Professor Sonia Livingstone of the Department of Media and Communications has contributed to a specially convened expert panel for the Department of Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS).

Identifying the Routes by which Children View Pornography Online was published alongside several other papers by DCMS as part of their Child Safety Online: Age Verification for Pornography consultation to discuss reducing children’s access to pornography on the internet.

Five Nobel Prize recipients and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos have endorsed a new LSE report recommending a radical overhaul of international policies that would move countries beyond the existing singular ‘war on drugs’ focus on eradication and repression towards policies grounded in political and socioeconomic integration.

More than half of teenagers and young people with mental health problems in the UK do not receive any clinical treatment, amounting to a ‘’moral scandal and enormous economic mistake,’’ according to a new LSE study.

The report, prepared by LSE’s Personal Social Services Research Unit, and funded by the NHS Confederation Mental Health Network, is the first of its kind to analyse the economic impact of youth mental health services in the UK.

To make an informed decision on the merits of leaving the European Union, UK voters need to know more about what the government would do following Brexit. Just as the parties put forward policy manifestos in the run-up to an election, they should publish their plans for a post-Brexit world before the referendum.

That is among the conclusions of a new report from LSE's Centre for Economic Performance, the first in a series of briefings analysing the economic costs and benefits of Brexit for the UK.

New research from LSE shows how a powerful and lucrative industry has grown off the back of the European migration crisis and argues for a fundamental change of course towards international cooperation and shared asylum systems.

Over the past eight years Dr Ruben Andersson has investigated the borders at the frontier of Europe’s migrant crisis, documenting the emerging industry of border controls, comprising private defence and security contractors, border agencies and neighbouring states’ forces.

An LSE Enterprise report has called for a new way to measure the social impact of business, with the researchers hoping that readers will get involved.

Corporations increasingly view positive social impact as enhancing, rather than detracting from, their financial returns. With encouragement from state and business leaders, the concept has become mainstream, giving rise not only to company departments but to dedicated institutions.

The researchers suggest creating a new External Rate of Return platform, aimed at all companies. The new platform would enable companies, investors and third parties to report activities across five arenas: the company, suppliers, customers, society and the environment. It would be holistic and transparent, encouraging dialogue about the overall impact of business.

On Monday 15 February, Paramount Pictures hosted a private screening of the movie The Big Short at the Picturehouse Central cinema.

Professors Tim Besley and Richard Layard joined a panel discussion afterwards with the movie's Director, Adam McKay and Cinematographer, Barry Ackroyd, with the Financial Times' Martin Wolf chairing.

They discussed the central themes of the movie; the events leading up to the US subprime mortgage crisis and the implosion of the global economy in 2008, and looked at the international fallout that resulted and the likelihood of it happening again on such a scale. Finally, the panel also addressed what could be done to prevent it happening again; do we need to go back to the tough banking regulations of the 1960s and 70s or is it time to look at a non-profit approach to the banking sector?

Photos of the event can be found here.

Following the communication sent to all staff on 29 January, the pilot for the new room bookings portal has indicated that the synchronisation issues have been resolved and the system has remained stable for three weeks.

In light of this, we are going to start extending the pilot to staff users across the School, enabling staff to search and request committee and meeting rooms via Resource Booker. The Room Bookings team will start to contact you from next week with confirmation that you have been set up on the system and provide you with a guide on how to use it.

In addition to this, we can confirm that extra staff from within LSE have joined the Room Bookings team and are currently being trained to process email requests.

The above measures should significantly reduce the turnaround times for processing room booking requests. Thank you very much for your patience.

For more information on the project, please visit the project website or email the project team.

"Prevent" is part of the government’s counter-terrorism strategy. Since last September, universities have been under a legal duty to comply with it. But what does this mean for staff? We are laying on some briefing sessions with the help of the School lawyers, Pinsent Masons.

The first six sessions will be run on Thursday 25 February at 12-2pm (students have priority for that one) and 2.30-4.30pm, Friday 26 February at 12-2pm and 2.30-4.30pm and Thursday 3 March at 12.30-2.30pm and 3-5pm. If there’s demand, we’ll run more. If you would like to attend please email Marta Gajewska on m.gajewska@lse.ac.uk. All sessions will take place in 1 Kingsway.

If you’d like to know more but can’t attend a briefing, click here for background.

Deputy Director and Provost Robin Mansell’s termly briefings will take place in the Shaw Library on Wednesday 2 March at 10.30am and Thursday 3 March at 2.30pm.

The Provost Briefings are termly events for all professional services staff and provide an opportunity to hear from colleagues on a wide range of subjects that are pertinent both to staff. Staff are invited to contribute to the Briefing and may forward questions, whether anonymous or attributed, to the Provost’s office Col 1.00 in advance of the Briefing.

There will be further opportunities to submit questions directly before the Briefing, while coffee and cake are being served, or to ask questions directly during the Q& A at the end.

The agenda can be found here.

The Summer term 2016 briefings will take place on Wednesday 6 July at 10.30am and Thursday 7 July at 2.30pm. The Provost is happy to receive suggestions for discussion topics for the Summer Term briefing.

The Government has made changes to the National Insurance system, effective from April 2016. This will affect you if you are a member of SAUL or USS, as your NI contributions will increase slightly.

Please see the Payroll webpages for more details.

Staff Wellbeing Week is taking place from Monday 29 February. You can view the full programme of events here, but here’s a taster of some of the events taking place:

On Tuesday at 12pm the Employer for Carers: information session and light lunch is taking place. Employers for Carers is an organisation supported by the specialist knowledge of Carers UK who will deliver an information session for staff and managers at the School. Come along to this information session and find out more about the support available. Email staffwellbeing@lse.ac.uk to book in advance.

Also don’t forget to book on to the ‘Good Gym’ session on Tuesday at 3.30pm.The idea is simple: run to a community project as a group, lend a hand, run back. A mixed ability group is encouraged, but you should be able to comfortably run up to 3km in one go (and twice, i.e. there and back). All speeds welcome and catered for. Email staffwellbeing@lse.ac.uk to book in advance.

On Thursday at 2pm Dr Grace Lordan (Department of Social Policy) will be discussing her recent research, followed by an introduction to the Global Corporate Challenge (GCC) and an optional group walk. This session is ideal for both those who have not previously participated in the GCC and would like to know more about it, but also those who are enthusiastic advocates and former participants! Email staffwellbeing@lse.ac.uk to book in advance.

If you have any questions, please contact staffwellbeing@lse.ac.uk.

Message from Professor Julia Black, Pro Director for Research and Athena SWAN Chair and Project Director

As part of the School’s work to embed equity, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of its culture, we welcome your input to a survey about childcare provision at the School.

The survey is intended to provide an opportunity to review individuals' needs for early-years childcare, with a view to enhancing the School's current provision. The School currently provides childcare vouchers through a salary sacrifice scheme and a subsidised nursery.

We would be grateful if all staff who feel this issue is relevant to them could take part in the childcare survey which will be available to complete until Tuesday 1 March.

IMT is pleased to announce all staff and postgraduate research students (PGR) can now obtain a free home user license for the Stata SE application.

Stata is a powerful integrated software package for data analysis, data management and graphics which is already available on campus-based computers and the Remote Desktop. With the home user license, staff and PGR students can access the software on their laptops/personally owned devices, to allow for offline working.

For more information on how to register and download Stata SE for home use, please see the LSE IT News Blog.

Learning Technology and Innovation will be holding a briefing session Wednesday 24 February for academics interesting in applying for an IGNITE! grant.

The session will run through each funding strand and answer any questions you may have about the application process or your project ideas. IGNITE! focuses on improving teaching and learning experiences by supporting large-sale, technology informed initiatives.

Thursday 3 March from 6pm in the New Academic Building

Looking to develop your career further in 2016? Find out more about this year’s programme at our open evening.

To attend, register for your free invitation here.

Over 22-26 February, the LSE Volunteer Centre will be bringing Student Volunteering Week (LSESVW16) to LSE.

We’re excited to debut of our short film of the LSE community sharing the reasons they volunteer. We’d love to hear from more members of the LSE community about why you volunteer - to get involved use #LSESVW16 and finish the sentence ‘I volunteer because…’

There are a wide range of exciting events for students to get involved in during the week, including talks on talks on fundraising, a charity networking breakfast with international NGOs and think tanks to three one-off volunteering opportunities. It’s set to be an action packed week with charities on campus and daily student volunteering blogs.

44 Lincoln’s Inn Fields - the Paul Marshall Building Exhibition

Six renowned architectural practices were shortlisted via an international design competition and their submissions will be on display in the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre from Wednesday 2 March until Thursday 17 March.

Have your say - come along, view the designs and vote for your preferred scheme.

For more information visit the website or email us at estates.44lif-pmb@lse.ac.uk.

Running from Monday-Saturday next week, tickets for many of the events are still available to book, including:

Monday 22 February

The Innovations of the Future
Time: 5.15-6.45pm
Speaker: Alec Ross

The Allure of Happy Endings
Time: 7-8.30pm
Speakers: Dr Molly Crockett, Professor Paul Dolan, and Sinéad Moriarty
Followed by an opening night drinks reception

Tuesday 23 February

Art and Wellbeing: the growing impact of arts on health
Time: 5.15-6.45pm
Speakers: Lizz Brady, James Leadbitter, David McDaid, and Vivienne Parry

Wednesday 24 February

Uninvited Arrivals: refugees and the challenge of responsibility
Time: 4.30-6pm
Speakers: Dr Ruben Andersson, Professor Lilie Chouliaraki (pictured), and Dr Myria Georgiou

Imagining African Futures
Time: 6.30-8pm
Speakers: Leye Adenle, Jennifer Makumbi, and Chibundu Onuzo

Thursday 25 February

Looking Eastwards: cultural exchange with the Islamic world
Time: 6.30-8pm
Speakers: Professor Jerry Brotton and Dr Peter Frankopan

Friday 26 February

Utopia: getting somewhere or going nowhere?
Time: 4.30-6pm
Speakers: Toby Litt, Patrick Parrinder, and Samantha Shannon (pictured)

Saturday 27 February

Re-Writing the Past vs Imagining the Future
Time: 1-2pm
Speakers: Miriam Halahmy, Philip Womack, and M M Vaughan

Out of our Bodies: can we ever free consciousness?
Time: 7-8.30pm
Speakers: Ned Beauman, Dr Kate Devlin, and Professor Nicholas Humphrey

Tuesday 23 February from 6-7.30pm in Cañada Blanch Room, Cowdray House
Speaker: Angelos Chryssogelos, National Bank of Greece Postdoctoral Fellow in the Hellenic Observatory at LSE

This presentation will examine whether, and how, key aspects of Greek foreign policy have been transformed in the years of the crisis, and especially the relationship between Greek foreign policy interests and practices and the EU framework.

Tuesday 1 March at 6pm in CLM.3.01, Clement House
Speaker: Jin Xu, Minister Counsellor of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in the UK

At this talk, organised by LSE's Language Centre, Jin Xu and distinguished CEOs will give an overview of this investment and discuss how it will affect UK-China relations during the next decade.

Economic investment will inevitably lead to increased cultural and linguistic exchange. Jin Xu will discuss how strengthening economic ties will affect universities and education in both the UK and China.

Click here to secure your place and to submit a specific question for Mr Jin. For more information, contact Michael Tavares at m.tavares@lse.ac.uk.

Monday 7 - Friday 18 March in the Atrium Gallery, Old Building
Monday-Friday 10am-8pm (expect Wednesday 9 March from 5pm onwards)

This exhibition captures Greece through the lens of 34 Greek photographers, showcasing images of the country and its people. The exhibition is organised by the Hellenic Observatory, LSE Arts and Photoglobe Seminars to celebrate the 20 Year Anniversary of the Hellenic Observatory.

Come and see James Clay, Project Manager for the Building Digital Capability R&D project at JISC, talk about how mapping the curriculum could result in a more coherent approach to the embedding of digital technologies.

The talk will also explore the potential enablers that will create new solutions, enable changes in behaviours and build digital capability.

Political Economy and Development: a progress report
Speaker: Professor Tim Besley
Recorded: Wednesday 10 February, approx. 90 minutes

The Global Refugee Crisis: a challenge to our common humanity
Speaker: Baroness Amos
Recorded: Thursday 11 February, approx. 90 minutes

The Future of the EU in the Face of BREXIT
Speaker: Enrico Letta
Recorded: Friday 12 February, approx. 88 minutes

Congratulations to the @lsemensbasketballclub who have been having some big wins recently!

For more images like this, visit the Photography Unit or check out the School's Instagram page.

All staff interested in research funding or already with an award are invited to attend the following event:

Research Incentive Schemes
Tuesday 23 February from 12-1.30pm
Learn about the LSE’s Research Incentives Policy, which includes:

• Personal Financial Rewards (PFR)
• Research Infrastructure and Investment Funding (RIIF) schemes

This policy provides financial rewards for staff who win research funding - to enhance their salaries, buy out time from teaching and/or provide research funding for the departments and research centres that host them.

For more information, email researchdivision@lse.ac.uk.