It is generally acknowledged that deterministic formulations of dy namical phenomena in the social sciences need to be treated differently from similar formulations in the natural sciences. Social science phe nomena typically defy precise measurements or data collection that are comparable in accuracy and detail to those in the natural sciences. Con sequently, a deterministic model is rarely expected to yield a precise description of the actual phenomenon being modelled. Nevertheless, as may be inferred from a study of the models discussed in this book, the qualitative analysis of...

Form Symmetries and Reduction of Order in Difference Equations presents a new approach to the formulation and analysis of difference equations in which the underlying space is typically an algebraic group. In some problems and applications, an additional algebraic or topological structure is assumed in order to define equations and obtain significant results about them. Reflecting the author s past research experience, the majority of examples involve equations in finite dimensional Euclidean spaces.

The book first introduces difference equations on groups,...