Full abstraction for fair testing in CCS (expanded version)

In previous work with Pous, we defined a semantics for CCS which may both be viewed as an innocent form of presheaf semantics and as a concurrent form of game semantics. We define in this setting an analogue of fair testing equivalence, which we prove fully abstract w.r.t. standard fair testing equivalence. The proof relies on a new algebraic notion called playground, which represents the `rule of the game'. From any playground, we derive two languages equipped with labelled transition systems, as well as a strong, functional bisimulation between them.Comment: 80 page

The Systemic Acquis of Public Administration

The “systemic acquis” wording revalorises the concepts used in building the European Union. By similarity with these, the public administration’s systemic acquis will include the concepts, theories and fundamental results belonging to the General Theory of Systems and applying to the administrative systems. For the public administration, their systemic acquis will also grasp a specific of their evolution and manifestation. The social systemic, mainly developed by the French specialised schools, the organisational theories and the cybernetics will form adjacent theories that will complete the domain and content of the systemic acquis wording. The present manuscript is, in fact, an introduction to this complex issue and it can be completed by new contributions that shape a science of the public administration’s systemsadministrative systems cybernetics, systemic models

Normality. The Metamorphosis of an Immutable Concept

Objectives: The present article discusses the realm of „normality” starting from the paradox standing behind the concept: a bench-mark always on the move. As a social concept, „normality” is based on the word „norm” understood as what is socially acceptable or desirable in terms of looks, attitudes or behaviours. Implications: The individual who doesn’t obey the rule is prone to being considered “deviant”. The present paper deals with the problematic brought by this labelling, with the subjective motivational process that leads to the social exclusion of the individuals who don’t behave in the spirit of the accepted norm and also with the methods people make use of in order to cope with their new status. Value: “Normality”, a concept apparently denoting stability, has to adapt to various contexts and this thesis seems puzzling. The first and most important condition is that of the highly subjective human nature that comes in contradiction with stability and perfection – features defining the Latin “norma”, meaning “right” angle. And still individuals themselves are the ones creating and imposing social norms. Approach: In order to try to find an explanation, the paper makes use of the realm of deviance studies and presents the reader with some paradoxical examples as the biblical one where the ejection from Paradise was caused by the crossing of a norm whereas the word “normality” or “normal” cannot be found in the Christian Holy Book. To further picture the dynamics of “normality”, a case study analysing the women’s social status in three different centuries as reflected in painting was included in the article

Before the consummation what? On the role of the semiotic economy of seduction

The cultural practice of flirtation has been multifariously scrutinized in various disciplines including sociology, psychology, psychoanalysis and literary studies. This paper frames the field of flirtation in Bourdieuian terms, while focusing narrowly on the semiotic economy that is defining of this cultural field. Moreover, seduction, as a uniquely varied form of discourse that is responsible for producing the cultural field of flirtation, is posited as the missing link for understanding why flirtation may be a peculiar case of non-habitus, contrary to the received notion of cultural field as set of goaloriented practices and actionable habituses. This argument is pursued by highlighting the endemic traits of ambivalence and constant reversibility of signs or multimodal semiotic constellations in the discourse of seduction, while seeking to demonstrate that seduction, and by implication the cultural field of flirtation, does not necessarily partake of a teleological framework that is geared towards the consummation of sexual desire. This thesis is illustrated by recourse to a scene from the blockbuster ‘Hitch’

From Culture 2.0 to a Network State of Mind: A Selective History of Web 2.0’s Axiologies and a Lesson from It

There is never a shortage of celebratory and condemnatory popular discourse on digital media even in its early days. This, of course, is also true of the advent of Web 2.0. In this article, I shall argue that normative analyses of digital media should not take lightly the popular discourse, as it can deepen our understanding of the normative and axiological foundation(s) of our judgements towards digital media. Looking at some of the most representative examples available, I examine the latest wave of popular discourse on digital media, focusing on the (new) worries and doubts voiced by the alarmists and the (new) hopes and dreams portrayed by the enthusiasts. I shall illustrate that various stances in the popular discourse on Web 2.0 are ultimately rested on different notions of the self. This conclusion entails an important lesson for our practice of critiques of digital media, as it entails that our critiques of digital media cannot be done without referring to a notion of the self. Hence, a normative enquiry of digital media should not only be about the moral and/or prudential goodness or badness per se; it should be about who we should be online, or which notion(s) of the self we should strive for