Two LSE research groups ranked second best university think tank in the world

LSE IDEAS and the Public Policy Group have jointly been named second in the global survey.

Stay fit and healthy at the LSE Students' Union Gym

LSE is pleased to introduce a new loan scheme for staff wishing to take up annual membership of the LSE Students’ Union Gym.

Dr Gabriel Zucman

If Dr Zucman was marooned on a desert island, he'd take the Department of Mathematics with him: "It would be a great opportunity to concentrate and learn some hard stuff".

 Research

 LSE in pictures

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Two LSE research groups, the foreign affairs centre LSE IDEAS and political analysts/consultants the Public Policy Group, have jointly been named the second best university think tank in the world in a global survey.

They are ranked second only to Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in the 2014 Think Tank and Civil Societies Program league tables. This is the third year that LSE IDEAS has ranked highly in this table, and the second year that the Public Policy Group has featured.

The Library has increased the number of study spaces in the Course Collection and on the fourth floor. The Course Collection space was made available by removing unused and out-of-date material, although copies of all titles have been retained and remain available to students.

The project came following feedback from LSE students to increase the amount of quiet study space available to them. The Library has listened and the result is substantial new space dedicated to quiet study for LSE students by efficiently using existing space.

99 study spaces are now available exclusively to LSE students in the Course Collection on the ground floor of the Library, while 20 additional study spaces have been opened on the Library’s fourth floor.

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 Mukulika Banerjee, Reader in Anthropology, discusses democracy in India and why voting is regarded as essential by most of the population. More
 

LSE Students’ Union Gym annual membership loans

LSE is pleased to introduce a new loan scheme for staff wishing to take up annual membership of the LSE Students’ Union Gym.

The School knows how important it is to stay fit and healthy and having a gym right here on campus is a huge perk. Why not take advantage of this new staff benefit and join the gym, whilst saving on the monthly gym fee?

The cost of annual membership, which is currently £275, will be paid by the School to the gym on your behalf and recovered from your salary over 12 months. You can expect to save £145, when compared against the pay monthly fee of £35.

For information about the LSE Students’ Union Gym, conditions, or how to apply for a membership loan click here or email to Dominic Burchnall at d.j.burchnall@lse.ac.uk.
 

Ever forgotten your LSE password? Did you know you can reset it yourself without having to contact the IMT Service Desk?

All you have to do is enable the self-service password reset option by providing a security question answer and memorable date info in LSE for You:

• Log into LSE for You, select ‘Account Management’ from the menu and then choose ‘Update Security Questions’

Once you have submitted these details, you will be able to reset your password by either clicking the ‘forgot username and password’ link on the LSE for You login page or if you have provided your personal email details, we will send you a reset link.

LSE Entrepreneurship blog launches

LSE Entrepreneurship’s blog is now live. Its posts will bring together a wide variety of perspectives on entrepreneurship and the impact it can have on society.

It is also home to LSE Entrepreneurship’s monthly poll. The first question is 'Should social entrepreneurs prioritise social good over profit?'. Visit the blog to vote.
 

2015 will be a busy and exciting year as the project to develop the campus Centre Buildings moves from the planning stage to starting on site. The latest newsletter contains information on how to find out more via the new drop-in surgeries.

You are invited to attend Praise and Worship sessions with LSE Rejoice every Friday from 12-1pm in the LSE Faith Centre, second floor of the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre.

If a table in a Word document does not fit on the page where it begins, use these steps to force it to start on the next page:

1. Select the table.
2. On the Home tab, open the Paragraph dialog box by clicking on the tiny grey arrow in the bottom left corner of the Paragraph icon group.
3. Go to the Line and Page Breaks tab and click Keep with Next.

To prevent a row from splitting across a page break:

1. Select the row and follow step 2 above.
2. On the Line and Page Breaks tab, click Page Break Before.

If you have an IT question, check out our online guides and FAQs or attend our weekly Software Surgeries. Alternatively, 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.

Please note, there is no staff Pilates class next Tuesday (3 February).

Classes will resume on Tuesday 10 February at 1pm in the Faith Centre, fifth floor of the SAW.

House for rent in Patmos, Greece

This fully refurbished summer house is situated in Hora, one of the few perfectly preserved heritage villages of Greece, which is built around a monastery at the top of the hill. The island is small and not overrun by tourists.

The house sleeps up to six people and is available all year except in August. Please contact Katerina at k.dalacoura@lse.ac.uk for more information.
 

Lief H Carter, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Colorado College, is looking for accommodation to rent in London from 10 August to 10 September.

He is looking for two or three bedrooms and two bathrooms, preferably on the ground or first floor, and in close proximity to a tube station.

He will also consider, although it is not required, a house swap arrangement. His home has five bedrooms and five baths and can be found on Google at 197 Witherspoon Court, Athens, GA, 30606. Athens is the home of the University of Georgia.

Special offer for LSE staff

Staff at LSE could receive 10 free Banco Santander S.A. shares when opening, switching or transferring to a Santander 123 Current Account from 2 February until 20 March.

The offer is limited to the first 15 university staff whose applications are processed. Visit the Santander campus branch, next to the King's Chambers on Portugal Street, for full terms and conditions of the promotion.

To be eligible for a 123 Current Account you must pay a £2 monthly account fee, fund the account with £500 a month and set up a minimum of two direct debits. More

Last week, our Flickr photo stream surpassed three million views.

Looking at the stats our campus pictures have been the most popular, apart from the Dalai Lama. Here is one of Nigel's favourite images from the archive.

See other images at LSE in Pictures.

Poorer groups have been worst affected by changes to direct taxes, benefits and tax credits despite the Coalition’s promise that the rich would carry the burden of austerity, according to a major new report from LSE and the Universities of Manchester and York. As a result, poverty has been increasing and will get worse in the next five years.

The report also reveals that families with young children have been hit harder than any other household type under the Coalition’s cuts despite early rhetoric highlighting the importance of the "foundation years". Real spending per child on early education, childcare and Sure Start services fell by a quarter between 2009-10 and 2012-13 and tax-benefit reforms hit families with children under five harder than any other household type.

As in previous years, we would like to give LSE staff the opportunity to request tickets for this year’s LSE Literary Festival children’s events in advance of the general public.

Poo at the Zoo Storyplaytime
On: Saturday 28 February from 2.30-3.15pm. Age two-five years
Join us for a fun, interactive event for under fives and their grown-ups, celebrating this fabulous London Zoo/Bloomsbury book with songs, games and activities - and find out just what to expect when you help out with the smelliest job at the zoo! Discover one zoo resident’s most unpleasant habit as we play ‘What’s the time Mr Spider Monkey?’, then clean up at the end of the day under our bath parachute!

The Anansi Story Adventure session
On: Saturday 28 February from 3.30-4.15pm
Join us for a fun, interactive activity session for accompanied five-eight year olds, using craft, games, activities and interactive storytelling to explore the ancient story of how Anansi brought stories to the world. Will Anansi be able to trick leopard, python, the fire hornets and the invisible pink fairy to win the golden casket of stories from the sky god Nyame? Come along and join in the adventure to find out.

These events are devised by So… what’s the story? and presented by professional storyteller Su Squire. For more information, visit sowhatsthestory.co.uk/children.

Forthcoming LSE events include....

On Truth
On: Monday 2 February at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Professor Pascal Engel and Professor Simon Blackburn

"Not in Our Name": contesting the (mis)use of psychological arguments in the immigration debate
On: Tuesday 3 February at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Steve Reicher

The Butterfly Defect
On: Tuesday 3 February at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speakers: Professor Ian Goldin (pictured) and Professor Danny Quah

The Age of Sustainable Development
On: Wednesday 4 February at 3pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Professor Jeffrey D Sachs

Human Shield
On: Wednesday 4 February at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Judith Butler (pictured)

Julia Weatherley (soprano) Panaretos Kyriatzidis (piano)
On: Thursday 5 February at 1pm in the Shaw Library, Old Building

STAR: using visual economic models to engage stakeholders to increase value in the the NHS
On: Thursday 5 February at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speakers: Dr Mara Airoldi (pictured) and Professor Gwyn Bevan

LSE Works

The third LSE Works lecture takes place on Thursday 29 January and will be given by Graham Floater (pictured) and Philipp Rode of LSE Cities on ‘Better Growth, Better Climate: cities and the new climate economy’.

The respondent will be Dimitri Zenghelis, Co-Head Climate Policy at the Grantham Research Institute at LSE, and the event will be chaired by Professor Fran Tonkiss, Academic Director of the Cities Programme at LSE Cities. A list of all the lectures can be viewed at LSE Works.

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.
 

Join LSE Arts for a great line up of musicians at the next LSE Chill, taking place on Friday 30 January from 6-8pm in Café 54, NAB.

Performers include the Carrs-Saunders Quartet, The Inheritors and Nicolas Betin.

On: Monday 2 February at 7.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Professor Tito Boeri (pictured), Professor of Economics and Dean for Research at Bocconi University, Milan, and BP Centennial Professor at LSE.

How did the welfare state in Europe cope with the Great Recession and the Eurozone crisis? While a lot of attention has been devoted to (home-made) stress tests of the banking sector, no attempt has been made to date to evaluate the performance of social tax and transfer systems to reduce poverty during the crisis.

This talk will address this issue, making reference, in particular, to the countries of Southern Europe, where the shock has been particularly severe. The underlying question is whether we need only a welfare state or also a welfare union.

Entrepreneurship in Africa: opportunities and challenges

On: Tuesday 3 February at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, NAB

Professor Mthuli Ncube (pictured), Chief Economist and Vice President of the African Development Bank, will look at the challenges facing leaders who must identify development needs and priorities for an entire, rapidly evolving continent.

He will discuss the future of Africa and the global opportunities this brings, as well as his own experience of being an entrepreneur in Africa. The talk will be followed by networking.

Email the LSE Entrepreneurship team at entrepreneurship@lse.ac.uk for a free ticket.
 

The Restructuring of the Greek Economy: 2010-14

On: Tuesday 3 February from 6-7.30pm in the Cañada Blanch Room, Cowdray House
Speaker: Professor Panos Tsakloglou (pictured), Department of International and European Economic Studies, Athens University of Economics and Business

Greece entered the current crisis with huge deficits in public finances and external balances. Especially worrisome was the enormous primary budget deficit. Since the inception of the first stabilisation program in 2010, Greece made the most spectacular fiscal consolidation among developed countries since WWII. Professor Tsakloglou will review developments since 2010, analyse the current juncture and outline the medium- to long-term prospects of the economy.

All Hellenic Observatory seminars are open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. More
 

On: Tuesday 3 February from 6.30-8pm in room B.13, 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields
Speaker: Dr Leslie James (pictured), Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Birmingham
Discussants: Professor Richard Drayton, Rhodes Professor of Imperial History at King's College London, and Professor Bill Schwarz, Professor of English at Queen Mary University of London.

Democratizing Inequalities: dilemmas of the new public participation

On: Tuesday 3 February from 7-8.30pm in room NAB 2.04, New Academic Building
Speakers: Professor Craig Calhoun, Director of LSE, Dr Caroline Lee, Associate Professor of Sociology at Lafayette College, Dr Michael McQuarrie, Associate Professor in Sociology at LSE, and Dr Edward Walker, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Opportunities to ‘have your say’ are everywhere in public life. Many argue that, with new technologies, flexible organisational cultures, and a supportive policymaking context, we now hold the keys to large-scale democratic revitalization. Democratizing Inequalities (NYU Press) shows that it may not be so simple. Popular participation may even reinforce elite power in unexpected ways.

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

The Awra Amba Experience - film screening

On: Wednesday 4 February from 5.30-8pm in TW1.G.01, Tower One

The Awra Amba Experience is an interactive documentary telling an inspiring and hopeful story about an Ethiopian village, that has dared to re-imagine and put into practise a new societal model.

An online, cinematic experience allows audiences to explore the story through an immersive, 360° tour of the village, where they meet the community’s inhabitants and learn about their way of life in short films, infographics and photo stories, as well as connect with the community through an online discussion platform.

Dr Shakuntala Banaji, Department of Media and Communications, will chair the event.

Please RSVP to Dr Shakuntala Banaji at s.banaji@lse.ac.uk or Dr Wendy Willems at w.willems@lse.ac.uk.
 

What do the Greek elections mean for Greece’s future?

On: Thursday 5 February from 6.30-8pm in the Thai Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Dionyssis Dimitrakopoulos Senior Lecturer in Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London, Daphne Halikiopoulou, Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the University of Reading, and Dimitri Vayanos Professor of Finance and Head of the Department of Finance at LSE.

The outcome of the Greek election on Sunday 25 January is being watched closely by euro-zone leaders and the financial markets. It may also prove to be a turning point in Greek politics. What are the implications for Greece’s economic path? Have the elections shifted the Greek party system decisively? What do the results mean for the political extremes and the disengaged? This panel will explore what the elections mean for Greece and its place in Europe.

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

On: Tuesday 10 February from 6-7.30pm in the Cañada Blanch Room, Cowdray House
Speaker: Dr Kyril Drezov, Lecturer in Politics at Keele University and Director of the Keele Southeast Europe Unit.

On: Wednesday 25 February from 6.30-8pm in the New theatre, East building
Speaker: Professor Herbert Girardet, urban ecologist consultant

Professor Girardet’s public lecture is based on his book, Creating Regenerative Cities, published by Routledge in October 2014. Is an urbanising world a ‘triumph of the city’, or an environmental tragedy in the making? He argues for a fundamental conceptual shift in the way we organise our urban systems, and for thinking and acting beyond ‘sustainable development’.

Podcasts of public lectures and events

Managing Disruption, Avoiding Disaster and Growing Stronger in an Unpredictable World
Speaker: Dr Judith Rodin
Recorded: Monday 19 January, approx. 77 minutes

A Conversation on Central Banking
Speakers: Sir Alan Budd and Lord King
Recorded: Monday 19 January, approx. 91 minutes

Neighbours, Peers and Educational Achievement
Speaker: Professor Stephen Gibbons
Recorded: Thursday 22 January, approx. 93 minutes

On: Thursday 12 February from 2-3.30pm

After the recent announcement of REF2014 results, come and learn from LSE faculty who submitted impact case studies to the REF and members of the assessment panels, who will share their experiences of creating and documenting research impact.

Find out how impact can be generated and gain insight into both the rewards and the challenges of effectively presenting that impact for REF (or other) assessment. The examples discussed by the panel will cover a range of different pathways to and types of research impact, as well as evidence used to support impact claims.

Confirmed panellists include:

• Gwyn Bevan, Professor of Policy Analysis
• Giles Atkinson, Professor of Environmental Policy
• Chris Brown, Professor of International Relations
• Oriana Bandiera, Professor of Economics
• Nick Barr, Professor of Public Economics

Events are open to academic and professional services staff.

Award management surgery
Tuesday 10 February from 12.30-2pm
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.

Research Project Grants - open calls
Wednesday 18 February from 12-1.30pm
An overview of research project funding opportunities that are available all year round, in any area of the social sciences and humanities.

Designing your Grant Proposals - what makes a research application?
Wednesday 18 February from 2-4pm
Aimed at researchers who are relatively new to designing research funding proposals and those who want to brush up their skills.

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

• Administrator, Information Management and Technology
• Assistant Volunteer Coordinator, LSE Careers Service
• Course Administrator, Language Centre
• Data Coordinator, LSE Careers Service
• 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
• Institute Manager, European Institute
• Knowledge Exchange and Impact Service Delivery Manager, Law
• Language Coordinator (EAP) (internal only), Language Centre
• Managing Editor - LSE for Business Blog, Government
• Project Manager (Transcrisis), Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation
• Subwarden - Sidney Webb House (internal only), Residential and Catering Services Division