Back PagePrepare yourself for a most memorable journey!At first, they thought, why not?You will laugh: as Ginnie's and Russ's antics are sure to tickle your funny bone when Ginnie holds on to a tiny tree for dear life.You will be full of wonder: at situations God will put right under their noses.You will be curious: about God's amazing creation as you travel through national parks.You will be inspired: by our Creator's beauty with sunsets that feel like a preview to heaven.You will be overwhelmed with joy: when you learn powerful facts presented to you.What could possibly happen when Ginnie and Russ, two strong-willed, fun-loving people inherit a little money?Finally retired and finally empty-nesters. Never having a vacation alone, after 39 years together.Everything is spontaneous making very few reservations. They drive their old van across country from Marietta, Georgia to Seattle, Washington. What started to be a short trip became a two-and-a-half-month journey. Doing what they always wanted to do.Let them guide you through a few of our Creator's most awesome and delightful works.And if you know you are not able to take such a journey; see it, feel it, do it through their eyes. Breathe.Explore.Because at first, they thought, why not? So why not?
This book contains a series of outstanding contributions on ecodynamics that appeared in limited editions before the emergence of the International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics, which has now become the primary focus for this area of research.The aim of ecodynamics is to relate ecosystems to evolutionary thermodynamics, which can lead to appropriate solutions for sustainable development. The contributions published in this volume relate to all aspects of ecosystems and sustainable development, ranging from physical sciences to economics and epistemology.The world of ecosystems has been dominated by the towering personality of Ilya Prigogine to whom this volume is dedicated. The first article is an extract from his autobiography written shortly before he died.Prigogine's ideas are directly reflected in many of the contributions in this volume. He helped set up numerous research groups all around the world, including that at Siena University headed by the late Enzo Tiezzi. He also influenced the work of Sven Jorgensen, Bernard Patten, Robert Ulanowicz, Simone Bastianoni, Nadia Marchettini, Ricardo Pulselli, T-S Chon, to name just a few amongst the many authors contributing to this volume.This compilation of influential papers currently unavailable in the open literature will make an important contribution to the field of ecodynamics.
Paul Chansongo is an Author, Speaker and Philanthropist ,His writings in Spontaneous Flaws are an inspiration to see people live out their full potential in making the best version of themselves .Making the reader to be intentional in taking steps towards success If you ever feel you need to be more courageous in your pursuit to making the most of your life and the pursuit of making the dream a reality ,find out in this series of stories from the from inspirations of Paul Chansongo a series of unending inspiring topics on how to face challenge with confidence and a positive attitude producing the best version of your self to an excellent you .
Animals show a natural tendency to explore novel, as opposed to familiar, stimuli, suggesting an underlying memory process in regard to previously encoded information. Dependent on this tendency, spontaneous object exploration paradigms have been developed in animals to measure memory processes regarding what an object is, where an object is located, when an object is present, the association of an object and its location, in which context an object is shown and an episodic context of the combined “what-where-when” components. These paradigms feature in the absence of extensive training and reward or aversive incentives, analogous to incidental encoding of daily memory. The application of these object exploration tests is broad and covers many fields, such as behavioral neuroscience, psychopharmacology and the neurobiology of recognition memory across species. The medial prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex and medial temporal lobe (the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, perirhinal cortex and parahippocampal cortex) are the main neuroanatomical structures that are considered to underlie recognition memory. However, the retrosplenial cortex, insular cortex, anterior thalamus, nucleus reuniens of thalamus, striatum and amygdala are also considered to play a part. As well, recent findings also indicate that the lateral hypothalamus, interpeduncular nucleus and cerebellum contribute to recognition memory under certain conditions. Neurotransmitter systems actively mediate and orchestrate the neuronal communication between these structures during the processing of learning and memory. An entire picture of the neuroanatomy and neurobiology of recognition memory will, however, require multidisciplinary approaches of imaging, lesion, pharmacology, optogenetics, chemogenetics and behavioral studies. Recognition memory deficits are also major symptoms in multiple neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, such as schizophrenia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorder, Parkinson’s disease, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Although the etiology of the shared memory deficits is not fully understood, it may be associated with environmental, pharmacological and genetic factors that are commonly exposed to these disorders. Spontaneous object exploration paradigms with minimal involvement of emotional valences are appropriate in the study of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders as these disorders may sensitize one to emotional stimuli, leading to a deficit in recognition memory. Given the impact of these disorders and their memory deficits on our society there is a strong need to understand the underlying mechanisms and development of innovative pharmaceuticals and gene therapeutics.
From the events of May 1968 to the Arab Spring and Occupy, we have seen social movements develop spontaneously around the globe propelling thousands and, at times, millions of people into the streets to demand an end to oppression. "In order to make sense of such events, the authors draw on George Katsiaficas's conception of the 'eros effect,' which picks up and takes off from concepts developed by Herbert Marcuse. This effect describes moments in which the instinctual human need for justice and freedom undergoes a massive spontaneous awakening. Drawing on Marcuse, the concept foregrounds the instinctual foundation of the desire for freedom, in which a biologically-based pleasure drive—eros—is given free play." — from the Foreword by Peter Marcuse However, even as the eros effect provides a valuable framework for understanding spontaneous global uprisings, Katsiaficas has acknowledged that the concept has remained underdeveloped. Spontaneous Combustion provides an introduction to the eros effect along with a series of elaborations, applications, and critical rejoinders concerning its implications. A truly interdisciplinary venture, the book features contributions from cutting-edge scholars and activists on the frontlines of today's struggles.
An argument for a Copernican revolution in our consideration of mental features—a shift in which the world-brain problem supersedes the mind-body problem. Philosophers have long debated the mind-body problem—whether to attribute such mental features as consciousness to mind or to body. Meanwhile, neuroscientists search for empirical answers, seeking neural correlates for consciousness, self, and free will. In this book, Georg Northoff does not propose new solutions to the mind-body problem; instead, he questions the problem itself, arguing that it is an empirically, ontologically, and conceptually implausible way to address the existence and reality of mental features. We are better off, he contends, by addressing consciousness and other mental features in terms of the relationship between world and brain; philosophers should consider the world-brain problem rather than the mind-body problem. This calls for a Copernican shift in vantage point—from within the mind or brain to beyond the brain—in our consideration of mental features. Northoff, a neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and philosopher, explains that empirical evidence suggests that the brain's spontaneous activity and its spatiotemporal structure are central to aligning and integrating the brain within the world. This spatiotemporal structure allows the brain to extend beyond itself into body and world, creating the “world-brain relation” that is central to mental features. Northoff makes his argument in empirical, ontological, and epistemic-methodological terms. He discusses current models of the brain and applies these models to recent data on neuronal features underlying consciousness and proposes the world-brain relation as the ontological predisposition for consciousness.
Spontaneous activity in the nervous system is defined as neural activity that is not driven by an external stimulus and is considered a problem for sensory processing and computation. However, spontaneous activity is not completely random and often has unique spatiotemporal patterns that instruct neural circuit development in the developing brain. Moreover, normal and aberrant patterns of spontaneous activity underlie behavioral states and diseased conditions in the adult brain. The recent technological development has shed light on these unique questions in spontaneous activity. This eBook provides both original and review articles in the propensity, mechanisms, and functions of spontaneous activity in the sensory system. Our goal is to define the state of knowledge in the field, the current challenges, and the future directions for research.
