Challenges in Bridging Social Semantics and Formal Semantics on the Web

This paper describes several results of Wimmics, a research lab which names stands for: web-instrumented man-machine interactions, communities, and semantics. The approaches introduced here rely on graph-oriented knowledge representation, reasoning and operationalization to model and support actors, actions and interactions in web-based epistemic communities. The re-search results are applied to support and foster interactions in online communities and manage their resources

Towards a Formal Model of Privacy-Sensitive Dynamic Coalitions

The concept of dynamic coalitions (also virtual organizations) describes the temporary interconnection of autonomous agents, who share information or resources in order to achieve a common goal. Through modern technologies these coalitions may form across company, organization and system borders. Therefor questions of access control and security are of vital significance for the architectures supporting these coalitions. In this paper, we present our first steps to reach a formal framework for modeling and verifying the design of privacy-sensitive dynamic coalition infrastructures and their processes. In order to do so we extend existing dynamic coalition modeling approaches with an access-control-concept, which manages access to information through policies. Furthermore we regard the processes underlying these coalitions and present first works in formalizing these processes. As a result of the present paper we illustrate the usefulness of the Abstract State Machine (ASM) method for this task. We demonstrate a formal treatment of privacy-sensitive dynamic coalitions by two example ASMs which model certain access control situations. A logical consideration of these ASMs can lead to a better understanding and a verification of the ASMs according to the aspired specification.Comment: In Proceedings FAVO 2011, arXiv:1204.579

Think individually, act collectively : studying the dynamics of a technologically enabled civic movement

The use of information and communication technologies pervades our lives. Beyond the formal application of these technologies at work, we have recently seen civil society groupings using information technologies to facilitate the organization and coordination of civic actions aiming at collective goals. This research in progress addresses the study of a technologically enabled civic movement wherein ordinary citizens supported and organized a civic action aiming at cleaning up the litter illegally dumped in their country's forests. Our preliminary results indicate that information and communication technologies had different roles throughout this process of organizing a nationwide civic action, which are influenced by the underlying dominant logic of action. This research contributes to a better understanding of the use of information and communication technologies as catalysts for change at societal level and its role in supporting entrepreneurial civic participation.FCT via Bolsa de Doutoramento SFRH/BD/60838/2009 and also support of Fundos Feder-COMPETE and FCT via FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER02267