MSo Books Page

Living with HIV and Dying with AIDS: Diversity, Inequality and Human Rights in the Global Pandemic - Lesley Doyal with Len Doyal

2013-05-08T14:18:00.001+01:00

As you will be aware there is now a vast literature on HIV and AIDS but much of it is based on traditional biomedical or epidemiological approaches. Hence it tells us very little about the experiences of the millions of people whose living and dying constitute the reality of this devastating pandemic. Living with HIV and Dying with AIDS: diversity, inequality and human rights brings together findings from a wide range of studies spanning the social sciences to explore experiences of HIV positive people across the world.

It illustrates how the disease is physically manifested and psychologically internalised by individuals in diverse ways depending on the biological, social, cultural and economic circumstances in which they find themselves. We will need a proper understanding of these commonalities and differences if future strategies are to be effective in mitigating the effects of HIV and AIDS. At the same time we must develop a better appreciation of the needs and rights of those affected and to locate them within the wider context of global inequalities and injustices. In order to grasp the ways in which these issues are addressed in this book you can read the pre-publication recommendations as well as the full contents of Living with HIV and Dying with AIDS here.

We hope the book will appeal to everyone involved in struggles to improve the well-being of those with HIV and AIDS (as well as others affected by the global health crisis). While academically rigorous, it is written in an accessible manner that transcends specific disciplines and provides diverse source material for future teaching, learning and research.

Endorsements

'Amidst the plethora of books on AIDS, this volume stands out for its concern to locate and properly "contextualize" the experiences of people with HIV, both socially and geographically. The authors are to be congratulated for synthesising and adding value to scholarship and advocacy internationally.'

Peter Aggleton, The University of New South Wales, Australia

'Doyal's book shows how social science can help understand and address the challenges facing people living with HIV around the world today. It is a magisterial synthesis presented in a lucid, straightforward and engaging style that illuminates what is at stake in living with HIV today. It is ideally suited to introducing students to this vast and important topic.'

Vinh-Kim Nguyen, Université de Montréal, Canada

'In this comprehensive book, Doyal starkly traces and connects the gross inequities of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, from infection to death, in relation to political geography, political economy, gender, sexuality, class, and race/ethnicity. Confronting how these inequities harm people with HIV/AIDS and their partners, parents, children, and communities, it offers a galvanizing introduction to the pandemic's core equity issues.'

Nancy Krieger, Harvard School of Public Health, USA

'Offering compelling evidence of the inadequacy of biomedical models for the AIDS response, this book provides a clear and lucid look at the inequalities that drive growing rates of HIV infection and the inadequacy of existing systems to address them. Bringing to life the old adage the "personal is political", it provides valuable evidence of the social and economic realities faced by HIV-infected people everywhere.'

Sofia Gruskin, University of Southern California, USA

'A powerful combination of qualitative empirical data, sensitive sociological insights into diverse contexts of living and dying with HIV/AIDS, and a clear explication of the relevance of human rights both within nations and globally. Collaborative work between medical and social science researchers is the suggested path to deeper understanding of the profound burden of social suffering that extends beyond biomedical considerations.'

Solomon Benatar, University of Cape Town, South Africa, and University of Toronto, Canada

'A wide-ranging analysis of what makes HIV such a potent agent of human suffering, and why the remarkable biomedical progress of the past 30 years must be matched by advances in human rights, equity and access for there to be real progress. Here is a contextual backcloth against which clinicians can re-evaluate treatment and care for HIV.'

Jane Anderson, Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK

'No other source provides such an insightful, integrated, broadly-focused analysis that uses an explicit conceptual framework to take context and differences into account, systematically connecting human needs, human rights and inequality. This brilliant, accessible book is essential reading for policy-makers, practitioners and academics, whether or not they are interested in the specific case of HIV and AIDs.'

Pat Armstrong, York University, Toronto, Canada

Ashgate
Published: May 2013
Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-4094-3111-4

Price: £22.50

War and Embodied Memory: Becoming Disabled in Sierra Leone - Maria Berghs

2013-02-19T11:15:00.003Z

How do you become an 'amputee', 'war-wounded', 'victim' or 'disabled' person? This book describes how an amputee and war-wounded community was created after a decade long conflict (1991-2002) in Sierra Leone. Beginning with a general socio-cultural and historical analysis of what is understood by impairment and disability, it also explains how disability was politically created both during the conflict and post-conflict, as violence became part of the everyday. Despite participating in the neoliberal rebuilding of the nation state, ex-combatants and the security of the nation were the government’s main priorities, not amputee and war-wounded people.

In order to survive, people had to form partnerships with NGOs and participate in new discourses and practices around disability and rights, thus accessing identities of 'disabled' or 'persons with disabilities'. NGOs, charities and religious organisations that understood impairment and disability were most successful at aiding this community of people. However, since discourse and practice on disability were mainly bureaucratic, top-down, and not democratic about mainstreaming disability, neoliberal organisations and INGOs have caused a new colonisation of consciousness, and amputee and war-wounded people have had to become skilled in negotiating these new forms of subjectivities to survive.

Contents: Part I: Setting the scene: locating disability in Sierra Leone; Intersections between anthropology, disability, development and conflict; A general and socio-cultural analysis of impairment and disability; The political background of the creation of disability. Part II: Rebuilding and rehabilitating the nation state: creating national memory and disabled subjectivity?; Rebuilding the social world; Managing life as an individual?; Disability mainstreaming and social activism; Reparations, reintegration and peace; Looking to the future; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author: Maria Berghs is a Research Fellow in Health Sciences at the University of York, UK.

Reviews: ‘In War and Embodied Memory Maria Berghs provides a masterful and scholarly account of the experiences of war-wounded people following the decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone. It is essential reading for students, researchers and academics across all academic disciplines. No one with an interest in the creation of disability, poverty and inequality in the global south should be without it.’
Colin Barnes, University of Leeds, UK

‘At times harrowing, at others hopeful, War and Embodied Memory is an important and timely exploration of disability, survival and resistance in post-conflict Sierra Leone. The engaging and accessible multi-layered analysis takes forward our understanding at both macro and micro levels and provides essential insights for anyone with an interest in disability studies, anthropology or global justice.’
Alison Sheldon, University of Leeds, UK

Ashgate
Published: December 2012
Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-4094-4210-3
Price: £54.00

The Ashgate Research Companion to the Globalization of Health - Edited by Ted Schrecker

2012-12-10T10:44:00.000Z

Global health has emerged as a distinct field of academic research and professional activity. Over the last decade, health has become an important element of many nations' foreign policies, a routine agenda item for the G8 and a rapidly expanding focus of bilateral and multilateral development assistance. Some aspects of health, like the spread of easily transmitted communicable diseases, are self-evidently global in an age of rapid, low-cost air travel. Many more reflect the influence of transnational economic integration ('globalization') and its effects on national economies, societies and health systems. In still other cases, like non-communicable diseases in most low- and middle-income countries, the lack of impact on the interests of more powerful actors outside the borders of the affected areas makes it difficult to generate the concern and action on the part of the global community that may be imperative for ethical reasons.

This multinational volume of original contributed papers simultaneously provides an overview of the state of current global health scholarship, reflects the multidisciplinary nature of the field, and highlights the most significant issues for research and policy.

Contents

Editor's introduction: globalizing health politics in the new century, Ted Schrecker; The value of historical perspective, Monica H. Green; From plagues to peoples: health on the modern global/international agenda, Anne-Emanuelle Birn; The politics of non-communicable disease policy, Sara M. Glasgow; Anthropology and global health, Vinh-Kim Nguyen; Global environmental change and human health, Charmian M. Bennett and Anthony J. McMichael; Reaching behind borders: international trade and chronic disease, K.S. Mohindra, Raphael Lencucha and Ronald Labonté; Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose: an overview of obstacles and opportunities to improve access to medicines, Natalia Ovtcharenko, Sarah Bonazza and Jillian Clare Kohler; Global health and the human security agenda, Colleen O'Manique; Biopolitics at the crossroads of sexuality and disaster: the case of Haiti, Rosalind P. Petchesky; Metropolitan health in a globalizing world, Ted Schrecker, Françoise Barten and K.S. Mohindra; Global health governance and the intersection of health and foreign policy, Wolfgang Hein and Ilona Kickbusch; Advocates for global health aid must call for a new development model, Rick Rowden; Taking social determinants of health seriously, Ruth Bell, Sharon Friel and Michael Marmot; The contributions of a human rights approach to health, Audrey R. Chapman; Coda: the world after Lehman Brothers, New York and Rio, Ted Schrecker; Bibliography; Index.

'Faced with what is now a vast literature labelled as "global health", readers can use this volume to gain a direct route into the core health issues lying at the heart of a globalizing world.'
Kelley Lee, Simon Fraser University, Canada and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK

‘Global health has undergone a renaissance in political interest and a crisis in the politics of providing health for all. This book’s refreshing insight and depth helps us understand this conundrum and crucially offers ideas for how to move forward. The book is both an excellent research companion and provoker of new ideas and research agendas making it an essential read for anyone interested in global health.’
Sophie Harman, City University London, UK

‘This outstanding collection dissects the social production of public health discourse, showing how dominant frameworks and strategies make power invisible. Contributors include social scientists breaking new ground in evidence-based interdisciplinarity and key players in global policy-making: - an essential teaching resource for students and staff.’
Eileen O’Keefe, London Metropolitan University, UK

Ashgate
Published: October 2012
Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-4094-0924-3
Price: £85.00

Authors of Our Own Misfortune? The Problems with Psychogenic Explanations for Physical Illnesses - Angela Kennedy

2012-08-18T12:00:00.000+01:00

Since the advent of 'medicine' as a discrete practice, beliefs that bodily illness can somehow be caused by psychological, emotional, and behavioural ‘disorder’ have been claimed by many in the discipline. Such beliefs became less creditable as scientific methods of detecting disease developed, with discoveries such as the physiological and anatomical abnormalities in Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis, for example, and the organisms causing syphilis and duodenal ulcers. Nevertheless, psychogenic explanations for illnesses still appear frequently within medical and academic literature, in 'common sense' public discourses, and in medical diagnoses of patients. But how plausible are these explanations?

Authors of our Own Misfortune? proposes that psychogenic explanations for physical illnesses are subject to a complex mix of confusing concepts, accompanied by certain moralistic and ideological assumptions about people and their illnesses. Most crucially, such explanations are also, almost always, fatally flawed, both scientifically and logically. Furthermore, the widespread, uncritical acceptance and use of such explanations has had serious and specific adverse effects on the people upon whom they are used.

This is a timely, groundbreaking book about a critical theme in medicine. It provides rigorous analysis of the claims made about ‘mental disorder’ and bodily illness, using current ‘medical controversies’ (such as, but not limited to, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) to demonstrate the problems with and adverse effects of such claims. Authors of our Own Misfortune? is essential reading for academics, health professionals, and those directly or indirectly affected by psychogenic explanations for illness.

Angela Kennedy is a social sciences lecturer and researcher at a number of universities in London, and author of numerous articles, papers and books in lay, professional and academic media over a 30 year career. Her academic research interests include: the social stratification, scapegoating and social exclusion of disadvantaged groups, and the effects of these; constructions of moral panics; and the sociology of science and medicine, including manifestations of the 'science wars'.

The Village Digital Press
Paperback
ISBN: 978-0857181015
Published: August 2012
Price : £16.00

Health Workforce Governance - Edited by Stephanie D. Short, Fiona McDonald

2012-05-24T00:00:00.000+01:00

With increasing recognition of the international market in health professionals and the impact of globalism on regulation, the governance of the health workforce is moving towards greater public engagement and increased transparency. This book discusses the challenges posed by these processes such as improved access to health services and how structures can be reformed so that good practice is upheld and quality of service and patient safety are ensured.

With contributions from regulators, academics, lawyers and health professionals, this book presents arguments from multiple perspectives. Of global relevance, it brings together concerns about access, quality and safety within the framework of the health workforce governance continuum and will be of interest to policy makers, regulators, health professionals, academics legal practitioners, insurers, students and researchers.

About the Editor: Stephanie D. Short is the Professor of Health Sciences at The University of Sydney. She leads the health governance program within the Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law, a joint initiative of the United Nations University, Griffith University and the QUT Faculty of Law in association with the Australian National University and convenes HealthGov, a division of the Australian Research Council Governance Research Network. Prof. Short is Executive Director of the Governing Council of the International Consortium for Governance Research on the Health Workforce.

Fiona McDonald is a Senior Lecturer in Queensland University of Technology's Law Faculty. Her research focuses on health system governance and has four broad themes: professionals; institutions; research; and patient safety.

Ashgate
Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-4094-2921-0
Published: May 2012
Price : £65.00

Involving Children and Young People in Health and Social Care Research - Edited by Jennie Fleming, Thilo Boeck

2012-05-21T00:00:00.001+01:00

Led by both children’s rights perspectives and methodological arguments, there is an increasing emphasis on children and young people’s participation in health and social care research by researchers, policy makers and funding bodies – with many now considering the active involvement of children and young people a requirement. There is little exploration of how to address and overcome the many challenges arising from their participation, however.

Divided into five parts, this practical book begins by considering what research with young people is and why we should do it, before leading the reader into how to undertake it. The book then provides practical examples of action and finishes with reflections about the whole process. Bringing together a variety of experienced researchers, from a wide range of backgrounds in health and social care and including young people, the chapters provide insight for practical action, as well as critical and theoretical reflection. Involving Children and Young People in Health and Social Care Research includes issues on:

Understanding the reasons and processes for involving children and young people in research
Making sure that involvement is meaningful and not merely tokenistic
Developing research methods that are commensurate with different ages and abilities
Ensuring adequate training and preparation, for children, young people and adults to make involvement meaningful
Power and relationships between young people researchers and adult researchers
Sustaining young people’s interest and motivation
Addressing ethical issues that arise throughout the research journey

Committed to partnership and participation throughout the entire process of the active involvement of children and young people in health and social care research, this text provides invaluable insights and is a resource for all those conducting research in and with children and young people.
Jennie Fleming is Reader in Participatory Research and Social Action and the Director of the Centre for Social Action at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.
Thilo Boeck is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Action at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.
Routledge
Hardback
ISBN: 978-0-415-66349-6
Published 21st May 2012
Price: £85.00

Improving Organizational Interventions For Stress and Well-Being - Edited by Caroline Biron, Maria Karanika-Murray, Cary Cooper

2012-05-21T00:00:00.000+01:00

This book brings together a number of experts in the field of organizational interventions for stress and well-being, and discusses the importance of process and context issues to the success or failure of such interventions. The book explores how context and process can be incorporated into program evaluation, providing examples of how this can be done, and offers insights that aim to improve working life.

Although there is a substantial body of research supporting a causal relationship between working conditions and employee stress and well-being, information on how to develop effective strategies to reduce or eliminate psychosocial risks in the workplace is much more scarce, ambiguous and inconclusive. Indeed, researchers in this field have so far attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of organizational interventions to improve workers’ health and well-being, but little attention has been paid to the strategies and processes likely to enhance or undermine interventions. The focus of this volume will help to overcome this qualitative-quantitative divide.
This book discusses conceptual developments, practical applications, and methodological issues in the field. As such it is suitable for students, practitioners and researchers in the fields of organizational psychology and clinical psychology, as well as human resources management, health & safety, medicine, occupational health, risk management and public health.
Caroline Biron is a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Professor in Occupational Health and Safety Management in the Faculty of Administrative Sciences, and a member of the Chair in Occupational Health and Safety Management at Laval University, Québec, Canada. Her work on the intervention process won the Best Intervention Competition award at the Work, Stress & Health Conference 2011.
Maria Karanika-Murray is an Occupational Health Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Her research focuses on the importance of the organizational context for employee health and well-being, and the assessment and management of work-related health and well-being.
Cary L. Cooper CBE is Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University Management School, UK; Chair of the Academy of Social Sciences and Editor of the journal Stress and Health. He was honoured by the Queen with Commander of the British Empire for his contribution to occupational health.
Routledge
Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-84872-056-5
Published: 21st May 2012
Price: £50.00

Population Mental Health - Edited by Neal Cohen, Sandro Galea

2012-05-17T08:00:00.000+01:00

Over the last century public health efforts, such as immunization, safer food practices, public health education and promotion, improved sanitation, and water purification have been very successful in eradicating and controlling a host of diseases. The result has been a dramatic improvement in health and life expectancy. However, the impact that mental illnesses have on individuals and society as a whole has largely been overlooked by the discipline.

This pioneering volume examines the evidence-base for incorporating mental health into the public health agenda by linking the available research on population mental health with public mental health policy and practice. Issues covered in the book include the influence of health and mental health policies on the care and well-being of individuals with mental illness, the interconnectedness of physical and mental disorders, the obstacles to adopting a public health orientation to mental health/mental illness, and the potential application of public health models of intervention.

Setting out a unique and innovative model for integrated public mental health care, Population Mental Health identifies the tools and strategies of public health practice – surveillance and screening, early identification, preventive interventions, health promotion and community action – and their application to twenty-first century public mental health policy and practice.

Neal Cohen is Distinguished Lecturer at the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College and the Hunter College School of Social Work in New York City. Dr. Cohen previously served as New York City's Commissioner of Health and Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Alcoholism Services.

Sandro Galea is the Anna Cheskis Gelman and Murray Charles Gelman Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Galea’s research is concerned with the social and biological determinants of the mental health of populations.

Routledge Studies in Public Health
Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-415-53971-5
Published: May 17th 2012
Price: $42.95

Children’s Food Practices in Families and Institutions - Edited by Samantha Punch, Ian McIntosh, Ruth Emond

2012-05-17T00:00:00.000+01:00

This book brings together recent UK studies into children’s experiences and practices around food in a range of contexts, linking these to current policy and practice perspectives. It reveals that food works not only on a material level as sustenance but also on a symbolic level as something that can stand for thoughts, feelings, and relationships. The three broad contexts of schools, families and care (residential homes and foster care) are explored to show the ways in which both children and adults use food. Food is used as a means by which adults care for children and is also something through which adults manage their own feelings and relationships to each other which in turn impact on children’s experiences.

The book examines the power of food in our daily lives and the way in which it can be used as a medium by individuals to exert power and resistance, establish collective identities and notions of the self and to express moralities about notions of 'proper' family routines and 'good' and 'healthy' lifestyle choices. It identifies inter-generational and intra-generational differences and commonalities in regard to the uses of and experiences around food across a range of studies conducted with children and young people.

This book was published as a special issue of Children's Geographies.

Samantha Punch is a senior lecturer in Sociology in the Department of Applied Social Science at Stirling University. Her research interests include rural livelihoods in China, Vietnam and India, youth transitions and migration in Bolivia, children’s sibling relationships and birth order. Her recent publications include Global Perspectives on Rural Childhood and Youth: Young Rural Lives (2007), Get Set for Sociology (with McIntosh, Edinburgh University Press: 2005) and Sociology: Making Sense of Society (with Marsh, Keating, Harden, Pearson: 2009).

Ian McIntosh is a senior lecturer in Sociology in the Department of Applied Social Science at Stirling University. His research interests include, attitudes to begging, national identities and belonging. Recent publications include Get Set for Sociology (with Punch, Edinburgh University Press: 2005) and English People in Scotland: an Invisisble Minority (with Robertson and Sim, Edwin Mellen Press: Lampeter: 2008).

Ruth Emond is a part time senior lecturer in Social Work in the Department of Applied Social Science at the University of Stirling. She has conducted research in a range of areas relating to vulnerable children and young people,particularly those in institutional care. She works part time as a social worker and play therapist at The Family Change Project in Perth, Scotland where she supports children and young people who have experienced complex trauma.

Routledge
Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-415-63226-3
Published 17th May 2012
Price: £24.99

Gender and Genetics - Sociology of the Prenatal - Kate Reed

2012-05-16T00:05:00.000+01:00

Prenatal screening for genetic disorders is becoming an increasingly widespread phenomenon across the globe. While studies have highlighted the importance of women’s experiences of such screening, little is known about men’s roles and direct involvement in this process. With a focus on the experiences of both women and men, this text offers an innovative and passionate account of the gendered nature of prenatal screening.

Drawing on interview data with pregnant women and their male partners in a UK city, Reed provides a compelling analysis of maternal and paternal roles in prenatal screening. Through this analysis, the book raises important issues around genetics, gender and screening practice. With a focus on the gendered production of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ genes, the book explores differences between visual technologies and blood screening. It also explores the gendered nature of genetic responsibility and the impact this has on parenting roles.

Extending its arguments into other key debates in prenatal genetics – including a focus on the impact of screening on other types of stratification, including ethnicity and class – Reed provides an original and comprehensive analysis of some of the most pressing concerns in the field to date. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of the sociology of health and illness, science and technology studies, gender studies, feminist bioethics and medical anthropology, as well as professionals in the fields of midwifery and genetic counselling.

Kate Reed is a senior lecturer in Medical Sociology at the University of Sheffield. She has published broadly across the areas of ethnicity, gender, social theory and the sociology of health and illness. She is the author of Worlds of Health (Praeger 2003) and New Directions in Social Theory: Race, Gender and the Canon (Sage 2006).

Routledge
Hardback
ISBN: 978-0-415-55496-1
Published: 16th May 2012
Price: £80.00

Health and care in ageing societies - A new international approach - Liz Lloyd

2012-05-16T00:02:00.000+01:00

In the context of global ageing societies, there are few challenges to the underlying assumption that policies should promote functional health and independence in older people and contain the costs of care. This important book offers such a challenge.
It provides a critical analysis of the limitations of contemporary policies and calls for a fuller understanding of the relationship between health and care throughout the life-course. Located within the tradition of the feminist ethic of care, the book provides a fresh insight into global policy debates and the impact that these have on people's experiences of ageing. Including international evidence on health inequalities, health promotion and health care, this book will be of interest to a range of social scientists, particularly specialists in gerontology and social policy.
Liz Lloyd is a Senior Lecturer in Social Gerontology at the University of Bristol, School for Policy Studies. Her research is on ageing and the life course with a particular focus on health and the ethics of care. She has researched and published on the end-of-life in old age and she has been instrumental in developing the ethics of care perspective within gerontology.

Policy Press
Paperback
ISBN: 9781861349187
Published: 16 May 2012
Price: £19.99

Supporting people with alcohol and drug problems - Making a difference - Sarah Galvani

2012-05-16T00:01:00.000+01:00

Social workers and other social care professionals regularly face the challenges of working with people with alcohol and other drug problems. Yet many receive little, if any, training for working with these issues. As substance use and its social impact on communities and families rises up the political agenda, this book offers a timely support for social workers and other social care staff working in this area.
Supporting people with alcohol and drug problems addresses the current gap in social work and social care education. It provides a combination of research evidence, policy frameworks, and practical hints and tips for good social work practice. Based around practice examples supplied by social workers from both adults' and children's social care, it combines knowledge with action. It also provides an important introduction to the evidence base on assessment, intervention and partnership working with specialist substance use colleagues. This book is for all those working in children's and adults' social work and social care settings who are working with people who use, or have problems with, alcohol and other drugs.

Sarah Galvani is a Registered Social Worker, a Principal Research Fellow and Assistant Director of the Tilda Goldberg Centre for Social Work and Social Care based at the University of Bedfordshire. Her practice in the UK and USA includes work with adults who are homeless, experience mental distress, have alcohol and other drug problems, and are victims of domestic abuses. She also loves riding her motorbike, walking on Lake District Fells and supports Liverpool Football Club.

Policy Press
Paperback
ISBN: 9781847421166
Published: 16 May 2012
Price: £15.99

Technologies of Sexuality, Identity and Sexual Health - Edited by Lenore Manderson

2012-05-16T00:00:00.000+01:00

Technologies of Sexuality, Identity and Sexual Health highlights the complex ways in which sexuality is expressed and enacted through local ideologies, global identities and material cultures, and their influence on people’s sexual health and well-being. Its impetus is the renewed interest in technology and the ‘social life of things,’ including pharmaceuticals, expanded sexual and related surgery, the growing exploitation of markets for sexual and contraceptive products, and the impact of these on sexual and health practices and outcomes.

Organised loosely into three parts, the opening chapters concentrate on female contraception, its availability, and the varied cultural significance attached to the ability to control its use, exploring the politics of reproductive health and birth control, and the ties between technology and power. The middle section turns its attention to men, and the impact of traditional and contemporary concerns about masculinity, and the social and sexual roles of men. The final chapters look at the commonalities across cultural borders and sexual gendered identities – how products and procedures travel, not only through the formal channels of globalisation, but also informally, carried by individuals across cultural and social boundaries through sexual, social and commercial interactions.

The volume brings together anthropologists, sociologists and cultural studies scholars, both senior and emerging, from around the globe. Offering an important and topical contribution to the developing global literature on sexuality, sexual identity, culture and health, it is of interest to researchers and advanced students in these areas.

Lenore Manderson is an inaugural Australian Research Council Federation Fellow and Professor of Medical Anthropology in the School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, and the School of Political and Social Inquiry, Faculty of Arts, at Monash University, Australia. She was President of the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society (ISAACS 2001–2003), and is Editor of the international journal Medical Anthropology (2010–present).

Routledge
Hardback
ISBN: 978-0-415-67329-7
Published 16th May 2012
Price: £85.00

The Institutionalization of Social Welfare - A Study of Medicalizing Management - Mikael Holmqvist

2012-05-15T00:00:00.002+01:00

Today most countries rely on formally organized welfare programs - in some cases to the extent that they are labeled "welfare states". These programs, which have been constructed over the last decades, make up a larger national and international system of good intentions. Overall, it appears inconceivable to imagine "civilized society" without a comprehensive organizational system of social welfare.
Social welfare has become a "holy cow" in many societies; an institutionalized aspect of modern life. But how does the institutionalization of social welfare occur through the concrete activities it enacts; and why does the institutionalization of social welfare appear to be so particularly successful in relation to other institutionalizing phenomena? These are central problems for any sociological analysis of contemporary society’s organization and are the main locus of attention of this book.
Holmqvist explores how a social welfare organization becomes a self-evident phenomenon by "medicalizing" its environment: a way of "solving" social problems by viewing and treating them as medical problems. This study generates new understandings of how institutionalization of organizations comes about and contributes fresh insight to the area of social welfare policies.
Mikael Holmqvist is an associate professor in organization theory at the School of Business, Stockholm University.
Routledge
Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-415-54287-6
Published: 15th May 2012
Price: £26.00

Biopolitics and the 'Obesity Epidemic' - Edited by Jan Wright, Valerie Harwood

2012-05-15T00:00:00.001+01:00

Biopolitics and the ‘Obesity Epidemic’ is the first edited collection of critical perspectives on the 'obesity epidemic.' The volume provides a comprehensive discussion of current issues in the critical analysis of health, obesity and society, and the impact of obesity discourses on different individuals, social groups and institutions. Contributors from the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia provide original, accessible, and engaging chapters on issues such as the effects on individuals, families, youths and schools. The timely contributions offered by Biopolitics and the ‘Obesity Epidemic’ to this highly topical area will be of interest to a wide range of readers, including teachers, education professionals, community health and allied professionals, and academics in areas such as education, health, youth studies, social work and psychology.

Valerie Harwood is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongong. Her recently published book Diagnosing ‘Disorderly’ Children (2006, Routledge) came runner-up in the prestigious National Association of Special Needs in Education/Times Educational Supplement Academic Book Award, 2006.

Jan Wright is Professor of Education and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongong. She is co-editor of Body Knowledge and Control and Critical Inquiry and Problem Solving in Physical Education (Routledge 2004) and co-author with Michael Gard of The Obesity Epidemic: Science, Ideology and Morality (Routledge, 2005).

Routledge
Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-415-54094-0
Published 15th May 2012
Price: £26.00

Ultra-Low Fertility in Pacific Asia - Edited by Paulin Straughan, Angelique Chan, Gavin Jones

2012-05-15T00:00:00.000+01:00

Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong SAR are among the very lowest-fertility countries in the whole world, and even China has reached fertility levels lower than those in many European countries. If these levels continue over long periods East Asia will soon face accelerating population decline in addition the changes in age distributions in such populations raise major new questions for planning of economic and social welfare.

This book brings together work by noted experts on the low fertility countries of East Asia with an up-to-date analysis of trends in fertility, what we know about their determinants and consequences, the policy issues and how these are being addressed in the various countries. Its role in bringing together information on policy trends and initiatives of a pro-natalist kind adopted over recent years in these countries is extremely important, as is the fact that the discussion of these pro-natalist policies is set in the context of a thorough analysis of what has driven fertility so low in these countries.

Ultra-Low Fertility in Pacific Asia is invaluable to students and scholars of East Asian public and social policy, as well as fertility studies more generally.

Gavin Jones is Professor in the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, where he is research team leader on the changing family in Asia.

Paulin Tay-Straughan is an Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Sociology; and Vice-Dean at the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, National University of Singapore

Angelique Chan is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore

Routledge
Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-415-54078-0
Published 15th May 2012
Price: £26.00

The International Legal Governance of the Human Genome - Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy

2012-05-11T00:00:00.000+01:00

The human genome is a well known symbol of scientific and technological progress in the 21st century. However, concerns about the exacerbation of inequalities between the rich and the poor, the developing and the developed states, the healthy and the unhealthy are causing problems for the progress of scientific research. The international community is moving towards a human rights approach in addressing these concerns.

Such an approach will be piecemeal and ineffective so long as fundamental issues about economic, social and cultural rights, the so-called second generation of human rights, are not addressed. This book argues that, in order to be able to meaningfully apply a human rights framework to the governance of the human genome, the international human rights framework should be based on a unified theory of human rights where the distinction between positive and negative rights is set aside.
The book constructs a common heritage concept with the right to development at its core and explores the content of the right to development through rational human rights theory. It is argued that the notion of property rights in the human genome should be placed within the context of protecting human rights, including the right to development. The concept of common heritage of humanity, contrary to the widely held belief that it is in opposition to patenting of gene sequences, supports human rights-based conceptions of property rights.
This book fills a gap in the literature on international legal governance of the human genome will provide an essential reference point for research into the right to development, development issues in bioethics, the role of international institutions in law making and research governance.
Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy is Lecturer at Sheffield Law school, UK. His research interests are international law, particularly governance of new technologies, international human rights, property and intellectual property law.

Routledge
Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-415-53425-3
Published: 11th May 2012
Price: £24.95

Contemporary Health Studies, An Introduction - Louise Warwick-Booth, Ruth Cross & Diane Lowcock

2012-04-30T00:00:00.000+01:00

Contemporary Health Studies: An Introduction provides a lively and accessible introduction to the current issues and key debates in this area. It contains a strong, up-to-date, global, social-scientific focus examining the human experience of health particularly emphasising its social, political and environmental dimensions.

The book’s diverse content is usefully divided into three main parts. Part one sets the scene looking closely at the definition of health studies and the debates surrounding the concept of health. Part two explores different disciplines underpinning Health Studies including chapters such as sociology, psychology, anthropology and health promotion. Part three of the book explores the determinants of health and contains chapters on individual factors influencing health, policy influences on health, public health and the global context of health. Each chapter:

Opens with a list of key learning outcomes;
Contains topical learning tasks;
Poses questions for reflection and debate;
Provides an in-depth case study to summarise the key arguments made.

Carefully chosen tables, figures and photographs bring the text to life, whilst the companion web-site offers additional learning resources for both students and lecturers alike.

Contemporary Health Studies: An Introduction is an essential guide for undergraduate health students written by three authors who have a wealth of teaching experience in this subject area. Their book will inspire readers to consider the human experience of health within contemporary global society as it is mediated by individual, societal and global contexts.

Lousie Warwick-Booth is course leader - health studies at Leeds Metropolitan University
Ruth Cross is senior lecturer in health at Leeds Metropolitan University
Diane Lowcock is senior lecturer in health at Leeds Metropolitan University

Polity
Paperback
ISBN: 9780745650227
Published: April 2012

Regenerating Bodies - Tissue & Cell Therapies in the 21st Century - Julie Kent

2012-04-26T00:00:00.000+01:00

This exciting book examines how human tissues and cells are being exchanged, commodified and commercialised by new health technologies. Through a discussion of emergent global ‘tissue economies’ the author explores the social dynamics of innovation in the fields of tissue engineering and stem cell science. The book explores how regenerative medicine configures and conceptualises bodies and argues that the development of regenerative medicine is a feminist issue.

In Regenerating Bodies, Kent critically examines the transformative potential of regenerative medicine and whether it represents a paradigm shift from more traditional forms of biomedicine. The book shows that users of these technologies are gendered and women’s bodies are enrolled in the production of them in particular ways. So what is the value of a feminist bioethics for thinking about the ethical issues at stake? Drawing on extensive qualitative field research, Kent examines the issues around donation, procurement, banking and engineering of human tissues, and presents an analysis of the regulatory and policy debates surrounding these practices within Europe and the UK.
The book considers the claims that regenerative medicine represents exciting possibilities for treating the diseases of ageing bodies, critically assessing what kind of futures are embodied in tissue and cell based therapies. It will be of interest to a wide range of scholars and students within the social sciences, in health technology studies, bioethics, feminist studies, and gender and health studies.
Julie Kent is Professor of Sociology of Health Technology at the University of the West of England in Bristol. Her research and publications examine the connections between ethics and regulation, the gendering of bodies, human tissue use in the biosciences and the emergence of ‘regenerative medicine’.

Routledge
Hardback
ISBN: 978-0-415-68881-9
Published: 26th April 2012
Price: £80.00

Health Equity, Social Justice and Human Rights - Ann Taket

2012-04-24T00:00:00.000+01:00

Important links between health and human rights are increasingly recognised and human rights can be viewed as one of the social determinants of health. Furthermore, a human rights framework provides an excellent foundation for advocacy on health inequalities, a value-based alternative to views of health as a commodity, and the opportunity to move away from public health action being based on charity.

This text demystifies systems set up for the protection and promotion of human rights globally, regionally and nationally. It explores the use and usefulness of rights-based approaches as an important part of the tool-box available to health and welfare professionals and community members working in a variety of settings to improve health and reduce health inequities. Global in its scope, Health Equity, Social Justice and Human Rights presents examples from all regions of the world to illustrate the successful use of human rights approaches in fields such as HIV/AIDS, improving accessibility to essential drugs, reproductive health, women’s health, and improving the health of marginalised and disadvantaged groups.

Understanding human rights and their interrelationships with health and health equity is essential for public health and health promotion practitioners, as well as being important for a wide range of other health and social welfare professionals. This text is valuable reading for students, practitioners and researchers concerned with combating health inequalities and promoting social justice.

Ann Taket is Professor of Health and Social Exclusion in the School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Australia, and Director of the Centre for Health through Action on Social Exclusion (CHASE).

Routledge
Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-415-61375-0
Published 24th April 2012
Price: £26.99

Ecological Public Health - Geof Rayner, Tim Lang

2012-04-23T00:00:00.000+01:00

What is public health? To some, it is about drains, water, food and housing, all requiring engineering and expert management. To others, it is the State using medicine or health education and tackling unhealthy lifestyles.

This book argues that public health thinking needs an overhaul, a return to and modernisation around ecological principles. Ecological Public Health thinking, outlined here, fits the twenty-first century’s challenges. It integrates what the authors call the four dimensions of existence: the material, biological, social and cultural aspects of life. Public health becomes the task of transforming the relationship between people, their circumstances and the biological world of nature and bodies. For Rayner and Lang, this is about facing a number of long-term transitions, some well recognized, others not. These transitions are Demographic, Epidemiological, Urban, Energy, Economic, Nutrition, Biological, Cultural and Democracy itself.

The authors argue that identifying large scale transitions such as these refocuses public health actions onto the conditions on which human and eco-systems health interact. Making their case, Rayner and Lang map past confusions in public health images, definitions and models. This is an optimistic book, arguing public health can be rescued from its current dilemmas and frustrations. This century’s agenda is unavoidably complex, however, and requires stronger and more daring combinations of interdisciplinary work, movements and professions locally, nationally and globally. Outlining these in the concluding section, the book charts a positive and reinvigorated institutional purpose.

Both authors have long been active in the international public health movement as practitioners, advocates, researchers and thinkers. Geof Rayner PhD is an independent social scientist working in public health, and is currently a Research Fellow at the Centre for Food Policy, City University London and Professor Associate at Brunel University. Tim Lang PhD is a social scientist specialising in food, public health, the environment and social justice, and is Professor of Food Policy at City University London.

Routledge
Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-84407-832-5
Published 23rd April 2012
Price: £26.99

Contemporary Theorists for Medical Sociology - Edited by Graham Scambler

2012-04-04T00:00:00.000+01:00

Contemporary Theorists for Medical Sociology explores the work of key social theorists and the application of their ideas to issues around health and illness.

Encouraging students and researchers to use mainstream sociological thought to inform and deepen their knowledge and understanding of the many arenas of health and healthcare, this text discusses and critically reviews the work of several influential contemporary thinkers, including – Foucault, Bauman, Habermas, Luhmann, Bourdieu, Merleau-Ponty, Wallerstein, Archer, Deleuze, Guattari, and Castells.
Each chapter includes a critical introduction to the central theses of a major social theorist, ways in which their ideas might inform medical sociology and some worked examples of how their ideas can be applied. Containing contributions from established scholars, rising stars and innovative practitioners, this book is a valuable read for those studying and researching the sociology of health and illness.
Graham Scambler is Professor of Medical Sociology at University College London, UK.

Routledge
Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-415-59783-8
Published April 4th 2012
Price: $53.95

Understanding the Sociology of Health, An Introduction, 3rd Edition - Anne-Marie Barry , Chris Yuill

2012-03-31T00:00:00.000+01:00

Understanding the Sociology of Health, Third Edition is an accessible introduction to a subject which is often shrouded in jargon. Providing case studies and exercises to really get students thinking, this book shows how sociology provides the means to answer complex questions about health and illness, such as why health inequalities exist. The new edition includes new chapters on the history of health and healing; sexuality; sport, fitness and exercise; and death and dying.

Anne-Marie Barry, Research Consultant, Edinburgh
Chris Yuill, Robert Gordon University

SAGE Publications Ltd
Paperback
ISBN: 9781446201886
Published: March 2012
Price: $45.00

Threat Talk - Mary Manjikian

2012-02-29T12:00:00.000Z

'Threat Talk' exposes how US and Chinese scientists and policy-makers have understood and responded to the problem of internet addiction in their societies. Mary Manjikian's culturalist approach claims that the internet is neither inherently helpful, nor inherently threatening. Rather, its role and the dangers it poses may be understood differently by different societies.

'The volume provides a truly original contribution to Social Constructivism and internet studies alike by showing how the perceived purpose and function of a technology are not the same across countries. Investigating the case of "internet addiction" in the United States and China, it is a fascinating reading for students and scholars in Political Science, Sociology and Psychology.' Giampiero Giacomello, University of Bologna, Italy

'Threat Talk by Professor Manjikian is an interesting and thoroughly researched book that exhibits solid out of the box thinking, cross disciplinary research, and case study insight into the politics of internet addiction.' Kevin Cooney, Northwest University, USA

'Written in a lively and engaging manner, Threat Talk explores how states understand and respond to the challenge of cyber-addiction. Drawing from a rich set of cases including China and the United States, Manjikian persuasively argues that societies' values, beliefs, and cultural traditions are the critical determinants. The broader point she makes-that technology may sharpen rather than flatten political differences across states-is provocative, counter-intuitive, and ultimately convincing. A fascinating read for scholars and generalists alike.' Elizabeth Economy, Council on Foreign Relations, USA

For further details, please click here http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781409433941.

Ashgate
Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-4094-3394-1
Published: February 2012
Price : £55.00

The Body - Nick J. Fox

2012-01-31T00:00:00.000Z

The medical and social sciences offer us many ways of understanding the human body and what it can do. From biology and psychology to sociology and philosophy, a range of disciplines supply us with a rich yet challenging picture. On the one hand, our bodies are fashioned from genes, cells and organs; on the other, they are the foundation for our identities, our interactions and lived experiences from childhood to old age.

This book provides an accessible and informative account of the importance of the body for the caring professions. It offers a clear description of the latest theoretical perspectives, weaving the natural and social body into one. The book focuses on specific aspects such as health and illness, ageing, gender and sexuality, consumption, care, and medical technology.
The text is specifically tailored towards the needs of health and social care students, with case studies directly relating to concrete problems encountered by professionals in the field. The Body is an invaluable textbook for students of the caring professions and will bring to life the issues they face, both in their studies and in their future work with patients, clients and consumers.

Nick J. Fox is Professor of Sociology and the Body at the University of Sheffield.

Polity
Paperback
ISBN: 9780745651248
Published: January 2012