In a reappraisal of public health and health promotion in contemporary societies, Deborah Lupton puts forward that health cannot be understood simply as the presence or absence of disease - rather, it represents a moral imperative that is embedded in social and cultural norms and expressed in public policies. Using sociocultural and political theory, the author analyses the implications of the new social theories for the study of health promotion and communication. Combining sociological, anthropological, historical and cultural studies approaches, she analyses the symbolic nature of public health practices and explores their underlying meanings and assumptions. Key topics include: the history and emergence of the public health movement; contemporary health promotion and public health strategies; risk discourse and diagnostic testing; the use of the mass media and advertising in health promotion; bodies, pleasures and the practices of self in response to health promotion. "The Imperative of Health" seeks to explore the ways in which some of the knowledge and practices of public health and health promotion have been developed and articulated, how they are justified, what ends they seek and their alliances and dependencies. This book should be useful reading for students and academics in the sociology of health and illness, health communication, cultural studies, mass communications, medical anthropology and sociology, nursing and public health.
States of Mind presents a series of dialogues with twenty-two of the world's leading political, philosophical, and literary thinkers. Over the past decade, Richard Kearney has interviewed a range of notable figures, including Julia Kristeva, Jacques Derrida, George Steiner, Charles Taylor, Herbert Marcuse, Seamus Heaney, Jorge Luis Borges, Noam ......
A Companion to the Writings and Work of D. W. Winnicott
Donald Woods Winnicott started his career as a pediatrician and later became a psychoanalyst and child psychiatrist. His legacy includes some of the most highly regarded books in the literature on child care and development. Alexander Newman's book provides an accessible, in-depth and comprehensive analysis, the result of twenty years work. This ......
Rationalizing human behavior is our most compelling pastime. We are all disposed to offer and accept insufficient evidence and invalid arguments when these seem to support conclusions that we merely wish were true. We need to know how to think clearly about our social thinking, how to resist the allure of self-deception how best to choose. ......
What role does the "human factor" play in the scientific process? This volume examines the role of the scientist in the process of understanding the world. It also emphasises the human character of scientific inquiry, a dynamic interplay between human beings and their surroundings embodying attempts to understand, anticipate, and cope with nature.
Tells the story of the landmark research study that uncovered the widely cited "word gap" between children from low-income homes and their more economically advantaged peers. This groundbreaking research has spurred hundreds of studies and programs, including the White House's Bridging the Word Gap campaign
The author nationally recognized for the quality and depth of his teaching in religious studies has written the first full-scale introduction to the history and methods of the study of religion.
