In This Issue:
Robots for Handicapped Babies
Do Fish Farms Imperil Wild Salmon?
Trends in Consumer Behavior
Click of the Month: Legacy Letter Project
News from the Futurist Community
Babies need to move around independently and explore their environments. Not doing so can impair their cognitive development.
Infants with Down syndrome or other handicaps need extra help to explore their worlds, and at present there are no power-assisted wheelchairs for youngsters under the age of five or six, long after the age of rapid brain development.
So the University of Delaware has developed prototype driving robots for babies. James C. Galloway, associate professor of physical therapy, and Sunil Agrawal, professor of mechanical engineering, have equipped the robots with environmental sensors and safety features that will help babies explore without crashing into pets, furniture, or other obstacles. The robot's simple joystick control is easy enough for infants as young as seven months to operate.
The researchers' goal is to place such robots in all learning centers where children have special needs. "It was a special feeling to see a potential solution to a really serious health-care gap for young kids,"
says Galloway. "There was and still is a special tingle when we think of the not so distant future."
SOURCE: University of Delaware
Parasitic lice infections in salmon farms may be driving a dramatic decline in wild salmon populations. According to a study by the University of Alberta, affected pink salmon populations may see a 99% collapse in another four years if the infestation continues.
Wild salmon are affected by the fish farm infestations because they are exposed to the parasites on their way through a gauntlet of open-net fish farms before they reach the sea; adult salmon can survive a small number of lice but the juveniles cannot.
"Salmon farming breaks a natural law," says the study's co-author, Alexandra Morton. "In the natural system, the youngest salmon are not exposed to sea lice because the adult salmon that carry the parasite are offshore. But fish farms cause a deadly collision between the vulnerable young salmon and sea lice."
Temporarily shutting down the fish farms along the primary salmon migratory routes, thus eliminating the exposure of wild salmon to the lice, could be one solution.
SOURCE: University of Alberta
Consumption in the future will be more cooperative, predicts advertising giant J. Walter Thompson. Extending the "time-share" model for owning a vacation home, consumers will increasingly accept fractional ownership of art work, cars, and other high-end products, according to JWT's "10 Trends for 2008" report.
More trends under JWT's scrutiny:
* As the genetic links are identified for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and high blood pressure, look for commercial genetic testing services promoted alongside pharmaceutical ads.
* Consumers are rethinking "instant gratification" and choosing to hold off buying mass merchandise in favor of custom made or one-of-a-kind products and services.
* Demographic "pigeonholing" will become less useful to marketers, as consumers change their behaviors--such as when they marry or attend school and for how long--in less predictable ways. Marketers and others will focus on behavioral segmentation rather than age when targeting their campaigns.
* Blue is the new green. Products that lessen impacts on climate? Been there, done that. What consumers will really be looking for in the future is "blue," the color of spiritual fulfillment and good-citizen ethics.
DETAILS: JWT
"Make a list of things you have survived and keep it where you can see it often." Sharon Stubbs
"Don't speak those cutting words you are always sorry for later." Lynn Campbell
"Others give meaning to our lives. Be interested in others and you will be interesting to others. Be committed to others and they will be committed to you." Willard "Sandy" Boyd (president emeritus, University of Iowa)
These simple bits of wisdom come from contributors to the online Legacy Letter Project, the brainchild of University of Iowa leisure studies lecturer David Gould.
The project began when Gould invited senior citizens in the community to share their life lessons with his students; as the project grew, Gould began receiving letters from as far away as Venezuela, connecting not only generations, but cultures as well.
"From the students' perspective, there's an unsaid need to want to know what's down the road," says Gould. "And the authors are thrilled to be asked. You live 70, 80 years and endure a host of high points and low points to arrive where you are."
The site also includes information on how to submit your own legacy letter.
DETAILS: University of Iowa
* MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAM IN FUTURES STUDIES: At this two-year program of Futures Studies organized in Turku, Finland, students gain their master's degree in economic sciences along with the expertise in future business and in the business of the future. The program focuses on strategic thinking, visionary management, foresight, sustainable futures, and futures studies methods, theories, and practices. All teaching is given in English. Deadline for the applications is on January 31, 2008. DETAILS
* NEW LEADERSHIP AT INSTITUTE FOR THE FUTURE: Stephen Steele steps down on January 1 from his longtime position as director of the Institute for the Future at Anne Arundel Community College. He will be succeeded by faculty members Steven Henick, a retired international business executive, and Maureen Sherer, co-editor of the Institute's electronic newsletter Futureportal. Steele will continue his association with the Institute as a professor of sociology and futures studies. DETAILS
* EDITOR'S THANKS! The response was overwhelmingly positive to our inquiry last month on the possibility of a separate monthly newsletter exclusively covering News from the Futurist Community. While we are developing the format of the new Community Newsletter, please continue to watch this space in Futurist Update for news of interest to futurists around the world.