The Problem of Evil and the Problem of God

Books reviewed: D. Z. Phillips, The Problem of Evil and the Problem of God (London: SCM Press, 2004). xxiii + 280 , price £19.99 pb.
Reviewed by Patrick Sherry, Lancaster University
Religious Studies Department
Lancaster University
Lancaster LA1 4YG     

Essay Review

D. GABBAY and F. GUENTHNER (eds.), Handbook of philosophical logic. Volume 1: Elements of classical logic. Dordrecht, Boston, and Lancaster: D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1983. xiv + 497 pp. Dfl225/$98.00.     

Clueless in Academe: How Schooling Obscures the Life of the Mind

Books reviewed: Graff, Gerald, Clueless in Academe: How Schooling Obscures the Life of the Mind
Reviewed by Greg Carey
Lancaster Theological Seminary     

Essay Review

RADHIKA HERZBERGER, Bhartrhari and the Buddhists. An essay in the development of fifth and sixth century Indian thought. Dordrecht, Boston, Lancaster, Tokyo: D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1986. xxvi + 252 pp. DF1.145/$64/£40.25.     

’Hearing into Speech’ The Feminist Study of Religion and an Education for Equality

A version of this paper was given at the NATFHE Religious Studies Section's Annual Conference at the University College of St Martin's, Lancaster on 30 June 1995.     

Joseph Lancaster and behavior modification in education.

In the early 1800s, Joseph Lancaster (1778-1838) developed an inexpensive method of education large numbers of the poor in England. Referred to as the "monitorial system," his method utilized students as monitors who performed many of the tasks normally undertaken by a teacher; it was used to teach classes that often exceeded a thousand students at one time. Student monitors were responsible for teaching and evaluating small groups of individuals in a somewhat regimented fashion. An incentive system was also used in a manner that closely resembles current applications of positive reinforcement in educational settings. Lancaster devised a token economy in which students earned tangible reinforcers for academic performance and deportment. Interestingly, the system spread quickly in the 1800s, and was implemented in many countries throughout the world. Its use declined as a result of both specific sources of dissatisfaction, such as the lack of individualization and dependence upon rote memorization, and general changes in the philosophy of education.     

Quality Time: Evaluating Religious Studies in Higher Education

The original version of this paper was presented on 30 June 1995 to the NATFHE Religious Studies Section's Annual Conference at the University College of St Martin, Lancaster. I am grateful to colleagues for comments and suggestions.     

On the polychoric series method for estimation of ρ in contingency tables

The present note illustrates the application of Lancaster & Hamdan's [1964] polychoric series method for estimating the correlation coefficient in contingency tables. A simple format for the calculations involved, using a desk calculator, is suggested and hence applied to a specific 3 × 3 contingency table.     

Correlation in a singly truncated bivariate normal distribution

The correlation in a singly truncated binormal distribution is obtained in terms of Mills' ratio using the Mehler identity. A table of the correlation in the underlying distribution as a function of the correlation in the truncated distribution is presented, together with a diagram summarizing this relationship.I wish to express my appreciation to Professor H. O. Lancaster of the Department of Mathematical Statistics, Sydney University, for the suggestion of this problem.     

Nightline—a student self-help organisation

With the rapid growth of student self-help organisations in institutions of further and higher education, there is a need to pass on the practical experience of existing services to those interested in setting up such organisations. To this end, an account is given of the origins and growth of the Nightline group at the University of Lancaster. Modelled on Samaritan principles, Nightline functions as an adjunct to the official welfare services provided by the university. Details are given of the selection and preparation of its student volunteers; the organisation of the group; and the nature and incidence of its usage during its first complete academic year.     

Marginal maximum likelihood estimation of item parameters: Application of an EM algorithm

Maximum likelihood estimation of item parameters in the marginal distribution, integrating over the distribution of ability, becomes practical when computing procedures based on an EM algorithm are used. By characterizing the ability distribution empirically, arbitrary assumptions about its form are avoided. The Em procedure is shown to apply to general item-response models lacking simple sufficient statistics for ability. This includes models with more than one latent dimension.Supported in part by NSF grant BNS 7912417 to the University of Chicago and by SSRC (UK) grant HR6132 to the University of Lancaster.We are indebted to Mark Reiser and Robert Gibbons for computer programming. David Thissen clarified a number of points in an earlier draft.     

Bodily awareness in the Wing Chun system

This paper was given in conjunction with a demonstration of Wing Chun Kung Fu at the conference, ‘The Body and Comparative Spirituality’. University of Lancaster, 1983. The paper examines the psycho-physical implications of a traditional Chinese martial art. It focuses on how the art and its training methods entail a non-dualistic understanding of body and mind, and emphasises the importance of bodily felt awareness. The roles of Taoism and Buddhism in association with traditional Chinese martial arts are considered as they contributed to this developing non-dualistic understanding. The paper briefly examines the notions of bodily awareness in the work of M. Merleau-Ponty and D. M. Levin and concludes with a brief consideration of the possible educational, ethical and social implications of the practice of traditional martial arts.     

A Study of Certain Incentives Applied under Schoolroom Conditions

Abstract

An investigation of certain abilities fundamental to the study of Geometry. By John Harrison Minnick (Doctor's dissertation, University of Pennsylvania), Lancaster, Pa., 1918, 108 p. Reviewed by William E. Story.

National service and national education. Reviewed by Eric George. London, P. S. King &; Son; 1913. 83 p.

Festskrift til Overlærer J. Nicolaysen's 70 aars jubilæum. Reviewed by Kristiania, J. W. Cappelen, 1917. Reviewed by Martin L. Reymert.     

Event components in autobiographical memories

Autobiographical memories contain activity, location, temporal, and participant information (Lancaster & Barsalou, 1997). Our study analysed potential dominance of activity information in autobiographical memories. The results indicated stability in dominance of the activity component, defined as similar occurrence in first and subsequent reports, and a relative absence of the temporal component in these verbal reports. Activity dominance also occurred when activity information from the verbal reports was used as a retrieval cue for a subsequent report. Temporal information demonstrated a greater lack of facilitation as a retrieval cue. These findings can be explained from the perspective of embodied cognition in which underlying perceptual states that contain activity, location, and other participant information are reconstructed during retrieval, whereas temporal information, as a more abstract component, is not.     

Event components in autobiographical memories

Autobiographical memories contain activity, location, temporal, and participant information (Lancaster & Barsalou, 1997). Our study analysed potential dominance of activity information in autobiographical memories. The results indicated stability in dominance of the activity component, defined as similar occurrence in first and subsequent reports, and a relative absence of the temporal component in these verbal reports. Activity dominance also occurred when activity information from the verbal reports was used as a retrieval cue for a subsequent report. Temporal information demonstrated a greater lack of facilitation as a retrieval cue. These findings can be explained from the perspective of embodied cognition in which underlying perceptual states that contain activity, location, and other participant information are reconstructed during retrieval, whereas temporal information, as a more abstract component, is not.     

Conditioning experiences and phobias

A retrospective study was conducted to examine the extent to which phobias are associated with a conditioning pathway to fear. The Phobic Origin Questionnaire (Öst and Hugdahl, Behav. Res. Ther. 19, 439–477, 1981) was administered to a sample of 91 phobic outpatients (patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia, social phobics, simple phobies). Results show clearly that conditioning experiences occur more frequently than either vicarious or informational, learning experiences, which confirms the findings previously reported by Rimm, Janda, Lancaster, Nahl and Dittmar (Behav. Res. Ther. 15, 231–238, 1977) and by Öst and Hugdahl (1981; Behav. Res. Ther. 21, 623–631, 1983). Yet, conditioning experiences consist mainly of panic attacks in confined environments. The findings also suggest that a considerable number of phobias are based on a combination of different pathways to fear.     

Using Lancaster's mid-P correction to the Fisher's exact test for adverse impact analyses

Adverse impact is often assessed by evaluating whether the success rates for 2 groups on a selection procedure are significantly different. Although various statistical methods have been used to analyze adverse impact data, Fisher's exact test (FET) has been widely adopted, especially when sample sizes are small. In recent years, however, the statistical field has expressed concern regarding the default use of the FET and has proposed several alternative tests. This article reviews Lancaster's mid-P (LMP) test (Lancaster, 1961), an adjustment to the FET that tends to have increased power while maintaining a Type I error rate close to the nominal level. On the basis of Monte Carlo simulation results, the LMP test was found to outperform the FET across a wide range of conditions typical of adverse impact analyses. The LMP test was also found to provide better control over Type I errors than the large-sample Z-test when sample size was very small, but it tended to have slightly lower power than the Z-test under some conditions.     

The Amish: Perceptions of genetic disorders and services

Previous studies of the closed Amish population have proven to be valuable in the field of genetics, however they have not explored the Amish parents' opinions and attitudes concerning genetic conditions and services. This exploration is necessary in order to provide culturally sensitive health care to a population at an increased risk for certain genetic conditions. The purpose of the present study was to examine the Amish population's general knowledge of genetic disorders, services, and the terminology used in describing inherited conditions, as well as their attitudes toward medical care and ethical and reproductive issues. Information was obtained from 17 Amish families, 12 who had an incidence of a genetic condition and five who had one or more children with other special health care needs, during personal interviews conducted in their homes in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Results of the interviews showed that the birth of an affected child did not deter subsequent reproduction, that the majority of the parents were never offered genetic counseling or prenatal testing, and that the parents are interested in understanding the cause of their children's problems and recurrence risks.     

Book Reviews

LOGIC AND SCIENCE

W. KNORR, The ancient tradition of geometric problems. Boston, Basel, Stuttgart:Birkhauser, 1986. ix+411 pp., 9 plts. SFr 128.

D. PEARCE, Roads to commensurability. Dordrecht, Boston, Lancaster, and Tokyo: D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1987. xi + 253 pp. £46/$59.

RAFFAELLA SIMILI [ed.], Logica, metodo e scienze in Gran Bretagna (1860-1930). Turin: Loescher, 1986. 272 pp. 16 000 Lire.

LOGIC AND SCIENCE

SEPPO SAJAMA and MATTI KAMPPINEN. A historical introduction to phenomenology. London, New York, Sydney: Croom Helm, 1987. vii + 131 pp. £22.50 (hardback)/£8.95 (paperback).

GRAHAM MACDONALD and CRISPIN WRIGHT (eds.), Fact, science and morality: Essays on A. J. Ayer's Language, truth and logic. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1986. 314 pp. £27.50.

BARRY GOWER (ed.). Logical positivism in perspective: Essays on Language, truth and logic. London Croom Helm, 1987. viii + 129 pp. £20.00.

CHRISTOPHER CHERNIAK, Minimal rationality. Cambridge, Mass.: Bradford and MIT Press, 1986. x+ 161 pp. £19.95.

RADU J. BOGDAN (ed.) Jaakko Hintikka. (Projiles, volume 8.) Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1987. 382 pp. US$89.

LOGIC AND SCIENCE

E. J. REULAND and A. G. B. TER MEULEN (eds.), The representation of (in) definiteness.Cambridge, (Mass.) and London: M.I.T. Press, 1987. xiv+ 344 pp. £27.50.

E. F. KITTAY, Metaphor: its cognitive force and linguistic structure. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987. x + 358 pp. £35.00.