Quarterly Review of Research - July 2024
- Section 1: Introduction from the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, Kevin Shakesheff
- Section 2: Nations updates
- Section 3: Inaugural lectures
- Section 4: Faculty reviews
- Section 5: Open Research
- Section 6: Open Societal Challenges
- Section 7: PolicyWISE
- Section 8: Postgraduate student thesis submissions
- Section 9: Research bidding and income
Section 1: Introduction from the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, Kevin Shakesheff
Welcome to the latest Quarterly Review of Research which celebrates research activities across The Open University (OU). In the review there are peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters from across our academic community and a section on open research which includes our progress with Open Research Online and Open Research Data Online as well as through Open Societal Challenges. There is also a section on the recent Inaugural Lectures that allow Professors the opportunity to celebrate their research achievements and careers.
In addition, there is an update from our PolicyWISE team who manage the OU’s four-nation comparative policy initiative as well as updates on research from across the Nations. There are thesis submissions from PGR students and the latest figures on research income, bids and awards.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this Review.Kevin Shakesheff
Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation
Section 2: Nations updates
OU in Scotland
Research day
We held a very successful research day at the end of May, when over 40 research active Open University (OU) colleagues descended in Glasgow for our second research day. Our over-arching strategy is to build a vibrant and active research community in Scotland, that identifies opportunities and increases our research output and activity here. Apart from hearing about updates on our knowledge exchange and research plans, participants also engaged in a workshop delivered by PolicyWISE and an input from Professor Jane Seale in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Educaction and Langauge Studies on “having a closer look at impact”. Going forward, a number of plans are in place to further build on the success of the day, including different ways our research community can be supported in their endeavours. If you’re interested in becoming part of the extended research team in Scotland please contact Derek Goldman. You would be most welcome (and you don’t need to live in Scotland).
European Lunar Symposium
After many months of detailed planning, and in collaboration with Mahesh Anand (Professor of Planetary Sciences and Exploration) in the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, the European Lunar Symposium (ELS) landed in Scotland for the first time for a full week from 16 June. Over 160 delegates from all across Europe, India and the USA took part in a week long research meeting in Dumfries, sharing knowledge and experiences of recent research and missions in lunar exploration. This was logistically a complex programme to develop and plan, especially within the confines of a rural environment (transport, accommodation and so on). However, as part of The Open University’s mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas, we were determined to make it work. And what a week it was all round. Delegates enjoyed a jam packed programme, and amongst others, we were joined by senior officials from NASA and the other space agencies. Rick Armstrong (son of Neil, of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landings), even came along for four days and visited the ancestral home of the Armstrong Clan in the small but idyllic town of Langholm. Additionally we had inspiring activities for young people, and a large public event too that was very well attended by the local community.
The week was a huge team effort, with 11 partners supporting or contributing to it in one way or another. Delegate feedback has been ultra positive on all counts. Although a number of people played a critical role in bringing this prestigious event to Scotland with all the subsequent planning, a very special thanks go to Mahesh who championed, and led the charge to bring the ELS to Dumfries since 2019. We’re now looking at how we can build on the legacy of this event for the Dumfries and Galloway region.
In September, working with colleagues in Research and Enterprise, we’re going to be taking part in the Scottish Space Expo (the first time ever in Scotland). Amongst other things, we’ll be showcasing some of our innovations at the OU, and exploring opportunities to see where we might be able to support the space supply chain in Scotland).
Bid to the Arts and Humanities Research Council focal award scheme
We have joined a consortium of partners, alongside the Glasgow School of Art as lead, in a bid to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) focal award scheme – that would result in a number of PhD studentships based in Scotland in rural localities with non-traditional applicants. If successful, this will be a very positive opportunity for The Open University to work with a range of new partners. We’re also looking at other opportunities with the Glasgow School of Art in relation to science and the arts as part of developing a longer term collaborative working relationship.
Plans for the next academic year
We’re starting to make plans for the next academic year – in terms of research, knowledge exchange and innovation. In Scotland, the strategic direction is being refreshed and we are evaluating different opportunities and possibilities. We’re always open to listening to ideas from colleagues. If you have any interesting thoughts, please contact Derek Goldman.
OU in Wales
Wellbeing with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU)
During 3-7 June, over 100 pupils and 50 staff across 10 secondary schools in Wales took part in focus groups as part of a research collaboration between The OU and the WRU. The REACH project, led by academics Paul Carlin and Dr Joanne Jordan in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies and Jill Shaw in the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, looks to research and evaluate the impact of the WRU Hub Programme. As part of the Open Societal Challenges programme, this phase followed some previous collaboration funded by the Research Wales Innovation Fund and predates plans for a phase 3 substantive study. Read more about work to date and perspectives of the recent trip from WRU Hub Programme lead Ben Rose as well as Jill’s experience touring Wales.
Showcasing OU research
Science and the Senedd on 21 May bought together policy makers and key stakeholders to explore the theme of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and the green economy. Led by The Royal Society of Chemistry in cooperation with the Welsh science and engineering community, the OU were part of the presentations and panel discussions at the event through Dr James Bowen, Senior Lecturer in Materials Engineering, and Dr Rob Janes, Staff Tutor in Life, Health and Chemical Sciences.
On 19 June, representatives from academia and policing across Wales gathered at the All-Wales Policing Academic Collaboration (AWPAC) Research Symposium to discuss the collaborative research conducted through AWPAC. Clare Rawdon in the Faculty of Business and Law joined Sarah Wallace from University South Wales to share findings of a collaboration through AWPAC, and Professor Olga Jurasz, Centre Director for the Centre for Protecting Women Online was invited to present on the plans and opportunities in that OU initiative. AWPAC is one of the thematic groups as part of the Wales Innovation Network (WIN), a collaborative initiative set up and funded by Welsh Government to strengthen research and innovation in Wales. Universities Wales run and support the network, established in 2022 with The Open University in Wales joining in 2023. The focus is on collaborative opportunities between the nine Higher Education institutions in Wales and the OU has academic representation within all relevant thematic groups.
OU in Ireland
PeacePlus success
The Open University (OU) in Ireland and the Institute of Educational Technology have been successful in our bid for the PEACE OF MIND project, PeacePlus programme. The new European Union funding Programme, managed by SEUPB, designed to support peace and prosperity across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland, building upon the work of the previous PEACE and INTERREG Programmes.
IA 3.3 Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing
Project Name: Peace of Mind
Project total: €7,720,042 (OU income €1.024 million)
OU role is largely the co-design/production with the young people and the use of the nQuire platform for learning and evaluation.
The project will use an iterative process of evaluation based on a co-produced, Design-Based Research (DBR), led by the Open University, to ensure the programme is improved over time, fit for purpose and responds to youth specific mental health needs. This will be supported by a Youth Advisory Assembly that will meet quarterly.
The PEACE OF MIND project is a cross community/cross border strategic initiative delivered by Verbal in partnership with the Cedar Foundation, Inspire Wellbeing and the Open University designed to address the significant mental health challenges prevalent among young people in Northern Ireland and the border counties of the republic of Ireland. Rooted in the aftermath and legacy of the Troubles, Northern Ireland faces a shared challenge: the persistent intergenerational trauma that affects its young population.
We would like to thank everyone for their support and guidance put into the proposal - it was a great team effort from the OU!
Connected 5
Connected 5 is due to launch in August 2024, funded by the Department for the Economy. Connected is the first Knowledge Exchange programme in the UK to be delivered across both Higher and Further Education. The goal of Connected is to foster closer partnerships between businesses, both large and small, and the university/college departments. The OU in Ireland have demonstrated increased activity throughout the previous four years of the Connected NI programme (Connected 4) and will receive increased budget moving into Connected 5.
Brain Health Hacks – how to hack your brain to increase happiness
Dr Sinead Eccles, School of Psychology and Counselling at the OU in Ireland, has filmed a piece for BBC Morning Live due to be broadcast in July, which ties into her research on Brain Health. The broadcast discusses enhancing connectivity in the brain, reducing stress, promoting relaxation, improving sleep and the potential to decrease the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s.
Why Riot? Graduation Celebration
On Monday 24 July, The Open University celebrated a graduation event for the young people who recently participated on the ‘Learning from Why Riot?’ research project. The project seeks to forge ways of supporting local peacebuilding and conflict transformation, and foster the next generation of thinkers and changemakers through educational interventions.
In total, 34 young people from North, West, South and East Belfast were invited to attend the event in the Oh Yeah centre celebrating their completion of ‘Why Riot?’ - a free short OpenLearn course made with young men in the Shankill in Belfast, for young people growing up in areas of contestation and division.
Along with the youth workers that guided them through their learning, the young people presented short films, podcasts and audio clips highlighting their journey through the course and what they had gained from it. Charlene Hegarty, Talent Development and Projects Manager at the Oh Yeah Music Centre, was keynote speaker and took the opportunity to encourage young people from a similar background to her own to follow their ambitions, calling out some relevant programmes available to them through the Oh Yeah Centre.
Our community partners were joined by potential funders and key stakeholders, such as International Fund for Ireland (IFI) and the Education Authority (EA), who enjoyed the presentation of the young people’s work and the impact of this work.
Section 3: Inaugural lectures
Forthcoming lectures
| Date | Time | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 September 2024 | 12:00 - 13:00 | Researching relationships: Attachment, affairs, and sex and intimacy over 65 | Professor Naomi Moller |
Please check our Inaugural Lectures page for further details and to find out more about our previous lectures.
Section 4: Faculty reviews
Each quarter we will highlight some of the journal articles and manuscripts published across the University.
Arts and Humanities
- Murray, Andrew and Bradshaw, Alan (2024). Could commodities themselves speak? An Introduction to the Agnotology of the Spectacle. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 42(2) pp. 275–293.
- Katritzky, M A (2024). ‘Shackshoone: the disabled non-European performative body in 17th-century London'. In: Hengerer, Mark ed. Der Körper in der Frühen Neuzeit: Praktiken, Rituale, Performanz. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (In Press), pp. 323–343.
- Houghton, Frances (2023). Under the ‘Best Possible Protection’? Violence and Medical Care in British Warships and Hospital Ships during the Second World War. Humanity: An International Journal of Human Rights, Humanitarianism, and Development, 14(3) pp. 420–434.
- Barker, Naomi J. (2024). Music, Medicine and Religion at the Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Rome 1550–1750. Music in Society and Culture, 12. Woodbridge: Boydell Press.
- Cook, James; Kolassa, Alexander; Robinson, Alexander and Whittaker, Adam eds. (2024). History as Fantasy in Music, Sound, Image and Media. Music and Visual Culture. Routledge (In Press).
Creative Industries
- Fryers, Mark (2024). A chilling story from today’s headlines:’ Community, Maritime Apocalypse and Discourses of Eco-Dystopia’s in Doomwatch (1972), Revenant: Critical and Creative Studies of the Supernatural (10), pp. 27–44.
Psychology and Counselling
- Harrison, Virginia; Jones, Katie; Hyde, Caroline; Doshi, Deepa; Terry, Angela and Montague, Debra (2024). Supporting the wellbeing of oncodriven lung cancer patients online: a qualitative study. Lung Cancer, 190(1), article no. 107697.
- Abu, Mumuni; Heath, Stacey C.; Adger, W. Neil; Codjoe, Samuel Nii Ardey; Butler, Catherine and Quinn, Tara (2024). Social consequences of planned relocation in response to sea level rise: impacts on anxiety, well-being, and perceived safety. Scientific Reports, 14, article no. 3461.
- Coughlan, Tim; Iniesto, Francisco and Carr, Jessica E. (2024). Analysing disability descriptions and student suggestions as a foundation to overcome barriers to learning. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2024(1), article no. 4.
- Pike, Graham (2024). Facial Composite Technology and Eyewitness Identification. In: Pica, Emily; Ross, David and Pozzulo, Joanna (eds). The Impact of Technology on the Criminal Justice System. New York: Routledge, pp. 205–232.
- Stavropoulou, Nelli (2024). Sharing ‘hostile’ stories: Exploring the UK's ‘hostile environment’ through participatory arts-based methods. Critical Social Policy, 44(2) pp. 178–200.
Social Sciences and Global Studies
- Hu, Ran (2024). Assembling China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Discourse, Institution, and Materials. International Political Sociology, 18(1),
- Watkins, Ben; Odallo, Lameck and Yu, Jenny (2024). Artificial intelligence for the practical assessment of nutritional status in emergencies. Expert Systems (Early access).
- Taylor, Dan (2024). Militant conversion in a prison of the mind: Malcolm X and Spinoza on domination and freedom. Contemporary Political Theory, 23 pp. 66–87.
- Yeates, Nicola (2024). The globalizing dynamics of social policy: a transnational analytics of and for Southern social policy. In: Yi, Ilcheong; Kaasch, Alexandra and Stetter, Kelly eds. Emerging trends in social policy from the South: challenges and innovations in emerging economies. Research in Comparative and Global Social Policy. Policy Press, pp. 20–40.
-
Shand, John (2024). Reasons and Causes: We are not as rational as we think we are. Daily Philosophy.
School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences
- Klenner, Fabian; Bönigk, Janine; Napoleoni, Maryse; Hillier, Jon; Khawaja, Nozair; Olsson-Francis, Karen; Cable, Morgan L; Malaska, Michael J; Kempf, Sascha; Abel, Bernd and Postberg, Frank (2024). How to identify cell material in a single ice grain emitted from Enceladus or Europa. Science Advances, 10(12), article no. eadl0849.
- Moretti, Simone; Auderset, Alexandra; Deutsch, Curtis; Schmitz, Ronja; Gerber, Lukas; Thomas, Ellen; Luciani, Valeria; Petrizzo, Maria Rose; Schiebel, Ralf; Tripati, Aradhna; Sexton, Philip; Norris, Richard; D’Onofrio, Roberta; Zachos, James; Sigman, Daniel M.; Haug, Gerald H. and Martínez-García, Alfredo (2024). Oxygen rise in the tropical upper ocean during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Science, 383(6684) pp. 727–731.
School of Computing and Communications
- Barker-Canler, Matthew; Gooch, Daniel; van der Linden, Janet and Petre, Marian (2024). Flexible minimalist self-tracking to support individual reflection. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (Early access).
- Gavidia-Calderon, Carlos; Kordoni, Anastasia; Bennaceur, Amel; Levine, Mark and Nuseibeh, Bashar (2024). The IDEA of Us: An Identity-Aware Architecture for Autonomous Systems. ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology (Early access).
School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences
- Mpamhanga, Chengetai D. and Kounatidis, Ilias (2024). The utility of Drosophila melanogaster as a fungal infection model. Frontiers in Immunology, 15, article no. 1349027.
- Harrison, Virginia; Jones, Katie; Hyde, Caroline; Doshi, Deepa; Terry, Angela and Montague, Debra (2024). Supporting the wellbeing of oncodriven lung cancer patients online: a qualitative study. Lung Cancer, 190(1), article no. 107697.
School of Mathematics and Statistics
- Tuite, James (2024). The structure of digraphs with excess one. Journal of Graph Theory (Early access).
- Cucurull, Barto; Huber, Greg; Kawagoe, Kyle; Pradas, Marc; Pumir, Alain and Wilkinson, Michael (2024). Flux-conserving directed percolation. Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, 57(7), article no. 075001.
School of Physical Sciences
Once again School of Physical Sciences researchers have published a proliferation of articles in peer reviewed journals (> 40 in the last quarter), across subjects as diverse as detectors and instrumentation for space missions, astronomy, molecular and atomic physics, planetary sciences, and biophysics. A number of these papers reflect major collaborations between OU researchers and colleagues worldwide, especially around work in meteoritics, James Webb Space Telescope observations of exoplanets, galaxies and star-formation and around missions such as Exomars (studying Mars) and Bepe Columbo (studying Mercury). Two of these papers are highlighted here.
- Popp, Jürgen J.; Dickinson, Hugh; Serjeant, Stephen; Walmsley, Mike; Adams, Dominic; Fortson, Lucy; Mantha, Kameswara; Mehta, Vihang; Dawson, James M; Kruk, Sandor and Simmons, Brooke (2024). Transfer learning for galaxy feature detection: Finding giant star-forming clumps in low-redshift galaxies using Faster Region-based Convolutional Neural Network. RAS Techniques and Instruments, 3(1) pp. 174–197.
- Fawdon, Peter; Orgel, Csilla; Adeli, Solmaz; Balme, Matt; Calef, Fred J.; Davis, Joel M.; Frigeri, Alessandro; Grindrod, Peter; Hauber, Ernst; Le Deit, Laetitia; Loizeau, Damien; Nass, Andrea; Quantin-Nataf, Cathy; Sefton-Nash, Elliot; Thomas, Nick; Torres, Ines; Vago, Jorge L.; Volat, Matthieu; De Witte, Sander; Altieri, Francesca; Apuzzo, Andrea; Aramendia, Julene; Arana, Gorka; Bahia, Rickbir Singh; Banham, Steven G.; Barnes, Robert; Barrett, Alexander M.; Benedix, Wolf-Stefan; Bhardwaj, Anshuman; Boazman, Sarah Jane; Bontognali, Tomaso R. R.; Bridges, John; Bultel, Benjamin; Ciarletti, Valérie; De Sanctis, Maria Cristina; Dickeson, Zach; Favaro, Elena A.; Ferrari, Marco; Foucher, Frédéric; Goetz, Walter; Haldemann, Albert F. C.; Harrington, Elise; Kapatza, Angeliki; Koschny, Detlef; Krzesinska, Agata M.; Le Gall, Alice; Lewis, Stephen R.; Lim, Tanya; Madariaga, Juan Manuel; Man, Benjamin James; Mandon, Lucia; Mangold, Nicolas; Martin-Torres, Javier; McNeil, Joseph D.; Molina, Antonio; Moral, Andoni G.; Motaghian, Sara; Nikiforov, Sergei; Oudart, Nicolas; Pacifici, Andrea; Parkes Bowen, Adam; Plettemeier, Dirk; Poulakis, Pantelis; Putri, Alfiah Rizky Diana; Ruesch, Ottaviano; Sam, Lydia; Schröder, Christian; Statz, Christoph; Thomas, Rebecca; Tirsch, Daniela; Toth, Zsuzsanna; Turner, Stuart; Voelker, Martin; Werner, Stephanie C.; Westall, Frances; Whiteside, Barry J.; Williams, Adam; Williams, Rebecca M. E.; Wright, Jack and Zorzano, Maria-Paz (2024). The high-resolution map of Oxia Planum, Mars; the landing site of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission. Journal of Maps, 20(1), article no. 2302361.
School of Engineering and Innovation
- Caprotti, Federico; Cugurullo, Federico; Cook, Matthew; Karvonen, Andrew; Marvin, Simon; McGuirk, Pauline and Valdez, Alan-Miguel (2024). Why does urban Artificial Intelligence (AI) matter for urban studies? Developing research directions in urban AI research. Urban Geography (early access).
- Campoli, A.; Luck, R.; Shrestha, P.; Pradhan, P. and Rana, P. (2024). ‘It is not rocket science but it can change our lives’: pluriversal design with FabLab Nepal at a spinal injury clinic. CoDesign: International Journal of CoCreation in Design and the Arts (Early access).
Knowledge Media Institute
- Bakir, Mehmet Emin; Farrell, Tracie and Bontcheva, Kalina (2024). Abuse in the time of COVID-19: the effects of Brexit, gender and partisanship. Online Information Review (Early access).
- Daga, Enrico; Daquino, Marilena; Fournier-S’niehotta, Raphaël; Guillotel-Nothmann, Christophe and Scharnhorst, Andrea (2024). Documenting the research process. Opportunities and challenges for Bibliometrics and Information Retrieval. In: CEUR Workshop Proceedings: BIR 2023. Bibliometric-enhanced Information Retrieval, Apr 2023, Dublin (Ireland), Ireland, 3617 pp. 4–20.
- Lei, Xun and Wisniewski, Tomasz Piotr (2024). Democracy and Stock Market Returns. Journal of Financial Research (Early access)
- Ryan, Francine and Hardie, Liz (2024). ChatGPT, I have a legal question? The impact of Gen AI tools on law clinics and access to justice. International Journal of Clinical Legal Education, 31(1) pp. 166–205.
- Borgstrom, Erica; Schiff, Rebekah; Khan, Shaheen; Hindley, Esther; Thayabaran, Darmiga; Savage, Emily; Gough, Nicholas and Holti, Richard (2024). Practices, issues and possibilities at the interface between geriatrics and palliative care (InGaP): An exploratory study and knotworking. Health Open Research, 6(12).
- Smolović-Jones, Nela; Johansson, Marjana; Pullen, Alison and Giritli-Nygren, Katarina (2024). Feminism and Social Movements: Notes on hope and despair. Gender, Work and Organization (early access).
- Harding, Richard; Maguire, Linda and Williams, Emma (2024). Competing concepts of public value and legitimacy in the police: Organisational challenges in the investigation of rape and serious sexual offences. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 76, article no. 100646.
- Bell, Emma; Sinclair, Amanda and Vachhani, Sheena (2024). A Leadership of Refusal: Remaking the Narrative of the Falling Leader. British Journal of Management (early access).
- Ongaro, Edoardo and Yang, Yi (2024). Integrating philosophical perspectives into the study of public administration: The contribution of Critical Realism to understanding public value. Public Policy and Administration (Early Access).
- Calò, Francesca; Sancino, Alessandro and Scognamiglio, Fulvio (2024). Social enterprise and social entrepreneurship in the Public Administration (PA) scholar field: a bibliometric analysis and some conceptual considerations. Public Management Review (Early Access).
- Bannink, Duco; Sancino, Alessandro and Sorrentino, Maddalena (2024). Governance without we. Wicked problems and collaborative governance. Public Policy and Administration (early access)
- Wong, Donna and Meng-Lewis, Yue (2024). The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – Situational Crisis Communication and the COVID-19 Pandemic Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Communication & Sport, 12(1) pp. 99–129.
- Mander, Sarah; Fensham-Smith, Amber; Connolly, Nichola and Reeve, Yasmin (2024). A view through the looking glass: co-creation and innovation for student voice and wellbeing in distance education. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 26(1) pp. 113–128.
- Amponsah, Mavis Ansu; Asamani, Lebbaeus; Addae-Kyeremeh, Eric and Assie, Rebecca Akosua Afrah (2024). Teacher Instructional Scaffolding Improves Psychological Capital of Learners and Boosts their Self-Regulated Learning Capacities. Canadian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 4(2) pp. 37–53.
- Oakley, Ben (2024). Windsurfing’s Rapid Global Diffusion: The Evolution of a 1970s Technology-First Sport. The International Journal of the History of Sport (early access).
- Musgrave, Jackie; Dorrian, Jane; Josephidou, Jo; Langdown, Ben and Rodriguez Leon, Lucy eds. (2024). Promoting Physical Development and Activity in Early Childhood: Practical Ideas for Early Years Settings. Little Minds Matter, 1. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
- Elizabeth King (2024). Practice tutors’ views on their readiness for supporting pre-registration nursing students who require reasonable adjustments for clinical placement. British Journal of Nursing, 33(4) pp. 200–204.
- Haider, S., Flynn, A. and Simpson, J. (2024). Attitude and readiness of utilising virtual reality simulations in interprofessional education to facilitate prompt and safe hospital discharges in England. Social Work Education.
- Dennis, Carol Azumah; Aubrey-Smith, Fiona; Álvarez, Inma; Waterhouse, Philippa and Ferguson, Gillian (2024). Professional doctorates reconciling academic and professional knowledge: towards a diffractive re-reading. Higher Education Research & Development.
- Earle, S., Ledger, S., Newton, V., Rouse, L., & Tilley, E. (2024). Menstruation and learning disability across the life course: Using a two‐part scoping exercise to co‐produce research priorities. British Journal of Learning Disabilities. Advance online publication.
- Hernaiz Gomez, Rodrigo (2024). Causal clauses as source of sentential complementation: cross-linguistic evidence and methodological issues. Linguistics Vanguard (Early access).
- Yuksel, Dogan and Altay, Mehmet (2024). Content instructors’ views on English and collaboration in EMI: A discipline-based analysis. In: Kayi-Aydar, Hayriye and Mahalingappa, Laura eds. Contemporary Perspectives on English as a Medium of Instruction. Information Age Publishing, pp. 1–20.
- Muñoz-Basols, Javier and Fuertes Gutierrez, Mara (2024). Interacción en entornos virtuales de aprendizaje / Interaction in Virtual Learning Environments. In: Muñoz-Basols, Javier; Fuertes Gutierrez, Mara and Cerezo, Luis eds. La enseñanza del español mediada por tecnología: de la justicia social a la Inteligencia Artificial (IA). Routledge, pp. 186–217
- Barkanyi, Zsuzsanna (2024). Ansiedad y aprendizaje virtual / Anxiety and virtual learning. In: Muñoz-Basols, Javier; Fuertes Gutierrez, Mara and Cerzo, Luis eds. La enseñanza del español mediada por tecnología: de la justicia social a la Inteligencia Artificial (IA). Advances in Spanish Language Teaching. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 160–185.
- Leedham, Maria (2024). Depictions of social workers and other caring professionals on television. Journal of Social Work (Early Access)
- Aristeidou, Maria; Cross, Simon; Rossade, Klaus-Dieter; Wood, Carlton; Rees, Terri and Paci, Patrizia (2024). Online exams in higher education: Exploring distance learning students' acceptance and satisfaction. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 40(1) pp. 342–359.
- Coughlan, Tim; Iniesto, Francisco and Carr, Jessica E. (2024). Analysing disability descriptions and student suggestions as a foundation to overcome barriers to learning. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2024(1), article no. 4
- Dawadi, Saraswati; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (2024). Equitable Access to Higher Education Learning and Assessment: Perspectives from Low-Resource Contexts. Journal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME), 2024(1), article no. 2.
- Lister, Kate; Riva, Elena; Hartley, Alison; Waterhouse, Philippa; Moller, Naomi; Downes, Leigh; Coughlan, Tim; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; McPherson, Elaine; Macdonald, Ian; Jones-Tinsley, Sophie; Brown, Cath and Tudor, Ruth (2024). Positive Digital Practices: supporting positive learner identities and student mental wellbeing in technology-enhanced higher education. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2024(1), article no. 5.
- Ferguson, Rebecca and Scanlon, Eileen (2024). Open Technology-Enhanced Learning. Journal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME), 2024(1) pp. 1–5
- Whitelock, Denise; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Pitt, Rebecca; Ferguson, Rebecca and Cross, Simon (2024). [Editorial] Capacity building for digital education. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-learning, 39(2) pp. 105–111.
Section 5: Open Research
Outputs Data from Open Research Online (ORO)
This section tracks our presentation of open access publications on ORO. Our Research Plan 2022 to 2027 sets out our aims to go further in ensuring our research is accessible to everyone.
ORO deposits: data for February - April 2023 and February - April 2024
| Faculty | 02/23 - 04/23 | 02/24 - 04/24 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | 183 | 213 | 16% |
| Faculty of Business and Law | 61 | 54 | -11% |
| Institute of Educational Technology | 39 | 43 | 10% |
| Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics | 275 | 280 | 2% |
| Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies | 246 | 134 | -46% |
| Open University total | 800 | 881 | 10% |
ORO downloads: data for February - April 2023 and February - April 2024
| Faculty | 02/23 - 04/23 | 02/24 - 04/24 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | 169,986 | 144,406 | -15% |
| Faculty of Business and Law | 77,785 | 57,611 | -26% |
| Institute of Educational Technology | 60,386 | 48,197 | -20% |
| Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics | 284,464 | 191,346 | -33% |
| Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies | 139,703 | 130,015 | -7% |
| Open University total | 747,057 | 573,687 | -23% |
To note: OU totals may not appear accurate as they may include papers that are co-authored and therefore double-counted in Faculty totals but calculated as one submission in the OU total.
Annual ORO deposits: cumulative data for May 2022 - April 2023 and May 2023 - April 2024
| Faculty | 05/22 - 04/23 | 05/23- 04/24 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | 834 | 849 | 2% |
| Faculty of Business and Law | 356 | 293 | -18% |
| Institute of Educational Technology | 164 | 380 | 132% |
| Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics | 1,096 | 1,263 | 15% |
| Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies | 799 | 607 | -24% |
| Open University total | 3,275 | 3,745 | 14% |
Annual ORO downloads: cumulative data for May 2022 - April 2023 and May 2023 - April 2024
| Faculty | 05/22 - 04/23 | 05/23 - 04/24 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | 499,404 | 519,820 | 4% |
| Faculty of Business and Law | 236,722 | 226,367 | -4% |
| Institute of Educational Technology | 192,862 | 197,649 | 2% |
| Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics | 927,178 | 834,425 | -10% |
| Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies | 437,852 | 488,611 | 12% |
| Open University total | 2,303,431 | 2,259,251 | -2% |
To note: OU totals may not appear accurate as they may include papers that are co-authored and therefore double-counted in Faculty totals but calculated as one submission in the OU total.
Open Data from Open Research Data Online (ORDO)
This section tracks our presentation of open access data on ORDO.
ORDO deposits: data for February - April 2023 and February - April 2024
| Faculty | 02/23 - 04/23 | 02/23 - 04/24 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | 16 | 20 | 25% |
| Faculty of Business and Law | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics | 113 | 6 | -95% |
| Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies | 14 | 27 | 93% |
| Institute of Educational Technology | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Other | 1 | 0 | -100% |
| Open University total | 145 | 53 | -63% |
ORDO downloads: data for February - April 2023 and February - April 2024
| Faculty | 02/23 - 04/23 | 02/24 - 04/24 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | 7,942 | 5,461 | -31% |
| Faculty of Business and Law | 503 | 412 | -18% |
| Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics | 13,912 | 15,345 | 10% |
| Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies | 3,426 | 3,346 | -2% |
| Institute of Educational Technology | 70 | 85 | 21% |
| Other | 885 | 619 | -30% |
| Open University total | 26,738 | 25,268 | -5% |
To note: OU totals may not appear accurate as they may include papers that are co-authored and therefore double-counted in Faculty totals but calculated as one submission in the OU total.
Annual ORDO deposits: cumulative data for May 2022 - April 2023 and May 2023 - April 2024
| Faculty | 05/22 - 04/23 | 05/23 - 04/24 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | 351 | 37 | -89% |
| Faculty of Business and Law | 2 | 0 | -100% |
| Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics | 152 | 47 | -69% |
| Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies | 66 | 61 | -8% |
| Institute of Educational Technology | 0 | 2 | 0% |
| Other | 7 | 4 | -43% |
| Open University total | 578 | 151 | -74% |
Annual ORDO downloads: cumulative data for May 2022 - April 2023 and May 2023 - April 2024
| Faculty | 05/22 - 04/23 | 05/23 - 04/24 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | 24,566 | 36,005 | 47% |
| Faculty of Business and Law | 3,389 | 2,265 | -41% |
| Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics | 67,649 | 104,332 | 54% |
| Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies | 18,717 | 16,384 | -12% |
| Institute of Educational Technology | 401 | 479 | 19% |
| Other | 5,145 | 3,488 | -32% |
| Open University total | 120,317 | 162,953 | 35% |
To note: OU totals may not appear accurate as they may include papers that are co-authored and therefore double-counted in Faculty totals but calculated as one submission in the OU total.
Section 6: Open Societal Challenges
The Open Societal Challenges (OSC) Programme has continued to make significant progress over the past quarter. The program has expanded its community to include an eighth cohort of Challenges, bringing the total number to over 322 Challenges.
The Open Societal Challenges Programme has provided pump prime and capstone funding to support 150 Challenges to take the next step in their research, with over £2.4M invested so far. Many OSC are looking to external funding to further their work and over £10.5M has already been secured. This includes a 300K award from The British Academy to Dr Geetha Reddy, early career researcher and principal investigator on the OSC Challenge Building Global South-South solidarities to redress inequalities, to undertake a two-year exploratory project to understand how coloniality continues to impact descendants of indentured Indian labourers in Malaysia.
A fantastic response was received to the Challenge Us! competition, receiving 69 entries in total – 59 UK Charity and 10 MK Business submissions. We’re delighted that entries were received from all four UK nations. Kevin Shakesheff, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, is keen to fund as many entries as possible. Work is now underway to match entries with OU academics and develop research teams to further develop their proposals and bid for funding. The entries have been allocated into three distinct funding waves, taking place in September 2024, November 2024, and April 2025. The winners from wave one will be announced at the Research Excellence Awards on the 12th of September.
Finally, you can now keep up to date with what is going on in the OSC programme and with our challenges by following us on LinkedIn.
Section 7: PolicyWISE
We have held two of our four planned roundtables bringing together stakeholders from academia, thinktanks and government to understand what 25 years of devolution means, with discussions on the role of data in improving policy and how the idea of the ‘devolution laboratory’ works in practice. In Edinburgh we had presentations from the Chief Statistician and a lead from Fraser of Allendale while in Wales speakers included the former First Minister and the Office of National Statistics.
View a summary of the Scotland meeting
Further roundtables are planned for Ireland and England in late 2024 and 2025. We also held our first cluster meeting, bringing together officials and academics from each of the UK nations to focus on strategic delivery across a particular topic, in this instance, active travel.
Our research plan, has now been published. It is a two-year plan to ensure that we have a robust evidence base that can be used to expand policy engagement, policy learning and knowledge exchange. Our research aims to support policymakers in the UK and Ireland to identify solutions to shared societal challenges, understanding what works and in what context. Finally we have continued to publish our well-respected short briefings, Wise in 5 with recent editions covering palliative care, authored by OU academic Professor Erica Borgstrom and a look across the nations at the different roles played by commissioners - helping you to be PolicyWISE (Wales, Ireland, Scotland, England) in Five (it takes just five minutes to read).
Section 8: PGR student thesis submissions
Congratulations to the following students who completed their postgraduate research degree between February and April 2024.
Section 9: Research bidding and income - quarter 3 2023/2024 summary
By the end of Q3 2023/24, the year-to-date total of confirmed research bids was £82.3M, which is 104% of the Q3 average for the previous four years.
Over the same period, the year-to-date total of confirmed research awards was £14.6M, which is 63% of the Q3 average for the previous four years.
The forecast annual research income was £17.5M, which is 145% of the average Q3 forecast income for the previous four years.
Latest Quarter 3 Finance Business Services data on research income, bids and awards is available for OU staff (internal link only).
Awards Management System (AMS) data (updated monthly) is available through the Research, Enterprise and Scholarship Dashboard (internal link only).
Recent grant awards within quarter 3 2023/24 (AMS data)
Faculty large awards
| Faculty | Project title | Funder | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics | I-MIM Imager Development | Uk Space Agency | £2,028,208 |
| Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics | Exploration Mass Spectrometer for LUPEX | European Space Agency | £944,449 |
| Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics | UK dectector technology for NASA high-resolution imaging of the Moon and Mars: Phase 2 | UK Space Agency | £649,763 |
| Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics | South American Biodiversity Evolutionary Reconstructions | LEVERHULME | £499,771 |
| Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies | Literacy Special Initiative - Phase 2 | The Mercers' Company | £220,000 |
| Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | Round 2: The Centre for Research into Gender and Otherness in the Humanities | Philanthropic donations UK | £43,099 |
| Faculty of Business and Law | What is the role of business support in helping first-time rural SME innovators overcoming innovation barriers - in Scotland? | UK Research and Innovation | £39,993 |
Quarterly Review of Research
Read our Quarterly Review of Research to learn about our latest quality academic output.
Contact our news team
For all out of hours enquiries, please telephone +44 (0)7901 515891
Contact detailsNews & articles
Decolonial dreams: the unmarked scholar reimagines the purpose of post-16 education
In her inaugural lecture, on Thursday 3 April 2025, Carol Azumah Dennis, Professor of Education, Policy and Practice in The Open University’s Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, looked at decolonising education, offering a manifesto which envisions an alternative vision of what the sector might be.
