Being-for. Purposes and Functions in Artefacts and Living beings

The paper argues for the need to think differently about the attribution of functions and purposes in artifacts and in living organisms. A unified notion of function for artefacts and organisms presupposes the assumption of an artefact model of nature. In order to defende a difference between natural teleology and the teleology of artifacts it is necessary to re-think the Kantian notion of internal purposiveness and the Heideggerian distinction between organ and instrument

Adaptationism, Deflationism, and Anti-Individualism

An examination of the externalist theories of Tyler Burge, Daniel Dennett and Ruth Millikan

A preliminary case study of the effect of shoe-wearing on the biomechanics of a horse’s foot

Horse racing is a multi-billion-dollar industry that has raised welfare concerns due to injured and euthanized animals. Whilst the cause of musculoskeletal injuries that lead to horse morbidity and mortality is multifactorial, pre-existing pathologies, increased speeds and substrate of the racecourse are likely contributors to foot disease. Horse hooves have the ability to naturally deform during locomotion and dissipate locomotor stresses, yet farriery approaches are utilised to increase performance and protect hooves from wear. Previous studies have assessed the effect of different shoe designs on locomotor performance; however, no biomechanical study has hitherto measured the effect of horseshoes on the stresses of the foot skeleton in vivo. This preliminary study introduces a novel methodology combining three-dimensional data from biplanar radiography with inverse dynamics methods and finite element analysis (FEA) to evaluate the effect of a stainless steel shoe on the function of a Thoroughbred horse's forefoot during walking. Our preliminary results suggest that the stainless steel shoe shifts craniocaudal, mediolateral and vertical GRFs at mid-stance. We document a similar pattern of flexion-extension in the PIP (pastern) and DIP (coffin) joints between the unshod and shod conditions, with slight variation in rotation angles throughout the stance phase. For both conditions, the PIP and DIP joints begin in a flexed posture and extend over the entire stance phase. At mid-stance, small differences in joint angle are observed in the PIP joint, with the shod condition being more extended than the unshod horse, whereas the DIP joint is extended more in the unshod than the shod condition. We also document that the DIP joint extends more than the PIP after midstance and until the end of the stance in both conditions. Our FEA analysis, conducted solely on the bones, shows increased von Mises and Maximum principal stresses on the forefoot phalanges in the shod condition at mid-stance, consistent with the tentative conclusion that a steel shoe might increase mechanical loading. However, because of our limited sample size none of these apparent differences have been tested for statistical significance. Our preliminary study illustrates how the shoe may influence the dynamics and mechanics of a Thoroughbred horse's forefoot during slow walking, but more research is needed to quantify the effect of the shoe on the equine forefoot during the whole stance phase, at faster speeds/gaits and with more individuals as well as with a similar focus on the hind feet. We anticipate that our preliminary analysis using advanced methodological approaches will pave the way for new directions in research on the form/function relationship of the equine foot, with the ultimate goal to minimise foot injuries and improve animal health and welfare

Experimental archeology and serious games: challenges of inhabiting virtual heritage

Experimental archaeology has long yielded valuable insights into the tools and techniques that featured in past peoples’ relationship with the material world around them. However, experimental archaeology has, hitherto, confined itself to rigid, empirical and quantitative questions. This paper applies principles of experimental archaeology and serious gaming tools in the reconstructions of a British Iron Age Roundhouse. The paper explains a number of experiments conducted to look for quantitative differences in movement in virtual vs material environments using both “virtual” studio reconstruction as well as material reconstruction. The data from these experiments was then analysed to look for differences in movement which could be attributed to artefacts and/or environments. The paper explains the structure of the experiments, how the data was generated, what theories may make sense of the data, what conclusions have been drawn and how serious gaming tools can support the creation of new experimental heritage environments

Computation in Physical Systems: A Normative Mapping Account

The relationship between abstract formal procedures and the activities of actual physical systems has proved to be surprisingly subtle and controversial, and there are a number of competing accounts of when a physical system can be properly said to implement a mathematical formalism and hence perform a computation. I defend an account wherein computational descriptions of physical systems are high-level normative interpretations motivated by our pragmatic concerns. Furthermore, the criteria of utility and success vary according to our diverse purposes and pragmatic goals. Hence there is no independent or uniform fact to the matter, and I advance the ‘anti-realist’ conclusion that computational descriptions of physical systems are not founded upon deep ontological distinctions, but rather upon interest-relative human conventions. Hence physical computation is a ‘conventional’ rather than a ‘natural’ kind

Seeing the light – finding the poetic content of design objects

This paper presents the process and initial results of a research through design project attempting to understand the poetic qualities of design objects. This exploration forms part of a PhD study addressing design artefacts as poetic objects - objects that both embed and conjure memory, association and imagination. The research examines the ways in which design objects can be poetic and how designers actively and knowingly use objects to poetic effect. It is proposed that the poetic content of design artefacts can be located on a continuum ranging from the experiential - relating to how we perceive things - to the reflective and cultural. What unites these levels is the capacity of design objects to reveal and change our way of looking at things. The practice uses the design of lighting as a vehicle for exploring the poetic meaning of designed objects more generally. Starting with the notion that lights do more than provide light, the current phase of practice examines the ways in which luminaires can mediate how we perceive and experience light and explores, in particular, the more nuanced and ephemeral qualities of light that escape conscious attention

A knowledge development lifecycle for reflective practice

Reflective practice is valuable because of its potential for continuous improvement through feedback and learning. Conventional models of knowledge practice however do not explicitly include reflection as part of the practice, nor locate it in a developmental cycle. They focus on modelling in a knowledge plane which itself is contextualised by active knowing processes, and ignore the influence of power in their activity models. Further, many models focus on either an artefact or a process view, resulting from a conceptual disconnect between knowledge and knowing, and failure to relate passive to active views. Using the idea of higher order loops that govern knowledge development processes, in this paper we propose a conceptualisation of a reflective Knowledge Development Life Cycle (KDLC). This explicitly includes the investigator and the organisation itself as dynamic components of a systemic process and is suited to either a constructivist or realist epistemological stance. We describe the stages required in the KDLC and discuss their significance. Finally we show how incorporation of reflection into process enables dynamic interplay between the knowing and the knowledge in the organisation

Setting the stage – embodied and spatial dimensions in emerging programming practices.

In the design of interactive systems, developers sometimes need to engage in various ways of physical performance in order to communicate ideas and to test out properties of the system to be realised. External resources such as sketches, as well as bodily action, often play important parts in such processes, and several methods and tools that explicitly address such aspects of interaction design have recently been developed. This combined with the growing range of pervasive, ubiquitous, and tangible technologies add up to a complex web of physicality within the practice of designing interactive systems. We illustrate this dimension of systems development through three cases which in different ways address the design of systems where embodied performance is important. The first case shows how building a physical sport simulator emphasises a shift in activity between programming and debugging. The second case shows a build-once run-once scenario, where the fine-tuning and control of the run-time activity gets turned into an act of in situ performance by the programmers. The third example illustrates the explorative and experiential nature of programming and debugging systems for specialised and autonomous interaction devices. This multitude in approaches in existing programming settings reveals an expanded perspective of what practices of interaction design consist of, emphasising the interlinking between design, programming, and performance with the system that is being developed