Mark Dickerson

'If thinking about addiction is going to change, the study of excessive gambling is likely to be one of the richest sources of new ideas' (Jim Orford). In this book, the authors present research into gambling, showing the psychological variables that govern the erosion or maintenance of self-control over gambling behaviour. These studies provide an empirical basis for a model of impaired control of gambling. Impaired control, in its broadest sense, is considered to be the defining psychological construct of all the addictive behaviours and occupies a central position in conceptualising the addictive aspects of gambling.

'If thinking about addiction is going to change, the study of excessive gambling is likely to be one of the richest sources of new ideas' (Jim Orford). In this book, the authors present research into gambling, showing the psychological variables that govern the erosion or maintenance of self-control over gambling behaviour. These studies provide an empirical basis for a model of impaired control of gambling. Impaired control, in its broadest sense, is considered to be the defining psychological construct of all the addictive behaviours and occupies a central position in conceptualising the addictive aspects of gambling.

The Northwest Territories, which comprises one-third of Canada's land mass, is in many ways a distinct region -- more than just a vast storehouse of resources, the territories are home to a diverse population, the majority Natives who possess deep-seated cultures which have endured despite the pervasive influence of the dominant culture to the south. Residents of the Northwest Territories today face a number of difficult political issues: land claims, division of the territories, constitutional development, self-government, an accord for sharing resource revenues, and the establishment of their place within the Canadian federation. Whose North? provides the context for a better understanding of these issues and traces the evolution of an innovative, increasingly indigenous, governmental process. Today, eighteen of the twenty-four legislators are Native and the non-partisan, consensus style of government is unique in Canada. Mark Dickerson points out that within the NWT there is no unanimity on the nature of the system of government. He addresses the political tension between those advocating the continuation of a centralized government and those preferring a more decentralized form, particularly self-government, which many northerners view as the only way of preserving their culture. In many ways, the Northwest Territories is a test case and one of the most important social issues to be faced by Canadians in the twenty-first century. For Natives, it may determine whether they can indeed live in two cultures. Dickerson's depiction of the development of the territorial government and his discussion of the tension surrounding the choice of government will provide Canadians with an opportunity to begin to understand just what is at stake in this critical process.