Читать книгу The Sage Handbook of Social Constructionist Practice - Группа авторов - Страница 139

Drawing from Situational Analysis (SA, Clarke, 2005) we created our version of a social worlds/arenas map to depict gambling as a situation pertaining to individuals (Tom Jackson in particular) who gamble. In our social worlds/arenas map (Figure 10.1), we portray the actors engage in this situated form of coordinated action (gambling), as social worlds, or meso-level arena(s) where these actors have something at stake. While not exhaustive, four broad social arenas were identified in the map as salient to the situation of gambling: Mental Health and Addiction; Political; Personal and Community; and Gambling Industry. Within each of these arenas are actors that have a stake in gambling, some of which are in tension with others. For example, policy makers, research bodies, funding bodies, and government are situated and motivated within all four arenas. Tom Jackson lives in a jurisdiction where gambling is legal and regulated by the government, which receives tax revenues from gambling to fund service providers and treatment facilities for ‘problematic gamblers’. In seeking profit, the casino and gambling industry design casinos and games accordingly, to accelerate play, extend duration, and increase spending (Schüll, 2012). Such goals are in direct conflict with policy makers advocating for responsible gambling, who also benefit from the profits of the casino and gambling industry. Those who gamble (i.e., Tom Jackson), do so within a tension between the government's role to help and protect their citizens, while profiting from the gambling revenues through taxation.

Figure 10.1 Gambling social worlds/arena map

Depending upon the participant, different social arenas may play a larger or smaller role in (i.e., have claims on) the practices in which they engage. If the participant uses mental health or addiction services, the mental health and addiction arena may be more relevant to investigate. If the participant gambles during work hours, or gambling harms their social relationships, the personal or community arenas (i.e., workplace, social relationships) may be relevant for the inquiry. Social worlds are not fixed, and the porosity of social worlds/arenas are depicted through the use of dotted lines. Tom Jackson's social worlds involved formal counselling to reduce gambling, as well as Gambler's Anonymous (peer-based 12-step recovery), both of which sit within the mental health and addiction arena and have stakes in him reducing gambling. Conversely, the casinos and developers of video lottery terminals (VLTs) (gambling industry arena) have a stake in increasing Tom Jackson's gambling through technology and environment to increase play. Therein lies an important tension between Tom Jackson's relevant social worlds, each with opposing stakes in him continuing to gamble. When Tom Jackson is engaged in practices that sustain excessive gambling, he does so within and as part of these social worlds.

In light of our interest in socio-material practices, we focused on practices involving the Personal and Community (workplace, family, friends) and Gambling Industry (i.e., casinos and VLTs) social worlds.