Open Learning

crisis

Courses tagged with "crisis"

The banking crisis: cause and effect

Autumn 2008 witnessed a global financial crisis with governments worldwide taking emergency action to prevent a collapse of the banking system. The aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s saw economic activity slump. In the UK, higher unemployment, falling house prices and a sharp increase in government debt proved to be the alarming legacy of the near implosion of the banking system. This fascinating insight into the downfall of the global financial markets gives us a clear understanding of where it all went wrong. This material forms part of The Open University course DB234 Personal investment in an uncertain world

Category: Money & Business

Predicting Volcanoes

The Open University's researcher in volcanoes, Hazel Rymer explains why the Poás volcano in Costa Rica is her favourite, and how evidence form previous experiments there has lead her to believe there may be an environmental crisis - similar to one in the 1990's - on it's way. There have been changes in gravity above Poás, and Hazel talks us through some experiments she will be undertaking in the future.

Category: Geology

Technology, networks and international order

How have technological change and the rise in organised networks affected international order? William Brown, Senior Lecturer in Government and Politics, is joined by fellow Open University lecturers Dr Simon Bromley and Dr Helen Yanacopulos to investigate the key issues through recent events such as the 'Jubilee 2000 debt campaign’ and the financial crisis of 2008, along with a look at traditional political ideals such as Marxism and Capitalism. This material forms part of The Open University course DU301 A world of whose making?

Category: Society, Politics & Law

Thailand: The Politics of Blood

In Thailand, the international media is the battleground for political ideas. Protests have become increasingly dramatic and well organised. In October 2008, Red-shirts, in their thousands, donated their own blood and poured it on the walls and under the gates of Government House while Yellow-shirted protesters staged a sit - in at Bangkok airport stranding thousands of tourists and bringing Thailand’s political turmoil to television screens around the world. But behind the arresting symbolism of these protests, issues of democracy, welfare, education and human rights are at stake, in a political crisis that is not going to go away.

Category: Politics

The Future For Finance

The financial crisis of 2008 has been widely blamed on poor regulation of financial institutions and the bonus driven casino culture. So what measures are the new coalition Government taking to ensure a crisis on this scale doesn’t happen again? Martin Upton of The Open University Business School’s Centre for Accounting

Category: Politics

Global response to the financial crisis

What caused the financial crisis of 2007-9 and the recession that followed? How did governments and the international banking system respond? Senior Lecturer William Brown is joined by three course team members to address the key issues that emerged as a result of the financial crisis and what it reveals about shifts in the international system. The album also explores how the principles of game theory could be applied to regulating complex financial problems. This material forms part of The Open University course DU301 A world of whose making?

Category: Economics

Fiscal Responsibility and Monetary Policy

Why do economies go into recession, and what should policymakers do? How do governments use money to influence the economy?
Over the past century governments have used a variety of strategies to avoid economic instability, and the current economic crisis has been handled very differently from the Great Depression, the last comparable global downturn. Getting the balance right - between government spending and taxation, low inflation and low unemployment, low interest rates for borrowers and rewards for savers - is difficult in practice, and the subject of ongoing debate in economic theory.