Dynamical Systems

Avalanche analysis from multi-electrode ensemble recordings in cat, monkey and human cerebral cortex during wakefulness and sleep

by Nima Dehghani

Distributed Language: cognition beyond the brain

by Stephen J. Cowley

This short paper was a presentation at the Annual International Forum in the Humanities Conference on Interdisciplinarity in Cognitive Science Research, State University for the Humanities, Moscow (March 2012).

As Cognitive Science develops a view of agency, we are learning much about human cognition. First, as living things,... more As Cognitive Science develops a view of agency, we are learning much about human cognition. First, as living things, we depend on active embodiment. Since, this is incompatible with reduction to information processing, we are bound to ask what cognition is –and what it is to be a person. On a ‘4E’ view, agency is embodied, embedded, enacted and extended. This applies, moreover, to living beings as diverse as earthworms, beavers, wolves and humans. To understand human agency, I therefore argue for a more radical view. Pursuing this, it is stressed that, while situated, language is also non-local: our voices always echo those of others. While grounded in first-order activity, language also enacts second-order practices. It is its symbiotic nature that makes homo sapiens ecologically special. Once acknowledged, this opens up a distributed perspective on language and cognition. By means of clarification, I offer thick description of a interactional moment where language links the brain with the world beyond the body. At this instant, the words actually spoken are background: the verbal aspect of speech acts as a Zeitgeber for bodily coupling that directly realizes human values. Finally, I place the distributed view of linguistic cognition against themes in Russian psycholinguistic tradition.

Energetic Costs of Incidental Visual Coupling during Treadmill Running

by Daniel Eaves

Magnitude and structure of isometric force variability: mechanical and neurophysiological influences

by S. Lee Hong

Conversation, coordination, and vertebrate communication

by Stephen J. Cowley

This appeared as:
Cowley, S.J. (1997). Conversation, co-ordination and vertebrate communication. Semiotica, 115 1/, 27-52.

Conversation, coordination and vertebrate communication sets out a framework making it possible to compare how... more Conversation, coordination and vertebrate communication sets out a framework making it possible to compare how communicative activity is organized in arrange of species. While recognizing that humans explain language-systems, emphasis falls on biologically simpler patterns and, above all, interindividual coordination. To capture cross-species parallels, it begins by with differences between ‘using’ a language-system and taking part in the dialogical events of a conversation. Once this is clear, phonetic observations backed up with a acoustic measurements suffice to show close resemblance between how activity is managed and assessed in humans and other species. Human talk uses similar principles of organization to not only, say, the duetting of buff-breated wrens but also how many species of vertebrate coordinate around real-time activity.

Rambling and Trembling in Response to Body Loading

by S. Lee Hong

The Entropy Conservation Principle: Applications in Ergonomics and Human Factors

by S. Lee Hong

Cyclicality of capital-intensive industries: a system dynamics simulation study of the paper industry

by Georges Romme

Published in: Omega, 2001 (co-authored with Peter Berends)

This paper provides a view on the cyclicality of capital-intensive industries that could add considerably to our... more This paper provides a view on the cyclicality of capital-intensive industries that could add considerably to our understanding of how cycles in prices, profits and capacity come about. Previous studies of business cycles focus on macro-economic systems or on the agricultural sector. Causes for fluctuations are typically believed to be mainly exogenous in nature. We seek to extend the existing literature on industrial cycles by developing a model that incorporates endogenously generated cyclicality. A simulation model of the paper industry is developed, and validated on the basis of data for the US paper industry.

Non-participation and system dynamics

by Georges Romme

Published in: System Dynamics Review, 1995

Non-participation is currently one of the most pertinent problems confronting large organizations. The... more Non-participation is currently one of the most pertinent problems confronting large organizations. The non-participation problem is related to two untested assumptions made by the conventional wisdom of participative management: first, power is assumed to flow from top to bottom rather than the other way around and, second, participation schemes provide sufficient opportunities for worker participation. The sociocratic organization provides a participative management model derived from system dynamics concepts which challenges both assumptions. Sociocratic organizations are based on a circle structure, decision making by consent, and double linking between circules. The circular and reflexive nature of these organizations appears to open up real opportunities for participation at all levels.

Modeling and Identification of Fractional-Order Dynamical Systems

by Emmanuel Gonzalez

Published in the Proceedings of the 11th International Multidisciplinary GeoConference at the Albena Resort in Bulgaria.
Co-authored with L'ubomir Dorcak, Juraj Valsa, Pavel Horovcak (Technical University of Kosice, Slovak Republic), and Jan Terpak (Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic)

One of the most characteristic features of the processes in the area of mining and processing of earth resources is... more One of the most characteristic features of the processes in the area of mining and processing of earth resources is their complexity. The modern methods of investigation, monitoring and control of these processes utilize approaches based upon modeling of the processes. In this paper we will focus only on the dynamical processes, where the mathematical models are differential equations. As it results from the last research works, majority of the real objects in general are fractional-order systems. Fractional order models are more adequate for the description of dynamical systems than integer order models. But appropriate methods for the numerical calculations of fractional-order differential equations are needed in such cases and also methods for the identification of such systems. In this contribution we describe and compare some previous methods
used for simulation purposes with the methods based on approximate formulas for numerical inversion of Laplace transforms. The verification and comparison will be based mainly on the accuracy and computing time. Also an experimental method of identification is given. The verification of identification method was performed on systems with known parameters.

The Turing Machine as a cognitive model of human computation

by Simone Pinna

Published in Franco Rubinacci, Angelo Rega, Nicola Lettieri
(editors), "Le scienze Cognitive in Italia 2011. AISC’11", Napoli: Università degli Studi Federico II, 2011, 147-150

Classical computationalism considers the Turing Machine to be a psychologically implausible model of humanmore Classical computationalism considers the Turing Machine to be a psychologically implausible model of human
computation. In this paper, I will first elaborate on Andrew Wells' thesis that the claim of psychological implausibility
derives from a wrong interpretation of the TM as originally conceived by Turing. Then, I will show how Turing's original
interpretation of the TM could be useful to construct cognitive models of simple phenomena of human computation, such as
counting using our fingers or performing arithmetical operations using paper and pencil.

Introduction to debates on embodied social cognition

by Shannon Spaulding

(penultimate draft) forthcoming in Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences

Embodied social cognition (ESC) aims to explicate how our embodiment shapes our knowledge of others, and in what this... more Embodied social cognition (ESC) aims to explicate how our embodiment shapes our knowledge of others, and in what this knowledge of others consists. Although there is much diversity amongst ESC accounts, common to all these accounts is the idea that our normal everyday interactions consist in non-mentalistic embodied engagements. In recent years, several theorists have developed and defended innovative and controversial accounts of ESC. These accounts challenge, and offer deflationary alternatives to, the standard cognitivist accounts of social cognition. As ESC accounts grow in number and prominence, the time has come for a dedicated, sustained debate on ESC and its most controversial and innovative elements. The goal of this special issue is to host such a debate with the aim of bringing clarity to the discussion of social cognition.

Normativity: A Crucial Kind of Emergence

by Jedediah Allen

Human Development, 2011, 54, 106-112.

Witherington argues that the anti-structuralist stance of certain... more Human Development, 2011, 54, 106-112.

Witherington argues that the anti-structuralist stance of certain Dynamical Systems (DS) approaches undermines the essential role of emergence for understanding mental phenomena. If structure is intended to include representation, then we agree. We offer a model of representation that is ultimately grounded in the emergence of normativity in systems that are Far From thermodynamic Equilibrium (FFE). A cascade of further emergences provides the essential elements for a fully naturalized account of representation, learning, and development.

Luhmann in Byzantium. A systems theory approach for historical network analysis

by Johannes Preiser-Kapeller

Working Paper for the Conference "The Connected Past: people, networks and complexity in archaeology and history", March 24-25th 2012, University of Southampton, GB; http://connectedpast.soton.ac.uk/schedule/
The slides of the presentation you will find here: http://oeaw.academia.edu/JohannesPreiserKapeller/Talks/74834/Luhmann_in_Byzantium._A_systems_theory_approach_for_historical_network_analysis

While Social Network Analysis (SNA) has become an accepted research tool in historical studies in the last decades,... more While Social Network Analysis (SNA) has become an accepted research tool in historical studies in the last decades, actual theoretical foundations for the approach to depict and analyse past social realities in the form of nodes and ties have remained as many-voiced and sometimes under-determined as in other fields of network analysis. A theoretical framework from which historical network analysis may benefit is the systems theory established by the sociologist Niklas LUHMANN (1927–1998). In Luhmann´s theory, social systems are systems of communication; in modern society, Luhmann identified several differentiated communication systems such as politics, religion or economy. For the analysis of Byzantine society, we combine Luhmannʼs framework with the concepts of SNA: we understand ties between nodes as potential channels of communication which can pertain to any communication system. And while communications between individuals in a specific institutional framework such as state administration or the church may primarily pertain to one system, we have to account for “multiplex” ties of communication and an overlap of various communication systems on the same set of nodes (who, in Luhmannʼs theory, are not per se part of any of these social systems, which only consist of communications). This approach also enables us either to examine communication ties (their density, distribution patterns, etc.) of one system separately or to concentrate on the structural position of individuals within the general social framework. Thus, we demonstrate that Luhmann can provide a coherent and at the same time flexible framework for historical network analysis.

The cognitive dynamics of distributed language.

by Stephen J. Cowley

These proofs appeared as:
Cowley, S.J. (2007). The cognitive dynamics and distributed language. Language Sciences, 29/5: 575-583.

This is the introduction to the Special Issue of Language Sciences that launched the "distributed language... more This is the introduction to the Special Issue of Language Sciences that launched the "distributed language movement". It stresses that, until the 1990s, cognitive science relied on comparing human cognition to how everyday computers process information. However, with connectionism, neuroscience and robotics, symbol processing fell out of favour. Physical symbol systems are now rarely seen as appropriate models for brains or minds (MacDorman, 2007). Extending the critique of symbolic models to language, David Spurrett and I linked distributed cognition with integrational linguistics. We organized a conference in Durban where participants addressed questions like ‘‘Is intelligent behaviour (and language) based in the dynamical coupling of bodies?’’ and ‘‘Once we reject code models, how can we reconceptualise language and mind?’’ As respondent, Harris (1998: 728) was sceptical about this linking because, he believes, mental activities are best understood in lay terms. Talk of distributed cognition plainly falls foul of ‘‘commonsense lay ways of talking about the mind’’. As editor of the special issue of Language Sciences arising from the conference, Spurrett responds to Harris: "Either we think that science can tell us that we’re wrong with how we think things are with us . . . even to the extent of showing our common sense, or vulgar, self-conception to be deeply mistaken, or common sense is holding some kind of trump so it always beats science, or even that it never has to pay any attention to science" (Spurrett, 2004: 497). In siding with that naturalists on this issue, we gave birth to a new way of linking integrational critique with science: this produced the distributed perspective on language.

Centre Conditions in Planar Polynomial Dynamical Systems

by Daniel Godlovitch

Closed form conditions for a class of O-symmetric, uniformly isochronous planar polynomial
dynamical systems to... more Closed form conditions for a class of O-symmetric, uniformly isochronous planar polynomial
dynamical systems to have a centre at the origin are derived through the use
of tensorial methods. The history of the problem, including the major results obtained
through classical methods, is examined and compared to the methods of this work in order
to emphasize the economy of the tensorial approach, at least when applied to certain
classes of planar polynomial system.

Optimal Impedance Control with TSK-type FLC for Hard Shaking Reduction on Hydraulically Driven Hexapod Robot

by Addie Irawan

Addie Irawan, Kenzo Nonami, Mohd Razali Daud, Proceeding of The International Conference on Intelligent Unmanned Systems 2011 (ICIUS 2011)

This article presents the strategy of control to improve the performance of applied impedance control in hydraulically... more This article presents the strategy of control to improve the performance of applied impedance control in hydraulically driven hexapod robot named COMET-IV, during walking/operating on various type of extremely uneven terrain. The robot’s body moment of inertia is calculated and adapted as impedance control feedback and the Sugeno type fuzzy or so called Takagaki-Sugeno-Kang Fuzzy Logic (TSK-FLC) with Linear Quadratic Regulation (LQR) based gain tuning is cascaded for optimization purposes. The proposed control strategy is verified in the actual robot system with walking on the setup extremely uneven terrain in the laboratory. 

Beyond symbols: interaction and the enslavement principle

by Stephen J. Cowley

This appeared as:
Cowley, S.J. (2010). Beyond symbols: Interaction and the enslavement principle. In J. Streeck (Ed.) New Adventures in Language and Interaction, pp. 47-70. John Benjamins: Amsterdam.

Humans often contextualize without using cues. While Gumperz showed that analysis is not sufficient to explain... more Humans often contextualize without using cues. While Gumperz showed that analysis is not sufficient to explain interaction, his view of what lay beyond symbols was based in cognitive internalism. Opposing this, prosody can be shown to contribute directly to conversational sense-making. Humans use self organizing dynamics in ways that resemble what happens in gas-lasers. Voices attract each other and, at times, set off laser like synergies. Using these effects, we modulate our actions in situation-transcending events that give sense to the dynamics. Conversation is distributed cognition during which prosodic sensemaking links the world with brains and bodies. Far from being based in wordforms, interaction and language are dynamical first and symbolic afterwards.

Thinking in action

by Stephen J. Cowley

The paper introduces our Special Issue of AI & Society on Distributed Cognition. It appears as:
Cowley, S. J. & Vallée-Tourangeau, F. (2010). Thinking in Action. AI & Society, 25/4: 469-475.

While computers can be used to model human competencies, formalization has its limits. Sensori-motor dynamics are... more While computers can be used to model human competencies, formalization has its limits. Sensori-motor dynamics are probably necessary to intelligence. Applied to language, verbal patterns become constraints or, in Elman’s (2004) terms, cues to meaning. Unlike symbol processors, humans act, mean and use the feeling of thinking (Harnad 2005). While language has an artificial (or formal) aspect, human intelligence is embodied. In spite of widespread belief to the contrary, brains do not need to generate sets of sentences. In challenging code views of language, we therefore find parallels with the complex systems we call cells. Given DNA code-makers, formal features constrain protein synthesis. Life, Barbieri (2007) argues, can be traced to natural artifacts.If this is so, we should not be so surprised that thinking too draws on artifacts -both machines and virtual patterns that play out through institutions and languages.

OnnisSpivey2012

by Michael Spivey