Editorial: Church, virtual and physical

From the Editorial:"As we continue to inhabit this not-quite-post-pandemic world, and grapple with the fact that, at least in some contexts and some forms, online participation is here to stay, questions around the relationship between the physical and the virtual in the life of the Church will need some sustained theological conversation. We hope that this issue of Theology in Scotland will contribute to a start of such conversation.

Autism and faith

As the title suggests, this issue is devoted to a theme that has become much more prominent in the general public discourse over recent years, yet still lacks sustained attention or an in-depth, creative consideration in the life of the Church as well as in theological thought

Editorial: Theology, imagination, and the arts

This issue is dedicated to an exploration of the relationship between theology and imagination. The inspiration for this particular subject arose out of a desire to honour the legacy of the late Rev Prof D. W. D. Shaw, a founding member of the editorial board of Theology in Scotland and the first Editor of the journal. Included in the issue is the text of the first in a series of annual lectures given in recognition of Bill Shaw’s contribution to the field of theology in Scotland

Editorial: Theology and the environment

The co-editors reflect briefly on what has historically been a complex relationship between ecology and the Christian faith before giving an overview of the issue's contents. Also included is a word of introduction from the journal's new Editor, Dr Lina Toth

Pedagogy for personal transformation: Faith development in the context of a Scottish Baptist College

This paper explores aspects of the personal transformation of students through theological education, (i) by proposing a theological interpretation based on the perspective of convictional theology; and (ii) by offering insights arising from Transactional Analysis on how students can be moved to a mature phase of life and faith development

Policy instruments for managing road safety on EU-roads

Directive 2008/96/EC on road infrastructure safety management requires the establishment and implementation of procedures relating to road safety impact assessments (RSIA), road safety audits (RSA), ranking of high accident concentration sections and network safety ranking (NSR) and road safety inspections (RSI). The aim of this article is to present the outputs of BALTRIS project. The goal of the international project BALTRIS is to elaborate the road and street infrastructure safety management procedures and teaching material consistently explaining the above mentioned infrastructure management procedures. Four Baltic Sea region countries (Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), represented by universities and national road administrations participate in the elaboration of these procedures and teaching material. This article describes the scope of NSR, RSA and RSI procedures prepared in the frame of BALTRIS project, also article provides detailed implementation and execution of procedures for the EU Member States. NSR means a method for identifying, analysing and classifying parts of the existing road network according to their potential for safety development and accident cost savings. Ranking of high accident concentration sectionsmeans a method to identify, analyse and rank sections of the road network which have been in operation for 3÷5 years and upon which a large number of fatal/injury accidents in proportion to the traffic flow or compared to respective conditions have occurred. RSI is a strategic comparative analysis of the impact of the new road or a substantial modification to the existing network on the safety performance of the road network. RSA is a formal safety performance examination of the existing or future road or intersection by an independent audit team

Determination, occurrence, and treatment of saccharin in water: A review

Saccharin (SAC) is an emerging contaminant, widely detected in the environment, with potential ecotoxicity risks to aqueous organisms and human beings. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are key sources and sinks of SAC, and play a vital role in eliminating SAC entering the environment. An overview is provided of the potential ecotoxicity of SAC, its occurrence in the aqueous environment, and its degradation performance in WWTPs. SAC treatments, including physical, chemical (mainly advanced oxidation processes AOPs), biological, and hybrid processes, and possible degradation mechanisms are also considered. Of the various SAC removal processes, we find that adsorption-based physical methods exhibit relatively poor performance in terms of SAC removal, whereas chemical methods, especially hydroxy radical-mediated oxidation processes, possess excellent capacities for SAC elimination. Although biological degradation can be efficient at removing SAC, its efficiency depends on oxygen supply and the presence of other co-existing pollutants. Hybrid aerobic biodegradation processes combined with other treatments including AOPs could achieve complete SAC reduction. Furthermore, novel adsorbents, sustainable chemical methods, and bioaugmentation technologies, informed by in-depth studies of degradation mechanisms and the metabolic toxicity of intermediates, are expected further to enhance SAC removal efficiency and enable comprehensive control of SAC potential risks