Editorial

Published date01 March 2008
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/13619322200800001
Pages2-3
Date01 March 2008
AuthorIan Shaw
Subject MatterHealth & social care
Editorial
topical issue of ’otherness’ and its relationship
to pharmaceutical advertising. This paper
problematises the way in which the patient is
portrayed in pharmacological advertising to doctors
and contains an interesting analysis of the images
and textual messages in such averts. It argues that
the adverts can portray people with mental health
problems as ’others’ in order to sell product. This
may say more about their construction of the
doctor-patient relationship than about their
advertising techniques.
Pooria Sarrami Foroushani argues in his paper that
lay people might disagree with the ’formal’ knowledge
of medicine produced in medical schools. He argues
that the internet has provided a new opportunity for
people to present their ideas and show their protest. He
uses attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to
illustrate the issues. This is a relatively new concept, and
since its introduction in recent decades it has always
been a controversial topic. He argues that many people
are presenting their points of view regarding ADHD on
the web, and that these are different from the ’formal’
concept of the medical model. The main themes in
this regard include accepting the difference of ADHD
patients, and the necessity of application of the label
and drugs. There are scientific articles,personal and
organisational web pages, group discussions,blogs and
news pages regarding these topics. In this article,by
exploring a sample of ADHD-related materials found
by Google, Foroushani explores the situation of the
current ’formal’ knowledge of ADHD as well as
different ideas and variations that could exist in this
field. He then evaluates the effects that these different
voices could have on ’formal’ knowledge before
discussing the role of the internet in the future of
health and medicine.
The final paper in this issue by Simon Lawton-
Smith is concerned with ’practice’ issues in mental
health, in particular possible problems in the use of
supervised community treatment in England and
Wales. The Mental Health Act 2007 introduces
compulsory supervised community treatment
in England and Wales. This paper outlines the
proposals for supervised community treatment
and explores how patients may be affected by these
new powers. The argument is that these are likely
to be used sparingly at first but will build over
time. The paper explores the contextual and
practical issues that will inform the increasing
use of these powers.
This issue marks my first opportunity to take the
role of lead editor. As you will see, I invited some
key contributions in the policy area that I find of
interest in my own work in order to provide this
issue with a distinctive flavour. In particular I am
interested in the sociology and politics around
’emotion’. Adam Smith, David Hulme and other
philosophers of the enlightenment were fascinated
by emotions and considered them to be vital to an
understanding of social and individual existence.
Adam Smith, one of the founders of ’rational
economics’, wrote that ’emotions were the thread
that wove together the fabric of society’ (Smith,
1759). Smith did not see rationality and emotion as
enemies, but rather that both were necessary to an
understanding of society and people. What is more,
emotionality was seen as rational and Smith argued
that no science of the mind could be complete
without also addressing the heart (Smith, 1759).
The key issue was to understand emotion by
experiencing it and savouring it, and allowing emotion
to inform personal and therefore societal development.
For the philosophers of the enlightenment emotion
could be cathartic and healing and developmental.
Since Smith there have of course been many theories
of emotion, including seeing emotions as a threat to
rationality.Indeed some ’technologies of emotion’ are
based upon particular theories of emotionality.Some
technologies and disciplines have vested interests in
adopting one model or pathologising aspects of
emotion rather than normalising it (Evans, 2001).The
extent to which this occurs is of great interest,as are the
ways in which emotion can be explored in a political,
social and spiritual sense. These are the concerns of
the papers by Ian Shaw, in his ’Focus on’ piece on
the relationship between consumerism, religion and
unhappiness. Here,the extent to which unhappiness
is ’constructed’ and brought about by the nature of
western society is the central concern of the paper.
The interpretation of emotion and its politicisation is
the concern of the papers by Elio Frattaroli and Vanessa
Pupavac in their analyses of American society’s
experience of 9/11 and the American government’s
response to it.
Frattaroli reflects upon Shakespeare’s Hamlet to
bring lessons to her analysis. Pupavac reflects upon
this in her paper and you will see that both authors
have interesting and different views on this.
The Research section of this issue also follows a
sociological theme. Ian Shaw’s paper explores the
Mental Health Review Journal Volume 13 Issue 1 March 2008 © Pavilion Journals (Brighton) Ltd
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