Nevada gaming: revenues and taxes (1945-95)

In 1931, Nevada legalized casino gambling, an act which allowed its gaming industry to develop. Because many jurisdictions outside Nevada are now embracing legalized gambling as a path to a brighter economic future and because this proliferation presents Nevada with new challenges and opportunities, it is a good time to review the Nevada experience. Here, the focus is on gaming revenues and gaming tax collections during the 1945–95 period. We find that the growth rate of Nevada's gaming industry has slowed over time, with the relative importance of gaming in the Nevada economy peaking in the late 1970's. The Nevada economy has since been gradually diversifying, something which will increasingly pressure Nevadans to look for government revenue sources other than gaming if current levels of government services are to be maintained.     

"How much do you spend gambling?" ambiguities in survey questionnaire items

The validity of a survey's findings is dependent upon the clarity and lack of ambiguity contained in each individual item yet minimal attention has been directed to this issue in most prevalence studies. Researchers have shown a tendency to accept the uncritical assumption that respondents interpret seemingly simple and straightforward items such as 'how much do you spend gambling?' in a consistent manner. No attempt is made to confirm the uniformity of responses by clarifying the mathematical formulae used by respondents to derive their answers. The purpose of this paper was to examine the consistency shown by a sample of 181 medical undergraduate subjects in estimating the level of gambling expenditure in a series of five case vignettes describing various scenarios of wins and losses during a session of gambling. Results revealed a wide variation in calculated figures depending upon whether or not subjects interpreted the item to mean net expenditure or turnover. Only two thirds or less of subjects calculated the figure to be the difference between the initial amount risked and the residual at the conclusion of the session. It is suggested that more attention be paid in prevalence and clinical studies to providing subjects with clear instructions on how to calculate expenditure estimates.     

Chinese Communist Party Central Committee calls on Party and Youth League members to take the lead in having only one child (per couple), [open letter,September 25, 1980

This open letter from the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party concerns the question of controlling China's population growth. To limit the total population of China to 1.2 billion by the end of this century, the State Council has advocated 1 couple giving birth to only 1 child. China's total population will reach 1.3 billion after 20 years and will exceed 1.5 billion after 40 years. Besides the family needing to increase the cost of upbringing, increasing population also requires the state, in order to solve their education, employment, and otheer problem, to raise education expenditures, investments of equipment, and outlays for social and public utilities. The phenomenon of population "aging" will not occur within this century because at present 1/2 of the total national population is below the age of 21, while elderly people above age 65 consist of less than 5%. After 40 years of the practice of 1 child per couple, some families may experience the problem where the elderly lack people to care for them. In the future when production is developed and the people's lives are improved, social welfare and social security will certainly increase and improve continuously. To control population growth, the Party and government have already adopted a series of concrete policies; considerations and allowances are to be given to single children and their families with respect to admission to childcare centers and primar schools. Young comrades must begin with themselves, while old comrades must educate and supervise their own sons and daughters.     

Child and spouse replacement mechanisms: a life cycle perspective on family composition in Peru

The author assesses the patterns of family extension in Peru by examining variations in family composition over the family life cycle. The amount and type of extension among Peruvian families at successive stages of family development are examined. The relative importance of general overlap and of child and spouse replacement mechanisms as processes that help to ensure the viability of residential family units is studied. The empirical analysis is based on a 1970-1971 survey of a national sample of Peruvian households     

Changing patterns of wage labor migration in the Kilenge area of Papua New Guinea

Using data obtained from a village census completed in 1977, the authors examine the importance of economic and social factors in migration decisions in the village of Ongaia, Papua New Guinea. The effects on migration of opportunities at place of destination, pressures in place of origin, and connections between town and village are investigated; motivations for return migration are discussed     

Perceived morbidity, utilisation of health services and factors affecting it in a rural area

A survey of perceived morbidity was carried out in rural population in eight villages and four wards of Saoner town, covering a total population of 8,876. The nature of illness was assessed by weekly visits to the families. History regarding treatment taken for disease and its source was taken. The overall incidence of perceived morbidity was 176.35 spells of sickness per 1000 population per month. Health care agency was contacted for 36.7 per cent spells of sickness. Utilisation of health services was found to be affected significantly by factors like age (chi 2 = 138.36), literacy (chi 2 = 14.123), type of occupation (chi 2 = 433.74), nature of illness (chi 2 = 83.578) and accessibility of health services. A health behaviour model of the population has also been discussed in this paper.     

新的产业革命

微电子工业方面的非凡进展触发了一场"第二次产业革命".在这场革命中,新技术将使原来由人力操作的工种自动化.这种自动化看来会提高生产率,但将威胁大量的就业机会.当国家科学院的一个委员会声称,"现代的电子工业已经宣告了一场第二次的产业革命……它对社会的影响甚至比原来的产业革命更大",这时候就该引起我们迫切重视了.因为科学院的各个委员会向来是不夸大事实的.并不是唯独科学院指出了电子工业技术的最新进展是势不可挡的社会变革的先驱.在过