The Open University

How to spot a conspiracy theory when you see one

16 March 2020

Dr Jovan Byford, Head of Discipline & Senior Lecturer in Psychology at The Open University writes for The Conversation about spotting a conspiracy theory. Anyone who engages critically with the phenomenon of conspiracy theories soon encounters a conundrum. Actual conspiracies occur quite regularly. Political assassinations, scandals and cover-ups, terrorist attacks and a lot of everyday […]

ExoMars2020: how coronavirus played a part in postponement of Mars mission

13 March 2020

In the five decades since we first started sending spacecraft to Mars, exploration of the red planet has had a poor record of success. It is only in the last few years that we have come to expect that the number of successes greatly outweighs the failures. This is why the decision to postpone the […]

How to recover from burnout and chronic work stress – according to a psychologist

11 March 2020

Rajvinder Samra, Lecturer in Health, The Open University writes for The Conversation about how to recover from burnout and chronic work stress. It’s pretty likely you’ve heard of burnout – and you may have even experienced it. Caused by chronic work stress, it’s characterised by signs such as emotional exhaustion, lack of energy, and loss […]

Turning 20 – final episode of ‘Child of Our Time’ airs tonight

11 March 2020

Child of Our Time, the ground-breaking series that began 20 years ago filming a group of babies from the moment they were born, returns to our screens on Wednesday 11 March at 9pm on BBC Two. Co-produced by the BBC and The Open University’s Broadcast and Partnerships team, the one-off episode draws on hours of archive […]

OU research supports police safe driving campaign

10 March 2020

Research by an OU psychology academic has helped produce a toolkit of resources for police forces to use in a campaign for safer driving. The social media toolkit is to educate and enforce the law against mobile phone use by drivers. Dr Gemma Briggs, senior lecturer in psychology, provided evidence based on her research on […]

Why I’m celebrating women and equality

8 March 2020

The Open University’s Deputy Vice-chancellor Josie Fraser reflects on why International Women’s Day is so important to her. “The world is celebrating International Women’s Day. An apt time to recognise women’s achievement and promoting an equal and enabled world, all of which is important to me. “A lot of my work choices are based around […]

How you can tell Emmanuel Macron is actually a populist – and why it matters

5 March 2020

Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, came to power in 2017 in the wake of the election of Donald Trump in the US and the Brexit referendum – widely seen as a period of crisis that pitted populism against liberal democracy. At the time, Macron presented himself as a defender of liberalism against the dangers […]

Series puts images into focus

3 March 2020

A fascinating look at how the image has developed across the ages and transformed our lives comes to television screens in March 2020. The Age of the Image, a BBC/Open University co-production, tells the chronological and thematic history of the image right from the early 20th century, through commercialisation and up to today’s digitalised world. […]

OU digital experts showcase blockchain technology at IoC Conference

26 February 2020

Tech experts from The Open University pilot blockchain-verified badges at this year’s Institute of Coding (IoC) Conference. The IoC, a coalition of universities and employers working together to respond to the UK’s digital skills gap, hosted its second annual conference this week (24 – 25 February 2020). Conference attendees were given delegate badges with blockchain […]

Katherine Johnson: NASA mathematician and much-needed role model

25 February 2020

Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at The Open University writes for The Conversation about NASA mathematician, Katherine Johnson. Katherine Johnson, who has died at the age of 101, was an amazing woman. But up until a few years ago, hardly anyone had heard of her or her achievements. She was a mathematician […]

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