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Environmental Scanning through a collection of:
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, TRENDS AND TREND BABIES
1999-2009
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What is a Sign of the
Times? Signs of the times are the result
of information gathering that looks for inventions,
innovations, attitudes and actions. Signs of the times
come from many sources, are systematically gathered
and have meaning for the future.
What is a Trend?
A trend is long-range and persistent; it effects many
societal groups, grows slowly and is profound. In
contrast, a fad is short-term, "in", effects particular
societal groups, spreads quickly and is superficial.
What is a Mega-trend?
A mega-trend extends over many generations, and in
cases of weather, mega-trends can cover periods prior
to human existence. They describe complex interactions
with many factors and they often represent the introduction
of several new paradigms or worldviews that arise
in hunting and gathering, agriculture, and industrial
societies.
Trend babies:
Here you find general trends or signs of new trends
("trend babies") from the categories social, technical,
ecological, economic or political. Trend babies grow
from innovations in the above categories that have
the potential of going mainstream in the future (for
example: just a few years ago, alternative medicine
was truly alternative. Now it is big business and
very respectable). The choice of trends is naturally
influenced by the author's values.
Trend families:
Very often, the chosen Signs are members of a trend
family. A parent trend (for example, the change from
an industrial society to a knowledge-based society)
is well documented. The ways in which such sweeping
trends play themselves out in various parts of the
community represent the "members of that trends family".
Examples: Jobs in the industrial
sector have shrunk causing widespread unemployment.
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Many countries see small business
as a solution to unemployment, driving unprecedented
attention to small business in many countries legislatures.
Another example of a trend
related to the move from industrial to knowledge society
is the privatization of the education industry.
As in all cases in Signs, sustainability
is one of the larger branches from which many other
twig-sized trends grow. Sustainability is "the property
of being sustainable", "using a resource so that the
resource is not depleted or permanently damaged".
In Signs, I use it to mean sustainable development,
"an approach to economic planning that attempts to
foster economic growth while preserving the quality
of the environment for future generations."
Confirming Trends:
When does a "trend baby", gain acceptance as a bona
fide trend? When it gets enough confirmation in the
various media to show it is an increasingly accepted
value, behavior or technology.
Geographical trend
growth and "bellwether" geographic sites:
There is also an attempt to follow the global spread
of trends that have started in the West (for example,
Women's rights are a generally accepted topic in the
media and on the Internet. Just how and when women's
rights develop in various countries can represent
global growth of that trend.) Some places seem to
lead development in one or a variety of areas and
are looked to as the source of new trends. California
has long been considered as bellwether for the United
States. The Nordic countries of Finland, Sweden, Norway
and Denmark have been considered bellwether in social
innovation.
All trends, to a greater or
lesser degree affect our lives, our work and our futures.
Our ability to understand that effect can many times
make a positive difference in the quality of our lives.
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*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
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Zero Pollution Motors
Inc.
Dec. 1, 2000
http://www.zeropollution.com/
zeropollution/about_us.html
BBC News
October 26, 2000,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
hi/english/world/americas/
newsid_992000/992431.stm
Business Week Advertising section
December 3, 2000
http://www.bwadsections.com/
smartcars/smcarenviro.htm
|
Press release.
|
Trends in pollution
free car development:
Compressed air- Zero
Pollution Motors Inc. is ready to produce
compressed air powered taxi’s in
Mexico.
Fuel cell vehicles will
dominate Iceland in the next years. Ford,
Daimler-Benz, and Ballard Power Systems
have formed Ecostar Electric Drive Systems
Co., to commercialize automotive fuel
cells by 2004.
Hybrids- Toyota became
the world's first automaker to put a hybrid
into production.
There seems to be a lot of talk about
fuel cells taking the lead in the pollution
free transportation era and even in power
production (see the next Signs of the
Times). There are still problems to solve,
but they appear solvable.
|
Trend - Pollution Free
cars. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
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Utne Reader
Sept-October 2000
Original story New Scientist, April 29,
2000
Metro (Göteborg)
Katarina Arnstad Emblad November 30,
2000
|
Trial by Laptop
16-year Old Thought Again When He Met His
Victim. |
Courts all over the world are struggling
with how to handle huge caseloads. The
State of Espirito Santo in Brazil are
trying an Electronic Judge, a computer
program that aids a local judge in sorting
out the problem at the scene of the crime.
Uppsala, Sweden, is trying to keep young
criminals from repeated court visits. They
are offered punishment or the chance to
go through a program called “Interrupt”.
There they meet their victim face-to-face
and go through the crime detail by detail.
A trained mediator guides the process. The
process is so powerful that it has stopped
many 15-16 year olds from continuing with
criminal behavior.
Here are human based and technical
solutions to social problems. We have
not been too cleaver at solving these
problems in the past. Many young people
believe in technical solutions to many
problems. One scenario is that both have
their place.
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Trend - Struggling with
criminality |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
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Papri Sri Raman, India
Abroad News Service Chennai
December 1, 2000
http://in.news.yahoo.com/
001201/43/dbud.html
|
'Small' to become buzzword
in Indian power scene |
At the fourth Energy
Summit in Chennai by the Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII). They felt that India
must open its doors for small hydro energy
plants. The goal is to meet the growing
energy needs of India. The example used
as a model is a hydel plant built in Darjeeling,
West Bengal, in 1897. It is still running,
reports 94 per cent efficiency, works on
renewable energy and generates no waste.
The total system needs to be looked at,
distribution and silting in some rivers.
An alternative (see the next Signs
of the Times) is to look at what is happening
in California, where people are creating
their own energy (mostly solar at the
present) and are selling extra to the
electric grid.
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Trend- Local and small
vs global and large. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
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National Foundation
for Women Business Owners
September 2, 2000
http://www.nfwbo.org/
key.html
|
Key Facts |
The National Foundation
for Women Business Owners reports that “as
of 1999, women-owned firms accounted for
38% of all firms in the U.S. Across the
world, women-owned firms typically comprise
between 1/4 and 1/3 of the business population.
The number of women-owned firms increased
by 103% nationwide, Between 1987 and 1999
employment increased by 320%, and sales
grew by 436%.”
These figures include small and large
businesses.
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Trend - Growing gender
Equality |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
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United Nations Human
Development Programme
August 2000
http://www.undp.org/
hdro/index.htm
http://www.undp.org/
hdro/trends.htm
http://www.undp.org/
hdr2000/english/book
/back1.pdf
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|
The Human Development
Index Report for 2000 shows improvement
for a number of countries. The index is
based upon life expectancy, infant mortality,
school enrollments, adult literacy, clean
water availability, children underweight
along with gross domestic development. In
all there are 174 countries in the index.
In 1995, Sweden was nr. 10, 1998 nr. 2 and
in 2000, no. 6, the United States was no.4
in 1995, no. 18 in 1998 and no. 3 in 2000.
India was no. 139 in 1995 and `98 and moved
to no. 128 representing a move from the
lowest group to the middle group. Other
countries weren’t so lucky; Sierra
Leone was no. 174 in all three years.
With increasing numbers investing
in stocks, it might be wise not only to
look at the company, the field, and the
countries they are in, but the HDI as
well before deciding.
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Fluxuating Human development
growing. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
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World Watch Institute
Anne
Platt McGinn
November 18, 2000
http://www.worldwatch.org/
alerts/001118.html
UniScience CANCER, international publication
of the American Cancer Society. December
1 issue .
Chief researcher Jonathan D. Buckley,
M.B.B.S., Ph.D., from the Department of
Preventative Medicine at the University
of Southern California in Los Angeles.
http://unisci.com/
stories/20004/1130005.htm
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STEPPING OFF THE TOXIC
TREADMILL
Child's Exposure To Pesticides Hikes Lymphoma
Risk |
Farmers will use 2.5
million tons of pesticides on this year's
crops, pesticides that are 10-100 times
more potent than formulations used just
25 years ago. A growing number of farmers,
however, are adopting integrated pest management
(IPM) techniques. These methods, which in
many cases reduce costs and increase crop
yields, use a combination of natural pest
control methods, with limited use of pesticides
as a last resort. Children who have been
exposed to household insecticides and professional
extermination methods within the home are
three to seven times more likely to develop
non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) compared with
children who have not been exposed to pesticides.
Having identified the problem and
the answer with research will we see a
decreasing trend in childhood lymphoma?
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Trend baby A decrease
in childhood lymphoma. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
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ABOUT EDUCATIONFrom
Bob Timm, About Education Editor
November 28, 2000
http://about.com/
education
http://www.toshiba.com/
tai/exploravision/
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“Toshiba and the
National Science Teachers Associations are
challenging students to envision the technology
of the future.”
Move evidence that technology will
continue to be a driving force in the
future. Visionscentret Framtidsbygget
challenges companies to encourage young
people to envision human development in
the future.
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Trend- Technology as
a driving force in the future |
from November 14, 2000
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
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http://www.individual.
com/servlet/BuildIssue
?mode=topics&content
_src=/frames/topic.
shtml?topic=2874
&date=20001023
&inIssue=TRUE
Individual.com
U.S. Newswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation
October 23, 2000
American White House Press Release
|
President Clinton Names
Five Members To The White House Commission
On Complementary And Alternative Medicine
Policy |
A White House Commission
on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
has been formed. It will provide a report
to the President on legislative and administrative
recommendations that assure that Americans
get the benefits of both traditional and
alternative medicine. The appointees to
the Commission have experience or research
in research acupuncture, guided imagery,
Chiropractic, home hospice services, Chinese
herbal medicine, Osteopathic Medicine and
other mind/body approaches.
This is a sign of the beginning of
the end of “alternative” medicine,
something long awaited by many.
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Trend - Increased acceptance
of alternative medicine in the traditional
world. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
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Wired News
Manny Frishberg
Oct. 19, 2000
World Resources Institute
October 16-18, 2000.
Creating Digital Dividens
Seattle, Washington
http://www.wri.org/
10/26/2000
http://www.utne.com/
daily/archive.tpl?d=
10/26/2000
|
Gates: Poor Need Meds,
not PCs |
A recent conference
called Digital Dividends was sponsored by
3com, Compaq, Eriksson, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard,
Nokia and others was intended to apply digital
technology to sustainable development. When
the topic turned to using information technologies
to spur development and create markets among
the worlds poor, Bill Gates focused on the
need to tackle problems of disease and literacy
as essential first steps to lifting the
bottom tier of society. He drove home his
point by saying “The percent of growth
that an IT firm like Hewlett-Packard will
get from people who make less than a dollar
a day is minimal," Gates said. "Do people
have any concept of what it means to live
on less than a dollar a day? There's no
electricity. Do they have PCs that don't
use electricity?" Reporter Thomas Frank
gives us a glimpse of the values held by
a believer in free market economy. They
believe free markets are fair and a more
democratic force than elected governments.
"By their very nature markets confer democratic
legitimacy," says Frank.
The free market economy requires
that new markets and cheap labor sources
be continually created. That has been
done to a large extent all over the world,
and now the truly poor are left. It is
felt by many that the poor desire to become
the next cheap labor and new market because
they believe they will be treated more
fairly and more democratically.
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Trend - Strong belief
in free-market economy and globalization
Earlier signs of globalization can be found
in the Previous Signs of the Times (directly
under the current Signs) April 27, 2000
- June 18, 2000. To locate past globalization
trends use the search function under Edit
(Redigera) and search for the following
words: motor vehicles, anti-tobacco, global
money market and stop hiv. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
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Swedish Radio, Station
P1
Vetenskaps Radio
Nyheter från Vetenskapsradion
P1 kl 06.45, 07.42, 08.55
October 10, 2000
http://www.sr.se/
p1/program/vetenskap/
v_radion.htm
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001013 |
Two Swedes have created
a speaker that doesn’t need extreme
sound levels in order to reach the audience
sitting farthest back at a rock concert.
One of the inventors is Erik Liljehag and
the other is a professor of acoustics at
Luleå’s Technical University.
The speakers are being readied for production.
The sound technician for Michael Jackson
is expected to put in an order.
The saving in suffering and medical
costs could be huge. Perhaps older audiences
will be drawn to concerts again blending
the age mix and making concerts more cross-
generational.
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Trend - Reducing the
cost of public health. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
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Trendletter
October 5, 2000
Page 6
|
Global Labor Shortages
National and state borders are becoming
more porous as business scrambles to fill
vacancies. |
The shortage of labor
in many western countries has caused a turnaround
in thinking about immigration. Australia,
Canada, Germany, Japan, Sweden and the United
Kingdom all have long term labor needs.
A variety of methods are being used to fill
these needs through immigration such as
offering trainee visas, making it easier
for those with needed skills to enter, enabling
immigrant families to bring in children
as young as 18, one-time opportunities to
sponsor a blood relative’s immigration,
term-limited employment for workers outside
the European Union, and by becoming a “immigration
enterprise zone” where companies and
immigrants could be together.
Anti-immigrant sentiment has not
been higher in Europe since before the
WWII. Yet, countries are realizing their
need workers will grow. The reactions
to increased immigration are bound to
cause heated responses.
|
Trend - Increased immigration
and mixing of populations all over the globe.
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
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The Chronicle of Higher
Education
http://chronicle.com/
free/v47/i06/06a01601.htm
October 6, 2000
The Faculty
Elizabeth Greene
http://web.nmsu.edu/
~pscott/isgem132.htm,
International Study Group on Ethnomathematics
|
Good-bye Pythagoras?
“Ethnomathe-
matics” embraces non-European methods
of math; critics fear a decline in rigor
|
A growing group of teachers
is using cultural analogies in mathematics
in order to make the subject more relevant
for students. It is called “Ethnomathematics”
or math from a cultural perspective. Research
is being done in the field, for example
a study of how various Kenyan communities
influence how primary school children are
understand concepts of measurement. There
are critics as well who feel this is not
the best use of children’s time and
that math is based upon the work of European
thinkers.
We are seeing this cross-disciplinary
approach in many areas of research, the
writing of history books, in systems thinking
and ecological studies. In increasingly
culturally mixed societies, look for more
inter-cultural approaches.
|
Trend- Increasing cross-disciplinary
and and cross-cultural approaches.
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Utne Reader
http://www.utne.com/
daily/archive.
tpl?d=11/01/2000
11/01/2000
Edited by Leif Utne
http://www.nadertrader.
org/
http://www.voteswap
2000.com/
|
Progressives Deeply
Divided Over Nader |
Everyday new creative
ideas on how to use the Internet reveal
themselves, many around public opinion and
democracy. In the American Presidential
race the Green Party candidate Ralf Nader
leaves Progressive voters with a dilemma.
A vote for Nader could swing the electoral
balance to Bush. Texas columnist Molly Ivins
thought she had a solution. “If you
live in a state where a vote for Nader could
swing the electoral balance to Bush, says
Ivins, find a Gore supporter in a state
where Bush or Gore holds a commanding lead,
and swap your votes.” A number of web
sites were developed to help with the swapping
process. However, they were stopped by California
state law, which states that "broker the
exchange of votes" is a violation of California
state law.
We have reported on other creative
attempts to use the Internet. In this
case the laws of one State stopped the
process. We look for this trend to continue.
|
Trend Internet in democratic
processes. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
New Scientist Online
News
http://www.newscientist.
com/dailynews/news.
jsp?id=ns9999120
November 1, 2000
Fred Pearce
Assessment of the Potential Effects
and Adaptations for Climate Change in
Europe, edited by Martin Parry (Published
by Jackson Environment Institute, University
of East Anglia).
Website: http://www.jei.uea.ac.uk.
|
Flood alert
A major European study on the impact of
climate change predicts northern floods
and southern deserts |
The three-year study
of the impact of global warming, Assessment
of the Potential Effects and Adaptations
for Climate Change in Europe, funded by
the European Union, makes some of the following
predictions:
°The number of people in northern Europe
at risk of flooding in their homes will
have doubled by 2050.
° A 20 per cent increase in flood risk
in the Alps.
° Deserts will spread further south
° Forests in northern Europe will grow
70 per cent faster by 2080
° Climate zones suitable for specific
crops will move north by 50 kilometers a
decade
° Up to 90 per cent of Alpine glaciers
will have melted by 2100
° Virtually all the existing coastal
wetlands around the Mediterranean and Baltic
will disappear as sea levels rise.
° Heat waves, forest fires, desertification,
summer smogs and water shortages will hit
Southern Europe.
This report also intimates deeper
economic differences between rich and
poor in Europe. The question now is if
planning will reflect the results of this
futures research or will it initiate positive
action.
|
Trend: Climate Change
|
from November 01, 2000
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
Center for Science in
the Public Interest
1875 Connecticut Ave.
NW #300
Washington, DC 20009
Fax 202/265-4954
May 25, 2000
http://www.cspinet.org/new/
tax_junkfood.html
Press Release
Found by John Blackwell
Wired.com
http://www.wired.com/
news/technology/
0,1282,38761,00.html
Sep. 13, 2000
Contributed to by Reuters
Source: Aase Dillmann
|
Protein Spray
Could Heal
Sores
|
The Center for Science
in the Public Interest has recommended that
small taxes should be placed on soft drinks
or other snack foods and the revenues used
to promote nutrition and physical activity.
Seventeen states and two cities including
New York, California, and Chicago, already
tax soft drinks or snack foods.
The tobacco industry was the beginning
of a trend to prohibit businesses that
are the direct cause of public health
problems and deaths. Obesity and related
health problems might be the motivator
for the next round of legal
A human protein called keratinocyte
growth factor-2, is being used as medicine
to heal large, stubborn sores, like bedsores
found on the elderly and bedridden. Phase
II clinical trials, done by the American
Food and Drug Administration are complete
and more testing is scheduled. Phase II
tests for safety and function of a new
drug.
One of the first products to come
from genetic research is about to be presented
in this human protein spray.
|
Trend - Reducing the
cost of public health. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
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BERKELEY, California
October 10, 2000 (ENS)
Source:
AJ Oberg
future_in_sight@yahoo.com
(http://www.IwantCleanAir.
com)
|
CLICK HERE FOR CLEANER
AIR |
American’s can
comparison shop for their energy needs on
the internet and at the same time raise
money for clean air. The "I Want Clean Air"
site has sponsors who donate money based
on the number of visitors who come to the
site and click on the "I Want Clean Air"
button. The money is then donated to the
Clean Air Conservancy. CAC then purchases
sulfur dioxide trading credits. These credits
each represent a ton of sulfur dioxide,
which can be emitted by the industry that
purchased them. When CAC purchases them
are never used. One less ton of sulfur can
be released by industry.
This is a new form of democracy.
Citizens state what they want, companies
pay and the environment gets cleaned.
The government’s weak compromise
between heavy polluters and environmentalists,
resulted in the credits and was the only
political contribution.
|
Trend - P New forms
of democracy.
Earlier signs of this trend can be found
in the previous Signs of the Times (directly
under the current Signs) September 13,
1999 - April 7, 2000. To locate past democracy
trends use the search function under Edit
(Redigera) and search for the following
words: Residence, Tiny and Poland.
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Mind Jack
http://www.mindjack.com/
gable/revolution.html
October 15, 2000 Cate Gable
Cate Gable is a poet and writer (author
of Strategic Action Planning NOW!), strategic
marketing consultant in e-commerce, teacher,
and President of
Axioun
Communications International.
She divides her time between Berkeley,
CA; the Pacific Northwest; and Paris,
France.
|
Revolution at Our Door
IT, Ecology,& Soul Part One: Cultural Creatives
|
“.....we are witnessing
a convergence of transformational trends
and technological developments” says
the author. These are the trends which are
converging:
° Information technology
(IT) advances & innovation
° Environmental crises
& concerns
° Human & societal values
realignment
These values are seen in a new demographic
group identified Paul Ray called "Cultural
Creatives."
If you are a “Cultural Creative”
you Love nature and are deeply concerned
about its destruction.
° Want more equality
for women at work and more women leaders
in business and politics.
° Want to be involved in
creating a new and better way of life
in your country.
° Care intensely about
both psychological and spiritual development.
° Like people and places
that are exotic and foreign, and like
experiencing and learning about other
ways of life.
Cultural Creatives are found in many
different countries and over generational
borders and might represent about 25%
of the total population.
|
Trend - values changes
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Yahoo Daily News
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/
h/ap/20001021/us/
fresh_water_degradation
_2.html
October 21,2000
JOHN FLESHER, Associated Press Writer
|
Report: Water Systems
in Trouble |
World Resources Institute
predicted that by 2025, at least 3.5 billion
people will experience water shortages.
With a population of around 6 billion that
is around half the world's current population.
These figures are based on a report that
looks at the world's systems and how humans
change them.
That means that your, your children
and grandchildren living around the year
2024 could experience a major water shortage.
A primary purpose of Future Studies is
to look far enough into the future so
that we can adjust our direction in time
to avoid such catastrophic outcomes.
|
Trend- E
Water depletion |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
Discovering Archeology
ISSUE 10
http://www.discovering
archaeology.com/
1000toc/10randn03
-space.shtml
September / November 2000
Michael
A. Stowe , Associate Editor
of Scientific American Discovering Archaeology.
|
PRESERVING TRANQUILITY
BASE
One small step for a man, one giant job
for archaeologists |
One American university
with money from NASA and the Space Grant
Consortium, is preparing an nomination for
the National (American) Register of Historic
Places for the original lunar landing site:
Apollo 11's Tranquility Base on the surface
of the moon. The nomination is complicated
because national laws have never been applied
to another world, one that is designated
as international territory by the United
Nations Space Treaty of 1967.
The countries of the planet Earth
are stretching out into the galaxy. They
are taking the macro trend of private
ownership with them. There is another
macro-trend hidden here. As humankind
grows it looks for new territories. We
are not only in the process of conquering
outer space, but colonizing it and “civilizing”
it with historic places.
|
MacroTrend - (long,
cyclic trends, some of which had their beginnings
thousands of years ago and continue to affect
us today.)
A trend to extend privatization to property
rights, mineral rights, water rights,
rights to airwaves, ownership of genes
and plants etc.
A trend of homo Sapiens to move to open
or conquer new territory when the population
gets too large.
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Wired News Report
SOURCE: Global Alliance for Transnational
Education
http://www.wired.com/
news/technology/0,1282,
38761,00.html
Sep. 13, 2000
Contributed to by Reuters
Found by: Aase Dillmann
|
Protein Spray Could
Heal Sores |
A human protein called
keratinocyte growth factor-2, is being used
as medicine to heal stubborn sores, like
bed sores found on the elderly and bedridden.
Phase II clinical trials, done by the American
Food and Drug Administration are complete
and more testing is scheduled. Phase II
tests for safety and function of a new drug.
One of the first products to come
from genetic research is about to be presented
in this human protein spray.
|
Trend (S) - The development
of biotechnological products.
Reducing the cost of public health.
The development of biotechnological
products.
Reducing the cost of public health
|
from September 25,
2000
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
http://www.motherjones.
com/mother_jones/SO00/
activist_campuses.html
Mojowire Magazine
MotherJones
Keith Meatto
September/October 2000
|
Real Reformers, Real
Results
Our Seventh Annual Roundup of Student Protest
|
Student activism in
the US reached a record high of 46 percent
among college freshmen. That was the largest
percentage since 1966. These public protests
were about an end to the use of sweatshop
labor by those who make clothes for sale
in colleges, affirmative action, global
economy, and living wage concerns. Their
methods haven’t changed much from the
sixties as they employ rallies, sit-ins,
hunger strikes, occupation of the dean's
office and even marches in the nude. Minority
students also crusaded against racial insensitivity.
In 1997, William Strauss and Neil
Howe wrote in “The Fourth Turning”
about those born between 1982 and approx.
2000, saying that they ”will vex
free marketers with heir demands for trade
barriers, government regulation, labor
standards, and public works” It looks
as if they were right.
|
Increasing Student Activism
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
http://www.utne.com/
daily/archive.tpl?d=09/08/00
Kristen Lombardi,
Boston
Phoenix
September 12, 2000
|
"Temporary Insanity:
The Life of a Temp Worker" |
Temporary workers have
started complaining about job security,
low benefits and uncertain hours. They are
organizing for better working conditions
in groups. A Boston group has started the
Campaign on Contingent Work under a network
called the National Alliance for Fair Employment.
It was a matter of time when the
downsized legions working temporary jobs
started to complain. Will this trend increase
or die out? There are a number of scenarios,
but it is up to the temporary workers
and we will just have to keep watching.
|
Worklife |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
http://www.utne.com/daily/
archive.tpl?d=09/07/000
Leif Utne
September 07, 2000
http://www.britannica.com/
bcom/original/article/
0,5744,10066,00.html
Britinnica.com
Steven Best- Reviewer
September 12, 2000
keith r. poster
August 25, 2000
"Science"
The Future Community Center
http://www.planet-tech.com/
community
|
Animal Rights and Wrongs
Dolphin Communication
|
A new paradigm is emerging
along with evidence that animal intelligence
and consciousness is greater than what established
science have previously accepted. The new
field of cognitive ethology- the study of
animal intelligence is finding evidence
of self-awareness and emotions in animals.
The results are animal rights.
Scottish biologists report that dolphins
use a ”clear and consistent vocabulary
to communicate, with each individual developing
a specific signature acoustic signal.”
They use specific calls when they locate
food.
This paradigm shift has been happening
for some time. These important changes
in our values happen slowly and often
go unrecognized while leading to radically
different decisions and behaviors.
|
Values -shifting paradigm
Trend to develop rights, women’s
rights, handicapped rights, minority rights
etc. Animal rights is the latest in this
trend.
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Michael Purdy
September 7, 2000
http://unisci.com/
stories/20003/0829002.htm
UNISCI
|
Making The Hunt For
New Antibiotics A Little Easier
|
A new process for making
new antibiotics has been developed which
will make it less expensive to create and
easier to test compounds belonging to a
class of drugs known as beta-lactams.
Beta-lactams are the traditional element
in antibiotics that fight the spread bacterial
infection. This new process could help
them work again.
There are a number of researchers
working on this problem, which could change
some future scenarios radically. On April
7 and September 11, the trend to growing
epidemics was noted in regard to Russia
and HIV, TB, Cholera, Malaria and aids
and Ebola.
|
Fighting the trend toward
more and growing epidemics. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Cornell University and
Futurist Update (WFS)
NEWS RELEASE:
Aug. 17, 2000
http://www.news.cornell.edu/
releases/Aug00/
new.workscapes.ssl.html
Contact: Susan S. Lang
|
Companies are turning
to tents, trailers and other quick office
fixes to meet demands of marketplace, Cornell
study finds |
More flexible building
structures and being created to meet the
needs of business. Tent like structures
that only take 28 days to erect are meeting
the needs of workers. Employees rated their
new tentlike environments highly, in performance,
air quality and effectiveness. The demand
for such structures is driven by "fluctuating
demands for products and services, rapidly
changing technology, mergers and acquisitions,
changing workforce demographics and new
ways of working, constantly shifting organizational
strategies and fierce and unpredictable
global competition."
Find complete information at http://iwsp.human.
cornell.edu/pubs/
This concept could extend into schools
and other public facilities that vary
with local demographics. More money and
care could be put into traditional buildings
which are built to last generations.
|
Possible beginning of
a trend in more flexible construction.
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Press Release
SOURCE: Global Alliance for Transnational
Education
September 12, 2000
http://biz.yahoo.com/
prnews/000912/
co_gate_al.html
|
Alvin Toffler to Address
the Future of Learning at Global Education
Conference |
Distance, electronic
learning is monitored by a global organization,
which is an alliance of business, education,
and government. The Global Alliance for
Transnational Education has taken upon itself
advocacy and quality assurance tasks for
transnational education providers. The courses
they monitor include university distance-learning
programs, corporate and workforce training
programs, online universities.
Most industries have had governmental
agencies developed to monitor them. Perhaps
a trend for the globalizing future is
more regulation initiated by industry
itself.
|
Trend - self monitored
industries? |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
http://www.homeopathic.org/
controlled.htm
Morag A Taylor,
David Reilly,
Robert H Llewellyn-Jones,
Charles McSharry,
Tom C Aitchison
British Medical Journal BMJ 2000;321:471-476
August 19, 2000
|
Controlled Clinical
Studies Published in Peer Reviewed Journals
|
Tested for the fourth
time the use of homeopathic medicine works
significantly better than a placebo for
relief of chronic hay fever. The research
was found in the August 18th edition of
the British Medical Journal.
Several radio programs in the summer
reported on hospitals that were doing
research on the alternative medicines
their patients were taking while under
care in their hospital. The goal was to
recognize the alternative medication and
coordinate it’s use with established
treatments.
|
Increased acceptance
of alternative medicine in the traditional
world. |
from September 11,
2000
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
http://in.news.yahoo.com/
000904/8/5w5h.html
September 4, 2000
|
Mutual Funds More Attractive
Than Banks: India's Watchdog |
The Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) says. "Mutual
funds outperformed bank deposits ... while
mutual funds increased their resources by
Rs185.16 billion, there was a decline in
accretion to bank deposits last year," SEBI
said in its annual report for 1999-00. "Thus
there has been a shift in savings from bank
deposits to mutual fund units," SEBI said.
Uses of mutual funds have also gone
up in European countries as a way of earning
for pension.
|
Reliance on mutual funds,
or the securities market for savings, pensions
to add to what countries can provide.
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
http://www.sr.se/p1/
program/vetenskap/
samhalle.htm
Vetenskapsradion
P1 onsdagar 13.20 - 13.45
Gunnar Kullgren professor in psychology
at Umeå Universitet
September 5, 2000
|
Om människor och
samhälle i en föränderlig
tid |
In poorer countries
people stricken by schizophrenia get better
than those with the same disease in the
west world. More of them get better and
the illness and easier to live with. A study
is going on now in Ethiopia and Nicaragua’s
countryside where they are trying to find
the reason to the differences between poor
and rich countries mentally ill.
Major mental illnesses have been
difficult for people in all cultures to
address. Cancer has been handled with
more attention and understanding that
the mental illnesses. The real mental
health message here is som researchers
ability to realize that answers to such
difficult problems might now always be
solved in the west world.
|
True diversity - learning
from others. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
http://www.sustdev.org/
industry.news/0551.shtml
Sustainable Development International
September 4, 2000
|
Global Eco-Standards
for Motor Vehicles in the Works
|
An agreement to set
global standards for motor vehicles have
been reached by the United Nations that
will reduce pollution for member countries.
When written, these regulations will help
to uniformly provide greater environmental
protection, energy efficiency, and vehicle
safety and pollution reduction. The Russian
Federation became the eighth country to
sign the agreement.
Those countries participating may submit
suggested regulations out of which a proposal
will be prepared for adoption.
Globalisation continues. While the
regulations are not yet in place, they
are sure to have an effect on many in
car related businesses.
|
A result of increase
in globalization and environmental consciousness
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
By Matthew Herper
September 5, 2000
http://www.forbes.com/
tool/html/00/aug/0829/
feat2.htm
Forbes.com
|
Atoms Offer Giant Leap
In Computing Power |
Computers run by atoms
is the expectation of new work in Quantum
mechanics. Faster quantum computers use
qubits as their measurement. Isaac Chuang
and team at IBM built a 5-qubit-quantum
computer used to solve a relatively simple
mathematical problem two weeks ago. A revolution
in computer power is expected in 20 years.
Quantum computing is so new that scientists
can only begin to imagine what it might
one day be able to do.
Many of us know how fast the last
20 years have flown by. There is no reason
to believe that the next 20 won’t
fly by just as fast. This invention could
open the doors to new areas of business
and make some businesses obsolete. This
might be a hint to Universities as to
subjects to offer students who will be
active in the workforce in 20 years.
|
Increased speed and
capacity in technology. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
AUGUST 13 2000
JoAnn Kohlbrand
and Julie Foster
Located by Dr. Peter Bishop, UHCL
© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com
September 5, 2000
http://www.worldnetdaily.
com/bluesky_exnews/
20000813_xex_human
_id_imp.shtml
|
Human ID implant to
be unveiled soon |
A working prototype
of an implant capable of measuring and transmitting
critical body function data and the whereabouts
of human wearers has been developed by a
company known as Digital Angel®. It
is the operational combination of biosensor
technology and Web-enabled wireless. In
order to monitor an individuals location
it will by linked to a global positioning
satellite location-tracking system. Applications
will be in locating missing persons and
in monitoring physiological health data
for providing better health care. In the
Internet world it can be used a means of
verifying online consumers. The owner can
also turn it off when desired.
The consequences both for positive
and negative and positive consequences
of this technology are important to think
about. It is up to the integrity of the
companies selling it and the consumers
who buying it to assure proper use.
|
Technology driven values
crash- quality of life and security for
loss of privacy. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
The New Republic Online
MOSCOW DISPATCH
Mental Health
By MASHA GESSEN
Issue date: 08.28.00
http://www.tnr.com/
082800/gessen082800.html
|
Russia’s Silent
Aids Crisis |
Projections vary wildly,
but no one doubts that in a couple of years
millions of Russians will have HIV. In Krasnogorsk,
a town in the Moscow region, 3 percent of
people between the ages of 15 and 25 are
infected with HIV, a rate comparable to
that in Angola, Ghana, and Sierra Leone.
Of the 50,000 registered HIV cases, more
than 20,000 were registered this year alone,
which suggests a terrifyingly high rate
of transmission.
As hard as it is to hear such horrible
news, but the future is not only about
the good news. We have to take it seriously
as it has strong consequences for the
countries nearest Russia and for the rest
of the world who possibly will be called
in to help with this situation.
|
Trend toward more and
growing epidemics. |
from June 18, 2000
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/
h/nm/20000519/sc/
stress_women_1.html
May 19,2000
Deena Beasley
|
Stressed Women Would
Rather Switch Than Fight - Study
|
''Fight-or-flight''
behavior has long been considered the way
all people cope with stress. Researchers
are now finding that females, both human
and animal are more likely to respond by
seeking social contact. A study has shone
that "females of many species, including
humans, respond to stressful conditions
by protecting and nurturing their young,
and by seeking social contact and support
from others -- especially other females".
Implication: New stress treatments
for women.
|
Male/Female -Different
yet equal |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
May 7, 2000
Jean Yoon
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/
h/nm/20000507/bs/
autos_korea_3.html
|
3 Automakers Agree to
Build 'World Car' |
Hyundai Motor, Mitsubishi
and DaimlerChrysler have agreed on a technical
alliance to build a one-liter world car.
We are getting closer to a monopoly
situation in certain fields. The first
candidate seems to be the auto industry.
Will global monopolies be tolerated and
who will monitor them?
|
Global monopolies
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
May 31, 2000
PRNewswire
http://www.individual.com/
servlet/BuildIssue
|
Cause Marketing Increasingly
Successful According to Survey By Promotion
Marketing Association and Gable Group
|
A study has found that
85% of corporations market themselves in
relation to a social cause. In 1999, 65
percent of not-for-profit organizations
asked said they participated in cause marketing
partnerships to raise money and attention.
Values have become commercial!
|
A deeper relationship
to between companies and social values.
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Trend Letter
Number 11 volume 19
May 25, 2000
|
Firing Clients
Profitability to Sour with Giveaway
Programs
|
Two articles illustrate
the value in doing the opposite of what
has been traditionally expected. A publishing
company called The New Hope Group tells
uncooperative, unfriendly or disrespectful
people that they no longer wish to do business
with them. Their policy is to only do business
with nice people.
Four large biotech and pharmaceutical
companies began giving away patens on
medicines.
One gives away something to gain
market share overcome potentially negative
publicity, save on the cost of keeping
up patens and getting tax breaks and good
publicity.
|
Give to Gain
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
World Watch Magazine
Howard Youth
http://www.worldwatch.org/
register/give.cgi?file=133a
|
Watching |
A World Watch article
reports on a new trend between wildlife
and people. We are no longer hunting them
for fur or food, but hunting them in order
to watch them.
As wildlife decreases, we are becoming
more fascinated and more respectful of
it.
|
A more respectful relationship
between humans and their environment.
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
UniSci
Source: Journal of Neuroradiology
26-May-2000
http://unisci.com/
stories/20002/0525004.htm
|
Brain Shown To Change
As Dyslexics Learn |
Researchers at the University
of Washington have found a method for improving
the reading skills in dyslexic boys.
A treatment program designed to improve
their phonological abilities or skills
in understanding and using the sounds
of language has been tested. The energy
levels expended in reading when from 4
to 1.8 and the boy's parents said they
were reading voluntarily.
The cost saving for society are high
with this treatment, when one considers
the high percentages of incarcerated have
reading disorders. It is often prisoner's
inability to feel success any other way
which has contributed greatly to their
criminality.
|
Solving social problems
that have a physiological basis.
|
from June 02, 2000
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
http://distancelearn.about.
com/education/distancelearn/
library/
weekly/aa041800a.htm
April 13-14, 2000
|
Virtual College Collaboration
|
Twenty-two virtual
universities have signed an agreement of
cooperation. Some of the subjects they have
proposed for possible cooperation are: possible
formation of a Virtual University CEO
Association, state and regional "virtual
campuses" offering courses, degree programs,
and collections of information about distance
learning and online resources for finding
-- and marketing -- distance education.
The wild west days of virtual education
may be ending as the virtual education
world organizes and begins to set standards,
a sign of industry maturation.
|
Virtual Education becomes
more mainstream. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Metro
May 16, 2000
|
Genetiska skillnader
styr beteendet (Genetic differences rule
behavior) |
A discussion is taking
shape in the printed media in Sweden which
re-evaluates what is biologically driven
which is environmentally driven. The discussion
is stimulated by newly found genetic discoveries
and re-question what is "natural". They
center on differences between men and women,
but also include child behavior. They are
leading to new conclusions generating new
controversies.
Some of these conclusions are, some
murders (by men) are a result of lack
of serotonin, rape is natural's way for
men to spread their seed, although the
frontal lobe inhibits the behavior. It
is natural for parents to sleep with their
parents until quite old etc.
In the next few years there will
be more information from genetic research
that will force us to reevaluate who we
are as humans. Our children are going
to ask questions. Are we prepared?
|
Trend baby: Changes
in humankind's view of itself in relation
to gender rolls and in relation to other
animals. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Trend Letter
Volume 19 Number 9
April 27, 2000
|
Smart Marketers Blend
Traditional and Internet Selling Techniques
|
Fifty percent more of
cybershopers would complete transactions
if there were someone they could speak to
when visiting the site. An Internet industry
researcher reports these findings.
Retailers maintain their stores and
go online as well. No one is sure which
way shopping trends will develop. As noted
above we can't get away from our need
for human contact.
|
Move back to personal
contact. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Sustainable Business.com
Tom Paladino
http://www.sustainable
business.com/html/
insider/may00/launch.cfm
May 30, 2000-05-30
|
The Launch of the First
Industry Standard for Green Buildings
|
The American Building
Industry has just gotten it's first certification
system for green buildings. It is called
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design Green Building Rating System).
Standards in any industry indicate
that a trend has been seriously integrated
into the behavior of a system and is maturing.
|
Movement toward sustainability
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
The Economist
http://www.economist.com/
editorial/freeforall/current/
index_ld5520.html
May 30, 2000
|
Adventurous venture
capital |
The use of venture capital
to fund small, newly started companies has
been rising since 1995. It is predicted
that this bubble could burst. The trend
has moved to Sweden and the globe.
Others should watch the trend of
growing use of venture capital as a stimulant
to the economy. It could be too much of
a good thing.
|
The growing use of Venture
Capital |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
The Washington Post
Jay Mathews
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://washingtonpost.com/
wp-dyn/articles/A6706
-2000May25.html
Tuesday, May 30, 2000; Page A09
|
Testing the Market
|
Since individual States
in the U.S. have raised their standards
in the last five years, the testing industry
has been growing as a result of a need to
measure how well the new standards are being
met.
Testing and control will continue
to grow. In adult education there is also
a need for standards in e-learning. A
recent article in The Atlantic Monthly
reports that some Universities will specialize
in accrediting courses.
|
The growth of the education
industry, and the growth of education testing
firms. |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Inetmedia
http://lw2fd.hotmail.msn.com/
cgi-bin/getmsg?disk=
216.32.180.67_d918&
login=nataliedian&
f=52226&curmbox=
ACTIVE&_lang=&
msg=MSG959719340.11&
start=168758&len
=10725&mfs=496
For more information in Swedish:
http://www.naring.
regeringen.se
May 31, 2000
|
Kompetens-
sparande
Competence saving
|
The Swedish government
will stimulate life long learning. All wage
earners and companies will have the opportunity
to save in a personal account that will
be subsidized by the State. The money is
to be used for future competence development.
The individuals employer will contribute
to money to the employees account.
|
Life Long Learning
|
from May 15, 2000
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
icChina
http://www.icchina.com/
enews/ chinanews/
20000418005.htm
April 18 , 2000
|
Shanghai ranks first
in social development in China.
|
The following ten indexes
developed by the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences have been used to measure "modernization"
standards in China in 1998. The indexes
are based on statistics issued by the National
Bureau of Statistics.
They are: per capita gross domestic
product (GDP), the share of non-agriculture
output in the total GDP, the portion of
the services sector output in the total
GDP, the ratio of urbanites to the total
population, the share of non-agricultural
employees in the total employment, the
share of university students among people
aged between 22 and 24, the net population
growth rate, the average life expectancy,
the number of doctors and the literacy
rate for adults.
China is predicted by some to become
the next major power. (See earlier Signs
of the Times). This measurement is one
way to see if the prediction is warranted
or not.
|
China as the new hegemonic
power |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
LOS ANGELES (Reuters)
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/
h/nm/20000417/sc/
environment_water_1.html
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/
h/nm/20000418/sc/
environment_water_2.html
April 17 2000
April 18 2000
|
Californians May Soon
Drink Recycled Toilet Water
L.A. 'Toilet-To-Tap' Plan Hits Clog
in Pipeline
Dan Whitcomb
|
Two stories from Yahoo
explaining the new water reuse program developed
for the San Fernando Valley (suburb of LA).
The East Valley Water Reclamation Project
would take (12 billion liters) of sewage
water and send it to spreading grounds,
where it would be filtered naturally for
several years. The water would then seep
into the ground, to blend with groundwater.
Groundwater is then purified and used.
This could supply 70,000 families with
tap water adding around 11 billion gallons
(41 billion liters) a year to the water
supplies. Notice the tone in the article
titles to the left. A citizen and a politicians
outrage were reported.
The technique is not new, it is a
copy of natures own. What is new is it's
application to the public domain from
the "alternative sector". The question
becomes a political and media problem
which can discourage development.
|
Water and change process.
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Utne Reader
Marjorie Kelly
www.business-ethics.com
March/April 2000
|
The New World Order
|
Business Ethics magazine reports six
trends for the 21st century.
These trends reflect the bringing of democracy
to economics. One of those trends is:
a growing recognition that social issues
are financial issues. Those areas taken
as examples are asbestos, nuclear power,
breast implants, tobacco, fire arms, genetically
engineered foods.
Business Ethics magazine reports six
trends for the 21st century.
These trends reflect the bringing of democracy
to economics. One of those trends is:
a growing recognition that social issues
are financial issues. Those areas taken
as examples are asbestos, nuclear power,
breast implants, tobacco, fire arms, genetically
engineered foods.
Will producers of telephones and microwave
ovens be liable for health costs incurred
as a result of the use of their products?
|
Ethics |
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Utne Reader Online
http://www.utne.com/daily/
April 21, 2000
|
WhirledBank.org Thumbs
Its Nose At IMF, World Bank |
A new trend in protest
using humor is developing. Adbusters, media
professionals who use their skills to highlight
community problems, has been around for
a while. Now The Whirled Bank Group joins
them who use IMF and World Bank information
to highlight the situation of third world
debt in a cleaver and humorous way.
Something has changed when we can
use humor and irony instead of anger and
weapons as tools of protest
|
Humor in Protest
|
*Source/Date
|
**Title
|
***Subject
|
****Trend
|
|
Dagens Nyheter
Karin Bojs
Karin.bojs@dn.se
Page A5
April 14, 2000
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Celler i hjärnan
får nytt liv
Cells in the brain get a new life
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A growth hormone IGF-1
has been found by Swedish researchers to
double the growth of new brain cells. Possible
future uses are in treating brain injuries,
blood clots.
A great deal of research and testing
must occur before this discovery is practical.
It is seen as revolutionary.
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Brain Research
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Uniscience
http://unisci.com/stories/
20002/0425005.htm
Ellen Goldbaum
April 25, 2000
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New Method Found For
Synthesizing Specialty Chemicals
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A method for synthesizing
a wide range of specialty chemicals from
cheap bulk chemicals. An example is
Ritalin, the treatment for children
with attention-deficit disorders.
The new method lowers the number of
potential steps in producing pharmaceutical
agents from eight or ten to three.
A patent application has been filed.
Another benefit of this process is that
it could reduce the dosage required and
some side effects.
While not a trend, scientific and
technical discoveries are often drivers
of change.
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Possible trend driver
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The Economist
http://www.economist.com/
editorial/freeforall/current/
index_ww1536.html
April 22nd - 28th 2000
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Politics This Week
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AustriaĚs far-right
Freedom Party, ItalyĚs right-wing
alliance and LithuaniaĚs (Kaunas)
extreme nationalist were all reported on
the same news summary page.
This disturbing trend deserves to
be understood and watched.
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Trend toward nationalists
in governments. |
from April 27, 2000
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BEIJING XINHUA via NewsEdge
Corporation
http://www.individual.com/
servlet/BuildIssue
April 18 , 2000
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China Close to Finishing
Human Genome Sequencing Task |
China is the only developing
nation in an international project aimed
at deciphering human genomes by 2003. The
project will determine the health and longevity
of human beings. Other participants are
the United States, Japan, Germany, France
and Britain. The results will be a source
for developing genetics-based therapies.
Participation in this project might
enable China to be a competitor in the
businesses growing out of genetic-based
therapies.
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Human Genetics
China as new world power
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World Watch Institute
http://www.worldwatch.org/
mag/2000/00-2.html
March/April 2000
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The Earth Day 2000
(See Earth Day Special on our home page)
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In order to halt further
deterioration in our environment, a critical
mass of those who understand the urgency
of the problem must be reached. World Watch
magazine predicts this will occur soon in
the form of a major weather disaster in
a populated area.
In Energy and Climate, Population
and Land, Chemicals and Biology and Commerce
and the Oceans, deterioration has been
steady for the last 30 years. We actually
have resources for 2 billion people living
at middle class European standards. We
are now 6 billion.
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Environmental consciousness
Vs. Environmental disaster
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The Futurist
French Technology Press Office
One East Wacker Drive, Suite 3740, Chicago,
Ill 60601. Telephone 1 312 222 1235; fax
1 312 222 1237.
January-February 2000
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High-Tech Clothes
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Clothes are being developed
with antibacterial properties that fight
microorganisms on the skin, ceramic fibers
that protect against ultraviolet rays, temperature
sensitive jackets and scented and odor-resistant
clothes.
Houses are smart, our food has health
giving additives, so why shouldn't our
clothing do more than just cover us? Having
all these needs taken care of by products
we might be preparing for the "caring
society" predicted by Ian Pearson and
other futurists.
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A trend toward functionalism
which blends what brings us enjoyment, style,
status and relaxation with health, protection,
and sustainability (the smart house that
controls energy flows). |
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Trend Letter
April 13, 2000
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Banking Trends
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Community banks in the
United States are growing by prioritizing
services to small businesses and individuals
in their communities.
Evidence of a small localizing trend
that is balancing globalization.
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Localization
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Christian Science Monitor
Opinion page
http://www.csmonitor.com/
durable/2000/03/
28/fp11s1-csm.shtml
(more articles available at this site)
March 28, 2000
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Counter the cybernetic
Wal-Mart effect
Richard E. Sclove is research director
of the Loka Institute (www.loka.org),
a nonprofit organization concerned with
the social effects of science and technology.
He is the author of 'Democracy and Technology'
(Guilford Press, 1995).
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Annual online sales
are projected to reach $1.4 trillion by
2003. Some feel that sales tax should be
permanently disallowed all over the globe.
Others see a loss of revenue to state and
local governments for schools, roads, and
other public functions. Some predict that
local business will be competing with the
whole world, thus weakening local (and small)
business and community. The collective desire
to solve local problems is weakened and
control moves nationally or globally leaving
the individual with little say.
It was only a matter of time when
the discussion of taxes on Internet sales
would be a hot topic. The discussion is
very American right now, but will spread.
Taxation is opening to new discussions
stimulated by on line commerce, with effects
locally and globally.
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Connected to globalizing
and localizing trends. |
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Utne Reader
www.webwalking.com/
amwalks
www.bikefed.org
Book: Street Reclaiming: Creating livable
Streets and Vibrant Communities.
March/April 2000
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Pedestrian Power
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Walking and Biking are
developing their own advocacy groups. America
WALKs and National Center for Bicycling
and Walking have affiliate groups in the
U.S. and Europe.
While not a direct attach against
the automobile, this movement is connected
to the community
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Simplicity Trend
Ecology Trend
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The Economist
http://www.economist.com/
editorial/freeforall/current/
index_sb2372.html
April 22nd - 28th 2000
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Business Special: Doing
well by doing good |
An ethics industry has
developed in the United States. It is replete
with consultants, conferences, journals
and awards. The position of Corporate Ethics
Officer, which hardly existed 10 years ago,
is common in bigger companies.
They have their own organization, The
Ethics Officer Association that has 650
members. Many are international corporations.
While have watched the development
of ethics this is documentation of an
"industry" where jobs and incomes are
involved.
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Ethics "Industry"
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