April 2011

‘Teaching about Religions’ author favors balanced religious courses in public schools

by Heather Newman April 29, 2011

Emile Lester is author of Teaching about Religions, a brand-new book on religious education in public schools from the University of Michigan Press. He speaks here about how religions can be incorporated into a public school curriculum. Recent attempts by Texas state school board members to accommodate conservative Christian concerns in the social studies and science curriculums have produced predictable handwringing among many liberals and secularists. These groups have responded by emphasizing the need to teach evolution only and insulate the public school curriculum from conservative Christian biases. These groups’ concerns are not unwarranted. Still, in Teaching Religions: A Democratic [...]

Longer than an article, shorter than a book: UM Press director suggests (the return of) a new digital art form

by Heather Newman April 28, 2011

University of Michigan Press Director Phil Pochoda, along with coauthor Joseph Esposito, recently composed a piece for the On the Scholarly Kitchen blog of the Society for Scholarly Publishing on what they see as a new form of born-digital publications: the rebirth of the pamphlet-length, peer-reviewed piece, which is currently awkward in print (too long for a journal article, too short for a book). The entry is entitled “Through the Wormhole: A new format for the born-digital publisher,” and posits the return of the medium-form piece, a classic structure that harkens back to works such as Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense.”

Stephen T. Ziliak Discusses ‘Cult of Statistical Significance’ on BBC Radio 4

by Shaun Manning April 21, 2011

Stephen T. Ziliak, co-author with Deidre N. McCloskey of The Cult of Statistical Significance: How the Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives, appeared on BBC Radio 4’s More or Less with Tim Harford to discuss the problems with significance testing. Harford’s program focuses on the way numbers and statistics are used and misused in the public realm, and for the April 15 episode he spoke with Ziliak about a recent Supreme Court decision that hinged on whether statistical significance was a meaningful standard by which to assess a company’s liability for a potentially dangerous product. Harford began using [...]

Author Annie Lehmann speaks out on Autism Awareness Month

by Heather Newman April 20, 2011

Annie Lehmannn is author of The Accidental Teacher: Life Lessons from My Silent Son. She wrote this essay in honor of Autism Awareness Month, April 2011. Parents raising children with autism are on the front lines every day, navigating a sea of unique challenges, emotions and bureaucracies. Yet when it comes to autism education, the parental perspective tends to be overlooked. Parents have a great deal to contribute and getting professionals to appreciate this was one of the reasons I wrote The Accidental Teacher: Life Lessons from my Silent Son. During the 20 plus years chronicled in this book we [...]

Snow in April? Author Paul Gross can tell you why Michigan’s weather is wacky

by Heather Newman April 18, 2011

A week ago, it was 80 degrees in Michigan. Today, it's snowing, with actual accumulation in some places. What gives? We turned to WDIV-TV meteorologist Paul Gross, author of Extreme Michigan Weather: The Wild World of the Great Lakes State, for help. "As much as people don’t like the snow, we do get snow in April," he said. "Almost every day during the last half of the month has had at least some snow in the past, including many with record snowfall over an inch. We’ve also had a few May days with snow that had to be shoveled. "The [...]

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