Welcome to ChesterRep - the University of Chester's Online Research Repository

ChesterRep is the University of Chester's institutional repository and an online platform designed to collate, store, and aid discoverability of the University’s research.

All University of Chester staff are expected to use the Current Research Information System, Symplectic Elements, to submit material to ChesterRep. Guidance on how to deposit and manage publications using Elements can be found here. You can also discover more about our editorial and open access policies here. Please note that you must be a member of the University to view these pages.

If you are a student at the University of Chester and want to submit work to ChesterRep, please contact researchsupport.lis@chester.ac.uk.

  • ‘You Can’t Sacrifice Nothing’: Exploring the Lived Realities of Chronic Poverty in a Cost-of-Living Crisis Through Participatory Research

    White, Holly; Evans, Nancy; Ross, Kim; University of Chester (SAGE Publications, 2024-10-09)
    The current portrayal of the cost-of-living crisis as an isolated, unexpected issue neglects the ongoing struggles of those in chronic poverty. This article utilises agnotology and zemiology to explore these overlooked experiences. Through the use of participatory research, the article reveals the state’s neglect of chronic poverty amid public discourse on the cost-of-living crisis, and critiques proposed solutions that demand further sacrifices from those already suffering. The article highlights the lack of accountability for neoliberal policies that exacerbate poverty and vulnerability. It exposes the institutional violence and stigma against the structurally vulnerable, whose hardships are normalised. Through a zemiological and agnotological lens, the article stresses the need to reframe the cost-of-living crisis by acknowledging chronic harm and amplifying the voices of those experiencing entrenched poverty. This reframing is crucial, not only during times of crisis, but also within the broader context of systemic structural inequality.
  • Supporting Teachers and Children to become Critical Thinkers of Social Justice and Inclusion

    Hamilton, Paula; Devarakonda, Chandrika; Burke, Jenne; Cacciattolo, Marcelle; Toe, Dianne; University of Chester (Springer, 2024-12-02)
    The chapter, written by university lecturers based in the United Kingdom, is aimed at teachers (and child practitioners) who work with children, aged 0-11 years in education and early years settings. Inspired by the work of Australian academics Kerry Robinson and Criss Jones-Diaz (2016), this chapter emphasises the need for teachers to adopt a more critical stance relating to issues of social justice and social inequalities. It examines some of the sociological and psychological perspectives that can be drawn upon to understand and address social inequalities. It provides models (Umbrella of Social Justice, Wheel of Inclusion, Reflecting Window of Prejudice, CAB), principles, and practical approaches that teachers may find useful when delivering social justice and inclusive education to children.
  • ‘Meeting God in an ordinary place’. What can we learn from Coffee Shop Sunday about meeting God using the internet to encourage and develop fellowship?

    Werrett, Simon; University of Chester (Taylor & Francis, 2024-10-13)
    All are welcome at the ‘common table’ to enjoy the ‘table talk’. How does Coffee Shop Sunday (CSS) (Coventry and Nuneaton Methodist Circuit Project) reflect that alongside pointing people to Jesus? CSS began a worship service in a Coventry Costa Coffee Shop in December 2019, this was severely disrupted with covid-19 restrictions and their concept of ‘meeting God in an ordinary place’ moved online. The internet through Facebook and Zoom became the ordinary place they met God. Since March 2020, the online work has grown from initially meeting four days a week to daily activities with participants from five continents. Two of the principles of CSS are encouragement and fellowship. The paper will explore (1) How the internet became the ‘ordinary’ place to meet God for people from different denominations and cultures. (2) How fellowship is experienced, using Russell’s ‘round table ecclesiology’ model where those present participate in a way which reflects their own journey of ‘faith and struggle’. (3) How does CSS point other people to Jesus through its activities. Barth emphasises that churches or a Christian’s activities should not focus on themselves but ‘point to Jesus’. By reviewing CSS activities, I will demonstrate that they point others to Jesus.
  • Mathematical Modelling of Problems with Delay and After-Effect

    Ford, Neville; University of Chester (Elsevier, 2024)
    This paper provides a tutorial review of the use of delay differential equations in mathematical models of real problems. We use the COVID-19 pandemic as an example to help explain our conclusions. We present the fundamental delay differential equation as a prototype for modelling problems where there is a delay or after-effect, and we reveal (via the characteristic values) the infinite dimensional nature of the equation and the presence of oscillatory solutions not seen in corresponding equations without delay. We discuss how models were constructed for the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in view of the relative lack of understanding of the disease and the paucity of available data in the early stages, and we identify both strengths and weaknesses in the modelling predictions and how they were communicated and applied. We consider the question of whether equations with delay could have been or should have been utilised at various stages in order to make more accurate or more useful predictions.
  • Rethinking Concepts of Special Educational Needs and Disability in the Primary Classroom

    Hamilton, Paula; Matthews, Sarah; University of Chester (Wiley, 2024)
    This paper examines the outcomes of a disability awareness programme aimed at rethinking concepts of special educational needs and disability (SEND) with children aged eight to nine years old. Designed specifically for this research study, the work was undertaken in a mainstream primary classroom in England. Although research has been undertaken in this area, it is limited and often focused on children’s friendships. Drawing upon a disability studies in education lens, the study contributes to the literature through its use of interactive methods to elicit and deconstruct children’s thinking. The findings suggest that many children continue to hold deficit perceptions about SEND, rooted in medical model perspectives. However, carefully designed programmes which enable children to consider first-person experiences, and encourage the deconstruction of ableist discourses, can promote more flexible understanding and progressive attitudes towards SEND in childhood.

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