Modernizing Democracy brings together scholars focusing the role of associations and associating in contemporary societies. Organizations and associations have been identified as the "meso level of society" and as the "basic elements of democracy". They are important providers of welfare services and play an important role between the individual and political spheres. In recent years the environment of associations and associating has changed dramatically. Individualization, commercialization and globalization are challenging both democracy and the capability of associations to fulfill the functions attributed to them by social sciences. This change provides the central question of the volume: Is being part of an organization or association becoming an outdated model? And do associations still have the capacity of modernizing societies or are they just outdated remnants of post-democracy? The contributions to Modernizing Democracy will be organized into: Studying Association and Associating in the 21st Century, Associating in Times of Post-Democracy and Associations and the Challenge of Capitalist Development. The book will be attractive to third sector researchers as well as a broader academic community of political scientists, sociologists, economists, legal scientists and related disciplines.

In seven essays, this book offers a tour de force through those seven disciplines in the humanities that lately underwent a fundamental transformation. In order to apply "exact" scientific methods, these disciplines turned away from their very subjects- the understanding of the relationship or a dialogue that underlies the phenomena they are supposed to investigate. The revisionist approach in this book, based on Mikhail Bakhtin's work, traces the search for common and specific grounds of the humanities, beginning with psychologism through hermeneutics and semiotics up to the present state of self-annihilation. As an alternative, the book seeks to define humanities as the examination of relationships, which offers an array of refreshing perspectives on each field discussed.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Modernizing Democracy brings together scholars focusing the role of associations and associating in contemporary societies. Organizations and associations have been identified as the "meso level of society" and as the "basic elements of democracy". They are important providers of welfare services and play an important role between the individual and political spheres. In recent years the environment of associations and associating has changed dramatically. Individualization, commercialization and globalization are challenging both democracy and the capability of associations to fulfill the functions attributed to them by social sciences. This change provides the central question of the volume: Is being part of an organization or association becoming an outdated model? And do associations still have the capacity of modernizing societies or are they just outdated remnants of post-democracy? The contributions to Modernizing Democracy will be organized into: Studying Association and Associating in the 21st Century, Associating in Times of Post-Democracy and Associations and the Challenge of Capitalist Development. The book will be attractive to third sector researchers as well as a broader academic community of political scientists, sociologists, economists, legal scientists and related disciplines.

The first chapter describes the health care delivery systems in Canada and in the U.S. This is followed by examples of various approaches used to measure physiological variables in humans, either for the purpose of diagnosis or monitoring potential disease conditions; a brief description of sensor technologies is included. The function and role of the clinical engineer in managing medical technologies in industrialized and in developing countries are presented. This is followed by a chapter on patient safety (mainly electrical safety and electromagnetic interference); it includes a section on how to minimize liability and how to develop a quality assurance program for technology management. The next chapter discusses applications of telemedicine, including technical, social, and ethical issues. The last chapter presents a discussion on the impact of technology on health care and the technology assessment process. This two-part book consolidates material that supports courses on technology development and management issues in health care institutions. It can be useful for anyone involved in design, development, or research, whether in industry, hospitals, or government.

Part II of Health Care Engineering begins with statistics on the occurrence of medical errors and adverse events, and includes some technological solutions. A chapter on electronic medical records follows. The knowledge management process divided into four steps is described; this includes a discussion on data acquisition, storage, and retrieval. The next two chapters discuss the other three steps of the knowledge management process (knowledge discovery, knowledge translation, knowledge integration and sharing). The last chapter briefly discusses usability studies and clinical trials. This two-part book consolidates material that supports courses on technology development and management issues in health care institutions. It can be useful for anyone involved in design, development, or research, whether in industry, hospitals, or government.

This book presents the extraordinary story of a Bolognese woman of the settecento. Laura Maria Caterina Bassi (1711-1778) defended 49 Theses at the University of Bologna on April 17, 1732 and was awarded a doctoral degree on May 12 of the same year. Three weeks before her defense, she was made a member of the Academy of Sciences in Bologna. On June 27 she defended 12 additional Theses. Several of the 61 Theses were on physics and other science topics. Laura was drawn by the philosophy of Newton at a time when most scientists in Europe were still focused on Descartes and Galen. This last set of Theses was to encourage the University of Bologna to provide a lectureship to Laura, which they did on October 29, 1732. Although quite famous in her day, Laura Bassi is unfortunately not remembered much today.

This book presents Bassi within the context of the century when she lived and worked, an era where no women could attend university anywhere in the world, and even less become a professor or a member of an academy. Laura was appointed to the Chair of experimental physics in 1776 until her death. Her story is an amazing one. Laura was a mother, a wife and a good scientist for over 30 years. She made the transition from the old science to the new very early on in her career. Her work was centered on real problems that the City of Bologna needed to solve. It was an exciting time of discovery and she was at the edge of it all the way.

Increasingly, biomedical scientists and engineers are involved in projects, design, or research and development that involve humans or animals. The book presents general concepts on professionalism and the regulation of the profession of engineering, including a discussion on what is ethics and moral conduct, ethical theories and the codes of ethics that are most relevant for engineers. An ethical decision-making process is suggested. Other issues such as conflicts of interest, plagiarism, intellectual property, confidentiality, privacy, fraud, and corruption are presented. General guidelines, the process for obtaining ethics approval from Ethics Review Boards, and the importance of obtaining informed consent from volunteers recruited for studies are presented. A discussion on research with animals is included. Ethical dilemmas focus on reproductive technologies, stem cells, cloning, genetic testing, and designer babies. The book includes a discussion on ethics and the technologies of body enhancement and of regeneration. The importance of assessing the impact of technology on people, society, and on our planet is stressed. Particular attention is given to nanotechnologies, the environment, and issues that pertain to developing countries. Ideas on gender, culture, and ethics focus on how research and access to medical services have, at times, been discriminatory towards women. The cultural aspects focus on organ transplantation in Japan, and a case study of an Aboriginal child in Canada; both examples show the impact that culture can have on how care is provided or accepted. The final section of the book discusses data collection and analysis and offers a guideline for honest reporting of results, avoiding fraud, or unethical approaches. The appendix presents a few case studies where fraud and/or unethical research have occurred. Table of Contents: Introduction to Ethics / Experiments with Human Subjects or Animals / Examples of Ethical Dilemmas in Biomedical Research / Technology and Society / Gender, Culture, and Ethics / Data Collection and Analysis

Her goal: to become a world-renowned biomedical engineer working with scientific societies to improve the role of women in scientific fields and the way scientists and engineers integrate people and society into their work. By 1979, this goal had become a reality. In her memoirs, esteemed biomedical engineer Monique Frize recalls the events that taught her to over-come obstacles, become more resilient, recognize the importance of mentors and role models, and remain focused on the future. She also speaks of her appreciation of the critical role played by family and friends in maintaining the strength and determination required to succeed-and, above all, to succeed in a man's world. Frize fondly remembers her youth in Montreal and in Ottawa, as well as her marked interest for math and science. Her entry into the world of engineering was both romantic-she met her husband-and tragic. She recounts the prejudice and stereotypes she faced. She pursued a challenging and rewarding international career in a very specialized field at a time when this was still very uncommon for a woman, acceding at the very moment of the tragic Ecole Polytechnique massacre to key positions in support of women in science. These memoirs are sure to inspire young women who have a dream, and more specifically those who wish to enter sciences and engineering.

A new addition to the Oxford Case Histories series, Obstetric Medicine provides the reader with 55 cases of different clinical presentations in obstetric medicine. Each case is presented with a background to the subject area, a summary of the history, and examination findings, and relevant investigation results. This is followed by several questions on clinically important aspects of the case with answers and detailed discussion, particularly of the differential management options. Each topic is mapped on to both the curriculum for physicians undertaking obstetric medicine, and for obstetric trainees studying for membership exams, the Advance Training Skills Module in maternal medicine, and speciality training in maternal and fetal medicine. Providing an ideal self-assessment tool, this new title is of interest to all doctors working in obstetrics, midwives, and students revising for exams.

"The Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa" is the "official biography" of German king and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. This historical firsthand account was begun by his maternal uncle, Bishop Otto of Freising, the leading medieval church figure and notable historian, and continued by a less well known cleric, Rahewin. This chronicle is the single most important source for the early reign of Frederick Barbarossa and the most valuable biographical study to come out of the twelfth century. In a letter written to his uncle, Frederick recounted his life and the principal events of his reign. The first of the four books that constitute this account were written by Otto and cover events from 1075 to 1152, from the reign of Henry IV through that of Conrad III. The second book draws heavily on the letter, providing invaluable insight into Frederick's attempts to establish and consolidate the Hohenstaufen empire. The final two books, written by Rahewin, follow the emperor's reign through 1160, during which time Frederick restored order at home, recovered imperial control of Burgundy, and re-created an imperial party in Italy

The twelfth-century bishop Otto of Freising was the outstanding historian of his century. "The Two Cities" was his masterwork, spanning in time from Adam and Eve to the coming of the last days -- which he believed had actually begun. In form and philosophy, it stands as a landmark in medieval historiography. As a brother of the Emperor, Otto had an insider's view on the significant events of his day, including the Investiture Controversy and the Second Crusade. His book records how one man grasped for hope as he felt the world dissolving around him.