Ashgate Publishing Co.

AIDS, South Africa, and the politics of knowledge.

Youde (Grinnel College, US) explores the political undercurrents and background that might explain why the government of South Africa has not blindly accepted the findings of US and Western scientists about the causes and cures of AIDS, and some of the political results of its policy. His topics include knowledge and international policy-making, counter-epistemic communities, history and public health, and identity. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Calculated risks; highly radioactive waste and homeland security.

Written by Rogers (Coastal Carolina U.) and Kingsley (Arkansas Tech U.), this is a case study of highly radioactive waste storage and disposal policy in the United States that proceeds from the basic premise that there are pressing homeland security and energy security concerns associated with on-site storage at commercial nuclear power facilities and Department of Energy facilities which have so far escaped long term solutions due to political considerations. The study's seven chapters address the security issues, detail the history and characteristics of on-site storage, analyze proposed projects such as the Yucca Mountain initiative, explore transportations concerns, and provide policy recommendations. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Controlling automobile air pollution.

Part of a series examining the influence of economics on the development of environmental and natural resource policy, this volume is dedicated to exploring the economics of automobile emissions, primarily in the United States. The editors (both of Resources for the Future Inc., an "independent institute dedicated exclusively to analyzing environmental, energy, and natural resource topics") collect 26 previously published scholarly papers in sections devoted to the dimensions of the pollution problem, conventional pollutants, greenhouse gas emissions, and externalities of pollution regulation. Specific topics include income's effect on car and vehicle ownership, economic costs of air pollution, estimation of an emissions supply function from accelerated vehicle retirement programs, moral hazard in the vehicle inspection market, the US lead phase-down and policy- induced technology adoption, car and gasoline taxes as a mimic of an unavailable tax on emissions, distributional effects of motor vehicle emissions taxes, mixed models of stated and revealed preferences for alternative-fuel vehicles, impacts of long-range increases in the fuel economy standard, the alternative fuel credit provisions of US automotive fuel economy standards, and welfare impacts of alternative policies to address pollution in urban road transport. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Digital health information for the consumer; evidence and policy implications.

Funded by the UK Department of Health, this five-year study evaluates consumer attitudes towards finding health information on touch screen kiosks, websites, and digital interactive television. Analyses of transaction logs illustrate usage patterns, and questionnaire surveys draw a profile of users, assess outcomes, and examine ease of use. The University College London researchers consider barriers and inequalities associated with health provision, and make recommendations for reducing these barriers by making small adjustments to the digital platforms. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The essentials of project management, 3d ed.

Lock boils down the concepts from his larger volume Project Management from 2007, summarizing the key principles and techniques of project management, from defining the task and estimating costs to implementing the plan and managing changes. The ninth edition of that text has been rewritten and reorganized to follow the life cycle of a typical project, with this volume following the changes. It has a larger format and new topics, including cash flow management and project closure, has a chapter on risk management, and omits the gantry project. The book is meant for those new to the field, or business school students. Lock is a freelance writer who specializes in project management. Distributed by Ashgate. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

With words and knives; learning medical dispassion in early modern England.

Payne (history, U. of Missouri-Kansas City) investigates the dispassion, called clinical detachment today, that some men in early modern England acquired as a result of practicing medicine, especially anatomy and surgery. She places their lack of emotion in the context of the history of medicine going back to Roman times. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)