DSpace community: 未來研究叢刊

Intuition, Rationality and Imagination

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:24:02 GMT

title: Intuition, Rationality and Imagination abstract: For too long a shallow empiricism has blinded researchers to the greater potentiality of human perception. Even qualitative research, which implicitly accepts the transperceptual possibilities of mind, is shackled to empiricism. This paper will argue that intuition is a cultural resource and that when practiced rigorously, researchers gain access to rational processes that extend the sense making possibilities denied us via a narrow empiricism. The paper thus seeks to extend, not over-turn, empiricism, in the same way that qualitative research extended it from the 1960s on. The focus is on how researchers can access the kind of information about the world that we need to foster transformative agency and insight.

Classical Intuition and Critical Futures

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:22:07 GMT

title: Classical Intuition and Critical Futures abstract: That consciousness contains non-local properties is a rational hypothesis well supported by experimental and anthropological evidence (Radin, 2006; le Shan, 2013; Sheldrake, 2003). “Classical” intuition draws upon the extended mind, operating, at least in part, beyond local space-time (Sheldrake, 2003).

Learning to Use Intuition in Futures Studies: A Bibliographic Essay on Personal Sources, Processes and Concerns

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:20:30 GMT

title: Learning to Use Intuition in Futures Studies: A Bibliographic Essay on Personal Sources, Processes and Concerns abstract: This essay is part of a special “Symposium” issue of the Journal of Futures Studies focusing on Intuition in Futures Work. It builds on the brief summary review of conceptual positions about practical intuition contained in my brief introduction to the symposium (Markley, 2015), and describes the specific sources, methods and explanatory models I personally have found most useful in my own professional trajectory as I learned the practical art of using intuition in futures studies. It ends with suggestions for handling the problem of when doing this type of work in public settings.

Intuiting the Future(s)

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:18:25 GMT

title: Intuiting the Future(s) abstract: My own encounter with intuition as a legitimate way of knowing came from the works of P.R. Sarkar. Following the Tantric tradition, in my limited understanding, he argued that intuition develops once the intellect is pointed, reached its pinnacle. By this, he meant that once the intellect is focused – like a laser – intuition can further develop. Intellect is a necessary factory, thus, in the development of intuition (Inayatullah, 2002; Inayatullah, 1999; Inayatullah and Fitzgerald, 1999).

Intuition and Evolution – How I Find It Essential to Use Intuition in My Futures Work

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:16:32 GMT

title: Intuition and Evolution – How I Find It Essential to Use Intuition in My Futures Work abstract: It is my experience that the mental figuring it out mind works most effectively when the higher or intuitive mind receives inspiration, guidance, and insights to enhance the rational mind. It is the combination of intuition and testing out that intuition in research and action that has worked for me.

Applying Intuitive Methods in Explorations of Preferred Futures

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:15:11 GMT

title: Applying Intuitive Methods in Explorations of Preferred Futures abstract: Western Industrial culture has trained us to ignore our inner knowing and intuitive senses in favor of purely “rational” thought processes. Yet one of the major shifts we’re experiencing in this culture today is an increasing acceptance of the validity of intuitive awareness. The root meaning of the word Intuition is “teaching from within,” and elders and spiritual teachers across the ages have stated that much of what we really need to know about ourselves and the world around us can be learned more effectively by “going within” than by listening to others. An exploration of the literature – both experimental and experiential – provides a few simple principles which encourage consistency in this kind of intuitive awareness. Applying these principles on a regular basis has been demonstrated anecdotally, and appears experimentally, to provide significant enhancement of analytical decision-making processes and can therefore lead to more effective implementation of plans for the future.

The Inner Game of Futures

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:13:37 GMT

title: The Inner Game of Futures abstract: This essay details my own learning and experiences with respect to intuition and futures studies. The essay is in part an auto-ethnographic narrative that attempts to situate my own personal experiences in a broader cultural context. It also describes intuitions’ pivotal role in both bringing me to futures studies and guiding me within futures studies. I employ the voice dialog perspective of Hal and Sidra Stone (1989) to shed light on intuition’s place in an ecology of ‘inner’ selves, and I also employ the action research framework developed by Reason and Bradbury (2001) to make sense of intuition’s place in an approach to triangulation for futures research.

Introduction to the Symposium on ‘Intuition in Futures Work’

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:11:52 GMT

title: Introduction to the Symposium on ‘Intuition in Futures Work’ abstract: This special “Symposium” issue of the Journal of Futures Studies was birthed in the spring of 2014, during a downtown Singapore luncheon conversation between JFS Editor Sohail Inayatullah and myself. As we were sharing some of the proudest prouds and sorriest sorries of our respective professional lives, intuition stood out as something we both had in common: We both confessed to pride about the ways that each of us had found to use the intuitive function for ourselves personally and as something we teach others to tap into in spite of the dubious “political correctness” in many settings to do so; and our sorrow that this essential way of knowing has not caught on more widely as a credible methodological tool for use in futures studies and proactive leadership generally. As we explored ways to rectify this, Sohail suggested some type of a special issue of the journal on this topic. As we talked about it, we agreed that such an issue shouldn’t involve a lot of ivory tower rhetoric, but be more juicy, with personal reflections of how different futurists have experientially come to value and practice intuition-based methods in their futures work. Such an approach was used to advantage in Intuition: The Inside Story, a collection of interdisciplinary perspectives edited by Robbie Davis-Floyd & P. Sven Arvidson (1997). Ultimately, we decided on a special “Symposium” issue of the journal that would have precisely these characteristics, written by recognized practitioners of the art. I reluctantly agreed to take on the role of editor for this initiative, and in retrospect, am glad that I did.

A Foresight Analysis of Pervasive Healthcare Technologies

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:09:47 GMT

title: A Foresight Analysis of Pervasive Healthcare Technologies abstract: Inevitably, healthcare goes pervasive, yet its many potential future scenarios are still to be defined. We employ foresight techniques to define some of these scenarios, as relevant for the current and future state of healthcare in Geneva, Switzerland. We teach the methodology to undergraduate business administration students – potential e.g., managers and policymakers in the future healthcare system of Geneva. Our objective is twofold: to train students at scenario building and to develop scenarios for pervasive healthcare technologies and their social implications. Results include scenarios developed by the students as well as lessons learned with respect to the power of foresight techniques employed with novices in this field.

Unravelling the Myth/Metaphor Layer in Causal Layered Analysis

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:07:54 GMT

title: Unravelling the Myth/Metaphor Layer in Causal Layered Analysis abstract: This paper investigates how the myth/metaphor layer of Inayatullah’s Causal Layered Analysis is formed, using an embodied cognitive approach. The very way we experience the world, move in it, interact within it and orient our body to our environment generates patterns and concepts that form as metaphors. Language is saturated in metaphor. As we interact together shared metaphors connect together to emerge and take shape as myths. These are the building blocks of Inayatullah’s worldview layer. The worldview that emerges from social interactions of a group of people form a particular arrangement of interlinking elements from the myth/metaphor layer. The worldview informs the systemic layer, which in turn informs the litany of everyday life. Any particular worldview is therefore only ever one within many possible ways of interlinking the mythic and epistemic elements. It is easy to fall into the trap of assuming our particular worldview is the best, or even the only true worldview. CLA helps us to avoid this problem as it problematises the present and find new metaphors to enable us to envision alternative and preferred futures.

Engaging Futures 2030: Futures Methods Transforming Governance

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:05:07 GMT

title: Engaging Futures 2030: Futures Methods Transforming Governance abstract: During 2000-2015, Queensland Councils emerged from the darkness of ‘tokenistic’ community consultation processes articulated by Arnstein (1969). The work of community engagement professionals to update Council methods in line with advancing technology and in designing new business models and strategies for the governance of consultations is arguably still in its ‘teens’. One way forward is to continue a linear projected future, with a short-term view focused just ahead, which is still the norm. However, in an environment of rapid change, this approach is far too reactive, restrictive, shortsighted and un-consultative, resulting in the loss of possibilities. This article uses Inayatullah’s (2008) six futures questions to create alternative community engagement futures to 2030.

Internal Crisis as an Impediment to Futures Thinking

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:03:00 GMT

title: Internal Crisis as an Impediment to Futures Thinking abstract: Since the publication of The Limits to Growth in 1972, it is hoped that human beings have become more aware of potential crises and have become more proactive to prevent those crises from happening. Halal and Marien held a symposium on the Global Megacrisis in the Journal of Futures Studies in 2011. Based on the discussion in the symposium, this paper tries to reveal why a crisis often leads to a collapse even if warnings about the crisis have been issued for some time. It uses as a case the collapse of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which occurred on March 11, 2011. The paper argues that the root cause of a crisis in society is found in the crisis of self-worth inside individuals and organizations.

Anticipatory Leadership and Strategic Foresight: Five ‘Linked Literacies’

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:00:15 GMT

title: Anticipatory Leadership and Strategic Foresight: Five ‘Linked Literacies’ abstract: We live, as is so often said, in volatile, uncertain, complex, changing and ambiguous times. The world of the future will demand capacities that currently comprise mere options. There will be a need for new ways of thinking, planning, directing, communicating and managing; with a critical component common to them all—‘anticipatory leadership’. Quintessentially, such leadership relates to the future and is concerned with transforming the ‘mind-set’ of those engaged in policy formulation and plan implementation. Our concept-oriented paper seeks to identify five linking ‘anticipatory literacies’: Awareness; Authenticity; Audacity; Adaptability; and Action. It concludes with a call to the Professional Futures Community and the world’s leading Business Schools to collaborate in creating a ‘Grand Transformation’ in their collective mind-sets inspired by Anticipatory Leadership through Strategic Foresight.

Wellspring of Optimism, a Review of “Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future”

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:55:59 GMT

title: Wellspring of Optimism, a Review of “Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future” abstract: Contemporary popular culture has a burden to carry. The mood of the global populace appears awash with a sense of desperate and dark days ahead for the planet, fuelled by debate over the attendant fallout of resource depletion, biodiversity collapse, climate weirdness, energy descent and population growth. Weighed down by a sense of un-nameable dread and impending doom, the fodder of everyday entertainment often reads as a litany of dystopia. It is little wonder, then, that many of our most popular contemporary works of fiction are based in socially imploding settings; parallel worlds in which personal power saves the day over makebelieve monsters; or futuristic worlds where horror and oppression are rife.

The Wrath of Gaia vs. the Second Coming of Science: Beyond Interstellar’s Dualistic Narrative

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:54:32 GMT

title: The Wrath of Gaia vs. the Second Coming of Science: Beyond Interstellar’s Dualistic Narrative abstract: This essay was inspired by the possibility that futures studies methods, theories and frameworks could shed some light on science fiction, in particular contemporary science fiction cinema – to act as a window into contemporary culture. Much is written about our future from the vantage point of futures studies, from literature on megatrends to scenarios of the near and long term future. And still more is written about science fiction genre, which arguably grapples most with complex issues and social and technological transformation. And yet still more is narrated and imagined by science fiction about our futures – from space operas, to robotic soap dramas, dystopian noir, cautionary allegory, and psychohistory. But what is written about science fiction from the vantage point of futures studies? Could futures studies be used to shed light on science fiction, to interpret science fiction and derive insights about ourselves?

Olaf Stapledon: Personal Reflections on Cosmic Inspiration from a Pioneering Visionary

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:52:49 GMT

title: Olaf Stapledon: Personal Reflections on Cosmic Inspiration from a Pioneering Visionary abstract: When I heard of the plans for a special issue of the Journal of Futures Studies on the interplay between science fiction and futures work, I immediately knew that I wanted to contribute an essay about Olaf Stapledon—why his writing is of such relevance to what I will describe as the central evolutionary challenge of the human race; and how his work suggests that human consciousness can be enhanced for this challenge to be resolved successfully in the very long-term future. This essay begins with an exposition of Stapledon’s cosmically futures-oriented science fiction and ends with a visionary illustration of how his work points to a promising “new paradigm” direction of development for futures studies involving what are currently called nonordinary states of consciousness (NOSC). Thus, a number of concepts are introduced that are well beyond what is considered credible from the standpoint of the currently dominant paradigm of social reality. A preliminary version of this essay includes evidence of their credibility, as well as promising directions of exploration for both FS and SF—but alas, due to length limitations they had to be abandoned along with a number of informative footnotes. They are available, however, in an online expanded preprint [www.imaginalvisioning.com/StapledonExpanded-Preprint].

Imagining the Impossible: The Shifting Role of Utopian Thought in Civic Planning, Science Fiction, and Futures Studies

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:51:14 GMT

title: Imagining the Impossible: The Shifting Role of Utopian Thought in Civic Planning, Science Fiction, and Futures Studies abstract: Histories of futurism and/or futures studies tend to see the discipline as having its roots in the “operations research” paradigm of the mid-20th Century, which in turn emerged from what eventually became the RAND Corporation (for an exemplar see e.g. Bell, 1996). To construct futurism in such a manner is to ignore many other disciplines whose focus has also been on the development, description and analysis of imagined futures. The RAND-rooted history restricts “proper” futurism to a predominantly scientific (and frequently scientistic), positivist, quantitative and rationalist paradigm, and excludes the more qualitative work of political science, sociology, social theory, architecture and urban planning, as well as the more nakedly speculative and/or imaginative futurist practices of artists and authors. To discard this history is, I believe, to discard some important lessons about what futurism can realistically hope to achieve as regards depicting normative or “preferred” futures.

Impact Assessment and Science Fiction: Complementary Ways to Ask “What happens if…?” and the Delineation of a New Sub-genre

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:49:45 GMT

title: Impact Assessment and Science Fiction: Complementary Ways to Ask “What happens if…?” and the Delineation of a New Sub-genre abstract: When US federal and state governments began to require environmental impact studies and technology assessments for new projects in the early 1970s, Futures Studies (FS) was the methodology of choice. Within a few years, though, criticisms of the impact assessments (IA) abounded and much of IA was considered ineffective. During the same period, science fiction (SF) was increasingly popular as a way to explore possibilities. A comparison of the two approaches shows significant similarity, with SF emphasizing human concerns and language while IAs focus on quantitative technical approaches and language. A series of t-tests resulted in no significant difference in statements of impacts in 51% of the 67 standard categories of IA between SF works that fit IA constraints and IA reports focused on the same technologies, and eight categories in which the SF had significantly more statements describing potential impacts than equivalent IAs. For the specific case of nuclear power, SF stories were more effective at predicting harmful events. These results suggest a new subgenre: SF works which fit IA constraints, called here Extrapolative Fiction (EF). Such works are recommended to be included in the IA process with suggestions for ways to do so.

Forcing the Design of Fictional Futures: From Theory to Cases Implementation

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:47:40 GMT

title: Forcing the Design of Fictional Futures: From Theory to Cases Implementation abstract: In the face of fast growing concerns for sustainability in all wakes of human endeavor around the planet, this paper aims to support a generative process for exploring futures conceptions and seeks to contribute to professional futurists’ design abilities. It is a contribution to connect practical social and business innovation with actionable futures thinking. The approach is founded on design innovation methodology backed by C-K theory, a constructive prototyping strategy, which can account for any moment when a “futures potential” happens. To illustrate the process, a series of matching field experiments are portrayed, whereby kick-off propositions led to blueprint concepts and, through their systematic expansion, were carried into project briefs that could be implemented with planners, policy makers, and project managers. The illustrated content provides decisionmakers an operational and sharable framework.

Science Fiction and Bodies of the Future: Alternative Gender Realities in Hollywood Cinema

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:45:32 GMT

title: Science Fiction and Bodies of the Future: Alternative Gender Realities in Hollywood Cinema abstract: The science fiction genre has traditionally exemplified alternative forms of sexuality and/ or gender identities, providing with the ideal forum for any criticism on gender biased societies and behaviors. Taking into account that futures are always based on the present and the ways it is envisioned, we will focus on how gender identities are constructed in contemporary Hollywood cinema, an hegemonic discourse that dictates how femininity and masculinity should be (subjected on many occasions to mere marketing strategies). For this purpose, we will adopt a critical poststructuralist perspective on how images of the body are represented in popular science fiction films released in the last few decades. We further aim at illustrating how some science fiction films released at the end of the millennium and current century propose alternative gender realities, suggesting at the same time the idea that the oppressive patriarchal structure that govern most contemporary societies can be deconstructed and changed, or at least silenced, in these movies.

Chasing Black Swans through Science Fiction: Surprising Future Events in the Stories of a Finnish Writing Competition

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:43:15 GMT

title: Chasing Black Swans through Science Fiction: Surprising Future Events in the Stories of a Finnish Writing Competition abstract: In the paper we analyse the notion of ‘black swan’ as popularised by Taleb (2007). We propose that in the context of the futures’ imagination, a black swan can be defined as hybrid that integrates local knowledge with multiple temporal scales, combining past, present and future tenses. As empirical material, we analyse the short stories from a writing contest held by the Finnish Parliament’s Committee for the Future. The material contains 132 short stories. The analysis gives intriguing insights into how Finnish people – from different locales, of different ages and with differing educational and professional backgrounds – imagine different futures.

What in the World? Storyworlds, Science Fiction, and Futures Studies

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:41:12 GMT

title: What in the World? Storyworlds, Science Fiction, and Futures Studies abstract: This article looks at how futures studies can use storyworlds to address some of the challenges the field faces. It provides an overview of social constructionism, integral theory/integral futures, and sense-making in the context of the current evolution of futures methodologies. This article also examines the role of narratives generally and science fiction in particular in exploring and communicating about the future. An overview of what storyworlds are and how they have been used in science fiction and futures studies is followed by a pair of cases studies focused on two worldbuilding projects, one for the fictional world of Rilao and the other for the storyworld created for the 2002 film Minority Report. The article concludes with an analysis of how the worldbuilding process is compatible with social constructionism, integral theory/integral futures, and sense-making.

Science Fiction: The Evolutionary Mythology of the Future

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:39:10 GMT

title: Science Fiction: The Evolutionary Mythology of the Future abstract: Science fiction is the most visible and influential form of futurist thinking in contemporary popular culture. As futurist narrative, science fiction resonates with the psychological disposition to give meaning and purpose to life through stories; it facilitates total person immersion in the future; and it stimulates all the major dimensions of future consciousness. As the “evolutionary mythology of the future,” science fiction facilitates the purposeful evolution of scientifically informed holistic future consciousness. Science fiction encompasses the future of everything and can stimulate cosmic consciousness. Though inspired by the modern scientific vision of reality, science fiction can be traced to ancient myth, with which it shares many features. The distinction between science fiction and fantasy is relative rather than absolute. Science fiction and futures studies exist on a continuum, overlapping, interactive, and mutually beneficial. Science fiction is evolutionary in that it continually builds upon past ideas within its heritage. The scientific theory of cosmic evolution provides the fundamental narrative framework for modern science fiction.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Science Fiction and Futures Studies

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:36:57 GMT

title: Introduction to the Special Issue on Science Fiction and Futures Studies abstract: My book, Contemporary Futurist Thought (2006), presents reviews of well over onehundred different theories, paradigms, and approaches to the future, ranging from the scientific,materialistic, and rationalistic to the spiritual, metaphysical, and humanistic. Reflecting the great contemporary diversity in mindsets and perspectives regarding the future, the book also includes a key chapter on science fiction. I see in science fiction a literary and narrative approach to the future, and have described it as nothing less than a new “mythology of the future.” Why “mythology”? Myth, which emerged in ancient human history, provided many visions, narratives, and prophecies of the future that still influence the minds of countless millions across the globe. Having a deep fascination with science fiction since my youth, I see the genre in its contemporary form as offering modern myths about the future, and significantly contributing into the great wealth and diversity of contemporary paradigms and approaches to the future.

Concluding Comments: Developing a Strategy for Accelerating the Emergence of a Sustainable Global System

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:33:23 GMT

title: Concluding Comments: Developing a Strategy for Accelerating the Emergence of a Sustainable Global System abstract: Unacceptable global risks Humanity is now facing multiple existential problems including increasing shortages of fresh water and arable land, climate change, the loss of biodiversity, nuclear war and pandemics (e.g. WEF, 2016). Without a major course correction there is little evidence that future generations will inherit a safe and sustainable planet.

Futures Journalism A Strategy to Shift Our Focus from Current Affairs to Long-Term Solutions

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:31:38 GMT

title: Futures Journalism A Strategy to Shift Our Focus from Current Affairs to Long-Term Solutions abstract: Journalists have traditionally reported current affairs – or the very recent past – with the purpose of keeping their audience up to date. Yesterday’s news was quickly considered waste in a rapid consumption model typical of an industry nurtured by advertising.

A New Accounting and Taxation Paradigm

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:30:02 GMT

title: A New Accounting and Taxation Paradigm abstract: This paper responds to e.g. UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, COP 21’s Paris Agreement and the ongoing work within the EU/EC to develop more responsive tax systems across Members States. Although many such reports and proposals have been issued, and some useful tools developed to facilitate environmental impact-assessment in economic terms (e.g. SEEA), the platform for this debate still remains the century-old assumption that income and profit must constitute a basis for taxation. This paper describes why and how the tax system must be even more fundamentally redesigned; (i) from being a tool that first and foremost is for the generation of public income and the discouragement of some (but not all) social, health and environmental ills (by increased levies). (ii) to being a tool that first and foremost reduces the need for corrective government action and expenditures – by guiding corporate activities (and hence eventually also those of the general public) towards what benefits society at large – leading to better socioenvironmental conditions.

A Win-Win Strategy for Fossil-Fuel Producers and Environmentalists

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:27:29 GMT

title: A Win-Win Strategy for Fossil-Fuel Producers and Environmentalists abstract: Humanity now faces a dangerous dilemma: on one hand leading scientists predict that if we continue to burn coal, gas and oil the environmental consequences are likely to be catastrophic (e.g. Hansen et al., 2013); on the other hand many economists argue that if we stop using fossil fuels our industrial civilization will run out of energy and collapse (e.g. Canes, 2015). Although renewable technologies are beginning to compete with fossil fuels in the production of electricity, electricity is only 20% of energy use (IEA, 2014). In other areas—e.g. most heating, industrial production and transport—renewable alternatives are either non-existent or not yet cost-competitive.

Until 2100 there is a Plenty of Hope at the Bottom of Society and Out There in the Cosmos

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:25:33 GMT

title: Until 2100 there is a Plenty of Hope at the Bottom of Society and Out There in the Cosmos abstract: The universe of matter-energy unlike its apparent complexity could be extraordinary simple. For example, if you would like to know how much matter-energy can be squeezed into a volume of space as in a star without it shrinking under its own gravitational pull and turning into a blackhole you can solve Einstein’s field equations of curved spacetime to arrive at a simple equation that has been named after the physicist Hans Adolph Buchdahl who discovered it. The maximum mass-energy allowable inside a sphere to ensure a static Star is obtained from Buchdahl’s Theorem; that is providing a theoretical upper limit: M(max)=4/9*R/G*c^2

They are Wrong: The Work Does Not End an Essay

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:23:15 GMT

title: They are Wrong: The Work Does Not End an Essay abstract: The ‘end of work’ discussion (e.g., Adam Schaff, 1985; Jeremy Rifkin, 1995) has been concentrated on the narrow ‘paid job’ concept of work. Even futures researchers too often take this narrow concept as self-evident, so they follow job forecasts meticulously. Keeping people disposable is, however, a core value of the monetized profit economy. Automation has gotten rid of a lot of human workers and their jobs, but official statistics do not tell much about the total amount of work.

The JRC Scenario Exploration System - From Study to Serious Game

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:21:19 GMT

title: The JRC Scenario Exploration System - From Study to Serious Game abstract: This report describes how the European Commission engaged in developing a serious game in order to engage stakeholders with foresight scenarios created to support the EU policy-making process. Four scenarios were created through a classic scenario building methodology (2X2 matrix), describing possible transitions towards a more sustainable future for the EU in 2035. These scenarios were used as a basis to design a serious game to help players engage in systemic thinking, discover and create alternative futures, and create novel engagements between stakeholders. The game was developed over a four month period and entailed running 10 prototyping sessions involving players from various services of the European Commission and other organizations (industry, civil society, academia, etc.). A system was developed to be able to harvest the stories created during the gaming sessions as a basis for de-briefing, further discussions and strategic analyses after the game. Ultimately, the game has demonstrated its usefulness and value for both players and organizers, and our reflections on the development process offer insights as to game design strategies and how educational outcomes and principles can be effectively mapped onto game mechanics.

A Better Governance for a Better Future

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:18:50 GMT

title: A Better Governance for a Better Future abstract: The paper deals with the issue of whether a sustainable future for humankind can be reached or not. If not, human existence would not come to an end, but the quality of existence would considerably deteriorate. For many reasons, it is not easy to get onto a sustainable track. Doing so will require the equivalent of surgery on a “living body”. And many powerful vested interests are in the way. If success can at all be achieved, it will require considerable changes in global governance. The restricted quality of global governance today is a key deficit of the world we live in today. The author was often asked, what system of global governance rules for the world to implement, if one had the power to do so. The paper gives the answer to that question in the form of twelve interrelated elements of global governance for a sustainable future.

A ThriveAbility Scenario: Toward Thriving, Integrative Human Beings in a Thriving, Integrative, Global World

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:16:54 GMT

title: A ThriveAbility Scenario: Toward Thriving, Integrative Human Beings in a Thriving, Integrative, Global World abstract: In pursuing our personal, inter-personal and global development from birth to wisdom, we encounter more or less satisfactory opportunities in more or less satisfactory living conditions to grow our various capabilities. Integrative maps with their mappings of various practices, such as Barrett Brown’s Conscious Leader Development Framework (2015) and the ThriveAbility’s Foundation’s ThriveAbility Journey (Wood, 2015), can prove to be useful guides for many of us. Both the CLDF and ThriveAbility Journey provide contexts in which we can acknowledge that we can wake up our noetic heart—the seer who sees our inner worlds of images, thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories in our waking and dreaming states (Smith, 2012); grow up our senses and faculties through various levels of complexity in our body-mind; tune up our various capabilities so that they are operating effectively; clean up any messes we are involved in; connect up with others in collaborative engagements; and show up in our lives as fully alive thriving human beings with the capabilities to be able to address in healthy ways our current issues in personal, inter-personal and global thriveability.

Interior Transformation on the Pathway to a Viable Future

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:13:47 GMT

title: Interior Transformation on the Pathway to a Viable Future abstract: A common response to the global sustainability crisis is to argue that human values and culture need to transform. However, the nature of this interior transformation is rarely explored in any detail. Instead, transformation is held up uncritically as the saviour that can get us out of trouble. In this paper, I apply a personal causal layered analysis (CLA) to tease out the dimensions of interior transformation for a viable future in more detail. The analysis draws out competing narratives of interior transformation and explores the potential of these narratives to facilitate transformation of values and consciousness. A story of a thriving Earth emerges as a key cultural resource for interior transformation.

Adopting a Transdisciplinary Attitude in the Classroom, to Create a Viable Future

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:11:35 GMT

title: Adopting a Transdisciplinary Attitude in the Classroom, to Create a Viable Future abstract: To change our future we have to change the way our society educates children. Our modern system of education is mainly interested in formatting children to serve growth, consumption and competition. Over the years, the person has been erased to become a function to nourish blinded consumerism. This way of thinking and doing has participated in creating complex unsustainability in all spheres of our society governed by the power of profit. This being said, changing educational systems would take too long and the need for a viable future cannot wait. In this article, I demonstrate that a solution lies in the way teachers could approach their class in order to initiate a transformation from inside the existing system. The content of what they teach stays the same, but adopting a Transdisciplinary Attitude, teachers switch priority in order to exercise and extend their Duty of Care: care for individuals, communities and human species among other species. Doing so, it becomes possible to prioritise student’s quality of being while disciplines taught become instruments to help the child flourish, not the opposite. Then, a powerful peaceful insurrection of consciousness begins.

Education for Sustainable Development - Learning for Transformation. The Example of Germany

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:09:30 GMT

title: Education for Sustainable Development - Learning for Transformation. The Example of Germany abstract: This paper addresses education as the central element of sustainable development. In the last decades several international commissions and organizations agreed on the importance of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), resulting in the proclamation of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) by the United Nations in 2004. Mainly based on the experiences of the UN Decade of ESD (DESD) in Germany, the paper introduces the concept ESD and especially the concept of Gestaltungskompetenz, which focuses on specific skills and capabilities needed to decide and act in situations of uncertainty and complexity. Significant achievements as well as shortcomings and challenges in implementing ESD are described and the Global Action Programme (GAP) is introduced as a significant advancement of DESD and a pivotal contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Introduction to the Special Issue on “Exploring Paths to a Viable Future”

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:05:58 GMT

title: Introduction to the Special Issue on “Exploring Paths to a Viable Future” abstract: This Special Issue is focused on “Exploring paths to a viable future: obstacles and opportunities; requirements and strategies”. In our invitation for submissions we said: “Today we find ourselves at a difficult cross-road: although we know that business as usual is unsustainable, the path to a viable future is not clear…. This call for papers asks for articles,reports and essays exploring the enormous challenge of how the global political economy can be rapidly transformed into a sustainable system.”

Applying CLA to Technology Planning Old “American West Style” Web Homesteading -- Exploring Metaphoric Allegories to Enrich Four Internet Sustainability Scenarios

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:03:03 GMT

title: Applying CLA to Technology Planning Old “American West Style” Web Homesteading -- Exploring Metaphoric Allegories to Enrich Four Internet Sustainability Scenarios abstract: This essay examines four possible trajectories for global internet growth through the macrolens of an old American West metaphor. The essay attempts to postulate four possible alternative futures. Sustained growth of the internet is not a given and may depend heavily upon outside factors that involve a rich blending of social, technological, and regulatory, factors combined with an economically viable business climate.

Bewextra: Creating and Inferring Explicit Knowledge of Needs in Organizations

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:00:55 GMT

title: Bewextra: Creating and Inferring Explicit Knowledge of Needs in Organizations abstract: We introduce a new methodological framework, called Bewextra, for the creation of the knowledge of needs in organizations. The development of our framework builds on theoretical engagement with literature from several disciplines including visioning and philosophy of needs as well as empirical data from vision development processes we have accompanied. To the best of our knowledge it is the first theoretical work that describes learning from an envisioned future and the generation of need knowledge as an abductive process in a methodologically replicable way. The advantages and practical implications of our method introduced are discussed in detail.

Human Microevolution in Outer Space

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 05:58:30 GMT

title: Human Microevolution in Outer Space abstract: This article will argue that future outer space flight may cause micro-evolutionary changes to the human body, and will explain the nature of these changes from the point of view of evolutionary medicine. Initial adaptation will be protracted with considerable problems to long term outer space flight, especially inter-generational outer space travellers. The authors examine possible neurobehavioural and psycho-social possibilities for long term outer space travellers due to separation from the biotic environment in which humans have evolved. The authors also develop novel ideas in reducing possible deleterious micro-evolutionary effects during long term outer space flight.