The mad cow crisis : health and the public good

xii 247p black cloth, silver lettering to spine & cover, figures in text, appendices, notes, index, section of pages hurt through bad shelving, still perfectly readable In the spring of 1996, when numerous reports of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, popularly known as "mad cow disease", coincided with an outbreak of a similar neuropathological disease in humans, a panic spread across Britain, Europe, and subsequently to the United States. Described as "the biggest crisis the European Union ever had", the mad cow controversy would raise important issues about the ways in which risks to the public health are assessed, disseminated, and controlled. Was the "epidemic" merely a failure of management, the lessons of which could be incorporated into a new strategy for dealing with public anxiety? Was it an isolated case of poor decision-making in a highly volatile economic sector, or was it the kind of nightmare that could face any Government responsible for public safety? And what role did the media play in exacerbating an already spiraling crisis? Divided into four major sections - "Scientific/Historical Perspectives"; "Politics as Health"; "Understanding the Crisis"; and "Lessons and Possibilities"--Mad Cow Crisis: Health and the Public Good assembles the perspectives of a range of experts on this strange and frightening phenomenon, with a view to helping us comprehend how and why such crises occur. Both a careful consideration of how we interpret risk and uncertainty and a step-by-step guide to managing public fear, this important book will interest anyone concerned with public health, communication, science, economics, and medicine

The announcement that BOSER might cause a fatal human disease "Creutzfeldt- Jacob disease CJD" triggered enormous media attention, public alarm and government wrangling that threatened the future of European integration.; As Scott Ratzan argues: "It is my belief that the [BOSER crisis] represents a quintessential case that will go down in history as the Exxon Valdez Union Carbide's Bhopal accident, and other such cases of interdisciplinary study".; This book offers lessons learned from the crisis, with contributions from experts with different viewpoints - veterinarians, Eurocrats, public relations experts, politicians, policy- makers, journalists and representatives of the beef industry.; It also offers a compilation of the key reports from governmental bodies. as a case-study in policy-making, scientific/health discovery and dissemination of information, as well as looking at the issues from the perspective of psychology and media studies.

The announcement that BOSER may cause a fatal human disease caused enormous media attention and aroused public alarm. This book looks at the crisis from the viewpoint of vets, journalists, policy makers, politicians and the beef industry and looks at key reports from governing bodies. New Diasporas explores the growing pressures of international migration in the last quarter of the 20th century. Van Hear presents case studies of 10 new transnational communities, discussing their future and their role in the global economy