The importance of spirituality in shaping contemporary visual culture has mostly been disregarded. Mentioning art and spirit in the same sentence was considered embarrassing. In contrast, most of the significant twentieth-century art movements developed in conjunction with spiritual inspiration. This book explores the topic through the lenses of media ecology, art history, and psychology. Media ecology is a theory that media shapes how messages are delivered. The non-commercial nature of spiritual concepts would prevent messages from being offered through commercial media. As a result, many respected artists whose works are familiar have escaped understanding because people haven't yet pierced the spiritual history of modern art. Images once considered devoid of meaning are now being re-examined in terms of their spiritual underpinnings. Kandinsky thought that he could correct nineteenth-century materialism by replacing it with twentieth-century spirituality. However, it was not until the twenty-first century that modern art's spiritual value started to be publicly recognized through scholarship and gallery exhibits. Abstraction provides the opportunity to explore design as a psychological self-revelation of the artist. Automatic drawing, once a tool for spirit messages, became a psychological method with the introduction of Surrealism. Psychology introduced the notion of creative dissociation to replace the idea of mediumship as a basis for art created in altered states. Art, as a personal and reflexive expression, can be used to steady our culture from one that denies spirituality to one that embraces it. We can all use artistic techniques to become more balanced people. Spiritual and psychological artistic techniques created the world of art we experience today. Understanding these influences can help us to better know the world in which we live.

The importance of spirituality in shaping contemporary visual culture has mostly been disregarded. Mentioning art and spirit in the same sentence was considered embarrassing. In contrast, most of the significant twentieth-century art movements developed in conjunction with spiritual inspiration. This book explores the topic through the lenses of media ecology, art history, and psychology. Media ecology is a theory that media shapes how messages are delivered. The non-commercial nature of spiritual concepts would prevent messages from being offered through commercial media. As a result, many respected artists whose works are familiar have escaped understanding because people haven't yet pierced the spiritual history of modern art. Images once considered devoid of meaning are now being re-examined in terms of their spiritual underpinnings. Kandinsky thought that he could correct nineteenth-century materialism by replacing it with twentieth-century spirituality. However, it was not until the twenty-first century that modern art's spiritual value started to be publicly recognized through scholarship and gallery exhibits. Abstraction provides the opportunity to explore design as a psychological self-revelation of the artist. Automatic drawing, once a tool for spirit messages, became a psychological method with the introduction of Surrealism. Psychology introduced the notion of creative dissociation to replace the idea of mediumship as a basis for art created in altered states. Art, as a personal and reflexive expression, can be used to steady our culture from one that denies spirituality to one that embraces it. We can all use artistic techniques to become more balanced people. Spiritual and psychological artistic techniques created the world of art we experience today. Understanding these influences can help us to better know the world in which we live.

Once only a sign, technologies have helped to transform brands into symbols that we constantly encounter in our natural and mediated environments. Moreover, the branding of culture marks a commercialization of society. Almost everywhere we look, a brand name or logo appears. By combining a scholarly approach with case studies and examples, this text bridges the worlds of communication and business by providing a single vocabulary in which to discuss branding. It brings these ideas together into a coherent framework to enable discussions on the topic to occur in a variety of disciplines. A number of perspectives are also provided, including brands as signs and symbols, brand personality, history, communication, cognitive factors, loyalty, personal branding, community, and social issues. Providing a comprehensive overview of the branding process - from the creation of brands to analysis of their messages - readers will begin to understand the communicative impact of branding.

Technological changes have radically altered the ways in which people use visual images. Since the invention of photography, imagery has increasingly been used for entertainment, journalism, information, medical diagnostics, instruction, branding and communication. These functions move the image beyond aesthetic issues associated with art and into the realm of communication studies. This introductory textbook introduces students to the terminology of visual literacy, methods for analyzing visual media, and theories on the relationship between visual communication and culture. Exploring the meanings associated with visual symbols and the relationship of visual communication to culture, this book provides students with a better understanding of the visually oriented world in which they live. From cave art to virtual reality, all visual media are discussed with methods for evaluation. Student-friendly features such as boxed topics, key terms, web resources, and suggestions for exercises are provided throughout.

Once only a sign, technologies have helped to transform brands into symbols that we constantly encounter in our natural and mediated environments. Moreover, the branding of culture marks a commercialization of society. Almost everywhere we look, a brand name or logo appears. By combining a scholarly approach with case studies and examples, this text bridges the worlds of communication and business by providing a single vocabulary in which to discuss branding. It brings these ideas together into a coherent framework to enable discussions on the topic to occur in a variety of disciplines. A number of perspectives are also provided, including brands as signs and symbols, brand personality, history, communication, cognitive factors, loyalty, personal branding, community, and social issues. Providing a comprehensive overview of the branding process - from the creation of brands to analysis of their messages - readers will begin to understand the communicative impact of branding.

Socializing the Classroom: Social Networks and Online Learning, by Susan B. Barnes, examines how social media can be used in education through two research grants and real-world applications. Barnes analyzes social media including Facebook, Courseware, and Second Life, while providing a theoretical foundation for examining social software. A new generation of students is surrounded by digital technologies, leading scholars and teachers to consider virtual worlds to engage students. By bringing together human-computer-interaction theories with social theory, Socializing the Classroom creates a theoretical foundation for future research in the area of social media, online learning technologies, and the development of social networks. Readers will gain a better understanding of how students use online learning environments to communicate task-oriented messages and maintain social interactions. This is an essential text for scholars, students, and those interested in social networks and the implementation of technology in education.

Mediated interpersonal communication is one of the most dynamic areas in communication studies, reflecting how individuals utilize technology more and more often in their personal interactions. Organizations also rely increasingly on mediated interaction for their communications. Responding to this evolution in communication, this collection explores how existing and new personal communication technologies facilitate and change interpersonal interactions. Chapters offer in-depth examinations of mediated interpersonal communication in various contexts and applications. Contributions come from well-known scholars based around the world, reflecting the strong international interest and work in the area.

Mediated interpersonal communication is one of the most dynamic areas in communication studies, reflecting how individuals utilize technology more and more often in their personal interactions. Organizations also rely increasingly on mediated interaction for their communications. Responding to this evolution in communication, this collection explores how existing and new personal communication technologies facilitate and change interpersonal interactions. Chapters offer in-depth examinations of mediated interpersonal communication in various contexts and applications. Contributions come from well-known scholars based around the world, reflecting the strong international interest and work in the area.

This book won the Erving Goffman Award for Outstanding Scholarship in the Ecology of Social Interaction 2014 Technological changes have radically altered the ways in which people use visual images. One such impact has been the transformation of computer-mediated-communication (CMC) into social networking. With a focus on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Second Life, and YouTube, this book describes the theoretical and historical background of computer-mediated communication alongside the cultural changes occurring with the introduction of digital media in society. Designed for students, this text introduces CMC terminology, methods for analyzing online exchanges, and theories on the relationship between CMC, social networks, and culture. By exploring both the meanings associated with CMC and social networks, and the relationship of CMC to culture, the goal of this text is to provide students with methods to better understand the socially-oriented world in which they live and to understand the characteristics that make social networks successful. Special features including terms, examples, CMC theory, and suggestions for student exercises.

Mathematical Modelling with Case Studies: Using Maple (TM) and MATLAB (R), Third Edition provides students with hands-on modelling skills for a wide variety of problems involving differential equations that describe rates of change. While the book focuses on growth and decay processes, interacting populations, and heating/cooling problems, the mathematical techniques presented can be applied to many other areas. The text carefully details the process of constructing a model, including the conversion of a seemingly complex problem into a much simpler one. It uses flow diagrams and word equations to aid in the model-building process and to develop the mathematical equations. Employing theoretical, graphical, and computational tools, the authors analyze the behavior of the models under changing conditions. The authors often examine a model numerically before solving it analytically. They also discuss the validation of the models and suggest extensions to the models with an emphasis on recognizing the strengths and limitations of each model. The highly recommended second edition was praised for its lucid writing style and numerous real-world examples. With updated Maple (TM) and MATLAB (R) code as well as new case studies and exercises, this third edition continues to give students a clear, practical understanding of the development and interpretation of mathematical models.

This is the story of the small east coast town of Hornsea during and after the Great War. The war touched every aspect of life on the home Front and those who were left behind suffered terribly as the war dragged on. This study meticulously explores the problems, hardships and grief faced by the people of Hornsea and is a microcosm of the experience of the nation generally. Chapters one to five cover the experience of the population at home, many Hornsea families were interviewed by the author over a number of years and their photographs and memories' bring the text to life. Diaries and letters found in archives and in the possession of the people of Hornsea and surrounding areas highlight events that have long been forgotten, guns placed along the cliff top, Zeppelins roaring over Hornsea on their way to bomb Hull and the resulting chaos as anti-aircraft guns and searchlights lit up the night sky over Hornsea. The sky over Hull glowed red and the explosions of bombs and guns could be seen and heard clearly from Hornsea, after the raid the Zeppelins would roar over Hornsea once again with the resulting chaos of noise and lights, releasing any bombs they had not dropped on Hull. Eye witness accounts of these Zeppelin raids are featured in the text. Recruits were being trained in the town throughout the war and in the Hornsea Drill Hall one night a rifle was discharged by accident and blew the arm off one young man, the nurse who had to help hold him down as they amputated what was left of his arm has left a graphic description of her gruesome nights work. Thousands of troops were stationed in Hornsea and its surrounding areas to train, many of them met their future wives there. Others died in training of a number of ailments, one young man who could not take the strain anymore committed suicide, these men are all buried in Hornsea and the author has researched them all, even though they were not from that town. Many such unusual stories fill the first five chapters, from spy scares to people prosecuted for profiteering or ignoring the black-out regulations. The photographs of all these people give an added poignancy to their story. Chapter six delves into the aftermath of the Great War with its legacy of grief and men badly damaged mentally and physically. The maimed could be seen on the streets and many felt bitter about their treatment when they returned home, no "Land fit for Heroes" for them. One young officer commented in a letter to his friend in Hornsea: "I feel I have been a business weed all my life, it's a sad end to a military career. I suppose they won't want us till the next war, then we shall be somebody once again". Prophetic words indeed. In chapter seven all the men on the Hornsea War Memorial are featured with portraits of the Fallen and of their families. Each family history is gone into in great detail and provides an insight of how people lived before the war. Their living relatives gave information and photographs that have been carefully kept in their own family archives and now those that were once mere names on a memorial live again within the pages of this study. In chapter eight the author has sought out all of the Hornsea Great War Memorials in Churches, Chapels and clubs. After the war the Hornsea Council decided not to have a public war memorial but to build something that would be of use to future generations and stand as a memorial to those who never came home. The Hornsea Cottage Hospital was opened in the 1920s and is still in use today with numerous additions to its structure. In 2008 a War Memorial was dedicated to the men of WW1 and WW2, it is a large black granite block with all the men's names engraved in gold leaf. It is situated in the Memorial Gardens, New Road, Hornsea. One hundred years after the Great War ended the names of the Fallen are now on display for all to see. In 1918 and 1919 Hornsea men who had served throughout the war came home only to die in the terrible influenza epidemic that was raging world-wide. One man was on his way home after being a Prisoner of War for three years and died on board ship in 1919, he is buried in Denmark. Another died at sea during the Russian War of Intervention in 1920 and is buried in the same Danish cemetery. Chapter nine deals with all Great War burials in Hornsea that are of men from other counties. In 1919 the body of a seaman was washed ashore in Hornsea, he had been on a war ship that was clearing the North Sea of mines and fell overboard, he is buried in Southgate Cemetery, Hornsea. The histories of the men from other counties is researched meticulously and the author has left no stone unturned to find out their sad and deeply moving stories. As is the case on all war memorials in Britain after the Great War many men were missed off the memorial for a number of reasons. The author has traced many such men who should be on the Hornsea War Memorial but have been omitted and has researched them and their families. They are covered in great detail in chapter ten, some with photographs. Hornsea researchers have in the past traced a number of men with links to Hornsea, some lived there before the war, some were educated there and others were born there or had relatives that lived there. The author has researched all these men and their families, those found with a link to Hornsea but not entitled to be listed on the Hornsea War Memorial feature in chapter eleven. This is the only wide ranging history of Hornsea and the Great War, it does not focus solely on the war dead but is a history of the civilian population as well. The grief felt by the Great War generation of Hornsea has now mellowed to a distant memory of sacrifice and loss, but at the time of the war the loss of sons, brothers and fathers was crushing in its enormity as ordinary folk tried to come to terms with the fact that loved ones once present were present no more. They looked out onto a world greatly changed from the one they knew. Their viewpoint is impossible for most of us now to share as they came together to cope with the emptiness, the nothingness of loss in war. The smaller Hornsea memorials kept in churches freeze in time a record of human suffering and the harsh reality of life and death in wartime. We now see these memorials with a hurried glance as relics of a bygone age, but after the war they would have been highly visible and arresting to all with their clarion call to the faithful to remember. The Hornsea Great War generation has now passed into history and with them went the grief and pain felt by all families, their memorials now stand as a silent witness to momentous events that are little known to the majority of the public today. Each day since the end of the Great War the cycle of renewal and healing has continued, the record left by the people of Hornsea stands as testament to that generosity of the human spirit that can, and must, transcend the obscenity of war.

During the sixteenth century, no part of the Christian West saw the development of a more powerful and pervasive astrological culture than the very home of the Reformation movement-the Protestant towns of the Holy Roman Empire. While most modern approaches to the religious and social reforms of that age give scant attention to cosmological preoccupations, this study argues that astrological concepts and imagery played a key role in preparing the ground for the evangelical movement sparked by Martin Luther in the 1520s, as well as in shaping the distinctive characteristics of German evangelical culture over the following century. Spreading above all through cheap printed almanacs and prognostications, popular astrology functioned in paradoxical ways. It contributed to an enlarged and abstracted sense of the divine that led away from clericalism, sacramentalism, and the cult of the saints; at the same time, it sought to ground people more squarely in practical matters of daily life. The art gained unprecedented sanction from Luther's closest associate, Philipp Melanchthon, whose teachings influenced generations of preachers, physicians, schoolmasters, and literate layfolk. But the apocalyptic astrology that came to prevail among evangelicals involved a perpetuation, even a strengthening, of ties between faith and cosmology, which played out in beliefs about nature and natural signs that would later appear as rank superstitions. Not until the early seventeenth century did Luther's heirs experience a "crisis of piety" that forced preachers and stargazers to part ways. Astrology and Reformation illuminates an early modern outlook that was both practical and prophetic; a world that was neither traditionally enchanted nor rationally disenchanted, but quite different from the medieval world of perception it had displaced.

After the protracted and bloody battles in the Gazala Line , May/June 1942, the defeated Eighth Army was in full retreat towards the positions at Alamein. Here the Eighth Army licked its wounds and replenished its stocks of men and materials. Montgomery was appointed as the new commander and instilled into his troops a new air of confidence. Most studies of Alamein focus on the northern coastal sector where the main action was fought. This study looks at the southern sector held by XIII Corps: 50th Northumbrian Division, 1st Greek Brigade under its command. 44th Home Counties Division and the 7th Armoured Division with 2nd Free French Brigade under its command. Though the fighting here was not on the same scale as the coastal sector it was none the less a series of bloody actions and hundreds of men perished. XIII Corps had the job of holding on their front German and Italian armoured divisions that would otherwise be sent north to impede the main attack by Eighth Army. After the first attacks in the north and south failed to break through the Axis forces Montgomery organised Operation Supercharge, a thrust in the north headed by infantry and artillery. 151 [Durham Brigade] was moved north to take a leading role in this attack in early November. After a bloody fight the Durhams and Scots troops broke through and the British armour streamed out into the desert as the Axis forces retreated.

Contributors Include Russell E. Mumford, William E. Ginn, David M. Brooks, And Many Others.

Big City Theatrical Thrill Ride of a Lifetime Recently unemployed and down on his luck, a despondent journalist unexpectedly finds himself invited to an eccentric big city public transit exhibit, where he is taken on a theatrical thrill ride that changes his life forever. Joined by his best friend and the new object of his affections, the journalist narrator gains a new perspective of life on the big city railroad via carnival hucksters, railcars that ride on the road, whimsical theatrical characters and performances and, of course, the wily and kooky ringleader himself: Circus Larry This is not just a story about public transportation, but an adventure through the big city. Apprising the good and bad of the public transit riding experience, The Great American Adventures of Modern Big City Railroading is a rousing, riveting tale full of fun, thrill and inspiration spun with such vigor and animation that readers will find themselves captivated, knowing they can enjoy the adventure of a lifetime, only a short walk from home

Pennsylvania State College Bulletin, V24, No. 28. Pennsylvania State College Bulletin, Mineral Industries Experiment Station, No. 10.