This work challenges the belief that HIV is the cause of AIDS. Among the many topics explored are the failings of HIV testing, statistical evidence that HIV is not a sexually transmitted disease, and problems caused by the differing diagnostic criteria for AIDS around the world.
Paralleling the discovery of HIV and the rise of the AIDS pandemic, a flock of naysayers has dedicated itself to replacing genuine knowledge with destructive misinformation—and spreading from the fringe to the mainstream media and the think tank. Now from the editor of the journal AIDS and Behavior comes a bold exposé of the scientific and sociopolitical forces involved in this toxic evasion. Denying AIDS traces the origins of AIDS dissidents disclaimers during the earliest days of the epidemic and delves into the psychology and politics of the current denial movement in its various incarnations. Seth Kalichman focuses not on the “difficult” or doubting patient, but on organized, widespread forms of denial (including the idea that HIV itself is a myth and HIV treatments are poison) and the junk science, faulty logic, conspiracy theories, and larger forces of homophobia and racism that fuel them. The malignant results of AIDS denial can be seen in those individuals who refuse to be tested, ignore their diagnoses, or reject the treatments that could save their lives. Instead of ignoring these currents, asserts Kalichman, science has a duty to counter them. Among the topics covered: Why AIDS denialism endures, and why science must understand it. Pioneer virus HIV researcher Peter Duesberg’s role in AIDS denialism. Flawed immunological, virological, and pharmacological pseudoscience studies that are central to texts of denialism. The social conservative agenda and the politics of AIDS denial, from the courts to the White House. The impact of HIV misinformation on public health in South Africa. Fighting fiction with reality: anti-denialism and the scientific community. For anyone affected by, interested in, or working with researchers in HIV/AIDS, and public health professionals in general, the insight and vision of Denying AIDS will inspire outrage, discussion, and ultimately action. See http://denyingaids.blogspot.com/ for more information.
Case studies, personal accounts, and analysis show how to recognize and combat pseudoscience in a post-truth world. In a post-truth, fake news world, we are particularly susceptible to the claims of pseudoscience. When emotions and opinions are more widely disseminated than scientific findings, and self-proclaimed experts get their expertise from Google, how can the average person distinguish real science from fake? This book examines pseudoscience from a variety of perspectives, through case studies, analysis, and personal accounts that show how to recognize pseudoscience, why it is so widely accepted, and how to advocate for real science. Contributors examine the basics of pseudoscience, including issues of cognitive bias; the costs of pseudoscience, with accounts of naturopathy and logical fallacies in the anti-vaccination movement; perceptions of scientific soundness; the mainstream presence of “integrative medicine,” hypnosis, and parapsychology; and the use of case studies and new media in science advocacy. Contributors David Ball, Paul Joseph Barnett, Jeffrey Beall, Mark Benisz, Fernando Blanco, Ron Dumont, Stacy Ellenberg, Kevin M. Folta, Christopher French, Ashwin Gautam, Dennis M. Gorman, David H. Gorski, David K. Hecht, Britt Marie Hermes, Clyde F. Herreid, Jonathan Howard, Seth C. Kalichman, Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, Arnold Kozak, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Emilio Lobato, Steven Lynn, Adam Marcus, Helena Matute, Ivan Oransky, Chad Orzel, Dorit Reiss, Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter, Kavin Senapathy, Dean Keith Simonton, Indre Viskontas, John O. Willis, Corrine Zimmerman
The history, symptoms, prevention, and current issues surrounding HIV and AIDS are discussed, along with a focus on special populations struggling with the disease. Once thought to be a disease of homosexuals and drug abusers, AIDS has now impacted people across cultures, genders, and sexual orientations. Despite activism, new research, and treatments, many people are still dying from this disease. HIV/AIDS offers a comprehensive, one-volume resource that traces the history of the disease, and discusses prevention, along with current research and treatment. It examines issues such as care giving, health care settings, human rights, pregnancy, and insurance. The incidence and prognosis for the disease among special populations, as well as their needs and struggles, are covered in detail. These groups include: drug and alcohol abusers, the gay and lesbian community, minority communities, pediatric patients, prisoners, senior citizens, and women. With education the key to both prevention and care of those infected, this volume is an invaluable resource for students and general readers.
This book discusses the ways in which science, the touchstone of reliable knowledge in modern society, changed dramatically in the second half of the 20th century, becoming less trustworthy through conflicts of interest and excessive competitiveness. Fraud became common enough that organized efforts to combat it now include a federal Office of Research Integrity. Competent minority opinions are sometimes thereby suppressed, with the result that policy makers, the media and the public are presented with biased or incomplete information. Evidence tending to challenge established theories is sometimes rejected without addressing its substance. While most would agree in the abstract that science can go wrong, few would consider—despite interesting contrary evidence—that official consensus about the origins of the universe or the causes of global warming might be mistaken.
Centralization and over-professionalization can lead to the disappearance of a critical environment capable of linking the human sciences to the “real world.” The authors of this volume suggest that the humanities need to operate in a concrete cultural environment able to influence procedures on a hic et nunc basis, and that they should not entirely depend on normative criteria whose function is often to hide ignorance behind a pretentious veil of value-neutral objectivity. In sociology, the growth of scientism has fragmented ethical categories and distorted discourse between our inner and outer selves, while philosophy is suffering from an empty professionalism current in many philosophy departments in industrialized and developing countries where boring, ahistorical, and nonpolitical exercises are justified through appeals to false excellence. In all branches of the humanities, absurd evaluation processes foster similar tendencies as they create a sterile atmosphere and prevent interdisciplinarity and creativity. Technicization of theory plays into the hands of technocrats. The authors offer a broad range of approaches and interpretations, reaching from philosophy of education to the re-evaluation of business models for universities.
Critical thinking values, knowledge, and skills are integral to evidence-based practice in the helping professions. Practitioners must be able to think clearly, on a daily basis, about decisions that may change their clients' lives. Critical Thinking for Helping Professionals, 3rd Edition, is designed to engage readers as active participants in honing their critical thinking skills, mastering a coherent decision-making process, and integrating the evidence-based practice process into their work with clients. In this interactive skills-based workbook, 37 hands-on exercises offer rich opportunities for students in professional education programs to learn how to make informed decisions. Unique material exploring the use of propaganda in advertising and discussing the research on judgment and problem solving highlight the connection between critical thinking and evidence-based practice. For students in social work, nursing, counseling, and psychology, this new edition of a unique workbook is a fun and thought-provoking way to sharpen and maximize their decision-making skills so that they can provide their clients with the best care possible. * Fun, interactive exercises emphasize learning by doing * Integrates research and practice, practice and policy, and critical thinking and evidence-based practice * Helps readers to recognize how to recognize propaganda, avoid pitfalls in decision making, critically appraise research, and improve their practice * Ideal for graduate and undergraduate courses in research and practice
We live in an age of paranoia, bombarded daily by the media about the dangers of infectious microbes and viruses that threaten our very existence. The pharmaceutical and biotech industries insist that we are in a continuous state of war with our microbes and we have to protect ourselves with their elaborate weapons of microbial destruction. But do we really need them? Each of our bodies is teeming with trillions of microbes and viruses. Many of them are normal lifetime residents that do us no harm. In fact, some of them are essential to our health. Microbes and viruses were on the planet long before humans appeared, and we must learn to live in harmony with them. Professor Hudson takes us on a fascinating journey into the world of microbes and viruses, and puts things into perspective in a nontechnical, lighthearted exploration of this amazing microcosm within us all.
It is a mistake to think that wars only concern armies involved in active engagement. Nothing is farther from the truth. The real forces of evil wage a financial war. The dark princes of debt finance have gained leverage over every important social, economic, and political institution-including the health care delivery system. In AIDS, Opium, Diamonds, and Empire, author Nancy Turner Banks draws the connections between free market strategies, the destruction of national sovereignty by the process of globalization, and AIDS as one of the health consequences of a neo-Darwinian philosophy. Through meticulous research, Banks found a medicalpharmaceutical- industrial complex that was taken over one hundred years ago by the titans of financial capitalism. Their aim was to create profit, not to conquer disease. This book of social history points to a cauldron of historical events that contributed to the HIV/AIDS crisis. AIDS, Opium, Diamonds, and Empire tells the dramatic story of a financial ideology that is damaging to everything that it means to be human. It is the story of profits over people. In the end, it is the story of hope and how we can regain our sanity and our health in a world gone mad.