Foresight

A yardstick too far?

Peter Bishop

In his editorial earlier this year, “Measuring the art of the long view”, Colin Blackman wondered how we might evaluate the effectiveness of futures research. But are…

Whose life is it anyway? privacy and patenting the genome

Jacques G. Richardson

A small part of the budget of the Human Genome Project was reserved for the study of the social, legal and ethical questions raised by personal genetic profiles. Answers…

The role of nuclear power in the hydrogen fuel cell economy

Berol Robinson

A clean motor car that emits only water vapour – it makes great PR, but the hydrogen to fuel it still has to be produced and distributed. Production requires a lot of…

Closing the deal: how to make organizations act on futures research

Jerome C. Glenn, Theodore J. Gordon, James dator

At its best, futures research can change priorities and attitudes within organizations, and bring fresh meaning to the present. But its recommendations are not always…

Pulse of the planet: leadership models in the gloval village

Robert Burke

Global government is on the rise, and with it a devolution of power to the grassroots. Subjugating nature is out of fashion and ecological living is the new imperative…

Forewarned is forearmed: futures research and military strategy

François Vreÿ

A century ago, military instruments were readily deployed in imperialistic adventures or the defence of national interests. Today the strategic environment is more complex…

Emerging economic sectors in the third millennium: the new space age, 2500‐3000

Graham T.T. Molitor

As Earth’s resources decline in the coming centuries, those of other planets will be ever‐more coveted. The commercial exploitation of space will meanwhile continue, with…

Towards a federal future?

Robert Olson

On 14 December 2000, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Institute for Alternative Futures cosponsored a…

Newton’s novocaine: sharing the spoils of a non‐linear future

Tom P. Abeles

When we inhabit time and space, how can foresight be other than a parallax view? Not only is the ground shifting beneath our feet, but our culture colours our perspective…