The Global Risks Report 2016, 11th Edition

Now in its 11th edition, The Global Risks Report 2016 draws attention to ways that global risks could evolve and interact in the next decade. The year 2016 marks a forceful departure from past findings, as the risks about which the Report has been warning over the past decade are starting to manifest themselves in new, sometimes unexpected ways and harm people, institutions and economies. Warming climate is likely to raise this year's temperature to 1° Celsius above the pre-industrial era, 60 million people, equivalent to the world's 24th largest country and largest number in recent history, are forcibly displaced, and crimes in cyberspace cost the global economy an estimated US$445 billion, higher than many economies' national incomes. In this context, the Reportcalls for action to build resilience – the "resilience imperative" – and identifies practical examples of how it could be done.The Report also steps back and explores how emerging global risks and major trends, such as climate change, the rise of cyber dependence and income and wealth disparity are impacting already-strained societies by highlighting three clusters of risks as Risks in Focus. As resilience building is helped by the ability to analyse global risks from the perspective of specific stakeholders, the Report also analyses the significance of global risks to the business community at a regional and country-level

Pendekatan konstruktif dalam inovasi pengajaran dan pembelajaran Bahasa Melayu di Kolej Vokasional

Pendekatan konstruktif adalah pendekatan pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang berpusatkan pelajar manakala inovasi pengajaran pula dikaitkan dengan kaedah pengajaran yang terbaru demi mengukuhkan pemahaman pelajar. Pembelajaran berasaskan pendekatan konstruktif merupakan elemen yang penting dan perlu difahami oleh guru-guru bagi memantapkan proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran sesuai dengan peredaran masa dan menjayakan proses tranformasi pendidikan negara. Objektif kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengenal pasti pemahaman guru-guru bahasa Melayu berkaitan inovasi, mengenal pasti perbezaan yang wujud antara guru lelaki dan guru perempuan dalam mengamalkan inovasi, pengkaji juga melihat adakah wujud perbezaan antara guru baru dan guru yang sudah berpengalaman dalam aspek mengaplikasikan inovasi serta mengenal pasti kekangan-kekangan yang dialami oleh para guru untuk mengaplikasikan inovasi di sekolah. Seramai 63 orang guru bahasa Melayu dari lapan buah kolej vokasional telah dipilih sebagai responden dalam kajian ini. Data dianalisis menggunakan perisian Winsteps 3.69.1.11 dengan pendekatan Model Pengukuran Rasch. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahawa guru�guru bahasa Melayu memahami kepentingan inovasi dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran. Hasil kajian juga menunjukkan guru-guru perempuan lebih banyak menerapkan unsur inovasi dalam pengajaran berbanding guru lelaki. Walaupun begitu, aspek pengalaman tidak menunjukkan perbezaan dari segi pengamalan inovasi sama ada guru baru ataupun guru yang sudah berpengalaman. Pengkaji juga mengenal pasti beberapa kekangan yang dialami oleh guru-guru untuk mengamalkan inovasi ini. Sebagai langkah untuk menangani masalah berkenaan, beberapa cadangan telah dikemukakan oleh pengkaji bagi memastikan guru-guru dapat merealisasikan proses pengajaran berkesan dengan penerapan inovasi mengikut model pendekatan konstruktif. Pengkaji berharap, kajian ini dapat dijadikan sebagai satu panduan kepada pelaksana kurikulum bagi memastikan budaya inovasi sentiasa menjadi amalan dalam kalangan guru demi mengangkat profesionalisme guru di Malaysia

Transaction Streams: Definition and Implications for Trust in Internet-Based Electronic Commerce.

In this paper we analyze how transactions related to the exchange of goods and services are being performed on the Internet. The adoption of electronic markets in an industry has a disintermediation potential because it can create a direct link between the producer and the consumer (without the need for the intermediation role of distributors). Electronic markets lower the search cost, allowing customers to choose among more providers (which ultimately reduces both the costs for the customer and the profits for the producer). In this paper we contend that electronic markets on the Internet have the opposite effect, resulting in our increase in the number of intermediators. We introduce transaction streams, which model how transactions are being conducted and help explain the types of new intermediators that are appearing on the Internet. We also describe mechanisms by which companies are exploring ways of extending transaction streams. To illustrate the model and validate our findings, we analyze transaction streams in the insurance industry and review associated concepts such as trust and brands.transactions; electronic markets;

Green consumer markets in the fight against climate change

Climate change has become one of the greatest threats to environmental security, as attested by the growing frequency of severe flooding and storms, extreme temperatures and droughts. Accordingly, the European Union’s (EU) 6th Environment Action Programme (2010) lists tackling climate change as its first priority. A key aim of the EU has been to cut CO2 emissions, a major factor in climate change, by 8% until 2012 and 20% until 2020. The European Commission has proposed the encouragement of private consumer market for green products and services as one of several solutions to this problem. However, existing research suggests that the market share of these products has been only 3%, although 30% of individuals favour environmental and ethical goods. This article uses Public Goods Theory to explain why the contribution of the green consumer market to fighting climate change has been and possibly may remain limited without further public intervention

Integrated Border Management at the EU Level. CEPS Working Documents No. 227, 1 August 2005

In times marked by trends as diverse as economic globalisation, international migration as well as fear of terrorism and organised crime, the efficient handling of borders has become an issue of political priority, in the EU and across the world. Modern, economy-oriented states have to rely on a flourishing trade and offer a comfortable degree of security to their citizens. The formula commonly chosen in combining these two objectives is that of ‘integrated border management’, which represents the delicate attempt to marry security concerns with trade facilitation. If the implementation of this innovative approach is already proving to be a challenge to well-established nation states, it becomes a genuine balancing act for an incomplete federation such as the EU, with its sensitive mix of a single external border and 25 separate legal/administrative systems. This working paper seeks to illustrate the difficulties encountered by the EU and develop solutions that should firmly go into the direction of a coherent, communitarian approach in border management, such as that sketched out by the recent Council Regulation No. 2007/2004 establishing the European Border Agency known as FRONTEX

Icarus, or the idea toward efficient, economical, and ethical acquirement of critical governmental information systems

Critical governmental information systems are governmental information systems used by the administration to retain information and provide services that enable and safeguard the lives, well-being and security of citizens. These include public healthcare information systems, electronic voting systems, and border control information systems with biometric registers. As the ongoing digitalisation of our society advances, our dependence on information systems, their functionality and security continues to grow and the quality of work done with them increasingly intertwines with the daily lives of citizens. However, it has long been evident that IT projects in public administration are failing. Governmental information system projects often end up being astronomically expensive, unreasonably ineffective and ethically unsustainable. Therefore, much more attention should be paid to the procurement process for these systems. The reasons for these problems are manifold. Often, simple political motivations and appeal to, among other things, national pride, are a simple way for politicians to attain support. The creation of large-scale system entities favours large-scale private-sector actors specialised on governmental information systems. These companies’ impact on society’s decision-making and operations should not be underrated. However, the lack of understanding of technology and socio-technical problems and the structure of the digitalisation in society are likely to be the biggest problems in procuring these systems. It must be understood that organisational behaviour changes when its information systems are changed - including the ethical basis. To develop efficient, economical and ethical governmental information systems, a holistic approach is required. The ability to make decisions that take into account the needs and requirements of the citizens, employees, system vendors, and society at large in an ethically sustainable way is required. It should be noted that the decision makers, payers, suppliers, and the targets of the use are often different parties with their own desires, goals, and objectives. It is necessary to understand the functioning of the technology and its potential, but also to address the limitations of technology and potential threats created by it. The security required for these systems should not be diminished. This dissertation is framed in the light of Ovid’s telling of the myth of Daedalus and Icarus and through the framework for Aristotle's virtue ethics to examine the responsibility of governmental information system procurement, the role of responsible actors in society, and their required capabilities. The dissertation demonstrates that the current approach in many situations, the Icarian method, whereby persons committed their lives to the virtue of scientific knowledge are dismissed on discussion and decision-making in a way that is economically, effectively and ethically unsustainable. The antithesis for this, the Daedalus effect, represents a desirable state where decision-making is guided by caution, as well as by scientific and ethical inspiration. The dissertation proposes that critical governmental information systems should be guided by a prominent actor cultivated to the virtue of holistic scientific wisdom.Julkishallinnon kriittiset tietojärjestelmät ovat tietojärjestelmiä, joita hallinto käyttää säilyttämään tietoa sekä tuottamaan kansalaisten henkeä, hyvinvointia ja turvallisuutta mahdollistavia palveluita. Näihin järjestelmiin lukeutuvat muun muassa julkisen terveydenhuollon tietojärjestelmät, sähköiset äänestysjärjestelmät sekä rajavalvonnan tietojärjestelmät biometrisine tunnisterekistereineen. Yhteiskunnan digitalisoituessa riippuvuutemme tietojärjestelmistä sekä niiden toimivuudesta ja turvallisuudesta jatkaa kasvamistaan ja näiden järjestelmien avulla suoritetun työn laatu on yhä tiukemmassa vuorovaikutussuhteessa kansalaisten jokapäiväiseen elämään. On kuitenkin ollut ilmiselvää jo pitkään, että julkishallinnon IT-hankkeet epäonnistuvat taajaan. Julkishallinnon tietojärjestelmähankkeet ovat usein tähtitieteellisen kalliita, kohtuuttoman tehottomia ja eettisesti kestämättömiä. Siksi näiden järjestelmien hankintaprosessiin olisi syytä kiinnittää nykyistä selvästi enemmän huomiota. Syyt näihin ongelmiin ovat moninaiset. Usein jo yksinkertaiset poliittiset motivaatiot sekä vetoaminen muun muassa kansalliseen ylpeyteen ovat poliitikolle yksinkertainen keino saavuttaa kannatusta. Suurikokoisten järjestelmäkokonaisuuksien tekeminen suosii julkishallinnon järjestelmähankintoihin keskittyneitä suuryrityksiä, joiden vaikutusta yhteiskunnalliseen päätöksentekoon ja toimintaan ei sovi väheksyä. Kuitenkin ymmärtämättömyys teknologiasta ja sosio-teknisistä ongelmista sekä digitalisoituvan yhteiskunnan rakenteista lienee suurimpia ongelmia järjestelmien hankinnassa. On otettava huomioon, että yhteisön toiminta muuttuu, kun sen tietojärjestelmiä muutetaan – myös eettisen toiminnan osalta. Luodaksemme tehokkaita, taloudellisia ja eettisesti kestäviä tietojärjestelmiä julkishallinnon käyttöön on asiaa lähestyttävä kokonaisvaltaisesti. On osattava tehdä päätöksiä, joissa otetaan huomioon kansalaisten, työntekijöiden, järjestelmien toimittajien sekä yhteiskunnan tarpeet ja vaatimukset eettisesti kestävällä tavalla. On huomattava, että päättäjä, maksaja, toimittaja ja käytön kohde ovat kovin usein eri tahoja omine toiveineen, tavoitteineen ja päämäärineen. On ymmärrettävä teknologian toiminta ja sen luomat mahdollisuudet mutta myös käsitettävä teknologian rajoitukset ja sen luomat uhat. Myöskään tietoturvan tarvetta näiden järjestelmien kohdalla ei sovi vähätellä. Väitöskirjassa käsitellään Ovidiuksen kertoman Daedaluksen ja Ikaroksen myytin kautta Aristoteelisen hyve-etiikan viitekehyksessä julkishallinnon tietojärjestelmätilausten vastuuta sekä vastuuhenkilöitä, vastuuhenkilöiden asemaa yhteiskunnassa ja heiltä vaadittavia kykyjä. Väitöskirjassa osoitetaan, että monessa tilanteessa esiintyvä julkishallinnon toimintatapa, Ikaroslainen metodi, jossa tiedon hyveillä varustautuneet henkilöt sivutetaan keskustelusta ja päätöksenteosta on niin taloudellisesti, tehokkuudellisesti kuin eettisestikin kestämätön toimintatapa. Tämän vastavoima, Daedalus-efekti, taas edustaa tavoitetilaa, jossa päätöksentekoa ohjaavat varovaisuus sekä tieteen ja moraalifilosofian inspiroima toiminta. Väitöskirjassa esitetään, että julkishallinnon tietojärjestelmätoimintaa pitäisi ohjata laaja-alaisen tieteellisen viisauden hyveen kultivoinut näkyvä toimija

Security and Privacy in RFID Applications

Concerns about privacy and security may limit the deployment of RFID technology and its benefits, therefore it is important they are identified and adequately addressed. System developers and other market actors are aware of the threats and are developing a number of counter measures. RFID systems can never be absolutely secure but effort needs to be made to ensure a proper balance between the risks and the costs of counter measures. The approach taken to privacy and security should depend on the application area and the context of a specific application. In this chapter, we selected and discussed four application areas, but there are many others where privacy and security issues are relevant.JRC.J.4-Information Societ