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- Re infectious disease epidemiology book
- Good start for someone who is interested in the subject
- at last an intro epi book that takes infectious disease seriously
- A good introduction.
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Modern Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Johan Giesecke
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ASIN: 0340764236 |
Book Description
The second edition of this concise book clearly sets out and explains the analytical methods employed in the study of the incidence of infectious diseases. The well illustrated text uses practical examples throughout and has been thoroughly updated in line with changing health concerns, including a new chapter on outbreak investigations. Now in a more user-friendly larger format the book has been redesigned to make text, illustrations, examples and equations more accessible.
Customer Reviews:
Re infectious disease epidemiology book.......2007-01-03
This bookmis very informative for someonewho is interested in infectious disease epidemiology.
Good start for someone who is interested in the subject.......2006-08-20
Modern Infectious Disease Epidemiolgy was written from the angle of a clinician. It provides some interesting reading which is different from the usual types of epidemiology texts. Highly recommended for those who are interested in infectious disease epidemiology. Previous knowledge is not a must in understanding this book. I find it worth reading though I have received training in both clinical medicine and epidemiology as the author illustrates the materials in a different angle from the usual textbooks of epidemiology.
at last an intro epi book that takes infectious disease seriously.......2005-07-06
Introductory epidemiology texts have historically been very weak on the special features of the epidemiology of infectious disease. The only texts available that adequately covered infectious disease epidemiology were too intense (mathematically and otherwise) for an undergraduate course, too expensive to impose on students, and/or lacking in the broad concepts of epidemiology that apply to non-infectious as well as infectious diseases. Dr. Giesecke's book smoothly integrates the broad concepts of epidemiology with the specific features of infectious disease. You will find here all the requisite concepts of introductory epidemiology such as incidence and prevalence, sensitivity and specificity, case-control and cohort studies, confounding and interaction. You will also find chapters on seroepidemiology, vaccination epidemiology, mathematical models for epidemics (with relatively low intensity math that most undergrads might handle), the study of contact patterns and other topics related to infectious disease, and others. In all this, Dr. Giesecke uses intuitive explanations that make difficult subjects comprehensible. Teachers of epidemiology will find this book very useful for introductory epidemiology courses. As a primer and/or refresher for those in public health and various medical professions, this book is--among a vast multitude of competitors--uniquely fitting.
A good introduction........1998-09-18
Gieskecke has written a good introduction to epidemiology in general, but focuses on infectious disease epidemiology and how it is different from the other fields of epidemiology (e.g., the victims of an infectious disease can also be the source for new infections). I liked the organization and structure of the book. This is a good book for the beginner, but not someone seeking a thorough grounding in the issues.
Book Description
Paul Farmer has battled AIDS in rural Haiti and deadly strains of drug-resistant tuberculosis in the slums of Peru. A physician-anthropologist with more than fifteen years in the field, Farmer writes from the front lines of the war against these modern plagues and shows why, even more than those of history, they target the poor. This "peculiarly modern inequality" that permeates AIDS, TB, malaria, and typhoid in the modern world, and that feeds emerging (or re-emerging) infectious diseases such as Ebola and cholera, is laid bare in Farmer's harrowing stories of sickness and suffering.
Challenging the accepted methodologies of epidemiology and international health, he points out that most current explanatory strategies, from "cost-effectiveness" to patient "noncompliance," inevitably lead to blaming the victims. In reality, larger forces, global as well as local, determine why some people are sick and others are shielded from risk. Yet this moving account is far from a hopeless inventory of insoluble problems. Farmer writes of what can be done in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds, by physicians determined to treat those in need. Infections and Inequalities weds meticulous scholarship with a passion for solutions--remedies for the plagues of the poor and the social maladies that have sustained them.
Customer Reviews:
careless errors, mediocre conclusion.......2006-06-15
By claiming "social reform," Farmer contradicts his stance as an American citizen: Haiti has no money to support its own citizens, that's why the US and others are doing Haiti's job. But, the US has to care for its own citizens as well therefore has to first work on its own AIDS patients within its boundary. If the US does that as its social reform, Haiti instantly dries up.
Irritating mistakes somehow got through inspection: PAligre Dam? PEligre? (P. 174) PuertO Plata? PueltA? (P. 119)
Medical-anthropological approach to HIV & TB illuminates roles of inequality and poverty in spread of disease.......2005-07-11
Farmer, a physician-anthropologist and activist, examines both the way that poverty and inequality result in the spread of HIV and TB today and the flawed justifications for inequitable access to treatment. His ethnographic analysis provides a powerful complement to standard epidemiological work, and this treatise on the danger as well as the immorality of inequity in medical care is largely convincing.
Farmer illustrates several broad themes effectively with case studies from Haiti and Peru. One is the idea that most studies overemphasize individual agency, failing to recognize serious "structural" factors, such as the pressure that extreme poverty exerts on people to engage in unhealthy behaviors and the problems introduced by economic inequality. (One example of the latter is that in unequal countries like Peru, second-line TB drugs are available because of demand by the rich, so doctors also prescribe them to the poor who can only afford them intermittently, which generates drug-resistant strains of the disease.) Another theme is that people in rich nations tend to place heavy weight on "strange" cultural beliefs and customs in explaining high disease prevalence, whereas actual epidemiological research tends to show that these factors carry little weight relative to poverty-related factors. While he uses AIDS in Haiti to illustrate this tendency, it applies perfectly to popular Western conceptions of AIDS in Africa: the popular media tend to emphasize cultural practices such as wife inheritance and a strong sex drive, whereas epidemiological research fails to support a major role for these.
A third theme, which Farmer often trumpets but not as convincingly, is that many of the trade-offs voiced by policymakers are ultimately false. One example is the question of whether to treat tuberculosis with drugs or prevent it (e.g., by investing in economic development). He then uses the success of his clinic in Haiti as an example of both treating and preventing TB. The ultimate argument is that the wealthy have no right to withhold their wealth from the poor. However, he gives us no clear sense of how the resources to generalize this to the world at large should be marshaled. While the trade-off may be philosophically false, the practical application is unclear.
But even without a plan of action, Farmer illuminates key problems in the analysis of infectious disease spread and makes a convincing plea to share the wealth (and the technology).
Wonderful etiological analysis, but unfounded conclusions. .......2004-07-24
Anyone in the public health arena has heard (or even read) of Paul Farmer. The Harvard MD/PhD (Anthropolgy) is indeed a passionate and competant professional who has fresh drive and leads a commendable life in service to humanity. This book seems to be his most popular work (at least on campus of major public health colleges) and it deserves attention and analysis.
Farmer gives systematic treatment of HIV and TB etiology and prevalence in the US and Haiti. More importantly, how those diseases affect the poor in inequitable ways. Peppered with intimate anecdotes and cutting analysis, the book brings hard ideas with the immediacy of the individual plight. He debunks myth of AIDS early history and establishes perspetive for the disease to be viewed/studied in light of the poor and the strucutral violence that (he deems) causes the propensity of the disease in the lower levels of society. He offers solutions and pleas for attention to these 'new plagues' so that the effects can be mitigated for the sake of all humanity.
There are some issues with that perspective. Of course every author brings inherent bias to the writing (either intentional or not), but Farmer makes no apology for his worldview and dismisses opinions of others who are even within the sientific community as he. John Stuart Mill (in "On Liberty") would say that such an attitude is likened to assuming infallibility (which Farmer more or less accuses the attitude of the 'rich' toward the modern plagues). His neo-Marxist tendency completely undermines the state of the world and he therefore addresses his problems from a "the way it should be" approach. That is his prerogative, but taking such an attitude means that his ideas will remain just that: ideas. His lack of pragmatism borders a silent taint of militarism and that approach rarely attracts policy makers, even those on the left.
Farmer assumes that a preponderence of evidence precludes a serious analysis of personal aganecy. No one would argue the conflict of structural violence and the inherent effects on personal agency. Yet, the fact remains that it does exist and it at least needs to be addressed in a thorough matter in order to be a fair treatment of the subject matter.
Furthermore, he needed to address the distal factors (i.e etiology and biology of the diseases) with the proximate (i.e. socio-econimics, etc...) for the book to be of more interest to the lay person. Despite my reservations, it is still a great book to get the reader "out of the box" and see AIDS and TB with the urgency it deserves. Yet, this type of book needs to be in the hands of the lay, and this recommendation would help.
Lastly, Farmer claims on several occasions a foundation of political economy in the analysis of his subject. He is a physician and anthropologist, and without the concurrent opinions of a political-economist to back up his claims, the ideas therein are weak at best. His political-economic opinions may be in line with greats like Marx and Henry George, but he cannot assume the validity of his assumptions just by telling the readership he his resting on such evidence. Several other leading political-economic ideas stand in direct opposition to his conclusions of goverment fixing all health problems to his liking.
All in all, it is hard not to be moved by Farmer's compelling treatment of such horrendous plagues on humanikind. Yet, passion does not always equal pragmatic and working solutions. Therefore, his work will hopefully inspire those who can take his passion to offer clear and viable solutions in the war on these plagues.
Michael Jewell, MPH
Shining a Light.......2004-01-02
Dr. Farmer sums up what you can hear in his lectures (he is an amazing speaker), read in journals, and hear in his interviews: The "modern day plagues" result directly from Structural Violence. I read this book for my culture and health class and could not put it down. He writes with an eloquence unheard of in most anthropologists while at the same time with the passion of a deeply concerned physician. Although in some points the book can get repetitive (as case studies overlap) it is a spectacular, enlightening read that I would recommend to anyone, particularly potential (and current) medical anthropologists.
Complex causality: why people are really at risk for disease.......2000-06-08
Finally Dr. Farmer couples his lucid historical, political and economic analyses of the conditions that put the poor at risk for bad health outcomes, with a plainly indignant calling out of healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations to make honest efforts to understand and remedy conditions which would never be tolerated among the well off in Western nations. In his goundbreaking, earlier books, "AIDS and Accusations," and "The Uses of Haiti," Dr. Farmer matter of factly discusses the global and local structural conditions and misrepresentations which led to the spread of disease and persistent, dismal health conditions in Haiti. In "Infections and Inequality," Dr. Farmer adds moral overtones to incisive, sociopolitical analysis and his characteristic accounts of individuals suffering from disease. The book consequently provides a powerful reflection from a man who has worked in some of the world's poorest regions on what the benefits of medical technology mean for people who have not traditionally had access to them. A powerful, informative read that clearly reflects the years of experience of a physician who has wrestled with the global responsibility of caring for the those who are worst off. An obligatory read for anyone even thinking of working for the impoverished of the world.
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Modern Epidemiology
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The expanded Second Edition of Dr. Rothman's acclaimed Modern Epidemiology reflects the remarkable conceptual development of this evolving science and the engagement of epidemiologists with an increasing range of current public health concerns. This landmark work is the most comprehensive and cohesive text on the principles and methods of contemporary epidemiologic research. Coauthored by two leading epidemiologists, with 15 additional contributors, the Second Edition presents a much broader range of concepts and methods than Dr. Rothman's single-authored original edition. Coverage of basic measures and study types is more thorough and includes a new chapter on field methods. New chapters on advanced topics in data analysis, such as hierarchical regression, are also included. A new section covers specific areas of research such as infectious disease epidemiology, ecologic studies, disease surveillance, analysis of vital statistics, screening, clinical epidemiology, environmental and occupational epidemiology, reproductive and perinatal epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, and nutritional epidemiology.
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The Cambridge World History of Human Disease
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ASIN: 0521332869 |
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Combining recent medical discoveries with historical and geographical scholarship, The Cambridge World History of Human Disease traces the concept of disease throughout history and in each major world region. It offers the history and geography of each significant human disease--both historical and contemporary--from AIDS to yellow fever, and touches on the variety of approaches that different medical traditions have used to fight disease. Accessible to laypeople and specialists alike, The Cambridge World History of Human Disease offers an extraordinary glimpse of what is known about human health as the twenty-first century begins. This important book is now being reissued with a fresh new jacket design.
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Outstanding Reference Source.......2000-03-30
This tome is exhaustive in the diseases it covers and the way it covers them. Kiple provides epidemiological patterns, history and geography, and skeletal manifestations on each of the conditions he and the board of editors describes. What the book lacks in pictures and diagrams, it makes up for in length and completeness of description. A helpful bibliography is provided. This book is well worth the price!
Book Description
Arranged to facilitate use and highlight key concepts, this clear and concise text also includes many practical exercises, case studies, and real-world applications. Utilizing the modern biostatistical approach to studying disease, Epidemiology Kept Simple, Second Edition will provide readers with the tools to interpret epidemiological data, understand disease concepts, and prepare for board exams. The author fully explains all new terminology and minimizes the use of technical language, while emphasizing real-life practice in modern public health and biomedical research settings.
Customer Reviews:
The ONE epidemiology book you need.......2006-03-10
If you are going to get one epidemiology text, this is the one to get. It is well-written, straightforward, but not dumbed-down! It covers all of the major areas of epidemiology and there are ample references to more in-depth papers on specific topics. A companion web site includes review problems, outlines, slides, and link to external references. For the beginner, it is a great introduction to the field of epidemiology. If you have read more advanced books, Epidemiology Kept Simple will help solidify concepts and help link ideas together.
Recommended Text.......2003-10-01
"This should become THE epidemiology text." -Paul M. Gahlinger, MD, PhD, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah
Useful resource book for clinical epi courses.......2001-07-04
The explanations and presentation of material in this book make this a resource I often recommend both for people familiar and new to the field.
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- Recommended Read
- fascinating, educational, and alarming
- Great Intro, But Lacking in the Details -
- The Medical History of Mankind
- A Fascinating and Frightening History of Disease
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Man and Microbes: Disease and Plagues in History and Modern Times
Arno Karlen
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ASIN: 0684822709 |
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Whereas many popular books on microbes focus on contemporary pathogens and emerging epidemics, Arno Karlen's Man and Microbes provides a historical look at the coevolution of humans and microorganisms. Karlen speculates that infections are integral to the process of life itself, that the mitochondria in every animal cell, for instance, are likely descendants of infectious agents. He then traces the development of man from primitive hunter-gatherer to urban dweller to world traveler, pointedly analyzing how socio-ecological changes have contributed to the changing incidence of disease. With amazing detail, Karlen describes the origins of historical plagues (smallpox, cholera, influenza, polio, and others) as well as the emergence of scourges such as hemorrhagic fever (Ebola and its cousins), Lyme disease, Legionnaires' disease, and even the deep mysteries of retroviruses such as HIV.
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Recommended Read.......2007-05-12
Karlen's "Man and Microbes" is a good read, especially for the novice biology reader. I think everyone interested in the subjects of microbiology, medical history, and evolutionary history would enjoy this book but be aware that you will not get very specific scientific detail, rather a broad overview of history. All around worth the time though.
fascinating, educational, and alarming.......2006-06-15
"Man and Microbes" is a good title for this book. Over time, man's relationship with microbes has changed as human populations have grown, moved, changed from hunter-gatherer to agricultural life and then city life, and exploration and colonization exposed groups of humans to new environments. As new land is cleared for farming, humans stir up microbes that had previously interacted with other species, such as mice or monkeys. Having never been exposed to a given microbe before, man has not developed any tolerance and the severity of the disease is harsh. Every new human population a disease encounters has to go though this introduction, before the effects become less severe. This is why native American populations were decimated when Europeans came to their continents. The microbes themselves also change over time, becoming more powerful, less powerful, or retreating to their original animal hosts. Since this book attempts to span the history of mankind and our interaction with microbes, there is less detail about specific diseases or time periods than a reader might like. I know I was still left wondering about the specifics of polio after reading the book. But I do feel that I have gained much more insight into disease and how it has affected our history. When we developed vaccines and antibiotics we thought that we had defeated the diseases which had killed so many humans, but the microbes continued to change, just as always, adapting to our new defenses. Human populations continued to grow, expanding to previously unpopulated territory, exposing people already vulnerable though poor diet and hygene to unfamiliar microbes. My view of our war against disease has definitely changed through reading this book.
Great Intro, But Lacking in the Details -.......2005-01-28
First and foremost, this book is an oustanding, fantastic introduction to the world of infectious diseases. Because of two factors, however, much informatoin is lost. Firstly, the book is rather short - hardly three hundred pages. Secondly, there are thousands of years to cover in such a volume. As a result, the reader is left with a superficial - albeit insightful - look at the history of diseases throughout history.
Karlen attempts - and succeeds, as best as expected - to do three things in this book. He begins by discussing the disease, or outbreak, at hand. Syphilis, tuberculosis, legionnaire's, marberg, ebola are all covered - en brief. Then, he goes on to elaborate on the social climate of the time, to set a context for the reader. He then discusses the impact that these diseases had on thepopulace.
As a personal fiend of specific, explicit writings on the physiological results of diseases, I was somewhat disappointed: AIDs is hardly discussed, and the physical descriptions and onsets are scant, if existant. However, Karlen's adept critical thinking - he analyzes the social impact, etc of each outbreak - makes this book worthwhile.
Overall, a good introduction. I kept notes through this book on topics that I was interested in exploring further, and was not disappointed.
The Medical History of Mankind.......2004-12-01
This book is about the new diseases that plague mankind, an epidemic of epidemics. There was a faith in social, scientific, and technological progress dating from the 19th century (p.3). For millennia, diseases killed more people than war and famine. Since the 1960s new diseases appeared, and old ones reappeared as resistant to drugs. One cause was the high-speed travel from airplanes. This is similar to the 19th century spread of cholera by trains and steamboats. Infection and disease are as old as life. Man's modification of his environment affects other life, and his own. Germs and microbes also change. The tsetse fly's presence in ancient North America corresponds roughly with the extinction of horses (p.19).
Karlen suggests that hunting and meat eating allowed humans to progress (p.22). Leaving the tropics for temperated climates avoided the parasites that still hinder development. But eating wild game can cause problems (p.24). Pages 26-28 tell of Neanderthal man, more advanced than cartoon drawings. The Agricultural Revolution produced greater plenty and more infections; these changes are inseparable and still occur together (p.29). Plant and animal foods leave distinctive chemical signatures in human bones, as do proteins from marine and land animals (pp.32-33). Going from hunting to farming brought declining health and increasing diseases (p.34). New diseases arose: occupational, nutritional, and infectious (p.35). Intestinal helminths may have caused more damage than the more dramatic viral and bacterial plagues (p.37). Domesticated animal brought new diseases (p.39). Farming created new breeding grounds for malaria, organic fertilizers spread both old and new diseases (p.41). Helminth diseases and intestinal infections create a population sapped of energy and disease resistance (p.42). [Recall Richard Henry Dana's comments on New Englanders who settled in Spanish California; "laid back" could be a medical condition.] The Mystery Disease of Pudoc should be a warning against food imported from Third World countries like Asia (p.44-45). We already know about Mad Cow Disease in Great Britain. This is another warning against "raw fish" or raw meat. Once one person has this disease, it can be spread by the local fish!
Reading this book will provide a short history of how diseases affected human history. Some of it may be known to you, but the book has it all in 230 pages. The Bibliography has extensive references for each chapter. The Index allows a quick reference to the many topics in this interesting book. Page 140 tells how more abundant proteins from meat and dairy products reduced infections and mortality. [Remember this the next time you read vegetarian propaganda in a newspaper or magazine. They have a hidden agenda for their advertisers.] Measles and smallpox were biological weapons of colonialism (p.59). The Imperialism (or Globalism) of the Roman Empire was followed by new epidemics from the disease pools of Europe, Africa, India, and China (p.65). Will we see this repeated in the 21st century, and be followed by a new Dark Age?
A Fascinating and Frightening History of Disease.......2004-06-15
Arno Karlen's "Man and Microbes" is an informative and well-written account of the history of disease that is accessible to specialists and non-specialists alike. It is well-researched and it is written in the natural style of a storyteller. Karlen covers a wide span of time, starting off about five million years ago when our ancestors descended from the trees to the ground and finishing in the 1990s. He looks at a range of diseases, including the Mystery Disase of Pudoc, influenza, Lyme Disease, and AIDS, and looks at them through the themes of change (changes in environment, technology, interaction/behavior, lifestyle) and adaptation (human adaptation to disease and vice versa). Karlen ends the book on a hopeful note, and reminds the reader that while history shows so many instances of disease it also shows many instances of humans adapting to and dealing with disease.
I was a little initimidated about reading this book, since I have a pathetic knowledge of science. However, I found the book very readable and I can honestly say that I have a greater appreciation for science and for the human ability to survive after having read the book. A must-read!
Book Description
A comprehensive survey of the technology of mapping and its relationship to the battle against disease, this look at medical mapping advances a radical argument that maps are not merely representations of spatial realities but a way of thinking about relations between viral and bacterial communities, human hosts, and the environments in which diseases flourish. The history of medical mapping is traced—from its growth in the 19th century during an era of trade and immigration to its renaissance in the 1990s during a new era of globalization. Referencing maps older than John Snow's famous cholera maps of London in the mid-19th century, this survey pulls from the plague maps of the 1600s, while addressing current issues concerning the ability of GIS technology to track diseases worldwide.
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Plenty of charts and detail throughout.......2005-10-14
What do early medical maps have to do with modern GIS maps? How can patterns of diseases from the past relate to those in modern times created by GIS? Dr. Koch is a geographer, bioethicist, and here explores relationships between medicine and mapmaking from paper-based to computer-based today. Chapters follow early epidemics, mapmaking processes and myths, public health and medical developments, and more as it examines those who made maps, cartography issues, and medical history. Plenty of charts and detail throughout.
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The Oxford Philosophical Texts series consists of authoritative teaching editions of canonical texts in the history of philosophy from the ancient world down to modern times. Each volume provides a clear, well laid out text together with a comprehensive introduction by a leading specialist, giving the student detailed critical guidance on the intellectual context of the work and the structure and philosophical importance of the main arguments. Endnotes are supplied which provide further commentary on the arguments and explain unfamiliar references and terminology, and a full bibliography and index are also included. The series aims to build up a definitive corpus of key texts in the Western philosophical tradition, which will form a reliable and enduring resource for students and teachers alike. In his Principles of Human Knowledge Berkeley makes the striking claim that physical things consist of nothing but ideas, and so do not exist outside the mind. This establishes Berkeley as the founder of the idealist tradition in philosophy. Berkeley argues vigorously that once we correct our understanding of the physical, we can find a new proof of the existence of God, refute sceptical attacks on human knowledge, and resolve many difficulties and paradoxes raised by the advance of science. The text printed in this volume is the 1734 edition of the Principles which is generally agreed to represent Berkeley's mature thought. Also included are the four important letters between George Berkeley and Samuel Johnson, written in 1729-30. The text is supplemented by a comprehensive introduction which looks at the structure and main arguments of the text, as well as discussing Berkeley's life, influences, and general philosophy. In addition the volume includes an analysis of the text, a glossary, detailed notes, and a full bibliography with guidance on further reading. This new edition of Berkeley's most famous work, published alongside his other masterpiece, the Three Dialogues (also edited by Jonathan Dancy) provides the student with a thorough introduction to the central ideas of one of the world's greatest philosophers.
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Philosophy being nothing else but the study of wisdom and truth, it may with reason be expected that those who have spent most time and pains in it should enjoy a greater calm and serenity of mind, a greater clearness and evidence of knowledge, and be less disturbed with doubts and difficulties than other men.
Customer Reviews:
A must read for Philosophy Scholars.......2005-12-20
A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (Commonly called "Treatise" when referring to Berkeley's works) is a 1710 work by the Irish Empiricist philosopher George Berkeley. This book largely seeks to refute the claims made by his contemporary John Locke about the nature of human perception. Whilst, like all the Empiricist philosophers, both Locke and Berkeley agreed that there was an outside world, and it was this world which caused the ideas one has within one's mind; Berkeley sought to prove that outside world was also composed solely of ideas. Berkeley did this by suggesting that "Ideas can only resemble Ideas" - the mental ideas that we possessed could only resemble other ideas (not physical objects) and thus the external world consisted not of physical form, but rather ideas. This world was given logic and regularity by some other force, which Berkeley did his best to conclude was a God.
Long refuted by most philosophers, Berkeley's claims are often felt to have been a form of rationalisation - Berkeley later became Bishop of Cloyne, and was a highly religious man. Treastise's suggestion that the world was made of ideas with an omnipitent force guiding was his alternative to the Lockean Empiricism popular at the time, which Berkeley felt led to skepticism. In spite of this Berkeley was a capable, respected and entertaining thinker. Some doubt exists as to whether he truly believed his conclusion that the world at large was composed of ideas; with modern thinking tending towards him indeed having thought this to be the case.
Ideal Idealism.......2002-10-15
This is not the place for a philosophical analysis of Berkeley's original text, and its content of argument. The review concerns the specific book edited by Dancy, and its worth in respect of its further contribution to understanding the Treatise.
This book is to be strongly recommended as it provides a multitude of resources that contextualise, criticise, and clarify, the positions put forward by Berkeley in this work.
The most substantial contribution is the extensive introduction comprised of 15 punchy sections, covering Berkeley's life, his academic heritage, and analysis of his thought (both internal and external to that given in the Treatise). Dancy is fair to Berkeley in setting forth the most robust defences of his position, and marshalling critical arguments against the Berkelian stance. This is supplemented by an extremely thorough set of endnotes that are continually present in the background of the text, offering detailed guidance whenever necessary, or desired.
Additionally, the book offers a summarised concise overview of the arguments provided in the Treatise, a glossary of archaic terms(!), and a very helpful short section entitled "How to use this book" (why don't more books include this sort of thing?). There is also a manageable annotated bibliography of further reading to trail a path for academic expansion.
Overall, I found that this book provided a systematic treatment of the text and provided a solid structure of support surrounding the subject. Also included, the letters between Berkeley and Johnson, provide an unexpected bonus. This book is relatively cheap, considering its breadth and depth. In my opinion, it is an ideal text through which to study (and enjoy) Berkeley's Treatise.
Great edition for a great but flawed work........2002-06-08
An extremely important work in the history of philosophy that everyone reads and then dismisses. You should too!
First, this edition is, like the others in this Oxford range, superb, with an excellent long introduction and numerous helpful notes. You can't do better than this unless you're looking for all of his works shoved into one volume, like the Everyman. So basically, if you're looking to study Berkeley seriously, get this edition (and pick up the Dialogues too).
On to the work itself. Berkeley's starting point is Locke's theory of substance, so it's a good idea to familiarise yourself with that first. His basic proposition is Locke's theory of ideas, without the substratum supporting them - there is, therefore, nothing material in the world other than our minds. Berkeley is a brilliant writer and he sweeps you up so thoroughly in his arguments that you can't help but be convinced. But once you've stop reading and take a step back the gaping holes in his arguments become quickly and painfully apparent.
Regardless of the validity of his argument, it's worth buying the work for two reason; his historical importance, and the sheer quality of writing - it's a highly enjoyable work to read; only Plato equals Berkeley for easy and enjoyable to read works of philosophy.
an interesting reading.......2000-03-25
This is a very important work of George Berkeley. On of its most interesting topics is that about the existence of matter. As, for human beings, the "existence" of something is related to its perception, there is a very close link between "things" and ideas. Both cannot have their existence completely proved. The arguments place the book among the most interesting on the top issues discussed in its time (empiricism, materialism, etc.)
an interesting reading.......2000-03-24
This is a very important work of George Berkeley. On of its most interesting topics is that about the existence of matter. As, for human beings, the "existence" of something is related to its perception, there is a very close link between "things" and ideas. Both cannot have their existence completely proved. The arguments place the book among the most interesting on the top issues discussed in its time (empiricism, materialism, etc.)
Book Description
This book develops methods for two key problems in the analysis of large-scale surveys: dealing with incomplete data and making inferences about sparsely represented subdomains. The presentation is committed to two particular methods, multiple imputation for missing data and multivariate composition for small-area estimation. The methods are presented as developments of established approaches by attending to their deficiencies. Thus the change to more efficient methods can be gradual, sensitive to the management priorities in large research organisations and multidisciplinary teams and to other reasons for inertia. The typical setting of each problem is addressed first, and then the constituency of the applications is widened to reinforce the view that the general method is essential for modern survey analysis. The general tone of the book is not "from theory to practice," but "from current practice to better practice." The third part of the book, a single chapter, presents a method for efficient estimation under model uncertainty. It is inspired by the solution for small-area estimation and is an example of "from good practice to better theory."
A strength of the presentation is chapters of case studies, one for each problem. Whenever possible, turning to examples and illustrations is preferred to the theoretical argument. The book is suitable for graduate students and researchers who are acquainted with the fundamentals of sampling theory and have a good grounding in statistical computing, or in conjunction with an intensive period of learning and establishing one's own a modern computing and graphical environment that would serve the reader for most of the analytical work in the future.
While some analysts might regard data imperfections and deficiencies, such as nonresponse and limited sample size, as someone else's failure that bars effective and valid analysis, this book presents them as respectable analytical and inferential challenges, opportunities to harness the computing power into service of high-quality socially relevant statistics.
Overriding in this approach is the general principle—to do the best, for the consumer of statistical information, that can be done with what is available. The reputation that government statistics is a rigid procedure-based and operation-centred activity, distant from the mainstream of statistical theory and practice, is refuted most resolutely.
After leaving De Montfort University in 2004 where he was a Senior Research Fellow in Statistics, Nick Longford founded the statistical research and consulting company SNTL in Leicester, England. He was awarded the first Campion Fellowship (2000–02) for methodological research in United Kingdom government statistics. He has served as Associate Editor of the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, and the Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics and as an Editor of the Journal of Multivariate Analysis. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology. He is the author of two other monographs, Random Coefficient Models (Oxford University Press, 1993) and Models for Uncertainty in Educational Testing (Springer-Verlag, 1995).
From the reviews:
"Ultimately, this book serves as an excellent reference source to guide and improve statistical practice in survey settings exhibiting these problems."
Psychometrika
"I am convinced this book will be useful to practitioners...[and a] valuable resource for future research in this field."
Jan Kordos in Statistics in Transition, Vol. 7, No. 5, June 2006
"To sum up, I think this is an excellent book and it thoroughly covers methods to deal with incomplete data problems and small-area estimation. It is a useful and suitable book for survey statisticians, as well as for researchers and graduate students interested on sampling designs."
Ramon Cleries Soler in Statistics and Operations Research Transactions, Vol. 30, No. 1, January-June 2006
Book Description
Accessible to medicine- and/or public policy-related audiences, as well as most statisticians.
- Emphasis on outliers is discussed by way of detection and treatment.
- Resampling statistics software is incorporated throughout.
- Motivating applications are presented in light of honest theory.
- Plentiful exercises are sprinkled throughout.
Customer Reviews:
good introduction.......2007-08-15
This is my husband's second book. It came out based on a course he taught to undergraduate health science majors at Cal State Long Beach. He taught it successfully twice. It is a clear introduction for the novice like me and has a good set of exercises and references for further reading. Mike works in the pharmaceutical industry and previously in medical devices. He brings his experience to bear on the examples and to motive the students to see the real value of statistics to their future profession. His coauthor also taught the course at cal State Long Beach and provided many of the exercises and some of the applications particularly in the area of epidemiology which is his specialty. The book has been slow to be adopted in some classrooms because of thre novel introduction of bootstrap a technique that many instructors are not familiar with. But if you look at the review in JASA you will see that this is a strength of the book and is presented simply and only for the most basic bootstrap techniques and applications. It is worth the effort to learn these techniques and to choose this book over some competitors that just do the standard things and look exactly like each other.
A book that has a well balanced explanation with math and english........2005-08-27
Biostatistics textbooks usually either concentrate on the math or the explanations, and end up giving an unbalanced idea of the subject at hand.
Texts that choose to have both as different modules, are generally large (therefore more or less reference), expensive and at times incoherent.
I have come across a variety of texts dealing with the subject, from the popular Motulsky's book, Rosner, Dytham and even most of the Wiley series. I have found that this is one of those very few texts available that has a balanced explanation of stat with "the english of it" and "the maths of it".
In general the book follows the same sequence as standard biostatistics courses offered at second year of university. However it assumes the reader knows very little, at that same token the book is not written in a conderscending manner.
It is so well written that it can probably appeal to most readerships (undergraduate that is). It is not only an excellant primer but also a workable textbook.
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