Resource Center A Guide to Electronic and Printed References Futures Research
For other resources related to Futures Research see also 
Beare, Hedley and Richard Slaughter. Education for the Twenty-First Century. London, UK and New York, NY: Routledge, 1993.
| As our civilization has changed from an agricultural to an industrial to a post-industrial society, so have the educational prerequisites required of man to be able to compete for his livelihood. During the agricultural age it was enough to know how to grow crops and raise animals or to manufacture (hand make) specialized items. That knowledge, based on observation and experience, was passed on from generation to generation and did not require the mastery of reading and writing.
During the industrial age the farmer moved from the country to the slums of ever growing cities to run machines or perform slave labor that required a strong hack but little education, which was reserved for nobility, clergy, and the newly rich bourgeoisie. In the post-industrial age fewer and fewer people are needed to provide goods and services (and these people do need an education and training) while more and more highly educated men and women are required for jobs in business, commerce, the telecommunication industries, computers, and other high-tech professions. As this trend is expected to continue education and training in and for these professions will require not only a high degree of knowledge at the start, but a continuous, life-long learning program. How our schools will deal with these problems, how they must adopt and change to become part of a worldwide training networks the subject of this fascinating book which is recommended not only for educators, but everyone who is concerned with our future.
|
Benveniste, Guy. The Twenty-First Century Organization: Analyzing Current Trends - Imagining the Future. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 1994.
| "This scenario is not a utopian dream; it is drawn from careful analysis of future trends. This book examines the implications of trends that are shaping the way organizations may evolve in the long-term future. Three main issues drive the analysis: the ability of organizations to radically decentralize and still maintain continuity and purpose, the need for organizations to internalize what is now the work of the external governmental regulatory agencies, and the creation of new societal arrangements to reduce cost and pain associated with rapid social and technological transformations." (from the 'Preface') |
Didsbury, Howard F. Jr. ed. Frontiers of the 21st Century: Prelude to the New Millennium. Bethesda, MD: World Future Society. 1999.
| What will the next millennium bring? Leading futurists examine the effects re-emerging and new infection epidemics, advances in genetic engineering, making contacts with extraterrestrial civilizations, our thinking about "God" and human rights, growing old and older, replacing reading and writing with computer-based oral communication, further advances in information technology, prospects for global food security , worldwide economics and steps towards world (replacing national) government will have. This is a provocative book- that everybody should read, especially the introduction: "The Death of the Future in a Hedonistic Society" by the editor. |
Drucker, Peter F. The New Realities - In Government and Politics/In Economics and Business/ In Society and World View. New York, NY: Harper & Row. 1989.
|
"While this book is not 'futurism' it attempts to define the concerns, the issues, the controversies that will be realities for tears to come....Some of the toughest problems we face are those created by the successes of the past... some of the greatest impediments to effectiveness are the slogans, the commitments, the issues of yesterday, which still dominate public discourse, still confine our vision.... This book does not focus on what to do tomorrow. It focuses on what to do today in contemplation of tomorrow." (The author, from the Preface) |
Drucker, Peter F. Post-Capitalist Society. New York, NY: HarperBusiness. 1993
|
The author postulates that the next great change in human development will be the transition from a money-, land- and labor based society (capitalism) to a knowledge society, whose content and structure we cannot yet predict in detail, because we do not yet know how knowledge itself, and education which will lead to knowledge, will be transformed. |
Henderson, Hazel. Paradigms in Progress: Life Beyond Economics. Indianapolis, IN: Knowledge Systems, Inc. 1991.
Henderson, Hazel. Building a Win-Win World: Life Beyond Global Economic Warfare. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 1996
|
These books by the renowned economist/futurist are attempts to steer the world we live in towards a more sane, secure, peaceful, environmentally sound and energy conserving community. Yet, when we look at our world today, we must agree that the euphoria of the early 1990's, when world leaders proclaimed amidst much fanfare crusades against hunger, injustice, the military-arms producing industrial complexes, fratricide, the rape of the environment, waste of resources (especially energy), neglect of children etc., did not last very long and led to very limited successes, because the ideas proclaimed were left to die either for lack of sincerity, funding, or under the political pressure of military and capitalistic-economic forces.
Ideas will remain beautiful dreams, unless there is some superpower of any kind that has the will, the means and forces to bring them to fruition. And for this to happen, the children of the world will have to wait for another world to come. Yet, without Hazel Henderson and her fellow futurists who keep reminding us of what the future could, and should, be like we would not have any reason for living and for the pursuit of happiness at all. These are two thought-provoking books that should be read by economists, historians, politicians, and every member of the general public interested in contemporary thinking. |
Krueger, Richard A. Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998 (Annotated at Teamwork)
McGovern, Gerry. The Caring Economy: Business Principles for the New Digital Age. Dublin, Ireland: Blackhall Publishing, 1999.
| "The 'Caring Economy' is not a book about computers or the Internet... it is a book about people (business people and consumer people) and how well we all interact on the Internet. It's a book that explores the relationship between people and the tools they make and use. It's about how people are impacted by, and impact upon, new technologies and issues. It's a book that seeks to establish some philosophical foundations and basic principles for living in the digital age. It's a book about how we all need new attitudes, new rules and new business principles for success in a digital age economy and society. It's a book that puts forward the belief that community and commerce are inherently intertwined; that you can't have one without the other. It goes deep into the meaning, function and potential of communities. It explores the whole meaning of what a 'network' is, what 'networking' is about and how best to live and work within a networked environment. The 'Caring Economy' believes that perhaps 'the' fundamental principle for success in the digital age is to 'think network." (From the author's introduction). |
Schwartz, Peter, Leyden, Peter and Joel Hyatt. The Long Boom: A Vision for the Coming Age of Prosperity. Reading, MA: Perseus Books, 1999.
|
Starting with and examining the developments in politics, economy, technology, environment etc that have taken place around the world from 1980 to the year 2000, the authors, following discussions with the world's leading economists and politicians proceed to develop a scenario of how the world will look in the year 2020 - a most provocative and fascinating undertaking. |
Schwartz, Peter. The Art of the Long View: Planning the Future in an Uncertain World. New York, NY: Doubleday Currency, 1991.
|
How does one predict, and prepare for, the future? By building "scenarios" based on a specific issue or decision and then identify the forces that might or will affect it. This is an ongoing process as new and old developments, be they economical, technological, political, environmental etc, can interact with the issues at any moment or at a point in the future. This is a fascinating book - the world we live in definitely has undergone changes since it was written 10 years ago - but its message and the methods suggested for approaching the future will not change. |
Back to Resource Center |
