The Open University

OU research reveals smartphone hazards for refugees en route to Europe

16 May 2016

The lives of refugees travelling from war-torn Syria and Iraq to Europe are made more perilous due to a deficit of vital news, Open University research has found. What they need is timely, relevant and reliable information and news, the report learned. The research also found that the smartphones carried by refugees pose both a […]

Homelessness in our towns and cities: policing disorder?

15 May 2016

Dr Daniel McCulloch, an Open University lecturer in criminology and social policy, on the complexities of policing homelessness – looking after the welfare of rough sleepers while trying to move them away from prime city spaces… Rough sleepers and the police often come into contact on our streets. Policing homeless populations is a complex […]

OU geographer earns Royal Geographical Society honour

9 May 2016

A top award from the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) has been given to The Open University’s Professor of Geography and Migration, Parvati Raghuram in recognition of her “outstanding contribution to geography”. She is among just 21 people worldwide named in their annual awards. Award recognises migration and globalisation research Professor Raghuram has been awarded the Society’s […]

Podcast: UK election results summary

6 May 2016

The OU’s Dr Richard Heffernan, Interim Head of Politics and International Studies, caught up with OU News over the phone following results of yesterday’s (May 6th) UK elections. In this short podcast, he talks about local elections, the Scottish Parliament result and poll predictions…

Self-improvement through reading: gospel or a tall tale?

23 April 2016

The idea that reading contributes to our self-improvement is so embedded in our culture that we rarely stop to consider it. Edmund King, a Research Associate at The Open University (OU) and one of the lead academics on the Reading Experience Database (RED), examines the experience of readers over a period of a century and asks whether […]

green landscape coming out of the pages of a book

11 tips to help you read outside your comfort zone

23 April 2016

Is your bedside table stacked with crime thrillers, romantic novels or dystopian literature? Never tend to mix your genres, safe in the knowledge that you like what you read? Perhaps you’re missing out, says the OU’s Dr Alex Hobbs, a tutor in the Faculty of Arts. Here she shares her top 10 tips for expanding […]

Occupying Turin: refugees breathe life into abandoned buildings of Olympic village

4 April 2016

Arriving at the Olympic Village in Turin, the stage for the 2006 Winter Olympics, it is easy to guess which buildings have been maintained as student houses and youth hostels, and which have been occupied by refugees. The peeling blue and grey paint is visible evidence of Olympic enthusiasm turned to detachment. Since 2013, four […]

Why New York-style rent controls would not work in London

1 April 2016

Unaffordable rents have put New York City’s fabled diversity and creativity at risk. They have forced artists, small businesses and lower-income households out of the central areas, leaving them a monocultural wasteland of bankers and businessmen. Those who stay are crammed into ever more cramped and unsanitary accommodation, while those who now commute from distant […]

Who cares about Batman v Superman? Wonder Woman finally steals the show

30 March 2016

Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice has received a frosty critical reception, to say the least. Despite this, I found myself coming away from the cinema filled with hope. Certainly not for either of the titular characters – who have never been less inspiring. Instead, the future finally seems bright for superwomen. Although Wonder […]

Artist and Empire: a belated revisiting of our colonial history

29 March 2016

Artist and Empire, the major exhibition showing at Tate Britain, has been well received by art critics and audiences alike. Aiming to unite art and a reckoning with Britain’s imperial past, it is a noteworthy venture – but why has it taken so long for such a show to be hosted by a major British […]

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Category: Arts and social sciences