiques actuelles et en saisir les fondamentaux. Si de réels facteurs de nouveauté se sont cristallisés, il n’en demeure pas moins que les axes traditionnels de la diplomatie mis en œuvre par Ankara continuent à prévaloir.
Les Libano-Syriens au Sénégal
Authors: Bouba Nouhou Alhadji
Published: December 2012

En avril 2012, les médias arabes firent grand écho de la nomination de l’écologiste libano-sénégalais, Haïdar El-Ali, au poste de ministre de l’Ecologie et de la protection de la nature du Sénégal. En effet, la population sénégalaise, musulmane à plus de 90 %, est aussi composée de 30000 Libano-Syriens. Dans quel contexte émigrèrent-ils au Sénégal ? Comment reconstituèrent-ils leur identité confessionnelle ?
Manager entre légèreté et pesanteurs : le ballet de l'Opéra de Paris
Authors: Lefèvre Brigitte
Published: December 2012

Résumé Diriger la danse à l’Opéra de Paris, c’est être dans un entre-deux : accompagner des projets qui n’existent que sous forme de pensées, avec le remarquable outil qu’est le ballet ; faire vivre les œuvres classiques et donner la parole aux créateurs les plus contemporains...
La visite au zoo et l’apprentissage de la distinction humaine
Authors: Servais Véronique
Published: December 2012

Le parc zoologique peut être considéré comme un dispositif culturel qui structure les relations entre des êtres humains et des animaux captifs. Dans l’étude présentée ici, nous avons cherché à savoir quels sont les modèles de relation au monde animal qui sont expérimentés/appris par les visiteurs au cours d’une visite au zoo. Nous avons enregistré les discours et ethnographié les interactions de visiteurs devant les cages de deux espèces de primates, des orangs-outangs (Pongo pygmaeus) et des cercopithèques de Brazza (Cercopithecus neglectus), à la ménagerie du jardin des plantes à Paris, dans le but de comprendre comment s’effectue, en situation et dans la confrontation avec des animaux vivants, la différenciation humain/non humain. Notre hypothèse est que le zoo, par son dispositif de mise en spectacle, offre un cadre paradoxal, analogue au jeu, où l’anthropomorphisation des animaux renforce la frontière homme/animal plutôt qu’elle ne l’efface. Ce serait de cette manière, complexe mais efficace, que la visite au zoo contribuerait à l’apprentissage culturel de la distinction humaine.
L’individu dans un essai thérapeutique
Authors: Brives Charlotte
Published: December 2012

Cet article propose de questionner le statut de l’individu enrôlé dans un essai thérapeutique conçu comme expérimentation scientifique. À partir d’une analyse des procédures papier d’un essai mené à Abidjan sur les bénéfices et risques de la mise sous traitement précoce de patients séropositifs, il s’agit de montrer comment l’individu est catégorisé (corps médicalisé, individu subjectif, sujet d’un essai, entre autres), puis objectivé. À la conception de l’essai centré sur l’individu comme objet fait alors place une conception de l’essai centré sur les interactions entre le virus d’un côté, et l’individu conçu comme milieu de vie, ou Umwelt, du virus, de l’autre. Dans ce cadre, loin d’être un acteur passif, le sujet devient un membre actif du dispositif expérimental et participe de sa propre objectivation.
L’article XX a) du GATT : l’exception de moralité publique dans le commerce international
Authors: Witmeur Renaud
Published: December 2012

Quoique bénéfique au niveau global, l’ouverture des marchés peut constituer une menace pour les valeurs fondamentales qui constituent le socle d’une société. Elle suscite ainsi un débat sur le contenu et les limites à la souveraineté nationale et, par opposition, sur la légitimité de l’OMC en lien avec la reconnaissance de ces valeurs. À l’heure où les États membres ne semblent pas à même de s’accorder sur de nouvelles avancées ambitieuses, l’article XX a) du GATT constitue un élément cardinal d’une solution, car il offre la seule garantie contre une vision absolutiste du commerce international. Cet article rassemble les éléments nécessaires pour approcher la notion de moralité publique. Par un examen de la genèse de cette disposition et de la jurisprudence de l’Organe d’appel et d’autres juridictions internationales, il relève le rôle important des États et expose les arguments pour que l’OMC, via son mécanisme de règlement des différends, reconnaisse d’une manière principielle que l’article XX a) conduit à une lecture des accords de l’OMC cohérente avec les valeurs fondamentales de chacun des États membres, sans contredire les objectifs du Traité.
La responsabilité en discussion : Apel/Jonas
Authors: Pommier Éric
Published: December 2012

Résumé Si l’éthique formulée par Hans Jonas constitue un progrès de la conscience morale, qui peut ainsi s’armer pour répondre aux défis posés par la technique contemporaine, elle court cependant le risque de s’énoncer au détriment de l’impératif de progrès et de justice. C’est cette inquiétude qui conduit à instaurer ici un dialogue entre l’éfthique de la discussion de Karl-Otto Apel et l’impératif de responsabilité de Hans Jonas. Nous présentons l’éthique de Jonas, les objections que lui adresse Apel, les réponses possibles à la lecture réductrice qu’il fait de la pensée jonassienne, tout en maintenant ce en quoi l’éthique de la discussion pourrait consolider les perspectives juridico-politiques envisagées par Jonas.
Enterococcus faecium isolated from Lombo, a Portuguese traditional meat product: characterisation of antibacterial compounds and factors affecting bacteriocin production
Authors: Todorov S.D. , Favaro L. , Gibbs P. , Vaz-Velho M.
Published: December 2012

Strain ST211CH, identified as a strain of Enterococcus faecium, isolated from Lombo produced a bacteriocin that inhibited the growth of Enterococcus spp., Listeria spp., Klebsiella spp., Lactobacillus spp., Pseudomonas spp., Staphylococcus spp. and Streptococcus spp. The mode of action of the bacteriocin named as bacteriocin ST211Ch was bactericidal against Enterococcus faecalis ATCC19443. As determined by Tricine-SDS-PAGE, the approximate molecular mass of the bacteriocin was 8.0 kDa. Loss in antimicrobial activity was recorded after treatment with proteolytic enzymes. Maximum activity of bacteriocin ST211Ch was measured in broth cultures of E. faecium strain ST211Ch after 24 h; thereafter, the activity was reduced. Bacteriocin ST211Ch remained active after exposure to various temperatures and pHs, as well as to Triton X-100, Tween-80, Tween-20, sodium dodecyl sulfate, NaCl, urea and EDTA. Effect of media components on production of bacteriocin ST211Ch was also studied. On the basis of PCR reactions targeting different bacteriocin genes, i.e. enterocins, curvacins and sakacins, no evidences for the presence of these genes in the total DNA of E. faecium strain ST211Ch was obtained. The bacterium most probably produced a bacteriocin different from those mentioned above. Based on the antimicrobial spectrum, stability and mode of action of bacteriocin ST211CH, E. faecium strain ST211Ch might be considered as a potential candidate with beneficial properties for use in biopreservation to control food spoilage bacteria.
Le premier témoignage chrétien sur la prise de Valence (1098)
Authors: Martin Georges
Published: December 2012

La charte de la donation faite en 1098 par Rodrigue Diaz à Jérôme, évêque de Valence, nous permet de nous faire une idée de l’organisation de la seigneurie valencienne (au moins dans ses structures de tutelle), de ses relations avec la Castille et de l’imaginaire qui se forgea autour de Rodrigue pour interpréter son aventure et soutenir ses aspirations.
Deployment and Success Factors for the Mobile Internet
Authors: Petrova Krassie , Huang Raymond Yiwen
Published: December 2012

The mobile Internet is a fast-growing technology that provides access to the traditional stationary (fixed-line) Internet from devices connected to mobile communication networks. It is predicted that the convergence between mobile networks and the fixed-line Internet will be a core feature in the next generation network architecture, achieving fast ‘anywhere’ Internet access and global mobility management. Applying a case study approach, this paper reviews the New Zealand mobile Internet market mix, competition, and mobile service provision. The key mobile Internet deployment requirements are determined and analyzed in order to identify a set of mobile Internet critical success factors and to investigate the impact of the shift from fixed-line to mobile and wireless Internet data communication infrastructure.
Tackling M-Government Service Complexity
Authors: Sowaileh Ahmed , AlSoufi Ali
Published: December 2012

The development of mobile government services in Bahrain is moving slowly, when compared with traditional e-government services. Few informational and transactional services are available on the mobile portal. The complexity of government services prevents their delivery through the limited mobile phone interface. This exploratory research builds a method to tackle service complexity, as well as simplify and streamline the design and development of government services that target mobile devices. Forty government services in Bahrain were analyzed to identify the factors that affect mobile government services. The model was then applied to the sample services, and results were used to develop the target method. The main finding of this research is that the current approach of taking the existing services on the PC portal and implementing them on the mobile portal should be avoided. A better approach is to break down the services into sessions or components and identify opportunities where mobile technologies can be utilized.
The Role of a Collaborative Research Network (CRN) in Improving the Arabian Gulf Countries’ Performance in Research and Innovation
Authors: Al-Soufi Ali , Al-Ammary Jaflah
Published: December 2012

Research and development is considered a main source of knowledge and innovation in the Gulf countries and Arab region. Therefore, building a Collaborative Research Network (CRN) in the Gulf is necessary for high quality and sustainable research. In this paper, the authors examine the role of CRN in improving Gulf countries’ performance in research and innovation. Four objectives have been set: investigate the current situation regarding scientific research and CRN in the Gulf countries, identify factors that influence the building of a CRN, identify the impact and contribution of CRN in improving the Gulf countries’ performance, and develop a model. To achieve these objectives, a quantitative method was adopted. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 100 participants. The current paper presents the first stage of research that investigates the role of building CRN in improving the Gulf countries’ performance in research and innovation. The next stage will examine the model of building CRN.
Software Quality Initiatives
Authors: Goyal D. P. , Garg Adarsh
Published: December 2012

Through extensive research into the area of quality management practices, such as ISO (International Standard Organization), Six Sigma has been observed within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Few empirical studies have reported the application of Six Sigma in SMEs, especially in software developing SMEs. The reasons can be attributed to complex issues associated with Six Sigma, as well as cost and time constraints. This paper assesses the current status of quality management practices in software developing SMEs. A survey-based approach was used to understand the conventional quality management practices in software SMEs. The data was collected from 230 respondents in 23 software developing SMEs in National Capital Region (NCR) of India. The respondents involved all three managerial levels and statistical results reflect the non-realization of quality management practices in software development. The SMEs under study were aware of the importance of quality management practices but had not implemented the same in the organization which is one of the basic requirements for the success of any software.
Using OCL to Model Constraints in Data Warehouses
Authors: Pinet François , Kang Myoung-Ah , Boulil Kamal , Bimonte Sandro , De Sousa Gil , Roussey Catherine , Schneider Michel , Chanet Jean-Pierre
Published: December 2012

Recent research works propose using Object-Oriented (OO) approaches, such as UML to model data warehouses. This paper overviews these recent OO techniques, describing the facts and different analysis dimensions of the data. The authors propose a tutorial of the Object Constraint Language (OCL) and show how this language can be used to specify constraints in OO-based models of data warehouses. Previously, OCL has been only applied to describe constraints in software applications and transactional databases. As such, the authors demonstrate in this paper how to use OCL to represent the different types of data warehouse constraints. This paper helps researchers working in the fields of business intelligence and decision support systems, who wish to learn about the major possibilities that OCL offer in the context of data warehouses. The authors also provide general information about the possible types of implementation of multi-dimensional models and their constraints.
Segmentation of Arabic Characters
Authors: Zeki Ahmed M. , Zakaria Mohamad S. , Liong Choong-Yeun
Published: December 2012

The cursive nature of Arabic writing is the main challenge to Arabic Optical Character Recognition developer. Methods to segment Arabic words into characters have been proposed. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the methods proposed by researchers to segment Arabic characters. The segmentation methods are categorized into nine different methods based on techniques used. The advantages and drawbacks of each are presented and discussed. Most researchers did not report the segmentation accuracy in their research; instead, they reported the overall recognition rate which did not reflect the influence of each sub-stage on the final recognition rate. The size of the training/testing data was not large enough to be generalized. The field of Arabic Character Recognition needs a standard set of test documents in both image and character formats, together with the ground truth and a set of performance evaluation tools, which would enable comparing the performance of different algorithms. As each method has its strengths, a hybrid segmentation approach is a promising method. The paper concludes that there is still no perfect segmentation method for ACR and much opportunity for research in this area.
Formal and Informal Learning Flows Cohesion in Web 2.0 Environment
Authors: Ivanova Malinka , Popova Anguelina
Published: December 2012

This paper presents the results of an exploratory study examining bachelor degree students’ experiences of learning with a new generation learning management system Edu 2.0 combined with Web 2.0 applications. The authors discuss students’ perceptions of formal and informal activities within this environment as captured through a collection of surveys, activities’ tracking, and assessment. The main functional characteristics and available social tools of Edu 2.0 are examined in the context of students learning support. A model of Learning area is developed to analyze the formal and informal learning flows from the point of view of learning enhancement.
Global Teacher Training Based on a Multiple Perspective Assessment
Authors: Nishihori Yuri , Kushima Chizuko , Yamamoto Yuichi , Sato Haruhiko , Sugie Satoko
Published: December 2012

The main objective of this project is to design and implement Web-based collaborative environments for a global training based on a multiple perspective assessment for future and novice ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) who will come to Japan from various parts of the world. The system was created in order to give better chances to acquire professional knowledge in advance with support from experienced senior teachers, both Japanese teachers and former ALTs. Computer Support for Collaborative Learning (CSCL) was adopted as a platform for their online discussion with much focus on multiple perspective assessment to support social and personalized aspects such as individual accountability and contribution to the collaboration. Initial results are reported using the analysis of system design and the Web-based questionnaire answered by the participants involved in this knowledge-building forum.
A Query-Based Approach for Semi-Automatic Annotation of Web Services
Authors: Asswad Mohammad Mourhaf AL , de Cesare Sergio , Lycett Mark
Published: December 2012

Semantic Web services (SWS) have attracted increasing attention due to their potential to automate discovery and composition of current syntactic Web services. An issue that prevents a wider adoption of SWS relates to the manual nature of the semantic annotation task. Manual annotation is a difficult, error-prone, and time-consuming process and automating the process is highly desirable. Though some approaches have been proposed to semi-automate the annotation task, they are difficult to use and cannot perform accurate annotation for the following reasons: (1) They require building application ontologies to represent candidate services and (2) they cannot perform accurate name-based matching when labels of candidate service elements and ontological entities contain Compound Nouns (CN). To overcome these two deficiencies, this paper proposes a query-based approach that can facilitate semi-automatic annotation of Web services. The proposed approach is easy to use because it does not require building application ontologies to represent services. Candidate service elements that need to be annotated are extracted from a WSDL file and used to generate query instances by filling a Standard Query Template. The resulting query instances are executed against a repository of ontologies using a novel query execution engine to find appropriate correspondences for candidate service elements. This query execution engine employs name-based and structural matching mechanisms that can perform effective and accurate similarity measurements between labels containing CNs. The proposed semi-automatic annotation approach is evaluated by employing it to annotate existing Web services using published domain ontologies. Precision and recall are used as evaluation metrics. The resulting precision and recall values demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed approach.
Actability Criteria for Design and Evaluation
Authors: Goldkuhl Göran
Published: December 2012

Information systems actability theory builds on a communicative action perspective on IS. Information systems are seen as instruments for technology mediated work communication. Human actors are communicating (i.e. sending and/or receiving messages) through an information system. Information systems actability emphasises pragmatic dimensions of information systems. The paper presents 19 actability criteria divided into three groups: 1) criteria concerning user-system interaction, 2) criteria concerning user-through-system-to-user communication, and 3) criteria concerning information system’s contribution to workpractice processes. These actability criteria should be possible to use in design and evaluation of information systems.
Scale Economies in Indian Commercial Banking Sector
Authors: Sahoo Biresh K. , Gstach Dieter
Published: December 2012

Two alternative estimation models, i.e., a translog cost function and data envelopment analysis (DEA) based on a cost model are compared and contrasted in revealing scale economies in the Indian commercial banking sector. The empirical results indicate that while the translog cost model exhibits increasing returns to scale for all the ownership groups, the DEA model reveals economies of scale only for foreign banks, diseconomies of scale for nationalized banks, and both economies and diseconomies of scale for private banks. The divergence of the results obtained from these two estimation models should concern model builders. From an empirical perspective the definition of scale economies through a constant input mix is very restrictive. The DEA cost model is much more flexible in this respect: It neither requires the restrictive assumptions that the unit factor prices are always available with certainty, nor that these prices are exogenous to the firms. However, the very volatile nature of the banking industry might question the validity of the empirical estimates in this deterministic setting. Therefore, further research is required to examine the bank performance behavior using both SFA and chance constrained DEA for the comparison in a stochastic setting.
Social and Cultural Challenges in ERP Implementation
Authors: Poti Sapna , Bhattacharyya Sanghamitra , Kamalanabhan T.J.
Published: December 2012

This paper studies the differential practices of change management in organizations of western origin and compares it with the best practices prevalent in Indian organizations, with special emphasis on social and cultural challenges faced in these countries. Since Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), as part of an information and communication technology (ICT) initiative, is frequently associated with organization change and transformation in relation to its adaptation, it has been used as the context in this study. The impact of social factors and cultural challenges on change management processes and elements are compared and contrasted using multiple case studies from USA, Canada, European (Western/Eastern) and Indian organizations who have adopted ERP technologies. The conceptual framework highlights cultural and social factors that affect ERP implementation, and offers suggestions to researchers to empirically test these influences using sophisticated analytical methods and develop change strategies and practices in response to these challenges. Further, it also draws attention to the need for a contemporary, result-oriented, quantitatively measurable framework of change management at the individual and enterprise levels. It is expected that such an approach would result in better buy-in from all stakeholders in terms of increased accountability.
Virtue and Virtuality
Authors: Kennedy Miles
Published: December 2012

This paper is an attempt to establish a foundation for technoethics of IT that makes an account of the virtual environment based within the lived situation of those who work and dwell in that emerging realm. The most important phenomenon for technoethics of IT is the relationship between knowledge about information and the capacity to turn information into knowledge. This relationship is embodied in being a Master of Information Technology. To achieve mastery of information and mould it into knowledge, a useful tool-like entity, is to have power in the contemporary world. Once this situation is recognised ethical questions arise of their own volition. A selection of these questions are dealt with in the following paper, they are the questions of the distinction between information and knowledge, the central issue of virtue and virtuality, and the distinction between stealing and sharing in the virtual environment. This paper constitutes a think piece; readers who have a stake in the virtual environment and its ethical makeup are urged to ask themselves these questions and come up with others in turn.
Perverting Activism
Authors: Bertolotti Tommaso , Bardone Emanuele , Magnani Lorenzo
Published: December 2012

This paper analyzes the impact of new technologies on a range of practices related to activism. The first section shows how the functioning of democratic institutions can be impaired by scarce political accountability connected with the emergence of moral hazard; the second section displays how cyberactivism can improve the transparency of political dynamics; in the last section the authors turn specifically to cyberactivism and isolate its flaws and some of the most pernicious and self-defeating effects.
On Biometrics and Profiling
Authors: Cantore Daniele
Published: December 2012

This paper advances an analysis of biometrics and profiling. Biometrics represents the most effective technology in order to prove someone’s identity. Profiling regards the capability of collecting and organizing individuals’ preferences and attitudes as consumers and costumers. Moreover, biometrics is already used in order to gather and manage biological and behavioral data and this tendency may increase in Ambient Intelligence context. Therefore, dealing with individuals’ data, both biometrics and profiling have to tackle many ethical issues related to privacy on one hand and democracy on the other. After a brief introduction, the author introduces biometrics, exploring its methodology and applications. The following section focuses on profiling both in public and private sector. The last section analyzes those issues concerning privacy and democracy, within also the Ambient Intelligence.
The Impact of Context on Employee Perceptions of Acceptable Non-Work Related Computing
Authors: Strader Troy J. , Fichtner J. Royce , Clayton Suzanne R. , Simpson Lou Ann
Published: December 2012

Employees have access to a wide range of computer-related resources at work, and often these resources are used for non-work related personal activities. In this study, the authors address the relationship between employee’s utilitarian ethical orientation, the factors that create the context that influences their ethical perceptions, and their overall perceptions regarding the level of acceptability for 14 different non-work related computing activities. The authors find that time and monetary cost associated with an activity has a negative relationship to perceived acceptability. Results indicate that contextual variables, such as an employee’s supervisory or non-supervisory role, opportunity, computer self-efficacy, and whether or not an organization has computer use policies, training, and monitoring, influence individual ethical perceptions. Implications and conclusions are discussed for organizations and future research.
Chicken Killers or Bandwidth Patriots?
Authors: Reymers Kurt
Published: December 2012

In 2008, a resident of a computerized virtual world called “Second Life” programmed and began selling a “realistic” virtual chicken. It required food and water to survive, was vulnerable to physical damage, and could reproduce. This development led to the mass adoption of chicken farms and large-scale trade in virtual chickens and eggs. Not long after the release of the virtual chickens, a number of incidents occurred which demonstrate the negotiated nature of territorial and normative boundaries. Neighbors of chicken farmers complained of slow performance of the simulation and some users began terminating the chickens, kicking or shooting them to “death.” All of these virtual world phenomena, from the interactive role-playing of virtual farmers to the social, political and economic repercussions within and beyond the virtual world, can be examined with a critical focus on the ethical ramifications of virtual world conflicts. This paper views the case of the virtual chicken wars from three different ethical perspectives: as a resource dilemma, as providing an argument from moral and psychological harm, and as a case in which just war theory can be applied.
Fairness and Regulation of Violence in Technological Design
Authors: Shelley Cameron
Published: December 2012

The purpose of this article is to explore how the design of technology relates to the fairness of the distribution of violence in modern society. Deliberately or not, the design of technological artifacts embodies the priorities of its designers, including how violence is meted out to those affected by the design. Designers make implicit predictions about the context in which designs will perform, predictions that will not always be satisfied. Errors from failed predictions can affect people in ways that designers may not appreciate. In this article, several examples of how artifacts distribute violence are considered. The Taylor-Russell diagram is introduced as a means of representing and exploring this issue. The role of government regulation, safety, and social role in design assessment is discussed.
Unintended Affordances as Violent Mediators
Authors: Bardone Emanuele
Published: December 2012

This paper outlines a theoretical framework meant to help people understand the emergence of violent mediators in human cognitive niches enriched by technology. Violent mediators are external objects that mediate relations with the environment in a way facilitating – not causing – the adoption of violent behaviors. In order to cast light on the dynamics violent mediators are involved in, the author illustrates the role played by what is called unintended affordances. In doing so, the author presents three specific examples of unintended affordances as violent mediators: multitasking while driving, desultory behavior and cyberstalking. The last part of the paper presents the notion of counteractive cognitive niche as a possible, yet partial, solution to the problem concerning the emergence of unintended affordance.
Facebook Has It
Authors: Bertolotti Tommaso
Published: December 2012

Over the past years, mass media increasingly identified many aspects of social networking with those of established social practices such as gossip. This produced two main outcomes: on the one hand, social networks users were described as gossipers mainly aiming at invading their friends’ and acquaintances’ privacy; on the other hand the potentially violent consequences of social networking were legitimated by referring to a series of recent studies stressing the importance of gossip for the social evolution of human beings. This paper explores the differences between the two kinds of gossip-related sociability, the traditional one and the technologically structured one (where the social framework coincides with the technological one, as in social networking websites). The aim of this reflection is to add to the critical knowledge available today about the effects that transparent technologies have on everyday life, especially as far as the social implications are concerned, in order to prevent (or contrast) those “ignorance bubbles” whose outcomes can be already dramatic.
Technoethics and the State of Science and Technology Studies (STS) in Canada
Authors: Luppicini Rocci
Published: December 2012

University degree programs in STS (Science and Technology Studies) represent a popular training ground for scholars and other professions dealing with advanced studies in science and technology. Degree programs in STS are currently offered at universities around the globe with various specializations and orientations. This study explores the nature of science and technology in Canada and the state of ethics within STS curriculum in Canada. STS degree programs offered under various titles at nine universities in Canada are examined. Findings reveal that ethical aspects of science and technology study is lacking from the core content of most Canadian academic programs in STS. Key challenges are addressed and suggestions are made on how to leverage STS programs within Canadian universities. This study advances the understanding of the developing field of STS in Canada from a technoethical perspective.
Boys with Toys and Fearful Parents?
Authors: Fritzsche Albrecht
Published: December 2012

Based on recent complaints about the neglect of the human in the philosophy of technology, this paper explores the different ways how technology ethics put the relation between the human and the technical on stage. It identifies various similarities in the treatment of the human in technology and the treatment of the child in education and compares Heidegger’s concerns about the role of technology with the duplicity of childhood and adulthood in conflicts of adolescence. The findings give reason to assume that technology ethics and pedagogy are closely related. A brief review of selected topics in technology ethics illustrates exemplarily how a pedagogic interpretation of the current discussion can contribute to further progress in the field.
Mobility, Liminality, and Digital Materiality
Authors: Rieser Martin
Published: December 2012

This chapter will examine and critically align a number of pioneering projects from around the world, using mobile and pervasive technologies, which have challenged the design and delivery of mobile artworks, as documented on the author’s weblog and book The Mobile Audience (Rodopi, 2011). These will be presented together with examples from the artist’s own research and practice, which have been concerned with the liminal nature of digital media and the intersection of the real and virtual, the physicality of place, and the immateriality of the imaginary in artistic spaces. Two projects in process are also referenced: The Prisoner—a motion-captured, emotionally responsive avatar in the round—and Secret Garden—a virtual reality digital opera. Lastly, this chapter considers the nature of digital materiality in the exhibition of miniature Internet transmitted sculptures: Inside Out: Sculpture in the Digital Age.
Living between Worlds
Authors: Doyle Denise
Published: December 2012

This chapter interrogates the notion of the liminal in relation to the virtual and the imaginary through a consideration of the field of art and technology and current creative practices in virtual worlds and avatar-mediated space. In particular, the art project Meta-Dreamer (2009) is considered through the manifestation of the avatar as digital object. In its attempt to explore the experience of “living between worlds,” it reflects the concerns of contemporary arts practice exploration of time and space relationships.
Can Duchampian and Darwinian Virtual Objects Ever Behave Themselves?
Authors: Harrison Dew , Ch’ng Eugene
Published: December 2012

The chapter presents the trajectory of a collaborative art practice towards intuitive interaction for visitors accessing virtual spaces to achieve a shared holistic understanding of a complex system. From initial explorations into the efficacy of associative media for constructing conceptual-based artworks, in that hypermedia developed from the intent of augmenting human intellect, behaviours were applied to hypermedia data items. The rationale for this is explained through developments in the ongoing ‘Deconstructing Duchamp’ project, where ‘flocking’ behaviours have been applied to Duchampian digitised items to observe the familial relations within, and key to his work, at play. Following this project, a second work ‘Shift-Life’ has proceeded to further develop the idea of allotting animal-like behaviours to electronic data items giving them the appearance of possessing a basic intelligence. By then, observing their response to our physical interactions, we can glean a clearer understanding from their inter-relationships of a complex conceptual framework.
Para-Formalistic Discourse and Virtual Space in Film
Authors: Stone Ian P.
Published: December 2012

Cinema remains current and saleable by constantly revolutionising the mode of its distribution. Film Auteurs are affected by these changes, using the contemporary “tools of their trade” to their advantage. This chapter focuses on two Auteurs’ use of digital technologies. Jean Luc Godard, one of the most innovative filmmakers of the last fifty years is a recent convert to digital film, having denounced the medium previously. Mike Figgis has been an advocate of digital filmmaking until recently, when he has been more circumspect. These filmmakers employ techniques indebted to Sergei Eisenstein and Bertholt Brecht. The “active” variant of third text understandings applied represent a “para-formalistic discourse” where the audience is made aware of the film’s artifice, projecting the audience into an ontological virtual space where they are compelled to confront conditions around them. A tentative advocacy of the digital as an aid to enhancing this experience is here advanced.
The Earth Sciences and Creative Practice
Authors: Worden Suzette
Published: December 2012

Artists who engage with the earth sciences have been able to explore all kinds of information about the natural environment, including information about the atmosphere, extremes of physical formations across immense dimensions of time and space, and increasingly ‘invisible’ realms of materials at the nanoscale. This is a rich area for identifying the relationship between digital and material cultures as many artists working with this subject are crossing boundaries and testing out the liminal spaces between the virtual and the real. After an overview of theoretical links between visualisation and geology, mineralogy and crystallography, this chapter explores four themes: (1) environment and experience, (2) code and pattern, (3) co-creation and participation, and (4) mining heritage.
The Metaplastic Cyber Opencode Art
Authors: Mura Gianluca
Published: December 2012

This chapter explores the continuum between old and new media and presents the research area of Metaplastic Art and Design. The description of the Metaplastic Metaspace and its own methodology create interactive virtual spaces for Cyber Art between reality and virtual realities, from living code to software and vice versa through the Metaplastic Opencode Platform.
Capturing Structural Complexity of Innovation Diffusion through System Dynamics
Authors: Bhushan Sanjay
Published: December 2012

Several shortcomings of traditional innovation diffusion research create major impediments to the ‘holistic’ understanding of diffusion of innovations as well as to the development of effective strategies of policy intervention to facilitate diffusion process. Among the major criticisms of diffusion research are the ‘selection biases’ of many diffusion studies and the futility of curve fitting as an adequate test of theoretical relevance. These limitations can be avoided by substantive and methodological changes in diffusion research; incorporating and integrating into selective critical structural variables to map their interaction, and explaining the inherent dynamism. There are several research articles that discuss different approaches to modeling innovation diffusion over time. Conventionally, the approaches in explaining the innovation diffusion process assume that the process takes place in a stable and homogeneous system in which the innovation diffuses or spreads without being affected by the system’s structural variables even under external influences. Many studies have established that the presence of symmetry is not the general rule in innovation diffusion process. Also examined are these models, and the need to further modify in order to improve the holistic understanding of the dynamic structural complexities and forces driving the processes of innovation and diffusion is recognized.
A Simulation Model for Managing Marketing Multi-Channel Conflict
Authors: Abdelsalam Hisham M. , El-Tagy Ahmed O.
Published: December 2012

In today’s global competition, companies are obliged to go to market using multiple channels of strategy for various reasons. However, channel conflict is inevitable in multi-channel structures causing sharp decreases in the demand of one or more channels. A system dynamic model was developed to simulate the complex multiple channel structure and factors that affect the demand and channel conflict; aiming to simulate the situation of the supplier decision maker who takes fast decisions in one of the various variables that he controls to achieve maximum profits and minimum channel conflict. The model was validated using real data of a major consumer electronics supplier in Egypt that has traditional distributors and Hypermarkets as two different channels. Various policies of inventory allocations in each channel and different promotion rates were tested in order to achieve the objective of maximizing supplier profit and minimizing channel conflict.
Simulating Hamlet
Authors: Haslett Tim
Published: December 2012

This paper explores the implications of the use of System Dynamics to model dramatic works and examines the model used in Pamela Lee Hopkins’ “Simulating Hamlet in the classroom.” This paper addresses this issue from both a literary and a modelling perspective. It begins by discussing the use of System Dynamics modelling in literature within the framework established by Forrester. Two aspects of the model, motivation and evidence revelation, are then examined against evidence from the text, supported by historical information. Some difficulties inherent in modelling drama are highlighted and the paper concludes that the model does not adequately capture the complexity of the play because System Dynamics modelling is not an appropriate tool for literary analysis.
New Optimal Solutions for Real-Time Reconfigurable Periodic Asynchronous Operating System Tasks with Minimizations of Response Time
Authors: Gharsellaoui Hamza , Khalgui Mohamed , Ben Ahmed Samir
Published: December 2012

Scheduling tasks is an essential requirement in most real-time and embedded systems, but leads to unwanted central processing unit (CPU) overheads. The authors present a real-time schedulability algorithm for preemptable, asynchronous and periodic reconfigurable task systems with arbitrary relative deadlines, scheduled on a uniprocessor by an optimal scheduling algorithm based on the earliest deadline first (EDF) principles and on the dynamic reconfiguration. A reconfiguration scenario is assumed to be a dynamic automatic operation allowing addition, removal or update of operating system’s (OS) functional asynchronous tasks. When such a scenario is applied to save the system at the occurrence of hardware-software faults, or to improve its performance, some real-time properties can be violated. The authors propose an intelligent agent-based architecture where a software agent is used to satisfy the user requirements and to respect time constraints. The agent dynamically provides precious technical solutions for users when these constraints are not verified, by removing tasks according to predefined heuristic, or by modifying the worst case execution times (WCETs), periods, and deadlines of tasks in order to meet deadlines and to minimize their response time. They implement the agent to support these services which are applied to a Blackberry Bold 9700 and to a Volvo system and present and discuss the results of experiments.
Novel Hybrid Genetic Approach for Two Dimensional Guillotinable Cutting Problems
Authors: Hasni Hamadi , Gharsellaoui Hamza
Published: December 2012

The paper deals with the purpose of one hybrid approach for solving the constrained two-dimensional cutting (2DC) problem. The authors study this hybrid approach that combines the genetic algorithm and the Tabu search method. For this problem, they assume a packing of a whole number of rectangular pieces to cut, and that all cuts are of guillotine type in one sheet of a fixed width and an infinite height. Finally, the authors undertake an extensive experimental study with a large number of problem instances extracted from the literature by the Burke Benchmarks and the Beasley Benchmarks in order to support and to prove their approach and to evaluate the performance.