Papers by Debra McCormick
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The primary function of education is to teach and develop students' abilities to think criti... more The primary function of education is to teach and develop students' abilities to think critically. In many cases this occurs through class discussions. Yet, in a traditional classroom, discussions are often hindered due to limited class time and unequal access of interaction. An asynchronous online forum is a potentially cost-effective and flexible tool for educators to overcome such challenges to foster class discussion and enhance students' critical thinking skills (CTS). However, its effectiveness has not yet been examined ...
Abstract: The religious beliefs, affiliation and participation of individuals can have a farreach... more Abstract: The religious beliefs, affiliation and participation of individuals can have a farreaching impact on the wider community. Understanding and planning for future changes are vital for community and infrastructure development. Religion, once doomed to ...
In this paper, the authors present their experiences of teaching a final year undergraduate subje... more In this paper, the authors present their experiences of teaching a final year undergraduate subject, Digital Selves, in the public virtual world, Second Life. The goal of Digital Selves is to prepare graduates of a large Australian research-intensive university with the theoretical ...
Handbook of Hyper-real Religions, 2012
Communication technologies are a vital conduit for religious groups to provide information to, an... more Communication technologies are a vital conduit for religious groups to provide information to, and develop relationships with, their followers. Religious organisations and individual clergy are increasingly utilising digital technology to enhance, diversify and simplify the practices of their faith. While Catholicism and other traditional religions have benefited in many ways from their use of communication technologies, the broad appeal and easy access these technologies provide has also paved the way for the emergence of sects and new religious movements (NRMs). Advances in communications technology have afforded potential members of NRMs the means to connect and cultivate their ideas. This chapter describes how over a period of more than three decades, fans of the Star Wars series of films harnessed emerging communications technologies to form a religious community and how technology, conversely, almost led to the demise of the nascent religion. Keywords:communication technologies; fans; followers; nascent religion; new religious movements (NRMs); Star Wars
Outlooks and Opportunities in Blended and Distance Learning, 2013
New information and communication technologies provide opportunities and challenges for teachers.... more New information and communication technologies provide opportunities and challenges for teachers. Emerging virtual world technologies, such as Second Life, are a current example of this. Early adopters and innovators are currently exploring what these technologies offer specific cohorts of students, such as the distance higher degree by research (HDR) candidate. This chapter explores the experiences of three educators and four HDR candidates using virtual worlds as part of the supervisory process. Each case study explores the potentials and pitfalls of the medium from the individual’s perspective, and suggests solutions to overcoming some of the challenges. Subsequent thematic analysis of the case studies helps to support the field of literature on using virtual worlds in formal education. Demonstrating the potential merit of virtual worlds to support the HDR candidate, the chapter concludes with a range of possible research directions for this new and exciting field of study.
validity and viability of new religious movements in late modernity
The religious beliefs, affiliation and participation of individuals can have a farreaching impact... more The religious beliefs, affiliation and participation of individuals can have a farreaching impact on the wider community. Understanding and planning for future changes are vital for community and infrastructure development. Religion, once doomed to obscurity by secularisation theory, continues to play a vital role in community planning. The continued vitality and social relevance of religious affiliation in secular, globalised late modernity has resulted in the questioning of secularisation theories and the appositeness of the Sacred Canopy metaphor that has framed much of the study of religious affiliation for more than thirty years. Contemporary scholars have suggested that the religious marketplace may be a more apt metaphor to describe the changing conditions of religious affiliation in fragmented, globalised consumer driven western societies. My intention in this paper is to illustrate the relevance of the use of the marketplace metaphor to describe contemporary religious affil...
Centre for Social Change Research; QUT Carseldine - Humanities & Human Services, 2006
In 2001, a widely distributed email urged people to indicate 'Jedi' (from the movie Star ... more In 2001, a widely distributed email urged people to indicate 'Jedi' (from the movie Star Wars) as their religious affiliation on the National Census to be undertaken that year. The email, which may have originated from a prank, stated that if large enough numbers of people declared an affiliation to Jedi, the government would be forced to include it as a religion in future censuses. More than 70,000 Australians and 390,000 Britons heeded the call to action and recorded Jedi as their religion in the 2001 census. While the majority of people claiming affiliation to Jedism probably did so in a spirit of fun and/or rebellion, research suggests there are members of society who take the 'religion' quite seriously. The introduction and establishment of new religious beliefs once reliant on migration or trade is now facilitated by a global sharing of ideas through mass media and communications technology. Using Jediism and the events surrounding the 2001 National Census in A...
In this paper, the authors present their experiences of teaching a final year undergraduate subje... more In this paper, the authors present their experiences of teaching a final year undergraduate subject, Digital Selves, in the public virtual world, Second Life. The goal of Digital Selves is to prepare graduates of a large Australian research-intensive university with the theoretical ...
Communication technologies are a vital conduit for religious groups to provide information to, an... more Communication technologies are a vital conduit for religious groups to provide information to, and develop relationships with, their followers. Religious organisations and individual clergy are increasingly utilising digital technology to enhance, diversify and simplify the practices of their faith. While Catholicism and other traditional religions have benefited in many ways from their use of communication technologies, the broad appeal and easy access these technologies provide has also paved the way for the emergence of sects and new religious movements (NRMs). Advances in communications technology have afforded potential members of NRMs the means to connect and cultivate their ideas. This chapter describes how over a period of more than three decades, fans of the Star Wars series of films harnessed emerging communications technologies to form a religious community and how technology, conversely, almost led to the demise of the nascent religion. Keywords:communication technologies; fans; followers; nascent religion; new religious movements (NRMs); Star Wars
Centre For Social Change Research Qut Carseldine Humanities Human Services, 2006
McCormick, Debra (2006) From Jesus Christ to Jedi Knight validity and viability of new religiou... more McCormick, Debra (2006) From Jesus Christ to Jedi Knight validity and viability of new religious movements in late modernity. In Proceedings Social Change in the 21st Century Conference 2006, Queensland University of Technology. ... Accessed from http://eprints.qut.edu.au
McCormick, Debra (2006) From Jesus Christ to Jedi Knight validity and viability of new religiou... more McCormick, Debra (2006) From Jesus Christ to Jedi Knight validity and viability of new religious movements in late modernity. In Proceedings Social Change in the 21st Century Conference 2006, Queensland University of Technology. ... Accessed from http://eprints.qut.edu.au
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Papers by Debra McCormick