Problem gambling Essay Example for Free

Problem gambling Essay Did you know that 40% of all problem gamblers started gambling before they were seventeen? Or that problem gambling causes the most suicides out of all the recognized addictions? Even with these facts, the most startling truth is that not one federal dollar, out of the billions collected in gambling taxes, has been spent to treat or help problem gamblers. Gambling is the activity or practice of playing at a game of chance for money or other stakes. Activities that are considered gambling are sports and race bets, lotteries, games like blackjack and poker, and casino games like slots and roulette. Bingo and raffles are technically gambling, but there are no major concerns about them, so they are not included here. Gambling has been legalized by many states, but just because it is does not make it right. Even though gambling is legal, it should not be because of its harmful economic, governmental, and social effects. There are many detrimental economic effects of gambling, but there are two major ones: it siphons money from other industries, and states attempt to use lotteries to boost income. Gambling takes money from consumers that would otherwise be spent in an important industry or charity. Instead, it is essentially thrown away in hopes of getting rich quick. The removal of money from other industries often causes businesses to go bankrupt, therefore creating more unemployed people. You could argue that casinos create jobs, but those jobs do not make enough money to really support a family. The other economic problem that gambling creates is the use of lotteries. States typically use lotteries to make more money, but it is nowhere near as effective as other methods that are in use. The state makes 40% of the money that is put into lotteries, while they make 99% of the money that goes into taxes. Also, sources say that since the poor buy so many more lottery tickets than everyone else, the lotteries have become a tax on the poor and economically disadvantaged. The economic effects may be bad, but the governmental and social effects are far more hurtful. There are a few different damaging effects that gambling has on the government, but they fall into two categories: the government’s role and illegal activity. The government’s role in gambling is not what it should be. Drugs and gambling are both known to be self-destructive, yet drugs are banned and gambling is legalized? To the people that are compulsive gamblers, gambling is a drug to them, so it should be illegal like all other drugs. The other poor role the government has in gambling is that the government gets a cut of the profits from it in the form of taxes. As it was mentioned earlier, the poor and lower-middle class gamble more, so it is essentially a tax on the poor. Illegal activity is another damaging governmental effect of gambling. Since betting on sports and races are legal, it has become far easier for organized crime to make money off of fixed sporting events and racing. From a sports standpoint, it makes â€Å"point-shaving† scandals a potentially larger issue, and can take away from the integrity of the game. Additionally, in areas where gambling is legalized, illegal gambling increases. Since people think it is okay to gamble, they now go to an illegal gambling location so that their winnings, if any, are not taxed by the government. The destructive governmental and economical effects of gambling are horrible, but the social effects are the worst of all. The harmful social effects of gambling are it forces the poor to stay poor, compulsive gamblers bring massive problems, and gambling can ruin lives and families. Gambling at casinos and in lotteries have terrible odds of winning, but the poor, who desperately need the money, try time and time again in hopes of getting lucky to pull out of their economic problems. However, they rarely win, and the amount of money that they pour in forces them stay poor. Even if you are not poor and you start to gamble constantly, you will become poor very quickly. Another harmful social effect of gambling is the presence of compulsive gamblers. Compulsive, or problem, gamblers are people who are addicted to gambling. Gambling is a drug to them, and they cannot stop gambling, no matter the consequences. A study showed that most compulsive gamblers started during their teen years, and that they are in close to $80,000 in debt. Because of the staggering amount of debt they are in, they are a huge burden to their families. The last harmful social effect of gambling is it destroys families. The amount of debt that a compulsive gambler gets into puts way too much strain on the rest of the family to help him or her out of debt. If you are married to a compulsive gambler, it is like being married to a hard-core drug addict, they are forced to throw away money to satisfy their addiction. Unfortunately, sometimes the debt is too much, and the spouse will divorce, shattering the family. The social effects of gambling are the worst, but all the effects of gambling are awful. Unfortunately for us, gambling is legal in almost every state, allowing these hurtful effects to exist. Even though gambling is legal, it should not be because of its harmful economic, governmental, and social effects. If you are considering gambling sometime, think about what you are supporting, and how it could ruin your life.

Schizophrenia Essay -- Schizophrenia Essays

Schizophrenia is a serious, chronic mental disorder characterized by loss of contact with reality and disturbances of thought, mood, and perception. Schizophrenia is the most common and the most potentially sever and disabling of the psychosis, a term encompassing several severe mental disorders that result in the loss of contact with reality along with major personality derangements. Schizophrenia patients experience delusions, hallucinations and often lose thought process. Schizophrenia affects an estimated one percent of the population in every country of the world. Victims share a range of symptoms that can be devastating to themselves as well as to families and friends. They may have trouble dealing with the most minor everyday stresses and insignificant changes in their surroundings. They may avoid social contact, ignore personal hygiene and behave oddly (Kass, 194). Many people outside the mental health profession believe that schizophrenia refers to a â€Å"split personalit y†. The word â€Å"schizophrenia† comes from the Greek schizo, meaning split and phrenia refers to the diaphragm once thought to be the location of a person’s mind and soul. When the word â€Å"schizophrenia† was established by European psychiatrists, they meant to describe a shattering, or breakdown, of basic psychological functions. Eugene Bleuler is one of the most influential psychiatrists of his time. He is best known today for his introduction of the term â€Å"schizophrenia† to describe the disorder previously known as dementia praecox and for his studies of schizophrenics. The illness can best be described as a collection of particular symptoms that usually fall into four basic categories: formal thought disorder, perception disorder, feeling/emotional disturbance, and behavior disorders (Young, 23). People with schizophrenia describe strange of unrealistic thoughts. Their speech is sometimes hard to follow because of disordered thinking. Ph rases seem disconnected, and ideas move from topic to topic with no logical pattern in what is being said. In some cases, individuals with schizophrenia say that they have no idea at all or that their heads seem â€Å"empty†. Many schizophrenic patients think they possess extraordinary powers such as x-ray vision or super strength. They may believe that their thoughts are being controlled by others or that everyone knows what they are thinking. These beliefs ar... ...ected over another because it has less chance of damaging a diseased liver, worsening a heart condition, or affecting a patient’s high blood pressure. For all the benefits that anti-psychotic drugs provide, clearly they are far from ideal. Some patients will show marked improvement with drugs, while others might be helped only a little, if at all. Ideally, drugs soon will be developed to treat successfully the whole range os schizophrenia symptoms. Roughly one third of schizophrenic patients make a complete recovery and have no further recurrence, one third have recurrent episodes of the illness, and one third deteriorate into chronic schizophrenia with severe disability (Kass, 206). Bibliography BIBLIOGRAPHY Arasse, Daniel. Complete Guide to Mental Health. Allen Lane Press,New York, 1989. Gingerich, Susan. Coping With Schizophrenia. New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Oakland, 1994. Kass, Stephen. Schizophrenia: The Facts. Oxford University Press. New York, 1997. Muesen, Kim. â€Å"Schizophrenia†. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. Microsoft Corporation, 1998. Young, Patrick. The Encyclopedia od Health, Psychological Disorders and Their Treatment. Herrington Publications. New York, 1991.

Human Nature in the Destructors Essay

Graham Greene had summarized the conflicts in a society through a representation of teenage children during the post-war era, in his famous short story, â€Å"The Destructors†. The setting of the story happened in blitzkrieg London after World War II ended. The characters are mainly teenage boys who had established a gang known as Wormsley Common gang. Their group religiously meets everyday beside the house of Mr. Thomas or Old Misery. The decision of the gang was made through voting. T or Trevor, the main character in the story, suggested that the gang should demolish Mr. Thomas’ house on the upcoming holiday. Mr. Thomas was an old man, who lived in a house that solely stand on an area that was bombed during the war. The group agreed and commenced their plan under the leadership of T. the story ended with the destruction of the house. The story reflects action and adventure, since the gang would do things that can be considered as daring, especially for their age. The story also has a mix of suspense, especially on the last part wherein Mr. Thomas had gone back home earlier than expected. Nevertheless, the short story is not merely a fiction made to entertain its readers rather, it reflects the factual realities observable during the period it pertains such as delinquency, war and human nature. This essay would analyze the story in connection to the delinquency and war which reveals human nature. Human nature would be discussed as something that is subjective and relative to the perspective and position of the individual in the society where he belongs. The story revolves around the actions of the Wormsley Common gang. As mentioned above, the group was predominantly young teenage boys. Every day they will engage themselves with folly, childish acts. As children going through the transition to adulthood, they are trying to find their own identity through joining groups. They express their authority or control over their decision through delinquent acts; such as sneaking free bus rides. One of the things that separate man from the rest of the living organisms in the planet was his capacity to control things. It is a part of being a human to seek dominance. The several instances of delinquency in the short story prove this point. The most prominent was the destruction of Mr. Thomas’ house. However, if all humans would try to dominate each other, chaos would result. Therefore laws are created in societies that seek to control human actions. In the story, Mike –the most childish character, was usually noisy or has a childlike attitude of opening his mouth when he heard something interesting or unbelievable. This behavior was controlled in the gang through the unwritten rule that a frog would be put down inside the mouth of noisy or open-mouthed members. The story also shows that humans have the capacity to choose or decide. Blackie could leave the group but he did not. He can express his disagreement but he chose to remain silent. Humans are naturally born with the ability to weigh circumstances with respect to situations. Man can choose whether to be good or evil. Most of Greene’s writings reflect the good and the evil side of man. The ethical weight of the action depends on the perspective used to judge the action. Breaking into someone else’s house is impolite and evil as rendered by the society, or at least by the society of London. However, in the perspective of the group, it is an expression of pride, dignity and courage. Mr. Thomas served as the representation of the adults during the period; he does not care what the children would do as long as their actions would not bother him. When he gave the boys some chocolates, the gang discussed and argued about why Mr. Thomas would give them something. The gang decided that it was a bribe. Mr. Thomas had accommodated T when he visited him. He even let him tour the house and explained the things he can’t understand. Nonetheless, it was T who had suggested the plan to destroy the house. Mr. Thomas had trusted T, at the end T locked him up. This illustrates the younger generation’s distrust to the adults. Why? Because it was the adults’ decisions, neglect and actions that led to their destitution. When they took everything away from Mr. Thomas, they left him as vulnerable and helpless as a child. They gave him some foods and a blanket to keep him comfortable as he waited for someone to open the door. When the door finally opened, he was amazed to find that the house he cherished was now only a pile of bricks and rubbles. The concepts of delinquency and war revealed that human nature is also subjective to individuals and relative to societies. As illustrated above, humans tend to judge an action from their own perspective. The living conditions and previous events shaped these perspectives. The distant atmosphere that surrounds T was caused by the events that led to their poverty. The childish acts of Mike were due to his young age. The just attitude displayed by Blackie when he opposed taking away things from Mr. Thomas’ house reflects that he was against theft. The humans’ ability to reason gave him the ability to judge. The fact that Blackie stole or got the hacksaw without permission showed a changed in perspective regarding right and wrong. The things that the society or the organization accepts were the right things while those that the society blames were wrong. Human nature was normally branded as either good or bad, depending on the human actions which were either right or wrong. Human nature, as can be reflected on the story was neither good nor evil. Someone perceived as evil by one person might be considered as good by another. People can be persuaded that humans are naturally good. If the society was not perverted, humans would not result to perverted actions. Humans can also be seen as naturally evil and the existence of laws can be justified as a means to prevent them from explicitly doing evil and promote harmony and security in the society. Like every human being, the characters in the story longs for a recognition. Humans would naturally form groups to be able to defend themselves and justify their actions through rules and laws. The gang would decide according to votes which gave everyone a chance to express himself. The conclusion of the votes determines the gang’s action. Whether it was mischief or simply a childish act, if the majority of gang agreed that it should be done, then it would be done. Everyone would do their best to achieve the set-goal. The story also highlights the fact that it is a human nature not to try the things that pains causes pain. For example, Mr. Thomas went home earlier than expected because of his rheumatism. Likewise, when Summers (one of the gang members) complained that they already done â€Å"enough†, T told him that he should not complain because he along with the others had voted in favor of the plan. It was natural for humans to do things that they like and stop doings things that they hate. Humans would naturally move away from something painful or uncomfortable while humans would naturally move towards the things that give them fun and comfort. The sense of belongingness and the various activities that the members of the gang experienced whenever they do an offending act reflect their adherence to the things that do not cause them pain. Humans would logically want the things that please or made them comfortable. Each member of the gang needs one another to get a sense of belongingness and create an identity. When Blackie asked T whether he hated Mr. Thomas, he perceived that T’s actions and decisions were out of personal interest. Mr. Thomas gave them chocolate to get rid of it. The driver looked help Mr. Thomas out of curiosity. Mike went to the house instead of the church, not simply to help but to be accepted and regarded as important. Blackie did not leave the gang because he wanted to take part on its success and glory. Common to all humans was their capacity to decide, contemplate and judge depending on their personal interest. Humans see things depending on how they perceived them. Every individual portrayed in the story would act according to their selfish interest. Humans were judge according to convention and thus, they act with respect to those conventions. The destruction of the house represents the power to destroy. Since the beginning of time, humans aspire for power and authority. Both of these gave humans the capacity to control things with respect to how he wanted things to be. The idea of destroying the house made T a leader. The actual destruction confirmed his authority. On the other hand, the destruction of the house undermines the power of Mr. Thomas. The greater society also works the same way. It was a power struggle to stay on the top. The destructors were the winners while the destructed was the loser. Good and evil depends on the position and situation of the person in between this spectrum. Good makes the person happy while evil gives him pain. Good benefits while evil takes away or weaken a person.

The Importance Of Play And Its Effect On Cognition,...

Assessment of Play Jimmy Kue Northeastern State University Abstract This paper explores the importance of play and its effect on cognition, linguistics, and pragmatics in infants and toddlers and how play can affect their social competence as preschoolers. Assessment of Play In a third world country, some Hmong parents’ believe in the teaching for survival needs are important and necessary in order to survive. Chores were evenly distributed throughout the family who were capable to contribute to everyday labor. However, young children who cannot contribute were allowed to play with other kids in the village. Some of the popular play activities were hide and seek, a jump rope made out of rubber bands, and wooden tops (Cha, Mai, Carmen, 2004). Meanwhile in a developed country, children were also playing hide and seek, jumping ropes, and spinning tops as well. According to O’ Grady and Dusing (2014), â€Å"Play is defined as a pleasurable, active, self-motivated developmental phenomenon by which infants and young children learn about the world through interactions with objects and people† (page number) It should be noted that when I used the term play, the child is the center focus of a play activity in a natural setting. In this paper, I will discuss the importance of play relative to language in these domains: cognition, linguistics, pragmatics, and social competency. Cognition Cognition is the basis for language. It is important to develop early cognition in infants.Show MoreRelatedFactors that Promote Rapid Language Learning in Children?1406 Words   |  6 PagesAccording to Chomsky (1972), language acquisition is one of the exclusive characteristics of human beings and is known as the jewel in the crown of cognition (Pinker, 1994). 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