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Methods in Motion: Is Q still the answer?
Society, Politics & Law

Methods in Motion: Is Q still the answer?

...study the different discursive frames that people adopt when they think about what it means to be an authentic and/or sincere person. This was my first adventure into social psychological research and I was interested in studying the forms of language and symbolism through which people construct their realities. The question, in other words, was not ‘What is an...
View article Methods in Motion: Is Q still the answer?
Article 5 mins
Literature and the Environment
Nature & Environment

Literature and the Environment

...Studies have shown that reading stories can increase our empathy, reduce prejudice and persuade us of something. Could books also prompt us to take more notice of the environment? Authors have always expressed environmental concerns in their writing. A flood provides the climax to George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss (1860). The first paragraph of Margery Allingham’s...
View article Literature and the Environment
Article 10 mins
Is norovirus an economic threat?
Health, Sports & Psychology

Is norovirus an economic threat?

...study published in PLOS ONE. That’s $15 billion more than the insurance payouts for Hurricane Katrina, $40 billion more than the estimated costs of the September 11 terrorist attacks, and $20 billion more than the 2011 Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake. That’s over sixty Airbus A380 airplanes, one of the largest passenger airplanes in the world. That’s enough to...
View article Is norovirus an economic threat?
Article 5 mins
What happens to our brains when we're afraid - and can that help us overcome fear?
Health, Sports & Psychology

What happens to our brains when we're afraid - and can that help us overcome fear?

...study. He explained the process: "The way information is represented in the brain is very complicated, but the use of artificial intelligence (AI) image recognition methods now allow us to identify aspects of the content of that information. When we induced a mild fear memory in the brain, we were able to develop a fast and accurate method of reading it by using AI...
View article What happens to our brains when we're afraid - and can that help us overcome fear?
Article 5 mins
Heaven: What might it be like?
History & The Arts

Heaven: What might it be like?

...Studies we are interested in what people have understood heaven to be and the real-world effects of these beliefs. What does a particular vision of a more perfect world inspire people to do and create? Infamously, promises of paradise have motivated Islamic fighters to desire martyrdom. For example, potential recruits into Lashkar-e Taiba, a Pakistani group trying to...
View article Heaven: What might it be like?
Article 10 mins
Can microplastics find their way onto your plate?
Nature & Environment

Can microplastics find their way onto your plate?

...studies show that water treatment plants are effectively removing microplastics from wastewater. However, the microplastics removed from water are concentrated in sludge, which is commonly used as fertiliser by farmers. Once microplastics are in soil they may be translocated and further degraded, they may leach into groundwater, and even be taken up by plants and...
View article Can microplastics find their way onto your plate?
Article 10 mins
Speed of Arctic changes defies scientists
Nature & Environment

Speed of Arctic changes defies scientists

...study led by Dr Julie Jones, from the department of geography at the University of Sheffield, UK, says limited data on Antarctica’s climate is making it difficult for researchers to disentangle changes caused by human activity from natural climate fluctuations. It was only when regular satellite observations began in 1979 that measurement of surface climate over the...
View article Speed of Arctic changes defies scientists
Article 10 mins
How to start a course
Get Started

How to start a course

...study. OpenLearn courses cover a wide range of subjects taught across the OU curriculum. Many are based on Open University course materials while others are written specifically for OpenLearn. All of our courses enable you to earn a Statement of participation and some also allow you to earn a free digital badge. You can use your badge or Statement of participation to...
View article How to start a course
Article 10 mins