2,347 search results
The economics of flood insurance
Society, Politics & Law

The economics of flood insurance

...history but becoming increasingly important globally because of the impact of climate change. Using economic theory, you will explore why market forces alone typically cannot resolve the problems associated with flooding, creating a rationale for government intervention. You will then see how a key tool of economics, cost-benefit analysis, can be applied to assess and...
View course The economics of flood insurance
Level 2: Intermediate 6 hrs
Concepts and theories in international relations
Society, Politics & Law

Concepts and theories in international relations

...history and imperial power structures continue to shape the international order today. For postcolonial theorists, the modern international order, including state sovereignty, borders, and global institutions, was constructed through colonialism and imperialism. These foundations continue to marginalise newly independent states and reinforce power balances between the...
View course Concepts and theories in international relations
Level 2: Intermediate 4 hrs
Rent or buy? The challenge of access to housing
Money & Business

Rent or buy? The challenge of access to housing

...Family offset mortgage: As above, but family members – usually parents – provide the savings account that is offset against their son’s or daughter’s mortgage. Shared ownership mortgages: The borrower buys just part of their home, reducing the size of mortgage needed. The rest is typically owned by a social landlord, to whom the householder pays rent. The aim is...
View course Rent or buy? The challenge of access to housing
Level 1: Introductory 8 hrs
Introduction to polymers
Science, Maths & Technology

Introduction to polymers

...family of nylons centres around nylon 6,6 and 6, both invented in the 1930s, the former still popular as a fibre, although both forms are used for mouldings. A more spectacular example is aramid fibre, developed in the late 1970s in the USA, for its very high stiffness and resistance to high temperatures. These properties have resulted in aramid fibre being widely used in...
View course Introduction to polymers
Level 3: Advanced 20 hrs
Looking globally: the future of education Badge icon
Education & Development

Looking globally: the future of education

...history of the Earth. They’re being besieged with information and pulls their attention from every platform: computers, from iPhones, from advertiser hoardings, from hundreds of television channels. And we’re penalising them for getting distracted. From what? Boring stuff at school for the most part. It seems to me it’s not a coincidence totally that the incidence...
View course Looking globally: the future of education
Level 3: Advanced 24 hrs
Technological innovation: a resource-based view
Science, Maths & Technology

Technological innovation: a resource-based view

...history of technological and organisational innovation and change has been remarkable. Indeed, approaching this issue from entirely different ideological perspectives, Karl Marx in the 19th century and Joseph Schumpeter in the early to mid 20th century both recognised technological and organisational innovation as a fundamental feature of the ‘creative-destructive’...
View course Technological innovation: a resource-based view
Level 3: Advanced 10 hrs
Energy resources: solar energy
Nature & Environment

Energy resources: solar energy

...history. This course explores Solar power as a source of directly useable energy. This OpenLearn course provides a sample of level 2 study in Science. You may also be interested in our badged course Can renewable energy sources power the world?...Energy resources: Solar energy: Learning outcomes - After studying this course, you should be able to: explain the principles...
View course Energy resources: solar energy
Level 2: Intermediate 2 hrs
Animals at the extremes: hibernation and torpor
Nature & Environment

Animals at the extremes: hibernation and torpor

...family Trochilidae) studied to date, torpor, if it occurs, takes place on a daily (or more usually nightly) basis. They are able to re-warm themselves independently of T a and show an increased thermogenesis if T a falls below 18° C during the time when the bird is not searching for food. The tiny rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus; Figure 3), weighing only 3.0–5.5...
View course Animals at the extremes: hibernation and torpor
Level 2: Intermediate 14 hrs