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Category: Arts and social sciences

Brexit

No-deal Brexit: experts on what the UK government’s advice means

The UK government is releasing a series of “technical notices” outlining what might happen if the country leaves the European Union without striking a deal for its future relationship with the bloc. While Dominic Raab,Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, stressed that this scenario was far from the preferred option, he added that […]

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Funding announced for almost 400 new doctoral places in arts and humanities

Funding announced for almost 400 new doctoral places in arts and humanities

The Open University, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge have been awarded funding by the Arts and Humanities Research Council to create a new training partnership for up to 400 doctoral students over five years. The Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership is a consortium of the three universities, underpinned by world-class research […]

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Photo of people demonstrating

We live in a populist age – but who are ‘the people’?

Populism is seemingly sweeping the globe, threatening the established status quo. Optimistically, it promises to bring about much needed change to what appears to be a corrupt political and economic order. More ominously, it is dangerously promoting racism, sexism, xenophobia, jingoism, and attacking basic human rights around the world. It is therefore important not to […]

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Evelyn Lipmann Copyright Emma Cattell

The remarkable story of Auschwitz survivor and OU graduate Evelyn Lipmann

The lives of hundreds of thousands of people have been transformed by their study at The Open University, but few can have valued it more than Evelyn Lipmann. Evelyn, now 94, enrolled for a Humanities degree in the early 1970s to help put behind her the horror of the Nazi concentration camps. Decades later, she […]

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Immigration centre

Three days is still too long to hold pregnant women in immigration detention

It’s been two years since a coalition of lobbying groups in the UK successfully challenged Home Office policy on the immigration detention of pregnant women. Under the new policy, enforced in mid-July 2016, pregnant women can now only be detained for a maximum of 72 hours (three days), or up to one week with the […]

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Smart City

In depth: What is a smart city?

The Open University is at the forefront of examining how ‘smart cities’ work. But what is a smart city? Do you know if you live in one? And how might they change how we live and work in the future? Dr Oliver Zanetti and  Professor Sophie Watson – who appear on Radio 4’s Thinking Allowed […]

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Sounding Coastal Change Norfolk Coast Blakeney

An ear to the coast for World Listening Day

Conservationist groups from around the UK joined together with broadcasters on Wednesday, 18th July 2018, to present the sound of the coast in a special event to mark World Listening Day. The Sounding Coastal Change research team did a 24-hour broadcast from Blakeney in North Norfolk, which included prerecorded documentary and music, live discussion and microphones […]

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A hard Brexit is looking increasingly likely – according to behavioural economics

A hard Brexit is looking increasingly likely – according to behavioural economics

Gloomy forecasts for the post-Brexit economy, and a psychological tendency to gamble rather than accept certain losses, may boost public support for a giant leap away from the EU – despite the fact that most experts are advising a cautious small step. Parliamentary rebels have tempered their demands for a vote on the final Brexit […]

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Mariano Rajoy

Spain’s prime minister loses no-confidence vote: what next?

Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, has been forced to resign by his national parliament, which voted by 180 seats to 169 in favour of a motion of no-confidence in his leadership. The vote indicates that the Spanish electorate’s patience with corruption is at an end – and puts the country on an uncertain path […]

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Silhouette of Afghan soldier

Abandoned by the British, Afghan interpreters explain how they wait for years seeking safety

When the British began to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan in 2012, the Afghan civilians they employed as interpreters, cooks and security guards, became even more exposed to threats, losing the limited protection that military bases granted them. In recognition of their work and its risks, the UK government put two schemes in place. The […]

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