Squabbling meerkats make better decisions

New research finds that conflicting interests within a group can lead to better collective decisions, if you’re a social animal such as a meerkat.

Feel Good Food Day

LSE Catering is holding a Feel Good Food Day on Wednesday 4 December in the Fourth Floor Restaurant, Old Building. Come along and enjoy the ‘feel good’ experience.

Dr Jen Tarr

Dr Tarr, Assistant Professor in the Department of Methodology, loves colour and texture and likes to knit, weave, and spin in her spare time.

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Two LSE academics, Professor Patrick Dunleavy and Dr Jean-Paul Faguet, have been honoured for their work in political science at the Political Studies Association (PSA) annual awards ceremony.

Professor Patrick Dunleavy (pictured), Chair of the LSE Public Policy Group (PPG), was selected for a PSA Special Recognition Award due to his unrelenting commitment to stressing the relevance of political science to real world politics. An advocate of greater academic engagement in public life and proponent of the power of new media, Professor Dunleavy was the leading force behind the creation of the LSE British Politics and Policy and the European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) blogs, which are among the most widely read blogs in political science.

Professor Dunleavy said: "I'm most grateful to the PSA for this award - yet I feel that it really reflects the achievements of the LSE PPG staff as a whole. Creating LSE's successful School-wide blogs has been a huge collective effort. And a lot of modern research requires large teams. I'd like to thank all my PPG colleagues for their great work."

Dr Jean-Paul Faguet (pictured), Reader in the Political Economy of Development, received the WJM Mackenzie Book Prize for his publication Decentralization and Popular Democracy: governance from below in Bolivia.

Police and Crime Commissioners should be abolished and replaced by a new system, an independent review of policing in England and Wales has recommended.

Policing for a Better Britain, the final report of the Independent Police Commission launched on Monday 25 November, presents a bold and radical vision of how to deliver fair and effective policing in these economically difficult times.

The Independent Police Commission, which was initiated by Labour’s Yvette Cooper in 2011, is chaired by Lord John Stevens, former Head of the Metropolitan Police, with Professor Jennifer Brown, Co-Director of the Mannheim Centre for Criminology at LSE, as Deputy Chair.

Dr Will Venters, Lecturer in Information Systems, and former LSE student Lotta Holmberg shared insights from a unique collaboration with digital charity YouthNet at an event at LSE yesterday.

In March a group of MSc students embarked on a project with YouthNet, to help the charity develop new digital solutions to support the UK’s young people.

Students were tasked with designing a mobile app to complement YouthNet’s existing digital lifeline, TheSite.org. The app, called ‘StepFinder’ pinpoints local services, connecting young people to offline support. The project group created a report with its suggestions on StepFinder’s content, features and the technical specifications alongside implementation and evaluation measures to justify its sustainability.

Dr Venters said: "Working with a charity in this way gives our students experience of the complexity of analysis and design reflecting real world problems, and allows them to put their theoretical knowledge into practice. We hope to provide many more opportunities to our MSc students to explore similarly innovative new territories for their studies."
 

Enjoy a traditional Christmas lunch or dinner at your favourite LSE Catering outlet next week:

• Fourth Floor Restaurant
  Lunch and Dinner: Tuesday 3 December
• LSE Garrick
  Lunch: Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 December
   

LSE Catering is holding a Feel Good Food Day on Wednesday 4 December in the Fourth Floor Restaurant, Old Building.

As well as raising awareness and promoting the sustainable aspects of the food served, LSE Catering aims to demonstrate that limiting meat in our diet and using healthier ingredients, seasonal vegetables, fish from sustainable stocks and higher animal welfare produce can benefit your health, the environment and animal welfare.

Finance Division afternoon closure

The Finance Division will be closed in the afternoon of Thursday 5 December for their Christmas lunch. If you do need to visit the Division on that day, please do so before midday.

School Secretary Susan Scholefield's next termly briefing with all support staff will take place in the Shaw Library, Old Building on Wednesday 11 December at 10.30am and Thursday 12 December at 2.30pm.

Susan will update staff on the Strategic Review, focusing on people-related matters. Julian Robinson, Director of Estates, will also be at both sessions to give a presentation on Estates.

Future meetings will take place in the Shaw Library, Old Building on Wednesday 5 March at 10.30am and Thursday 6 March at 3pm.

LSE’s revised Equality and Diversity Action Plan (2014-17) has been developed and identifies key equality and diversity priorities that the School aims to achieve.

It builds on the achievements of the first Single Equality Scheme and Action Plan (2010-14) and identifies further actions which need to be undertaken in order to progress change in the area of equality and diversity.

The Equality and Diversity Executive Group has steered the development of the plan and is responsible for the implementation and review of the document. The final Action Plan is scheduled to be published in Lent term.

Library Christmas vacation opening times

Over the Christmas vacation period, the LSE Library will be open from:

• 14 December 2013 to 12 January 2014 (with exceptions)
  Monday-Friday 9am-10pm
  Saturday and Sunday 11am-10pm

Please note the Library will be closed from Saturday 21 December to Wednesday 1 January inclusive.
 

Nominations are invited for the award of a Queen’s Honour, which includes MBE, OBE, CBE. Do you know someone who has given outstanding service to the School (either as a member of staff or in a voluntary capacity), who in your opinion has:

• made a real impact on the School/our students
• 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 can be found here but please bear in mind that awards channelled through LSE should be for services to higher education, with particular reference to the School. The deadline for receipt of suggestions is Friday 20 December.

The refurbishment of 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields (32L) was completed in December 2013 and the building welcomed its occupants in January 2013.

In line with good practice, the design and operation of 32L has been subject to a formal Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) and occupants and users were asked to feedback to an independent company, appointed to produce an unbiased report.

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

Outlook out of office

Out of office messages are automatic replies to emails you receive which lets the sender know: you are away; when you will be back and able to reply; and also might include details of other people who can be contacted in your absence.

To set up an out of office:

1. Click File - Info - Automatic Replies
2. Click Send automatic replies (replies will be sent until you turn them off)
3. To set a date/time range for automatic replies, click Only send during this time range and set the details you need
4. Enter the message you want to be sent out. You can have different messages for inside and outside the School. Each recipient will receive just one copy of your out of office for each new message you create.

Note: you do not need to explain the reason for your absence.

Taken some artistic photos of London? Have 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 issue for the monthly gallery will go live on Sunday 1 December so get clicking and send your pictures before then.

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 10 December, Tuesday 7 January, Tuesday 21 January, and Tuesday 28 January.

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.
 

One bedroom holiday cottage in Spain available to rent

Set in the middle of an Andalusian fruit farm, just a short distance from the Costa del Sol, this recently built holiday home has fabulous views over the neighbouring countryside.

The cottage has one bedroom plus a bed sofa, and one bathroom, so sleeps four-five people. Very close to the bustling town of Coín with shops and restaurants only a kilometre away. The pool is yours whenever you want it, and it’s perfect for young children.

For more information and photos, click here or email Rachel at r.yarham@lse.ac.uk.

This week's picture features the gilded statue of an unblindfolded "lady justice" by the British sculptor F. W. Pomeroy on top of the dome of the Central Criminal Court, commonly known as the Old Bailey, after the street in which it is located.

For more images like this, visit the Photography Unit.

Ten of the world’s leading banks have racked up fines and similar "conduct costs" of nearly £150 billion over a period of just five years.

This is one of the findings revealed in a new analysis published by LSE.

The researchers, led by LSE Professor Roger McCormick, assessed the costs accrued by ten of the world’s leading banks across the UK, Europe and America as a result of misconduct. When put together, and reviewed over the period 2008-12, these ten banks alone incurred nearly £150 billion for misconduct of various kinds, including mis-selling PPI and other products, manipulating LIBOR, and failing to observe anti-money laundering rules.

The Eurozone crisis, enlargement fatigue within EU states and a loss of confidence in the European project have made the prospect of EU membership much less attractive for neighbouring countries.

Forty years after the accession of the UK, enlargement, once seen as the EU’s most effective foreign policy tool, is in peril. This is the argument made in a new special report launched by LSE IDEAS.

Squabbling meerkats make better decisions

Conflicting interests within a group can lead to better collective decisions - if you’re a social animal such as a meerkat - according to new research by a team of political scientists and biologists from LSE and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.

The research, published in the November issue of the journal The American Naturalist, shows that far from hampering decision-making, conflict can lead to better results. However, this depends on individual animals sharing the group’s overall goal to, for example, search for food, avoid becoming prey, shelter or rest.

The researchers developed a decision-making model which demonstrates that if individuals in a group have slightly different small-scale goals they are less likely to make the same mistake as another individual in the group, than would be predicted by ‘chance’. The differing goals within a group are a result of animals trying to optimise their own personal gains from a decision.

Professor Christian List, one of the researchers from LSE, said: "Collective decisions in groups where there are lots of minor disagreements actually offset errors made by individuals. Counter-intuitively, this means that the ‘quality’ of a decision for a group as a whole may improve with the number of differing decision-makers within it - although this plateaus at a certain number of animals." More
 

More than two-thirds of Brazilian children (68-78 per cent depending on socio-economic status) surveyed for the first comprehensive study into Brazilian children's online experiences believe they know more about the internet than their parents or guardians, with over half (53 per cent) living in families where the adults responsible for them are not internet users.

This is a stark comparison with children across Europe, where only 28-46 per cent report that they know more than their parents about the internet.

These are some of the findings published by EU Kids Online, a research project based at LSE. The report uses data from the first wave of the ICT Kids Online Brazil Survey on children's online use by the Centre for Studies on Information and Communication Technologies in Brazil alongside previous EU Kids Online research to compare European and Brazilian children's online experiences.

A new report from LSE and Veolia Environnment, the environmental services company, envisages the home of the future with nanoscopic robots sorting materials, self-cleaning bathrooms and ultrasonic baths. But it also contains stark warnings with two contrasting visions of urban living in 2050.

The report, Imagine 2050, outlines two scenarios where environmental technology will transform the home of the future - one in the context of a circular economy, the other in the context of a linear economy.

Forthcoming LSE events include....

Is there a Progressive Case for National Identity?
On: Tuesday 3 December at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Sunder Katwala (pictured), Director of the identity and integration think-tank British Future and former General Secretary of the Fabian Society.

Efficiency, Legitimacy and Political Expediency: Japan's trade governance dilemmas
On: Wednesday 4 December at 6pm in the New Theatre, East Building
Speaker: Mireya Solis, Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Centre for Northeast Asian Policy Studies.

Constitutional Interpretation in the USA
On: Thursday 5 December at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speakers: Professor Risa Goluboff (pictured), Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia and Visiting Professor in LSE’s Department of Law, and Jacco Bomhoff, Lecturer in Law at LSE.

The Future of London within the UK
On: Monday 9 December at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
This event is free and open to all but a ticket is required. Tickets will be released on Monday 2 December.
 

US Foreign Policy and the Iranian Revolution: the dynamics of engagement and strategic alliance

On: Monday 2 December from 6.30-8pm in the Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Dr Christian Emery (pictured), University of Plymouth.

During this talk, Dr Christian Emery will discuss the main findings from his new book US Foreign Policy and the Iranian Revolution: the Cold War dynamics of engagement and strategic alliance. He will show that, contrary to the claims of Iran's leaders, US diplomats tried in good faith to build bridges with the new regime.

Dr Emery will also discuss how Cold War dogma and a range of misperceptions undermined America’s 'new' policy, providing a fresh perspective on the origins of one of the most bitter and enduring confrontations in international relations.

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: Tuesday 3 December from 1-2.30pm in KSW.3.01, 20 Kingsway
Speaker: Dr Jenny Anderson (pictured), Senior Researcher of the French research council CNRS and a Fellow of the Centre for European Studies at Sciences Po.

This talk will explore the origins of a set of key predictive technologies at the American RAND Corporation in the immediate post war period, making a number of reflections on what prediction is, and its role in social science as well as in political life. More
 

On: Wednesday 4 December from 12.30-2pm in 32L.B.09, 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields.

To mark Disability History Month, LSE Equality and Diversity is screening Mary and Max.

Mary and Max is a tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a 44 year old, severely obese man with Asperger's Syndrome living in New York.

Protest and Revolution in the Arab World: reflections three years on

On: Wednesday 4 December from 6.30-8pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speakers: Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed (pictured), LSE, Dr John Chalcraft, LSE, and Dr Ewan Stein, University of Edinburgh.

Three years after the Arab uprisings started in Tunisia, a panel of academics will reflect on the causes and drivers behind these seminal events, how they have transformed countries like Egypt; but also why they have had less impact in other countries, such as Saudi Arabia.

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: Thursday 5 December from 6.30-8pm in TW1 G.01, Tower One
Speakers: Natasa Kandic, Founder of the Humanitarian Law Centre in Belgrade and Regional Coordinator of the RECOM initiative, Iavor Rangelov, Global Security Research Fellow at the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit, LSE, Wolfgang Schomburg, Honorary Professor of Law and Chair of the Centre for Criminal Law and Criminal Justice at Durham University and former judge at the Yugoslav Tribunal, and Ruti Teitel, Ernst C Stiefel Professor of Comparative Law at New York Law School and Visiting Fellow at LSE.

Marking the 20th anniversary of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, this panel will consider its record and the questions it raises for the future of international justice.

Looking for a relaxing way to end your week? Join us for the last LSE Chill of term.

On: Wednesday 11 December at 5.30pm in the Shaw Library, Old Building.

End the term on a festive note with traditional carols and readings. Featuring the LSE Choir.

Free and open to all students and staff. The service will be followed by mulled wine and mince pies.
 

Podcasts of public lectures and events

The Ethics of the Cognitive Sciences: children's pathologies - how do we think about children's mental health?
Speakers: Dr Rachel Cooper, Professor Eileen Munro, and Professor Emily Simonoff
Recorded: Tuesday 19 November, approx. 94 minutes

Power Shift? The Rise of the Rest and the Decline of the West: facts, myths and economists
Speaker: Professor Michael Cox
Recorded: Tuesday 19 November, approx. 88 minutes

A Necessary Disenchantment: myth, agency and injustice in the digital age
Speaker: Professor Nick Couldry
Recorded: Thursday 21 November, approx. 81 minutes

Courses scheduled for next week include:

• Data Protection and Research Data
• Mental Health First-Aid
• Writing for Blogs

Staff courses from HR Organisational and Lifelong Learning

For all staff:

• Dealing with Difficult Situations
  Wednesday 8 January, 10am-5pm
• Effective Writing Skills
  Wednesday 22 January, 10am-4.30pm
• Time Management
  Wednesday 5 February, 10am-4.30pm
• Customer Service Excellence
  Thursday 6 February, 10am-5pm

For managers:

• Manager as a Coach
  Friday 10 January, 10am-4.30pm
• Working With Others: fair treatment and respect for managers
  Thursday 30 January, 9.30am-5pm
• Strategic Thinking
  Tuesday 11 February, 9.30am-4.30pm
• Managing Change
  Thursday 13 February, 10am-4.30pm

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 Finance, Finance
• Assistant Professor in Management, Management
• Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Philosophy
• Assistant/Associate Professor in Urban Geography, Geography and Environment
• Associate Professor in Philosophy, Philosophy
• Chair/Associate Professor in Economics, Economics
• International Student and Immigration Advice Manager, Academic Registrar's Division
• MSc Programme Administrator, Government
• Research Assistant (The Mediatisation of Government), Media and Communications
• Research Economist, What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth
• Senior Maintenance Technician/Controls Engineer (Electrical), Estates: facilities and projects
• Systems and Business Analyst, Academic Registrar's Division