Ethics and Legal Aspects of Virtual Worlds

2012 ◽  
pp. 117-131
Author(s):  
Andrew Power ◽  
Gráinne Kirwan
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Adaptive Governance ◽  
Legal Environment ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Legal Remedies ◽  
Law And Ethics ◽  
Ethical Acceptability ◽  
Technical Solutions

The development of a legal environment for virtual worlds presents issues of both law and ethics. The cross-border nature of online law and particularly law in virtual environments suggests that some lessons on its formation can be gained by looking at the development of international law, specifically the ideas of soft law and adaptive governance. In assessing the ethical implications of such environments the network of online regulations, technical solutions and the privatization of legal remedies offer some direction. While legal systems in online virtual worlds require development, the ethical acceptability of actions in these worlds is somewhat clearer, and users need to take care to ensure that their behaviors do not harm others.

Analysis of Potential Legal Strategies for Mitigation of Workplace Bullying in India

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina K. Stephen ◽  
Arun Sasi
Keyword(s):  
Workplace Bullying ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Legal Remedies ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Legal Strategies

India’s legislature, judiciary and academia have by and large cast a blind eye on workplace bullying. There is literary vacuum on legal aspects of workplace bullying in Indian context. This article tries to address this dearth of literature by analyzing potential legal remedies and roadmaps for mitigation of bullying in Indian workplaces. It tries to achieve this by evaluating existing legal provisions with potential of mitigating workplace bullying and comparatively analyzing legal strategies of other countries.

scholarly journals DANUBE AND THE FACILITATION OF NAVIGATION ON DANUBE

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 29-33
Author(s):  
Ciprian Beniamin Benea ◽  
Adina Secară OniĹŁa
Keyword(s):  
Legal Framework ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
The Political ◽  
Indirect Connection ◽  
Iron Gate ◽  
Political Events ◽  
Gate System ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
Technical Solutions

With 2857 km in length, the quiet Danube quietly tells Europe’s history. We only must be aware of its story. Since ancient times it was connected with empires, expansion, and navigation. The Romans fully understood its role, and proceeded accordingly. They made it their border, but used it for transporting goods and military, too. After the Dark Ages, all European affairs have been in one way or another connected and influenced by the Danube. Romania’s modern history was influenced by the evolution of international problems connected to this river. The Moldavia and Wallachia 1859’s unification in a single state – Romania – had lot to do with the Danube and it was involved in London’s interests in the Oriental Question. The paper presents shortly the way the legal framework regarding the Danube was developed, and what was Romania’s role in facilitating navigation on the Danube. The main data which inspired this work – regarding both the political-legal aspects, and the technical solutions used to facilitate navigation on Danube – are based on earlier writings and studies of Romanian thinkers such as Antipa, Baicoianu, Dascovici and Gogeanu. The evolution of these aspects has a direct or an indirect connection with the evolution of political events and the economic development in all European states, but their importance is crucial especially for those countries which are located in the Danube’s basin. The main text regarding the political aspects related to the Danube is the Belgrade Convention, which has been the general framework under which riparian countries come together to collaborate and to solve the technical impediments for navigation, such as those imposed by the building of the Iron Gate System. At the same time, this paper signals the role of education in understanding the Danube’s role for riparian countries, and for their possible evolution in connection with this river.

scholarly journals Virtual reality as a clinical tool in mental health research and practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-177 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Clinical Tool ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Controlled Environments

Virtual reality (VR) is a potentially powerful technology for enhancing assessment in mental health. At any time or place, individuals can be transported into immersive and interactive virtual worlds that are fully controlled by the researcher or clinician. This capability is central to recent interest in how VR might be harnessed in both treatment and assessment of mental health conditions. The current review provides a summary of the advantages of using VR for assessment in mental health, focusing on increasing ecological validity of highly controlled environments, enhancing personalization and engagement, and capturing real-time, automated data in real-world contexts. Considerations for the implementation of VR in research and clinical settings are discussed, including current issues with cost and access, developing evidence base, technical challenges, and ethical implications. The opportunities and challenges of VR are important to understand as researchers and clinicians look to harness this technology to improve mental health outcomes.

scholarly journals Reputation of a Local Government Unit – Legal Aspects

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 149-162
Author(s):  
Wojciech Szczotka
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
General Public ◽  
Civil Law ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Civil Code ◽  
False Information ◽  
Legal Remedies

The issue of reputation of a local government unit is located on the border of two important branches of law – civil and administrative. Reputation is a category of civil law – it is a personal right vested in legal persons, while the issue related to local government units concerns institutions in the field of administrative law. Reputation of a local government unit may be violated in two cases. Th first of them consists in spreading false information about the entity, which also undermines its reputation. In the second case, there is a violation of good name when publishing evaluative statements in which the respective subject is criticized, lacking in the constructive feature. In order for the reputation of a municipality, poviat or voivodeship to be violated, it can be addressed to both their organs, self-government organizational units and their employees, as well as the general public of their residents as well as a local government unit as an unspecified whole. Local government units have the same legal remedies as all other civil law entities provided for in the Civil Code, i.e. claims under Art. 24 and 448.

scholarly journals Influence of information and legal policy on the legal consciousness of an individual in conditions of information dependence: theoretical and legal aspects

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
С.М. Воробьев ◽  
С.А. Комаров
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Support ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Internal Communication ◽  
Legal Consciousness ◽  
Legal Environment ◽  
Legal Policy ◽  
Mutual Regulation ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Different Levels

В статье проведен анализ существования информационной зависимости разного уровня, предопределяющей развитие информационно-правовой политики. В работе рассматриваются некоторые теоретико-правовые аспекты, раскрывающие особенности влияния информационно-правовой политики на правосознание, посредством имеющейся между ними внутренней связи. Авторы считают, что индикаторами внутренней связи выступает правовая среда и социальная действительность; субъектный состав организационного обеспечения; информация как объект взаимного регулирования. При этом настоящая статья отражает субъективную позицию авторов по данной проблематике. The article analyzes the existence of information dependence at different levels, which determines the development of information and legal policy. The paper considers some theoretical and legal aspects that reveal the features of the influence of information and legal policy on legal awareness, through the internal connection between them. The authors believe that the indicators of internal communication are the legal environment and social reality; the subject structure of organizational support; information as an object of mutual regulation.

Historical, Ethical, and (Extra)legal Perspectives on Culpability in Accidental Species Introductions

BioScience ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gad Perry ◽  
Howard Curzer ◽  
Michael Farmer ◽  
Meredith L Gore ◽  
Daniel Simberloff
Keyword(s):  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Nonnative Species ◽  
Policy Response ◽  
Legal Authority ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
Economic Considerations

Abstract Some nonnative species benefit humans, but many become invasive, with high economic, cultural, and ecological costs. Although many introductions are considered accidental, inadvertent, or unintentional, this terminology often cannot be justified. Prevention policies have been proposed or implemented, and a diversity of proven control methods is available, but invasion problems grow, largely because feasible policy and management approaches are not implemented. The lack of action reflects willful myopia, a decision not to act because of negligence by policymakers, managers, and individuals. We explore the multidimensional ethical implications of this view and propose a continuum of ethical hazard. We relate the ethical dimensions to legal aspects of culpability and suggest a possible cutoff for legal liability. Finally, we identify four components of a desired policy response: It must ensure legal authority for action, base policy response on market forces, assure that more than simplistic economic considerations underpin decisions, and better engage the public.

THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT COMPONENT OF AN OIL SPILL CLEANUP MODEL

1981 ◽  
Vol 1981 (1) ◽  
pp. 695-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Nyhart ◽  
Harilaos N. Psaraftis ◽  
Walter S. Laird
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Legal Environment ◽  
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽  
Delegation Of Authority ◽  
Institute Of Technology ◽  
Oil Spill Cleanup

ABSTRACT An oil spill and its cleanup can be viewed as occurring within a legal environment separable into categories including legal aspects of planning, response action, environmental protection, liability, and compensation. Each may provide enabling rules and constraints that affect the delegation of authority and responsibility to a range of actors. These include the spiller, terminal/facility owner, local emergency cleanup personnel, the Coast Guard, other government officers, volunteers, cleanup contractors, equipment manufacturers, and those damaged by the spill. This paper describes the legal components of an oil spill cleanup model being developed in a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sea Grant College Program project involving several representative actors from the above categories. It focuses on the relevant existing legal environment in the United States and its relationship to the different actors. It explores how these relationships, expressed as enabling rules or constraints, may be integrated into the project's strategic, tactical, operational, and damage assessment models.

The Welsh Church Act 1914: A Century of Constitutional Freedom for the Church in Wales?

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-14
Author(s):  
Norman Doe
Keyword(s):  
Canon Law ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Original Structure ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
Good Opportunity ◽  
Political Expediency ◽  
The Church

The approach of the centenary of the disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales offers a good opportunity to reflect on legal aspects of the life of the Church in Wales since 1920. Religious equality had been the principal stimulus for the Welsh Church Act 1914. This statute, together with the release of the Welsh dioceses by the Archbishop of Canterbury to form a separate Anglican province, necessitated the formulation of a constitution for the Church. Innovation was avoided, and continuity protected. ‘Vestiges of establishment’ continued, in burial and marriage, as the result of political expediency. The original structure of the Constitution continues to this day – a complex of various instruments. Change has been piecemeal. The Church still has no modernised body of canon law and its soft law has increased dramatically. However, understandings about the purposes of the Constitution have changed, and the demand for constitutional change has quickened recently, particularly since the Harries Review of the Church in Wales in 2012.

scholarly journals ‘Sham Surgery’ Control Groups: Ethics and Context

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 148-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Swift
Keyword(s):  
Patient Autonomy ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Surgical Research ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Sham Surgery ◽  
Surgical Trial ◽  
Ethical Acceptability

The use of placebo controls in surgical research, or ‘sham surgery’ as it sometimes described, raises a number of ethical issues. Despite such issues, sham surgery is presently being employed, albeit very rarely, in surgical research. In this paper, the ethical implications of such control groups are discussed in the context of research into various conditions, including Parkinson's Disease and arthritis. Conflicting ethical considerations include: i) patients' best interests in relation to the harms and risks involved; ii) the need for more rigorous methods in surgical research, and iii) the question of patient autonomy. Contextual features which may influence the ethical acceptability of a specific sham-controlled surgical trial are discussed.

scholarly journals (Not) Playing Games: Player-Produced Walkthroughs as Archival Documents of Digital Gameplay

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Newman
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
First Principles ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
General Audience ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
International Projects ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Popular Interest ◽  
Technical Solutions ◽  
The Impact

The subject of digital game preservation is one that has moved up the research agenda in recent years with a number of international projects, such as KEEP and Preserving Virtual Worlds, highlighting and seeking to address the impact of media decay, hardware and software obsolescence through different strategies including code emulation, for instance. Similarly, and reflecting a popular interest in the histories of digital games, exhibitions such as Game On (Barbican, UK) and GameCity (Nottingham, UK) experiment with ways of presenting games to a general audience. This article focuses on the UK’s National Videogame Archive (NVA) which, since its foundation in 2008, has developed approaches that both dovetail with and critique existing strategies to game preservation, exhibition and display.The article begins by noting the NVA’s interest in preserving not only the code or text of the game, but also the experience of using it – that is, the preservation of gameplay as well as games. This approach is born of a conceptualisation of digital games as what Moulthrop (2004) has called “configurative performances” that are made through the interaction of code, systems, rules and, essentially, the actions of players at play. The analysis develops by problematising technical solutions to game preservation by exploring the way seemingly minute differences in code execution greatly impact on this user experience.Given these issues, the article demonstrates how the NVA returns to first principles and questions the taken-for-granted assumption that the playable game is the most effective tool for interpretation. It also encourages a consideration of the uses of non-interactive audiovisual and (para)textual materials in game preservation activity. In particular, the focus falls upon player-produced walkthrough texts, which are presented as archetypical archival documents of gameplay. The article concludes by provocatively positing that these non-playable, non-interactive texts might be more useful to future game scholars than the playable game itself.

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