Monday, September 20, 2004
Business 2.0 :: Online Article :: Future Boy :: Smart Dust Comes Out of the Labs
Just what it says - piece on Smart Dust that has been attracting much attention.
Just what it says - piece on Smart Dust that has been attracting much attention.
Locus Online: John Shirley: Global to Local
This is LOCUS magazine - The Social Future as seen by six SF Writers: Cory Doctorow, Pat Murphy, Kim Stanley Robinson, Norman Spinrad, Bruce Sterling and Ken Wharton
BTW the second GUARDIAN magazine supplement of Visions of 2020 is now available - focuses on Uk - but why those crocs on the Cam??
This is LOCUS magazine - The Social Future as seen by six SF Writers: Cory Doctorow, Pat Murphy, Kim Stanley Robinson, Norman Spinrad, Bruce Sterling and Ken Wharton
BTW the second GUARDIAN magazine supplement of Visions of 2020 is now available - focuses on Uk - but why those crocs on the Cam??
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Guardian special: the world in 2020
First of a series of colour supplements on the future - the nice graphics are mainly absent from the web version (snow-less mountains, submerged windemills, charts, etc), but at least there's text. Not much new for futurists, but a good teaching aid perhaps, since debates are set out clearly.
First of a series of colour supplements on the future - the nice graphics are mainly absent from the web version (snow-less mountains, submerged windemills, charts, etc), but at least there's text. Not much new for futurists, but a good teaching aid perhaps, since debates are set out clearly.
Friday, September 10, 2004
Africa 2025: AFRICAN FUTURES: study Aftrica 2025 -
" Africa 2025 does not claim to know what Africa will be like tomorrow. The objective is to explore possible futures for sub-Saharan Africa. More than a thousand Africans, in 46 countries, women and men, Anglophone and francophone, and from very different backgrounds, were involved in this exploration. They first determined the status quo in Africa at the dawn of the 21st century, and then they constructed four scenarios for the next 25 years. These scenarios were given metaphorical names : the lions are trapped ; the lions are hungry ; the lions come out of their den ; and the lions mark their territory. In each case, there is a consideration of the conditions that must be in place for these scenarios to become reality."
" Africa 2025 does not claim to know what Africa will be like tomorrow. The objective is to explore possible futures for sub-Saharan Africa. More than a thousand Africans, in 46 countries, women and men, Anglophone and francophone, and from very different backgrounds, were involved in this exploration. They first determined the status quo in Africa at the dawn of the 21st century, and then they constructed four scenarios for the next 25 years. These scenarios were given metaphorical names : the lions are trapped ; the lions are hungry ; the lions come out of their den ; and the lions mark their territory. In each case, there is a consideration of the conditions that must be in place for these scenarios to become reality."
LIPSOR : Laboratory for Investigation in Prospective Strategy and Organization and more good stuff from LIPSOR - futures toolkits, including the classic OECD 1967 report on Technological Forecasting from Erich Jantsch.
Logiciels de prospective
MICMAC and MACTOR software available free here - more methods coing soon. Thanks LIPSOR!
MICMAC and MACTOR software available free here - more methods coing soon. Thanks LIPSOR!
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Z_punkt GmbH The Foresight Company
The publications page from this company has lots to download, inckuding [quote
Z_paper 10 "Europe and Germany in 2020 - A Future Scenario"
First published in the German Business Journal "brand eins", this scenario highlights different aspects of the future of Germany and Europe in the year 2020. We created an "opportunity scenario" which stresses the upbeat side of feasible future developments. Several future visions, such as "globalisation with a human face", "value competence", the "swarm society" or the hydrogen economy are tackled. http://www.download.z-punkt.de/z-paper10-en.pdf
Z_trend 01/2004 (Part 1): Goodbye to the Old Consumer World
Germans are not spending enough money, no matter how badly economic upturn and job creation depend on the consumers' active support. But shoppers are unwilling to give their allegiance in a constant tug-of-war between rebate-madness and brand images, luxury and discount products. The reason, some claim, lies in their fear of an uncertain future. But isn't this explanation simply the easy way out? Couldn't it be the products as such? Or a saturation of the markets? We are taking stock:
http://www.download.z-punkt.de/z-trend1-04-Teil1-e.pdf
Z_trend 01/2004: (Part 2) The Shape of the Consumer World to Come
The second part of this Z_trend on the present and the future of
consumption takes a close look at tomorrow's markets. Our conclusion is:
The consumer world of the future will be fraught with contradiction. Tomorrow's recipe for success for suppliers, service providers and retail will lie in the creative handling of these contradictions.
http://www.download.z-punkt.de/z-trend-1-04-Teil2-e.pdf
The publications page from this company has lots to download, inckuding [quote
Z_paper 10 "Europe and Germany in 2020 - A Future Scenario"
First published in the German Business Journal "brand eins", this scenario highlights different aspects of the future of Germany and Europe in the year 2020. We created an "opportunity scenario" which stresses the upbeat side of feasible future developments. Several future visions, such as "globalisation with a human face", "value competence", the "swarm society" or the hydrogen economy are tackled. http://www.download.z-punkt.de/z-paper10-en.pdf
Z_trend 01/2004 (Part 1): Goodbye to the Old Consumer World
Germans are not spending enough money, no matter how badly economic upturn and job creation depend on the consumers' active support. But shoppers are unwilling to give their allegiance in a constant tug-of-war between rebate-madness and brand images, luxury and discount products. The reason, some claim, lies in their fear of an uncertain future. But isn't this explanation simply the easy way out? Couldn't it be the products as such? Or a saturation of the markets? We are taking stock:
http://www.download.z-punkt.de/z-trend1-04-Teil1-e.pdf
Z_trend 01/2004: (Part 2) The Shape of the Consumer World to Come
The second part of this Z_trend on the present and the future of
consumption takes a close look at tomorrow's markets. Our conclusion is:
The consumer world of the future will be fraught with contradiction. Tomorrow's recipe for success for suppliers, service providers and retail will lie in the creative handling of these contradictions.
http://www.download.z-punkt.de/z-trend-1-04-Teil2-e.pdf
Monday, September 06, 2004
Future Ethical Issues
Millennium project delphi on emerging ethical issues - articifical life and intelligence, human augmentation, etc.
Millennium project delphi on emerging ethical issues - articifical life and intelligence, human augmentation, etc.
Friday, September 03, 2004
S&T Scenarios Rnd 1 Questionaire
This is a late reference to the Millennium Project's use of scenarios and surveys to examine S&T futures.
This is a late reference to the Millennium Project's use of scenarios and surveys to examine S&T futures.
