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Messaging apps – paying attention and timing it right
Languages

Messaging apps – paying attention and timing it right

...English courses. A lot has been written about the ‘attention economy’ – the way that social media companies, businesses and advertisers compete to gain people’s attention in order to boost sales. They do this because otherwise their message or product gets lost in the overwhelming amount of information that circulates on the internet. [Three young women sitting...
One refugee's story: A long, risky journey
Society, Politics & Law

One refugee's story: A long, risky journey

...English and German. “I like my [refugee] camp because I stay relax,” he says. “I want to forget everything in Egypt, every problem in Syria, every problem in the boat.” For Orfahli, now, it's all about building a new life in the place he now calls home. This article was originally published by Global Voices Online under a CC-BY licence. You can hear a longer...
Latitude and Longitude
History & The Arts

Latitude and Longitude

...English Parliament offered a prize of £20 000 to anyone who could determine longitude at sea to within a half a degree (or two minutes: the Earth revolves through 360o in 24 hours, so every one degree of longitude corresponds to four minutes). Many eminent scientists set to work, but it was an unknown amateur clockmaker from Yorkshire, John Harrison, who rose to the...
The nature of history
Education & Development

The nature of history

...English prep school, we were given a list of 100 history dates to learn. Each form had different coloured dates and if you didn’t get a certain mark in the end of term test, you risked punishment, even a beating. As one of my former students bitterly complained: “The trouble with history is that it is just one thing after another”. Enter any history lesson now at...
How is a University obsession with teenagers hurting part-time students?
Education & Development

How is a University obsession with teenagers hurting part-time students?

...English problem, set against changes to fee structures that have resulted in part-time fees tripling since 2012, and no maintenance grants for part-time study. [Somerville College accommodation block, Oxford] As universities compete to fill accommodation blocks - like this new building at Somerville College, Oxford - part-time students are being forgotten The sub-degree...
Exploring Ireland’s historic army barracks network
OpenLearn Ireland

Exploring Ireland’s historic army barracks network

...English parliament refused to maintain a large army in peacetime. However, the Protestant ruling elite of Ireland, conscious of their status as a religious minority on the island, and with memories of the Williamite-Jacobite War fresh in their minds, were more open to the prospect. In 1698, the Irish parliament accepted plans to reroute 12,000 Williamite soldiers to...
What do scientists really do? My experience interviewing researchers
Science, Maths & Technology

What do scientists really do? My experience interviewing researchers

...English literature. Looking further into the future, I want to pursue a degree in science and carry on discovering what I am most passionate about and then dedicate my career to it. Contributors: Devyani Gajjar: PhD student, School of Social Sciences & Global Studies, AstrobiologyOU Mark Fox-Powell: Research Fellow, AstrobiologyOU Oleg Kozhura: PhD student, School of...
Can quotas make gender equality happen in politics? Lessons from business
Society, Politics & Law

Can quotas make gender equality happen in politics? Lessons from business

...English universities. And, of course, the UK has a second woman living in 10 Downing Street as prime minister. So things are changing for the better, aren’t they? Politics is becoming a more progressive profession, isn’t it? And the British electorate is more accepting of women making laws and developing policy, no? Possibly. It’s easy to overlook the startling fact...