Oxford Brookes University

Three weeks to go! 🎓

If you’re graduating this September, now’s the time to get everything sorted for the big day - from booking your cap and gown to arranging guest tickets.

Check what you need to prepare for graduation here: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/students/graduation

📣 Got questions about Clearing? Come ask them on Reddit!
We’re hosting a live AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit on 10 August - and you’re invited.

Sameer, from our Admissions team will be answering questions live, so if you're stressing about results, unsure how to apply through Clearing, or just want to understand your options - ask away.

🔗 Just head to r/6thForm on the day and join the thread.
It’s open, it’s honest and it’s there to help.

Why are so many laws named after victims?

From Sarah's Law to Clare's Law, legislation named after individuals has become an increasingly familiar feature of public life. But what does this tell us about politics, justice and the way laws are made?

That question is at the heart of Professor Michael Lister's co-authored research, 'Stop in the Law of the Name! Nominative Lawmaking, Populism and Justice', which explores the rise and significance of "nominative laws".

The article, written with Lee Jarvis and Alex Powell, has now been recognised with the Bernard Crick Prize.

Read the full piece here: https://bit.ly/4pv48bP

As Scotland prepares to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, questions remain about the event's impact. Dr Stuart Wigham takes a deep dive into whether this low-risk approach offers genuine benefits for the nation or if it will struggle for attention in a crowded sporting calendar.

Get the full expert insight here: https://bit.ly/4bkHGfq

A programme designed to help reduce the risk of school exclusion and involvement in violence among young people is expanding across the Thames Valley following research by Oxford Brookes University.

Dr Sarah Bekaert, Associate Professor in the Oxford Brookes School of Nursing and Midwifery, evaluated the Home Office-funded "Focussed Diversion" model, an early intervention approach that identifies young people at risk and provides targeted support.

Her evaluation examined the programme's effectiveness across five local authority areas: Bracknell Forest, Slough, West Berkshire, Wokingham and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

Read the full story: https://bit.ly/4pdQsl3

Research by Dr Kathryn Badarin, Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, highlights that employment is no longer the guarantee of stability we once expected. She says that for too many people a job is not a guarantee against poverty; instead, it can become a trap of financial instability that is taking its toll on public health.

Across Europe, around 8% of the workforce now live near the poverty line, often finding themselves disqualified from the safety nets they desperately need, precisely because they are employed.

Dr Badarin states: “A six-year study of 2.5 million Swedish workers has drawn a direct line between in-work poverty and a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and stress-related conditions. Further research is investigating if the damage is also biological, not just psychological. The suggestion is that chronic financial strain could force the body into a state of "allostatic load"—a persistent, damaging stress response. When there is no respite, the body sustains cumulative wear and tear, including high blood pressure, inflammation, and metabolic disruption, all of which could accelerate the risk of long-term, life-altering illnesses like heart disease.”

“At the heart of this issue lies the concept of the ‘effort-reward imbalance’. There is a deep, psychological injustice in working hard day after day, only to fall short of covering basic needs. This sense of helplessness, combined with the physical burden of financial insecurity, is uniquely damaging. It disproportionately impacts the very people we rely on most: single parents, immigrants, and essential workers in nursing, childcare, and the hospitality sector. These individuals are vital to the fabric of our society, yet they are the most likely to shoulder the heaviest health consequences of in-work poverty.”

Dr Badarin states the solution is to shift policy goals. Moving beyond simply increasing employment rates, she argues policy makers must focus on ensuring that every single job provides a decent, secure living. True financial security requires structural change, including:

Affordable Childcare: An absolute necessity to support single parents and working families.
Housing Reform: Implementing measures to reduce the rent burden, freeing up essential income.
Wage Standards: Vigorously enforcing living wages in the sectors that rely on essential, low-paid staff.

She states: “In-work poverty must be treated as the serious public health threat that it is. If we continue to ignore the precarious conditions of the essential workers who keep our society running, we are simply compounding a future, unsustainable burden on our healthcare systems.”

(Based on Dr Kathryn Badarin’s study: The impact of in-work poverty on mental health: A cohort study of the Swedish population. The study is available here: https://bit.ly/4eRKVfw)