• Sustainable Logistics: Generating Value by Doing the Right Thing

  Birkbeck, Andrew; Rowe, Lisa; University of Chester (Sage, 2026-01-15)

  GBA Logistics (hereafter GBA) is a provider of international logistics, headquartered in the Northwest of England. During recent years, it has increased in size, both in terms of number of employees and annual revenue. GBA is also meeting the criteria for several elements of existing and emerging legislation whereby companies must report on matters relating to environmental social governance (ESG), such as greenhouse emissions and energy usage. Customer pressure is also prevalent in this area, with corporations and companies operating in different geographic regions subject to different ESG legislative requirements, which can be passed to suppliers. GBA must balance its own ESG legislative obligations with those of its customers and develop a strategy whereby maximum company and customer value is derived. Students will be asked to examine the influence of political and societal factors on logistics organizations in fulfilling ESG requirements as well as achieving the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs), assess the roles within the organization for ESG and SDG alignment, describe the impact of ESG on customer values, and identify responsible and sustainable practices.
• Long time stability and strong convergence of an efficient tamed scheme for stochastic Allen-Cahn equation driven by additive white noise

  Qi, Xiao; Yan, Yubin; Jianghan University; University of Chester (Elsevier, 2026-01-27)

  Huang and Shen [Math. Comput. 92 (2023) 2685–2713] proposed a semi-implicit tamed scheme for the numerical approximation of stochastic Allen–Cahn equations driven by multiplicative trace-class noise. They showed that the scheme is unconditionally stable on finite time intervals and can be efficiently implemented. In this paper, we investigate the long-time stability of this tamed scheme for stochastic Allen–Cahn equations driven by additive white noise. We also address the strong convergence analysis of the associated fully discrete scheme within the Galerkin finite element framework. The main contributions of this work are as follows: (i) by constructing a suitable Lyapunov functional, we establish the unconditional long-time stability of the tamed method; (ii) we rigorously derive the strong convergence rates of the fully discrete scheme obtained by coupling the tamed approach with the finite element method. Numerical experiments are provided to validate the theoretical analysis and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
• Caught in the crisis: Early career mathematics teachers’ perceptions of research and practice beyond Initial Teacher Education

  Bamber, Sally; Arya-Manesh, Emma; Moran, Paul; Packer, Christine (University of Chester, 2025-07)

  This study aims to represent six early career mathematics teachers’ perceptions of their experiences relating to their first steps into mathematics teaching posts leaving Initial Teacher Education (ITE) behind them. Situated in a time of unprecedented political intervention into frameworks for ITE and early career teacher development, which has been mandated explicitly for the first time, and when recruitment and retention is at crisis level, this interpretive practitioner research focused on specific aspects of the lives of the early career teachers in their own environment, with the aim to further understand the experiences they shared and to develop an understanding of the complexities of professional learning for early career mathematics teachers. The study uses a democratic pedagogy lens as a means of interrogating the early career teachers’ perceptions of how they developed their professional knowledge focusing on the ways they were able to interpret mathematics education research that informed their practice during the Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and whether teacher education has empowered them as decision makers in their own classrooms. Through semi-structured interviews with the early career teachers at two points in their first year the findings were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis involving the use of data coding to develop themes which represented the social and political experiences the early career teachers described. This study highlighted tensions between mathematics education research and the political and policy driven regimes present in our education system which have directly impacted the early career teachers’ professional development opportunities and raised the question of whether mathematics teacher education is in crisis.
• Advancing contemporary understandings of rural community flood experiences

  Williams, Fiona; Marren, Philip; Bhattacharya-Mis, Namrata; Jones, Daniel W. A. (University of Chester, 2025-06)

  This thesis examines the flood experiences of rural riparian communities along the River Severn catchment, addressing a significant gap in flood vulnerability research that has predominantly focused on urban contexts. Using an approach that integrates the principles of natural hazard management with rural geography perspectives, the study investigates how relational, and material factors shape human-flood system dynamics within diverse rural settings. Through a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative survey data (n=176) and qualitative interviews with community members including residents (n=18), business owners (n=7) and flood risk management (FRM) stakeholders (n=4), the research reveals the differentiated nature of rural flood vulnerability, risk perception, and resilience across varying settlement types. Findings demonstrate significant variations between villages and rural towns, with village residents experiencing greater direct flood impacts, higher mental health concerns, and stronger intra-community support networks, while rural towns benefit from better institutional engagement and protective infrastructure. The research identifies how life stage, place attachment, spatial location, rural function (distinguishing between residents and diverse business types including agriculture, hospitality, and service sectors), and community dynamics intersect to create distinctive patterns of vulnerability and resilience. Rural businesses, particularly agrarian enterprises, demonstrate heightened vulnerability due to their dependence on flood-exposed land, while non-agrarian businesses exhibit greater operational flexibility during flood events. Additionally, the study explores rural communities' perceptions of FRM agencies, highlighting issues of spatial justice and the potential for enhanced community participation in flood governance. By foregrounding lived rural experiences and recognising the differentiated nature of rural communities, this thesis advances both theoretical understanding of human-flood system dynamics and provides practical insights for more equitable, context-sensitive flood risk management approaches in rural areas.
• Decolonising the World Wildlife Gallery, Kendal Museum

  Rigby, Joe; University of Chester (Natural Science Collections Association, 2026-01-27)

  This paper draws on research carried out by the author between 2023-2025 for Kendal Museum’s ‘Reimagining the World Wildlife Gallery’ (RWWG) project. Engaging with broader debates surrounding decolonisation and museums, the paper argues for the importance of connecting natural history collections in provincial museums like Kendal to their colonial past. One of the primary donors to, and benefactors of, Kendal Museum’s World Wildlife Gallery in the 20th century was Colonel Edgar Garston Harrison (1863-1947) – a big game hunter and soldier serving in the British colonial army in eastern Africa 1895-1906. Harrison’s military roles included commanding violent operations against the Indigenous Nandi and Talai communities of western Kenya, who continue to seek redress for injustices endured during British colonisation and rule. This history was previously unknown to the museum but is now being incorporated into collection interpretation and gallery displays. Whilst there is much work to be done to move beyond metaphorical support for decolonisation initiatives in the UK Museum sector, including ongoing calls for decolonisation and reparative justice in collection interpretation is an important step in this process.

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