This book invites readers to embark on a journey into the world of agency encompassing humans, other organisms, cells, intracellular molecular agents, colonies, populations, ecological systems, and artificial autonomous systems. We combine mechanistic and non-mechanistic approaches in the analysis of the function and evolution of organisms, their subagents, and multi-organism systems, and in this way offer a theoretical platform for integrating biosemiotics with both natural science and the humanities/social sciences. Agents are autonomous systems that incorporate knowledge on how to make sense of their environment and use it to achieve their goals. The functions of all agents are supported by mechanisms at the lowest level; however, the explanatory power of mechanistic analysis is not sufficient for complex agents. Non-mechanistic methods rely on the goal-directedness of agents whose dynamics follow self-stabilized dynamic attractors. The properties of attractors depend on stable or slowly changing factors, and such dependencies can be interpreted as sign relations if they are adaptive in nature. Agents can replace or redirect mechanisms on demand in order to preserve their functions; for performing higher-level semiotic functions, mechanisms are thus only means. We assume that mechanism and semiosis are not mutually exclusive, and that simple agents can interpret signs mechanistically. This assumption allows us to extend semiotic analysis to all agents, including ribosomes in cells, computers, and robots. This book challenges established traditions in natural science and the humanities/social sciences: semiotics no longer appears as restricted to humans and rational thinking, and biology is no longer limited to rely exclusively on mechanistic reasoning.
M.A.K Halliday’s work has been hugely influential in linguistics and beyond since the 1960s. This is a collection of interviews with key figures in the generation of social semioticians who have taken Halliday’s concept of social semiotics and developed it further in various directions, making their own original contributions to theory and practice. This book highlights their main lines of thought and considers how they relate to both the original concept of social semiotics and to each other. Key themes include: Linguistic studies, multilinguality and evolution of language; Text, discourse and classroom studies; Digital texts, computer communication and science teaching; Multimodal text- and discourse analysis; Education and literacy; Media work and visual and audio modes; Critical Discourse Analysis. Featuring interviews with leading figures from linguistics, education and communication studies, a framing introduction and concluding chapter summing up commonalities and differences, connections and conflicts and key themes, this is essential reading for any scholar or student working in the area of social semiotics and systemic functional linguistics. Additional video resources are available on the Routledge website. Featuring: Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen, Theo Van Leeuwen, James R. Martin, Jay Lemke, Gunther Kress
The book raises semiotic questions of humananimal relations: what is the semiotic character of different species, how humans endow animals with meaning, and how animal sign exchange and communication has coped with environmental change. The book takes a zoosemiotic approach and considers different species as being integrated with the environment via their specific umwelt or subjective perceptual world. The authors elaborate J. v. Uexkull's concept of umwelt to make it applicable for analyzing complex and dynamical interactions between animals, humans, environment and culture. The opening chapters of the book present a framework for philosophical, historical, epistemological and methodological aspects of zoosemiotic research. These initial considerations are followed by specific case studies: on humananimal interactions in zoological gardens, communication in the teams of visually disabled persons and guiding dogs, semiotics of the animal condition in philosophy, historical changes in the role of animals in human households, the semiotics of predation, cultural perception of novel species, and other topics. The authors belong to the research group in zoosemiotics and humananimal relations based in the Department of Semiotics at the University of Tartu in Estonia, and in the University of Stavanger in Norway.
The book raises semiotic questions of human'animal relations: what is the semiotic character of different species, how humans endow animals with meaning, and how animal sign exchange and communication has coped with environmental change. The book takes a zoosemiotic approach and considers different species as being integrated with the environment via their specific umwelt or subjective perceptual world. The authors elaborate J. v. Uexküll's concept of umwelt to make it applicable for analyzing complex and dynamical interactions between animals, humans, environment and culture. The opening chapters of the book present a framework for philosophical, historical, epistemological and methodological aspects of zoosemiotic research. These initial considerations are followed by specific case studies: on human'animal interactions in zoological gardens, communication in the teams of visually disabled persons and guiding dogs, semiotics of the animal condition in philosophy, historical changes in the role of animals in human households, the semiotics of predation, cultural perception of novel species, and other topics. The authors belong to the research group in zoosemiotics and human'animal relations based in the Department of Semiotics at the University of Tartu in Estonia, and in the University of Stavanger in Norway.
This book invites readers to embark on a journey into the world of agency encompassing humans, other organisms, cells, intracellular molecular agents, colonies, populations, ecological systems, and artificial autonomous systems. We combine mechanistic and non-mechanistic approaches in the analysis of the function and evolution of organisms, their subagents, and multi-organism systems, and in this way offer a theoretical platform for integrating biosemiotics with both natural science and the humanities/social sciences. Agents are autonomous systems that incorporate knowledge on how to make sense of their environment and use it to achieve their goals. The functions of all agents are supported by mechanisms at the lowest level; however, the explanatory power of mechanistic analysis is not sufficient for complex agents. Non-mechanistic methods rely on the goal-directedness of agents whose dynamics follow self-stabilized dynamic attractors. The properties of attractors depend on stable or slowly changing factors, and such dependencies can be interpreted as sign relations if they are adaptive in nature. Agents can replace or redirect mechanisms on demand in order to preserve their functions; for performing higher-level semiotic functions, mechanisms are thus only means. We assume that mechanism and semiosis are not mutually exclusive, and that simple agents can interpret signs mechanistically. This assumption allows us to extend semiotic analysis to all agents, including ribosomes in cells, computers, and robots. This book challenges established traditions in natural science and the humanities/social sciences: semiotics no longer appears as restricted to humans and rational thinking, and biology is no longer limited to rely exclusively on mechanistic reasoning.
M.A.K Halliday's work has been hugely influential in linguistics and beyond since the 1960s. This is a collection of interviews with key figures in the generation of social semioticians who have taken Halliday's concept of social semiotics and developed it further in various directions, making their own original contributions to theory and practice. This book highlights their main lines of thought and considers how they relate to both the original concept of social semiotics and to each other. Key themes include: Linguistic studies, multilinguality and evolution of language; Text, discourse and classroom studies; Digital texts, computer communication and science teaching; Multimodal text- and discourse analysis; Education and literacy; Media work and visual and audio modes; Critical Discourse Analysis. Featuring interviews with leading figures from linguistics, education and communication studies, a framing introduction and concluding chapter summing up commonalities and differences, connections and conflicts and key themes, this is essential reading for any scholar or student working in the area of social semiotics and systemic functional linguistics. Additional video resources are available on the Routledge website. Featuring: Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen, Theo Van Leeuwen, James R. Martin, Jay Lemke, Gunther Kress
M.A.K Halliday’s work has been hugely influential in linguistics and beyond since the 1960s. This is a collection of interviews with key figures in the generation of social semioticians who have taken Halliday’s concept of social semiotics and developed it further in various directions, making their own original contributions to theory and practice. This book highlights their main lines of thought and considers how they relate to both the original concept of social semiotics and to each other. Key themes include: Linguistic studies, multilinguality and evolution of language; Text, discourse and classroom studies; Digital texts, computer communication and science teaching; Multimodal text- and discourse analysis; Education and literacy; Media work and visual and audio modes; Critical Discourse Analysis. Featuring interviews with leading figures from linguistics, education and communication studies, a framing introduction and concluding chapter summing up commonalities and differences, connections and conflicts and key themes, this is essential reading for any scholar or student working in the area of social semiotics and systemic functional linguistics. Additional video resources are available on the Routledge website. Featuring: Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen, Theo Van Leeuwen, James R. Martin, Jay Lemke, Gunther Kress
Biochemistry of Collagens, Laminins, and Elastin: Structure, Function and Biomarkers, Third Edition provides current data on key structural proteins (collagens, laminins, and elastin), reviews on how these molecules affect pathologies, and information on how selected modifications of these proteins can result in altered signaling properties of the original extracellular matrix (ECM). Further, it discusses the novel concept that an increasing number of components of the extracellular matrix harbor cryptic signaling functions with ties to endocrine function, and how this knowledge may be used to modulate various pathologies, including fibrotic disease. This new edition has been expanded and revised to incorporate recent research advances. Several new chapters explore a range of chronic diseases in which the ECM and collagens, laminin and elastin are central players in disease modulation, including new chapters on lung, skin and intestinal disease, as well as cancers. The new edition also considers emerging analytical technologies that can detect biomarkers of ECM degradation, with discussion of protein quantification and detecting aging of collagens. Provides an updated, comprehensive discussion of collagen and related structural proteins Contains insights into biochemical interactions and changes to structural composition of proteins in disease states Proves the importance of proteins for collagen assembly, function and durability Examines details on how collagens play a key role in a range of chronic diseases Offers approaches for protein quantification and detection of collagen aging
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