The prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity has tripled in the past three decades. This increase has been accompanied by a dramatic rise in obesity-related health complications among American youth. Thus, many obese youth are now experiencing illnesses that will threaten their life expectancy in the absence of significant weight loss.…

This conceptual paper considers the role of culture in shaping family, professional, and community understanding of developmental disabilities and their treatments. The meanings of health, illness, and disability vary greatly across cultures and across time. We use Bronfenbrenner's ecological model to provide a theoretical framework for examining…

International science policy controversies involve disputes over cultural differences in the assessment of knowledge claims and competing visions of the policy-making process between different nations. This essay analyzes these dynamics in the recent controversy surrounding AIDS policy in South Africa. It develops the notion of an epistemological…

The texts of three hearings on issues connected with AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) are recorded in this document. The first hearing concerned the availability and cost of the drug azidothymidine (AZT) for victims of the disease and considered such questions as what a fair price for AZT is, who will pay for people currently being…

This research review finds that children with leukemia exhibit deficits in cognitive and neuropsychological functioning following either central nervous system irradiation or intrathecal chemotherapy. Implications of increased life expectancies for school reentry and the need for special education services are addressed. (DB)