A commendable, galvanizing, cautionary plea for increased consumer awareness that should inspire food-driven dialogue and...
A motivational text addresses how certain foods become addictive and problematic.
In his book, international marketing authority and scholar Graham (International Marketing: 17th Edition, 2015, etc.) holds the often deceptive marketing initiatives for certain addictive foods he calls “spices” (“that is, something you don’t need”) directly responsible for their rampant misuse, overreliance, and overconsumption. “Government regulation of these spices is a hodgepodge of path-dependent political decision making that yields destructive consequences for the public health and society in general,” he implores. Urgent in tone, Graham’s guidebook targets a highly addictive grouping of “psychoactive substances” that contain the kind of alluring “hedonic compounds” necessary to ensnare an unknowing public into not only buying them, but also becoming reliant on them to enjoy everyday life. He begins with a declarative chapter on the nature and the machinations of today’s aggressive marketing industry and how it attracts human consumption, causes repetitive consumer purchases, and, with the promotion of cleverly bioengineered chemical compounds, entertains “our brains.” The bulk of his book lies in the dissection of key addictive ingestibles, like salt, sugar, chocolate, caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol, and their deleterious effects. But potent, controlled drugs like cocaine, marijuana, and opium are also skewered by the outspoken, authoritative author who spares no fact or opinion during his discussion of each. In an impassioned introduction, Graham first writes about his own experience with these consumables. The worst of the lot is perhaps alcohol, which the author notes “nearly killed me as a teenager. Thrice.” Graphs, charts, and sound evidentiary and referential research bolster already worrisome statistics on things like salt intake, sugar, caffeine, and nicotine consumption and compulsion, and their myriad health consequences. He further denounces the marketers, companies, campaigns, and their manipulations of these key ingredients in a particularly conclusive and damning closing section. Graham’s provocative, impeccably researched, and informative book makes powerful declarative statements about the nature of food addictions and the many components that make up how and why people consume what they do. But because Graham is a marketing guru and not a medical professional, his claims and advice for change should be taken in moderation and further investigated by readers and advocates desiring the definitive answers tailored to their own physical conditions.
A commendable, galvanizing, cautionary plea for increased consumer awareness that should inspire food-driven dialogue and proactive discussion.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5372-8059-2
Page Count: 382
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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