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Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential

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Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential
Cover of the first 1976 edition
AuthorEditorial team
LanguageEnglish
SubjectHumankind problems and solutions
GenreEncyclopedia
PublisherUnion of International Associations
Publication date
1976–present
Publication placeBelgium
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]

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 over the years have been, for different editions, Jon Jenkins and Maureen Jenkins (who had also worked at the Institute of Cultural Affairs), Owen Victor, Jacqueline Nebel, Nadia McLaren, and Tomáš Fülöpp. In 2005, following disagreement over the partnership contract, Anthony Judge, as Executive Secretary of Mankind 2000, reframed the EWPHP as having been a strategic initiative of the Union of Intelligible Associations.[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.

Editions

  • The 1st edition, initiated in 1972 and published in 1976, has one volume entitled Yearbook of World Problems and Human Potential, comprising thirteen sections, several of which have not appeared in subsequent editions.[11][18]
  • The 2nd edition, initiated in 1983 and published in 1986, was titled Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential. It is still a single volume (published as volume 4 of the Yearbook of International Organizations), but with different sections do to print settings.[19] The book is equivalent to several normal volumes.[20]
Cover of the 1995 CD-ROM
  • The 3rd edition, initiated in 1988 and published in 1991, has two volumes: World Problems (vol. 1), and Human Potential (vol. 2).
  • The 4th edition, initiated in 1992 and published in 1994–1995, has three volumes: World Problems (vol. 1), Human Potential – Transformation and Values (vol.2), Actions – Strategies – Solutions (vol. 3). A CD-ROM version, Encyclopedia Plus, is also published.
  • The online edition was initiated in 1997 and completed in 2000.[21][22]
1st edition 1976 2nd edition 1986 3rd edition 1991 4th edition 1994-5 Online edition 2000
World Problems 7,444 10,233 13,167 12,203 56,564
Human Development 288 1,596 4,051 4,456 4,817
Values 704 2,270 2,270 3,254 3,257
Strategies 0 8,335 0 29,542 32,547

Reviews

There have been several reviews of the encyclopedia.[23] One of the harshest 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 extremely critical in a review article published in 1992, to which Anthony Judge recently responded via Transcend Media Service[25] on the occasion of the publication in The Wall Street Journal of a page-one sympathetic review of the EWPHP initiative, in December 2012.[26] The work itself is keen on presenting, in various places, disclaimers, reservations or warning texts that anticipate criticisms and explain the strengths and weaknesses[27] of its approaches, including the failure to advocate a position, or the sometimes excessive complexity in its methods or language.[28]

Most reviews are laudatory. Richard Slaughter emphasized that the significance of the work is not its size or the scope of its references, impressive though these are. It is rather in the nature of what has been attempted. The accompanying notes and commentaries, he said, are good enough to be published separately because they contain highly cogent observations on the "global problematique", commentaries on the work of numerous great thinkers from a wide variety of fields, and an impressive array of insights about the epistemology, symbolism, metaphysics, metaphors and linguistic representations of the subject.[29] As far as practice is concerned, the highest commendation perhaps is to be found in the words of Elise Boulding: "Any one of us (...) can actively become a part in the world problem solving process by using this encyclopedia."[30]

See also

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. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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
  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. ^ One such book is equivalent to 40 or 50 normal-sized books, according to Edward Cornish's Book review of November–December 1991 in The Futurist.
  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. ^ Flatulence is a Problem Aired, by Anthony Judge, Transcend Media Service, January 2013.
  26. ^ Encyclopedia of World Problems Has a Big One of Its Own, a Wall Street Journal article, by Daniel Michaels, 11 December 2012.
  27. ^ Encyclopedia of world problems and human potential project – Assessment: strengths and weaknesses. Union of International Associations. Retrieved on 15 January 2013.
  28. ^ Encyclopedia of world problems and human potential project – Assessment: criticism. Union of International Associations. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
  29. ^ A meta-linguistic resource Richard A. Slaughter, Futures, Oxford, 1992
  30. ^ Encyclopedia review. Union of International Associations. Retrieved on 23 November 2011.
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