RECESSION-PROOF INDUSTRIES
As
economists and other pundits dance around the "R" word, workers and
investors worried about their future security have several directions in
which to look for protection from a potential recession in the United
States, according to workplace trend watchers Challenger, Gray & Christmas
Inc.
Among the
most recession-proof industries offering new job and investment
opportunities are energy, security, health care, and education, according to
the firm. Meanwhile, retail and manufacturing industries are more
vulnerable. In places such as Michigan, where auto manufacturing appears to
be on the skids, new jobs are likely to be created by wind turbine and solar
manufacturing projects.
SOURCE:
Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
INFERTILITY MAY BECOME COMMON
Future
generations already have a problem: There may be fewer of them, as
infertility becomes common, according to recent research published in the
BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL.
In
affluent countries, infertility affects approximately 15% of couples trying
to conceive; up to 6% of children are conceived through assisted
reproductive technologies in some countries.
A complex
array of factors underlie fertility and fecundity, from social and economic
choices that reduce the number of children desired to environmental risk
factors that impair childbearing, such as those associated with reduced
sperm counts in young men (the endocrine-disruption hypothesis). More direct
markers of fecundity trends are urgently needed in order to identify
public-health concerns, the researchers warn.
SOURCE:
BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL (16 February 2008).
ENGINEERING'S GRAND CHALLENGES
How can
future engineers make the world a better place? The U.S. National Academies
have issued a set of twenty-first-century challenges designed to inspire
engineering students toward creative problem solving and "game changing"
projects that could dramatically improve life. Among the Grand Challenges
are:
* Make
solar energy affordable.
* Provide access to clean water.
* Restore and improve urban infrastructure.
* Engineer better medicines.
* Reverse-engineer the brain.
* Prevent nuclear terror.
* Secure cyberspace.
* Advance personalized learning.
"Tremendous advances in quality of life have come from improved technology
in such areas as farming and manufacturing," says Google co-founder Larry
Page, a member of the Challenges committee. "If we focus our effort on the
important grand challenges of our age, we can hugely improve the future."
SOURCE:
National Academy of Engineering, National Academies.
(alt:
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org.)
GOAL-DRIVEN TODDLERS
Children
learn to act toward achieving specific goals at about the age of 3, basing
their behaviors on expected, valued outcomes, according to researchers at
the University of Cambridge. This developmental skill is what sets the
3-year-olds apart from kids in "the terrible twos"--the age at which
toddlers' inability to get what they want causes sleepless nights for
parents.
The
experiment tested the behaviors of children ages 18 months to 4 years old
who were trained to touch a red or a green butterfly icon on a computer
display in order to see different cartoon clips. One set of cartoons was
repeated frequently in order to bore the children and be a less-valued
outcome of touching the correct butterfly icon. The researchers found that
at age 3 the children were better able than the younger kids to choose the
right butterfly for the more-interesting cartoons, even when the cartoons
weren't immediately shown.
Goal-directed behavior is not something we are born with, but something we
develop as we grow up. The researchers conclude: "This capacity [to
internalize one's control over the environment] is an important component of
becoming a fully autonomous intentional agent."
SOURCE:
American Psychological Association.
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NEWS FROM THE
FUTURIST COMMUNITY
* NOMINATE A TECHNOLOGY
INNOVATOR: The Tech Museum Awards is calling for nominations of
innovators--individuals or organizations--whose use of technology has
benefited humanity. Deadline for nominations is March 24.
DETAILS.
* TECHNOLOGY IN
EDUCATION: TechEd 2008, a program of the Community College Foundation, will
be held April 13-16 at the Ontario (California) Convention Center. The
conference will bring together more than 3,500 educators and administrators
from around the world to focus on digital media, virtual learning, social
networking, instructional technology, and more.
DETAILS.
* LONDON FUTURES
SYMPOSIUM, to be held April 18 at London South Bank University's Keyworth
Centre, will cover the cashless society, the disappearance of the
nation-state, the future of work and management, and more. World Future
Society members are offered a generously discounted registration fee of ₤60.
DETAILS. or contact
Stephen Aguilar-Millan
* FORESIGHT CANADA
CONFERENCE AND WORKSHOPS: Foresight Canada is hosting a conference on
strategic foresight in Calgary, April 30 to May 2, titled Seeing and Shaping
Tomorrow. Two preconference professional training workshops will also be
held: Strategic Foresight (April 28-30) and Complexity and Systems Thinking
(April 30). Content.
For information about the
conference programs, contact
Ruben Nelson;
for information about registering, contact
registration.
* MAGDA
CORDELL McHALE:
We were saddened to learn of the death on February 21 of Magda Cordell
McHale, a visionary architect and pioneering futurist, in Buffalo, New York,
where she had taught at the School of Architecture and Planning. She was 87
years old. With her late husband, John McHale, Magda was a longtime
supporter of the World Future Society, generously contributing her inspiring
ideas to its publications and conference programs.
Futures
scholar James Dator of the University of Hawaii described Magda as
"flamboyant, gruff, and always stylishly dressed" and as a "superb artist."
With her husband, she "produced excellent textual/visual presentations of
trends, emerging issues, and new and interconnected ideas," Dator wrote in a
post to the Association of Professional Futurists. "They were always
tirelessly searching for something 'new,' and excelled in seeing, early on,
patterns that most of us did not see until much later, presenting them to us
in very memorable ways."
Another moving tribute
to Magda McHale
appears on the blog of architect and graphic designer Alex Bitterman.
Death notice, BUFFALO NEWS
|
WFS NEWS
* WORLDFUTURE 2008:
SEEING THE FUTURE THROUGH NEW EYES, the World Future Society's annual
meeting, will be held July 26-28 in Washington, D.C. The preliminary program
will soon be mailed to all Society members.
LEARN MORE or
REGISTER BY FEBRUARY 29 and save $150 off the on-site registration fee.
* BEST FUTURES BOOKS OF
2007: FUTURE SURVEY editor Michael Marien has selected the 30 most
authoritative, original, and important future-oriented books of the past
year. Among his picks are VITAL SIGNS 2007-2008 by the Worldwatch Institute;
2007 STATE OF THE FUTURE by Jerome C. Glenn and Theodore J. Gordon; THE
BOTTOM BILLION by Paul Collier; THE NEXT CATASTROPHE by Charles Perrow; A
BILL OF RIGHTS FOR 21st CENTURY AMERICA by Joseph F. Coates; and THINKING
ABOUT THE FUTURE by Andy Hines and Peter Bishop.
Visit FUTURE SURVEY online to see the entire list.
* PRESIDENT'S BLOG NOTES
INCREASING INTERACTIVITY: WFS President Tim Mack's latest
blog offers some figures and reflections on Internet culture and
activity.
* FUTURES LEARNING
SECTION is seeking participants engaged in all forms of futures learning to
help develop new tools for educators and learners. Planning is now under way
for a major Educational Summit at the Society's 2008 conference in
Washington, D.C.
DETAILS.
* FUTURE TV UPDATED: The
latest video added to the World Future Society's YouTube channel is
"Information vs. Hate," an excerpt from Nate Garvis's WorldFuture 2007
conference presentation on "Uncivil Discourse and the Rise of the Outrage
Industry":
And, just for fun, see
also "My
Pedestrian Documentary," as your fearless editor braves an icy walk to
work:
|
FUTURIST UPDATE: News &
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World Future Society, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, MD
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