How to Knit Your Own Markov Blanket

Hohwy (Hohwy 2016, Hohwy 2017) argues there is a tension between the free energy principle and leading depictions of mind as embodied, enactive, and extended (so-called ‘EEE1 cognition’). The tension is traced to the importance, in free energy formulations, of a conception of mind and agency that depends upon the presence of a ‘Markov blanket’ demarcating the agent from the surrounding world. In what follows I show that the Markov blanket considerations do not, in fact, lead to the kinds of tension that Hohwy depicts. On the contrary, they actively favour the EEE story. This is because the Markov property, as exemplified in biological agents, picks out neither a unique nor a stationary boundary. It is this multiplicity and mutability– rather than the absence of agent-environment boundaries as such - that EEE cognition celebrates

A Grunge Philosophy, Or: How I Came to Speak a Sub-Cultural Vocabulary Negating Social Binaries

Enter the cultural identity of Generation X in the form of the band Nirvana and their soon to be iconic front man in the appearance of the video for their single Smells Like Teen Spirit : The video is a typical live session by the band while they play to a gym of teenage kids. Throughout the video implements distort the scene, including smoke and moving lights, which shine directly into the camera at times, a good visual representation of the music: a structurally typical pop song that is played with the heavy distortion of metal and sung with the quiet verse and loud chorus of a Pixies song by a man who screams with the anger and angst of a punk rocker. At the beginning of the video a group of cheerleaders wearing black uniforms with a red anarchy symbol stitched across their chest perform robotic movements in an attempt to entertain extremely still and disengaged youth. Throughout, the video contains closer and closer shots of the band, smoke billowing in front of them, hair hanging in front of their faces, constant head banging and throwing of their bodies combine to distort the image, the antithesis of disengagement. Through the song the kids become more involved; they come out of their sleep and enter into this distorted reality with a sense of clarity. They begin moving to the music, slowly rising to their feet and crowd surfing. By the end of the song the crowd has moved to the floor of the gym intermingling with the band in a mosh pit. Slowly, while the song builds to its almost violent end, the cameras come closer as the crowd and the band become one in their seeming anguish and anxiety. The video ends with the camera moving rapidly between alternate shots of the youth and lead singer Kurt Cobain screaming in distress, A Denial

Causal Relations via Econometrics

Applied econometric work takes a superficial approach to causality. Understanding economic affairs, making good policy decisions, and progress in the economic discipline depend on our ability to infer causal relations from data. We review the dominant approaches to causality in econometrics, and suggest why they fail to give good results. We feel the problem cannot be solved by traditional tools, and requires some out-of-the-box thinking. Potentially promising approaches to solutions are discussed.Causality, Regression, Exogeneity, Hendry Methodology, Natural Experiments

AC Electrokinetic Manipulation of Microfluids and Particles using Orthogonal Electrodes

AC electrokinetics (ACEK) is a promising technique to manipulate micro/bio-fluids and particles. It has many advantages over DC electrokinetics for its low applied voltage, portability and compatibility for integration into lab-on-a-chip devices. This thesis focuses on the design of a multi-functional orthogonal microelectrode system that induces ACEK effect for manipulation of microfluids and particles. Orthogonal electrode configuration used in this research can achieve maximum non-uniform electric field distribution, resulting in strong fluid and particle motion. In the experiments, three types of microflow fields were observed by changing the applied electric signals. Three ACEK processes, capacitive electrode polarization, Faradaic polarization, and AC electrothermal effect are proposed to explain the different flow patterns, respectively. Equivalent circuit model extracted from the impedance measurement helps to determine the optimal condition for ACEK implementation. Both numerical simulation and experimental results are presented and discussed in this thesis. Well controlled ACEK flow help transport target cells to the trapping site, which greatly enhanced the trapping efficiency by dielectrophoresis (DEP), thus long range particle manipulation can be achieved. Together with ACEK effect and pressure driven mechanism, a flow-through system based on orthogonal electrodes is created, which can be used to pump fluids and concentrate bio-particles so as to be able to handle solutions in large volume with low concentration. This simple and easily fabricated setup can be integrated as one component to form potential lab-on-a-chip devices

Diversity in leadership: Australian women, past and present

This book provides a new understanding of the historical and contemporary aspects of Indigenous and non-Indigenous women’s leadership in a range of local, national and international contexts. Overview While leadership is an over-used term today, how it is defined for women and the contexts in which it emerges remains elusive. Moreover, women are exhorted to exercise leadership, but occupying leadership positions has its challenges. Issues of access, acceptable behaviour and the development of skills to be successful leaders are just some of them. Diversity in Leadership: Australian women, past and present provides a new understanding of the historical and contemporary aspects of Indigenous and non-Indigenous women’s leadership in a range of local, national and international contexts. It brings interdisciplinary expertise to the topic from leading scholars in a range of fields and diverse backgrounds. The aims of the essays in the collection document the extent and diverse nature of women’s social and political leadership across various pursuits and endeavours within democratic political structures

Automated Discovery in Econometrics

Our subject is the notion of automated discovery in econometrics. Advances in computer power, electronic communication, and data collection processes have all changed the way econometrics is conducted. These advances have helped to elevate the status of empirical research within the economics profession in recent years and they now open up new possibilities for empirical econometric practice. Of particular significance is the ability to build econometric models in an automated way according to an algorithm of decision rules that allow for (what we call here) heteroskedastic and autocorrelation robust (HAR) inference. Computerized search algorithms may be implemented to seek out suitable models, thousands of regressions and model evaluations may be performed in seconds, statistical inference may be automated according to the properties of the data, and policy decisions can be made and adjusted in real time with the arrival of new data. We discuss some aspects and implications of these exciting, emergent trends in econometrics.Automation, discovery, HAC estimation, HAR inference, model building, online econometrics, policy analysis, prediction, trends

Conceptual Separability as Conceivability: A Philosophical Analysis of the Useful Articles Doctrine

In copyright law, the useful articles doctrine plays a significant role in defining the limits of copyright’s domain and the boundary between copyright and patent. But the implicated notion of “conceptual separability” has proved to be difficult to define, and the Supreme Court’s effort to define it in the recent case Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc. is unsatisfying. In an effort to resolve this challenge, the present paper puts forth a novel test for conceptual separability, one that draws inspiration from the philosopher’s idea of conceivability. The test is the following question: “When you conceive of the relevant useful article as lacking the design element in question, is the article you imagine functionally identical to the actual article?” If the answer to this question is yes, then the design element is conceptually separable from the article’s utilitarian aspects; if not, then the element has failed the test, and it is not entitled to copyright protection. The present paper explores why this novel proposal avoids many of the pitfalls of existing tests (including the Court’s own in Star Athletica), why it best achieves the aims of the useful articles doctrine, and what questions remain once the challenge of conceptual separability has been resolved