LSE wins Green League award

LSE has achieved a ‘First Class’ award in the People and Planet University League, which ranks UK universities on their environmental and ethical performance.

Are you experiencing insomnia or disrupted sleep?

Help is at hand - come to the Sleep Well Workshop on Monday 26 January, which will look at a range of difficulties associated with sleep.

Jessica Reid

Jessica, Communications Manager in IMT, is a frustrated filmmaker outside of work and once spent Christmas Day with a friend in Rio De Janeiro - "it was perfect, very stress free."

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Celebrating 120 years of LSE

Adrian Thomas, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, discusses LSE's history and encourages you to join in with the 120th anniversary celebrations.

The very first students arrived at LSE 120 years ago this year, in October 1895. They were greeted in rented rooms in John Street, Adelphi, by the School’s first Director WAS Hewins. Their lecturers during that first academic year included Bertrand Russell on German social democracy and WM Acworth on railway economics - a hugely important topic for the School at the time.

And this Friday, 23 January, marks what would have been the 100th birthday of Sir Arthur Lewis. A pioneer of Development Economics, Nobel Prize winner and the UK’s first black professor, through sheer brilliance, Sir Arthur overcame a colour bar in his native St Lucia to study at LSE and eventually teach here, becoming a member of faculty in 1938.

The LSE experience sowed the seeds for Lewis’s economic world view, in part shaped by the world leading social scientists based at LSE in the 1930s and 1940s. When he became the first - and still the only - black man to win a Nobel Prize for Economics in 1979, Lewis acknowledged their lasting influence.

Over the course of the next 12 months we’ll be celebrating the people, places and sometimes quirky events that make up the story of LSE, from 1895 to 2015. We want it to be something that everyone at LSE can get involved in and share. So please keep your eyes open for events, blog posts, publications and videos telling you more than you ever thought you could possibly want to know about what has made LSE one of the world’s most influential seats of learning. A new history of the School by Professor Michael Cox has been commissioned and we are speaking to BBC Radio 4 about the possibility of a series of radio shorts based on the School’s contribution to the key intellectual ideas of the past century.

You will be able to read more about Arthur Lewis from the Friday on the LSE History blog.

LSE has achieved a ‘First Class’ award in the People and Planet University League (formerly ‘Green League’), which ranks UK universities on their environmental and ethical performance.

It is the sixth year running LSE has retained a spot in the top tier of the League. The School came 26th overall.

The University League is created by People and Planet, a national student campaign group which promotes sustainability in universities, and is published annually in The Guardian.

Following a positive response, the Library is pleased to announce it has renewed its full-access subscription to FT.com for a further three years.

The FT.com service was launched by the Library in February 2014, with over 6,000 staff and students subsequently signing up. Registration for the subscription is available by using your LSE log-in.

The Library’s subscription allows all LSE staff and students full and unlimited access to the Financial Times’ award-winning news, comment and analysis.

The Library’s Academic Support Librarians are also available to offer training and advice to help students make the most of this excellent resource: lse.ac.uk/LibraryAcademicSupport

Following a project to convert all postgraduate reading lists to Reading Lists @ LSE for the start of the 2014-15 academic year, the Library increased the number of reading lists held on the system by 43 per cent. A total of 417 reading lists were converted during the project, and Reading Lists @ LSE now holds more than 210,000 individual references for teaching.

During the past year, the total number of site visits to Reading Lists @ LSE by students has increased by 20 per cent. Reading Lists @ LSE provides a simple and intuitive tool for teachers to compile, edit, and maintain reading lists while ensuring a consistent and helpful display for their students.

New Gearty Grilling online

A new Gearty Grilling video, part of the series of short video debates between Conor Gearty, director of the IPA and professor of human rights law, and leading researchers at LSE, is now online.

This week Richard Layard, Emeritus Professor of Economics and Director of the Wellbeing Programme at LSE's Centre for Economic Performance, discusses what really makes us happy. More
 

A paper co-written by LSE’s Dr Satoshi Kanazawa has been featured in the article "The Top 10 Insights from the ‘Science of a Meaningful Life’ in 2014" published in the newsletter of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

The paper Why People Are in a Generally Good Mood, which was published in the social psychology journal Personality and Social Psychology Review, concludes that the ubiquity of happiness is a product of human evolution.

A year of eye-catching statistical landmarks

Professor Danny Quah has been ranked number two in The Economist's eye-catching statistical landmarks of 2015, for his work looking at the world's economic centre of gravity from 1980-2050.

The article explains: "Professor Danny Quah has calculated the world’s economic centre of gravity and reckons that, thanks to Asia’s rise, over the 70 years from 1980 to 2050 it will move eastwards from the mid-Atlantic all the way to somewhere between India and China. By 2015, the halfway point on this great journey, it will have reached the city of Bandar-e Mahshahr, in Iran, on the north-eastern tip of the Persian Gulf."
 

Steve Bond from the IMT Training team is appearing in a series of improvised comedy shows in February, alongside some high-profile guest acts.

The show, Crime Scene Improvisation, is a murder mystery where no-one knows who the killer is, not even the cast. The story is based on suggestions from the audience, and builds to a climax where the killer is revealed to all (including the actor, who must immediately confess.)

Each show costs £5 on the door, starts at 7.15pm, and features a different guest act, as follows:

• Monday 2 February at The Miller, London Bridge
  Featuring "The Vault" with Suki Webster (Paul Merton's Impro Chums) amongst others.
• Monday 9 February at the Barons Court Theatre
  Featuring "Improvasprint" with Ruth Bratt (Fast and Loose) and Pippa Evans (The Now Show).
• Saturday 14 February at the Barons Court Theatre
  Guest act to be confirmed.

Red crates

If you have recently borrowed any of the porter’s red crates for relocating offices or storing items, please email estates.porters@lse.ac.uk to arrange a collection of any unused ones.
 

A limited number of print copies of Shaping Higher Education: 50 years after Robbins, edited by Professor Nicholas Barr, are available for staff to use as gift books for visitors.

Sleep Well Workshop

Are you experiencing insomnia? Disrupted sleep? Are your sleeping patterns affecting your work or day to day functioning? Affected sleep can have an adverse effect on mood, functioning and wellbeing.

Help is at hand. Come to the Sleep Well Workshop at 1pm on Monday 26 January in room 32L LG.15 - places can be booked in advance, or you can just drop in.

The workshop will look at a range of difficulties associated with sleep. It will increase your understanding of its process and examine a number of strategies and ideas about how you might work towards achieving better sleep.

Wednesday 28 January, Fourth Floor Restaurant

Our ‘Feel Good Food’ world cuisine menu will offer reduced meat and increased vegetarian alternatives.

As well as raising awareness and promoting the sustainable aspects of the food we serve, we aim 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.

The Student Wellbeing Team will be running another Wellbeing Stall outside the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre on Thursday 5 February. Colleagues from the Faith Centre, Residences, Disability and Wellbeing Service, the Student Services Centre and Peer Support will be manning the stall from 11am-2pm and will be handing out chocolates, fruit and cups of tea.

Dr Haddon from the Department of Media and Communications will be sharing the findings from the Net Children Go Mobile project on children’s use of smartphones and tablets, on Wednesday 28 January from 3pm.

The two year project carried out quantitative and qualitative research in seven countries to investigate access and use, risk and opportunities of mobile internet for children in the European context.

To be in for a chance to win a trip for two to The View from the Shard, and to see your photo displayed on campus, submit your photos to the LSE Photo Prize.

Staff and students can enter up to three photos into the competition - submissions close at midnight on Wednesday 28 January. A selection of the photos will be displayed around LSE campus during the Literary Festival from 23-28 February 2015.

Taken some impressive snaps while out and about in London? If so, then send them into LSE Perspectives and they could be featured in the next gallery.

Each month 12 photos taken by the LSE community are chosen to appear in LSE Arts online gallery.

Many Outlook users create email ‘signatures’ to automatically add their name, title, organisation and contact details at the bottom of messages.

Signatures also are the quickest way to send out standard messages or standard responses, such as acknowledgement of job applications received, declining invitations to conferences, etc. They can be as long or as short as you wish, and include web links, photos and formatting if required. Typically, they are a complete message, ending with the name and contact details of the sender. Standard message ‘signatures’ are created and used just like any other signature - the only difference is in the amount of text they contain. You can create as many different signatures as you need. To learn how, see this handy guide.

Did you know there is deep tissue sports massage and injury rehab available at the LSE Treatment Clinic in Tower Two?

Laura Dent is a Sports Therapist with five years of clinical experience specialising in musculo-skeletal problems. This covers ankle sprains to post-surgical rehab to bad backs.

You can book online at www.lsetreatmentclinic.co.uk - Laura is available every Monday and all LSE staff and students receive a discount.

This week's picture features one of the Source London recharging points for electric cars in Lincoln's Inn Fields.

For more images like this, visit the Photography Unit.

A new book gives a fascinating insight into why Germans convert to Islam despite suffering widespread marginilisation and hostility. Its conclusions will resonate with the growing numbers of converts and the role of Islam across Europe and beyond.

Being German, Becoming Muslim: race, religion, and conversion in the New Europe, by Dr Esra Ozyurek of the European Institute at LSE, focuses on contradictions and challenges in the lives of converts to Islam, and aims to understand what it means to embrace Islam in a society that increasingly marginalises and racialises Muslims. The book will be launched at LSE today.

Salary incentives for tax collectors could significantly increase the amount of taxes raised in Pakistan, according to a new film released by the International Growth Centre (IGC), based at LSE.

The IGC’s latest film, Taxing Pakistan: How to motivate civil servants, shows the results of a ‘pay for performance’ scheme that was tested in Punjab, Pakistan. IGC-funded researchers found that incentivising tax collectors increased the amount of tax collected by 30-40 per cent. Public satisfaction in the work of tax collectors wasn’t affected, and the increased revenue more than paid for the reward scheme.

Forthcoming LSE events include....

The Organised Mind: thinking straight in the age of information overload
On: Monday 26 January at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Daniel J Levitin

Sovereigns, Vultures and Ignoble Cowardice
On: Tuesday 27 January at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Felix Salmon

AEC 2015 - A Perspective from Business
On: Wednesday 28 January at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Dato Sri Nazir Razak

Institutionalising Public Deliberation: empowerment or appeasement?
On: Wednesday 28 January at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Professor Laurence Monnoyer-Smith (pictured)

Extradition and the Erosion of Human Rights
On: Wednesday 28 January at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Gareth Peirce, Professor Saskia Sassen, and Professor Jeanne Theoharis

Atsuko Kawakami (piano)
On: Thursday 29 January at 1pm in the Shaw Library, Old Building

Materiality and Computer Art
On: Thursday 29 January at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Margaret Boden (pictured)

LSE Works 2015

The second LSE Works lecture takes place on Thursday 22 January and will be given by Professor Stephen Gibbons (pictured) of LSE’s Spatial Economics Research Centre on 'Neighbours, Peers and Educational Achievement'.

The respondents will be Dr Tim Leunig, Chief Analyst and Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Education and Professor Ruth Lupton, Professor of Education at the University of Manchester. The event will be chaired by Professor Julia Black, Pro-Director for Research at LSE.

A list of all the LSE Works lectures can be viewed here. LSE Works is a series public lectures that will showcase some of the latest research by LSE's academic departments and research centres. In each session, LSE academics will present key research findings, demonstrating where appropriate the implications of their studies for public policy.
 

On: Friday 23 January from 1-2pm in the Shaw Library, Old Building

The non-auditioned choir of LSE students, staff and alumni will perform a range of unaccompanied choral music from the Renaissance to 20th century, including Bruckner, Lauridsen and Parry.

On: Tuesday 27 January from 6-7.30pm in the Cañada Blanch Room, Cowdray House
Speaker: Dr Florian Bieber, Professor of Southeast European Studies and Director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, Austria.

Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq: motivations and implications

On: Tuesday 27 January from 6.30-8pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Peter Neumann (pictured), Professor of Security Studies at the War Studies Department, and Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation

Large numbers of foreigners, including many Europeans, have joined jihadist groups in the Syrian/Iraqi conflict. Who are these people, why do they go, and what - if any - threat will they pose upon their return? Drawing on a large database with hundreds of social media profiles of Western fighters, dozens of interviews, and fieldwork, Professor Neumann will talk about the fighters' motivations and consequences.

This event is free and open to all on a first come, first served basis. Our events are very well attended, please make sure to arrive early. We cannot guarantee entry. More
 

Tuesday 27 January - Monday 2 February

In celebration of the performing arts and all things musical, the LSESU Music Society is launching Love Music Week. There will be something to suit everyone’s tastes, so make sure you join them on the following evenings:

Tuesday 27 January - Open Mic/Karaoke Night at the Three Tuns
This open mic is different - we want both awesome singers and daring karaoke warriors who can or cannot catch a tune. As an audience, you will be treated to talented singers who bring the house down and crazy people who want to tear the house up with their karaoke skills. If you would like to sing, email livemusic@lsesumusicsociety.com.

Wednesday 28 January - Music Education Day
Calling all those willing to try a new instrument and top quality pianists alike, Music Education Day features music 101 for the beginning musician and a masterclass for the most advanced.
For more information, email m.lavrentyeva@lse.ac.uk for music 101 or/and daniel@lsesumusicsociety.com for the masterclass.

Thursday 29 January - LSE SUperstar
Don't miss the biggest singing competition this year; LSE SUperstar featuring singer-songwriter Marley Blandford. To sign up as a participant, email rachel@lsesumusicsociety.com by Thursday 22 January.

Friday 30 January - Concert Trip
Enjoy Bach's violin concertos by candlelight at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Charing Cross at 7.30pm. Tickets for this concert are partly subsidised by the society - now only £12 for a £22 ticket. Book your place by emailing Barrie at barrie@lsesumusicsociety.com.

Podcasts of public lectures and events

Signals: the breakdown of the social contract and the rise of geopolitics
Speaker: Dr Pippa Malmgren
Recorded: Tuesday 13 January, approx. 82 minutes

Should Markets be Moral?
Speakers: Felix Martin and Professor Lord Skidelsky
Recorded: Wednesday 14 January, approx. 76 minutes

Corporate Boards: facts and myths
Speaker: Professor Daniel Ferreira
Recorded: Thursday 15 January, approx. 89 minutes

Core Learning and Development Programme - training and development opportunities for staff

Fair Treatment and Respect for Staff
Monday 2 February from 10am-5pm

Fair Treatment and Respect for Managers
Tuesday 3 February from 10am-5pm

Balancing Work and Being Mum
Wednesday 4 February from 12.30-2.30pm

Recruitment and Selection
Wednesday 11 February from 9.30am-5pm

Running Career Development Review (CDR) effectively
Tuesday 17 February from 9.30am-12.30pm

Running Career Development Review (CDR) effectively
Tuesday 17 February from 1.30-4.30pm

Equality and Diversity Awareness
Wednesday 18 February from 10am-4pm

Developing your CV and Interview Skills
Tuesday 24 February from 10am-4.30pm

Visit Core Learning and Development Programme to find a comprehensive list of other courses available this academic year. If you have any queries or require additional information, email hr.learning@lse.ac.uk.
 

Academic Development Programme Training Sessions

Events are open to academic and professional services staff.

Information Session: Research Fellowships (RCUK, Leverhulme, ERC, BA)
Tuesday 27 January from 12-1.30pm
Find out about open calls for Research Fellowships available from specific UK funders, and other schemes with recurring deadlines throughout the year, such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC); Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); and the British Academy (BA).

Award Management Surgery
Tuesday 10 February from 12.30-2pm
Do you manage an externally funded award? Attend this surgery to discuss your experiences and award particulars. Aimed at researchers and administrative staff (such as departmental and centre managers) of all experience levels who currently manage externally funded research grants.

Information Session: Impact case studies - a panel discussion with LSE authors
Thursday 12 February from 2-3.20pm
LSE faculty who submitted impact case studies to the REF share their experiences of creating and documenting research impact. As well as supporting understanding of how impact can be generated, the discussion will provide attendees with an insight into both the rewards and the challenges of effectively presenting that impact for REF (or other) assessment. Panellists include:

• Gwyn Bevan, Professor of Policy Analysis, Department of Management
• Giles Atkinson, Professor of Environmental Policy, Department of Geography and Environment
• Chris Brown, Professor of International Relations, Department of International Relations
• Oriana Bandiera, Professor of Economics, STICERD

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

• Assistant Learning Technologist (Systems), Information Management and Technology
• Assistant Volunteer Coordinator, LSE Careers Service
• Communications Assistant (internal six month secondment), Information Management and Technology
• Course Administrator, Language Centre
• Departmental Manager (internal only), Mathematics
• Events and Social Programme, Executive Summer School and Executive Programmes
• Executive MSc Programme Administrator, European Institute
• Executive Officer to the Director, Institute of Global Affairs
• HR Administrator, Human Resources
• Knowledge Exchange and Impact Service Delivery Manager, Law
• Professor/Associate Professor in Economics, Economics
• Project Manager (Transcrisis), Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation
• Student Recruitment Administrator, ARD: Student Recruitment