News & Previews from the World Future Society
February 2004 (Vol. 5, No. 2)

Lackluster voter turnouts in the United States are largely due to conflicting schedules--21% of nonvoting registered voters say they are too busy at work or school to get out and vote, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Voting by Internet, or e-voting, could help turn the turnout trend around. This year's presidential primary in South Carolina (February 3) will try out one e-voting system. But researchers at Swarthmore College and Johns Hopkins University caution that the Internet might never be secure enough for citizens to e-vote safely.

Hackers and even cyberterrorists could thwart e-voting by launching denial-of-service attacks, unleashing viruses into voters' computers, or creating phony Web pages between voters and an authentic server, preventing a vote from being counted, warns the Johns Hopkins team.

Another problem with e-voting is that it further isolates citizens, essentially turning everyone into an absentee voter, says Swarthmore political scientist Richard Valelly. "Our current system has the virtue of reminding us of our fundamental political equality," he notes. "On Election Day, we must leave our homes and offices, travel to a polling place, and physically mingle with people who are plainly our equals that day, no matter what other differences we have." 

SOURCES: Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute, http://www.jhuisi.jhu.edu or http://servesecurityreport.org/
Swarthmore University,
http://www.swarthmore.edu/news/releases/04/valelly.html

TOP 10 SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE

You may have aced your metaphysics finals, but can you work in a team? Solve complex problems? Communicate clearly in print and in person?

These are skills that employers are increasingly demanding, according to Syracuse University public-affairs professor Bill Coplin, author of 10 THINGS EMPLOYERS WANT YOU TO LEARN IN COLLEGE. The top 10 skills:
• Work ethic, including self-motivation and time management.
• Physical skills, e.g., maintaining one's health and good appearance.
• Verbal (oral) communication, including one-on-one and in a group.
• Written communication, including editing and proofing one's work.
• Working directly with people, relationship building, and team work.
• Influencing people, including effective salesmanship and leadership.
• Gathering information through various media and keeping it organized.
• Using quantitative tools, e.g., statistics, graphs, or spreadsheets.
• Asking and answering the right questions, evaluating information, and applying knowledge.
• Solving problems, including identifying problems, developing possible solutions, and launching solutions.

Coplin offers advice for the course work and non-course work college students might undertake to develop these critical workplace skills. ORDER the book:

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DEVELOP YOUR FUTURING SKILLS AT WORLDFUTURE 2004

Preconference courses for those wishing to develop their futuring skills have long been a mainstay of World Future Society meetings. Now, to help you select the right course for you, the conference organizers have grouped the courses into skill levels:
Introductory—e.g., Futuring: An Introduction to the Study of the Future.
Intermediate—e.g., How to Build Scenarios and Use Them Effectively.
Advanced—e.g., How to Use Creative Problem Solving and Decision Making with Whole Brain Thinking.

For more information on all preconference courses and tours, go to http://www.wfs.org/2004main.htm

"WorldFuture 2004: Creating the Future Now!" will be held July 31 through August 2 at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C. The courses and tours are on July 30 and 31, and the postconference Professional Members' Forum is August 3.
REGISTER for WorldFuture 2004 (Save $150 before February 27)

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BEST FUTURE BOOKS OF 2003

FUTURE SURVEY editor Michael Marien has selected the best 25 books about the future published in 2003. Marien bases his picks on the "breadth, importance, originality, authoritativeness, readability, and/or long-term perspective" of the books. Among his favorites:

* OUR FINAL HOUR by Sir Martin Rees.
Astronomer declares civilization's odds of survival are just 50-50.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0465068626/thefuturistbooks

* 2003 STATE OF THE FUTURE by Jerome C. Glenn and Theodore J. Gordon.
Ongoing project evaluates global challenges, opportunities, scenarios. http://www.acunu.org/millennium/issues.html

* GRAVE NEW WORLD, edited by Michael E. Brown.
Security challenges include WMDs, vulnerable infotech, climate change.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0878401423/thefuturistbooks

* PLAN B by Lester R. Brown.
"Business as usual" won't work; it's time for an eco-friendly economy.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/039305859X/thefuturistbooks

* THE FUTURE OF FREEDOM by Fareed Zakaria.
Democracy is flourishing but liberty is not.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393047644/thefuturistbooks

* THE NEXT BIG THING IS REALLY SMALL by Jack Uldrich with Deb Newberry.
Nanotech's potential in medicine, energy, manufacturing, and more.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400046890/thefuturistbooks

For the complete list and Marien's assessment of these "Best of 2003," visit FUTURE SURVEY: http://www.wfs.org/fsurv.htm

COMEBACK FOR GREAT APES

The mountain gorillas of Africa's Virunga Volcanoes have increased in number by 17% since the last census, in 1989.

From a low of 260 individuals in 1978, the Virunga gorilla population grew to 324 in 1989 and to 380 currently, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and conservation authorities in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Poaching remains a key threat to the mountain gorilla, which would already have become extinct were it not for "an effective, collaborative effort across international borders," says WCS conservationist Bill Weber.

Efforts to count the great apes--let alone protect them--have been hampered by the instability of a region plagued by ethnic battles, rebellion, gang violence, and other problems.

"To successfully protect this population under such challenging conditions speaks volumes about the commitment and determination of park personnel in conserving their natural heritage," says Weber.

SOURCE: Wildlife Conservation Society, http://wcs.org/7411/?art=125343847

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JOIN World Future Society or renew your membership ($45/year): https://www.wfs.org/membord2.htm
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CLICK OF THE MONTH: FUTURE NOW http://blogger.iftf.org/Future/

This Weblog managed by Institute for the Future (Menlo Park, California) tracks intriguing news stories on the social impacts of technology. The staff bloggers summarize the stories and offer commentary; readers can also post their own comments on the articles.

Recent topics include the rise of digital cameras, fears about nanotechnology, and the science of studying whale cultures.

The site also has a useful list of links to futurists and future-oriented organizations.

BONUS CLICK: Institute for the Future http://www.iftf.org/

SUBMIT FEEDBACK for Futurist Update at http://www.wfs.org/fbfeb04.htm

FUTURIST UPDATE: News & Previews from the World Future Society is an e-mail newsletter published monthly as a supplement to THE FUTURIST magazine. Copyright © 2004, World Future Society, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. Telephone 1-301-656-8274; e-mail mailto:info@wfs.org; Web site http://www.wfs.org.

Editor: Cindy Wagner 
Network administrator: Jeff Cornish 
Webmaster: Sarah Warner 
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The WORLD FUTURE SOCIETY is a nonprofit, nonpartisan scientific and educational association with 25,000 members worldwide. Membership in the Society, including a subscription to THE FUTURIST, is $45 per year, or $20 for full-time students under age 25.

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