Partial or total loss of sight affects millions of people worldwide. Many cases are preventable or curable, but simple interventions are not available in some poorer countries. The 15 video tracks in this album explore the impact of visual impairment and corrective treatments. Derek Child explains how he learned to adapt to losing his sight and the training that helps him stay mobile and independent. Experts from Contamac reveal the science behind lens production. The Good Health Train brings basic health care to poor communities in rural South Africa, where locals live without access to treatments for common problems like cataract surgery.

This material forms part of The Open University course SDK125 Introducing health sciences: a case study approach.

Health, and the health of others, are concerns that impact us all. This album explores notions of health and happiness in relation to the lifestyles people lead and the services and support available to them. The range of information is eclectic and illuminating, offering a rare insight into societal niches from the participants themselves. From health workers to the homeless, this series of interviews and discussions emphasises the relationship between how people live their lives and the decisions they make to stay healthy. This material forms part of The Open University course KYN275 Reflecting on whole lives - diverse perspectives on health and illness.

How does living with disability and chronic illness impact on a person's quality of life? What are the consequences of physical limitations and treatment regimes? The tracks on his album explore real-life case studies in a variety of care environments. From domestic homes to residential and hospital settings, we explore physical, social and psychological impacts and investigate the extent to which care environments are enabling or disabling. The album also contains a fictional case study which explores some of the issues facing people who are carers in their own homes. To complete the album, Joanna Bornat and Jan Walmsley of The Open University's Faculty of Health and Social Care explain why some of the case studies were selected for study and unpick some of the issues that emerge.

This material forms part of The Open University course K101 An introduction to health and social care.

How humans think, develop, and experience the world around us has been fascinating psychologists for over 100 years. The tracks in this album cover a range of case studies, looking at factors which can influence the development of our personalities. What is the impact of significant people in our early lives? How do you go about the process of researching topics like this in social psychology? The audio tracks feature disabled people who reflect on how disability has affected their sense of identity. Also featured are the cases of twins who didn't grow up together, people coping with memory loss, and the famous case of the soprano Lisa-Lee who discovered in her twenties that a rare genetic disorder meant she was actually a girl, not a boy. Studying people through such issues as gender disorder and disability allows psychologists to learn more about the human condition. This material forms part of The Open University course DSE212 Exploring psychology.

The law and aspects of the legal system have a massive impact on the lives of social workers, from defining policy and procedure to the actual process of day-to-day working. This album presents an encompassing and engrossing look at the interaction between legal and social teams, and how different professions and groups interact to ensure equality and representation for all members of society. Not only do these discussions offer an insight into the justification and implementation of policy, they also provide illumination onto the realities and experience of working with vulnerable and disadvantaged people. This material forms part of The Open University course K269 Social care, social work and the law (England and Wales).

This collection transports you to Europe of 1600 to 1850. Many of the foundations of European culture were being laid: commerce, arts institutions, art displays, terraced houses … even tattooing. Things we now take for granted in the fabric of our lives. Yet here we glimpse them through the eyes of a society for whom they weren’t yet set in stone. The shape of the urban environment was being defined. Yet there was a burgeoning nostalgia for all things rural, and a hunger for the trappings of other cultures. The decisions of this era still have an impact on our culture today.

This material forms part of The Open University course A226 Exploring art and visual culture.

How and what can we learn from fragments? Thousands of fragmented inscriptions survive from the ancient city of Rome, the majority of which are funerary inscriptions or epitaphs from tombs. This album looks at the impact of funerary monuments. From the Mausoleum of Emperor Augustus, to the more humble tombs of freed slaves, these monuments reveal a great deal about the people and families commemorated. Examining the type, scale, location, decoration, and epitaph of each tomb allows us to build up a detailed picture of a life lived thousands of years ago. This material forms part of The Open University course A219 Exploring the classical world.

The history and development of political philosophy has been dominated by many inspirational and radical thinkers. The tracks on this album offer both an introduction and an in-depth insight into the leading theorists in this field and their most important works. In a series of lively and invigorating discussions, leading political philosophers examine canonical texts and seminal thinkers from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century, highlighting their intellectual and cultural impact and the context in which the texts were originally written. This material forms part of The Open University course AA311: Reading political philosophy, from Machiavelli to Mill.

What can Marxism teach us about marketing? Is Communist thinking relevant when applied to a modern drink’s marketing strategy? The successful sale of white cider to people from poorer economic demographics has not gone unnoticed and many social commentators have criticised the manner in which the drink has been marketed. In a Capitalist system, should we expect all market opportunities to be exploited regardless of moral implications? What conclusions can be drawn when we apply Neo-Marxist thinking to the marketing of white cider, and its impact on the consumers it targets? In this audio collection The Open University’s Andrew Lindridge, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, uses this unique example to encourage the development of critical thinking skills.