A Temporal Web Ontology Language

The Web Ontology Language (OWL) is the most expressive standard language for modeling ontologies on the Semantic Web. In this paper, we present a temporal extension of the very expressive fragment SHIN(D) of the OWL-DL language resulting in the tOWL language. Through a layered approach we introduce 3 extensions: i) Concrete Domains, that allows the representation of restrictions using concrete domain binary predicates, ii) Temporal Representation, that introduces timepoints, relations between timepoints, intervals, and Allen’s 13 interval relations into the language, and iii) TimeSlices/Fluents, that implements a perdurantist view on individuals and allows for the representation of complex temporal aspects, such as process state transitions. We illustrate the expressiveness of the newly introduced language by providing a TBox representation of Leveraged Buy Out (LBO) processes in financial applications and an ABox representation of one specific LBO

The morphogenetic approach and immanent causality: A spinozian perspective

The morphogenetic approach as powered by analytical dualism offers an appealing account of the processes whereby people - through their reflexivities - reflect back on structures and cultures during the double and triple morphogenesis of agency. However, in order to further specify an account of social change, this paper argues that it would be helpful to provide an account of what occurs in the other direction as well: from the direction of structures and cultures, between each other and towards people, also at the points of double and triple morphogenesis of agency. This article is therefore a theoretical piece that proposes a reading of the morphogenetic model imbued with an enlightened understanding of immanent causality, driven by the Spinozian doctrine of parallelism and operationalized by his understanding of the two expressive roles of ideas

Discourse Analysis: varieties and methods

This paper presents and analyses six key approaches to discourse analysis, including political discourse theory, rhetorical political analysis, the discourse historical approach in critical discourse analysis, interpretive policy analysis, discursive psychology and Q methodology. It highlights differences and similarities between the approaches along three distinctive dimensions, namely, ontology, focus and purpose. Our analysis reveals the difficulty of arriving at a fundamental matrix of dimensions which would satisfactorily allow one to organize all approaches in a coherent theoretical framework. However, it does not preclude various theoretical articulations between the different approaches, provided one takes a problem-driven approach to social science as one?s starting-point

The ‘Agency of Mapping’ in South Asia: Galle-Matara (Sri Lanka), Mumbai (India) and Khulna (Bangladesh)

The territories – cities and landscapes – of South Asia are under incredible transformation due to man-made and natural conditions. Globalisation is spatially leaving its imprint as cities and landscapes are progressively being built by an ever-more fragmented, piecemeal and ad-hoc project modus – funded by established and new-found fortunes of national and international developers and lenders, development aid projects and (often corrupt) governments. At the same time, ‘natural’ disasters are increasing in severity and frequency – due to climate change and the flagrant disregard of the environment in the relentless dive to impose imported terms of reference for modernisation and urbanisation. The challenges and strategic importance of realising urban design in South Asia’s contemporary context of borrowed visions, abstract land-use planning and a diminishing political will are, obviously, innumerable. How to qualitatively intervene as an urbanist in such a context? This paper will argue that an understanding of contexts, based on fieldwork, is necessary in order to project feasible urban visions and strategic urban design projects that can make more evident particular sites’ inherent qualities and creatively marry ecological, infrastructural, and urbanisation issues by solutions that cut across multiple scales and sectoral divisions. Interpretative mapping is a first step to transform a territory. An understanding of the context and the reading of sites are necessary in order to create modifications that have logic and relate to the particularities of places and situations. Three scales of mapping (territorial, urban, and tissue) will be presented. The territories/cities investigated are the southwest (Galle-Matara) coast of Sri Lanka, Mumbai, the economic engine of India, and Khulna, the third largest city in Bangladesh

Mental Health in France, Policies and Actors : Developing administrative knowledge in a segmented world

Version preprintInternational audienceThe new mental health care policy, which has been set up in France, involves a change of paradigm, which has been going on since the 2000s: the emphasis is shifting from psychiatry to mental health care. This shift mainly concerns the knowledge about mental health is produced and circulates among an increasingly large number of bodies. Mainly grounded on actor interview analysis, official reports and blueprints, this study shows that the results of this process are numerous. They include the development of ambulatory care and strong moves towards decentralization. More data and knowledge are therefore to be shared in this more complex system. However, the French State, in the form of the central administration, is taking advantage of this move and is still contributing significantly to the definition and implementation of the new policy. On the other hand, the new governance dynamic is not leading to standardization of medical practices, as the mental health field remains highly heterogeneous