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Ethnicity as a Learning Tool
Education & Development

Ethnicity as a Learning Tool

...studying on her bed] A good learning experience is influenced by a racialised learning environment in which diversity is celebrated and difference is acknowledged. However, a learning environment is not always immune from racially driven learning dialogues as is evident in recent black lives matter mass events in the UK universities (for instance at The Open University in...
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Article 10 mins
Why do we feel happier in the spring?
Science, Maths & Technology

Why do we feel happier in the spring?

...studies have shown that physical activity can help to improve our self-esteem, cognitive function (memory, decision making, etc.), mood, and quality of life (Mahindru et al., 2023). All of which help to make us feel happier. So, there are many interconnected factors which explain why we feel happier, more energetic and sociable in spring, many of which are related to the...
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Article 5 mins
Sounds of environmental change
Society, Politics & Law

Sounds of environmental change

...sounds, then, is that all sorts of sounds can powerfully convey the effects of environmental change on vulnerable landscapes like beaches. Further reading and references The audios in this article were recorded by audioBoom, as part of the British Library and National Trust’s Sounds of our Shores project. The Open University module DD103 studies soundscapes in week 23....
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Audio 15 mins
Navigating Black Irish identity in the music of Phil Lynott
Health, Sports & Psychology

Navigating Black Irish identity in the music of Phil Lynott

...Boy and I Don’t Know My Place”: Phil Lynott and the Black Atlantic’, Rock Music Studies, 9(1), pp. 94–113. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/19401159.2021.1935726. Smyth, G. (2005) Noisy Island: A Short History of Irish Popular Music. Cork: Cork University Press. Thompson, G. (2016) Cowboy Song: The Authorised Biography of Philip Lynott. London: Constable....
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Article 5 mins
International Jazz Day
Miscellaneous

International Jazz Day

...studies with an uncritical bent towards advocacy often seek to deny the importance of the American roots of the music. Recognition of the American-ness of jazz is fundamental to understanding how the music operates in other places – whether it is emulated, rejected or reconfigured by musicians on that basis. Throughout history the roots of jazz have contributed to the...
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Article 5 mins
Create stunning images of the Universe
Science, Maths & Technology

Create stunning images of the Universe

...study that star’s brightness fluctuations in greater detail. A unique and ambitious endeavour The course has taken over a year to design and create with Dr Alan Cayless and Dr Jo Jarvis as the lead authors and presenters. However, the ground-breaking nature of the course has only been realised with the help of many others across the Open University and beyond. This is...
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Article 10 mins
The trouble with teaching physics
Health, Sports & Psychology

The trouble with teaching physics

...study physics further at A Level. Teachers spend considerable time trying to make physics more enjoyable for the students by doing experiments, demonstrations and fun activities. However, fun can be difficult to control. What the teacher thinks will be fun, is not always what students find fun. Additionally, students frequently fail to extract the scientific principle...
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Article 5 mins
How do musical instruments produce sound?
History & The Arts

How do musical instruments produce sound?

...study it would be that of ‘timbre’. Above, is an image of uniform ‘curvy’ waves to demonstrate instrumental sound. This is a massive simplification. Actual sound waves can come in many shapes which have different sonic effects (the waves in figure above represent sine waves which have a very pure and artificial sound). Any single sound we hear also contains many...
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Article 5 mins