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23 February 2012 |
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 News
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'Is it possible to kill out of care?' asks LSE academic in public
lecture In a humane society, should it be legal to help those who are
suffering terribly to end their lives? Professor Emily Jackson tackles this
provocative issue in the latest of a new series of public lectures that has
been launched online.
Professor Jackson delivered 'Right to Die', one of three 'Burning Issue'
lectures which are designed to showcase the social sciences to a
non-academic audience.
In her lecture Professor Jackson looks at how the law deals with the
issue of assisted dying. While there is an absolute prohibition on assisting
someone to kill themselves in the UK, Jackson shows that the line drawn
between lawful and unlawful practices which may lead to someone's death is
not clear cut. She asks whether the law draws the line in the right
place.
More
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Lent term teaching surveys
Message from Professor Janet Hartley (pictured), pro-director for
teaching and learning.
In teaching weeks eight and nine (27 February - 9 March), the School will
be conducting teaching surveys; there are two different surveys, one for
classes/seminars and one for lectures.
Students will be asked to complete these questionnaires for any full unit
courses that you teach in Lent term, and also for half-unit courses that run
in Lent term. The surveys are mandatory if your teaching is five or more
weeks on a given course.
The class/seminar questionnaire asks for students’ views on the course as
a whole, and also their opinions of their teachers’ performance. The survey
covers permanent faculty, GTAs and LSE Fellows. Teachers should conduct
surveys during classes/seminars, which should take no more than ten minutes
to complete.
Lecturers must also conduct a separate Lecture Questionnaire if they do
not teach classes/seminars in a given course.
Please ask a student volunteer to collect completed questionnaires and to
return them in a sealed envelope to a drop box in the Student Services
Centre.
For more information about teaching surveys,
click here. Alternatively, visit TQARO’s
‘FAQ’ page.
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LSE research highlighted in special issue of Africa journal The
findings of research on popular economies in South Africa, led by LSE
Anthropology professor Deborah James, have been published in a special issue
of Africa, the journal of the International African Institute.
The special 2012 issue is guest edited by Deborah James and (then) LSE
researcher Elizabeth Hull, now a lecturer at SOAS. The articles arise out of
an ESRC-funded research project.
The broader context is one in which financialisation is increasing, and
the state and banks try to incorporate more and more people into mainstream
financial structures. But informal arrangements nevertheless persist - and
expand. Ideologies and practices of neoliberalism are juxtaposed with
long-founded expectations of social welfare, which have been overlaid, in
turn, on an uneven mix of market-orientated and state-regulated practices.
The research project explored the effects of the attempted formalisation
of investment, credit, enterprise, wage labour and insurance, and of state
attempts to regulate gambling and to address over-indebtedness, seeking to
understand whether these efforts have succeeded in creating a uniformly
formal economic realm or whether deepening inequality has prompted new
divisions.
For Africa,
click
here. For more on the Popular Economies project,
click here.
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Academic abroad
Professor Jude Howell (pictured), Department of International
Development, presented a paper on 'Civil Society, Corporatism and Capitalism
in China: bringing capitalism back into the study of civil society' at a
workshop on Civil Society and Coalitions held at City University, Hong Kong,
on 10 and 11 February. |
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 Notices
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LSE Teaching Day 2012 - deadline extended The call for
contributions for LSE Teaching Day 2012 has been extended until Friday 24
February.
Contributions are welcome on the following main topics:
- challenges and innovations in teaching
- supporting student learning
- feedback and assessment
- research led teaching
- technologies in teaching and learning
For more information and a submission form,
click here.
LSE Teaching Day will be held on Tuesday 22 May. If you require further
information, email
teaching.day@lse.ac.uk or contact Athina Chatzigavriil at
a.chatzigavriil@lse.ac.uk.
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Party on the Plaza - save the date
This year’s Party on the Plaza (Summer Party) will be held on Friday 29
June.
Please save the date; invitations will be issued in Summer term.
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Nominations are invited for the award of Honorary Fellowship
The award of an Honorary Fellowship is one of the most prestigious awards
that the School can bestow. The Court may elect as an Honorary Fellow of LSE
any member of the School whose achievements are of conspicuous merit, or any
person, including members of the School, who has rendered outstanding service
to the School.
Honorary Fellows need to have a direct link with the School, but must not
be a current student or member of staff or a member of the Council.
For more information or if you have any queries, contact Joan Poole on
020 7955 7825 or email j.a.poole@lse.ac.uk.
The nomination form and background information can be
found here.
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Fairtrade Fortnight 2012 As part of Fairtrade Fortnight, LSE
Catering will be actively promoting LSE’s Fairtrade status in all of its
restaurants and cafés from Monday 27 February to Sunday 11 March.
LSE Catering will be promoting existing Fairtrade products, introducing
new products, and arranging free tastings and giveaways of Fairtrade
products.
For more information on Fairtrade, visit
www.fairtrade.org.uk.
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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 is 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.
The survey is open until Friday 16 March. We really appreciate you taking
the time to give us your feedback.
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Try acupuncture at LSE
The first ever
Acupuncture Awareness Week
launches on Monday 27 February, so why not give acupuncture a try right
here on campus at the LSE Treatment Clinic?
Acupuncture is part of Chinese medicine and is effective at controlling
pain, insomnia, anxiety and stress, and can help with smoking cessation.
Practitioner Hanya Chlala is available on Wednesday and Friday for
appointments.
For more information or to book, visit
lsetreatmentclinic.co.uk.
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 LSE
in pictures
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This week's picture features Michael D Higgins, president of Ireland,
who was shown the original photographic albums of George Bernard Shaw by
archivist Sue Donnelly and Peter Sutherland, chairman of LSE's Court of
Governors, when he visited the School this week.
For more images like this, visit the
Photography Unit.
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 Research
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Competition between NHS hospitals improves efficiency; impact of
private sector competition is ambiguous Competition between NHS
hospitals improves their efficiency and can save significant amounts of
money. But allowing NHS hospitals to compete against private providers has
not produced the same positive outcomes for the public sector hospitals.
These are among the findings of a study published by the Centre for
Economic Performance at LSE. The research team finds that in NHS hospitals
located in parts of the country where there is a great deal of choice among
public sector hospitals, patients spend less time in hospital both before
and after their surgery.
In contrast, NHS hospitals located in places where there are more private
NHS providers have not seen the same benefits after they were allowed to
compete. Indeed, there has actually been a rise in patients’ length of stay
in hospital. What’s more, NHS hospitals competing in markets with more
private providers tend to treat older and less well-off patients.
More
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Keeping your friends close doesn't always pay: how hedge fund
managers' trusted networks expose them to risk Hedge fund managers'
over-reliance on information gleaned from a small group of trusted contacts
in other hedge funds exposes them to financial risk, according to new
research.
The paper by LSE, IESE Business School and the University of Essex shows
that hedge fund managers tend to turn to small, cohesive networks made up of
competing fund managers to compare and test initial trading ideas and to
look for potential flaws in their planned investment strategies.
These networks, where like-minded people circulate a limited set of
ideas, increase the likelihood of consensus trades and their associated
risks according to the researchers.
More |
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 Events
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Banks Versus The Economy
On: Tuesday 3 April at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Steve Keen (pictured), associate professor of
economics and finance at the University of Western Sydney.
'If we keep the parasitic banking sector alive, the economy dies,' warns
radical economist Steve Keen.
For BBC Radio 4's Analysis programme, Paul Mason interviews Professor
Steve Keen about his diagnosis and proposed treatment for our current
economic problems.
This event is free and open to all but a ticket is required; only one
ticket per person can be requested. LSE students and staff are able to
collect one ticket from the New Academic Building SU shop, located on the
Kingsway side of the building, from 10am on Tuesday 27 March.
More
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Other events include.... LSE European Institute Literary Festival event
The Culture of Europe
On: Wednesday 29 February from 1-2.30pm
Speaker: Professor Roger Scruton (pictured)
Tickets are available to book online
Hire Intelligence LSE Literary Festival event
Science and the Media
Date: Wednesday 29 February from 5.15-6.45pm
Speakers: Professor Jim al-Khalili, Professor Pedro Ferreira,
Professor Elaine Fox, and Mark Henderson
Tickets are available to book online
LSE Literary Festival event
Approaches to Bamiyan: Afghanistan's cultural crossroads
Date: Saturday 3 March from 11am-12.30pm
Speaker: Dr Llewelyn Morgan
Tickets are available to book online
LSE Literary Festival event
Faith, Doubt and Certainty in a Secular Age
On: Saturday 3 March from 3-4.30pm
Speakers: Richard Holloway (pictured) and Alex Preston
Tickets are available to book online
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Are 'Human Rights' Part of the Problem in Post-Soviet Russia?
On: Friday 24 February from 12.30-1.30pm in the Wolfson Theatre, New
Academic Building
Speaker: Dr Mary McAuley (pictured),
an independent scholar on juvenile justice and writer on the human
rights community in Russia.
The numbers and types of 'human rights' activists grew rapidly from the
early nineties through to the mid-noughties, yet their achievements,
whether under Yeltsin or under Putin/Medvedev, have been modest.
Drawing on the social movements' literature, Dr McAuley will consider
potential contributory factors: the ideological framing of 'rights',
elements from the soviet past, the activists' resources and the political
opportunities open to them. For more information,
click here.
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LSE Chill - this Friday Come and watch our talented students
and staff perform at the LSE Chill open performance evening. The next
session is this Friday (24 February) from 5.30pm in the Fourth Floor Café
Bar and the event is open all.
The line up for the evening is as follows:
5.45-6.15pm Mike Brenner
Michael Brenner is an American musician who will be playing music by The
Grateful Dead, Paul Simon, original compositions, and maybe even some Bach
on the guitar. He will be using a loop pedal to superimpose melodies on top
of chord progressions. He has performed over 200 shows throughout America
with his former band The Mad Hatters. Eva Huebner will accompany him with
vocals on a few tunes.
6.30-7pm Veronique Mizgailo
Veronique has a classical singing background, having sung with a number of
choirs, most notably the London Philharmonic Choir and the English Chamber
Choir, and has given numerous recitals. In search of a new challenge she is
exploring jazz and less mainstream popular music. On campus she can be found
in the Directorate. She will be accompanied by Andy Thornes, who is a
professional musician and songwriter.
7.15-8pm The Critique of Pure Rhythm
The Critique of Pure Rhythm is the Department of Philosophy band, consisting
of four current members of staff, one former member of staff and one former
student. They play predominantly blues and rock 'n' roll from the 50s and 60s
and some of their own original songs.
We’re still looking for acts to perform throughout the year. If you are
interested in performing, email
arts@lse.ac.uk with your name and details of your act. For more
information, visit www.lse.ac.uk/arts.
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Podcasts of public lectures and events
How the Clash Between John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek Continues to
Define the Difference Between Left and Right Today
Speaker: Nicholas Wapshott
Recorded: Monday 13 February, approx 88 minutes
Click here to listen
The Islamist Moment in the Middle East: domestic and geostrategic
implications
Speaker: Professor Fawaz Gerges
Recorded: Monday 13 February, approx 93 minutes
Click here to listen
Independence and Responsibility: the future of Scotland
Speaker: Alex Salmond MSP
Recorded: Wednesday 15 February, approx 78 minutes
Click here to listen |
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 60
second interview
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with..... Dave Coles
I have been working for LSE since
May 2011 as the volunteer
coordinator in LSE Careers. Before
that I worked for a charity called
YouthNet, the organisation that runs
Do-it, the national volunteering
database. I also co-founded and help
to run a charity called KickStart
Ghana that promotes education and
sport in Ghana.
Outside the LSE bubble I play
football, badly, for a couple of
local teams and try to get to the
occasional pub quiz or two. My New
Year’s resolution was to read more
books and I’m hoping a recently
purchased Kindle will help me with
this.
Tell us more about the LSE
Volunteer Centre, its aims,
successes and schedules.
The aim of the Volunteer Centre
at LSE Careers is to act as a ‘hub’
for student volunteering. We are
always on the lookout for engaging
and interesting volunteering
activities for students to get
involved in. Likewise we do a lot of
work promoting the benefits of
volunteering to students and the
wide range of opportunities that are
out there. There is a fantastic
Student Volunteering Committee that
help with this.
We’ve had many successes over the
past year, one of them being the
launch of an LSE wide Volunteer Pledge,
and have seen many LSE students
showing a fantastic commitment to
volunteering. Other success include:
providing more student volunteers
than any other university to LOCOG
to work as selection event
volunteers for the 2012 Games and
working with City Year London to
recruit LSE students for one-off
‘Service Days’ in the community. We
also ran the largest LSE
Volunteering Fair to date. My
favourite recent example was being
contacted by Reprieve, the human
rights organisation. It urgently
needed a Ukrainian translator to be
recruited; we were able to help and
Reprieve couldn’t praise the
volunteer’s work highly enough.
We’ve recently been told that we
were successful in a bid with the
Annual Fund. We intend to run a
‘Community Showcase Event’, in
conjunction with the LSESU RAG
Society, highlighting the fantastic
community work that LSE students
partake in.
You mention that you help run
a charity in Ghana. What does this
entail?
I originally volunteered in Ghana
back in 2006 and felt that many of
the volunteer sending organisations
didn’t have the local community’s
interests at the top of their
priorities. Myself and two friends,
one of whom is a Ghanaian national,
decided that we would set up a very
small organisation to help with a
few local projects.
The charity is called KickStart
Ghana. Over the past three years it
has grown quite significantly and we
send around 25 volunteers a year to
help with football coaching and
running summer clubs for local
children. We occasionally recruit
teachers if a local school requests
this service.
We also work with local
educational and sporting bodies to
provide grants. Last summer we
worked with a school that had not
been renovated since it opened 28
years ago. We provided funds so that
they could buy new, waterproof
windows and have the entire school
repainted. This has provided a much
better learning environment for the
children.
It can be hard work but I get a
lot of enjoyment from it too.
Which celebrity would you pick
to be prime minister?
I’m not sure he would do a great
job but Ricky Gervais would be
interesting to watch at the dispatch
box. Stephen Merchant being his
chancellor of course.
What is the best advice you
have ever been given?
Don’t take yourself too
seriously.
Is there anything you cannot
do and would like to learn?
I used to play the piano, but
can’t remember a thing now. I would
love to learn again.
What book are you currently
reading and which have you enjoyed
most in the past?
I’m currently reading a Peter
James thriller. A recent favourite
was It Happened on the Way to War,
an autobiography about a US marine
who founded a youth organisation in
the Nairobi slum Kibera. |
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 Training
and jobs
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Courses from HR Organisational and Lifelong Learning
- Writing skills
Friday 2 March
- Creativity and problem solving
Friday 9 March
- Getting the most from meetings
Tuesday 13 March
- Manager as coach
Wednesday 14 March
- Leadership
Wednesday 21 March
- PDR training for managers
Thursday 22 March
- Communication skills
Monday 26 March
To book a place and to see more details on the courses, visit the
online training booking
system. For more information, email
Hr.Learning@lse.ac.uk.
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Training for staff Courses scheduled for next week include:
- One-to-one IT training
- Moodle basics training
- Organising Your Favourite Websites: introduction to social
book-marking
- Writing skills
For a full listing of what is available and further details, including
booking information, see
www.lse.ac.uk/training.
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New workshop - Creating accessible PDF documents This is the
first hands-on practical workshop on creating accessible PDF documents.
The one hour workshop will cover:
- accessibility issues of PDF documents
- general instructions/tips on how to make a Word document accessible
and convert it to PDF
- how to check the accessibility level of Word/PDF documents
Places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come first-served
basis. To book your place,
click here.
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PhD supervisors' workshop On: Friday 23 March from
10am-4pm (includes working lunch)
This one day workshop explores ways in which PhD students and other
postgraduate research students can be best supported academically and
personally to achieve their research degrees in a timely manner.
The national context in which supervisors and students work will be
considered and the influence of the UK Code of Practice on supervisory
practice reviewed. The workshop will consider the role and responsibilities
of the supervisor as students begins their doctoral qualification, as they
progress their studies and as they complete and submit their theses. Models
of joint supervision will be discussed, as indeed will different supervisory
styles and tailoring approaches to the needs of individual students.
There will be the opportunity to share views whilst considering the most
appropriate responses to a range of difficult supervisory situations and
common problems.
For more information or to book your place,
click here.
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Jobs at LSE Below are some of the vacancies currently being
advertised to internal candidates only, as well as those being advertised
externally.
- Building liaison officer, Library: user services
- Communications manager, LSE Cities
- Deputy security team leader, Estates: security and porters
- Deputy security team leader (nights), Estates: security and
porters
- LSE fellow (one year), Philosophy
- LSE fellow (two year), Philosophy
- LSE fellow in European politics, Government
- Lecturer in anthropology (two posts), Anthropology
- Lecturer in early modern international history, International
History
- Network specialist, IT Services
- Postdoctoral research assistant (economics of climate change),
Grantham Research Institute
- Postdoctoral research assistant (green growth), Grantham
Research Institute
- Professor In international history, International History
- Professor of management, Management: MESG
- Remote support officer, IT Services
- Research economist, Spatial Economics Research Centre
- Research economist, Centre for Economic Performance
- Research executive, ODAR: research and academic liaison
- Research officer, LSE Health and Social Care
- Training, web and social media manager, IT Services: user
services
- Research officers (two posts), LSE Health and Social Care
- Undergraduate programme manager, Economics
- Wardens, Residential and Catering Services Division
For more information, visit
Jobs at LSE and login via the instructions under the 'Internal
vacancies' heading. |
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