The Open University

Truthiness and alternative facts: meaning is a moveable feast

31 January 2017

Sales of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four have apparently surged since Kellyanne Conway introduced the phrase “alternative facts” into public discourse. For many, the term is reminiscent of Orwell’s dystopian Newspeak, the imaginary language used by the novel’s totalitarian government to control the way the population thinks. It also allows for the doublethink of the slogans […]

Computer hacker silhouette of hooded man with binary data and network security terms. Thinkstock

Privacy perspectives: dos, don’ts, and to-dos

27 January 2017

Every time you sign up for a new website, share your latest run with your friends, or scan your loyalty card at a supermarket, you leave a record of your activity which is permanent, attached to your identity, and increasingly linked with other information to build a more complete picture of who you are and […]

Why the OU is not entering this year’s Teaching Excellence Framework

26 January 2017

The UK Government is piloting a new framework for measuring teaching excellence in universities called the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), with a view to providing students with more information about the quality of teaching and to improve standards. The Open University’s Vice-Chancellor, Peter Horrocks, explains why the OU has decided not to participate in this […]

Personal learning accounts could be a winning formula for adults

23 January 2017

The Open University led a global-wide round table event in conjunction with the the Association of Colleges recently to discuss the value of Personal Learning Accounts. The aim was to examine how these could promote a continuous learning culture among adults to the benefit of the economy and seek a way forward. The event was set […]

Open University responds to Government Green Paper on Industrial Strategy

23 January 2017

The launch of the Green Paper on Industrial Strategy by Prime Minister Theresa May today (23 January 2017) outlined plans to develop innovation and technology, which will support the delivery of a “high-skilled, competitive economy that benefits people throughout the UK.” As a Higher Education institution with over 170,000 student across the four nations, The […]

The Open University's Berrill Building in Milton Keynes

OU in LGBT top 100 employers index

19 January 2017

The Open University has earned a place in the prestigious 2017 Stonewall Top 100 Employers index. The Stonewall Workplace Equality Index is an annual audit of workplace culture for lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) staff. More than 430 employers submitted entries to the 2017 index, across the public, private and third sectors. The OU […]

High blood pressure may protect over-80s from dementia

18 January 2017

It is well known that high blood pressure is a risk factor for dementia, so the results of a new study from the University of California, Irvine, are quite surprising. The researchers found that people who developed high blood pressure between the ages of 80-89 are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease (the most common […]

How to avoid breaking New Year’s Resolutions – don’t make them in first place?

17 January 2017

Research has shown that the majority of British adults will break their New Year’s resolution by the second week of January. What is it about the time of year that makes us more susceptible to breaking those promises to ourselves? Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Dr Meg-John Barker, explores why we set ourselves these goals, and […]

How old is our moon

12 January 2017

Most scientists agree that the Earth has pretty much always had its moon. Details of the moon’s composition (in particular the “isotopic mixture” of heavier and lighter versions of various elements) are too similar to the Earth’s for it to have been captured from somewhere remote. However, some compositional details differ enough to rule out […]

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Why the solution to ‘fake news’ is education, not technology

11 January 2017

This opinion article has been published by Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at The Open University, Philip Seargeant Since the Trump victory, and the Brexit result before that, the issue of ‘fake news’ has barely been out of the real news. Social media companies, such as Facebook, have been criticised for their role in […]

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