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From the editorAnniversaries evoke celebration. For this festschrift, 14 authors wrote articles and memorial essays to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the publication of Henry R. Lesieur's The Chase: Career of the Compulsive Gambler (1977; 2nd edition, 1984). A classic in gambling research, this work is appreciated for its innovation in taking a term from gamblers' own idiom – "chase" (as verb and noun) – and with solid sociological detail underpins its theses on the life course of gambling problems and how they are negotiated in daily life. Other dramatic terms from gamblers' own slang echo their hope and desperation: "the action," "getting even," "moving money," "illegal shit" [crime] and "hustling suckers." As in few other works on problem gambling, we almost feel that we are overhearing interviews with gamblers who wagered, won a lot and lost much in their gambling careers. Several authors in this issue note that the ethnographic genre adopted by Henry R. Lesieur in The Chase is still underutilized in gambling research. |
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Many of the authors cite the themes in the book that they especially appreciate. I would like to note that The Chase is an exemplar of openness and transparency about research methods. In Appendix A, "The Research Process," a wealth of detail about research techniques tells us what worked and what didn't. Few social science publications today offer this level of openness. There is no mystery about the sources for the depth of information available to the reader. Editing this issue was especially rewarding for, in our correspondence, so many authors made it clear that they wanted to participate in order to honour Henry R. Lesieur. I envy those who have yet to read this work. They can appreciate not only a landmark in gambling research, but, as well, can learn what makes a research classic remain important for decades. Postscript I thank Keith Whyte (National Council on Problem Gambling) for his willing and invaluable aid in this effort. Some readers may welcome an explanation about the concept of a festschrift. Formed of two German words for celebration and writing (The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, 1998), a festschrift traditionally honours a senior academic for a lifetime of productive scholarship by offering a collection of articles written by appreciative colleagues. Some authors in any festschrift refer to the honouree's publications; others do not. This collection is somewhat unique in including peer-reviewed articles. A festschrift is a gift to the honoured scholar and so his or her work does not appear in it. Phil Lange Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this journal do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Statement of purposeThe Electronic Journal of Gambling Issues: eGambling (EJGI) offers an Internet-based forum for developments in gambling-related research, policy and treatment as well as personal accounts about gambling and gambling behaviour. Through publishing peer-reviewed articles about gambling as a social phenomenon and the prevention and treatment of gambling problems, it is our aim is to help make sense of how gambling affects us all. The EJGI is published by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and is fully funded by the Ontario Substance Abuse Bureau of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. We welcome manuscripts submitted by researchers and clinicians, people involved in gambling as players, and family and friends of gamblers. Editor Nina Littman-Sharp, Robert Murray, Wayne Skinner, Tony Toneatto and Nigel E. Turner, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Advisory Board
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issue
10— february 2004![]() |
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