LSE student's energy project awarded United Nations Momentum for Change award

The project aims to improve energy poverty by providing the urban poor with access to sustainable products.

Director's Town Hall

On Wednesday 20 November, Professor Craig Calhoun will be holding an open ‘town hall’ meeting for all staff, where he will introduce a discussion of the next phase of the Strategic Review.

Mark, who works in LSE’s Summer School and Executive Programmes Unit, names the Republic of Whangamomona in New Zealand as the most interesting place he has ever visited.

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LSE Director awarded honorary doctorate from the Erasmus University Rotterdam

LSE Director Professor Craig Calhoun (pictured alongside Professor Godfried Engbersen) has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, on the occasion of the ‘Dies Natalis’, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the University.

Professor Calhoun has been recognised by the university for being "one of today’s foremost social scientists" and as an advocate of using social science to address issues of public concern.

At the ceremony, which took place on Friday 8 November, the University conferred eight honorary doctorates, one from each faculty or institute. Professor Calhoun was proposed by Professor Godfried Engbersen of the Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen (Faculty of Social Sciences).

Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands was guest of honour during the day’s celebrations.

Commenting on the award, Professor Calhoun said: "It is a great honour to receive this award, and especially meaningful to be part of the 100th anniversary of Erasmus University, a leader in public social science."
 

LSE has received the Best for Dads Award from WorkingMums for the second year running. The award is given to organisations showing specific support to dads which goes beyond what current legislation stipulates and supports parents to combine successful careers with being a parent.

The award follows the School being named as the joint winner of 'The My Family Care Best for all stages of Motherhood Award' and also being commended for its support for carers with 'The E-ON Best for Carers and Eldercare Award'. At the same time, LSE was named as a ‘Top Employer for Working Families’, placing it in the top ten organisations chosen to win the award.

Professor Stuart Corbridge, Provost and Deputy Director, who introduces the ‘Balancing Work and Being Dad’ workshops, commented that external public recognition helps "to ensure that LSE remains a desirable workplace for all staff", which is one of the essential foundations of the Strategic Plan.

Michael Cox (pictured), Founding Co-Director of LSE IDEAS and Professor of International Relations, has been appointed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) ‘Diplomatic Excellence External Panel.’

Every year the FCO invites a number of opinion leaders to join the Panel to provide informed advice, contribute to foreign policy and give feedback on the department’s organisational performance.

The long-term aim of the Panel is to help the FCO and UK to expand their global footprint and ensure a presence in, amongst other places, emerging economies. The Panel will help to achieve this by focusing on the UK’s key security, prosperity and soft power priorities.

As part of his appointment Professor Cox will be regularly consulted by senior figures from the FCO and will be taking part in the department’s Leadership Conference in May 2014.

Patrick O’Brien, Professor in the Department of Economic History, has been named the winner of the 2013 Honorary Foreign Member Award by the American Historical Association (AHA).

The award, which was established in 1885, is presented annually by the AHA in recognition of a foreign scholar who is distinguished in his or her field and who has markedly assisted the work of American historians in the scholar’s country.

Kenneth Pomeranz, a member of the prize review committee, remarked: "Patrick O’Brien has written ground-breaking works on the history of state-formation, empire, industrialisation, and economic development. His four books, 17 edited or co-edited books, and well over 100 journal articles have influenced research on almost every world region. He has also been a visionary and indefatigable organiser of scholarly networks, creating productive dialogues that have brought US-based scholars together with others from around the world, and spanned seemingly unbridgeable ideological and methodological gaps."

Professor O’Brien said: "I am very proud and honoured to receive this award on behalf of my team (pictured with me above) who have been researching here at LSE into ‘The Discovery, Development and Diffusion of Useful and Reliable Knowledge in the East and the West from the Accession of the Ming to the First Industrial Revolution’."

Dr Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe (pictured), Assistant Professor in the Department of Finance, has won the 2013 Coller PhD Prize for her paper Venture Capital and the Diffusion of Knowledge.

The prize, which highlights excellence in private equity research, was introduced by the Coller Institute of Private Equity in 2010. The competition is open to PhD students from around the world, and the overall quality and variety of submissions means that winning it is an outstanding achievement.

Pollinate Energy, a social business co-founded by LSE student Katerina Kimmorley (pictured), has been named as a Lighthouse Activity under the 2013 United Nations Momentum for Change Awards.

The project, which aims to improve energy poverty by providing the urban poor with access to sustainable products, is co-founded by Katerina Kimmorley, who is currently a PhD student at LSE and who formed the idea while studying for a master's at the School.

Pollinate Energy trains members of the local community to distribute and install solar lighting systems as micro-entrepreneurs, or what the organisation calls “Pollinators.” These Pollinators are armed with the best solar systems on the market and sell them to families within their communities. The company was awarded the UN prize just four days after its first birthday.

How can Europe keep spearheading the fight against climate change? LSE researchers are tackling the subject this week (14-15 November) in conjunction with the Hertie School of Governance and Stiftung Mercator at the 2013 Dahrendorf Symposium in Berlin.

The Dahrendorf Symposium, which is hosted every two years, was founded in 2011 in the spirit of Lord Ralf Dahrendorf, a former Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science. The symposium aims to challenge entrenched patterns of thought and argument on the future of Europe.

This year’s theme, "Changing the European Debate: focus on climate change", involves experts from academia, politics and industry who have an environmental, economic, legal and political focus on preventing dangerous climate change.

Five international working groups of researchers led by LSE, Stiftung Mercator and the Hertie School of Governance, will present their findings on a range of topics over the two-day symposium, which will be live-streamed and recorded.

Centre for the Study of Human Rights honours Professor Stan Cohen

The Centre for the Study of Human Rights is now home to the Stan Cohen Collection - a selection of books, reports, journals and other papers owned by the late Professor Cohen and entrusted to the Centre by his family.

The Collection is a wide-ranging selection of materials spanning Professor Cohen’s interests in deviance, sociology, psychology, criminology, human rights and much more. It also includes (pictured) a selection of his own work.

Along with the LSE Human Rights Reference Library's other collections, the Stan Cohen Collection is catalogued and available on an open-access basis, to browse or search online. Over time the Centre intends to build on the collection to compile a complete set of Professor Cohen's own work and a growing catalogue of the work of those who were influenced by his ideas.

The Centre has also organised an event to celebrate the life and work of Professor Cohen, taking place at LSE on Tuesday 10 December. For more information, click here.
 

A conference proposal put together by Meena Kotecha (pictured), a teacher in the departments of Management and Statistics at LSE, has been chosen by the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) to form its first international conference taking place next year.

The IMA International Conference on Barriers and Enablers to Learning Maths: enhancing learning and teaching for all learners will examine the learning and teaching of mathematics throughout the life span, from the most basic to the most advanced topics and for the full range of learners, including people with dyscalculia and other maths learning difficulties, gifted learners and mathematicians.

The School is sad to announce the death of Dr Angela Raspin who passed away on Wednesday 6 November following a short illness.

Angela was both a student and member of staff at LSE, completing her PhD in the Department of International History in 1980. She joined LSE as its first professional archivist in the mid-1970s, after working at Churchill College, Cambridge, overseeing the move of the Library’s archive holdings into the new Library in the Lionel Robbins Building.

As Head of Archives, Angela oversaw an increase in the scale of LSE’s archive holdings and the numbers of users and was quick to grasp the benefits of developments in information technology for the archivist. As a result the Library was one of the first archives to implement an automated catalogue. Angela was also instrumental in ensuring that LSE’s own archives were available to researchers.

On Wednesday 20 November, LSE Director Professor Craig Calhoun (pictured) will be holding an open ‘town hall’ meeting for all staff.

At the meeting, Professor Calhoun will introduce a discussion of the next phase of the Strategic Review, and will ask and take questions on matters arising out of the Strategic Review Interim Report.

Danny O’Connor (pictured) has been appointed as the new Head of Press and Information at LSE. His role started officially last week, on Tuesday 5 November.

This is not much of a move for Danny, at least physically, as he has been working in the LSE Press Office as a Press and Communications Officer since January 2010.

Before his time at LSE, Danny worked on communications and external relations at the Russell Group of Universities, as a Parliamentary Officer for Universities UK, and as a Parliamentary Researcher and aide in the House of Commons. He graduated in Social and Political Sciences from Churchill College at the University of Cambridge.

Commenting on the role, Danny said: "I am very excited to be taking on this new challenge and helping to ensure LSE’s media coverage reflects its global standing. I feel particularly lucky that I am able to continue to work with my superb colleagues in the Press Office, External Relations Division and across the School more generally."

Introducing the new LSE Archivist

Sue Donnelly, formerly Head of Archives Services, has now taken up the new position of LSE Archivist, based in the Governance, Legal and Planning Division.

Sue will be working with colleagues to develop policies and procedures to ensure effective maintenance of LSE’s archive and developing its use in supporting the work of the School. Sue will also be responsible for LSE’s art collections.

LSE Christmas Party

Invitations for the Director and Secretary’s Annual Reception for Administrative, Departmental, Library and Research Staff (known to many as the Christmas Party) which takes place on the evening of Friday 13 December have been sent out by email.

If you have not received an invitation and think you should have, email conferences@lse.ac.uk. Invitees have until Tuesday 19 November to reply.
 

Enjoy a traditional Christmas lunch or dinner at your favourite LSE Catering outlet on the following dates:

• LSE Garrick
  Lunch: Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 December
• Fourth Floor Restaurant
  Lunch and dinner: Tuesday 3 December
• Staff Dining Room (members only, bookings essential)
  Lunch: Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 December

Taken some artistic photos of London? Have any impressive holiday snaps or pictures from abroad that you’d like to share?

Send them to LSE Perspectives and your photos could be displayed on the LSE website. The next monthly gallery will go live on Sunday 1 December so get clicking and send your pictures before then.

LSE 2014-15 Calendars now available

The School’s two-year leave planner/calendar is now available to order.

It comes in two parts: Jan-Jun and Jul-Dec, and is double sided. Side one is for 2014 and side two for 2015. At the end of 2014, you simply turn it over to display 2015.

Planner/calendar features:

• it is laminated so you can use highlighters on it so that text 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 (2013-14, 2014-15, and 2015-16)

Please click here to view it.

To place your order, click here and then scroll down to 'Year Planners 2014-15' and follow the instructions provided. Please note that you will need to provide a valid budget code in order to place your order, and remember that each of the two parts for the planner/calendar is sized as A3, A4 or A5.
 

Computer tip of the week

PowerPoint dimming bullet points

Dimming is where one animated bullet point changes colour as the next animated bullet point comes on to the screen. It is a powerful method to keep your audience focused on the topic at hand and prevents reading ahead. A PowerPoint presentation is often spoiled by too much text, animating your bullets and dimming solves this for you.

1. Create your bullet points
2. Click Animations - Animation
3. Apply animation (this is necessary for dimming to be applied)
4. In same area click on the arrow that is under Effect Options
5. A dialogue box opens, click down arrow for After animation and choose colour for dimming
6. Test. Make changes if necessary.

If you have an IT question, check out our online guides and FAQs or attend our weekly Software Surgeries. Alternately, staff and PhD students are invited to enrol for a one-to-one IT Training session. Or contact IT.Training@lse.ac.uk to book a consultation with a training specialist.

Paris/London accommodation swap

Yann Algan, Professor of Economics at Sciences Po Paris, will be based at LSE from September 2014 to June 2015 and is looking for accommodation to rent/swap.

He would like to rent an apartment in London for himself and his family, with two or three bedrooms and with good state schools nearby.

Potentially he could organise a swap with his flat in Paris, which is located in the 14th area. The flat is 130 square meters, with three bedrooms and a double living room with views of a park.

Professor Algan is flexible with dates. He can be contacted at yann.algan@sciencespo.fr.

This week's picture features one of the classes taking part in the Year 11 Summer School organised by the Widening Participation team earlier this year.

For more images like this, visit the Photography Unit.

Mobile phones the new 'social robots' for five billion users

Who do we turn to first in moments of joy, sorrow, loneliness, crisis, boredom and daily life? It used to be our spouse, partner, family or best friend. Now, according to LSE's Dr Jane Vincent, it is our mobile phone.

In the space of 14 years, since the internet was first enabled on mobile phones, these machines, originally designed for voice communication, have become "personalised social robots" for many of their five billion users, according to Dr Vincent.

Dr Vincent explores, in two papers, the emotional bond that people around the world have with their mobiles.

"The mobile phone has become a remote control for one’s life, providing a bridge from the virtual to the real world and from private moments to shared experiences," Dr Vincent says.

"What other communications device contains data which is an extension of the user’s personality? Photographs, emails, texts, tweets, Facebook posts, favourite websites, applications and games all reflect a person’s makeup," she adds.

Upcoming LSE events include....

Power Shift? The Rise of the Rest and the Decline of the West: facts, myths and economists
On: Tuesday 19 November at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Michael Cox, founding co-director of LSE IDEAS and Professor of International Relations at LSE.

The Idea of Order in Ancient Chinese Political Thought: a Wightian exploration
On: Wednesday 20 November at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Yongjin Zhang, Professor of International Politics at the University of Bristol.

A Necessary Disenchantment: myth, agency and injustice in the digital age
Date: Thursday 21 November at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Nick Couldry, Professor of Media, Communications and Social Theory.

Hellenic Observatory Research Seminar: The Dynamics of Conflict in the Greek Civil War 1946-49

On: Tuesday 19 November from 6-7.30pm in the Cañada Blanch Room, Cowdray House
Speaker: Nicos Christodoulakis (pictured), Professor of Economics at Athens University of Economics and Business and Research Associate in LSE's Hellenic Observatory.

Using a new set of data, Professor Christodoulakis will examine the characteristics of the three-year conflict in the Greek Civil War and the costs incurred in society and the economy.

For more information, click here. All Hellenic Observatory seminars are open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis.
 

The Strategic Significance of Changing Trade Patterns Between Asia and the Gulf

On: Wednesday 20 November from 4.30-6pm in room CLM 5.02, Clement House
Speaker: Professor Tim Niblock (pictured), University of Exeter.

China’s trade with the Gulf is currently second only to that of the EU. India comes third. Their dependence on Gulf oil will be increasingly acute over the next few decades. The US economic interest in the Gulf, relative to others, is steadily declining - as also, perhaps, is its strategic interest.

Professor Niblock assesses whether the Western strategic engagement in the Gulf is likely soon to be replaced by an Asian strategic presence.

This event is free and open to all on a first come, first served basis. For more information, email Sara Masry at s.masry@lse.ac.uk. More
 

On: Wednesday 20 November from 6.30-8pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Mike Savage, Professor of Sociology at LSE
Discussant: Professor Bev Skeggs, Head of the Department of Sociology at Goldsmiths, London.

In his inaugural lecture, Professor Savage will unravel "the paradox of class": that overt class politics and consciousness decline as divisions become more entrenched. He draws on research from the BBC’s Great British Class Survey and the public reaction to its findings.

Women and Public Space in Post-Independence Algeria: the moral panic of the 1960s

Date: Wednesday 20 November from 6.30-8pm in the Thai Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Dr Natalya Vince (pictured), University of Portsmouth.

As recent events in North Africa have demonstrated, the post-revolution is often accompanied by moral panic and a desire to 'reinstate' gendered order. This talk explores debates about the place of women in public space in Algeria in the 1960s.

Seeking to go beyond commonly-held views of post-independence Algeria as locked in a binary struggle between, on the one hand, 'tradition' and ethno-cultural nationalism and, on the other hand, 'modernity' and socialist development, this talk explores how revolutionary progress could embrace puritanical single-mindedness and also how Algerian women in the 1960s responded and contributed to these debates.

This event is free and open to all on a first come, first served basis. For more information, email Sara Masry at s.masry@lse.ac.uk. More
 

The Geneva Consensus: making trade work for all

On: Thursday 21 November on the second floor of Clement House. Book signing from 5.15-5.45pm. Public talk from 6-7.30pm.
Speaker: Pascal Lamy (pictured), former Director-General of the World Trade Organisation.

At this event, hosted by Professor Danny Quah, Pascal Lamy will discuss his new book The Geneva Consensus: making trade work for all. The book's topics range from trade's impact on global food security and health, to human rights, corruption, and financial (in)stability.

From Moral Panics to States of Denial: a celebration of the life and work of Stan Cohen

On: Tuesday 10 December from 6-8pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speakers: Professor Robin Cohen, brother of Stan Cohen and Emeritus Professor of Development Studies at the University of Oxford, Professor David Downes, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at LSE, Daphna Golan, sociologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Thomas Hammarberg, human rights activist, and Harvey Molotch, Professor of Sociology and Metropolitan Studies at New York University.

The Centre for the Study of Human Rights is celebrating the life and work of Professor Stan Cohen (pictured), the world class sociologist, criminologist and public intellectual whose insight, analysis, commitment and wit inspired and influenced innumerable students, activists and colleagues. The event, featuring contributions from friends and colleagues, honours Professor Cohen and reflects on his legacy.

This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. More
 

On: Tuesday 19 November from 11am-1pm in the Auditorium, 1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ.

The Cabinet Office’s Public Bodies Reform team, who is responsible for the first large Bill under a new coalition Government, is holding this event as part of Parliament Week.

The talk will discuss the highs and lows of supporting this enabling legislation through Parliament, and the ongoing challenge of delivering 44 pieces of secondary legislation and counting with Government departments.

The Cabinet Office Constitution Group will be on hand to talk about its experience of the Succession to the Crown Bill, providing an insight into how to go about changing some of the most ancient parts of our unwritten constitution. There will also be the opportunity to experience the passage of legislation for yourself by playing the Legislate?! game.

Podcasts of public lectures and events

Exodus: immigration and multiculturalism in the 21st century
Speaker: Professor Paul Collier
Recorded: Monday 4 November, approx. 90 minutes

Human Suffering and Humanitarian Emergencies
Speaker: Professor Craig Calhoun
Recorded: Tuesday 5 November, approx. 90 minutes

Can and Should the Eurozone Survive?
Speaker: Lionel Barber
Recorded: Thursday 7 November, approx. 91 minutes

Courses scheduled for next week include:

• NetworkED: Twitter in education
• First Aid at Work
• Equality and Inclusion for non-Managers

For all staff:

• Equality and Inclusion for Non-Managers
  Tuesday 19 November, 9.45am-1pm
• Project Management Level Two
  Wednesday 27 November, 10am-5pm
• Planning a Positive Retirement
  Thursday 28 November, 9.30am-4.30pm

For managers:

• Career Development Review for Managers
  Thursday 12 December, 9.30am-1pm
• Developing Yourself as a Manager
  Tuesday 17 December, 10am-4.30pm

How to prevent and remedy isolation and loneliness among students

On: Monday 18 November from 1-2pm in the Graham Wallas Room, Old Building

What can be done to help to reach out to isolated students? Dr Alex Voorhoeve will draw upon his experience as a Departmental Tutor and Warden in leading this session.

The session will look at how we can help to make links and connect students, before this pattern gets entrenched for their entire time at LSE.

For more information and to book your place, click here.
 

On: Thursday 21 November

LSE Careers provides access to GEMS (Graduate Employment Market Statistics), a tool for searching LSE graduate labour market trends from the past four years. It contains over 12,000 graduate destinations records taken six months after graduation and is useful for responding to student or prospective student enquiries, finding entry level employment statistics or simply satisfying your curiosity about what LSE graduates do with their degrees.

All LSE staff are able to search GEMS for destinations information at School, department or programme level. You can find GEMS on LSE’s Graduate Destinations website (at present GEMS is not viewable on Internet Explorer).

On: Thursday 28 November

This one day course is suitable for all staff (academic and support) who are considering retirement within the next few years, or thinking of taking early or flexible/partial retirement.

The programme will raise awareness of some of the key issues related to retirement and provide guidance in the decision making process. A member of LSE’s Pension Team will also provide up-to-date information on both LSE and state pensions.

What the course includes:

• how retirement will affect your life and relationships and the steps to take to plan for a new lifestyle
• practical steps to protect your health and fitness in retirement
• entitlements to relevant state pensions and other benefits
• changes in taxation when claiming a pension and tax tips
• how to use cash/investments/savings and income effectively in retirement
• how to minimise the financial effect of real inflation and increased life expectancy
• basic investment principles and how to reduce/manage investment risk
• how building societies/banks may help to protect your investments
• a Will and Power of Attorney can protect your assets for your beneficiaries
• entitlements and how to minimise cost should you need financial assistance for long term care in the future
• an opportunity to request independent financial advice (free, no obligation consultation)

On: Wednesday 11 December

The purpose of this session is to provide you with one to one coaching on some aspect of your use of your voice, for example working on pitch and tone, intonation or voice strain.

The coach can also help you with other aspects of your presentation skills, for example handling nerves, connecting more effectively with your audience, or speaking to very large groups.

The session will be very practical and may involve floor work and breathing exercises. Individual sessions will last for one hour.

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

• Application Analyst, Information Management and Technology
• Assistant Professor in Accounting, Accounting
• Assistant Professor in EU Law, Law
• Assistant Professor in Economic Geography/Regional or Urban Economics, Geography and Environment
• Assistant Professor in Finance, Finance
• Assistant Professor in Law and Anthropology, Law
• Assistant Professor in Management, Management
• Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Philosophy
• Assistant Professorship in Economics, Economics
• Assistant/Associate Professor in Intellectual Property and Trade Mark Law, Law
• Assistant/Associate Professor in Private Law, Law
• Assistant/Associate Professor in Urban Geography, Geography and Environment
• Associate Professor in Philosophy, Philosophy
• Departmental Office Administrator, Government
• Ethnography Research Project Officer, Library: academic services
• Head of Infrastructure, Information Management and Technology
• LSE Fellow, LSE100 The LSE Course
• LSE Fellow, Media and Communications
• Class Teacher, LSE100 The LSE Course
• MSc Management and Exchanges Programme Administrator, Management
• Research Assistant (Family Life Courses and Later Life in Europe), Social Policy
• Research Economist, What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth
• Research Officer (Family Life Courses and Later Life Health in Europe), Social Policy
• Research Officer (The Social Construction of Social Rights in Europe), Social Policy
• Senior Maintenance Technician/Controls Engineer (Electrical), Estates: facilities and projects
• Student Recruitment Administrator, ARD: student recruitment
• Web developer (.Net), Information Management and Technology