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Category: Arts and social sciences

toilet flushing

A urinal in a Scottish pub reveals why toilets matter in international politics

If you wanted to see international politics in action, where would you go? Maybe the UN headquarters in New York to see diplomats debating resolutions of global import? Or drop in on one of the world’s many financial hubs, where trading shapes international markets and determines the success or failure of nations. But you probably […]

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In car technology in use

In-car technology: are we being sold a false sense of security?

From Alexa and Siri to intelligent speed assistance, there’s a lot of technology competing for our attention while driving,

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Author Danielle Steel

How to write a novel – four fiction writers on Danielle Steel’s insane working day

Sarah Corbett, Lancaster University; David Bishop, Edinburgh Napier University; Edward Hogan, The Open University, and Liam Murray Bell, University of Stirling writing for The Conversation. She might be the world’s most famous romance writer, nay the highest selling living author bar none, but there’s little room for flowers and chocolates in Danielle Steel’s writing regime. […]

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Waldseemuller map of the world

Globalisation was rife in the 16th century – clues from Renaissance paintings

Leah Clark, The Open University,writing for The Conversation. For many, the Renaissance was the revival or “rebirth” of Western classical antiquity, associated with great artists painting the Sistine Chapel and the invention of the printing press in Europe. These local, European phenomena seem rather parochial compared to today’s world, where a hashtag on Instagram connects […]

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Stephen Akpabio-Klementowski

From prisoner to OU student and staff member

Stephen Akpabio-Klementowski’s story shows exactly how life-changing education can be. His journey has taken him from a prisoner, to an OU student and now to an OU member of staff supporting the Students in Secure Environments team. Stephen first began studying for his BSc in Social Science with The Open University while he was in […]

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Karena Serdecka-Rhodes-Bell at work

From the West End to the OU – how study set Karena on a new path

As an Open University student turned Associate Lecturer, Karena Serdecka-Rhodes-Bell understands first-hand how education can help to open new doors. Karena previously worked as a professional actress, singer and musician, performing in the West End and on TV, film and radio, before her OU psychology degree inspired her to become an OU Associate Lecturer. “I […]

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Witness identifying a suspect

Police photo lineups: how background colours can skew eye witness identification

Catriona Havard, The Open University and Martin Thirkettle, Sheffield Hallam University Identification parades can be powerful evidence in securing convictions in criminal cases. But eyewitness evidence is notoriously prone to errors – and organisations such as the Innocent Project have found out that 70% of wrongful convictions that were later exonerated had verdicts based on […]

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Eye witness accuracy affected by background colour in ID parades, research finds
image of the earning on Screen Awards 2019

The Fires that Foretold Grenfell wins best broadcast award

Arresting, well-researched, with strong emotional impact was how OU BBC co-production The Fires that Foretold Grenfell was described by the judges at the Learning on Screen Awards. The 60-minute documentary told the dramatic and haunting story of five fires that foretold the Grenfell disaster. Told through memories of survivors, the bereaved, firefighters, safety experts, and […]

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Shakespeare: research blows away stereotypes and reveals teenagers actually love the Bard

Shakespeare: research blows away stereotypes and reveals teenagers actually love the Bard

When you think of inner-city teenagers, what springs to mind? For many, it’s hoodies, video games – and probably hating Shakespeare. But my research proves that this stereotype is far from the truth. Shakespeare holds a contested place in the English national curriculum as the only compulsory writer to be studied between the ages of […]

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