In the essays of Ethan Watters ' "The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan" and Tim Wu 's "Father and Son," both authors present arguments for the democratizing of knowledge and information. Watters tells the story of drug company GlaxoSmithKline and their use of "imperialism" to influence the information presented to the Japanese market about drugs while Wu tells the story of the "totalitarianism" that the technology company Apple uses to influence knowledge. In both essays big companies limit the expansion of information and knowledge for a monetary gain and both companies defend their actions by stating its for the good of the consumer. GlaxoSmithKline 's mission was to introduce the Japanese market to a new drug that would cure depression …show more content…
People have the right to choose what to search in terms of music and movies. Apple is not really making finding better movies easier, but they just limit the overall amount of content presented to us. This has other far reaching effects. Apple is able to control the content what the general public will see and make a statement to the public about what they should like. Apple is able to create this totalitarianism because people will accept Apple 's actions for a little bit of more convenience. The question becomes, does Apple offer a more convenient way to find music and movies? Even with lower grade movies in the search pool, Hollywood made movies will be the first options shown in the results. They are just naturally better known. Apple says it wants to provide a clutter free experience, but they just provide a less diverse user …show more content…
GlaxoSmithKline limits the knowledge of depression and its treatment. Apple limits the spread of movies and music that do not pay Apple to be promoted. The two are compared to an imperialist society and totalitarian society. They strip their "citizens" of the right to learn. The Japanese and Apple consumers are limited in the information and content they are able to learn and receive. GlaxoSmithKline and Apple chose to limit their consumers for monetary gain. GlaxoSmithKline makes money by selling their product. By providing false information about their drug, GlaxoSmithKline offers the Japanese only Paxil to combat depression. Apple makes money by promoting content by companies that pay to have their content promoted. Both companies control society like some forms of government. They do not give the people the chance to learn others views and get different types of content. These companies claim to be providing a service to their consumers. They want to make their respective markets a better experience. With GlaxoSmithKline their thought of bringing a new drug, and using any means necessary to sell it, to Japan will help the Japanese. With Apple, their thought was to limit the types of content available to users. GlaxoSmithKline and Apple believe their consumers do not need to know all the information out there. They want to limit their consumers ' knowledge of
Dr. John Abramson’s book Overdosed America debunks the myths about the excellence of American medicine. Abramson backs up this claim by closely examining research about medicine, closely examining the unpublished details submitted by drug manufacturers to the FDA, and discovering that the unpublished data does not coincide with the claims made about the safety and effectiveness of commonly used medicines. Abramsons purpose is to point out the flaws of the pharmaceutical industry in order to warn the readers about the credibility of the drugs they are buying. Given the critical yet technical language of the book, Abramson is writing to an audience that may include academic physicians as well as those who want to learn about the corruption of the pharmaceutical industry.
In Melody Peterson’s “Our Daily Meds” , the history of marketing and advertising in the pharmaceutical industry is explored. The first chapter of the book, entitled “Creating disease”, focuses on how major pharmaceutical companies successfully create new ailments that members of the public believe exist. According to Peterson, the success that these drug manufacturers have experienced can be attributed to the malleability of disease, the use of influencial people to promote new drugs, the marketing behind pills, and the use of media outlets.
Culture is a collection of religion, traditions, and beliefs that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture is created and maintained through the repetition of stories and behavior. It is never definite because it is continuously being modified to match current trends, however, historical principles are still relevant. With respect to mental illness, culture is crucial to how people choose to deal with society and the methods used to diagnose and cope with mental illnesses. In Watters’ The Mega-Marketing Depression of Japan, he focuses on how Japan and other cultures define depression, but also displays how the influence of American treatments in eastern countries eventually becomes the international standards. Even though the
Other People’s Words: The Cycle of Low Literacy by Victoria Purcell-Gates recounts the author’s two-year journey with an illiterate Appalachian family. Purcell-Gates works with Jenny, the mother, and her son, first grader Donny, to analyze the literacy within the household. Throughout the journey, we learn the definition and types of literacy, the influences of society and the environment, and the impacts of literacy on education from the teacher’s perspective. In order to evaluate literacy in the household, one must study multiple types, including functional, informational, and critical literacy. As the name implies, functional literacy incorporates reading and writing as tools for everyday survival. Informational literacy is used through text to communicate information to others. The highest level of literacy, critical literacy, requires critical interpretations and imaginative reflections of text. In her study, Purcell-Gates strives to teach Jenny and Donny functional literacy.
"In the past two decades or so, health care has been commercialized as never before, and professionalism in medicine seems to be giving way to entrepreneurialism," commented Arnold S. Relman, professor of medicine and social medicine at Harvard Medical School (Wekesser 66). This statement may have a great deal of bearing on reality. The tangled knot of insurers, physicians, drug companies, and hospitals that we call our health system are not as unselfish and focused on the patients' needs as people would like to think. Pharmaceutical companies are particularly ruthless, many of them spending millions of dollars per year to convince doctors to prescribe their drugs and to convince consumers that their specific brand of drug is needed in order to cure their ailments. For instance, they may present symptoms that are perfectly harmless, and lead potential citizens to believe that, because of these symptoms, they are "sick" and in need of medication. In some instances, the pharmaceutical industry in the United States misleads both the public and medical professionals by participating in acts of both deceptive marketing practices and bribery, and therefore does not act within the best interests of the consumers.
Adams Johnson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Orphan Master’s Son, amazingly depicts the disturbing lives of North Koreans and government horrors through its simplistic language with relatable characters. The Orphan Master’s Son takes place in North Korea and revolves around Jun Do, who is the son of an orphan master, but who receives the shame that Koreans place on orphans. Then he enters the military where he learns different fighting tactics and becomes a professional kidnapper for the North Koreans. For his reward, the government assigns Jun Do to a listening position on a fishing boat where he becomes a hero for fighting the Americans with a story that the fishing crew and he invented to keep from getting placed in a prison camp after to one of their crewmates defects. Jun Do then goes to Texas as a translator, where he learns about freedom and other cultures. When the mission fails the government sends him to a camp where Jun Do’s name and identity die.
On Chapter 7, Frances describes ways the diagnostic inflation can be tamed. He stated, “We are spending a fortune fighting the losing war against illegal drugs, while barely lifting a finger to fight an easily winnable war against the misuse of legal grips”(p. 211). Before reading this book, I would have never imagined that we had a problem with people being prescribed an excessive amount of drugs they do not need. I agreed with Frances when he mentioned ways big pharma could be tamed such as reducing or removing advertisements on televisions, magazines or internet. Advertisements are very powerful and pharmaceutical companies have snuck their way into the homes of individuals. While I was reading France’s ideas, I agreed with a lot of them, but I felt that the people are still
Why do consumers purchase specific drugs for various ailments, sicknesses or diseases they might have? Why do physicians prescribe certain drugs over competitive drugs that may be available to the public? Why is it that most of us can easily name specific drugs that fit the many ailments of today’s society? On the surface the answer might be as simple as good TV advertising or radio commercials or even internet adds. The truth of matter is the major pharmaceutical manufacturers own the patents on these drugs and this gives them all of the marketing budget and muscle they need to promote the drug and control the pricing. The incentives for larger pharmaceutical companies are very enticing and as a result, they don’t mind spending the time in clinical trials and patent courts to get their drugs approved. Some will even get patents on the process by which the drug is manufactured, ensuring that no competitor can steal the drug or the process. This protects their large financial investment and nearly guarantees a large return for their investors. Many consumer rights groups claim this is nothing more than legalizing monopolies for the biggest manufacturers.
Chaim Potok’s The Chosen explores two father son relationships, one between the Malters and one between the Saunders. In the final chapter of the book, Danny and Reb Saunders finally come to an understanding of each other, but not without the help of Reuven. Although they are a strong family, the Saunders need an outside force to help them communicate and solve Danny’s problems overall. The last chapter covers the need for suffering and pain and shows how Danny grows with Reuven’s help.
The Consequences of a Totalitarian Society Americans today tend to believe that one of the world’s biggest fears is totalitarianism. The thought of a government that has complete and utter control continues to bring fear to people today. According to an article titled “Totalitarianism,” the author states, “Totalitarian governments use propaganda to spread ideas in order to control every aspect of life, including economic, social, political, and intellectual. This control was meant to serve a purpose; to unite the people in the achievement of common goals.” In other words, the author believes that individuals are not allowed any freedoms unless the leader of the state allowed it.
Although monopolies appear damaging at times, there are arguments that they are an advantage to society. Monopolies in the pharmaceutical industry drive companies to pursue research and development (R&D) efforts to gain new patents. According to a 1992 study, among the 24 US. Industry groups, pharmaceuticals dedicated 16.6% of their amounts to basic research, while all other industries averaged at 5.3% (Sherer 1307). This fact validates the incentive pharmaceutical companies have to get a patent and acquire more power. Pfizer encourages R&D because of the incentives and a want to obtain patents to receive more profit. Pfizer has to promote itself to be successful, creating a good brand image that consumers will trust. If the company can advertise successfully, more consumers will purc...
Saigusa, O. (2006). Japan's healthcare system and pharmaceutical industry. Journal of Generic Medicines , 4, 23–29.
Hamlet's father, Old King Hamlet who he looked up to was recently killed, and his mother married his uncle within a month. He receives a visit from the ghost of his father which urges him to "revenge [Claudius'] foul and most unnatural murder" (I, v, 32) of Old Hamlet. It is only logical that under these circumstances, Hamlet would be under great duress, and it would not be abnormal for him to express grief. Fortnibra and Laertes also have to deal with the avenging their fathers' death.
In choosing to narrow its focus on its core pharma business in the 1990s, Lilly appears to have either deliberately or inadvertently made a choice to funnel their efforts into the category of neuroscience with the patented products Prozac and Zyprexa, Lilly's top sellers. Its imbalanced portfolio and lagging international sales was the consequence of its dependence on just a few key products. This type of a strategy with a focus on neuroscience was not well suited to the more cost conscious international regions whose focus was treatment of disease. Other factors that played against them were the regulations in non-US developed countries on pricing and payment programs for pharmaceutical drugs through national health insurance programs. Due to this fact, Lilly wouldn't have earned as high of a profit margin on its blockbuster drugs, Prozac and Zyprexa, in Europe and Japan as ...
After watching the movie the good son I found a lot to similarities between what went on and the classical theory. I plan on highlighting Cesare Beccaria’s classical theories central assumptions and giving examples of events that occurred in the movie to connect the two. To setup some of the story I’ll introduce you to the characters and what their role is throughout the movie. The mother and father are Wallace and Susan Evans, and their children are Henry and Connie. After Mark Evans mother dies, and his father Jack goes out of town on business Mark is sent to live with his Uncle Wallace and Aunt Susan and their two kids for three weeks.