Monday 13 July 2015

Prison with a recording studio: how Norway does it differently

If you read through to the end of this short article, you'll find some interesting stats comparing crime in Norway and the US, which takes pride in the harshness of its prisons. Food for thought: should we focus on punishment or rehabilitation?

Sunday 12 July 2015

Report says youth suffering while pensioners prioritised

UK ‘failing its young’ as gulf grows between generations
“The foundation’s vitally important index makes it clear that the UK is failing its young,” he said. “The UK, like other developed economies, has engaged in fiscal, educational, health and environmental child abuse.”
Click here to read the article; it uses quite complex language, being from a broadsheet newspaper

Tuesday 7 July 2015

Gambling, Addiction and FOBTs

WHAT CAN I FIND IN THIS POST?
It starts with a short list of hyperlinked (CTRL-click to visit the page in a new tab, keeping this page open!) articles and a podcast, most looking at the issue of 'FOBTs' (gambling machines found in bookies which many are getting addicted to).
Videos on this follow.
Finally, there are a series of links for researching specifically the issue of teen/young problem gamblers.

FOBT = fixed-odds betting terminal

1: ARTICLES/PODCAST ON FOBTs
The resources below present a variety of views and experiences of gambling, including stories from some people who are addicted to gambling. Many argue that these 'FOBTs' are a key part of 'problem gambling', and you'll notice that one of the videos is from a pressure group specifically campaigning to ban these.

You should start with this feature by the NHS, which features a problem gambler also profiled by the BBC.

Newspaper articles
I gathered these from one source, The Guardian (they collect similar stories here); if you go on to other papers' websites websites you can find more such stories, some with different views

1 Curb on betting terminals will enforce cut in maximum stake
Ministers to tackle 'crack cocaine of gambling' with new limits on fixed-odds betting terminals


2 Students who gamble their loans away
'I lost £8,000 in an hour,' says a student gambler. Why are students increasingly drawn to betting?

3 Bookmakers retaliate in battle over tax on FOBT high street casinos
George Osborne's tax on fixed odds betting terminals has the bookmaking industry scaremongering about job losses – a weakness racing can exploit



2: VIDEO CLIPS ON FOBTs
C4 News Debate (5mins)
An industry spokesman and a gambling addict debate the issue of FOBTs.


BBC Look North Report (5mins)