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28 January 2010 |
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 News
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• Running for the LSE Annual Fund
On 11 April 2010, James Driscoll, LSE donations and finance
administrator, will be running the Paris Marathon in aid of the LSE Annual
Fund.
The Annual Fund supports a number of exciting and important projects and
initiatives across the School to the benefit of our students, academics and
wider community.
An avid sportsman, James is aiming high for his first marathon, and has
set himself an ambitious target of under 3.5 hours for the 26.2 mile course.
As James embarks on his training regime ahead of the big day, you can track
his progress via his
online blog.
James said: ‘I’m excited to be running my first ever marathon in aid of
the LSE Annual Fund. Since arriving at the School, I have been very
impressed by the different ways in which the Annual Fund makes a positive
contribution to student life. I hope together we can raise
vital unrestricted funds for the School.’
To sponsor James, click
here.
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• Education young thinker 2010
Debra Ogden, executive assistant to the Deans at LSE, has been named
runner-up for the Young Programme’s 'Education Young Thinker 2010'
award.
Debra was nominated by the School to take part in the 2010 Young UK and
Ireland Programme. The delegates, who came from all over the country, also
took part in workshops and debates.
At the end of the programme, Debra was awarded runner-up for her thesis
on the potential effects of 24 hour library opening.
Christine Child, head of the Student Services Centre, said that she has
always had high hopes for Debra. 'We are very proud of her but not at all
surprised that she came so close to winning,' said Child. 'She is an
excellent, highly motivated colleague.'
Debra is also pleased: 'I am very grateful to the School for giving me
the opportunity to take part in the Programme and I am thrilled to have
been presented with the award,' she said.
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• Get
searching
A new and improved search engine, called Funnelback, has been launched by Web Services in
response to the recent review of the LSE website, which highlighted the need
to improve the search facility. The search is accessible as before via the search box or via search.lse.ac.uk. Users can also use a new
feature called 'faceted searching' that allows results to be refined by
topic, type, site, and file type - see 'Refine your search' in the left-hand
column once initial results appear in response to a query.
Web Services can advise on how to improve the ranking of
specific pages so that the search engine is constantly improved. For
information on this, please come along to web surgery, or email
webeditors.enquiries@lse.ac.uk
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• Review
of pension schemes
LSE would like to draw the attention of staff to a forthcoming review of
university pension schemes and the timetables for consultation with scheme
members.
Most members of staff at LSE are eligible to be members of a pension
scheme. Some are members of USS (The Universities Superannuation Scheme) and
some are members of SAUL (The Superannuation Arrangements of the University
of London.) Both USS and SAUL are 'defined benefit' pension schemes, paying
a pension based on salary before retirement and length of service.
You may be aware that many 'defined benefit' pension schemes, including
some universities schemes, have closed to new members or closed altogether.
It is reported that around 90 per cent of private funded schemes have closed. The
Chancellor announced, in his December 2009 Pre-Budget statement, that 'the
public pensions need to be broadly in line with those offered in the private
sector.'
Pension schemes have faced three significant challenges to sustainability
in recent years: people are living longer after retirement, investment
returns in the last decade have been low, and pay increases have been higher
than actuaries had predicted. More information on forthcoming reviews of
university pension schemes is online. In order to contribute to this process
staff who contribute to a pension scheme are advised to familiarise
themselves with their Scheme details. For more information, click
here.
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• Global Policy is launching
Global Policy is an innovative and interdisciplinary journal
bringing together world class academics and leading practitioners to
analyse both public and private solutions to global problems and issues.
It focuses on understanding globally relevant risks and collective
action problems; policy challenges that have global impact; and
competing and converging discourses about global risks and policy
responses. It also includes case studies of policy with clear lessons
for other countries and regions; how policy responses, politics and
institutions interrelate at the global level; and the conceptual,
theoretical and methodological innovations needed to explain and develop
policy in these areas.
We are pleased to bring you a preview of the contents of the first
edition of this major new publication, launching in January 2010. Launch
events will take place in Paris, Beijing and London, in conjunction with
LSE, Wiley-Blackwell and the journal's various partners, including the
Global Public Policy Network and the French Development Agency.
The general editors are David Held and Patrick Dunleavy, and Eva-Maria
Nag is the executive editor. For more information, visit
www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/global/globalpolicy.htm
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• Read
all about it - BIOS news
The latest edition of BIOS News is now online. In this issue:
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Ayo Wahlberg on the successful conclusion of the BIONET project - on
reproductive medicine, stem cell research, clinical trials and
biobanking, with a focus on Sino-European collaboration.
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Joelle Abi-Rached takes us to Acquafredda, where over 80 academics from
all over the world gathered to discuss the legal issues associated with
neuroscience.
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Anders Ljungdahl remembers Vital Politics III, which gathered colleagues
from all over the world to consider the relationship between knowledge
and life.
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Claire Marris introduces us to the new CSynBI project, with Imperial
College, which will look at various social and cultural issues around
synthetic biology.
Read more at
www.lse.ac.uk/collections/BIOS/BIOS_News.htm
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• News
from CARR
Bridget Hutter, director of CARR, was a panellist at the Harvard Kennedy
School Global Series Regional Meeting on the subject of ‘Managing Widespread
Global Risk’ on Monday 25 January.
Julien Etienne, ESRC postdoctoral fellow at CARR, will be giving a talk
entitled ‘The participation of third parties in the regulation of industrial
hazard: what are the stakes? What are the effects?’ at a workshop hosted by
the CURAPP-CNRS, Université de Picardie Jules Verne in France, on Friday 29
January.
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• Help READ
READ International Campus Book Drive is a new volunteering project at LSE
which aims to collect books from the LSE community and donate them to school
children in Uganda and Tanzania.
READ is currently looking for volunteers to help in any
way they can. The project will be trying to get as many book donations
as possible before March 2010. The books will then be sorted, scanned, and
packed before being sent to the final destinations. READ will also be organising
fund raising events to help towards the project's costs.
All you need is enthusiasm - you can contribute as much time as possible,
be it a day, a week or a whole year! A meeting about the project will be
held on Saturday 30 January and will be open to all; venue and time to be
confirmed. If you have any books that you would like to donate or for more
information, please email y.b.ting@lse.ac.uk
or lse@readbookproject.org.uk
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• Vice-chair
of the Appointments Committee
The School is very pleased to announce that Professor David Stevenson,
Department of International History, has been appointed to the position of
vice-chair of the Appointments Committee (VCAC) with effect from 1 August
2010. Professor Stevenson will succeed Professor George Philip who will be
stepping down at the end of his three year term.
Professor George Gaskell, chair of the VCAC Selection Committee said:
'The level of interest from professorial colleagues in the VCAC position was
very pleasing to see. It demonstrates the importance of the VCAC role as an
independent safeguard for academic quality and standards. The selection
committee had a difficult job in reaching its decision from a very strong
field.' |
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 Notices
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• The Olympic dilemma - what do you think?
Residential Services is embarking on a period of consultation within the
LSE community regarding the use of the School's residences during the
2012 summer vacation period which coincides with the London 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games.
Normally, the majority of the School's Residences are open to the public
during vacation periods when students are not in occupation and are
available to book through LSE
Vacations, which is the commercial trading arm of the Residential
Services Division. The additional revenue from vacation trading contributes
to keeping student rents as low as possible.
We would very much like to hear your views on how you would like to see
us make the best use of our accommodation during the Olympic year for the
benefit of the School community. In particular, if your Department can
foresee a need to use the School's Residences during this period, or if you
know of other opportunities for us to make the best use of these spaces,
please contact Stephanie Macauley, residences marketing project manager, at
s.macauley@lse.ac.uk by Friday 5
February.
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• Time for change
Over the Lent and Summer terms, the Health and Safety team will be
running a series of events to raise the awareness of mental health
issues as part of LSE's commitment to support staff and students
experiencing mental health problems. The details of the first two
sessions can be found below:
Mental health awareness workshop
Wednesday 3 February, 12-1pm, room H103, Connaught House
All staff are welcome to attend this session given by Gary Hogman from
National Mental Health Development Unit. Gary will be discussing myths about
mental health and prejudices that individuals face particularly in the
workplace.
Mental health awareness for line managers
Wednesday 3 February, 2.30-3.30pm, room H102, Connaught House
In this session Gary Hogman will be providing practical guidance to line
managers on how they can support staff who may experience mental health
difficulties.
For more information on either of these sessions, visit
www.lse.ac.uk/collections/healthAndSafety or email
health.and.safety@lse.ac.uk
Its good to talk
The team are also setting up a mutual support forum for LSE staff to discuss
mental health issues. The group is not intended as a therapy group, nor as a
replacement for counselling, but rather as a forum for talking about mental
health. If you would like further information or are interested in
participating in this group, please contact Ann O’Brien at
health.and.safety@lse.ac.uk
All communication will be treated as confidential.
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• CLT open house
The Centre for Learning Technology (CLT) is holding an open house on
Wednesday 3 February at 12.15-1.45pm in S169.
All staff members are welcome to go and meet the CLT team, see examples
of their work, and
raise any questions or queries that you might have relating to the use
of technology for teaching.
There will also be demonstrations of a range of technologies including:
- Moodle
- PRS (clickers)
- Audio feedback
- Second Life
- Text messages (SMS) for feedback
A sandwich lunch and light refreshments will be provided, so feel free to
drop in at any point during the time given. Please, however, book your place
here to help CLT manage catering.
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• Win
a £50 Waterstones gift card from LSE Enterprise
While we’ve been working with many of the School’s academics and
researchers for over 15 years, we’d like to hear from the rest of LSE's
academic staff. LSE Enterprise helps you take your teaching and research
experience beyond the School, enhancing your reputation, contacts and
income.
We want to find out how we can best be of help to you, so whether you’ve
used us before or not, please check your email for a link to a brief survey
and a prize draw.
Find out more about consulting opportunities
here and executive education
here.
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• Lent term special offers - Catering Services
4th Floor Restaurant
* 9-11am
Free tea with any of the following:
- Hot cooked breakfast, only £2.30
- Health bar combo, only £1.90
- Danish pastry or croissant from 95p
* 4-7pm
Pick up one of our loyalty cards, purchase a hot supper dish and collect a
stamp on your card. Collect nine stamps and enjoy your tenth hot supper dish
absolutely free (conditions apply).
* 4-7pm
Special value evening meal, only £2.90
4th Floor Café Bar
* 6-9pm
Free tortilla chips and dips when you spend over £5 on drinks in the Café
Bar.
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• IT
Services User Survey 2010 - tell us what you think
Complete the IT Services annual user survey for a chance to win an Apple
iPod Touch.
The survey takes about ten minutes to complete, and as a further
incentive, everyone who submits a completed survey will be entered into a
prize draw to win a iPod Touch. Don’t miss out on your chance to shape the
way your IT services are provided at LSE.
The survey can be found at
www.survey.lse.ac.uk/its2010staff
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• The Power of Yes
In the wake of the financial crisis, the National Theatre commissioned
David Hare to write an urgent and immediate work - a compelling account of
how, as the banks went bust, capitalism was replaced by a socialism that
bailed out the rich alone, featuring a cast of 'characters' including LSE
Director Howard Davies and LSE alum George Soros.
Due to public demand, the production has now been extended until April. |
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 Research
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• Policy
interventions needed 'from cradle to grave' to counter entrenched
inequalities
The independent National Equality Panel, chaired by LSE's Professor John
Hills, argues that policy interventions are needed at each life cycle stage
to counter the way economic inequalities are reinforced over people's lives
and often on to the next generation, in a new report published this week.
Professor Hills said: 'Most people and nearly all political parties
subscribe to the ideal of 'equality of opportunity'. But advantage and
disadvantage reinforce themselves over the life cycle. It is hard to argue
that the large and systematic differences in outcomes which we document
result from personal choices made against a background of equality of
opportunity, however that is defined.'
More
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• NHS
performance better in England than other UK countries, finds major new
report
A new study into the NHS has found England is spending less but performing
better than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Gwyn Bevan, Professor of
Management Science at LSE's Department of Management, is one of the authors
of the report.
The study examines the performance of the health service across the four
countries of the UK before and after devolution, and found striking
differences.
More
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• Obama
- one year on
To mark one year since the inauguration of President Barack Obama, LSE IDEAS
have launched a special report bringing together distinguished authors from
LSE and beyond, to discuss how successfully the United States has
reconfigured its foreign policy in the past year.
Obama came to office facing a daunting array of specific policy
challenges which were compounded by the twin overriding objectives to
repudiate the Bush years and restore American legitimacy whilst focusing on
economic renewal in the wake of the most severe economic crisis since the
Great Depression. The picture of his first year in office is one of mixed
success but of striking ambition.
More
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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 December 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 January 2010.
More
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 Events
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• Vince Cable sets out his proportional representation agenda
with election campaign imminent
On: Thursday 28 January at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre,
New Academic Building
Vince Cable MP will argue the case for a new voting system for the UK
based on proportional representation in a public lecture ‘Electoral
Reform in the Wake of the Economic Crisis’ at LSE on Thursday.
'With the general election imminent and the prospect of a hung parliament
increasingly likely, Cable’s talk on PR, the Lib-Dem’s favoured route to
electoral reform, seems at once both timely yet hauntingly familiar,' said
Rudy Fara, co-director of Voting Power and Procedures at LSE, which is
hosting the lecture by the party’s deputy leader.
More
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• Other upcoming events include....
NEW EVENT -
Out of the Bretton Woods: building a World Bank for the 21st Century
On: Tuesday 9 February at 5.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Douglas Alexander MP
Tickets released at 10am on Monday 1 February
Uninhibited, Robust and Wide-Open: a free press for a new century
On: Monday 1 February at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New
Academic Building
Speaker: Lee Bollinger
Secularisms in crisis
On: Tuesday 2 February at 6.30pm in the New Theatre, East Building
Speaker: Professor John Bowen
Doldrums to Downing Street? The Conservative Party's long journey from
opposition to the brink of office
On: Wednesday 3 February at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Tim Bale
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• Don't miss out.... tickets now
available
Tickets for the LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival 2010 are now
available in the LSESU reception and online. Speakers include Mark
Lawson, Susie Orbach, Giles Foden, Lionel Shriver, AS Byatt, Ben Okri,
and Colin Thubron.
More
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• Music@LSE - Slava Sidorenko (piano)
Thursday 28 January, 1.05-2pm, Shaw Library, Old Building
Winner of the 2008 Jaques Samuel Pianos Piano Competition and recent gold
medal winner at the Royal Northern College of Music, Slava gave his very
successful Wigmore debut in October 2009.
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• Global Governance lunchtime seminar series
Global challenges to politics at the end of modernity
Tuesday 2 February, 1-2pm, room M101
Speaker: Professor Furio Cerutti
Furio Cerutti is professor of political philosophy at the University of
Florence and a current visiting professor at global governance, LSE.
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• ONE WORLD(?) lecture series
The LSESU Global Society invites you to attend its ONE WORLD(?)
lecture series taking place next week (1-5 February). See below for the
full schedule or join the
Facebook event page for more information.
A Borderless World?
Monday 1 February, 7.30-9pm, D602
Speaker: Parag Khanna
Global Governance: mission impossible?
Tuesday 2 February, 6.30-8pm, Old Theatre
Speakers: Professor Jan Aart Scholte and Professor Stephen Haseler
The role of the NGOs in creating global governance
Thursday 4 February 4, 6.30-8pm, D402
Speakers: Professor Peter Willetts and Michael Hammer
Shaping a new global economic order
Friday 5 February, 6.30-8pm, D402
Speaker: Dr Paola Subacchi |
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 60
Second Interview
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• with..... Barbara Bush
Barbara has been HR director at
LSE for just over a year, following
senior HR roles at HM Treasury,
University of Sussex and SOAS. She
has three grown up 'children,' two
of whom also work in the higher
education sector and the third is an
LSE alumna. Reading and going to the
theatre counter Barbara's daily
pressures of responsibility for
recruiting, paying, developing,
promoting and supporting the 3,000
staff at LSE.
If you met the UK prime
minister and you could only ask one
question, what would it be?
Do you ever get to spend time
with your family?
What gives you most
satisfaction?
A job well done, a sparkling
shower (limescale came as a huge
shock when I moved south!) and a
brilliant night at the Theatre.
What role(s) did you have in
your school play?
I always preferred to be
backstage, on props and crisis
management, though I did once make
it to the footlights as a shepherd
in the primary school nativity play.
Do you have any pets?
I'm never at home long enough to
look after them properly, so I had a
snake for a while, as they're
astonishingly self-sufficient.
Where is your favourite place
on the LSE campus?
I love the NAB foyer, all that
lovely wood and space, and Wrights
for emergency coffee and cake.
What, or who, makes you laugh?
Most things: you can't sustain
this job without a GSOH! Dara
O'Briain, Mock the Week, In the
Thick of it - and life's daily
absurdities. |
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 Media
bites
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• Times
Higher Education (28 January)
Money talks: students receptive to subject premiums
Are applicants willing to consider higher fees for better job prospects?
The idea received a cool reception from Nicholas Barr, professor of
public economics at LSE and one of the architects of student fees in the
UK. He said: 'In Australia, fees are set by subject, with higher fees
for subjects such as law whose graduates are supposed to earn shed loads
of money. This is not a good system.'
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• BBC Radio 4 (27 January)
Today Programme - wealth gap widens
The gap between rich and poor in the UK is wider than it was 40 years
ago, according to a National Equality panel report. John Hills, the
panel's chair and Professor of Social Policy at LSE, explains the
findings.
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• Financial
Times (23 January)
Cadbury deal puts the lid on Quaker ties
One of the last direct links between some of the UK's biggest companies
and their Quaker roots is set to be severed with the £11.6bn takeover of
Cadbury agreed with Kraft.
Dr Tim Leunig of LSE is critical of Cadbury family members hostile to
the takeover. 'The first people to sell Cadbury out were the Cadburys
themselves,' he says.
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