Digital Commons Network^™

Emerging As A Scholar-Advocate Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Isabelle Hoagland

International Journal on Responsibility

No abstract provided.

'Shad' Never Made Them Happy: Pandemic And A Dis-Abling Educational System - Case Of Iran, Negin Hosseini Goodrich, Abouzar Samiei

International Journal on Responsibility

As the pandemic began, Iran quickly faced the worst outbreak in the Middle East during the winter of 2020. Traditional schools were consequently transferred to an online education without implementing appropriate adaptations, and restrictive policies of low-speed Internet and censorship negatively affected the quality of online education. The situation became even worse for Iranian students with disabilities. The Ministry of Education designed a new application, named Shaad (means happy), which was and remains inaccessible for people with disabilities. This qualitative research study explores the educational challenges of the Iranian students with disabilities during the pandemic. The authors argue physical and …

Hierarchy Of Life: Whose Lives Do We Value?, Jessica Wiggins

International Journal on Responsibility

COVID-19 has heightened already existing health disparities amongst marginalized communities within the United States. In crisis, whose lives do healthcare systems value most and how are these decisions rooted in ableism and racism? Who is responsible for these inequities and in what ways? This multimedia presentation and companion paper explore these important questions.

Cripping And Deafening Covid-19- Re-Framing A Pandemic In Higher Education, Wendy S. Harbour

International Journal on Responsibility

This article looks at ways institutions of higher education (IHEs) can use the models of disability, disability studies, and Deaf studies to “crip” and “Deafen” their response to COVID-19. A review of previous epidemics and pandemics, including yellow fever, the 1918 influenza epidemic, polio, and HIV/AIDS disease, disability, and Deafness. Health services, counseling centers, and disability resource centers expanded over time, and IHEs still rely heavily on them for health, disability, and Deaf concerns. By cripping and Deafening COVID-19 responses, higher education can use a more holistic view of the pandemic, making illness, mental health, disability and Deafness the responsibility …

Sickening Responsibility- Thoughts On Care Work From A Chronically Ill Scholar Activist, Samuel Z. Shelton

International Journal on Responsibility

What does it mean to focus practices of responsibility around sick/unwellness during pandemic times? Using a disability justice framework and drawing from my experiences as a chronically ill / sick person, in this article, I argue that responsibility takes on different meanings when examined through a critical framework that recognizes sickness as an ordinary aspect of life under interlocking systems of power, such as capitalism, White supremacy, ableism/sanism, and cisheteropatriarchy. In particular, I contend that beginning conversations about responsibility from the assumption of sickness - that everyone either sick or has the potential to become sick and that sick people …

Introduction To Disability & The Pandemic, Daisy L. Breneman, Susan Ghiaciuc

International Journal on Responsibility

This special issue of the International Journal on Responsibility includes a compilation of five mixed genre works in which authors critically examine the issue of responsibility in relation to Covid-19, disability studies, disability rights, access, and equity. Intersectional approaches are illuminated here by authors engaging with such urgent considerations as gender, socioeconomic, racial, and disability justice on a national and international front.

Canadian Lower Risk Gambling Guidelines: Investigating Feasibility Of The Guidelines In A Finnish Cultural Context, Sari Castren, Tiina A. Latvala, Anne Salonen Phd, Riitta Matilainen, Michael Egerer, Jussi Jussi Palomäki

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

ABSTRACT

At-risk and problem gambling is a significant public health concern globally, and it causes harm not only to the gamblers but also to their significant others as well as the society at large. This study evaluates the feasibility of the Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines (LRGG), developed by the Canadian Centre of Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), in a Finnish cultural context. The LRGG was developed to lessen the harms related to gambling in Canada, using gambling data from eight countries, including Finland. We use both qualitative and quantitative methods to find out whether the established guidelines of: 1) Gamble no …

The Application Of Transactional Fairness To The Gambling Sector, Seamus Mcgowan, Adam Rivers

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The idea of ‘fairness’ in consumer protection has been discussed for a long time. However, more recently there has been a renewed focus on the use of unfair pricing practices and terms in consumer markets and regulators and lawmakers are responding. Practices which can be considered unfair often emerge as companies develop new and innovative ways to engage with consumers including offering different prices and / or terms to different sets of customers.

Being ‘fair and open’ is an important principle for gambling regulation. In that context, this paper focusses on fairness in gambling markets and seeks to develop a …

Understanding Who Is Calling A Problem Gambling Helpline: Data From The Florida Problem Gambling Helpline, Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Jennifer Kruse

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Many jurisdictions maintain a confidential helpline for problem gamblers and their loved ones. Dr. Derevensky will present the demographic characteristics and concerns of individuals calling the Florida Multilingual Helpline for Problem Gamblers. Specific attention will address the precipitating reasons for calling the HelpLine, gender, age and racial differences, the types of gambling most problematic, the age of onset of gambling problems, financial information (gambler’s income, money lost to gambling, to whom debts are owed), illegal acts committed by the gambler, legal consequences resulting from problem gambling, and the gambler’s mental health, emotional and domestic difficulties. Based upon the information provided …

Do We Need To Broaden Rg To Esg Or Is There Too Much On The Operator's Plate At The Moment?, Pieter Remmers

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Since 35 years Responsible Gambling is one of the issues the industry is dealing with. However it is still something the greater part of the industry is still struggling with no matter if we talk about the land based casino industry or the lotteries or the online gambling and betting industry.

A couple of years, under the influence of the United Nations, ESG came up. Environmental, Social and Governance criteria comprise a set of standards socially responsible investors/ operators use to evaluate a company/ operator based on the three main criteria. Combined they help assess the social responsibility effort of …

Motivations For Loot Box Engagement In Video Games And Related Characteristics, Will Shead, Breanna Huggan

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Presentation Abstract: Loot boxes are features of some video games that contain random gameplay-enhancing or cosmetic items. Players may purchase loot boxes with real-world currency which has led to growing concern that loot boxes are a form gambling without regulations and age restrictions. Previous research has found associations between loot box purchases and problem gambling but limited work has examined possible factors involved in this relationship. One hundred and forty-four participants completed an online questionnaire assessing relationships between loot box use, problem gambling and gaming, and video game streaming behaviors. Bivariate correlations revealed no significant associations between risky loot box …

Safer Gambling Strategic Frameworks To Drive Collaborative And Coordinated Evidence-Based Action, Elizabeth Lusk, Jess Voll, Lindsay Kalbfleisch

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Reducing gambling-related harms at community, regional, national, and global levels requires evidence-informed, collaborative, and coordinated actions. Safer gambling strategic frameworks can identify and align stakeholders’ efforts to inspire and guide action. This is particularly salient with gambling being increasingly borderless with the proliferation of online gambling products and platforms. In the absence of safer gambling strategic frameworks, stakeholders’ efforts can be inconsistent or misguided, preventative opportunities are missed, social and economic costs are under accounted, and a competitive environment emerges when supportive and reifying efforts are more optimal. Safer gambling strategic frameworks create a rubric to continuously integrate emerging evidence, …

Mobile Free-To-Play Gaming Practices: The Entanglement Of Time, Technology And Games In Everyday Life, Jean-Philippe Laforge, Sylvia Kairouz, Annie-Claude Savard

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Mobile games have become a major part of many people's everyday life, especially since the rise of the Free-to-Play (F2P) model which brought mobile gaming to the fore of gaming culture. As a “new” cultural phenomenon, “playing” is now accessible anytime, in part due to the widespread availability of mobile technologies that host these games. Drawing from key concepts of the social practices theory, this study aims to explore how do mobile F2P games fit into the players’ everyday activities and occupations. Specifically, in what ways can time, mobile technologies and games shape the integration of gaming practices into the …

Similarities And Differences In Crypto Trading And Gambling Discourses And Practices: Why Should Scholars Of Gambling Be Interested?, Riitta Matilainen, Jani Kinnunen

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Cryptocurrency trading is an action of selling and/or buying of virtual or digital currencies for profit. The value of many cryptocurrencies has fluctuated greatly, which has led to enormous winnings and losses for some traders. The presentation focuses on the similarities and differences in discourses and practices towards crypto trading and gambling. In addition, the presentation discusses why scholars of gambling should pay closer attention to cryptocurrency trading and the consequences it may have for the gambling industry and regulation. Historical examples of previous divisions between gambling, finance, and speculation are also presented.

The presentation is based on an Internet …

Monetary Consumption In Gambling, Digital Gaming And Their Converged Forms: Findings From The Finnish Player Barometer 2022 Study, Jani Kinnunen

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

In the Finnish Player Barometer study gambling games and other types of games, including non-digital and digital game genres, are studied together. This nationally representative study differs from many other studies, which usually concentrate either on gambling or on other types of gaming. The study also includes many of converged forms between gambling and gaming.

Almost all Finns play games at least occasionally. In the year 2022, active digital gamers consumed on average 10,6 € per month on digital gaming, including online gambling. High monetary consumption in digital gaming seems to be connected in active gambling, but also those players, …

Using The Modified Delphi Method To Establish Consensus For Gambling Treatment Core Competencies, Greta Coe

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract:

Core competencies define the knowledge and skills believed to be necessary to practice within specific professional fields effectively and serve as benchmarks to guide professional preparation, supervision, and evaluation. In this presentation, we will share the results of a modified Delphi study when we asked the question, ‘‘What are the core competencies that problem gambling counsellors must master to be considered professionally prepared?’’ and relied on the collective wisdom of experts in the field to find an answer. Our study used 52 problem gambling treatment experts to reach consensus on gambling treatment core competencies. An expert was defined as …

Motion Planning Algorithm In A Y-Graph, David Baldi

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal

We present an explicit algorithm for two robots to move autonomously and without collisions on a track shaped like the letter Y. Configuration spaces are of practical relevance in designing safe control schemes for automated guided vehicles. The topological complexity of a configuration space is the minimal number of continuous instructions required to move robots between any initial configuration to any final one without collisions. Using techniques from topological robotics, we calculate the topological complexity of two robots moving on a Y-track and exhibit an optimal algorithm realizing this exact number of instructions given by the topological complexity.

The Neuroscience Of Safe Gaming: How To Use Wellness Content, Mary Donohue Dr.

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Anselme and Robinson suggest that “the motivation to gamble is strongly (though not entirely) determined by the inability to predict reward occurrence and is linked to having too much dopamine in the brain.” An excess of dopamine in some parts of the brain and lesser amounts in others is linked to mood changes, and in particular a decrease in impulse control and an increase in competitiveness. The gaming business wants to avoid reckless gambling and is engaged in research to find evidence-based tools that lower the reactions associated with high dopamine levels. One such tool is a digital therapeutic called …

Know When To Hold’Em Unpacking The Determinants Of Table Player Win / Loss And The Elasticity Of Table House Advantage, Clayton Peister

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Know when to hold’em

Unpacking the determinants of table player win / loss and the elasticity of table house advantage

Overview

There is significant disagreement about the role of house advantage (HA) in player value. For instance, the operations team often seek to introduce games with high HA, under the assumption that marginal improvements in HA translates into higher house win. By contrast, many casino marketing professionals argue that higher HA only reduces playtime and that a player’s budget is generally fixed. Leveraging over 300m individual player decisions from a major online Asian operator, we explore the role of HA …

Caring Hurts, Otila Osborne

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

‘Caring Hurts’

The Effects of Social Capital on Gambling Risk Perception

AIM: To explore the relationship between social capital (social networks, familial and close relationships) and risk perception amongst older female internet gamblers (50 years+)

BACKGROUND: Despite significant investment in social marketing initiatives gambling harms persist. Predicted to live longer, poorer, and less healthy lives than men, older women are increasingly gambling online with gambling harms rising accordingly. Yet little is known about this vulnerable demographic or the factors that underpin the behaviour. This study provides an alternative to the psychological approaches that dominate gambling research. A social capital paradigm …

Global Self-Exclusion System, Simon Vincze

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract:

Casino Guru has launched the non-profit Global Self-Exclusion Initiative in 2020 with the goal to create a global self-exclusion system, which will allow players to block their access to all online gambling options at once simply and effectively, thus decreasing overall gambling harm and making gambling safer.

The limited scope of current self-exclusion possibilities tends to cover only a single operator or a single jurisdiction. Consequently, these cannot create an effective barrier for players that choose to self-exclude to minimize further gambling harm because their gambling habits have gotten out of hand. A global scheme is much better positioned …

At-Risk And Problem Gambling In Families - Finnish Population-Based Study With Register-Linkage, Tiina Latvala

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Families of problem gamblers experience harms, however, there are no population level estimates as to how many families in Finland are exposed to at-risk and problem gambling (ARPG) of a family member. The study analyzed data from Finnish Gambling 2019, a nationally representative study with register linkage, to derive how many families are exposed to ARPG of a family member. It also examined whether the exposing to ARPG of a family member would be more common among low-income families or in families that had received social assistance.

The results showed that 9% of families were exposed to at-risk gambling (ARG) …

Psychosocial Characteristics Of Gambling Addicts – Does It Matter When They Start Their Treatment?, Neven Ricijas Phd, Dora Dodig Hundric Phd, Sabina Mandic Ma, Sanja Radic Bursac Ma, Davor Bodor Phd

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract:

Gambling disorder is well known as a hidden addiction and therefore is subjected to a prolonged time in seeking treatment. During the development of addiction, the psychosocial functioning is more openly or covertly disrupted, and gambling addicts manifest various problems and risky behaviors. At the same time, motivational mechanism for seeking professional help are complex and influenced by different individual circumstances.

This study was conducted with N=315 patients in the Daily Clinic for Gambling Addiction. The psychosocial functioning of the patients is assessed at the beginning of the treatment, while a specific aim of this paper is to explore …

A Losing Hand: Gambling Among Youth In Custody For Criminal Offenses, Jeff Marotta, Glenn Yamagata, Greta Coe

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract:

It is well documented that incarcerated adults have rates of gambling problems that are among the highest found in any population. Less well studied are rates of problem gambling, gambling related incarcerations, and gambling related incidents among youth housed in secure facilities for criminal behavior. This presentation will describe a study that assessed gambling behaviors and related consequences of 166 youth housed at Oregon Youth Authority facilities. Findings indicated that nearly 45% of these youth scored within the High Severity range as measured by the Gambling Problem Severity Subscale of the Canadian Adolescent Gambling Index (CAGI/GPSS) when asked about …

The Reluctant Lawmaker. The European Union And The Regulation Of Gambling Between The Principle Of Free Circulation Of Services And Member States Prerogatives, Nadia Coggiola Ph.D

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract

Although the European Union legislator is generally very keen to rely primarily and sometimes even exclusively on economic considerations, and therefore to generally protect consumers’ interests, this attitude is largely different when gambling issues are a stake.

In fact, even if it is generally undisputed, also by the same European Union legislator, that authorized gambling contracts are to be considered as consumers’ contracts, when facing the regulation of gambling contracts, the European Union often restrains from using all of its legislative powers.

As a consequence, the European legislation on consumer’s contracts generally explicitly exclude from its application gambling contracts, …

How Does The Responsible Gambling Discourse Shape The Mind Of Young Adult Gamblers?, Annie-Claude Savard, Jean-Philippe Laforge, Mélina Bouffard, Sylvia Kairouz

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The responsible gambling approach is the subject of significant debate in the scientific community due to its tendency to individualize responsibility, focusing most heavily on gambler’s responsibility for gambling-related harm. In the meantime, studies have showed that young adult gamble at a higher rate than the general adult population. They are now more than ever susceptible to being drawn in to gambling due to the availability of online gambling. In this context, this study aims to explore the social representations of the concept of responsibility held by young adult gamblers. How do they perceive the concept of responsibility? Do they …

Stake Size And Wagering In A Professional Betting Environment – When Data Affects Decision Making, Anthony Bedford, Tristan Barnett

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

In this work, we discuss the structure of a number of professional wagering organisations, and how they attempt to deal with the “Ender’s Game” effect – when knowledge of the true nature of the ‘war being wagered’ may have affected the process and choice of betting. We analyse the responses from professional wagering and betting organisations, whom operate predominately in Horseracing and sportsbetting, and they identify the importance of separation of decisions around choices to make and the stakes and size of wagers that are linked to the decisions. The proposed model, practically carried out by one company, is an …

Pareto Effects In The Ecasino: Differences Across Online Products And Links With Self-Exclusion, Xiaolei Deng, Luke Clark Dr

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Consumption of many goods adheres to the Pareto rule (or 80:20 law) that the 20% most engaged consumers generate 80% of revenue. Using a dataset from the eCasino section of the provincial online gambling platform in British Columbia, Canada, we recently observed that Pareto values exceeded the conventional 80:20 ratio, with the top 20% generating ~92% of bets and ~90% of revenue (Deng, Lesch & Clark, 2021 Addictive Behaviors 120: 106968). In this presentation, we will examine how these effects vary across different gambling product types within the eCasino: online slot machine games, table games, video poker, and other probability …

Promoting Responsible Gambling Through Creative Advertising: Developing An Intervention Effectiveness Scale, Marla B. Royne Stafford, Jonathan Ross Gilbert, Leonard Hostetter

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract

Although somewhat controversially grounded, the notion of responsible gambling (RG) subsumes some level of consumer protection (harm-minimization) through restriction of a gambler’s expenditure of time and money to affordable limits (Breen et al., 2005). With RG believed to protect industry interests, Livingstone and Rintoul (2020) argue for a new discourse. We believe creative advertising messaging as a means of preventing and minimizing harm can influence RG. Hence, understanding what makes an effective RG advertising message and determining criteria to assess that effectiveness are critical. Advertising effectiveness includes attention, recall, and behavioral intentions. This presentation focuses on the pressing need …

“Sports Gambling In America 2023: A Final Piece To The Puzzle?”, John Dombrink

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

No abstract provided.