The game of Dots-and-Boxes, the popular game in which two players take turns connecting an array of dots to form squares, or "boxes" has long been considered merely a child's game. In this book, however, the author reveals the surprising complexity of the game, along with advanced strategies that will allow the reader to win at any level of gameplay desired. This book is an essential guide to the game of Dots-and-Boxes and its mathematical underpinnings. Chapters of strategy are interspersed with dozens of sample problems and their solutions. Furthermore, the strategies can be applied to several other games, such as Strings-and-Coins and Nimstring.

What if life is a game? Are you winning? Have you even decided what 'winning' is? Game design could be defined in many ways, but here the term is used to denote the practice of creating choices. Designing a game, in this sense, involves crafting limits, rewards, incentives, and risks in such a way that the person who interacts with the game - the player - makes choices that have consequences. Edward Castronova urges readers to think about the fundamentals of the human condition and compare them to different games that we all know. In some ways, life is like an idle game: providing unchallenging distractions that fit easily into a person's daily routine. In other ways, life is like the game Minesweeper: You poke in different places to learn about what you don't know, taking care to avoid big explosions. Or, life is like a role-playing game: You adopt a persona and speak your part, always seeking adventure. Bringing together questions relating to diverse fields - such as politics, economics, sociology and philosophy - Castronova persuades readers to broaden the scope of game design to answer questions about life's everyday obstacles. The object of this book is to take seriously the idea that life is a game. The goal is not to make readers wealthier or healthier. Its goal is to go on a journey into the human condition, with game design as a guide.

This textbook presents a rigorous approach to multivariable calculus in the context of model building and optimization problems. This comprehensive overview is based on lectures given at five SERC Schools from 2008 to 2012 and covers a broad range of topics that will enable readers to understand and create deterministic and nondeterministic models. Researchers, advanced undergraduate, and graduate students in mathematics, statistics, physics, engineering, and biological sciences will find this book to be a valuable resource for finding appropriate models to describe real-life situations. The first chapter begins with an introduction to fractional calculus moving on to discuss fractional integrals, fractional derivatives, fractional differential equations and their solutions. Multivariable calculus is covered in the second chapter and introduces the fundamentals of multivariable calculus (multivariable functions, limits and continuity, differentiability, directional derivatives and expansions of multivariable functions). Illustrative examples, input-output process, optimal recovery of functions and approximations are given; each section lists an ample number of exercises to heighten understanding of the material. Chapter three discusses deterministic/mathematical and optimization models evolving from differential equations, difference equations, algebraic models, power function models, input-output models and pathway models. Fractional integral and derivative models are examined. Chapter four covers non-deterministic/stochastic models. The random walk model, branching process model, birth and death process model, time series models, and regression type models are examined. The fifth chapter covers optimal design. General linear models from a statistical point of view are introduced; the Gauss-Markov theorem, quadratic forms, and generalized inverses of matrices are covered. Pathway, symmetric, and asymmetric models are covered in chapter six, the concepts are illustrated with graphs.

Game-theoretic probability and finance come of age Glenn Shafer and Vladimir Vovk's Probability and Finance, published in 2001, showed that perfect-information games can be used to define mathematical probability. Based on fifteen years of further research, Game-Theoretic Foundations for Probability and Finance presents a mature view of the foundational role game theory can play. Its account of probability theory opens the way to new methods of prediction and testing and makes many statistical methods more transparent and widely usable. Its contributions to finance theory include purely game-theoretic accounts of Ito's stochastic calculus, the capital asset pricing model, the equity premium, and portfolio theory. Game-Theoretic Foundations for Probability and Finance is a book of research. It is also a teaching resource. Each chapter is supplemented with carefully designed exercises and notes relating the new theory to its historical context. Praise from early readers "Ever since Kolmogorov's Grundbegriffe, the standard mathematical treatment of probability theory has been measure-theoretic. In this ground-breaking work, Shafer and Vovk give a game-theoretic foundation instead. While being just as rigorous, the game-theoretic approach allows for vast and useful generalizations of classical measure-theoretic results, while also giving rise to new, radical ideas for prediction, statistics and mathematical finance without stochastic assumptions. The authors set out their theory in great detail, resulting in what is definitely one of the most important books on the foundations of probability to have appeared in the last few decades." - Peter Grunwald, CWI and University of Leiden "Shafer and Vovk have thoroughly re-written their 2001 book on the game-theoretic foundations for probability and for finance. They have included an account of the tremendous growth that has occurred since, in the game-theoretic and pathwise approaches to stochastic analysis and in their applications to continuous-time finance. This new book will undoubtedly spur a better understanding of the foundations of these very important fields, and we should all be grateful to its authors." - Ioannis Karatzas, Columbia University

This book contains the contributions resulting from the 6th Italian-Japanese workshop on Geometric Properties for Parabolic and Elliptic PDEs, which was held in Cortona (Italy) during the week of May 20-24, 2019. This book will be of great interest for the mathematical community and in particular for researchers studying parabolic and elliptic PDEs. It covers many different fields of current research as follows: convexity of solutions to PDEs, qualitative properties of solutions to parabolic equations, overdetermined problems, inverse problems, Brunn-Minkowski inequalities, Sobolev inequalities, and isoperimetric inequalities.

Nonlinear Parameter Optimization Using RJohn C. Nash, Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, Canada

A systematic and comprehensive treatment of optimization software using RIn recent decades, optimization techniques have been streamlined by computational and artificial intelligence methods to analyze more variables, especially under non-linear, multivariable conditions, more quickly than ever before.Optimization is an important tool for decision science and for the analysis of physical systems used in engineering. Nonlinear Parameter Optimization with R explores the principal tools available in R for function minimization, optimization, and nonlinear parameter determination and features numerous examples throughout.

Nonlinear Parameter Optimization with R: - Provides a comprehensive treatment of optimization techniques- Examines optimization problems that arise in statistics and how to solve them using R- Enables researchers and practitioners to solve parameter determination problems- Presents traditional methods as well as recent developments in R- Is supported by an accompanying website featuring R code, examples and datasets

Researchers and practitioners who have to solve parameter determination problems who are users of R but are novices in the field optimization or function minimization will benefit from this book. It will also be useful for scientists building and estimating nonlinear models in various fields such as hydrology, sports forecasting, ecology, chemical engineering, pharmaco-kinetics, agriculture, economics and statistics.

This contributed volume contains the research results of the Cluster of Excellence "Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries", funded by the German Research Society (DFG). The approach to the topic is genuinely interdisciplinary, covering insights from fields such as engineering, material sciences, economics and social sciences. The book contains coherent deterministic models for integrative product creation chains as well as harmonized cybernetic models of production systems. The content is structured into five sections: Integrative Production Technology, Individualized Production, Virtual Production Systems, Integrated Technologies, Self-Optimizing Production Systems and Collaboration Productivity.The target audience primarily comprises research experts and practitioners in the field of production engineering, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students.

This is the first book devoted entirely to Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), which is a non-specific algorithm, similar to evolutionary algorithms, such as taboo search and ant colonies.

Since its original development in 1995, PSO has mainly been applied to continuous-discrete heterogeneous strongly non-linear numerical optimization and it is thus used almost everywhere in the world. Its convergence rate also makes it a preferred tool in dynamic optimization.

The series is designed to bring together those mathematicians who are seriously interested in getting new challenging stimuli from economic theories with those economists who are seeking effective mathematical tools for their research. A lot of economic problems can be formulated as constrained optimizations and equilibration of their solutions. Various mathematical theories have been supplying economists with indispensable machineries for these problems arising in economic theory. Conversely, mathematicians have been stimulated by various mathematical difficulties raised by economic theories.

Game Theory and Exercises introduces the main concepts of game theory, along with interactive exercises to aid readers' learning and understanding. Game theory is used to help players understand decision-making, risk-taking and strategy and the impact that the choices they make have on other players; and how the choices of those players, in turn, influence their own behaviour. So, it is not surprising that game theory is used in politics, economics, law and management. This book covers classic topics of game theory including dominance, Nash equilibrium, backward induction, repeated games, perturbed strategie s, beliefs, perfect equilibrium, Perfect Bayesian equilibrium and replicator dynamics. It also covers recent topics in game theory such as level-k reasoning, best reply matching, regret minimization and quantal responses. This textbook provides many economic applications, namely on auctions and negotiations. It studies original games that are not usually found in other textbooks, including Nim games and traveller's dilemma. The many exercises and the inserts for students throughout the chapters aid the reader's understanding of the concepts. With more than 20 years' teaching experience, Umbhauer's expertise and classroom experience helps students understand what game theory is and how it can be applied to real life examples. This textbook is suitable for both undergraduate and postgraduate students who study game theory, behavioural economics and microeconomics.

This volume contains selected papers in three closely related areas: mathematical modeling in mechanics, numerical analysis, and optimization methods. The papers are based upon talks presented on the International Conference for Mathematical Modeling and Optimization in Mechanics, held in Jyvaskyla, Finland, March 6-7, 2014 dedicated to Prof. N. Banichuk on the occasion of his 70th birthday. The articles are written by well-known scientists working in computational mechanics and in optimization of complicated technical models. Also, the volume contains papers discussing the historical development, the state of the art, new ideas, and open problems arising in modern continuum mechanics and applied optimization problems. Several papers are concerned with mathematical problems in numerical analysis, which are also closely related to important mechanical models. The main topics treated include: * Computer simulation methods in mechanics, physics, and biology; * Variational problems and methods; minimization algorithms; * Optimal control problems with distributed and discrete control; * Shape optimization and shape design problems in science and engineering; * Sensitivity analysis and parameters optimization of complex systems.

A Beautiful Mind is Sylvia Nasar's award-winning biography about the mystery of the human mind, the triumph over incredible adversity, and the healing power of love. At the age of thirty-one, John Nash, mathematical genius, suffered a devastating breakdown and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Yet after decades of leading a ghost-like existence, he was to re-emerge to win a Nobel Prize and world acclaim. A Beautiful Mind has inspired the Oscar-winning film directed by Ron Howard and featuring Russell Crowe in the lead role of John Nash.

A fun and stunningly illustrated introduction to the art of linear optimization Linear optimization is a powerful modeling method for discovering the best solution to a problem among a set of available alternatives. It is one of today's most important branches of mathematics and computer science-and also a surprisingly rich medium for creating breathtaking works of art. Opt Art takes readers on an entertaining tour of linear optimization and its applications, showing along the way how it can be used to design visual art. Robert Bosch provides a lively and accessible introduction to the geometric, algebraic, and algorithmic foundations of optimization. He presents classical applications, such as the legendary Traveling Salesman Problem, and shows how to adapt them to make optimization art-opt art. Each chapter in this marvelously illustrated book begins with a problem or puzzle and demonstrates how the solution can be derived using a host of artistic methods and media, including 3D printing, laser cutting, and computer-controlled machining. Bosch focuses on mathematical modeling throughout-converting a problem into a workable mathematical form, solving it using optimization techniques, and examining the results, which can take the form of mosaics, line drawings, and even sculpture. All you need is some high-school algebra, geometry, and calculus to follow along. Featuring more than a hundred illustrations and photos of Bosch's own art, Opt Art demonstrates how mathematics and computing can be used to create beauty and express emotion through amazing works of art.

An up-close look at the theory behind and application of extremum seeking

Originally developed as a method of adaptive control for hard-to-model systems, extremum seeking solves some of the same problems as today's neural network techniques, but in a more rigorous and practical way. Following the resurgence in popularity of extremum-seeking control in aerospace and automotive engineering, Real-Time Optimization by Extremum-Seeking Control presents the theoretical foundations and selected applications of this method of real-time optimization.

Written by authorities in the field and pioneers in adaptive nonlinear control systems, this book presents both significant theoretic value and important practical potential. Filled with in-depth insight and expert advice, Real-Time Optimization by Extremum-Seeking Control:

• Develops optimization theory from the points of dynamic feedback and adaptation
• Builds a solid bridge between the classical optimization theory and modern feedback and adaptation techniques
• Provides a collection of useful tools for problems in this complex area
• Presents numerous applications of this powerful methodology
• Demonstrates the immense potential of this methodology for future theory development and applications

Real-Time Optimization by Extremum-Seeking Control is an important resource for both students and professionals in all areas of engineering-electrical, mechanical, aerospace, chemical, biomedical-and is also a valuable reference for practicing control engineers.

This new 4th edition offers an introduction to optimal control theory and its diverse applications in management science and economics. It introduces students to the concept of the maximum principle in continuous (as well as discrete) time by combining dynamic programming and Kuhn-Tucker theory. While some mathematical background is needed, the emphasis of the book is not on mathematical rigor, but on modeling realistic situations encountered in business and economics. It applies optimal control theory to the functional areas of management including finance, production and marketing, as well as the economics of growth and of natural resources. In addition, it features material on stochastic Nash and Stackelberg differential games and an adverse selection model in the principal-agent framework. Exercises are included in each chapter, while the answers to selected exercises help deepen readers' understanding of the material covered. Also included are appendices of supplementary material on the solution of differential equations, the calculus of variations and its ties to the maximum principle, and special topics including the Kalman filter, certainty equivalence, singular control, a global saddle point theorem, Sethi-Skiba points, and distributed parameter systems. Optimal control methods are used to determine optimal ways to control a dynamic system. The theoretical work in this field serves as the foundation for the book, in which the author applies it to business management problems developed from his own research and classroom instruction. The new edition has been refined and updated, making it a valuable resource for graduate courses on applied optimal control theory, but also for financial and industrial engineers, economists, and operational researchers interested in applying dynamic optimization in their fields.

This book presents mathematical models and numerical simulations of crowd dynamics. The core topic is the development of a new multiscale paradigm, which bridges the microscopic and macroscopic scales taking the most from each of them for capturing the relevant clues of complexity of crowds. The background idea is indeed that most of the complex trends exhibited by crowds are due to an intrinsic interplay between individual and collective behaviors. The modeling approach promoted in this book pursues actively this intuition and profits from it for designing general mathematical structures susceptible of application also in fields different from the inspiring original one. The book considers also the two most traditional points of view: the microscopic one, in which pedestrians are tracked individually and the macroscopic one, in which pedestrians are assimilated to a continuum. Selected existing models are critically analyzed. The work is addressed to researchers and graduate students.

General Fractional Derivatives with Applications in Viscoelasticity introduces the newly established fractional-order calculus operators involving singular and non-singular kernels with applications to fractional-order viscoelastic models from the calculus operator viewpoint. Fractional calculus and its applications have gained considerable popularity and importance because of their applicability to many seemingly diverse and widespread fields in science and engineering. Many operations in physics and engineering can be defined accurately by using fractional derivatives to model complex phenomena. Viscoelasticity is chief among them, as the general fractional calculus approach to viscoelasticity has evolved as an empirical method of describing the properties of viscoelastic materials. General Fractional Derivatives with Applications in Viscoelasticity makes a concise presentation of general fractional calculus.

The authoritative guide to modeling and solving complex problems with linear programming--extensively revised, expanded, and updated

The only book to treat both linear programming techniques and network flows under one cover, "Linear Programming and Network Flows, Fourth Edition" has been completely updated with the latest developments on the topic. This new edition continues to successfully emphasize modeling concepts, the design and analysis of algorithms, and implementation strategies for problems in a variety of fields, including industrial engineering, management science, operations research, computer science, and mathematics.

The book begins with basic results on linear algebra and convex analysis, and a geometrically motivated study of the structure of polyhedral sets is provided. Subsequent chapters include coverage of cycling in the simplex method, interior point methods, and sensitivity and parametric analysis. Newly added topics in the "Fourth Edition" include:

The cycling phenomenon in linear programming and the geometry of cycling

Duality relationships with cycling

Elaboration on stable factorizations and implementation strategies

Stabilized column generation and acceleration of Benders and Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition methods

Line search and dual ascent ideas for the out-of-kilter algorithm

Heap implementation comments, negative cost circuit insights, and additional convergence analyses for shortest path problems

The authors present concepts and techniques that are illustrated by numerical examples along with insights complete with detailed mathematical analysis and justification. An emphasis is placed on providing geometric viewpoints and economic interpretations as well as strengthening the understanding of the fundamental ideas. Each chapter is accompanied by "Notes" and "References" sections that provide historical developments in addition to current and future trends. Updated exercises allow readers to test their comprehension of the presented material, and extensive references provide resources for further study.

"Linear Programming and Network Flows, Fourth Edition" is an excellent book for linear programming and network flow courses at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also a valuable resource for applied scientists who would like to refresh their understanding of linear programming and network flow techniques.

This volume presents the revised papers of the 14th International Conference in Monte Carlo and Quasi-Monte Carlo Methods in Scientific Computing, MCQMC 2020, which took place online during August 10-14, 2020. This book is an excellent reference resource for theoreticians and practitioners interested in solving high-dimensional computational problems, arising, in particular, in statistics, machine learning, finance, and computer graphics, offering information on the latest developments in Monte Carlo and quasi-Monte Carlo methods and their randomized versions.

Gain an in-depth understanding of converter-interfaced energy storage systems with this unique text, covering modelling, dynamic behaviour, control, and stability analysis. Providing comprehensive coverage, it demonstrates the technical and economic aspects of energy storage systems, and provides a thorough overview of energy storage technologies. Several different modelling techniques are presented, including power system models, voltage-sourced converter models, and energy storage system models. Using a novel stochastic control approach developed by the authors, you will learn about the impact of energy storage on the dynamic interaction of microgrids with distribution and transmission systems. Compare the numerous real-world simulation data and numerical examples provided with your own models and control strategies. Accompanied online by a wealth of numerical examples and supporting data, this is the ideal text for graduate students, researchers, and industry professionals working in power system dynamics, renewable energy integration, and smart grid development.

This volume is addressed to people who are interested in modern mathematical solutions for real life applications. In particular, mathematical modeling, simulation and optimization is nowadays successfully used in various fields of application, like the energy- or health-sector. Here, mathematics is often the driving force for new innovations and most relevant for the success of many interdisciplinary projects. The presented chapters demonstrate the power of this emerging research field and show how society can benefit from applied mathematics.

Dieses Lehr-, Arbeits- und UEbungsbuch ist vorrangig zum Selbststudium sowie als Begleitlekture zu Vorlesungen "Mathematik fur Wirtschaftswissenschaftler" konzipiert. Das Buch zielt vor allem auf nachhaltiges Verstehen ab und ist daher fur Studienanfanger und Praktiker gleichermassen geeignet: Mathematische Grundelemente und oekonomisch relevante mathematische Techniken werden ausfuhrlich dargestellt, begrundet und eingeubt. Zugunsten der Verstandlichkeit wird dabei punktuell auf theoretischen Ballast - etwa mathematische Details und einzelne Beweise - verzichtet. Im Anschluss werden die zunachst abstrakten Techniken zielgerichtet und sinnvoll fur oekonomische Anwendungen nutzbar gemacht. Zahlreiche Beispiele und UEbungsaufgaben sowie UEbersichtsdarstellungen runden das Gesamtpaket ab. Fur einen gelungenen Einstieg enthalt das Buch zusatzlich einen Intensiv-Bruckenkurs zur elementaren Algebra mit mehr als 500 UEbungsaufgaben, Selbstkontroll-Tests, Eingangs- und Schlusstests. Loesungshinweise zum Bruckenkurs sowie zu allen weiteren UEbungsaufgaben sind im separaten Loesungsanhang zu finden. Fur die vorliegende 18. Auflage wurde das Buch vollstandig aktualisiert und korrigiert.

The second edition of this 5-volume handbook is intended to be a basic yet comprehensive reference work in combinatorial optimization that will benefit newcomers and researchers for years to come. This multi-volume work deals with several algorithmic approaches for discrete problems as well as with many combinatorial problems. The editors have brought together almost every aspect of this enormous field of combinatorial optimization, an area of research at the intersection of applied mathematics, computer science, and operations research and which overlaps with many other areas such as computation complexity, computational biology, VLSI design, communications networks, and management science. An international team of 30-40 experts in the field form the editorial board. The Handbook of Combinatorial Optimization, second edition is addressed to all scientists who use combinatorial optimization methods to model and solve problems. Experts in the field as well as non-specialists will find the material stimulating and useful.