.png){kind=icon}
Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. (2010). Shaping the future: Solving social problems through business strategy. New York: CECP. http://cecp.co/pdfs/resources/Shaping-the-Future.pdf
This report is based on research conducted by the McKinsey & Company. It shows different pathways to sustainable value creation in 2020.
Davies, M.W. (2012). Willful imaginings. In M. Webber & K. Bezanson (Eds.) Rethinking society in the 21st century (3rd ed.). Toronto: Canadian Scholar’s Press.
Terrorism is now defined as a threat to the Western world mostly by the Western media. This author presents her interesting and thought provoking views about intricate links between the Muslim civilization and the predominantly Christianity-based European culture. This knowledge will help political leaders to reconfigure solutions to terrorist activities.
Harai, Y. 2016. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. New York, NY: Signal.
In Homo Deus, Harai recounts the history of homo sapiens and uses this as a starting point to consider what comes next. He looks at topics such an individualism, consciousness and ethics as we make our way towards a more tech-savvy world.
Huddart, S. (2012). Renewing the future: Social innovation systems, sector shift, and Innoweave. Technology Innovation Management Review, 2(7), 5–9. www.timreview.ca/article/574
This article presents new and more effective ways to address complex social challenges.
Imagining Canada’s Future. (2013). Future Challenge Areas and Sub-questions. SSHRC.
http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/society-societe/community-communite/Imagining_Canada_s_Future_Technical_Report-Rapport_technique_d_imaginer_l_avenir_du_Canada-eng.pdf
This report examines the future of Canada in terms of population growth, aspirations of Indigenous people, new ways of learning required, and emerging technology.
Kelly, K. 2017. The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces that Will Shape Our Future. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Over the next thirty years, technology will radically alter how we live our day-to-day lives. Kelly sheds light on the positives that are to come, including virtual reality in the home, artificial intelligence in the objects we manufacture, and an on-demand economy.
Kennelly, J. (2012). Learning to protest: Youth activist cultures in contemporary urban Canada. In M. Webber & K. Bezanson (Eds.) Rethinking society in the 21st century (3rd ed.). Toronto: Canadian Scholar’s Press.
In a time of rapid change and a seemingly never-ending parade of injustices, contemporary young people are faced with dilemmas and contradictions that their parents did not encounter. This article discusses youth activism as an emerging social problem.
Ross, A. 2017. The Industries of the Future. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
The Industries of the Future looks at the trends in technology, work and human ethics over the next ten years. Ross is concerned with industries that will shape our economic future and the role the high-tech will play in this change.
Sen, A. (2012) Population: Delusion and reality. In M. Webber & K. Bezanson (Eds.) Rethinking society in the 21st century (3rd ed.). Toronto: Canadian Scholar’s Press.
Foresight into social problems will come from a critical analysis of the current situations and past trends. The author critically examines the “problems of population” by looking at various countries and facets of the population growth.
Recommended Videos
Feeding the Future: https://www.ted.com/talks/jack_sinclair_feeding_the_future
Jack Sinclair, executive vice president of Walmart US Grocery division talks about how society is going to keep up food production as we move forward. In 2050 approximately double the food production will be necessary to feed the expected population growth.
Fusion is Energy’s Future: https://www.ted.com/talks/steven_cowley_fusion_is_energy_s_future
Physicist Stephen Cowley argues that nuclear fusion is the only sustainable practice moving forward to solve our fuel crisis.
Michio Kaku: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMxmDPDyQ7o
Kaku talks about outer space in the future and the possibility of a fully thriving sustainable civilization in outer space.
Tim O’Reilly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3ha6vHapcI
Tim O’Reilly talks at Google about the future in the context of technology and the role it has played in confusing and yet developing our economic world. In this talk, he looks at the downsides and upsides of what the future will look like if technology continues to develop at its current pace.
Unnatural Selection: https://www.netflix.com/watch/80208833?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2Ca074b662-d37c-4487-9ed5-86e53cea1dd2-335840126%2C%2C&ad=true
This Netflix series looks at the science and future potential of genetic editing. Gene editing has the possibility of curing diseases but also selecting a baby’s traits before they are born.
Recommended Websites
Future Technology That Will Change the World: http://youtu.be/rxl4a4dEt9Q
A fascinating review of new technologies emerging in the world.
ONE: https://www.one.org/international/
ONE is a project to end World Poverty by 2030. They believe that the answer to ending extreme poverty is not going to come in the form of charity, but rather through justice and equality. There are ONE teams across the world combatting poverty through activism.
Our World in Data: https://ourworldindata.org/future-population-growth
Our World in Data explores population trends in the future. It predicts and showcases what will happen to the human population as we launch our way into the coming decades.
The Future of Healthcare: https://thefutureishere.economist.com/healthcare/
The future of healthcare is a component of The Economist that looks at trends in the future of health. It looks at predictions for various countries around the world and the changes that will take place in hospital settings.
World Future Society: www.wfs.org
The World Future Society is a non-profit educational and scientific organization in Maryland, founded in 1996. The society investigates how social, economic, and technological developments are shaping the future. Through its journal Futurist, the society raises awareness of change and encourages development of creative solutions.