International Futures Simulation
IFS, developed by Barry Hughes and Thomas Shook, is a descendent of the World Integrated Model (WIM). The designers' goal was to make integrated global models simpler and more user-friendly, thus more accessible to those who would like to use them for educational purposes. IFS was developed in the early 1980s. The main texts for that early version are:
Barry B. Hughes, International Futures: User's Manual, Iowa City, Iowa: CONDUIT, 1982.
Barry B. Hughes, International Futures: Technical Manual, Iowa City, Iowa: CONDUIT, 1982.
IFS was developed using FORTRAN on a Harris minicomputer. I ported the code so that the model runs on Macintosh and DOS/Windows computers. One can obtain the executable model, source code, datasets, and some documentation by clicking on the highlighted type of computer.
In the 1990s, Barry has updated and refined IFS with what he calls IFs. Programmed using VisualBasic, Barry both expanded the model and improved its user interface. The version released with the book (cited below) is 2.21, and it runs under Windows 3.1 and Windows95. A full Windows95 version of IFs with even more extensions is under development and is at version 3.07 at the time of this writing (26 March 1997). The reader interested in obtaining and working with IFs should purchase the book:
Barry B. Hughes, International Futures: Choices in the Creation of a New World Order, Second Edition, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1996.
The book includes a floppy disk containing the model and its datasets. The book also instructs the reader how to use the model to explore alternative futures.
Barry has his own web page for IFs that can be accessed by clicking here.
A Macintosh version of IFs (analogous to the Windows version 2.21) is available on the Internet from Tarkvara Design.
More about IFS and other global models can be found in an article by me with the citation:
Peter Brecke, "Integrated Global Models that Run on Personal Computers," Simulation, Vol. 60, No. 2 (February 1993), pp. 140-144.
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Peter Brecke … Sam Nunn School of International Affairs … Georgia Institute of Technology … Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0610 USA … Tel 404 894-6599 … Fax 404 894-1900 … Email peter.brecke@inta.gatech.edu