Measuring the Prevalence of Sector-Specific Problem Gambling: A Study of Casino Patrons

This study is the first attempt to measure the prevalence of problem gambling attributable to a specific sector of the gambling industry. One thousand, one hundred and five casino patrons in 40 casinos in the UK were interviewed, face-to-face. Respondents were screened for problem gambling using a multiple response version of DSM-IV (DSM-IV-MR). The study found support for Eadington's (1988) hypothesis, that UK casinos could be largely sustained by regular players, among whom the prevalence of problem gambling is high. The study also found support for the hypothesis that, to the extent different gambling sectors are patronised by demographically different client groups, so the problem gamblers associated with them will reflect these client groups. The problem gamblers among the regular casino patrons were demographically distinct from the problem gamblers in the sample who showed a preference for other gambling forms. Other key findings support those found in other jurisdictions. Sector-specific prevalence studies may be the next step forward in epidemiological research on problem gambling. They have the major advantage of netting significantly more problem gamblers from much smaller samples than similar studies in the general population. They also have the potential to reveal the proportion of problem gamblers attributable to each sector, along with their demographic characteristics. Such information would result in more specific information being available for regulators seeking to minimise the social impact of problem gambling and those involved in the development of prevention and treatment strategies.     

A teaching model for work practice in occupational therapy

Given the global changes in how work is conceptualized, organized and performed [8], it is critical that graduating occupational therapists have an up-to-date knowledge of work and work practice. This article briefly explores the relative dearth of work practice courses in current occupational therapy curricula and presents the rationale for developing a model for teaching and learning about occupational therapy work practice. It introduces a client-centered and occupation-focused model developed for an undergraduate work practice course and describes the use of the model in a specific course. The model identifies eight common work-related areas of concern - values clarification, vocational exploration, vocational choice, job search, starting work, maintaining work, returning to work and leaving work. Occupational Therapy tools, techniques and programs which may be useful in addressing these concerns; and the environmental factors that influence therapist and client in addressing work issues are also part of the model. The article concludes with examples of topics and issues which could be explored using this teaching and learning model.     

Enhancing parental power and flexibility in the transition from welfare to work

Recent welfare reforms in the United States shifted the emphasis from income maintenance to preparation for employment. Many families receiving welfare benefits have members with disabilities, which can complicate the process of transition into the workforce. Rehabilitation professionals have a unique set of skills, expertise and experiences which could enhance work transition outcomes for welfare recipients. This purpose of this article is to (a) familiarize rehabilitation professionals with welfare reform changes in the United States, (b) summarize the experiences of families affected by those changes who participated in a recent study, and (c) present a service delivery model to enhance parental power and flexibility based on rehabilitation principles.     

The Tyranny of the Customer and the Cost of Consumerism: An Analysis Using Systems and Psychoanalytic Approaches to Groups and Society

This paper argues that an organizationaldiscourse on consumerism is replacing a prior discourseof dependency. This discourse encourages, and isencouraged by, economic rationales for behavior and ismarked by the collapse of many complex societal rolesinto the simpler category of customer.Moreover, practices emergent from consumerism andeconomic rationalism often act as organizational andsocial defences against anxieties about theuncertainties and changes occurring in a worldincreasingly dominated by global markets where thecustomer is sovereign. Six workinghypotheses are proposed to explain the operation of these new socialdefences. Evidence in support of these hypotheses comesfrom collaborative action research projects in which theauthor is involved. The argument moves toward a consideration of the new consumerprovider pair which, it is proposed, has becomea major signifier within the consumer discourse andwhich might be considered as a transitional pair indealing with widespread organizationalchange.     

Readiness for Career Choices: Planning,Exploring, and Deciding

One of Super's most important contributions has been in explicating those developmental tasks that involve planning, exploring, and deciding, processes known collectively as readiness for career choices. The authors review existing means of conceptualizing and operationalizing the various aspects of readiness, as well as innovative practice applications that have emerged from this work. Next, selected elaborations and extensions of the readiness construct are described. Finally, future directions for theory and research on readiness are presented with a particular emphasis on the promise of considering contextual issues, motivational factors, and an expanded measurement perspective in subsequent inquiry and practice.     

The stigmatization of smokers: an empirical investigation

This study examines the social stigmatization of tobacco smokers, i.e., the extent to which smokers are seen as discredited persons. A representative sample of residents of a major Canadian city was interviewed. Clear evidence of an unfavorable stereotype of smokers was found. The ex-smoker enjoys a positive image, but one which is slightly less favorable than that of someone who has never smoked. A majority of non-smoking respondents preferred non-smokers in roles in which the role incumbents were likely to be in close proximity. Friendship networks and marital relationships tended to be segregated along lines of smoking behavior. Sociodemographic and attitudinal correlates of anti-smoker attitudes are explored. The implications of stigmatization for changing smokers' behavior are examined.     

Use of maternal health services in rural China

We use data from the nationally representative 1997 Demographic and Reproductive Health Survey to examine use of maternity services in rural China. The data indicate that roughly 60 per cent of women had at least one prenatal visit, while 40 per cent had a professionally assisted birth over the period 1988-97. Despite China's shift from a more socialist to a more privatized health care system, use of maternity services increased over this period. These increases are consistent with the push toward integration of reproductive health into family planning that emerged after the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development and the 1995 Fourth World Women's Conference held in Beijing. At the same time, we find indirect evidence that the target-based population policy may well have exerted downward pressure on use of maternity services; differences by parity are marked and multilevel models predicting use of maternity services indicate underdispersion at the individual level.     

Beyond termination: length of stay and predictors of permanency for legally free children

Despite growing awareness of the complex needs of legally free children in child welfare care, relatively little empirical investigation has been done of these children and their experiences. This article reports the results of a study of length of stay and predictors of permanency in a sample of 1,366 legally free children in state custody in Washington state. A Cox proportional-hazards event history model was developed to explore the effects of gender, race, and ethnicity, and age at initial placement, on the likelihood of achieving legalized adoption or guardianship. Results indicate that older children, boys, and African American children were all significantly less likely to achieve a permanent outcome than were Caucasian children. Hispanic children, in the other hand, were significantly more likely to achieve a permanent outcome. The implications of these findings for permanency planning practice and policy development are discussed.     

Physical exercise and improvements in mental health

1. Walking groups provide activity and support for their members. 2. Exercise competes with anxiety and depression and may diminish these negative affects. 3. Most YMCAs provide financial aid by reducing fees for people with disabilities.