In recent decades, life ? and education and work in particular ? have has tended to narrow. What do I mean by this? Simply that students are expected to develop particular specialisations very early and that this knowledge-narrowness (fuelled by curricula that are increasingly based on the vocational needs of employers) is carried through to the work environment. Once these ?job-ready? students are inside organisations they often narrow their thinking even further until they end up as intelligent idiots ? people that know a lot about very little.

Airlines, hotels, travel & tourism

With the premiumisation trend seeing a boom in first-class travelling, airlines are tripping over themselves to provide their passengers with a seemingly ridiculous range of extras. It?s hard to believe that a decade ago, business class passengers sat in seats (albeit fully reclinable ones). Now it seems that a flat bed hardly qualifies as adequate, with airlines offering everything from feather pillows and quilts to double beds or private suites for those travelling in first class.

Healthcare, medicine & pharmaceuticals

If you thought user-generated content was limited to the media and entertainment industries you?d be wrong. The medical industry has recently seen an outbreak of cancer videos, wellness wikis and bulimia blogs that borders on a epidemic. In many ways this is nothing new. Online support groups have been around for at least 15 years and the distribution of material related to specific medical conditions via physical meetings has been around much longer than that.

Healthcare, medicine & pharmaceuticals

If you thought user-generated content was limited to the media and entertainment industries you?d be wrong. The medical industry has recently seen an outbreak of cancer videos, wellness wikis and bulimia blogs that borders on a epidemic. In many ways this is nothing new. Online support groups have been around for at least 15 years and the distribution of material related to specific medical conditions via physical meetings has been around much longer than that.

Money, banking & insurance

Late last year there was a cartoon in the Daily Telegraph (UK) showing a bank cashier pointing a gun at a customer and saying ?Leave your money where it is?.The sign above the cashier said ?Northern Rock?. If you don?t live in the UK the fiasco surrounding Britain?s fifth largest mortgage lender may have gone unnoticed, but in Britain this was the first run on a bank since 1866. So what went so wrong?As recently as July, Northern Rock?s Chief Executive was publicly talking about a ?robust? credit book.

Automotive & transport

In the past, the carmakers who were most likely to succeed were those that offered quality, high performance and low-cost autos (a dedication to this saw the Japanese rise to the forefront of the market). However, with more stringent environmental and safety rules, experts say that the new breed of car manufacturer will succeed by creating a new wave of vehicles that embrace emerging technology (like fuel cell vehicles), rather than trying to adapt existing designs.

Household goods, utilities & services

A strong demand for better home security is seeing a surge in different electronic door locks. Proving especially popular are those that use keyless entry or those that can be installed on existing doors. Tokyo-based Secure Inc?s Selfrico system is designed to provide added security to a traditional lock and is attached to the top of the door. It uses an infrared remote control to move a latch into place, which prevents the door from opening even if the conventional lock system is unlocked.

What?s next in retail? According to Viewpoint magazine, the trends include stores becoming embedded in the local community. This makes a certain amount of sense as it links back to the history of retail and also to the rise of localisation, although citing the Samsung ?Experience? space in the Time Warner Centre in New York isn?t the best example I?ve ever heard of. Another trend that?s highlighted is the LATTE Factor ? Local, Authentic, Trustworthy, Traceable and Ethical. Spot on with that one.

Retail, shopping & leisure

A decade or so ago, many exuberant e-experts were predicting the death of bricks-and-mortar stores due to the rapid emergence of online stores and e-tail. It didn?t happen. Instead the Internet has complimented physical stores and given customers the choice of how and where they shop. The Internet has also fundamentally changed consumer behaviour because it has shifted power in the form of information from the retailer to the customer.

2008 Food Forecasts

With the New Year upon us, experts are rolling out their predictions for what the food industry is set to look like in 2008. US blog, Food Democracy, says the future is generally bright, with healthy eating trends featuring heavily on their list. Pressure on companies to un-muddy the waters of food labelling could see the removal of unknown or unpronounceable preservatives, additives or colours from their products. Fortified and functional foods are still on the scene, with the next big craze touted as phytonutrients.

Paul Cezanne once observed, ?The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.? With rapid rises in the price of basic foods now leading to social instability in some areas, he may not be far off the mark. Governments are struggling to keep a lid on inflation, attempting to artificially control the prices for staples such as bread, dairy, maize and rice in the wake of public outcry. With an election looming in Russia, the Kremlin forced suppliers of milk and bread to freeze prices, while countries including India, Mexico and Yemen have experienced food riots.

The Future of Magazines

In the US and Europe, magazines (like newspapers) are in trouble, with circulations either static or falling. Emap (UK) is up for sale and there are rumours that Time Warner will soon sell Time Inc, the world?s largest magazine company. In Germany it?s much the same story, with Bertelsmann allegedly attempting to offload Gruner + Jahr, its magazine division. So is the sun slowly setting on the magazine industry? Business models are definitely under threat as readers and advertisers migrate online, but things may prove to be healthier than suspected.

News, media & communications

Websites like Facebook and MySpace are among the main exports of the new Web 2.0 economy. At the last count, Facebook had more than 50 million accounts worldwide, while MySpace is allegedly topping 200 million accounts globally.The reasons for this stratospheric growth are legion and include the fact that sites such as these allow teens (the primary audience) to conveniently keep in touch and coalesce around an ever-changing universe of friends, interests and ideas.

An everlasting light bulb

A team of researchers working for British company Ceravision has devised a new form of lamp that could see the end of the traditional incandescent light bulb. Though a well-known symbol for a bright idea, the light bulb is not so smart ? wasting over 95% of the energy it consumes over its relatively short life span. The Ceravision team have devised a lamp that will not only be more energy efficient, but longer lasting and more environmentally friendly to boot.

Science, technology & design

Research labs around the world are developing technology that could see a new generation of unmanned vehicles take to the sky. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been around since the World War I (where they were used as flying bombs), but in recent time, technology has advanced to a point where UAVs are smaller, cheaper and more sophisticated ? some are small enough to fit into a briefcase. The affordability and adaptability of contemporary UAVs also means they are no longer just a military tool, but are now used by police, surveyors and scientists for any job in which a manned aircraft would be too big, costly or impractical.

Cyber-warfare and virtual espionage

According to a report published by McAfee, a software security firm, virtual espionage will be one of the chief online threats in 2008. The report ? the Virtual Criminology Report 2007 ? claims that around 120 countries already engage in virtual espionage and the Chinese government is one of the main perpetrators. How true these claims are is unclear but one can assume that cyber-terrorism is something we?ll be seeing more of. Potential cyber targets include financial markets, telecommunications infrastructure, government computer networks, electricity services and air traffic control systems.

Government, politics & public services

The next few decades are immensely important for China as the country moves from totalitarian rule towards a more lenient and flexible system. The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) no longer controls every aspect of daily life, although so far there appears to be no sign of it giving up total control in strategically important areas. So, looking ahead, what could go wrong?One of the biggest problems, according to John Lee, author of Will China Fail?

New Trends for 2008

1. The rise of N11 Countries.
Just getting to grips with the BRIC nations, ?Chindia? and the CHIME countries? Well prepare yourself for N11 ? a term created by Goldman Sachs to describe the 11 countries just behind economic powerhouses such as China, India, Russia and Brazil. The 11 specifically refers to: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, South Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey and Vietnam.
2. Reverse migration.
The next few years will witness the beginnings of a ?reverse knowledge migration?.

Az ember utáni jövõ

Despite the fact that you are reading what I have written, it?s not immediately obvious whether I can actually write. Spelling and grammar checks have the ability to cover a multitude of sins. There are even software programs such as Newnovelist.com that teach writers how to create characters and plot structure. Software like Auto-Tune does much the same thing for singers, including singers that can?t actually sing. In other words, we have entered a world where talent can be enhanced or totally manufactured through technology.

A számítógépezés szociális hatásai

One of my favourite subjects is the unintended consequences of technology. Linked to this is what some people call the social aspects of computing.Internet-users now have to strategise how to convey themselves in cyberspace ?something called ?impression management?. The issue has become complex because people tend to have an array of digital personas and personalities and these need to be tailored to different audiences ranging from co-workers to family and friends.

Társadalom és kultúra

If you ask someone over the age of 40, or even 30, where they most liked to play as a child they will invariably answer that it was somewhere out of sight from adults and their parents. But ask someone younger and you?ll probably get a different answer. The reason is that our notion of childhood ? and specifically the risks associated with childhood ? has shifted. These days we micro-manage our young, filling their every waking hour with ?useful? activities.