Virtual worlds and moral evaluation

Consider the multi-user virtual worlds of online games such as EVE and World of Warcraft, or the multi-user virtual world of Second Life. Suppose a player performs an action in one of these worlds, via his or her virtual character, which would be wrong, if the virtual world were real. What is the moral status of this virtual action? In this paper I consider arguments for and against the Asymmetry Thesis: the thesis that such virtual actions are never wrong. I also explain how the truth of the Asymmetry Thesis is closely aligned with the possibility of what Edward Castronova has called closed synthetic worlds. With some qualifications, the ultimate conclusion is that the Asymmetry Thesis is false and that these closed worlds are impossible.     

Examining online consumers’ behavior: A service-oriented view

Retailers’ websites are an important interface between retailers and their customers. The various features and elements that retailers include on their websites play a critical role in attracting customers and ensuring their satisfaction with the online shopping process. By conducting a three-phased study, we identify how the elements of a website shape customers’ salient beliefs. These salient beliefs, in turn, determine the level of customers’ satisfaction with the website. This study provides both theoretical insights into the beliefs of online shoppers and practical insights for retail website operators. Specifically, we argue that when retail websites are constructed to include several specific elements that appeal to the key salient beliefs of information quality, service quality, and system quality, retailers will increase customers’ satisfaction with the online shopping process.     

Promoting positive attitudes towards science and religion among sixth‐form pupils: dealing with scientism and creationism

A sample of 187 female students, attending a sixth‐form study day on religious studies, completed a questionnaire containing four scales concerned with assessing: attitude towards theistic religion, attitude towards science, scientism and creationism. The data demonstrated a negative correlation between attitude towards religion and attitude towards science. However, this negative correlation was transformed into a positive correlation after taking into account individual differences in the students’ views about scientism and creationism. The implications of this finding are discussed in the context of the increasing support within society for the teaching of alternatives to evolution within the science curriculum. The authors argue both that it is important to challenge scientism by developing a better understanding of the role and limits of scientific methods, and that religious belief about creation should be recognised as essentially a claim about the ontological dependence of nature rather than about the details of its origins and development.     

Teachers' perceptions of students' excuses for academic difficulties

Ninety-seven teachers described situations in which their students experienced academic difficulties and gave reasons (excuses) to explain their difficulties. Teachers indicated whether or not they believed the reasons students gave, what they thought the “real” reasons for the students' difficulties were, and how they reacted and behaved toward the students. Analysis of teachers' reports indicated that students were most likely to attribute their academic difficulties to external, uncontrollable factors, whereas teachers tended to believe that the “real” reasons for students' difficulties were internal and controllable. Teachers reported that they would react in a positive manner toward the students whether or not they believed the reasons the students gave to explain their difficulties. Implications of these findings for student motivation are discussed.     

Of Mice and Manga: Comics and Graphic Novels in Art Education

A justification for the inclusion of graphic comic art in post-14 art education following the development of graphic novels in Europe, Japan and the USA. in recent years. The case is based on the visual dynamics of the medium and the potential for a critical realism which can be exploited in students’ studio practice and research. Particular attention is given to the Holocaust novel Maus and selected Japanese ‘Manga’ comics which have made an impact in the west, such as Barefoot Gen and Adolf. The article analyses the various innovative visual forms that these graphic novels utilise and considers their effectiveness as a vehicle for practice and research in the institutional art curriculum.     

一季之缘

1. Gibst du Dein Trikot nach dem Spiel manchmal auch den Fans？ Wenn moeglich, wie？ 在比赛结束后,你会把球衣送给球迷们吗？如果可能的话,怎样才能得到你的球衣？     

探索60后

作为一名法国队的球迷,尽可能多地收集法国国脚的签名是我一直以来的梦想。然而,由于法国球员不是很热情,法甲的球队回信率也较低,我的回信收获寥寥无几。