Define futurology | Dictionary and Thesaurus. Rising to the challenge of the 21st century: the role of futures research and practice | Action Foresight. This short essay is adapted from a short piece I wrote during my time as Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, for their publication Global-is-Asian. More than ever, futures research is needed to support people’s critical understanding of the challenges we face in the 21st century, and support the development of actionable responses through public policy and social innovation. The field has evolved since the 1950’s through differerent stages, a linear / predicticive modality, systems thinking and the birth of alternative futures, critical futures studies, and participatory and action oriented approaches.
The key issues in applying futures studies include the need for depth exploration, links with effective communications strategies, and the actionability of foresight through policy development and social innovation. Introduction The age of ad hoc and naïve long-term thinking is over. A futures research synopsis. The Future of Futures Studies. Today, the increasing number of futurists, scholars, business planners, and others in the futuring field is a good sign of the usefulness of Futures Studies for humanity, just as Dator wished so 26 years ago (Dator, 1986).
Masini (1989) described the future of Futures Studies 23 years ago in this manner: “Global models have lost their appeal, and there is a growing movement toward Futures Studies that are local. … As for methods, strategic planning will become more important in both the public and the private sectors.” Just a decade ago, Bell hoped that the future of Futures Studies was bright, “because it is reasonable to hope that futurists will be able to establish the field in most of the world’s colleges and universities” (Bell, 2002). In his view, a trans-disciplinary matrix for Futures Studies was emerging composed of shared assumptions, values, methods and key concepts. I think that beauty is the lost element in many of our works. Please remember that these are not empty slogans. INTRODUCTION TO FUTURE STUDIES. Dr. Linda Groff & Dr. Paul Smoker Co-Directors, Global Options ***NOTE: Many, but not all, Buttons or Hotlinks below are active.
Work is in progress! Introduction/Overview of Topic Brief History of the Future Studies Field Range of Futurist Views and Perspectives Characteristics of a Futurist Perspective Time Periods for Studying the Future Holistic/Systems View of Our Place in the Universe (as Systems within Systems within Systems) Key Subjects Studied by Futurists Methodologies for Studying Change and the Future Steps in Designing an Alternative Future World Key Organizations Involved in the Study of the Future and Change Future Studies Conferences Declarations of Organizations and/or Conferences Related to Future Studies Future Studies Universities and Programs Additional Online Universities, Programs, and Courses Relevant Writing (Abstracts/Outlines, Papers, & Articles) From Global Options (Co-Directors: Dr.
See Information below. Journals,Magazines,Newsletters: Organizations: Dr. Futures studies. Moore's law is an example of futures studies; it is a statistical collection of past and present trends with the goal of accurately extrapolating future trends. Futures studies (also called futurology and futurism) is the study of postulating possible, probable, and preferable futures and the worldviews and myths that underlie them. There is a debate as to whether this discipline is an art or science. In general, it can be considered as a branch of the social sciences and parallel to the field of history. In the same way that history studies the past, futures studies considers the future.
Overview[edit] Futures studies is an interdisciplinary field, studying yesterday's and today's changes, and aggregating and analyzing both lay and professional strategies and opinions with respect to tomorrow. Foresight may be the oldest term for the field. The futures field also excludes those who make future predictions through professed supernatural means. Probability and predictability[edit]