This study moves in the space between two fields: science and technology studies (STS) and childhood studies; it thus belongs to the broader STS literature that investigates everyday practices outside the laboratory. The interpretation of ethnographic and bibliographic data on contemporary cardiovascular and obesity prevention in German…

This article presents findings from an ethnographic study on preventive paediatric check-ups in Germany. In accordance with system-theoretical and governmentality approaches (referencing Foucault), preventive check-ups are conceptualised as fields where risk concepts related to children's development are applied, produced and reworked. In order to…

Starting from a "life geography" of Karl Triebold, a leading figure in open-air education, this article provides an understanding of the seemingly ordinary but still idiosyncratic development of a German open-air school. Triebold's life's work, the fight against tuberculosis, conceived as character education through healthy occupation,…

In light of recent efforts in the United States to advance some type of universal health care package for all citizens, including preventive services for children, this report examines how other countries with universal health insurance provide preventive care to children, and what, if any, are the implications for reform efforts in the United…

Open-air schools represent one of the latest developments in public-school organization. They came as the result of a desire for better conservation of the health of those children who, by reason of a tuberculous affection, poor nourishment, or other debilitating conditions, were unable to profit physically and mentally by the life and work of…