The Distortion of Nature's Image


Book Description

The global ecological crisis is upon us. From global warming to the long-term implications of ocean acidification, air and water pollution, deforestation, and the omnipresent dangers of nuclear technology the future of our planetary home is threatened. Yet in the midst of the unfolding crisis, the conventional ideologies of the twentieth century and their representations of nature remain unchallenged by both the defenders of capitalism and capitalism's most radical critics. The Distortion of Nature's Image illustrates how the anti-naturalism of late capitalist society, in which nature is reified into the emptiness of mere matter, simply a thing to be dominated, is subtly complemented by the failure of the Left to go both beyond the historic limitations of Marx's ninteenth-century viewpoint and beyond anarchism's blind faith in "natural law." However, an alternative for comprehending nature and the ecological crisis as historical and social phenomena remains open in the dialectical naturalism of Western Marxism and Murray Bookchin's social ecology. By examining in closer detail how Bookchin's social ecology politicizes the concept of nature, as well as how precursory models in Western Marxist thought provide a foundation for this, Damian Gerber illustrates how the notion of an ecological society remains a decisively political question.




The Distortion of Nature's Image


Book Description

Illustrates how the notion of an ecological society remains a decisively political question. The global ecological crisis is upon us. From global warming to the long-term implications of ocean acidification, air and water pollution, deforestation, and the omnipresent dangers of nuclear technology the future of our planetary home is threatened. Yet in the midst of the unfolding crisis, the conventional ideologies of the twentieth century and their representations of nature remain unchallenged by both the defenders of capitalism and capitalism’s most radical critics. The Distortion of Nature’s Image illustrates how the anti-naturalism of late capitalist society, in which nature is reified into the emptiness of mere matter, simply a thing to be dominated, is subtly complemented by the failure of the Left to go both beyond the historic limitations of Marx’s nineteenth-century viewpoint and beyond anarchism’s blind faith in “natural law.” However, an alternative for comprehending nature and the ecological crisis as historical and socialphenomena remains open in the dialectical naturalism of Western Marxism and Murray Bookchin’s social ecology. By examining in closer detail how Bookchin’s social ecology politicizes the concept of nature, as well as how precursory models in Western Marxist thought provide a foundation for this, Damian Gerber illustrates how the notion of an ecological society remains a decisively political question. “There are very few studies that bring anarchism into conversation with an ecological focus. Gerber’s book does this in extraordinary form, offering a critical but balanced overview.” — Simon Springer, author of The Anarchist Roots of Geography: Toward Spatial Emancipation










Transactions


Book Description




Visual Quality Assessment for Natural and Medical Image


Book Description

Image quality assessment (IQA) is an essential technique in the design of modern, large-scale image and video processing systems. This book introduces and discusses in detail topics related to IQA, including the basic principles of subjective and objective experiments, biological evidence for image quality perception, and recent research developments. In line with recent trends in imaging techniques and to explain the application-specific utilization, it particularly focuses on IQA for stereoscopic (3D) images and medical images, rather than on planar (2D) natural images. In addition, a wealth of vivid, specific figures and formulas help readers deepen their understanding of fundamental and new applications for image quality assessment technology. This book is suitable for researchers, clinicians and engineers as well as students working in related disciplines, including imaging, displaying, image processing, and storage and transmission. By reviewing and presenting the latest advances, and new trends and challenges in the field, it benefits researchers and industrial R&D engineers seeking to implement image quality assessment systems for specific applications or design/optimize image/video processing algorithms.




Maple in Mathematics Education and Research


Book Description

This book constitutes refereed proceedings of the 4th Maple Conference, MC 2020, held in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, in November 2020. The 25 revised full papers and 3 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected out of 75 submissions, one invited paper is also presented in the volume. The papers included in this book cover topics in education, algorithms, and applciations of the mathematical software Maple.




The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology


Book Description

The Westminter Dictionary of Christian Theology is an important reference for any pastor, scholar, or student of theology. The articles are clearly written, historically informative, and conceptually clarifying. The entries are arranged alphabetically for ease of use.




Intermediate Natures


Book Description

Michel Desvigne is no doubt the most high-profile French landscape architect working today. He collaborates with architects like Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, Ieoh Ming Pei, Herzog and de Meuron, and Jean Nouvel, and his projects are synonymous with a strong strategic and conceptual component, influenced by insights from geography. Traffic projects also play an important role in his work – they underscore the competence of landscape architecture in matters of city planning. This thematic monograph documents the key elements of Desvigne’s work in individual chapters: processes of transformation, geography, territory, urban structures, and public squares. Each of these themes is vividly illustrated by selected projects, including the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, the French Ministry of Culture in Paris, and Keio University in Tokyo.




Nurturing Natures


Book Description

This book provides an indispensable account of current understandings of children’s emotional development. Integrating the latest research findings from areas such as attachment theory, neuroscience and developmental psychology, it weaves these into a readable and easy-to-digest text. It provides a tour of the most significant influences on the developing child, always bearing in mind the family and social context. It looks at key developmental stages, from life in the womb to the pre-school years and right up until adolescence, whilst also examining how we develop key capacities such as language, play and memory. Issues of nature and nurture are addressed and the effects of different kinds of early experiences are unpicked, looking at both individual children and larger-scale longitudinal studies. Psychological ideas and research are carefully integrated with those from neurobiology and understandings from other cultures to create a coherent and balanced view of the developing child in context. Nurturing Natures integrates a wide array of complex academic research from different disciplines to create a book that is not only highly readable but also scientifically trustworthy. Full of fascinating findings, it provides answers to many of the questions people really want to ask about the human journey from conception into adulthood. Visit Graham Music's personal site at http://www.nurturingminds.co.uk/.