3,392 search results

COP26 and the Glasgow Pact...one small step
Nature & Environment

COP26 and the Glasgow Pact...one small step

...out more about The Open University’s Environment qualifications. [Photo taken at COP26 in Glasgow. Banner says 'We can do this if we act now'.] Measuring progress in the international climate negotiations Beyond fine words, promises and pledges, there are at least 6 indicators we should use to measure progress and success in our global response to climate change. Here...
TOTEM LATAMAT: an Indigenous reminder we are all part of the ecosystem
Nature & Environment

TOTEM LATAMAT: an Indigenous reminder we are all part of the ecosystem

...out of this. However, in common with Patricia Fara’s review, I believe that scientific enquiry and its technological consequences are not necessarily “progressive” at all. “Progress” is a huge contributor to the crisis we face: it is the positive image that Western powers have invoked in order to justify colonialism, enslavement, unlimited resource extraction,...
An uncomfortable truth: How Britain has criminalised rough sleepers
Society, Politics & Law

An uncomfortable truth: How Britain has criminalised rough sleepers

...out on a mass scale, and hundreds of thousands of people who lacked the means to purchase property were displaced from their homes and prohibited from accessing the land they once lived on. Vagrancy laws criminalised access to land in cases where there was no contractual relationship, which gave police the power to arrest people who were not legally bound to property or...
How can digital books support children’s learning?
Education & Development

How can digital books support children’s learning?

...out, but also personalised in terms of the reading content. Personalisation can be provided both in terms of direct feedback and content served to the reader during the activity. Some digital books and reading platforms have embedded algorithms which adapt the reading difficulty and support provided to the child when they read on their own. These benefits are not without...
I run mock trials to research the legal system. The bias shown in Channel 4’s The Jury: Murder Trial is a very real problem
Society, Politics & Law

I run mock trials to research the legal system. The bias shown in Channel 4’s The Jury: Murder Trial is a very real problem

...likely to reach. Those who favoured the prosecution were more likely to favour a guilty verdict and those who favoured the defence were more likely to reach an acquittal verdict. Other researchers have done similar work using rape-myth scales. If jurors were selected based on validated measures, it would help to filter negative and problematic beliefs out of the system....
The science behind your Christmas dinner
Science, Maths & Technology

The science behind your Christmas dinner

...out for the poison [potato in a heart shape] Salads are usually made with raw vegetables, such as lettuce or tomato. However, potato salad is made of cooked potatoes, and it does not even have potato leaves! Have you ever wondered why? The potato is a starchy root vegetable, which originated in the Americas and then introduced to Europe in the 16th century. Since then,...
Systems thinking: a select glossary
Money & Business

Systems thinking: a select glossary

...out here! One of the key principles in Systems Thinking is feedback. If you want to know more about Systems Thinking, the Open University course T205 Systems Thinking, Principles and Practice is an excellent introduction to the discipline. Definitions of some generalized system concepts used in systems practice. Boundary Closed system Communication Connectivity Difficulty...
Why the UK can't take business support for the EU for granted
Society, Politics & Law

Why the UK can't take business support for the EU for granted

...out the new government’s plans, and Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, stated that a vote should happen “as soon as necessary”. In short, things could rapidly come to a head, and it is perhaps no surprise that the CBI is keen to marshal its troops. Fear and loathing The chairman of JCB, the world’s third-largest construction equipment manufacturer, is...