Conference participants examined the attitudes toward human rights which led to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, as compared to today's perceptions of the meaning of human rights. Using Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" as a point of departure--freedom of speech and expression, freedom of every…

Articles representing two views on the issue of rapid population growth and economic development are presented. Although the authors present different perspectives, they agree on many of the fundamentals. For example, both reject alarmism about impending "population explosions" and the use of population as a scapegoat for all Third World…

Ideological problems and barriers leading to the failure of the World Conference during International Women's Year (IWY) are discussed. Support for the International Year and for the conference was not unanimous within the United Nations and funding was small compared to other UN-sponsored world conferences. Also, at a late date the government of…

This publication examines global problems facing the United States and offers a specific short-term program of action to deal with some of the problems. There are three major parts. Part I describes political and economic developments in both rich and poor countries and comments on the recent record of the United States in its relationships with…

From the 1972 Behavioral Science Symposium, this article examines the prospect of attaining effective international cooperation for environmental protection of the Earth. Discusses the need for strategies to remove some of the conceptual obstacles (political and social) to cooperation, and identifies some possible conceptual and institutional…

Reports on a comparison of the poverty rates of families with children in six industrial countries. Discusses income and poverty, poverty among children, family poverty rates before and after taxes and income transfers, and conclusions. States that the poverty of children may affect long-term competitiveness with other countries. (RT)

This report outlines the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). After an introduction to the UNEP governing council, secretariat, environmental fund, and coordinating board, the activities of the UNEP are summarized. Some of the principal activities are: (1) environmental assessment; (2) environmental education, training, and information;…

Acknowledging global interdependence, especially in economics, may be the most important step toward resolving international conflicts. Describes seven major global dangers and gives scenarios for exploring likely global futures. As "tools of prescription" these global models are inadequate, but as "tools of analysis" they have…

Examines the dimensions of an emerging awareness of a world society. A sociological framework for describing worldwide societal systems and how they interact is presented. Major traits of the image of a world society, as derived from the framework, are described. (AM)

Examines the role of the mass media in the issues debated in the Brandt report, a document prepared in England which advocates economic interdependence between developing and developed nations. In addition to informing the public, the media should play a supporting role in development education in schools and colleges. (JJD)

Compared to most countries assessed in 1994, the United States had a greater concentration of adults who scored at the lowest literacy levels across prose, document, and quantitative literacy domains. However, it had one of the higher concentrations of adults who scored at or above level 4 on the prose scale. The proportion of adults who scored at…

This article discusses the nature of world crises which are produced by changes in the economic, social, or political conditions of human societies and then suggests some ways in which the study of geography can contribute to an understanding of them. A global approach is emphasized. (Author/RM)

A comprehensive, international program is proposed to help nations optimize and conserve natural resources. The aim of the program is to increase the overall supply of natural resources available to improve the chances for world peace. The energy and material resources of the world are finite. We must live with and adapt to the concept of finite…

The paper discusses a need for perceiving and discussing the future of the world not in the traditional way of projecting future trends from present events but, rather, from the point of view of creating a new future by discussing how things "ought to be." It is suggested that new behavioral goals of tomorrow which are not anthropocentrically…

Worldwide economic problems must not be allowed to disrupt international trade. Specifically discussed are the long-run trends in U.S. competitiveness, financial developments and their effects on trade and the international debt problem. (RM)