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OpenLearn launches hub to offer fresh perspectives on race, racism and ethnicity

OpenLearn launches hub to offer fresh perspectives on race, racism and ethnicity

The Open University’s free learning site, OpenLearn has launched a new hub page to offer fresh perspectives on race, racism and ethnicity. The Race and Ethnicity Hub will host existing and new content, including articles, videos, audio recordings and courses, which draw on expertise from across the OU’s core faculty areas. With support from the OU’s academic community and Black and Minority Ethnic Network, the hub will be constantly evolving and growing with new content being added regularly. It’s hoped that it will be a ‘living’ page, which will offer insight, thought-leadership and up-to-date reactions to current affairs and the wider world. Click here to read more  
Dr Neil Thompson
January 12, 2021
Better Care Network – Key initiatives

Better Care Network – Key initiatives

BCN promotes care issues by engaging with a wide range of influential actors at the national, regional and international level. This includes convening conferences and workshops to share learning on issues such as strengthening national care systems, improving family-based care and collecting evidence on children’s care situations. BCN also collaborates with other international and national organizations to advocate for the inclusion of children’s care and protection within international policy frameworks such as United Nations’ resolutions on children’s rights, and the Post-2015 Development Framework. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
January 12, 2021
The painful collision between work life and pregnancy loss

The painful collision between work life and pregnancy loss

Employees who have suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth are more likely to quit their jobs and suffer from impaired work performance. Pregnancy loss is not just a personal issue, but a workplace issue. With recent celebrity disclosures of pregnancy loss making headlines, including Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex’s opinion piece in the New York Times announcing her miscarriage, more women are taking to social media to share similar stories of pain and disclosure. Their shared experiences underscore the reality that one in four pregnancies ends in loss. Miscarriage and stillbirth (pregnancy loss before and after 20 weeks, respectively) are remarkably common and can have pervasive impacts on work and life. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
January 12, 2021
Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Use distractions where possible

Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Use distractions where possible

In the previous tip I talked about how distractions can get in the way of effective communication, but in this one I want to look at how distracting someone can be a helpful thing to do in certain circumstances. It is a technique well known to many parents: to distract their child when they are misbehaving, getting upset or otherwise being demanding. But few people recognize that it can also work well with adults (provided that it is not done in a patronizing way). It can be useful when someone is anxious and/or fixated on a particular concern, depressed or agitated. It has to be done tactfully and sensitively, but it can make a very positive difference in the right…
Dr Neil Thompson
December 2, 2020
Lived experience influencing policy – How we did it

Lived experience influencing policy – How we did it

The Poverty2Solutions journey began over three years ago. Three grassroots organisations led by people with lived experience of poverty (ATD Fourth World, Dole Animators and Thrive Teesside) teamed up with Dr Ruth Patrick from the University of York and graphic designer Dan Farley to share and merge their expertise. Our aspiration is to ensure that the voice of lived experience is taken seriously and can inform decisions that have an impact on the lives of people in low-income communities. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
December 2, 2020
Seth Godin’s Blog – The incoming

Seth Godin’s Blog – The incoming

Standing at my desk this summer, it had just turned 10 am, and I realized that I’d already: Heard from an old friend, engaged with three team members on two continents, read 28 blogs across the spectrum AND found out about the weather and the news around the world. Half my life ago, in a similar morning spent in a similar office, not one of those things would have been true. The incoming (and our ability to create more outgoing) is probably the single biggest shift that computers have created in our work lives. Sometimes, we subscribe or go and fetch the information, and sometimes it comes to us, unbidden and unfiltered. But it’s there and it’s compounding. Click here…
Dr Neil Thompson
December 2, 2020
Conflict at work: A new leadership model for a virtualised world

Conflict at work: A new leadership model for a virtualised world

2020 has been a strange year. In many ways, the pandemic has brought us closer together. At the beginning, we stood united. And since the nation was forced into giving home working a try, many of us have been invited into the homes of colleagues, gaining a unique and privileged insight into the personal lives hiding within our professional networks. But in other ways the crisis has divided the nation. The three different tiers are a rather crass example of that, but there is other ‘othering’ at play, too. While most agree the health of the nation is the prerogative, there are split opinions in terms of what aspect of health to prioritise – physical versus mental, versus economic. These…
Dr Neil Thompson
December 2, 2020