- Email: [email protected]
Planning alternative futures
72
Xews delegates to the first conference, which was held at Glasgow last J u n e (see p. 76). M a n y thought that the papers at that conference were too diffuse and lacking in concrete practical case studies. The timing of the next conference should enable plenty of material to be gathered to demonstrate that technological forecasting activities do produce results and are essential for the effective management of the future. The association was formed last May. It is affiliated to the European Association for Industrial Marketing Research (EVAF), which has a membership of 8oo in 17 countries throughout Europe. The creation of a separate Association
to deal with technological forecasting was necessary since m a n y other persons besides marketing men would be interested in the subject. Several branches have now been formed in various European countries, the first and largest being the United Kingdom branch, which has 50 members and whose secretary is Mr P. D. Wilmot of CIBA (ARL) Ltd., Duxford, Cambridge. One of the first activities of the Association is the compiling of a directory of members so that those with similar interests can readily contact each other. The Association is also planning a series of seminars on particular themes.
Planning alternative futures Doctoral programme at State University of New York Popularized models of the future of m a n and his society have been presented by Orwell in 1984, and by Bennis and Slater in The temporary society. These models represent polarized alternative directions in which man m a y choose to move; toward the mass, alientated, sterile life of x984, or towards the individualized life of participative planning and self-reflective human systems. At the State University of New York at Buffalo, students are being prepared to facilitate the attainment of the latter alternative. The doctoral programme in the policy sciences was designed with the idea that we need not move inevitably towards mass man; its aim is to train social scientists who are competent to fuse scientific inquiry with social action. Rather than adopt the value-free myths of pure science, policy scientists are concerned with goals, values, and outcomes of action. In moving beyond the descriptive and predictive functions of social science, policy scientists will, as clinicians to social systems, attend to diagnosis, intervention, and evaluation of total system performance. The academic plan under which the students will study aims at integrating
training in the relevant disciplines and methods with community and organization involvement. The substantive content of the curriculum includes general systems theory, social research methodology, sociological and psychological perspectives, as well as material on organizational analysis, action research, planned social change, and intervention strategies. Extended supervised field work involving both research and action will be a central element in the training programme. The programme will require working relationships with a variety of outside organizations. Work is now outlined on projects in consumer participation in medical care planning, planning and evaluation in the model cities programme, university organization and change, and suburban-urban cooperation in reducing racial conflict and racism. The reorganized structure of the rapidly expanding university at Buffalo into seven faculties, is designed to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and to link scholarly research with the fields of application and professional practice.
Xews delegates to the first conference, which was held at Glasgow last J u n e (see p. 76). M a n y thought that the papers at that conference were too diffuse and lacking in concrete practical case studies. The timing of the next conference should enable plenty of material to be gathered to demonstrate that technological forecasting activities do produce results and are essential for the effective management of the future. The association was formed last May. It is affiliated to the European Association for Industrial Marketing Research (EVAF), which has a membership of 8oo in 17 countries throughout Europe. The creation of a separate Association
to deal with technological forecasting was necessary since m a n y other persons besides marketing men would be interested in the subject. Several branches have now been formed in various European countries, the first and largest being the United Kingdom branch, which has 50 members and whose secretary is Mr P. D. Wilmot of CIBA (ARL) Ltd., Duxford, Cambridge. One of the first activities of the Association is the compiling of a directory of members so that those with similar interests can readily contact each other. The Association is also planning a series of seminars on particular themes.
Planning alternative futures Doctoral programme at State University of New York Popularized models of the future of m a n and his society have been presented by Orwell in 1984, and by Bennis and Slater in The temporary society. These models represent polarized alternative directions in which man m a y choose to move; toward the mass, alientated, sterile life of x984, or towards the individualized life of participative planning and self-reflective human systems. At the State University of New York at Buffalo, students are being prepared to facilitate the attainment of the latter alternative. The doctoral programme in the policy sciences was designed with the idea that we need not move inevitably towards mass man; its aim is to train social scientists who are competent to fuse scientific inquiry with social action. Rather than adopt the value-free myths of pure science, policy scientists are concerned with goals, values, and outcomes of action. In moving beyond the descriptive and predictive functions of social science, policy scientists will, as clinicians to social systems, attend to diagnosis, intervention, and evaluation of total system performance. The academic plan under which the students will study aims at integrating
training in the relevant disciplines and methods with community and organization involvement. The substantive content of the curriculum includes general systems theory, social research methodology, sociological and psychological perspectives, as well as material on organizational analysis, action research, planned social change, and intervention strategies. Extended supervised field work involving both research and action will be a central element in the training programme. The programme will require working relationships with a variety of outside organizations. Work is now outlined on projects in consumer participation in medical care planning, planning and evaluation in the model cities programme, university organization and change, and suburban-urban cooperation in reducing racial conflict and racism. The reorganized structure of the rapidly expanding university at Buffalo into seven faculties, is designed to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and to link scholarly research with the fields of application and professional practice.