Why do some games seem to be universal while others have a particular connection to the culture of the people playing them? Around the World in 80 Games is about the mathematics of chance, game theory, gamification, gaming strategies and computer games. Traversing the globe, Marcus du Sautoy looks at the genesis of games new and old, explores how to invent a good game and explains the fascination of a popular lockdown game. From the secrets of whist to hopscotch, Scrabble to Wordle. The most simple games endure: board games, card games and dice games have captivated us for centuries and the acclaimed mathematician and author of The Creativity Code (among many others) will once again bring mathematics to the fore with insight and aplomb in Around the World in 80 Games.

This book compares water allocation policy in three rivers under pressure from demand, droughts and a changing climate: the Colorado, Columbia and Murray-Darling. Each river has undergone multiple decades of policy reform at the intersection of water markets and river basin governance - two prominent responses to the global water crisis often attempted and analyzed separately. Drawing on concepts and evidence about property rights and transaction costs, this book generates lessons about the factors that enable and constrain more flexible and sustainable approaches for sharing water among users and across political jurisdictions. Despite over 40 years of interest in water markets as a solution to water scarcity, they have been slow to develop. Intensified competition has also stimulated interest in river basins as the ideal unit to manage conflicts and tradeoffs across jurisdictions, but integration has proven elusive. This book investigates why progress has been slower and more uneven than expected, and it pinpoints the principles and practices associated with both successes and failures. Garrick synthesizes theoretical traditions in public policy and institutional economics, to examine the influence of path dependency and transaction costs on water allocation reform. Using evidence from historical sources, public policy analysis and institutional economics, the book demonstrates that reforms to water rights and transboundary governance arrangements must be combined and complementary to achieve lasting success at multiple scales. The original approach of this book, and its comparison of three prominent sites of reform, makes it an asset to practitioners of water policy, as well as water governance scholars and academics in public policy and economics who are focused on environmental policy, property rights and institutional change.

Employment relations, much discussed in other industries, has often been neglected in professional sports despite its unique characteristics. The book aims to explore in detail the unique nature of the employment relationship in professional sports and the sport industry. In four parts the book examines, firstly the regulation of sporting competition both within and across sporting codes; secondly a range of employment law issues such as how contracting and negotiation are handled, how disputes are resolved, and the role of sporting representatives such as player associations. The third section discusses the economic issues related to employment such as transfers, drafts and efforts to achieve ''competitive balance''. The final section of the book explores contemporary issues in sports management and governance, including anti-discrimination and anti-doping policy. Through this analysis the book identifies the complex and unique issues surrounding employment relations within professional sports and the sport industry. Contributors include: J. Anderson, M. Barry, P. Bouris, C. Coupland, C. Depken III, J.B. Dworkin, T. Engelberg, S. Gardiner, R. Gomez, B. Keller, L. Masteralexis, G. Maynes, H. Mitchell, S. Moston, J.A.R. Nafziger, M. Nichol, R. Paul, P. Schuwalow, J. Skinner, J. Solow, M. Stewart, K. Vieweg, P. Von Allmen, A. Weinbach, R. Welch

Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital presents a novel interpretation of the good and bad times in the economy, taking a long-term perspective and linking technology and finance in an original and convincing way. Carlota Perez draws upon Schumpeter's theories of the clustering of innovations to explain why each technological revolution gives rise to a paradigm shift and a 'New Economy' and how these 'opportunity explosions', focused on specific industries, also lead to the recurrence of financial bubbles and crises. These findings are illustrated with examples from the past two centuries: the industrial revolution, the age of steam and railways, the age of steel and electricity, the emergence of mass production and automobiles, and the current information revolution/knowledge society. By analyzing the changing relationship between finance capital and production capital during the emergence, diffusion and assimilation of new technologies throughout the global economic system, this seminal book sheds new light on some of the most pressing economic problems of today. A bold interpretation of how the changing relationship between technological advances and financial capital shapes the patterns of economic cycles, this path-breaking book will provide essential insights for business leaders, policymakers, academics and others concerned with managing change in the world economy.

Forecasting Urban Travel presents in a non-mathematical way the evolution of methods, models and theories underpinning travel forecasts and policy analysis, from the early urban transportation studies of the 1950s to current applications throughout the urbanized world. From original documents, correspondence and interviews, especially from the United States and the United Kingdom, the authors seek to capture the spirit and problems faced in different eras, as changing information requirements, computing technology and planning objectives conditioned the nature of forecasts.With over 1000 references, the book charts the key ideas relating to land use, travel demand, network costs and flows, and their interactions, from both research and practice to the present states of the art. The authors examine the widening scope and variety of models for analyzing and forecasting personal travel and goods movement, identifying contributions from economics, psychology, geography, regional science, operational research, transportation engineering and mathematics. Finally, they offer their views of the future directions and requirements facing the field. Offering a historical presentation of urban forecasting models covering six decades, accessible to a wide range of students, researchers and planners, this book will be of great interest to undergraduate and graduate students in transportation courses in civil engineering, economics, geography, regional science and planning. Through its discussion of critiques and missed opportunities as travel demand, network and land-use transportation models evolved, the book will also serve as a valuable resource for teachers, academic researchers and practitioners in travel behavior and forecasting.