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The Consequences of Things. The Semiotics and the Pragmatistic Route to Designing
Get PDFThe starting point of this contribution is the concept of “sense”, which derives from the Charles S. Peirce’s semiotic view: “Our idea of anything is our idea of its sensible effects” (Peirce, CP 5.401). For Peirce, the meaning – or sense – of any sign (text, artifact, system) comes surrounded with all the conceivable effects and the “practical consequences” that the sign produces or could produce.
However, among the practical consequences, could be also included the formation of beliefs and the definition of individual or social behaviour through habits, and furthermore – in the long run – the very organization of political life. From this derives the responsibility of design, which stimulates an improvement of the consumer goods production (sort of an extension of the design, widening its application in more areas: communication, services, ecology etc.) in the cultural context where part of the social and the planet lives are decided.
In this perspective, the sense is no longer just a semantic value within a system, such as the structuralist tradition has taught us, but is open and attempts to a pragmatic dimension. That is, the sense is not found only in texts and artifacts, but above all in the living scene of use: in the context where the objects are found and used
The pragmatism as a semiotic route to designing: Understanding the inferential logics of sense attribution
No full textThe aim of this paper is to theoretically discuss the inferential logics of sense attribution to everyday objects. Such discussion takes part of our attempt to explore the possibility of development of a method for systematic research and analysis of the relationship established between users and artifacts in their context of use and specific circumstances. Taking into account the notions of sensible effects, practical bearings, and sense, the argumentation, supported by the Peircean pragmatism, tries to frame their connections with processes of logical mental mediations that emerge when design-agents (e.g., users, designers, and design researchers) deal with everyday objects. The contribution and final considerations of this paper may address issues from the fields of design (practically) and semiotics and design (theoretically and empirically) through possibly enlarging the understanding of the mediation processes, so-called inferential logics of sense attribution
Semiotics and Global Products Design
No full textThis paper aims to make theoretical progress based on previous empirical studies on the semiotics of global products. Once these studies are supported by the theory of semiotics, this article proposes to discuss the possible ways to advance on research methodologies to analyze the relationship between users and their goods. Hence, the concept narratives, encyclopedia and dialogicity emerge as a manner of visualizing, categorizing, analyzing and linking information from/across different cultures. Furthermore, this discussion and advancement contributes to the management area in the sense of providing an epistemological foundation to improve systematic approaches on global products analysis, positioning and adapting, and its design process
Pragmatism within design practices: a proposal of paradigm shift in design semiotics research
No full textQuesta tesi, sviluppata nell'ambito di una più ampia indagine nel campo della semiotica del progetto e del design management, mira a costruire un metodo di analisi per ciò che riguarda la dimensione pragmatistica degli artefatti. Questa dimensione riguarda la produzione del senso e le plausibili conseguenze progettuali che emergono dalle motivazioni degli stakeholder o dei progettisti. L'obiettivo è fornire supporto teorico e tecnico alle fasi di analisi dello sviluppo di prodotti e servizi, introducendo una tale dimensione nelle pratiche di progettazione. La tesi si focalizza sull'acquisizione di informazioni sui processi di mediazione e sui loro risultati dal punto di vista della nozione di senso del filosofo americano Charles Peirce e della comprensione delle funzioni di Umberto Eco. I processi di mediazione sono soggettivi e integrati nella relazione che si stabilisce tra clienti, fornitori di beni industriali e servizi. In quanto tale, "la nostra idea di qualsiasi cosa è la nostra idea dei suoi effetti sensibili" (Peirce, 5.401); vale a dire: il senso, e con questo le funzioni, di qualsiasi bene industriale o servizio è la risultante di tutte le possibili risposte interpretative e delle conseguenze pratiche che derivano dalle risposte sociali e individuali che producono o che potrebbero produrre. Di conseguenza, "vedere le funzioni dal punto di vista semiotico potrebbe permettere di comprenderle e definirle meglio [...] e quindi scoprire altri tipi di funzionalità, [...] che un'interpretazione funzionalista ordinaria impedisce di percepire" (Eco, 1980, 12). Pertanto, le funzioni di un artefatto dovrebbero essere studiate nei relativi contesti d’uso, in ambienti non controllati e in circostanze comportamentali, attraverso l'impiego di specifiche tecniche di osservazione. Ma come accedere con precisione, come identificare e analizzare le caratteristiche pragmatistiche – risposte interpretative e conseguenze pratiche – che emergono quando gli artefatti e i servizi vengono lanciati in ogni parte del pianeta? E inoltre: come possiamo avere considerazione di tali caratteristiche nelle pratiche di progettazione? Anche se le pratiche di progettazione cercano intrinsecamente di affrontare aspetti simbolici e culturali (cfr. Krippendorf, 2006; Zingale, 2012), l'uso applicato della semiotica in queste pratiche è rimasto embrionale (cfr. Deni, 2015). Tuttavia, l'uso della semiotica del progetto, come base per migliorare le pratiche di progettazione che mirano a sviluppare soluzioni ragionevoli ai problemi sociali e dei consumatori, sembra ancora trascurato o usato impropriamente, specialmente se si considera che la semiotica del progetto studia il nostro mondo, composto di segni fortemente associati con i modi in cui gli utenti negoziano significati e sensi degli artefatti (cfr. Vossoughi, 2013). Pertanto, la collaborazione dei semiologi che studiano il design con designers e ricercatori, così come con industrie e fornitori di servizi, possono fornire risposte fruttuose ai problemi progettuali e alle richieste sociali e individuali. Il fine è sviluppare un “Full Methodological Research Framework” (FMRF) che miri sia a sviluppare gli studi empirici e sperimentali nell’ambito della semiotica del progetto, sia a introdurre un approccio pragmatistico nelle pratiche di progettazione, specialmente in quelle che riguardano l'impegno diretto di utenti in quanto agenti (ad esempio: co-design e pratiche dal basso); inoltre, il FMRF può contribuire allo sviluppo di tecniche e culture progettuali specifiche (cfr. il “design esperto” di Manzini, 2016), così come anche allo sviluppo della semiotica del progetto e del management. Tuttavia, a causa della complessità di tale framework, che può essere considerato un cambio di paradigma all'interno della semiotica del progetto, il processo di ricerca e sviluppo è stato diviso in tre fasi correlate: Teorico (2006-2008, Master in Management), Empirico (2010 -2012, Master in Design) e Teorico-Empirico (2013-2017, PhD in Design). La fase teorica ha riguardato principalmente l'individuazione delle lacune negli studi semiotici intorno al design. È stato preso in considerazione un approccio teorico per indagare sul modo in cui individui, progettualità, cultura, semiotica e artefatti interagiscono, con l'intento di comprendere come tale interazione possa determinare il senso contingente quando si progettano, adattano e localizzano i prodotti globali. Lo studio ha dimostrato che il design è considerato uno strumento pertinente nella gestione degli artefatti in ambiti fra loro lontani, ma i contributi empirici sono ancora all’inizio, poiché solo recentemente alcuni studiosi hanno tentato di definire il design in quanto dominio scientifico (cfr. Borja De Mazota, 2014; Deni, 2015; Findeli, 2014). In risposta a tale assenza di contributi sistematici della semiotica intorno al design (cfr. Wolfgang, 2000), prima di passare al secondo stadio sono stati sviluppati due modelli teorici: il Modello Target e il Modello Hanger. La fase empirica ha riguardato un'indagine esplorativa finanziata da Whirlpool Latin America (Brasile) in collaborazione con l'Agenzia statale per la ricerca e lo sviluppo Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG / Brasile). Supportate principalmente da tecniche etnografiche, le ipotesi teoriche sviluppate nella fase precedente sono state testate empiricamente. Il processo di ricerca, che consisteva nello sfruttamento degli abiti di comportamento (habits, cfr. Peirce, 5.400) e dei codici culturali (cfr. Eco, 1980), ha criticamente migliorato la metodologia di ricerca. La fase teorico-empirica ha avuto come fine la conclusione del FMRF. Inoltre, le precedenti ricerche e risultati hanno portato a progressi teorici come il Modello dell'Elica e il Modello del Trifoglio, nonché allo sviluppo di concetti come agenti di progetto e conseguenze plausibili. In conclusione, l'intera indagine tenta di introdurre sistematicità nei processi di ricerca all'interno della semiotica del progetto a lungo termine. Si prevede che i suoi contributi aiutino i processi di attribuzione delle caratteristiche intangibili in entrambe le pratiche di (co-)progettazione e nelle prime fasi di progettazione di beni e servizi industriali.This thesis, developed in the scope of a broader investigation within design semiotics and design management, aims at building a method of analysis of the pragmatistic dimension of artifacts. This dimension relates to emerging senses and plausible design consequences that emerge from the stakeholders’ or design-agents’ rationale. The objective is to provide theoretical and technical support to the analytical stages of product and service development by introducing such a dimension into design practices. The focus lies on gaining insight into mediation processes and their outcomes from the perspective of Peirce’s notion of sense and Eco’s understanding of functions. Mediation processes are subjective and embedded in the relationship established among customers, industrial goods and services providers. As such, “our idea of anything is our idea of its sensible effects” (Peirce, 5.401), i.e., the senses/functions of any industrial good or service are associated with all possible interpretative answers and practical consequences derived from the social and individual responses they produce or could produce. Consequently, “seeing functions from the semiotic point of view might permit one to understand and define them better [...] and thereby to discover other types of functionality, which [...] a straight functionalist interpretation keeps one from perceiving” (Eco, 1980, p. 12). Hence, they should be investigated in contexts of use, in non-controlled environments, and under behavioral circumstances through the employment of specific research techniques. But how to precisely access, identify and analyze pragmatistic features—interpretative answers and practical consequences—that emerge when artifacts and services are launched worldwide? And then how to bring such features into design practices? Even though design practices inherently attempt to cope with symbolic and cultural features (cf. Krippendorf, 2006; Zingale, 2012), the applied use of semiotics within design practices has remained incipient (cf. Deni, 2015). However, the use of design semiotics as a foundation to enhance design practices that aim at developing reasonable solutions to social and customer issues seems to be neglected or misused, especially when one considers that design semiotics copes with our world of signs, which are strongly associated with the ways users make and negotiate meanings [senses] of objects [artifacts] (cf. Vossoughi, 2013). Hence, collaborative intersections among design semioticians, design practitioners and researchers, industries and service providers may yield superior responses to design issues as well as to social and individual demands. As such, the development of a Full Methodological Research Framework (FMRF) aiming both at empirical and experimental studies in design semiotics and at introducing the pragmatistic approach into design practices, especially into ones which take into consideration the engagement of users [design-agents] (e.g., co-design and bottom-up practices), may contribute to developing specialized design skills and culture (cf. expert design [Manzini, 2016]) as well as design semiotics and management. However, due to the complexity of such a framework, which may be regarded as a paradigm shift within design semiotics, its investigation and development process was divided into three correlated stages: Theoretical (2006-2008, Master’s Degree in Management), Empirical (2010-2012, Master’s Degree in Design), and Theoretical-Empirical (2013-2017, PhD in Design). The Theoretical Stage consisted primarily of pinpointing gaps in design semiotics. A theoretical approach was taken to tap into how individuals, design, culture, semiotics, and artifacts interplay with a view to understanding how such interplay may affect meaning [sense] contingency in projecting, adapting and localizing global products. The study showed that design is deemed as a relevant tool in managing artifacts overseas, but empirical contributions are incipient as only recently have scholars attempted to establish design as a scientific domain (cf. Borja De Mazota, 2014; Deni, 2015; Findeli, 2014). In response to such absence of systematic contributions to design semiotics (cf. Wolfgang, 2000), two theoretical models were developed—The Target Model and The Hanger Model—before moving on to second stage. The Empirical Stage drew on an exploratory investigation funded by Whirlpool Latin America (Brazil) in partnership with the Minas Gerais State Agency for Research and Development (FAPEMIG/Brazil). Supported mainly by ethnographic techniques, the theoretical assumptions developed in the previous stage were empirically tested. The research process, which consisted of tapping into habits (cf. Peirce, 5.400) and cultural codes (cf. Eco, 1980), critically improved the research methodology. The Theoretical-Empirical Stage aimed at concluding the FMRF. As outcomes, the previous investigations and results led to theoretical advancements such as The Propeller Model and The Trefoil Model as well as to the development of such concepts as design-agents and plausible consequences. In conclusion, the entire investigation attempts to introduce systematicity into research processes within design semiotics in the long run. Its contributions are expected to assist processes of attribution of intangible features in both (co-)design practices and early stages of design of industrial goods and services.DIPARTIMENTO DI DESIGN29BERTOLA, PAOLABERTOLA, PAOL
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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