A foundational work on historical and social studies of quantification What accounts for the prestige of quantitative methods? The usual answer is that quantification is desirable in social investigation as a result of its successes in science. Trust in Numbers questions whether such success in the study of stars, molecules, or cells should be an attractive model for research on human societies, and examines why the natural sciences are highly quantitative in the first place. Theodore Porter argues that a better understanding of the attractions of quantification in business, government, and social research brings a fresh perspective to its role in psychology, physics, and medicine. Quantitative rigor is not inherent in science but arises from political and social pressures, and objectivity derives its impetus from cultural contexts. In a new preface, the author sheds light on the current infatuation with quantitative methods, particularly at the intersection of science and bureaucracy.

Children represent a special challenge for emergency care providers, because they have unique medical needs in comparison to adults. For decades, policy makers and providers have recognized the special needs of children, but the system has been slow to develop an adequate response to their needs. This is in part due to inadequacies within the broader emergency care system. Emergency Care for Children examines the challenges associated with the provision of emergency services to children and families and evaluates progress since the publication of the Institute of Medicine report Emergency Medical Services for Children (1993), the first comprehensive look at pediatric emergency care in the United States. This new book offers an analysis of: • The role of pediatric emergency services as an integrated component of the overall health system. • System-wide pediatric emergency care planning, preparedness, coordination, and funding. • Pediatric training in professional education. • Research in pediatric emergency care. Emergency Care for Children is one of three books in the Future of Emergency Care series. This book will be of particular interest to emergency health care providers, professional organizations, and policy makers looking to address the pediatric deficiencies within their emergency care systems.

In Diversity and Unity in Federal Countries, leading scholars and practitioners analyse the current political, socio-economic, spatial, and cultural diversity in the countries under consideration before delving into the role that social, historical, and political factors have had in shaping the balance of diversity and unity. The authors assess the value placed on diversity by examining whether present institutional arrangements and public policies restrict or enhance diversity and address the future challenges of balancing diversity and unity in an increasingly populated and mobile world.

The book starts from the observation that humans are very different from the other primates. Why are we naked? Why do we speak? Why do we walk upright? Fifty years ago, in 1960, marine biologist Sir Alister Hardy tried to answer this when he announced his so-called aquatic hypothesis: human ancestors did not live in dry savannahs as traditional anthropology assumes, but have adapted to live at the edge between land and water, gathering both terrestrial and aquatic foods. This eBook is an up-to-date collection of the views of the most important protagonists of this long-neglected theory of huma.

Prize-winning True Stories of the Supreme Moment—When Men Suddenly Face Death Some of these true stories are already famous because they have been dramatized on television. All of them take you straight to the heart of great moments of crisis. You’ll know what it’s like to look down at the wide Pacific and realize that your plane is going to ditch there. You’ll twist the wheel of your racing car as it takes a narrow turn at Indianapolis. You’ll struggle in cabin 56 of the S.S. Andrèa Doria during its five last frantic hours. In these and other stories, Cornelius Ryan, ace journalist, has caught the essence of that split-second that may be a man’s last. Two of these pieces have won Benjamin Franklin Magazine awards. “One Minute To Ditch!”—Thirty-one men, women and children high over the mid-Pacific in a failing plane. (Dramatized on TV.) Five Desperate Hours in Cabin 56—A story of the sinking of the S.S. Andrèa Doria told in gripping minute-by-minute detail. (Dramatized on TV.) The Major of St. Lô—A classic of the Normandy invasion, an unforgettable true story of quiet heroism. (Dramatized on TV.) These and other factual accounts are moving documents of crisis: of courage against the sudden fact of very possible death.

Countries and areas of WHO's South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions share many problems, including inadequate resources for health and a high burden of disease. The differences and similarities that exist among the 37 countries and areas of the WHO Western Pacific Region and the 11 countries of the South-East Asia Region are more meaningful when viewed in the context of the larger Asia Pacific Region. This WHO publication is a response to requests from Member States for an information resource covering the entire Asia Pacific Region and containing up-to-date reports on health trends and health systems. The Asia Pacific Region covers 21% of the world's land area and is home to 53% of the global population. The challenges in many areas of public health, such as equity, human resources, health promotion, health service delivery and the social determinants of health, cannot be adequately described by numbers alone. To tell these stories, this publication provides a narrative of many aspects of the current health situation in the Region, supported by the statistical data. Efforts to achieve better health for all, as well as the successes and the failures encountered, are covered in detail. Where possible, a comparative approach has been taken to underscore differences as well as similarities. This publication is aimed at a wide audience with the belief that national health authorities, policy-makers, scholars, researchers, health workers and others dedicated to the advancement of public health in the Asia Pacific Region will find it to be an invaluable resource, which provides evidence crucial for sound policies and decisions.