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9 April 2015 |
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 News
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LSE's Democratic Audit launches new voter information website ahead
of the general election A new, local-level voter website launched by
LSE, democraticdashboard.com,
gives voters unprecedented access to information about their local
constituencies.
Launched on the first day of the 2015 general election campaign,
democraticdashboard.com will
help voters decide how to choose parties in the UK's more complex, modern,
political landscape.
Voters simply enter a postcode or a town name and the Democratic
Dashboard gives them instant and comprehensive election information about
their constituency, the parties and who is standing. The Dashboard is a
completely neutral, one-stop shop that is purpose-designed for use on mobile
devices and PCs.
The site aims to give all voters, regardless of age or political
knowledge, a better understanding of what party and candidate options are on
offer in their area. Produced by LSE’s
Democratic Audit, the
Dashboard collates a wide variety of democratic data into one accessible and
citizen-focused portal.
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Civil Service awards prestigious contract to LSE to train future
leaders The Civil Service has announced that LSE has been chosen as
its partner to develop a prestigious Executive Master of Public Policy (EMPP)
to train its future leaders. The programme is expected to
be launched in December 2015.
Following a competitive tender in 2014, the Civil Service Policy
Profession is developing, in partnership with LSE’s world-leading faculty in
economics, political science and public policy, a customised degree that
will equip senior civil servants with the cutting-edge analytical tools
required to deliver effective policy in an increasingly complex and
inter-dependent world. This initiative builds on the 2012 Civil Service
Reform Plan to further professionalise UK policy-making.
The degree is aimed at the development of people with the talent and
drive to reach the very highest levels of the Civil Service Policy
Profession, whose careers will see them working on the biggest issues in
public policy, and who therefore need to be proficient ambassadors for the
best, most modern and most appropriate approaches to policy development.
Competition will be high for a place on the course which is the first of its
kind to be commissioned by a cross-government policy community in the UK.
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Shining example of UK research
Reading the Riots, a study by LSE and the Guardian
newspaper to examine the causes and consequences of the 2011 London
riots, has been picked as one of the "shining
examples of UK research" by the journal Nature.
LSE's Professor Tim Newburn and his team carried out hundreds of
interviews with rioters, residents, lawyers and police. Rioters had concerns
about aggressive policing, particularly the use of ‘stop and search’
policies, which were felt to unfairly target particular groups.
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LSE POWER network launches
The LSE POWER (Professional Women for Equality and Respect) network
launched on Wednesday 25 March with an afternoon event attended by over
160 people.
The network, set up in early 2015, seeks to represent the interests of
women in professional services through actively informing changes to LSE
policy and culture to bring about greater gender equality, providing a
supportive environment for its members and by organising events aimed at
encouraging members to realise their potential at LSE.
Members and supporters of POWER packed out the Shaw Library to hear
speeches from Tina Fahm, LSE Council Member and Chair of the Audit
Committee, Stuart Corbridge, LSE Provost and Deputy Director, and Emma Todd,
founder of UCL’s Astrea network. The speeches were followed by an
opportunity to meet like-minded colleagues over afternoon tea.
The POWER steering group would like to extend their thanks to all who
attended for making it such an inspiring occasion. Photos of the event will
be available on
the website soon.
If you would like to join the POWER network, please contact
lsepower@lse.ac.uk. You can also
keep up with us on Twitter @lse_power.
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Celebrating 120 years of LSE
Did you know? LSE’s motto "rerum cognoscere causas" was chosen by LSE
political economist Professor Edwin Cannan in 1921. This week is the
80th anniversary of his death. Find out more about this leading economist
and keen cyclist on the LSE history blog.
2015 is LSE’s 120th anniversary. Join in the celebrations at
lse.ac.uk/lse120
#LSE120
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Steve Gaskell
It is with great sadness that the Department of Social Psychology
announces the death of Steve Gaskell, Social Psychology Workshop
Technician.
Steve had been a key figure in the department for nearly twenty years and
his death comes as a shock to the Social Psychology community past and
present.
Professor Catherine Campbell, Head of the Department of Social
Psychology, said: "Steve was such a positive and valued colleague and, in
his quiet and inimitable way, a vibrant part of our lives for so many years.
What a brilliant colleague he always was, he will be missed by all of us."
The department intends to hold a memorial service for Steve in the Summer
term - details will follow.
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Phoebe Dunster to perform in Sister Act the musical Phoebe
Dunster from the Estates Division will be appearing as a nun in a musical
version of the 1992 film ‘Sister Act’ at the Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfield
Halls in Croydon.
The musical is set around wannabe diva Deloris Van Cartier who witnesses
a crime that turns her world upside down. Her life takes an unexpected turn
when the police hide her in the last place anyone would think to
look… a convent. Closely watched by the suspicious Mother Superior, Deloris
helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers
her own.
The show runs from Wednesday 27 to Saturday 30 May. Evening performances
start at 7.30pm. Thursday and Saturday matinee at 2.30pm. Tickets cost £18
for adults and £15 for OAPs/matinee.
To order your tickets:
- Call the Stagers box office on 01737 216388 (no booking fee)
- Call the Fairfield box office on 020 8688 9291 (please note a
booking fee will be added to the ticket price)
- Or
order online by credit or debit card
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Academics abroad
On Monday 6 April, Dr Riccardo Crescenzi (pictured) gave a seminar on
"Multinational Firms and their Location Strategies" at the
Center for
International Development at Harvard University.
Dr Margot Salomon (pictured), Associate Professor in the Centre for the Study
of Human Rights and Department of Law, was invited by the Speaker of the
Greek Parliament to join the
Special Committee of the Hellenic Parliament for the Audit of the Greek Debt
(Debt Truth Committee).
The Committee was convened to evaluate Greek debt and to address whether
parts of it may be deemed illegal, illegitimate or unsustainable. Questions
as to the sustainability of the Greek debt would include whether servicing
allows for the socio-economic rights of the Greek people to be met and
Greece’s international human rights obligations honoured.
Dr Salomon's recent article
Of Austerity, Human Rights and International Institutions offers a
timely set of arguments as to what is required as matters of law and
societal expectation when it comes to having international institutions
respect socio-economic rights. The Committee for the Audit of the Greek Debt
began work in Athens on Friday 3 April.
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 Notices
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Shared Parental Leave
In line with recent legislation, a new Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
Policy and Procedure, applicable to parents who had a baby or adopted a
child on or after 5 April 2015, can be found on the
HR website.
Following a minimum two weeks' compulsory maternity or adoption leave
immediately after the birth or adoption, a mother or primary adopter can
choose to bring their maternity or adoption leave to an end and share any
remaining entitlement with their partner. This means that parents can take
time off together to care for their family and also take separate blocks of
leave to share responsibility for child care between them. This should help
staff to ‘bring up baby’, manage their careers and promote gender equality
at LSE.
As with the arrangements put in place for maternity leave pay and
Additional Parental Leave (APL) (APL ceased to be available for parents of
babies or children matched/placed for adoption after 4 April 2015), SPL pay
is enhanced for mothers and fathers providing they meet the qualifying
criteria. Entitlement to enhanced pay is related to the qualifying service
for statutory payments.
Employees may find it useful to read the good news stories in 'Media
articles about LSE support for parents'
and the
Best Practice Report to see how some parents successfully used APL to
share childcare and maintain their careers. SPL allows even more flexibility
for parents.
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Showcasing the impacts of LSE and UK-wide research
In 2013, LSE made its submission to the Research Excellence Framework
assessment (REF2014), which asked universities - for the very first time - to
describe the non-academic impacts of their work.
That requirement resulted in the development of almost 7,000 case studies of
the impacts of research. These have now been collated in a freely available
database containing a wealth of information about the impacts of UK research
on health, society, arts and culture, the economy, the environment and more.
The fully searchable database
allows a new range of comparisons, using indexed data to support the
exploration and categorisation of documents demonstrating the positive local
and global impacts of UK research. No comparable resource currently exists
anywhere else in the world.
The database is accompanied by
a report of the nature, scale and beneficiaries of the impacts
described. As well as providing summary analysis of the submission, the
report provides detailed information about the use of research in six key
areas including public policy, a major area of impact for LSE research.
If you would like to know more about how to develop an impact case study for
future REF exercises you can sign up for relevant workshops and
panel discussions via the Training and Development System, or contact the
School’s Research Impact Manager, Rachel Middlemass, at
r.middlemass@lse.ac.uk. You can
also find out more about LSE’s case studies via our
research impact webpages.
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Computer Tip of the Week - Do you know these two quick tips for MS
Office? What is the quickest way to create a new file when the
application you need is already open?
- Right-click on the application icon in the Task Bar at the bottom of
the screen. A list appears.
- In the list, left click on the application icon. A new file opens.
What is the quickest way to forward a file you are working on?
- When you are ready to send the file, click the File tab.
- In the list on the left, click Save & Send.
- From the options on the right half of the screen, choose either
Send as Attachment or Send as PDF. A new, blank email
message opens with the file attached in the format chosen. The subject
line contains the name of the file.
- Address the message and add any message text required, then Send.
- Save the document before closing it.
If you have an IT question, check out our
online guides and FAQs or attend our weekly
Software Surgeries. Alternatively, sign up for a
one-to-one IT Training session or browse through the
IT Training website. |
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 LSE
in pictures
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This week's picture shows springtime in St James's Park.
For more images like this, visit the
Photography Unit.
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 Research
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Thousands miss out on palliative care due to
unfair health system The UK’s palliative care system needs a major
overhaul, according to an LSE report which reveals widespread inequities and
a lack of services for non-cancer patients.
Terminally ill patients with illnesses other than cancer; people aged
over 85 years; black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups; and people
living in socially deprived areas are all missing out on important
palliative care services, the report from LSE shows.
Thousands of palliative care patients often fail to receive sufficient
pain relief and respite from other distressing symptoms, exposing gaps in
services, poor communication and unclear roles and responsibilities.
The Marie Curie-commissioned report reveals that, compared to people with
cancer, those with non-cancer conditions not only receive less care from
specially trained palliative care staff but also less end-of-life care from
GPs and district nurses.
Lead author Josie Dixon from LSE’s Personal Social Services Research Unit
says the findings should raise concerns, since the need for palliative care
is fast increasing as the population ages, with the numbers of people aged
85 and over expected to more than double over the next 20 years.
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Gender gaps in the UK labour market
Differences in the labour market experiences of men and women have fallen
over the last 20 years, but there are still sizeable ‘gender gaps’ in
employment and wages. A new report from LSE's Centre for Economic
Performance, the latest in a series of background briefings on key policy
issues in the May 2015 UK general election, explores the evidence on the key
drivers of gender gaps and the effectiveness of 'family-friendly' policies
to address them.
Dr Ghazala Azmat, the report’s author, commented: "We could do with more
debate during the election campaign on the effectiveness of recent and
proposed family-friendly policies.
"Policies that improve childcare provision will help give women with
young children the option to participate in the labour market and/or to work
longer hours. It would be valuable for voters to know what different parties
plan to do and how the policies will help them.
"The parties need to think more carefully about how to make paternity
leave more attractive. While recent legislation offers generous rights to
fathers, there has been very little take-up of leave.
"Greater transparency on wage gaps within firms is important, as long as
the required information is a genuine picture of the gender gaps at a firm
level. Overly simple transparency requirements could have perverse
incentives, such as, reducing the hiring of women in flexible, low-skill
jobs."
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Welfare reforms failing to move social housing tenants into work,
according to new LSE research The Coalition Government's radical
welfare reforms have resulted in very few social housing tenants being able
to find jobs despite their aim of moving people dependent on benefits into
work, according to a new LSE report.
Only one in six tenants have either found work or increased their hours
since the reforms were introduced in 2010. Those who found work most
commonly worked for family members or became self-employed. The majority of
new jobs were part-time with uncertain hours.
One third of tenants are struggling financially as a result of the
reforms. A majority, 63 per cent, said they were coping by reducing
expenditure, in some cases on food, getting into debt to pay large bills or
borrowing from family and friends.
A team led by Anne Power, Professor of Social Policy at LSE, carried out
two rounds of interviews with 200 tenants in the South West of England
covering big cities, coastal towns, villages and tourist centres over a
two-year period to find out how the reforms are playing out in low-income
communities across the UK. The report, Is Welfare Reform Working?,
provides unique evidence about how tenants and social landlords are coping
under the financial pressures of welfare reform.
More |
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 Events
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Forthcoming LSE events include....
The World Beyond Your Head: how to flourish in an age of distraction
On: Monday 20 April at 6.30pm in the New Theatre, East Building
Speaker: Matthew Crawford
Myanmar: politics, pragmatism and foreign policy
On: Wednesday 22 April at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Professor David I Steinberg
Integrating Financial Stability and Monetary Policy Analysis
On: Monday 27 April at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Øystein Olsen
Women in Conflict: violence, injustice and power
On: Tuesday 28 April at 6.30pm in the New Theatre, East Building
Speakers: Helen Benedict, Dr Katherine Brown, and Dr Marsha Henry
Inequality: what can be done?
On: Thursday 30 April at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic
Building
Speakers: Professor Sir Tony Atkinson, Tom Clark, and Professor Baroness
Lister
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A View from the Border: everyday lives in
Burma's conflict zones in times of transition Monday 13 April -
Friday 8 May from 10am-8pm (Monday-Friday) in the Atrium Gallery, Old
Building
The latest exhibition in the LSE Arts Atrium Gallery portrays the
everyday lives of people in Burma’s conflict-ridden Kachin State.
It offers rare insights into the present-day struggle of Burma's ethnic
minorities, including displaced communities and insurgents.
For more information,
visit the website or email
arts@lse.ac.uk.
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Inequality in the 21st Century: a day long engagement with Thomas
Piketty On: Monday 11 May in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speakers: Professor Sir Tony Atkinson, Professor Wendy Carlin, Professor Sir
John Hills, Professor Naila Kabeer, Professor Thomas Piketty, Professor
Stephanie Seguino, and Professor David Soskice.
A day-long conference with Thomas Piketty (pictured), whose Capital in
the Twenty-First Century has been of global significance in shaping
debates about inequality across the globe. The workshop will be hosted by
LSE's new International Inequalities Institute with the Department of
Sociology and the British Journal of Sociology, which ran a special issue of
reviews on Piketty’s book, several of the contributors to which will be
involved in these discussions.
This event is free but registration is required. Book a place on the LSE
e-Shop from Monday 20 April. For more information, including a programme,
visit the Department of
Sociology website.
More
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HowTheLightGetsIn2015
From 21-31 May
The Institute of Art and Ideas presents HowTheLightGetsIn, the world's
largest philosophy and music festival, which is back in Hay and bigger than
ever.
LSE academics Simon Glendinning, Nigel Dodd, Helena Cronin, Chandran
Kukathas, Eileen Barker, Oliver Curry, and Madawi al-Rasheed will be joining
other world-leading scientists, musicians, philosophers and politicians
including Roger Penrose, Natalie Bennett, Paul Krugman, Robert Shiller,
Tariq Ali, Martin Creed and John Searle.
For more information and tickets, visit
howthelightgetsin.iai.tv.
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 60
second interview
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with..... Ben Voyer
I am a Visiting Fellow in the
Department of Social Psychology, and
Associate Professor of Marketing at
ESCP Europe Business School.
I have been around Houghton
Street for about 10 years now, first
as an MSc student, then PhD student,
then post-doc, and finally visiting
academic. It has been a privilege to
be able to witness so many great
changes around the School.
If you asked to rewrite LSE's
School motto what would you suggest?
Dare to change the world - I feel
that if there is an institution that
can and ought to offer a different
way of thinking, of looking at the
world, it is LSE. This doesn’t
necessarily mean doing the opposite
of what everyone else is doing, but
simply to work on honest,
game-changing research and teaching.
Which has been the most
interesting LSE public lecture you
have attended?
I have seen Amartya Sen at LSE on
two occasions over the last decade.
He struck me as one of the
brightest, and probably humblest
academics I have ever heard speak.
He is extremely talented at talking
about the most complex things in a
simple, accessible way, the sign a
true bright mind for me.
What’s your favourite advert
of all time?
Asking this question to someone
researching consumer psychology is a
bit like asking an ornithologist
what his favourite bird is!
I like adverts that go beyond the
obvious and tackle real world
issues, and those that invite you to
reflect on the world and its issues.
For instance, I really liked the
UNICEF ‘Likes Don't Save Lives’ a
few years back.
If you could change one thing
about yourself what would it be?
I wish I didn’t need to sleep. So
many things to research, discover,
and share, and a third of one’s life
goes into sleeping.
Have you ever had your photo
taken with someone famous?
Not really my kind of things - I
always feel that the last thing
people with a public profile want is
to be bothered by fans trying to
take grasp a minute of their fame.
Smiling at someone famous I like is
as far as I would go.
Where in the world have you
always wanted to go but never quite
made it…. yet?
I have been fortunate, being an
academic, to visit many incredible
places, which made a lasting
impression. Conferences and research
stays took me from South Africa to
New Zealand, and from China to Latin
America.
That said, I still haven’t been
to Japan - I have a conference
planned there next year! |
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 Training
and jobs
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Academic Development Programme Training Sessions The
Research Division would like to invite Centre Managers, Department Managers,
academics and professional staff interested in research funding to attend
the following events on Horizon 2020.
What
is Horizon2020?
Monday 11 May from 12-1.30pm
Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU research and innovation programme
ever, with nearly €80 billion of funding available over seven years
(2014-20).
This session covers the Horizon2020 schemes, how they work, what they fund,
and what to apply for. It outlines upcoming calls in 2015. This session is
followed by "How to manage your Horizon 2020 award" - you are strongly
encouraged to attend both. Lunch will be served.
How to Manage your European Funded Award: what you need to know
Monday 11 May from 2-4pm
Have you recently been awarded a Horizon 2020 award? Will you be managing
Horizon 2020 awards in your department/centre? Come to this workshop to
learn the basics of managing European Commission Horizon 2020 awards.
The workshop will include a presentation by Dr Mauricio Avendano, Deputy
Director and Principal Research Fellow in LSE Health and Social Care, who is
the Principal Investigator on an ERC FP7 award entitled, ‘HEALTHCYCLE’.
All training sessions are delivered to you by the Research Division in
partnership with the
Teaching
and Learning Centre. For more information, email
researchdivision@lse.ac.uk.
For the list of upcoming events,
click here. For daily updates, follow us on Twitter
@LSE_RD.
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Jobs at LSE Below are some of the vacancies currently being
advertised to internal candidates only, as well as those being advertised
externally.
- Carbon Reduction Manager (maternity cover), Estates Division
- Centre Manager (internal only), Institute of Global Affairs
- Director - Theatrum Mundi, LSE Cities
- Donations and Finance Administrator, LSE Advancement
- Financial Planning Analyst, Finance Division
- Graduate Admissions Communications and Customer Service Manager,
ARD: Graduate Admissions
- Country Economists, International Growth Centre
- Economist for the Country Programme (London), International
Growth Centre
- Managing Editor (Web and Publications), International Growth
Centre
- Policy Economist (two posts) International Growth Centre
- Fellow in Anthropology (two posts), Anthropology
- Fellow in Behavioural Science, Social Policy
- Fellow in Law (two posts), Law
- Fellow in Philosophy, Philosophy
- Fellow in Statistics, Statistics
- Fellow in the Anthropology of China, Anthropology
- MSc HRO Programme Administrator, Management
- National Bank of Greece Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship,
Hellenic Observatory
- Policy Analyst and Research Advisor, Grantham Research
Institute
- Registry Assistant, ARD: Student Administration
- Research Officer - TransCrisis, Centre for Analysis of Risk
and Regulation
- Research Officer (Trade and Climate Change), Grantham
Research Institute
- Senior Assistant - Financial Support Office, Academic
Registrar's Division
- Undergraduate Programme Administrator (internal only), Law
For more information, visit
Jobs at LSE and login via the instructions under the 'Internal
vacancies' heading. |
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 Get
in touch!
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If you have some news, an achievement, or an aspect of LSE life that you
would like to share, I would love to hear from you. Do get in touch
at n.gallivan@lse.ac.uk
or on ext 7582. The next edition of Staff News is on Thursday 23
April. Articles for this should be emailed to me by
Tuesday 21 April. Staff
News is emailed every Thursday during term time and fortnightly during
the holidays.
Thanks, Nicole
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