The zombies have come and LSE students will be their first victims...

Don't miss the premiere of Ruthless, LSE's student film, on Thursday 21 March at 8.30pm in the Old Theatre.

Last chance to tell us what you think

The Press Office has put together a short feedback survey for you to let us know how you feel about Staff News.

Melissa Stubbs-Bladen

Melissa, who joined the Grantham Research Institute last year, is surprised by the amount she's already learnt about climate change.

A paper co-authored by Professor Martin Knapp (pictured), Dr Derek King, Andrew Healey and Cicely Thomas, has been assigned the Excellence in Mental Health Policy and Economics Research Award 2011-12 by the International Centre of Mental Health Policy and Economics.

The paper, Economic Outcomes in Adulthood and their Associations with Antisocial Conduct, Attention Deficit and Anxiety Problems in Childhood, was rated one of the three best papers to be featured in the Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics in 2011.

The paper looks at the links between mental health needs in childhood (at age 10) and adverse economic consequences in adulthood (age 30). The results found a need for better interventions in childhood in order to head off a life-course for many people that is dominated not only by poor mental health but also economic disadvantage.

Following the transfer of ownership of The Women's Library to LSE earlier this year, the relocation of the collection will be completed by July. The collection will be open and available for use from Thursday 1 August, with the reading room service located in the Library’s present archives reading room.

Plans for The Women's Library @ LSE include the creation of a new reading room and exhibition area. As construction work has progressed it has become clear that the project will take longer to complete than originally envisaged, and it is too disruptive to continue while students are preparing for exams.

Library building work update

The Library is pleased to announce that additional study spaces will be made available to LSE students visiting the Library during April and May.

From April, the meeting room R301 on the third floor will be turned into a temporary silent study area for LSE students, providing an additional 30 study spaces.

In anticipation of the busy examination period, the Library has installed 37 extra study spaces for LSE students across all four floors.

The building work currently taking place on the lower ground floor is scheduled to end on Thursday 18 April, when 29 study spaces will become permanently available to LSE students.

For more information, email Peter Carrol at p.carrol@lse.ac.uk.
 

Thirteen LSE students who have been providing emotional support to fellow students in halls and elsewhere on campus, were rewarded with certificates and warm praise at a 'graduation ceremony' last week.

Richard Perkins, warden at Passfield Hall, said: 'I've been lucky enough to have a fantastic group of Peer Supporters. Not only have they been through a long and rigorous training, but they represent a generation that is committed to sharing and giving their time selflessly to others.'

Peter Howlett, dean of Undergraduate Studies, commented that peer support 'offers vital support to students who may arrive at university and have no one to turn to. It is now a key part of a range of different types of help available to new students, and I'm delighted to see it flourishing within the School.'

Reem Yassin, one of the graduates, said: 'Peer support has really been the best thing I have taken on all year.'

A huge thank you to everyone who gave or bought cakes at last week's Comic Relief Bakeoff. A fantastic £766 was raised, and much fun was had by all.

Academic Registrar and Director of Academic Services, Simeon Underwood (pictured), had the difficult job of judging the 'show stopper' cakes donated by various departments, but eventually settled on the Institute of Social Psychology's as the winner, with a special commendation for the Department of Management.

Tell us what you think - Staff News feedback survey 2013

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_2013.

Equality and Diversity team update

The Equality and Diversity team (Ferhat Nazir-Bhatti, equality and diversity manager, and Asiya Islam, equality and diversity adviser) have moved to Human Resources from the Planning and Corporate Policy Division.

They are now based in Sardinia House (third floor). The equality and diversity manager started reporting to Chris Gosling, HR director, from 5 November 2012.
 

Adding chapter numbers into captions for figures, tables, etc in Word documents.

If you have numbered chapters in your book manuscript, thesis or dissertation, you can choose to add the chapter number to the captions for maps, photos, tables, diagrams, etc. Here is how:

1. When you insert a caption, click the Numbering button and tick Include chapter number.
2. Before you click OK, check that the Chapter starts with style box is set to the heading level you use for chapter names.

NOTE: For this to work, you must use a numbered heading style to format your chapter headings. Appendix 1.1 of LSE’s Word 2010 Format an Academic Paper course explains how.

This TLC-funded research method workshop aims at bringing together both established and early career researchers working on China, sharing their hands-on experiences of addressing various constraints that they have encountered in the course of their fieldwork.

This interdisciplinary workshop invites contributors to reflect upon their past/present field research projects, and draw some lessons, both practical and academic, which can be shared with the audience.

Participants wishing to present their thoughts are invited to submit a 150 word (max) abstract and a short biography to Dr Hyun Shin, Department of Geography and Environment, at h.b.shin@lse.ac.uk by Thursday 4 April.

Nominations are invited for the award of a Queen’s Honour (which include MBE, OBE, CBE etc).

Do you know someone working at LSE who has:

• made a real impact on the School
• gained the respect of their peers
• changed things for the better at the School
• demonstrated innovation
• brought distinction to British life and enhanced its reputation through their work at the School?

A full explanation is given here but please bear in mind that awards channelled through the School should be for services to higher education, with particular reference to the School. The deadline for receipt of suggestions is Friday 19 April.

Nominations for Honorary Doctorate are invited from LSE students and staff.

The LSE Council may confer an Honorary Doctorate on an individual who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and distinction in a field or activity consonant with the work of the School and with its mission to improve society and understand the 'causes of things'.

Unlike Honorary Fellows, Honorary Doctorates do not need a direct connection with the School.

Please note that following a recent review by the Nominations Committee, the criteria have been revised.

The deadline for the receipt of nominations to be considered is Wednesday 1 May. Any Honorary Doctorates awarded would be conferred in December 2013.

Skip fit lessons

Security officer and former boxer Daniel Beckley is running skip fit lessons for all staff and students at LSE. Build up your fitness, burn calories and increase your stamina, all within an hour.

The next lessons will take place from 1-2pm at the Badminton Court, Old Building, on Tuesday 23 April, Tuesday 30 April, Tuesday 14 May and Tuesday 21 May. Please note, the Badminton Court will be closed from 3-21 April so the lessons due to take place on Tuesday 2 April and Tuesday 9 April have been cancelled.

Just turn up on any of these dates with your own skipping rope. All lessons are free.

For more information, email Daniel at d.beckley@lse.ac.uk.
 

Working in an office at a computer for prolonged periods of time can lead to tension, stiffness, and stress throughout the body. Yoga stretches can be done at your desk anytime, and can help reduce strain that develops from sitting for long periods of time, typing, and staring at the computer screen.

In these sessions we will target neck, shoulders, wrists, hips, hamstrings and the lower back. The techniques will be easy to follow and will be practiced seated and standing. No yoga mat, special attire, or previous yoga experience is required.

Benefits:

• Reduced stress and muscle tension
• Clear your mind
• Relieve neck and back pain

The next session is Wednesday 24 April at 12.45-1.30pm in room 3.02, Tower Two. The sessions cost £8 but if you book one week or more in advance, you pay £7. Please note that a PayPal transaction fee of 45p will be added for single early bird bookings, 70p for two bookings.

Wednesday 27 March is the last day that a 12 month membership to the LSESU Gym at its current price, will be available.

By taking up the membership now, it will continue into the brand new, state of the art, fitness facility opening in the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre at no extra cost, saving on the increased membership fees which will take effect once it is opened (January 2014 planned opening date).

Featuring a full selection of cardiovascular and resistance machines with an extended free weight area, the current LSESU Gym is a well equipped and fully staffed facility located on the first floor at the rear of the East Building. Take advantage of the convenient campus location and the fact that the Gym experiences quiet periods during holiday and exam time.

The current 12 month membership works out at £13.33 a month (at least half the price of the proposed new fees) so join up now to ensure that you don’t miss out on this fantastic offer.

Are you a female expert and do you want to take part in television and radio programmes that are made in the North of England?

The BBC Academy in conjunction with BBC North is holding a free training day for women with particular expertise who are interested in appearing on television, on radio and online as contributors or presenters.

Do you have industry-recognised expertise in any of the following areas?

• Politics, economics and business
• Crime and security
• Islam
• Gadgets and consumer technology
• Science, in particular medical science, space science and pure science
• Sport

This week's picture shows the rear of LSE's Lionel Robbins Building on the corner of Carey Street and Portugal Street.

For more images like this, visit the Photography Unit.

Strict planning regulations in US cities, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, are partly driven by powerful property owners protecting their own interests, rather than by considerations about quality of life only, says new research from LSE.

According to the forthcoming paper in the Journal of Urban Economics, because desirable places have become more developed over time, homeowners and landlords who own the developed land are in the majority and are more influential than people who own land that has not yet been developed. Developed land owners then use their power to vote and lobby local planners to restrict further building.

New event - Leading Change: perspectives from GM chairman and CEO Dan Akerson

On: Thursday 11 April from 6.30-8pm. The venue will be confirmed to ticketholders.
Speaker: Daniel F Akerson (pictured), chairman and chief executive officer of General Motors.

In just over two years, LSE graduate Dan Akerson has led the transformation of General Motors from its historic IPO in the United States to a global, product-driven resurgence unlike any experienced in the company’s 104-year-old history.

Join Mr Akerson as he shares the importance of strong leadership in times of great change; his views on the current global economy; and how LSE helped prepare him for his business success. In addition, you will have the opportunity to pose your own questions to Mr Akerson.

Other forthcoming LSE events include....

China's Growth: the making of an economic superpower
On: Thursday 21 March at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Dr Linda Yueh (pictured), director of the China Growth Centre and fellow in economics at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford.

The Power of Lies
On: Thursday 21 March at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Hilary Lawson, director of the Institute of Art and Ideas and the author of Closure, Dr Parashkev Nachev, senior clinical research associate at the Institute of Neurology, UCL, and honorary clinical lecturer at Imperial College London, and Dr Jaime Whyte, former Times columnist and University of Cambridge philosopher.

The Art of Thinking Clearly: better thinking, better decisions
On: Thursday 11 April at 6.30pm in the New Theatre, East Building
Speaker: Rolf Dobelli (pictured), Swiss writer and entrepreneur.
 

On: Thursday 21 March at 8.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building.

It’s Thursday afternoon at LSE. The UGM is in full swing. The AU is sporting crippling headaches from last night's Zoo Bar. Students everywhere are settling down to an afternoon's work... and in a maintenance alley behind Tower Two, something evil is stirring...

...the zombies have come, and LSE students will be their first victims.

Ruthless is a 20 minute short film, made up entirely of original content from LSE students, a creative collaboration between LooSE TV, and the Drama and Music societies.

On: Friday 22 March from 6.30-8.40pm in the Senior Common Room, Old Building

The LSE Taiwan Research Programme will be holding a launch and wine reception in partnership with scholars from University College Dublin (UCD), to celebrate the publication of a special issue of the journal Taiwan in Comparative Perspective on the groundbreaking subject of Taiwan and Ireland in Comparative Perspective.

This publication brings together specialists on Taiwan and specialists on Ireland to begin the work of developing a new model of comparative interaction. Area studies can tend in approaching Ireland and Taiwan, as other places, to rehearse certain forms of scholarship, privilege certain questions and exclude others. Asking 'Irish questions' of Taiwan, and vice versa, this interdisciplinary collaboration breaks exciting new ground, drawing on material presented at a recent symposium at UCD entitled 'Small Islands, Big Issues'.

On: Tuesday 26 March at 6.30pm in the Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: James Kearney, peace and security programmes manager at the United Nations Association of the UK, and Dr James Smith, founder and chief executive of the Aegis Trust.

Since 1945, 22 million people - or the population of London three times over - have perished in mass atrocities. The international community has a responsibility to prevent mass atrocities, but has repeatedly failed to identify potential atrocities early enough, or mobilise itself quickly enough to take action to prevent them.

A recent report argued that a change of mindset is required, and that the European Union - which is endowed with significant capabilities that could be used to prevent mass atrocities - should commit itself more explicitly to this goal. But is the issue simply one of awareness? This panel debates the challenges of preventing mass atrocities.

On: Wednesday 17 April from 6.30-8pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House

Are you in London over the Lent term break? If so, join LSE Arts for a talk by Canadian brothers Colin and Ryan Pyle (pictured) as they recount their epic and world-record-setting motorcycle journey across China.

Podcasts of public lectures and events

Ireland: economic recovery and the EU presidency - stability, jobs and growth
Speaker: Enda Kenny
Recorded: Monday 11 March, approx. 51 minutes
Click here to listen

Unintended Consequences of the New Financial Regulations
Speakers: Dr Jon Danielsson, Professor Charles Goodhart, and Matt King
Recorded: Monday 11 March, approx. 90 minutes
Click here to listen

Does Eastern Europe Still Exist?
Speaker: Professor Anne Applebaum
Recorded: Tuesday 12 March, approx. 71 minutes
Click here to listen

Training and development opportunities for staff

Courses scheduled for next week include:

• Fair Access to Higher Education: how and why?

• Use of Defibrillators

• Moodle Basics Training

• Using Freedom of Information Requests for Research

These are just some of the events running next week. To receive a monthly list of all events, subscribe to the staff training and development email by clicking here. To find out more about training and development across the School and for links to booking pages, see lse.ac.uk/training.
 

The new ‘Step Up’ Programme from HR (OLL) provides participants with the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) level three award.

It is ideal for individuals who have management responsibilities but perhaps no formal training. In particular it supports practising team leaders seeking to move up to the next level of management and also managers who need to lead people through organisational change projects.

This programme is suitable for all staff who are currently grade five and above, who are either new to management/team leading or who have joined the School as a new manager/team leader. It is also suitable for staff that manage and influence others through project working, and therefore have some organisational impact upon the work of others.

This is a three day programme with a three to four week gap in between workshops and is therefore run over a three month period. Participants complete three workplace assignments linked to each of the modules which consist of:

• Understanding leadership
• Understanding how to motivate and improve performance
• Understanding organising and delegating in the workplace

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

• Accounts assistant (residences fees team), Residential and Catering Services Division
• Admissions and access specialist (one permanent post and one fixed-term post), ARD: undergraduate admissions
• Annual fund manager (maternity cover), ODAR: annual fund
• CEP research assistant (economist) education/labour markets, Centre for Economic Performance
• CEP research officer (community programme), Centre for Economic Performance
• Chair/reader in contemporary Turkish studies, European Institute
• Communications manager, Information Management and Technology
• Deputy registry manager, ARD: student administration
• Lecturer in social policy, Social Policy
• Lecturers in management, Management
• MSc programme administrator, Government
• Managing editor (British Politics and Policy Blog), Government
• Managing editor (Democratic Audit), Government
• Marketing and communications manager, Management
• Marketing and recruitment manager, Summer School and Executive Programmes
• Postdoctoral fellows (up to five positions), Anthropology
• Research assistant, Management
• Research assistant (Democratic Audit), Government
• Senior development manager, ODAR: major gift fundraising
• Senior press and communications officer, External Relations
• Senior service desk analyst, Information Management and Technology
• Telecoms technical support officer, Information Management and Technology

After her trek, Corina plans on visiting and volunteering at the children’s home, which is located in Moshi at the base of the highest free-standing mountain in the world. Amani, named after the Swahili word for ‘peace’, provides primary care, counselling and outreach options to the region’s most vulnerable street children. Their numbers have rapidly increased in the last few years due to poverty and the effects of HIV/AIDS. Amani offers them a safe environment, where they can grow, learn, and be treated for various psychological or physical afflictions.

Corina’s target is to ‘sell’ the 5,895 metres that she will trek to Kilimanjaro’s peak, for £1 each. Any donation stands to have a huge impact, considering that £16 is enough to feed one child at Amani for a month, while £230 covers a child’s care, including education, for a year.

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 4 April. Articles for this should be emailed to me by Wednesday 27 March. Staff News is emailed every Thursday during term time and fortnightly during the holidays.