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21st Century Opportunities and Challenges: An Age of Destruction of an Age of Transformation, edited by Howard F. Didsbury Jr. World Future Society. 2003. 344 pages. Paperback. $29.95 ($24.95 for Society members.) Order online.
2003 Conference Volume Covers
the Gamut of Tomorrow's Pressing IssuesThe future is about much more than rapidly advancing technologies, and we must also examine less-high-tech aspects of the future, such as corporate leadership, education, and our responsibilities to future generations.
In 21st Century Opportunities and Challenges: An Age of Destruction or an Age of Transformation, a wealth of technological topics are explored, but there are also critical insights on business, education, marriage, ethical challenges, futures studies, and more.
In a volume that is engaging for its scope and authority, there are many noteworthy papers, such as:
- "Technology Forecasting and Assessment in the United States: Status and Prospects," by Vary T. Coates, former senior associate at the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment. Coates explains the history and demise of technology assessment for the U.S. Congress, and also touches on new developments in technology assessment among European countries.
- "Globalization: Social Disruption Right Ahead," by J. Ørstrøm Møller, adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School and ambassador of Denmark to Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia. Moller explores what it means when a nation divides into two groups--a minority of internationally minded elite and a majority of tradition-bound nationalists--as a result of growing economic and social disparities.
- "Whole-Brain Education for the Digital Age," by Michael T. Romano, professor emeritus at the University of Kentucky. Romano elaborates on technology-enhanced education programs could update the book/chalkboard/lecture model with a curriculum that engages both sides of the brain with images and words.
- "Is Corporate Integrity Possible?" by Marvin T. Brown of the Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center in San Francisco, California. Brown suggests how to examine a corporation's integrity by looking at the organization's communication patterns at the cultural, organizational, civic, and environmental levels.
- "The Modern Significance of Women's Liberation and Marriage for Love," by Charlotte Waterlow, an author and retired teacher from Cirencester, Gloscestershire, United Kingdom. Waterlow says that the inequality of men and women is a major factor in current world problems, including nuclear warfare and the rich-poor gap. As partnerships between men and women become more equal, problems will increasingly be solved with wisdom and compassion, not war and greed, she argues.
This volume of 26 essays was compiled by Howard F. Didsbury, Jr., director of special projects for the World Future Society. The result is an essential read for the well-rounded futurist.
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