title: Mediated realism and the representation of a health care controversy.
abstract: Psychologists have recently identified "situated cognition" as an important issue for educators across disciplines. Accordingly, instructional technologists have been working on ways to make classroom materials more true-to-life and affectively engaging. In this article I review a study designed to investigate the ways in which differing realism conditions (delivered through interactive video) influenced users' understanding of the issue of euthanasia and the case of Dax Cowart. Based on the study's findings, I raise the issue of a possible trade-off between traditional values of objectivity and authenticity.
authors.affiliation: School of Literature, Communication and Culture, Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Petraglia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D026688:Bioethical Issues; D004645:Empathy; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D033101:Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary; D005066:Euthanasia, Passive; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D028681:Moral Obligations; D028701:Patient Rights; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D012297:Right to Die; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D014742:Videodisc Recording