Books by "Michael S Okun"

2 books found

The Parkinson's Plan

The Parkinson's Plan

by Ray Dorsey, Michael S. Okun

2025 · PublicAffairs

A groundbreaking prescriptive guide to preventing and fighting Parkinson’s disease that “meets this moment with science, clarity, and a path forward” (Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent, CNN) In The Parkinson’s Plan, two doctors on the cutting edge of Parkinson’s research detail the steps necessary to prevent, slow, and treat this debilitating condition. They show readers how to prevent the disease through the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the lifestyles we live. They introduce the “Parkinson’s 25,” the most detailed checklist ever created to allow anyone to lower their risk of Parkinson’s. They interview the world’s top scientists, clinicians, and thought leaders in the Parkinson’s field to offer a detailed plan for treatment that includes cutting-edge methods and recent technological and medical advances. The Parkinson’s Plan takes the next step in winning the battle against Parkinson’s, presenting a clear road map with the strategies and tactics necessary to create a world where the disease is increasingly rare and the treatments are more successful.

The Limits of Policy Change

The Limits of Policy Change

by Michael T. Hayes

2002 · Georgetown University Press

Michael Hayes offers a vigorous defense of incrementalism: the theory that the policymaking process typically should involve bargaining, delay, compromise, and, therefore, incremental change. Incrementalism, he argues, is one result of a checks-and-balances system in which politicians may disagree over what we want to achieve as a nation or what policies would best achieve shared goals. Many political scientists have called for reforms that would facilitate majority rule and more radical policy change by strengthening the presidency at the expense of Congress. But Hayes develops policy typologies and analyzes case studies to show that the policy process works best when it conforms to the tenets of incrementalism. He contends that because humans are fallible, politics should work through social processes to achieve limited ends and to ameliorate—rather than completely solve—social problems. Analyzing the evolution of air pollution policy, the failure of President Clinton’s health care reform in 1994, and the successful effort at welfare reform in 1995-96, Hayes calls for changes that would make incrementalism work better by encouraging a more balanced struggle among social interests and by requiring political outcomes to conform to the rule of law. Written for students and specialists in politics, public policy, and public administration, The Limits of Policy Change examines in detail a central issue in democratic theory.