Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for You & Your Loved Ones

By Scott J. Pearson | March 31, 2021March 31, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Bipolar disorder (previously termed manic-depression) is a serious mental illness and requires medication and often counseling to treat. This mood disorder increases the likelihood of suicidal outcomes. Though relatively common, many patients find coping with the illness difficult. First, the patient must come to terms with his/her own frailty. Then, the patient must find appropriate help for the ailment. Finally, she/he must educate a support structure to handle future difficulties with the illness. Fortunately, this…

Software-Technology

Literate Programming by Donald Knuth

By Scott J. Pearson | March 28, 2021March 28, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Like any of Donald Knuth’s books, this work constitutes a classic of computer science. Knuth attempts to integrate the art of writing good literature with the art of writing computer code. Using a series of papers and articles published between 1974 and 1989, he illustrates the historical genesis of writing more understandable code. Although modern programmers will find many constructs to be dated, the historical and conceptual value of these writings cannot be underestimated. Without…

Research-Education

Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, & Evaluating Quantitative & Qualitative Research

By Scott J. Pearson | March 25, 2021March 25, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

I work in an academic field at the crossroads of biomedical research and research into higher education practices. (I pursue research about research.) I have familiarized myself with biomedical research practices, but I also wanted to familiarize myself with educational research practices. Biomedical research is heavy on quantitative analysis, but educational research seems to involve qualitative methods much more. I needed deeper introduction to the latter. Creswell’s 650-page opus seemed to fit the bill, and…

Healthcare HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS: A Very Short Introduction

By Scott J. Pearson | March 21, 2021March 21, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

HIV, which can lead to AIDS, continues to present a pandemic situation wherever humans live. It differentially affects marginalized communities and tends to have an associated social stigma. It has hurt people in Africa particularly hard, and Whiteside, a professor in South Africa and a global leader in AIDS health discussions, is well-poised to witness the global effects. In this short and well-written work, he extracts the biomedical, social, political, and economic implications of this…

Fiction-Stories

Adulting: A Novel by Liz Talley

By Scott J. Pearson | March 13, 2021March 13, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

To “adult” is a colloquial verb meaning taking responsibility for one’s own life. In this book, romance-book author Talley tells the story of fictional celebrity character Chase London and her therapist Olivia Han. Chase was a famous child actress who has, as she reached adulthood, gotten in highly publicized trouble with drinking, drugs, and men. To prepare her for an acting assignment, Olivia attempts to teach her how to take responsibility in a life-coaching program…

Healthcare History HIV/AIDS Science Society

The Origins of AIDS

By Scott J. Pearson | March 8, 2021March 20, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Understanding the origins of AIDS is important for at least three reasons. First, HIV/AIDS is an important biomedical global disease that is still not conquered. Second, much cultural rhetoric due to stigma exists in society about this disease, and blame for the AIDS pandemic have been wrongfully placed at the feet of many oppressed groups. Third, contemporary events with coronavirus have shown that humans aren’t as safe from disease and pandemic as we might imagine,…

Biography-Memoir

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

By Scott J. Pearson | March 6, 2021March 6, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

J.R.R. Tolkien is most well-known to the public as the author of the famous trilogy Lord of the Rings, surely one of the best works of art ever written in the English language. This work by Carpenter serves as his authorized biography. Tolkien’s professorial and academic life as an Oxford don dominates most of the narrative, but always lingering behind lies his unique love of language (philology) – particularly “sub-creating” worlds with language. Carpenter achieves…

Healthcare Research-Education Society

Introduction to Public Health

By Scott J. Pearson | March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Ironically, public health has been one of the most successful academic fields since 1900, yet still struggles to implement its agenda on the public (at least, in America). It is responsible for most of the doubling of life expectancy in America and for vast improvements in the quality of life. Schneider excellently chronicles those contributions with an eye towards the present and the future. She covers her topics in an accessible, easy-to-read manner that does…

Biostatistics Healthcare Research-Education

Biostatistics for Epidemiology and Public Health Using R

By Scott J. Pearson | February 27, 2021October 20, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

First, let me define the lay of the land for the curious reader. Biostatistics is the study of statistics relevant for biomedical applications. It combines mathematics and the bio world, which includes Public Health and Epidemiology. R is free software for a programming environment that allows researchers to perform advanced analyses of statistical questions on datasets. This volume by Chan was the first textbook that addressed R and biostatistics in depth in the same volume.…