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Category: Arts and social sciences

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Looking at the winners and losers expected in the Autumn Budget

The UK Government’s Spending Review on Wednesday October 27 will set out Parliament’s public spending on its priority areas over the next three years. It will also include an Autumn Budget. All happening as the UK continues to deal with the financial outcome of the pandemic and questions over the impact of Brexit. Dr Ayobami […]

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Extensive approach to climate change education will prepare learners for the future

Climate change study needs to be embedded in higher education at all levels to prepare learners for their roles in work and wider society, says a new paper co-authored by an OU Associate Lecturer. The bold, rapid action needed to tackle the climate and ecological crisis offers an unparalleled opportunity for higher education institutions, argues […]

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Our sense of wellbeing has been in decline for years – here’s how to turn it around

Our sense of wellbeing has been in decline for years – here’s how to turn it around

Written by Paul Anand, Professor of Economics at The Open University. People’s sense of wellbeing took a dive in the first year of the pandemic, according to new data published by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS). As lockdowns took effect and people grew fearful about the future, their life satisfaction fell by an average of […]

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Totem brings the messages of climate change on way to COP26

A giant totem, bringing messages all the way from Mexico about climate change has been stopping off at sites en route, thanks to a collaboration with The Open University. The 4.5m high wooden structure drew onlookers’ attention in the forecourt at Milton Keynes Train Station, where it remained for four days. It made a further […]

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Sarah Everard murder: the problem with the government’s plan to make women ‘feel’ safer

Sarah Everard murder: the problem with the government’s plan to make women ‘feel’ safer

Written by Lisa Lazard, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at The Open University,  Tanya Beetham, Lecturer in Psychology, Teesside University, Emma Turley, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, CQUniversity Australia, Lois Catrin Donnelly, Associate Lecturer in Psychology, University of Worcester, and Lucy Thompson, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Michigan State University. The murder of Sarah Everard has damaged public […]

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Joe Biden’s pledge of support reassures Syria’s embattled Kurds

Joe Biden’s pledge of support reassures Syria’s embattled Kurds

Written by Cengiz Gunes, Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Social Science at The Open University. The hasty and badly organised US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August prompted fears among Washington’s other allies about the durability of US friendship. Kurdish troops in northeastern Syria, facing multi-pronged opposition from Islamic State fighters as well as the Assad regime and the […]

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man driving while on phone

Driver awareness campaigning gains researcher top impact award

OU academic Dr Gemma Briggs has won a prestigious research impact award for her studies advising the national campaign to warn drivers of the dangers of hands-free phone use while on the road. The senior lecturer and head of Discipline in the School of the School of Psychology & Counselling has won an O²RB Excellence […]

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Liz Truss: three areas where the new foreign secretary will have the most influence

Liz Truss: three areas where the new foreign secretary will have the most influence

Written by Jamie Gaskarth, Professor of Foreign Policy and International Relations at The Open University. In naming her as the new foreign secretary, Boris Johnson has handed Liz Truss a bewildering array of global problems and relationships to manage. Foreign secretary is a difficult role, quite distinct from other posts in government. Many occupants are […]

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Russia’s state broadcaster RT going all-out to boost legitimacy of rigged Duma election

Russia’s state broadcaster RT going all-out to boost legitimacy of rigged Duma election

Written by Precious Chatterje-Doody, Lecturer in Politics and International Studies at The Open University and Ilya Yablokov, Lecturer in Journalism and Digital Media, University of Sheffield. Russia goes to the polls on September 19 to elect a new Duma – the country’s legislature. Russian elections are not known for their unpredictability – United Russia, the […]

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copyright: BFI, BFI National Archive, John Paul Getty Jnr Conservation Centre

OU and BFI announce new partnership with a programme of short film courses

The Open University and the British Film Institute (BFI) are delighted to announce a new partnership, with the first offering being three stand-alone short courses aimed at those with a keen interest in film and the media. Reading the screen: an introduction to the art of film and Media, Politics and Society launch in October this […]

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