This 2001 book offers an examination of functional explanation as it is used in biology and the social sciences, and focuses on the kinds of philosophical presuppositions that such explanations carry with them. It tackles such questions as: why are some things explained functionally while others are not? What do the functional explanations tell us about how these objects are conceptualized? What do we commit ourselves to when we give and take functional explanations in the life sciences and the social sciences? McLaughlin gives a critical review of the debate on functional explanation in the philosophy of science. He discusses the history of the philosophical question of teleology, and provides a comprehensive review of the post-war literature on functional explanation. What Functions Explain provides a sophisticated and detailed Aristotelian analysis of our concept of natural functions, and offers a positive contribution to the ongoing debate on the topic.

This chapter defines a new concept and framework for constructing fusion rules for evidences. This framework is based on a referee function, which does a decisional arbitrament conditionally to basic decisions provided by the several sources of information.

Chemical and Synthetic Biology Approaches to Understand Cellular Functions - Part C, Volume 633, the latest release in the Methods in Enzymology series, continues the legacy of this premier serial. This release includes sections on Next generation probes for molecular imaging in cells, Competitive binding assay for biotin and biotin derivatives, based on avidin and biotin-4-fluorescein, Converting avidin to bind ligands other than biotin, especially steroids, Chemoenzymatic Labeling Strategy, Engineered Siderophores, Small molecules to inhibit bacterial population behavior, NMR tube bioreactor, Small molecule controlled RAS activation system, Small molecule regulated Cas9, the Design and application of synthetic receptors, and much more. - Contains the authority of authors who are leaders in their field - Provides a comprehensive source on new methods and research in enzymology

Fragility functions constitute an emerging tool for the probabilistic seismic risk assessment of buildings, infrastructures and lifeline systems. The work presented in this book is a partial product of a European Union funded research project SYNER-G (FP7 Theme 6: Environment) where existing knowledge has been reviewed in order to extract the most appropriate fragility functions for the vulnerability analysis and loss estimation of the majority of structures and civil works exposed to earthquake hazard. Results of other relevant European projects and international initiatives are also incorporated in the book. In several cases new fragility and vulnerability functions have been developed in order to better represent the specific characteristics of European elements at risk. Several European and non-European institutes and Universities collaborated efficiently to capitalize upon existing knowledge. State-of-the-art methods are described, existing fragility curves are reviewed and, where necessary, new ones are proposed for buildings, lifelines, transportation infrastructures as well as for utilities and critical facilities. Taxonomy and typology definitions are synthesized and the treatment of related uncertainties is discussed. A fragility function manager tool and fragility functions in electronic form are provided on extras.springer.com. Audience The book aims to be a standard reference on the fragility functions to be used for the seismic vulnerability and probabilistic risk assessment of the most important elements at risk. It is of particular interest to earthquake engineers, scientists and researchers working in the field of earthquake risk assessment, as well as the insurance industry, civil protection and emergency management agencies.

This volume is a guide to two types of transcendence of academic borders which seem necessary for understanding and modelling brain function. The first type is technical transcendence needed to make intelligent machines such as a humanoid robot, an animal-like behavior architecture, an interpreter of fiction, and an evolving learning machine. This technical erosion is conducted into areas such as biology, ethology, neuroscience and psychology, as well as robotics and soft computing. The second type of transcendence of cross-disciplinary boundaries cuts across scientific areas such as biology and cognitive science/philosophy, into comprehensive, less technical and more abstract aspects of brain function. These aspects enable us to know in what direction and how far an intelligent machine will go. Contents: Consideration of Emotion Model and Primitive Language of Robots (T Ogata & S Sugano); An Architecture for Animal-Like Behavior Selection (T Kitamura); A Computational Literary Theory: The Ultimate Products of the Brain/Mind Machine (A Tokosumi); Cooperation Between Neural Networks Within the Brain (M Dufoss(r) et al.); Brain-Like Functions in Evolving Connectionist Systems for On-Line, Knowledge-Based Learning (N Kasabov); Interrelationships, Communication, Semiotics, and Artificial Consciousness (H-N L Teodorescu); Time Emerges from Incomplete Clock, Based on Internal Measurement (Y-P Gunji et al.); The Logical Jump in Shell Changing in Hermit Crab and Tool Experiment in Ants (N Kitabayashi et al.); The Neurobiology of Semantics: How Can Machines be Designed to Have Meanings (W J Freeman); The Emergence of Contentful Experience (M H Bickhard); Intentionality and Foundations of Logic: A New Approach to Neurocomputation (G Basti). Readership: Graduate students, researchers and academics in robotics automated systems, biomedical engineering and bioengineering.

Seven hundred and seven naval aviation trainees from three stages of training were administered an anonymous questionnaire that asked them to give their own definition of morale. They were then instructed to rate their own morale on a ten-point scale using their definition as a frame of reference. A content analysis of the definitions identified the following categories: task oriented, group oriented, and self oriented. Mean morale rates were obtained for the subjects falling in each of the definitional categories and stages of training. The results showed that morale increased as trainees progressed from pre-flight to basic flight training, that morale level varied as a function of the definition expressed, and that the definition expressed was a function of the stage of training experienced. (Author).

It was hypothesized that morale level as measured by a self-rating scale would vary as a function of the subject's own definition of morale. During the week of their graduation from training, 560 Naval aviation trainees were administered an anonymous questionnaire that, among other things, asked them to give their own definition of morale. They were then instructed to note the morale of their own group in advanced training on a ten-point scale with their own definition as a frame of reference. A content analysis of the definitions was made, and three definition areas were identified. These can be described briefly as task oriented, group oriented, and feeling oriented. Mean morale rates were obtained for the subjects falling in each of the definition categories. Significant differences among this array of means were demonstrated. The task oriented group yielded the highest mean, with group oriented and feeling oriented following in that order. Hypotheses for further study were developed. (Author)

A complete sourcebook for philosophical discussion of the nature of function in biology.