Assertiveness: Industrial Society (Business Skills Healthcheck)

Book Description

A dynamic new series of five titles focusing on key individual business skills. Each title is structured as a self-assessment, self-development workbook, allowing the reader to check their current skills and fitness and identify priorities for action. Focused on, and personalized to, the individual reader, each book acts as their very own personal trainer, offering practical tips, insights and advice -- even words of encouragement for then the going gets tough!

Written in an up-beat, direct style, each book is organized into three main sections: -The fitness check-up: self-assessment questionnaires, exercises and activities to assess curent skills fitness -The fitness profile: analysis of strengths and weaknesses -The work-out: practical strategies to improve performance and develop your potential -The book concludes with a short `Keeping Fit` section to help the reader keep their skills up to scratch now and in the future. -Further reading and resources are included at the end of each book.

Book Description

In this book we employ partial differential equations (PDE) to describe a range of one-factor and multi-factor derivatives products such as plain European and American options, multi-asset options, Asian options, interest rate options and real options. PDE techniques allow us to create a framework for modeling complex and interesting derivatives products. Having defined the PDE problem we then approximate it using the Finite Difference Method (FDM). This method has been used for many application areas such as fluid dynamics, heat transfer, semiconductor simulation and astrophysics, to name just a few. In this book we apply the same techniques to pricing real-life derivative products. We use both traditional (or well-known) methods as well as a number of advanced schemes that are making their way into the QF literature:

Crank-Nicolson, exponentially fitted and higher-order schemes for one-factor and multi-factor options
Early exercise features and approximation using front-fixing, penalty and variational methods
Modelling stochastic volatility models using Splitting methods
Critique of ADI and Crank-Nicolson schemes; when they work and when they don't work
Modelling jumps using Partial Integro Differential Equations (PIDE)
Free and moving boundary value problems in QF

Included with the book is a CD containing information on how to set up FDM algorithms, how to map these algorithms to C++ as well as several working programs for one-factor and two-factor models. We also provide source code so that you can customize the applications to suit your own needs.

Download Description

The world of quantitative finance (QF) is one of the fastest growing areas of research and its practical applications to derivatives pricing problem. Since the discovery of the famous Black-Scholes equation in the 1970's we have seen a surge in the number of models for a wide range of products such as plain and exotic options, interest rate derivatives, real options and many others. Gone are the days when it was possible to price these derivatives analytically. For most problems we must resort to some kind of approximate method. In this book we employ partial differential equations (PDE) to describe a range of one-factor and multi-factor derivatives products such as plain European and American options, multi-asset options, Asian options, interest rate options and real options. PDE techniques allow us to create a framework for modeling complex and interesting derivatives products. Having defined the PDE problem we then approximate it using the Finite Difference Method (FDM). This method has been used for many application areas such as fluid dynamics, heat transfer, semiconductor simulation and astrophysics, to name just a few. In this book we apply the same techniques to pricing real-life derivative products. We use both traditional (or well-known) methods as well as a number of advanced schemes that are making their way into the QF literature: * Crank-Nicolson, exponentially fitted and higher-order schemes for one-factor and multi-factor options * Early exercise features and approximation using front-fixing, penalty and variational methods * Modelling stochastic volatility models using Splitting methods * Critique of ADI and Crank-Nicolson schemes; when they work and when they don't work * Modelling jumps using Partial Integro Differential Equations (PIDE) * Free and moving boundary value problems in QF

Customer Reviews:

A practical approach to finite difference methods.......2006-11-10

This book proved to be a useful reference for practical implementation of finite-difference methods for PDEs: several one- and multi-factor financial derivatives pricing models, including local volatility models and models with stochastic volatilities. The methods described in the text are stable, accurate and reasonably efficient. Stability of FD methods is obviously of top concern to the author (as it should be to readers as well), and he goes into extensive detail evaluating the stability of various techniques. The writing is clear and consistent, though a "notational" index or glossary would have been helpful, particularly in the early going. The author provides several practical examples, which lends a refreshing degree of concreteness to the book.

Well Done.......2006-11-06

Daniel J.Duffy introduces Finite Difference methods for solving partial differential equations that arise in numerical pricing of derivatives. There are seven sections in the book. They are:
Part I The Continuous Theory of Partial Differential Equations - A short introduction to partial differential equations and their applications to financial engineering.
Part II Finite Difference Methods: the Fundamentals - There are three chapters that introduce Finite Difference methods to approximate initial value and initial boundary value problems. Another two chapters apply the methods to Black-Scholes equation. He did a nice job to approximate the solutions to problems with small volatility or large drift,...
Part III Applying FDM to One-Factor Instrument Pricing
Part IV FDM for Multidimensional problems
Part V Applying FDM to Multi-Factor Instrument Pricing and
Part VI Free and Moving Boundary Value Problems
There are altogether 18 chapters (about 180 pages) that thoroughly introduce the application of FDM techniques to a wide range of options (pricing) modelling. The exposition is clear and concise.
The last part
Part VII Design and implementation In C++ - The last four chapters design for readers having programming literacy.
To fully appreciate the materials of the book, readers should have at least one year training in partial differential equations and knowledge in financial derivatives at about the same level as John Hull's book - Options, Futures and Other Derivatives, 5e.
If the book contains a few applications to real world data, it will be perfect to primers in this field.

Need more books like this one.......2006-07-05

Having bought many books in Financial Engineering this is one of the most useful. The source code is atleast alot better than the other books that claim to be the best. I give this book 4 stars and recommend quants to buy this book.

Book Description

Over the past couple of decades, individuals have come to rely more on home health care visits for their health care needs. While there have been decreases in hospital stays and in the percentage of older persons living in nursing homes the consequence has been the emergence of a new type of occupational crime: home health care abuse. In considering offending in the home health care industry, it is important to focus on crimes by and against home health care professionals. This book is one of the first to fully address abuses occurring in the home health care industry. Its intent is not to suggest that home health care is a dangerous field for workers and consumers; rather, the intent is to shed some light on the types of misconduct found in home health care. Each chapter will include a wealth of examples to illustrate that these incidents actually are real, devastating, and significant. At the end of each chapter the reader will find a series of discussion questions designed to encourage the reader to reflect back on the content of the chapter through the eyes of those involved in the response to home health care fraud. Also included are Web site addresses where readers can learn more about the offenses and other resources to help demonstrate ways to deal with the problem. It is intended for criminal justice officials, health care professionals, academics, and researchers who want to better understand the nature of offending in the home health care industry. It is also intended for use in criminal justice, sociology, and white-collar crime courses exploring crime in the workplace as well as courses examining the home health care field. Chapters include: Home, Home on the Range: Where Health Care is Provided and Crimes are Committed; Home Health Care Professionals as Victims and Witnesses; Crimes by Home Health Professionals: Violence, Theft, and Deception; Responding to Crime in the Home Health Care Field: Strategies, Obstacles, and Issues; and Preventing Home Health Care Misconduct.

Book Description

Many mites possess extremely intricate life styles in close association with plant and animal hosts. Their polymorphism has made classification a challenge, and their ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually has made efforts to control their populations difficult. This, however, has given rise to theories to explain the origin and function of sexual reproduction in general. In numbers of species and geographic distribution, mites may even surpass the insects. In soils, they are a major component in the system for cycling nutrients. Unlike insects, they have invaded the marine environment. These and a number of other topics are explored in Mites. Because of their extremely small size, mites have been ignored during the development of major evolutionary and ecological theories. Yet mites routinely violate fundamental concepts such as heterochrony, sexual selection, the evolution of sex ratio, and ontogeny. Recent research methodologies have made it practical for the first time to perform experimental work with mites, and since they offer short generation times and rapid research results, they are excellent model systems. Mites announces these results and should appeal to professionals in entomology, acarology, ecology, population genetics, and evolutionary biology.

Mites - Ecological and Evolutionary Analyses of Life-History

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Mites - Ecological and Evolutionary Analyses of Life-History
Marilyn A. Houck
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MUH2E0

Book Description

Gaskinetic Theory is an introductory text on the molecular theory of gases and on modern transport theory suitable for upper division undergraduates in physics and first year graduate students in aerospace engineering, upper atmospheric science and space research. The first part introduces basic concepts, including the distribution function, classical theory of specific heats, binary collisions, mean free path, and reaction rates. Transport theory is used to express coefficients such as viscosity and heat conductivity in terms of molecular properties. The second part of the book covers advanced transport theory. Generalized transport equations are derived from the Boltzmann equation. The Chapman-Enskog and the Grad methods are discussed to obtain higher order transport equations for low density gases. The aerodynamics of solid bodies is explored and the book concludes with the kinetic description of shock waves.

Application of gaskinetics to some flow problems

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Application of gaskinetics to some flow problems
Sohan Lal Sarin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Gaskinetic Theory
Tamas I. A Gombosi, Atmo Gombosi
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N7KSMU

Book Description

Galileo, one of history's best-known scientists, is introduced in this illuminating activity book. Children will learn how Galileo's revolutionary discoveries and sometimes controversial theories changed his world and laid the groundwork for modern astronomy and physics. This book will inspire kids to be stargazers and future astronauts or scientists as they discover Galileo's life and work. Activities allow children to try some of his theories on their own, with experiments that include playing with gravity and motion, making a pendulum, observing the moon, and painting with light and shadow. Along with the scientific aspects of Galileo's life, his passion for music and art are discussed and exemplified by period engravings, maps, and prints. A time line, glossary, and listings of major science museums, planetariums, and web sites for further exploration complement this activity book.

Customer Reviews:

Most of the activities in this book on Galileo are really scientific experiments.......2006-03-03

The only real complaint about "Galileo for Kids: His Life and Ideas, 25 Activities," is that I doubt there is a teacher in the country who would spend long enough on the famous scientist to do all of these activities. If they got to double figures that would be pretty impressive, but also somewhat doubtful. However, there are certainly some choice activities in this book by Richard Panchyk (Buzz Aldrin does the foreword) that will not only get young students interested in the life of Galileo but also fan their interest in the sciences.

This book makes it clear that while he is best known as an astronomer, Galileo was a genius who enjoyed science, mathematics, music, and art, and someone who sough the truth and believed there was no substitute for observation and experimentation. Despite being forced by the Church to recant his discovery that the sun was the center of the universe, Panchyk makes it clear that Galileo believed both science and religion help us to know ourselves. After a Timeline that begins with a new star being observed by the Chinese in 1054 to Galileo being reburied with proper honors in 1737, and a map of Italy, this book turns to Science and Astronomy Before Galileo, to set up how important he was in changing things. Astronomers including Peter Apian, Nicolaus Copernicus and Tycho Brahe are covered, as well as the Comet of 1577. The activities here include making initial lunar observations and how to use raw data, so you can see there is an initial focus on scientific metrology.

The second chapter details the Beginnings of Galileo's life, where you not only get to cook a renaissance meal (meatballs and pea soup), but also get to make a pendulum and pulsilogia. In chapter 3, Position at Pisa, Galileo began his career as a scientist. There are also sidebars on Dante, Johannes Kepler, and the Medicis so the religious, scientific and political contexts of the time are covered as well. Activities include not only the famous gravity experiment, put also the properties of the ellipse and the second part of lunar observation. The Telescope is the focus of the next chapter, which includes an aperture experiment and the floating needle experiment.

The Storm Builds is the subject of chapter five, signifying the coming collision between Galileo's science and the religion of the day. Here the activities are the perception of illumination and the mathematical problem represented by the roll of the dice (plus making a care package for Galileo because of the plague). Chapter six covers The Two Systems, with experiments on relative motion and projective motion. However, most of these chapters tell the story of what happened when Galileo was called before the Inquisition. Galileo's Last Days are covered in the last chapter, along with experiments on accelerated motion and charting the cycloid curve. The look at the life and times of Galileo is pretty strong to begin with, so when you add the activities and see that the vast majority of them are practical scientific experiments, then you have to be even more impressed. In fact, I could be wrong: I can now see a teacher breaking up the class into lots of groups and having them do different activities and sharing the results with their classmates, so getting to double figures could be pretty easy (although making meatballs can be seen as being practical too, since kids have to eat).

Throughout the book there are illustrations of the people, places and things in Galileo's life, many of which are contemporary to his time. The back of the book includes several pages of Resources. There are lists of the Popes and Grand Dukes of Tuscany during Galileo's time, a Glossary of Key Terms from "abjuration" to "volume," Key People from Peter and Philip Apian to Vincenzo Viviani, and Key Places from Arcetri to Venice. A list of Galileo's key writings is provided, along with some web sites specific to his life and works, and there is also a list of Planetariums an Astronomy/Space Museums to be found in fourteen states and the District of Columbia. If you are not tired you can also check out the Selected Bibliography before we finally get to the Index.

The final thing that needs to be said is that this is but one volume in the For Kids series. There are over a dozen volumes that I know about for sure. The one's under "A" consist of "Africa for Kids," "American Folk Art for Kids," "The American Revolution for Kids," and "Archaeology for Kids." Those four titles along should give you a good idea of the scope of the series. So teachers might only use a couple of activities from this book, but they can do the same for units on Leonardo da Vinci, Lewis and Clark, the Civil Rights Movement, and know that Chicago Review Press will be adding volumes to this wonderful series for some time to come.

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Be a Kid Physicist
William R. Wellnitz
Manufacturer: Tab Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Physics | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

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