Open University Staff's Books

This book focuses on the values, priorities, and motives of patrons and the purposes and functions of art works produced north and south of the Alps and in post-Byzantine Crete. It begins by considering the social range and character of Renaissance patronage and ends with a study of Hans Holbein the Younger and the reform of religious images in Basle and England. Viewing Renaissance Art considers a wide range of audiences and patrons from the rulers of France to the poorest confraternities in Florence. The overriding premise is that art was not a neutral matter of stylistic taste but an aspect of material production in which values were invested--whether religious, cultural, social, or political.

Dissecting in detail the arguments underlying the costs and economics of open and distance learning, this text should give the reader an insight and the confidence to cost their own open and distance learning projects.

Report of the Expert Group on Commonwealth Co-operation in Distance Education and Open Learning that proposes the creation of a University of the Commonwealth for co-operation in distance education, itself working closely with, and forging an effective partnership between, a wide variety of institutions through the Commonwealth. The Group shows not only how technologies could be harnessed on a Commonwealth-wide basis, but how teaching materials could be pooled and shared to become a Commonwealth-wide resource, freeing individual learners throughout the Commonwealth from the constraints of distance and the need to study at a present place or time.

Gain an understanding of the basic building blocks of musical theory and notation. This free course, An introduction to music theory, will introduce you to music staves, clefs, rhythmic and pitch values, rhythmic metre and time signatures. This OpenLearn course provides an introduction to music theory pitched at a level equivalent to Grades 1?3 of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music theory exams. You can test your understanding as you proceed by completing simple multiple-choice questions.

Modern science is ever more driven by computations and simulations. In particular, the state of the art in space and Earth science often arises from complex simulations of climate, space weather, and astronomical phenomena. At the same time, scientific work requires data processing, presentation, and analysis through broadly available proprietary and community software.1 Implicitly or explicitly, software is central to science. Scientific discovery, understanding, validation, and interpretation are all enhanced by access to the source code of the software used by scientists. This report investigates and recommends options for NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) as it considers how to establish a policy regarding open source software to complement its existing policy on open data. In particular, the report reviews existing data and software policies and the lessons learned from the implementation of those policies, summarizes community perspectives, and presents policy options and recommendations for implementing an open source software policy for NASA SMD.

This fascinating new book draws on insights from across the social sciences - from psychology, economics and geography as well as sociology - to examine the changing character of society and nature.

This book provides a clear introduction to key philosophical and epistemological issues in the social sciences, to both positivist and interpretative methodologies through comparing contemporary debates surrounding social change.

Book's by Open University Staff

Viewing Renaissance Art

Viewing Renaissance Art

The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning

The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning

Towards a Commonwealth of Learning

Towards a Commonwealth of Learning

An introduction to music theory

An introduction to music theory

Open Source Software Policy Options for NASA Earth and Space Sciences

Open Source Software Policy Options for NASA Earth and Space Sciences

The Natural and the Social

The Natural and the Social

Knowledge and the Social Sciences

Knowledge and the Social Sciences

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