Addiction trends: Internet v casino gambling

Gambling addictions always result from an interaction and interplay between many factors including the person’s biological and/or genetic predisposition, their psychological constitution, their social environment and the nature of the activity itself (Griffiths, 1999). There is no precise frequency level of a gambling game at which people become addicted since addiction will be an integrated mix of factors in which frequency is just one factor in the overall equation. This brief paper attempts to examine whether Internet gambling is problematic, and more importantly, whether Internet gambling is potentially more problematic than casino gambling. To do this it briefly overviews the empirical research on Internet gambling. It also outlines the literature on ‘Internet addiction’ and examines whether Internet gambling is therefore ‘doubly addictive’

Gambling in Great Britain:a response to Rogers

A recent issue of Practice: Social Work in Action featured a paper by Rogers that examined whether the issue of problem gambling was a suitable case for social work. Rogers’ overview was (in various places) out of date, highly selective, contradictory, presented unsupported claims and somewhat misleading. Rogers’ paper is to be commended for putting the issue of problem gambling on the social work agenda. However, social workers need up-to-date information and contextually situated information if they are to make informed decisions in helping problem gamblers

Collecting behavioural addiction treatment data using Freedom of Information requests

There is now a growing movement that views a number of behaviours as potentially addictive including many that do not involve the ingestion of a drug (i.e., behavioural addictions such as gambling addiction and sex addiction). As a consequence of being ‘medicalised’ and ‘pathologised’, such disorders have led individuals to seek treatment for their particular behavioural addiction. This case study examines a new method of collecting data on behavioural addiction treatment via the use of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. More specifically, this case study briefly overviews two published studies that have used FOI requests to collate data on treatment of gambling addiction and sex addiction within the British National Health Service. It is argued that FOI requests for data have many advantages including almost 100% response rates (as organisations are legally required to respond to information requests), and nationally representative data that are highly objective

Excessive Internet use: implications for sexual behavior

The Internet appears to have become an ever-increasing part in many areas of people’s day-to- day lives. One area that deserves further examination surrounds sexual behavior and excessive Internet usage. It has been alleged by some academics that social pathologies are beginning to surface in cyberspace and have been referred to as “technological addictions.” Such research may have implications and insights into sexuality and sexual behavior. Therefore, this article examines the concept of “Internet addiction” in relation to excessive sexual behavior and Internet pornography, as well as examining newer areas of Internet sexuality such as “online relationships” and sexually-related Internet crime (e.g., “cyberstalking”)

Online therapy of addictive behaviors

Clinicians working in the field of addictive behaviors cannot afford to ignore the Internet. Psychological advice, help, and treatment for addicts are no exceptions, with both counseling and psychotherapy entering the computer age. This paper reviews the main issues in the area and approaches the discussion acknowledging that online therapy has to be incorporated within the overall framework of the need for clinical assistance. The paper also provides brief overviews of some websites as illustrative examples of what types of online therapy are available

Internet gambling and social responsibility: an exploratory study

Within the last few years, we have seen a substantial increase in the amount of gambling opportunities offered on the Internet. Many concerns have been raised about the activity, including the potential for excessive gambling, and the lack of safeguards for vulnerable populations such as adolescents and problem gamblers. Given these concerns, a representative selection of 30 U.K.-owned Internet gambling sites were studied to examine what safeguards were in place to encourage social responsibility of Internet gamblers. It was found that very few sites were engaged in socially responsible practice and that much more could be done to protect vulnerable groups. The findings from this study were then used to compile a list of recommendations for good practice among Internet gambling operators

Fearless: Josh Griffiths

Continually a strong voice for the underrepresented on campus, working with other students and faculty to take initiative in changing campus policy and culture toward the LGBTQ community, and serving as a leader in multiple groups and organizations on campus, Josh Griffiths ’14 fearlessly advocates for members of our campus community, making Gettysburg a more open and welcoming space. [excerpt

A Diachronic Analysis of Schwa in French

Since the beginning of the formal study of language, linguists have struggled with the phonological problems posed by the mid-central vowel sound schwa. Schwa poses a series of challenges for linguists who study many languages, and this is particularly true for phonologists and phoneticians who specialize in French. Most of the challenges that come from analyzing the articulations of schwa in French arise from the overlap it has with mid- and open-mid-front-rounded vowels in French such as in the second vowel in the word “atelier” (workshop) and the second vowel in the word “appeler” (to call.) In this study a diachronic (historic) analysis of schwa in the French language is performed in order to more easily explain the problems that schwa poses for Franco-linguists today. First of all, the nature of schwa is described and how schwa’s behavior plays into its role in Modern French. Problems proposed by reduced schwa vowels and the phonological processes that cause these reductions in Modern French are described. Vowel reduction is a phonetic process that occurs when changes in the articulation of the vowel such as stress, sonority, and loudness cause the vowel to be “weaker.” Finally, a diachronic analysis of the historical environments of schwa from Old French to Modern French is conducted in order to attempt to explain the challenges posed by schwa in modern French. The methodology for this paper involves finding the phonetic environments in which schwa has traditionally appeared from Old French to Modern French. Changes in the environments between each time period of French are finally examined to see how those changes have influenced modern phonological processes that influence the articulation of schwa. This study has shown that the disappearance and appearance of sounds in the phonemic inventory of French has greatly impacted how schwa is articulated in Modern French. Other linguistic processes such as labialization that were realized on schwa in the past are no longer realized, but they have proven to be essential in shaping the current vowel inventory of French

Wave Profile for Breakdown Waves with a Large Current Behind the Wave Front

For analytical solution of breakdown waves with a large current behind the wave front, we employ a one-dimensional, steady-state, three-component (electrons, ions, and neutral particles) fluid model. This project involves breakdown waves propagating in the opposite direction of the electric field force on electrons, anti-force waves (return stroke in lightning); and the electron gas partial pressure is considered to provide the driving force for the propagation of the wave. The basic set of equations consists of the equation of conservation of mass flux, equation of conservation of momentum, equation of conservation of energy, plus Poisson’s equation. The waves are considered to have a shock front. In this study, we examine the possibility and validity of large currents measured and reported by few investigators. Existence of a relationship between wave speed and peak current values is investigated as well. Existence of a large current behind the wave front alters the equation of conservation of energy and Poisson’s equation, as well as the shock boundary condition on electron temperature. Considering a current behind the shock front, we have made appropriate modifications in our set of electron fluid dynamical equations. Using the modified set of equations and the shock condition on electron temperature, we have been able to integrate the set of electron fluid dynamical equations for current bearing anti-force waves. For a range of wave speeds and with the largest current possible for a specific wave speed, we present the wave profile for electric field, electron velocity, and the ionization rate within the dynamical transition region of the wave for anti-force waves