In philosophy, there is an as yet unresolved discussion on whether there are different kinds of kinds and what those kinds are. In particular, there is a distinction between indifferent kinds, which are unaffected by observation and representation, and interactive kinds, which respond to being studied in ways that alter the very kinds under study. This is in essence a discussion on ontologies a...

$EVWUDFW Our brains make up a series of signs and are engaged in making, manifesting or reacting to a series of signs: through this semiotic activity they are at the same time engaged in " being minds " and so in thinking intelligently. An important effect of this semiotic activity of brains is a continuous process of " externalization of the mind " that exhibits a new cognitive perspective on ...

The objective of the Semiotic-based Ontology Evaluation Tool (S-OntoEval) is to evaluate and propose improvements to a given ontological model. The evaluation aims at assessing the quality of the ontology by drawing upon semiotic theory (Stamper et al., 2000), taking several metrics into consideration for assessing the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic aspects of ontology quality. We consider ...

The Semantic Web implies the comprehensive use of the main semiotic postulates on the Web. One of the most important facts about human understanding comes from the area of linguistics and semiotics. The semiotic techniques, such as syntagm and paradigm are explained through the examples in learning environment, in the context of logical understanding and knowledge representation on the Web.

This response to Kress agrees that it is vital to identify gains and losses afforded by changing media but questions his reliance on binaries and periodization. It suggests a return to James Gibson’s affordances; more precise analysis of semiotic objects; and sociohistoric theories that link semiotic artifacts, individual development, and social practice. © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Organisational Semiotics (OS) aims to provide new methodologies, techniques and tools to the development of information systems and organisations by applying semiotic theories and studies, therefore offering a new perspective on the field, which incorporates technical and social aspects. In order to apply semiotics to Information Systems (IS) and Information technology (IT) different approaches...

This paper presents Manas, a Semiotic Engineering epistemic tool for the design of collaborative systems (CoSys) whose aim is to expand the designers’ knowledge and awareness of their influence on groups and group dynamics. Manas has been developed to help designers represent their conception of computer-mediated communication and reflect upon some of its potential social effects, springing fro...

This paper discusses how semiotic engineering can support the formulation of problems and solutions involved in handling face-to-face (F2F) sociability models in computer-mediated communication (CMC). Based on a case study where a group of users migrated through different types of CMC systems, we show that the designer’s model of F2F sociability is extensively signified and encoded into technol...

What is a semiotic machine? A robot, a computer running programs endowed with artificial intelligence, any computer, a simple calculating machine, or even an ordinary mechanical typewriter? The question will be examined in the light of Charles Sanders Peirce’s concept of semiosis, which requires reference to processes such as reasoning, translation, interpretation, control, self-control, autopo...