The Health Gap

Author: Michael Marmot
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1408857987
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 426

Book Description
'Punchily written ... He leaves the reader with a sense of the gross injustice of a world where health outcomes are so unevenly distributed' Times Literary Supplement 'Splendid and necessary' Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm, New Statesman There are dramatic differences in health between countries and within countries. But this is not a simple matter of rich and poor. A poor man in Glasgow is rich compared to the average Indian, but the Glaswegian's life expectancy is 8 years shorter. The Indian is dying of infectious disease linked to his poverty; the Glaswegian of violent death, suicide, heart disease linked to a rich country's version of disadvantage. In all countries, people at relative social disadvantage suffer health disadvantage, dramatically so. Within countries, the higher the social status of individuals the better is their health. These health inequalities defy usual explanations. Conventional approaches to improving health have emphasised access to technical solutions – improved medical care, sanitation, and control of disease vectors; or behaviours – smoking, drinking – obesity, linked to diabetes, heart disease and cancer. These approaches only go so far. Creating the conditions for people to lead flourishing lives, and thus empowering individuals and communities, is key to reduction of health inequalities. In addition to the scale of material success, your position in the social hierarchy also directly affects your health, the higher you are on the social scale, the longer you will live and the better your health will be. As people change rank, so their health risk changes. What makes these health inequalities unjust is that evidence from round the world shows we know what to do to make them smaller. This new evidence is compelling. It has the potential to change radically the way we think about health, and indeed society.

The Should Syndrome

Author: Karen B. See
Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing
ISBN: 1457541181
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 154

Book Description
Too many of us operate on autopilot, moving through our days and weeks reacting to situations or doing what we think we’re supposed to do, without taking into consideration our own goals and values. We allow our Shoulds—the expectations we have of ourselves and others—to make our decisions for us. This book teaches a process for discovering and embracing your true self and overcoming the Shoulds that get in the way of living the life you want. It tells the story of a young woman named Hope who is not happy with her job and is in a relationship that’s not working. Through weekly conversations with her aunt, Hope learns to take charge of her life and make purposeful choices to do things that will help her reach her potential and live the life she wants.

Status Anxiety

Author: Alain De Botton
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307491331
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
“There's no writer alive like de Botton” (Chicago Tribune), and now this internationally heralded author turns his attention to the insatiable human quest for status—a quest that has less to do with material comfort than love. Anyone who’s ever lost sleep over an unreturned phone call or the neighbor’s Lexus had better read Alain de Botton’s irresistibly clear-headed new book, immediately. For in its pages, a master explicator of our civilization and its discontents explores the notion that our pursuit of status is actually a pursuit of love, ranging through Western history and thought from St. Augustine to Andrew Carnegie and Machiavelli to Anthony Robbins. Whether it’s assessing the class-consciousness of Christianity or the convulsions of consumer capitalism, dueling or home-furnishing, Status Anxiety is infallibly entertaining. And when it examines the virtues of informed misanthropy, art appreciation, or walking a lobster on a leash, it is not only wise but helpful.

The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome

Author: John F. Wasik
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470885378
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Book Description
An incisive look at the consequences of today's costly and damaging suburban lifestyle In The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome, Bloomberg News' John Wasik exposes the economic, cultural, environmental, and health problems underlying life in suburbia. Wasik provides powerful insights into how the U.S. suburban lifestyle has become unsustainable and what can be done to salvage it. His observations are firmly grounded in exclusive on-the-ground research, interviews with thought leaders, and the latest studies and statistics. The book Exposes the untold truths about suburban home ownership: green isn't always so green, life isn't cheaper after accounting for gas, water, and taxes, and modern suburban living isn't so idyllic considering the toll it takes on our health Includes exclusive research and analysis by experts in the field that debunks the many myths associated with suburban living Explores innovative solutions being developed in cities across the country The American Dream of moving further from a city to buy a bigger house and find better schools has become a costly nightmare. The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome examines why and what can be done.

The Status Syndrome

Author: Michael Marmot
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1429900660
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Book Description
Based on decades of his own research, a pioneering epidemiologist reveals the surprising factors behind who lives longer and why You probably didn't realize that when you graduated from college you increased your lifespan, or that your co-worker who has a master's degree is more likely to live a longer and healthier life. Seemingly small social differences in education, job title, income, even the size of your house or apartment have a profound impact on your health. For years we have focused merely on how advances in technology and genetics can extend our lives and cure disease. But as Sir Michael Marmot argues, we are looking at the issue backwards. Social inequalities are not a footnote to the real causes of ill health in industrialized countries; they are the cause. The psychological experience of inequality, Marmot shows, has a profound effect on our lives. And while this may be alarming, it also suggests a ray of hope. If we can understand these social inequalities, we can also mitigate their effects. In this groundbreaking book, Marmot, an internationally renowned epidemiologist, marshals evidence from around the world and from nearly thirty years of his research to demonstrate that how much control you have over your life and the opportunities you have for full social participation are crucial for health, well-being, and longevity. Just as Bowling Alone changed the way we think about community in America, The Status Syndrome will change the way we think about our society and how we live our lives.

Founders and Organizational Development

Author: Stephen R. Block
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9781003057628
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Book Description
"Founders and Organizational Development: The Etiology and Theory of Founder's Syndrome is designed to help today's researchers, faculty, students and practitioners become familiar with the etiology and dynamics of Founder's Syndrome as an organizational condition challenging nonprofit/nongovernmental, social enterprise, and for-profit and publicly traded organizations. The book uses applied social and psychological theories and concepts to peel away the layers of an organizational enigma, revealing three causes of Founder's Syndrome and insight into the power and privileges assumed by founders who engage in undesirable and self-destructive behaviors leading to their termination; going from hero status to antihero. Researchers, instructors, students, and practitioners will find thought-provoking case studies from the real world of organization development practice. Segments from interviews during interventions reveal the type of emotional turmoil experienced in organizations where founder's syndrome is present. Insight is provided into accounts of well-known founders who were terminated or forced to resign. The unique features of this book include: integrating theory into practice, describing a new theory about the psychological reaction of founder's syndrome victims, prevention ideas when designing new organizations, strategies for intervention, using content based on research and organization development consultation experiences, and, integrating feedback from students who have launched organizations"--

State of Crisis

Author: Zygmunt Bauman
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745685293
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 151

Book Description
Today we hear much talk of crisis and comparisons are often made with the Great Depression of the 1930s, but there is a crucial difference that sets our current malaise apart from the 1930s: today we no longer trust in the capacity of the state to resolve the crisis and to chart a new way forward. In our increasingly globalized world, states have been stripped of much of their power to shape the course of events. Many of our problems are globally produced but the volume of power at the disposal of individual nation-states is simply not sufficient to cope with the problems they face. This divorce between power and politics produces a new kind of paralysis. It undermines the political agency that is needed to tackle the crisis and it saps citizens’ belief that governments can deliver on their promises. The impotence of governments goes hand in hand with the growing cynicism and distrust of citizens. Hence the current crisis is at once a crisis of agency, a crisis of representative democracy and a crisis of the sovereignty of the state. In this book the world-renowned sociologist Zygmunt Bauman and fellow traveller Carlo Bordoni explore the social and political dimensions of the current crisis. While this crisis has been greatly exacerbated by the turmoil following the financial crisis of 2007-8, Bauman and Bordoni argue that the crisis facing Western societies is rooted in a much more profound series of transformations that stretch back further in time and are producing long-lasting effects. This highly original analysis of our current predicament by two of the world’s leading social thinkers will be of interest to a wide readership.

The Neurobiology of Aging and Alzheimer Disease in Down Syndrome

Author: Elizabeth Head
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128188464
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 354

Book Description
The Neurobiology of Aging and Alzheimer Disease in Down Syndrome provides a multidisciplinary approach to the understanding of aging and Alzheimer disease in Down syndrome that is synergistic and focused on efforts to understand the neurobiology as it pertains to interventions that will slow or prevent disease. The book provides detailed knowledge of key molecular aspects of aging and neurodegeneration in Down Syndrome by bringing together different models of the diseases and highlighting multiple techniques. Additionally, it includes case studies and coverage of neuroimaging, neuropathological and biomarker changes associated with these cohorts. This is a must-have resource for researchers who work with or study aging and Alzheimer disease either in the general population or in people with Down syndrome, for academic and general physicians who interact with sporadic dementia patients and need more information about Down syndrome, and for new investigators to the aging and Alzheimer/Down syndrome arena. - Discusses the complexities involved with aging and Alzheimer's disease in Down syndrome - Summarizes the neurobiology of aging that requires management in adults with DS and leads to healthier aging and better quality of life into old age - Serves as learning tool to orient researchers to the key challenges and offers insights to help establish critical areas of need for further research

World City Syndrome

Author: David Alexander McDonald
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415958571
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 384

Book Description
This book examines the significance of Cape Town's claim to being a "world city." McDonald argues that Cape Town must be seen as a neoliberal city, situating it against the broader political and economic reforms of South Africa's re-entry into a global market economy.

Syndrome X

Author: Terry Kirsten Strom
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 074321899X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Book Description
Millions of Americans follow the "best" medical advice every day to prevent heart attacks -- eating the standard low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet so widely recommended by doctors -- but in fact they are placing themselves at greater risk for heart disease. In Syndrome X: Overcoming the Silent Killer That Can Give You a Heart Attack, Dr. Gerald Reaven, the world-renowned physician who identified and named this silent killer, explains why the standard heart-healthy diet can be dangerous and lays out a simple six-step program to reduce the risk of heart disease for everyone. The problem stems from a little-known cluster of metabolic abnormalities known as Syndrome X. The insulin resistance that lies at the heart of the syndrome can turn normal rules of good health upside down and dramatically increase the risk of heart disease. Fortunately, Syndrome X can be cured. This important book explains how to identify the disorder and provides a program of diet and exercise (plus medication when necessary) that can render Syndrome X harmless. Tested in carefully controlled research settings and in practice, this remarkable new approach has the ability to reduce the risk of heart attacks and heart disease for all of us. Dr. Reaven shows how eating a diet relatively high in "good" fats (40 percent of calories) can dramatically lower the risk of heart disease if you have Syndrome X. The approach seems paradoxical: Everyone "knows" that fat is bad, so how can more fat possibly lead to better health? The answer lies in the type of fat and the body chemistry of the people who consume it. If you have the abnormal metabolism called Syndrome X, eating a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet to lower your LDL and blood fats won't protect you. In fact, doing so will increase the odds of heart disease. Millions of Americans have the potentially deadly, yet easily identifiable signs of Syndrome X -- but few cases are detected in time, because most physicians don't know what to look for. This trailblazing book will change that, making doctors and patients aware of the problem -- and its easy solution, an integrated program of diet and exercise that simultaneously reduces all the risk factors for heart disease, including Syndrome X. Dr. Reaven's discovery of Syndrome X has shown us that the standard approach to preventing heart disease is dangerous for many of us. Now, his safe, proven new approach explains how millions can drastically reduce their risk of heart disease. His program works not only for those who have Syndrome X, but also for anyone who simply wants to reduce the risk of heart disease.