Studies of phenomena such as clinical trials focus on the mechanisms involved in conducting or regulating operations at the global level, or ethical issues concerning the exploitation of individuals at the local level. In Pharmaceutical Research, Democracy and Conspiracy, Edison Bicudo examines the connections between global and local scales. '...a richly detailed description of the contributions made on the local end of global clinical trials ... making the case for asserting democratic control over the incursions of corporations into local medical institutions. ... there is plenty to engage the interest of anyone who enjoys thinking about the ethics of global clinical trials.' Developing World Bioethics, vol. 15, no. 1, 2015 'Based on dozens of interviews with pharmaceutical company representatives, CRO managers, clinical trial recruiters, physicians conducting trials, as well as staff and administrators for drug trial sites... Bicudo draws attention to what he calls mediational actions, which he argues are instrumental to the success of the clinical trials enterprise because they enable the pharmaceutical industry to navigate the translation from the global to the local contexts. ... Perhaps the most interesting section is focused on the privatization of clinical trials that are conducted in state or publicly funded institutions.' Roberto Abadie, Medical Anthropology Quarterly