Public Lecture on What, if Anything, is New in Policy Studies?
Speaker: Professor B. Guy Peters
Maurice Falk Professor of Amercian Government, University of Pittsburgh
Professor of Comparative Governance, Zeppelin University
Some scholars, such as Peter John, have argued that there was some golden age of policy studies in the past, but that this age has passed. The argument is that little that is innovative and important is now being done in policy studies (especially in political science). This lecture examines that assertion, agreeing in part and disagreeing in part. It also examines reasons for some decreased emphasis in policy studies.
Date: September 23, 2013 (Monday)
Time: 4:30pm
Venue: Social Sciences Chamber, 11/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Language: English
Registration required. For enquiries, please contact Mr. Ren Au by email at renau@hku.hk or by phone at 39171226.
Public lecture: The Political Neutrality of the Korean Police: What Happened on the 16th of December?
The Korean War of the 1950s divided the Korean peninsula in two, leaving a legacy of trauma and fear. Fear of the North continues to affect the democratic process in the South; if a politician is suspected to be ‘North Korea friendly’ his or her political career is over. In the 2012 presidential election, rumors circulated accusing the opposition party candidate of being ‘North Korea friendly’. One week before the election, an officer of the National Intelligence Agency was accused of being a source of the rumors. The Seoul police raided her apartment and confiscated her computers. Then, three days before the election, the Seoul Metropolitan Police called an emergency press conference to announce that the accusation was unfounded, no evidence of propaganda was found on the seized computers. Based in part on this exoneration, the ruling party went on to win the election. However, subsequent investigations by the Prosecution Service revealed that the police were lying. Their raid had actually recovered erased files containing 40 different IDs and tens of thousands records of ‘log-in’ to internet communities for politically motivated and election related internet postings. Not only was the accused officer involved in spreading propaganda, but other NIA officers and civilian aids were as well. This talk will explore the issue of political neutrality of police in democratic countries. Are the Korean police politically neutral? If not why and how have they become politicized? What can be done to regain the political neutrality of the police in Korea?
The speaker Dr. PYO Changwon holds a Ph.D. in Police Studies from Exeter University and is a former professor at Korea National Police University. He is one of the founding members of the Association of Asian Police Studies, and was for many years the executive secretary of that organization. He has also served as president of the Korean Association of Police Studies. He is an advisor to the Korean parliament and various executive agencies on policing related matters, and has authored eleven books.
Date: September 25, 2013 (Wednesday)
Time: 3pm
Venue: Room 813, Jockey Club Tower, HKU
Language: English
For enquiries, please contact Ms Connie Ko by email at connieko@hku.hk or by phone at 39172309.
William Mong Distinguished Lecture: Meeting the Energy Challenge
Speaker:
Professor M. Mercedes Maroto-Valer
Professor, School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, Heriot Watt University
The quest for sustainable energy to meet the demands of a rising global population is one of the main challenges for humanity this century, with global energy needs set to double by 2050. This is set against the backdrop of increasing CO2 emissions and associated climate change, and targets set out worldwide to cut CO2 emissions. Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technologies are considered an essential bridge between our present fossil energy and a future renewable based energy, as they have the potential to reduce overall mitigation costs and increase flexibility in achieving the sought after reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This presentation will describe a number of our research programmes, including novel sorbents for more efficient capture; modelling and experimental studies of geological carbon storage and ecosystem responses to releases of CO2 Our research activities also include the conversion of CO2 into valuable chemicals and solar fuels.
Prof M. Mercedes Maroto-Valer is the first Robert Buchan Chair in Sustainable Energy Engineering at Heriot-Watt University. This is a joint appointment between the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences and the Institute of Petroleum Engineering. At Heriot-Watt she is the Head of the Institute for Mechanical, Processing and Energy Engineering (School of Engineering and Physical Sciences) and leads the pan-University Energy Academy. She is also Director of the EPSRC funded Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage (CICCS). She is a member of the Directorate of the Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage (SCCS)
Date: September 26, 2013 (Thursday)
Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Venue: Wang Gungwu Theatre, Graduate House, HKU
Language: English
Registration required. For enquiries, please contact Faculty of Engineering by email at enggfac@hkucc.hku.hk or by phone at 2859-2803.
道法自然 ─ 饒宗頤道教美術展
香港大學饒宗頤學術館是次主辦「道法自然 ─ 饒宗頤道教美術展」，是饒教授第一次舉辦的道教書畫展覽。
饒宗頤教授的道教書畫可以分成幾類：第一類是他描繪的道教宗師及神仙的畫像，如老子像、張三丰像、八仙圖像等；第二類是他以道教名言為主題的繪畫；第三類則是他書寫道教經典名句的書法作品；第四類是他繪寫與道教有關的帝皇、學者詩詞的作品，如他所臨寫的宋徽宗秋花詩、宋高宗養生論、丘處機青天歌、楊鐵崖及白玉蟾等人的詩句；至於第五類則是與他的學術研究有關，例如他研究馬王堆出土的帛書，故他亦曾臨寫馬王堆出土的《老子》甲、乙本。
是次展品雖為數不多，但從中可見到他對道教的研究十分深邃而具開創性，這一類書畫亦別有一種神清氣淨的境界。
日期：2013年8月23日－ 9月30日
時間：9:00am－6:00pm (星期六、日及公眾假期休息)
地點：香港大學饒宗頤學術館 (香港薄扶林大學道2號2樓，研究生堂旁)
電話：2241 5598