(토요모임) [3. Nov. 2018] Saturday meeting topic

[Scarlet]

Howdy ! 

It's me Scarlett ! We will have a Englisholic Saturday meeting(19:00~21:00)
at the 2nd floor study room in Twosome place nearby Sachang cross street.
(Map is attached below) If you need more precise information, leave a message. (Scarlett)

Detailed topics are as follows.

◈ Urban Security

---- 5 big challenges facing big cities of the future

◈ Leadership

---- Successful leaders follow their moral compass, according to new research

◈ Anticorruption : Humanitarian Aspect Vs. Transparency

---- 'My only sin is the extrajudicial killings' admits Philippines' Duterte

----  Political Corruption Affects Real People

Hope you enjoy the topics. 

With luv 

Scarlett

--------------------------------------

5 big challenges facing big cities of the future

29 Oct 2018/
Chan Heng Chee/ Chairman, Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
Harvey Neo/ Consultant, Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)

The UN estimates that 55% of the global population lives in urban areas – a figure that is projected to rise to 68% by 2050. With few exceptions, cities are expected to become bigger and more numerous.
As urbanization speeds up, particularly in Asian and African countries, here are five of the biggest challenges confronting the future of cities:

1. Environmental threats
Rapid urbanization, which strains basic infrastructure, coupled with more frequent and extreme weather events linked to global climate change is exacerbating the impact of environmental threats. Common environmental threats include flooding, tropical cyclones (to which coastal cities are particularly vulnerable), heat waves and epidemics.
Owing to the physical and population density of cities, such threats often result in both devastating financial loss and deaths. Making cities more resilient against these environmental threats is one of the biggest challenges faced by city authorities and requires urgent attention.

2. Resources
Cities need resources such as water, food and energy to be viable. Urban sprawl reduces available water catchment areas, agricultural lands and increases demand for energy. While better application of technology can boost agricultural productivity and ensure more efficient transmission of electricity, many cities will continue to struggle to provide these resources to an ever-growing urban population.
Beyond these basic requirements, haphazard growth will see the reduction of green spaces within cities, negatively affecting liveability. As fresh water becomes scarce and fertile lands diminish, food prices may escalate, hitting the poorest hardest.

3. Inequality
When it comes to both the provision of basic resources and resilience against environmental threats, the forecast is uneven for different groups of urban inhabitants. As the number of urban super-rich grows, many cities will also see increased numbers of urban poor.
The widening gap between the haves and have-nots will be accentuated in the megacities of the future. Such inequalities, when left unchecked, will destabilize society and upend any benefits of urban development. There is a critical need for policy-makers to ensure that the fruits of progress are shared equitably.

4. Technology
Technology will be increasingly used in the development and running of cities of the future. Smart planning used in Singapore can harness solar energy for use in housing estates and create man-made wetlands for ecological balance. Smart mobility technology can alleviate traffic gridlocks which plague many cities.
The use of environmental technologies which can cool buildings more efficiently or run vehicles that are less polluting will also lead to better future cities. Installing sensors in the homes of ageing seniors living alone can connect them to the community and summon help when they are unwell or hurt.

However, technology can exclude urban inhabitants who cannot afford it or lack the capability required for its adoption. As future cities become more digitized, care must be exercised to prevent the emergence of a new form of social divide rooted in the technological.

5. Governance
Future cities offer immense possibilities to enrich the lives of their inhabitants even as the challenges are stark. To make the best out of inevitable urbanization, good governance is imperative. Cities will increase in size and their populations become more diverse. Governing these cities will, therefore, be progressively complex and require the most dedicated of minds.

 
Increasingly, cities around the world are learning about the best governance and planning practices from one another, even as they remain accountable to their respective national governments. The broad goals of urban governance should address issues of equity, liveability and sustainability in cities of the future.

Article source : https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/the-5-biggest-challenges-cities-will-face-in-the-future

--------------------------------------

< Questions >

Q1. What is the biggest challenge for big cities in the future?

Q2. What is the most urgent agenda in your residential area?

Q3. What is the most important issue for your personal life?

--------------------------------------

Successful leaders follow their moral compass,

according to new research

30 Oct 2018/ Matthew Biddle-Buffalo

Leaders who value morality outperform their unethical peers, regardless of industry, company size, or role, according to new research. But because we all define a “moral leader” differently, leaders who try to do good may face unexpected difficulties.
The research team examined more than 300 books, essays, and studies on moral leadership from 1970 to 2018. They discovered that leaders who prioritized morality had higher performing organizations with less turnover and that their employees were more creative, proactive, engaged, and satisfied.
“Over and over again, our research found that followers perceived ethical leaders as more effective and trusted, and those leaders enjoyed greater personal well-being than managers with questionable morality,” says study coauthor Jim Lemoine, assistant professor of organization and human resources at the University at Buffalo. “The problem is, though, that when we talk about an ‘ethical business leader,’ we’re often not talking about the same person.”
 

The study appears in the journal Academy of Management Annals.
Morality is in the eye of the beholder?

Lemoine says prior research often treats all forms of moral leadership the same, missing their unique attributes and consequences.

Consider, for example, a company with an opportunity to sell cigarettes in a developing country. One executive would argue the sale is ethical because no norms or rules prohibit it. A servant leader might turn down the deal because of its negative health and environmental impacts. And a third leader, guided by his or her own internal convictions, might choose another course of action entirely.
All three of these leaders are acting morally, Lemoine says, even though they disagree with one another and might even view the others as immoral.

“Morality can be subjective, and how leaders put their own ethics into practice can have massive implications for the effectiveness of their leadership, teams, and organizations,” Lemoine says.
The researchers found a strong sense of morality is positive for leaders and their organizations, increasing performance, engagement, motivation, and other factors—but each specific approach to ethics had slightly different outcomes.
Leaders focused on matching norms and standards are often politically skilled and avoid legal scandals, but may exploit the rules to their own ends, the study showed.

Servant leaders had the strongest results for customer service, community impact, and employees’ work-life balance, but may struggle to manage competing priorities from their stakeholders.
Finally, independent-minded leaders—think of the late John McCain, widely regarded as a maverick steadfast in his personal beliefs—can simultaneously build cultures of innovation and transparency, while potentially frustrating employers who wish they would follow the company line more often.

Gauging leadership's moral compass

So, which moral philosophy is best?
None were consistently better or worse than the others, the study found. Instead, Lemoine says, the trick for leaders is to emphasize the overall importance of morality and its positive impact on profitability, while also defining your specific code of ethics and recognizing your approach may not match those of your organization or followers.
“Morality is a great thing for managers to incorporate into their leadership styles,” Lemoine says. “But just because we consider something ‘moral,’ we can’t assume everyone else sees it that way. It’s important for leaders and organizations to get these differences out in the open and discuss them to avoid future misunderstandings and misconceptions.”
Researchers from Georgia State University and Erasmus University also contributed to this study.

Article source : https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/successful-leaders-prioritize-their-moral-compass

--------------------------------------

< Questions >

Q1. Who was percieved as a good leader in your memory?

Q2. What is the basic requirement to be a good leader?

Q3. Are you a leader or a follower? Why?

--------------------------------------

--------------------------------------

'My only sin is the extrajudicial killings' admits Philippines' Duterte 

Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine president, has admitted for the first time that extrajudicial killings have taken place during his government’s bloody crackdown on drugs, fuelling existing demands from rights groups for an international probe. 

Mr Duterte, who is known for his provocative, expletive-ridden statements, made his surprise confession on Thursday while speaking to government officials at the presidential palace when he said he had challenged the military to remove him if they were not satisfied with his leadership.

“I told the military, what is my fault? Did I steal even one peso?” Mr. Duterte said. “My only sin is the extrajudicial killings.”

The controversial president has pledged in the past to protect police officers who kill in the line of duty, but he has always denied claims that thousands of deaths during the country’s ongoing war on drugs have been state-sponsored.

His most recent outburst has added credibility to investigations by human rights groups that allege small-time drugs users and peddlers have been targetted in an orchestrated killing spree.

According to official statistics, 4,500 people have been killed by the police during anti-drugs operations, but some estimates by rights activists claim the actual death toll is hovering around 12,000.

Harry Roque, Mr Duterte’s spokesman, quickly clarified that the president was “not serious” and was only being “playful” but his denial did not quell further calls for the International Criminal Court to investigate.

Two criminal complaints against the president have already been filed with the court, which is based in the Hague.

In February, the ICC announced it was launching a “preliminary examination” of whether crimes against humanity had been committed in the war on drugs.

The decision prompted an infuriated Mr Duterte to declare he would withdraw the Philippines from the Rome Statute, the treaty underpinning the court. 

“This apparent admission by the president himself highlights the urgent need for international investigations into the thousands of killings and other human rights violations committed in the name of the government’s ‘war on drugs’,” said Minar Pimple, Senior Director for Global Operations at Amnesty International.

“This ‘playful’ comment is a grotesque cruelty at best, and a damning indictment of his government’s murderous campaign at worst. This is no time to be ‘playful’: the killings have to stop,” he said.

Agnes Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, slammed Mr Duterte’s remarks on Twitter.

“Extraordinary statement by a Head of State (and we have had many this week at the UN): my “only” sin is #EJK. Translation: my only sin is imposing unthinkable sufferings on 1000s of vulnerable families, emboldening corrupt policing, destroying rule of law,” she said.

Ms Callamard and President Duterte have previously clashed over her criticisms of drugs war deaths, especially those of minors, and over her attempts to investigate.

Mr Duterte sparked outrage last year by threatening to slap her if she did.   

Article source : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/28/sin-extrajudicial-killings-admits-philippines-duterte/

--------------------------------------

< Questions >

Q1. What do you think of Rodrigo Duterte?

Q2. What do you think of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs?

Q3. What is worse between corruted politician and drug dealer? 

Q4. Do you know anyone who is corruped around you? 

--------------------------------------

Political Corruption Affects Real People

11/29/2013 07:23 EST | Updated 01/29/2014 00:59 EST

Akaash Maharaj / CEO, Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption

Every year, political corruption kills as many as 140,000 children worldwide, by depriving them of medical care, food, and water.

Yet, far too often, the perpetrators of the most outrageous acts of corruption are able to use their illicit wealth and power to pervert the very laws and institutions that should call them to account. As a result, the worst offenders are the least likely to face domestic justice.

In such cases, when national authorities are unwilling or unable to act, the international community has a responsibility to step forward.

In February, seven hundred parliamentarians from across the world came together in Manila, and voted unanimously to seek to establish "grand corruption" as a crime at international law, to enable international institutions to pursue, apprehend, prosecute, judge, and ultimately sentence the guilty.

Our alliance of parliamentarians believes that there are some forms of corruption so grave, whose effects on human life, human dignity, and human rights are so catastrophic, that they should shock the conscience of the international community and mobilize the will of nations to act across borders.

To give effect to this belief, we are presenting four options to the global community of parliamentarians at this week's Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention Against Corruption, being held in Panama City. Each option has its advantages and its disadvantages, and each strikes a different balance between the ideal and the possible.

The first option is to expand the ability of national courts to assert universal jurisdiction over grand corruption. The doctrine of universality asserts that some crimes are so egregious that they are an affront to all humanity and are therefore prosecutable by any state, irrespective of where the crime was committed and irrespective of the accused's nationality or place of residence. The Spanish courts' indictment of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet demonstrated universal jurisdiction's powerful reach; their inability to bring him to trial exposed the doctrine's frequently feeble grasp.

The second option is to make use of existing regional courts in Africa, Europe, and Latin America to prosecute grand corruption. Regional courts tend to enjoy greater credibility and standing in their subscribing states than do global institutions; they also tend to be derided for a timorous unwillingness to apply the powers at their disposal.

The third option is to argue for an expansive interpretation of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and to deem grand corruption to be a Crime Against Humanity. The symbolism of the ICC as a global court of last resort and ultimate justice has captured public imagination; the reality of its resources and its record have never soared to equal heights.

The fourth option is a series of legal innovations, involving both criminal and civil instruments, many of which focus on undoing damages to victims rather than on punishing wrongdoers. Making victims whole is one of the key objectives of any system of justice, but victims are unlikely to feel that justice has been served while their victimizers walk free.
Each option is imperfect, but in an imperfect world, success must be measured not by our ability to attain perfection, but instead by our ability to make tomorrow better than yesterday.

The response of the world's legislators and governments to these options will help decide how our global alliance of parliamentarians will move forward against grand corruption. The journey will be long; the path will be hard. But we would never reach the end if we allowed ourselves to be cowed by the start.
The world is littered with women and men who feed on the misery of entire societies, who have grown fat in their spoils and comfortable in their impunity, sheltering behind national jurisdictions and national institutions that they have been able to twist to their benefit.
But there is a higher law. There is a deeper justice. And we have a responsibility to stand up for it.
Akaash Maharaj is Executive Director of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption. His personal web site is www.Maharaj.org

Article source : https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/akaash-maharaj/political-corruption_b_4357008.html

--------------------------------------

< Questions >

Q1. What is the definition of corruption? How about anticorruption? 

Q2. Do you think what is the most corrupted social phenomenon?

Q3. How does the corruption affect to you?