Choice Theory: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Michael Allingham
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191579262
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Book Description
We make choices all the time - about trivial matters, about how to spend our money, about how to spend our time, about what to do with our lives. And we are also constantly judging the decisions other people make as rational or irrational. But what kind of criteria are we applying when we say that a choice is rational? What guides our own choices, especially in cases where we don't have complete information about the outcomes? What strategies should be applied in making decisions which affect a lot of people, as in the case of government policy? This book explores what it means to be rational in all these contexts. It introduces ideas from economics, philosophy, and other areas, showing how the theory applies to decisions in everyday life, and to particular situations such as gambling and the allocation of resources. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

An Introduction to Decision Theory

Author: Martin Peterson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107151597
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 351

Book Description
A comprehensive and accessible introduction to all aspects of decision theory, now with new and updated discussions and over 140 exercises.

Quantum Theory: A Very Short Introduction

Author: John Polkinghorne
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191577677
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 145

Book Description
Quantum Theory is the most revolutionary discovery in physics since Newton. This book gives a lucid, exciting, and accessible account of the surprising and counterintuitive ideas that shape our understanding of the sub-atomic world. It does not disguise the problems of interpretation that still remain unsettled 75 years after the initial discoveries. The main text makes no use of equations, but there is a Mathematical Appendix for those desiring stronger fare. Uncertainty, probabilistic physics, complementarity, the problematic character of measurement, and decoherence are among the many topics discussed. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Game Theory: A Very Short Introduction

Author: K. G. Binmore
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199218463
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 201

Book Description
Games are played everywhere: from economics to evolutionary biology, and from social interactions to online auctions. This title shows how to play such games in a rational way, and how to maximize their outcomes.

Number Theory

Author: Robin Wilson
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198798091
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Book Description
Number theory is the branch of mathematics primarily concerned with the counting numbers, especially primes. It dates back to the ancient Greeks, but today it has great practical importance in cryptography, from credit card security to national defence. This book introduces the main areas of number theory, and some of its most interesting problems.

Political Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction

Author: David Miller
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191577863
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
This book introduces readers to the concepts of political philosophy. It starts by explaining why the subject is important and how it tackles basic ethical questions such as 'how should we live together in society?' It looks at political authority, the reasons why we need politics at all, the limitations of politics, and whether there are areas of life that shouldn't be governed by politics. It explores the connections between political authority and justice, a constant theme in political philosophy, and the ways in which social justice can be used to regulate rather than destroy a market economy. David Miller discusses why nations are the natural units of government and whether the rise of multiculturalism and transnational co-operation will change this: will we ever see the formation of a world government? ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Evolution and Rationality

Author: Samir Okasha
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139510517
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 293

Book Description
This volume explores from multiple perspectives the subtle and interesting relationship between the theory of rational choice and Darwinian evolution. In rational choice theory, agents are assumed to make choices that maximize their utility; in evolution, natural selection 'chooses' between phenotypes according to the criterion of fitness maximization. So there is a parallel between utility in rational choice theory and fitness in Darwinian theory. This conceptual link between fitness and utility is mirrored by the interesting parallels between formal models of evolution and rational choice. The essays in this volume, by leading philosophers, economists, biologists and psychologists, explore the connection between evolution and rational choice in a number of different contexts, including choice under uncertainty, strategic decision making and pro-social behaviour. They will be of interest to students and researchers in philosophy of science, evolutionary biology, economics and psychology.

Revolutions: a Very Short Introduction

Author: Jack A. Goldstone
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197666302
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Book Description
"In the 20th and 21st century revolutions have become more urban, often less violent, but also more frequent and more transformative of the international order. Whether it is the revolutions against Communism in Eastern Europe and the USSR; the "color revolutions" across Asia, Europe and North Africa; or the religious revolutions in Iran, Afghanistan, and Syria; today's revolutions are quite different from those of the past. Modern theories of revolution have therefore replaced the older class-based theories with more varied, dynamic, and contingent models of social and political change. This new edition updates the history of revolutions, from Classical Greece and Rome to the Revolution of Dignity in the Ukraine, with attention to the changing types and outcomes of revolutionary struggles. It also presents the latest advances in the theory of revolutions, including the issues of revolutionary waves, revolutionary leadership, international influences, and the likelihood of revolutions to come. This volume provides a brief but comprehensive introduction to the nature of revolutions and their role in global history"--

Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Jonathan Culler
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199691347
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 185

Book Description
Culler offers insights into theories about the nature of language and meaning, looks at whether literature is a form of self-expression or a method of appeal to an audience, and outlines the ideas behind deconstruction and semiotics.

Choice Theory: A Simple Introduction

Author: K.H. Erickson
Publisher: K.H. Erickson
ISBN:
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 68

Book Description
Choice Theory: A Simple Introduction offers an accessible guide to the central theories and methods of choice theory, with examples and calculations, empirical evidence, and over 20 diagrams to support the analysis. Examine expected value theory, with the two envelopes problem and St. Petersburg paradox which challenge it. Understand expected utility theory and learn how to create a utility function, and assess the Ellsberg paradox, Allais paradox, and preference reversal phenomenon. Look at risk neutral, risk seeking and risk averse attitudes, explore original, cumulative and third generation prospect theory, and the role of risk sensitivity and loss aversion. Evaluate zero-sum games, minimax and maximin strategies, and see how a mixed minimax strategy can overcome game outcome cycles. Understand auction theory, with the revenue equivalence theorem for English, Dutch, and sealed bid private value auctions, and how bidders may avoid the winner’s curse in common value auctions. Examine voting theory, with voter preferences, the median voter theorem, Condorcet winner, and Condorcet voting cycles. See how voters or government can manipulate the voting system.