Cell proliferation experiment, Immunoprecipitation and western blot Essay

Cell proliferation experiment, Immunoprecipitation and western blot experiment, cell imaging experiment - Essay Example The aim of this work was to elucidate the mechanism by which cp250 causes tumors and identify which signaling pathways were activated by its binding to the cell. The first experiment looked at the effect of cp250 on cell proliferation and compared it to the effect of the growth factor PDGFA and the second and third experiments looked at which pathways were triggered by the binding of cp250 to hepatocytes. The aim of this experiment was to determine whether cp250 caused cell proliferation in hepatocytes and also to establish whether it was recognized by the same receptor that bound the growth factor PDGFA. As shown in Table 1, cp250 and PDGFA clearly have similar effects on cell proliferation. Hepatocytes that were treated with either cp250 or PDGFA both showed an increase in proliferation as compared to cells that were not given either. Moreover cp250 and PDGFA appear to bind to the same receptor, PDGFR. There does not appear to be any synergism when both are used together. Hepatocytes that were treated with antisense RNA to the receptor prior to incubation with the ligands did not show a significant increase in proliferation. In addition, scrambled siRNA that does not target any cellular mRNA does not affect the binding of either cp250 or PDGFA to the receptor. This indicates that the binding of cp250 is specific to PDGFR. The next step was to identify which downstream elements in the signaling process were activated on binding to the receptor. In order to do this, hepatocytes that were treated with cp250 and PDGFA were lysed and complexes that were formed were pulled down with an antibody to the receptor. Western blots with antibodies raised against different downstream signaling molecules were performed to identify which components were complexed with the receptor after activation. Controls were performed with cells treated with water. As can be seen in Fig.1A, cp250 and PDGFA both bind to the receptor PDGFR, confirming the first experiment. From Fig.1B, it can be seen that Phospholipase gamma 1 (PLC1) is recruited to the receptor after treatment with either cp250 or PDGFA. From Fig.1C, it can be inferred that autophosphorylation of PDGFR and phosphorylation of PLC1 take place, indicating the activation of PLC1 takes place once it is recruited to the activated receptor. Confocal Microscopy The aim of this experiment was to confirm the activation of the inositol phospholipids pathway and further characterize the downstream signaling pathway set off by the binding of cp250 to PDGFR. The confocal images show that when rat hepatocytes transfected with EGFP-tagged PLC1 are treated with either cp250 or PDGFA, the PLC1 is localized to the cell membrane, indicating their recruitment. This localization is markedly absent in cells treated with water alone. On addition of the red fluorescent Ca2+ sensing dye X-rhod-1, there is an increase in red fluorescence in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes treated with cp250 or PDGFA but not with water. This indicates that the IP3 signalling pathway has been activated upon binding of the viral protein. DISCUSSION The present work was intended to try and deduce the probable mechanism by which cp250 acts upon the hepatocyte and causes tumorigenesis. Given its similarity to the growth factor PDGFA, it seemed reasonable to postulate that it bound to the same

Impact of Labour Shortage on Economic Growth of Australia

Impact of Labour Shortage on Economic Growth of Australia Table of Contents (Jump to) Impact of Labour Shortage on Economic Growth of Australia CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Purpose of the Study Context of the Study Problem Statement Research Questions CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW The Concept of Skilled Labour Skills Shortage Skills Shortage in Australia CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Data Collection and Analysis Methods Quantitative Data Collection Qualitative Data Collection Description of the Research Process Project Plan Expected Research Outcomes Conclusion References The Impact of Labour Shortage on Economic Growth of Australia CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Purpose of the Study The present study will aim to address the labour shortage in Australia that ultimately affects the economic growth of the country. From this perspective, Gavin (2010) points out that â€Å"The minerals and energy industry continues to make a significant contribution to employment and wider economic activity in the communities of regional Australia, and to governments directly through taxes and royalties. Skilled labour shortages; however, will continue to have an impact on the nation’s future growth and development prospects, especially in the minerals and energy industry† (p. 1). It would not be wrong to state that the labour shortages coexist with the â€Å"high levels of unemployment,† as these shortages are considered as restrictions for the occupations required experienced workers as well as specialist skills. Nevertheless, the labour shortage is widely considered to be the consequence of various factors such as changes in technology, high levels of wastage, low levels of training, increased demand of new skills, and locational difference (Labour Market Research and Analysis Branch Department of Employment, 2014). This is particularly because workers do not have the skills required by the employers. Context of the Study It is generally recognized that Australia has been experiencing the lack of skills in certain industries. This can end up being a deterrent in the budgetary development of the economy. There are different courses for business and government to address this issue. Costs, welfare and superannuation systems all need examination in light of the way that they offer impulses to backing in the work power. The nonappearance of suitable staff hampers the development of the Australian economy (Tan Lester, 2012; McLean, 2012). The businesses are not ready to discover suitable staffs which prompt undertaking postponements, moderate generation. Thusly, money related advancement is slower than it would in general be. In reality, aptitude insufficiencies diminish beyond what many would consider possible for the economy. Remuneration improvement in business ventures standing up to exceptional capacity inadequacies (particularly mining) is normal and not strange. On the other hand, a greatly basic threat happens if wage advancement specifically territories decodes into no matter how you look at it remuneration improvement (Brennan Castles, 2002). There is noteworthy lack of staff in commercial ventures, for example, mining, accommodation, wellbeing, building, hospitality and farming. Problem Statement Skills shortage hampers the financial growth of the country and it is a great challenge for the Abbott government, currently the â€Å"federal executive government† of Australia. The government is led by Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia. Nevertheless, a large number of industries are requesting for the increased rate of migrant intake due to the labour shortage in Australia. Work deficiency in Australia has long been a subject in money related and political rounds (Brennan Castles, 2002; McLean, 2012). It was even gathering of the Hawke governments arrangement in 1987. In the late years, Australia has been welcoming the skilled migrants to fill the gaping-holes in the Australian workforce. In 2012, there was remarkable trade when the Gillard government left the relocation rules (ACCI, 2007). Research Questions As Australian Industry Group has recently released its settlement to the organization on boosting the movement permit by 30,000 a year to â€Å"meet capacities insufficiencies,† the aim and objectives of this study will be: When are the labour shortages to be addressed through labour immigration? Which industries are experiencing the labour shortages? How can be the current labour motivated and improved its skills? CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW The Concept of Skilled Labour The term â€Å"skilled labour† refers to work force that has â€Å"high skill level† to create a noteworthy economic value with the help of work performance, also known as human capital (Dyster Meredith, 2012). Skilled labour is usually characterized as high expertise, as well as high education with high wages, as it involves complicated tasks, which usually need specific education, skill sets, experience and training. From this perspective, Mitchell and Quirk (2005) point out that â€Å"The term skill refers to a specific ability, and is generally used where the ability is assumed to have been in some sense developed through experience or training. Skill is one of several terms used to express the concept of ability, the mental or physical power to do something, that variously distinguish how the ability was acquired, and to what standard. For example, aptitude implies an inherent capacity for acquiring ability, whereas talent often infers ability is inborn. Competen ce generally suggests an ability to do something satisfactorily but not outstandingly. Proficiency suggests significant competence. Skills are also often classified according to the method of their development, as ‘formal’ (derived through a process of structured training and documented assessment), non-formal (training was structured but no certification issued) or informal (obtained through practice, experience, self-education, etc)† (p. 3). Skills Shortage The term â€Å"skills shortage† is considered to be quite related to the skilled labour. According to Mitchell and Quirk (2005), â€Å"Unsurprisingly, analyses of skills shortages by industry and governments invariably consider the issue from the perspective of business and profitability, which places the emphasis on containment of labour costs both in terms of wages and conditions, and hence, whenever possible, externalising the costs associated with developing the skills firms require in their workers† (p. 5). From this perspective, it would be accurate to state that the shortage of skills usually results in the aggravation to organizations, as it hampers both the quantity and the quality of their productivity. According to Richardson (2007), â€Å"In a market economy, firms are accustomed to being limited by their capacity to find buyers for their products, not by their capacity to produce those products. When firms have buyers waiting, but cannot produce enough to satisfy the demand because they cannot recruit sufficient skilled workers, they interpret this as a failure of the skills development system† (p. 11). Skills Shortage in Australia According to Mitchell and Quirk (2005), â€Å"It is evident that from their perspective, Australian businesses feel hamstrung by the present state of the labour market. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) cite skills shortages as one of the most significant barriers to investment in Australia. The Business Council of Australia (BCA) notes that the increasing average population age necessitates a range of training measures to head of future broad based skills shortages. Although the labour market has tightened in recent years, there is still only anecdotal evidence that a skills shortage is becoming a growth bottleneck† (p. 5). On the other hand, the national government office responsible for Australias tourism and hospitality needs around 56,000 skilled workers from now unless more remote staff is used in nearby ranges. Government needs to relax the 457 visa plan to enable employers to hire skilled staff from overseas (Brennan Castles, 2002; Dyster Meredith, 2012). Skilled positions such as Chef, cooks, Dentists are in huge demand employers are constantly looking overseas as they are not able to hire suitable skilled staff locally. Table 1 shows the â€Å"survey of employers who have recently advertised† for the vacancies in Australia. Table 1: (Proportion of vacancies filled (%), average number of applicants and suitable applicants per vacancy (no.), All SERA occupations, 2007 to 2014 (%)) Source: (Labour Market Research and Analysis Branch Department of Employment, 2014, p. 5) Table 1 also demonstrates that there is a deficiency of skilled workers in Australia from 2008 to 2013. It is quite difficult for the employers to fill the number of overall vacancies. Most number of candidates are not suitably met all requirements for the employment. Employers are willing to sponsor skilled workers but the long and costly legal process is a problem .The number of businesses confronting staff deficiency have tumbled to a new low with managers neglecting to contract staff with proper capabilities (Brennan Castles, 2002). New figures released by the Department of Employment yesterday show insufficiencies were more disposed to be for trades than reasons for living (Argent Tonts, 2015). Kitchen staff, hair stylists and auto mechanics were the hardest positions to fill, while Accountants and teachers were the easiest position to fill. Over the past budgetary year, considerable amounts of applicants competed for available businesses in Australia’s regional areas. McGrath (2014) points out that â€Å"Boston Consulting Group has released a report predicting a shortfall of 2.3 million workers by 2030. The firm says Australias economic growth risks losing momentum in the years ahead unless the country can find ways to plug the gap. With Australia’s unemployment rate at an 11 year high of 6 per cent, it may seem like a strange time to be talking about a shortage of people looking for work, but Brad Noakes from Boston Consulting Group says it is a prospect worth taking seriously† (p.n.d). CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This study will use the mix research methodology that will be followed to address the hypotheses or propositions and research questions that will put forward as possible solutions to the problems mentioned in the literature review section. Data Collection and Analysis Methods As mentioned above this study will use the mix research methodology, mix research methodology refers to the approach of research that contains the both methodologies i.e. qualitative and quantitative. Creswell (2013) suggests that â€Å"Truth is what works at the time; it is not based in a strict dualism between the mind and a reality completely independent of the mind. Thus, in mixed methods research, investigators use both quantitative and qualitative data because they work to provide the best understanding of a research problem† (p. 12). Quantitative Data Collection In the â€Å"quantitative data collection method† an investigator relies upon the random sampling as well as upon the structured â€Å"data collection instruments.† These two tools of investigation fit the diverse experiences into predetermined response categories. In other words, they produce results that are easy to summarize, compare, and generalize. According to Creswell (2013), â€Å"In quantitative studies, researchers advance the relationship among variables and pose this in terms of questions or hypotheses† (p. 8). The quantitative data gathering methodologies include: Experiments/clinical trials Observing and recording all around characterized occasions (e.g., tallying the quantity of patients holding up in crisis at indicated times of the day) Obtaining applicable information from administration data frameworks Administering overviews with interviews e.g., vis-à  -vis and phone interviews, polls an Qualitative Data Collection The research method what is known as â€Å"qualitative data collection† plays a significant role to assess the research question, as it provides the researcher with useful information to understand the various processes involved in the observed results. On the other hand, it also helps the researcher to assess changes in the perceptions of people concerning to their well-being. According to Creswell (2013), â€Å"Meanings are constructed by human beings as they engage with the world they are interpreting. Qualitative researchers tend to use open-ended questions so that participants can express their views† (p. 9). In addition, the qualitative method is also used for the improvement of the quality of ‘survey-based quantitative evaluations.† This is how it helps the investigator to generate the evaluation hypothesis. It actually strengthens the design of â€Å"survey questionnaires† and expands or clarifies the â€Å"quantitative evaluation findings.â €  The approaches used under the qualitative researcher are characterized as following: They have a tendency to be open-finished and have less organized conventions (i.e., researchers may change the information gathering method by including, refining, or dropping systems or sources) They depend all the more intensely on intelligent meetings; respondents may be talked with a few times to catch up on a specific issue, clear up ideas or check the dependability of information They depend on numerous information accumulation systems to check the legitimacy of their outcomes) Generally their discoveries are not generalizable to any particular topic rather every contextual analysis creates a solitary bit of confirmation that can be utilized to look for general examples among diverse investigations of the same issue Despite the sorts of information included, information gathering in a subjective study takes a lot of time. The specialist needs to record any conceivably valuable information completely, precisely, and methodically, utilizing field notes, sketches, audiotapes, photographs and other suitable means. The information gathering strategies must watch the moral standards of examination. The subjective techniques most usually utilized as a part of assessment can be characterized in three general classes: In-profundity meeting Observation techniques Document review Description of the Research Process The process of the proposed study will put special focus on the approaches including â€Å"Exploratory Data Collection† and â€Å"Survey.† From this perspective, participant observation will be the core method used to collect and analyse data during fieldwork in Australia. On the other hand, it will also use the survey to collect the data for this study. Nevertheless, survey will be containing two scales such as measuring the transnational behaviour as well as the other integration. The process of the proposed study will take the time of more than 4 months. Project Plan Expected Research Outcomes The conceivable answer for this lack is to fast track 457 visa applications so that the business can sponsor the skilled workers to fill the available vacancies. Reducing the bureaucracy involved in the process will help the business in the long term. Conclusion Most Australian accompanies are facing issues in hiring skilled staff. Associations are finding it increasingly hard to get the ideal individual for work opportunities, as showed in various reviews. Pulling in more staff to enter the work power and to backing gifted movement ensures that staff shortage does not lead to slow economic growth. I feel that talented relocation is still the best approach if Australia needs to address its staffing deficiencies. References ACCI,. (2007). ADDRESSING AUSTRALIA’S LABOUR SHORTAGES. AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY. Argent, N., Tonts, M. (2015). A multicultural and multifunctional countryside? International labour migration and Australias productivist heartlands.Population, Space and Place,21(2), 140-156. Brennan, G., Castles, F. G. (2002).Australia reshaped: 200 years of institutional transformation. Cambridge University Press. Creswell, J. W. (2013).Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications. Dyster, B., Meredith, D. (2012).Australia in the global economy: continuity and change. Cambridge University Press. Gavin, B. (2010). The Impact of Skilled Labour Shortages on the Pilbara Region. Future Directions International Pty Ltd. Labour Market Research and Analysis Branch Department of Employment,. (2014). Skill Shortages Australia. employment.gov.au. McGrath, P. (2014). Labour shortage predicted to hamper economy. ABC News. Retrieved 17 June 2015, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-04/labour-shortage-predicted-to-hamper-australian-economy/5647196 McLean, I. W. (2012).Why Australia prospered: the shifting sources of economic growth. Princeton University Press. Mitchell, W., Quirk, V. (2005). Skills shortages in Australia: concepts and reality. Centre of Full Employment and Equity. Richardson, S. (2007).What Is a Skill Shortage?. National Centre for Vocational Education Research Ltd. PO Box 8288, Stational Arcade, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia. Tan, Y., Lester, L. H. (2012). Labour market and economic impacts of international working holiday temporary migrants to Australia.Population, space and place,18(3), 359-383.

e-mail and electronic mail :: essays research papers

The Hacker It was a lonely Saturday night. The wind was howling through the branches of the old oak tree outside my window. The branches swayed back and forth, creating faint tapping and screeching sounds on the glass. And so, I sat†¦ It was a night like any other; my music playing in the background and the room was illuminated only by the changing shades of green from my lava lamp. I waited. Suddenly, a came from the system unit of my computer, signalling that it was ready. I sat in my big leather chair, leant forward, and logged on. Immediately, the computer went through a series of programmes, checking the system was operating correctly, and so on. The status bar reached 100% and the computer was now ready for action. I sat with the bright glare in my eyes. The once room, once light by a perpetually changing shade of green, was now light up with a brilliant sky blue. â€Å"Good evening, Dave. Would you like me to log on to the Internet?† It was a synthesised voice coming from the computer. It was a voice interface I had made by piecing together things my girl friend had said. I had it on the computer to remind me of her, and to give me hope that one day I would see her again. â€Å"Hmm†¦yeah, log me on.† I said. My voice was grotty and weak. Although I had a voice interface, I rarely spoke, even though I used my computer 24/7, I’d normally use the keyboard and mouse. Still, having a voice interface was pretty nifty, but I couldn’t help but think that one day, it may not recognise my voice†¦.it was getting worse by the day. The modem clicked. â€Å"Log on complete. Have a nice day.† It said. I almost broke down. I hadn’t heard this voice for some time†¦.it brought back memories. I had forgotten what she sounded like†¦She? My god! I’d started to think that this machine was my girl friend. ‘The late nights must be getting to me.’ I thought â€Å"Thanks.† I said. I could hardly stand it†¦it felt like there was a rock in my throat; you know the one I mean? When you’re upset and you feel like your going cry? Well, anyway, I cracked my knuckles, for no reason what so ever, knowing full well it could give me premature arthritis.

Identify laws of motion thermodynamics Essay

The first example is oscillating a pendulum, which is categorized in the law of motion due to the object remaining in that state unless an external force is applied. The second example stating cooling food and drinks in a refrigerator is categorized in the laws of Thermodynamics due to thermalization. The third example of using the coffeemaker can be a combination of both laws due to moving touching to coffeemaker to make create an action is Law of Motion, however, if we were heating the coffee to change the temperature, then this becomes law of Thermodynamics. The forth example is heating dinner which is Thermodynamics due to using temperature as our factor. The next example is heading a football, which uses the second law of motion, which is when velocities change when force is applied. The next example of throwing a baseball is the same concept, which is law of motion due to applying force. The last example of slamming on your brakes is the third law of motion, which is for every action there is an equal or opposite reaction. Thermodynamics can be described as the three laws, which physically use temperature, energy (Kinetic and potential energy) and entropy. The three laws of Motion can be described as the first every object will remain in its original state unless an external force is applied. The second law of motion is the exact calculations of when forces are applied to an object and how velocities change. The third law of motion is for every action there is an equal or opposite reaction. Reference: 1.Galloway, J. (2013). Physics for biosciences. Sydney: Pearson Australia

History of gambling Essay

?In modern day America, gambling is seen everywhere. Whether it is gambling on a sporting event, a horse race, a game of cards, or any other event, it is seen as a common practice among many American citizens. The most popular place for one to gamble is a casino. There are many casinos throughout the country, and despite the many critics of such venues, these casinos are here to stay for quite some time to come. Starting in 1931, Nevada took control of the casino gambling market and held a monopoly within this industry. It was the first state to have legalized commercial casino gambling, and it was the only state to have such legislation until 1976 (Morse, Goss 13-14). During the 1950’s, Las Vegas started to develop rapidly, opening many casinos within the city. Throughout the 1960’s most of these top-end casinos were purchased by Howard Hughes, which led to an ending of organized crime in the Las Vegas area. Corporations then began building and purchasing casino properties. The profitability of such properties made entering the casino industry quite attractive. This was the beginning of the transition of casinos from a simple form of gaming to a legitimate business (History of US Gambling). In 1976, commercial casino gaming was legalized in New Jersey, and Atlantic City began to thrive in ways similar to Las Vegas. This was the outcome that was hoped for, because it was done in an effort to revitalize Atlantic City. Casinos started to be built in Atlantic City, and a popular location for these casinos was the city boardwalk, along with in the marina district (Morse, Goss 14). More than a decade later, several states began to legalize commercial casino gambling. There are currently fifty-seven counties in the United States that allow commercial casino gambling. In states other than Nevada, a good majority of commercial casino gaming takes place adjacent to a river or some form of a body of water that creates a geographic border dividing states. This promotes the idea of riverboat gambling, along with the competition between each state and their neighbors for their gambling supporters (Morse, Goss 14-15). Soon after the rapid expansion of legal gambling locations throughout the country, tribal casino gambling became an important part of today’s casino industry. Tribal casino gambling is a practice that came to place after the 1987 Supreme Court decision in California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians. This case determined that the state of California did not have the proper authority to use its regulatory statutes for the gambling activities that took place on Indian reservations. The only institution that had complete authority over the issue was the federal government; therefore congressional authorization was necessary for state power to enact regulations. In 1988, Congress responded by passing and enacting the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). This was done for the purpose of balancing both the interests of the states and those tribes that resided within them (Morse, Goss 18-19). There were many policy goals that the IGRA aimed to accomplish. The first was to promote economic development and self-sufficiency amongst tribes. The second goal was to create a regulatory base that protected Indian gaming from organized crime, to make sure that the only beneficiary of the gaming operations is the tribe itself, and to ensure that the gaming operations are both fair and honest. The final goal was to establish an organization that would assist in these purposes, thus the creation of the National Indian Gaming Commission. Basically, the IGRA allowed tribes the right to build and run gaming facilities, or casinos, on their reservations to the same extent as the gaming allowed by state law (Morse, Goss 19). Tribal gaming has proven to be quite beneficial for Indian tribes in the United States. The tribes that have benefited the most are those that have exclusive rights to owning and operating casinos within their state. That means that specific states have an agreement with the tribes in their state that there will not be any commercial casinos within the state, just tribal casinos on tribal territory. This creates endless opportunities for tribal members, allowing them to generate large revenues and provide jobs for many members of their tribe (Morse, Goss 20-21). More recently, a new type of casino has emerged quickly into the gambling business, that being racetrack casinos, or racinos. These casinos are essentially a horse-racing track, along with many other casino features, such as slot machines, video gambling terminals, card tables, etc. This brings in a diverse crowd of people, for a lot of people only like to gamble on live racing events. It also helps states contain gaming expansion to their current racing grounds, and the economic benefits have quite a positive effect for the state (Morse, Goss 22). Each type of casino benefits the state in different ways. By a slight margin, there are more commercial casinos in the United States than tribal casinos, but tribal casinos are being built more rapidly (192 built between 2004-2007, as opposed to 175 commercial casinos built), so it is expected they will pass up commercial casinos in the near future. States benefit most from commercial casinos, receiving on average 16. 4% of revenues, as opposed to just 6. 1% of revenue from the tribal casinos (Morse, Goss 23). One factor that has led to major success for casinos in the United States is the great amount of promotion and advertising. The average casino spends 2. 5% of all revenues on promotion and advertising, which is a heavy amount compared to many other business industries. Throughout the years of the existence of legalized gambling, casinos have been figuring out the secret to generating the highest possible revenue, and that is through promotion. Promotions for casinos originally started out pretty basic, offering a patron a free bet if they come to the casino, or a free drink or meal. With the addition of hotels to many casinos, casinos began offering free night stays to customers, and sometimes even free transportation both to and from the casino for the time of their stay. Since then, there has been such an intense competition between casinos to attract gamblers to their establishment, so more and more promotions started to come into place and be offered by casinos around the country (Morse, Goss 27-28). Some casinos found their best strategy was to pay their patrons to play. This came in either the form of simply handing the patron money upon walking in the door (usually between 5-$20, but sometimes upwards of $100), or paying the person for the amount of time they spent in the casino. This is done by activating a â€Å"player card†, and every time that player sits down to play a game, they scan their card at that station and the system keeps track of how much time the player has spent gambling. Their account is then credited with however much money they earned during their time spent at the casino (Ogwyn). Competition between casinos continued to grow every year, and still does to this day. Promotions have become a necessity in order for a casino to succeed, and many amenities have become expected by patrons upon entering a casino. For one, soft drinks are expected to be complimentary at every casino. Many casinos have waiters and waitresses walking around taking orders, so there is a convenience of receiving a soft drink without needing to get up from your chair. It is seen as courteous to tip the servers, and is also seen as good karma for the gambling that is done after. The most intense promotion competitions take place in the major casino markets. Harrah’s is a major casino corporation, and it is one of the highest spenders when it comes to promotions. In 2005, it initiated possibly the biggest promotion in casino history, and that was the $1,000,000 Treasure Hunt. To partake in the hunt, customers had to go to one of the many Harrah’s Casino locations in the country, and depending how much time the customer spent at the casino, they earned an entry (or multiple entries, depending on the frequency of visits) into the contest. These entries represented an opportunity to partake in the actual treasure hunt, which took place in Las Vegas on November 10, 2005. A treasure chest containing $1,000,000 was placed in a remote desert location, and whoever found it first kept it all. This created an uproar of hype for Harrah’s Casinos, and has helped increase revenues in the following years since as well. Many other casinos learned from that, and started similar promotions to help boost their own revenues. This is a good example of how casinos have been learning from each other throughout time, and adjusting quickly to whatever is necessary for maximum business. The bottom line when it comes to casino promotions: do whatever it takes to get customers through the door; revenues will generate from there (Morse, Goss 28). Many studies have been done to find the effect of legalized casino gambling in an area on the residents who reside in that area. A study done by Morse and Goss in 2005 had surprising results, finding that counties that legalized casino gambling experienced lower personal bankruptcy rates in the first several years of having a casino operating in the county. After those years, however, it was found that the personal bankruptcy rates began to rise, eventually becoming higher than the rates from before the legalization of casino gambling (Morse, Goss 53). Casinos have been growing and expanding ever since their first existence. It is a unique industry in that, unlike many other large industries, it is not that crucial to focus on cutting costs, while instead it is best to just focus on generating revenues. As said before, this industry has a history of experiencing great success, and it is only getting greater and greater each year. Looking at some statistics from 1998-2003 is a good way to show an example of this growth; the average number of employees for stand-alone casinos in the United States went from 201 in 1998 to 265 in 2003, and in casino hotels it grew from 988 to 1,208 employees. Average pay for these employees grew as well. In 1998, stand-alone casino employees earned on average $21,700 a year, while in 2003 they earned $25,100 a year. It was a similar jump in salary for casino hotel employees, going from earning on average $23,700 a year to $26,100 a year (Morse, Goss 55). Today, the United States has an incredibly large market for casino gambling. There was an estimated 147 billion U. S. dollars in global revenue from casino gaming, and 60 billion of those dollars was from United States gambling. In the twenty states with legalized commercial gambling, there are about 450 commercial casinos in the United States (CASINO GAMBLING HISTORY). Gambling has been around since the beginning of United States history, and the creation and expansion of gambling centers that we call casinos has led to many opportunities for both growth and decline for citizens in this country. Whether viewed as positive or negative, casinos are here to stay for some time.