This volume consists of chapters written by eminent scientists and engineers from the international community and present significant advances in several theories, methods and applications of an interdisciplinary research. These contributions focus on both old and recent developments of Global Optimization Theory, Convex Analysis, Calculus of Variations, Discrete Mathematics and Geometry, as well as several applications to a large variety of concrete problems, including applications of computers to the study of smoothness and analyticity of functions, applications to epidemiological diffusion, networks, mathematical models of elastic and piezoelectric fields, optimal algorithms, stability of neutral type vector functional differential equations, sampling and rational interpolation for non-band-limited signals, recurrent neural network for convex optimization problems and experimental design. The book also contains some review works, which could prove particularly useful for a broader audience of readers in Mathematical and Engineering subjects and especially to graduate students who search for the latest information.

In recent years, auctions have become an important field and many markets have designed new and sophisticated auction models to assign different types of items. The prime goal of this book is to set an organized classification of the main auction mechanisms in a way that readers can understand the importance of auction design and the advantages and drawbacks of each model. Given the relevance of the subject, there is a great volume of research about this topic. Nevertheless, most of these contributions use complex mathematical language difficult to understand for the average reader. In this book, the authors summarize the main ideas of the auction theory and explain them with simple language and plenty of examples. This book is a good starting point for any researcher interested in embracing the auction design as it also includes numerous real-world examples to engage the reader in the topic. “This book fills an important gap by making the main ideas and findings of auction research accessible.� Professor Paul Milgrom, Department of Economics, Stanford University.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on Algorithmic Game Theory, SAGT 2016, held in Liverpool, UK, in September 2016.The 26 full papers presented together with 2 one-page abstracts were carefully reviewed and selected from 62 submissions. The accepted submissions cover various important aspectsof algorithmic game theory such as computational aspects of games, congestion games and networks, matching and voting, auctions and markets, and mechanism design.

This present book provides an alternative approach to study the pre-kernel solution of transferable utility games based on a generalized conjugation theory from convex analysis. Although the pre-kernel solution possesses an appealing axiomatic foundation that lets one consider this solution concept as a standard of fairness, the pre-kernel and its related solutions are regarded as obscure and too technically complex to be treated as a real alternative to the Shapley value. Comprehensible and efficient computability is widely regarded as a desirable feature to qualify a solution concept apart from its axiomatic foundation as a standard of fairness. We review and then improve an approach to compute the pre-kernel of a cooperative game by the indirect function. The indirect function is known as the Fenchel-Moreau conjugation of the characteristic function. Extending the approach with the indirect function, we are able to characterize the pre-kernel of the grand coalition simply by the solution sets of a family of quadratic objective functions.

Two prisoners are told that they will be brought to a room and seated so that each can see the other. Hats will be placed on their heads; each hat is either red or green. The two prisoners must simultaneously submit a guess of their own hat color, and they both go free if at least one of them guesses correctly. While no communication is allowed once the hats have been placed, they will, however, be allowed to have a strategy session before being brought to the room. Is there a strategy ensuring their release? The answer turns out to be yes, and this is the simplest non-trivial example of a "hat problem." This book deals with the question of how successfully one can predict the value of an arbitrary function at one or more points of its domain based on some knowledge of its values at other points. Topics range from hat problems that are accessible to everyone willing to think hard, to some advanced topics in set theory and infinitary combinatorics. For example, there is a method of predicting the value f(a) of a function f mapping the reals to the reals, based only on knowledge of f's values on the open interval (a - 1, a), and for every such function the prediction is incorrect only on a countable set that is nowhere dense. The monograph progresses from topics requiring fewer prerequisites to those requiring more, with most of the text being accessible to any graduate student in mathematics. The broad range of readership includes researchers, postdocs, and graduate students in the fields of set theory, mathematical logic, and combinatorics. The hope is that this book will bring together mathematicians from different areas to think about set theory via a very broad array of coordinated inference problems.

Aligning the latest practices, innovations and case studies with academic frameworks and theories, the broad area of multi-criteria and game theory applications in manufacturing and logistics is covered in comprehensive detail. Divided into two parts, part I is dedicated to 'multi-criteria applications' and includes chapters on logistics with a focus on vehicle routing problems, a multi-objective decision making approach to select the best storage policy and an exploratory study to predict the most important factors that can lead to successful mobile supply chain management adoption for manufacturing firms. Part II covers 'game theory applications' and encompasses the process of forming a coalition within a corporate network to the problem of integrating inventory and distribution optimization together with game theory to effectively manage supply networks. Providing a forum to investigate, exchange novel ideas and disseminate knowledge covering the broad area of multi-criteria and game theory applications in manufacturing and logistics, Applications of Multi-Criteria and Game Theory Approaches is an excellent reference for students, researchers but also managers and industry professionals working with manufacturing and logistics issues.

Dynamics, Games and Science I and II are a selection of surveys and research articles written by leading researchers in mathematics. The majority of the contributions are on dynamical systems and game theory, focusing either on fundamental and theoretical developments or on applications to modeling in biology, ecomonics, engineering, finances and psychology. The papers are based on talks given at the International Conference DYNA 2008, held in honor of Mauricio Peixoto and David Rand at the University of Braga, Portugal, on September 8-12, 2008. The aim of these volumes is to present cutting-edge research in these areas to encourage graduate students and researchers in mathematics and other fields to develop them further.

This book demonstrates how to apply modern approaches to complex system control in practical applications involving knowledge-based systems. The dimensions of knowledge-based systems are extended by incorporating new perspectives from control theory, multimodal systems and simulation methods. The book is divided into three parts: theory, production system and information system applications. One of its main focuses is on an agent-based approach to complex system analysis. Moreover, specialised forms of knowledge-based systems (like e-learning, social network, and production systems) are introduced with a new formal approach to knowledge system modelling. The book, which offers a valuable resource for researchers engaged in complex system analysis, is the result of a unique cooperation between scientists from applied computer science (mainly from Poland) and leading system control theory researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences' Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences.

Heinrich von Stackelberg's book, "Grundlagen einer reinen Kostentheorie", published in 1932 was at the forefront of a growing conceptual revolution in the theory of the firm, a theory which appears more relevant than ever in today's economic climate. In this work, Stackelberg masterfully built a theoretical framework which he later developed in Market Structure and Equilibrium. Foundations of a Pure Cost Theory represents the first translation of the original German version into English. This substantial book offers readers a critical and technical understanding of the firm, how firms function and the environments in which they operate. Fundamental notions of cost production, market economy, optimum position and velocities of production are given prominence. Ultimately, this work, which remains largely unknown, can be seen as a milestone text in our understanding of the strategies adopted by firms as a whole. The book has been meticulously translated from the German into English, retaining the author's examples in their historical context and capturing the spirit of the time with all its subtlety and significance.

This wide-ranging and accessible book serves as a fascinating guide to the strategies and concepts that help us understand the boundaries between physics, on the one hand, and sociology, economics, and biology on the other. From cooperation and criticality to flock dynamics and fractals, the author addresses many of the topics belonging to the broad theme of complexity. He chooses excellent examples (requiring no prior mathematical knowledge) to illuminate these ideas and their implications. The lively style and clear description of the relevant models will appeal both to novices and those with an existing knowledge of the field.

Theory.- Review of Probability.- Conditional Expectation.- Martingales.- Markov Chains.- Game Theory.- House Advantage.- Gambler's Ruin.- Betting Systems.- Bold Play.- Optimal Proportional Play.- Card Theory.- Applications.- Slot Machines.- Roulette.- Keno.- Craps.- House-Banked Poker.- Video Poker.- Faro.- Baccarat.- Trente et Quarante.- Twenty-One.- Poker.

Econophysics of Games and Social Choices.- Kolkata Paise Restaurant Problem in Some Uniform Learning Strategy Limits.- Cycle Monotonicity in Scheduling Models.- Reinforced Learning in Market Games.- Mechanisms Supporting Cooperation for the Evolutionary Prisoner's Dilemma Games.- Economic Applications of Quantum Information Processing.- Using Many-Body Entanglement for Coordinated Action in Game Theory Problems.- Condensation Phenomena and Pareto Distribution in Disordered Urn Models.- Economic Interactions and the Distribution of Wealth.- Wealth Redistribution in Boltzmann-like Models of Conservative Economies.- Multi-species Models in Econo- and Sociophysics.- The Morphology of Urban Agglomerations for Developing Countries: A Case Study with China.- A Mean-Field Model of Financial Markets: Reproducing Long Tailed Distributions and Volatility Correlations.- Statistical Properties of Fluctuations: A Method to Check Market Behavior.- Modeling Saturation in Industrial Growth.- The Kuznets Curve and the Inequality Process.- Monitoring the Teaching - Learning Process via an Entropy Based Index.- Technology Level in the Industrial Supply Chain: Thermodynamic Concept.- Discussions and Comments in Econophys Kolkata IV.- Contributions to Quantitative Economics.- On Multi-Utility Representation of Equitable Intergenerational Preferences.- Variable Populations and Inequality-Sensitive Ethical Judgments.- A Model of Income Distribution.- Statistical Database of the Indian Economy: Need for New Directions.- Does Parental Education Protect Child Health? Some Evidence from Rural Udaipur.- Food Security and Crop Diversification: Can West Bengal Achieve Both?.- Estimating Equivalence Scales Through Engel Curve Analysis.- Testing for Absolute Convergence: A Panel Data Approach.- Goodwin's Growth Cycles: A Reconsideration.- Human Capital Accumulation, Economic Growth and Educational Subsidy Policy in a Dual Economy.- Arms Trade and Conflict Resolution: A Trade-Theoretic Analysis.- Trade andWage Inequality with Endogenous Skill Formation.- Dominant Strategy Implementation in Multi-unit Allocation Problems.- Allocation through Reduction on Minimum Cost Spanning Tree Games.- Unmediated and Mediated Communication Equilibria of Battle of the Sexes with Incomplete Information.- A Characterization Result on the Coincidence of the Prenucleolus and the Shapley Value.- The Ordinal Equivalence of the Johnston Index and the Established Notions of Power.- Reflecting on Market Size and Entry under Oligopoly.

This volume explores the emerging and current, cutting-edge theories and methods of modeling, optimization, dynamics and bio economy. It provides an overview of the main issues, results and open questions in these fields as well as covers applications to biology, economy, energy, industry, physics, psychology and finance. The majority of the contributed papers for this volume come from the participants of the International Conference on Modeling, Optimization and Dynamics (ICMOD 2010), a satellite conference of EURO XXIV Lisbon 2010, which took place at Faculty of Sciences of University of Porto, Portugal and from the Berkeley Bio economy Conference 2012, at the University of California, Berkeley, USA.

These Proceedings offer a selection of peer-reviewed research and survey papers by some of the foremost international researchers in the fields of finance, energy, stochastics and risk, who present their latest findings on topical problems. The papers cover the areas of stochastic modeling in energy and financial markets; risk management with environmental factors from a stochastic control perspective; and valuation and hedging of derivatives in markets dominated by renewables, all of which further develop the theory of stochastic analysis and mathematical finance. The papers were presented at the first conference on "Stochastics of Environmental and Financial Economics (SEFE)", being part of the activity in the SEFE research group of the Centre of Advanced Study (CAS) at the Academy of Sciences in Oslo, Norway during the 2014/2015 academic year.

This book addresses two-person zero-sum finite games in which the payoffs in any situation are expressed with fuzzy numbers. The purpose of this book is to develop a suite of effective and efficient linear programming models and methods for solving matrix games with payoffs in fuzzy numbers. Divided into six chapters, it discusses the concepts of solutions of matrix games with payoffs of intervals, along with their linear programming models and methods. Furthermore, it is directly relevant to the research field of matrix games under uncertain economic management. The book offers a valuable resource for readers involved in theoretical research and practical applications from a range of different fields including game theory, operational research, management science, fuzzy mathematical programming, fuzzy mathematics, industrial engineering, business and social economics.

This contributed volume focuses on aspects of dynamic game theory including differential games, evolutionary games, and stochastic games. It covers theoretical developments, algorithmic methods, and applications to fields as varied as mathematical biology, environmental management, economics, engineering, guidance and control, and social interaction. It will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience of researchers, practitioners, and advanced graduate students. Advances in Dynamic Games presents state-of-the-art research that serves as a testament to the vitality and growth of the field of dynamic games and their applications. Its contributions, written by experts in their respective disciplines, are outgrowths of presentations originally given at the 15th International Symposium of Dynamic Games and Applications held July 19-22, 2012, in Bysice, Czech Republic.

Economists can use computer algebra systems to manipulate symbolic models, derive numerical computations, and analyze empirical relationships among variables. Maxima is an open-source multi-platform computer algebra system that rivals proprietary software. Maxima's symbolic and computational capabilities enable economists and financial analysts to develop a deeper understanding of models by allowing them to explore the implications of differences in parameter values, providing numerical solutions to problems that would be otherwise intractable, and by providing graphical representations that can guide analysis. This book provides a step-by-step tutorial for using this program to examine the economic relationships that form the core of microeconomics in a way that complements traditional modeling techniques. Readers learn how to phrase the relevant analysis and how symbolic expressions, numerical computations, and graphical representations can be used to learn from microeconomic models. In particular, comparative statics analysis is facilitated. Little has been published on Maxima and its applications in economics and finance, and this volume will appeal to advanced undergraduates, graduate-level students studying microeconomics, academic researchers in economics and finance, economists, and financial analysts.

Networks of Echoes: Imitation, Innovation and Invisible Leaders is a mathematically rigorous and data rich book on a fascinating area of the science and engineering of social webs. There are hundreds of complex network phenomena whose statistical properties are described by inverse power laws. The phenomena of interest are not arcane events that we encounter only fleetingly, but are events that dominate our lives. We examine how this intermittent statistical behavior intertwines itself with what appears to be the organized activity of social groups. The book is structured as answers to a sequence of questions such as: How are decisions reached in elections and boardrooms? How is the stability of a society undermined by zealots and committed minorities and how is that stability re-established? Can we learn to answer such questions about human behavior by studying the way flocks of birds retain their formation when eluding a predator? These questions and others are answered using a generic model of a complex dynamic network-one whose global behavior is determined by a symmetric interaction among individuals based on social imitation. The complexity of the network is manifest in time series resulting from self-organized critical dynamics that have divergent first and second moments, are non-stationary, non-ergodic and non-Poisson. How phase transitions in the network dynamics influence such activity as decision making is a fascinating story and provides a context for introducing many of the mathematical ideas necessary for understanding complex networks in general. The decision making model (DMM) is selected to emphasize that there are features of complex webs that supersede specific mechanisms and need to be understood from a general perspective. This insightful overview of recent tools and their uses may serve as an introduction and curriculum guide in related courses.

This book integrates the fundamentals, methodology, and major application fields of noncooperative and cooperative games including conflict resolution. The topics addressed in the book are discrete and continuous games including games represented by finite trees; matrix and bimatrix games as well as oligopolies; cooperative solution concepts; games under uncertainty; dynamic games and conflict resolution. The methodology is illustrated by carefully chosen examples, applications and case studies which are selected from economics, social sciences, engineering, the military and homeland security. This book is highly recommended to readers who are interested in the in-depth and up-to-date integration of the theory and ever-expanding application areas of game theory.

The uneven geographical distribution of economic activities is a huge challenge worldwide and also for the European Union. In Krugman’s New Economic Geography economic systems have a simple spatial structure. This book shows that more sophisticated models should visualise the EU as an evolving trade network with a specific topology and different aggregation levels. At the highest level, economic geography models give a bird eye’s view of spatial dynamics. At a medium level, institutions shape the economy and the structure of (financial and labour) markets. At the lowest level, individual decisions interact with the economic, social and institutional environment; the focus is on firms’ decision on location and innovation. Such multilevel models exhibit complex dynamic patterns – path dependence, cumulative causation, hysteresis – on a network structure; and specific analytic tools are necessary for studying strategic interaction, heterogeneity and nonlinearities.

The contributions in this volume have been written by eminent scientists from the international mathematical community and present significant advances in several theories, methods and problems of Mathematical Analysis, Discrete Mathematics, Geometry and their Applications. The chapters focus on both old and recent developments in Functional Analysis, Harmonic Analysis, Complex Analysis, Operator Theory, Combinatorics, Functional Equations, Differential Equations as well as a variety of Applications. The book also contains some review works, which could prove particularly useful for a broader audience of readers in Mathematical Sciences, and especially to graduate students looking for the latest information.

Using network models to investigate the interconnectivity in modern economic systems allows researchers to better understand and explain some economic phenomena. This volume presents contributions by known experts and active researchers in economic and financial network modeling. Readers are provided with an understanding of the latest advances in network analysis as applied to economics, finance, corporate governance, and investments. Moreover, recent advances in market network analysis that focus on influential techniques for market graph analysis are also examined. Young researchers will find this volume particularly useful in facilitating their introduction to this new and fascinating field. Professionals in economics, financial management, various technologies, and network analysis, will find the network models presented in this book beneficial in analyzing the interconnectivity in modern economic systems.

This collection of papers investigates the most recent debates about individualism and holism in the philosophy of social science. The debates revolve mainly around two issues: firstly, whether social phenomena exist sui generis and how they relate to individuals. This is the focus of discussions between ontological individualists and ontological holists. Secondly, to what extent social scientific explanations may and should, focus on individuals and social phenomena respectively. This issue is debated amongst methodological holists and methodological individualists. In social science and philosophy, both issues have been intensively discussed and new versions of the dispute have appeared just as new arguments have been advanced. At present, the individualism/holism debate is extremely lively and this book reflects the major positions and perspectives within the debate. This volume is also relevant to debates about two closely related issues in social science: the micro-macro debate and the agency-structure debate. This book presents contributions from key figures in both social science and philosophy, in the first such collection on this topic to be published since the 1970s.

This book explores the view that normative behaviour is part of a complex of social mechanisms, processes and narratives that are constantly shifting. From this perspective, norms are not a kind of self-contained social object or fact, but rather an interplay of many things that we label as norms when we ‘take a snapshot’ of them at a particular instant. Further, this book pursues the hypothesis that considering the dynamic aspects of these phenomena sheds new light on them. The sort of issues that this perspective opens to exploration include: Of what is this complex we call a "social norm" composed of? How do new social norms emerge and what kind of circumstances might facilitate such an appearance? How context-specific are the norms and patterns of normative behaviour that arise? How do the cognitive and the social aspects of norms interact over time? How do expectations, beliefs and individual rationality interact with social norm complexes to effect behaviour? How does our social embeddedness relate to social constraint upon behaviour? How might the socio-cognitive complexes that we call norms be usefully researched?

The book focuses on Social Collective Intelligence, a term used to denote a class of socio-technical systems that combine, in a coordinated way, the strengths of humans, machines and collectives in terms of competences, knowledge and problem solving capabilities with the communication, computing and storage capabilities of advanced ICT. Social Collective Intelligence opens a number of challenges for researchers in both computer science and social sciences; at the same time it provides an innovative approach to solve challenges in diverse application domains, ranging from health to education and organization of work. The book will provide a cohesive and holistic treatment of Social Collective Intelligence, including challenges emerging in various disciplines (computer science, sociology, ethics) and opportunities for innovating in various application areas. By going through the book the reader will gauge insight and knowledge into the challenges and opportunities provided by this new, exciting, field of investigation. Benefits for scientists will be in terms of accessing a comprehensive treatment of the open research challenges in a multidisciplinary perspective. Benefits for practitioners and applied researchers will be in terms of access to novel approaches to tackle relevant problems in their field. Benefits for policy-makers and public bodies representatives will be in terms of understanding how technological advances can support them in supporting the progress of society and economy.