英语翻译The use of the World Wide Web for futures research hasbe

英语翻译The use of the World Wide Web for futures research hasbeen gaining increasing attention [1-3].Largely,theaim of futures research is to anticipate and prepare for newand changing risks,and to consider the implications thatemerging issues will have on the distribution of resourcesand existing priorities.Given the current environment ofchange and uncertainty,both public and private sectors haveidentified the need to strengthen futures research andintegrate it into strategic thinking and planning.In the UK,the importance of futures research has beenhighlighted by a series of perceived failures in science andpolicy,such as the failure to recognise the concerns of thepublic about genetically modified crops until they emergedin the media,and the inadequate reaction to the outbreak ofthe foot/hoof and mouth disease in 2001 [4].As aconsequence of these setbacks,the UK Government hasemphasised its use of horizon scanning,“the systematicexamination of information to identify potential threats,risks,emerging issues and opportunities,beyond theParliamentary term,allowing for better preparedness andthe incorporation of mitigation and exploitation into thepolicy making process” [5].Explicit objectives of horizonscanning are to anticipate issues,accumulate reliable dataand knowledge about those issues and thus inform policymaking and implementation [6