| | |
Summary: 84 CommunICAtIonS of the ACm | MArch 2010 | vOl. 53 | nO. 3
review articles
pEopLE oFtEn mUst reach a joint decision even
though they have conflicting preferences over the
alternatives. Examples range from the mundane
(such as allocating chores among the members
of a household) to the sublime (such as electing
a government and thereby charting the course for
a country). The joint decision can be reached by
an informal negotiating process or by a carefully
specified protocol.
Philosophers, mathematicians, political scientists,
economists, and others have studied the merits of
various protocols for centuries. More recently,
especiallyoverthelastdecade,comput-
er scientists have also become deeply
involved in this study. The perhaps sur-
prising arrival of computer scientists
on this scene is due to a variety of rea-
sons, including the following:
|
