Effects Of Gambling Essays - Gambling, Entertainment,

Effects Of Gambling Gambling is prominent in todays society. This can be seen especially through politics. Everywhere voters are electing people to office who are pro gambling. William Thompson of the University of Nevada (1994) describes politicians by stating, Its part of the American landscape, theyll trade morality for dollars (1). In North and South Carolina, for example, the last governor election showed that the people were for legal gambling by voting in governors who wanted a lottery. Now in the U.S., 47 states including the District of Columbia have legalized gambling. This increase in gambling is argued to be good for the economy, but there is further proof that it not only hurts the economy but society as well. Gambling has become outrageous. In England last year a bookmaking firm called William Hill of London offered bets on the end of the world. Some of these bets include civilization destroyed by mass suicide at 100 million to one odds, destruction by aliens at 500,000 to one odds, and worldwide floods at 100,000 to one odds. One man put a pound on 6,666,666 to one odds that the world would end at six p.m. on the sixth day of the sixth month of 1999. Another man bet at one million to one odds that the world would end on August 11, 1999 at 12:50 p.m. (ironically that happens to be Jerry Springers time slot on many stations) (Playboy 20). Super Bowl bets in Las Vegas were also astounding this past year according to Time magazine. People bet on things like a completed first pass-attempt by John Elway, the jersey number of the first person to score, the team to score the longest touchdown, and the total number of fumbles by both teams. (18) The NCAA mens basketball tournament brought in millions of dollars this past season through gambling. Approximately 80 million was wagered with Nevada bookmakers. This was the first time that the tournament had more bets than the 78 million bet on the Super Bowl. Aside from the legal betting, the FBI estimated that 2.5 million was wagered illegally on the tournament. Many college students/athletes are now getting involved in this sort of gambling. A 1996 study completed by the University of Cincinnati surveyed 2,000 male student-athletes about NCAA rule violations and found that 25% gambled on college events other than their own. Also, 4% admitted to wagering on their own games, and 3% changed the outcome of a game in which they participated (Saum 2). In 1998, a study at a University in the Southeast Conference involving 1000 students showed that athletes were nearly twice as likely to become problem gamblers than non-athletes. Another study was conducted by surveying 1,700 students from six different colleges and universities. It found that 33% of males and 15% of females in college gamble at least once a week. College student gamblers tend to be people who believe they have control of their own destiny, take risks, and feel they ha the skill to be successful in whatever they do. Many college athletes have these same characteristics which could be one of the reasons they gamble. Many cases of college athletes loosing eligibility over gambling exist. One in particular was at a Division I university where student athletes lost 20-30% playing time in a season over betting on professional football and basketball games. In another case at a Division III School, baseball players placed bets using parlay cards and were withheld from playing half of their season. Sports wagering has become very popular and has grown immensely. One reason is that more games are televised. People like to bet on games they can watch. Another reason is that many residence halls are wired to the Internet. Through the Internet, people can place bets on any event at any time. Most like this easy access. Also, many students have access to credit cards. In a survey of students who applied for a loan, it was found that 65% have credit cards and 20% have four or more credit cards. The average balance for these cards is 2,200 dollars. The NCAA is coming up with solutions to the problem of student and illegal wagering on games. One is to build

Huck Finn Essays - Picaresque Novels, Huckleberry Finn, Free Essays

Huck Finn Essays - Picaresque Novels, Huckleberry Finn, Free Essays Huck Finn complex meaning. The above quote was taken from Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the thirty-first chapter. Huck's words in this quote illustrate and directly relate with how modern man copes with what Mark Twain termed the inescapable dilemma of Democracy. In the novel, Huck is faced with the dilemma of whether or not to return Jim, the runaway slave, back to Jims owner. He, at an early age, is faced with the decision that has plagued man for ages: choosing what is morally right, even though it is forbidden in society and popular culture. He goes against the fold and goes with what his heart tells him. Huck's predicament is Twains inescapable dilemma. In an essay by Roger Rosenblatt, entitled The Bill of Rights, Rosenblatt ends his essay with a single line: Downriver we ride together, as ever, free to go to hell. Rosenblatts final line in his essay makes an important point. It is not just Huck who is faced with decisions. Huckleberry Finn represents every person who has ever had to make a decision between what they feel is morally correct and what society perceives as right. Today Huck's dilemma with whether or not it is right to help free his eventual friend Jim can be compared with a doctors decision on whether or not to perform an abortion. The tough decision a doctor has to make about abortion is an example of an inescapable dilemma that plagues modern man. In abortion, the doctor is faced with a difficult decision. Should he take the life of an unborn child? What if the child was deformed, or was otherwise going to be born into a possibly unhealthy environment? Is taking away the opportunity to live life morally wrong or not? There are many more questions that face the doctor as well as the mother of the fetus. As the mother and the doctor are faced with this dilemma, sometimes what they feel is morally correct is not legal- as abortion is illegal in certain states. Huck would definitely be breaking the law if he freed Jim. Jim is just a slave to most of the people. He is just property that can be sold or used until it wears out. Huck sees more than just the slave qualities in Jim. Huck sees life. Similarly many people see life in an unborn fetus and have real qualms with killing a developing child. Another example of an inescapable dilemma is guns. Should it be legal for man to have the power to purchase such an item whose sole purpose is to drain life in general and human life? With the many stories of accidents because of children experimenting with guns, safety is an important issue. America is a free country though, and the Second Amendment under the Constitution, though a limited amendment, allows citizens the right to bear arms. So is this amendment morally correct? Equally, Huck has been raised to think that slaves are merely niggers who aren't equal, but Huck is also a man of nature and sees all squirrels as squirrels, and all people as people. Huck knows Jim is more than others say he is, and he isn't about to let Jim lead a life of cruelty because there are other people who think they are better because they have lighter skin than Jim. Modern man deals with dilemmas such as these with anguish and frustration. Modern man has found a way to try to solve his problems, mostly through petitions, rallies, picketing, and writing letters to Congressmen. Would one expect to see Huckleberry Finn writing an angry letter to his Congressman? Would one see him picketing Jims masters house in Hannibal because he didnt support slavery? It is highly unlikely. Instead, Huck simply tears up his note and utters the famous quote that was quoted in the first sentence of this essay. Huck makes a decision in himself that goes against society. He does not wait. Huck simply takes the situation into his own hands. That is what makes him different from modern man. According to Rosenblatt, modern man needs to be more like Huckleberry Finn. Modern man needs to simply decide whether an action is morally correct or not, and act on his decision be it legal or illegal. Huck proved that actions speak louder than words by ripping up his note to Miss Watson. Thus, modern man needs to rip up

Competitors analysis and 4p analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Competitors analysis and 4p analysis - Essay Example atapact business with three competitors in a bid to determine areas in which the company can adjust to increase its performance using the four parameters. We shall first compere Datapact with Netstar. In terms of products, the two companies offers a variety of IT services to their customers with the sole aim of increasing their revenues and for diversification purposes. Datapact offers consultancy, security and antivirus solutions, hardware maintenance, software licensing and compliance among many other IT services (Datapact 2014). Nestar on the other hand offers a wide range of IT services which includes fixing it problems, cloud computing, experts in mac IT support, ditching slow connectivity among other IT services. The two companies therefore offer several services to help solve their customers’ problems and demands. In terms of promotion, both companies have relied heavily on references and used social media platform to lure potential customers and ensure customer retention. Datapact has for instance included the testimonials of their customers on the website with the objective of attracting new customers and giving assurance to the market of the quality of services it offers. Netsar similarly has included complementary messages of their customers to show satisfaction for their products and as a marketing strategy meant to attract customers. Both companies have also used social media platforms and electronic advertising to help expand their businesses and increase their revenues. Prices of Netstar are fixed and are based on a per user rates. On the other hand, Datapact offers flexible rates to their customers and promises affordable prices as a way of ensuring that their costs are customer friendly. The fourth important element of marketing is the place. Datapact as a company offers their customers services both in their offices and at the customer premises depending on the nature of the service being offered. Computer hardware are sold to the customers