News from The Open University
There are now more than 1.1 million children in our schools whose first language “is known or believed to be other than English” according to the latest government figures. This confirms a continuous upwards trend that shows no sign of abating. Many of the 300 or so languages spoken in schools have relatively few […]
Read more about Bilingual pupils – a rich resource for future says OU academic
An OU student has scooped a top prize for his achievements in microbiology. Michael Howard, 62, from Worcestershire, has been awarded the Undergraduate Microbiology Prize by the Microbiology Society. He’s been studying for an Open Degree with The Open University, focusing on biology, since March 2012, and was commended for the excellent progress he’s been making […]
Read more about Microbiology Society accolade for OU student
If the 1936 Olympic gold medallist Jesse Owens was to race against Usain Bolt today, he would be 14 feet behind him. Has the human race evolved so much since then to make sporting feats like this possible? Or we have a superior understanding of how get the most out of our bodies? A new […]
Read more about New sports science documentary asks: what makes a champion?
Getting dressed takes little more than five minutes. But did you know it takes as long as six months to make and market a T-shirt? And that doesn’t include the six months it takes to produce the cotton. This week is the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) Festival of Social Science week (7th to […]
Today, for a substantial minority of 16 to 24-year-olds, to be young is to be workless, poorly paid or just plain poor. Young people in this age group are among the most disadvantaged in the UK, according to a disturbing new report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). But despite economic and other hardships […]
Read more about Is there a link between youth poverty and crime? The answers may surprise you
The “uncanny valley” is a characteristic dip in emotional response that happens when we encounter an entity that is almost, but not quite, human. It was first hypothesised in 1970 by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori who identified that as robots became more human-like, people would find them to be more acceptable and appealing than their […]
Read more about Uncanny valley: why we find human-like robots and dolls so creepy
The Open University has been out in force at this year’s Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference. The annual event in London is a gathering of business leaders from across Great Britain, and the OU was in attendance to highlight the benefits of developing skills through lifelong and part-time learning to delegates, and to promote […]
Read more about OU highlights skills gap to business leaders
Sir Harold Evans, one of the most significant journalists of recent times, has been presented with an honorary doctorate from The Open University. He was at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on Friday 6 November to receive his award of Doctor of the University for exceptional contribution to education and culture, and was conferred alongside more than […]
Read more about Journalist Sir Harold Evans honoured by The Open University
Sunday can be a hectic evening for many families. A time to organise packed lunches, iron uniforms and polish school shoes. But for a sizeable minority such pressures do not apply. In July 2014, there were 27,292 five to 16-year-olds in England who were home educated, according to statistics compiled from local authority records by […]
Read more about Should home education be more tightly regulated?
People love all things spooky and gory. I was reminded of the truth of this when I visited the Museum of London’s new exhibition The Crime Museum Uncovered. It was a tantalising prospect, promising “never-before-seen objects from the Metropolitan Police’s Crime Museum” on display “for the first time ever”. This Crime Museum was established in […]
Read more about Acid bath murderers and poison: why dark tourism is important
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