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Category: Arts and social sciences

Women at work (Photo: Social Cut, Unsplash)

Early pregnancy endings are an overlooked workplace issue – here’s how that could change

Jo Brewis, Professor of People and Organisations, The Open University; Ilaria Boncori, University of Essex, and Julie Davies, UCL In the UK, early pregnancy endings are defined as pregnancies that end before 24 weeks’ gestation. These include miscarriages, abortions (sometimes called terminations), ectopic pregnancies where an embryo implants outside of the womb, and molar pregnancies […]

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Researchers pave the way for the toy and film industry to become more sustainable

Researchers pave the way for the toy and film industry to become more sustainable

Millions of children will delight in ripping open their presents under the tree later this month, oblivious of the carbon emissions that toys might notch up in the production and end-of-life process. While Dr Rebecca Harrison, Senior Lecturer in Film and Media at The Open University, doesn’t plan on ruining the festive moment, she recently […]

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Dr Keely Duddin and Dr Kendall Wright

The OU celebrates 10 years of policing research

Topical issues for police forces up and down the country lie at the heart of The Open University’s Centre of Policing Research and Learning (CPRL), which has just marked its 10th anniversary. Researching innovations in face recognition and improvements to help interviewing of child witnesses – through novel gaming techniques – are just two of […]

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Art for a better world

Art for a better world

A collaboration between The Open University, Kings College London and a Philippine cartoon collective called Pitik Bulag recently resulted in an art exhibition in London’s Vauxhall showing the power of art and how it might influence society and politics. It was staged at The Foundry Social Justice and Human Rights Centre in Oval way and […]

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Michael wearing graduation gown and blue glasses, looking at the camera with a background of plant leaves.

‘The OU gives you the tools to embrace who you are, and how you connect with the world’

When celebrated historian and Arts and Humanities graduate Michael, 72, received an invitation from The Open University (OU) to become an honorary graduate, he was so stunned he thought it was a prank! Now a proud Doctor of the University he regards as one of the “greatest British institutions”, Michael describes what the OU means […]

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Young woman with shoulder-length hair, dressed in graduation robes

‘An OU degree is proof you can achieve if you’re brave enough to invest the time and care into yourself’

Alex, 28, from Lincolnshire, has just graduated with a BSc (Honours) in Psychology with Counselling from The Open University (OU). Having struggled at school, she never thought she would continue studying. But now, with her degree, Alex has an exciting future ahead with plans of progressing in the care industry and starting her own business. […]

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The UK government wants to shake up pensions – but it can’t guarantee that ‘megafunds’ will want to invest in Britain

The UK government wants to shake up pensions – but it can’t guarantee that ‘megafunds’ will want to invest in Britain

The UK chancellor Rachel Reeves talks a lot about achieving better growth. And the latest figure – economic expansion in the last quarter of just 0.1% – suggests plenty of room for improvement, says Jonquil Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Personal Finance at The Open University. The evening before that gloomy figure was announced, Reeves revealed […]

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Academic’s quest to help people with facial-recognition blindness

Academic’s quest to help people with facial-recognition blindness

A professor of psychology from The Open University is embarking on a quest to raise awareness of a little-known human condition that affects between 2-3 per cent of the population – facial-recognition blindness. Many people unknowingly live with the condition, also known as prosopagnosia, and shrug off the fact they can’t recognise their partner or […]

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Five books to help if you are dealing with death and bereavement

Five books to help if you are dealing with death and bereavement

CONTENT WARNING: This article contains references to death, bereavement and loss Dr Bethan Michael-Fox is a Staff Tutor in English Literature at The Open University and co-host of The Death Studies Podcast. She researches cultural representations of death, dying and loss. In advance of National Grief Awareness Week [2-8 December] Bethan gives her book recommendations […]

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Filling the shoes of the Archbishop of Canterbury – how his replacement will be found

Filling the shoes of the Archbishop of Canterbury – how his replacement will be found

Following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation John Wolffe, Professor of Religious History at The Open University, sheds some light on the process of choosing Justin Welby’s replacement – the  106th since Saint Augustine was first appointed by the Pope in 597CE. When was the last surprise resignation of this office? Until the 20th century Archbishops […]

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