In contemporary Western societies it is widely believed that there is a sexual double standard such that men are rewarded for sexual activity, whereas women are derogated for sexual activity. This pervasive belief may result in a confirmation bias such that people tend to notice information that confirms the double standard and fail to notice information that refutes it. Two studies were conduc...

Maternal placentophagy, the consumption of the placenta or "afterbirth" by the mother following parturition, is an ubiquitous behavior among eutherian mammals, including non-human primates. Here we report on a cross-cultural survey of 179 human societies regarding the consumption, treatment, and disposal of human placenta, in addition to accompanying cultural beliefs and perceptions about the o...

This paper puts forward a theoretical framework for the analysis of expertise and experts in contemporary societies. It argues that while prevailing approaches have come to see expertise in various forms and functions, they tend to neglect the broader historical and societal context, and importantly the relational aspect of expertise. This will be discussed with regard to influential theoretica...

Not half a century ago, cardiovascular and coronary heart disease were viewed both by the clinical practice community and the general public as a male problem. Witness a 1960s American Heart Association conference on women and cardiovascular disease titled “How Can I Help My Husband Cope with Heart Disease?” and the initial introduction of the American Heart Association’s Prudent Diet in a publ...

Heart failure is a growing public health issue worldwide, due to the improved survival of patients with heart diseases and the increased complexity of treatment options. If unrecognized and inadequately treated, the disease burden of heart failure can be devastating and costly. This review will compare the similarities and differences in different aspects of contemporary care of the patient wit...

Anticipation is increasingly at the heart of urgent contemporary debates, from climate change to economic crisis. As societies are less confident that tradition will provide an effective guide to the future, anticipatory practices are coming to the foreground of political, organizational and personal life. Research into anticipation, however, has not kept pace with social demand for insights in...

The study analyzes factors and processes identified in the literature that determine the patterns of production, use and assessment of the health care technologies, which are part of the "medicalization" of contemporary societies. We also evaluate the scientific and technological public and health care policies proposed during the 1990s in developed and developing countries to enhance the impac...

The contemporary phase of economic globalization is regarded by some social scientists as a serious source of problems. There are others who, logically or illogically, consider it a negative, harmful, destructive, marginalizing and malevolent influence over economies and societies. No doubt, globalization can create opportunities for accelerating growth for the participating economies, but it c...

Contemporary societies are faced by a new spectre haunting the 'globe' – the changing of the world's climate. Such change is believed to be caused by increased levels of ‘greenhouse gases’ (GHGs) in the atmosphere which cannot be fully absorbed into the oceans and hence impact upon the earth’s present and future temperatures. Such a climate forcing mainly results from systems that involve extra...

The vertiginous transformations of the contemporary societies have been raising questions concerning aspects of professional education. Such questions have been raised in a more and more incisive way. This debate gains a new shape when applied to health work, where theory and practice cannot be dissociated, and where the development of an integral vision of the human being and the amplification...