The Open University

Doubt, depression, anxiety – just some of the problems plaguing the veterinary profession

21 May 2018

Mental health issues, alcohol and drug abuse, a high incidence of stress and suicide, excessive staff turnover rates, and a failure to adapt to the increasing demographic dominance of women. These are all serious challenges facing the veterinary profession in the UK. And they require urgent attention. Yet veterinary medicine often obscures the messy, complex, […]

Charities left out of pocket by probation scheme for ex-offenders

16 May 2018

Governments generally like charities and voluntary organisations. Time and again ministers say they want to harness the voluntary sector to improve public services. In 2014, the British government said the sector would be “at the forefront of a new fight against reoffending”. But the reality is sharply different, according to our new research. We’ve found […]

Why the unlawful use of personal data matters

4 April 2018

Data, and its misuse, has become commonplace in the media headlines recently. Anne Wesemann, Lecturer in Law at The Open University Business School takes a look at one recent data privacy storm, and explains the implications on democracy of the unlawful use of personal data. A complex data storm “The Cambridge Analytica whistleblowing storm is […]

Why accountants of the future will need to speak blockchain and cryptocurrency if they want your money

20 March 2018

If you haven’t already heard of Bitcoin, you either haven’t been paying attention or you’re a time traveller who just touched down in 2018. Because by now, most of us will have heard of Bitcoin and some of us have even jumped on the bandwagon, investing in cryptocurrencies. But despite its popularity, many people still […]

I befriend women detained at Yarl’s Wood: their life in immigration limbo is excruciating

12 March 2018

“Why am I still here?” This is the question I’m most frequently asked by detained women who I’ve befriended at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre in Bedfordshire. The centre is mainly for women, but also holds families with children over 18-years-old and has a short-term holding facility for men. For nearly two years, I’ve been […]

OU celebrates 20 years of teaching law

7 March 2018

The Open University (OU) is this year marking the 20th anniversary of welcoming its first ever in-take of law students. On the 7th February 1998, 861 students started the first ever Open University law course – W200 Understanding Law – which was delivered through a partnership with the College of Law. It was the first […]

9 ways to avoid a New Year financial hangover

15 December 2017

Top tips from our financial expert, Martin Upton, on how to ensure that after the excess of Christmas spending we start the New Year on a firm financial footing. Tips to turn Christmas into a financial success rather than financial excess! With the festive season now in full swing, and the customary over indulging in food and […]

No Royal Wedding bank holiday: Why that’s probably a good thing

28 November 2017

With the feel-good factor of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement, many of us were crossing our fingers that we’d get an extra bank holiday in the Spring of 2018 to help them celebrate. But on average, a bank holiday costs the UK economy £2.3billion in lost economic output – so maybe we’ll all be […]

Why a blockchain startup called Govcoin wants to ‘disrupt’ the UK’s welfare state

27 November 2017

The UK chancellor’s recent Budget reminded us that systemic problems continue to plague the government’s delayed roll-out of universal credit – a single monthly welfare payment that will replace six separate benefits. Philip Hammond also spoke of the UK government’s commitment to innovation, with the chancellor calling for a new tech startup to be founded […]

Budget 2017: The expert’s view – investment in technology

23 November 2017

The UK chancellor of the exchequer, Philip Hammond, has delivered his budget stating that the government will “invest over £500m in a range of initiatives from Artificial Intelligence, to 5G and full fibre broadband”. OU business expert Peter Bloom delivers his verdict on what, if any, impact this will have on innovation for UK business. […]

OU News

Category: Business and law