How do you see the invisible? Today, mechanical, electrical, chemical and biological engineering of ‘small worlds’ is revolutionising our lives. Atomic Force Microscopes are an important tool when creating engineering solutions on the micro and nano scale. The 4 video tracks on this album examine...

The landscape of the British Isles has undergone dramatic changes during the history of the Earth, from shallow sea to desert to the familiar terrain of the 21st century. In this unit you will explore the processes that have shaped the British landscape over time, gaining insight into the...

The incidence of obesity is on the increase in affluent societies, and the phenomenon commands increasing attention from health professionals, legislators and the media. This unit looks at the science behind obesity, examining the dietary, physiological and genetic aspects of the topic. This...

“You just want to step out of it, to step out of the whole race, the whole business. The monstrosity of life overwhelms you.” Following a nervous breakdown in 1995, actor and journalist Stephen Fry discovered he was suffering from bi-polar disorder – commonly known as manic depression. Symptoms...

Is Shakespeare still relevant today? How does his work influence pop culture today? Do the themes of his plays continue to resonate with modern audiences or as a result of his legacy has he become a caricature of himself? Stephen Regan, accompanied by experts from the world Shakespeare congress...

Can the concept of human rights be applied across borders or are rights culturally specific? Is it realistic, or even desirable, to aim at an international system based on universal principles of justice? This unit takes a critical view of the assumption that ‘rights are a good thing’ and looks...

The Open University transforms lives. Millions have realised or expanded their potential through flexible education programmes allowing them to study whenever and wherever they choose. From short courses to degree–level study, the quality of The Open University’s teaching programmes and tutors is...

We live in a complex, fast changing and highly social world. One of the most compelling questions we face is how to understand ourselves and other people. The video tracks on this album introduce the four main theoretical perspectives in social psychology - cognitive, psychoanalytical,...

The Louvre was designed to house a great art collection for the people of France. Was there a plan from the outset to build a canon of work where the relationships between artists, their origins, their schools and faiths could be traced across centuries? And how did architect I.M.Pei persuade...

Do you know what happens to the things you throw away? Sustainable management of municipal and industrial waste is essential in any society, but is particularly crucial for a future in which we face diminishing resources and a growing population. This album considers the issues that are driving...

How do young children learn, and how can adults help them? This album looks at how nursery teachers support children in their development. We follow a practitioner’s day, looking at how she works with children, observes and plans for further activities while she also records her thoughts and...

The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen presents a new focus for international debate and decisions about energy and its use. What are the countries of Western Europe and Scandinavia doing to promote sustainable energy production? Just how different will the future energy...

Do you find it difficult to know what is important when taking notes? This unit will enable you to decide the value of taking notes and improve your understanding of the methods that can be used. This study unit is just one of many that can be found on LearningSpace, part of OpenLearn, a...

Everyone has their own perspective on mental health, especially those who have experienced it. 'An untimely death on Passchendaele Ward' is written and performed by members 'The Orphans of Beulah' - a theatre group consisting of mental health service users and survivors. It is a modern day...

From diamonds to dynamite everything involves a chemical reaction. This unit introduces you to the concepts and principles that underpin chemistry at the molecular level. Everyday experiences are used to help you to understand the more complex issues. This study unit is just one of many that can...

Social work is a vital element in how our society cares for those in need. This unit looks at the meaning of ‘social work values’ as well as the different approaches to social work and the skills involved. This study unit is just one of many that can be found on LearningSpace, part of OpenLearn,...

We are all likely to experience pain at some stage in our lives. But, how do you deal with constant, chronic pain? Learning to manage severe pain on a daily basis takes a phenomenal amount of mental and physical strength. The 7 video tracks in this album introduce patients and doctors at the...

In this wide-ranging and provocative interview, David Puttnam spells out the impact that digitisation will have on both traditional TV broadcasters and on specialist providers such as the OU. Essentially, viewers will be able not only to control what they see amd when they want it, but also use...

Gantt charts, critical path analysis, SMART objectives and estimation skills are just some of the topics covered in this unit to help you understand how to plan for a project. You will gain an appreciation of the range of planning techniques available and the situations in which it is appropriate...

With privacy and libel cases on the increase, and the recent surge in ‘no win no fee’ law suits, is it now too easy to sue for defamation? And are our privacy laws now so restrictive that we risk extinguishing debate? Gary Slapper, Professor of Law at The Open University, and Frances Gibb,...

This unit is for designers, engineers, technologists and anyone interested in designing and inventing. It is also for managers and consumers interested in innovation and technical change. The unit will show you how design and innovation can create a more sustainable future. It will also help you...

We know drunk-driving causes death on the roads, but how does taking drugs like cannabis affect your driving skills? This album offers a chance to see how psychologists perform experiments which measure how much cannabis distorts a normal state of consciousness. Tracks 5-8 explore human...

We encounter designed products every day, from bus tickets to buildings. We travel on, wear and even eat products that have been designed. What it is like to be a designer? What are the design processes that generate products? The 28 video tracks on this album reveal the importance of creativity...

Can a play written in the seventeenth century protest against contemporary issues? Is it possible to use a Shakespearian tragedy draw attention to political injustice? Apartheid was a system of enforced legal racial segregation in South Africa that was imposed on the country's majority non white...

What function does comedy serve? What do people in power learn by watching tragedies? In this collection of five animations comedienne Josie Long guides us into the fascinating world of Literary Theory. Along the way we’ll discover two very different types of poet (and lover): The Petrarchan and...

Italians are world renowned as passionate people, and their passion feeds through to their music and story telling. This album explores the tradition of the Cantastorie - the Italian Storyteller. Cantastorie Mauro Geraci explains the intricacies of the music, the paintings, the instruments and...

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...

What is Black British Jazz? This short film explores the research carried out by The Open University research team led by Dr Jason Toynbee who has been examining the history of Black British Jazz and the stories of the artists who have performed it. This video looks at the history of jazz and how...

What is biodiversity and why does it matter? How can everyday observations and online databases help to increase our knowledge about the diversity of species? On this album, Jonathan Silvertown, Professor of Ecology at The Open University, presents a guided tour of iSpot, a nature website that...

What are ecosystems, and what do different ecosystems have in common? How are they affected by human activity? From the diverse rainforests of the tropics to the smallest microbial communities, ecosystems support life on Earth. This album reveals the ecological relationships that create these...

It has been said that arches never sleep, that they are almost living in the way they adapt to change. Using case studies of Ely Cathedral in England and Chartres in France, the tracks on this album examine the way in which the design of arches developed in the early middle ages, and use...

Geology is the scientific study of the Earth, its origin, structure, processes and composition. This album is concerned mainly with the interpretation of geological maps and the relationship between the landscape and underlying rocks. It reveals how the geological history of any area can be...

This series of tracks focuses on geological phenomena, Gaia theory and volcanoes. Included is a discussion on Climate Change and whether the uplift of Tibet caused global cooling. Material is taken from The Open University Course S269 Earth and Life.

We know that culture guides the way people behave in society as a whole. But culture also plays a key role in organisations, which have their own unique set of values, beliefs and ways of doing business. This unit explores the concepts of national and organisational culture and the factors that...

Patterns occur everywhere in art, nature, science and especially mathematics. Being able to recognise, describe and use these patterns is an important skill that helps you to tackle a wide variety of different problems. This unit explores some of these patterns ranging from ancient number...

Meet three winners of the OU 2015 Entrepreneurship Competition, each about to launch a new venture. Carolyn Cleveland is pioneering empathy training in the NHS; Mikhail Devitt is developing Kleio, an app to help children learn to read; and Caroline Hearne who designed a new type of bag for bikes.

Do we use our buildings to declare who we are? How far does our heritage influence our collective identity? This insightful album reveals Ireland's shifting attitudes towards its cultural heritage. In 1922 when it broke free of British rule to become an independent nation state, the Irish...

Marketing communications help to define an orgaisation's relationship with its customers. This unit emphasises the strategic importance of such communication and its long-term effect on consumers. Communication models can act as a predictive guide, but in the end it is important to recognise the...

Water is arguably the most important physical resource as it is the one that is essential to human survival. Understanding the global water cycle and how we use water is essential to planning a sustainable source of water for the future. This study unit is just one of many that can be found on...

When it comes to technology are you an optimist or a pessimist? Are social media changing the way that children form relationships? How is technology changing the way that children think, and how will it shape the classroom of the future? The amount of technology available to children today is...

How much more can you achieve by working with others rather than working alone? How should you manage relationships across various physical and cultural divides? This album explores how the formation of a variety of partnerships, spanning public, private and voluntary sectors, has radically...

Your heart beats around 100,000 times every day and, in that time, pumps about 23,000 litres of blood around your body. But what happens when it doesn’t work as well as it should? This unit explains what happens in cardiovascular disease, when the heart’s performance is affected, how the normal...

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...

Want to improve your professionalism and effectiveness in the workplace? This album explains how to develop reflective skills and improve leadership techniques. With an emphasis on interpersonal communication, teaching methods and customer care, it’s relevant to those instructing, coaching or...

What does mathematics have to do with nature or art? The video tracks in this album trace the origin of the mathematics of chaos and describe how the chance discovery of fractals became the basis for some real - and revolutionary - commercial applications such as the fax and the modem. A closer...

Learning a language, or learning how languages work, can provide a key to the global workplace. In this video a collection of employers and employees outline the benefits that language skills bring to their companies and careers. There is a lot more to language skills than just learning to speak...

Just what is innovation? This unit examines the issues surrounding the concept of innovation. What is the difference between innovation and invention? How are organisations affected by innovation: are all of the outcomes positive? You will learn how to analyse this concept and its impact on...

This unit looks at visualisation as it relates to mathematics, focusing upon how it can be used to improve learning. It will also identify ways in which to make more use of visualisation within the classroom. This study unit is just one of many that can be found on LearningSpace, part of...

Would you consider a dilapidated seventies tower block as heritage? In England, some social housing developments have already been given listed status, a level of protection usually associated with castles, monasteries and stately homes. Others are considered as a failed experiment by an outmoded...

How are genetic traits handed down through generations? How did you inherit your grandfather's red hair whilst your parents are both black-haired? Even Charles Darwin himself never really understood the causes behind this. This album traces the development of our understanding of the laws of...