Ce travail de recherche propose une exploration des ouvrages de référence du courant de pensée dit« de Palo Alto » ainsi qu’une immersion dans l’univers de la pratique de l’intervention systémiquebrève, qui n’est autre que l’application hors champ thérapeutique de la thérapie brève systémiqueconçue et développée par ce groupe de chercheurs transdisciplinaire à partir des années 1960 auxEtats-Unis. L’ISB connaît aujourd’hui un rayonnement international, et les plus grandesorganisations publiques ou privées font appel à des spécialistes de ce modèle pour résoudre leursproblèmes de communication. Pourtant, celui-ci reste encore peu reconnu par les professionnels dessciences de l’information et de la communication (SIC).Articulée en deux parties complémentaires (la première étant consacrée aux fondements théoriquesdu modèle, et la seconde à ses modalités d’application au sein des organisations), cette étude a pourobjectif de nourrir les réflexions actuelles sur la place à accorder au sein des SIC à ce modèle derésolution des problèmes de communication au sein des organisations ainsi qu’au rôle que celui-cipourrait jouer dans la prévention des risques psychosociaux et dans la responsabilité sociétale desorganisations. / This research proposes an exploration of the works of reference of the Palo Alto' school thought andan immersion in the world of the practice of brief systemic intervention, which is the application -outside the therapeutic field - of the brief systemic therapy designed and developed by a group ofinterdisciplinary researchers from the 1960s in the United States. Brief systemic intervention isexperiencing an international reputation, and the largest public and private organizations employspecialists of this model to solve their communication problems. However, it is still not widelyapproved by professionals in sciences of information and communication (SIC). Articulated in twocomplementary parts (the first one is devoted to the theoretical foundations of the model, and thesecond one to its implementing rules within organizations), this study aims to stimulate the currentreflections about the place given in the SIC to this communication problems solving model withinorganizations and the role that it could play in the prevention of psychosocial risks and thecorporate social responsability.

Dans cette thèse, nous traitons de l’apport des théories du courant de pensée de Palo Alto pour aborder la transformation des situations de doubles contraintes au sein des organisations de travail, afin de faciliter le développement de l’apprentissage organisationnel. Après une présentation des concepts d’apprentissage organisationnel et de double contrainte, notre démarche de recherche prend place dans une épistémologie interprétativiste procédant par recherche-action. Nous nous appuyons sur trois études de cas d’accompagnement, individuel et collectif, de responsables confrontés à des difficultés de management. Nous mettons en évidence de quelle manière la théorie de la double contrainte constitue une grille d’intelligibilité des conduites d’évitement. Les envisageant comme seules possibilités de se comporter dans une situation où toutes les autres possibilités d’agir sont bloquées, nous expliquons l’intérêt d’un changement de paradigme de compréhension de leur formation pour renouveler les perspectives d’intervention. L’acceptation des conduites d’évitement comme émergeant d’une situation de double contrainte permet de les aborder en tant que dysfonctionnement organisationnel plutôt que comme la conséquence d’une carence individuelle. Les perceptions de doubles contraintes apparaissent lorsqu’une impossibilité de métacommuniquer est ressentie, au sujet d’un paradoxe exigeant un choix impossible, dans un contexte professionnel dont il n’est pas envisageable de s’échapper.Notre principal apport est de montrer, au travers d’une revue de littérature et des trois études de cas, les forces et les limites de l’approche interactionnelle issue du courant de Palo Alto, qui, même si elle est connue dans le monde de la gestion, reste largement inappliquée dans les organisations. Nous positionnons le processus de métacommunication par un tiers intervenant en le mettant au service de changements. Nous précisons le rôle qu’il peut avoir pour aider à passer d’un cercle vicieux à un cercle vertueux, dans une situation managériale, et l’effet de levier qu’il joue dans la transformation d’une dynamique d’apprentissage organisationnel défensif en une dynamique menant au progrès. / In this thesis, we discuss the contribution of current theories of thought in Palo Alto to tackle the transformation of situations of double bind within working organizations in order to improve the organizational learning development. After a presentation of the concepts of organizational learning and double bind our research process takes place in an interpretivist epistemology conducting by action research. We rely on three case studies accompanying individual and group leaders facing with difficulties in management.We underline how the theory of the double bind is a grid of intelligibility avoidance behavior. Considering them only as possibilities to behave in a situation where all other possibilities to act are blocked, we explain the interest of a paradigm shift in understanding of their training opportunities in order to renew intervention prospect.Acceptance of avoidance behavior as emerging from a double bind situation can address them as organizational dysfunction rather than as a consequence of individual failure. Perceptions of double bind appear when unable metacommunication is felt, about a paradox requiring an impossible choice, in a professional context inconceivable to escape from.Our main contribution is to show, through a literature review and three case studies, the strengths and limitations of the interactional approach of Palo Alto, which, although it is known in the world management remains largely unimplemented in organizations. We position the metacommunication process by a third party involved in the service changes. We point out the role he may have to help them move from a vicious to a virtuous circle, in a managerial situation, and leverage in the transformation of a dynamic organizational learning defensive into a dynamic leading to progress.

This thesis is a comparative study of two Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) with the aim to conclude which one is the most suitable for a small enterprise network. The network in question is Company A’s Office A1. Office A is in the process of upgrading their internal network and with the upgrade a new NGFW will be implemented. The two NGFW platforms that have been researched per Company A’s request are Juniper Networks’ SRX-series firewalls and Palo Alto Networks’ (PAN) PA-series, with focus on the SRX1500 and PA-3020 for a fair comparison. To be able to evaluate different platforms and appliances, the concept of NGFW and what it constitutes has been researched and presented. Both of the NGFW platforms have been tested and compared in terms of ease-of-use and cost analysis. The testing focused on the respective web-interfaces and shows no significant differences between the two NGFWs at a first glance in terms of functionality. However, PAN’s web-interface does objectively feel more up-to-date and provides application visibility natively, which Juniper offers as a separate service as part of the centralised management platform, which is excessive for Office A’s network. The research and collection of data has been conducted based on Office A’s needs and requirements. Third-party research has been collected from NSS Labs and Gartner and serves as a basis for the evaluation. The future network of Office A introduces new services and the general usage will mainly consist of office oriented application based traffic. The evaluation of the research of the two NGFWs and the collection of data, in the context of Office A’s network, shows that the PA-3020 would be favoured. The key points are as follows: PAN’s NGFWs are built specifically for application awareness whereas Juniper are new in the NGFW market and has recently started to add the more advanced application awareness features. PAN offers a one-box solution suited for smaller networks such as Office A whereas a Juniper implementation would require additional hardware (VM’s) to obtain similar features. PAN offers more features in terms of user identification which is a key factor in enabling a true context aware security environment seamlessly integrated and invisible to the users. No major difference in cost if a similar set of features are to be implemented, based on non-rebated list prices (additional hardware not included). 1 Note: Due to confidentiality, the name and details of the company has been anonymised throughout the report.

Based in the modern day San Francisco Bay Area, these two stories intend to utilize “outsider”-labeled protagonists to portray de-familiarized accounts of two specific Bay Area realities. “Drought Measures” depicts a new student at a diverse and de-facto segregated public high school, following her as she learns to navigate the unspoken status quo of a long-entrenched racial divide. This story is neither a commentary on nor a critique of contemporary racial issues, but rather a portrayal of some of the many ways in which socioeconomic status and race inform day-to-day interactions. Half-Spanish, the protagonist is confronted with the paradox of being too white-passing in certain contexts, and not white-passing enough in others. “The Coffee Girl” strives to explore the way in which various trivialities of status – appearance, dress, the perceived value of one’s job – become toxic and inflated once deemed important. Though the issue of status is certainly not unique to the Bay Area, the influence of Silicon Valley, Sand Hill Road, (etc.) can lead to a narrow definition of what it means to be successful. Occupying a perceived “menial” job, the protagonist serves to provide an outsider perspective on a white-collar event, and to illustrate how this disparity of status can breed insecurity within a relationship, limiting its ability to function. As a café employee, she finds it particularly difficult to navigate the vague norms and boundaries of modern-day dating from a position of lower occupational status.

This thesis examines the implementation of an Always On VPN solution for Windows 10 and macOS, focusing on the configuration of a Palo Alto Firewall to enable their GlobalProtect VPN as Always On. This means that the VPN solution is enabled on a device at all times. The primary objective of this thesis is to present a solution, where the GlobalProtect VPN is configured to be Always On for both Windows 10 and macOS devices. Furthermore, the objective is to evaluate the performance impact of the VPN solution on network throughput, packet loss, and jitter. The study compares performance in both AES 128-bit GCM and AES 256-bit GCM encryption modes, as well as performance without the VPN, to determine its potential impact on employee workflow. The employee workflow consists of file uploads of varying sizes across a single stream as well as multiple streams. Here, our study finds that performance is reduced with the VPN solution active and can limit upload speeds by up to 45% depending on the tested scenario. Jitter and packet loss can also increase by more than 50% for jitter and roughly 10% for packet loss. It is worth noting that the practical differences such as time lost through lower network throughput when enabling the VPN solution or added jitter and packet loss is till very low for the majoirty of the scenarios tested in this thesis.  Additionally, the thesis analyzes the functional and performance differences between Windows 10 and macOS when utilizing the VPN solution. Performance wise, the loss is similar between Windows 10 and macOS in certain scenarios but can differ in others. The thesis also highlights a significant limitation of the GlobalProtect VPN, specifically concerning its ability to enforce an Always On VPN experience on macOS devices. Unlike Windows 10, macOS users can still uninstall the VPN agent, posing challenges in ensuring continuous VPN connectivity. The thesis proposes removing administrative rights from macOS users as an optimal solution to prevent agent uninstallation and to maintain an Always On VPN experience with Palo Alto's GlobalProtect VPN.

Cette thèse théorique porte sur la psychothérapie et en particulier sur deux formes - la psychanalyse et la thérapie brève de l'école de Palo Alto - qu'elle entend examiner dans le cadre de débats portant principalement sur les efforts métathéoriques pour penser la modernité, la postmodernité et les phénomènes qui les accompagnent: rationalisation, individualisation, scepticisme ou relativisme cognitif et moral. Il est proposé que la psychothérapie puisse être considérée, au-delà de ce qui a été dit sur le caractère essentiellement narcissique de cette pratique, comme une contribution à l’émancipation sociale en favorisant le développement moral des personnes. Il s’agit ici de montrer que l’on peut faire une autre lecture de cette réalité, et ce à l’aide de ressources fournies par la tradition sociologique. Ce développement moral des personnes serait favorisé par un fonctionnement autoréflexif et des compétences communicationnelles, ces dernières traduisant, dans la pensée d’Habermas, la conscience morale. Mais pour qu’il y ait fonctionnement autoréflexif, il faut pouvoir accepter une capacité à connaître, à se connaître, ce que n’admettent pas d’emblée les thérapies influencées par le postmodernisme. Or l’examen des discours tenus par les praticiens eux-mêmes sur leurs pratiques révèle une influence du postmodernisme, que ce soit sous la forme du constructivisme, du constructionnisme social ou plus généralement d’un certain scepticisme et d’un refus concomitant de l'expertise et de l'autorité, une situation paradoxale pour une pratique professionnelle. Les deux formes de thérapies retenues censées représenter les deux pôles de l'intervention thérapeutique - le pôle technique, stratégique et le pôle expressiviste, communicationnel – sont examinées à la lumière de propositions mises de l’avant par Habermas, notamment sur les rationalités stratégique et communicationnelle ainsi que la situation idéale de parole. La psychothérapie apparait ici comme une contribution inestimable à une rationalisation du monde vécu. Forte d’un approfondissement des notions de modernité et de postmodernisme, l’exploration se poursuit avec une critique détaillée d’ouvrages de Foucault portant sur les pratiques disciplinaires, la grande objection à concevoir les psychothérapies comme émancipatrices. La thèse tend à démontrer que ces analyses ne reflètent plus une situation contemporaine. Enfin, la thèse examine le débat entre Habermas et Foucault sous l'angle des rapports critique-pouvoir : si le savoir est toujours le produit de rapports de pouvoir et s’il a toujours des effets de pouvoir, comment peut-il prétendre être critique ? Il en ressort que l'œuvre d’Habermas, en plus de posséder beaucoup plus d'attributs susceptibles d'appuyer la problématique, offre une théorisation plus équilibrée, plus nuancée des gains liés à la modernité, tandis que Foucault, outre qu'il n'offre aucun espoir de progrès ou gains en rationalité, nous lègue une conception du pouvoir à la fois plus réaliste (il est imbriqué dans toute communication et toute interaction), mais plus fataliste, sans possibilité de rédemption par le savoir. La thèse se conclut par un retour sur la notion d’individualisme avec L. Dumont, Lipovetsky, Taylor, ainsi que Bellah et al. pour discuter des phénomènes sociaux liés, pour certains critiques, à l’existence des psychothérapies, notamment l’instrumentalité des relations. / This theoretical thesis is about psychotherapy and particularly about two forms - psychoanalysis and brief therapy as conceived by the Palo Alto group – which are examined within debates bearing on metatheoretical efforts to think modernity, postmodernity and related phenomena: rationalization, individuation, scepticism or cognitive and moral relativism. As an alternative to popular ideas suggesting that psychotherapy is essentially a narcissistic practice, the proposed thesis is that psychotherapy could also be considered an emancipatory practice on a social level by contributing to the moral development of individuals. This is demonstrated using resources supplied by the sociological tradition, especially the notion of rationalization. This moral development of individuals would be emphasized by self-reflexive functioning and communicative competences, this last term representing moral consciousness in Habermas’ thinking. But in order that there be self-reflexive functioning, one has to accept the idea that one has a capacity to know and to know himself or herself, an idea which is not clearly accepted by self-proclaimed «postmodern» therapies at the turn of the millennium. An examination of discourses held by practitioners reveals an influence by postmodernism, whether in the form of constructivism, social constructionism or more generally scepticism with a related refusal of expertise and authority, a paradoxical situation for a professional practice. The two forms of therapy examined are presumed to represent the opposite poles of typical rationalities regarding therapeutic change: the strategic-technical vs the expressive-communicational. The therapies are naturally compared and evaluated against proposals put forward by Habermas regarding, among others, the two distinct rationalities that he sees at work in late modern societies and the ideal speech situation. Psychotherapy appears in this context as a most valuable contribution to Lifeworld rationalization. Having defined and evaluated the notions of modernity and postmodernism to grasp the intellectual background to key postures in postmodern therapies, the theoretical exploration continues with a critical and detailed examination of works by Foucault bearing on disciplinary practices, the great objection to seeing psychotherapy as emancipatory. The examination tends to show that his analysis does not reflect the contemporary situation regarding psychotherapy. The thesis examines also the Habermas-Foucault debate on critique and power: if knowledge is always the product of power relations and if it always has power effects, how can it practice critique? The work of Habermas offers not only more support to the general thesis but also a more differentiating and more well-balanced theorization of modernity, while Foucault, besides that he offers no hope of progress or gains in rationality, bequeaths us a more realistic conception of power – it is a part of all communication and interaction – but also more fatalist, without possibility of redemption by knowledge. The thesis ends with a review of the notion of individualism with L. Dumont, Lipovetsky, Taylor and Bellah et al. to discuss social phenomena associated by certain critics to psychotherapy, notably instrumental relations.

Universiẗat, Diss.--St. Gallen, 2004.