Valuation theory is used constantly in algebraic number theory and field theory, and is currently gaining considerable research interest. Ribenboim fills a unique niche in the literature as he presents one of the first introductions to classical valuation theory in this up-to-date rendering of the authors long-standing experience with the applications of the theory. The presentation is fully up-to-date and will serve as a valuable resource for students and mathematicians.

Valuation lies at the heart of much of what we do in finance, whether it is the study of market efficiency and questions about corporate governance or the comparison of different investment decision rules in capital budgeting. In this paper, we consider the theory and evidence on valuation approaches. We begin by surveying the literature on discounted cash flow valuation models, ranging from the first mentions of the dividend discount model to value stocks to the use of excess return models in more recent years. In the second part of the paper, we examine relative valuation models and, in particular, the use of multiples and comparables in valuation and evaluate whether relative valuation models yield more or less precise estimates of value than discounted cash flow models. In the final part of the paper, we set the stage for further research in valuation by noting the estimation challenges we face as companies globalize and become exposed to risk in multiple countries.

In the last years there has been significant progress in the theory of valuations, which in turn has led to important achievements in integral geometry. This book originated from two courses delivered by the authors at the CRM and provides a self-contained introduction to these topics, covering most of the recent advances. The first part, by Semyon Alesker, provides an introduction to the theory of convex valuations with emphasis on recent developments. In particular, it presents the new structures on the space of valuations discovered after Alesker's irreducibility theorem. The newly developed theory of valuations on manifolds is also described. In the second part, Joseph H. G. Fu gives a modern introduction to integral geometry in the sense of Blaschke and Santaló. The approach is new and based on the notions and tools presented in the first part. This original viewpoint not only enlightens the classical integral geometry of euclidean space, but it also allows the computation of kinematic formulas in other geometries, such as hermitian spaces. The book will appeal to graduate students and interested researchers from related fields including convex, stochastic, and differential geometry. ​

Theory of valuations on convex sets is a classical part of convex geometry which goes back at least to the positive solution of the third Hilbert problem by M. Dehn in 1900. Since then the theory has undergone a multifaceted development. The author discusses some of Hadwiger's results on valuations on convex compact sets that are continuous in the Hausdorff metric. The book also discusses the Klain-Schneider theorem as well as the proof of McMullen's conjecture, which led subsequently to many further applications and advances in the theory. The last section gives an overview of more recent developments in the theory of translation-invariant continuous valuations, some of which turn out to be useful in integral geometry. This book grew out of lectures that were given in August 2015 at Kent State University in the framework of the NSF CBMS conference “Introduction to the Theory of Valuations on Convex Sets”. Only a basic background in general convexity is assumed.

The present volume is the second in the author's series of three dealing with abstract algebra. For an understanding of this volume a certain familiarity with the basic concepts treated in Volume I: groups, rings, fields, homomorphisms, is presup posed. However, we have tried to make this account of linear algebra independent of a detailed knowledge of our first volume. References to specific results are given occasionally but some of the fundamental concepts needed have been treated again. In short, it is hoped that this volume can be read with complete understanding by any student who is mathematically sufficiently mature and who has a familiarity with the standard notions of modern algebra. Our point of view in the present volume is basically the abstract conceptual one. However, from time to time we have deviated somewhat from this. Occasionally formal calculational methods yield sharper results. Moreover, the results of linear algebra are not an end in themselves but are essential tools for use in other branches of mathematics and its applications. It is therefore useful to have at hand methods which are constructive and which can be applied in numerical problems. These methods sometimes necessitate a somewhat lengthier discussion but we have felt that their presentation is justified on the grounds indicated. A stu dent well versed in abstract algebra will undoubtedly observe short cuts. Some of these have been indicated in footnotes. We have included a large number of exercises in the text.

With publication of the present volume, The University of Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science enters its second phase. The first fourteen volumes in the Series were produced under the managing editorship of Professor James J. Leach, with the cooperation of a local editorial board. Many of these volumes resulted from colloguia and workshops held in con nection with the University of Western Ontario Graduate Programme in Philosophy of Science. Throughout its seven year history, the Series has been devoted to publication of high quality work in philosophy of science con sidered in its widest extent, including work in philosophy of the special sciences and history of the conceptual development of science. In future, this general editorial emphasis will be maintained, and hopefully, broadened to include important works by scholars working outside the local context. Appointment of a new managing editor, together with an expanded editorial board, brings with it the hope of an enlarged international presence for the Series. Serving the publication needs of those working in the various subfields within philosophy of science is a many-faceted operation. Thus in future the Series will continue to produce edited proceedings of worthwhile scholarly meetings and edited collections of seminal background papers. How ever, the publication priorities will shift emphasis to favour production of monographs in the various fields covered by the scope of the Series. THE MANAGING EDITOR vii W. L. Harper, R. Stalnaker, and G. Pearce (eds.), lIs, vii.