Regular hours resume Tuesday, April 1. Have a question? Ask a librarian!
Monday, March 31, 2014
SWC Libraries Closed Today
All SWC Libraries are closed Monday, March 31, in observance of Cesar Chavez Day.
Regular hours resume Tuesday, April 1. Have a question? Ask a librarian!
Regular hours resume Tuesday, April 1. Have a question? Ask a librarian!
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Check It Out
Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients
Ben Goldacre
Faber and Faber, 2013
New Book Shelf: call number RM 301.27 G65 2013
Just reviewing this book caused me to lose some faith in my doctor’s ability to prescribe the best medicine for me! Americans can rest a little easier than Goldacre’s British readers since the author is English. This means when he discusses the medical system and regulations placed on the pharmaceutical industry he is referring to those in his country. However, most of the book can be applied to the U.S. pharmaceutical industry.
In the introduction to this work Goldacre (also the author of Bad Science) states, “So, to be clear, this whole book is about meticulously defending every assertion in the paragraph that follows. Drugs are tested by the people who manufacture them, in poorly designed trials, on hopelessly small number of weird, unrepresentative patients, and analysed using techniques which are flawed by design, in such a way that they exaggerate the benefits of treatments.” They may also be tested by universities using grants from the pharmaceutical companies. “Unsurprisingly, these trials tend to produce results that favour the manufacturer. When trials throw up results that companies don’t like, they are perfectly entitled to hide them from doctors and patients, so we only see a distorted picture of any drug’s true effects. Regulators see most of the trial data, but only from early on in a drug’s life, and even then they don’t give this data to doctors and patients, or even to other parts of government. This distorted evidence is then communicated and applied in a distorted fashion.” Academic papers “…are often covertly planned and written by people who work directly for the [drug] companies, without disclosure. Sometimes whole academic journals are even owned outright by one drug company.” In addition, doctors may be receiving payments from pharmaceutical companies.
As one reviewer stated, the conclusions of the author are only as good as the studies he bases his thesis on, however, putting some of his recommendations into action could only improve the situation.
Ben Goldacre
Faber and Faber, 2013
New Book Shelf: call number RM 301.27 G65 2013
Just reviewing this book caused me to lose some faith in my doctor’s ability to prescribe the best medicine for me! Americans can rest a little easier than Goldacre’s British readers since the author is English. This means when he discusses the medical system and regulations placed on the pharmaceutical industry he is referring to those in his country. However, most of the book can be applied to the U.S. pharmaceutical industry.
In the introduction to this work Goldacre (also the author of Bad Science) states, “So, to be clear, this whole book is about meticulously defending every assertion in the paragraph that follows. Drugs are tested by the people who manufacture them, in poorly designed trials, on hopelessly small number of weird, unrepresentative patients, and analysed using techniques which are flawed by design, in such a way that they exaggerate the benefits of treatments.” They may also be tested by universities using grants from the pharmaceutical companies. “Unsurprisingly, these trials tend to produce results that favour the manufacturer. When trials throw up results that companies don’t like, they are perfectly entitled to hide them from doctors and patients, so we only see a distorted picture of any drug’s true effects. Regulators see most of the trial data, but only from early on in a drug’s life, and even then they don’t give this data to doctors and patients, or even to other parts of government. This distorted evidence is then communicated and applied in a distorted fashion.” Academic papers “…are often covertly planned and written by people who work directly for the [drug] companies, without disclosure. Sometimes whole academic journals are even owned outright by one drug company.” In addition, doctors may be receiving payments from pharmaceutical companies.
As one reviewer stated, the conclusions of the author are only as good as the studies he bases his thesis on, however, putting some of his recommendations into action could only improve the situation.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Closed Monday
All SWC Libraries are closed Monday, March 31, in observance of Cesar Chavez Day.
Regular hours resume Tuesday, April 1. Have a question? Ask a librarian!
Regular hours resume Tuesday, April 1. Have a question? Ask a librarian!
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Check It Out
The Liberator : One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau
by Alex Kershaw
Crown, 2012.
New Books Area, Call number: D769.31 157th K47 2012
Books may be checked out for four weeks with your SWC photo ID card.
In the book, The Liberator : One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau, New York Times best-selling author of many popular World War II titles, Alex Kershaw, shares the story of Army Officer Felix Sparks’ experiences on the battlefields in Germany. Through narrative form, Kershaw uses interviews with Sparks, as well letters from Sparks and his regiment, to depict the horrific yet inspiring story of perseverance, as these soldiers moved from battlefield to battlefield, and ultimately to the liberation of the concentration camp at Dachau in Bavaria.
Review by Tanya Carr, SWC Librarian
by Alex Kershaw
Crown, 2012.
New Books Area, Call number: D769.31 157th K47 2012
Books may be checked out for four weeks with your SWC photo ID card.
In the book, The Liberator : One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau, New York Times best-selling author of many popular World War II titles, Alex Kershaw, shares the story of Army Officer Felix Sparks’ experiences on the battlefields in Germany. Through narrative form, Kershaw uses interviews with Sparks, as well letters from Sparks and his regiment, to depict the horrific yet inspiring story of perseverance, as these soldiers moved from battlefield to battlefield, and ultimately to the liberation of the concentration camp at Dachau in Bavaria.
Review by Tanya Carr, SWC Librarian
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
WoW! Week of Workshops Continues
Lexis-Nexis Academic -- free workshop today!
Come to the library classroom (L244) at 11 am for a one-hour workshop about Lexis-Nexis Academic, a database that is available for free to you as a SWC student.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Free Workshop Today
EBSCOhost Databases
Join us for a free workshop today in the library classroom (L244) at 11 am - 12 pm. Learn about EBSCOhost databases, one of the unique resources that is available to you as a SWC student.
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