LGBT History Month

Check out what LSE Spectrum, the School's network for LGBT staff, has coming up to celebrate the lives and achievements of the LGBT community.

LSE GROUPS 2015

Undergraduates, don't miss this opportunity to take part in an original research project. Get your application in by Friday 6 March.

Mehak Adil

"We’ve organised a range of activities this year - five-a-side football, golf lessons, cricket tournaments, Zumba and belly dancing classes". Find out how you can get involved with the Active LifeStyle project.

Residents of a high rise estate in West London experienced a significant improvement in their quality of life following energy efficiency refurbishments, according to new LSE research.

LSE Housing and Communities, in partnership with Rockwool, launched High Rise Hope Revisited on Thursday 12 February, a new report examining the social implications of whole building energy efficiency refurbishments in residential tower blocks.

'Nurture' more important than 'nature' for overweight children

Parents’ lifestyles, rather than their genes, are primarily responsible for their children being overweight according to research by the Centre for Economic Performance, based at LSE.

Researchers compared the weight of biological and adopted children to that of their parents to determine whether children inherit their weight problems or whether they are the result of the environment they grow up in.

They found that when both adoptive parents are overweight, the likelihood of an adopted child being overweight is up to 21 per cent higher than when the parents are not overweight. Because these children are adopted their weight problems can be largely attributed to their parents’ lifestyles rather than their genes.

In comparison, children who have two biological parents who are overweight were found to be 27 per cent more likely to be overweight - just six percentage points more than adopted children, showing the relatively small influence of genetics. More
 

Presenting three free Literary Festival events to celebrate LSE’s 120 years of history:

• Hear Professor Michael Cox speak on The 'School': the LSE from the Webbs to the Third Way on Tuesday 24 February at 6.30pm. Free tickets are available now, check out the event listing for details.
• Peruse the history of LSE pop-up exhibition which will be on display in the NAB.
• Enjoy photos conjuring up ghosts from LSE's past at the LSE Photo Prize exhibition. Catch it on campus throughout the Literary Festival, Monday 23 - Saturday 28 February. Visit lse.ac.uk/lse120 for a list of locations.

LSE startup treev, a web application founded by recent LSE graduate Alexander Weidauer and Cambridge PhD student Alan Nichol, has been accepted onto the EU funded acceleration programme, CreatiFI, and awarded 50,000 EUR.

With treev, you can access all of your work in the cloud from just one place. CreatiFI will give treev access to top mentors which will boost the startup on its mission to working and collaborating online easier.

The startup also invites everyone to its private beta to view the completely re-launched product. A new addition is "Share as you Type", a novel way of attaching files to an email without switching tabs and pasting links. Be part of the private beta and sign up here.

LSE GROUPS 2015

Undergraduates, don't miss this opportunity to take part in an original research project, organised by LSE Teaching and Learning Centre.

At LSE GROUPS, you'll get the chance to work in small groups of mixed years and mixed disciplines on a research project of your choice, write it up for a research paper and present it at a research conference.

LSE GROUPS 2015 runs from 22 June to 3 July. For more details, the application form, and examples of previous years’ projects, visit the website. The closing date for applications is Friday 6 March.
 

Student Volunteering Week 2015

Student Volunteering Week 2015 (#LSESVW15) is taking place across the UK between 23 February and 1 March.

At LSE, we have a whole host of exciting events taking place on campus for students to get involved in (so many, in fact, that our Student Volunteering Week extends to 3 March!).

Whether you like running, community groups, live music, fundraising or just giving your time for a good cause, this week is for you. If you have any questions on how to get involved, please contact the LSE Volunteer Coordinator.
 

Student Accommodation Satisfaction Survey 2014-15

Bankside House is currently in the lead to win the £250 grand prize with 24.17 per cent of residents having already completed the survey.

If you live in Halls, please remember to give us your views. There are some fantastic prizes up for grabs - for individuals as well as Halls.

To be in with a chance, all you have to do is take part in a short survey to rate your experience of living in halls so far. Please check your email for your personalised invite and survey link. More information can be found here.
 

LSE Estates Division want to know what you think of their Facilities Guide. Is it useful? Is the format clear and helpful? Is there anything that could be done better?

Tell them what you think in their short survey here. It has just five questions and your answers will help shape future editions of the guide - you may even be lucky enough to win a limited edition SAW mug (winners will be picked at random).

Do you want to make a change at LSE? Could you make the LSESU more diverse and representative? Are you looking to develop skills in campaigning, leadership and events planning?

Then run for election to lead your Union. Elections are coming up for the four full-time, paid Sabbatical Officer positions, alongside volunteer part-time Officer positions and members of the Democracy Committee and Trustee Board.

Nominations are open until 5pm on Monday 23 February. For the full list of positions and to nominate, visit www.lsesu.com/elections.

Computer Tip of the Week: recovering email after emptying your deleted items folder

When the Deleted Items folder is emptied, or individual messages are deleted from the Deleted Items folder in Outlook 2010, they are generally stored on the server for 28 days and can be recovered by users during that period. Items listed in your Deleted Items folder can be moved to any other folder in Outlook. To find out how, see our Outlook 2010 Recovering deleted items guide.

If you have an IT question, check out our online guides and FAQs or attend our weekly Software Surgeries. A huge range of additional computer training resources is available via the IT Training website. Subscribe to the IT Training mailing list to stay informed of upcoming courses and workshops.
 

LSE Treatment Clinic

The LSE Treatment Clinic, which welcomes LSE students and staff, is on the first floor of Tower Two - (enter from Tower One/Tower Two reception, first floor and follow the signs).

The clinic offers professional treatments at reduced rates for the LSE, of acupuncture, osteopathy and sports massage from practitioners with over 25 years of experience between them. Their combined expertise is effective in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain, repetitive strain injury, tension headaches, posture advice, sports injuries, anxiety, insomnia, migraine, among many other ailments.

The practitioners are:

• Hanya Chlala
  Acupuncture and Reflexology available in a dual-bed setting on Wednesdays and Fridays

• Laura Dent
  Sports massage available on Mondays

• Tim Hanwell
  Osteopathy available on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Appointments are available Monday-Friday from 9am-6pm and can be booked online at www.lsetreatmentclinic.co.uk. All consultations are strictly confidential and sessions will last between 30 and 60 minutes depending upon the treatment.
 

The Northbank BID's Small Business Networking Event

The Northbank BID invites LSE staff and students to join them at their first local small business networking lunch on Monday 23 February at the Exeter Suite, Strand Palace Hotel, Strand, WC2R 0JJ.

The event will be attended by the Northbank BID’s board of directors and will be a chance to meet them and learn more about their commitment to the local business community. You will also gain access to local business support networks, hear about business support packages and talks from a range of different business leaders about their innovative business models and top tips for success in todays business climate.

LSE Literary Festival starts on Monday

Have you got your free tickets yet? Events are running throughout the week with something for everyone.

We are exploring the foundations of language, society, identity and culture around the world, with discussions covering Palestine, China, Bangladesh, ASEAN and Venice, as well as throughout time looking back at classical Rome and Greece, Waterloo, Magna Carta, and the creation of LSE itself 120 years ago.

Speakers for events include Professor John Gray, Aleks Krotoski, Elif Shafak and Will Self. More
 

As part of LSE's Literary Festival, we will be screening some of the submissions to the film category for LSE Research Festival 2015, as a sneak preview of the upcoming exhibition on 21 May, including entries from the recently launched LSE Research Impact website.

These films provide an insight into the ways in which the moving image may be used as a tool to present research.

Other forthcoming LSE events include....

Foundations of Faith
On: Tuesday 24 February at 6pm in the Faith Centre, Saw Swee Hock Student Centre
Speaker: Sarah Perry (pictured) and Professor Graham Ward

Film Screening - Toilet Adventures
On: Wednesday 25 February at 5.30pm in the Sixth Floor Studio, Saw Swee Hock Student Centre

On: Friday 20 February from 2-3pm (with lunch from 1-2pm) in CLM 3.02, Clement House
Speaker: David Hand (pictured), Senior Research Investigator and Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Imperial College, London.

We are inundated with messages about the promise offered by big data. Economic miracles, scientific breakthroughs, technological leaps appear to be merely a matter of taking advantage of a resource which is increasingly widely available. But is everything as straightforward as these promises seem to imply?

At this event, David Hand will look at the history of big data, distinguish between different kinds of big data, and explore whether we really are at the start of a revolution. No new technology is achieved without effort and without overcoming obstacles, and I describe some such obstacles that lie in the path of realising the promise of big data.

On: Friday 20 February from 6-8pm in Café 54, New Academic Building

Free drinks and live music? What a way to start the weekend. Join LSE Arts for our monthly performance night with music from the HoneyMooners, Misha Chapman and Moon Gel.

All of the photos from the 2015 Photo Prize competition will be displayed across campus during the Literary Festival, from Monday 23- Saturday 28 February.

Spot the pop up on the ground floor of the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre from 1.45-3.15pm on Monday 23 February. We’ll be giving away freebies at every location, so come down and enjoy the creative talents of LSE staff and students.

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender History Month takes place across the UK every year in February. It celebrates the lives and achievements of the LGBT community.

LSE Spectrum, the LSE network for LGBT staff, has the following event taking place later this month:

LSE Spectrum Literary Festival lecture - A Little Gay History
On: Monday 23 February from 1-2pm in NAB 2.04, New Academic Building
Speaker: Professor Richard Parkinson, Professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford and previously curator at the British Museum.

Brazilian Foreign Policy: Q&A session with Minister Celso Amorim

On: Tuesday 24 February from 11am-12.30pm in CLM 4.02, Clement House
Speaker: Minister Celso Amorim, Brazil's former Minister of Defence and Minister of Foreign Relations.

At this event, co-hosted by the LSESU Brazilian Society and LSE Global South Unit, Minister Amorim will share some key moments of his acclaimed career. His lecture will be followed by a Q&A session.
 

On: Tuesday 24 February from 6.30-8.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speakers: Professor Craig Calhoun, Professor Lord Anthony Giddens, Professor Mary Kaldor, Professor Nikolas Rose, Professor Terhi Rantanen, Dr Sabine Selchow, and Professor Richard Sennett.

This special event will mark the life of one of Europe’s most inspirational sociologists, Professor Ulrich Beck (pictured) (1944-2015) who had a long and profitable engagement with LSE's Department of Sociology.

Ulrich was fundamentally a questioning sociologist, asking provocative questions about what it meant to do social science, and comprehend the nature of society itself in an era of radical social change. He introduced a remarkable battery of concepts, most of which have proved fundamental for inspiring debate, ranging from ‘risk society’ through ‘reflexive modernity’, ‘individualisation’, and ‘cosmopolitanisation’.

To do justice to the breadth and ambition of his thinking, we bring together leading social scientists to reflect on his intellectual contribution and the insights it offers for understanding the future of world society. Two panels will feature three speakers who will take stock of his thinking and offer their own thoughts about the issues he raised.

On: Thursday 26 February at 6pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Jessica Goldberg (pictured), UCLA.

The Epstein Lecture series was created in memory of S.R. (Larry) Epstein, whose sudden death at the age of 46 in early February 2007 was an enormous loss, not only to his family and friends, but to his department and the global community of economic historians.

The Department of Economic History decided that one appropriate way of commemorating Larry’s achievements would be to inaugurate a regular Epstein lecture and, with the generous support of friends, colleagues and alumni, achieved this aim.

At the time of his death Larry had in mind a number of projects, but one to which he was particularly committed was the establishment of a regular lecture series at LSE by outstanding early career researchers in economic history. The lectures are given by an early career researcher regarded as a rising star in the profession. In line with Larry’s broad intellectual interests, there are no restrictions on subject matter or geographical scope or time period providing that the topic comes within the broad, interdisciplinary scope of economic history.

LSE Works

The sixth LSE Works lecture takes place on Thursday 26 February and will be given by Professor Alan Manning (pictured) of Centre for Economic Performance at LSE on ‘The Minimum Wage in the UK and Beyond’.

The respondent will be Nicola Smith, Head of Economic and Social Affairs at the TUC, and the event will be chaired by Professor Sir David Metcalf, Emeritus Professor of Industrial Relations in the Department of Management at LSE.

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.

Professor Alan Manning’s research underpinned the design of the UK’s National Minimum Wage that reduced poverty and wage inequality without costing jobs. More on Professor Manning’s research impact can be found here.

A list of all the LSE Works lectures can be viewed at LSE Works.
 

First Story: writing home

LSE is delighted to be hosting once again the prize-giving event for the annual First Story national writing competition on Monday 9 March at 6pm.

Award-winning young adult authors James Dawson (Hollow Pike, Cruel Summer, Say Her Name), Kate Kingsley (Young, Loaded and Fabulous) and Anthony McGowan(pictured) (The Knife that Killed Me, Hellbent, Henry Tumor) will discuss the idea of home. Where is "home" for them? How important are roots? And how does this influence their writing? This event will also include students reading pieces from the competition anthology.

The event is free to attend and open to all, aimed primarily at secondary school students. School groups are welcome and can request tickets by emailing events@lse.ac.uk. More