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3 June 2010 |
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 News
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• British
Politics and Policy at LSE
LSE is pleased to announce the launch of its new blog 'British Politics
and Policy at LSE.' This is a constantly updated, multi-author blog where
‘LSE experts analyse and debate recent developments across UK government’.
It covers the political science and developments in all aspects of public
policy in Britain.
This new and permanent venture follows on from the very successful LSE
Election Experts blog which attracted contributions from across 14 LSE
departments (and some additional contributors connected with LSE at
other universities).
The blog is run by LSE Public Policy Group, in conjunction with LSE
Research and Projects Division and LSE External Relations, and with the LSE
Government Department, who will shortly be launching the linked ‘British
Government at LSE’ series of lectures and seminars.
All LSE staff and students are invited to contribute to the blog.
Articles should be between 300 and 1000 words long. Once a piece is
accepted, we will aim to post it on the Blog within a day. To submit
potential articles or for further information, please email the blog
administrator, Chris Gilson at
c.h.gilson@lse.ac.uk.
Chris is also keen to get your comments and reactions to articles - they can be much shorter, anything from 30 words to 300 words. Once
submitted all comments are moderated, but we normally try to accept all
serious comments, usually within a day.
You can follow the blog online at
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/ and on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/LSEpoliticsblog
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• Professor
Michael Barzelay awarded honorary doctorate
Professor Michael Barzelay, professor of public management at LSE, has been
awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of St Gallen, one of the
leading schools in Europe for business, economics and public administration.
The degree honours his outstanding research in the field of public
management and governance, in particular his contributions to theory
development and the internationalisation of the field as well as his
explicit interdisciplinary approach.
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• Oxfam praises LSE MPA course
LSE’s Master in Public Administration (MPA) course has received high
praise from Duncan Green, head of research for Oxfam GB.
In a recent post on his blog, Duncan explains how he met LSE MPA
(International Development) students Joe Wales, Luis Suarez-Isaza, Brian
Fuller, Daria Kuznetsova and Sarah Hauser, who pitched their idea to Oxfam
for a campaign on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.
Duncan was impressed by the students' pitch and fascinated by how LSE’s
approach to its MPA course seems to be different from that of Harvard. Duncan
writes: ‘All this was quite a contrast with Harvard, where as far as I could
tell on my recent visit, the MPA in International Development concentrates
on technical (economic and administrative) excellence, but includes very
little on power, influencing, lobby strategies etc. I suspect the equivalent
presentation from their students would be a detailed economic analysis of
the evils of the CAP, followed by a general demand for reform and political
will.’
Congratulations to all the students involved and also MPA teachers Dr
Lloyd Gruber and Dr Stephen Kosack, both in DESTIN. To read Duncan’s blog,
visit
www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?p=2641
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• First
LSE PhD poster exhibition a success
The first LSE PhD Poster Exhibition was held at LSE on Wednesday 26 May with
seven students being awarded prizes for their posters, including Vlad
Glaveanu, Social Psychology Department, who won the Barclays Grand Poster
Prize for his poster, Creativity and Cultural Context (pictured).
Entitled Relating Research to Reality, the exhibition featured a
panel discussion on Making Research Relevant, chaired by Bob Ward, policy
and communications director of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate
Change and the Environment, before the poster walk through.
Prizes were awarded by the pro-directors for the top six posters (from 58
submissions) with an additional prize for the most popular poster on the
day. Over 200 people attended the event and the winning posters are now on
display in the escape area of the Library.
More
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• Why
do we get technology policy so wrong, so often?
Governments are failing to understand the policy implications of new
technology argues an article in the new edition of Global Policy.
This issue of the journal, which is produced at LSE, also features
contributions from Robert Wade on industrial policy in low-income countries,
Rob Howse and Ruti Teitel on compliance in international law, and a special
practitioner's section on international financial regulation edited by LSE
Director Howard Davies.
To read the articles featured in the current issue, visit the
Global Policy journal website.
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• LSE
Teaching Day 2010
This year’s Teaching Day built on the success from the first event in 2009.
Over 180 staff attended the event in May and the feedback from the day has
been very positive.
The day was opened by Dr Jonathan Leape, course director for LSE100. Dr
Leape gave an overview of lessons learnt from the pilot this year and spoke
of the challenges of running LSE100. The main speech was given by Nicola
Lacey, Professor of Criminal Law and Legal theory, who talked about the
skills agenda posing the question whether teaching skills are at cross
purposes with research-led teaching at LSE.
Sixteen parallel sessions delivered by LSE teachers, academic staff,
researchers and students addressed a number of themes including teaching
feedback and assessment; group working and class activities; technology in
teaching and the student perspective. Many thanks to all the presenters for
sharing their experiences. Recordings of some of the presentations and
photos are available at
www.lse.ac.uk/teachingday.
The day ended with the presentation of this year's winners of three
awards by Professor Janet Hartley, pro-director for teaching and learning,
including the LSE Students' Union Teaching Excellence Awards, the Major
Review Teaching Prizes and the Departmental Class Teaching Prizes at a wine
reception.
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• Staff
survey
The results of the staff survey have now been presented to DMT, Council,
the SCC and at School briefings. Individual unit results have also been
distributed, initially to Heads of Divisions and Services. An action plan
has been agreed by Adrian Hall and can be found on the
HR website.
If you would like to join or advise the group working on the action plan
(we are looking for representation from the academic and research community)
or if you have any suggestions about how the survey results should be taken
forward, please contact Alison Johns at
a.johns@lse.ac.uk. |
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 Notices
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• LSE
public events now CPD certified
From Monday 17 May, LSE's public events are certified for CPD
purposes by the Continuing Professional Development Certification Service,
in an effort to attract wider audiences and enhance the amount of innovative
knowledge transfer activities undertaken at LSE. CPD or Continuous
Professional Development is the term given to the continuation of learning
through knowledge enhancement and is either a mandatory requirement or recommended
for many professions.
The initiative applies to any LSE public event (presentation followed by
Q&A format) so if your department has a public event coming up this or next
term and would like it to be CPD certified, please contact Sooraya Mohabeer,
knowledge transfer events executive in the Conferences and Events Office at
s.b.mohabeer@lse.ac.uk. Please
note you cannot advertise any event as CPD certified until you have had
confirmation from the Conferences and Events Office.
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• Special
ticket offer at the National Theatre
The National Theatre is offering members of LSE a special £20 ticket offer
for its new play 'Love the Sinner' by Drew Pautz.
The offer, which will save you £12 on top price tickets, is available
for selected evening performances on 14 and 16 June.
To book online, visit
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk and enter the promotion code 2704 before you
select your seats. Or call box office on 020 7452 3000 and quote ‘special
£20 offer’.
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• Academics abroad
On 22-25 May, Dr Terry Gourvish, director of the Business History
Unit at LSE, organised a special session on 'Anglo-Egyptian Business
Relations since the mid 19th Century' for the American University in
Cairo.
The talk was part of the university's Economic and Business History
Research Centre's seventh annual forum on the economic and business history
of Egypt and the Middle East. Dr Gourvish spoke on 'Anglo-Egyptian Business
History: retrospect and prospect'.
Eileen Barker, Professor Emeritus of Sociology with Special Reference to
the Study of Religion at LSE, has just returned from
China where she gave the Xu Yun Lecture at Peking University.
She also gave talks at Renmin University and at the
Chinese People’s Public Security University, and was interviewed by members
of the China Anti-Cult Association and two ‘re-educated’ members of Falun
Gong.
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 Research
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• City
homeowners make 'better neighbours'
Homeowners living in city centres and the suburbs make better neighbours
than those who live in less built up areas according to new research from
LSE.
In the May issue of the Journal of Urban Economics Dr Christian
Hilber suggests that a lack of available land for new housing developments
in urban and suburban residential areas helps create more stable communities
where homeowners are able to reap the rewards of being 'good' neighbours.
This makes them more willing to invest in these relationships in the first
place.
According to his paper New housing supply and the dilution of social
capital, in built-up neighbourhoods with high levels of homeownership -
like the suburbs that surround larger cities - the restricted housing supply
prevents lots of new people suddenly moving in and undermining the social
networks that have been established.
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 May 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 June 2010.
More
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• Latest
opportunities from LSE
Enterprise
LSE Enterprise offers you the opportunity to undertake private teaching
and consultancy work under the LSE brand. We help with bidding, contracts
and other project administration, enabling you to focus on the work itself.
To see the latest opportunities click
here.
If you would like us to look out for consulting opportunities in your
field, email your CV and summary of interests to Rebecca Limer at
r.limer@lse.ac.uk
Email Marie Rowland-Kidman at
m.rowland-kidman@lse.ac.uk to be added to our Executive Education
database. |
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 Events
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• Upcoming LSE events include....
Cities Under Siege
On: Monday 7 June at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New
Academic Building
Speaker: Stephen Graham
The Party: the secret world of China's communist rulers
On: Tuesday 8 June at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New
Academic Building
Speaker: Richard McGregor
Is democracy possible in fragile states?
On: Tuesday 15 June at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New
Academic Building
Speakers: Professor Paul Collier and Professor James Robinson
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• Podcasts of public lectures and events
The Realities and Relevance of Japan’s Great Recession
Monday 24 May, 6.30pm, Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Dr Adam S Posen
Click here to listen
Building Social Business: the new kind of capitalism that serves
humanity’s most pressing needs
Tuesday 25 May, 5pm, Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Muhammad Yunus
Click here to listen
Libya: past, present, and future
Tuesday 25 May, 6.30pm, LSE Campus
Speaker: Saif al-Islam Alqadhafi
Click here to listen
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• Putin's
Oil Wars
Monday 7 June, 6.30pm, B212, Columbia House
Speakers:
Martin Sixsmith (pictured), former foreign correspondent for the
BBC, and Artemy Kalinovsky, Pinto Fellow at LSE IDEAS
Martin Sixsmith is one of the world's leading experts on contemporary
Russia, and his latest book is the story of Russia's energy wars and their
consequences for Moscow and the world.
Martin has gained unprecedented access to many of the key players in the
drama, and he will give an examination of Putin's struggle to control
Russia's valuable stores of oil, through political manoeuvering, conspiracy,
deception, betrayal and espionage.
More
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• EU
Foreign Policy After Lisbon
Tuesday 8 June, 6.30pm, B212,
Columbia House
Speakers: Sergio Fabbrini (pictured), Professor of Political
Science at the University of Trento, and Michael Cox, co-director of
LSE IDEAS and Professor of International Relations at LSE
Foreign policy represents a formidable challenge for a union of states as
it is in the EU. In nation states foreign policy implies centralised
decision-making in order to guarantee consistency and accountability,
something that is implausible in a union of states. How then can unions of
states deal with the challenges of 'external action'?
Professor Fabbrini will compare the structure of the EU foreign
policy-making before and after the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, analysing the 'three
heads' decision-making regime introduced by Lisbon. Is this a three-headed
'monster', as the mythological dog Cerberus that it evokes? Or might
Cerberus be tamed and rationalised in order to meet the need for consistency
and accountability even for the foreign policy of a union of states?
More
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• On
the Need for Personalistic Thinking in 21st Century Psychology
Monday 21 June, 3.30pm, Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: James T Lamiell, Professor and Chair of Psychology,
Georgetown University
Critical personalism is a comprehensive system of thought for understanding
human individuals and their social interactions worked out by the
German-born philosopher and psychologist William Stern (1871-1938) over the
first three decades of the 20th century.
However, mainstream thinking within psychology about how to advance our
understanding of individuality in a properly scientific way came to be
dominated by ideas fundamentally at odds with Stern’s personalistic views,
so much so that both Stern and critical personalism have faded into
obscurity. In recent years, however, the present author has been calling for
a reconsideration of Stern’s ideas, based in part on a critical analysis of
the key tenets of mainstream thinking.
In this lecture, the major contours of this argument will be reviewed in a
further attempt to establish the need for personalistic thinking in 21st
century psychology.
This lecture forms part of the CPNSS 20th Anniversary Celebrations and is
the final in the public lecture series under the general theme of Philosophy
in Psychology. Other lectures include:
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Cognitive Science and the Mereological Fallacy
Monday 7 June, 3.30pm, Wolfson Theatre, NAB
Speaker: Dr Peter Hacker, University of Oxford
All lectures will be followed by a reception. Space is limited so please
RSVP, specifying which lecture you wish to attend, to
Philcent@lse.ac.uk.
More
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• Sovereign
Capital Flows: policy and tools
On Friday 24 September, LSE is hosting a conference on Sovereign Capital
Flows: policy and tools, which aims to bring together researchers and
practitioners to discuss critical issues in Sovereign Wealth Fund operation
and the global financial structure.
The event is in association with the research centre LSE Global
Governance and Corporate Relations and funded by HEIF4 and Jules Green. For
the full conference programme and information on how to register your
attendance, click
here. |
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 60
Second Interview
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• with..... Charlotte Gerada
I was born in Portsmouth and have
lived there my whole life, but both
my parents are Maltese and moved
here in their late teens… which
explains why I have crazy, curly,
Mediterranean locks.
Despite being 22, I have got
involved in a tonne of different
things, from being a journalist for
Portsmouth’s Youth Service magazine,
to being a radio DJ and producer, to
organising charity gigs, to doing
pretty much anything for charity at
LSE - including selling myself off
at our annual People Auction.
What would you do if you were
LSE director for a day?
Well assuming it was a sunny, hot
day during exam period, I would call
an LSE-campus-wide Ice Cream Day,
where all students could have access
to unlimited ice-cream, of all
flavours (with non-dairy options for
vegans) to make the exam period in
the hot weather more pleasurable.
What is the craziest thing you
have ever done?
At the beginning of this year I
did a sky dive with LSESU RAG in aid
of Huntingtons’ Disease. It was by
far the most exhilarating and
memorable experience of my life -
and oddly enough, I really wasn’t
scared. And, the best bit was
free-falling through the clouds at
13,000 feet, shouting 'woooohoooo!'
I was very happy to have raised
£1,400 too for my chosen charity -
so it was easily the craziest and
most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.
What, or who, makes you laugh?
My flat-mates. We have a massive
girly giggle together, and revision
period has taking our delirious,
bored and frustrated minds to new
levels. The best part of my day
often consists of random texts and
emails from them - it’s a little
something to keep your spirits up.
What book are you currently
reading and which have you enjoyed
most?
I am currently reading a report
by the think thank, Demos called
The Anatomy of Youth. I know a
couple of inspirational, driven and
entrepreneurial-spirited individuals
in the report, and it basically
highlights that the youth of today
are not necessarily confronted with
the doom and gloom of unemployment,
poor training and a ‘broken
society’. Instead, the youth of
today are posed with new economic
and social challenges which have
meant that more unique innovation is
necessary and most definitely alive
amongst young people today. Hurrah!
I most enjoyed reading a book my
college teacher recommended to me
before coming to LSE, called
Reading Lolita in Tehran. It’s a
phenomenal book which delves into
the lives of ten young women in
Tehran during the beginning of the
Iranian Revolution, and sheds light
on the experiences and challenges of
each of the women’s lives. A truly
inspirational and touching read.
What is your favourite LSE
sculpture?
Well it used to be the Penguin,
but I’m not too fond of the shiny,
colourful replacement - so I’d say
the elephant outside the Student
Services Centre. He’s a happy chap,
and very often forgotten about
compared to his winged counterpart
across the road from him.
What is your ambition/goal in
life?
To change the world.. Seriously..
well, I might not be able to change
the entire world to make it more
socially just and poverty-free, but
I definitely want to make
improvements to Britain. I’m aiming
to be involved in British social
policy-making, and I’m particularly
interested in improving the
education system, to make social
mobility more of a reality. As a
young person from a low
socio-economic background, I
sincerely understand the severe
obstacles in place, hindering people
like myself from getting to
somewhere like LSE, let alone
getting to achieving a goal like
‘changing the world.' So, watch this
space. |
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 Training
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• Academic,
personal and professional development courses for staff
Courses on offer next week include:
- Wednesday 9 June
Introduction to database structure and
design
For a full listing of what is available and further details, including
booking information please see
www.lse.ac.uk/training. |
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 Media
bites
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• Times
Higher Education (3 June 2010)
Attractive forces at work
Being brilliant academically isn't enough any more - if you want your
career to soar you need to cultivate your erotic capital assets.
Catherine Hakim, senior research fellow in the department of sociology
at LSE, advises scholars to use everything they've got.
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• Financial
Times (1 June 2010)
European states hardens line on drug prices
'In the face of adversity, commodities like drugs are an easy place for
decision-makers to start,' says Dr Panos Kanavos, an international
health policy expert from LSE, 'and there is considerable scope to cut
in many cases.'
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• Dubuque
Telegraph Herald (30 May 2010)
Fiscal woes
threaten Europe's welfare state
'There's been a lack of willingness to shift away from welfare as purely
social protection towards an approach which has been in much of northern
Europe in recent years, which is welfare as social investment,' said
Iain Begg, a professor at LSE's European Institute.
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