Author: Joseph Leo Koerner File Type: pdf With his 95 Theses, Martin Luther advanced the radical notion that all Christians could enjoy a direct, personal relationship with Godshattering years of Catholic tradition and obviating the need for intermediaries like priests and saints between the individual believer and God. The text of the Bible, the Word of God itself, Luther argued, revealed the only true path to salvationnot priestly ritual and saintly iconography. But if wordsnot iconic imagesshowed the way to salvation, why didnt religious imagery during the Reformation disappear along with indulgences? The answer, according to Joseph Leo Koerner, lies in the paradoxical nature of Protestant religious imagery itself, which is at once both iconic and iconoclastic. Koerner masterfully demonstrates this point not only with a multitude of Lutheran images, many never before published, but also with a close reading of a single pivotal workLucas Cranach the Elders altarpiece for the City Church in Wittenberg (Luthers parish). As Koerner shows, Cranach, breaking all the conventions of traditional Catholic iconography, created an entirely new aesthetic for the new Protestant ethos. In the Crucifixion scene of the altarpiece, for instance, Christ is alone and stripped of all his usual attendantsno Virgin Mary, no John the Baptist, no Mary Magdalenewith nothing separating him from Luther (preaching the Word) and his parishioners. And while the Holy Spirit is nowhere to be seenrepresentation of the divine being impossibleit is nonetheless dramatically present as the force animating Christs drapery. According to Koerner, it is this iconoclash that animates the best Reformation art. Insightful and breathtakingly original, The Reformation of the Image compellingly shows how visual art became indispensable to a religious movement built on words.

Author: Jennifer Rauch File Type: pdf Today we recognize that we have a different relationship to media technology--and to information more broadly--than we had even five years ago. We are connected to the news media, to our jobs, and to each other, 24 hours a day. But many people have found their mediated lives to be too fast, too digital, too disposable, and too distracted. This group--which includes many technologists and young people--believes that current practices of digital media production and consumption are unsustainable, and works to promote alternate ways of living. Until recently, sustainable media practices have been mostly overlooked, or thought of as a counterculture. But, as Jennifer Rauch argues in this book, the concept of sustainable media has taken hold and continues to gain momentum. Slow media is not merely a lifestyle choice, she argues, but has potentially great implications for our communities and for the natural world. In eight chapters, Rauch offers a model of sustainable media that is slow, green, and mindful. She examines the principles of the Slow Food movement--humanism, localism, simplicity, self-reliance, and fairness--and applies them to the use and production of media. Challenging the perception that digital media is necessarily eco-friendly, she examines green media, which offers an alternative to a current commodities system that produces electronic waste and promotes consumption of nonrenewable resources. Lastly, she draws attention to mindfulness in media practice-- mindful emailing or contemplative computing, for example--arguing that media has significant impacts on human health and psychological wellbeing. Slow Media will ultimately help readers understand the complex and surprising relationships between everyday media choices, human well-being, and the natural world. It has the potential to transform the way we produce and use media by nurturing a media ecosystem that is more satisfying for people, and more sustainable for the planet. **

Author: Philip Collins File Type: epub Be memorable.Whether you like it or loathe it, public speaking is something many of us have to do. Be it presentations to colleagues or speeches to a room full of near strangers, we all want to shineor at least get through it with our dignity intact. Luckily Philip Collins, former Chief Speech Writer to Tony Blair, knows exactly whats needed to give a storming speech.The secret, according to Philip, is content. Too many of us focus on how were presenting, and dont spend enough time thinking about what were presenting. The secret to memorable, polished speeches is to think more about the material youre sharing to pay attention to detail and choose your works carefully. Speech writing is and art and art we can all learn.When the contents right, the confidence will follow.In The Art of Speeches and Presentations Philip Collins provides you with a concise set of tools, preparing you for any speaking occasion. Ranging from the ancient history of rhetoric to what makes Barack Obama such a good speaker, its packed with practical examples and tips to teach you the craft of speaking well and making people remember what to say.Does Phil Collins know what he is talking about? Heres the answer he isnt just good, he is the best. Its as simple as that. I spent years writing speeches for major politicians and I now speak publicly myself all the time, and yet there is so much that I can pick up from him and anyone who re4ads this book will too.Daniel Finkelstein, Executive Editor, The Times and former speech writer to William HagueReview...Excellent book...He provides a comprehensive and relevant set of tools to prepare managers for any speaking or presenting occasion. (inManagement, June 2012) His enthusiasm is palpable, and the exposition of tools and techniques of the trade will help anyone who finds speech writing part of their professional remit. (Financial Adviser, June 2012) There are fewer good books on preparing a memorable speech-and this is a very good one...this book is a first class guide to a career-making art. (Professional Manager, September 2012)

Author: Christian Enemark File Type: pdf Biosecurity Dilemmas examines conflicting values and interests in the practice of biosecurity, the safeguarding of populations against infectious diseases through security policies. Biosecurity encompasses both the natural occurrence of deadly disease outbreaks and the use of biological weapons. Christian Enemark focuses on six dreaded diseases that governments and international organizations give high priority for research, regulation, surveillance, and rapid response pandemic influenza, drug-resistant tuberculosis, smallpox, Ebola, plague, and anthrax. The book is organized around four ethical dilemmas that arise when fear causes these diseases to be framed in terms of national or international security protect or proliferate, secure or stifle, remedy or overkill, and attention or neglect. For instance, will prioritizing research into defending against a rare event such as a bioterrorist attack divert funds away from research into commonly occurring diseases? Or will securitizing a particular disease actually stifle research progress owing to security classification measures? Enemark provides a comprehensive analysis of the ethics of securitizing disease and explores ideas and policy recommendations about biological arms control, global health security, and public health ethics.