The World Future Society is an independent, nonprofit, scientific and educational organization concerned with how people will live in the coming decades. Founded in 1966, the Society currently has over 25,000 members worldwide. Individuals and groups from all nations are eligible to join the Society and participate in its programs and activities. The Society publishes a number of periodicals and books, sponsors local chapters, and holds conferences and assemblies. The publications include THE FUTURIST, a bimonthly magazine reporting trends, forecasts, and ideas about the future; FUTURE SURVEY, a monthly digest of abstracts of futures-relevant literature; and FUTURES RESEARCH QUARTERLY, a professional journal providing information on more technical future-oriented topics. The Society also maintains a unique bookstore that enables members to purchase future-related books, cassette recordings of Society conference sessions, videocassettes, and more, all at special member prices. Chapters of the World Future Society are active in both the United States and abroad. Chapters offer speakers, educational courses, seminars, and other opportunities for members in local areas to meet and work together. World Future Society conferences and general assemblies provide opportunities to hear and meet many outstanding thinkers. The Society's next major conference will be held in Washington, B.C., in August 1989.

Futures studies is a new field of inquiry involving systematic and explicit thinking about alternative futures. Wendell Bell's two-volume work Foundations of Futures Studies is widely acknowledged as the fundamental work on the subject. In Volume 2, Bell goes beyond possible and probable futures to the study of preferable futures. He shows that concern with ethics, morality, and human values follows directly from the futurist purposes of discovering or inventing, examining, and proposing desirable futures. He examines moral judgments as an inescapable aspect of all decision-making and conscious action, even in the everyday lives of ordinary people.Now available in paperback with a new preface from the author, Volume 2 of Foundations of Futures Studies moves beyond cultural relativism to critical evaluation. Bell compares depictions of the good society by utopian writers, describes objective methods of moral judgment, assesses religion and law as sources of what is morally right, documents the existence of universal human values, and shows that if human beings are to thrive in the global society of the future, some human values must be changed.

Futures studies is a new field of inquiry involving systematic and explicit thinking about alternative futures. It aims to demystify the future, make possibilities for the future more known to us, and increase human control over the future. Author Wendell Bell brings together futurist intellectual tools, describing and explaining not only the methods, but also the nature, concepts, theories, and exemplars of the field. Now available in paperback with a new preface from the author, Foundations of Future Studies is the fundamental work on the subject. Bell illustrates how this sphere of intellectual activity offers hope for the future of humanity and concrete ways of realizing that hope in the real world of everyday life. His book will appeal to all interested in futures studies, sociology, economics, political science, and history.

This is the reference work that librarians and business people have been waiting for--Lorna Daniells's updated guide to selected business books and reference sources. Completely revised, with the best, most recent information available, this edition contains several new sections covering such topics as competitive intelligence, economic and financial measures, and health care marketing. Handbooks, bibliographies, indexes and abstracts, online databases, dictionaries, directories, statistical sources, and periodicals are also included. Speedy access to up-to-date information is essential in the competitive, computerized business world. This classic guide will be indispensable to anyone doing business research today.

Publication of the Global Studies Directory represents an unprecedented project in world practice. Based on the professional assessment by a large international team of experts, the Directory offers information on the most well-known scholars, political and public figures who have made outstanding contributions to the establishment and development of global studies or made a fundamental impact on the formation of global world. The Directory also contains comprehensive information about organizations, periodicals and special literature of direct relevance to the theory and practice of globalization and fully demonstrates the state of affairs in the field of study on a global level. This project is a continuation of many years of research which first resulted in the publication of the Global Studies Encyclopedic Dictionary, the companion publication to the Directory.

Futures studies is a new field of inquiry involving systematic and explicit thinking about alternative futures. It aims to demystify the future, make possibilities for the future more known to us, and increase human control over the future. This book summarizes and expands contributions of futurists to the envisioning power and well-being of humanity. Bell brings together futurist intellectual tools, describing and explaining not only the methods, but also the nature, concepts, theories, and exemplars of the field.Foundations of Futures Studies fulfills Bell's five main purposes for writing this two-volume effort: (1) to show that futures studies, like other fields from anthropology to zoology, exists as an identifiable sphere of intellectual activity; (2) to create a teaching instrument that can be used as a basic text for core courses in futures studies; (3) to futurize the thinking of specialists in other disciplines; (4) to contribute to the further development and improvement of futures studies; and (5) to provide tools to empower both ordinary people and leaders to act in ways that create better futures for themselves and their societies. Bell maintains that despite its sometimes doomsday rhetorical style and widespread use by special interests, futures studies offers hope for the future of humanity and concrete ways of realizing that hope in the real world of our everyday lives. It will appeal to all interested in futures studies, as well as sociologists, economists, political scientists, and historians.

This excellent reference traces the construction and maintenance of the digital collections and services that have been available day in and day out to users worldwide for more than a decade. It examines applicable guidelines for any library looking to build and manage systems, conduct and evaluate projects, and scout new directions for mainstreami