Exercise "potentially as effective" as many drugs for common diseases

More trials are needed to inform treatment decisions, researchers urge in a new report.

Lunchtime concerts

Weekly Thursday lunchtime concerts start again on Thursday 10 October with a performance by pianist Anna Fedorova at 1.05pm in the Shaw Library, Old Building.

Dr Stuart Gordon

Dr Gordon, Department of International Development, has been both a regular RAF officer and in the Army, and served as a Lieutenant Colonel in Iraq in 2003.

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LSE has climbed seven places in the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

The School rose from 39th last year to 32nd in the 2013-14 rankings, the third successive rise since the Times Higher Education teamed up with Thomson Reuters in 2010 to produce its annual university league table.

The rankings use a variety of indicators to assess university performance and show LSE scoring particularly well for its research, reputation, and international outlook.

LSE also rose from 18th to 13th in the ranking’s social sciences subject league table, which uses slightly different weightings to the main league table.

Commenting on the rankings, Professor Craig Calhoun, Director of LSE, said: "It is gratifying to see LSE climbing the international rankings, and that we continue to be rightly recognised as a world-class institution.

"Regardless of league table positions, we will continue to focus on what we do best - producing the very best social science research and teaching that tackles real-world problems."

The new JNCHES (Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff) pay negotiations for 2013-14 between the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and the higher education trade unions reached the final offer stage in June. The trade unions at the School (UCU, Unison and Unite) are now consulting their members and balloting for industrial action, in response to the 1 per cent final pay offer.

The higher education sector continues to face considerable uncertainty and financial insecurity, and the negotiations have taken place against expectations of restraint, given a public sector pay policy that limits pay increases to 1 per cent.

The pay offer is alongside the offer of a number of sector-wide joint working proposals on other important elements of the unions’ claim, including the further work relating to equal pay and hourly paid and casual work.

As part of it's commitment to national pay bargaining the School is not able to implement the pay award (effective 1 August 2013) locally until the current dispute has been concluded and the School receives notification from UCEA that salaries can be increased.

Whilst the current situation is frustrating we hope that staff will avoid taking any action that could be damaging to students at LSE.

The Laboratory for Advanced Research on the Global Economy, led by Dr Margot Salomon (pictured) and based at LSE’s Centre for the Study of Human Rights, is a new initiative set up to provide a dynamic hub for work across disciplines on questions of justice under conditions of globalisation.

Innovative scholarship at the Lab will be complemented by projects aimed at fostering dialogue and learning across practitioner disciplines. This is the case with its first major project on Investment and Human Rights.

The Lab hosts a thriving Discussion Group from across LSE, and will draw on the experience and vision of an outstanding international ‘Sounding Board’ as it expands.

The Lab’s first public event, Greed, Humanity and the Neoliberal Retreat in International Law, will take place on Thursday 31 October. The event will headline Professor Muthucumaraswamy Sornarajah who has joined the Lab as its inaugural Visiting Professor.

LSE Library launches new look website

The Library has launched a redesigned website for the start of the Michaelmas term. The redesign culminates a six month project involving extensive user testing and user-behaviour research, redesigning the websites information architecture and a final stage of migrating relevant content to the new site.

The new website will continue to be responsive to the user needs identified during the projects research phase by helping to refine the Library’s web teams understanding of users online behaviour, building this into maintenance processes for the site.

LSE academic to join the University of Zagreb

Dr Spyros Economides (pictured), Senior Lecturer in International Relations and European Politics, Deputy Director of LSE’s Hellenic Observatory, and a core member of the European Institute’s research unit on South East Europe (LSEE), has been appointed a Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, for the 2013-14 academic year.

During his time at the University of Zagreb, Dr Economides will lecture on international relations and European politics and take part in the advanced research seminar and other research activities organised by the faculty.
 

Do you have a question for the LSE Director? Professor Craig Calhoun (@craigjcalhoun) will be live on Twitter to answer your tweets from 4-5pm on Monday 14 October.

Andy Farrell (pictured), who has served ably as the School's Director of Finance and Facilities, has the new title "Chief Financial Officer".

This reflects his senior role handling all issues of LSE's financial administration, including representing the School in dealings with banks and creditors and reporting to the Council.

Using different mouse speeds in Excel - for navigating in a huge data sheet or selecting very large chunks of data in a sheet

This tip is useful for scrolling quickly and accurately to the row you want. When you have a long spread sheet, you may have noticed that, when highlighting a column and moving down, the scroll speed seems to vary randomly. You can control this speed by careful positioning of your mouse pointer. First, highlight your selection and keeping your finger on the left mouse button:

• move into the sheet tabs area for slow scroll
• move slightly lower for faster scroll
• move into the taskbar for even faster speed
• move back to the tabs to slow down
• move back into the work sheet to stop the scrolling
• practice the moving back and forth to fine tune your own scrolling.

Applications are invited from LSE PhD students for the one remaining place to visit Sciences Po, Paris, in order to work informally with one or more advisors on their PhD thesis research and/or on related publications and presentations, and to attend conferences and workshops both at the host institution and within the wider regional/national academic community.

LSE will provide financial support in the form of a bursary of £2,500 to one LSE student to visit Sciences Po, for an exchange to conclude no later than the end of July 2014. All other bursaries for 2013-14 have been awarded.

Students registered for PhD studies at any LSE department and who have already been upgraded to full doctoral student status are eligible to apply.

LSE Equality and Diversity invites entries for its annual Diversity Calendar Photo Competition.

The theme for the competition is ‘Redefining Difference’, encouraging participants to demonstrate out-of-the-box thinking about diversity in their photos. The judging panel will select 12 winning entries to feature in the Diversity Calendar for 2014.

This week's picture features LSE's Connaught House urban bee colony. Student and staff volunteers care for the bees with help from bee expert, Dr Luke Dixon, and support from the Estates Division. LSE's Beekeeping Society is open for all who are interested in learning about urban beekeeping and honey tasting. For more images like this, visit the Photography Unit.

Employees who are able to work from home are more productive than their office-bound colleagues because they are less distracted, grateful for the flexibility and the time they save on commuting is ploughed back into work.

These findings, from LSE, endorse a general move towards more flexible working practices in the UK, although the private sector is lagging behind in this respect.

Dr Alexandra Beauregard from LSE’s Department of Management says working from home does not suit everyone, however.

"The happiest employees are those who can work partially from home and partially in the office. They report the highest levels of work/life satisfaction because they can juggle personal responsibilities yet are not socially isolated," Dr Beauregard says.

Exercise "potentially as effective" as many drugs for common diseases

Physical activity is potentially as effective as many drug interventions for patients with existing coronary heart disease and stroke, a review of evidence suggests.

The report by Huseyin Naci, a researcher at LSE and a fellow of Harvard Medical School, and Professor John Ioannidis, director of Stanford University School of Medicine, is published on bmj.com.

The researchers argue that more trials comparing the effectiveness of exercise and drugs are urgently needed to help doctors and patients make the best treatment decisions. In the meantime, they say exercise "should be considered as a viable alternative to, or alongside, drug therapy."

Physical activity has well documented health benefits, yet in the UK, only 14 per cent of adults exercise regularly, with roughly one third of adults in England meeting recommended levels of physical activity. In contrast, prescription drug rates continue to skyrocket, sharply rising to an average of 17.7 prescriptions for every person in England in 2010, compared with 11.2 in 2000.

But there is very little evidence on how exercise compares with drugs in reducing the risk of death for common diseases. More
 

Creative industries not harmed by digital sharing, report finds

A new report released by LSE's Department of Media and Communications contradicts widespread claims about the decline of creative industries as a result of copyright infringement.

The report shows that the gaming, film and publishing industries are growing and new business models are emerging based on digital sharing.

For some in the creative industries, copyright infringement may actually be helping boost their revenues, the report finds.

Industry data shows that while the music industry has stagnated somewhat in the last four years, since 1998 it has experienced overall growth with internet-based revenues as a significant component since 2004. In the UK, online sales now exceed CDs or vinyl as a percentage of total revenue for recorded music.

Dr Bart Cammaerts, Senior Lecturer in LSE's Department of Media and Communications and one of the report’s authors, said: "Contrary to the industry claims, the music industry is not in terminal decline, but still holding ground and showing healthy profits. Revenues from digital sales, subscription services, streaming and live performances compensate for the decline in revenues from the sale of CDs or records." More
 

LSE and Kids Company launch new report on vulnerable children

A leading UK psychologist has compared London’s most vulnerable children - those living in violent cultures - to the children residing in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas.

Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch from LSE was speaking at a conference last week to launch a report on the work of UK charity, Kids Company.

"For many children who live in London, violence and criminality are a way of life. They witness shootings, stabbings and even killings of friends and relatives," Professor Jovchelovitch said.

"Many of them have been shot or stabbed and suffer emotional and sexual abuse. They live in one of the most cosmopolitan and rich cities in the world, but their situation is comparable to that of children in Rio’s slums."

Professor Jovchelovitch said this environment led to long-term physical and mental health damage, but the work of charities such as Kids Company gave "visibility" to their plight and filled gaps left by the government sector. More

NEW EVENT - Turbulent and Mighty Continent: what future for Europe?

On: Thursday 31 October from 6.30-8pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Lord Giddens (pictured), former Director of LSE and a member of the House of Lords.

The European malaise goes deeper than the euro crisis alone, protracted and still unresolved though that may be. The EU and its member states must respond to deep-rooted changes affecting all the industrial countries.

Pro-Europeans should recognise that now is the time for a far-reaching rethink of the European project as a whole to create a model appropriate to the exigencies of the twenty-first century.

This event marks the publication of Professor Lord Giddens new book Turbulent and Mighty Continent: what future for Europe?

Why Growth Theory Requires a Theory of the State Beyond Market Failures
On: Tuesday 8 October from 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Mariana Mazzucato (pictured), RM Phillips Chair in Science and Technology Policy at the University of Sussex.

Red Fortress: the secret heart of Russia's history
On: Wednesday 9 October from 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Catherine Merridale, author.

On: Wednesday 9 October from 12.30-2pm in room 32L B.09

In celebration of Black History Month, LSE Equality and Diversity are screening Audre Lorde - the Berlin years.

The film celebrates a little-known part of Audre Lorde's life when she was a visiting professor in Berlin. During this time, Audre (pictured) ignited the Afro-German movement, empowering black women to write and publish, and challenging white women to recognise the significance of their privilege.

On: Thursday 10 October from 6.30-8pm in the Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Professor Amr Shalakany (pictured), Visiting Professor in LSE's Department of Law.

Of the many Arab Springs, revolution in Egypt stands out for its decidedly legalistic tone. For the last two years, political battles have been mostly fought at court, judges increasingly perceived as enemies of the people, and rule of law slogans on separation of powers or judicial independence suspiciously inspected for counter-revolutionary ploys.

The Shakespearean call to kill all the lawyers has never been as palpable since Henry VI. Old anxieties rise again over the emancipatory potentials of liberalism as ideology, and lawyers as its governing elite. And so it all comes back: can law and revolution be compatible?

On: Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 December in 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, LSE
Speakers: Peter Bearman (Columbia), Vikki Bell (Goldsmiths), Claudio Benzecry (Connecticut), Georgina Born (Oxford), James Brassett (Warwick), Roberto Franzosi (Emory), Laurie Hanquinet (York), Sarah Nettleton (York), Cristiana Olcese (LSE), Marco Santoro (Bologna), and Mike Savage (LSE).

Bourdieu’s seminal work has influenced the agenda of sociology of culture like no other. As a result, art - as symbolic representations of culture - is still mainly perceived as a means of distinction. Attention has been given to dynamics of art production and art consumption actively contributing to the reproduction of existing power relations. This focus has been at the expenses of other relevant cross-class dynamics: mainly the role of aesthetics in meaning development, and its impact on social relations.

This conference aims to put aesthetics at the centre of the sociology of culture’s emerging research agenda and to lay the basis for an understanding of culture and the arts beyond entertainment and the consolidation of existing social boundaries.

The new Step Up Programme from HR (Organisational and Lifelong Learning) provides participants with the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Level Three Award.

This programme is suitable for all staff who are currently Grade Five and above, and who are either new to management/team leading or who have perhaps joined the School as a new manager/team leader, but perhaps with no formal training. It is also suitable for those 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 must complete three workplace assignments linked to each of the modules to gain the qualification which consists of:

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

For a full programme description and to book a place, click here.

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

• Assistant Professor in Accounting, Accounting
• Assistant Professor in Operations Management, Management
• Assistant Professorship in Economics, Economics
• Assistant Professorships in Sociology, Sociology
• Confucius Institute Office Manager, Confucius Institute
• Data Librarian, Library: academic services
• David Davies of Llandinam Research Fellowship in International Relations, International Relations
• Grant Applications Manager, Research Division
• Helpdesk Technician (Maternity Cover), Estates Division
• Law Department Manager (Maternity Cover), Law
• Policy Analyst and Research Advisor, Grantham Research Institute
• Research Assistant (Media Policy Project), Media and Communications
• Research Officer (Quantitative Social Research), Sociology
• Service Desk Manager, Information Management and Technology

Business Development Manager: health economics and related markets

LSE Enterprise is recruiting a Business Development Manager to research, evaluate and develop three potential business plans in the field of health economics and related markets. Based in central London, your aim will be to initiate and launch at least one new business.

The Business Development Manager is a key appointment to assist LSE Enterprise as it develops a new phase of expansion. The role is to identify, inspire and communicate opportunities for new business cases from a range of pre-existing assets. During the year you will work with academics, pharmaceutical companies, patient groups and healthcare organisations. Specifically, you will investigate whether the team’s existing methodological framework for technology assessment, its predictive toolkit for risk-sharing agreements and its extensive patient network have market potential. This will lead to business plan development and investment proposals.