2013 14 State Of The Future

The 2013-14 State of the Future is the most compelling overview of humanity's situation, potentials for the future, and what we should do today - in clear, precise, and readable text with unparalleled breadth and depth. It is the 17th annual report card on the future of the world produced by The Millennium Project, an accumulated intelligence from over 4,500 thought leaders selected by its 50 Nodes around the world. It covers the global landscape with a short overviews with regional considerations of 15 global challenges such as energy, food, water, science & technology, ethics, economics, health, education, organized crime, decisionmaking and foresight, gender relations, demographics, war & peace, and others. Together with the executive summary, they are ideal for busy executives, thought leaders, corporate strategic planners, public policy experts, policy advisers, non-profit issues organizations, teachers and professors of world issues, and anyone interested in a global overview of our prospects for the future – with discussions of problems and potential solutions.

The book compiles 19 authors who approach the 15 Global Challenges identified by the Millennium Project as the main threats and opportunities for the present Millennium as a methodological conceptual framework for Mexico's futures. The first part launches diagnoses that are formulated on each Challenge and visions and reflections are proposed. The second part presents three possible scenarios for Mexico by 2050 and, finally, it concludes with a proposal for guiding projects by 2050.

In the age of urban geopolitics, in cooperation with the major city networks and initiatives, interconnected coastal cities lead towards a more resilient sustainable future. This book raises global awareness on the challenges and opportunities for coastal cities and the myriad of issues and stakeholders which impact them. The book offers a panoramic integrated view of the most critical urban coastal sustainability issues shaping the urban horizon of the future. Drawing on the most authoritative studies and asking further questions, the book embraces issues of smart, sustainable and inclusive blue green growth, active social integration, environmental conscience and resilience, food, energy and resource security, exploration and protection of the global ocean, ecosystem-based urban coastal planning and policy and progress in education and science, culture and the arts, coastal urban renaissance and accountable multi-layered governance. From large global ports to small tourism and fishing resorts, sustainable development calls for coastal cities to improve their functions. Coastal cities need to adopt ecosystem-based approaches to manage the land-sea continuum, invest in blue green energy and mobility, attract responsible business investment, and honour the sea as a source of infinite innovation and culture.

Forecasting the future with advanced data models and visualizations. To envision and create the futures we want, society needs an appropriate understanding of the likely impact of alternative actions. Data models and visualizations offer a way to understand and intelligently manage complex, interlinked systems in science and technology, education, and policymaking. Atlas of Forecasts, from the creator of Atlas of Science and Atlas of Knowledge, shows how we can use data to predict, communicate, and ultimately attain desirable futures. Using advanced data visualizations to introduce different types of computational models, Atlas of Forecasts demonstrates how models can inform effective decision-making in education, science, technology, and policymaking. The models and maps presented aim to help anyone understand key processes and outcomes of complex systems dynamics, including which human skills are needed in an artificial intelligence-empowered economy; what progress in science and technology is likely to be made; and how policymakers can future-proof regions or nations. This Atlas offers a driver's seat-perspective for a test-drive of the future.

In Part I, Prof. Targowski takes us through the evolution of modern computing and information systems. While much of this material is familiar to those of us who have lived through these developments, it would definitely not be familiar to our children or our students. He also introduces a perspective that I found both refreshing and useful: looking at the evolution on a country by country basis. For those of us who live in the U.S., it is all too easy to imagine that evolution to be a purely local phenomenon. I found my appreciation of the truly global nature of computing expanding as he walked me through each country’s contributions. In Parts II and III, constituting nearly half of the book, Targowski provides what I would describe as an in-depth case study of the challenges and successes of informatics in Poland. As he tells each story—many of which involved him personally—the reader cannot help but better understand the close relationship between the freedoms that we in the west take for granted and the ability to produce innovations in IT. Even after Poland left the orbit of the former Soviet Union, the remaining vestiges of the old way of thinking remained a major impediment to progress. Being right and being rigorous were far less important than being in tune with the “approved” ways of thinking. There are important lessons to be learned here, particularly as we try to project how IT will evolve in rapidly developing economies such as China. But, from my experience, they apply equally well to western academia, where moving outside of preferred values and patterns of research can lead a scholar to be ignored or even disparaged. In Part IV, Targowski presents a bold, forward-looking synthesis of informatics and informing science in the future. Building upon articles recently published in Informing Science: The International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, he presents a conceptual scheme of historical informing waves that builds upon historians such as Toynbee. He then considers how these trends will necessarily force us to rethink how we develop and apply IT. He does not steer away from the controversial. But he also provides cogent arguments for all his predictions and recommendations.

A provocative and timely look at the current state of global economics, particularly how the state-owned companies of Russia, China, Latin America, and other emerging markets are influencing how people work, how they consume, and how they prosper. The global economy is changing: experts are noting slow growth in the advanced economies, greater volatility in international markets, and the emergence of state-owned companies in the competitive marketplace. This forward-looking reference explores the role that state capitalism plays within the political structures of countries throughout the world. The text begins with an introduction to state capitalism, moves into an in-depth examination of several countries and regions, and concludes with a discussion on the future of state capitalism in the next decade. Coauthors Scott B. MacDonald and Jonathan Lemco examine the challenges that state-owned companies face in the global economy, including a weak legal and commercial infrastructure, a conflict of interest between politics and business, and massive corruption in local and regional governments. A close review of the perils of state capitalism based on meritocracy devolving into crony capitalism invites debate on the longevity of this economic system versus a free market economy.

This book provides a comprehensive conceptual framework, case studies, workshop processes and designs for academic development programs supported by two key concepts: Participatory Action Learning and Action Research (PALAR)—a conceptual integration of action learning and participatory action research—and action leadership.

Glioblastoma is an aggressive incurable primary tumor of the central nervous system. Median overall survival is in the range of 1.5 years even in selected clinical trials populations. Many features contribute to this therapeutic challenge including high intratumoral and intertumoral heterogeneity, resistance to therapy, migration and invasion, immunosuppression. With the access of novel highthroughput technologies, significant progress has been made to understand molecular and immunological signatures underlying the pathology of glioblastoma. Clinical trial designs have shifted from investigating broad “one-for-all” treatment approaches to precision oncology designs. The collection of contributions in this book aim at providing researchers and clinicians an update on different aspects of glioblastoma, i.e. progress in basic, preclinical and clinical research.