PSFA 381: Cross-Cultural
Interpretations of Gambling
Addiction
Professor Katherine A. Spilde
kspilde@mail.sdsu.edu
Fall 2013
Taught Online, via Blackboard
Voice mail (for use only when your email is not working): 760.533.9387
Office Hours: By appointment
This syllabus is intended to guide us through the course. However, circumstances can change and so I reserve
the right to change the syllabus as needed to ensure that we fulfill the objectives of the course. You will receive
full and fair notification regarding any such changes.
As per SDSU policy, students with disabilities or religious needs who require special accommodation must give
the instructor at least two weeks’ notice. Disability accommodation requires documentation from SDS>
Distance or Online learning Prerequisites: The prerequisite for this course is total online or distance
learning preparedness. (1) Take SDSU’s ‘readiness survey’ (https://sunspot.sdsu.edu/pls/webapp/survey.hybrid_learning.main)
and (2) prepare your computer for the course as follows:
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Get speakers or a headset
Download (for free) all necessary software, including the latest versions of: Adobe’s Acrobat Reader
and Flash Player, QuickTime Player, and Java.
Download Mozilla’s Firefox if you are using Explorer (Explorer won’t work well with Blackboard).
Formulate a backup plan for fulfilling course obligations when/if your computer malfunctions. For
example, to find out about computers at the library; go to http://scc.sdsu.edu/home.php.
If you need to learn how to use Blackboard, go to: http://its.sdsu.edu/blackboard/student/
Become familiar with the PSFA 381 Online Course Blackboard Site. There is a direct link to the Student
Help Page on the Left side of the Homepage. Please focus on the Test Taking Tips in this section.
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What is this course about?
This course provides an introduction and overview of the politics of gambling addiction with an emphasis on
the science and practice of responsible gaming. Responsible gaming describes a range of casino operations
practices designed to minimize disordered gambling behavior. This course will address the larger project of
translating the latest science into casino industry “best practices” and explore the need for future
collaboration among multiple stakeholders. Students will learn about the ways that disordered gambling is
incorporated into a public health model that includes prevention and treatment. While designed to support
the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Program’s tribal casino operations emphasis, this course is
open to all students with an interest in behavioral addiction, gambling policy, public health, the history and
culture of gambling behavior, or the tribal government gaming industry.
After taking this course, you will be able to more fully describe how gambling activity evolved from a cultural
and social passtime into a business and economic development strategy. You will be able to explain how
behavior (e.g. computer use, gambling, running) can become an addiction and you will also be able to describe
and explain the science of gambling addiction and how it shapes the regulation and operation of casinos and
tribal gaming facilities around the world. You will have compared your own culture and mainstream US culture
with other cultures, through the lens of gambling behavior and the medical model of addiction, and so will
come to appreciate and value cultures other than your own.
The course is directly relevant to our quest to understand the present diversity of human activity and to
identify key arguments and stakeholders who support a particular “worldview” for their own economic or
social benefit. Each stakeholder group formulates and articulates answers to typical questions about gambling
addiction in different ways –in ways that make sense given their political position—and each stakeholder view
and cultural perspective has something of value to teach as we continue to pursue “best practices” related to
disordered gambling for clinicians, families, individuals, industry and science.
How does this course ‘work’?
Technology
This is an online course. You are responsible for your own connectivity. Information technology or IT
challenges can—and will—come up. Be prepared for them.
Please be assured that if and when problems occur on the SDSU end, you will not be
penalized. However, when problems occur on your end, the story is different: YOU
ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR COMPUTING NEEDS ; student IT problems are not an
acceptable excuse for non-completion of work.
When problems occur on your end, you must fix them prior to any deadlines
implicated. You can go to the Student Computing Center in Love Library for help or
to use their computers; call (619) 594-3189; email scc@rohan.sdsu.edu; or click
http://scc.sdsu.edu/home.php. The instructor cannot provide IT support.
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Organization and Pacing
The course is organized into Six (6) Sections, each with a set of assignments and self-assessments and followed
by an online test. Simply go to Blackboard, enter the relevant Section (starting with 1), and work through the
assignments by completing the assigned reading, watching the assigned films and clips and viewing the
assigned recorded lectures in the order presented. Throughout each Section, you will complete one or more
‘learning and self-assessment activities’ or ‘section reports’ (a brief report or essay, the parameters for which
will have been provided to you by the beginning of the relevant Section of the course) to spot-check your
learning. Then, during the designated testing timeframe, take the Section test. Afterward, simply move on to
the next Section of the course.
Please note that although you may work at your own pace within a given Section, making this course ideal for
anyone with a complicated schedule, you must complete all work by 23:59 hours on the closing dates
provided. This arrangement keeps students on track and ensures that the workload entailed in this course—for
you and for me—is evenly distributed for the entire duration of our time together.
LIKE ALL OTHER RULES SET OUT IN THIS SYLLABUS, the work completion deadline rule applies to EVERYONE . I do
appreciate how difficult it can be to balance school, work, family, and so on. However, I cannot extend
deadlines or waive requirements for students who overextend themselves. Please think twice about enrolling
at this time if you anticipate being overtaxed by other courses or obligations, or have a history of trouble with
deadlines or with following written instructions. Please do not put me in a difficult position later by asking me
to the break rules for you. I cannot and will not do that.
Documentation
This is an online course. You can work at your own pace from week to week, so long as you complete assigned
work by our set deadlines. You can work where you want, when you want. However, because this is an online
course, we won’t have any time together during which I can lay out instructions for you verbally beyond the
presentation in Section 1. That means we have to rely heavily on course documents such as this one.
This syllabus and the schedule provide for you a detailed map of the course and a plan for success as you
move through the semester with me. I say ‘with me’ because I am going to be here with you every step of the
way and I value highly teacher-student interaction. The documentation simply anticipates and answers
questions students will have about the course so that they don’t need to be asked later, saving you time and
protecting you from the anxiety that can accompany vague instructions.
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What books should I buy? What else will I be reading or viewing?
‘Learning Resources’ for this course—the materials that you are required to read, view, etc.—include
numerous online readings, videos and films, and recorded presentations on select topics.
You will access all learning resources via Blackboard:
Each Section has a ‘Learning Resources’ set that includes clickable URLs or attachments for the
required readings, films, etc.
You must be willing and able to read all assigned materials and watch all assigned videos in
order to do well (or even to pass) this class.
Grades
A. Components of final grade. Below, the three components of the final grade are
listed. More general grading information is provided in the section that follows.
All work, including tests, must be completed or submitted on time to count toward your grade.
Times as stated refer to San Diego or Pacific Standard Time. This is the time standard used by
Blackboard’s internal clock. Our standard ‘deadline’ time is 23:59 hours.
Please be aware that deadlines placed on Sundays at midnight (vs. at the close of business on Friday) are
placed there as a courtesy to working students; weekend and night-time help with content-related
questions or technological problems is not guaranteed. In the face of either, deadlines remain in effect.
1. Learning & Self-Assessment Activities (2 points each, or 20 Points in total).
As you become familiar with our Blackboard Web site, you will come to see that, in each Section, after the
learning resources (readings, etc.) have been presented, there is a description of a ‘self-assessment
activity’. These are ‘low stakes’ activities that ask you to apply, practice, or otherwise demonstrate and
self-assess what you have just learned through answering short questions about the reading and reflecting
on the answers. The aim of completing these activities is to gain practice and hone understanding so that
you do as well as possible on the graded work you will submit (reports and tests).
These activities do ‘count’ toward your final grade but rather than to grade them on some kind of ranked
scale, points are awarded simply for completion (as long as a good faith effort has actually been
demonstrated on your part). The activities generally are worth two points each. Completing the activities is
important because doing so prepares you to do well on the related Section Reports and tests.
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Each Section’s activities must be completed by 23:59 hours on Sunday at the end of the relevant week.
Points will only be given for activities completed on schedule.
2. Section Reports (5 points each, or 10 points in total). Each student will write two (2) brief (450-500
word) Section Reports over the span of the course. The Section Reports ask and allow students to engage
in reflective learning. Report topics or questions, which can change from semester to semester, generally
will require students to demonstrate understanding, for example by relating or applying core course
concepts to one’s own experience or to one of the examples in a film or video. Detailed instructions for
the reports, including information on topics, due dates, submission processes, and our grading rubric1, will
be provided via our Blackboard Website.
Reports must be submitted by midnight on Sunday at the end of the relevant week. Reports may be
submitted early. Late submissions will not be graded.
In regard to course writing assignments, please note: By taking this course, you agree that required
reports will be submitted by the instructor via Turnitin for plagiarism detection. Each text submitted to
Turnitin is included as a source document in SDSU's institutional archive. You may remove all personally
identifying information from your reports prior to submission.
Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. At a minimum, a plagiarized writing assignment will receive
an F. Depending on the case, an F in the course also may be awarded.
3. Section Tests (70 Points). Students will complete an
online test at the end of each Section of the course (i.e.,
see table for ‘window frame’ dates). Section 6 is a
review section: that final Section test is comprehensive
or cumulative, covering key concepts used throughout
the course. It is the same length as other Section tests,
and worth the same proportion of the final grade.
Test #
Dates
Coverage
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
Test 4
Test 5
Test 6
9/ 6-8
9/20-22
10/4-6
10/18-20
11/8-10
12/6-8
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Cumulative
Points for
final grade*
14
14
14
14
14
14
* The lowest test score will be dropped.
The lowest test grade will be dropped so that tests will account, in total, for 70 out of 100 points of your
final grade. The reason we drop the lowest test grade is because a small proportion of students will make
unfortunate mistakes that cause their tests to lock up or go bad, leaving them with 0 points. Most such
problems stem from the use of computers that are not properly prepared for the course. Although
students have ample opportunity prior to the onset of testing to prepare and test out their computers, and
you are expected to have all technological problems sorted out prior to the first ‘real’ test, the dropped
test policy provides an ‘across the board’ free pass for one test should things go wrong. Notwithstanding,
every test must be taken. No test may be skipped.
1
A rubric is a specific plan for point distribution and grade calculation. Use it in designing your statement.
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Test dates and times: Tests 1-5 will be ‘open’ for only the 72-hour period or window extending from
00:01 hours early Friday mornings until 23:59 hours on Sunday nights. The final test will be ‘open’ for
only the 72-hour period or window extending from 00:01 hours early Monday morning until 23:59 hours
on Wednesday night as per the schedule above. Please clear your calendars now to ensure that you are
available for every test.
Although you may begin testing any time within the testing window, you will receive a set number of
minutes to complete the test once you have opened it, and tests must be completed in one sitting.
Blackboard provides a test timer, which starts when you begin a test. The timer does not stop when your
time runs out; it just keeps on going. Blackboard won’t stop your test nor will an alarm sound. It is your
responsibility to submit your test prior to the 35-minute mark.
Also please note that Blackboard does not grade tests submitted after ‘time allowed’ runs out. Those we
must mark by hand. Here is how we will handle them:
Any test-taker who takes more than his or her share of time may receive an ‘F’ for the effort. We will
overlook up to 59 seconds of overtime on the assumption that submitting does, itself, take a few seconds.
But any more than that will result in a lower score as per the following rule set:
→ Tests running from 36 minutes to 37 minutes and 59 seconds as per Blackboard’s timestamp will
receive a three-quarter score (e.g., a grade of 100% becomes a grade of 75%) or, if a previous test also has
come in overtime, on the second offense the student will receive a 0 (F).
→ Tests running from 38 minutes to 39 minutes and 59 seconds as per Blackboard’s timestamp will
receive a half score (e.g., a grade of 100% becomes a grade of 50%) or, if a previous test also has come in
overtime, on the second offense the student will receive a 0 (F).
→ All tests marked at 40 minutes and above will receive a 0 (F).
To protect yourself, press SUBMIT prior to the 35-minute time mark.
Tests consist of 14 multiple choice questions but you also may occasionally find short answer questions.
Questions directly reflect (are written based on) our specified learning outcome objectives, and will reflect
the readings, films and resources from each Section. The questions will be written so that they are mainly
amenable to computerized grading (your ability to demonstrate learning in prose will be assessed through
the writing assignments described above—not the timed tests).
Although you can certainly access your notes and our learning resources while taking each test, the tests
are not intended to be open book exams. Approach our tests just like you would approach an exam you
might take sitting in a classroom. In other words, 'know your stuff'. You won’t have time to look up all the
answers and you will crash your test if you have other windows open. Any student who cheats will receive
an F for the course.
On each test, each student will receive a randomly generated subset of questions drawn from a large
pool of questions, so that no two tests are alike. While you therefore will not be asked about every single
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topic and term, the questions you do receive 'spot check' your comprehension and thereby provide us with
an excellent measure of your total grasp of all course materials / objectives.
If you have any questions about SDSU’s policy regarding cheating, see p.13 of this SDSU policy document:
http://senate.sdsu.edu/policy/pftoc.html. See also http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/academics1.html.
Missed tests (make-ups): Because tests are taken online, because you have a very broad window of
time to take each test, and because your lowest test grade will be dropped, make-ups will only be
permitted in the direst of unexpected and unanticipated circumstances (e.g., hospitalization), provided
that appropriate and legitimate documentation has been supplied. Your scheduling issues or minor
infirmities (e.g., colds) are never grounds for a makeup exam. Except in the direst of circumstances,
makeups must be arranged for within 5 days of any missed exam.
Crashed tests. This is an online course. You are expected to have all technological problems sorted out
prior to the first ‘real’ test. You will have full and clear instructions provided regarding how to set up your
computer so that it can work with the Blackboard testing system; if you follow those instructions, you
should not have any problems.
However, if a test crashes for reasons you think may be on our end, let me know right away through an
email to kspilde@mail.sdsu.edu. Follow the instructions provided for you on Blackboard, which in
summary say: tell me exactly what happened, and check back regularly for my response. Do not abandon
the test or your email. Wait for my instructions. And remember: although I can reset a crashed test for
you if the problem is on our end, I do need ample notice.
Finally, please note: the Blackboard system is busiest in the hour prior to any deadline. It can even lock up
and lock you out. So do not wait to take your test.
Test scoring. Blackboard scores ‘objective’ tests immediately (although I do sometimes wait to release
results until I have made sure that there were no ‘bad’ questions and that the answer key was correct).
Each test’s point score is converted to a percentage by dividing the points earned by the total possible
points available (i.e., the number that could have been earned; the perfect score). Letter grades are
derived from that percentage. So, for example, a student who earns 30 points on a 40 point test, or 75%
of available points, earns a C on that test.
Results
Grade feedback and queries. Grades are posted on Blackboard as soon as they are available. Grades are
very carefully determined and checked prior to being accepted into or entered in the Grade Book record. I
take assessment of student performance very seriously and would rather we ‘get it right the first time’ than
rush and make errors. But if you do find an error or have a question, please feel free to ask about it. It pleases
me greatly to raise grades when warranted. On the flip side, pushing for points when they are not warranted
is disrespectful to me, your fellow students, and yourself—so please avoid it. Reconsideration, if requested,
may take your entire test and, in some cases, your entire record into account and may result in lower as well as
higher grades.
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Grade calculations.
Grades are calculated by adding up points accrued. The table
here shows how I translate points to a letter grade and then a
grade point figure. This process is applied not only to the tests,
reports, and accrued activity point totals but to the final grade
as a whole.
With the point system, as opposed to the curve system, it is
possible for every student who knows the material to earn an A.
Please be advised that we do not automatically round up (e.g.,
79.5% = C+ while 80% = B-).
Points
94-100
90-93.9
87-89.9
84-86.9
80-83.9
77-79.9
74-76.9
70-73.9
67-69.9
64-66.9
60-63.9
0-59.9
Letter Grade Grade points
A
4
A3.7
B+
3.3
B
3
B2.7
C+
2.3
C
2
C1.7
D+
1.3
D
1
D0.7
F
0
Communicating with the Professor
SDSU does not share your phone number or address with me. The only way that I can
communicate with you is via email. It is your responsibility to ensure that you can
receive email from Blackboard. Make sure that your email address within the system is
correct. Some email systems block Blackboard mailings as if they are spam. Either fix this,
or get an SDSU email account (go to: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/newstudacct.shtml.)
When sending email, you must include your full name and the course # 381 in the subject line.
Email is often answered upon receipt. However, you must allow for a 24-hour turnaround (not including
holidays and weekends). Email does sometimes go awry: If you do not hear back from me in due time, please
try again with a different heading (in case the original was recognized as spam) and/or call me.
Learning Objectives & Outcomes
PSFA 381’s overall learning outcome objectives
On completing the course, and using examples, students should be able to:
 Define responsible gaming;
explain the role of science in the development and evolution of responsible gaming practices
 Explain and apply the comparative approach to various cross-cultural phenomena to demonstrate its
value in the context of exporting the American model of casino gambling to Asia or Indian Country
 Differentiate between Western and non-Western perspectives of disordered gambling behavior;
demonstrate how each can be used to enhance our understanding of cultural variation.
 Define the concept of Nation Building as it pertains to the investment of casino revenues by American
Indian Tribal Governments in the United States
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 Describe how gambling activity evolved from a cultural and social activity into a business and economic
development strategy.
 Define, identify assumptions inherent in, and apply selected theoretical perspectives to various crosscultural interpretations of gambling behavior and addiction. Perspectives will include but are not
limited to:
o Public Policy
o Public Health Model
o Medical Approach
o Community
 Demonstrate familiarity with basic public policy issues in the legal gambling industry; compare and
contrast different expressions of these issues across cultures.
Basic topics will include but are not limited to:
o Gambling Expansion
o Slot Machine Design
o Language
o Exposure to Gambling
o CSR
o High risk populations
o Social/Economic Impacts
o Medical model
o Prevalence
o Process Addiction
o Co-Morbidity
o Incidence
 Apply basic concepts of cross-cultural self-reflexively to one’s own culture
 Demonstrate the value of applied cross-cultural interpretations to contemporary real-world problems.
Crosswalk to course content and detail-level outcome objectives
Section-specific learning outcome expectations are detailed in the Course Schedule for PSFA 381: Sectionby-Section Overview (which exists as a separate document posted under Syllabus).
In addition to listing all course resources and activities (and relevant due dates) the Schedule also lists all key
concepts and terms, and contains important calendar information. The Schedule therefore serves not only as
an overall tool to help keep us on track but also as a study guide for the course as a whole.
Take some time now to have a look at the Schedule and to acquaint yourself with how it works. You should
print out the Schedule (and this Syllabus) for easy reference.
General Education Outcomes expected
PSFA 381 is a General Education course; as such it helps in “providing the breadth of knowledge necessary for
meaningful work, life-long learning, socially responsible citizenship, and intellectual development…. in an
increasingly complex and rapidly changing world…. Through [GE], students will acquire knowledge of human
cultures and the physical and natural world that will enable them to engage significant questions, both
contemporary and enduring.”
This is an Explorations course in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Completing this course will help you learn to
do the following with greater depth: 1) explore and recognize basic terms, concepts, and domains of the social
and behavioral sciences; 2) comprehend diverse theories and methods of the social and behavioral sciences; 3)
Identify human behavioral patterns across space and time and discuss their interrelatedness and
distinctiveness; 4) enhance your understanding of the social world through the application of conceptual
frameworks from the social and behavioral sciences to first-hand engagement with contemporary issues.
This course also exposes students to essential capacities as part of the larger Student Learning Outcomes.
Those are:
1. Construct, analyze, and communicate arguments;
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2. Contextualize phenomena;
3. Integrate global and local perspectives;
4. Evaluate consequences of actions.
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