Oxford University Press's
Academic Insights for the Thinking World
By Megan Crawley O’Sullivan, MPH
Avian influenza. H7N9. Bird flu. If you are planning a trip to China, these phrases might have you concerned. There are still many uncertainties regarding the new influenza A (H7N9) virus: it isn’t clear where the virus started or how people are getting sick, and a vaccine is not yet available. Amid these unanswered questions, it’s not surprising that many travelers are doubting their plans.
By Nancy Berlinger
There is a saying in ethics: you can’t get an “ought” from an “is.” Descriptions of the world as it is do not reveal truths about the world as it ought to be. Even when descriptions of real-world conditions suggest that something is seriously wrong — that our actions are causing unintended and avoidable harms to ourselves, to others, to our common environment — reaching agreement on how we ought to change our thinking and our behavior, and then putting these changes into practice, is hard.
By Christopher Nichols
Just when, where, why, and how should American power be used? Current assumptions about the near omnipresence—though far from omnipotence—of US power, its influence and its reach are now shaky. Yet these same assumptions coexist alongside widely shared views that such power could and should be used.
By Julia Irwin
Each year on 8 May, the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies of dozens of nations unite in celebration of World Red Cross/Red Crescent Day. This global event observes the birthday of Henry Dunant, one of the founders of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC), and commemorates the humanitarian principles that this organization represents.
Fifty years ago, in March of 1963, The Beatles released their first album entitled Please Please Me. While the music partly based on British folk and popular forms—including skiffle and music-hall styles—American rock ’n’ roll was by far their dominant resource. The album quickly dominated the British charts and led the group to a path of superstardom that changed the world forever.
By Abigail C. Saguy and Tamara B. Horwich
A respected cardiologist of our acquaintance recently confessed that he often tells his patients to lose weight. This may sound like good advice, but he knows better. Scores of clinical studies show that heavier patients with heart disease are, on average, less likely to die than thinner ones. Furthermore, weight loss efforts are typically counterproductive.
By Edward A. Zelinsky
The Marketplace Fairness Act, now being debated in the US Senate, is a rare phenomenon: a bill with strong bi-partisan support and an accurate title. The Act would indeed establish fairness in the marketplace by imposing on out-of-state internet and mail order sellers the same sales tax withholding requirements now imposed only on in-state brick-and-mortar businesses.
By Anya Creaser
How would you feel if you were told you had heart failure? Once you had recovered from the shock, what are the questions you’d ask? European Heart Failure Awareness Days aim to combat all those blank looks in doctors’ offices. So you have heart failure and now you have to live with it. But you’re not alone.
By Katherine Marshall
In April 2013, OUP attended the American Society of International Law’s annual conference in Washington DC. Now, it is the turn of the society’s European counterpart, the European Society of International Law (ESIL).
By Sandra Hempel
The high-profile marking of John Snow’s bicentenary on March 15th would have surprised the great man. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the WellcomeTrust, and The Lancet were among the august UK organisations to honour him, with events including an exhibition, three days of seminars, and a gala dinner. The physician was also celebrated in the United States where he has a large fan base.
On the fifth of May, many in the US and Mexico will celebrate Cinco de Mayo, the commemoration of Mexico’s victory over the French at the Battle of the Puebla in 1862. In this excerpt from Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food, Jeffrey Pilcher looks at Cinco de Mayo and the first written instance of the word “taco.”
By Thomas R. Dunlap
Bird Day began in 1894 as part of the wildlife conservation movement that sprang up in response to the slaughter of the bison and the Passenger Pigeon. Birds always had a large role, for they were threatened but also familiar and fascinating. More than any other form of life they drew and held people, becoming for many a lifelong interest, passion, and even obsession.
Heart failure affects 750,000 people in the UK alone and is fast becoming a greater threat to public health than cancer. But how much do you know about this condition? The European Heart Failure Awareness Day is designed to raise awareness of heart failure, including possible symptoms, the importance of an early and accurate diagnosis, and the need for optimal treatment. In that spirit, we’ve prepared this brief quiz on heart failure for you to test your knowledge.
By Timothy J. Lynch
Despite lying at the intersection of both history and international relations — two of the most popular disciplines in the contemporary arts academy — diplomatic history is seen as old-fashioned. New, trendier, and leftier approaches have risen. Consider that of the 45 historians at the University of Wisconsin in 2009, 13 (or 29 per cent) specialized in gender, race, and ethnicity; only 1 (or 2 per cent) studied diplomatic history or US foreign policy.
By Kimberly Hernandez
The new television show Hannibal resurrects Thomas Harris’s famous serial killer and offers a few new surprises bound to shock both newcomers and longtime fans of Dr. Lecter. So while you’re catching up on the latest incarnation of the series, why not brush up on criminology facts or learn something new about cannibalism?
By Tim Wright
The central story of China’s economic reforms and the resulting economic miracle has been the move from a centrally planned to a largely market economy, and the emergence of a market-based and mainly private sector alongside the old state-owned sector. Most quantitative trends are still in that direction, and legal and institutional reforms, notably stronger property rights within a situation of limited rule of law, have provided some support.