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Chris New

Chris, who is based in the Language Centre, would like to learn to speak Mandarin and would bring back the Routemaster bus if he were Mayor for the day.

The 2011 pay award increase has now been announced, with an increase of £150 on all pay spine points. The increase will be implemented with back pay to August 2011 in January 2012.

Four of the national higher education unions - UCU, Unison, GMB and EIS - accepted the final pay offer from the Universities and Colleges Employers Association earlier this month. Although Unite has indicated it is not in a position to note or agree the award, it is nevertheless acknowledged that the round for this year is effectively concluded.

The next pay award is due on 1 August 2012. Until 2012 negotiations are concluded, the 1 August pay scales will continue to apply.

For more information, see Salary scales for 2011 and Pay awards for 2011.

Professor Eileen Munro (pictured) has received a CBE in the New Year’s honours list for her services to children and families.

Professor Munro, of LSE’s Department of Social Policy, is an internationally-renowned expert in the fields of child protection and social work practice.

In 2010 she was commissioned by the government to conduct a review of official child protection policy and practice and most of the recommendations in her report, published in July 2011, are now being implemented. The report outlined how an entirely new approach, focusing on the whole system of child protection rather than on its individual components, could help prevent serious injuries and deaths for at risk youngsters.

Professor Tim Besley (pictured) and Professor David Soskice have been announced as the first LSE School Professors.

Professor Tim Besley, who started his role on 1 January, is School Professor of Economics and Political Science, and Professor David Soskice, who will join LSE in September from the University of Oxford, will be School Professor linked to Department of Government.

The School Professors Scheme provides the capacity to attract or retain scholars of outstanding international distinction in their field. Candidates are scholars of world stature in the relevant subject, have a substantial body of publications, have demonstrated a high level of originality in scholarship, and have shown an ability to forge significant links with other disciplines.

They have direct responsibility to the Director for initiating and developing interdisciplinary research, teaching and other appropriate academic activities in order to strengthen the intellectual life of the School community as a whole.

For more information on the Scheme, click here.

At the end of 2011 Library Services, which has been an accredited Investors in People (IiP) department for the last 11 years, sought re-accreditation and the Bronze Award.

'We are pleased to say that we were successfully re-accredited and have achieved the Bronze Award which takes us to a higher level on the Investors in People standard. We are the second department in the School to gain the Bronze Award, the other one being the Academic and Professional Development Division,' said Liz Chapman, director of Library Services.

In December, LSE was granted planning permission by the London Borough of Southwark for an extension and partial refurbishment of the Bankside House hall of residence.

Julian Robinson, director of Estates at LSE, said: 'We are pleased that Southwark's planning committee has unanimously approved our application to add an extra two storeys to our Bankside House hall of residence. LSE has been investing in Bankside for 16 years and this extension will enable us to offer more rooms to students at well below the market level.'

Lord Richard Layard (pictured), emeritus professor of economics at LSE, has been named as one of the most influential 100 people working on health policy and the NHS, in a list compiled by the Health Service Journal.

Lord Layard was a new entry in the HSJ100 this year, with the judging panel commenting: ‘Credited with inspiring the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies talking therapies programme, Richard Layard now focuses on the happiness index - a pet project of David Cameron’s. Launched with the expectation of influencing policy, including health, the plan to measure national wellbeing may struggle in austere times, but the professor is an effective lobbyist.’

LSE academic awarded visiting fellowship

Dr Alex Voorhoeve (pictured), senior lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at LSE, has been offered the Laurance S. Rockefeller Fellowship to visit Princeton University's Center for Human Values during the 2012-13 academic year.

Professor Rita Giacaman (pictured), Professor Marshall Sahlins and Professor Nora Cruz-Quebral received honorary degrees at presentation ceremonies for LSE graduates in December 2011.

LSE's BIOS Centre closed as a research centre of the School on 31 December 2011.

If your IT password is weak or is older than 12 months, you will have to change it by Tuesday 17 January, otherwise you may not be able to log into your computer or LSE IT resources.

New passwords must be at least eight characters long; contain at least one uppercase and one lower case letter; contain at least one number or punctuation character; include only characters supported on campus machines (avoid international characters); and not be a dictionary word.

How do I change my password?
First set up your security questions in LSE for You, then turn off any connections to lsesecurewifi and eduroam on your phone, tablet or laptop.

On campus, press <CTRL>+<ALT>+<DEL> and choose the 'Change a password' option from your LSE Desktop PC.

Off campus, log in to the Remote Desktop, then click on Start > Windows Security and choose the 'Change a password' option.

Change your password for lsesecurewifi and eduroam, and LSE email on your phone, tablet or laptop. You should do this immediately after changing your password for network access or you run the risk of your account becoming locked as devices try to connect with the 'wrong' password.

Rewarding Support Research and Teaching staff - Lent term application deadline

The School is committed to recognising and rewarding the exceptional contribution and outstanding performance of individual members of staff.

The Academic Support Research and Teaching Contribution Committee (ASRTCC - formerly the ASSC) is about to consider applications for exceptional contribution increments and lump sums for support staff, researchers and teaching-only staff up to and including salary band seven.

The next deadline for ASRTCC applications is Tuesday 31 January (which is slightly later than the previously advertised deadline).

Please forward cases to Human Resources by email at Hr.Reviewandpromotion@lse.ac.uk by 5.30pm on Tuesday 31 January. For more information, visit Rewarding Support Research and Teaching Staff.
 

LSE staff are invited to submit proposals for presentations, workshops, demonstrations, panel discussions or case studies.

Topics for submission may include:

• Challenges and innovations in teaching
• Supporting student learning
• Feedback and assessment
• Research led teaching
• Technologies in teaching and learning

The deadline for submissions is Friday 17 February. All submissions will be reviewed by the programme committee, chaired by Professor Janet Hartley, pro-director for teaching and learning. Proposals should be submitted using the online submission form.

As in past years during Lent term, LSE Careers will run LSE International Development Month, a series of seminars, panels, skill sessions and other events that will be of interest to those wanting to work in the NGO, international volunteering and development sectors.

These talks and events (normally scheduled at lunchtime) focus on the work of development-oriented think tanks, government aid agencies and, especially, NGOs. All LSE staff members are welcome to attend any of the Development Month events and do not need to book.

The programme opens on Thursday 19 January with a talk on finding overseas volunteering opportunities (NAB 2.04, 1-2pm) and is followed on the afternoon of Monday 23 January by the International Volunteering Fair which takes place at SOAS (Brunei Gallery).

Some of the organisations that will be on campus during Development Month are VSO, Women for Women, Save the Children, Helpage, ODI, Restless Development, the Aga Khan Foundation, GIZ, KfW, USAID and the DfID.

The fourth Literary Festival at LSE will be running from Wednesday 29 February to Saturday 3 March.

The festival will run under the theme of 'Relating Cultures', and one of the events at the festival is entitled 'Poetry Unites'. The event will comprise a series of short films in conjunction with a panel discussion on the unifying role of poetry.

As a way of promoting the event and the Literary Festival, LSE's Conferences and Events Office is looking for academics who would be interested in reading out a favourite poem and saying a few words about why they like it at the start of their lectures in the weeks leading up to the festival.

The poems cannot be written by the reader, so in a way the 'Poetry Unites' event is more about the poetry readers than about the process of creation. Examples can be found here.

Tell us what you think - Staff News feedback survey 2012

The Press Office has put together a short survey for you to let us know how you feel about Staff News. It will be an important way for us to find out how we can improve the newsletter for you.

The survey is open to all staff and should take no more than five minutes to complete. To take part, visit www.survey.bris.ac.uk/lsewebsite/staff_news_2012.

Last year the School launched its own two year leave planner/calendar for 2011-12. For those who missed out, there is now a 2012-13 version available.

It comes in two parts: Jan-Jun and Jul-Dec, and is double sided. Side one is for 2012 and side two for 2013. At the end of 2012, you simply turn it over to display 2013.

Planner/calendar features:

• it is laminated so you can use highlighters on it which can be later erased if need be
• School closure dates indicated
• comes in A5, A4 or A3 sizes, for either team use or individual use
• each of the two parts is either A5, A4 or A3 depending on size ordered
• term periods shaded so you can immediately differentiate between term time and non-term time
• term dates stated (2011-12 and 2012-13 on the 2012 planner, and 2012-13 and 2013-14 on the 2013 planner)

Please click here to view it.

To place your order, email repro.admin@lse.ac.uk stating the size and quantities required, along with a valid budget code.

New Year at Waterstone's Economists' Bookshop

Waterstone's Economists' Bookshop, which is located on the LSE campus, is running the following New Year offers:

• Spend and Save Card - one stamp for every £10 spent and a £10 gift card for every ten stamps, running until 30 April 2012 (not available with 10 per cent student discount)
• Waterstone's Loyalty Card - gives points which are equivalent to 3 per cent of spending to be offset against future purchases. Save money in the Lent term with points accumulated in the Michaelmas term.
• January Clearance Sale - the biggest one for many years with many items at half price or less until the end of the month. Some real bargains in all subject areas.
• Textbook Buyback Scheme - 30 per cent cash or 40 per cent store credit on recommended texts (terms and conditions apply).

Here to help - LSE's Staff Counselling Service

The LSE Staff Counselling Service aims to support all staff in their work, whether full or part time.

A number of staff have already accessed and benefitted from the opportunity to look at personal or work difficulties in a confidential space. The service can offer quick access and a range of appointment times.

If you would like discuss any issue, complete an online registration form on the website, email staff.counselling@lse.ac.uk, or call 020 7955 6953.
 

Unfortunately our services go down from time to time. Sometimes unexpected issues arise or we need to carry out essential maintenance to keep our services running smoothly. This can result in disruptions to services such as email and Moodle. We are aware of the importance of keeping you informed during these times.

For this reason we have changed the IT Service Status page to a new, improved and resilient service. The new service is not reliant on the LSE network so that in the event of a network outage at LSE, you can always access status updates wherever you have an internet connection. This could be at home using your own computer or on the move with your mobile device.

The new service also lets you:

• Get email status alerts to your LSE and/or personal email address
• Follow our status updates on Twitter at twitter.com/lseitstatus
• Subscribe to our LSEitStatus rss feed
• Read the updates online at www.lse.ac.uk/itservices/status

ESRC Grant Assessment Panels - Recruitment 2012

The role of the ESRC Grants Assessment Panels is to assess applications submitted under responsive mode schemes and make funding recommendations to ESRC according to procedures and criteria approved and overseen by the ESRC Committees.

Applications are now invited for membership of these panels. Applications should be submitted by Wednesday 1 February. For more information, see Grant Assessment Panels.
 

Start something new this New Year. Join Mandy’s lunchtime toning classes on Mondays and/or boxing circuit classes on Thursdays.

LSE staff groups - get involved or get started

Are you looking for new members for a staff football team? Or did you want to set up a staff book group?

There are already a number of sporting and activity groups run by staff across the School so why not advertise what you are doing and recruit some new members. Or, if there isn’t an existing group, perhaps 2012 is the year to set one up.

If you would like to advertise a staff group, or are interested in establishing one, email n.gallivan@lse.ac.uk.
 

The first LSE Perspectives gallery of 2012 is now online. You can view this month's selection of photos here.

The gallery features 12 striking images submitted by members of the LSE community. Each image reflects a unique perspective on a particular scene.

LSE Perspectives is an online gallery featuring photographs taken by LSE staff and students. If you have taken any artistic images on your travels, from your home town or even just here in London why not submit them to LSE Perspectives so that they can be shared with the LSE community.

For more information and to submit your images visit LSE Perspectives Submissions. Every month the Arts team selects 12 images and publishes them online. Previous galleries can be found here.
 

A new treatment clinic, which welcomes LSE staff and students, has opened on the first floor of Tower Two.

The LSE Treatment Clinic offers professional treatments including acupuncture, osteopathy and sports massage from practitioners with over 20 years of experience between them. Their combined expertise is effective in the treatment of pain relief, including musculoskeletal pain, repetitive strain injury, tension headaches, posture advice, sports injuries, anxiety, insomnia, migraine, among many other ailments.

Appointments are available Monday - Friday from 8.30am - 6.30pm and can be booked online at www.lsetreatmentclinic.co.uk. All consultations are strictly confidential and sessions will last between 30 and 60 minutes depending upon the treatment.

The practitioners are:

• Hanya Chlala
  Acupuncture available in a dual bed setting on Wednesdays and Fridays
• Laura Dent
  Sports massage available on Mondays
• Tim Hanwell
  Osteopathy available on Tuesdays and Thursdays

This week's picture features one of the classical sculptures on the outside of Clement House on Aldwych.

Clement House is a listed building designed by Sir John Burnet and built between 1909-11.

For more images like this, visit the Photography Unit.

Skilled workers coming from outside the EU to work in the UK put minimal pressure on the housing market, according to a new report by LSE London.

According to the report, commissioned by the Migration Advisory Committee, their impact on house prices is likely to be less than one per cent over the next five years.

On arriving in the UK, nearly 80 per cent of economic migrants from outside the EU initially live in the private rented sector or with friends and family, and only 20 per cent become owner-occupiers. This tenure mix changes only slowly, with owner-occupation rising to 45 per cent after five years.

‘Relating Cultures’
Wednesday 29 February - Saturday 3 March

A series of events designed to explore the interaction between the academic cultures of the arts and social sciences, as well as global cultures, and the art of communication and language.

Speakers include AS Byatt, Professor Roger Scruton, Claire Tomalin, Jonathan Powell, Elif Shafak, John Lanchester, Jeanette Winterson, Michael Rosen and many more. All events free and open to all.

Total Policing: the future of policing in London
On: Monday 16 January at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Bernard Hogan-Howe, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Israel: the strategy of the iron wall revisited
On: Tuesday 17 January at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Avi Shlaim, professor of international relations at the University of Oxford.

On: Monday 16 January from 6.30-8pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Michael Kimmel (pictured), University Distinguished Professor of Sociology at State University of New York

In this lecture, Professor Kimmel will suggest that women's studies provides an essential framework for understanding men's lives, and that framework actually will enable men to experience richer and fuller lives.

By addressing several key thematic areas (work, family life, sexuality) Professor Kimmel will show that the insights generated by women's studies are both available to men and, indeed, necessary for men to live the lives they say they want to live.

On: Monday 23 January from 6.30-8pm in the New Theatre, East Building
Speakers: Professor Helmut Anheier, professor of sociology at the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Professor Christine Chinkin, professor of international law at LSE, Professor Mary Kaldor, professor of global governance and director of the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit at LSE, and Professor Saskia Sassen, Robert S Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University and a visiting professor at LSE.
Respondent: Dr Marlies Glasius, visiting fellow at LSE's Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit.

The panel will discuss the political implications of giving power to ordinary people in an era when the nation-state has lost its primacy as a political actor. The event launches the book Bottom-up Politics: an agency-centred approach to globalisation.

On: Wednesday 25 January at 2pm
Speaker: Professor John Naughton, professor of the public understanding of technology, writer and Observer columnist.

The Internet has gone from being something ‘exotic’ to a mundane utility in the course of two decades. But there is abundant evidence that many people, including those whose livelihoods depend on it, do not understand it.

Professor John Naughton will discuss this topic at the second NetworkED seminar.

On: Thursday 26 January from 6.30-8pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Dr Ramachandra Guha (pictured), Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at LSE IDEAS for 2011-12.

High annual growth rates in excess of 8 per cent, a rising middle class, and spectacular successes in the software sector have led to much talk, within and outside India, of the country becoming a superpower. It is said that just as the 20th century belonged to the United Kingdom and the United States, the 21st century will belong to China and India.

'Fantasy versus Reality'
On: Thursday 23 February at 6-7.30pm.

Bring your children along to a really lively event at LSE next month.

The most popular books today are filled with vampires, ghosts, wizards and other fantasy figures. Is real life so uninspiring? Come along and join the fantasy versus reality debate.

Speakers will include:

• Caroline Bird (pictured), award-winning poet
• William Fiennes, bestselling author of The Snow Geese and The Music Room and director of the charity First Story
• Meg Rosoff, award-winning author of How I Live Now and Just in Case
• Philip Womack, author of two critically acclaimed children's books, The Other Book and The Liberators.

The authors will be signing copies of their latest books (which will be available to buy) at a reception following the event.

The event is free to attend and open to all. If you would like to request tickets in advance of the public release date for yourself, your child, your child's friends or teachers, email events@lse.ac.uk by Monday 6 February.

The LSE Student Community Festival

Taking place on Sunday 4 March, the LSE Student Community Festival is a one day student-run festival bringing together students, staff and alumni to celebrate the diversity of the School.

The Festival will incorporate a range of activities over the course of the day. The main event will be a run/walk around Lincoln's Inn Fields to raise money for LSE student support, including scholarships, hardship funds, and the LSE African Initiative.

For more information or to get involved, visit Facebook or email runningwhileotherswalk@gmail.com.
 

Podcasts of public lectures and events

Global Political Challenges: women advancing democracy
Speaker: Dr Madeleine Korbel Albright
Recorded: Friday 2 December 2011
Click here to listen

The US and the Arab Revolutions
Speaker: Professor William Quandt
Recorded: Thursday 8 December 2011
Click here to listen

Courses scheduled for next week include:

• Introduction to Database Structure and Design
• Moodle Basics Training
• Communications Skills
• Retirement Opportunity and Choice
• Developing Teams and Individuals
• Software Surgery

The Software Surgery is a new drop-in service where both staff and students can get training on specific software and web applications. We cover:

• Statistical Software: SPSS and Stata
• Qualitative Analysis: Alceste, Atlas.ti, and Nvivo
• Microsoft Office: Access, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint, Word
• Learning Technologies: Moodle, lecture capture, electronic voting systems, Wordpress, etc
• Library Technologies: Endnote, e-journals and online data sources

Drop in on the day, or book in advance via the Training and Development System and you can jump the queue when you arrive. A member of the team will be on hand to help you learn what you need to solve your particular problem.

Below are some of the vacancies currently being advertised to internal candidates only, as well as those being advertised externally.

• Administrator - LSEE research on South Eastern Europe, European Institute
• Department manager, Accounting
• Administrator, Department of Media and Communications
• Development manager, ODAR: major gift fundraising
• HR administrator (pay), HR Services
• Department manager (operations and personnel), Law
• Lecturer in sociology, Sociology
• Lectureship in mathematics, Mathematics
• Lectureships in law, Law
• Munich Re programme research officer, Centre for Analysis of Time Series
• Planning officer, Planning Unit
• Postgraduate programmes administrator, Law
• Research officer in quantitative text analysis, Methodology Institute
• Senior contract accounts manager, Research Division
• Subwarden (High Holborn and Bankside House), Residential and Catering Services Division

Nicole wants to hear from you!

Do you have some news, an achievement, or an aspect of LSE life that you would like to share? If so, then I would love to hear from you, contact me at n.gallivan@lse.ac.uk or on ext 7582.

The next edition of Staff News is on Thursday 19 January. Articles for this should be emailed to me by Tuesday 17 January. Staff News is emailed every Thursday during term time and fortnightly during the holidays.