The Dynamic Human

An essential visual guide for artists to the mastery and use of advanced human anatomy skills in the creation of figurative art. Dynamic Human Anatomy picks up where Basic Human Anatomy leaves off and offers artists and art students a deeper understanding of anatomy, including anatomy in motion, and how that essential skill is applied to the creation of fine figurative art.

Dynamic Human Anatomy, Second Edition, connects biomechanical movement with specific sports movements to provide an understanding of the body’s anatomical structure and function.

In The Dynamics of Human Life in the Bible: Receptivity and Power, Martin J. Buss describes the dynamics of human life that are encouraged in the Bible and how biblical guidance compares with other religious traditions. The dynamics include both receptivity (“from” another) and power (“for” or “over” another), often in combination (“with” another). For example, love joins receptive cognition of worth with energetic support. Receptivity, the only way to deal with fundamental values, seeks material and religious benefits and is the human side of revelation and salvation. Public acknowledgement strengthens divine influence. Furthermore, receptivity accepts challenges. These include individual and social growth and semi-identification with others, which has societal rather than concrete individual consequences. Power is crucial in legal remedies and penalties. Life with others is important in practical “wisdom” and in Christian “mutual love.” Buss finds that biblical directives parallel those of non-Christian religious traditions. This situation is in line with biblical views of general revelation and developments in history.

The natural world can be viewed as a continuously changing complex system comprising variable units that do not conform to any stable plan. Within this framework, human evolution is not the story of the past that created Homo sapiens and then handed this account over to written history. It is the ongoing process that shapes us now and will shape us in the future, body and mind. We must understand it in order to survive and be able to direct it to our advantage. The Dynamic Human presents a general theory of how humans function as a multi-individual system embedded in the natural world. The authors employ a unified approach of systems theory to outline forces that direct ongoing human evolution and produce its outcomes in terms of the past, present and future. Readers will find a perspective on the human place in nature, through a brief account of the past human evolution over 10 million years ago, a discussion of the earliest appearance of humans some 2 million years ago, and a description of the mechanisms of the changes in the gene pool of humans from generation-to-generation. Understanding the forces involved in these mechanisms (physical and mental growth and development) may allow us to understand human evolution better. The Dynamic Human presents a simplified perspective on human evolution for all readers interested in a discourse on the origins, nature and future of human beings.

A comprehensive, yet flexible and holistic approach to the human body for artists, Roberto Osti’s method of teaching anatomy is exhaustive, but never loses sight of the fact that this understanding should lead to the creation of art. Basic Human Anatomy teaches artists the simple yet powerful formula artists have used for centuries to draw the human figure from the inside out. Osti, using the basic system of line, shape, and form used by da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo, takes readers step-by-step through all the lessons needed in order to master this essential foundation skill. Organized progressively, the book shows readers how to replicate the underlying structure of the body using easy-to-understand scales and ratios; conceptualize the front and side views of the skeleton with basic shapes; add detail with simplified depictions of complex bones and joints; draw a muscle map of the body with volumetric form and realistic dimension; master the feet, hands, and skull to create realistic renderings of the human form; and apply a deeper knowledge of anatomy to finished drawings for more impact.

This book is about improving human decision making and performance in complex, dynamic tasks. The defining characteristics of a dynamic decision task are that there are a number of decisions required, that decisions are interdependent and that the environment in which the decision is made is transient and feedback is pervasive. Examples of dynamic tasks include the sustainable management of renewable resources and how businesses might allocate resources for research and development (R&D) projects. Decision making in dynamic tasks can be improved through training with system dynamics–based interactive learning environments (ILE’s) that include systematic debriefing. Some key features of the book include its didactic approach, numerous tables, figures, and the multidimensional evaluative model. Researchers can use the developed “evaluation model” to gauge various decision-aiding technologies. How to Improve Human Performance in Dynamic Tasks appeals to those interested in the design and evaluation of simulation-based decision support systems, as well as policy makers, students, researchers, and industrialists concerned by the issue of improving human performance in organizational tasks.

This book presents a transpersonal theory of human development. Using a broad range of both Western and Eastern sources, Washburn answers the challenge of Carl Jung. He shows how modern humans can integrate themselves and attain self-realization rather than self-destruction.