A touch of luck and a “real taste of Vegas”: a sensory ethnography of the Montreal Casino

ABSTRACT

In recent years, there has been an explosion of “experiential design” in casinos, driven in part by research suggesting that curating gambling sensescapes can lure patrons to spend more time – and money – inside the casino. Building on the promise of existing casino ethnographies, this paper argues that a sensory ethnographic approach to the study of gambling environments can offer valuable insight into the experiential design and mood management of the casino. We use sensory ethnography to explore the ambiance of the Montreal Casino, particularly during the casino’s “Vegas Nights” promotion. How does the casino feel (and how does it touch back)? What rhythms flow through its neon labyrinth? What does “getting a real taste of Vegas,” well … taste like? Moreover, we position this ambiance at the center of the casino’s “push-and-pull” approach to problem gambling – where this government-affiliated sensory extravaganza must toe a tenuous line between attraction and responsibilisation. In addition, we examine how the ambiance of the casino is co-produced by patrons and employees. Ultimately, we argue that the casino floor is unlike a sensory research laboratory – for here, sensations mix and mingle, and it takes a sensory ethnographer to quite literally “make sense” of the casino ambiance and its impact on visitor experience.     

Coaching von F��hrungskr?ften in Change Management Prozessen

In times of change Executives often face unexpected and conflicting challenges that require special effort to be reconciled. On the one hand, Top Management continues to raise performance demands on them. On the other hand, employees expect from their supervisors clear direction and emotional support. To enhance Executives?? effectiveness in change companies often deploy Executive Coaching to provide cadre with methodological support in designing and leading corporate transformation. This is based on the fact that change will be more sustainable if solutions are developed in a participative way by members of the organization themselves. Based on an analysis of leadership challenges in times of change the paper outlines critical competences that help to successfully manage volatility, and presents a proven framework for Executive Change Management Coaching.     

Positive confirmation bias in the acquisition of information

An experiment is reported which tests for positive confirmation bias in a setting in which individuals choose what information to buy, prior to making a decision. The design – an adaptation of Wason's selection task – reveals the use that subjects make of information after buying it. Strong evidence of positive confirmation bias, in both information acquisition and information use, is found; and this bias is found to be robust to experience. It is suggested that the bias results from a pattern of reasoning which, although producing sub-optimal decisions, is internally coherent and which is self-reinforcing.     

The Other Le Grand? Evaluating the 'Other Invisible Hand' in Welfare Services in England

Competition and choice have become central means of improving public services in England. The former adviser to the Blair government Julian Le Grand has suggested that increased choice and competition should be the cornerstone of policy that aims to deliver more responsive and fairer results for the public. This article explores Le Grand's claims, deploying the conditions earlier suggested by him to examine the conditions which 'quasi-markets will have to meet if they are to succeed as instruments of social policy'. Claims about the efficacy of choice and competition policies in 2007 are assessed against the earlier conditions of market structure, information, transaction costs, uncertainty, motivation and cream-skimming, to examine the extent to which the reforms Le Grand has most recently proposed meet the conditions he earlier suggested would be necessary for markets to work in the public sector.     

Elwood Buffa's Pioneering Contributions to Production and Operations Management

Elwood Spencer Buffa, a pioneer in production and operations management (P/OM), passed away in the summer of 2005, leaving his legacy behind. During his academic career Buffa made lasting contributions to teaching and research of P/OM. We review those contributions and their impact on the evolution of the P/OM discipline.     

Telling it like it was. Audio-taping stories told by mental health service users and carers

This paper begins by claiming that the telling and hearing of stories is intrinsic to the social work task. Examples of the value of hearing stories in a variety of social work roles are provided, as are examples of the theoretical underpinnings which substantiate the importance of enabling service users and carers to tell their stories. The main focus of the paper is on relating how audio-taping the experiences of service users and carers evolved as part of the author's work. With the permission of those interviewed, examples are quoted from accounts of three different family members attempting to deal with a relative's progressive deterioration into severe dementia. These accounts are followed by the memories of a woman who took an overdose and was subsequently ‘ectioned’ under The Mental Health Act 1983. An interview with two parents attempting to respond to the needs of their schizophrenic son is discussed. Some of the unexpected positive repercussions of recording interviews with these service users are described and some cautions are also highlighted. The paper concludes with suggestions of how audio-taping the stories of service users can be used to benefit social workers engaged in various aspects of social work today.     

Affective reactions influence investment decisions: evidence from a laboratory experiment with taxation

We experimentally investigate the effect of taxation of gains and losses on investment behavior. Based on the insights of economic research and psychological concepts, we expect subjects to react to taxation with behavioral and affective changes. Our main results are threefold: first, we show that taxation on gains and the possibility to deduct losses bias investment behavior, but in different directions. Since net payoffs are identical across all tax scenarios and therefore the same investment behavior is to be expected, these differences are in contrast to what a standard theory would predict. Second, we observe that different tax regulations have different effects on the affective and cognitive perception of our subjects. Third, with respect to possible connections of the affective and cognitive ratings, tax regulations, and investment decisions, we are able to show that arousal and risk perception fail to influence the decision making of participants, while there is a highly significant influence of valence perception on choice patterns.     

On the integration of due date setting and order release control

This paper calls for a paradigm shift in the production control literature away from assuming due date setting and order release are two independent decision levels. When order release is controlled, jobs do not enter the shop floor directly but are retained in a pre-shop pool and released to meet certain performance targets. This makes the setting of accurate planned release dates – the point at which jobs transition from the pool to the shop floor – a key consideration when setting due dates. We develop a new approach to estimating planned release dates to be embedded in the Workload Control (WLC) concept. Our approach is unique as it anticipates the release decision as part of the due date setting procedure. This makes a second independent release decision superfluous and avoids a major cause of tardiness – deviations between (i) the planned release date used when calculating the delivery time allowance and (ii) the actual, realised release date. Simulation is used to compare the performance of WLC using two decision levels with the new single-level approach where the release decision is anticipated when setting the due date. Performance improvements are shown to be robust to uncertainty in processing time estimates.