Introduction How can Futures studies in Asia be different from Western offerings? How can it be localized in native languages, ways of knowing, and experiences? Can Asian futures, if such a thing exists, address emerging challenges, raise new questions, and disrupt systems of knowledge and power as they currently exist? What capacities exist to create and enhance futures thinking? How can Asian philosophies, cultures, and experiences shape alternative flavors of Futures Studies and practices? What ought to be the thrusts of an Asia Pacific Futures Network (hereafter APFN)? What types of educational models and researches should it pursue? How can…
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Scope of This Review This review focuses on the European Union’s Institute for Security Studies’ Report No. 22 on Arab Futures: Three Scenarios was issued in February of 2015. The report is a summary report of a larger 200-page book that was published after it was issued. The book is not part of this review, however, given that it is presumed to be an elaboration of the report and, conversely, the report contains the essential points of the book, there may not be a significant discrepancy between the two over the points raised in this review. The report’s institutional affiliation…
Abstract Business schools, according to certain measures, have been a major success story in the recent past of the university, enjoying significant demand growth. We suggest that their future may be more problematic. We offer different possible scenarios for business schools and identify seven key risks that they face. We argue that the most significant challenge business schools must negotiate is to redefine and clarify their mission and redesign themselves to meet these risks. We conclude that the business schools best able to survive and prosper in the future are likely to be very different from those that…
Abstract This article examines the prospect of replacing EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers with technology in Iran. It has adopted the approach of Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) to analyze the data collected from interviews with 10 EFL experts in Iran. The four layers of CLA do suggest that it is unlikely that technology will replace EFL teachers in Iran by 2030. Iran, being a hierarchical, collectivist, and restrained society with a normative cultural orientation and preference for avoiding uncertainty, will be reluctant to accept technological innovation so quickly which would replace EFL teachers. Further research covering a time frame beyond 2030 would be…
Abstract This article applies Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) to analyse critical factors of four influential South East Queensland City visioning and foresight initiatives conducted by the Cities of Maroochy, Logan, Gold Coast and Brisbane. Previous articles in the March 2015 issue and the September 2016 of Journal of Futures Studies gave a prima facie litany of the phases of the initiatives (including the Visions and Governance phases) – and mapped their processes respectively. Conclusions drawn from the analysis in this article are unique as they apply futures methods and specifically CLA as a multi-methodology to create, unpack and explore phases…
Abstract The relationship between futures studies and education is not new, but it is an essential element for the develop- ment of our society as part of a more balanced world. The aim of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework that describes the associations between future, human temporality and images of the future. The paper provides the results of research carried out among students in Barcelona, with analyses examining images of the future and their associ- ations with other investigations. Using a four-part typology for images of the future, we describe differences between students’ perspectives on the global…
Designing is the process of shaping the future. By designing new technologies, services and environments, designers expect – intentionally or unintentionally – to change people’s values through their exposure to new artifacts, interactions and experiences. Such revolutionary designs as the car or the smart phone drastically changed human behaviour in many beneficial ways. However, the unintended consequences of these designs and others cannot often be understood without hindsight; or, perhaps with a sophisticated foresight methodology. Due to this realisation, that designing is the act of “future making” (Adams & Yelavich 2014), and in order to understand the social influence…
A symposium was hosted by Tamkang University, in association with Kyung Hee University and the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies, on November 10-11, in Tamsui, Taipei. Traditional pedagogical approaches to Futures Studies focused on expert based lecture formats. Scenario planning opened up the process by using groups of experts. In the past few decades, however, the workshop format – futures workshops, knowlabs, immersive futures – all have attempted to include participants in the futures process. They are not mere spectators or receivers of the futures, but active creators – mind, body, and spirit. The futurist becomes thus a content facilitator,…
ByoLogyc is a fictional company from the future, brought to life in the world of today by The Mission Business, an experience design consultancy based in Toronto, Canada. Over 9 months spanning 2012 and 2013, The Mission Business rolled out an immersive and interactive experience that put the ByoLogyc brand in front of thousands of Canadians, giving audiences a taste (quite literally) of what a biotechnological future ruled by corporate influence might look and feel like. ByoLogyc has appeared as a special guest at the 2013 TED conference and Autodesk University. The project has since been recognized with awards and…
In December 2014, the Foresight and Behavioural Insights Unit at the European Commission’s DG Joint Research Centre began collaborating with the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies and the Center for Postnormal Policy and Futures Studies to develop a serious game as part of an ongoing foresight study. The JRC’s Scenario Exploration System (hereafter JRC SES) was the first product of the newly organized EU Policy Innovation Lab, and the game was envisioned as an integral aspect of the research dissemination and delivery stage for the 2035 – Paths Toward a Sustainable EU Economy project. The final report notes how…