Culture and the Learning and Cognitive Development of Children with Severe Disabilities—Continuities and Discontinuities with Children without Disabilities

The dominant approach to children with disabilities is grounded in a biomedical model that assumes a direct relationship between the biological defect and the disability. From a cultural-historical point of view, this approach fails to notice how a child with a biological defect has to act in social institutions adapted to typical children. The aim of this article is to show how impairments arise from a developmental dynamic that includes both neurobiological and social conditions. Through empirical examples, the participation of children with severe disabilities is analyzed in relation to different practices and how they afford and develop particular cognitive activities, creating developmental possibilities or constraints that feed back on the child's learning. Distinguishing the different perspectives of children and professional adults increases our awareness of how conflicts between the participants' motives affect both participation and developmental conditions in practice. It is concluded that the learning problems of children with severe neurobiological impairments must be understood in terms of their social moderation and mediation.     

Stigma and problem gambling: current knowledge and future research directions

Stigma has been identified as a major barrier to help-seeking, treatment and recovery from gambling problems. However, little research has attempted to examine in any depth the causes, characteristics and consequences of stigma in relation to people experiencing gambling problems. The effects of stigma on people experiencing gambling problems, although not directly examined, are apparent through low rates of problem disclosure and treatment-seeking. In this paper, we aim to inform research into stigma associated with problem gambling by highlighting gaps in existing research and by providing direction for future research. The contribution of this paper is that for the first time stigma and problem gambling are drawn together and reviewed using broad constructs and literature from a range of seminal and new sources to present a synthesis of new and important information on stigma. In regard to problem gambling, the dimensions of stigma, except for origin, have yet to be investigated, as well as the processes of stigma creation, the characteristics of public and felt stigma, and coping strategies used to manage stigma. The practical implications of this review are summarized in a framework provided to inform future research into stigma related to problem gambling.     

Revision required: Reconciling New Zealand citizenship with Māori nationalisms

Governments in settler societies conventionally have regarded the incorporation of indigenous peoples into the equal rights of citizenship as an appropriate response to indigenous calls for justice. Yet, the state nation-building agendas behind citizenship sit in tension with indigenous nationalisms, which reflect an alternative form of nation-building not framed by the state. This article first identifies four major ‘citizenship regimes’ in New Zealand's history, noting that symbolic recognition of Māori nationalisms has been made without addressing the fundamental conflation of ‘nation’ and ‘state’. It then explores possible directions for revisioning New Zealand citizenship to overcome these historical limitations.     

Analysis of EGM licensing decisions by the gambling regulator,Victoria, Australia

Gambling expansion is commonly justified in public discourse by claims of community benefit, increased employment and capital investment. Compared to other jurisdictions, the Electronic Gambling Machine (EGM) license process in Victoria, Australia, is relatively transparent and amenable to analysis. This article describes research that assessed factors relevant to EGM license decisions made by Victoria’s gambling regulator between 2007 and 2014. During the period under review, the regulator granted 144 of 154 applications, finding that approving these applications would not be detrimental to relevant communities. Most commonly cited factors supporting approvals were commitments to undertake capital works, contribute to community purposes and increase employment. The regulator overwhelmingly agreed that supportive factors would balance harms, such as problem gambling, high levels of expenditure or socio-economic disadvantage. This research demonstrates the difficulty of balancing apparently quantifiable benefits against less readily measurable gambling-related harms in regulatory decision-making. The study found that harms were poorly conceived and understood inadequately and supportive factors frequently overstated. This process may lead to unnecessarily high levels of community harm, contradicting the purposes of the relevant legislation. The article suggests that better, more consistently applied principles are required to ensure the more rigorous scrutiny of supportive factors and improved understanding of gambling harms.     

La dimension économique de la législation protectrice de l'emploi,y compris sous ses modalités différentes: analyse sur un panel de 117 pays, 1990–2013

Les auteurs replacent l'évolution de la législation protectrice de l'emploi (y compris de durée déterminée, intérimaire et à temps partiel) dans une perspective économique en utilisant un indice de la rigueur de la réglementation établi par le Centre for Business Research de l'Université de Cambridge pour 117 pays (1970–2013). L'analyse économétrique repose sur des méthodes pour données de panel non stationnaires. Elle fait apparaître un renforcement de la protection, associé à une hausse de la part salariale dans le revenu national, une progression des taux d'activité et d'emploi et une baisse du chômage, des relations qui restent faibles cependant au regard de la tendance économique globale.     

Withdrawal and Tolerance Phenomenon in Problem Gambling

The phenomenological similarities between gambling and substance dependence have led to the conceptualization of pathological gambling as an addictive disorder. Tolerance and withdrawal are important features of both disorders, suggesting commonalities in the neurobiological processes associated with neuroadaptational underpinnings. However, there are few empirical studies supporting the presence of tolerance and withdrawal reported in the gambling literature. Moreover, there are no studies comparing the equivalence of tolerance and withdrawal between gambling and alcohol dependence. This study compared tolerance and withdrawal features in samples of gamblers, alcoholics and gamblers who also met criteria for alcohol dependence. In contrast to the addiction model, findings indicate that, while a majority of participants increased bet size, the motivation to do so was not for excitement or to maintain arousal levels as indicated by the DSM-IV-TR but because of cognitive factors related to winning. Results supported the notion that pathological gamblers experienced similar levels of withdrawal symptom severity as alcohol-dependent participants. Further research is needed to evaluate whether those symptoms result from the inability to gamble or from the loss of an avoidant stress coping strategy.