Books by "Lawrence K. Altman"
4 books found
Aging is a preoccupation shared by beauty bloggers, serious journalists, scientists, doctors, celebrities—arguably all of adult America, given the pervasiveness of the crusade against it in popular culture and the media. We take our youth-oriented culture as a given but, as Lawrence R. Samuel argues, this was not always the case. Old age was revered in early America, in part because it was so rare. Indeed, it was not until the 1960s, according to Samuel, that the story of aging in America became the one we are most familiar with today: aging is a disease that science will one day cure, and in the meantime, signs of aging should be prevented, masked, and treated as a source of shame. By tracing the story of aging in the United States over the course of the last half century, Samuel vividly demonstrates the ways in which getting older tangibly contradicts the prevailing social values and attitudes of our youth-obsessed culture. As a result, tens of millions of adults approaching their sixties and seventies in this decade do not know how to age, as they were never prepared to do so. Despite recent trends that suggest a more positive outlook, getting old is still viewed in terms of physical and cognitive decline, resulting in discrimination in the workplace and marginalization in social life. Samuels concludes Aging in America by exhorting his fellow baby boomers to use their economic clout and sheer numbers to change the narrative of aging in America.
"In this completely revised second edition, Gostin analyzes the major health threats of our times, from emerging infectious diseases (e.g., SARS and pandemic influenza) to bioterrorism (e.g., the deliberate release of anthrax and smallpox) to chronic diseases caused by overweight and obesity. By analyzing transnational law, Gostin shows how public health law transcends national borders in areas ranging from infectious disease and tobacco use to world trade and access to essential medicines. Public Health Law creates an intellectual framework for the modern field of public health and supports that framework with illustrations of the intellectual, scientific, political, and ethical issues involved. In proposing innovative solutions for the future of the public's health, Gostin's essential study provides a blueprint for coming public and political debates about this vital and burgeoning field."--BOOK JACKET.
Vaccines for Biodefense and Emerging and Neglected Diseases
by Alan D.T. Barrett, Lawrence R. Stanberry
2009 · Academic Press
The last 20 years has seen a rapid increase in infectious diseases, particularly those that are termed "emerging diseases" such as SARS, "neglected diseases" such as malaria and those that are deemed biothreats such as anthrax. It is well-recognized that the most effective modality for preventing infectious diseases is vaccination. This book provides researchers with a better understanding of what is currently known about these diseases, including whether there is a vaccine available or under development. It also informs readers of the key issues in development of a vaccine for each disease. - Provides a comprehensive treatise of the agents that are responsible for emerging and neglected diseases and those that can be used as biothreats - Includes the processes such as the vaccine development pathway, vaccine manufacturing and regulatory issues that are critical to the generation of these vaccines to the marketplace - Each chapter will include a map of the world showing where that particular disease is naturally found
In this collection of essays, Lawrence O. Gostin, an internationally recognized scholar of AIDS law and policy, confronts the most pressing and controversial issues surrounding AIDS in America and around the world. He shows how HIV/AIDS affects the entire population — infected and uninfected — by influencing our social norms, our economy, and our country’s role as a world leader. Now in the third decade of this pandemic, the nation and the world still fail to respond to the needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS and continue to tolerate injustice in their treatment, Gostin argues. AIDS, both in the United States and globally, deeply affects poor and marginalized populations, and many U.S. policies are based on conservative moral values rather than public health and social justice concerns. Gostin tackles the hard social, legal, political, and ethical issues of the HIV/AIDS pandemic: privacy and discrimination, travel and immigration, clinical trials and drug pricing, exclusion of HIV-infected health care workers, testing and treatment of pregnant women and infants, and needle-exchange programs. This book provides an inside account of AIDS policy debates together with incisive commentary. It is indispensable reading for advocates, scholars, health professionals, lawyers, and the concerned public.