Forward Looking

Abstract

Purpose -Structural economic shifts are a key sign of development in all stages globally; and these shifts may also result in the changing roles of institutions. The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively analyse trends that may be used for so-called forward looking and makes use of them to recommend strategies for reorganising institutions. Design/methodology/approach -The requirements and opportunities of environmental administrations in high-income countries are used as case studies to illustrate the overall context of institutional restructuring. Luxembourg, as a present-day centre of political and strategic power within the European Union and Austria, as a neutral country formerly situated between military blocks are shown to exhibit structural and strategic similarities. Findings -Two types of quantitative assessments may support any type of institutional restructuring: first, analyses of mega-trends within the global techno-socio-economic evolution and second, options for specific action at the local site of previously industrial settlements that may be converted into centres of innovative service orientation. Practical implications -On the occasion of the recent resettlement of the Luxembourg Environmental Administration at a new site in Esch-sur-Alzette -in an area of bolder modern urbanisation built on the foundations of the former local industrial use considered -this text deliberates options to propose strategically pioneering innovations on administrative levels. Originality/value -The paper combines global analyses and local experiences in an action-oriented manner.

Editorial: Foresight for democratising Russia

“…Forget your personal knowledge or experience -the Supreme Guide knows better." (Khrushchova, 2023) When looking back to my decades in Russia, the essence of what I perceived there is the creation of an unconventional, artificial concept of what is real: not Augustinus' (354-430) and Thomas Aquinas' (1225-1274) concept of "veritas est adaequatio rei et intellectus" (truth is the adequacy of things and their mental representations in the intellect") constitutes the fundamental concept of truth and thus of a human society (and encourages to discourse, debate and democracy (Haran and Burkovsky, 2023;Ahamer and Mayer, 2013;Ahamer and Schrei, 2006;Glazunova et al, 2023), but rather a completely new narrative (or even outlandish myth) establishes a society, community, nation, and ideology: Those who declare they believe our expectations of accepted narratives are 'ours' (= наши = nashi, in Russian and any Slavic language [Petrov, (2023), p.8]) and those who do not declare 'belief' fall out of this 'society' and deserve to be outlawed and ultimately even poisoned as traitors -the most evil and annihilating verdict when having a secret-agent's imprinting of consciousness. Notabene, it is by no means required to exactly believe, only to pretend to believe.…”

T5

“…1. CO 2 emission: On both global and national levels, a dynamics-as-usual case of energy scenarios (Ahamer, 1994;Ahamer & Mayer, 2013; as the baseline for measures can be constructed by means of a historical long-term trend analysis of the structural change in the socio-economic and energy parameters of the world's economies; 2. Macroeconomics: Views on the economic side-effects of reduction measures such as changes in GDP growth or in unemployment rates (Rauch, 2013; are provided, analysed by means of a macroeconomic model and complemented by qualitative assessment; 3.…”

“…The approach of this educational IT tool (Ahamer, 2013c(Ahamer, , 2014Ahamer & Mayer, 2013;Lewis et al, 2005) is that:…”