title: Game Theory in a Napoleonic Context: Establishing Napoleon's Utility and Application to the 1805 War of the Third Coalition

authors: Ranger, Gareth A.

subjects: game theory

abstract: Game theory has existed in the fields of mathematics and economics for over 60 years. This thesis assesses its viability for use in the field of history, and in particular, in the Napoleonic era. It does this by analysing the opening phase of the 1805 War of the Third Coalition, fought between France and the Allies. It starts by examining the existing literature on game theory in the Napoleonic era. It then analyses game theory in order to extract concepts from the theory that have value in a military setting. Third, it makes use of primary and secondary sources to define Napoleon Bonaparte’s motivational drives. Finally, it uses these drives and game theory in order to assess whether Napoleon’s opening strategy in the War of the Third Coalition was the best strategy to select. The study finds that his utility was influenced by a core drive: narcissism, and by his primary drives: ‘thirst for power’, ‘elimination of boredom’, immortality, and glory. It also concludes that ‘opportunism’ affected his decision making processes. The study found that Napoleon selected his opening strategy in the War of the Third Coalition with precision, and that game theory is limited in its current state, but that, despite this, it has value for the study of history.

text: Game Theory in a Napoleonic Context: Establishing Napoleon's Utility and Application to the 1805 War of the Third Coalition Game theory has existed in the fields of mathematics and economics for over 60 years. This thesis assesses its viability for use in the field of history, and in particular, in the Napoleonic era. It does this by analysing the opening phase of the 1805 War of the Third Coalition, fought between France and the Allies. It starts by examining the existing literature on game theory in the Napoleonic era. It then analyses game theory in order to extract concepts from the theory that have value in a military setting. Third, it makes use of primary and secondary sources to define Napoleon Bonaparte’s motivational drives. Finally, it uses these drives and game theory in order to assess whether Napoleon’s opening strategy in the War of the Third Coalition was the best strategy to select. The study finds that his utility was influenced by a core drive: narcissism, and by his primary drives: ‘thirst for power’, ‘elimination of boredom’, immortality, and glory. It also concludes that ‘opportunism’ affected his decision making processes. The study found that Napoleon selected his opening strategy in the War of the Third Coalition with precision, and that game theory is limited in its current state, but that, despite this, it has value for the study of history.

year: 2013

title: Using theory to escape the descriptive impasse

authors: Bruce, Toni

subjects: theory

abstract: In this article, I focus on the importance of theory for undertaking and making sense of research. In particular, I consider one of the most common challenges for postgraduate students, which is how to shift from describing findings (what I found) to theorising about them (why my findings turned out this way). Using a case study approach, I describe my engagement with a particular set of data and demonstrate how different theories led me to focus on different elements and draw different conclusions. I conclude that explicitly shifting my theoretical approach ended up guiding me towards a much stronger interpretation of my descriptive findings.

text: Using theory to escape the descriptive impasse In this article, I focus on the importance of theory for undertaking and making sense of research. In particular, I consider one of the most common challenges for postgraduate students, which is how to shift from describing findings (what I found) to theorising about them (why my findings turned out this way). Using a case study approach, I describe my engagement with a particular set of data and demonstrate how different theories led me to focus on different elements and draw different conclusions. I conclude that explicitly shifting my theoretical approach ended up guiding me towards a much stronger interpretation of my descriptive findings.

year: 2010

title: How many deaths were caused by the Tarawera eruption?

authors: Lowe, David J.

abstract: Most texts and brochures describing the Tarawera eruption of 10 June, l 886, record that it resulted in about 150 fatalities (e.g., Scott & Nairn, 1989; Ansell & Taber, 1996). Indeed, a figure of 153 deaths is recorded at the excellent new visitors' centre at the Buried Village, Te Wairoa, and in a number of other contexts. Elsewhere, numbers ranging from as few as about one hundred to possibly 'thousands' of deaths have been suggested (e.g., Houghton & Johnston, 1999).

text: How many deaths were caused by the Tarawera eruption? Most texts and brochures describing the Tarawera eruption of 10 June, l 886, record that it resulted in about 150 fatalities (e.g., Scott & Nairn, 1989; Ansell & Taber, 1996). Indeed, a figure of 153 deaths is recorded at the excellent new visitors' centre at the Buried Village, Te Wairoa, and in a number of other contexts. Elsewhere, numbers ranging from as few as about one hundred to possibly 'thousands' of deaths have been suggested (e.g., Houghton & Johnston, 1999).

year: 2001