Search result: Catalogue data in Spring Semester 2019

Doctoral Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences Information
More Information at: Link
Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Courses
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
851-0111-09LScience in Context Restricted registration - show details
This course is open to PhD students and postdocs of all departments.
The course is part of the Critical Thinking Initiative CTETH
W3 credits2VB. Rubin Lucht, M. Reinhart
AbstractScience consists of more than just doing lab work and writing publications. Science is also about what type of research gets funded, who makes a career, and which scientific results attract public attention. In this course we discuss the wider context in which science takes place from different perspectives: philosophical, historical, sociological, economic, political, and societal.
ObjectiveStudents learn to consider research in the context of science and society at large, but also in view of their own professional interests. Familiarity with the different modes used to reflect on the role of scientists will facilitate the transition from studies to professional work as scientists.
ContentThe course will consist of lectures covering the topics listed below. The lectures will be followed by extensive discussions of the particular topics based on reading of key publications in Science Studies. Experts will be invited to provide direct insight into the topics and to discuss questions and problems (e.g. media professional, patent lawyer).
Major topics that students will be introduced to:
- The historical and philosophical framework of the sciences with a particular emphasis on processes of innovation.
- The processes of publishing scientific work and obtaining funding for research
- The intersection between academia and industry, in particular the technology transfer process and the diversified roles of the different actors in the innovation processes.
- The public perception and evaluation of scientific progress with a particular focus on the role of applied ethics.
Prerequisites / NoticeWe very much appreciate research expertise by members of different disciplines, as this renders the presentations and common discussions more interesting for all participants. If you have any questions concerning the form or the content of the course do not hesitate to inquire by email.
851-0587-00LCIS Colloquium Restricted registration - show details
This seminar is open for staff members based at the Center for Comparative and International Studies, CIS.
W2 credits1KF. Schimmelfennig
AbstractIn this seminar staff members of the Center for Comparative and International Studies (CIS) and external guests present and discuss their research.
ObjectiveIn this seminar staff members of the Center for Comparative and International Studies (CIS) and external guests present and discuss their research.
ContentPresentation and discussion of current research.
Lecture notesDistributed electronically.
LiteratureDistributed electronically.
Prerequisites / NoticeDates of the Colloquium see:
Link
851-0624-00LResearch for Development (R4D) PhD Seminar Information Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 15.
W1 credit1KI. Günther, C. Humphrey
AbstractDoctoral candidates from all ETH departments, whose research is related to development issues, are invited to give a presentation about their on-going work and discuss their doctoral project with a multidisciplinary audience.
ObjectiveDoctoral students are able to present their doctoral project to an interdisciplinary audience and to respond to questions within a wider development context.
Prerequisites / NoticeBlock seminar on two days in the spring semester: 10 and 17 May 2019.
853-0726-00LHistory II: Global (Anti-Imperialism and Decolonisation, 1919-1975)W3 credits2VH. Fischer-Tiné
AbstractThe lecture will give an insight into the formation of anticolonial nationalist movements in Asia and Africa from the beginning of the 20th century onwards and discuss the various dimensions of dismantling of colonial empires.
ObjectiveThe lecture will give students an insight into the history of the non-European world, looking specifically into the political, economic, social and cultural transformation on the backgrounds of colonial penetration strategies and the resistance of anti-colonial movements. The aim is to show that societies in Asia and Africa are not just the product of colonial penetration or anti-colonial resistance, but that both aspects influenced the present political, economic, social and cultural perception of these parts of the world to a considerable extent. A nuanced knowledge of the long and arduous process of decolonisation is hence important to understand today's geopolitical constellation, still characterised by the struggle for a just post-imperial world order.
LiteratureJansen, J.C. und Osterhammel, J., Dekolonisation: Das Ende der Imperien, München 2013.
Prerequisites / NoticeA detailed syllabus will be available in due course at Link
851-0732-03LIntellectual Property: An Introduction Information Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 150

Particularly suitable for students of D-ARCH, D-BIOL, D-CHAB, D-INFK, D-ITET, D-MAVT, D- MATL, D-MTEC.
W2 credits2VS. Bechtold, M. Schonger
AbstractThe course introduces students to the basics of the intellectual property system and of innovation policy. Areas covered include patent, copyright, trademark, design, know-how protection, open source, and technology transfer. The course looks at Swiss, European, U.S. and international law and uses examples from a broad range of technologies. Insights can be used in academia, industry or start-ups.
ObjectiveIntellectual property issues become more and more important in our society. In order to prepare students for their future challenges in research, industry or start-ups, this course introduces them to the foundations of the intellectual property system. The course covers patent, copyright, trademark, design, know-how protection, open source, and technology transfer law. It explains links to contract, antitrust, Internet, privacy and communications law where appropriate. While the introduction to these areas of the law is designed at a general level, examples and case studies come from various jurisdictions, including Switzerland, the European Union, the United States, and international law.

In addition, the course introduces students to the fundamentals of innovation policy. After exposing students to the economics of intellectual property protection, the course asks questions such as: Why do states grant property rights in inventions? Has the protection of intellectual property gone too far? How do advances in biotechnology and the Internet affect the intellectual property system? What is the relationship between open source, open access and intellectual property? What alternatives to intellectual property protection exist?

Knowing how the intellectual property system works and what kind of protection is available is useful for all students who are interested in working in academia, industry or in starting their own company. Exposing students to the advantages and disadvantages of the intellectual property system enables them to participate in the current policy discussions on intellectual property, innovation and technology law. The course will include practical examples and case studies as well as guest speakers from industry and private practice.
851-0587-01LCIS Doctoral Colloquium Restricted registration - show details
Only for PhD students of CIS
W2 credits3KUniversity lecturers
AbstractIn this internal colloquium doctoral students present their work after about 12 months of research.
ObjectiveThe aim of this colloquium is that the presenters receive feedback on their research at an important stage (a stage at which significant changes of direction, methodology, etc, may still be undertaken) in the PhD process.
ContentPresentation of doctoral research.
Lecture notesDistributed electronically.
LiteratureDistributed electronically.
851-0252-04LBehavioral Studies Colloquium Information W0 credits2KU. Brandes, V. Amati, H.‑D. Daniel, D. Helbing, C. Hölscher, M. Kapur, R. Schubert, C. Stadtfeld, E. Stern
AbstractThis colloquium offers an opportunity for students to discuss their ongoing research and scientific ideas in the behavioral sciences, both at the micro- and macro-levels of cognitive, behavioral and social science. It also offers an opportunity for students from other disciplines to discuss their research ideas in relation to behavioral science. The colloquium also features invited research talks.
ObjectiveStudents know and can apply autonomously up-to-date investigation methods and techniques in the behavioral sciences. They achieve the ability to develop their own ideas in the field and to communicate their ideas in oral presentations and in written papers. The credits will be obtained by a written report of approximately 10 pages.
ContentThis colloquium offers an opportunity for students to discuss their ongoing research and scientific ideas in the behavioral sciences, both at the micro- and macro-levels of cognitive, behavioral and social science. It also offers an opportunity for students from other disciplines to discuss their ideas in so far as they have some relation to behavioral science. The possible research areas are wide and may include theoretical as well as empirical approaches in Social Psychology and Research on Higher Education, Sociology, Modeling and Simulation in Sociology, Decision Theory and Behavioral Game Theory, Economics, Research on Learning and Instruction, Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Science. Ideally the students (from Bachelor, Master, Ph.D. and Post-Doc programs) have started to start work on their thesis or on any other term paper.
Course credit can be obtained either based on a talk in the colloquium plus a written essay, or by writing an essay about a topic related to one of the other talks in the course. Students interested in giving a talk should contact the course organizers (Ziegler, Kapur) before the first session of the semester. Priority will be given to advanced / doctoral students for oral presentations. The course credits will be obtained by a written report of approximately 10 pages. The colloquium also serves as a venue for invited talks by researchers from other universities and institutions related to behavioral and social sciences.
851-0252-01LHuman-Computer Interaction: Cognition and Usability Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 30.

Particularly suitable for students of D-ITET
W3 credits2SC. Hölscher, I. Barisic, H. Zhao
AbstractThis seminar introduces theory and methods in human-computer interaction and usability. Cognitive Science provides a theoretical framework for designing user interfaces as well as a range of methods for assessing usability (user testing, cognitive walkthrough, GOMS). The seminar will provide an opportunity to experience some of the methods in applied group projects.
ObjectiveThis seminar will introduce key topics, theories and methodology in human-computer interaction (HCI) and usability. Presentations will cover the basics of human-computer interaction and selected topics like mobile interaction, adaptive systems, human error and attention. A focus of the seminar will be on getting to know evaluation techniques in HCI. Students will work in groups and will first familiarize themselves with a select usability evaluation method (e.g. user testing, GOMS, task analysis, heuristic evaluation, questionnaires or Cognitive Walkthrough). They will then apply the methods to a human-computer interaction setting (e.g. an existing software or hardware interface) and present the method as well as their procedure and results to the plenary. Active participation is vital for the success of the seminar, and students are expected to contribute to presentations of foundational themes, methods and results of their chosen group project. In order to obtain course credit a written essay / report will be required (details to be specified in the introductory session of the course).
851-0252-03LDesign Studio in Spatial Cognition Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 40

Particularly suitable for students of D-ARCH
W3 credits2SV. Schinazi, C. Hölscher, Y. Park
AbstractHow can Behavioral and Cognitive Science inform architecture? This project-oriented seminar investigates contributions of cognition to architectural design, with an emphasis on evaluating how urban spaces are used. Existing theories are introduced and complemented with hands-on sessions. The course is tailored for students studying architecture.
ObjectiveTaking the perspectives of the building users (occupants and visitors) is vital for a human-centered design approach. Students will learn about relevant theory and methods in cognitive science and environmental psychology that can be used to address human cognitive and behavioral needs in built environments. The foundations of environmental psychology and human spatial cognition will be introduced. A focus of the seminar will be on how people perceive their surroundings,. Students will learn about a range of methods including real-world observation and methods of architectural analysis such as space syntax. Students will reflect the roles of designers and other stakeholders with respect to human-centered design as well as an evidence-based design perspective. The seminar is geared towards a mix of students from architecture / planning, engineering, computer science and behavioral science as well as anybody interested in the relation between design and cognition. Architecture students can obtain course credit in Vertiefungsfach" or "Wahlfach".
851-0252-05LResearch Seminar Cognitive Science Restricted registration - show details
Prerequisite: Participants should be involved in research in the cognitive science group.
W1 credit2SC. Hölscher, V. Schinazi, T. Thrash
AbstractThe colloquium provides a forum for researchers and graduate students in cognitive science to present/discuss their ongoing projects as well as jointly discuss current publications in cognitive science and related fields. A subset of the sessions will include invited external visitors presenting their research. Participants of this colloquium are expected to be involved in active research group.
ObjectiveGraduate student train and improve their presentation skills based on their own project ideas, all participants stay informed on current trends in the field and have the opportunity for networking with invited scholars.
862-0096-00LTheoretical Philosophy Work in Progress Seminar Restricted registration - show details
Does not take place this semester.
Only for History and Philosophy of Knowledge MSc and DGESS PhD students.
W3 credits1Sto be announced
AbstractIn this course themes from theoretical philosophy are discussed which are of particular interest for current MAPGW students. Primary texts will be read together and the work in progress of the participants (essays, theses) will be presented and discussed.
ObjectiveThis course is aimed at MAPGW students who are particularly interested in theoretical philosophy. The seminar provides an opportunity to discuss and present one's own research. The participants learn to critically evaluate primary texts and improve their skills in presenting and discussing work in progress.
851-0252-06LIntroduction to Social Networks: Theory, Methods and Applications
This course is intended for students interested in data analysis and with basic knowledge of inferential statistics.
W3 credits2GC. Stadtfeld, T. Elmer, A. Vörös
AbstractHumans are connected by various social relations. When aggregated, we speak of social networks. This course discusses how social networks are structured, how they change over time and how they affect the individuals that they connect. It integrates social theory with practical knowledge of cutting-edge statistical methods and applications from a number of scientific disciplines.
ObjectiveThe aim is to enable students to contribute to social networks research and to be discriminating consumers of modern literature on social networks. Students will acquire a thorough understanding of social networks theory (1), practical skills in cutting-edge statistical methods (2) and their applications in a number of scientific fields (3).
In particular, at the end of the course students will
- Know the fundamental theories in social networks research (1)
- Understand core concepts of social networks and their relevance in different contexts (1, 3)
- Be able to describe and visualize networks data in the R environment (2)
- Understand differences regarding analysis and collection of network data and other type of survey data (2)
- Know state-of-the-art inferential statistical methods and how they are used in R (2)
- Be familiar with the core empirical studies in social networks research (2, 3)
- Know how network methods can be employed in a variety of scientific disciplines (3)
860-0017-00LArgumentation and Science Communication Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 10.

STP Students have priority.
W6 credits3GA. Wenger, C. J. Baumberger, M. Dunn Cavelty, C. Elhardt
AbstractAnalyzing and communicating the aims and ethical implications of scientific research is an essential element at the intersection of science, technology and policy making. This course is split into two modules which focus (1) on arguing about ethical aspects and scientific uncertainties of policies, and (2) on communicating scientific results to policy-makers and the wider public.
ObjectiveStudents learn to consider uncertainties in inferences from computer simulation results to real-world policy problems and acquire an understanding of ethical positions and arguments concerning values, justice and risks related to policies. They learn how to analyze the particular prerequisites for the successful dissemination of scientific results to policy-makers and the wider public.
ContentAnalyzing and communicating the aims and ethical implications of scientific research is an essential element at the intersection of science, technology and policy making. In the first module of this course, we will introduce and discuss ethical positions and arguments concerning values, justice and risks related to policies. Subsequently, we will learn how to clarify concepts as well as how to identify, reconstruct and evaluate arguments and complex argumentations.
In the second module, we will analyze the particular prerequisites for the successful dissemination of scientific results to policy-makers and the wider public. To get a better understanding of the expectations and needs of different target groups we will invite guest speakers and professionals from both the media and the policy world to share their experiences and discuss common problems. The final part of this course consists of practical applications and exercises. Proceeding in a 'draft/revise/submit'-manner, students will have to present a scientific project (possibly linked to a case study) in two different formats (e.g. newspaper contribution and policy brief). Faculty will supervise the writing process and provide reviews and comments on drafts.
Schedule:

Part I:

W1: Introduction: Why is argumentation needed in policy analysis?
W2: Concepts and arguments I: Clarification of ambiguous and vague concepts, identification and reconstruction of arguments, types of theoretical and practical arguments
W3: Concepts and arguments II: Criteria for good arguments, typical fallacies, use of arguments in discussions
W4: Justice: What are the ethical arguments for and against different conceptions of intra- and intergenerational justice, such as egalitarianism, grandfathering, polluter or beneficiary pays principle, and capability approaches?

Part II:

W5: The science of science communication: Basic insights from communication theory
W6: Different Audiences, Different Formats: What are the particular prerequisites for the successful dissemination of scientific results to policy-makers? What are the writing and presentation skills needed?
W7: What are the particular prerequisites for communicating with the wider public? The dos and don'ts of media interaction. What are the benefits and challenges of social media?
W8: Interviews for Radio and TV (with examples / exercises)
W9: Examples of Science Communication in the Media and at Universities
W10: Study week: Students work on their two 'praxis projects' and submit two drafts.
W11: Supervision and Revision
W12: Supervision and Revision
W13: Wrap-up: Effectively communicating science-related topics and their political and ethical implications to a non-expert audience.
Lecture notesPapers are made available for the participants of this course through Moodle. The book used for the 2nd part of the course "Escape from the Ivory Tower" can be bought from the instructors
LiteraturePapers are made available for the participants of this course through Moodle. The book used for the 2nd part of the course "Escape from the Ivory Tower" can be bought from the instructors
Prerequisites / NoticeThe total number of students is 10. MSc students, PhD students and postdocs with a science and technology background have priority; weekly meetings of 3 hours during FS (Spring Semester) 2017, 6 ETCS (39 contact hours + 141 hours for preparations and exercises); grading based on the exercises on a 1-6 point scale, the parts contribute in the following way: argumentation 50%, science communication 50%.
151-0906-00LFrontiers in Energy Research Information Restricted registration - show details
This course is only for doctoral students.
W2 credits2SC. Schaffner
AbstractDoctoral students at ETH Zurich working in the broad area of energy present their research to their colleagues, their advisors and the scientific community. Each week a different student gives a 50-60 min presentation of their research (a full introduction, background & findings) followed by discussion with the audience.
ObjectiveThe key objectives of the course are:
(1) participants will gain knowledge of advanced research in the area of energy;
(2) participants will actively participate in discussion after each presentation;
(3) participants gain experience of different presentation styles;
(4) to create a network amongst the energy research doctoral student community.
ContentDoctoral students at ETH Zurich working in the broad area of energy present their research to their colleagues, to their advisors and to the scientific community. There will be one presentation a week during the semester, each structured as follows: 20 min introduction to the research topic, 30 min presentation of the results, 30 min discussion with the audience.
Lecture notesSlides will be available on the Energy Science Center pages(Link).
851-0735-16LStart Ups ans TaxesW2 credits2SP. Pamini
AbstractETH students learn the relevancy of the tax law framework in the context of company start-ups. Based on theory and case studies, the participants discuss which regulatory options the legislator has, how it can promote innovative start-ups and where the typical pitfalls are. The consequences of direct and indirect taxes are debated both at the company and the entrepreneur level.
ObjectiveMost of the time, scientific knowledge and the resulting technical innovations spread outside of the academic world over the activities of business ventures, specifically by developing new products and processes or by improving existing ones. As an ETH graduate who would like to practically implement her theoretical knowledge, you know the advantages and disadvantages of the manifold legal system set by the legislator, both from a private and from a tax law perspective.

Start-ups differ substantially from normal kinds of enterprises. For instance, ownership can be concentrated in few hands and change over time, being opened to venture investors (e.g. in connection with private equity funds). The corporate governance can be particularly complex (e.g. including dual-class shares or an asymmetry between the degree of financial participation and the share of voting rights). The industry wherein the start-up is doing business can also be typically very volatile, preventing to find sensible comparables to value the start-up; reliable business plans are often missing.

On the one hand, in this seminar you learn the regulatory options that are available to the legislator to promote innovative start-ups. In this context, you are also introduced into financial markets theory, economic policy making, innovation promotion and business strategy. On the other hand, you learn the technical knowledge in Swiss tax law that you need in case of a possible future business venture. You will be also stimulated in approaching complex problems outside of your area of specialisation thinking in a connected way. Pre-knowledge in law or in business administration is useful, but does not represent any necessary condition to participate.

In the first sessions, the lecturer introduces you into the theoretical fundamentals as well as into the Swiss tax system, covering both direct taxes (such as the individual income and wealth taxes and the corporate income and capital taxes) and indirect taxes (such as VAT - value added tax, WHT - withholding tax, and stamp duties). Focusing on the field of start-ups, the discussions will deal both with individuals and corporations. The second part of the seminar will consist of the active discussion, primarily done by the seminar participants themselves, of some hypothetical business cases where the typical tax issues in connection with start-ups can be analysed more specifically.
851-0252-10LProject in Behavioural Finance Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 40

Particularly suitable for students of D-MTEC
W3 credits2SS. Andraszewicz, C. Hölscher, D. Kaszás
AbstractThis interactive practical course provides and overview of the key topics in behavioral finance. Along studying information about investor's behavior, decision-making, cognitive, biological and personality markers of risk taking and measuring risk appetite, students train critical thinking, argumentation and presentation. The learning process is based on interactive discussions and presentations.
ObjectiveThis course provides an overview of the key topics in behavioural finance and gives the opportunity for a first hands-on experience in designing, analysing and presenting a behavioural study. In the first half of the semester, students present papers from different topics within behavioural finance, including Judgment and Decision Making, psychometrics and individual differences, and risk perception and eliciting people’s propensity to take risk, biological markers of risk taking and investment behavior and trading games. The paper presentations are informal, require no power-point presentations and are followed by a discussion with the rest of the students in the class. The goal of these presentations is three-fold: in an interactive and engaging way, to provide an overview of the topics contained in the area of behavioural finance, to teach students to extract the most relevant information from scientific papers and be able to communicate them to their peers and to enhance critical thinking during the discussion.
In the middle of the semester, the students pick a topic in which they want to conduct a small study. Some topics will be offered by the lecturers, but students are free to choose a topic of their own.
This is followed by fine-tuning their research questions given found literature, data collection and analysis. At the end of the semester students receive feedback and advice on the data analysis and present the results in a formal presentation with slides. The final assignment is a written report from their study. Active participation in the meetings is mandatory to pass the course. This course does not involve learning by heart.

Key skills after the course completion:
- Overview of topics in behavioural finance
- Communication of research output in an a formal and informal way, in an oral and written form
- Critical thinking
- Argumentation and study design
Content- Giving presentations
- How to quickly "read" a paper
- Judgment and Decision Making, Heuristics and Biases
- Biology on the trading floor
- Psychometrics and individual differences
- Eliciting people's propensity to take risks
- Experimental design in behavioural studies
- Experimental Asset Markets
Lecture notesAll learning materials will be available to students over eDoz platform.
LiteratureTversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1992). Advance in prospect theory: Cumulative representation of uncertainty. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 5(4), 297-323

Rieskamp, J. (2008). The probabilistic nature of preferential choice. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, memory and Cognition, 34(6), 1446-1465

Hertwig, R., & Herzog, S. (2009). Fast and frugal heuristics: Tools of social rationality. Social Cognition, 27(5), 661-698

Coates, J.M., Gurnell, M., & Sarnyai, Z. (2010). From molecule to market: steroid hormones and financial risk taking. Philosophical Transacations of the Royal Society B, 365, 331-343

Cueva, C., Roberts, R.E., Spencer, T., Rani, N., Tempest, M., Tobler, P.N., Herbert, J., & Rustichini (2015). Cortisol and testosterone increase financial risk taking and may destabilize markets. Nature, 5(11206), 1-16

Conlin, A., Kyröläinen, P., Kaakinen, M., Järvelin, M-R., Perttunen, J., & Svento, R. (2015). Personality traits and stock market participation. Journal of Empirical Finance, 33, 34-50

Kosinski, M., Stillwell, D., & Graepel, T. (2013). Private traits and attributes are predictable from digital records of human behavior. Proceedings in National Academy of Sciences, 110, 5802-5805

Oehler, A., Wedlich, F., Wendt, S., & Horn, M. (July 9, 2016). Available at SSRN: Link

Fenton-O'Creevy, M., Nicholson, N., Soane, E., & Willman, P. (2003). Trading on illusions: Unrealistic perceptions of control and trading performance. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 76, 53-68

Frey, R., Pedroni, A., Mata, R., Rieskamp, J., & Hertwig, R. (2017). Risk preference shares the psychometric structure of major psychological traits. Science Advances, 3, 1-13

Schürmann, O., Andraszewicz, S., & Rieskamp, J. (2017). The importance of losses when eliciting risk preferences. Under review

Andraszewicz, S., Kaszas, D., Zeisberger, S., Murphy, R.O., & Hölscher, C. (2017). Simulating historical market crashes in the laboratory. Manuscript in preparation.

Allenbach, M., Kaszas, D., Andraszewicz, S., & Hölscher, C. (2017). Skin conductance response as marker or risk undertaken by investors. Manuscript in preparation.

Simic, M., Kaszas, D., Andraszewicz, S., & Hölscher, C. (2017). Incentive structure compatibility in a principal agent problem. Manuscript in preparation.

Sornette, D., Andraszewicz, S., Wu, K., Murphy, R.O., Rindlerm P., & Sanadgol, D. (2017). Overpricing persistance in experimental asset markets with intrinsic uncertainty. Under review.

Andraszewicz, S., Wu, K., & Sornette, D. (2017). Behavioural effects and market dynamics in field and laboratory experimental asset markets. Under review.
Prerequisites / NoticeGrading is based the active participation in the class and the final project. There is no exam.
851-0588-00LIntroduction to Game Theory Information Restricted registration - show details
Does not take place this semester.
Number of participants limited to 400

Particularly suitable for students of D-INFK, D-MATH
W3 credits2VH. Nax, D. Helbing
AbstractThis course introduces the foundations of game theory with a focus on its basic mathematical principles. It treats models of social interaction, conflict and cooperation, the origin of cooperation, and concepts of strategic decision making behavior. Examples, applications, theory, and the contrast between theory and empirical results are particularly emphasized.
ObjectiveLearn the fundamentals, models, and logic of thinking about game theory. Learn basic mathematical principles. Apply formal game theory models to strategic interaction situations and critically assess game theory's capabilities through a wide array of applications and experimental results.
ContentGame theory provides a unified mathematical language to study interactions amongst different types of individuals (e.g. humans, firms, nations, animals, etc.). It is often used to analyze situations involving conflict and/or cooperation. The course introduces the basic concepts of both non-cooperative and cooperative game theory (players, strategies, coalitions, rules of games, utilities, etc.) and explains the most prominent game-theoretic solution concepts (Nash equilibrium, sub-game perfection, Core, Shapley Value, etc.). We will also discuss standard extensions (repeated games, incomplete information, evolutionary game theory, signal games, etc.).

In each part of the course, we focus on examples and on selected applications of the theory in different areas. These include analyses of cooperation, social interaction, of institutions and norms, social dilemmas and reciprocity as well as applications on strategic behavior in politics and between countries and companies, the impact of reciprocity, in the labor market, and some applications from biology. Game theory is also applied to control-theoretic problems of transport planning and computer science.

As we present theory and applications, we will also discuss how experimental and other empirical studies have shown that human behavior in the real world often does not meet the strict requirements of rationality from "standard theory", leading us to models of "behavioural" and "experimental" game theory.

By the end of the course, students should be able to apply game-theoretic in diverse areas of analysis including > controlling turbines in a wind park, > nations negotiating international agreements, > firms competing in markets, > humans sharing a common resource, etc.
Lecture notesSee literature below. In addition we will provide additional literature readings and publish the lecture slides directly after each lecture.
LiteratureK Binmore, Fun and games, a text on game theory, 1994, Great Source Education

SR Chakravarty, M Mitra and P Sarkar, A Course on Cooperative Game Theory, 2015, Cambridge University Press

A Diekmann, Spieltheorie: Einführung, Beispiele, Experimente, 2009, Rowolth

MJ Osborne, An Introduction to Game Theory, 2004, Oxford University Press New York

J Nash, Non-Cooperative Games, 1951, Annals of Mathematics

JW Weibull, Evolutionary game theory, 1997, MIT Press

HP Young, Strategic Learning and Its Limits, 2004, Oxford University Press
851-0105-01LCross-Cultural Competences Arab World Information W3 credits2VE. Youssef-Grob
AbstractThis lecture will discuss important topics of the Arab culture involving different value systems, world-views, and paradigms pointing to possible areas of misunderstandings and conflict in an inter-cultural setting as well as approaches to deal with these issues.
ObjectiveThis lectures gives an insight into different areas of the Arab culture such as gender roles, significance of family and marriage, concepts of honor and hierarchy, the role of religion in everyday life, the concept of the evil eye, being guest or host, obligations in family and society, and others. The aim is to identify different value systems, world-views and paradigms that may cause problems in an cross-cultural setting as well as possible approaches to deal with these issues. Even though most of the topics concern the Arab region as whole, the lecture will focus on the Arab East (not the Maghreb), especially Egypt, Syria and the Gulf countries.
860-0022-00LComplexity and Global Systems Science Information Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 64.

Prerequisites: solid mathematical skills.

Particularly suitable for students of D-ITET, D-MAVT and ISTP
W3 credits2VD. Helbing, N. Antulov-Fantulin
AbstractThis course discusses complex techno-socio-economic systems, their counter-intuitive behaviors, and how their theoretical understanding empowers us to solve some long-standing problems that are currently bothering the world.
ObjectiveParticipants should learn to get an overview of the state of the art in the field, to present it in a well understandable way to an interdisciplinary scientific audience, to develop models for open problems, to analyze them, and to defend their results in response to critical questions. In essence, participants should improve their scientific skills and learn to think scientifically about complex dynamical systems.
ContentThis course starts with a discussion of the typical and often counter-intuitive features of complex dynamical systems such as self-organization, emergence, (sudden) phase transitions at "tipping points", multi-stability, systemic instability, deterministic chaos, and turbulence. It then discusses phenomena in networked systems such as feedback, side and cascade effects, and the problem of radical uncertainty. The course progresses by demonstrating the relevance of these properties for understanding societal and, at times, global-scale problems such as traffic jams, crowd disasters, breakdowns of cooperation, crime, conflict, social unrests, political revolutions, bubbles and crashes in financial markets, epidemic spreading, and/or "tragedies of the commons" such as environmental exploitation, overfishing, or climate change. Based on this understanding, the course points to possible ways of mitigating techno-socio-economic-environmental problems, and what data science may contribute to their solution.
Prerequisites / NoticeMathematical skills can be helpful
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