Journal of Futures Studies, August 2004, 9(1): 45 58 For better or worse, humanity is now becoming a unitary whole in an important and unprecedented way. Many names have been given to this process; and because names create realities, it matters very much which one we use. Some, beginning with the sociologist Harold Innes and his student Marshall McLuhan, see it as a movement toward a global vil...

Cosmopolitanism is a western notion that epitomizes the need social agents have to conceive of a political and cultural entity, larger than their own homeland, that would encompass all human beings on a global scale. Cosmopolite in Ancient Greece meant citizen of the world. Cosmopolitanism presupposes a positive attitude towards difference, a desire to construct broad allegiances and equal and ...

Information technology can link geographically separated people and help them locate interesting or compatible resources. Although these attributes have the potential to bridge gaps and unite communities, they also have the potential to fragment interaction and divide groups by leading people to spend more time on special interests and by screening out less preferred contact. This paper introdu...

What began as a conversation in 2000 between two women religious on how to help Kenyans affected by HIV/AIDS has evolved into a far-reaching ministry supported by the Wheaton Franciscan sisters. Inspired by the parable of the Good Samaritan, Sr. Florence Muia, ASN, a native of Kenya, explored with Sr. Marge Zulaski, OSF, a Wheaton Franciscan sister, how to offer assistance and support to Kenyan...