The Open University

Fitbits for older people: OU researches wearable technology

10 August 2016

Could wearable fitness trackers like Fitbits – currently seen as trendy accessories for the young – play a key role in improving the health of older people? This is what Open University researchers aim to discover, in a year-long study following people over 55 using a range of digital wearable health-monitoring technologies. The research will […]

Don’t ignore part-time study

4 August 2016

A report by the Department for Education into widening participating in higher education found that the percentage of state-educated pupils going on to universities and colleges in 2013/14 fell to 62%, from 66% in the previous year. Leading figures from across the education sector are calling on the Government for an urgent review and action […]

How the Bank of England rate cut will hit your personal finances

4 August 2016

The Bank of England has cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to a historic low of 0.25%. The move was expected and comes in response to worsening economic data following the UK referendum vote to leave the European Union. The cut is part of a package of measures that also includes a big boost […]

Making young children give everything to football is a bad idea – here’s why

2 August 2016

As a result, they are taking on players very young. British clubs commonly take advantage of the fact that they can sign players on schoolboy terms from the age of nine. And the clubs invite even younger children to their development centres and have been known to scout five-year-olds. When a youngster signs for a […]

After Bernie Sanders: how progressives can actually change America

1 August 2016

Even her rival Bernie Sanders has publicly endorsed her. But as the convention got underway, plenty of Sanders’s progressive supporters were far from happy with the outcome. Clinton and her allies have shifted leftwards on a number of issues, among them student debt and the minimum wage. Yet one recent poll showed that nearly half […]

Open University responds to review of Research Excellence Framework

29 July 2016

The independent review of the process for assessing university research and allocating public funding has been published by Lord Nicholas Stern outlining proposals to protect and strengthen the UK’s leadership in world-class research. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is run every 5 to 6 years and requires UK universities, that conduct research, to submit their top research […]

How the age of steam changed lives forever

28 July 2016

We’re living in an age of massive technological change, yet more than 100 years ago the introduction of the steam railways caused an equally seismic change to life in Victorian Britain. Decades later, the enduring appeal of this golden age persists and is the subject of a new six-part BBC/OU co-production. Full Steam Ahead explores […]

What does the solar system sound like?

27 July 2016

“In space, no one can hear you scream” was the tagline of the 1979 box office film success Alien. And it’s true. Sound waves propagate mechanically as a vibration and therefore need a medium – solid, liquid or gas – to travel through. Although interplanetary (and interstellar) space is not completely empty, gas molecules and […]

Hope for UK nationals living abroad after Brexit

26 July 2016

Some are retired, some are studying and some are working. Up until now, they have been entitled to the same rights as any other EU citizen. That includes access to healthcare in any EU member state and access to certain child benefits. They also have the right to support when seeking work or for housing. […]

From Neptune’s blue hue to Jupiter’s red spot: are the colours of the planets real?

25 July 2016

These days, we’re used to seeing pictures of planets sent back by spacecraft. Some pictures look colourful, others less so. But do they show what each planet really looks like? The short answer to this is “sometimes”, because some planets are genuinely quite colourful. Others are surfaced by rock that is almost entirely grey, and […]

OU News