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3 December 2009 |
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 News
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• Staff
survey 2009
Professor George Gaskell, pro-director for planning and resources,
urges you to complete the staff survey by Friday 11 December:
Surveys have become part of our working lives. Some are the result of
external initiatives and others are generated by internal requests for
feedback on a variety of different subjects. It’s therefore not entirely
surprising that we may suffer from what is commonly known as 'survey
fatigue'.
However, you will recently have received an email asking you to complete
the staff survey which asks for your comments on a range of issues. Those of
us who are engaged in the theory and application of the social sciences,
know how important it is to work on the basis of evidence and data rather
than rely on anecdote. So may I urge you all - academic and support staff
alike - to respond to this survey so that we capture everyone’s views on how
we can improve working life at the School.
Take the survey
here.
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• LSE launches new website
LSE has become the first UK university to make debate the centre of its new
website.
Using a strong central quote, instead of a picture, on its home page, the
School has drawn on the extensive engagement of its academics with key
public debates and policy issues to frame and shape the new site.
'Our website reflects the fact that LSE academics draw on their research
and teaching to inform policy globally, shedding expert light on subjects
from the international impact of the credit crunch to school admissions and
the economics of happiness,' said Howard Davies, director of LSE. 'The home
page will draw quotes from research, newspaper articles and comment pieces
and our public events to highlight the breadth and depth of this work.'
LSE worked with consultants Precedent Communications to carry out
extensive research into what users wanted from the LSE site and to trial the
new site. 'We found that people wanted a consistent look and feel to the
site,' said Stephen Emmott, head of web services. 'They wanted it to reflect
the excitement of the debate that takes place here, and to ensure that it
met the needs of prospective students, current students and staff. We have
worked with Precedent to achieve that - and welcome feedback.'
The design of the site draws on the simplicity of the LSE logo, with its
strong use of red, to give a distinctive look and feel. It can be found at
www2.lse.ac.uk/home.aspx
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• LSE
Magazine now LSE Connect
LSE Magazine has been renamed LSE Connect. The winter 2009
issue of our alumni magazine will be in a newly designed format. We have sought to make it easier to read, livelier and more
opinionated - but no less serious. The main features will be available
online in late December and copies will be distributed around the School and
mailed out to alumni over the next week.
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• Changes in LSE Health
Owing to rapid expansion in the past few years, LSE Health has
appointed three new deputy directors who will work closely with staff,
the Management Committee and Professor Elias Mossialos, director of LSE
Health, to enhance the efficient running of the Centre, with focus on
three main areas: external relations, internal (School) relations, and
Centre and staff management.
Ernestina Coast (deputy director, External Relations) is a senior
lecturer in Population Studies and brings expertise in health research in
developing countries to her role as co-deputy director of LSE Health. Her
research focuses on the inter-relationships between social context and
demographic behaviour, including HIV/AIDS and reproductive health.
Emma Pitchforth (deputy director, Internal Relations) joined LSE
Health as Jamsetji Tata Senior Research Fellow in 2008 and is also
co-ordinator for the link programme between LSE Health and the School of
Health Systems Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai. Her
research focuses largely on maternal and reproductive health.
Sarah Thomson (deputy director, Centre management) is a research
fellow in Health Policy at LSE Health, where she has worked since 1999. She
is also deputy director of the London hub of the European Observatory on
Health Systems and Policies and is an associate editor of Health Economics,
Policy and Law. Her research focuses on health systems and reforms in high-
and middle-income countries, with particular emphasis on health financing.
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• Michaelmas
term staff briefings
Adrian Hall's staff briefings will take place on Monday 7 December from
10-11am and Tuesday 8 December from 2-3pm in the Vera Anstey Room.
There will be presentations on the School's financial situation; the new
website; the draft Single Equality Scheme; online recruitment; and the
revised Performance and Development Review scheme.
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• See in the festive season with the LSE Christmas Concert
Tickets are now available for the LSE Choir and Orchestra Christmas
Concert on Tuesday 8 December.
This year’s programme includes major orchestral and choral works,
including Handel's Messiah and a selection of Christmas music. The setting
is the beautiful St Clement Dane’s Church, with its inspiring and
traditional décor and spacious interior.
Tickets cost £4 for LSE students and staff. For more information or to
request your ticket, click
here.
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• Home
and away
Emeritus Professor of Government, George Jones, gave a lecture in Madrid
on 25 November on the government of London, at a conference held by the
Autonomous University of Madrid's Institute of Local Law.
On 23 November, he also spoke at Local Government House, London, on the
Japan Local Government Centre and LSE, at a conference to celebrate the 20th
anniversary of the establishment of the Centre.
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• LSE: a history in pictures - picture of the month
Lunch hour dance, 1920s. Sydney Caine (BSc Econ 1922) and later
director of the LSE (1957-1967) is in the centre of the picture dancing
with Muriel Harris, whom he married in 1925.
For more pictures like this, visit
www.flickr.com/photos/lselibrary/
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• LSE perspectives
December's photograph submissions to
LSE Perspectives are now online. Contributions include this photo
taken by Edmund Lim, a graduate student in the Management department.
This photo was taken at the Coventry canal on 30 May.
Edmund said: 'Looking back on my days living out of the city, there's
really a lot to be missed. Waking up to fresh clean air, the surrounding
nature, the lack of noise pollution. Everything just seemed so peaceful and
that taught me to really enjoy the simple things in life.'
For more information on how to submit a picture click
here.
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 Notices
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• Send
an LSE e-card this Christmas
Why not save resources this Christmas by sending e-cards? A specially
designed electronic card, together with the LSE logo and the words Season’s
Greetings, is now available for all staff to email out. There is also room
to add your own message below the e-card. Please contact Liz Trumble at
designunit@lse.ac.uk for a copy to
forward.
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• Christmas posting dates
- UK
Second class - Friday 18 December
First class - Monday 21 December
Recorded Signed For has the same last posting
dates as the 1st or 2nd class service to which the customer has chosen to apply
it.
- UK Special Delivery
Wednesday 23 December
- Overseas
European Union - Monday 14 December
Rest Of Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan - Thursday 10
December
All other places - Tuesday 8 December
International Signed For has the same last posting dates as the
destination address.
- DHL
Rest of World -
Monday 21 December
Europe/USA (major cities only) -
Wednesday 23 December
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• Planning
and Corporate Policy Division Customer Survey 2009-10
The
Planning and Corporate Policy Division is conducting a survey to help
them gauge the effectiveness of their services, and also their visibility
within the School. Please take a few minutes to give them your feedback and
be in with the chance of winning £50 of Amazon vouchers.
The survey will run until Friday 18 December and can be found
here.
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• Vice-chair
of appointments committee
Applications are invited from members of the professorial staff to fill
the vacancy of Vice-Chair of Appointments Committee (VCAC) to succeed
Professor George Philip who completes his three year term in office on 31
July 2010.
The role of the VCAC is to act as the independent guardian of academic
standards and quality on behalf of the Appointments Committee. The VCAC will
champion, develop and oversee implementation of strategy, policies and
procedures for academic and research staff, with respect to recruitment,
retention, and career development, working closely with the Director, Pro
Director (Planning and Resources) and Human Resources.
Click
here for further details or contact Sally Welch at
sally.welch@lse.ac.uk.
The closing date for applications is 12 noon on Friday 11 December.
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• Vacancies
in halls
On the move? Between premises? LSE Residences have a limited number of rooms
and flats in halls available for short term lets to LSE staff. For more
information, click
here.
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• Help LSE improve its Orientation
The LSE Students' Union would like the help of all LSE staff in
encouraging students to fill out their Orientation survey. The survey
will be used to help them improve Orientation next academic year. The
survey can be found at
www.surveymonkey.com/s/N2LKLFQ
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 Research
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• Copenhagen
agreement could give us a '50-50 chance' of avoiding global warming of
more than 2˚C, says Nicholas Stern
The world could have a '50-50 chance' of avoiding global warming of more
than 2˚C, regarded by many scientists as the threshold for dangerous climate
change, if a strong political agreement can be reached at the United Nations
conference in Copenhagen this month, and then implemented, according to two
reports launched this week by Nicholas Stern at LSE.
Speaking ahead of a major speech about the prospects for the Copenhagen
meeting, Lord Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate
Change and the Environment, said: 'It is possible to create a 50-50 chance
of avoiding a rise in global average temperature of more than 2˚C, which
many scientists regard as the threshold for 'dangerous' climate change. To
do this we need to halt and reverse the growth of annual emissions of carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases, reducing them from about 47 billion
tonnes in 2010 to about 44 billion tonnes in 2020, and decreasing to much
less than 20 billion tonnes in 2050. If you add up the most ambitious of the
intentions to reduce emissions that have been expressed so far, they are, if
delivered, around 2 billion tonnes higher than the overall 2020 goal.'
More
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• Western
aid used to fight War on Terror not poverty
Western aid in Afghanistan is being used primarily to support the fight
against Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgency rather than focus on relieving
poverty and suffering, according to a new report from LSE.
Since the overthrow of the Taliban regime and the election of a fledgling
democratic government under President Hamid Karzai, Western aid has poured
into the country and now stands at an estimated 2.3 billion US dollars a
year. LSE Professor Jude Howell states, 'It is now widely observed that much
of this aid is being used to tackle the increasingly violent insurgency in
southern Afghanistan, rather than being targeted at areas where humanitarian
needs are most acute.'
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• Research
opportunities
Candidates interested in applying for any research opportunities should
contact Michael Oliver in the
Research and Project Development Division at
m.oliver@lse.ac.uk or call ext 7962.
The Research and Project Development Division maintains a regularly
updated list of
research funding opportunities for academic colleagues on their website.
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• RPDD
Research e-Briefing
Click
here
to read the November edition of the RPDD newsletter. To sign up
for research news, recent research funding opportunities, research awards
that are about to start, and examples of research outcomes, click
here. The next issue is out
at the end of December 2009.
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 Events
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• LSE public lectures and events
Scroogenomics: why you shouldn't buy presents for Christmas
Thursday 3 December at 5pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Joel Waldfogel
Happiness around the World: the paradox of happy peasants and miserable
millionaires
Thursday 3 December at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Carol Graham
The End of Lawyers?
Tuesday 8 December at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Richard Susskind
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• Broke: voices from the edge
Thursday 10 December at 6.30-8pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Using dialogue from real-life interviews with people living in poverty
in the UK, the actors explore the dismal side-effects of such gross
disadvantage - the homelessness, the lack of affordable housing, the
unemployment, the debt, and much else besides. The plight of the poor on
its own doorstep mocks Britain's aspiration to be an ethical force in
the world and a beacon of human rights standards at home. Often unseen
and unheard, this performance gives the poor a voice.
Throughout his long life, LSE professor Peter Townsend worked hard first
to prove the existence of poverty in Britain and then to persuade our
society not to take such deprivation for granted. Peter Townsend died in
June this year and this performance of 'Broke' by Actors for Human
Rights, is dedicated to his memory.
More
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• Marina Nadiradze, piano
Thursday 10 December at 1.05-2pm in the Shaw Library, Old Building
A prize-winner in several international competitions, Marina Nadiradze
has been compared by The Independent to the great Mitsuko Uchida.
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• Lecture by Professor B J Cohen
Professor B J Cohen, University of California, and author of
International Political Economy: an intellectual history will give a lecture on Thursday 10 December at 5.30-7pm in room
D202. The lecture is entitled The Transatlantic Divide in International
Political Economy Revisited. All are welcome.
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 60
Second Interview
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• with..... Emeritus Professor of Government Rodney Barker
Rodney joined LSE in 1971 after
previously teaching at University
College Swansea, doing a PhD at LSE,
and a history degree at Cambridge.
Before all of that, he worked as a
centre lathe operator in a small
engineering factory in the Midlands.
He has also been an opera critic for
Tribune.
If you met the UK Prime
Minister and could only ask him one
question, what would it be?
A really bold and radical policy
for banks, global heating, arms
control, and the middle east might
not win you the next election, but
it might, and if it didn’t, you
would a least go down with a bang
rather than a whimper. Why not go
for it?
What would we be most
surprised to learn about you?
If I told you that, it would no
longer be a surprise.
What is your favourite place
on the LSE campus?
The balcony of the refectory,
with the view of the plaza.
What did you want to be when
you grew up?
What I’m doing now.
Can you dance?
Very badly.
What advice would you give to
new students coming to LSE?
Take intellectual advantage of
the world’s premier social science
university, but also take whatever
advantage suits your tastes and
capacities of one of the most
exciting cities in the world. |
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 Training
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• Academic,
personal and professional development courses for staff
Courses on offer next week include:
- Monday 7 December
PowerPoint 2003: creating a presentation
- Tuesday 8 December
One to one voice training
- Wednesday 9 December
Moodle basics training
Introduction to copyright
Introduction to the data library
- Thursday 10 December
Finding news sources
- Friday 11 December
Endnote: manage your references
For a full listing of what is available and further details, including
booking information see
www.lse.ac.uk/training |
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 Media
bites
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• FT.com
(1 December)
The intrinsic unimportance of
Dubai World and the important wider message it conveys
Willem Buiter, professor of European political economy at LSE, writes on
the impact of the financial crisis in Dubai.
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• Financial
Times (29 November)
A better way to choose Europe’s top table
Article by Howard Davies, Director of LSE.
'On Tuesday morning, Baroness Ashton begins her five year reign as the
European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs. The
appointment was not, shall we say, greeted with universal
approbation...'
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• Daily Express (29 November)
Meet Theo... the not so strong arm of the law now patrolling a street
near you
As Tim Newburn, professor of criminology at LSE, points out, the
disappearance over 30 years of trusted and respected neighbourhood
authority figures has created a vacuum in enforcement duties.
'Over a period of time there was a retrenchment of policing and during
the Eighties in particular a whole series of people like park keepers
and ticket inspectors were removed for reasons of cost-cutting,' he
said.
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