Safety Of Road Workers On Maintenance Of Highways Construction Essay

Safety Of Road Workers On Maintenance Of Highways Construction Essay Highways maintenance and road workers ensure that roads and pavements are safe and well maintained in towns, cities and rural areas throughout the country of operation. They might also build new roads and look after the repair, building and resurfacing of the countrys motorway networks. Highway maintenance safety involves safety of workers working on highway or road network services including road markings, pothole patching, road signs, road and footpath resurfacing, gully or drain cleaning, flooding, safety barriers, school crossing patrols, winter maintenance (snow removal), vegetation control, emergency services installing cats eyes, digging access trenches for cable and pipe laying, applying specialist surface treatments (such as high friction surfacing) traffic lights, fencing and street lamps and many more. All these maintenance activities need proper road safety awareness and control when they are executed, so working safely is aimed at staff from any road sector with no super visory or managerial responsibility to be made aware of the risks involved. It is of utmost importance to provide the essentials of health and safety for everyone at work to have an understanding of why they must work safely and this can be achieved by training road workers through the use of seminars and workshops. In Britain, roads are some of the busiest and dangerous in the world, but in today`s traffic conditions, it shows that live in carriageway of any highway is a very-very dangerous place to work and injuries to road workers have been increasing against the national trend. Road workers or operators will often be responsible for setting up warning signs, cones and temporary traffic lights and redirecting pedestrians. They may also manage traffic flow while colleagues are working, communicating with another operator via radio or hand signals further down the road are commonly used devices. As a road supervisor before conducting roadwork jobs, review the required tasks, location, and time of day to determine the necessary equipment, personnel, and materials required.   Plan how you will control traffic along the road and within the construction zone.   Have enough trained flaggers to complete your work.   Gather the signs, cones, flags, drums, and/or message boards that you will need for the job.   Inspect your signage to make sure it is in good repair and highly visible.   Clean or discard dirty equipment with limited visibility. Get training on traffic control and safe work practices.   Set up and maintain your roadside work zone properly.   Get training on the equipment that you will use and drive, from the smallest tool to the largest moving vehicle.   The operation of tools and equipment must be according to the manufacturers recommendations.   Know the hazards of the chemicals and materials that you use and get training on the personal protective equipment that you are required to wear, including its uses and limitations.   Wear high visibility garments on your legs and chest.   Wear your assigned persona protective equipments, including a hardhat, safety shoes, and work gloves.   Consider earplugs or muffs, safety glasses, and fall protection depending on the job task. In the work zone, workers must watch for fast-moving motorists and large construction equipment.   Set up parking zones for your working vehicles such that they have safe entrances and exits from the highway that is maintained and group your vehicles on the same side of the road for visibility.   As a supervisor you can set-up the job site and tasks to minimize the need to cross the active road time and again and also  set up traffic lanes within the jobsite for clear access and visibility. When working on road, work facing traffic and stay alert, or station a lookout to watch oncoming traffic.  The workers should have an escape route or a plan of action in place for any emergencies.   Watch for backing vehicles because the driver often has a limited view.   Practice good communication and make sure all vehicles have backup alarms.   If you are flagging, acting as a lookout or traffic director you must remain alert,  do not drink, smoke, or have a conversation while performing these duties. Road work is a physical job requiring strength and endurance, worker must  stay fit so that their bodies can do the work.  Road work occurs in all types of weather and throughout the year.  They should wear appropriate clothing for the climate.   Light coloured layers and sunscreen protect them during the hot months while layers of moisture-wicking clothing protect you in the cold.   The road workers must get plenty of rest, eat right, and drink no-alcoholic drink s enough to stay healthy and alert on the job. From the Road Workers Perspective, there are few jobs more important than highway maintenance. It may go largely unappreciated by the end customer the motorist, but road workers are looking after some of the busiest roads in the world in the face of continued growth in Britains vehicle fleet, and the inevitable consequences of that growth for wear-and-tear on the network. And by helping to tackle congestion, road workers are directly supporting the British economy. And they do this despite working in some of the most difficult conditions that anyone has to tolerate. The risk of death or injury at work, faced daily by the workers who maintain Englands motorways and trunk roads, is highlighted by the results of a recent industry survey. Almost one in five workers suffers some injury caused by passing vehicles in the course of their careers while working on our road network. More than three-quarters suffer verbal abuse from drivers, and many have reported having objects thrown at them by motorists. Road Workers even change the light bulbs in the central reservation. Surveys have been previously contacted and road workers were asked if they had experienced near miss, verbal abuse, slight personal injury, major personal injury caused by road users vehicle and the responses were: 13% of road workers surveyed had sustained slight injuries; 3% had sustained major injuries; 77% had suffered verbal abuse from passing drivers 54% had a near miss with a vehicle 40% had experienced missiles deliberately thrown at them From these studies road workers felt most at risk during the morning and evening peak travel periods and in the early hours of the morning. There are believes that there is a vital need to educate drivers to start taking the problem of speeding and the outcomes of speeding more seriously. The habitual speeders know that other people dont necessarily disapprove of their actions in the same way as they disapprove of drink-driving syndrome. It took a long time to change attitudes to drink-driving, but by communicating the message at every opportunity, with intelligent advertising and marketing, the Government can and has eventually succeeded in most countries, likewise today, drink-driving is socially unacceptable in the community. Therefore a similar change is required with speeding and peoples attitude to road works. In UK, Highway Traffic Management Agency was launched in 2005 and since it was launched issues that dominated are the road maintenance safeties. Its goal is to have zero road injuries and zero fatalities by getting a reasonable balance between the needs of the road user and the safety of road workers using a risk based approach as a short term. The long-term aim was to plan future improvements that make the working environment safer, including: design for maintenance/operation, which has the added benefits of whole-life cost savings, less interventions and less congestion; reduce road workers exposure to live traffic and lessen the risks to road workers when on the network; highlight the importance of road workers and their safety to the public by raising awareness and the industry consistently maintaining the highest standards. Finally it was to improve road user awareness and responses by improving driver education. At a general level, the government has taken the Road Safety Bill through Parliament, including new drink-driving legislation, driver training schemes, and a revised penalty system and is looking at improvements to the speed camera network and working with the police to fight back against anti-social use of roads. The Highways Agency Road Worker Safety Action Plan was unveiled at the conference held in 2006, with some of potential solutions listed in the including a review of procedures to reduce the exposure of road workers to live traffic and cut the risks of working on the highway. A review of maintenance priorities so workers dont have to be on the network so often more targeted speed limits at road works which can be altered to match safety requirements. Improving of the accuracy and content of variable message signs to give road users more warning of works and the presence of road workers also improving the training of workers on high-speed roads, the promotion of better driver awareness and improved driver education, also finally the development of an incident and near-miss reporting centre. The Importance of Traffic Management When considering the traffic management plan for any major scheme the safety and security of both the travelling public and the workforce is the primary aim. By the very nature of road works operations, the element of risk is introduced when managing traffic on high speed roads. The first essential element is to reduce the risk by reducing the speed. This can be achieved to a certain extent through the use of traffic management measures but experience has proven that the only reliable way of achieving consistently reduced speeds is through the use of safety cameras. The introduction of a temporary speed limit and safety cameras is done in conjunction with the respective Safety Camera Partnership, who follow a risk assessment process which considers the level of exposure to risk of the public and the workforce. This is the reason that a variety of different traffic management measures can often be found at road works sites. However, the biggest single risk to road workers occurs not i n major schemes but during routine maintenance operations and emergency lane closures. During these operations it is often only a line of cones that separates the workforce from high speed traffic. During these operations there is a clear need for motorists to act responsibly and respect the rights of road workers. Planning Road works Traditionally, if there is one thing that causes motorists more frustration than any other, it is the overnight appearance of a forest of cones with little or no warning or information as to the reason. Hopefully, this aspect is largely becoming a thing of the past as a significant amount of planning is now undertaken prior to any major road works scheme. Such projects are now often planned several years ahead taking cognisance of issues such as the optimum time and the likelihood of reliable weather where this is a requirement. The substantial rise in traffic volumes over the past decade has significantly impacted on road works planning, through not just the increased maintenance requirements brought about by the additional volume, but through the challenges to keep congestion at a minimum as any reduction in available road space can have significant consequences for journey times. While safety and security are the primary drivers when planning road works, contractors also incorpora te extensive consultation with affected local communities and a targeted media campaign designed to advise drivers who use the affected route of the proposed works and levels of disruption. This forward planning and awareness through the media allows for drivers to plan their journey accordingly. Engineering technology on road worker`s risk. This can be achieved both through measures at the construction stage and through the use of new and improved technology for maintenance operations. New construction processes and standards mean a much longer design life can be achieved at the outset, significantly reducing the amount of routine maintenance operations required. In addition, where a maintenance requirement is identified during construction, the facility to achieve this without significantly impacting on traffic flow is considered carefully and where appropriate, additional engineering measures are introduced. In respect to maintenance operations on existing structures and highways the Highway Traffic Management Agency has been actively involved in developing technology in association with the Highways Agency, and over the past few years a number of innovative solutions which have had a positive impact on safety have been introduced. New techniques to improve safety and reduce congestion at road works on high-speed road s, for example, are now undergoing trials. Automated cone laying machines, fixed to the rear of a traffic management vehicles, can place and collect standard road cones without the need for road workers to stand in a live carriageway next to fast moving traffic. The machines accurately positions cones on the road surface at 15mph laying up to 40 cones per minute and reducing the time taken to establish and remove temporary traffic management. Road users will benefit from the shorter period of time taken to change from normal carriageway to a coned-off area. Using the new machines, traffic cones will be laid and taken up more quickly, removing manual handling and enabling more routine maintenance work to be undertaken during each closure so reducing the frequency of road works and congestion. A new barrier transfer machine, which can lift 12 tons of concrete safety barriers for motorway road works into place at a speed of 7 mph, is also now in operation, offering a higher level of b arrier protection to motorway road workers. The mechanical broom which are now mostly used have improved the road worker`s safety and compared to manual sweeping. In June 2006, a new revised Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual was launched that gives guidance on best practice for temporary signing and management of traffic on the highway. Also it was designed to make traffic management for road works safer and less stressful for both workers and drivers. It talks about new measures like flashing cones on the approach to works; mobile carriageway closures; and improved incident management. It also encourages more effective use of speed limits at road works. Drivers should expect consistent limits to be set depending on the work being carried out, without confusing variations. That should be combined with speed detection equipment and other methods of persuading people to reduce speed. RECOMMENDATIONS Changing the behaviour of risk-taking drivers tends to require hard interventions, which require the involvement of police or other law enforcement organisations. For complying drivers, soft interventions such as the Respect campaign can be used; other interventions that could be applied to the issue of road worker safety and driver behaviour can include: Training road workers By training road workers through the use of seminars and workshops can make them aware of their risks and conscientious those involved on how best they can be aware of the job related risks. Improving driver skills There is a need for further training of professional drivers and specific training of all drivers to raise their awareness of the issues of driving through road works. Better self knowledge The public are an important partner in improving safety through road works. There is a need for greater awareness of personal skill levels and abilities to encourage better self pacing and improved behaviour when driving. This can be achieved through a high profile advertising campaign to raise the public profile of road worker safety. Such an approach aims to demonstrate the risk to drivers and road workers from speeding through road works. Improving the task It is important to ensure that the driving task when approaching and driving through road works is made as simple as possible to prevent overloading drivers with information. All those involved in applying the principles contained in the Traffic Signs Manual: Chapter 8 need to review their road works layouts in order to make the driving task as easy possible for an uninformed driver CONCLUSION It can be concluded that the behaviour of drivers towards road workers indicates that there is little respect for road works and road workers. At best the works and workers are tolerated, at worst the works are ignored and workers are abused either verbally or physically. Changing the attitude of drivers to road works is essential to improve the safety of both road workers and the drivers passing through road work sites. The behaviour of road drivers is directly or indirectly the cause of most road accidents, including those at road works. Influencing driver`s behaviour to prevent accidents at road works will improve road worker safety as well as that of the road user.

The Entity Relationship Diagram

The Entity Relationship Diagram Design the database system for Petcare. Petcare is a medium sized veterinary surgery with six branches across London. They want a database system developed to handle the records of the animals they care for, prescriptions and appointments. Entity-relationship diagram An entity-relationship diagram (ERD) is a data modeling technique that creates a graphical representation of the entities, and the relationships between entities, within an information system. This diagram is often used as a way to visualize a relational database: each entity represents a database table, and the relationship lines represent the keys in one table that point to specific records in related tables. ERDs may also be more abstract, not necessarily capturing every table needed within a database, but serving to diagram the major concepts and relationships. Definition of relationship A relationship is some association between entities. Relationship is shown by line between entities. Relationship lines indicate that each instance of an entity may have a relationship with instances of the connected entity, or vice versa. Definition of entity attribute An entity is characterized by a number of properties or attributes. Values assigned to attributes are used to distinguish one entity from another. Definition of Optionality and Cardinality Symbols at the ends of the relationship lines indicate the optionality and the cardinality of each relationship. Optionality expresses whether the relationship is optional or mandatory. Cardinality expresses the maximum number of relationships. Before analyzing the entities, let have a look the definition of entity. An entity can define as a thing which an organization recognizes as being capable of an independent existence and which can be uniquely identified. In addition, an entity is an abstraction from the complexities of some domain. Each entity is shown in box within the ERD. In this case study, the entities of the Veterinary Surgery are identified as followed: Owner is represented owners of animals which included name, address, home telephone number and mobile telephone number; Animal is represented information of an animal which included sex, age and owner Breed is represented information of breed for each animal type AnimalType is represented type of animal (dog, cat, rabbit, etc) Appointment Petcare keep the following information: the animal the appointment is for, the owner of the animal who requested the appointment, which veterinary doctor the appointment is with, the time and date of the appointment, the diagnosis made and the charge made for the appointment Prescription is represented record shows the period, in days, that the drug must be taken for. The cost of the medication is also recorded Drug contains the name of the drug DrugType contains the name of the drug type (Anti-biotic, Painkiller, Behaviour modification, Ear medication, Skin medication) Vet is represented the following information kept about them: name, address, home telephone number, and mobile telephone number Branch is kept for each branch of Petcare. This records the name of the branch (Enfield, Islington, Hackney, Holloway, Chingford or Leyton), address of the branch, telephone number, opening hours and emergency contact telephone number. Identifying the relationships for the model: Relationships mean that in a relational database, all entities have bonds between them, expressed as relationships. The relationship is a link between to entities, and it tells us something about which relationships exists between our entities. In the ER approach, more than one relationship can exist between any two entities. What is one-to-many and many-to-many Entity Relationship~ One-to-Many Entity Relationship is by far the most common relationship type. It consists of either a one through many or a zero through many notations on one side of a relationship and a one and only one or zero or one notation on the other. However, we can summarize all the entities to the Entity Relationship Data Model. Diagram for Entity Relationship Data Model which describes the content and structure of the data held by Petcare. Owner Breed Animal Prescription Drug DrugType AnimalType Appointment VetAnimalType Vet Branch Fig 1 entity relationship diagram for the Petcare. Normalized Tables Table is a data (value), which is the model of the vertical columns (which identifies the name) and the horizontal lines. A specified number of columns in the table, but may be any number of rows. Each row to identify the subset of the values in the column, which has been identified as a candidate key. Table in another term relationship, although there is the difference that a table is usually a multi-set (bag) as a series, and does not allow copies. In addition, the actual data rows, the panels are generally associated with some other meta-data, such as restrictions on the table or the values in columns. Primary key: Primary key is a field or combination of fields that uniquely identify a record in the table, so each tag can be placed without confusion. Primary key is the field (s) (primary key can be made up of more than one field) that uniquely identifies each record, ie the primary key is unique to each record and the value will never be duplicated in the same table. A constraint is a rule that defines what data are valid for the area. So the primary key constraint is the rule which says that the primary key field can not be empty and can not contain duplicate data. Database systems usually have more than one table, and these are usually related in any way. For example, a customer table and an Order table relate to each other on a unique customer number. The customer table will always be a record for each customer, and the Order table has a record for each order that the customer has. Foreign keys: A foreign key (sometimes referred to as the reference key) is a key used to link two tables together. Typically, you will have a primary key field from one table and paste it into another table, which becomes the foreign key (the primary key in the original table). A foreign key constraint that the data in the foreign keys must be consistent with the primary key of the table is linked. This is called reference integrity is to ensure that data entered is correct and is not unique Definition of Normalization Database normalization is a technique to reduce to the minimum duplication of information for designing relational database tables and in doing so to maintain the database for certain types of structural and logical problems, that is to say data anomalies. For example, when a given piece of information has multiple instances to be found in a table, this possible happen that these instances will not be kept consistent during the data in the table is updated, leading to a loss of data integrity. The such kind of problems are less vulnerable to a sufficiently normalized table, because its structure reflects the basic assumptions of the multiple instances of the same information should be used when a single instance of only. There are rules for UNF, 1NF, 2NF, 3NF, BCNF, 4NF, 5NF and domain-Key NF. Most textbooks mention 5NF and DKNF only in passing and note that they are not particularly applicable to be design process. Normalization is really about the formalism of simple ideas. All too often, the simplicity is lost in esoteric terminology and papers are often excessively concerned with the formalism and provide very practical insight. In this project, why need a normalization the database, it is because normalization is about designing a good database i.e. a set of related tales with a minimum of redundant data and no update, delete or insert anomalies. Normalization is a bottom up approach to database design, The designer interviews users and collects documents reports etc. The data on a report can be listed and then normalized to produce the required tables and attributes. First normal form to second normal form: To move form first normal form to second normal form I remove part-key dependencies. A relation is in second normal form if and only if it is first normal form every non key attributes is fully functionally dependent on the primary key Take for instance the table named Animal here I have a tow compound key BreedID and AppointmentID. BreedID and AppointmentID have influence on the Animal. Hence I brake out the determinant and dependent data items into their own table. Second normal form to third normal form: To move form second normal forms to tired normal form I remove inter-data dependences (non-key dependences). A relation is in third normal form if and only if it its in second normal form and every non-key attribute is non-transitively dependent on the primary key A use full mnemonic for remembering the relation for normalization is the distortion of the legal Oath presented below: No repeating group The data items depended upon the key. The while key And nothing but the key So help me code. Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF) A relation is in Boyce-Codd normal form (BCNF) if and only if every one of its important functional dependencies is a candidate key. The definition of BCNF is handling certain situations which 3NF does not deal with. To distinguish the characteristics of a relation between 3NF and BCNF are given below. Since it is such a relationship is unlikely to have these properties, in the real life design the most case of the relations in 3NF are also in BCNF. Therefore many authors propose a vaguely distinction between 3NF and BCNF when it involves about giving advice to normalize a design for long term. As the relations in 3NF and BCNF are slightly difference, it is a bit difficult to bring up with significantly examples. To be strictly conforming to the definition of 3NF does not handle a relation that: 1. Has multiple candidate keys, which 2. Those candidate keys are composite, and 3. The candidate key overlap. For example, the candidate keys have at least one common attribute. Here is all tables after normalization: OwnerID Name Address HomePhoneNumber Mobile Table 2.11 VetAnimalType Using a Database Management System (DBMS) set-up all of the above normalised tables A Database Management System (DBMS) is a set of computer software programs. It controls the creation, maintenance, and the use of the database with computer as a platform or of an organization and its end users. It allows the organizations to place control of organization-wide database development in the hands of database administrators and other specialists. A DBMS is a set of system software. It helps the use of integrated collection of data records and files known as databases. It allows the programs of different user application to access the same database easily. A DBMS is a set of software programs that controls the organization, storage, management, and retrieval of data in a database. DBMSs are categorized according to their data structures or types. The DBMS accepts requests for data from an application program and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data. The queries and responses must be submitted and received according to a format that conforms to one or more applicable protocols. When a DBMS is used, information systems can be changed much more easily as the organizations information requirements change. New categories of data can be added to the database without disruption to the existing system. A DBMS includes four main parts: data structure, modeling language, database query language, and transaction mechanisms: Components of DBMS Data Definition Subsystem helps user to create and maintain the data dictionary and define the structure of the files in a database. DBMS Engine accepts logical request from the various other DBMS subsystems, converts them into physical equivalent, and actually accesses the database and data dictionary as they exist on a storage device. Data Manipulation Subsystem helps user to add, change, and delete information in a database and query it for valuable information. Software tools within the data manipulation subsystem are most often the primary interface between user and the information contained in a database. It allows user to specify its logical information requirements. Data Administration Subsystem helps users to manage the overall database environment by providing facilities for backup and recovery, security management, query optimization, concurrency control, and change management. Application Generation Subsystem contains facilities to help users to develop transactions-intensive applications. It usually requires that user perform a detailed series of tasks to process a transaction. It facilities easy-to-use data entry screens, programming languages, and interfaces. Microsoft Access 2003 to setup normalized tables and designed test data. Set-up and test all of the following queries using Structured Query Language (SQL). Structured Query Language (SQL) is a computer language which is designed for managing data in a relational database management system. It lets users to access and manipulate the database. The following task is to display how the Structured Query Language helps users to managing data in the Academic Human resources department system. An SQL query manifests itself as a series of commands or statements. Queries may include arithmetic calculations and can use query elements or procedures stored in the system. SQL databases are designed from using SQL queries The SQL language is used to ask database questions for the data stored inside the database: what is the value of the element stored in Name index?, or what is the relationship between the data name and salary?. Manipulative commands, like insert data or update record are also issued using SQL queries. A Data Definition Language allows SQL queries to create or administer the data structures, the tables of data, which constitute the database. The actual syntax used is a little more strict and regimented than these natural language phrases suggest, but in effect this is the type of communication that will take place between a relational database and the person or device querying it using SQL. Provide printouts of SQL code for each query and the output produced when you run the query in the database you have developed: Display the names and addresses of the branches of Petcare and the names of all the veterinary doctors working at each of the branches. Any specialism(s) of the veterinary doctors should also be shown. Below is the SQL code for create the table. SELECT Branch.BranchName, Branch.Address, VET.VetName, AnimalType.AnimalTypeName FROM (AnimalType INNER JOIN VetAnimalType ON AnimalType.AnimalTypeID = VetAnimalType.AnimalTypeID) INNER JOIN (Branch INNER JOIN VET ON Branch.BranchID = VET.BranchID) ON VetAnimalType.VetAnimalTypeID = VET.VetAnimalTypeID; Display all the appointments for the whole of the Petcare organisation. This should be ordered by date. The result should display the branch the appointment is at, the name of the veterinary doctor the appointment is with, the date and time of the appointment, the name of the animal the appointment is for, the type of animal and the breed of the animal. Below is the SQL code for create the table. SELECT Branch.BranchName, Vet.VetName, Appointment.Date, Appointment.Time, Animal.AnimalName, AnimalType.AnimalTypeName, Breed.BreedName FROM (Branch INNER JOIN Vet ON Branch.BranchID = Vet.BranchID) INNER JOIN ((AnimalType INNER JOIN Breed ON AnimalType.AnimalTypeID = Breed.AnimalTypeID) INNER JOIN (Animal INNER JOIN Appointment ON Animal.AnimalID = Appointment.AnimalID) ON Breed.BreedID = Animal.BreedID) ON Vet.VetID = Appointment.VetID Task 5 assumptions and Improvements Assumption For the design the Petcare database system, we have made some assumptions before the implementation of the database. The entity relationship diagramming is created to identify each entity, relationship and attributes. The assumptions are the follows: We must need to assign vet to any new appointment. Since each doctor only can work at one Branch at a time and they can specialize more than one type of animal. This mean all branch can for any type of animal to make appointment. set all the primary keys and foreign keys in all of the tables, each table have their unique ID. Each table should have a primary key, and each table can have only one primary key. In the task 3, we are using DBMS, Microsoft Access 2003, to setup normalized tables and designed test data. In the task 4, we are using SQL statements base on Microsoft Access 2003 to query our database to investigate the database system can be fulfills the requirements or not. Base on using the Entity relationship data model that describes the content and structure of the data help by the department. At the real environment, we can consider the database on three levels of abstraction: external, conceptual, and internal. The external level also has the users views of the database. This is depending on their needs, different users access different parts of the database. Improvements Object-orientation and databases Both object-oriented programming and relational database management systems (RDBMSs) are extremely common in software today. Since relational databases do not store objects directly (though some RDBMSs have object-oriented features to approximate this), there is a general need to bridge the two worlds. The core of object-relational thinking is the ability to incorporate greater levels of abstraction into data models. This idea represents a major shift in the way that data modeling is done. Current relational databases are usually highly normalized but with little abstraction. Each thing of interest is instantiated as a relational table. As a result, systems frequently require numerous database tables and an equal number of screen modules and reports. The program modules are usually based directly on these tables with user workflow only instantiated through the way that the hundreds of screen modules interact. The object-oriented (OO) approach to data modeling will be something of a change for people familiar with entity relationship modeling. Even though we still end up with tables and relationships at the end of the process, the way to think about the modeling process has to change. Object-relational data models have several advantages over traditional data models: They require fe wer entities (or classes in object-oriented terminology); They are more robust, in that they will support not only the specific user requirements gathered during the analysis phase, but will also usually support a broader class of requirements; They are more stable in that, as new requirements arise, the models will require fewer changes than traditional models Data is not information unless it is valued. Information value provides profit or gain only when accessible or used. Accessibility and use, through organized systems, provides competitive advantage. Speed determines the degree of competitive advantage. Computerized database systems are thus, the ultimate method of high-speed information retrieval. It is not difficult to build an organized database system. The difficulty lies in the laborious, mundane task of collecting, categorizing and maintaining the massive amounts of data. Information is not valued unless it is legitimate. It must be valid and true to be worthy of use in decision-making. So, it is critical that all aspects of our system provide quality. To quote statistics based on erroneous data is considered foolish or criminal. The core of object-relational thinking is the ability to incorporate greater levels of abstraction into data models. This idea represents a major shift in the way that data modeling is done. Current relational databases are usually highly normalized but with little abstraction. The database systems have become so important to organizations that the activity is devoted to planning for, monitoring and administering the systems. We can focus on the planning and managerial activities relevant to database. It is defined the concept of data administration, the scope of the data administration function, relate the costs and benefits of having a data administration functions. It also defines the concept of a data dictionary and considers the issue of database security. The data control is primary function for the database administrator (DBA). The DBA needs to be able to do three main things: Prevent would-be users from logging-on to the database Allocate access to specific parts of the database to specific users Allocate access to specific operations to specific users For the DBMS toolkit to review the database, the interface is essential function of most ICT systems it to interact with users. The three aspects are the content, control and format. The interface can be seen as collection of dialogues between the user and the ICT systems.

Racial Beauty Standards In The Bluest Eye Essay -- Toni Morrison

In Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, the character Claudia struggles with a beauty standard that harms her sense of self-esteem. Claudia tries to make sense of why the beauty standard does not include black girls. The beauty standard determines that blonde-haired blue-eyed white girls are the image of beauty and therefore they are worthy of not only attention, but are considered valuable to American culture of the 1940s. Thus, learning she has no value or beauty as a black girl, Claudia destroys her white doll in an attempt to understand why white girls are beautiful and subsequently worthy, socially superior members of society. In destroying the doll, Claudia attempts to destroy the beauty standard that works to make her feel socially inferior and ugly because of her skin color. Consequently, Claudia's destruction of the doll works to show how the beauty standard was created to keep black females from feeling valuable by producing a sense of self-hate in black females. The racia l loathing created within black women keeps them as passive objects and, ultimately, leads black women, specifically Pecola, to destroy themselves because they cannot attain the blue eyes of the white beauty standard. Claudia tries to resist loving white girls that her sister, Frieda, and friend, Pecola, admires for their beautiful featuresÂâ€" blonde hair and blue eyes. Claudia does not believe that Frieda and Pecola should admire girls who do not look like them physically. Unable to convince Frieda and Pecola that white girls are not the only standard of beauty, Claudia begins to have intense feelings of resentment and anger toward the white beauty standard: "I couldn't join them in their adoration because I hated Shirley. Not because she was... ...g" that she does not really care for white features and/or white girls but she must pretend to have the same feelings and admiration for whiteness. So why must Claudia pretend to like white girls? Claudia learns it is easier to love the white beauty standard than to fight it because everyone even black women believe in white as the only source of beauty. She cannot fight the whole cultureÂâ€"the media, her sister, her friends, her community and the white community. So Claudia must "convert from pristine sadism to fabricated hatred, to fraudulent love (Morrison 23)." She must fake her love for whiteness in order to survive in the culture; she must learn to hate her self to survive and treat herself as invisible object, rather than the socially recognized white girl. Works Cited Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. Afterward by Toni Morrison. New York: Penguin, 1994.

Steven Spielberg Essay -- essays research papers

Steven Spielberg   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a kid in Phoenix, Steven Spielberg charged admission to his home movies while his sister sold popcorn. Although Spielberg excelled at making movies he was not a good student. He hated school and was one of the most unathletic students there. His movie making career began at the age of twelve when his father bought a movie camera that Spielberg used all the time. Instead of doing his school work he was using the camera. While he was working with his mom and sister on his projects, his father helped him make miniature sets out of paper mache.He turned out his first production, with script and actors, when he was thirteen, and a year later he won a prize for a forty minute war movie titled Escape to Nowhere. At the age of sixteen, his 140-minute production, Firelight, was shown in a local movie theater. In college, his short film, Amblin was shown at the Atlanta Film Festival and led to the boy genius's Universal Studios directing contract at the age of twenty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Spielberg learned his craft doing television work, which included an episode of the Rod Serling series Night Gallery and the classic cult movie Duel. His first feature, The Sugarland Express, was released in 1974, and he was soon offered the chance to direct a thriller about a great white shark terrorizing a small New England beach town. Jaws cost $8.5 million and grossed $260 million. Spielberg followed it up two years later with Close Enc...

How important are the chapters one to three in Great Expectations? Essa

How important are the chapters one too three in Great Expectations? What does the reader learn about the social and historical, from these chapters? The setting from the start of the book is very important, from the unwelcoming and stereotypical graveyard that give the book a starting tense and exiting mood, and the humble blacksmiths that acts as a platform for Pip's expectations and the opposite setting to much of the grander scenery in London. The graveyard at the start of the book is typical example of how the setting contributes so well to the story and the atmosphere; this is just one of the more obvious examples. Starting the book in a graveyard quickly informs the reader of a lot of information about Pips history that under different circumstances would have taken a lot longer to explain; things like Pips parents and family were quickly and briefly explained to the readers via the gravestones and Magwitches asking "Where's your mother?" and Pip's response being "There sir" as he points to his Mother, Father and five sibling's gravestones. The graveyard is...

High employee performance

Question: â€Å" Making people satisfied in and with their occupations generates high employee public presentation. † Discus This essay argues whether high employee public presentation is a consequence of doing people happy in and with their occupations. It will sketch the points in favor and against the statement whilst mentioning to the different occupation satisfaction and public presentation theories that have been examined by Human Resource Management ( HRM ) theoreticians. The different points and theories on the occupation satisfaction occupation public presentation theoretical accounts will besides be highlighted to back up the statement. Job public presentation is officially defined as the value of the set of employee behaviours that contribute, either positively or negatively to organizational end achievement ( Colquit, Lepine, Wesson pg. 37 ) . Job satisfaction on the other is defined as a enjoyable emotional province ensuing from the assessment of 1s occupation or occupation experiences ( Colquit, Lepine, Wesson pg. 104 ) . In other words, it represents how you feel about your occupation and what you think about your occupation. There are different factors that contribute to employee satisfaction in the workplace runing from inducements such as periphery benefits to wagess such as higher wage. One cardinal factor that affects employee satisfaction is motive. Motivation has been describe as the cognitive determination devising procedure through which end directed behavior is initiated, energized, directed and maintained. ( Andrzej, Huzynski, Buchanan ) . This merely means that motive is what drives an person to bring forth an result. There is a valid nexus between these two descriptions and research has shown that occupation satisfaction most times leads to high employee public presentation. Take for e.g. theoretical account 1 developed by†¦ shows a clear nexus between occupation satisfaction and public presentation as G Strauss ( 1968 ) commented that â€Å" early human relationists viewed the morale-productivity relationship rather merely: higher morale would take to improved productiveness. This provides a valid relationship between morale and productiveness e.g. a telesales agent who is extremely motivated and is happy with their occupation is more likely to execute better than one who is non. On the other manus anticipation theories of motive by and large stipulate that satisfaction follows from the wagess produced by public presentation ( Naylor, Pritchard, Illgen 1980 ) ( Vroom 1964 ) . Lawler and Porter ( 1967 ) anticipation theorists themselves argued that public presentation would take to occupati on satisfaction through the proviso of intrinsic and extrinsic wagess. In contrast to this there are different values each employee is more normally associated with. Some employees value money as a chief aim to be satisfied by their occupation while others value friendly relationship as a step of occupation satisfaction, as Locke ( 1970 ) hypothesised that value attainment would chair the performance- satisfaction relationship, such that public presentation is fulfilling to the extent that It leads to of import work values. Therefore, a strong pay-performance eventuality would do those who value wage satisfied because public presentation leads to valued wagess. Although this is the instance these theories differ depending iupon what type of profession or occupation you are looking at. E.g intrinsic wagess would use more to physicians and engeeners as they are more satisfied by value of their occupations and†¦ wheras person working on a local shop may be more satisfied by how much money thay make par twenty-four hours. So if the statement that doing people satisfied with their occupations generates high employee public presentation is entirely used in a concern environment and other factors are non included such as the 1s above this would non turn out practical as grounds shows that there are other factors that influence this. Personality besides affects occupation satisfaction and public presentation. Therefore it is really of import to separate between the different personality traits each person has in order to use the right theoretical accounts to increase their occupation satisfaction and public presentation. A meta analysis conducted by, Organ and Ryan ( 1995 ) proposed that employee personality traits such as conscientiousness indirectly influence Organisational Citizenship Behaviour ( OCB ) through employee affect. Job satisfaction would be one index of this affect. In certain occupation prspects such as marketing employees who score higher points on extroversion traits Mccrae and costa ‘s ( 1987 ) would have more attending from people in authorization as those are some of the chief qualities that leaders look for in selling industry ensuing in more contact and attending from leaders. This is supported by ( Graen, 2003 ; Graen & A ; Uhl-Bien, 1995 ; Lapierre, Hackett, & A ; Taggar, 2006 ) ‘s, statetement that those in higher quality Leader Member Exchange ( LMX ) relationships typically receive discriminatory intervention, such as more discretion and liberty at work, every bit good as more ambitious and of import duties ensuing in increased occupation satisfaction ( Schriesheim, Castro, Zhou, & A ; Yammarino, 2001 ) . Clearly one can see that when employees are making good in their occupation and are acquiring the recognition and incentives they deserve they will be satisfied with their work hence taking them to execute better in undertakings allocated to them and with their overall occupation. However It can be argued that overall occupation satisfaction may non ever be measured accurately as being satisfied with one facet of work such as friendly relationship s at work might non intend one is satisfied with their whole occupation as they may non be satisfied with wage. Employees may be probably to execute better with undertakings that relate to a portion of the occupation they are satisfied with and make strictly with undertakings related to things they are non satisfied with in their occupations. Besides lazy workers although satisfied may non better on their public presentation which supports the McCrae and Costa ‘s ( 1987 ) unfastened model on personality.

Gambling among Adolescents in North America Essay

Lottery, card games, sports betting and money wagers. These are a few kinds of gambling that adults engage in; however, the youth of today are also found to be gambling more than adults (Derevensky & Gupta, 2002; Huang & Boyer, 2007). According to Derevensky & Gupta (2002), there is an alarmingly high percentage of children and adolescents engaged in gambling activities. In a long-term analysis between 1984 to 1999, it was found that the prevalence of youth gambling in North America increased from 45% to 66% and that the proportion of the youth who have serious gambling-related problems have increased as well from 10% to 15% in the same time period (Huang & Boyer, 2007). In the past 25 years in the United States and Canada, it has been found that the youth is significantly associated with gambling-related problems; the percentage of youth classified under the Sub-clinical or problem gambling (Level 2) and the pathological gambling (Level 3) were at 14. 6% and 4. 8% respectively in 2006, which is more than twice of the adults who only have a percentage of 2. 5% and 1. 5% each (ibid). Among the youth, it has also been found that more young men gamble more than women and they are also identified to be problem gamblers than young women and even among adults (Huang & Boyer, 2007). In North America today, approximately 80% of adolescents have participated in some form of gambling for money within in their lifetime (Felsher, Derevensky & Gupta, 2003; Messerlian & Derevensky, 2005). This is an alarming rate. The number of youth who are engaged in adolescent gambling is higher today more than ever before and it is starting to become a serious public health issue that many nations, especially the United States and Canada, are trying to address (Messerlian & Derevensky, 2005). Considerable research by psychologist and sociologists are being conducted regarding this problem. This paper will identify the causes of adolescent gambling, its consequences and what psychologists and the government are doing to treat this issue. Causes of Adolescent Gambling The availability and accessibility of gambling increased progressively in the United States and Canada from 1984-1999, which was also the time that an increase in youth gambling also occurred (Derevensky & Gupta, 2002). This increase in youth gambling has been attributed to the support of the two governments in the lucrative gambling industry. Political economy theories of Sauer maintain that this is due to the need for revenue generation of the large governments (Messerlian & Derevensky, 2005). The youth have become exposed to numerous gambling establishments, directly and indirectly (Felsher et al, 2003). The widespread legalization of the different kinds of gambling in North America has greatly exposed the youth to the addictive game (ibid; Huang & Boyer, 2007). Gambling has already become a â€Å"well-established recreational form of entertainment† (Felsher et al, 2003) and there is already an estimated 15. 3million adolescents in North America who have engaged in gambling activities and 2. 2 million of these are problem or pathological gamblers (Huang & Boyer, 2007). Among 12-17 year old Americans, 4%–8% of them are already pathological gamblers and another 10%–15% of the youth are at risk of developing a serious problem (Felsher et al. , 2003; Messerlian & Derevensky, 2005). Adolescents gamble because they are tempted by the â€Å"lure of excitement, entertainment, and potential financial gain associated with gambling† (Messerlian & Derevensky, 2005). Increased exposure to gambling will teach the kids to gamble, and the social learning theory of Albert Bandura points out the role of observation and imitation in the acquisition and maintenance of socially desirable and undesirable characteristics (Felsher et al. , 2003). The increased exposure they have in gambling influences them to do the same. Family and friends are the primary reference groups, but it is the parents who have a stronger influence since they occur earlier than the peer group (ibid). The parents are observed to be having fun and adolescents surveyed said they gamble because their parents play for enjoyment and excitement, and it is the parents who play their children and engage them in gambling (ibid). In the social learning theory, there are six mechanisms identified that is involved in the development of gambling and these are: 1) affective states such as anxiety or depression; 2) cognitive distortions about gambling; 3) behavioral reinforcement schedules; 4) social and institutional determinants such as opportunity to gamble; 5) sub-cultural conditions like prevailing attitude towards gambling and values of the adolescent’s social context and reference groups (as seen in the preceding paragraph); and 6) internal fantasy relationships with personifications like the parents or â€Å"lady luck† (Upfold, 2007). Lottery is the most favored form of gambling by adolescents because of its ease of accessibility and the minimal amount of money required to participate in the draw (Felsher et al. , 2003). Parents purchase the lottery tickets and they include their children in their gambling activity by asking for their advice, such as what number/s they should pick, let them carry the money, fill in the lottery stubs, scratching the numbers, etc. (ibid). This observation and direct participation of gambling from significant reference groups, such as the parents, influences the youth’s participation in gambling activities (Messerlian & Derevensky, 2005). The parental acceptance of gambling as a recreational activity further encourages the youth to partake in it (Felsher et al. , 2003). Adolescents who gamble say that they have learned it from their parents. 15% of children made first bet with their parents and another 20% with other family members (Messerlian & Derevensky, 2005). Parents gamble in close proximity to their children and they have a poor understanding of the negative consequences that this will have on their child (ibid). The Cognitive-Behavioral Model, which is part of the social-learning theory, may explain this cause. The model is based on the principles of learning from imitation, observation, schedules of enforcement and cognition or how the youth would interpret and draw conclusions about the events around him or her (Upfold, 2007). They are enforced to gamble since the adolescents report that their parents are aware of their gambling and that they do not object to it; 50% of parents are aware and are not worried, disregarding the age of the child (Felsher et al. , 2003). 58. 5% of children in the study of Felsher et al. (2003) also say that they wager money with their parents, hence they are taught to gamble; some parents even purchase lottery tickets for their child’s behalf and it has been found that the more severe gambling a child is doing, the more tickets there are purchased by parents. Also, adolescents who were found to be regularly gambling report that they gamble with their family members and 40% say they do it with their parents (Messerlian & Derevensky, 2005). â€Å"Problem gambling is governed by a complex set of interrelating factors, causes, and determinants: biological, familial, behavioral, social, and environmental† (ibid). Under environmental, ease of access of online-gambling sites on the Internet is a new problem since the youth can easily access it and can be enticed by the visual appeals of Internet gambling (ibid). Another important reference point and part of the environmental factor which indirectly teaches gambling to children and reinforces it is the school. There are schools who promote gambling through fundraising activities including lottery, raffle draws, bingo, casino nights, and by permitting card playing within schools (ibid). Another explanation for causes of gambling is the Psychodynamic Model, which proposes that personal problems â€Å"lie within the psyche and are an attempt at self-healing or a strategy of resolving unconscious psychic conflicts†¦beyond voluntary control,† (Upfold, 2007), hence the individual continues to engage in gambling. There are three main components in this model and they are: 1) Gambling is an unconscious substitute for aggressive outlets; 2) Gambling involves an unconscious desire to lose- a wish to be punished in reaction to guilt; and 3) Gambling is a medium for continued enactment of psychological conflict (ibid). Adolescents do not engage in gambling for money but for excitement and enjoyment; through video lottery terminals, sports betting, cards, lotteries, bingo and other forms of gambling, adolescents with a gambling problem exhibit a number of dissociative behaviors such as escape into another world where they have altered egos (Derevensky & Gupta, 2002). Their personality traits that are correlated with risk-taking behavior such as excitable, extroverted, anxious and lower self-discipline show that they have poor coping and adaptive skills, so when they cannot cope with many hardships in their life or the stress of being a teenager, they gamble to â€Å"escape from the realities of daily life† (ibid). Gambling has been a way for adolescents who experience negative life events and use emotional-coping strategies to escape their problems, even if they have claimed to have social support from their peers (ibid; Bergevin, Gupta & Derevensky, 2006). The Trait Theory of Gambling is also part of the psychodynamic model and it show that there are certain personalities that is related to the problem of gambling such as depression, anti-social personality disorder- particularly for pathological gamblers, and narcissism- as seen in the compulsive gamblers (Upfold, 2007). Other identified risk factors that may lead to adolescent gambling include male gender, alcohol and drug use, deviant peers, family history of gambling, and impulsive behavior (Pietrzak, Ladd & Petry, 2003). Consequences of Adolescent Gambling The consequences of adolescent gambling are somewhat similar to that of adult gamblers; they not only affect themselves but society as a whole. Adolescent gambling does not only affect the individual adolescent but their families, peers, communities and health services (Messerlian & Derevensky, 2005). The consequences the adolescent gamblers face are widespread and affects their psychological, behavioral, legal, academic, family and interpersonal domains- they become delinquent, have poor academic performance, impair their academic performance or even drop out from school, disrupt their relationship with family and friends, and display criminal behavior (ibid). They face negative health, psychological, social, personal and financial consequences that is why gambling is becoming a public health issue (ibid). It has been found that there is a strong correlation between adolescent gambling and the increased likelihood to drink alcohol, smoke tobacco and use drugs (Hardoon, Gupta & Derevensky, 2004). Huang & Boyer (2007) also says that adolescent gamblers are more likely to experience psychiatric problems, especially substance use disorders. The common factors that lead to this among adolescents are low self-esteem, depression, suicidal thoughts, victim of abuse, poor school performance, history of delinquency, poor impulse control, being male, early onset of gambling, parental history of gambling, and community/family acceptance of gambling (ibid). This will greatly affect the future of the youth since all that they indulge in is gambling. They become dissociated from the real world and spend much of their time gambling that they do not get to develop themselves as individuals anymore. They become more susceptible to suicide ideation and attempts, they replace their old friends with their gambling associates and they have a higher risk to develop an addiction or poly addictions (Gupta & Derevensky, 2002). In the study of Felsher et al. (2003), they found that 94% of young male gamblers and 93% of young female gamblers are not afraid to get caught. This shows their lack of concern on what may happen to them if they are caught and this may also show the acceptance of their parents. Since parents and most institutions fail to recognize gambling as a serious problem or certain activities to be gambling (Derevensky and Gupta, 2002), the adolescents are at a higher risk to further develop their gambling addiction. The course of gambling varies from one individual to another; however, the social learning theory shows that since gambling behavior is acquired it can be thought of as a continuum or stages from problem-free gambling all the way to pathological gambling (Messerlian & Derevensky, 2005; Upfold, 2007). Messerlian & Derevensky (2005) states that â€Å"as gambling escalates and one moves along the continuum of gambling risk, the negative outcomes begin to outweigh any potential benefits† and this is when they would start experiencing different kinds of impaired personal, health, financial and social consequences. Treatments to Adolescent Gambling The numerous psychosocial costs of gambling to the individual, his/her family and to the community shows that this is a problem that must be addressed and treated (Derevensky and Gupta, 2002). Some adolescents do not know that they have a gambling addiction or disorder and this prevents them from getting proper treatment (ibid) however, with the intervention of family, friends or event the school, the adolescent may get treated. There are several kinds of treatment for adolescents who are already problem or pathological gamblers. Before these are discussed, prevention models for gambling will be discussed first since prevention is better than cure. Government policies should be stricter regarding gambling, particularly On-line gambling since that is readily accessible to the youth. Public policies that can influence the social environment and minimize unhealthy gambling behavior such as â€Å"legislation on advertising and promotion, laws regulating minimum age-requirements and their enforcement, provision of programs for harm minimization, fiscal measures, and regulation of the availability of products† should be balanced with the economic gains of the gambling industry (Messerlian & Derevensky 2005). Other prevention models suggested by Derevensky & Gupta (2002) include the need for awareness of the problem; activities that increase knowledge on adolescent gambling; programs to help modify and change attitude that gambling is not harmless; teaching of effective coping and adaptive skills to prevent problematic gambling; changing inappropriate conceptions about skill and luck, the illusion of control and independence in gambling activities; and identification, assessment and referral of students who are indicative of being at risk to gambling problems. Psychosocial approaches are one of the methods used to treat pathological gambling and this for adults this includes Gamblers Anonymous (Pietrzak et al. , 2006). For the adolescents several youth groups have been formed such as youthbet. net in Canada and wannabet. org in the United States; these website are managed by youths and non-governmental organizations to offer assistance and collaboration to adolescents (Messerlian & Derevensky, 2005). Piertzak et al. (2006) found that cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) and eclectic therapy have been helpful in reducing problematic gambling behaviors. CBT involves altering the inaccurate perceptions, beliefs and attitudes of adolescents about gambling. The eclectic therapy is the individual approach to treating gambling problems and consists of: detailed assessment, acceptance of the problem, development of effective coping skills, restructuring of free time, involvement of family and social supports, cognitive restructuring, establishment of debt payment plans and relapse prevention (ibid). The motivational enhancement therapy (MET) is also used and is based on the concept that behavior change occurs through identifiable stages: pre-contemplation, contemplation, action and maintenance (ibid). In this approach, the therapist is non-confrontational and elicits the adolescent’s understanding of the consequences of gambling and strengthens the commitment to change the ways of the individual; since it has a shorter duration that CBT and other therapies, MET is recommended for onset problems (ibid). A disease model is also sometimes used to treat gambling problems. In this approach, the compulsive gambler is made to embrace abstinence from gambling, to participate in self-help groups and to maintain abstinence by going through therapy to deal with previous or latent psychological problems (Upfold, 2007). There is also the Ecological Approach wherein gambling behavior is viewed from multiple perspectives and addresses the behavior from an individual and socio-environmental level where interventions are made at five levels that affects an individual to gamble: biological, familial, behavioral, social and environmental (Messerlian & Derevesnky, 2005). Internal and external factors cause an adolescent to gamble. Occasional gambling is harmless but once exposed to gambling especially at a young age, gambling problems may occur and develop into an addiction, which may affect the social, academic and personal life of the adolescent. Treatments vary such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, eclectic therapy, motivational-enhancement therapy and ecological approach; however, prevention of adolescent gambling is still the best and this can be done through increased awareness about the public health problem and stricter government policies regarding access of adolescents to gambling venues, especially online gambling. Bibliography Bergevin, T. , Gupta, R. and Derevensky, J. (2006). Adolescent gambling: Understanding the role of stress and coping. Journal of Gambling Studies, (22), 195-208. Derevensky, J. L. and Gupta, R. (2002). Youth gambling: A clinical and research perspective. The Electronic Journal of Gambling Issues. Retrieved April 9, 2008 from http://www. camh. net/egambling/issue2/feature/index. html Felsher, J. R. , Derevensky, J. L. , Gupta, R. (2003). Parental influences and social modelling of youth lottery participation. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 13: 361-377. Hardoon, K. K. , Gupta, R. and Derevensky, J. L. (2004). Psychosocial variables associated with adolescent gambling. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 18 (2), 170 – 179. Huang, J. H. and Boyer, R.. (2007). Epidemiology of youth gambling problems in Canada: A national prevalence study. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 52 (10). Messerlian, C. and Derevensky, M. (2005). Youth gambling: A public health perspective. Journal of Gambling Issues (14). Pietrzak, R. H. , Ladd, G. T. and Petry, N. M. (2003). Disordered gambling in adolescents: Epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment. Pediatr Drugs, 5 (9), 583 – 592. Upfold, Darryl. (2007). An introduction to conceptual models of problem gambling. Center for Addiction and Mental Health. Retrieved April 13, 2008, from http://www. problemgambling. ca/EN/ResourcesForProfessionals/Pages/AnIntroductiontoConceptualModelsofProblemGambling. aspx