Tourette Syndrome Essay Example for Free

Tourette Syndrome Essay Tourette syndrome (TS) is a chronic, familial, neurobiological disorder with its   onset in childhood and is marked by presence of involuntary motor movements and sounds, known as motor and vocal tics respectively (Bagheri, Kerbeshian Burd, 1999). According to Lingui-Systems (1999, cited in Prestia, 2003), approximately 1 in every 2,500 individuals suffer from TS, with boys being diagnosed more frequently than girls. Tourettes syndrome also known as Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (after its discoverer Georges Gilles de la Tourette, a French neurologist), can be considered to be the most complex and severe manifestation of the spectrum of tic disorders (Kwak Jankovic, 2002). Etiology and Pathogenesis The exact cause of TS is not known. TS is supposed to have a multifactorial etiology with, genetic and environmental factors playing an important role in its development. Concordance rate of about 60% in monozygotic twins and 10% in dizygotic twins suggest genetic basis behind TS (Bagheri et al, 1999). The mode of transmission of Tourettes syndrome is controversial. Though the exact patho-physiological mechanism underlying the disease has yet not been discovered, abnormalities in basal ganglia (shown in figure 1) and frontal cortex have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Tourettes syndrome (Bagheri et al). Abnormality in secretion of neuro-transmitters especially dopamine is also thought to be associated with TS (Bagheri et al). Figure1. Brain Structures Involved in Tourette Syndrome Source: John Henkel, J. (2006). Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved on 21 April 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Brain_structure.gif Symptoms Tourettes syndrome follows a fluctuating course in most children. Symptoms   usually appear at about 6-7 years of age.   Many factors like anxiety, stress, substance abuse etc can intensify tics. Presence of tics (both motor and vocal) is characteristic of TS. According to American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition- text revision. (DSM-IV-TR, 2000), tics are defined as sudden, rapid, purposeless, repetitive, non-rhythmic, stereotyped movements or vocalizations. Tics in TS are not constantly present (except in extremely severe cases) and occur on a background of normal motor activity (Kwak Jankovic, 2002). This disorder usually begins with simple tics which progress over time into more complex ones.   Different types of simple and complex tics as described by Bagheri et al (1999) which can be seen in patients with TS have been enumerated in table 1. Besides TS, tics can be seen associated with other neurologic disorders like (encephalitis, Huntington’s disease etc). These secondary tics, not associated with Tourette syndrome are commonly referred to as tourettism ((Bagheri et al, 1999). Table 1.Common Types of Tics Seen in Patients with Tourette Syndrome. SIMPLE TICS COMPLEX TICS Motor tics Vocal or phonic tics Motor tics Vocal or phonic tics Eye blinking Throat clearing Flapping arms Talking to oneself Sticking tongue out Sniffing Facial grimacing Assuming different intonations Head turning Barking Adjusting or picking at clothing Coprolalia: blurting out obscene or socially inappropriate words or phrases Jerking of head or shoulders Coughing Complex touching movements Echolalia:   involuntary repetition of the words of others Muscle tensing Yelling Jumping Palilalia: involuntary repetition of ones own words Flexing fingers Hiccupping Shaking feet Kicking Belching Poking and pinching Producing animal sounds Copropraxia: involuntary performance of obscene gestures Kissing self or others Spitting Source: Bagheri, M.M. Kerbeshian, J., Burd, L. (1999). Recognition and management of Tourette’s Syndrome and tic disorders. American Family Physician, 59 (8). Retrieved on 21 April from http://www.aafp.org/afp/990415ap/2263.html Motor tics Motor tics can be described as brief movements which occur due to   involuntary muscle contraction. Motor tics can be simple or complex in nature (see table 1). Tics usually occur as an involuntary movement or as a response to an involuntary urge to perform the movement (Kwak Jankovic, 2002). These involuntary movements are often perceived as voluntary by the patient and he tries to suppress them. Suppression of tics results in building up of an inner tension or a feeling of discomfort. This leads a further burst of tics which is relieved after performance of the movement (Kwak Jankovic, 2002). Vocal tics Vocal or phonic tics represent involuntary sounds produced due to contraction of   nasal or oro-pharyngeal muscles (Kwak Jankovic, 2002). Like somatic motor tics, vocal tics can also be divided into simple and complex tics (shown in table 1). Coprolalia once thought to be characteristic of TS is present in about 8-25% cases (Bagheri et al, 1999). Another type of speech disturbance present in some patients is ‘blocking tics’. They are manifested by either hesitancy in starting the speech or sudden interruption in the flow of normal speech (Kwak Jankovic, 2002) Developmental stuttering is also sometimes seen in patients with TS (Kwak Jankovic, 2002). Tourette’s syndrome is often associated with other co-morbid conditions like obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavior problems and learning disabilities (Prestia, 2003). Diagnosis Diagnosis of TS is usually made clinically based on recognition of tics. The Diagnostic criteria for TS as defined by American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition- text revision. (DSM-IV-TR), 2000 is shown in table 1. Table 1. DSM-IV-TR Diagnostic Criteria for Tourettes Disorder A Presence of both motor and vocal tics at some time during the illness, although not necessarily concurrently. B The tics occur many times a day (usually in bouts) nearly every day or intermittently throughout a period of more than 1 year, and during this period there is never a tic-free period of more than 3 consecutive months. C The onset of symptoms is before the age of 18 years. D TS is diagnosed after ruling out the presence of symptoms due to direct effect of drugs of abuse or general medical conditions (e.g., Huntingtons disease or post viral encephalitis). Treatment      Ã‚  Ã‚  Treatment of TS may require a multi-disciplinary team approach involving   neurologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, educators etc. (Kwak Jankovic, 2002).An algorithm for management of TS as described by Bagheri et al (1999) is shown in figure 2. Pharmacological therapy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Medical therapy should aim at the treatment of most disabling symptom. Tics   (both vocal and motor) respond best to dopamine blocking drugs (Kwak Jankovic, 2002). These can include conventional neuroleptics like haloperidol and pimozide and the atypical neuroleptic agents like risperidone. Neuroleptic agents are associated with numerous side effects like sedation, weight gain, impaired academic performance, in children and extra pyramidal movement symptoms (like tardive dyskinesia). Since TS is frequently associated with other co-morbid conditions like OCD, ADHD etc, pharmacotherapy should be tailored to treat these conditions as well (Kwak Jankovic, 2002). For e.g. Central nervous system stimulants (amphetamines and dextroamphetamine) can be used for treatment of ADHD and anti-depressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) for management of OCD, if present. Injections of botulinum toxin can be used for tics isolated to one body region such as the eyes, neck, or vocal cords. Non-Pharmacologic interventions Since TS most commonly affects children in the age when they are attending school, symptoms of TS can affect their academic performance, cause inference with their social-emotional development, and impose limitations due to physical disabilities produced as a result of tics (Prestia, 2003). It is the duty of educational providers, school personnel and parents to keep these limitations in mind and to draw out an adequate plan incorporating carefully thought out interventions and adaptations, in order to enhance the success and performance of children suffering with TS, at school (Prestia, 2003). Behavior treatment and counseling can be used to promote development of social and academic skills in children and to prevent exacerbation of symptoms related to TS, by modifying their behavior (Bagheri et al, 1999). Source: Bagheri, M.M. Kerbeshian, J., Burd, L. (1999). Recognition and management of Tourette’s Syndrome and tic disorders. American Family Physician, 59 (8). Retrieved on 21 April from http://www.aafp.org/afp/990415ap/2263.html Prognosis TS is a lifelong disorder with an unpredictable course (Prestia, K. (2003). The   clinical course of TS as described by Bagheri et al (1999) is shown in figure 3.   As shown in figure 3, symptoms of TS diminish during and after adolescence in about 85% of patients. About 5 to 10 % of patients may show no improvement. Most patients with TS require medication for up to one to two years. About 15 % of patients may require long-term medication for tic control.                Figure 3. Clinical Course of Tourettes Syndrome Source: Bagheri, M.M. Kerbeshian, J., Burd, L. (1999). Recognition and management of Tourette’s Syndrome and tic disorders. American Family Physician, 59 (8). Retrieved on 21 April from   http://www.aafp.org/afp/990415ap/2263.html Conclusion TS is not an uncommon problem and can be often encountered in school children. TS is a multifactorial neurological disorder requiring an integrated treatment approach targeting at the other co-morbid conditions associated with TS, as well. Treatment must also incorporate an effective multi-disciplinary team approach aiming at treatment and recognition of underlying complex mechanisms, solving speech and language problems and promoting socio-emotional and academic development to substantially improve the quality of life and performance of individuals with TS. Article Review The article by Prestia, 2003 focuses on need of educators to understand the special academic, social-emotional, and physical needs of the children suffering from TS. Educators need to make use of simple interventions to help these children overcome their illness and achieve best possible performance at school. TS can cause significant academic, social-emotional, and physical challenges for the child as described below: Academic Challenges TS does not directly affect intelligence, and many students with TS have average or above average IQs. Still approximately 40% of individuals with TS can have learning problems. This is so as many individuals with TS have associated comorbid disorders like learning disabilities, OCD, ADHD, Asperger syndrome etc. Assistance can be provided through special education services or individualized education program (IEP) or a 504 Plan. If the student does not qualify for either, classroom teachers can make use of simple interventions and plans by using available resources and their own knowledge .For e.g. if the child is having trouble with writing, teachers can make use of alternatives like using oral assessment tests instead of written assignments, using multiple-choice questions etc. Since stress can precipitate tics, teachers should take steps to eliminate any source of stress for the student. Social-emotional Challenges Children with TS tend to have problems in interacting with and being accepted by their peers due to abnormal behavior produced as a result of motor and vocal tics. Such children may become isolated and depressed and are at risk for developing poor self-esteem and self-confidence. They are also easy targets to bullying. Educators should take steps to encourage acceptance and support of such students by their peers. Physical Challenges Underlying physical problems accompanying the disorder often go unaddressed. Educators should properly assess these problems by consulting a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) involving a physical therapist, occupational therapist, and adapted physical education teacher in order to determine the students motor strengths and areas of need. For e.g.   Impairments in sensory processing or motor planning may interfere with normal day to day non-academic activities like toileting, eating lunch, etc. Simple solutions can be offered by the MDT to facilitate independence and to prevent self-harm during the period of tic release in such children.   Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my view this article provides helpful suggestions that can be utilized in school settings. In order to achieve optimal development and performance of these students, educators must make use of simple and carefully thought out interventions. They should find out ways to promote social-emotional development and also help them in coping with learning and physical disabilities, imposed by the tics. References American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical manual of mental   disorders, fourth edition- text revision.   (2000). Retrieved on 21 April from http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/touretteTR.htm Bagheri, M.M., Kerbeshian, J., Burd, L. (1999). Recognition and management of   Tourette’s Syndrome and tic disorders. American Family Physician, 59 (8). Retrieved on 21 April from http://www.aafp.org/afp/990415ap/2263.html Kwak, C. Jankovic, J. (2002). The Neurology of a Tic: From the Point of View   of the Scientist. Retrieved on 21 April 2007 from http://www.asha.org/about/publications/leader-online/archives/2002/q3/020806a.htm Prestia, K. (2003).Tourettes syndrome: Characteristics and interventions. Intervention   in school and clinic, 39(2), 67. Retrieved on 21 April 2007 from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=37did=443394391SrchMode=1sid=2Fmt=4VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1176684625clientId=18091

Standardisation Is Motivated In The First Place English Language Essay

Standardisation Is Motivated In The First Place English Language Essay Many people regard having a standard language to contain numerous benefits for society because it enables different people from far distant locations to be able to communicate and understand each other, however, this would not be case if one were communicating in his own regional dialect. Even nowadays fluent English speakers would struggle to understand someone who speaks with the Geordie variety. Standard language has been defined as one that shows maximal variation in function and minimal variation in form. Maximal variation of function means that a language community uses its language for all purposes, both locally and nationwide. (Nevalainen 2006:29). During the late Middle Ages in England, English was restricted to local use and at home not across the country as England was ruled in French and Latin, as they were seen as the prestige varieties. Terttu Nevalainen (2006) comments on the situation in English during the Middle Ages and states that in sociolinguistic terms the situa tion was one of diglossia: co-occurring languages served different functions in the community. (p.29) But what is exactly meant by standardisation? Standardisation is the process leading to the emergence of a standard language, and involves the reduction in variability in terms of the grammatical and vocabulary choices that can be made. (Culpeper et al. 2009:224). For instance, previously in Old English multiple negations were frequent, however in SE only a single negation is used. The American linguist Einar Haugen (1972) outlined four stages in the development of a standard language: selection, elaboration, codification and implementation (also referred to as acceptance). These are the four main processes involved in standardising any language. Selection involves the selection of a particular variety within the language to be used as the standard throughout the country. For a number of reasons the London-based variety which had a Midlands basis was selected. London was the capital, centre for court, administration and trade. It was the largest population surpassing its European neighbours. (Culpeper et al. 2009:237). Also in 1476, Caxton established the first printing press in England at Westminster and he modelled what he produced from the variety in London. Thus the books which were printed were published throughout the entire country. In addition, the first English Bible was William Tyndales New Testament translation which printed became available everywhe re. (Crystal 2004:271). However others such as Wales (2002) have argued that the language of Northern England had a far greater importance both historically and in contemporary society, as this was the region in which Industrial Revolution flourished and where the writing of literature in dialect had continued for over 150. (cited in Culpeper et al, 2009:235). Elaboration, meanwhile, means ensuring that the selected variety to be standardised is capable of fulfilling its necessary requirements. Historically, until 1380 English was very much competing with French for official affairs of state. The 1362 Statute of Pleading ensured that court proceedings would be conducted in English. (Baugh and Cable 1993:145). Also, Latin not English was the main language of science. However, when English was no longer competing with other languages it needed a vast expansion of the vocabulary, which was mainly achieved through adopting Latin and Greek words, and an expansion in the range of styles, especially written. (Culpeper et al. 2009:237). Codification refers to writing down all the rules and vocabulary which govern the selected variety. Discussions on codifying English first took place in the seventeenth century were attempts were made to regulate English in the same way as the Academie Francaise was doing for French, however nothing was really established. Also, English did not really possess a dictionary until 1755, when Samuel Johnson published his A Dictionary of the English Language. In addition words and their usages appeared according to their occurrence in what he considered the best authors -thereby confirming the standard as a language of literacy and high culture. Descriptive grammers were more limited, with the exception of Joseph Priestleys 1761 The Rudiments of English Grammer, the grammars recorded were prescriptive i.e. stating that which should and not be said and written. (Culpeper 2009:238) Implementation the forth process involved in standardisation, involves the general acceptability of the population of the norms of the variety selected over other such present varieties. This is through the spread and enforcement of such norms. Also it is aided through various institutions, schools, government and religious institutions. For example, the establishment of the printing press in London spread this particular variety across the country by making the books and literature available. Thus this made it easy to standardise at least the written language. Therefore, Wiliams 2007 asserts the status of SE with its eighteenth-century prescriptive additions, remained unchallenged during the nineteenth century with 1870 Education Act promoting the teaching of SE, as did official educational policy in England throughout the twentieth century and up until today (cited in Culpeper 2009:238). The rise of the standard language in the fifteenth century meant that it quickly became equated with correct speech, whereas dialect came to be associated with uneducated and incorrect usage. The printing presses soon ironed out the remaining local differences in written English, as was only to be expected in view of the fact that 98 per cent of all English books were printed in London. (Gorlach 1991:13). The EModE period was a time of tremendous political, economic, technological and social change in Britain that was to change the size, shape and functioning of the world and with it the English language. (Fennell 2001:136). The reconstruction of any language before 1900 must, in the first phase at least, be that of the written language, which may vary to a greater or lesser extent from the spoken. Direct evidence of the spoken English of the time is very scarce, as is pointed out by Barber (1976:48-56). Whether in allegedly literal protocols or court proceedings, popular dramatic scenes (Kings 1941) or texts representing Early Modern English (EModE) dialects the standardising effect of editing must always be reckoned with sermons and speeches, which are still extant in great numbers and which were written down for oral delivery diverge from spoken English on the rhetorical level. Also, the spoken and written forms of a language also differ in modern times as a consequence of the requirements of different types of communicative situations, despite the fact that most native speakers are also writers of the language and that users frequently have occasion both to speak and to write on the same topic. Sinc e in EModE times competence in written English was not as common as it is today, and the need to switch from the spoken to the written language and back again was less frequent, it may be assumed that the two subsystems were further apart then than they are in modern speech communities. Furthermore, Gorlalch (1991) highlights that now written language was more superregional and homogenous but also more dependent on style and literary traditions. Two counter-directional developments occurred within EModE, affecting the interrelationship of the two subsystems: The increasing influence of the schools brought spelling and pronunciation closer together, the spelling most often affecting the pronunciation of a particular word. Increasing use of the written form as a consequence of changing communicative needs and conventions and its improvements in accordance with Latin models meant that the written language diverged from spoken English , in the particular at the level of syntax. (p12) In neither Germany nor Italy was the standardisation of the written language associated with the establishment of a strong central language administration. In both it was largely commercial, although it did mark the emergence of a sense of nationhood. In Germany the centralized power of the Emperor began to disintegrate in the thirteenth century , and some of the earliest documents in German are the 2500 Urkunden from before 1299 (2200 of them are from the High German area), documents that arbitrated differences between the newly independent dukes and counts. These were all in regional dialects. In the meantime, the cities of the Hanseatic League created a Low German commercial language, not unlike Dutch, from which a large body of contracts and commercial correspondence survives. But as power moved to central Germany, the influence of the Hanseatic koine died. Standard written High German evolved from its three successive Imperial chancelleries. P77 In essence it is clear that European languages were standardised first in writng and only later in speech. Second, standard written forms appeared first in official government and business documents. (Fisher 1996:81). Hence this served as the basis for the usage of scribes and printers and eventually of handbooks and dictionaries created for teaching the standard written language. Every enduring civilisation has had a writing system and archives. Like those of the Roman Empire and Medieval Europe, the writing systems of all of the ancient civilisations were the products of official secretariats striving for uniformity and continuity. For instance with the support of Andrew Carnegies $250,000, the Simplified Spelling Board in the early 1900s undertook to revise English spelling. However no change came into fruition. Thus the standard language is nothing other than official language of government , the judiciary, and business. It is still anchored as firmly in the seats of power as it has been since the dawn of writing. (Fisher 1996:82). When there have been attempts of spelling and lexical reforms, there were institutions set up and sponsored by governments to carry out such reforms like in Italy and Spain, and almost so in England in EModE period. In light of the statement of Milroy and Milroy (1999) an absolute standardisation of a spoken language is almost impossible. Historically written language has always differed from the spoken language. However, after they have been codified, written languages have more influence upon the structure and pronunciation of the spoken than do the spoken on the structure and orthography of the written. .As the written form has over the years become more standardised due mainly to the influence of education. Despite this has had little impact on the spoken stratum. 83 In conclusion, although many may consider SE to be the variety which is pushed in society it does contain flaws. Standard English is in many ways a social class dialect used by middle-class speakers. Studies have repeatedly shown that it is difficult for some children from working class backgrounds to acquire written Standard English.

Peer Mediation and Conflict Resolution are the Solutions to Teen Violence :: Teens Teenage Violence

Every year, nearly one-million twelve to nineteen year olds are murdered robbed, or assaulted many by their peers and teenagers are more than twice as likely as adults to become the victims of violence. Although the problem is far too complex for any one solution, teaching young people conflict resolution skills, nonviolent techniques for resolving disputes seems to help. To reduce youth violence, conflict resolution skills should be taught to all children before they reach junior high school. First and most important, young people need to learn nonviolent way of dealing with conflict. In a dangerous society where guns are readily available, many young teens feel they have no choice but to respond to an insult or an argument with violence. If they have grown up seeing family members and neighbors react to stress with verbal or physical violence, they may not know that other choices exist. Behavior like carrying a weapon or refusing to back down gives young people â€Å"the illusion of control,† but what they desperately need is to learn real control for example, when provoked, learn to walk away. Next, conflict resolution programs have been shown to reduce violent incidents and empower young people in a healthy way. Many programs and courses in Charlotte Mecklenburg are teaching teens and preteens to work through disagreements without violence. Tools include calmly telling one’s own side of the story and listening to the other person without interrupting or blaming; skills that many adults don’t have! Peer Mediation, a Charlotte Mecklenburg public school program, starts in middle school; it trains students to be mediators, helping peers find their own solutions to conflicts ranging from a fight over a boy or girl friend to interracial gang disputes. Finally, although this appears as just a â€Å"Band-Aid† solution that does not address the root causes of teen violence: poverty, troubled families, bad schools, and drugs. Conflict resolution training saves lives. The larger social issues out there must be addressed, but they will take years to solve, whereas teaching students new

A Modern Version of Shakespeares Play, Henry V Essay -- Henry IV Henr

A Modern Version of Shakespeare's Play, Henry V The play Henry V, currently being staged at the University of Alberta student theatre, exemplifies an innovative manner of bringing the historic play into the modern era of technology. Set in the form of two multinational corporations: England and France, the play details the metaphoric battle for the market share from the two companies. Set in the current era circa 2002, the props and set for the play incorporate several technological innovations of the twenty first century. The workers for the corporation mirror the class system of the nobility, clergy and commoners in the play. The members of the clergy and nobility are analogous to the advisors, high-level executives, and members of the board of directors while the King fills the role of the Chief Executive Officer. The commoners and peasants are other employees of the firm such as the clerical staff and other related permissions. Their wardrobe is reflected accordingly the high-level business people wear suits of the finest calibre and the lower level workers wear attire that is considerably less formal. It was in this way that the audience is able to discern the respective classes from each other. This illustration of class distinction was most clearly portrayed in Act four Scene one where Henry changes into less formal wear as he goes down to the lunchroom and begins to converse with the publicists and other commoners that frequent the company's cafeteria. It is here within his masquerade th at he learns the morale of the workers and their attitude towards their executives. The entity of the chorus, which serves as the narrator of the play, still holds true to that function as a camera crew and news reporte... ...ing something that they had either experienced or had a family member experience. As a result, it caused them to identify with the play. The manner in which this play has been configured such that it is drawing on the predatory and imperialistic tendencies displayed by multinational conglomerates provides a way for today's audience to identify with the plight of the characters and their realm. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Henry V. The Norton Shakespeare Based on the Oxford Edition: Histories. Eds. Greenblatt, Stephen et al. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 736-793. Works Consulted Ganz, Arthur. "Henry V In New York". Shakespeare Quarterly 35:4 (1984): 470-471 Speaight, Robert. "Shakespeare in Performance". Shakespeare Quarterly 36:5 (1985): 534-540. Stokes, Swell. "The Oliviers". Theatre Arts 29:12 (1945): 711-718.

Moral And Ethical Dilemmas Essay -- Morals Ethics Essays

Moral and Ethical Dilemmas One of the most difficult trials I face in my life are ethical and moral dilemmas. They can be soul-wrenching and searching experiences that tax my character and cause me to really "put my money where my mouth is." Sometimes I'm quick to see ethical faults in others, but slow to see them in myself. Other times I see all to clearly my mistakes and wonder why I don't measure up. I believe one purpose for this life is to learn to act for ourselves. Learn to see a situation correctly and act righteously. In this paper I wish to discuss many of the thoughts I have had recently on setting a pattern for making ethical decisions throughout my life. I will present many of the traps I have fallen into or observed in others. Everyday I'm faced with decisions of right and wrong, most of which are easily and correctly dealt with. Sometimes however, decisions need to be made that are not easy or clear-cut. They require thought and often prayer. I like to draw on past experience to make comparisons that help give insight to new problems. Many times, however past experiences cannot be related to present problems and can confuse and obscure possibilities. Even the opinions or actions of friends faced with similar dilemmas may not be helpful. Often you feel pressured by piers that say, "it's no big deal", or "you'll understand later". It's important that I understand why a particular action or resolution is correct or incorrect. If I can't or don't it's difficult to feel I've been honest with myself. That for me can be a good measure of ethical behavior, my conscience. The ideal way to deal with difficult questions is to have a foolproof formula. Find steps that will always lead to correct decisions. Unfortunately I do not yet have such a formula and often learn by hard experience right and wrong. Let me start by saying I firmly believe the formula exists, and is to be found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The only way to live a perfectly ethical and moral life is to be Like Him. There is no other way. The entire world will experiment and try all other forms of self-indulgence and soul searching and will not be one step closer until they begin with His gospel. I heard it said once that "he who picks up one end of a stick, picks up the other end also." No matter how hard you try or want happiness... ... volunteered and submitted. I could compare it to temple attendance or missionary service. We may serve by commandment alone, and reap all the blessing and rewards, or we could look beyond and see the work of saving souls. We could see the absolute need for our service and give our lives for it. I believe with that kind of true motivation we will more easily be able to see right from wrong. We will not seek to satisfy our own needs or wants, but will see others needs along with ours. We could more clearly see the importance of ethical and moral behavior. Whether someone is watching or not is irrelevant and has no part in our decisions. I admit that this in no way will make the decision making process easier; quite the contrary. No longer will decisions be made based on popularity or gain, but on what's right and good. Unfortunately I will still have to learn by experience when the answers are not clear, so I will get burned a few times. But in the process of learning, I can be confident that I am really doing my best and improving always. By refining this formula I will find myself better able to resolve difficult dilemmas and feel good about my decisions.

Pharmaceutical Industry and E. Merck Ag

Historical background of the business Today Merck & Co, Inc. is one of the most recognizable companies in the pharmaceutical industry. When asked about Merck, most people think that it is and always has been a US company. However, the company’s history can be traced all the way back to the 1600’s where it was started in Darmstadt, Germany. Friedrich Jacob Merck purchased a local store in 1668 where he prepared and sold medicines. The store was called â€Å"At the sign of the Angels† and would remain in the Merck family for many generations (Merck & co. , 2000). In 1827, Heinrich Emmanuel Merck and renamed E.MERCK AG transformed the store into a drug manufacturer. The pharmacy was so successful that by 1855 E. Merck AG was selling medications worldwide. It was at this time that Merck decided to send a company officer to the United States to set up a sales office. Once in the U. S. in 1899, Heinrich’s grandson George Merck bought one hundred and fifty acres in Rahway, New Jersey. A couple of years later, in 1903, Merck started production in its new U. S. headquarters. By this time Merck was not just producing drugs, it was also starting to produce different types of chemicals and there was also a research lab.When the United States entered World War I in 1917, George Merck, fearing that Germany would win the war and take over his company, sold all of his stock to a US company named Alien Property Custodian (Merck & Co. , 2000). This ended all of Merck’s ties to Germany. After the war, George Merck regained a controlling share of the company in 1919 and from that day forward Merck has always been a publicly owned company. George Merck continued to grow the company until his death in 1926 at which time his son, George W. Merck took over. In 1926, George W.Merck decided to merge the company with Powers-Weightman-Rosengarten, which was a Philadelphia, based pharmaceutical company. In 1927 the company was officially incorporated and renamed Merck & Co. Inc. This merger gave George W. Merck the capital he needed to recruit new chemists and biologists, which lead to the discovery of vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 was a huge success, but because the war had been over for several years, new foreign companies were continually underselling Merck. With no new products in sight, George W. Merck decided to merge with a Baltimore company by the name of Sharp & Dohme, Inc.This merger was believed to have saved Merck from going under; it gave Merck new marketing facilities and a new distribution network, which it desperately needed. By the time George W. Merck died in 1957, the company had hit the one hundred million dollar mark. Not only was the dollar mark significant, George’s death marked the last time a Merck family member would ever be in control. From the 60’s on, Merck continued to raise its market share taking advantage of its research and development, which continually produced new and popular drugs every year.Today Merck employs over fifty five thousand people and produces some of the most well known pharmaceutical products on the market. With profits totaling a little fewer than six billion dollars and annual sales of over twelve and half billion dollars, Merck is considered one of the best pharmaceutical companies in the world. Products Throughout the years, Merck has made itself a reputation for developing high quality products that consumers know will work. The drugs are developed to help with all different types of problems.Some medicines are used for every day symptoms like a stuffed up nose and some are used for more serious illnesses like the treatment of HIV. Since Merck & Co. , Inc. was founded; it has always made a point to have an above average research and development program so that it could appeal to a wide variety of consumers no matter what symptoms they were trying to cure. Some of the first products ever distributed by Merck in the 1820’s were morphine, co deine and cocaine. These three products allowed Merck enough revenue to begin research on other types of products.In 1933 Merck scientists discovered vitamin B12 which was, at the time, used as a therapeutic drug. The sales from B12 alone were enough to carry Merck into the next decade. Although Merck scientists discovered cortisone, which is a steroid, and streptomycin, which is used to treat tuberculosis, the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s were fairly slow periods for Merck. Other products such as Aldomet, which is used to treat depression, Indocin and Clinoril which are anti-inflammatory drugs, were developed but none of them had the impact on revenue that Merck was used to.It was not until the mid to late 70’s that Merck came out with some new products that really connected with consumers. It was at this time that Timoptic and Enalapril were invented. Timoptic is a hepatitis vaccine that helps with the treatment of glaucoma and Enalapril is a high blood pressu re medication. Sales from these two drugs were well over a half a billion dollars by the early 1980’s. Things only got better for Merck from the 1980’s through 2000. During this time Merck produced over twenty new drugs.Some of the more popular drugs include Cosopt, used in the treatment of glaucoma, Propecia, which is used to treat hair loss, Maxalt, which is used for migraine headaches, and Singulair, which treats cases of asthma. Although all of these medications worked out very well for Merck’s profit, there were three drugs that stood above the rest. Vasotec was a treatment for congestive heart failure and Merck’s first billion dollar a year drug. That was followed by Vioxx which is a pain medication used to treat arthritis and also a billion dollar a year seller. The most popular drug Merck ever produced was Zocor.Zocor is a cholesterol-fighting drug that was introduced in 1992. Not only was zocor a multi-billion dollar a year drug, it was one of th e most successful selling pharmaceutical drugs ever (Merck & Co. , 2000). Zocor accounted for over four billion dollars in worldwide sales in 2004 alone. With products like these and a continued dedication to research and development, Merck will be a major player in the pharmaceutical industry for many years to come. Company Locations Merck and its subsidiaries have locations all over the world. Their main headquarters is currently located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.Merck takes pride in being a global healthcare leader. According to their website they currently have 83,000 employees worldwide (Merck. com). In 2009, Merck merged with competitor Shering-Plough, which extended Merck’s reach into the global economy. According to Muse (2011), Merck has over 75 locations, â€Å"Drawing from its locations in 77 countries, Merck’s worldwide sales for 2009 were $27. 4 billion (Muse p. 251). † These locations stretch across the continental United States from New Je rsey to San Francisco. The worldwide locations include factories in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Japan.Merck’s revenues continue to climb with their global growth. The revenues recorded in various regions by Merck in 2012 include, â€Å" |2012 Revenues |United States | |(By Geographic Region) |$20. 4 billion | | | | | |Europe, Middle East and Africa | | |$13. billion | | | | | |Japan | | |$5. 1 billion | | | | | |Other | | |$8. billion (Merck. com). † | | | | Merck is seen as a leader on the stage of global expansion. It is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Merck continues to grow and expand its influence in an effort to provide their vaccines and medicines across the globe. Their recent merger will allow them to test markets that they have not had experience in before, and help increase their profits globally.Style of International Business Merck has been on the forefront of International Business and is one of the leaders at adapt ing to new employees in diverse geographic locations. The company has maintained a policy of progressiveness in their workplace. According to Muse (2011) Merck is one of the leaders in this field. They have been ranked among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity and the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List (Muse p. 251). † Merck makes diversity one of their top priorities and it is well documented on their website. They have created a voice for the different diverse peoples within their company.It is a new way to maintain communication with the feelings and thoughts of various groups in different regions throughout the world. Merck calls these Global Constituency Groups. According to their website, â€Å"We've taken an innovative, global approach to our diversity strategy through the creation of Global Constituency Groups. These groups represent the diverse constituencies in our company, our customers and society, in general. The members represent different geographies, cultures and areas of expertise. Together they reflect Merck employees and customers globally†. Merck. com) With this process, Merck is able to keep up with the problems and successes within the different constituencies throughout the company. Merck’s plan to achieve diversity within their company begins from the leadership positions. Filling these positions with people mindful of diversity has allowed the company to continue to keep its place among the most diverse companies in the world. According to Merck, â€Å"Diversity and inclusion are integrated into our leadership model, and are considered an essential leadership skill for all of our employees (Merck. com). Merck preaches this diversity not only to their employees, but their suppliers as well. â€Å"At Merck, we believe that having a diverse supplier base helps us better understand and anticipate the needs of the people we serve (Merck. com). † This creates a positive culture throughout the company of acceptance an d tolerance towards others. It is a progressive policy that allows Merck to continue to flourish and it is a model style of International Business. Strategic Alliances Merck has made many strategic alliances throughout the years to help improve their products or supply them to a wider range of people.In the late 80’s Merck made an alliance with one of the biggest companies in the United States, Johnson & Johnson. According to the International Directory of Company Histories (2000), â€Å"In 1989 Merck joined with Johnson & Johnson in a venture to develop over-the-counter (OTC) versions of Merck’s prescription medications, initially for the U. S. market, later expanded to Europe and Canada (encyclopedia. com)†. This helped Merck products become more easily available to consumers throughout the world. At the time this alliance was hailed as a blockbuster deal that would create growth for both companies.This deal lasted over twenty years and was very profitable for both parties. When Merck sold their stake in the deal in 2011, they received $175 million for it. The largest alliance Merck has made recently is the acquisition, or reverse merger, of their rival Schering-Plough. The $40 billion deal was made in an effort to keep up with other companies in the pharmaceutical market, especially Pfizer. According to Singer (2009), â€Å"The merger would join pharmaceutical companies that had combined sales of $46. 9 billion last year (p. 1). † This alliance expanded Merck globally and allowed it to tap into Schering-Plough’s resources.These resources ranged from new drugs for Merck to market, to a bigger pipeline to promote their own drugs. According to Singer (2009), â€Å"The merger gives it access to successful brand-name Schering products with much longer patents, like the prescription allergy spray Nasonex. And Merck could capitalize on Schering’s investments in promising biotechnology drugs (Singer p. 1 ). † This al liance helped Merck continue to be a formidable competitor in the global pharmaceutical market. With this deal happening only a few short years ago, Merck continues to grow and utilize its new resources in the market today.Exports Merck’s exports consist of various types of pharmaceuticals. Some of their most profitable exports include Singulair, Fosamax, Nasonex, and Vytorin. Singulair is used to treat seasonal allergies like other drugs such as Claritin and Allegra. It can also be used to prevent asthma attacks. It has been very profitable for Merck in the past. Yet, sales began to dramatically fall when media reports about the disturbing side effects of Singulair began to surface. The worst of these side effects included depression and suicidal thoughts.Still, even in spite of Singulair’s profit drop, Merck continues to make large amounts of money off of the export. Nasonex and Vytorin are two products that were a result of the Merck and Schering-Plough merger. Naso nex is a nasal spray used to treat seasonal allergies in adults and children. It has proved to be a positive part of the merger, becoming one of Merck’s most profitable products. Vytorin was already part of a joint effort between Merck and Schering-Plough even before the merger. Vytorin is a combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin used to treat cholesterol levels.They created and marketed the product together. After the merger, Merck continued to sell and market Vytorin. Fosamax is another popular export of the Merck Company. It is used to treat osteoporosis and other bone diseases. Fosamax was previously one of Merck’s best selling drugs. Yet, because of patent problems, they have lost large amount of money. According to Singer (2009) â€Å"Merck’s former blockbuster bone drug Fosamax has gone generic, and in a few years the same thing will happen to its best-selling allergy and asthma drug Singulair (pg. 1 ). † These exports have been Merck’s ma in products in the past.In the future, with their recent merger, they should be able to develop new products that can help them rebound from the losses they took from products like Fosamax and Singulair. Transportation In order to effectively and efficiently deliver their products throughout the world, Merck has contracted UPS to deliver them. As of June 2011, the joint venture known as MSD has announced that it would include and take care of Merck’s logistics and distribution around the world, which till now only managed Merck’s distribution, warehousing and transportation in North America (Berman, 2011).According to Willie A. Deese, executive vice president and president, Merck Manufacturing Division,â€Å" This expanded agreement with UPS allows us to focus on our core business as a global healthcare leader that looks for innovative ways to bring our medicines and vaccines to patients in emerging markets and markets around the world† (businesswire, 2011). The collaboration, which began in early 2003 with UPS just taking care of the transportation and delivery of products over time, has extended to North American distribution, warehousing and multi-modal transportation services (businesswire, 2011).Merck now entrusted UPS with taking care of their logistics in countries like China, Brazil as well as Latin America among others. UPS also stated that it would establish proper facilities in order to store goods and vaccines so in order to ensure quicker and efficient delivery system (Berman, 2011). Merck believes that this extended partnership with UPS would result in being cost effective in the long run. Although Merck does rely on other logistic companies as well, but they rely more heavily on UPS and this current agreement will only further increase the company’s trust in the logistics firm (businesswire, 2011).Ethical Standards The code of ethics from Merck’s website (2013) states: Being a good corporate citizen means that we comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. Also, we serve our society, from the local communities in which we operate to the national and international levels, by supporting a number of programs, including those that improve health and promote environmental sustainability. All of our activities are guided by our corporate responsibility principle of â€Å"Helping the World Be Well†. (p. 1) Ethical Violations Merck & Co. ave developed some great products that have helped many people. They have even done some amazing humanitarian work that follows their mission of their code of ethics, which is to help the people of this world be as healthy as they can. For example, After World War II, many people who were living in Japan could not afford the Merck developed drug streptomycin (Miller & Goldman, 2003). Streptomycin was the first drug to fight tuberculosis. Merck decided to sell streptomycin at a much lower cost in Japan so it could be distributed to those who nee ded it and could not afford it at market value.Merck is also one of the nation’s largest donors to UNICEF. One of the ways that Merck has partnered with UNICEF is by donating a drug called Mectizan. Mectizan is a drug that Merck has developed to fight river blindness, and Merck has teamed up with UNICEF in order to distribute Mectizan to anyone who needs it (Unicef, 2013). But the business strategies for Merck have not always been as ethically sound as it may appear. On September 30th 2004 the drug that Merck had created to treat arthritis and severe pain, Vioxx, was pulled off the shelves for good.The reason behind shutting down this drug was that it was found to have caused serious illnesses after long term use, including heart attacks and strokes (Kay, 2004). Vioxx was withdrawn only five years after being introduced, but in that short time had effected many, in those five years there had been over eighty million prescriptions for Vioxx (Kay, 2004). Dr David Graham, the as sociate director for science and medicine at the Office of Drug Safety, estimates that Vioxx caused between 88,000 and 139,000 heart attacks, of which thirty to forty percent have most likely died (Kay, 2004).But did Merck know of this threat before they started to market the drug? Before Merck released Vioxx in 1999 their own scientist conducted tests on Vioxx while developing it. In 1997 these scientist did a study and found that patients who were being tested on were six times more likely to have heart complications when using Vioxx compared to other arthritis drugs. But this study was never released and the data was never sent to the FDA (Culp & Isobel, 2007).Scientist also completed a VIGOR (Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research) test on the drug and found evidence that people who take Vioxx had a five times higher chance of having a heart attack (Cahana & Mauron, 2006). In 2001 Merck scientist had another test called â€Å"meta-analysis†. The meta-analysis tested 20, 000 patients, and again showed that these patients were twice as likely to have a heart attack while taking Vioxx compared to other drugs (Culp & Isobel, 2007). Not only did Merck know about these risks and kept the results to themselves, they also trained their sales people on how to dodge the subject.In order to train the sales force who were going to be selling Vioxx to doctors, Merck developed a card game called dodgeball. The purpose of this game was to teach the sales force different ways to dodge questions asked by doctors about the effects Vioxx has on the heart (Daily, 2005). This again proves that Merck knew of these risks caused by taking Vioxx, but was trying to make sure that information was kept in house. Another instance where Merck lacked good ethical decision making is when they decided to pay Elsevier to publish a magazine for them. Elsevier is a publishing company that focuses mainly on medical and scientific literature.Merck’s marketing team decided to pay Elsevier to publish a journal called The Australiasian Journal of Bone & Joint Medicine. This journal was made to look like any other peer-reviewed medical journal but it was far from it. Merck’s marketing department handpicked the articles that they wanted to put in this journal, with the purpose of trying to control what articles were chosen to be in the journal. They took advantage of this situation by picking articles that favored Merck products and disguising this marketing scheme as a peer review journal (Grant, 2009).For instance in the second issue twenty one of the twenty nine articles spoke about Merck’s products in a favorable way, nine of them positively talking about Vioxx (Grant, 2009). Merck also had an ethical downfall when management decided to change the prices of their product. Not only was Merck paying doctors to prescribe Merck medicine when patients were in the hospital, Merck also started to give hospitals a ninety two percent discount on their medicine; with the idea that after the patient was discharged they would want to stay on the same medicine (Merck to pay whistleblower, 2008).The insurance company would pay full price for the drugs after the patient was discharged and that is where Merck would bring in their profit. An employee within Merck saw what was going on and didn’t approve. A lawsuit quickly followed and Merck ended up paying $671 million, including sixty eight million dollars to the whistleblower (Merck to pay whistleblower, 2008). Even after settling Merck did not think they were in the wrong with this pricing, as Merck to pay whistleblower (2008) reported Merck making a statement saying they â€Å"stands by its pricing strategies but is keen to resolve the dispute† (p. 2). Unfortunately for Merck, Vioxx isn’t the only drug that has caused people to question Merck’s ethical decision making when it comes to their customers. As noted above, Merck released a drug called Propecia t o the public that helped men with baldness. The problem with Propecia is that men are starting to see a great increase in sexual problems. Merck says that only one out of fifty men will see significant sexual side effects, and those side effects will disappear after you stop taking Propecia (Thornton, 2011). But that doesn’t seem to be the case.A recent study by Micheal Irving showed that ninety percent of his test patients still showed signs of sexual problems forty months after being off of Propecia (Thornton, 2011). This is where ethics will hurt Merck the most. Not only have there been hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and settlements that will be paid out, but if Merck continues to keep making unethical managerial decisions, Merck will lose the trust of their customers. Even though there is no evidence yet that Merck knew that Propecia would harm people after they stopped taking the drug, it’s hard not to think of how the Merck management decided to handle Vioxx.The financial hit is a big blow that will slow present and future projects, but money is a lot easier to gain back than trust. References Berman, J. (2011, June). UPS and Merck extend relationship with a global supply chain focus. Retrieved February 2013, from http://www. logisticsmgmt. com/article/ups_and_merck_extend_relationship_witha_ global_supply_chain_focus/ businesswire. (2011, June). UPS and Merck Expand Their Distribution and Logistics Agreement. Retrieved February 2013, from businesswire. com: http://www. businesswire. com/news/home/20110628005271/en/UPS-Merck-Expand-Distribution-Logistics-AgreementCahana, A. , & Mauron, A. (2006). The story of Vioxx—no pain and a lot of gain: ethical concerns regarding conduct of the pharmaceutical industry. Journal of anesthesia,  20(4), 348-351. doi:10. 1007/s00540-006-0432-7 Culp, D. R. , & Isobel, B. (2007, August 6). Merck and the Vioxx       debacle. Retrieved February 13, 2013 from St. Johns University,       Web site: http://www. stjohns. edu/media/3/2c0778b7593f4a178b60354abc80bad8. pdf Grant, B. (2009, April 30). Merck published fake journal. Retrieved Febuary 12, 2013 from, Web site: http://www. the-scientist. om/? articles. view/articleNo/27376/title/Merck- published-fake- journal/ Daily, M. (2005, July 18). Merck used ‘dodge ball’ on Vioxx       questions-lawyer. Retrieved February 12, 2013 from, Web site:       http://www. redorbit. com/news/general/178738/ Kay, J. ( 2004, November 22). The Vioxx scandal: Damning senate       testimony reveals drug company, government complicity. Retrieved 2013, February 9 from , Web site: http://www. wsws. org/en/articles/2004/11/viox-n22. html Merck & Co. , Inc. International Directory of Company Histories. 2000.Retrieved February 19, 2013 from Encyclopedia. com:  http://www. encyclopedia. com/doc/1G2-2843800076. html Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. , a subsidiary of  Merck & Co. , Inc. (2009-2013). Retrieved February 18 , 2013, from http://www. merck. com/index. html Merck to pay whistleblower. (2008). TCE: The Chemical Engineer, (801), 12. Miller, C. , & Goldman, K. (2003, October, 23). Merck, aids, and       Africa. Retrieved February 2, 2013 from New York University,       Leonard N. Stern School of Business Web site: http://pages. stern. nyu. edu/~lcabral/teaching/aids. pdf Muse, L.A. (2011). Flexibility implementation to a global workforce: a case study of Merck and Company, Inc. Community, Work & Family,  14(2), 249-256. Singer, N. (March 9, 2009). Merck to Buy Schering-Plough for $41. 1 Billion. The New York Times, Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2009/03/10/business/10drug. html? _r=0 February 19, 2013. Thornton, J. (2011). A Hair-Raising Side Effect. Men's Health (10544836), 26(10), 102-105. Unicef (2013). Merck & co. , inc. Retrieved January 12, 2013 from, Partners Web site       http://www. unicefusa. org/partners/corporate/merck. html Pharmaceutical Industry and E. Merck Ag Historical background of the business Today Merck & Co, Inc. is one of the most recognizable companies in the pharmaceutical industry. When asked about Merck, most people think that it is and always has been a US company. However, the company’s history can be traced all the way back to the 1600’s where it was started in Darmstadt, Germany. Friedrich Jacob Merck purchased a local store in 1668 where he prepared and sold medicines. The store was called â€Å"At the sign of the Angels† and would remain in the Merck family for many generations (Merck & co. , 2000). In 1827, Heinrich Emmanuel Merck and renamed E.MERCK AG transformed the store into a drug manufacturer. The pharmacy was so successful that by 1855 E. Merck AG was selling medications worldwide. It was at this time that Merck decided to send a company officer to the United States to set up a sales office. Once in the U. S. in 1899, Heinrich’s grandson George Merck bought one hundred and fifty acres in Rahway, New Jersey. A couple of years later, in 1903, Merck started production in its new U. S. headquarters. By this time Merck was not just producing drugs, it was also starting to produce different types of chemicals and there was also a research lab.When the United States entered World War I in 1917, George Merck, fearing that Germany would win the war and take over his company, sold all of his stock to a US company named Alien Property Custodian (Merck & Co. , 2000). This ended all of Merck’s ties to Germany. After the war, George Merck regained a controlling share of the company in 1919 and from that day forward Merck has always been a publicly owned company. George Merck continued to grow the company until his death in 1926 at which time his son, George W. Merck took over. In 1926, George W.Merck decided to merge the company with Powers-Weightman-Rosengarten, which was a Philadelphia, based pharmaceutical company. In 1927 the company was officially incorporated and renamed Merck & Co. Inc. This merger gave George W. Merck the capital he needed to recruit new chemists and biologists, which lead to the discovery of vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 was a huge success, but because the war had been over for several years, new foreign companies were continually underselling Merck. With no new products in sight, George W. Merck decided to merge with a Baltimore company by the name of Sharp & Dohme, Inc.This merger was believed to have saved Merck from going under; it gave Merck new marketing facilities and a new distribution network, which it desperately needed. By the time George W. Merck died in 1957, the company had hit the one hundred million dollar mark. Not only was the dollar mark significant, George’s death marked the last time a Merck family member would ever be in control. From the 60’s on, Merck continued to raise its market share taking advantage of its research and development, which continually produced new and popular drugs every year.Today Merck employs over fifty five thousand people and produces some of the most well known pharmaceutical products on the market. With profits totaling a little fewer than six billion dollars and annual sales of over twelve and half billion dollars, Merck is considered one of the best pharmaceutical companies in the world. Products Throughout the years, Merck has made itself a reputation for developing high quality products that consumers know will work. The drugs are developed to help with all different types of problems.Some medicines are used for every day symptoms like a stuffed up nose and some are used for more serious illnesses like the treatment of HIV. Since Merck & Co. , Inc. was founded; it has always made a point to have an above average research and development program so that it could appeal to a wide variety of consumers no matter what symptoms they were trying to cure. Some of the first products ever distributed by Merck in the 1820’s were morphine, co deine and cocaine. These three products allowed Merck enough revenue to begin research on other types of products.In 1933 Merck scientists discovered vitamin B12 which was, at the time, used as a therapeutic drug. The sales from B12 alone were enough to carry Merck into the next decade. Although Merck scientists discovered cortisone, which is a steroid, and streptomycin, which is used to treat tuberculosis, the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s were fairly slow periods for Merck. Other products such as Aldomet, which is used to treat depression, Indocin and Clinoril which are anti-inflammatory drugs, were developed but none of them had the impact on revenue that Merck was used to.It was not until the mid to late 70’s that Merck came out with some new products that really connected with consumers. It was at this time that Timoptic and Enalapril were invented. Timoptic is a hepatitis vaccine that helps with the treatment of glaucoma and Enalapril is a high blood pressu re medication. Sales from these two drugs were well over a half a billion dollars by the early 1980’s. Things only got better for Merck from the 1980’s through 2000. During this time Merck produced over twenty new drugs.Some of the more popular drugs include Cosopt, used in the treatment of glaucoma, Propecia, which is used to treat hair loss, Maxalt, which is used for migraine headaches, and Singulair, which treats cases of asthma. Although all of these medications worked out very well for Merck’s profit, there were three drugs that stood above the rest. Vasotec was a treatment for congestive heart failure and Merck’s first billion dollar a year drug. That was followed by Vioxx which is a pain medication used to treat arthritis and also a billion dollar a year seller. The most popular drug Merck ever produced was Zocor.Zocor is a cholesterol-fighting drug that was introduced in 1992. Not only was zocor a multi-billion dollar a year drug, it was one of th e most successful selling pharmaceutical drugs ever (Merck & Co. , 2000). Zocor accounted for over four billion dollars in worldwide sales in 2004 alone. With products like these and a continued dedication to research and development, Merck will be a major player in the pharmaceutical industry for many years to come. Company Locations Merck and its subsidiaries have locations all over the world. Their main headquarters is currently located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.Merck takes pride in being a global healthcare leader. According to their website they currently have 83,000 employees worldwide (Merck. com). In 2009, Merck merged with competitor Shering-Plough, which extended Merck’s reach into the global economy. According to Muse (2011), Merck has over 75 locations, â€Å"Drawing from its locations in 77 countries, Merck’s worldwide sales for 2009 were $27. 4 billion (Muse p. 251). † These locations stretch across the continental United States from New Je rsey to San Francisco. The worldwide locations include factories in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Japan.Merck’s revenues continue to climb with their global growth. The revenues recorded in various regions by Merck in 2012 include, â€Å" |2012 Revenues |United States | |(By Geographic Region) |$20. 4 billion | | | | | |Europe, Middle East and Africa | | |$13. billion | | | | | |Japan | | |$5. 1 billion | | | | | |Other | | |$8. billion (Merck. com). † | | | | Merck is seen as a leader on the stage of global expansion. It is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Merck continues to grow and expand its influence in an effort to provide their vaccines and medicines across the globe. Their recent merger will allow them to test markets that they have not had experience in before, and help increase their profits globally.Style of International Business Merck has been on the forefront of International Business and is one of the leaders at adapt ing to new employees in diverse geographic locations. The company has maintained a policy of progressiveness in their workplace. According to Muse (2011) Merck is one of the leaders in this field. They have been ranked among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity and the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List (Muse p. 251). † Merck makes diversity one of their top priorities and it is well documented on their website. They have created a voice for the different diverse peoples within their company.It is a new way to maintain communication with the feelings and thoughts of various groups in different regions throughout the world. Merck calls these Global Constituency Groups. According to their website, â€Å"We've taken an innovative, global approach to our diversity strategy through the creation of Global Constituency Groups. These groups represent the diverse constituencies in our company, our customers and society, in general. The members represent different geographies, cultures and areas of expertise. Together they reflect Merck employees and customers globally†. Merck. com) With this process, Merck is able to keep up with the problems and successes within the different constituencies throughout the company. Merck’s plan to achieve diversity within their company begins from the leadership positions. Filling these positions with people mindful of diversity has allowed the company to continue to keep its place among the most diverse companies in the world. According to Merck, â€Å"Diversity and inclusion are integrated into our leadership model, and are considered an essential leadership skill for all of our employees (Merck. com). Merck preaches this diversity not only to their employees, but their suppliers as well. â€Å"At Merck, we believe that having a diverse supplier base helps us better understand and anticipate the needs of the people we serve (Merck. com). † This creates a positive culture throughout the company of acceptance an d tolerance towards others. It is a progressive policy that allows Merck to continue to flourish and it is a model style of International Business. Strategic Alliances Merck has made many strategic alliances throughout the years to help improve their products or supply them to a wider range of people.In the late 80’s Merck made an alliance with one of the biggest companies in the United States, Johnson & Johnson. According to the International Directory of Company Histories (2000), â€Å"In 1989 Merck joined with Johnson & Johnson in a venture to develop over-the-counter (OTC) versions of Merck’s prescription medications, initially for the U. S. market, later expanded to Europe and Canada (encyclopedia. com)†. This helped Merck products become more easily available to consumers throughout the world. At the time this alliance was hailed as a blockbuster deal that would create growth for both companies.This deal lasted over twenty years and was very profitable for both parties. When Merck sold their stake in the deal in 2011, they received $175 million for it. The largest alliance Merck has made recently is the acquisition, or reverse merger, of their rival Schering-Plough. The $40 billion deal was made in an effort to keep up with other companies in the pharmaceutical market, especially Pfizer. According to Singer (2009), â€Å"The merger would join pharmaceutical companies that had combined sales of $46. 9 billion last year (p. 1). † This alliance expanded Merck globally and allowed it to tap into Schering-Plough’s resources.These resources ranged from new drugs for Merck to market, to a bigger pipeline to promote their own drugs. According to Singer (2009), â€Å"The merger gives it access to successful brand-name Schering products with much longer patents, like the prescription allergy spray Nasonex. And Merck could capitalize on Schering’s investments in promising biotechnology drugs (Singer p. 1 ). † This al liance helped Merck continue to be a formidable competitor in the global pharmaceutical market. With this deal happening only a few short years ago, Merck continues to grow and utilize its new resources in the market today.Exports Merck’s exports consist of various types of pharmaceuticals. Some of their most profitable exports include Singulair, Fosamax, Nasonex, and Vytorin. Singulair is used to treat seasonal allergies like other drugs such as Claritin and Allegra. It can also be used to prevent asthma attacks. It has been very profitable for Merck in the past. Yet, sales began to dramatically fall when media reports about the disturbing side effects of Singulair began to surface. The worst of these side effects included depression and suicidal thoughts.Still, even in spite of Singulair’s profit drop, Merck continues to make large amounts of money off of the export. Nasonex and Vytorin are two products that were a result of the Merck and Schering-Plough merger. Naso nex is a nasal spray used to treat seasonal allergies in adults and children. It has proved to be a positive part of the merger, becoming one of Merck’s most profitable products. Vytorin was already part of a joint effort between Merck and Schering-Plough even before the merger. Vytorin is a combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin used to treat cholesterol levels.They created and marketed the product together. After the merger, Merck continued to sell and market Vytorin. Fosamax is another popular export of the Merck Company. It is used to treat osteoporosis and other bone diseases. Fosamax was previously one of Merck’s best selling drugs. Yet, because of patent problems, they have lost large amount of money. According to Singer (2009) â€Å"Merck’s former blockbuster bone drug Fosamax has gone generic, and in a few years the same thing will happen to its best-selling allergy and asthma drug Singulair (pg. 1 ). † These exports have been Merck’s ma in products in the past.In the future, with their recent merger, they should be able to develop new products that can help them rebound from the losses they took from products like Fosamax and Singulair. Transportation In order to effectively and efficiently deliver their products throughout the world, Merck has contracted UPS to deliver them. As of June 2011, the joint venture known as MSD has announced that it would include and take care of Merck’s logistics and distribution around the world, which till now only managed Merck’s distribution, warehousing and transportation in North America (Berman, 2011).According to Willie A. Deese, executive vice president and president, Merck Manufacturing Division,â€Å" This expanded agreement with UPS allows us to focus on our core business as a global healthcare leader that looks for innovative ways to bring our medicines and vaccines to patients in emerging markets and markets around the world† (businesswire, 2011). The collaboration, which began in early 2003 with UPS just taking care of the transportation and delivery of products over time, has extended to North American distribution, warehousing and multi-modal transportation services (businesswire, 2011).Merck now entrusted UPS with taking care of their logistics in countries like China, Brazil as well as Latin America among others. UPS also stated that it would establish proper facilities in order to store goods and vaccines so in order to ensure quicker and efficient delivery system (Berman, 2011). Merck believes that this extended partnership with UPS would result in being cost effective in the long run. Although Merck does rely on other logistic companies as well, but they rely more heavily on UPS and this current agreement will only further increase the company’s trust in the logistics firm (businesswire, 2011).Ethical Standards The code of ethics from Merck’s website (2013) states: Being a good corporate citizen means that we comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. Also, we serve our society, from the local communities in which we operate to the national and international levels, by supporting a number of programs, including those that improve health and promote environmental sustainability. All of our activities are guided by our corporate responsibility principle of â€Å"Helping the World Be Well†. (p. 1) Ethical Violations Merck & Co. ave developed some great products that have helped many people. They have even done some amazing humanitarian work that follows their mission of their code of ethics, which is to help the people of this world be as healthy as they can. For example, After World War II, many people who were living in Japan could not afford the Merck developed drug streptomycin (Miller & Goldman, 2003). Streptomycin was the first drug to fight tuberculosis. Merck decided to sell streptomycin at a much lower cost in Japan so it could be distributed to those who nee ded it and could not afford it at market value.Merck is also one of the nation’s largest donors to UNICEF. One of the ways that Merck has partnered with UNICEF is by donating a drug called Mectizan. Mectizan is a drug that Merck has developed to fight river blindness, and Merck has teamed up with UNICEF in order to distribute Mectizan to anyone who needs it (Unicef, 2013). But the business strategies for Merck have not always been as ethically sound as it may appear. On September 30th 2004 the drug that Merck had created to treat arthritis and severe pain, Vioxx, was pulled off the shelves for good.The reason behind shutting down this drug was that it was found to have caused serious illnesses after long term use, including heart attacks and strokes (Kay, 2004). Vioxx was withdrawn only five years after being introduced, but in that short time had effected many, in those five years there had been over eighty million prescriptions for Vioxx (Kay, 2004). Dr David Graham, the as sociate director for science and medicine at the Office of Drug Safety, estimates that Vioxx caused between 88,000 and 139,000 heart attacks, of which thirty to forty percent have most likely died (Kay, 2004).But did Merck know of this threat before they started to market the drug? Before Merck released Vioxx in 1999 their own scientist conducted tests on Vioxx while developing it. In 1997 these scientist did a study and found that patients who were being tested on were six times more likely to have heart complications when using Vioxx compared to other arthritis drugs. But this study was never released and the data was never sent to the FDA (Culp & Isobel, 2007).Scientist also completed a VIGOR (Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research) test on the drug and found evidence that people who take Vioxx had a five times higher chance of having a heart attack (Cahana & Mauron, 2006). In 2001 Merck scientist had another test called â€Å"meta-analysis†. The meta-analysis tested 20, 000 patients, and again showed that these patients were twice as likely to have a heart attack while taking Vioxx compared to other drugs (Culp & Isobel, 2007). Not only did Merck know about these risks and kept the results to themselves, they also trained their sales people on how to dodge the subject.In order to train the sales force who were going to be selling Vioxx to doctors, Merck developed a card game called dodgeball. The purpose of this game was to teach the sales force different ways to dodge questions asked by doctors about the effects Vioxx has on the heart (Daily, 2005). This again proves that Merck knew of these risks caused by taking Vioxx, but was trying to make sure that information was kept in house. Another instance where Merck lacked good ethical decision making is when they decided to pay Elsevier to publish a magazine for them. Elsevier is a publishing company that focuses mainly on medical and scientific literature.Merck’s marketing team decided to pay Elsevier to publish a journal called The Australiasian Journal of Bone & Joint Medicine. This journal was made to look like any other peer-reviewed medical journal but it was far from it. Merck’s marketing department handpicked the articles that they wanted to put in this journal, with the purpose of trying to control what articles were chosen to be in the journal. They took advantage of this situation by picking articles that favored Merck products and disguising this marketing scheme as a peer review journal (Grant, 2009).For instance in the second issue twenty one of the twenty nine articles spoke about Merck’s products in a favorable way, nine of them positively talking about Vioxx (Grant, 2009). Merck also had an ethical downfall when management decided to change the prices of their product. Not only was Merck paying doctors to prescribe Merck medicine when patients were in the hospital, Merck also started to give hospitals a ninety two percent discount on their medicine; with the idea that after the patient was discharged they would want to stay on the same medicine (Merck to pay whistleblower, 2008).The insurance company would pay full price for the drugs after the patient was discharged and that is where Merck would bring in their profit. An employee within Merck saw what was going on and didn’t approve. A lawsuit quickly followed and Merck ended up paying $671 million, including sixty eight million dollars to the whistleblower (Merck to pay whistleblower, 2008). Even after settling Merck did not think they were in the wrong with this pricing, as Merck to pay whistleblower (2008) reported Merck making a statement saying they â€Å"stands by its pricing strategies but is keen to resolve the dispute† (p. 2). Unfortunately for Merck, Vioxx isn’t the only drug that has caused people to question Merck’s ethical decision making when it comes to their customers. As noted above, Merck released a drug called Propecia t o the public that helped men with baldness. The problem with Propecia is that men are starting to see a great increase in sexual problems. Merck says that only one out of fifty men will see significant sexual side effects, and those side effects will disappear after you stop taking Propecia (Thornton, 2011). But that doesn’t seem to be the case.A recent study by Micheal Irving showed that ninety percent of his test patients still showed signs of sexual problems forty months after being off of Propecia (Thornton, 2011). This is where ethics will hurt Merck the most. Not only have there been hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and settlements that will be paid out, but if Merck continues to keep making unethical managerial decisions, Merck will lose the trust of their customers. Even though there is no evidence yet that Merck knew that Propecia would harm people after they stopped taking the drug, it’s hard not to think of how the Merck management decided to handle Vioxx.The financial hit is a big blow that will slow present and future projects, but money is a lot easier to gain back than trust. References Berman, J. (2011, June). UPS and Merck extend relationship with a global supply chain focus. Retrieved February 2013, from http://www. logisticsmgmt. com/article/ups_and_merck_extend_relationship_witha_ global_supply_chain_focus/ businesswire. (2011, June). UPS and Merck Expand Their Distribution and Logistics Agreement. Retrieved February 2013, from businesswire. com: http://www. businesswire. com/news/home/20110628005271/en/UPS-Merck-Expand-Distribution-Logistics-AgreementCahana, A. , & Mauron, A. (2006). The story of Vioxx—no pain and a lot of gain: ethical concerns regarding conduct of the pharmaceutical industry. Journal of anesthesia,  20(4), 348-351. doi:10. 1007/s00540-006-0432-7 Culp, D. R. , & Isobel, B. (2007, August 6). Merck and the Vioxx       debacle. Retrieved February 13, 2013 from St. Johns University,       Web site: http://www. stjohns. edu/media/3/2c0778b7593f4a178b60354abc80bad8. pdf Grant, B. (2009, April 30). Merck published fake journal. Retrieved Febuary 12, 2013 from, Web site: http://www. the-scientist. om/? articles. view/articleNo/27376/title/Merck- published-fake- journal/ Daily, M. (2005, July 18). Merck used ‘dodge ball’ on Vioxx       questions-lawyer. Retrieved February 12, 2013 from, Web site:       http://www. redorbit. com/news/general/178738/ Kay, J. ( 2004, November 22). The Vioxx scandal: Damning senate       testimony reveals drug company, government complicity. Retrieved 2013, February 9 from , Web site: http://www. wsws. org/en/articles/2004/11/viox-n22. html Merck & Co. , Inc. International Directory of Company Histories. 2000.Retrieved February 19, 2013 from Encyclopedia. com:  http://www. encyclopedia. com/doc/1G2-2843800076. html Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. , a subsidiary of  Merck & Co. , Inc. (2009-2013). Retrieved February 18 , 2013, from http://www. merck. com/index. html Merck to pay whistleblower. (2008). TCE: The Chemical Engineer, (801), 12. Miller, C. , & Goldman, K. (2003, October, 23). Merck, aids, and       Africa. Retrieved February 2, 2013 from New York University,       Leonard N. Stern School of Business Web site: http://pages. stern. nyu. edu/~lcabral/teaching/aids. pdf Muse, L.A. (2011). Flexibility implementation to a global workforce: a case study of Merck and Company, Inc. Community, Work & Family,  14(2), 249-256. Singer, N. (March 9, 2009). Merck to Buy Schering-Plough for $41. 1 Billion. The New York Times, Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2009/03/10/business/10drug. html? _r=0 February 19, 2013. Thornton, J. (2011). A Hair-Raising Side Effect. Men's Health (10544836), 26(10), 102-105. Unicef (2013). Merck & co. , inc. Retrieved January 12, 2013 from, Partners Web site       http://www. unicefusa. org/partners/corporate/merck. html

Gang Representation in Sons of Anarchy Essay

Sons of Anarchy is an American television drama created by Kurt Sutter that airs on FX network. The drama series, also known by its acronym SOA or SAMCRO, is centered around the culture of motorcycle gangs and includes multiple gangs with differentiated racial makeups. The series is set in current-day California in a fictional town called Charming. The town is modeled as a small-town community which has limited government interference normally and lenient authorities. The first season was aired in 2008 and followed the lives of motorcycle gang members in the caucasian gang, called the Sons of Anarchy. Other gangs included in the series were a black gang, called the one-niners, and a hispanic gang, called the Mayans. Each gang is criminal and commits various crimes from murder to drug dealing. I am studying closer how FX network incorporates the criminal actions of minority groups in the show. They are always placed opposite of the Sons of Anarchy and their criminal actions seem to be scrutinized more than the criminal actions of the Sons of Anarchy. The question I am trying to answer is â€Å"What is the difference in the representation of criminal activity based on the racial group involved?† By focusing on the racial roles in the show and how they compare in relation to criminal activity I hope to come to a conclusion on minority representation that I can present to Kurt Sutter and FX Network. I chose to study this topic since I am an avid viewer of this series and the topic of media representation of gang violence interests me. There seems to be a disparity in the way gang crime is portrayed on news outlets depending on the race of the group and I wanted to find out if that disparity would be similar in Sons of Anarchy. For example, do crimes by black groups fac e criticism than those by white groups or is the reaction equal without regard to racial factors. I already knew from watching the show and following Kurt Sutter’s personal blog that the series has come under-fire before for using race and violence as a shock-factor instead of using it for plot progression. Kurt Sutter is known for his use of profane language and defending his show from critics by decreeing that they do not understand the concepts. For example, in a recent post he wrote about a contest in which he and the cast would visit the  winners hometown, â€Å"We will come†¦basically disrupt your neighborhood and piss off all your neighbors. Fuck those neighbors, I hate those shitheads anyhow.† (Sutter, â€Å"Season 6†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) He seems to have no care for the hatred his words incite. Other than his hatred of neighbors he has had to defend himself before because of his use of race in the show. During season four of the show one of the members of Sons of Anarchy named Juice was threatened by the police with the race he was born. The sheriff, a middle-aged black male, had found out that he had actually been born with a black father and threatened to tell the Sons of Anarchy that he was not the latino label he had been hiding behind his whole life. After three seasons it surprised me the Sons of Anarchy seemed to have this new rule about not allowing blacks into the gang but latinos were fine to join. This disturbed me a little because the gang had no problems working with black gangs in the past and there did not seem to be any racial tension besides the racial slurs thrown around by all the gangs. There seemed to be no major race-based violence within Sons of Anarchy until this plot point was brought up. Sutter challenged the outcry to this plot point by saying, â€Å"It was one of those odd, historical barriers that i’ve wanted to explore. The depth and weight of this rule varies from club to club and this season we see how it’s handled by the Sons of Anarchy†.(Sutter, â€Å"BLACK†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) For the sake of authenticity he felt that this must be included because â€Å"they [motorcycle clubs] function within a  structure that is built upon a form of segregation†.(Sutter, â€Å"BLACK†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) How the plot point ended though had me scratching my head wondering if Sutter had missed an opportunity to make a statement about race. In the end Juice admits to the main character Jax, a young white male, that his father is indeed black. Instead of using this opportunity to show how outdated the rule is and that progress can be made against racism no matter how long the rule has been around Sutter decided to have another character again use race to blackmail Juice. I understand the need for authenticity but I felt this scene was just reinforcing to all watching that it is shameful to be black and it can be used as threat. It was a weak way of showing how racism can effect someone after all the build up during the season and concern for his  life. In a matter of one scene it was brushed off, there was no lesson learned nor was there any realism in supposed racist actions of the gang. The ending was neither insightful nor authentic. It just seemed to end without any real conclusion. It had also seemed out of place in the story because during season two the Sons of Anarchy spent the whole season fighting a white supremacist gang. During that season the gang seemed just as disturbed by the ideas of the white supremacist gang as much as their threat to Sons of Anarchy’s control of Charming. It seemed to me that Sutter was using Juice’s race as a shock-factor. This was no surprise to me though as there are many off-hand racist jokes made during the show as well that seem to have little value. For instance, in the pilot one member of the gang makes a remark after finding two hispanic women burned alive, â€Å"Goddamn, fried and refried† Clay says with little remorse. The show plays this racism as a fact of life that the gang cannot escape, control or overcome. It hides behind trying to make the racism humorous like Clays line instead of showing it show racism how it actually exists, ugly and disturbing. After thinking back on Juices plot point, which originally had me interested in studying and discussing this show for my study, I went back to re-watch the first season. I decided to start with the first season because it was Sutter’s first attempt at depicting the gangs and it would not be fresh in my mind since I had not seen it since last summer when I binge-watched all the seasons again. This time instead of just taking in the show for entertainment value I set up some guidelines for my viewing. I decided that I would make a table which would include the three most prominent gangs: Mayans, Sons of Anarchy, and One-niners. Each column would represent one of the gangs and the rows would be the type of crimes committed on the show. Whenever a gang was involved in any crime I would mark down which category it was in and then what response it garnered from the community and the authorities. These groups seemed to me most likely to be unbiased when it came to criminal activity. Neither necessarily should have any stake in the violence besides wanting it to be eradicated. After collecting this information I would have a breakdown of each gang: how many crimes were  committed, how many deaths were caused, were the actions deemed necessary or unwarranted, what kind of police action was taken. Gangon-gang action would be analyzed in the same manner. The information I collected was then compared to see who was responsible for the most crime and which gang had the worst reputation. Assuming all things normal it would be the same gang. This show being less than a normal representation of society as it is a dramatic television series I did not expect to find that the gang with the worst reputation had committed the most crimes. My expectations were the hispanic gang, Mayans, would garner the worst reputation while the Sons of Anarchy committed the most crime. These expectations came from my previous knowledge of the show and the  vague feeling that the show might be a little more distasteful towards hispanics since it was set in California where race issues abound with the immigration of hispanics across the border. After watching the first season over these were the figures for each of the gangs. The figures ended up being somewhat similar to what was expected but I was surprised by the amount of crimes that Sons of Anarchy had in the â€Å"unwarranted† column. When watching the show for pure entertainment the communities response seems heavily in favor of the crimes. The data tells a different story with only five of the thirty-five crimes committed being deemed â€Å"necessary†. The crime numbers for Sons of Anarchy may have surprised me but the other gangs fit the profile that I had expected. With thirty murders in just thirteen episodes the show is more  violent than I remember. I attribute this to murders being desensitized throughout the show by dark humorous remarks from characters and no consequences for those committing the crimes. Overall, the Sons of Anarchy committed the most crimes in season one by a long shot with more than both Mayans and One-niners combined. This may have been attributed to them being  the centerpiece of the show. What cannot be explained is the representation of each of these crimes. The Mayans and One-Niners never caught a break from the community and authorities but the Sons of Anarchy did. Five times, after being found guilty of committing the crime, the Sons of Anarchy were represented as just doing what was necessary for Charming. Three of these crimes were murder, while the other two were assault. Such violent crimes without an eyelash batted by the police. One of the assaults was even encouraged by the police who stood by and watched. On the other hand, every crime known about by the community and authorities that the other gangs committed was scrutinized and pursued. These groups never received the blessing of Charming. Even though they committed less crimes than the Sons of Anarchy combined they were seen as the outlaws. I believe this originates from the Sons of Anarchy attempting to brainwash the town by telling them crime is needed to keep worse crime out of the city. The Sons of Anarchy continue to tell the white community they live in that their town needs to be protected from invasion. I believe there is more too it than that though. While watching I also kept tabs on the racial makeup of the town. I could count the amount of black and hispanic people not in a gang on one hand and thats the whole seasons worth of episodes. It seems to me that according to Sons of Anarchy if you are colored then you are a gang member. Even the brutality of the crimes is more dramatized with regards to the other gangs. The crimes  always seem done out of haste and are unplanned. It gives the rival gangs a sense of stupidity that they cannot control their actions or make a plan. In conclusion, it seems that Kurt Sutter seems biased towards the Sons of Anarchy when it comes to representation of crime. They are seen more as a police force by the community than a gang. While they are pursued for various crimes during the season they are never actually charged with anything. Even when all the evidence comes together they end up getting away. This is extraordinarily annoying as it just perpetuates that a crime committed by a white male compared to a black male is any different. There are no repercussions for their actions while the One-Niners are hunted down for drug charges constantly. I believe the FX network and Kurt Sutter could do more to better represent the crime equally. It might be better to actually put one of the Sons of Anarchy behind bars for once. Instead of them continually getting away they could show the real-life struggle of having members constantly going to jail. It would be both more realistic and more equal criminal representation. Kurt Sutter could also spend more time discussing the problems both the Mayans and One-Niners have. It could be a way to combine all three gangs under one banner. I’m sure it would not be too difficult to discuss why those groups may be committing crimes like Sutter does with the Sons of Anarchy. It would add an emotional tie to the characters in those gangs. They could be seen in the same light as the Sons of Anarchy; a group of troubled people with needs and no way they see fit to satisfy them except crime. Right now those minority gangs are just a group of hooligans committing crimes with no motive, no mora ls, no reason. If Kurt Sutter were to make these changes it would add a new dimension to the show and also attract a more diverse audience. My hope is the show takes a more neutral stand as it enters its last season. Sources Sutter, Kurt. â€Å"BLACK AND WHITE OF MC’S.† Sutterlink.blogspot.com. N.p., 24 Sept. 2011. Web. 12 May 2014. ! Sutter, Kurt. â€Å"Season 6 Viewership Challenge.† sutterlink.blogspot.com. N.p., 30 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 May 2014. ! Sutter, Kurt. â€Å"Sons of Anarchy.† Sons of Anarchy, Season One. FX Network. 3 Sept. 2008. Television.