News
Update: June 2011
Google Promotional Video Cites IFs
Since March of 2011, results from the International Futures model have been displayed on Google's Public Data Explorer. Recently, a Google promotional video highlighting the features of the Public Data Explorer introduced some of the Pardee Center's results. Scroll through to the 0:47 mark to see Google describe our work!
National Intelligence Council Global Trends 2030 and IFs
The International Futures Team was represented at the National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends 2030 event held outside of Washington, DC in mid-May. This event, cohosted by the Atlantic Council, was the official kick-off of the preparation for NIC’s Global Trends 2030 publication, to be delivered to the incoming US president in 2012. Jonathan D. Moyer presented to the participants some of the ways that the International Futures model can be harnessed to analyze future trends. The presentation touched on transitions in demographics, energy, the environment, and relative material power. IFs was also used in the preparation of the Global Trends 2020 and Global Trends 2025 reports.
IFs Training: UNDP and Slovenia
Jonathan D. Moyer represented the IFs Team by leading two trainings in Slovenia in late-May. The first was a United Nations Development Programme sponsored event to build climate change forecasting capacity in the Western Balkans. Representatives from the governments of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia participated. The second training was a continuation of previous work that the IFs Team has done in conjunction with the government of Slovenia to aid in the creation of a low-carbon strategy to 2050.
Pardee Center Graduate Assistant Summer News
Research Assistant Alison Terry is interning for the State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research in Washington, D.C. She is gaining practical experience for her degree in International Security in the Office of Military Issues. Alison is looking forward to continuing her work with IFs next year as a returning RA.
"The Effects of Intellectual Property Rights Violations on Economic Growth" was recently published in the journal Modern Economy by Patrick McLennan, a research assistant at the Pardee Center, and Quan V. Le, an advisor of Patrick’s. The article, which used software piracy data to measure whether intellectual property rights contribute to economic growth, found that stronger intellectual property rights regimes do contribute to increased output.
Research Assistant Eric Firnhaber is currently participating in an internship with Fundar Galapagos, an NGO dedicated to exploring sustainable development on the Galapagos islands. His work with this group and with local municipal leaders focuses on issues related to agriculture and land use. The work is also under the umbrella of the El Mirador project.
Graduate Assistant Greg Maly is working on a community health assessment project with Grassroofts Jerusalem in Israel-Palestine this summer. As a member of Grassroots Jerusalem’s research team, Greg is administering a community health assessment on the east side of Jerusalem. Data collected will be fed into an online mapping system based on the Ushahidi mapping platform, which will provide information on life in the region to community members and international organizations.