3,610 search results
Rio+20 - United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
Nature & Environment

Rio+20 - United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

...social equity and ensure environmental protection as we look to the future. In this collection Open University academics reflect on its progress and prospects, and demonstrate that international gatherings of political leaders are not (fortunately?) the only game in town... Tackling climate change Dr Barbara Pizzileo discusses the challenges facing academics in tackling...
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Audio 1 hr 15 mins
Managing complexity: A systems approach – introduction
Digital & Computing

Managing complexity: A systems approach – introduction

...social technology, depends on many people working with it, developing and refining it, using it, taking it up, recommending it, and above all finding it useful. But not all technologies that succeed are the best – it depends on who builds the better networks, particularly of practitioners. As you experience the use of a particular systems method and strive to make it a...
View course Managing complexity: A systems approach – introduction
Level 3: Advanced 75 hrs
Wendy Gregory On Using Systems Thinking In Practice
Society, Politics & Law

Wendy Gregory On Using Systems Thinking In Practice

...work on green spaces...Transcript About Wendy Wendy is a semi-retired independent consultant and volunteer coordinator at two community gardens in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Wendy was introduced to systems behaviour in 1984, through the OU: “After that, I couldn’t stop seeing systems everywhere. It became so much a part of me that I even married another systems...
View audio Wendy Gregory On Using Systems Thinking In Practice
Audio 15 mins
Assessing contemporary science
Science, Maths & Technology

Assessing contemporary science

...social and economic impacts of these technologies? Discussion The work has led to scientists developing methods to: Detect prostate cancer by ‘smell’, with the potential to perform more accurate diagnoses, thereby saving lives and expenditure in the National Health Service (NHS). Patients, carers and medical professionals, in particular, could benefit from the...
View course Assessing contemporary science
Level 2: Intermediate 9 hrs
Supporting women musicians in the workplace
History & The Arts

Supporting women musicians in the workplace

...work in for many. The long hours, with lots of the work taking place during the evening, have not made the working environment inclusive for parents, carers, those with disabilities or long-term illnesses, and others. This can have a profound impact on many creative artists’ careers, with women – who still often tend to take on the bulk of caring responsibilities –...
View article Supporting women musicians in the workplace
Article 5 mins
Music and its media
History & The Arts

Music and its media

...social context, the purpose they serve and what they signify to their recipients. This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course A342 Central questions in the study of music...Music and its media: Learning outcomes - After studying this course, you should be able to: demonstrate knowledge of the main ways in which music is transmitted...
View course Music and its media
Level 2: Intermediate 16 hrs
When the public speaks: How refugees welcome shows the public as dangerous giants
Society, Politics & Law

When the public speaks: How refugees welcome shows the public as dangerous giants

...social media. Amid discussions of whether or not it was ethical to post, tweet, and share such a heart-wrenching image, The New York Times rightly noted that the powerful image has spurred international public attention to a crisis that has been ongoing for years. As Anne Barnard and Karam Shoumali noted: “Once again, it is not the sheer size of the
View article When the public speaks: How refugees welcome shows the public as dangerous giants
Article 5 mins
How can the Hajj be made safer?
History & The Arts

How can the Hajj be made safer?

...social identity approach, which suggests a distinction between physical crowds (where people are simply in one place) and psychological crowds (where people in a physical crowd share a common self-definition – a social identity). A group of people at an event may all see themselves and each other as Muslims, Manchester United supporters, or music lovers, for example....
View article How can the Hajj be made safer?
Article 5 mins