The quintessential examination of women, gynecology is not simply the study of women's bodies, but also serves to define and constitute them. From J. Marion Sims's surgical experiments on unanesthetized slave women in the mid-19th century to the use of cadavers and prostitutes to teach medical students gynecological techniques, Kapsalis focuses on the ways in which women and their bodies have been treated by the medical establishment. 34 photos.
The quintessential examination of women, gynecology is not simply the study of women's bodies, but also serves to define and constitute them. From J. Marion Sims's surgical experiments on unanesthetized slave women in the mid-19th century to the use of cadavers and prostitutes to teach medical students gynecological techniques, Kapsalis focuses on the ways in which women and their bodies have been treated by the medical establishment. 34 photos.
"Public Privates focuses on public and private acts and spaces in media to explore the formation of geographies. Situated at the intersections of cultural geography, feminist geography, and media studies, Marcia R. England's study argues that media both reinforce and subvert traditional notions of public and private spaces through depiction of behaviors and actions within those spheres. Though popular media contribute to the erosion of indistinct edges between spaces, they also frequently reinforce the traditional dualism through particular codings that designate the normed and gendered socio-spatial actions appropriate in each sphere--producing geographical imaginations and behaviors. England applies her immensely readable construction to a diverse and wide-ranging array of media including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Fast and the Furious, J-Horror, sitcoms, Degrassi, and reality TV. By examining the gendered representations of public and private spaces in media and how images influence imagined and lived geographies, England shows how popular culture, specifically visual media, transmits ideologies that disintegrate the already blurred boundaries between public and private spaces."--
Focusing on the Western philosophical tradition and the work of contemporary feminists, Jean Elshtain explores the general tendency to assert the primacy of the public world—the political sphere dominated by men—and to denigrate the private world—the familial sphere dominated by women. She offers her own positive reconstruction of the public and the private in a feminist theory that reaffirms the importance of the family and envisions an "ethical polity."
Over the last decade or so, private-sector financing through public-private partnerships (PPPs) has become increasingly popular around the world as a way of procuring and maintaining public-sector infrastructure, in sectors such as transportation (roads, bridges, tunnels, railways, ports, airports), social infrastructure (hospitals, schools, prisons, social housing) public utilities (water supply, waste water treatment, waste disposal), government offices and other accommodation, and other specialised services (communications networks or defence equipment). This book, based on the author's practical experience on the public- and private-sector sides of the table, reviews the key policy issues which arise for the public sector in considering whether to adopt the PPP procurement route, and the specific application of this policy approach in PPP contracts, comparing international practices in this respect. It offers a systematic and integrated approach to financing PPPs within this public-policy framework, and explains the project-finance techniques used for this purpose. The book deals with both the Concession and PFI models of PPP, and provides a structured introduction for those who are new to the subject, whether in the academic, public-sector, investment, finance or contracting fields, as well as an aide memoire for those developing PPP policies or negotiating PPPs. The author focuses on practical concepts, issues and techniques, and does not assume any prior knowledge of PPP policy issues or financing techniques. The book describes and explains: * The different types of PPPs and how these have developed * Why PPPs are attractive to governments * General policy issues for the public sector in developing a PPP programme * PPP procurement procedures and bid evaluation * The use of project-finance techniques for PPPs * Sources of funding * Typical PPP contracts and sub-contracts, and their relationship with the project’s financial structure * Risk assessment from the points of view of the public sector, investors, lenders and other project parties * Structuring the investment and debt financing * The key issues in negotiating a project-finance debt facility. In addition the book includes an extensive glossary, as well as cross-referencing. *Reviews the PPP policy framework and development from an international perspective *Covers public- and private-sector financial analysis, structuring and investment in PPPs *No prior knowledge of project financing required
Preference falsification, according to the economist Timur Kuran, is the act of misrepresenting one's wants under perceived social pressures. It happens frequently in everyday life, such as when we tell the host of a dinner party that we are enjoying the food when we actually find it bland. In Private Truths, Public Lies Kuran argues convincingly that the phenomenon not only is ubiquitous but has huge social and political consequences. Drawing on diverse intellectual traditions, including those rooted in economics, psychology, sociology, and political science, Kuran provides a unified theory of how preference falsification shapes collective decisions, orients structural change, sustains social stability, distorts human knowledge, and conceals political possibilities. A common effect of preference falsification is the preservation of widely disliked structures. Another is the conferment of an aura of stability on structures vulnerable to sudden collapse. When the support of a policy, tradition, or regime is largely contrived, a minor event may activate a bandwagon that generates massive yet unanticipated change. In distorting public opinion, preference falsification also corrupts public discourse and, hence, human knowledge. So structures held in place by preference falsification may, if the condition lasts long enough, achieve increasingly genuine acceptance. The book demonstrates how human knowledge and social structures co-evolve in complex and imperfectly predictable ways, without any guarantee of social efficiency. Private Truths, Public Lies uses its theoretical argument to illuminate an array of puzzling social phenomena. They include the unexpected fall of communism, the paucity, until recently, of open opposition to affirmative action in the United States, and the durability of the beliefs that have sustained India's caste system.
Public Privates focuses on public and private acts and spaces in media to explore the formation of geographies. Situated at the intersections of cultural geography, feminist geography, and media studies, Marcia R. England’s study argues that media both reinforce and subvert traditional notions of public and private spaces through depiction of behaviors and actions within those spheres. Though popular media contribute to the erosion of indistinct edges between spaces, they also frequently reinforce the traditional dualism through particular codings that designate the normed and gendered socio-spatial actions appropriate in each sphere—producing geographical imaginations and behaviors. England applies her immensely readable construction to a diverse and wide-ranging array of media including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Fast and the Furious, J-Horror, sitcoms, Degrassi, and reality TV. By examining the gendered representations of public and private spaces in media and how images influence imagined and lived geographies, England shows how popular culture, specifically visual media, transmits ideologies that disintegrate the already blurred boundaries between public and private spaces.
Catie Marron’s City Parks captures the spirit and beauty of eighteen of the world’s most-loved city parks. Zadie Smith, Ian Frazier, Candice Bergen, Colm Tóibín, Nicole Krauss, Jan Morris, and a dozen other remarkable contributors reflect on a particular park that holds special meaning for them. Andrew Sean Greer eloquently paints a portrait of first love in the Presidio; André Aciman muses on time’s fleeting nature and the changing face of New York viewed from the High Line; Pico Iyer explores hidden places and privacy in Kyoto; Jonathan Alter takes readers from the 1968 race riots to Obama’s 2008 victory speech in Chicago’s Grant Park; Simon Winchester invites us along on his adventures in the Maidan; and Bill Clinton writes of his affection for Dumbarton Oaks. Oberto Gili’s color and black-and-white photographs unify the writers’ unique and personal voices. Taken around the world over the course of a year, in every season, his pictures capture the inherent mood of each place. Fusing images and text, City Parks is an extraordinary and unique project: through personal reflection and intimate detail it taps into collective memory and our sense of time’s passage.
Adopting a multidisciplinary approach to the distinction between public and private, this lucidly written book covers an interesting and eclectic mix of topics such as citizenship, Rorty, Arendt and marriage.
