The Open University

Wooden cross in a graveyard. Image credit: Thinkstock

The complex issues of death and dying

10 May 2016

The only certainty in life is death. Visiting academic in Health and Social Care, Carol Komaromy, researched the complex issues of death and dying, covering topics like the place of grief in society and how people cope with death depending on their gender or profession. To mark Dying Matters Awareness Week, from 9th to 15th May, […]

How Ranieri’s Leicester City rode the perfect storm to Premier League success

3 May 2016

Was it the right players, the right manager, the right opposition or all of the above? OU sport and fitness lecturer Simon Rea on how Ranieri’s Leicester City rode the perfect storm to Premier League success… While it was deemed less likely than Elvis Presley being found alive or the Loch Ness monster finally being […]

Leicester City: the classic triumph of the football underdog

3 May 2016

The German philosopher Theodor Adorno once wrote: “Football implies the desire to suffer” and by and large that is probably the experience of most football fans most of the time. But once in a while comes the pure joy that Leicester City fans are currently experiencing. And this is why fans put themselves through it, […]

How does the language you use affect others?

19 April 2016

Stress – the focus of Mental Health Awareness Week – is a key factor in mental health, including anxiety and depression. How we talk about depression can have unintended consequences, says Dr Zsofia Demjen, a lecturer in English language and applied linguistics. Using phrases like “I’m so depressed” runs the risk of normalising serious issues […]

Q&A: Does fertility treatment affect breast cancer risk?

13 April 2016

One in eight UK women get breast cancer at some point in their lives. A study out today explores whether there are links between fertility treatments and what can be seen on a breast screening mammogram, and hence possibly to breast cancer risks. The researchers used data from over 43,000 Swedish women who had had […]

What is brain plasticity and why is it so important?

5 April 2016

What makes the brain special is that, unlike a computer, it processes sensory and motor signals in parallel. It has many neural pathways that can replicate another’s function so that small errors in development or temporary loss of function through damage can be easily corrected by rerouting signals along a different pathway. The problem becomes […]

Mature female student with books in library

Access to higher education: ‘it’s not just for 18-year-olds’

23 March 2016

The Government is on course to miss targets to open up access to higher education, according to new research. And “they cannot afford to focus their efforts solely on 18 year-olds.” The Government has ambitious targets for widening participation in by 2020. It aims to double the number of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds going into Higher Education. But research by […]

Why child trafficking spikes after natural disasters – and what we can do about it

22 March 2016

When a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal in April 2015, it killed well over 8,000 people and turned much of the country into a disaster zone. 17 days later, as recovery operations were getting established, a 7.3 magnitude quake caused further destruction. In the desolation, chaos and widespread panic that followed, a surge in child […]

If we are not rich can we still be happy? OU academic investigates

17 March 2016

Rich beyond your wildest dreams, but does that make you happy? Professor Paul Anand argues that it is factors other than simply wealth which determine your happiness levels and to mark World Happiness Day this weekend he introduces the measurement concept and the value of flourishing. The latest findings of the World Happiness Report, were […]

Social worker Emma Govan at The Open University Degree Ceremony at Edinburgh's Usher Hall

‘So proud to be a social worker’

15 March 2016

The OU has been training social workers for over 18 years with 300 people graduating in the field each year. To celebrate World Social Work Day today, a social work student and graduate reflect on their journeys into the profession. ‘Passionate about my career’ Emma Govan (pictured above) graduated from the OU in 2014 and has been […]

OU News

Category: Education, languages and health