No single introductory book has until now captured the range of thought appropriate for scrutinizing the idea of leisure. Beginning with a discussion of expressions in classical thought, etymological definitions and key leisure studies concepts, Blackshaw suggests that the idea abounds with ambivalence, which is unlikely ever to be resolved.

After analyzing the rise and fall of modern leisure patterns, the emphasis shifts from the historical to the sociological and the author identifies and critically discusses the key modernist and postmodernist perspectives. Drawing on the idea that leisure studies is a ?language game?, Tony Blackshaw subsequently offers his own original theory of liquid leisure which asks some key questions about the present and the future of leisure in people's lives, as well as what implications it has for individuals? abilities to embrace the opportunity for an authentic existence that is both magical and moral.

Leisure is an essential purchase for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and academics in the fields of Sociology of Leisure, Sports and Leisure Studies, and Popular Culture.

"A Quick Reference Text" Easy to read and practical in design, Neurocritical Care is the book specialists will turn to for quick reference. It concentrates on management problems, from diagnostic procedures to therapeutic strategies. Exact descriptions are given for treatment procedures, and it is easy to find the appropriate treatment for a given patient. "International Expertise" More than 100 authors from North America have contributed to the book. The different strategies used on either side of the Atlantic have been described, the sections on neuroimaging have been reviewed by a neuroradiologist. "Comprehensive in Scope" Both frequent and rare neurological diseases that may require critical care treatment and subjects of more general interest such as monitoring strategies, ethical problems, brain death and neurological disorders in internal medicine have been covered. Pathophysiology is also discussed, insomuch as it is important for understanding the treatment strategies.

Despite a worldwide reduction in its incidence, stroke remains one of the most common diseases generally and the most important cause of premature and persistent disability in the industrialized countries. The most frequent cause of stroke is a localized disturbance of cerebral circulation, i.e., cerebral ischemia. Less common are spon taneous intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhages and sinus ve nous thromboses. The introduction of new diagnostic procedures such as cranial computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, digi tal subtraction radiologic techniques, and various ultrasound tech niques has led to impressive advances in the diagnosis of stroke. Through the planned application of these techniques, it is even possible to identify the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying focal cerebral ischemia in humans. However, these diagnostic advances have made the gap between diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic implications even greater than before. This fact can be easily explained. In the past, therapeutic studies had to be based on the symptoms and temporal aspects of stroke; it was impossible for early investigations to consider the various pathogeneses of cerebral ischemia. Inevitably, stroke patients were treated as suffering from a uniform disease.

The manuscripts in this book were generated from a conference occurring at the University of Heidelberg in September 1996. These manuscripts have been reviewed and updated by the designated authors in late 1997 for publication in early 1998. Conferences occur for a variety of reasons. These include the need to exchange information where complex activities are undergoing reassessment or change. For the emergency and critical care man agement of stroke this is certainly the situation. Today, both the pri mary care and the neurologic physician must provide medical care in an environment where daily change in the knowledge base of: brain function, disease mechanism(s), therapeutic efficacy, and cost control are all occurring. In addition, patient advocacy has become increasingly complex because government, employers, insurers, health care providers as well as families all desire a voice in the phy sician relationship with the patient. Our conference subject was the organization of rapid care delivery and the development of a ration al basis for treatment of a previously untreatable disorder acute stroke. Thus, the obvious need for multiple open and free discus sions about priority setting and modification of current treatment plans. Clearly, the face to face opportunities provided by this first conference on Emergency Management And Critical Care Of Stroke (EMACCOS) are required when patient care issues are as complex as these. Neuroscience is new to the experience of active therapeutic inter vention.

No single introductory book has until now captured the range of thought appropriate for scrutinizing the idea of leisure. Beginning with a discussion of expressions in classical thought, etymological definitions and key leisure studies concepts, Blackshaw suggests that the idea abounds with ambivalence, which is unlikely ever to be resolved. After analyzing the rise and fall of modern leisure patterns, the emphasis shifts from the historical to the sociological and the author identifies and critically discusses the key modernist and postmodernist perspectives. Drawing on the idea that leisure studies is a 'language game', Tony Blackshaw subsequently offers his own original theory of liquid leisure which asks some key questions about the present and the future of leisure in people's lives, as well as what implications it has for individuals' abilities to embrace the opportunity for an authentic existence that is both magical and moral. Leisure is an essential purchase for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and academics in the fields of Sociology of Leisure, Sports and Leisure Studies, and Popular Culture.

Over the last decade, interest in treatment of ischemic stroke has increased significantly. Perhaps the single most important feature of attempts to improve the outcome of stroke patients has been that the interventions be applied within the very early hours of stroke symptoms. This has spawned efforts to understand the vascular and neuronal responses to cerebral artery reperfusion experimentally. Important prospective clinical studies of thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke have been completed, and large placebo-controlled, symptom-based studies are now underway worldwide. Here, we consider the central features of those studies, their experimental basis, and the future importance of adjunctive therapies to recanalization in focal brain ischemia acutely. Risks and benefits are discussed. This collection benefits from the opinions of experts and workers in this rapidly evolving and exciting field.

During the last decade scientists in both basic and clinical research have renew ed their interest in the potential role of thrombolytic therapy in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. The reevaluation of this approach was kindled by our growing knowledge of the pathogenesis of thrombotic and embolic stroke and by the development of new thrombolytic agents. With no proven therapy for acute ischemic stroke available, the potential value of early pharmacologic recanalization of occluded vessels in the management of acute stroke patients - an approach that has been supported by animal experiments and a limited number of uncontrolled clinical pilot studies - is again under scrutiny. A sym posium on "Thrombolysis in Acute Cerebral Ischemia" was held in Heidel berg, Germany, in May 1990 to summarize and discuss the pathophysiological background for thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke and the recent ex perimental and clinical experience with the new generation of thrombolytic agents. The editors are fortunate to be able to include authoritative manuscripts from almost all the speakers at the symposium. These include reports of work by the most active investigators in this challenging field. The editors wish to express their gratitude to all the contributors for the additional work they have undertaken. Additionally, we would like to thank Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, for its generous assistance in the preparation and rapid publication of this volume. Heidelberg, August 1990 WERNER HACKE GREGORY J. DEL ZopPO MATTHIAS HIRSCHBERG Contents I."

Auf der Grundlage neuer Erkenntnisse uber die verschiedenen Ursachen und Pathogenesen zerebraler Ischamien durch verbesserte diagnostische Untersuchungsmethoden wie z. B. Ultraschall, Computer-Tomographie, Magnet-Resonanz-Tomographie und Positronen-Emissions-Tomographie wird in diesem Buch die traditionelle Stadieneinteilung des Schlaganfalls erganzt durch atiologische UEberlegungen, die Grundlage therapeutischer Massnahmen sein sollen. Dieses Konzept wird auch deshalb der mehr deskriptiven traditionellen Einteilung vorgezogen, weil es die individuelle Krankheitsgeschichte des einzelnen Patienten besser berucksichtigt. Wie ein roter Faden zieht sich diese UEberlegung durch das ganze Buch: bei der Darstellung der anatomischen Grundlagen, den pathophysiologischen Aspekten von Hirnischamie und Hirninfarkt, epidemiologischen und definitorischen Aspekten, besonders aber in den grossen Kapiteln zur klinischen Symptomatologie und der detaillierten Beschreibung des zur Verfugung stehenden diagnostischen Repertoires. Topisch anatomische und dynamische Aspekte stehen im Vordergrund. Ein ausfuhrliches Therapiekapitel, das den aktuellen Stand kritisch reflektiert, beschliesst das Buch. Es wendet sich insbesondere an den klinisch und in der Praxis tatigen Internisten, Neurologen und Allgemeinmediziner, aber auch an alle anderen Disziplinen, die mit zerebralen Ischamien konfrontiert werden.