About the BookOne day Anna Harris was remembering growing up on a farm in Leavenworth, KS. As she thought about that, she began to write the memories of things that had happened during her life. She thought it would be fun to share her memories with her community. She began writing a new story each week for her local newspaper. She had so many folks telling her as each story was written how much they enjoyed it. Then they started encouraging her to write a book! As the memories cont...

Performative methods are playing an increasingly prominent role in research into historical production processes, materials, bodily knowledge and sensory skills, and in forms of education and public engagement in classrooms and museums. This book offers, for the first time, sustained, interdisciplinary reflections on performative methods, variously known as Reconstruction, Replication and Re-enactment (RRR) practices across the fields of history of science, archaeology, art history, conser...

Medical knowledge manifests in materials, and materials are integral to the reproduction of medical knowledge. From the novice student to the expert practitioner, those who study and work in and around medicine rely on material guidance in their everyday practice and as they seek to further their craft.Students, just as experts, pore over textbooks, photographs and films. They put up and copy down chalkboard illustrations, manipulate plastic models and inspect organic specimens fix...

This book explores the colourful past, present and future of an instrument that is, quite literally, close to our hearts. The stethoscope has become the symbol of medicine itself, but how did this come to be? What makes the stethoscope such a familiar and yet charismatic object?Drawing from a range of fields including history, anthropology, science, technology and sound studies, the book illustrates the variety of roles the stethoscope has played over time. It shows that the stethos...

These poems represent my feelings and disgust of the rapid self inflicted decline of the United States of America under Democrat rule. God Bless America

Online genetic testing services are increasingly being offered to consumers who are becoming exposed to, and knowledgeable about, new kinds of genetic technologies, as the launch of a 23andme genetic testing product in the UK testifies. Genetic research breakthroughs, cheek swabbing forensic pathologists and celebrities discovering their ancestral roots are littered throughout the North American, European and Australasian media landscapes. Genetic testing is now capturing the attention, an...

A Sensory Education takes a close look at how sensory awareness is learned and taught in expert and everyday settings around the world. Anna Harris shows that our sensing is not innate or acquired, but in fact evolves through learning that is shaped by social and material relations. The chapters feature diverse sources of sensory education, including field manuals, mannequins, cookbooks and flavour charts. The examples range from medical training and forest bathing to culinary and...

Every year the average number of prescriptions purchased by Americans increases, as do healthcare expenditures, which are projected to reach one-fifth of the U.S. gross domestic product by 2020. In Drugs for Life, Joseph Dumit considers how our burgeoning consumption of medicine and cost of healthcare not only came to be, but also came to be taken for granted. For several years, Dumit attended pharmaceutical industry conferences; spoke with marketers, researchers, doctors, and pat...

Leadership, expertise, and collaborative working are fundamental aspects of efficient and effective healthcare. This book offers a comprehensive overview of the general theories, principles and points of good practice in each of these three areas. This general literature is then contextualised by theoretical and practical implications for maternity care, and illustrated with in-depth case studies of successful innovation and change in practice.Essential reading for all midwives, mi...

For centuries, medicine aimed to treat abnormalities. But today normality itself is open to medical modification. Equipped with a new molecular understanding of bodies and minds, and new techniques for manipulating basic life processes at the level of molecules, cells, and genes, medicine now seeks to manage human vital processes. The Politics of Life Itself offers a much-needed examination of recent developments in the life sciences and biomedicine that have led to the widespread...

Few things make people react more strongly to the changes going on in health care than the word standardization. Critics shudder at the mindless sameness of standards, while supporters dream of a world in which standardized "best practices" open up a world of efficient health care delivery. The Gold Standard takes up this debate to investigate the real meaning of standardization and how it affects patients, doctors, and the institution of medicine. Showing that standards are not a...

Research is a fundamental part of midwifery practice. However, not everyone finds it easy to understand the basic principles, and particularly the language of research. This accessible handbook enables midwives and student midwives to firstly understand how to search and make sense of research evidence, how to write a research proposal and finally how to undertake a research study.The Handbook of Midwifery Research specifically focuses on the needs of midwives and students...