CURRENTLY SOLD OUT

Rational Action: The Sciences of Policy in Britain and America, 1940-1960 by William Thomas (Hardcover, 2015)

About this product

Product Information

The evolution of a set of fields-including operations research and systems analysis-intended to improve policymaking and explore the nature of rational decision-making. During World War II, the Allied military forces faced severe problems integrating equipment, tactics, and logistics into successful combat operations. To help confront these problems, scientists and engineers developed new means of studying which equipment designs would best meet the military's requirements and how the military could best use the equipment it had on hand. By 1941 they had also begun to gather and analyze data from combat operations to improve military leaders' ordinary planning activities. In Rational Action, William Thomas details these developments, and how they gave rise during the 1950s to a constellation of influential new fields-which he terms the sciences of policy -that included operations research, management science, systems analysis, and decision theory. Proponents of these new sciences embraced a variety of agendas. Some aimed to improve policymaking directly, while others theorized about how one decision could be considered more rational than another. Their work spanned systems engineering, applied mathematics, nuclear strategy, and the philosophy of science, and it found new niches in universities, in businesses, and at think tanks such as the RAND Corporation. The sciences of policy also took a prominent place in epic narratives told about the relationships among science, state, and society in an intellectual culture preoccupied with how technology and reason would shape the future. Thomas follows all these threads to illuminate and make new sense of the intricate relationships among scientific analysis, policymaking procedure, and institutional legitimacy at a crucial moment in British and American history.

Product Identifiers

Publisher
MIT Press Ltd
ISBN-13
9780262028509
eBay Product ID (ePID)
213560139

Product Key Features

Subject Area
Data Analysis
Author
William Thomas
Publication Name
RATIONAL Action: the Sciences of Policy in Britain and America, 1940-1960
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Subject
Computer Science, Science
Publication Year
2015
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
416 Pages

Dimensions

Item Height
229mm
Item Width
152mm

Additional Product Features

Title_Author
William Thomas
Series Title
Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States

Best Selling in Adult Learning & University

See all

Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Adult Learning & University

The Weed Forager's Handbook: A Guide to Edible and Medicinal Weeds in Australia by Adam Grubb, Annie Raser-Rowland (2012, Paperback)
4.8 out of 5 stars based on 88 product ratings
AU $19.95 New
AU $13.00 Used
Australian Native Bee Book: Keeping Stingless Bee Hives for Pets, Pollination and Sugarbag Honey by Tim Heard (Paperback, 2015)
4.9 out of 5 stars based on 157 product ratings
AU $39.98 New
AU $31.50 Used
The Falsification of History: Our Distorted Reality by John Hamer (Paperback, 2013)
No ratings or reviews yet.
AU $59.41 New
---- Used
In-Basket Case Studies by Guy Adamson (Paperback, 1986)
No ratings or reviews yet.
AU $19.99 New
---- Used
Permaculture: A Designer's Manual by Bill Mollison (Hardcover, 1988)
5.0 out of 5 stars based on 12 product ratings
AU $182.95 New
AU $79.95 Used
Botanical Field Guide by Stefan Mager (Fold-out book or chart, 2021)
4.5 out of 5 stars based on 4 product ratings
AU $14.99 New
---- Used
A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) and the Standard for project management by Project Management Institute (Paperback, 2021)
No ratings or reviews yet.
AU $45.09 New
---- Used

Save on Adult Learning & University

Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Adult Learning & University

Ford Falcon EF, EL/Fairlane NF, NL/LTD DF, DL 1994-1998 Haynes Workshop Manual
AU $57.95
Trending at AU $59.33
Netter Atlas of Human Anatomy: Classic Regional Approach
AU $113.94
Trending at AU $122.01
Michael Price Nick Vandome Windows 11 for Seniors in easy steps (Paperback)
AU $32.86
Trending at AU $36.05
BORN IN 1971?... 1951?BIRTHDAY...Australian Social History....Chrisi, Birthdays
AU $19.00
Trending at AU $21.79
It's Not You: How to Identify and Heal from NARCISSISTIC People by Ramani Durvas
AU $35.00
Trending at AU $36.94
Dr. Robert Melillo Disconnected Kids - Revised and Updated (Paperback)
AU $34.03
Trending at AU $41.39

Shop by category

Rational Action: The Sciences of Policy in Britain and America, 1940-1960 by William Thomas (Hardcover, 2015)

About this product

Product Information

Product Identifiers

Product Key Features

Dimensions

Additional Product Features

Best Selling in Adult Learning & University

The Weed Forager's Handbook: A Guide to Edible and Medicinal Weeds in Australia by Adam Grubb, Annie Raser-Rowland (2012, Paperback)

Australian Native Bee Book: Keeping Stingless Bee Hives for Pets, Pollination and Sugarbag Honey by Tim Heard (Paperback, 2015)

The Falsification of History: Our Distorted Reality by John Hamer (Paperback, 2013)

In-Basket Case Studies by Guy Adamson (Paperback, 1986)

Permaculture: A Designer's Manual by Bill Mollison (Hardcover, 1988)

Botanical Field Guide by Stefan Mager (Fold-out book or chart, 2021)

A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) and the Standard for project management by Project Management Institute (Paperback, 2021)

Save on Adult Learning & University

Ford Falcon EF, EL/Fairlane NF, NL/LTD DF, DL 1994-1998 Haynes Workshop Manual

Netter Atlas of Human Anatomy: Classic Regional Approach

Michael Price Nick Vandome Windows 11 for Seniors in easy steps (Paperback)

BORN IN 1971?... 1951?BIRTHDAY...Australian Social History....Chrisi, Birthdays

It's Not You: How to Identify and Heal from NARCISSISTIC People by Ramani Durvas

Dr. Robert Melillo Disconnected Kids - Revised and Updated (Paperback)

You may also like

Thomas Jefferson Hardcover Books

1940s Non-Fiction Hardcover Books

William Shakespeare Hardcovers Books

William Shakespeare Hardcover Books

Science Fiction Fiction Hardcover Books

Non-Fiction Political Science Hardcover Books