Winning design team selected for the new Global Centre for the Social Sciences

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners has been selected following an architectural competition.

LSE Choir and Orchestra Christmas Concert

Don't miss this year's Christmas concert on Tuesday 10 December. Tickets are now available to purchase.

Nona Buckley-Irvine

Nona, President of LSESU RAG, loves cheesy music: "S Club 7, the Spice Girls, Steps, Backstreet Boys, and Five are still my favourite artists to listen to after a hard day’s work."

International award winning architect Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners has been selected as the winner of the School’s design competition for the new Global Centre for the Social Sciences (GCSS).

Professor Craig Calhoun, Director of LSE, chaired the jury panel which made the final decision. He commented: "From an extremely strong field of submissions, LSE has chosen Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) to create a new structure at the heart of our campus. They have designed beautiful, dynamic buildings around the world and they offered an elegant, thoughtful submission to this competition. RSHP grasped that this would be a building at once for the university and for the city, an enhancement to public as well as academic space. My colleagues and I are delighted that the RSHP team will now work with us to complete the design and add to the excitement of our terrific London location."

Fewer English MPs able to play the 'born and bred' card

English MPs able to play the "born and bred" card to woo potential voters are a relatively rare breed, with new statistics revealing that fewer than half of them are born in the regions they represent.

Data released by Democratic Audit at LSE shows that only 43 per cent of English MPs can legitimately claim local roots, although Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland fare much better, with a 76 per cent average.

The finding is not a worrying sign for democracy, says LSE policy analyst Richard Berry, because it shows a variety of past experience.

"However, the fact that significant numbers of MPs have spent their careers in London and the South East should be cause for some concern," he says.

LSE data reveals that despite London having just 63 of 577 parliamentary seats in the country, the capital has dominated the work histories of a vast number of UK politicians prior to election.

"Across the UK as a whole, just 16 per cent of jobs are based in London. What this data shows, however, is that large numbers of MPs have worked in professions centred in London, including finance, law, publishing and journalism prior to entering politics," Mr Berry says. More
 

And the winner is....

The Student Services Centre Advice Team would like to congratulate Camille Frandon-Martinez (pictured) on winning the entry prize for the LSE Orientation 2013 Survey.

Camille can now shop with Amazon to her heart's content (or at least up to the value of £300).

The Team would also like to thank all those who took part in the survey - we appreciate the time and thought put into your responses and have found the feedback to be very useful.

Do you love writing and blogging? LSE’s Student Recruitment Office is looking for students for the LSE Student Blog - so whether you’re new and have just arrived in London or are a seasoned third year who knows all the best things to do and places to visit, we need you.

Bloggers are free to write about their social and academic life while at LSE and in London. In the past this has ranged from choosing courses and making the most of career opportunities, to going to musicals and finding the best pubs.

Bloggers will be given training in guidelines and content as well as training in how to use Wordpress. Every month the team awards a prize for the best blogger as well as a prize at the end of the year.

Interested in working for a central bank?

PhD students and Master's students with some years’ work experience are invited to a panel discussion on 'Careers in Central Banking' on Tuesday 26 November.

The panel will be made up of staff members from the Bank of France, Bank of Italy and Central Bank of Ireland. There will be an opportunity, after the panel discussion, to meet these representatives on a one-to-one basis.

For more information and to register for the event, visit the LSE Careers website.
 

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

Looking to improve your skills using Office 2010? Have a problem formatting your thesis or presentation?

IMT offers free self-paced training workshops for immediate support. Available daily during term time in room STC.S170, St Clement's.

Software covered:

• Excel 2010
• Outlook 2010
• PowerPoint 2010
• Word 2010

Courses scheduled for next week include:

• Managing Your Time
• Academic Integrity, Citations and Reference Management
• Managing Depression

Teaching and Learning Centre training events

• Essay Writing at LSE: an introduction
  Wednesday 27 November from 4-5pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
  This session will give an introduction to writing "argumentative" essays and outline what LSE tutors expect from written assignments. If this is your first time studying in the UK, you are encouraged to attend this event.
• Communicating Assertively
  Friday 29 November from 12.30-2pm in room CLM 3.02, Clement House
  Developmental advice on how to communicate with conviction and confidence.

Presenting Research Through Visual Media: two workshops

In collaboration with experts from University of the Arts London, the LSE Research Festival 2014 is holding two free half-day workshops, designed to help you understand how best to showcase your research through visual media.

Workshop One: creating short films from your research
If you have recorded video/film footage over the course of your research project but are unsure how to turn it into something presentable, this workshop offers an opportunity to learn some basic principles. During the session, you will be shown examples of how best to use film to get your message across effectively and what pitfalls you should avoid.

Workshop Two: research posters
Posters are an increasingly popular way of illustrating research and a great method for presenting complex information succinctly. At this workshop, you will discuss the ‘mechanics’ of poster design, learning how choice of layout, typeface and image can impact on the success of a poster’s ability to communicate to an audience.

If you are considering entering the LSE Research Festival’s 2014 exhibition, but would like expert guidance on your submission, do come along to one or both of these workshops. For more information and to book, visit LSE Research Festival workshops.
 

Computer tip of the week

Excel error messages

Sometimes when you are creating formulas in Excel you can get an unexpected error message. If you do, check below to see what they mean.

#DIV/0! Trying to divide by 0
#N/A! A formula or function inside a formula cannot find the referenced data
#NAME? Text in the formula is not recognised
#NULL! A space was used in formulas that reference multiple ranges, commas separate ranges
#NUM! A formula has invalid numeric data for the type of operation
#REF! A reference is invalid
#VALUE! The wrong type of operand or function argument is used
####### The column is not wide enough to display its contents

Students required for dissertation research

Iman Thakur, a final year psychology student at Queen Mary University of London, is looking for students to help with a study for her dissertation.

The study is designed to investigate negative and positive perfectionism across the life domains of work, physical activity, and appearance in White British and Indian British students.

If you fit this criteria and are aged between 18-30, click here to participate. The questionnaire will take approx 10 minutes to complete and there is the chance to win one of four £50 Amazon vouchers.

Upcoming LSE events include....

The Shadow of the Crescent Moon: writing Pakistan
On: Monday 25 November from 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Fatima Bhutto (pictured), author.

The Future of EU Enlargement
On: Tuesday 26 November from 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Dr Sergei Stanishev, President of the Party of European Socialists and former Prime Minister of Bulgaria.

The Body Economic: why austerity kills
On: Wednesday 27 November from 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Dr David Stuckler (pictured), expert on the economics of global health and a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Cambridge.

The Syrian Civil War: the resilience of civil society

On: Friday 22 November from 6.30-8pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Lina Sinjab (pictured), BBC.

In this talk, Lina Sinjab will focus on the realities on the ground in Syria and the resilient civil society that is striving to continue amidst the civil war and the Islamic challenges.

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: Saturday 23 November from 9am-5pm in the Wolfson, Thai, and Alumni Theatres, New Academic Building.

The theme of this year's conference is ‘People and Economics’, looking at how economics can inform decision-making in many facets of human life that are subtly interlinked with markets. There will also be an open debate on ‘Women and Economics’ looking at women in economics and the economics of gender.

Other topics covered will include economic journalism, a cost-benefit analysis of the prison system, evidence-based drug policy, happiness and wellbeing, macroeconomics, mothers employment, 'missing women' in South Asia, and the gender pay gap.

The full conference programme can be found here.

Speakers will include:

• Martin Wolf, Associate Chief Editor and Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times.
• Vicky Pryce, former Joint Head of the UK's Government Economic Service.
• Claudia Goldin, current President of the American Economic Association and the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University.
• Richard Layard, Emeritus Professor of Economics at LSE.
• Francine Lacqua, a London-based anchor and Editor-At-Large for Bloomberg Television.

More information on the speakers can be found here.

On: Monday 25 November from 6.30-8pm in the New Theatre, East Building
Speaker: Professor Calliope Spanou (pictured), The Greek Ombudsman.

This event will focus on the establishment, 15 years ago, of the Ombudsman institution in Greece, highlighting its place and role in the political-administrative system of the country.

Professor Spanou will also present current challenges in the context of economic austerity, lack of trust in institutions, as well as demands for a new relationship between citizens and the state in Greece.

Egyptian Foreign Policy towards Israel under Mubarak: from cold peace to strategic peace?

On: Monday 25 November from 6.30-8pm in the Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Dr Amnon Aran (pictured), City University.

This lecture will challenge the conventional wisdom that Egyptian foreign policy towards Israel has been, and remains, one of cold peace. Instead, Dr Aran will argue that Egyptian foreign policy under the Presidency of Hosni Mubarak has shifted from cold peace to strategic peace. He will also reflect on the implications of his findings to the post Mubarak era.

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 26 November from 6-7.30pm in the Cañada Blanch Room, Cowdray House
Speaker: Dr Maria Koinova (pictured), Associate Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick.

Dr Koinova's research interests span international relations and comparative politics, and focus on how ethnonational diversity impacts on the political development of conflict and post-conflict societies.

Iranian Foreign Policy after the Election of Hassan Rouhani

On: Wednesday 27 November from 4.30-6pm in the Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Professor Anoush Ehteshami (pictured), Durham University.

The victory of Rouhani represents the defeat of the most peripheral groups in the Iranian political spectrum. In a day, one could say, Ahmadinejad and his supporters arguably lost all of their clout and popular appeal. The support they had amassed during the previous eight years apparently melted away, with no-one ultimately making a fuss about the rejection of Ahmadinejad’s candidate for the presidency. This is the first significant development to note - the neoconservative order has been shattered.

Exploring the context and background of his election, Professor Ehteshami will question what drives President Rouhani’s world view and what constitutes his foreign policy agenda. He will also explore what his election victory tells us about Iran and where it may be heading in the future.

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
 

Money For Nothing: inside the federal reserve

On: Wednesday 27 November from 6.15pm in room G.01, Tower One

LSE's Systemic Risk Centre and the Centre for Macroeconomics present a screening of the new documentary, Money For Nothing: inside the Federal Reserve.

Narrated by actor Liev Schreiber, Money For Nothing: inside the Federal Reserve is the first film to take viewers inside America’s central bank and reveal the impact of Fed policies - past, present and future - on our lives. As Ben Bernanke’s tumultuous tenure comes to a close, join Paul Volcker, Janet Yellen, and many of the world’s best financial minds as they debate the decisions that led the global economy to the brink of collapse and ask whether we might be headed there again.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion. Speakers will include Jon Danielsson, Co-Director of the Systemic Risk Centre, Wouter DenHaan, Director of the Centre for Macroeconomics, Francis Yared, Head of European Rates Research at Deutsche Bank, and Jean-Pierre Zigrand, Co-Director of the Systemic Risk Centre.

This event is free and open to all but registration is required. To register, visit www.systemicrisk.ac.uk/events/money-nothing-film-show.
 

The World, So Rich

On until Friday 29 November in the Atrium Gallery, Old Building.

‘The World, So Rich’ portrays faces from Pakistan, Afghanistan, The Kingdom of Lesotho and The Gambia. These large oil paintings are all tied together by ideas which are fundamental to life and this world - diversity, colour, attitude, culture and age. They reflect how beautiful and rich world heritage is.

For more information, click here. The exhibition is open to all with no ticket required. Visitors are welcome during weekdays (Monday - Friday) from 10am-8pm. For further information, email arts@lse.ac.uk or phone on 020 7107 5342.
 

On: Friday 29 November from 9am-5pm in the Shaw Library, Old Building

This one day conference, organised by LSE's Hellenic Observatory and the Open Society European Policy Institute, Brussels, features an ambitious and exciting programme, bringing together eminent speakers to debate and discuss the major challenges facing Greece and all of Europe.

For more information, visit the Hellenic Observatory's event page. Click here for the conference programme.