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The article presents the discussion on COVID-19 global pandemic dealing with the social and economic fallout. Topics include discrimination and harassment where people associated with the new disease being subjected; proliferating in US jails and prisons as well as among farmworkers and workers at meat-processing plants; and sparking intense expressions of racism and blame echoing attacks on gay men and Haitian immigrants.

Political mobilization by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints against ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was more widespread and important than most studies of the episode have acknowledged. Several decades later, the Church is again organized and active in opposing legal recognition of same-sex marriage. In this article, we explore why and how the Latter-Day Saints mobilized on these two issues. We argue that their mobilization can be understood through classic social movement theory, even though the Church is not an economic-based interest group. Furthermore, the Mormons' approach in fighting the ERA — drawing on centralized authority, tapping into established volunteer and communications networks, effectively channeling money and personnel to where they are most needed, and engaging in stealth politics (obscuring the centralized nature of apparently spontaneous action) — is echoed in the fight against same-sex marriage, even though the times and technology have somewhat changed the mobilization dynamic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an essay which looks at the 1984 novel "The Wall of the Plague," by André Brink, focusing on how plagues from Western civilization are used as an allegory for the national apartheid of South Africa. Examples of plague literature are discussed, including "Decameron," by Giovanni Boccaccio, "A Journal of the Plague Year," by Daniel Defoe, and "Theater and the Plague," by Antonin Artaud.

The article explores the causes behind the repeated failure of attempts to combat racial profiling of African American males by law enforcement officers and public opinion of police in minority communities. Research and historical evidences of a perpetual racist attitude intrinsic in law enforcers is presented from the 1960s as well as from the present. The author explores the philosophical perspective of behavioral psychologist Ivan Pavlov and the implications of deeply rooted cultural outlooks and their persistence despite superficial procedural guidelines.

The worldwide HIV/AIDS epidemic has generated intense criticism of pharmaceutical drug prices, a natural consequence of the industry's unique cost structure. Many people have proposed that the industry adopt what might be called a stakeholder model in place of the traditional profit-driven model. However, the rapid drop in HIV drug prices, combined with generic entry and de facto abandonment of patent rights, has revealed the extremely limited role of drug prices and access in the face of fundamental problems in infrastructure, prevention, and other essential elements in battling HIV/AIDS. Adoption of a stakeholder approach is likely to undermine essential research and development while doing little to curtail the HIV/AIDS epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how adoption of the social dimensions of the marketing concept may unintentionally restrict innovation and corporate entrepreneurship, ultimately reducing social welfare. The impact of social marketing on innovation and entrepreneurship is discussed using the case of multinational pharmaceutical firms that are under pressure when marketing HIV treatments in poor countries. The argument this paper supports is that social welfare may eventually be diminished if forced social responsibility is imposed. The case of providing subsidized AIDS medication to less developed nations is used to illustrate how social blackmail may result in less innovation, entrepreneurship, and product development efforts by the pharmaceutical industry, ultimately reducing social welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a muticultural critical analysis of HIV and AIDS. Model used in implementing national HIV/AIDS prevention and education efforts; Views of Susan Sontag on illness; Limitation of a coalitional/communitarian approach to HIV/AIDS.