Design´s intrinsic influence in the creation of reality. A semiotic analysis on the relation between design and reality within the context of our current hypermobile era

À medida que as inovações tecnológicas se multiplicam a um ritmo acelerado, é possível observar como as fronteiras entre o mundo físico e o mundo do ciberespaço estão se a tornar cada vez mais tênues. Ao observar como os dispositivos tecnológicos se vão fundindo em nossa sociedade, percebe-se como os seres humano tem vindo a evoluir como seres ubíquos, capazes de estar em vários lugares ao mesmo tempo. Tendo entrado nesta chamada era da Hipermobilidade, não somos mais capazes de apenas nos movimentar nos espaços físicos, mas viemos ganhar também a capacidade de navegar pelos ciberespaços. À medida que a tecnologia se complexifica, o espaço vai ganhando um aspeto multidimensional, desencadeando mudanças nas regras espaciais como as conhecemos. Levantando ao mesmo tempo questões sobre a nossa perceção da própria realidade. O design, também desempenha um papel importante na vida humana, tanto na forma como percebemos o nosso mundo, como na forma como o navegamos e experienciamos. Assim, esta investigação busca explorar essa relação intrínseca que o design tem com a criação da realidade em que vivemos. Para tanto, realiza-se a análise de um estudo de caso, propondo a semiótica de Charles S. Peirce como metodologia de análise científica.As technological innovations multiply at fast rates, it can be observed how the borders between the physical world and the cyber world are becoming blurry. When observing how technological devices keep blending within our society, it can be perceived how human kind has evolved into ubiquitous beings, who are able to be at multiple places at the same time. As we entered this so called era of hypermobility, not only are we able to move around physical spaces, but we also gained the ability to navigate through cyberspaces. As technology complexifies, a multidimensional aspect of space emerges, triggering changes within the spatial rules as we know them, while also rising questions about our perception of reality itself. Design, also plays an important role in human life, both in how we perceive our world, as well as how we navigate and experience it. Therefore, this investigation seeks to explore this intrinsic relation that design has with the creation of the reality we live in. To do so, the analysis of a case study is conducted by proposing Charles S. Peirce’s semiotic as a scientific analysis methodology

Multicriteria Analysis for Evaluating Knowledge Management Effectiveness in University’s Administration

This paper presents a multicriteria analysis approach for evaluating knowledge management (KM) effectiveness in the university’s administration. A framework is presented for identifying important properties to be considered in the KM evaluation process. A fuzzy multicriteria analysis algorithm is developed for evaluating KM effectiveness in the university’s administration. As a result, the KM effectiveness can be properly assessed in a simple manner and effective decisions can be made for improving the KM implementation in the university. An example is presented for demonstrating the applicability of the proposed multicriteria analysis approach for effectively addressing the KM problem in real world settings

Factors Influencing the Implementation and Use of a Portal for Knowledge Management in Higher Education

This study investigates the factors affecting the implementation and use of a portal to assist knowledge management objectives in higher education. The study explored factors influencing knowledge distribution by deriving a conceptual framework consisting of four (4) dimensions: knowledge volume, knowledge quality, knowledge dissemination, and information system management. This study found that there are many factors influencing the selection and structure of information and knowledge. The importance of information quality was also addressed and the study found that while it is imperative for a portal to focus on quality information, accountability for quality assurance of information rests with organizational policy imperatives. The study explored knowledge dissemination techniques available via portals and identified that personalisation of knowledge is a high priority. The characteristic of a portal to integrate many systems into one central repository and provide users with their personal view of many systems was acknowledged as a productive means to distribute information within a higher education institution

The space between worlds: Liminality, multidimensional Virtual Reality and Deep Immersion

Normal, everyday consciousness is a mixture of mental states which change, dependent upon both internal and external factors, ordinarily without any particular focused direction. When deliberate change is desired, however, there are mechanisms of transition available. These gateways allow smooth induction between stable, sustained, brain states. Building upon the concept of Deep Immersion, multidimensional virtual reality is explored utilizing personal narrative, portals and symbolic anchoring links as mechanisms of transit. Together, these target specific states within the individual, using biofeedback and fluid, self-adapting environments. This work is informed by Buddhist, yogic and other spiritual traditions, employing the latest technologies in Virtual and Augmented Reality, combined with mobile sensors and EEG equipment

Precision Geolocation of Medicinal Plants: Assessing Machine Learning Algorithms for Accuracy and Efficiency

This study investigates the precision geolocation of medicinal plants, a critical endeavor bridging ecology, conservation, and pharmaceutical research. By employing machine learning algorithms—gradient boosting machine (GBM), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM)—within the cross-industry standard process for data mining (CRISP-DM) framework, both the accuracy and efficiency of medicinal plant geolocation are enhanced. The assessment employs precision, recall, accuracy, and F1 score performance metrics. Results reveal that SVM and GBM algorithms exhibit superior performance, achieving an accuracy of 97.29%, with SVM showing remarkable computational efficiency. Meanwhile, despite inferior performance, RF remains competitive especially when model interpretability is required. These outcomes highlight the efficacy of SVM and GBM in medicinal plant geolocation and accentuate their potential to advance environmental research, conservation strategies, and pharmaceutical explorations. The study underscores the interdisciplinary significance of accurately geolocating medicinal plants, supporting their conservation for future pharmaceutical innovation and ecological sustainability

The space between worlds: Liminality, multidimensional Virtual Reality and Deep Immersion

Normal, everyday consciousness is a mixture of mental states which change, dependent upon both internal and external factors, ordinarily without any particular focused direction. When deliberate change is desired, however, there are mechanisms of transition available. These gateways allow smooth induction between stable, sustained, brain states. Building upon the concept of Deep Immersion, multidimensional virtual reality is explored utilizing personal narrative, portals and symbolic anchoring links as mechanisms of transit. Together, these target specific states within the individual, using biofeedback and fluid, self-adapting environments. This work is informed by Buddhist, yogic and other spiritual traditions, employing the latest technologies in Virtual and Augmented Reality, combined with mobile sensors and EEG equipment