Licensed Casino Gambling Essay Example for Free

Licensed Casino Gambling Essay Individual effects: Is gambling generally harmful to the individual gambler?| Yes * Gambling is irrational and reckless and should, therefore, be regulated by the government. There may be the possibility of winning a big prize, but the overwhelming likelihood is that a gambler will lose money. This is ensured by the fact that Casinos are profit-minded organizations, and calculate their odds so that they will always make a profit. Because gamblers are always likely to lose and suffer as a result, the activity can be seen in many ways as an irrational engagement. Gambling attracts people with little money who are desperate for a windfall. These are the people who can least afford to lose money. They should be protected from the temptation to gamble.| NoContention that the general individual losses from gambling are justified by it being a fun and leisurely activity worth paying for: Gamblers know that, overall, they are likely to lose money. They gamble because it is a leisure pursuit that they enjoy. There is nothing irrational about this. Some people get an enjoyable thrill from the remote possibility that they might win a huge prize – even if they lose, they enjoy the experience. Some forms of gambling are highly sociable. For example, many people go to bingo halls to spend time with friends. Society accepts people spending (â€Å"wasting†?) money on other leisure pursuits with no material benefits (e.g. cinema tickets, watching sport) – gambling should not be any different. It is patronizing to suggest that people, including those on low incomes, should not be able to choose how they spend their money. * Psychological benefits of gambling: Some argue that gambling offers psychological benefits. The psychological benefits may include: 1. A feeling of control (which some describe as God-like). 2. Confidence that extends from feelings of executive control in decision-making. 3. Benefits in the ability to psycho-analyze other peoples thoughts, and placing mone yed interests and incentives behind the results of such psycho-analysis.[1] 4. Total engagement and peak experience. It provides the gambler with peak experience, that godlike feeling when all of ones physical and emotional senses are go.'[2] 5. The release from daily tension. 6. Feelings of exercising the adventurer within us that part of ourselves which lusts for change, the wooing of the unknown, change, danger, all that is newIt is part of what makes us human.[3] 7. Feelings of engaging in a ubiquitous, historical human tradition. 8. Emotions of non-conformity and freedom. One source quoted a gambler who said, All day long you do what them dumb bastard supervisors tell you. Dont make no difference whether it makes sense or not. Sometimes you just gotta get out of line.[4] * Gambling increases individual efficiency: Studies show that, contrary to popular belief, gambling is by and large beneficial to the gambler and increases rather than decreases his efficiency. It is beneficial in that it stimulates, offers hope, allows decision making, and, in many cases,| Crime effects: Does gambling cause an increase in various kinds of related criminal activities?| [][Edit]Yes * Casinos are often associated with criminal activity. Drug dealers and prostitutes ope rate near casinos – they know that there are a large number of potential clients in the area. Casinos can therefore be devastating to neighborhoods.| [][Edit]No * People committing crimes should be prosecuted. The existence of criminals does not make nearby businesses (including casinos) immoral. It is perverse to punish people who just want to gamble (and not take drugs or use prostitutes) by taking away their chance to do so.| Bad industry? Are casinos an industry with bad merit? Is nothing of value produced by casinos?| Yes * Casinos dont produce any product: Many contend that gambling is inappropriate because it does not generate any tangible product. One commentators says that gambling is an ethereal substancea biological substancethat produces highsgenerated usually by anticipation.[5]| No * Contention that casinos are involved in the entertainment business, and need not produce a tangible product: Gambling is a form of entertainment that is similar to many other forms of entertainment; the objective is merely to foster a desired emotional response from the audience. Mo vies, theater, fair-grounds, concerts, sporting-events, and casinos are all similar in that their primary function is to foster an environment of entertainment. That is their product, which need not be physical in order to be viewed as valuable.| Addiction: Is gambling commonly addictive, and would this be a reason for regulating it?| Yes * Gambling is addictive. Many people end up gambling to try to recover money they have already lost. This is known as ‘chasing losses’. It results in people staking more and more money, most of which they will lose. Gambling addicts often turn to crime to feed their addiction. Addiction is highly damaging to families, since gamblers will spend whatever money they can on gambling. People start to gamble without thinking that they will become addicted. Once they become addicted, it is too late. As with drugs, it is better to ban gambling to stop people getting started in the first place. * Analogy that gambling truly is like a drug, and should be treated as a controlled substance: * It is drug-like in the way that it dramatically utilizes human chemicals: William M. Thompson, Gambling: A Controll ed Substance, PBS Interview, 1994 Is the comparison of drugs and gambling unfair? Consider the words of Thomas R. OBrien, formerly Director of Gaming Enforcement for the state of New Jersey. In 1984 he told a conference on gambling that the success of Atlantic City was tied to how well it sold its only products. He then said: That product is not entertainment or recreation or leisure. Its really adrenaline: a biological substance capable of producing excitementhighs and generated usually by anticipation or expectation of a future event, especially when the outcome of that event is in doubt. According to chief regulator of the industry, gambling was not only a drug, but a mind-altering drug. * The addictive and destructive nature of gambling is also drug-like:William M. Thompson, Gambling: A Controlled Substance, PBS Interview, 1994 Where governments do not prohibit, the majority can exercise self-control. Seventy-five percent gamble responsibly. They find it an entertaining diversion. But another 20 percent overindulge. They incur debts that impair abilities to support their families, unless they stop. Usually they can. Four percent cannot stop without intervention of others. Then there are the one-half to one percent (and these are conservative estimates) who fall into destructive behaviors when exposed to gambling. Families are destroyed, friendships broken, employment disrupted. Cycles of deception and crime lead to ruined livesand in many cases, suicide.| No * Contention that gambling is not physically addictive: Unlike drugs, gambling is not physically addictive. It is only psychologically addictive in some people. Only a small percentage of gamblers have an addiction. Many more get enjoyment from gambling without problems – why should these people suffer because a few others get addicted? The risks of gambling addiction are well known. People can make a conscious choice to start gambling, and are aware of the risks of addiction. Treatment programmes can address the problems of those who are addicted.| Economic harm? Do casinos casinos cause economic harm or provide ver y few economic benefits?| Yes * The long-term economic negatives outweigh the short-term economic gains: John Warren Kind, The Business-Economic Impacts of Licensed Casino Gambling in West Virginia: Short-Term Gain but Long-Term Pain, PBS, 1994 While the dollars invested in various legalized gambling projects and the jobs initially created are evident, the industry has been criticized for inflating the positive economic impacts and trivializing or ignoring the negative impacts (Goodman 1994). The industrys tendency to focus on specialized factors provides a distorted view of the localized economic positives, while ignoring the strategic business-economic costs to the state as a whole (such as West Virginia) and to different regions of the United States (California Governors Office 1992, Kindt 1995). In 1994, all of the various experts who testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business criticized the impacts that casino-style gambling activities inflict upon the criminal justice system, the social welfare, system, small businesses, and the economy (Congressional Hearing 1994). Utilizing legalized gambling activities as a strategy for economic development was thoroughly discredited during the hearing. * The actual economic benefits of casinos are exaggerated. They generally only create low-paid jobs for local people; the casino companies usually bring in managers from elsewhere. * There are too many economic externalities surrounding gambling , which nullify the benefits: * Crime * Risky behavior Compulsive gambling may foster poor, sometimes risky money-management habits. These habits may transfer over to other areas of the economy, where risky behaviors translate into a higher likelihood of loss in various markets. * Time consumption Compulsive gambling often entails significant time consumption, which detracts from more productive ends. * Jobs could be created through many other industries that cause fewer moral and practical problems (e.g. theme parks). * Any economic benefits would not matter, if the industry is deemed immoral: * Estimated losses from compulsive gambling: William M. Thompson, Gambling: A Controlled Substance, PBS Interview, 1994 Conservative numbers suggest it costs society $13,000 per year for each compulsive gambler. The losses include treatment costs, lost productivity, criminal activity and judicial costs. Estimating that widespread gambling across America would create one million compulsive gamblers, the resulting annual economic loss would exceed $13 billion.| No * Casinos cause money to be spent on transport infrastructure, which is very beneficial to economies: * Casinos help the tourism industry of a place: The jobs are not just in the casino itself. More jobs are created in hotels and other parts of the tourism industry. * Examples in which casinos have helped to regenerate many places that previously had considerable poverty and social problems: * Atlantic City. * New Jersey. * Legalized gambling on reservations is very important to Native American tribes: Anthony Pico, Chairman of the Viejas Indians, explains the benefits to his tribe of legalized gambling on his tribes reservation in a PBS interview.[6]| Social welfare effects: Are the charitable generations from gambling substantial, and can this go toward justifying their existence?| Yes * It is immoral for the state or charities to raise money by exploiting people’s stupidity and greed. * Gambling is regressive (this means that the poor pay a greater proportion of their income in tax than the rich). This is because poor people are more likely to gamble. Regressive taxation is deeply unfair. * Legalized gambling activities act as a regressive tax on the poor (Clotfelter and Cook 1989). Specifically, the legalization of various forms of gambling activities makes poor people poorer and can dramatically intensify many pre-existing social-welfare problems. Demographic analyses reveal that certain disadvantaged socioeconomic groups tend to gamble proportionately greater amounts of their overall income and marketing efforts, particularly by state lotteries, have allegedly been directed at these target groups. John Warren Kind, The Business-Economic Impacts of Licensed Casino Gambling in West Virginia: Short-Term Gain but Long-Term Pain, PBS, 1994 * Contention that education is harmed by gambling practices: Kind, PBS, 1994 Legalized gambling activities also negatively affect education both philosophically and fiscally (Better Government Association 1992; Clotfelter and Cook 1989). Adherence to a philosophy of making a living via gambling activities not only abrogates the perceived need for an education, but also reinforces economically unproductive activities (and is statistically impossible since the house always wins eventually). In states with legalized gambling activities which were initiated allegedly to bolster tax revenues to education, the funding in real dollars has almost uniformly decreased.| No * Gambling is often used to raise money for the state or good causes. Charities use prize draws to raise funds:| Should online gambling be banned?| Yes * Internet gambling is especially dangerous. Someone can become addicted very easily – they don’t even need to leave their home. This also means that they are gambling in private. They may therefore be less reluctant to wager very large sums they cannot afford. It is very hard to know the identity of an online gambler – there have been several cases of people (including children) using stolen credit cards to gamble online. Online gambling may be hard to control but that is not a reason to try – making an activity more difficult to pursue will still reduce the number of those who take it up. It is not impossible to put effective deterrent steps in place, such as the recent US ban on American banks processing credit card payments to internet ]\.| No * It is impossible to stop online gambling. When it has been banned, people have just used sites based in other countries. It is better to legalize and regulate online gambling than to drive gamblers to poorly-regulated foreign operators. Regulation can reduce the problems identified by the proposition. For example, online gamblers can be required to give personal details when registering (e.g. occupation, income). If this information suggests they are spending more than they can afford, the company can block their credit card. In any case, most online gamblers do not get addicted. Why should they be denied an activity that they enjoy?|

Business Entrepreneurs :: Business Development

The entrepreneur is the pioneer, the managers the applier of existing best practices. The entrepreneur engages in strategic activity, the managers need to focus on tactical or operational activity. The entrepreneur formulates a strategy, the manager implements that strategy. Business success will depend on the continuing renewal and application of the entrepreneurial spirits. Business success depends on the application and an efficient management team. The attrition rate of any new business is extremely high. In the US, the supporter of the entrepreneurial spirit, numerous new enterprises will fail each year. However in a long-term historical perspective, business success is short-lived. Only a handful of the largest companies with break even status existing in any country at the beginning of the twentieth century will exist today. Even those enterprises that is likely to be unrecognizable as the original creations. The causes of small-business failure depending on the study cited ra nge from inadequate accounting systems to inability to cope. Finally Growth of underlying problem appears to be an overall lack of strategic management beginning with an inability to plan at strategy to reach the customer and ending with a failure to develop a system of controls to keep track performance.' What considerations should small business entrepreneurs keep in mind when they are deciding whether a company should follow a growth or a stability strategy? The launch of any new ventures, which is best undertaken with a detailed understanding of the resources available and the strategic actions needed to achieve project objectives. There should be an indication of what should be done in various contingencies. In other words, a new venture needs to be planned in a detailed manner. This is situation an above. Frequent lack of any such planning, even significant strategic management, will help to explain the extremely high attrition rate for small businesses in all types of economy. Companies may however, choose a stability strategy because the entrepreneur is mostly generating employment for family members. Providing the family a "decent living†, and being the "boss" of a firm small enough that he or she can manage it comfortably. Finally some business owners don't pursue a growth strategy because they do not want the loss of control that results from bank debt or the sale of stock to outsiders. Question 12 What are advantages and disadvantages of privatization of state- owned business? The privatization of state-owned business enterprises is likely to continue globally for most of these enterprises must expand internationally in order to survive in the increasingly global environment.

Core and periphery of Brazil

With reference to your selected region; locate and account for the emergence of a core, of relative wealth and a periphery of relative poverty. Discuss the relationship between the core and periphery, and note why the core is over-heating. What strategies have been initiated to tackle these regional inequalities? Brazil is the largest of the Latin American countries, located in the South American continent. Brazil's unequal development has given rise to two areas of spatial inequality. These are called the Core and the Periphery. The core is a relatively wealthy area, and is seen as the industrial hub of economics and industry. The Periphery however is less economically developed, and is characterised by a declining or stagnant economy. This prominent division has been caused by many reasons. The Core's success has resulted in it overheating, and outward migration has resulted in the periphery's problems getting worse. Government Strategies were then designed to improve the spread of development across Brazil. John Friedmann's model, shown above, shows us how Brazil has developed and its inequalities. The Core is in the South East of Brazil and is an area of industry, with high levels of technology, capital and investment. Unlike the North the South is fortunate to have a warm, temperate climate with a distinct cooler season along the coast. Development is easier in these Southern conditions, compared to the difficult climates of areas such as Sertio, in the North, where there are frequent droughts. Also the Core's location is beneficial too, being near the coast; large ports are possible and ports such as Santos in Sio Paulo are very important for importing and exporting for Brazil. These ports are built close to mineral resources and industry, for products to be exported. The core is home to huge reserves of iron and sizeable reserves of gold and gemstones, including emerald, topaz and aquamarine. These are mainly found in Minas Gerais, and rich minerals such as these are very beneficial to an area and they bring great revenue. Sio Paulo, Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro are three cities that make up Brazil's industrial triangle, which is the centre of its industry. Sio Paulo is home to approximately one-third of the Brazilian GDP, with its economy based on machinery and automobile industry. Rio de Janeiro had the second largest economy after Sio Paulo and is home to the country's largest bank – Banco de Brazil. Belo Horizonte has become an international reference in information technology and Biotechnology. The Core has a good infrastructure, with efficient roads and railways that attract development. There is a large market for consumer goods and services, with a thriving work force, created by the large population. The South East of Brazil was the centre of trade in the country's colonial history too. Brazil was a Portuguese colony for over 300 years and the Portuguese exploited the land and exported minerals to Europe. The Southeast of the country was their centre of trade, so ports began to grow to export raw materials e. g. Santos and Rio de Janeiro. This was the start of the core's advanced development that left the peripheral areas behind in development. Foreign investment has accelerated the Core's development, with Germany as an example. Germany has invested $10 billion in Brazil, as 15% of its total foreign investment. There are now 1,024 German companies present in Brazil. Now German executives are being replaced by Brazilians to take over and run the companies. This will benefit the country even further, as its people become wealthier. As well as Germany, the united States have invested too, and Sio Paulo is considered to headquarter more American Companies than any other city outside of the U. S. The Car Industry has been a catalyst for development. With Ford, General Motors and VW in Brazil, hundreds of component suppliers have been attracted. Near to VW's plant for bus and trucks, is Volta Redonda, Brazil's main steel industry. This thrives from the car industry in Brazil and brings 1800 more jobs and $250 million of investment to Brazil. The Periphery is quiet different, located in the Centre West of Brazil. The Peripheral areas often suffer from declining industries, creating a negative image, which is unfavourable to new development in relation to the core. Low productivity and reduced demand for minerals has left the periphery less favourable in comparison with the core. Young and ambitious workers often leave the periphery to move the core, where there are greater job opportunities. This adds to the problems that the periphery faces, with a reduced work force and an aging population. The North has never been prosperous and has always been thinly populated. The development of Brazil's peripheral region has been stunted by its many problems. Environmentally, the peripheral areas in the North- East suffer epic droughts. This area is struck by mild droughts every 3years and a severe one every 12. Any remaining water is unsafe to drink and cholera strikes in epidemics. The temperatures through the dry season can reach 42iC and the temperatures and dry conditions make development very difficult and slow. The land available for growing crops is scarce and the soil is generally poor, thus meaning farmers that are dependant on one crop can't grow it, are struggle for food for their livestock. The people often have no or little education and can only get jobs in unskilled sectors and industry is mainly in agriculture. Most people are dependant on cottage industries and specific crops. The Northeast is the poorest region of Brazil, with the worst HDI rates of the country, mainly in the rural areas, which suffer from long periods without rain. This is somewhat ironic since the Northeast, during Brazil's colonial era when sugar production was higher, was the most prosperous region in all of South America. Health care is very bad, malnutrition is common in people living in these areas and child labor is a concern, as is child prostitution in major cities. Prostitution in the major cities has become an enormous problem, caused largely by the low Brazilian minimum wage as well as sexual tourism. In contrast to the situation occurring in the other Brazilian regions where social problems are worse in bigger cities, social problems in the Northeast regions are worse in the rural and small communities of the interior, lessening in bigger cities near the coast. With a lack of mineral resources and a poor infrastructure the Northeast of Brazil's development was very slow, especially with little energy resource to aid it. The quality of life in the Peripheral areas was low and the higher wages in the core appear much more favourable. The Core has its Problems too, overcrowding of people and competition for business, resulted in the core overheating. People move to the Southeast to improve their quality of life. However so many people now live and work in the big cities of the core that this begins to create its own problems. Since not enough housing can be provided for all these people or indeed afforded, people make their homes on unreclaimed public land. This resulted in a high occurrence of Shanty Towns or Favelas. These areas of irregular and poor quality housing are often crowded onto hillsides. Landslides in such areas, caused primarily by heavy rainfall but worsened by deforestation, are frequent. In recent decades, favelas have been troubled by drug-related crime and gang warfare. There are rumors that common social codes in favelas forbid residents from engaging in criminal activity while inside their own favela. Favelas are often considered a disgrace and an eyesore for local people within Brazil. The overcrowding caused by in-migration in the cities results in congestion and air pollution. This is worsened by the industrial pollution from manufacturing companies and from petrochemicals. Competition from other companies has resulted in closures of existing ones, meaning jobs are lost. Also wage rate were seen to be lower elsewhere so some businesses have chosen to move, to pay lower rates. The port of Santos had noticeably higher holding charges than other major ports; commerce was lost here as companies left. Under Unemployment is an issue in Brazil, this is where people hold jobs that don't contribute to the country's productivity. These are jobs in the informal sector such as, camelos, street vendors and prostitution. The minimum Monthly wage is R$200, although about 30million people in Brazil are not even making that much. The Brazilian government designed strategies to spread development across Brazil, with the Amazon region and the Northeast as the main problem areas. To begin the alterations a nationwide transport network was built, this included the Amazonian Highway. This re-encouraged mining and other economic activities to develop in the Amazon region. Two main approaches were used to tackle regional differences. These were the top-down and the bottom-up approaches. The top down approach is central around the government's decisions and doesn't really involve the people. Governments often concentrate their development resources in Growth poles, such as Brasilia and Recife, with the hope that economic growth will take place and spread to surrounding areas. Also growth corridors are often designated, that are designed to encourage industrial investment. These are often positioned along major roads that connect major urban areas and provide good access. In the Northeast there has now been heavy investment from new industries using power from the Sao Francisco River and the capital city was moved from Rio de Janeiro to a new city Brasilia. These are Top-down approaches, where government decisions try to overcome the disparity between the rich and the poor. Bottom-up approaches are centered on the people, helping them to help themselves. Local communities are consulted about the best ways to improve their quality of life, and they together plan the best methods. The government offered incentives to encourage businesses like Grendene to move away from the core. In this case the shoe company Grendene, worth $100billion, moved to the North East. The Capital of Brazil used to be Rio de Janeiro but in 1960 the Brazilian government decided to build a new capital inland, Brasilia, in an effort to develop the interior of Brazil. Brasilia acted like a magnet and changed migration patterns, and encouraged economic development in different areas. Many specific strategies were also implemented. Two regional development agencies were set up in 1959 called SUDENE and SUDAM, and they were responsible for managing the economic and social development of the country. SUDENE in the Northeast and SUDAM in the North; organized programmes such as; road building, the installation of power stations, building schools and developing ports. The work of SUDENE linked with the Northeastern pact of 1996 many improvements were made. The infrastructure in terms of irrigation, energy supply, transport and communications were improved. Canals were formed to link up rivers, dams were built and the drinking water was improved. Also efforts were made to modernise agriculture, to promote subsistence farming and cottage industry, to avoid the worst effects of droughts. Beer brewing plants were moved from Rio de Janeiro to Ceari, the Antarctica and Kaiser breweries created new jobs and revenue. This followed other industries moving to the northeast to lower labour costs and tax breaks. Also the state Maranhao has begun to attract companies from Taiwan, with and expected benefit of $1 billion. This move is to find cheaper labour and the abundance of raw materials in the area. Brazil now has a good tourism industry set up, with visitors coming to the beautiful locations along the north east coasts especially. Although progress has certainly been made, the regional programmes have not lived up to their entire expectations. Sustainable growth wasn't always considered and tax incentives made quick short term solutions. Further development in the Northern areas of Brazil has meant huge areas of forest land have been cleared under the grounds of land improvement, but deforestation is posing a larger threat. Global climate change has resulted in stricter rules, which could hinder their progress. The increasing debt of the country has meant that there is less and less capital available for investment. The gap between the core and the peripheral regions in Brazil has certain closed a little but there is certainly more to be done.

Learn About the Delphis RightStr Function

Declaration:  function  RightStr(const  AString: AnsiString;  const  Count: Integer): AnsiString;overload;function  RightStr(const  AString: WideString;  const  Count: Integer): WideString;overload; Description Returns a string containing a specified number of characters from the right side of a string. AString represents a string expression from which the rightmost characters are returned. The count indicates how many characters to return. If greater than or equal to the number of characters in AString, the entire string is returned. Example var s : string; s : ABOUT DELPHI PROGRAMMING; s : RightStr(s,5); // s MMING