Stress is one of the most commonly reported precipitants of drug use and is considered the number one cause of relapse to drug abuse. For the past several decades, there have been a number of significant advances in research focusing on the neurobiological and psychosocial aspects of stress and addiction; along with this growth came the recognition of the importance of understanding the interaction of biological and psychosocial factors that influence risk for initiation and maintenance of addictive behaviors. Recent research has started to specifically focus on understanding the nature of how stress contributes to addiction - this research has influenced the way we think about addiction and its etiological factors and has produced exciting possibilities for developing effective intervention strategies; to date there has been no available book to integrate this literature. This highly focused work integrates and consolidates available knowledge to provide a resource for researchers and practitioners and for trainees in multiple fields. It will help neuroscientists, social scientists, and mental health providers in addressing the role of stress in addictive behaviors; the volume is also useful as a reference book for those conducting research in this field. * Integrates theoretical and practical issues related to stress and addiction * Includes case studies illustrating where an emotional state and addictive behavior represent a prominent feature of the clinical presentation * Cross-disciplinary coverage with contributions by scientists and practitioners from multiple fields, including psychology, neuroscience, neurobiology, and medicine.

This succinct book gives an intimate view of the day-to-day functioning of a remarkable river that has figured prominently in history and culture-the Hudson, a main artery connecting New York, America, and the world. Writing for a wide audience, David Strayer distills the large body of scientific information about the river into a non-technical overview of its ecology. Strayer describes the geography and geology of the Hudson and its basin, the properties of water and its movements in the river, water chemistry, and the river's plants and animals. He then takes a more detailed look at the Huds.

Major newspapers, news programs, and magazines across the country have recently addressed the current issues of childhood obesity, the link between exercise and improved academic focus, and the importance of diet and exercise in improving the health of our children. As many schools consider cutting recess and removing physical education from their curricula, it has become increasingly important to examine the possible effects of this decision and what it might mean for children and their physical and mental well-being. In Young Athletes, Couch Potatoes, and Helicopter Parents, Jessica Skolnikoff and Robert Engvall look at the important issue of play and its changing role in today's hyper-structured society. The authors conducted countless interviews combined with extensive research in order to gain a comprehensive theory on the current nature of play and how it has affected children's lives. Specific topics addressed include the impact of over-involved parents upon the play of their children, how kids are chosen for sports teams and the effect of these selections on the kids, the lack of unstructured play, and the lasting impression of society's competitive mindset on children. This book is not a criticism of parents who want to be involved in their children's lives, but addresses the structural and cultural issues around the changing role of play and the ways in which kids' sports are viewed in today's society. Intended not only for childhood development studies, education, sociology, popular culture, and sports studies, this book will be of interest to parents, coaches, athletic directors, school administrators, and educators.

A fresh and exciting approach to Greek culinary tradition, wherein food is healthy, simple, and most of all, delicious.

The 2010 election serves as a bookend to one of the remarkable political periods in recent U.S. history. Amidst a profound economic crisis, Americans elected an African American to the presidency and massive Democratic majorities to Congress. Beginning in 2009, the President and Congress put forward a sweeping agenda to both address the economic crisis and enact progressive policies that liberals had been advocating for decades. Within a year and a half, they would pass health care reform and financial reform alongside a stimulus package of nearly a trillion dollars. Democrats also rescued the auto industry via a partial government takeover and expanded the Bush administration's incipient program for saving the banking sector by pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into it. Finally, the Obama administration dramatically increased our commitment in Afghanistan while simultaneously winding down our presence in Iraq. In Obama at the Crossroads, eminent political scientists Desmond King and Larry Jacobs have gathered some of the best scholars in American politics to take stock of this extraordinary period. Covering the financial crisis, health care reform, racial politics, foreign policy, the nature of Obama's leadership, and the relationship between the administration's agenda and broader progressive goals, this will serve as a comprehensive overview of the key issues facing the Obama administration as it entered office.--

"The recent spate of books and articles reflecting on the question of evil might make one forget that the question of just what constitutes goodness is no less urgent or perplexing. Everyone wants to think of him- or herself as good. But what does a good life look like? And how do people become good? Are there multiple, competing possibilities for what counts as a good life, all equally worthy? Or, is there a unified and transcendent conception of the good that should guide our judgment of the possibilities? What does a good life look like when it is guided by God? How is a good life involved with the lives of others? And, finally, how good is good enough? These questions are the focus of In Search of Goodness, the product of a year-long conversation about goodness. The eight essays in this volume challenge the dichotomies that usually govern how goodness has been discussed in the past: altruism versus egoism; reason versus emotion; or moral choice versus moral character. Instead, the contributors seek to expand the terms of the discussion by coming at goodness from a variety of perspectives:160; psychological, philosophic, literary, religious, and political. In each case, they emphasize the lived realities and particulars of moral phenomena, taking up examples and illustrations from life, literature, and film. From Achilles and Billy Budd, to Oskar Schindler and Shel Silversteins The Giving Tree, to Iris Murdoch and the citizens of Flagstaff, Arizona, readers will find a wealth of thought-provoking insights to help them better understand this most basic, but complex, element of human life and happiness."--

In Medical Informatics three types of processes play a central role: organizational, patient-related and decision making-related processes. The first type deals with settings, such as a hospital care setting or a primary care setting; the second is related to health and disease (i.e. to patients); the third type of process aims at assisting in decision making and therapy and evolves in the brains of healthcare professionals. Hence, in all domains data, information and knowledge play a key role. As these tree processes evolve, dealing with individuals - patients, doctors and nurses - because of that human factor there are obviously limitations imposed by formalization and standardization. In the past, there have been some unrealistic expectations regardingthe possible contributions of medical informatics to healthcare. However, such contributions appeared to be very modest, to say the least. The same applies to the overly optimistic expectations regarding the introduction of electronic health records. Althugh the technology is widely available, all these developments appear to be far more complex than expected. The need for an improved understanding of the nature of medical knowledge to better serve health remains to be emphasized.

A comprehensive collection of fully developed case studies of event management and event tourism main areas, including HR, leadership, marketing, strategy, operations, stakeholder management, and evaluation, all written by international experts. It is a must have collection for all those studying and teaching event management and event tourism.

Provides students and researchers with a solid foundation to study of sustainability.

Note-by-Note Cooking is a landmark in the annals of gastronomy, liberating cooks from the constraints of traditional ingredients and methods through the use of pure molecular compounds. 1-Octen-3-ol, which has a scent of wild mushrooms; limonene, a colorless liquid hydrocarbon that has the smell of citrus; sotolon, whose fragrance at high concentrations resembles curry and at low concentrations, maple syrup or sugar; tyrosine, an odorless but flavorful amino acid present in cheese - these and many other substances, some occurring in nature, some synthesized in the laboratory - make it possible to create novel tastes and flavors in the same way that elementary sound waves can be combined to create new sounds. Note-by-note cooking promises to add unadulterated nutritional value to dishes of all kinds, actually improving upon the health benefits of so-called natural foods. Cooking with molecular compounds will be far more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable than traditional techniques of cooking. This new way of thinking about food heralds a phase of culinary evolution on which the long-term survival of a growing human population depends. Hervé This clearly explains the properties of naturally occurring and synthesized compounds, dispels a host of misconceptions about the place of chemistry in cooking, and shows why note-by-note cooking is an obvious and inevitable extension of his earlier pioneering work in molecular gastronomy. An appendix contains a representative selection of recipes, vividly illustrated in color.

"Even with the latest and best vehicles, machinery, technology and buildings, if we continue to use resources irresponsibly - if we continue to waste food, water and energy - we are not even in the race." This book looks at the sustainable issues and the accompanying opportunities, and leads readers on a fast track to clear the air and drive to a sustainable, low-carbon future. To focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency. To stop the burning and stop wasting resources. Read on and let the wealth of information in this book inspire you along your sustainability journey. Join the race and act soon. A portfolio of stories, essays, profiles and case studies covering the four E's of sustainability: energy, economy, environment and ethics.

Drawing on ecosystem thinking, complexity and postnormal science, Ecological Health offers a radical new way of thinking about the health issues of the 21st Century. This volume reflects on recent social scientific engagement with Ecosystem Health research and practice and sets out a vision for the future. While significant links between human health and the environment are increasingly evident, how to make sense of the interdependence of human health on natural systems is posing significant challenges. Ecological health is a new approach used by medics, public health practitioners, veterinarians, as well as social and natural scientists who study health at the nexus between human, animal and ecological systems. This volume is a reference tool offering a sociological analysis of the interrelationship between society, earth systems and health as conceptual frameworks. The authors provide methodological tools for conducting social science research that integrates social, natural and medical systems. It will appeal to a broad audience of researchers and practitioners who currently work in the arena of ecology and health and as well as those interested in expanding their research.