Sam Fisher and the “war on terror”: an analysis of Splinter Cell in a post-9/11 context

This article examines the values and attitudes present within the 2002 video game Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, and the methods employed to convey them. It compares the game’s message with the rhetoric contained in the Bush administration’s post-9/11 “war on terror” narrative. A qualitative content analysis of a Splinter Cell “game movie” and gameplay sessions is undertaken to examine the messages communicated through elements of simulation and representation. This article finds that Splinter Cell and the “war on terror” narrative express similar perspectives of terrorism and counterterrorism. First, both exaggerate the physical and normative threat of terrorism, and portray it as overwhelmingly powerful. Second, both sources justify violent counterterrorism action through claims of necessity, urgency and self-defence. Third, violence is consistently portrayed as effective for achieving the desired objective. Finally, violence and military action are represented as simple solutions that ultimately lead to victory over terrorism. The parallels between the messages within Splinter Cell and the “war on terror” rhetoric indicate that the game was shaped by the post-9/11 culture in which it was developed. More significantly, however, Splinter Cell perpetuates and legitimises the “war on terror” narrative by conveying its message through an immersive interactive environment.     

Predicting perceptions of crime seriousness among Native American Indians: a research note

Strongly held cultural values may lead to development of pro-social behaviors and subsequently values against committing crime among people belonging to targeted racial or ethnic groups. In this study, the author examines measures of Native American Indian cultural values and measures of collective efficacy to determine which set of values best predict perceptions of crime seriousness from within a population of Native American Indians. The author uses data collected from 312 Indians and 355 non-Indians during the Southern Ute Indian Community Safety Survey to determine which set of values are more closely aligned with perceptions of crime seriousness. This study found that those who held stronger Native American Indian cultural values also had stronger perceptions of crime seriousness. In the past, little scientific work has been done to associate specific cultural values to those held by cultural groups other than Euro-Americans. Findings from this work suggest that strengthening cultural values specific to a targeted group may be a promising method in the effort to reduce victimization among minority group members if said members view crime as serious and report it as such.     

Securitizing “spiritual-moral values” in Russia

This article examines how “spiritual-moral values” (SMV) became securitized, or defined as a matter of national security in Russia. I analyze speech acts to show how moves to securitize SMV spread from the political fringe to the center of power, and from individual sectors to the strategic level. This “moral turn” in Russian politics is not merely a superficial attempt of the elite to distract the masses and rally the conservative electorate. The securitization of SMV has wider implications: It is, in the most direct way, the regime’s way of preventing a “color revolution.” By introducing a “state of siege” to the sphere of fundamental moral values, this securitization aids the construction of a national identity that is incompatible with basic human rights. An existential threat is constructed in order to justify extraordinary measures and establish a new social contract in which modernization is sacrificed at the altar of security.     

Public sector leadership‐subordinate ethical diffusion conundrum: perspectives from developing African countries

The interaction between organizational superiors and their subordinates has a practical implication on the entire organizational life cycle in terms of ethical conduct. This study explores how ethics among public leadership could trickle down on the conduct of public employees by using two empirical cases from developing African countries context. Using the attraction–selection–attrition and social learning models, the study assesses how superiors influence street level bureaucrats' interaction with clients or customers. Drawing from existing cases and other secondary data, we propose a leadership‐ethical diffusion model that argues that subordinates' perception and experience of superiors' behavior tend to create a kind of organizational ‘ethical groupthink’, which spans the rank and file of the organization. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

转型中国的司法价值观

对应于两次历史性社会转型以及第二次转型的三个发展阶段,当代中国的司法价值观发生了四次历史性变迁,即从为阶级斗争冲锋陷阵的政治司法价值观转变到为经济建设保驾护航的经济司法价值观,而后再演变为为社会稳定排忧解难的社会司法价值观,并走向为法治文明注译导航的衡平司法价值观。鉴于前三种司法价值观本质上都是法律工具主义的产物,是人治的变种,故有必要对其做历史性反思。唯此,型塑以"公正、廉洁、为民"为基本内核的多元衡平司法价值观方为可能。     

Competing ethical paradigms in forensic psychiatry and forensic psychology: Commentary for a special section of legal and criminological psychology

In her paper Gwen Adshead (2013) identifies the principle of respect for justice as the foundation for ethical practice in forensic psychiatry. This commentary discusses how forensic psychologists have approached a key aspect of the justice principle, the ethical imperative to promote the welfare of the individual client. The approaches of the psychiatric and psychological professions are compared and the role of psychologists as allied health professionals working in the forensic setting considered.     

价值困境、核心价值与宪法价值共识——宪法回应价值困境的一个视角

当代社会价值困境,是个体价值渐次遮蔽社会核心价值,最终陷入社会价值共识虚无的状态;而在转型中国,各种非理性价值或价值异化掺杂其中,价值困境更为深刻。作为回应的社会主义核心价值体系,却因独白式的传播方式而陷入认同困境。在依法治国的语境下,顺应社会核心价值之内在属性,应以宪法作为其规范载体;而宪法对社会核心价值之确认,构成宪法权威之理据,并可将形式意义的"话语共识"升华为实质性的宪法价值共识。虽然现行宪法业已在文本上全面表达了社会主义核心价值体系,但仍存结构局限,有鉴于此,应采取妥适路径,实现宪法价值体系与社会主义核心价值体系的有机融合。     

践行社会主义核心价值观 打造贵阳发展升级版

今年贵阳市第十三届人民代表大会上,市长刘文新在政府报告中强调要"培育和践行社会主义核心价值观,大力弘扬‘知行合一,协力争先’的城市精神,全力提振贵阳发展自信"。核心价值观是破解转型期价值问题的"导航灯",践行社会主义核心价值观对于激励全市人民形成奋发向上、崇德向善的强大正能量,提升省会城市的首位度,奋力走出一条西部欠发达城市经济发展和生态改善"双赢"的可持续之路,打造贵阳发展升级版具有重要的历史意义和现实意义。文章从意识形态、贵阳版"中国梦"、以人为本、思想道德建设、文化竞争力五个方面阐述了贵阳践行核心价值观的必要性和重要性。     

孝廉文化的内在耦合及其当代弘扬

"孝"与"廉"是中国优秀传统文化中的重要价值观,强调对个人品德与职业道德的双重价值追求,二者在本质上有着内在的耦合逻辑关系。在孝廉文化体系中,尽孝即为廉,做到廉方能更好行孝。在当代中国,弘扬孝廉文化须刚柔并济,既要把孝廉作为考核官员晋升的重要指标,又要把孝廉文化纳入社会主义廉政建设范畴。     

Making Sense of the Sacred

In this note I examine the concept of sacred values. Some commentators have recommended avoiding the question or postponing negotiations until other issues have been settled, whereas others have suggested that few sacred values cannot be rendered into some form of trade‐off (i.e., they are pseudosacred). Here, I follow Scott Atran and Robert Axelrod and argue that ritual and the sacred can be an important component of negotiation and, when addressed effectively, have great potential to break impasse. I first examine the notion of the sacred and its near synonyms, the priceless and the intrinsically valuable. I then look at the issue of valuing life and show that although society places limits on lives as a matter of policy, it paradoxically funds heroic acts, such as mine rescues, which defy economic justification. These acts turn out to fulfill an important symbolic and ritualistic function. Finally, I draw out three implications of the framework for negotiators: negotiators should engage in some form of values clarification among the parties, material compromise by one party does not necessarily indicate that that party's values were not ultimate or that these have been relinquished, and considerable weight should be placed on ritualistic and symbolic gestures with regard to values.