Bargaining Goals, Bargaining Processes, and Bargaining Outcomes Term Paper

Bargaining Goals, Bargaining Processes, and Bargaining Outcomes - Term Paper Example The first declaration was made on 16th February, 2005 by the commissioner of the National Hockey League, Gary Bettman. Abandonment of the season of NHL due to a dispute happening out of a disagreement on collective bargaining amid the owners of the league and the union of players’ was stated (Chan & Et. Al., â€Å"The NHL Lockout†). The sport of hockey was always on a remote fourth when it came to the extent of popularity in contrast with the other major sports’ league of the nation. It was predicted that due to the cancellation of the season, it will push away the league from the screen of the radar. The damage due to the lockout not only affected the business partners and the fans but also the huge number of people who earned their livelihoods from the industry (ESPN, â€Å"Lockout Over Salary Cap Shuts Down NHL†). Therefore, in this study the causes and the outcomes of the lockout will be investigated in details. About NHL The National Hockey League sta rted to be played from the year 1917. The NHL was structured in Canada 30 years prior to 1917. The NHL was successful in creating itself to be the leading hockey league in North America and began expanding in 1967 by adding more teams to its ‘Original Six’ and they were Chicago, Montreal, Detroit, Boston, Toronto and New York. Presently, the NHL includes 30 teams out of which most are in the United States and the rest are in Canada. The NHL was counted among the four most important sports leagues of America which included the National Football League (NFL), the Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Although being in the most important leagues of America, the sport of hockey always ranked fourth in popularity. This was partially because of the fact that the other three games i.e. baseball, football and basketball had an extensive appeal, the sport of hockey had mostly niche audience. Majority of the hockey fans were found in the northern Un ited States and in Canada. This was because of the cold climate that facilitated developing an attention in ice hockey. The uniqueness of the sport of hockey appeals more to its reactionary fans compared to the public in general. For instance, it is only in the sport of hockey where it is legitimate for the players to fight with one another throughout the game. It was however argued by the reactionary fans that fighting was an element of entertainment and necessity in the game whereas the casual spectators were shocked by it. Efforts were made to lessen the violence in the NHL in attempt to make it more appealing to the general public. This endeavor proved to be unsuccessful as it was not only futile in attracting new viewers but also incurred loss on loyal fan-following of NHL. This and a range of other different reasons declined the popularity of the game in the current years. The networks of television after becoming aware of the meager ratings with regard to televised hockey red uced the shows of the game to the extent where the sport had become nearly immaterial. Thus, the reaction in general to the news of lockout was a combination of unresponsiveness and acceptance (Chan & Et. Al., â€Å"The NHL Lockout†). The Lockout of 2004-05 The NHL encountered the first lockout prior to the season of 1994-95. The disagreement was however settled and an agreement of collective

Exploiting Strategy & Information for Competitive Advantage Essay

Exploiting Strategy & Information for Competitive Advantage - Essay Example The Porter’s value chain model can also be aligned with information strategies whereby information could be used in the reorganization of activities to achieve lower costs and at the same time add value to products. Finally we discuss the strategy of thrust by Wiseman which describes defensive and offensive competitive moves which require information to achieve desired strategy. The five force strategy by Porter highlights the 5 major strategies a firm can adopt in order to gain competitive advantages, Porter (1999) highlighted five major factors that models firms in an industry and this include threat of substitutes, buyer power, supplier power, barrier to entry and the degree of rivalry. The first factor in the five force strategy is threat of substitution and according to Pearlson (2006) this threat can be minimized by using information whereby products will be differentiated and also prices should be improved. A firm will collect information in the market regarding new threats and improvise ways in which to meet the consumer needs through product differentiation. Buyer power is also a factor that shapes an industry, according to Pearlson (2006) information could be used in the selection of buyers and also in differentiation of products. Regarding supplier power firms will utilize information in the selection of low cost suppliers and finally the firm will use information to create barriers to entry into an industry. The strength of this strategy is that it aids a firm in the identification of areas to apply information strategies. This can easily be applied whereby it describes locations to use information to gain competitive advantage. Pearlson (2006) states that this strategy also helps in the identification of threats over time, this can e applied whereby the firms have access to competitors cost information. There are weak points of this

The Public Sector in Canada Essay Example for Free

The Public Sector in Canada Essay Canadian public sector reform initiatives have exhibited a more complex case for study or assessment. As much as the government tried to initiate many reforms there has been many dimension of view of whether the Canadian government should be involved or not in the public reforms and initiatives. Several reforms have been undertaken but there has been occasional mixed results achieved in some traditional areas of the public sector. Government Involvement in Some Traditional Areas of Public Sector in Canada If we first take into consideration what has been accomplished. The government has influenced massive Privatization of many cooperate organizations and institution in Canada which began in the time of Mulroney leadership and continued to Chretien leadership. Some of the privatized cooperation include: the Canadian airline and the national petrol company. The Canadian central government’s Program Review which was done in the year nineteen ninety four and the year nineteen ninety was influenced by the need to achieve economic balance. But on the other hand it made ministers and the civil servants to generate many questions regarding the government programs. Some of the questions included: if they are still useful, if it should be the take of the central government, the provincial leadership, or the private fraternity. When the government made this program review, it led to the doing a way with some subsidies and the entire privatization of crucial services for example the airport services and the air navigation services. On the other hand it was found out that some departments were now able to accomplish there services at extremely reduced input cost by adopting the information technology on board. A viable example of this is the Canadian human Resources Development. The adoption of the famous electronic kiosks by the Canadian government to enable individuals to search for jobs and to enhance flow of information in the industrial and trade sector brought much achievement on board. To add on this it led to the cutting of expenditure on services and trading of goods by adoption of Information technology, hence the federal government was able to cut down on the number of personnel by almost 25 percent. This led to a total reduction compared to major economies such as the United Kingdom and the United States federal governments. Through the application of Information Technology Canada has bee able to bring on board some traditional public sectors and involve them into the information flow of the federal government which has been a very major public sector reform in the economic viability of the country. The Canadian public sector has really made good utilization of this new reform and adopted technology such as Internet, the electronic business and the famous electronic kiosk. More advancement have also been made on the available technologies in order to enhance the linkage of the public to the government to reduce the gap that always exists between the central government and that common public population and the international community. Also in the year 1989 the Canadian government adopted an initiative dubbed ‘the public service year 2000’ which had a ten taskforce comprising of deputy ministers and some senior public servants, and then in just two years the taskforce was able to enhance service improvement to the public and also reduced the control of the central agency control of the public welfare. Although this recommendations was countered by opposition coming from the central government’s federal office of the Auditing, also from parliament members, from the public unions, and also from the media fraternity it was a visionary way forward for Canadian public and government relation enhancement (Roberts 1996). The opposition of this public reform by the above mentioned group of people might have been overcome by the strong supporting by the political turn of events during that time since as this reform dubbed the ‘public service 2000’ was getting rooted the members of parliament at that time were busy negotiating on the then intended 1982 constitution amendment. The then Chretien leadership become focused and decided to commit itself to the development of and publish service standards which was supposed to report its performance in a year time later (The Canadian Auditors General, 1996). The government of Canada has so far been able to make outstanding commitment towards rebuilding of a professional public service after the downsizing of the last few years. It has now adopted the comprehensive hiring of workers at the entrance point, rather than recruiting from outside at middle or senior ranks. The only area where there has been considerable staffing from outside at the central point level is in information technology. ) The regime has also put an importance on transformation the policy capacity of the public service. In the existence year of downsize and financial plan-cutting, there were limited opportunities to develop new policies. Now that there is financial support for new initiatives is available, the communal service has a role to p lay in implementing them. Thus the centralized administration is trying to restore the public service along the lines of the traditional model. This traditional public service formed would be unswerving with the main concern of fighting separatism, because career public servants, especially the twenty-five to thirty percent who claim French as their mother tongue, could be expected to be more loyal to the federalist cause than people on short-term contracts. The most outstanding organizational reform innovation in Canada’s public sector go beneath the rubric of alternative service delivery, which has been defined as a process of public sector restructuring that improves the delivery of services to clients by sharing governance functions with individuals, community groups, and other government entities (Ford and Zussman 1997: 6). Some of the most common examples are like the Canada’s Business Service Centers, which relates to both federal and provincial governments, and Navigation Canada, a non-profit corporation owned by the users and employees of the air navigation system. These partnership relationships cut down the pricey overlap and replication, and perform actions that the federal government has devolved as a consequence of its Program Review. These partnerships also recognize the difficulty of Canada’s federalism by involving all stakeholders in the ongoing management of services or policy areas. Although Canada has lacked in trivial top down public government administration reorganization, it has had an affluence of bottom up procedures. These initiatives have been shown in the application to the Institute of Public management of Canadian innovation award. Certainly, provincial administrations have had the most influential charisma in these awards (Borins and Kocovski 1997). A proportionate study of application to the Ford Foundation innovation awards in the US and the IPAC awards in Canada shows extensive similarities in terms of the types of innovations, innovative process, and results achieved. It also shows that in both Canada and the US the middle managers and front-line staff were the originators of approximately half the innovations which are a surprisingly large role given traditional public sector constraints. at the same time as the complication of their national systems habitually causes annoying overlap and duplication, they also provide opportunities to innovate in what the American jurist Brandeis called ‘laboratories of democracy. Conclusion  Canada should try to adhere to and advance the bottom up reform, in particular the efforts of front-line staff and middle managers, especially if sanctioned from above (for example, the US federal government’s reinvention labs), as well as reforms undertaken by sub-national governments. It should also have an influence on the ideas originating from the private sector, such as service quality, total quality management, and business process reengineering.

Modern Lifestyle Essay

Modern Lifestyle Essay The modern lifestyle has a number of advantages which includes easing peoples life, saving hundreds of peoples lives by the new development of medicine and vaccines. On the other hand different modern life style patterns have negative effects on health physically, psychologically, and socially. One of these modern ways of living is the high intake of fast foods. This is due to specific reasons such as the short time specified for eating and choosing healthy food. Lack of physical activity combination with fast foods leads to bad effects on the hearts health. Use of high technology machines is another way of modernity. Although use of these machines has helped in saving the time to do a lot of tasks, the wrong use of them will indirectly affect health. Another point is the advanced transportation which reduces the time needed to travel and made travelling an enjoyable time. Last, is the use of computers and internet in the communication, transfer of information, and entertainment as w ell. Altogether will constitute the elements of a sedentary life style. That means, high fatty foods intake and lack of physical activity. Which both are caused by fast foods, depending on high technology machines and transportation, and sitting long hours in front of the computer. Modern life style increases the risk of obesity. Consequently, leading to diabetes, heart diseases, and cancers. Pollution caused by the machines and advanced transportation causes different respiratory diseases. Furthermore, it leads to atopic diseases which are group of hereditary diseases contributing to allergies and asthma. Psychologically, persons are prone to increased stress level and depression. Social isolation will occurs due to spending long time on computer and internet. Effects of modern life style Nobody can ignore the usefulness of modernization on our daily life, especially on how much it makes life of humans easier. This is particularly correct about the new evolution of the new development of medicines, vaccines that save people from the fatal endemic diseases. On the other hand, Modern life style becomes more and more an important factor influencing health state of most developed countries. Unhealthy behaviors responsible for increasing the mortality of the cardiovascular, cancers, diabetes, and respiratory diseases. There is increasing evidence that following a healthy lifestyle including appropriate diet, satisfactory physical activity level, and healthy weight can provide significant cardiovascular and metabolic benefits. From that we come to a conclusion that different modern life style patterns affect our health physically, psychologically, and socially. The main life style patterns that are going to be discussed in this research are the use of high technology machin es, fast foods, advanced transportation, and the use of the computer including internet and video games that is being used by almost every member of the family. The way people eat today is far different the way people ate before. Hundred years ago people used to include a lot of fruits and vegetables in their diet. This gives a lot of nutritional value to their meals, and decreases the risk of getting cardiovascular diseases which is related to the less fat content of these foods. These days people have very bad nutritional habits, especially with the fast widespread of fast food culture particularly between young people which they continue to carry on the same eating habits in their adulthood. According to Shepherd et al. (2001), the promotion of healthy eating is high on the health policy agenda in the UK.They mentioned that young people are particularly important group, as poor eating habits established during teenage years may be maintained into adulthood, creating a number of cardiovascular and other health related problems later in life. Ed Edelson (2009) mentioned in his article that data from 2003-2006 shows that 11.3 percent of chil dren and teenagers were at or above the 97th percentile in body mass index for their age. This shows that overweight teens have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight adults (Para.6).The reason for peoples poor eating habits is the less time provided by them to prepare a healthy food which probably would take time. Furthermore, people dont spent enough time to eat and choose correct and healthy meals. Everyone is just busy in building their future ignoring the fact that this might be interrupted by diseases caused by their poor eating habits. Other reasons include the need for both the man and women to join the work field. This means that the women will be away from home for long hours and depend on the fast foods to feed her family. Therefore, children will acquire this habit and they wont be able to differentiate between healthy and unhealthy food. In addition to poor eating habits, lack of physical activity is a major problem in this todays life. That is, if it is together pr esent with the high consumption of fatty foods, they will lead to disastrous effects on the persons health status. So, maintaining regular exercise is good for the well being of an individual health and helps prevent so many heart and metabolic diseases. The use of modern technology makes living better and brings certain advantages to people. Such advantages include fast communication and improvement of travelling. Before, people use animals to help them travel from one place to another which might take days to travel. Now, we spend only few hours using the air planes which make the journey easier. The use of new technology machines is also now in our home. We do most of the house cleaning with machines, which actually makes the life very easy. Every day a new machine is invented for human use to ease their lives. According to Emmanuel Mesthene (n.d.), Technology is neither good nor bad, it is neutral(page 12).This means that technology can bring us luxuries, but it also can cause problems. It is a matter on how the technology is used according to him. Computer and internet are being introduced into most houses. Although they have a lot of advantages, they have adverse effects on people health. Jayashree, 2007 said Internet has been perhaps the most outstanding innovation in the field of communication in the history of mankind. As with every single innovation, internet has its own advantages and disadvantages(Para.1). According to her the advantages include better communication, and faster way of getting information, and for entertainment. The internet has made the world smaller; it also provides services for people use. Children also now use the computers very widely. It is even being introduced in the teaching curriculum of majority of schools. They also use it in playing video games for their entertainment and joy. Even a lot of adults enjoy the video games as well. All of the past modern life style patterns lead to adopting sedentary life style which combines eating high calorie diet and lack of physical activity. Which are major risk factors for getting a lot of different diseases. In my opinion, sedentary life style includes the wrong use of available high technology machines and transportation as well. Physical effects of modern life style patterns especially the fast foods and the lack of physical activity increase the risk of getting cardiovascular diseases. Acharia (2007), wrote in his article Modern Life Style Could Damage Your Heart, The modern lifestyle, which puts people under constant stress, could severely damage major organs and lead to heart attacks, kidney disease and dementia(Para.1). Other diseases caused by sedentary life style include type two diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Doctors said that sedentary life style is a modifiable risk factor. This means that this risk factor can be prevented and changed by following a healthy life style. A healthy life style means healthy eating and regular exercising. Obesity, which is a major health problem of industrialized countries, is a result of following sedentary life style as well. A study done by Rodriguez,Nvalbos, Martinez, and Eschobar (2009), results shows that the highest levels of obesity associat ed with daily alcohol consumption, greater consumption of television, and sedentary pursuit. A lower prevelance of obesity is observed among those with active physical activity. (Para. 1) Pollution caused by the use of high technology machines and transportation contributes to many respiratory and skin diseases as well. Furthermore, Herbert et al. (2009) study showed that so-called western lifestyle may contribute to the development of atopic diseases. (Para. 1). Atopic disease means the hereditary tendency to experience immediate allergic reactions such as asthma or vasomotor rhinitis because of the presence of antibody in the skin or bloodstream. The effects of modern life style on the psychological status of people are still on research. But, most researchers agree that to some extent modern life style indirectly impact psychosocial life of individuals. Experts from university of Washington have warned that the way modern technology has been breaking peoples connections with the natural world may give rise to a major psychological problem. One of these effects includes increasing the stress level due to the so many obligations todays person might take. Even though some degree of stress might be useful in order to handle different problems we face every day. Chronic stress will have effects on the persons physical state as it will lead to many diseases. Raylopez, (2009) said in his article about causes of stress in modern life style In modern lifestyle, however, stressful stimuli are continues and stress is daily, so the pressure builds up and eventually causes damage to the body.(Para. 4). A healthy life style will have its positive effects on the psychological status of the individual which will directly affects his physical status as well. The use of high technology machines will reduce persons self independence and make him depend in doing his job on the machines. This will subsequently reduce the self satisfaction. As doing a job on your own will make you more confident about your abilities. Brendan, (2009) cited from lardies research findings in his article Depression Caused By Modern life style. Those findings are conclusive that depression primarily stems from modern living: social isolation, fast food laden diets, physical inactivity, sleep deprivation, and less exposure to the outdoors. (Para.6) .Depression finally will damage persons life physically and socially and will deprive him from his normal life. Socially, modern life style affects the social relationships very strongly. Especially with the use of internet to chat with others. People use internet messenger widely in their communication with others. This will lead to social isolation as a result of spending long time on the internet. As consequence, the person will isolate himself at home and deprive himself from family and friends social gatherings. Using the internet may lead to declines in visiting with friends and family. Irina, Robert, and Lee, (2004). They mentioned also that frequent internet use has negative social outcomes. They cited in their research the results of other research findings which includes; internet is associated with increases in depression and social isolation Kraut et al. (1998).(Para.3). Irina,Robert, and Lee, identified that frequency of internet use associated with declines in spending time with family and friends and in attending social events. (As cited in Nie et al. 2002). (Para.3). Conclusion To sum up, different modern life style patterns affects our health in different aspects physically, psychologically, and socially. I think that if the peoples awareness about these effects doesnt increase, this may lead to dangerous consequences in the near future. Adopting this life style patterns and especially sedentary life style for long time might threaten peoples life. If this happens then the community health will be affected and we will be having high percentage of diseased and disabled persons. Which finally reduce individuals productivity and development of their own communities. The best way for reducing the effects of these modern patterns of living is by educating people about its effects on their lives. Particularly concentrating in educating children as changing the way these children live will affect future generations coming after them as well. Another part of resolving the problem is the proper use of high technology machines and advanced transportations. Such prop er way means correct use in benefiting the humanity not affecting it and increasing the self dependency in doing different tasks of the day. Promoting healthy life style which includes proper eating, physical activity, and better way of communicating and socializing in the community will have its positive impacts. Furthermore, it will reduce the risk of getting so many diseases which cardiovascular diseases and cancers are at the top of them. Finally, maintaining peoples health is a primary goal of any country that probably would make her spend millions of dollars to achieve it as people are the real wealth of a country.

Slendertone Analysis Essay -- essays research papers

1. Describe the root causes of Slendertone ¡Ã‚ ¦s French sales revenue losses? ANS: All sales of slendertone were through distributors except of home-market. Since the investments being made in research and production, the company ¡Ã‚ ¦s marketing resources were very limited, they thought it could develop new market for Slendertone more cost-effectively and quickly. However, there were some poorly resourced and inexperienced distributors. In France, the company was concerned about the growing dependence on one distributor. There are 5main basis causes of Slendertone ¡Ã‚ ¦s French sales revenue losses listed below: Æ’ÃÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Increasing competition continued to put pressure on price: from 1993 to the beginning of 1996: drop the retail price to compete the other EMS products. Æ’ÃÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lack of seconday data for the EMS product class, and the distributor reluctant to share sales data with Slendertone.: It ¡Ã‚ ¦s hard to to determine what market share different companies had. Also, lack of data made it difficult to determine the size of the existing market for EMS products in each company. Æ’ÃÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lost the TV slot: the distributor had lost the television slot for the Gymbody8 to cheaper product. Æ’ÃÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tacky advertisement: Some advertising featured topless models alongside sensational claims for the products ¡Ã‚ ¦ effectiveness. Æ’ÃÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Distributor: in 1996 Slendertone decided to develop the UK market directly, without any distributor. The decision was made on the basis of the failure to attract good distributor in the past. That  ¡Ã‚ ¥s very clear to know that the problem of distributor. 2. When O ¡Ã‚ ¦Donohue arrived at Slendertone, he thoroughly researched customers reasons for purchasing Slendertone, losing weight or improving appearance. Why did he choose improving appearance as the message for men and women age 20 to 60 years. ANS: Through Mr. O ¡Ã‚ ¦Donohue gathered data on consumer behaviors and motivations relating to those different markets, he built up a clearer picture of the markets for Slendertone and found out its brand positioning, product emphasis, market segmentation, target market. Market Segmentation Positioning Strategy for Each Target Marketing Program for Each Target Originally, Slendertone was defined as  ¡Ã‚ §women betwee... ...an deny that  ¡Ã‚ §the value is equal to price and quality ¡Ã‚ ¨. Besides, Slendertone have large market share in a mature period,with slow growing with profitable products industry. He should maintain price leadership in the EMS market. There are some main ideas will point out Slendertone ¡Ã‚ ¦s brand strategy listed below: „à Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Differentiated image- slendertone as being at the top end of the market, based on its superior quality and powerful brand name. For the reason, Slendertone sould maintain their high quality and high price image to compete those low quality EMS company. „à Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Build a strong brand identification- The profession market playing an important role in the development of slendertone. It needs to get away from the  ¡Ã‚ §gadget ¡Ã‚ ¨ image and lead to profession market. „à Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Control of message marketing information- to avoid a recurrence of what happened in the French market. „à Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Innovation- To invent new product to prenuptials, postnatal and men but not only for women. „à Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maintaining international operations and Creating a class world brand

Jeanette Wintersons View on Life Essay -- Winterson Writing Essays

Jeanette Winterson's View on Life A writer's style should be distinctive. Indeed, if it isn't distinctive, then it isn't a style. A creative person is someone who imagines what other people cannot. Their value to us lies in expanding our own possibilities. Walls fall. We break out. Art releases what was lost. Jeanette Winterson Sometimes it seems that our lives have been watered down. That somehow we have been cheated of the true meaning of what is before us. Especially here in America, millions of people live comfortable lifestyles: they have money, they have place, they have success. But still many of us are bored and unhappy. We wake up every morning, go to work, go to school, and come home without feeling a thing. We are de facto disenchanted and nobody really knows why. Our imagination dies long before our bodies die. Jeanette Winterson is a writer whose work seems to be aimed at changing this for herself and, if we will listen to her, perhaps for us as well. Winterson reveals both the beauty and the horror with which we are confronted on a daily basis. She shows us new universes within our own, and parallel universes outside our own. Her writing teaches us to read between the lines of our everyday lives. Even when this is not an obvious message delivered through the content of her stories, we find it within her language. Her words reveal and unfold layers of unrealized meaning on every page, until the reader is gently lowered back into his or her own world with a new fascination and awe for what already existed. Winterson's writing rejects our conventional perception of life. She reveals the shallow fulfillment inherent in traditional values, expands our notion of time and reality, and gives us new insig... ...he is sick of our houses with ceilings and no floors and wants us to build houses instead with floors and no ceilings, houses that deny limits and embrace sheltered truths that help us deny the limits. She sees the power and beauty in both imagination and reality, and she finds no need to distinguish between the two, as both exist co-dependently, like structural elements of a house with no ceiling. In short, Jeanette Winterson wants to release, through her own art, the love for life that has been lost. She writes for our very lives and hers. Works Cited Kakutani, Michiko. "A Journey Through Time, Space, and Imagination." New York Times 27 Apr. 1990: C33. Winterson, Jeanette. Art & Lies. London: Cape, 1994. The Passion. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1998. The World and Other Places. New York: Vintage, 2000. Written On The Body. London: Cape, 1992.

Gambling research essay Essay

Gambling refers to the play of any game where there is money, or something of value at stake. There are many different forms of gambling including horse races, lotteries, casinos, scratch cards, stock market betting, and even more recently internet gambling. Although these games are meant for recreational use, the thrill of gambling causes some people to become so involved in it that they become dependent on gambling. The effects of gambling can cause damage psychologically, be very harmful to one’s social life and can also cause many physical damages. Gambling addiction and pathological gambling is not always seen as dangerous as other addictions like substance abuse but it can in fact be a very damaging addiction to many aspects of life and should be considered a major health problem. Not everyone who gambles has a gambling addiction or even has the capability of being addicted to gambling. The majority of people who gamble do not have an addiction and simply do it for recreational purposes. But there is a small percentage of people who gamble who are considered problem gamblers or pathological gamblers. Pathological gamblers is described as, â€Å"Pathological gambling is characterized by chronic and irresistible impulses to gamble, with consequent gambling compromises and disruptions to family, personal and vocational pursuits. † (Coman, Burrows & Evans, 1997) This addiction causes the gambler to gamble very frequently, often times they will begin to make bigger and bigger bets and receiving feelings of anxiety or depression when they are not gambling. Pathological gambling can also include gambling to recover losses from previous gambling episodes, lying to family members to try and hide their habits, committing criminal acts to obtain money for gambling and relying on others to provide money to relieve them from their financial situation. This is a very serious addiction and should be considered a major health problem because it can negatively affect many serious aspects of an individual’s life. There are many different influences and gateways that can lead to gambling and even a gambling addiction. Although things like scratch cards may not seem like much of a threat to becoming an addiction, they can intrigue the thought of winning money purely by chance which is a dangerous mindset to have. Another factor that can lead to a gambling addiction is the link between the proximity from the casino and gambling participation. Living close to a casino causes much more accessibility and can add to the possibility of gaining an addiction, â€Å"additional gambling opportunities due to the presence of a casino increase the prevalence of gambling-related problems for people who live close to a casino, as compared with people who live far from one. †(Sevigny, Ladouceur, Jacques & Cantinotti, 2008)People who live closer to the casino are much more likely to just â€Å"drop by† and play a few hands rather than people who live farther and have to make an evening of it. Accessibility can have a large impact on gaining an addiction to gambling. Also, the recent popularity of poker has a huge impact on the view of gambling for younger people. Poker has become very popular in our society today and is televised quite frequently showing these players not only making a living from this game of chance, but becoming millionaires. Some of these players are seen as celebrities who can cause some younger audiences to look up to them and strive to be like them. These aspects do not directly lead to a gambling problem but they can definitely help lead to one. Technology has become a large contributory factor to problem gambling. As stated earlier, accessibility can have a large impact on gaining an addiction to gambling and the technology of internet has brought accessibility of gambling to a whole new level. Gambling over the internet should be a major concern because the increase in gambling opportunities gives the potential for an increase in problem gamblers. Research evidence in other countries has clearly shown that: â€Å"where accessibility of gambling is increased there is an increase not only in the number of regular gamblers but also an increase in the number of problem gamblers. † (Griffiths, 1999) Internet gambling websites has dramatically increased this accessibility which will in turn increase the number of people gambling. Not everyone is susceptible to becoming a problem gambler, but the more people gambling, the more people who have the chance of becoming addicted. The popularity of internet gambling is on the rise with its easy accessibility and quickness. This popularity itself cannot lead to a gambling addiction but a number of the more popular poker players on television often promote different gambling websites where anyone of any age can play poker online. The websites allow someone to play in tournaments, play with friends and play with fake money or even real money. They are very appealing to people of all ages and easily accessible all the time which makes them a threat to contributing to problem gamblers and youth gambling. When someone suffers from problem gambling, it is not only that individual that is affected but their family, friends and community as well. There can be some positive aspects of gambling in terms of the social effects of gambling. Gambling can be seen as a recreation, a break from their problems of everyday life and a nice night out. Yet these positive effects only exist if gambling is done in moderation. Once gambling becomes a habit and a necessity is where the negative impacts arrive. Often, it’s those close to the pathological gambler that suffer the most. Constant gambling takes time away from family, friends and other activities. If gambling becomes a problem, it can cause loss of trust between individuals and family members which can lead to family related problems and even divorce. Generally, the social problems begin with borrowing of money to support their addiction. At this point, many friends and family may lose touch with the gambler. Being distanced from those who are closest can cause desperation which may lead to criminal activity. Pathological gambling can become so severe that they can resort to criminal activity in a last effort to support their financial needs. People are more likely to commit crime without thinking of the consequences when they are in a desperation mindset which is what can happen after a big loss due to gambling. Supporters for the spread of legalized gambling make claims about economic growth and more jobs but opponents have a strong case saying, â€Å"†¦ various forms of street crimes, such as robberies and automobile thefts, come with gambling, as well as problems with connections to organized crime†¦ The majority of Wisconsin problem gamblers in treatment that were interviewed in Thompson et al. (1999) admitted to crimes as a result of their gambling activity, primarily property crimes. † (Gazel, Rickman & Thompson, 2001) Pathological gamblers reach a point where there are no options left so they have to resort to illegal means to support themselves displaying the severity and control that a gambling addiction can have. Having a gambling addiction does not just affect someone economically or socially but it can deeply affect them psychologically. Once a pathological gambler is down money, they will make bets to try and regain that money that they have lost. Instead of cutting their losses, they get deeper into debt, preoccupying themselves with gambling, determined to win big to repay their loans and solve all their problems (Griffiths, 2001). A very dangerous way of thinking is the â€Å"what if I win† mentality. This way of thinking is especially dangerous because then they are more prone to make bigger bets with money they may not have to lose so they can receive bigger rewards. A large factor for whether someone develops this addiction has a lot to do with their personality. The type of personality someone has can have on whether or not someone develops a gambling addiction or not. Gambling is characterized by an â€Å"unrealistic optimism by the gambler† (Griffiths, 2001). For the most part people believe that optimism is a good way to live life by always seeing the positive things instead of dwelling on the negatives. Optimists are known to be less likely to suffer from depression symptoms following a stressful event and seem to have more psychological benefits when compared to pessimists. Although in terms of gambling, optimism can be counterproductive, â€Å"Optimists may be especially susceptible to maintaining illusory gambling expectations. Because of their generalized expectations for success, optimists may approach gambling with the belief that they can win. † (Gibson & Sanbonmatsu, 2004) Optimists may also have a tendency to look at the positive aspects in a situation which may prolong their gambling thinking that they will win it all back. Also, people who are risk takers are more prone to gambling addiction than someone who is more conservative. Not everyone is susceptible to becoming a pathological gambler and a great deal of the matter has to do with their personality type and how they look at different negative situations. Having a gambling addiction not only affects one’s social life but it can have a great impact on your mind and even cause physical difficulties. Pathological gamblers often suffer from stress-related disorders such as depression, insomnia, intestinal disorders and migraines. Health problems do not only occur from the gambling itself but a significant amount of people suffer problems from the withdrawal, â€Å"Rosenthal and Lesieur (1992) found that at least 65 percent of pathological gamblers reported at least one physical side-effect during withdrawal including insomnia, headaches, upset stomach, loss of appetite, physical weakness, heart racing, muscle aches, breathing difficulty and/or chills. † (Griffiths, 2001) It was also found that pathological gamblers experienced more physical withdrawal effects when attempting to stop than substance abusers who are attempting to quit. This is quite astonishing and again proves why gambling addiction is a very serious matter and should be considered just as much of a health problem as addiction to alcohol or other substances. Pathological gambling can cause great psychological damage and can cause people to do irrational things after a big loss which can sometimes even lead to suicide. Pathological gambling and suicide have been known to have a link to each other. Suicidal attempts among pathological gamblers are much more frequent than among the general public. The American Psychiatric Association did a study that with these results, â€Å"Of individuals in treatment for Pathological Gambling, 20% are reported to have attempted suicide, (American Psychiatric Association (APA))† (Penfold, Hatcher, Sullivan & Collins, 2006) For many gamblers, coping with the negative emotions relating to their issues in their life can be overwhelming. Feelings of shame, hopelessness and failure may be hard to bear which sometimes makes suicide seem like the best solution for their problems. The damage to the mental aspects is one of the reasons that make pathological gambling so dangerous. The act of gambling and casinos is a very controversial topic. There are some positive aspects to the casino and gambling that include a source of jobs and economic development. Gambling is meant to be for recreational use on occasion but it can also be very dangerous. Certain people with certain personality types and lifestyles may be prone to becoming a pathological gambler. The effects of pathological gambling can cause a lot of harm psychologically, destroy someone’s social and family life, cause physical damage to themselves which can even lead to their death. Gambling addiction may not be seen as dangerous or likely to happen as other addictions but the results from being a pathological gambler can be just as harmful as other addictions and should be considered just as much as a serious health issue as everything else. References: Griffiths, M. (1999). Gambling Technologies: Prospects for Problem Gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, vol.15, no. 3, p. 265-283. Griffiths, M. (2001). Gambling: An Emerging Area of Concern for Health Psychologists. Journal of Psychology, vol. 6, no. 5, p. 477-479. Gibson, B. , & Sanbonmatsu, D. (2004). Optimism, Pessimism, and Gambling: The Downside of Optimism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 149-160. Coman, J. , Burrows, G. , & Evans, B. (1997). Stress and Anxiety as Factors in the Onset of Problem Gambling: Implications for Treatment. Stress Medicine, Vol. 13, no. 4, p. 235-244. Sevigny, S. , Ladouceur, R. , Jacques, C. , & Cantinotti, M. (2008). Links between Casino Proximity and Gambling Participation, Expenditure, and Pathology. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, vol. 22, no. 2, p. 295-301. Penfold, A. , Hatcher, S. , Sullivan, S. , & Collins, N. (2006) Gambling Problems and Attempted Suicide. Part 1. High Prevalence amongst Hospital Admissions. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, vol. 4, no. 3, p. 265-272. Gazel, R. , Rickman, D. , & Thompson, W. (2001) Casino Gambling and Crime: a Panel Study of Wisconsin Counties. Managerial and Decision Economics, vol. 22, no. 1-3, p. 65-75.