Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential

Last updated

Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential
World Problems and Human Potential Cover 1976.jpg
Cover of the first 1976 edition
AuthorEditorial team
CountryBelgium
LanguageEnglish
SubjectHumankind problems and solutions
GenreEncyclopedia
PublisherUnion of International Associations
Publication date
1976–present
Media typePrint from 1976 to 1995, CD-ROM in 1995, online since 2000

The Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential (EWPHP) [1] is a research work published by the Union of International Associations (UIA). It is available online since 2000, [2] and was previously available as a CD-ROM and as a three-volume book. [3]

Contents

The EWPHP began under the direction of Anthony Judge in 1972 and eventually came to comprise more than 100,000 entries and 700,000 links, as well as hundreds of pages of introductory notes and commentaries on problems, strategies, values, concepts of human development, and various intellectual resources.

Contributors and history

The project was originally conceived in 1972 by James Wellesley-Wesley, [4] who provided financial support through the foundation Mankind 2000, [5] and Anthony Judge, by whom the work was orchestrated. [6]

Work on the first edition started with funds from Mankind 2000, matching those of the UIA. The publisher Klaus Saur, of Munich, provided funds, in conjunction with those from the UIA, for work on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions. Seed funding for the third volume of the 4th edition was also provided on behalf of Mankind 2000. [7] In the nineties, seed funding was provided, again on behalf of Mankind 2000, for computer equipment which subsequently allowed the UIA to develop a website and make available for free the 1994–1995 edition of the EWPHP databases. The UIA, on the initiative of Nadia McLaren, a consultant ecologist who has been a primary editor for the EWPHP, [8] instigated two multi-partner projects funded by the European Union, with matching funds from the UIA. The work done through those two projects, Ecolynx: Information Context for Biodiversity Conservation [9] (mainly) and Interactive Health Ecology Access Links, [10] resulted in a fifth, web-based edition of the EWPHP in 2000. [11] Two other individuals supported the project: Robert Jungk of Mankind 2000, and Christian de Laet [12] of the UIA. [7] [13]

EWPHP began as a processing of documents gathered from entities profiled in the Yearbook of International Organizations . The United Nations Library in Geneva facilitated access to other material over two decades. [13] [14] At one point, the Institute of Cultural Affairs International was contractually associated. [7] The Goals, Processes and Indicators of Development project was led by Johan Galtung of the United Nations University, [15] in conjunction with Anthony Judge. [7]

The principal editors of the EWPHP's editions have been Jon Jenkins, Maureen Jenkins, Owen Victor, Jacqueline Nebel, Nadia McLaren, and Tomáš Fülöpp. In 2005, following disagreement over the partnership contract, Anthony Judge, in his role as executive secretary of Mankind 2000, reframed the EWPHP as having been a strategic initiative of the Union of Intelligible Associations.[ according to whom? ] [16] [17]

Tomáš Fülöpp maintained the EWPHP databases at the UIA until sometime after January 2012. Tomáš Fülöpp also acts as manager along with senior editors Nadia McLaren and Kimberly Trathen.

Cover of the 1995 CD-ROM Encyc CD 1995.jpg
Cover of the 1995 CD-ROM

Editions

1st edition 19762nd edition 19863rd edition 19914th edition 1994-5Online edition 2000
World Problems7,44410,23313,16712,20356,564
Human Development2881,5964,0514,4564,817
Values7042,2702,2703,2543,257
Strategies08,335029,54232,547

Critical reception

There have been several reviews of the EWPHP. [23] One of the criticisms came from the American Library Association in 1987: "The board considers the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential a problematic monument to idiosyncrasy, confusion, and obfuscation that certainly is not worth purchasing at any price." [24] Similarly, The Guardian was critical in a review article published in 1992.[ citation needed ] The Wall Street Journal published a review of the EWPHP initiative in December 2012. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union of International Associations</span> International organization

The Union of International Associations (UIA) is a non-profit non-governmental research institute and documentation center based in Brussels, Belgium, and operating under United Nations mandate. It was founded in 1907 under the name Central Office of International Associations by Henri La Fontaine, the 1913 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Paul Otlet, a founding father of what is now called information science.

<i>World Brain</i> Collection of essays by H. G. Wells

World Brain is a collection of essays and addresses by the English science fiction pioneer, social reformer, evolutionary biologist and historian H. G. Wells, dating from the period of 1936–1938. Throughout the book, Wells describes his vision of the World Brain: a new, free, synthetic, authoritative, permanent "World Encyclopaedia" that could help world citizens make the best use of universal information resources and make the best contribution to world peace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Club of Rome</span> Political and economic think tank

The Club of Rome is a nonprofit, informal organization of intellectuals and business leaders whose goal is a critical discussion of pressing global issues. The Club of Rome was founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, Italy. It consists of one hundred full members selected from current and former heads of state and government, UN administrators, high-level politicians and government officials, diplomats, scientists, economists, and business leaders from around the globe. It stimulated considerable public attention in 1972 with the first report to the Club of Rome, The Limits to Growth. Since 1 July 2008, the organization has been based in Winterthur, Switzerland.

The Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists (ECAS) was founded by Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd in May, 1946, primarily as a fundraising and policy-making agency. Its aims were to warn the public of the dangers associated with the development of nuclear weapons, promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and ultimately work towards world peace, which was seen as the only way that nuclear weapons would not be used again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johan Galtung</span> Norwegian sociologist and peace scholar (1930–2024)

Johan Vincent Galtung was a Norwegian sociologist and the principal founder of the discipline of peace and conflict studies. He was the main founder of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) in 1959 and served as its first director until 1970. He also established the Journal of Peace Research in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project A119</span> American plan to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon

Project A119, also known as A Study of Lunar Research Flights, was a top-secret plan developed in 1958 by the United States Air Force. The aim of the project was to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon, which would help in answering some of the mysteries in planetary astronomy and astrogeology. If the explosive device detonated on the surface, and not in a lunar crater, the flash of explosive light would have been faintly visible to people on Earth with their naked eye. This was meant as a show of force resulting in a possible boosting of domestic morale in the capabilities of the United States, a boost that was needed after the Soviet Union took an early lead in the Space Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peace Research Institute Oslo</span>

The Peace Research Institute Oslo is a private research institution in peace and conflict studies, based in Oslo, Norway, with around 100 employees. It was founded in 1959 by a group of Norwegian researchers led by Johan Galtung, who was also the institute's first director (1959–1969). It publishes the Journal of Peace Research, also founded by Johan Galtung.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peace and conflict studies</span> Field of study

Peace and conflict studies or conflict analysis and resolution is a social science field that identifies and analyzes violent and nonviolent behaviors as well as the structural mechanisms attending conflicts, with a view towards understanding those processes which lead to a more desirable human condition. A variation on this, peace studies (irenology), is an interdisciplinary effort aiming at the prevention, de-escalation, and solution of conflicts by peaceful means, thereby seeking "victory" for all parties involved in the conflict.

The International Congress Calendar is a calendar of events organized by non-profit international organizations, mainly those organizations which are included in the Yearbook of International Organizations. It has been published since 1960 by the Union of International Associations (UIA) and includes over 425,000 meetings. Over 15,000 new meetings are included every year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Wolrige-Gordon</span>

Patrick Wolrige-Gordon, was a Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josué de Castro</span> Brazilian physician

Josué de Castro, born Josué Apolônio de Castro, was a Brazilian physician, nutritionist, geographer, writer, public administrator, and activist against world hunger.

The book International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics is an authoritative encyclopedia for systems theory, cybernetics, the complex systems science, which covers both theories and applications in areas as engineering, biology, medicine and social sciences. This book first published in 1997 aimed to give an overview over more than 40 years developments in the field of Systems and Cybernetics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornelis Berkhouwer</span> Dutch politician (1919–1992)

Cornelis "Cees" Berkhouwer was a Dutch politician.

Henry Charles Usborne was a British Labour Party politician and peace activist who defected to the Liberal Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Judge</span>

Anthony Judge, is mainly known for his career at the Union of International Associations (UIA), where he has been Director of Communications and Research, as well as Assistant Secretary-General. He was responsible at the UIA for the development of interlinked databases and for publications based on those databases, mainly the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential, the Yearbook of International Organizations, and the International Congress Calendar. Judge has also personally authored a collection of over 1,600 documents of relevance to governance and strategy-making. All these papers are freely available on his personal website Laetus in Praesens. Now retired from the UIA, he is continuing his research within the context of an initiative called Union of Imaginable Associations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pesticide Action Network</span>

Pesticide Action Network (PAN) is an international coalition of more than 600 NGOs in 90 countries which advocates for less hazardous alternatives to pesticides. It was founded in May 1982 with its first meeting in Penang, Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Internationale des Avocats</span> International non-governmental organization

The Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA) or International Association of Lawyers is an international non-governmental organisation, created in 1927, that brings together more than 2,200 legal professionals from all over the world.

Diwan Chaman Lall was an Indian politician and diplomat who served as a Member of the Rajya Sabha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophia Wadia</span>

Sophia Wadia, née Sophia Camacho, was a Colombian-born naturalized Indian theosophist, littérateur, the founder of PEN All India Centre and the founder editor of its journal, The Indian PEN. She also cofounded The Indian Institute of World Culture, Bengaluru and the Asian Book Trust, Mumbai. The Government of India honoured Wadia in 1960, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for her services to the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marilyn Mehlmann</span> Swedish environmentalist and educator

Marilyn Mehlmann is a Swedish environmentalist and educator.

References

  1. ↑ Redles, David (1987). "Encyclopedia of world problems and human potential". Government Publications Review: 358–361 – via Academia.
  2. ↑ UIA Online Encyclopedia. Union of International Associations.
  3. ↑ Hardcover edition of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential. Union of International Associations.
  4. ↑ In Remembrance of James Wellesley-Wesley. M2000.org (25 April 2007). Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  5. ↑ Mankind 2000 / Humanité 2000. M2000.org (22 February 1999). Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  6. ↑ Encyclopedia Illusions – Rationale for an Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential. Laetusinpraesens.org. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Global strategies project – Introduction: background and acknowledgements. Union of International Associations. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  8. ↑ Nadia McLaren. Union of International Associations. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  9. ↑ Information Context for Biodiversity Conservation Archived 1 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine . Ecolynx. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  10. ↑ Interactive Health Ecology Access Links (IHEAL). Union of International Associations. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  11. 1 2 Initiatives within the framework of the Union of International Associations. Un-intelligible.org (22 February 1999). Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  12. ↑ Christian de Laet. Uia.be (9 December 2008). Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  13. 1 2 Encyclopedia of world problem and human potential project – Overview: background and acknowledgements. Union of International Associations. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  14. ↑ Encyclopedia of world problems and human potential – Assessment: International organizations as a source. Union of International Associations. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  15. ↑ Goals, processes and indicators of development: A project description Galtung J. 1978. HSDPD-9/UNUP, United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan. Also: GPID Project – Goals, Processes and Indicators of Development – Complete list of papers Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ Union of Intelligible Associations. Un-intelligible.org (22 February 1999). Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  17. ↑ Reclaiming the Heritage of Misappropriated Collective Endeavour. Un-intelligible.org. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  18. ↑ See note C in Statistics – Development of Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential (1976–1995)
  19. ↑ UIA – Saur Relations: Sharing a Documentary Pilgrimage. Uia.be (5 July 1974). Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  20. ↑ http://www.uia.be/node/327829 Book review of November–December 1991.
  21. ↑ UIA Online Databases. Union of International Associations. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  22. ↑ Statistics – Development of Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential (1976–1995). Union of International Associations. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  23. ↑ Selected reviews of the Encyclopedia [ permanent dead link ]. Union of International Associations. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  24. ↑ Booklist, v.83, p.698, American Library Association, January 1987
  25. ↑ Encyclopedia of World Problems Has a Big One of Its Own, a Wall Street Journal article, by Daniel Michaels, 11 December 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.