Gambling Patterns and Problems of Gamblers on Licensed and Unlicensed Sites in France

In 2010 France enacted a law to regulate supply and consumption of online gambling. Its primary aim was to protect citizens from gambling-related harm. This study aims to assess differences in gambling patterns and related harm between online gamblers who use licensed versus unlicensed sites. Participants (N = 3860) completed a self-administered online survey on gambling practices. Pairwise logistic regressions examined the association between the legal statuses of gambling sites people patronized and demographic variables and gambling types. Multivariate logistic regression models explored associations between gambling patterns and related problems according to the legal status of sites people have gambled on. Overall, 53.7 % of online gamblers report gambling exclusively on licensed sites. Those who bet on regulated activities on unlicensed sites, versus licensed sites, are more likely to be female, younger, less educated, inactive in the labor market and are more likely to perceive their financial situation to be difficult. Gambling on unlicensed sites is associated with more intense gambling patterns and more gambling-related problems compared to licensed sites. Findings demonstrate that gambling activities carried out on state licensed sites are associated with less overall harm to gamblers. Implications of these findings on future policy are discussed and prospective research directions are outlined.     

Texting among United States young adults: An exploratory study on texting and its use within families

The current study examines general text messaging tendencies, patterns of and reasons for texting family members, and the impact of texting on familial relationships among a young U.S. adult sample. Participants were recruited through Facebook; they then completed an online questionnaire. Data from 127 young adults (men: 38; women: 87; unidentified: 2) are analyzed and compared by gender. Findings suggest that young adults text at high rates per month. Participants generally report a prompt response to texts and their ability to honestly express feelings within these messages. Results also suggest participants text family members for a variety of reasons, such as to convey information, plan activities, and engage in general conversation. Distinct gender differences, however, are evident regarding who men and women text as well as texting's effects on familial relationships. Overall, these findings expand researchers’ understanding of texting in general and its impact within the family.     

Couples’ Communication About Financial Uncertainty Following the Great Recession and its Association with Stress,Mental Health and Divorce Proneness

Economic uncertainty is typically stressful and conflict-inducing for couples. The findings from the current study, however, suggest that economic uncertainty can also strengthen marriages. The sample included 82 Latino and Caucasian married couples. The couples engaged in a stressful conversation about their economic uncertainty in the wake of the Great Recession. Many of the couples were resilient and even grew from their experiences with the recession. The couples’ resilience and risk when talking about financial uncertainty and stress were revealed in four communicative pathways: unifying, thriving, pragmatic and at-risk. These communicative patterns predicted self-reported and physiological stress, mental health indices and divorce proneness. In general, unified/thriving couples had higher levels of psychological well-being and less self-reported stress, anxiety, and divorce proneness compared to pragmatic and at-risk couples.     

Whatever happened to environmental analysis?

This article discusses a longitudinal study of firms selected for their expertise in environmental analysis. It is primarily designed to test two general propositions. The first, that environmental analysis is increasing in importance over time— both within and between firms; and the second, that environmental analysis is most viable as a separate, freestanding function within the organization.     

Tackling the human problems in planning

This article presents findings from the first phase of a research program on the management of long-range planning systems. The initial focus is on behavioral problems encountered by those using planning systems and solutions for dealing with them. Both the problems and solutions were identified by chief planning officers during a university sponsored workshop. Some observations are offered about the way in which managerial thought processes affect the potential for resolving complex behavioral problems in organizations.