Suspecting Pharmaceuticals: The Mooded Labor of Data Review in an Israeli Medical Bureaucracy.

This article expands our understanding of data review by foregrounding the affective labor it entails. Based on 18 months of ethnographic research with Israeli medical bureaucrats, I examine how they transform dubious pharmaceutical trial data into 'trustworthy enough' foundations for policy decisio...

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Publicado en:Social Analysis Vol. 69; no. 4; pp. 49 - 73
Autor principal: Assor, Yael
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Berghahn Books 2025
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Suspecting Pharmaceuticals: The Mooded Labor of Data Review in an Israeli Medical Bureaucracy.
      aug:
        au: Assor, Yael
        affil: Assistant Professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
      su:
        Israel
        Suspicion
        Emotional labor
        Drugs
        Health policy
        Ethnology research
        Clinical trials
        Health services administration
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          Suspicion
          Emotional labor
          Drugs
          Health policy
          Ethnology research
          Clinical trials
          Israel
          Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
          Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing
          Pharmaceuticals and pharmacy supplies merchant wholesalers
          Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Merchant Wholesalers
          Administration of Public Health Programs
          Health services administration
      keyword:
        affective labor
        bureaucracy
        data review
        medical anthropology
        mood
        pharmaceutical companies
        suspicion
        affective labor
        bureaucracy
        data review
        medical anthropology
        mood
        pharmaceutical companies
        suspicion
      ab: This article expands our understanding of data review by foregrounding the affective labor it entails. Based on 18 months of ethnographic research with Israeli medical bureaucrats, I examine how they transform dubious pharmaceutical trial data into 'trustworthy enough' foundations for policy decisions. Preparing files for Israel's universal healthcare program, bureaucrats must rely on clinical trials they deem unreliable. Following this process, I highlight the pivotal role of a deliberately cultivated mood of suspicion. Grounded in phenomenological philosophy, I argue that suspicion is not merely a passive backdrop but an effortful achievement shaping how data is reviewed. This study demonstrates that data review involves not only analytical tasks but also the affective work of entering and sustaining the mooded state necessary for critical engagement.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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