Religious Education in a Pluralist Society

by John Edwards, Peter R. Hobson

2019 · Routledge

Religious education in liberal pluralist societies such as the UK, the USA, and Australian underwent radical change in the 1980s and 1990s, with a major shift towards multi-faith, educationally oriented programmes. This has meant significant modifications to both the content and the methodology of religious-education courses and to the way they are conceived of and taught in schools and universities. One important implication of this change for the teaching and study of religion today is the need for a philosophical dimension that deals with issues such as the truth status of religious statements and the moral acceptability of religious claims. This dimension is often insufficiently developed; this lack is made more critical by the multiple competing truth claims of various religions, giving rise to such contentious problems as the growth of fundamentalism, increasing religious intolerance and conflict, and differences of opinion on central moral problems such as birth control, abortion and euthanasia. This text attempts to provide the philosophical underpinning that the study and teaching of religion in modern societies requires.

Statistical Analysis of Ecotoxicity Studies

by John W. Green, Timothy A. Springer, Henrik Holbech

2018 · John Wiley & Sons

A guide to the issues relevant to the design, analysis, and interpretation of toxicity studies that examine chemicals for use in the environment Statistical Analysis of Ecotoxicity Studies offers a guide to the design, analysis, and interpretation of a range of experiments that are used to assess the toxicity of chemicals. While the book highlights ecotoxicity studies, the methods presented are applicable to the broad range of toxicity studies. The text contains myriad datasets (from laboratory and field research) that clearly illustrate the book's topics. The datasets reveal the techniques, pitfalls, and precautions derived from these studies. The text includes information on recently developed methods for the analysis of severity scores and other ordered responses, as well as extensive power studies of competing tests and computer simulation studies of regression models that offer an understanding of the sensitivity (or lack thereof) of various methods and the quality of parameter estimates from regression models. The authors also discuss the regulatory process indicating how test guidelines are developed and review the statistical methodology in current or pending OECD and USEPA ecotoxicity guidelines. This important guide: Offers the information needed for the design and analysis to a wide array of ecotoxicity experiments and to the development of international test guidelines used to assess the toxicity of chemicals Contains a thorough examination of the statistical issues that arise in toxicity studies, especially ecotoxicity Includes an introduction to toxicity experiments and statistical analysis basics Includes programs in R and excel Covers the analysis of continuous and Quantal data, analysis of data as well as Regulatory Issues Presents additional topics (Mesocosm and Microplate experiments, mixtures of chemicals, benchmark dose models, and limit tests) as well as software Written for directors, scientists, regulators, and technicians, Statistical Analysis of Ecotoxicity Studies provides a sound understanding of the technical and practical issues in designing, analyzing, and interpreting toxicity studies to support or challenge chemicals for use in the environment.