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Category: Society and politics

Pot of coins. Photo: Josh Appel, Unsplash

Five things you need to know about: releasing trapped pension surpluses

In a bid to fuel-inject the economy and provide opportunity for growth, the UK Government is intending to announce plans to make it easier to tap into the surplus funds lying in corporate pension schemes. Following an earlier heads-up about this intention, we can expect the Chancellor Rachel Reeves to reveal more in the coming […]

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Reducing reoffending rates: Open University awarded UK government contract to provide education in secure environments across England and Wales

OU has been awarded a contract to continue delivering transformative HE education Education is a key aspect of rehabilitation to help end cycle of reoffending Evidence highlights the correlation between education and reducing reoffending The Open University (OU) will continue to deliver life-changing education to those serving in prisons, after successfully securing a new contract […]

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Criminologist’s joy that funding will highlight a dark part of Lancashire’s history

Criminologist’s joy that funding will highlight a dark part of Lancashire’s history

An Open University criminologist Dr David Scott could never have imagined that a walk in the park with his new rescued dog five years ago would lead to unearthing a massacre in Lancashire that the world forgot. Now, he’s just secured £170,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to commemorate the bicentennial of a bloody […]

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BBC’s Forensics: The Real CSI shows the specialised work of police and forensic teams investigating a violent crime

BBC’s Forensics: The Real CSI shows the specialised work of police and forensic teams investigating a violent crime

The Open University has once again teamed up with the BBC for another episode of Forensics: The Real CSI that shows the work of police forensic teams investigating a woman’s death. The episode, titled ‘Murder in a Brothel’, airs at 9pm on Sunday, 2 March, on BBC Two and iPlayer, and will be available on […]

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Russia’s militarisation of young Ukrainians risks long-term peace: academic comment

Russia’s militarisation of young Ukrainians risks long-term peace: academic comment

While decisionmakers in Europe and the US wrestle with a roadmap to lasting peace in Ukraine an Open University academic says they need to understand the future threat posed by Russian militarisation of young people in occupied territories. As we approach the third anniversary of the war, Dr Precious Chatterje-Doody says Russia is attempting to […]

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Chancellor’s plans for growth will be slow to emerge: academic opinion

Chancellor’s plans for growth will be slow to emerge: academic opinion

The UK’s Chancellor’s plans for growth and ambitious industrial policies will only work if she can reset European trade, says Alan Shipman, Senior Lecturer in Economics at The Open University. When the Labour government returned to power last year it chose not to act rapidly against one of the biggest growth constraints, Britain’s isolation from […]

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An OU/BBC Radio series examines how the UK’s major issues could be rethought

An OU/BBC Radio series examines how the UK’s major issues could be rethought

A new Open University/BBC radio series called Rethink examines the emerging issues in society, economics, technology and politics in relation to the UK’s standing in the world. Simon Usherwood, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the OU, is a consultant to the programme makers who show how we might approach those issues differently. The […]

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Times journalists deemed ‘legitimate military targets’ – how Russia muzzles criticism at home and abroad

Times journalists deemed ‘legitimate military targets’ – how Russia muzzles criticism at home and abroad

The Open University’s Senior lecturer in Politics and International Studies Precious Chatterje-Doody, who specialises in Russian information and disinformation, gives her take on the latest words of Russia’s former president and current deputy head of its security council, Dmitry Medvedev. It was Medvedev who declared recently that the editors of the Times newspaper in the […]

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Young woman wearing shorts and a summer top, standing in front of a waterfall.

‘With the OU, it’s possible to say yes to everything’

Megan, 26, from California, decided to take a different route into higher education to her peers, which enabled her to travel the world and work as a teacher, all whilst studying. Having just graduated from her BA (Honours) in International Studies, Megan is ready to embrace a new career in social justice. “At 18, I […]

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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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