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The case for shared religious education
No full textThis paper conceptualises ‘shared religious education’ as a way for religious educators to reflect on how their subject might respond to a global need for cooperation and mutual understanding. In the context of migration, climate crisis and violent conflict, European societies are increasingly plural, yet subject to processes of individualization and competition which undermine people’s ability to cooperate and share across their respective cultural and ideological differences. We argue that there is an imperative for sharing and collaboration in response to the dangers we see in our increasingly fractured social worlds; and that education can play a key role in responding to this urgent need. Religious education, however, is subject to the sociological reality that it can separate as well as unite people. Through a critical discussion of the ‘shared education’ model, we make a case for shared religious education, identifying four core aims for those working in the fields of religious and worldviews education. Drawing on literature from religious education, we offer ideas and insights for how those working in the fields of religious and worldviews education may pursue these aims and so respond to the imperative for sharing
Time-lapse resistivity imaging and self-potential monitoring of experimentally induced saline intrusion in coastal aquifer sands
No full textExcessive groundwater abstraction in coastal areas exacerbates saltwater intrusion (SWI), a widespread global issue. Characterization of mechanisms delivering saltwater to wells can assist in developing suitable SWI mitigation strategies for reducing the risk of groundwater degradation. This paper presents findings from hydrogeological monitoring, time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and self-potential (SP) measurements to investigate SWI under natural and artificially perturbed conditions in a quasi-homogeneous pristine coastal sand aquifer, affected by large tidal ranges (>2 m). Time-lapse ERT surveys conducted under undisturbed conditions identified an upper saline recirculation cell (IRC) beneath the intertidal zone, arising due to seawater infiltrating into an underlying ∼20 m thick sand sequence containing fresher groundwater, with resistivity variations noted between spring and neap tides. Measurements taken during a 69-h constant-rate pumping test, discharging at 10.2 L/s, revealed that pumping drew saline water from the IRC towards abstraction wells. This resulted in saltwater contributions to discharge increasing from 1.4 to 4.1 %, consistent with the decrease in resistivity detected in ERT profiles between 3 m and 7 m below surface. Over the same period, SP signals fell by between 20 and 30 mV with greater declines occurring at locations nearer to the high-water mark. Monitoring data suggest that these changes in SP are primarily due to saline water intrusion from the IRC, rather than pressure changes resulting from pumping. Research findings provide further evidence that SP monitoring could act as a key geophysical early warning parameter for SWI, while ERT data further highlight the potential for monitoring SWI in shallow coastal aquifers. This study also demonstrates that optimal groundwater abstraction strategies in tidal-influenced coastal aquifers can be achieved by targeting deeper zones.<br/
Developing supply chain resilience: A supply network perspective
No full textPurposeThis study aims to empirically investigate the impacts of a supplier’s position within the extended supply network on supply chain resilience and the moderating effects of the speed of the supplier’s operational processes in e-commerce supply chains.Design/methodology/approachMonthly operational data, including data from 441 suppliers, were collected from a Chinese e-commerce platform, with their extended supply networks constructed using binary relationship data obtained from TianYanCha. Fixed effects models were used to analyze the data.FindingsThe results indicate that suppliers’ structural holes in the extended supply network improve supply chain resilience, whereas network centrality and spatial complexity are negatively associated with it. Furthermore, the speed of suppliers’ operational processes not only enhances supply chain resilience but also mitigates the negative impact of network centrality and weakens the positive impact of structural holes while strengthening the negative impact of spatial complexity.Practical implicationsE-commerce platforms can increase supply chain resilience by strategically leveraging suppliers’ network positions and operational capabilities. Platforms should leverage structural holes for diverse resources, mitigate risks from centralized suppliers through diversification and invest in technologies for visibility. Balancing the speed of processes with visibility and coordination helps mitigate disruptions.Originality/valueThese findings provide empirical evidence on the joint effects of a supplier’s position and its operational capabilities on supply chain resilience, enhancing the current understanding of the antecedents of supply chain resilience from a supply network perspective. It offers insights into how platforms leverage suppliers’ positions in extended supply networks and operational capabilities to bolster supply chain resilience during disruptions
How can we improve the sense of belonging of higher educational students from the non-traditional entry route?
No full textRadical remembering
No full textWhy do we forget those who contribute to our collective knowledge, understanding, and critical thinking? This is a complicated question to answer, partially because maintaining that forgetfulness may be important for canon creation and partially because it is so considerable as to be inexplicable. Yet, it remains an important question to ask and attempt to respond to. For to answer that question opens the possibility of remedy, and critically to not repeat our forgetting. For forgetting creates a void, an empty space where others, and their knowledge, skills and, perhaps – scholarly, diplomatic, or societal ways to be – should properly be. This space where others should be is desolate because it has been constructed as such. We have intentionally forgotten, there is an aphasia that has produced these silences which is not accidental (Murphy Citation2006, 65; Thompson Citation2013, 133, 135). Even where we might still have the international legal, political or philosophical ideas that they brought with them, without knowing where those ideas came from and, critically, why they came from where they did, we are lesser. And because we have lost both the individual and collective memory of how transformations occurred, we are reduced in our self-understanding of transformation itself. We are lesser because we have forgotten.<br/
Strengthening enforcement: the chain of enforcement theory and its application in cross-border cases
No full textThis Think Piece underpinned a presentation to the UNCTAD Working Group on Cross-Border Cartels in February 2025.It outlines the Chain of Enforcement Theory, emphasizing that enforcement is a sequential process where each stage builds upon the previous one. Since a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, enforcement efforts can be easily obstructed if a single stage fails. This theory is particularly relevant in cross-border cases, where enforcement faces unique challenges such as legal discrepancies, jurisdictional limitations, and lack of cooperation between authorities. This brief provides real-world examples of how agencies may overcome cross-border enforcement challenges. It underscores the importance of strengthening enforcement mechanisms and enhancing international cooperation to close regulatory gaps and combat anti-competitive practices effectively. It urges agencies to assess their vulnerabilities, develop in-house expertise, and proactively engage with foreign counterparts to improve enforcement efficiency
Process synchrony a key control of resilience in a subarctic freshwater system
No full textClimate-induced changes in streamflow and biogeochemistry are occurring across the northern circumpolar region but several key unknowns include (a) the mechanisms responsible among landscapes and permafrost conditions, (b) the resilience and precariousness of hydrological and biogeochemical regimes. Even though it is among the largest physio-climatic regions of the northern circumpolar, these knowledge gaps are acute in the Taiga Shield. This research aimed to determine if hydrology and biogeochemistry regimes of the Taiga Shield have been resilient to recent climate warming. We apply a recently developed framework of hydrological resilience that shows the first 20 years of the 21st century were the warmest and wettest of the previous 300 years. These conditions altered the catchment such that >50% of the water year streamflow now occurs during winter, shifting the catchment from a nival to a cold season pluvial hydrological regime. This regime shift has significantly changed the fraction of inorganic nitrogen export, but insufficiently to shift the biogeochemical regime. Sustained multi-year physical process synchronization was the cause of these changes. This behavior is not well simulated by existing Earth system models. The tipping point in local mean annual air temperatures was crossed near the turn of the century well below the warming threshold of the Paris Accord. A one-size-fits-all approach to mitigation targets is not effective at preventing all shifts in Earth systems. This is important to consider as regime changes in small hydrological systems have the potential to trigger cascading effects in the larger catchments to which they contribute
The psychosocial impact of pancreatic cancer on caregivers: a scoping review
No full textBackgroundFamily caregivers are essential members of the care team of someone with pancreatic cancer, supporting their physical and psychological needs. Caregivers are often unprepared for this which may cause substantial psychosocial impact. This may be exacerbated by the short life-expectancy and rapid deterioration associated with pancreatic cancer. A scoping review was conducted to identify, from the existing literature, what is currently known about the psychosocial impact of pancreatic cancer on caregivers across the disease trajectory.MethodsA Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) mixed methods scoping review was conducted across four databases (CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO). All identified citations were uploaded to Covidence, and were screened independently by two reviewers. Data were extracted and synthesised following a deductive approach guided by ‘The Cancer Family Caregiving Experience’ model (Fletcher et al., 2012).Results42 studies were included: 22 qualitative, 15 quantitative, 5 mixed methods. Results of the included studies were collated into the proposed constructs of Fletcher et al.’s (2012) model: primary stressors, secondary stressors, appraisal, cognitive-behavioural responses, health and wellbeing outcomes, as well as the influence of disease trajectory and contextual factors. The literature highlighted pancreatic cancer caregivers experienced stress related to caregiving activities, disruptions in their daily life and family relationships, high levels of unmet need, and poorer quality of life compared to other cancer caregivers. They were also at increased risk for various psychiatric disorders and reported a persistent lack of support which exacerbated the psychosocial impact.ConclusionsPancreatic cancer caregivers experience negative psychosocial impacts, exacerbated by the disease’s trajectory. Feelings of a lack of support were reflected throughout the included literature and emphasise the need for future research into how pancreatic cancer caregivers may be best supported, and sign-posted to existing support, to minimise the substantial psychosocial impact they may experience
Division of labour as key driver of social evolution
No full textThe social division of labour (DoL) has been renowned as a key driver of the economic success of human societies dating back to ancient philosophers such as Plato (in The Republic, ca 380 BCE), Xenophon (in Cyropaedia, ca 370 BCE) and Aristotle (in Politics, ca 350 BCE, and Nicomachean Ethics, ca 340 BCE). Over time, this concept evolved into a cornerstone of political economic thought, most prominently expressed in Smith (in The Wealth of Nations, 1776). In his magnum opus, Adam Smith posited that DoL has caused a greater increase in production than any other factor in human history. There is little doubt that DoL immensely increases productive output, both in humans and in other organisms, but it is less clear how it comes about, how it is organized and what the biological roots are of this human ‘turbo enhancer’. We address these questions here using results from studies of a wide range of organisms and various modelling approaches