Exploding the Gene Myth: How Genetic Information Is Produced and Manipulated by Scientists, Physicians, Employers, Insurance Companies, Educators, and Law Enforcers

Book Description

How Genetic Information Is Produced and Manipulated by Scientists, Physicians, Employers, Insurance Companies, Educators, and Law Enforcers With a new Preface "With their rich array of citations and examples . . . [Hubbard and Wald] show how the marriage of science and business . . . has created that most treacherous of American progeny: commerce masquerading as human liberation." -Daniel Callahan, The New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

Earth-Shaking Paradigm Shift from a Very Prominent Biologist.......2004-10-28

Ruth Hubbard is a professor emerita of biology at Harvard and a member of the Council for Responsible Genetics, a prominent national bioethics board. In this book (co-written with her son-in-law, Elijah Wald), she takes everything you think you know about genes, genetic health care screening, DNA fingerprinting, the Human Genome Project, and the search for a gay gene and other behavior-related genes, and blows your mind by explaining, point by point, exactly how unreliable, meaningless, and discriminatory each of these much-lauded technologies is. After reading this book, you'll never read a newspaper article about the latest genetic study the same way again. Don't miss it.

Rhetoric Against a Needed Science.......2001-11-18

Ruth Hubbard uses the rhetoric of exaggeration to try to convince us to abandon genetic research. But if genes didn't matter then monkeys could talk and if environment didn't matter then we wouldn't have schools. Obviously they BOTH matter.

Let us use the objective methods of science to document the specifics of what is genetically determined and what is environmentally determined.

Any serious AIDS researcher knows that without genetic research we have no chance of defeating AIDS. Obviously we need to study genetics to maintain progress against disease.

A brilliantly written book.......1999-10-28

Dr. Hubbard gives her readers much to think about, and she backs up everything she's written. She explains how the popularly-held reductionist view of genetics does not tell the whole story. Her book explains how the public often only hears one side of the story when it comes to the potential of the latest genetic technologies.

The work of a good scientist, an abysmal social commentator.......1999-08-29

Hubbard does deserve credit for throwing some skepticism on "the next big thing" in science, genetic technology. Unfortunately, she combines her skeptical analysis with her hopelessly egalitarian political views, obscuring any positive contributions this book could have. Hubbard goes through every expected cliche - Nazi imagery (social pundits never tire of this), playing the "race card, and discouraging scientific progress as "unneccessary". Read this book only if you wish to glimpse the future of awful politically-correct rhetoric.

The author breaks ranks to reveal the truth about genetics........1998-10-02

A 5-star book. If there weren't so much hype about gene therapy there would be no need for this book. But bad science and misinformation coming from those with commercial or political interests has given the American public the idea that gene therapy has possibilities. To date, gene therapy has not cured one disease. Ruth Hubbard finally breaks ranks to reveal the truth about genetics.

Non-Life Insurance Mathematics: An Introduction with Stochastic Processes (Universitext)

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Non-Life Insurance Mathematics: An Introduction with Stochastic Processes (Universitext)
Thomas Mikosch
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 3540406506

Book Description

This book offers a mathematical introduction to non-life insurance and, at the same time, to a multitude of applied stochastic processes. It gives detailed discussions of the fundamental models for claim sizes, claim arrivals, the total claim amount, and their probabilistic properties. Throughout the book the language of stochastic processes is used for describing the dynamics of an insurance portfolio in claim size space and time. In addition to the standard actuarial notions, the reader learns about the basic models of modern non-life insurance mathematics: the Poisson, compound Poisson and renewal processes in collective risk theory and heterogeneity and Bühlmann models in experience rating. The reader gets to know how the underlying probabilistic structures allow one to determine premiums in a portfolio or in an individual policy. Special emphasis is given to the phenomena which are caused by large claims in these models. What makes this book special are more than 100 figures and tables illustrating and visualizing the theory. Every section ends with extensive exercises. They are an integral part of this course since they support the access to the theory. The book can serve either as a text for an undergraduate/graduate course on non-life insurance mathematics or applied stochastic processes. Its content is in agreement with the European "Groupe Consultatif" standards. An extensive bibliography, annotated by various comments sections with references to more advanced relevant literature, make the book broadly and easiliy accessible.

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Genetics and Insurance
T. Mcgleenan
Manufacturer: Garland Science
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1859960871

Actuarial statistics with generalized linear mixed models [An article from: Insurance Mathematics and Economics]

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Actuarial statistics with generalized linear mixed models [An article from: Insurance Mathematics and Economics]
K. Antonio , and J. Beirlant
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000PC0F9E

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Insurance Mathematics and Economics, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Over the last decade the use of generalized linear models (GLMs) in actuarial statistics has received a lot of attention, starting from the actuarial illustrations in the standard text by McCullagh and Nelder [McCullagh, P., Nelder, J.A., 1989. Generalized linear models. In: Monographs on Statistics and Applied Probability. Chapman and Hall, New York]. Traditional GLMs however model a sample of independent random variables. Since actuaries very often have repeated measurements or longitudinal data (i.e. repeated measurements over time) at their disposal, this article considers statistical techniques for modelling such data within the framework of GLMs. Use is made of generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) which model a transformation of the mean as a linear function of both fixed and random effects. The likelihood and Bayesian approaches to GLMMs are explained. The models are illustrated by considering classical credibility models and more general regression models for non-life ratemaking in the context of GLMMs. Details on computation and implementation (in SAS and WinBugs) are provided.

Hedging life insurance with pure endowments [An article from: Insurance Mathematics and Economics]

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Hedging life insurance with pure endowments [An article from: Insurance Mathematics and Economics]
E. Bayraktar , and V.R. Young
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000PDTUPI

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Insurance Mathematics and Economics, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
We extend the work of Milevsky et al., [Milevsky, M.A., Promislow, S.D., Young, V.R., 2005. Financial valuation of mortality risk via the instantaneous Sharpe ratio (preprint)] and Young, [Young, V.R., 2006. Pricing life insurance under stochastic mortality via the instantaneous Sharpe ratio (preprint)] by pricing life insurance and pure endowments together. We assume that the company issuing the life insurance and pure endowment contracts requires compensation for their mortality risk in the form of a pre-specified instantaneous Sharpe ratio. We show that the price P^m^,^n for m life insurances and n pure endowments is less than the sum of the price P^m^,^0 for m life insurances and the price P^0^,^n for n pure endowments. Thereby, pure endowment contracts serve as a hedge against the (stochastic) mortality risk inherent in life insurance, and vice versa.

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Non-Life Insurance Mathematics
Erwin Straub
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3540187871

Book Description

The book gives a comprehensive overview of modern non-life actuarial science. It starts with a verbal description (i.e. without using mathematical formulae) of the main actuarial problems to be solved in non-life practice. Then in an extensive second chapter all the mathematical tools needed to solve these problems are dealt with - now in mathematical notation. The rest of the book is devoted to the exact formulation of various problems and their possible solutions. Being a good mixture of practical problems and their actuarial solutions, the book addresses above all two types of readers: firstly students (of mathematics, probability and statistics, informatics, economics) having some mathematical knowledge, and secondly insurance practitioners who remember mathematics only from some distance. Prerequisites are basic calculus and probability theory.

Non-life rate-making with Bayesian GAMs [An article from: Insurance Mathematics and Economics]

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Non-life rate-making with Bayesian GAMs [An article from: Insurance Mathematics and Economics]
M. Denuit , and S. Lang
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR1TI8

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Insurance Mathematics and Economics, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
This paper aims to propose modern rate-making techniques based on Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) and extensions. The method accounts for discrete, continuous, categorical and spatial risk factors in a Bayesian framework. It uses computer-intensive simulation methods for statistical inference. Numerical illustrations based on a Belgian MTPL portfolio enhance the interest of the approach.

On non-monotonic ageing properties from the Laplace transform, with actuarial applications [An article from: Insurance Mathematics and Economics]

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On non-monotonic ageing properties from the Laplace transform, with actuarial applications [An article from: Insurance Mathematics and Economics]
F. Belzunce , E.M. Ortega , and J.M. Ruiz
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000PC0F8K

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Insurance Mathematics and Economics, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Non-monotonic ageing has been considered in the literature to model situations where initially the residual lifetime tends to decrease (increase) and after a certain period, it starts to increase (decrease) with increasing age. On the other hand, the Laplace transform has been used to represent actuarial amounts, such as indemnities associated with risks, incomes associated with financial transactions or life premiums in life insurance. In this paper we introduce a new concept to describe non-monotonic ageing in actuarial sciences which is defined in terms of the Laplace transform of the residual life, and we derive its relationship with the net prospective premium reserve. We obtain some properties and applications in insurance related to this ageing class, the relationships among some non-monotonic ageing classes in the literature and closure under shock models, as well as several comparisons among the change points. Some illustrative examples are provided.

An introduction to non-life insurance mathematics (Veroffentlichungen des Instituts fur Versicherungswissenschaft der Universitat Mannheim)

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An introduction to non-life insurance mathematics (Veroffentlichungen des Instituts fur Versicherungswissenschaft der Universitat Mannheim)
Bjørn Sundt
Manufacturer: VVW
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Life Insurance, a Non-Life Approach (Tinbergen Institute Research)

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Life Insurance, a Non-Life Approach (Tinbergen Institute Research)
Bart Kling
Manufacturer: Thesis Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9051702345

Customer Reviews:

Excellent reading.......2000-08-08

This book is a solid choice for anyone who wants to know more about revenue sharing. It's a book that can be read with pleasure by both novices and political scientists.

Winner Best Book on Urban Politics.......1999-09-14

This book has been award the American Political Science Association's award for Best Book on Urban Politics.

Customer Reviews:

It will never end until we win.......2006-07-07

Written in the midst of the SWP's successful suit against the FBI's cointelpro program by one of the leaders of the SWP's fight, this small pamphlet documents how the secret police, government spies, and other agents have been used by the US government against the modern workers movement, the civil rights movement, and other struggles of the exploited and oppressed. Seigle explains that this flows from the nature of capitalism, and why this will not be stopped until a government of big business's servants is replaced by a government formed by workers and farmers.

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Collection of Classic Southern Humor II (Collection of Classic Southern Humor Bk. II)

Manufacturer: Peachtree Pub Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0931948886

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A Collection of Classic Southern Humor II, More Fiction & Occasional Fact By Some of the South's Best Storytellers
Edited By George William Koon
Manufacturer: Atlanta, Georgia: Peachtree Publishers Limited, 1986
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LV7JV6

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A Collection of Classic Southern Humor II: More Fiction and Occasional Fact by Some of the South's Best Storytellers (Collection of Classic Southern Humor Bk. II)

Manufacturer: Peachtree Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0931948959

Book Description

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BLACK MUSIC - FOUR LIVES
A. B. Spellman
Manufacturer: Schocken Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K03BNI

Amazon.com

Although packaged as a book for general readers, Anime: From Akira to Princess Mononoke is a dreary academic study that showcases the clichés of "higher" criticism but tells the reader little about the art form. The potentially interesting points that Susan Napier raises (e.g., Are characters with blond, pink, or purple hair really perceived as Japanese?) are ignominiously buried in arcane jargon. And she too often discusses other authors' theories instead of anime itself. In a section on Ranma 1/2, she refers to various books, but in a footnote she cites only a single published interview with series creator Rumiko Takahashi. If Napier regards the Ranma series as significant, why didn't she interview the artist?

The text is riddled with errors, which suggests that the author hasn't watched the films carefully. For example, she cites a "brilliant" essay referring to the loss of all electrical power in Japan (a symbol of "modernization under the patriarchal system") in episode 3 of Neon Genesis Evangelion. No blackout occurs in this episode. In episode 6, however, all the electricity in Japan is requisitioned to power a superweapon. From Akira to Princess Mononoke is the sort of book churned out by professors to satisfy publish-or-perish rules. --Charles Solomon

Book Description

With the popularity of Pokémon still far from waning, Japanese animation, known as anime to its fans, has a firm hold on American pop culture. However, anime is much more than children's cartoons. It runs the gamut from historical epics to sci-fi sexual thrillers. Often dismissed as fanciful entertainment, anime is actually quite adept at portraying important social and cultural issues such as alienation, gender inequality, and teenage angst. This book investigates the ways that anime presents these issues in an in-depth and sophisticated manner, uncovering the identity conflicts, fears over rapid technological advancement, and other key themes present in much of Japanese animation.

Customer Reviews:

Scholarly approach.......2005-12-01

This book takes a fairly scholarly approach to anime and is probably not for the casual reader or the hyper fan. In particular the author looks at the sociological subtexts of anime in fairly grood detail. While this is only one approach to the subject she generally does a fairly good, and interesting, job. I will say that if she used the word "priviledged" one more time I would scream.

This would not be my choice for a first book on the subject, for which I would recommend "Anime Explosion". If you're interested in the cultural references, including the Japanese and Buddhist mythology underlying many of the stories, check of "Samurai from Outer Space", a much better book that the title implies.

Save yourself the money..........2005-11-30

Save yourself the money on this book. The author seems to read some anime reviews, "The Anime Companion", and some cultural anime books, and slop them together as though she's got original information. Some of which she STILL gets wrong. Incorrect pictures for some of the anime, too, only futher lowering the quality of this book...which is hard to do with pictures, you'd think.

interesting anime.......2005-09-10

I bought this book for a friend that is very interested in anime.
He tells me that it is very interesting and informative. He has been taking it to work to read during breaks so I guess he really likes it.

Are we reviewing the same book?.......2005-06-21

I am a huge fan of anime and also of the Japanese culture and history. I figured that this book would be interesting. I heard good things about it and bad things about it but wanted to judge it myself.
First - it was first published in 2000 which means that the anime scene has already changed greatly. In fact, many of the points made in the book would have been outdated by the time it was printed.
Second - she seems to focus a lot of sex. Now that may be because much of her information, and the anime she selected to view, came from University students or stores who supplied students. The idea that pornography is a _major current_ within the world of anime is a interesting but flawed statement. Erotic anime makes up a small corner of the anime produced in Japan and it has greater sales abroad than in its homeland. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Non-Japanese would be the main target for this type of anime - which means trying to understand the Japanese male-female relationship via adult anime is also flawed. But it might tell us alot about American and European college students.
She has tons of interesting points to make but the foundations she builds to hold them up seem weak and shaky. For example, she talks about men's insecurity and their need for Mecha using sci-fi shows where most of the pilots are female. She uses sources about American Superheros to talk about Japanese characters.
Also, while she did mention a Tenchi movie, she seems to skip the Tenchi Muyo! TV shows. What about Dominion Tank Police, Gall Force, Martian Successor Nadesico, Wings of Honneamise, any of the Gundam shows or even Dirty Pair? I don't think she even once writes about CLAMP!
In other words, while she does get into detail about a few areas of anime, she is far from covering it all. So buyer beware and buy it used.
I would also suggest _The Erotic Anime Movie Guide_ by Helen McCarthy and Jonathan Clements for the history and true understanding of erotic anime. For understanding mainstream anime I would suggest _Anime Explosion_ by Patrick Drazen, _Samurai From Outer Space_ by Antonia Levi and _The Anime Companion_ by Gulles Poitras. ^_^

Finally, someone gives anime the attention it deserves.......2005-01-04

Here it is, one of the most serious, well thought out books on anime written by a single author (rare if you have tried to look for scholarly books in this area). Instead of writing to a bunch of fans in order to expound on the glories of anime, Napier writes critically and intelligently, and while I do not always agree with her reading of certain texts, she does explain her position well, articulating that position in well structured theory. I am thrilled to see that other people are doing this very important work, as anime has become a serious cultural phenomenon to consider--taking the West by storm. It is time, I think, to actually critically engage these texts and think through what we are watching and the effects that it this media has on our culture.

Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke : Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation

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Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke : Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation
Susan J. Napier
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000OTNXEM

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Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation
Susan J. Napier
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000OTIG1C

Customer Reviews:

A 'must have' for any Who fan.......1998-10-16

The book is simply marvelous. Packed with information and some never before seen footage, the book is a valuable source, reflecting on a decade that witnessed the show's birth. Just as important as 'The Seventies' and 'The Eighties.'

Talkback: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Doctor Who Interview Book Volume One: The Sixties (Dr Who Telos)

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Talkback: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Doctor Who Interview Book Volume One: The Sixties (Dr Who Telos)
Stephen James Walker
Manufacturer: Telos Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1845830075
Release Date: 2006-12-30

Book Description

An incredible collection of interviews with the people behind the early years of the BBC's classic science fiction adventure series Doctor Who. From directors to designers, producers, story editors, writers and cast, all are featured in this latest addition to Telos's acclaimed range of factual books about Doctor Who.

Book Description

This study guide is designed specifically for professionals who are preparing for test 285-IBM's world-class certification program for programmers seeking to learn IBM WebSphere Studio application development. Programmers are guided through the basics of using WebSphere Studio Application Developer, from fundamental concepts through the development of a complete web application. Development, debugging techniques, and implementing a complete application with HTML pagesare covered, and information on JSPs, Servlets and back-end database access is provided. Review questions and key-term definitions are designed to help reinforce learning.

Customer Reviews:

Better with the book than without.......2006-03-14

After taking the exam (and passing it) solely using this Guide, I have some feedback on it. The conversational style and illustrations make it quite easy to read. If you've never done J2EE, the book does an excellent job of both introducing you to the technology and to the WSAD tool set that supports it. The CD has both WSAD and WAS, and includes a workspace with a prepared sample project for each chapter so that you gain hands-on experience with WSAD. The syllabus covers the essentials from developing static web pages through JDBC. It doesn't venture outside the web container, meaning no EJBs. (EJB development is not covered on the exam.) There are some shortcomings that future candidates should know about, so I'll focus on those:

1) While the book is pretty thick with J2EE technology, the exam focuses tightly on WSAD itself and how to use it. Take the Sample/Assessment Test fairly early in your study course. It is very much like the Exam. I've used the debugger and Help subsystem for years, but the Exam found parts of them that I didn't know much about. BE SURE that you use the list of Exam Objectives from the IBM web site.

2) The book is a little long in the tooth. It assumes WSAD 5.0 while most of us have been using 5.1 (and now the Rational Application Developer 6.0), so the illustrations may differ from what you will actually see. I found this a problem in two places: a) loading the Project Interchange tool, and b) specifying tag libraries to the project.

3) Not all of J2EE is covered by the book, and not all the relevant technologies. No Struts (other than a brief overview), no Filters, none of the more recent Markup Languages. CSSs get short shrift, too.

4) The section about JDBC and the Data Perspective is generally weak. No mention of Level 4 drivers. No illustration of how to use the schema wizards (the exam has a few questions about them).

The certification obtained by Exam 285 is being retired at the end of 2006. It is being replaced by 'IBM Certified Associate Developer - Rational Application Developer for WebSphere Software V6.0' and Exam 255, which appears nearly identical to Exam 285. Therefore, with the caveats above noted, this Study Guide should be of considerable help well into the future. As a novice approaching either exam, I'd much rather have this book than not have it!

Good Book to help Prepare for Certification.......2005-09-22

The book was extremently useful in parparing for the DB2 certification. I can personally recommend it.

Wayne Sonnen

Read the readme.txt!!!.......2004-07-25

You won't be able to do the exercises unless you read, very carefully, the instructions in the book's readme.txt. Thanks to another reviewer, I learned this and was able to get beyond page 65. The instructions in the book for loading the start-up files needed for the labs are wrong, and won't work!

Incomplete.......2004-05-27

I bought this book for the certification, exam #285. Definitely incomplete. There is about 50% of the exam covered in this book.

Conclusion, use the redbooks on ibm web site, otherwise, work a lot with wsad, then you might pass the exam (beginners, forget about this book if you want to pass the exam).

Great Intro to WSAD and J2EE Development In General.......2004-03-02

I found this book to be an excellent introduction to both using WSAD and to J2EE Application Development in general. I quickly learned (being a newbie to both) and highly recommend it as a first step- especially if you are new to both.

Getting workspaces set up was difficult until I more carefully read the documentation and realized that "Project Interchange" was needed to do so. After that it was no problem.

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