The Sage Handbook of Social Constructionist Practice. Группа авторов
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.
Zooming Out: Assemblages of Practices
We used an assemblage approach to attend to and identify the conditions and influences under which situated elements commingle and develop into socio-material practices, all occurring within and as part of social worlds. Given Tom Jackson's social worlds, and our interview with him, we identified the following conditions and influences that likely converged and commingled to facilitate excessive gambling (Figure 10.2): Neoliberalism, media, gambling industry, government/political system, current economy, work/employment, health and mental health, and social network. For the purposes of this chapter, we focused on conditions and influences most related to Tom Jackson's casino gambling, which directly attend to socio-material elements. However, conditions such as social network (i.e., recent loss of parents, lost connection to friendships due to working night shifts) and health and mental health (i.e., chronic pain and depression) are also major influences in the assemblage.
Figure 10.2 Zooming out: assemblage
Relevant to casino gambling are neoliberalism, technology, media, the gambling industry, and the political system/government. North America embraces a neoliberal ideology which privileges independence, capitalism, higher socioeconomic status, and, arguably, excessiveness. This translates to a desire to become and appear wealthy, often through excessive spending and consuming (e.g., cars, jewellery, clothing, fancy dinners, going to Vegas). The gambling industry is both a product of, and contributor to neoliberalism. The aim of the gambling industry is to maximize profit, while also promising the gambler the potential to win a jackpot (money is material). This industry uses technology in their materials to engineer player practices and experiences to perpetuate further play (Schüll, 2012). Casinos are designed to be exciting (lights and bells), glamorous, and disorienting in time and space, to keep consumers engaged in the practices. Video lottery terminals (VLTs) are also designed to be ‘addictive’, creating a trajectory towards continuous gaming productivity by ‘accelerating play, extending its duration, and increasing the total amount spent’ (Schüll, 2012, p. 52). This fits clearly with Tom Jackson's socio-material description of the casino as a ‘different world’ filled with excitement, fun, lights, and sounds.
The current economic system creates a tension with the neoliberal ideal. In a neoliberal system, as smaller numbers of people become increasingly wealthy, more become economically disadvantaged without options to progress. Those who are economically disadvantaged are likely to be less satisfied with their ‘reality'; working very hard, in jobs they dislike, and earning less than required for comfort, let alone match the ideal performed in media. However, those who are economically disadvantaged are still under the influence of the neoliberal ideal, which creates conditions to accumulate wealth outside of their regular jobs; gambling at a casino is very lucrative. In the case of Tom Jackson, he talked about his experience of being in the casino as a ‘different world’, with lights, sounds, and the potential to win money to make the pain and depression of his daily reality (Figure 10.3) ‘go away.’
Zooming In: Assemblage Instance
From an assemblage view we can zoom in to a practice of interest (‘walking into a casino’, Figure 10.3) to examine how conditions and influences come together to commingle and create the possibility of gambling. Tom Jackson spoke about chronic pain, depression, grief over the death of his parents, as well as an inheritance (material required to gamble), working night shifts in an empty warehouse, and loss of social connection and leisure activities. Tom Jackson's daily reality is sharply contrasted with what a casino has to offer: opportunities for excitement, escape, and the potential to win a fortune and escape daily reality. He described the casino as a completely ‘different world’ – an escape that was exciting – with bells, sounds, lights – and huge potential to win. He spoke about a ‘big win’, which was exciting, and served as a distinct contrast and escape from the stress and depression he experienced in his life elsewhere. He described the small ‘high’ he experienced walking in to the casino and the enormous high (‘euphoria’) he experienced when he hit a jackpot. Going to a different world with anticipation of an enormous high is a logical option.
Figure 10.3 Zooming in: assemblage instance
Zooming Out: Larger Network of Practices
Zooming out to a networked view, we can tease apart the mechanics of the practice network, which might be useful for reflexively investigating how practices network together in familiar, tacit ways, engaged as second nature. In contrast to a commingling and convergence of conditions in an assemblage view, a networked view feeds off procedural familiarity, practices become linked together in ways that seem predictable, one practice inviting the next. The more the practices are associated together, the more familiar the next step in the practice becomes. Hinge practices are those which are central to the perpetuation of a network of practices, a practice which, if altered, changes the network (Harré, 2009). Tom Jackson described certain practices that were important in his network of gambling practices.
In Figure 10.4, we depict four hinge practices that network together to sustain gambling: cell phone practice at work, driving to the casino, walking into the casino, and playing the VLT. Note that other daily life/home practices could also be included in Tom Jackson's larger network of practices, and expanded upon for a more thorough analysis. Tom Jackson described the VLT game on his cell phone as analogous to the VLT he played in the casino. Working the night shift alone, he played this game when he was bored, feeling lonely, or wanted a break. His engagement in the cell phone game was more than escape; however, what happened on the game (whether he won or lost) was associated with particular feelings and beliefs about his next steps. If he was winning in the game, he would go home after work, because he had ‘already won all of his wins’ (a superstitious ‘saying’ described in the next section). However, if he was losing, he knew he was ‘due for a win’ (another superstitious ‘saying’) and embodied anticipation of a win would be felt in his body.
Figure 10.4 Zooming out: network of practices
If he lost in his cell phone game, at the end of his shift he would drive to the casino (a few blocks away, on his route home). On the drive there (a hinge practice), he would be filled with anticipation, expectation, adrenaline, and excitement. He would walk into the casino (a hinge practice), which was a completely different world (compared to his warehouse job) – an escape that was exciting. The bells, sounds, and lights are all part of the socio-material ‘place’ of walking into the casino, and the next hinge practice of playing on a VLT.
Zooming In: Hinge Practices
From a practice perspective, we can zoom in to each of the socio-material hinge