The term ‘consumption experience’ has become ubiquitous in marketing and consumer research circles. In this thesis I question the appropriateness of this canonical term. In its stead I employ the non-dualistic term ‘experiaction’, coined by an ecological psychologist, which points to the functional inseparability of experiencing and actions. I adopt a field-theoretical, phenomenologically-informed, perspective, whilst participating in, analysing, and writing about ten video-recorded research conversations. Likewise I address the various spin-off texts deriving from the initial conversations, such as transcripts and viewing-logs. I show that ‘field’-embedded individuals notice and act on many aspects of their immediate micro-environments, including their own intra-personal goings-on and expressive outputs. Through data analysis I identify five categories of regulable variables that an individual can act on as s/he seeks to regulate his/her sensing, relative to his/her reference value(s). Seen through this cybernetic lens, momentary human being comprises of a cyclical, ongoing process of self-regulation, in which individuals expediently employ and/or modify accessible resources and goings-on, in the service of seeking to actualise their currently-preferred, or expected, states-of-being, and to minimise unwelcome deviations therefrom. This thesis challenges the prevalent notion that when people consume particular products/services these offerings sponsor offering-dedicated experiences - what some people describe as ‘consumption experiences’. The concept of experiaction, in contrast, comprises of an ongoing interaction between a person and his/her micro-environment, in which the individual attends to, and acts on, whichever aspect(s) of his/her 360°-‘inner’-‘outer’-‘field’ become(s) momentarily salient to him/her, within the parameters imposed by his/her currently-sustained reference value(s).

Symbolic grounding is a bridge between task level planning and actual robot sensing and actuation. Uncertainties raised by unstructured environments make a bottleneck for integrating traditional artificial intelligence with service robotics. In this research, a fuzzy optimisation based symbolic grounding approach is presented. This approach can handle uncertainties and helps service robots to determine the most comfortable base region for grasping objects in a fetch and carry task. Novel techniques are applied to establish fuzzy objective function, to model fuzzy constraints and to perform fuzzy optimisation. The approach does not have the short comings of others’ work and the computation time is dramatically reduced in compare with other methods. The advantages of the proposed fuzzy optimisation based approach are evidenced by experiments that were undertaken in Care-O-bot 3 (COB 3) and Robot Operating System (ROS) platforms.

There is a recent emergence of open government initiatives for citizen participation in policy making in China. Open government initiatives seek to increase the level of participation, deliberation and transparency in government affairs, sometimes by use of Internet fora. In contemporary political science the introduction of these initiatives in authoritarian contexts has been described as a paradox of authoritarian deliberation. This thesis uses cybernetic theory, perspectives of information steering in all systems, to resolve the paradox and present a new view on authoritarianism and autocracy. A cybernetic definition of autocracy allows for an analysis of different types of autocracy in different models of governance. The theoretical tools developed are used to define and assess the potential for democratic autocracy, representative autocracy, deliberative autocracy and collaborative autocracy in online open government initiatives in China.   The argument of the thesis is that these initiatives must be understood within the environment in which they are introduced. In the case of the Chinese online environment, individuals often have limited possibilities of acting anonymously. To explore how online identity registration affects citizens, a lab-in-the-field experiment was set up. Chinese university students were invited to engage with a government sponsored online forum under conditions of both anonymity and identity registration. Previous research suggests that anonymity would lead users of online fora to be more active and produce more content. This hypothesis was partly proven false by the experiment. This study shows that users who have their identities registered, sometimes even produce more content. The study also shows that registered users tend to act against their own preferences and participate more in nationalistic debates. The concluding discussion is focused on the wider implications of these effects. If citizens are incentivized to channel their dissatisfaction as loyalty, rather than voice or exit, they might become complicit in sustaining authoritarianism. Interviews with experiment participants show that open government initiatives primarily enable deliberative and collaborative autocracy when introduced in the Chinese online environment. This has the potential of increasing the amount of dissatisfaction that citizens channel as loyalty via mechanisms of authoritarian collaboration.

This thesis applies an interdisciplinary cybernetic and phenomenological analysis to contemporary theories of representation and interpretation of architecture, resulting in a speculative theoretical model of architectural experience as a behavioural system. The methodological model adopted for this research defines the main structure of the thesis where the narrative and the contributing parts of its complexity emerge. The narrative is presented through objectives and hypotheses that shift and slide between architectural representation and its experience based on three key internal components in architecture: the architectural forms and spaces, the active observers that interact with their environment, and finally, the responsive environment. Three interrelated research questions are considered. The first seeks to define the influence of the theoretical instability between complex life processes, emerging technologies and active perception upon architecture. The second questions the way in which the architectural experience is generated. The third asks: Does architecture behave? And if so, is it possible to define its behavioural characteristics related to its representation, experience and the medium of communication in-between? The thesis begins by exploring the effect of developments in digitally interactive, biological, and hybrid technologies on representation in architecture. An account of architectural examples considers the shift in the meaning of representation in architecture from the actual and literal to the more conceptual and experimental, from the individual human body and its relations to the multifaceted ecosystem of collective and connected cultures. The writings of Kester Rattenbury, Neil Leach, and Peter Cook among others contribute to the transformation of the ordinary perceptual experience of architecture, the development of experimental practices in architectural theory, and the dynamism of our perception. The thesis goes on to suggest that instability in architectural representation does not only depend on the internal components of the architectural system but also on the principles and processes of complex systems as well as changes in active perception and our consciousness that act as the external influences on the system. Established theoretical endeavours in biology of D’Arcy Thompson, Alan Turing, and John Holland and philosophies of Merleau-Ponty, Richard Gregory, and Deleuze and Guattari are discussed in this context. Pre-programmed and computational models, illustrative and generative, are presented throughout the thesis. In the final stage of the development of the thesis architecture is analysed as a system. This is not an unprecedented notion, however defining the main elements and components of this system and their interactions and thereafter identifying that the system behaves and defining its behavioural characteristics, adds to the knowledge in the field of theoretical and experimental architecture. This thesis considers the behavioural characteristics of architecture to be derived from the hypothetical links and unstable thresholds of its non-dualistic notions of materiality and immateriality, reality and virtuality, and finally, intentionality and interpretation.

This thesis presents the findings from two case study examinations of strategic performance measurement systems within two turbulent environmental contexts: the U.S. security software industry and the U.S. health care industry. Despite a three-­‐decade emphasis on performance measurement research, little empirical work has been carried out inside turbulent settings—contexts characterized by rapid change, high levels of instability and complex configurations among environmental variables. This research targets that gap. Through exploratory case studies from seven security software firms paired with a single in-­‐ depth case investigation within a transforming health care system, this study addresses the question: “how do firms in turbulent environments measure strategic performance?” The research found that in turbulent environments, an effective strategic performance measurement system contains six interrelated elements: management aims, performance objectives, uncertainty areas, decision data, management attention and performance measures. Top managers focus on their aims and performance objectives to meet requirements via a closed-­‐loop approach while monitoring uncertainty areas and gathering decision data in an open-­‐loop way. This union of feedback and feedforward control enables dynamic interaction among the various elements of the system all of which are informed by performance measure data. Effective use is moderated by management’s focus of attention. The research has implications for information processing and management control literature; it extends existing theory to incorporate the use of semi-­‐structures within the framework of the strategic performance measurement system as a means of overcoming the challenges of uncertainty. Further, the research contradicts both extant literature and practice convention that claims strategic performance measurement frameworks need to be balanced to be effective. Practitioners are provided with a strategic performance measurement framework for use in turbulent environments. The framework would benefit from further examination in a variety of different, equally turbulent, contexts.

This thesis applies a Cybernetic interpretation to a selection of poetry by the Scottish Informationist poet Robert Crawford, drawn mostly from two collections: A Scottish Assembly (1990) and Sharawaggi: Poems in Scots (1990). Crawford is contextualized by observing the poetic influences of Robert Burns, John Davidson, and Hugh MacDiarmid, as well as the philosophical influence of George Elder Davie’s The Democratic Intellect. This paper argues that, in response to the Two Cultures hypothesis put forth by C. P. Snow and the widely-held belief that Scotland is irrevocably fractured, the shifting boundaries of the many disparate Scottish cultures are mediated by technologies of communication within A Scottish Assembly, updating both Scotland’s identity and its cultural canon not by merging these cultures into a single Universal Scot, but by holding them in tension—and Sharawaggi is observed as a means of grounding the languages and peoples of Scotland within the landscape.

Technoetic and media arts are environments of mediated interaction and emergence, where meaning is negotiated by individuals through a personal examination and experience—or becoming—within the mediated space. This thesis examines these environments from a musical perspective and considers how sound functions as an analog to this becoming. Five distinct, original musical works explore the possibilities as to how the emergent dynamics of mediated, interactive exchange can be leveraged towards the construction of musical sound. In the context of this research, becoming can be understood relative to Henri Bergson’s description of the appearance of reality—something that is making or unmaking but is never made. Music conceived of a linear model is essentially fixed in time. It is unable to recognize or respond to the becoming of interactive exchange, which is marked by frequent and unpredictable transformation. This research abandons linear musical approaches and looks to generative music as a way to reconcile the dynamics of mediated interaction with a musical listening experience. The specifics of this relationship are conceptualized in the structaural coupling model, which borrows from Maturana & Varela’s “structural coupling.” The person interacting and the generative musical system are compared to autopoietic unities, with each responding to mutual perturbations while maintaining independence and autonomy. Musical autonomy is sustained through generative techniques and organized within a psychogeographical framework. In the way that cities invite use and communicate boundaries, the individual sounds of a musical work create an aural context that is legible to the listener, rendering the consequences or implications of any choice audible. This arrangement of sound, as it relates to human presence in a technoetic environment, challenges many existing assumptions, including the idea “the sound changes.” Change can be viewed as a movement predicated by behavior. Amergent music is brought forth through kinds of change or sonic movement more robustly explored as a dimension of musical behavior. Listeners hear change, but it is the result of behavior that arises from within an autonomous musical system relative to the perturbations sensed within its environment. Amergence propagates through the effects of emergent dynamics coupled to the affective experience of continuous sonic transformation.

Cette étude a pour but d’essayer de comprendre les nouvelles formes de régulation sociale qui consiste à évacuer la conflictualité au profit d’une tentative de normalisation du champ politique par la cybernétique. Pour ce faire, notre travail développe un modèle théorique qui croise la théorie du management comme tentative de neutralisation du politique avec ses nouvelles formes d’expression appelées « Gouvernance ». Les techniques managériales contemporaines sont la mise en œuvre de présupposés théoriques élaborés dans l’immédiat après-guerre avec la naissance de la cybernétique. Ce nouveau paradigme fait que le politique est désormais cantonné à la recherche de l’efficacité et de la performance. Toutefois, cette prétendue neutralisation opérationnelle et la culture du résultat qui lui est associé se révèle être une manière de décrédibiliser le nécessaire affrontement idéologique qui est le cœur battant de la vie démocratique. C’est ainsi que l’on peut observer depuis quelques années déjà, les signes d’une fragilisation du monde démocratique. La hausse de l’abstention, l’installation d’un puissant vote protestataire et la crise des partis de gouvernement en sont les signes les plus remarquables. A des degrés divers, la défiance à l’égard des institutions et des acteurs politiques est commune à la plupart des démocraties, y compris là où le régime démocratique semblait le plus solidement enraciné. Dès lors, on ne peut plus penser le politique selon une norme unique, propre à l’Occidentalisation du monde. Que la conflictualité sociale traduise un désaccord profond entre le pouvoir qui est devenu totalement étranger à la vie réelle et la puissance populaire qui ne se reconnaît plus dans ses élites, rend d’autant plus pertinente une approche centrée sur la cybernétique. / This study aims to understand the new forms of social regulation that, in hampering any forms of conflictuality, tend to the normalization of the political field through cybernetics. In this respect, our dissertation develops a theoretical template at the crossroads of management theory as an attempt to neutralize politics and new forms of expression called « Governance ». Contemporary managerial techniques are the implementation of theoretical assumptions developed in the immediate post-war period with the birth of cybernetics. This new paradigm means that policy is now limited to the pursuit of efficiency and performance. However, this de-ideologisation and the culture of the results prove to be a discredit of the necessary ideolological confrontation which is at the very heart of the democratic life. This is why many signs of the weakening of democracy are to be seen in the recent years. The rise of abstention, an enduring populist vote and the crisis of the governmental parties are the most obvious ones. To different degrees, the distrust of the political institutions and actors is shared by all the democracies, even by those where the democratic system seemed to be very firmly rooted. Accordingly, politics cannot be regarded in one perspective, in line with the Westernization of the world. Social conflictuality shows a large gap between the political power that is not anymore related to real life and the popular power that no longer recognizes itself in its elites, and it makes an approach centered on cybernetics all the more relevant.

A hallmark of the cyberpunk era, virtual reality is now a real and readily available medium for technological entertainment and lifestyle. Cyberpunk texts and contemporary SF that incorporates virtual reality provide a framework for considering the implications of this newly popularized technology. By allowing the user to explore new forms of identity in an alternate reality, virtual reality poses many interesting opportunities for undermining current social constructs related to gender, race, and identity. This thesis investigates real and fictional examples of virtual reality and the significance of authorship and narrative construction, race and social hierarchies, death and selfpermanence, and gender performance across the boundary between virtual and material space. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Cette thèse rappelle les fondements du pilotage des systèmes logistiques et montre l'intérêt de la mise en place d'un SCP (Systèmes Contrôlés par le Produit). L'intégration de tels systèmes doit d'abord prendre en compte la cohérence entre les différents éléments le constituant. Ainsi les systèmes centralisés cherchent à proposer des plans de moyen-long termes visant un optimal de coût, mais aussi une certaine stabilité et peu de nervosité dans le temps. Par ailleurs, les systèmes distribués ont démontré leur capacité à permettre une réaction rapide à des événements impromptus survenant dans le système physique. L'hybridation de ces deux types de pilotage est donc une voie de gain de productivité pour les systèmes logistiques et industriels. Le premier chapitre de la thèse décrit l'évolution des systèmes de planification et de pilotage de la production, avec l'objectif d'identifier les forces et faiblesses des différentes approches proposées jusqu'à nos jours et permettent définir l'objectif général de la thèse. Le chapitre deux analyse l'état de l'art concernant les outils de modélisation des systèmes de production centralisés/distribués et aussi le concept de contrôle par le produit. Ce chapitre sert de base pour définir les objectifs spécifiques de la thèse. Le chapitre trois présente le cadre de modélisation proposé. Ce cadre est basé sur une approche cybernétique, et plus spécifiquement sur le modèle de système viable (VSM). Le chapitre démarre avec une présentation générale du modèle de système viable, puis présente un modèle générique de modélisation de systèmes contrôlés par le produit. Enfin, le chapitre décrit une application de ce cadre général aux systèmes de planification et pilotage de la production de type SCP. Le chapitre quatre définit les différentes méthodes de décision, tant centralisées que distribuées, développées pour l'implémentation du modèle générique définit dans le chapitre trois. Aux niveaux centralisés et distribués ces méthodes sont basées sur des modèles de programmation mathématique développés pour considérer l'adaptabilité et la flexibilité du système. Le chapitre cinq montre les principaux résultats dans une application basée sur un cas industriel qui a nécessité le développement d'un outil de simulation qui considère des variables de court, moyen et long termes pour les différents modèles d'optimisation. Ces résultats montrent l'intérêt de ce type d'hybridation / This thesis is concerned with the foundations of the planning and control logistics systems and shows the interest of the PDS (Product-driven Systems) applied in this context. The development of such systems must consider the coherence between the different components. Centralized systems offer long terms plans aiming an optimal cost, but also some stability and nervousness reduction. Distributed systems allow a fast reaction to perturbations happening in the physical system. Then, the hybridization of these two kinds of planning and control systems is a way of increase productivity for logistic and industrial systems. The first chapter of the thesis describes the evolution of the production planning and control systems, to identify forces and weaknesses of the different approaches proposed until our days and allow to define the general objective of the thesis. Chapter two analyses the state of the art concerning the tools for modeling hybrid centralized/distributed production systems and also the concept of product-driven systems. This chapter serves as a basis to define the specific objectives of the thesis. Chapter three introduces the proposed modeling framework. This framework is based on a cybernetic approach, and more specifically in the Viable System Model (VSM). The chapter starts with a general presentation of VSM and then introduces a generic framework to model PDS. Finally, this chapter describes an application for production planning and control. Chapter four defines the different decision methods developed for the implementation of the generic model defined in the chapter three. At centralized and distributed levels these methods are based on mathematical programming models. Chapter five shows the main results of an application based on an industrial case which required the development of a simulation tool which considers variables of short, médium and long terms for the different optimization models. These results show the interest of this type of hybridization