Social,psychological and physical consequences of pathological gambling in Sweden

Social, psychological and physical consequences of pathological gambling reported by 42 pathological gamblers recruited mainly by advertising were compared with data on 63 pathological gamblers identified by case-finding within districts of probation, in- and out-patient psychiatric care and social welfare authorities. The two studies gave similar results. Financial breakdown, impaired relations with family and friends, and psychological problems occurred in about 50% of the pathological gamblers. Physical consequences were perceived to be of minor significance. Gambling became a solitary behavior as illegal behaviors to finance gambling increased. The pathological gamblers frequently abused alcohol. Despite these signs of social decay the pathological gamblers strove not to be a burden in society.     

Traditional midwifery practice: the limits of occupational autonomy

La théorie sociale classique et contemporaine s'est beaucoup preoccupee de la question de la mobilité occupationnelle. Selon les sociologues fonctionnalistes, la modernisation de la société a entraîné la professionnalisation, laquelle a permis à diverses occupations déjàétablies ou emergentes au sein du secteur des services d'acquérir plus d'autonomie dans l'organisation de leur travail. La tradition critique, par ailleurs, soutient qu'une déprofessionnalisation est en cours, caractérisée par une perte d'autonomie et resultant du plus grand nombre d'emplois tributaires de l'État et des corporations. Cette seconde interprétation caractérise aussi la théorie féministe, qui met l'accent sur la domination masculine d'occupations traditionnellement artisanales et féminines. Ma recherche sur les sage-femmes de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador me permet d'établir un portrait plus précis du degré d'autonomie dont jouissaient les sage-femmes dans des conditions pré-modernes. A ce titre, la thése de la déprofessionnalisation peut aider à comprendre la situation actuelle des sage-femmes, mais elle donne une vue déformée de la situation des sage-femmes du passe-dont les pratiques indépendantes tendent àêtre idéalisées par cette littérature. En effet, bien que libres de tout controle bureaucratique, les sage-femmes traditionnelles etaient bien peu autonomes dans la plupart des aspects de leur travail. The issue of occupational autonomy has been widely debated among classical and modern social theorists. Functionalist sociologists have maintained that professzonatization, a n outcome of modernization, has allowed established and emerging service occupations increasing freedom to organize their work activities. Critical sociologists, by contrast, have argued that employment by state and corporate organizations has involved a loss of autonomy, a deprofessionalization, for service workers, and this perspective has been shared by feminists, who stress the male dominance of traditionally autonomous female craft work. Research on Newfoundland and Labrador midwifery makes it possible to form a better picture of the degree of autonomy midwives actually enjoyed under premodern conditions of practice. While the deprofessionalization thesis may help to illuminate the situation of contemporary midwives in large complex organizations, it gives a misleading view of the lay midwives of the past, whose independent practice this literature tends to glorify. Although free of contemporary forms of bureaucratic control, traditional lay midwives lacked autonomy in most areas of their work.     

Shaping ethics: youth workers matter

The authors propose that youth workers and educators committed to informing and shaping the ethical understandings of young people first need to explore and become aware of their own ethics. This requires front-line staff and caregivers to critically reflect on the impact their day-to-day choices and decisions have on youth. Once they become clearer about their own ethics and the consequences of their decisions, youth workers are then in a position to promote opportunities for youth to make ethical choices. The authors use observations and ideas from their experiences with the Minnesota Youth Work Institute. Their overarching aim is to promote ethical congruence between what is taught, how it is taught, and how it is practiced in daily work with youth.     

Beliefs, death, anxiety, denial, and treatment preferences in end-of-life care: a comparison of social work students, community residents, and medical students

This study examined cultural and religious beliefs, death anxiety, denial, and medical treatment preferences in end-of-life care in a sample of social work students, community residents, and medical students in a mid-western city of 49,000. Results indicated that most social work students, community residents, and medical students preferred palliative as opposed to life-prolonging care during terminal illness. The three groups differed in cultural and religious beliefs and all three reported a moderate amount of death anxiety. Students reported less denial of terminality than community residents. Implications for personal and professional preparation to provide end-of-life care are discussed.     

The Informal ‘Guanxi’ Institutional Culture of the Malaysian Housing Development Industry

There has been limited understanding of the relationship between private developers and the housing delivery mechanism in Malaysia. This paper seeks to bridge the research gap by analysing the social relationships and informal institutions embedded in the Malaysian housing development industry. Empirical data were collected for Kuala Lumpur and Johor to compare and contrast developers’ views and their working relationships with government departments. Informed by various arguments that ‘guanxi’ can reduce transaction costs and supplement/complement the formal legal regime, this paper examines the ways developers are engaged in such transaction cost reduction activities. Policy and theoretical implications of the informal cultural practice in the housing development industry are then drawn out.     

Imagined communities, contested watersheds: Challenges to integrated water resources management in agricultural areas

Integrated water resources management is one of the major bottom-up alternatives that emerged during the 1980s in North America as part of the trend towards more holistic and participatory styles of environmental governance. It aims to protect surface and groundwater resources by focusing on the integrated and collaborative management of land and water resources and interests on a watershed basis. In this paper, we draw on the policy network perspective on governance to shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of watershed-based processes of collaboration and integration for water quality protection in agricultural areas. The policy network perspective focuses on the interaction of actors, institutions and ideas within and among policy sectors to capture the intricacies of the policy process in increasingly complex and fragmented societies. Empirically, this study is based on the analysis of agro-environmental strategies for water quality protection in the Province of Ontario over the last 15 years. The contamination of a rural municipal well in Ontario in 2000, with its tragic consequences, translated into an ongoing pluralistic debate and strong attempts to fundamentally change the provincial policy style for addressing drinking water threats, especially agricultural pollution. Based on our analysis, we suggest that meaningful scales for collaboration and integration of land and water resources and interests at the local level, from the point of view of Ontario's agricultural policy network, do not currently include the watershed. We conclude that, instead of forcing watershed-based governance structures, the exploration and examination of more creative and flexible ways of linking watershed imperatives to existing socially and politically meaningful scales in agricultural areas of Ontario and elsewhere is warranted.     

The Correlations of Work Conditions with Unhealthy Lifestyles and Occupational Health Problems of Casino Croupiers in Macau

The Macau economy and employment of residents rely heavily on the gaming industry. It is important that the working conditions in casinos are not harmful to the health of the casino employees. This study examines the correlations between work conditions, unhealthy lifestyles and occupational health problems amongst casino croupiers in Macau. Its findings will provide casino managers and policy makers with evidence and awareness of the workplace health risks for the casino workers. The data were gathered by a questionnaire survey of 1,042 croupiers, which represents roughly 5 % of the croupier population in Macau. Work conditions were measured by worker satisfaction towards the biological, chemical and physical elements in their work environments. Unhealthy lifestyles were measured by practices of excessive drinking, smoking, electronic game playing and addictive substance use as well as gambling. Occupational health problems were measured by experiences of work related illnesses or symptoms. Results showed that high percentages of respondents were dissatisfied with the work conditions. On average each croupier experienced 10 work related health problems in the past 7 days. Over 5 % of the respondents drank more than three glasses of alcohol a day, 24 % smoked cigarettes, 12 % took addictive substances, 14 % gambled in the past 7 days. The analysis showed that dissatisfaction with work conditions did not correlate with unhealthy lifestyles but were strongly and significantly correlated with stress-related occupational health problems (R = 0.377–0.479, P < 0.001) and other occupational health problems (R = 0.348–0.461, P < 0.001). Casino workers in Macau experience a variety of problems associated with their work conditions that can be hazardous to their health. The working conditions in casinos need to be regularly monitored and improvements such as occupational health training and enhanced health related policies can be introduced.     

The myths and politics of housing in Hong Kong: The controversy over the demolition of the Hunghom Estate

This paper explores the post-handover surge of civic activism in Hong Kong by examining the controversy over the demolition of the Hunghom Estate—a government subsidized housing project that was sold to private developers during a recession in early 2004. In a departure from “business as usual,” the high-profile demolition was stopped 10 months later after a series of protests mobilized by environmental activists. This result was widely hailed as a triumph of corporate responsibility and environmental consciousness. By tracing the competing narratives over the course of the controversy, this paper attempts to elucidate this “success” story by revealing the inherent conflicts between different stakeholders, and how these narratives nevertheless share and sustain a number of long-held myths about Hong Kong's economy and housing market. It argues that these myths obscure the ongoing political choices of an interventionist administration, which maintains legitimacy by tightly controlling urban development and securing support from powerful economic actors. By connecting the various claims of the present case with historic discourses of the territory, the paper aims to shed light on the power relations embedded in the development policies that characterized Hong Kong over the colonial period, and which continues to shape the practices of housing in the present.