VIRTUAL REALITY,ONTOLOGY, AND VALUE

Abstract: This article raises the question of how the ontological status of virtual objects bears on their intrinsic value. If virtual objects are unreal or less real than physical objects, does it mean that they will have less intrinsic value? If they have intrinsic value, what are the explanations for this value, and how do they relate to the ontological status of the virtual objects? First, the article reviews recent work concerning the ontological status of virtual reality and virtual objects. Second, it argues that in some cases the ontological status of virtual objects does undermine the value placed in them, in that the objects can fail to have the properties that ground the value attributions made to them, while in other cases their ontological status is not important. Finally, the article relates the grounding of value attributions to philosophical theories of value, in particular, perfectionism and hedonism.     

Taxicab Correspondence Analysis

Taxicab correspondence analysis is based on the taxicab singular value decomposition of a contingency table, and it shares some similar properties with correspondence analysis. It is more robust than the ordinary correspondence analysis, because it gives uniform weights to all the points. The visual map constructed by taxicab correspondence analysis has a larger sweep and clearer perspective than the map obtained by correspondence analysis. Two examples are provided. This research was financed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The author thanks Serge Vienneau for his help regarding the graphical displays, and also thanks the editor, associate editor, and two reviewers for their constructive comments.     

关于医学人文教学几个问题的认识

文化素质教育与人文教育有联系,但也有区别;对人文精神的理解,存在东方与西方、传统与现在的差异;人文精神的核心是人是一切的根本,人的生命、思想、理想应当受到关爱和尊重;人文精神或人文主义包括理念层次和实践层次;人文精神是一种普世价值而主要不是意识形态;人文知识不等于人文素养,医学人文教育的目标是提升学生对生命的尊重与关爱;医学人文教育应当渗透到医学专业教育之中。     

医学高新技术在现代医患关系中扮演的角色

医学高新技术在现代医患关系中扮演着重要的角色,然而在缺乏有效的政府监管、医院与医生逐利行为及社会不良导向等因素下,其自身的角色发生了异化。通过对异化现象、产生原因及采取措施等方面的分析,明确其正确的价值取向,以促进医患关系的健康、和谐发展。     

Is that all there is?

I take issue with two suggestions of Joel Feinberg's: first, that it is incoherent to suppose that human life as such is absurd, and, second, that a particular human life may be absurd and yet saved from being tragic by being fulfilled. I also argue that human life as such may well be absurd and I consider various responses to this.     

Development of the Japanese Version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire – Elementary School (AEQ-ES-J)1,2

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a Japanese version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire – Elementary School (AEQ-ES), which assesses enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom experienced by elementary school students within the settings of attending class, doing homework, and taking tests. Japanese elementary school students (n = 863 for the first survey; n = 332 for the second survey) participated in the questionnaire survey. The results showed that the psychometric properties of the Japanese AEQ-ES were comparable to those of the original version. Moreover, the results showed that students' achievement emotions were associated with their control and value appraisals, as well as their academic motivation, learning strategies, academic performance, and support from teachers. These results indicated that the Japanese version of the AEQ-ES was a good measure of elementary school students' emotions and supported the propositions of the control–value theory of achievement emotions.     

男性择偶策略改变的前提：自感配偶价值提高

研究分为问卷调查与实验研究两部分。首先,40名女性和33名男性完成有关自感配偶价值评价（SPMV）和择偶偏爱策略的问卷调查,问卷调查结果是实验研究中数据分析的基线。其次,第二部分实验开始后,被试会得到实验者编造的他人潜在择偶对象的积极正面评价,其目的在于提高被试的SPMV。可以假设,男性的SPMV与随意性行为的认同或追求有正相关,男性SPMV的提高将会更加偏爱短期的性策略;女性SPMV与随意性行为不存在相关,女性SPMV的提高不会改变女性的性策略。研究结果显示,SPMV高基线水平的男性更加认可随意性行为,男性SPMV的提高与短期策略选择的增加有关。另外,SPMV提高,而不是一般自尊的提高,与择偶策略的改变具有相关。本研究结果没有证实,与长期稳定的性关系相比,SPMV的基线水平或是提高与女性对随意性行为的认同或追求之间存在相关     

Women’s occupational career patterns over 27 years: Relations to family of origin, life careers, and wellness

This study aimed at identifying and describing occupational career patterns (OCPs) from age 16 to 43 by applying optimal matching techniques to sequence data obtained from a sample of Swedish women. Women’s occupational trajectories were found to be diverse. Upward mobility (3 patterns) and stable careers (4 patterns) were prevalent, but there were also women characterized by downward mobility, fluctuation and being outside the labor market (1 pattern each). Women’s OCPs were related to family of origin, but more strongly to their overall life career (i.e., multiple role constellations over the life course). The study indicates that occupational mobility patterns do matter in terms of job perceptions, work attitudes, and quality of life. The results generally confirm the popular belief of the advantage of upward mobility, followed by stable occupational careers, whereas women with downward or fluctuating careers fared worst.     

How to turn a hawk into a dove and vice versa: Interactions between emotions and goals in a give-some dilemma game

The present study investigated emotional influences on behavior in a one-shot, simultaneous, give-some dilemma game. In accordance with functional perspectives on the role of discrete emotions, we found fear to reduce, and guilt to increase levels of cooperation. Moreover, we showed individual differences in the effect of induced emotional states. Specifically, results indicated that inducing fear reduced cooperation only for individuals with a pro-social value orientation, and that guilt induction increased cooperation only for individuals with a pro-self value orientation. We also established that both social value orientations could be adequately described in terms of differences in chronically accessible goals (as assessed by value-importance ratings). These results, therefore, seem to support our hypothesis that individual differences in the behavioral consequences of induced emotional states are related to variation in chronic accessibility of general goals associated with a particular emotional state.