Introduction to the Theory and Applications of Functional Differential Equations (Mathematics and Its Applications) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book I think help to study Functional Difference Equations for all people who are interesting in this theory.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Introduction to the Theory and Applications of Functional Differential Equations (Mathematics and Its Applications)

Get 10% OFF

Click here for more information about Introduction to the Theory and Applications of Functional Differential Equations (Mathematics and Its Applications)

Read More...

Business Process Engineering: Reference Models for Industrial Enterprises Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)A book writen in a German style, very well structured. Exemples only when you need them, not a book of case studies but withot help.
The single bad thing is that even if the translator tryed his best, it is in finaly a German -English language, so quite hard to red it sometimes.
But if you want to understand a lot about BPR, you can count on it. It is not a "learn bpr in 24 hours" or a beginer's book.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Business Process Engineering: Reference Models for Industrial Enterprises

The book affords researchers, users and students valuable assistance in implementing new organizational concepts through the employment of new information processing techniques. The structure of the book follows the business processes of logistics, product development, information and coordination, and offers detailed examples of how outdated organizational structures can be reengineered. Examples from standard software systems (especially SAP R/3) demonstrate the book's down-to-earth practicality. The book develops in the views of the proven "Architecture of Integrated Information Systems" (ARIS) a comprehensive enterprise model, which serves as a reference model for engineering concrete business processes in industrial enterprises.

Click here for more information about Business Process Engineering: Reference Models for Industrial Enterprises

Read More...

Sculpting Basics: Everything You Need to Know to Create Three-Dimensional Artworks Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I teach intro to Sculpture at a CA university and I am really impressed with the basic info in the book. I have recommended it to my students. It covers a wide range of materials and processes. Most do not require kiln firing which makes it easier for the majority of beginners that do not have access to a kiln.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sculpting Basics: Everything You Need to Know to Create Three-Dimensional Artworks

Art students and ambitious amateur artists who turn to this volume will find detailed training for creating original and distinctive works of sculpture. Karin Hessenberg, an experienced sculptor, opens with extensive advice on setting up the workplace and assembling tools and equipment. She begins instruction with a how-to course on clay modeling that includes five separate projects, four of which culminate with kiln firing. The book's second major section presents five projects that teach the craft of molding and casting, using a variety of materials that include plaster in combination with modeling clay, wire, and concrete. A section on direct building presents two projects in which various materials-wood, wire mesh, and other objects-are applied to their frameworks to create finished sculptures. A final section for advanced sculptors offers five projects for carving-in soapstone, alabaster, limestone, lumber, and a log. In total, this volume presents projects for 17 finished pieces. Subjects include a seated Buddha, a female figure, animals, and several fascinating abstract shapes. This handsome book is printed in four-color throughout and features more than 250 instructive illustrations.

Get 32% OFF

Click here for more information about Sculpting Basics: Everything You Need to Know to Create Three-Dimensional Artworks

Read More...

Purely Functional Data Structures Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Okasaki's slim volume is one of the best expositions on implementing data structures & algorithms in a functional language. After taking an introductory course on functional programming, this would be the book which tells you where to go next.
This book doesn't just present a rehash/rewrite of imperative data structures, only written in a functional language. Instead, Okasaki makes sure to emphasize benefits which only functional programming can bring to the table. For example, many functional data structures can compactly represent not just their current state, but all of their past states as well--a feature called "Persistence". Also, functional newbie programmers might be wondering why lazy vs. strict programming is a big deal, and Okasaki shows clearly where data structures can benefit from either being lazy or being strict.
For the advanced reader, Okasaki also presents several powerful techniques for analyzing the runtime of algorithms, including the so-called "Banker's Method" and the "Physicist's Method" for analyzing amortized algorithms.
I hope that Okasaki comes out with a 2nd edition of this book; there is one missing piece in particular which I really wish he would have included: Although he presents an EXTREMELY lucid description of how to implement Red-Black trees in a functional language, he only presented algorithms for insertion and querying. Of course, deletion from a red-black tree is the hardest part, left here, I suppose, as an exercise to the student. If you want to supply this missing piece yourself, check out a paper by Stefan Kars, "Red-black trees with types", J. Functional Programming 11(4):425-432, July, 2001. It presents deletion routines, but you'll still want to read Okasaki's book first, for unless you're very much smarter than me you won't be able to understand Kars' paper until you read Okasaki's exposition of red black trees.
Finally, this book is not just useful for programmers in functional languages; logic programmers, using prolog or a varient, will also find this book very helpful, because most of the techniques (all of the techniques, really, with the exception perhaps of the lazy programming stuff) can be directly applied in a prolog programming setting as well.
After reading this book and implementing some of the data structures for yourself, you'll be amazed at how fast algorithms can run, even when written in a functional language!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Purely Functional Data Structures

Most books on data structures assume an imperative language such as C or C++.However, data structures for these languages do not always translate well to functional languages such as Standard ML, Haskell, or Scheme.This book describes data structures from the point of view of functional languages, with examples, and presents design techniques that allow programmers to develop their own functional data structures.The author includes both classical data structures, such as red-black trees and binomial queues, and a host of new data structures developed exclusively for functional languages.All source code is given in Standard ML and Haskell, and most of the programs are easily adaptable to other functional languages. This handy reference for professional programmers working with functional languages can also be used as a tutorial or for self-study.

Get 7% OFF

Click here for more information about Purely Functional Data Structures

Read More...

State-Space Models with Regime Switching: Classical and Gibbs-Sampling Approaches with Applications Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book gives a step-by-step treatement of models with regime changes and time varying coefficients. If you are a student or a practitioner you will find this book very useful to start your applications. The first six chapters are very well developed, and the GAUSS codes provided by the authors let you realize how to do the job. These chapters will let you estimate a model using the classical approach. However, the next chapters that cover exactly the same topics using a bayesian approach are not that well developed. The examples and explanations are not clear, and the few examples do not help you generalize the techniques to your own models. The first six chapters, however, make this book worth 5 stars!

Click Here to see more reviews about: State-Space Models with Regime Switching: Classical and Gibbs-Sampling Approaches with Applications

Both state-space models and Markov switching models have been highlyproductive paths for empirical research in macroeconomics and finance. This bookpresents recent advances in econometric methods that make feasible the estimation ofmodels that have both features. One approach, in the classical framework,approximates the likelihood function; the other, in the Bayesian framework, usesGibbs-sampling to simulate posterior distributions from data.The authors presentnumerous applications of these approaches in detail: decomposition of time seriesinto trend and cycle, a new index of coincident economic indicators, approaches tomodeling monetary policy uncertainty, Friedman's "plucking" model of recessions, thedetection of turning points in the business cycle and the question of whether boomsand recessions are duration-dependent, state-space models with heteroskedasticdisturbances, fads and crashes in financial markets, long-run real exchange rates,and mean reversion in asset returns.

Get 19% OFF

Click here for more information about State-Space Models with Regime Switching: Classical and Gibbs-Sampling Approaches with Applications

Read More...

Coloured Petri Nets: Basic Concepts, Analysis Methods and Practical Use. Volume 1 (Monographs in Theoretical Computer Science. An EATCS Series) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I feel that the writing style is a little confusing even though Jensen is a master. I also recommend to integrate the three volume to one due to the simplicity and vol. 2 just took 182 pages. In addition, the notations relatively differ from the ones in Peterson's Petri nets.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Coloured Petri Nets: Basic Concepts, Analysis Methods and Practical Use. Volume 1 (Monographs in Theoretical Computer Science. An EATCS Series)

This three-volume work presents a coherent description of the theoretical and practical aspects of coloured Petri nets. These CP-nets are shown to be a full-fledged language for the design, specification, simulation, validation and implementation of large software systems.The introductory first volume contains the formal definition of CP-nets and the mathematical theory behind their analysis methods. It gives a detailed presentation of many small examples and a brief overview of some industrial applications. The purpose of the book is to teach the reader how to construct CP-net models and analyse them by means of simulation. The book is also attractive to readers who are more interested in applications than in the underlying mathematics.

Click here for more information about Coloured Petri Nets: Basic Concepts, Analysis Methods and Practical Use. Volume 1 (Monographs in Theoretical Computer Science. An EATCS Series)

Read More...

Active Credit Portfolio Management in Practice (Wiley Finance) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Bohn and Stein are two of the great innovators in quantitative credit risk, who translated theory into commercial implementation and introduced many of the measurement and validation methods currently used in practice today. This book draws from the wealth of their experience and knowledge and is a masterful overview of single obligor default probability models (structural, econometric, reduced form), model validation, and portfolio models.
Importantly, Bohn and Stein's book possesses something many simply technical works on quantitative credit modeling lack: a point of view. Throughout the book, the authors offer opinions, insights, critiques, and even humor on credit modeling issues. The authors' frankness about just how much judgment goes into the credit risk modeling process is refreshing. Bohn and Stein also offer advice on issues that are not treated in typical credit risk books, such as how to effectively manage a credit research team and practical risk management in a bank.
For those looking for extensive mathematical treatments/proofs of credit risk models, look elsewhere. This is not to say that the book is light on the mathematical details, however. The book contains only the mathematics necessary (which is not inconsequential) for the technical exposition, no more. The book is very readable, and I view its economy as one of the book's strengths rather than a drawback.
This is a book to which I often refer and I cannot recommend it highly enough. A quant's library is incomplete without it.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Active Credit Portfolio Management in Practice (Wiley Finance)

Get 41% OFF

Click here for more information about Active Credit Portfolio Management in Practice (Wiley Finance)

Read More...

Data Structures and Algorithms in Java with CDROM (Worldwide Series in Computer Science) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm finding the 4th edition reasonably clear and comprehensive. However, the book is teeming with typographical errors. Most of them are typesetting errors involving superscripts and subscripts that overlap the adjacent characters so they aren't fully legible. But there are numerous other miscellaneous typos.
So, I've been marking them in my copy, in order to submit them to the authors or publisher, but apparently they don't want to know about the typos. The "errata" section at java.datastructures.net contains no errata and no instructions on how to submit errata. I wrote to one of the authors to ask how to submit errata, but received no reply.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Data Structures and Algorithms in Java with CDROM (Worldwide Series in Computer Science)

This text incorporates the object-oriented design paradigm throughout using Java as the implementation language, while also providing the fundamental intuition and analysis of each structure studied. The authors seek to present a "learning system" book. The book is accompanied by a web site which provides students with applications of the Java language as well as Java applets, the complete source code developed for the book and suites of test data used for the programming assignments.

Click here for more information about Data Structures and Algorithms in Java with CDROM (Worldwide Series in Computer Science)

Read More...

Modelling Transport Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book is a valuable resource for students, teachers and
researchers. The coverage is broad within the subject area,
whilst the material is both accessible and authoritative.
This third edition includes valuable extensions and updates
to the earlier ones.
I am glad to recommend this text to my students at each of
undergraduate (BEng/MEng), taught postgraduate (MSc) and
research (MPhil, PhD)levels to support their learning and
use of transport models. The book makes an especially suitable
text for transport modelling courses at MSc level.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Modelling Transport

Already the market leader in the field, Modelling Transport has become still more indispensible following a thorough and detailed update. Enhancements include two entirely new chapters on modelling for private sector projects and on activity-based modelling; a new section on dynamic assignment and micro-simulation; and sizeable updates to sections on disaggregate modelling and stated preference design and analysis. It also tackles topical issues such as valuation of externalities and the role of GPS in travel time surveys.
Providing unrivalled depth and breadth of coverage, each topic is approached as a modelling exercise with discussion of the roles of theory, data, model specification, estimation, validation and application. The authors present the state of the art and its practical application in a pedagogic manner, easily understandable to both students and practitioners.
Follows on from the highly successful third edition universally acknowledged as the leading text on transport modelling techniques and applications
Includes two new chapters on modelling for private sector projects and activity based modeling, and numerous updates to existing chapters
Incorporates treatment of recent issues and concerns like risk analysis and the dynamic interaction between land use and transport
Provides comprehensive and rigorous information and guidance, enabling readers to make practical use of every available technique
Relates the topics to new external factors and technologies such as global warming, valuation of externalities and global positioning systems (GPS).

Get 18% OFF

Click here for more information about Modelling Transport

Read More...

Petri Nets for Systems Engineering Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
This book goes for breadth, in a very ambitious take on Petri nets: to cover the complete range of activities of systems engineering supported by nets, from modelling to verification to validation and execution, including case studies in application domains. All this in a complete, self-contained volume. And it mostly succeeds in giving a general view of the possible uses of Petri nets and the research areas related to these nets. So it may be useful to both practicioners and researchers.
The chapters are divided into parts, according to the many aspects investigated: Part I is on basic concepts of Petri nets, including its features, models, definitions and properties. Part II takes on modelling systems with Petri nets. Individual techniques and complete methods (e.g. state-based modelling and event-based modelling) are presented, and case studies analysed. Then, Part III includes four chapters about verification of Petri net models, presenting an array of different techniques and approaches: state-space-based model checking, structural methods, deductive logic-based methods and techniques based on process algebras. Finally, Part IV is about validation and execution of nets, including code generation from net models, and Part V showcases three application domains for the nets: manufacturing systems, workflow systems and telecommunications.
To cover all this ground in the subject of Petri nets, the book was written collectively by more than 20 authors; even some of the chapters are divided into sections written by different people. This naturally results in noticeable variations of style and quality between chapters, and even between sections in the same chapter. Although some effort was spent to try to integrate them better, some sections (and chapters) are quite convoluted and hard to understand, while others are very clear and informative. The notation and style of presentation also changes, but this is mostly not a problem, because chapters often tackle different problems. Also, most of the sections that are difficult to grasp include references that can be used to learn more about the subject. Some sections are really very superficial, covering only the major ideas involved in some technique or method, and sweeping most of the meaty details under the rug, to the references. Unfortunately, some sections don't include enough references to track the original work from which they're based.
Finally, a warning regarding the title: it seems mostly directed to practicioners, but actually includes a lot of material that can be classified as recent research, and so not thoroughly in the field. This is very valuable to a researcher on Petri nets, who can get in contact with a lot of the research on nets done elsewhere, but may be not directly useful to practicioners. Even so, users of Petri nets that are not very interested in research results may take from the book a general idea of tools and possibilities that can be used with net models in all the stages of systems design and execution.
For all readers, I believe this book is mostly useful as a collection of pointers to further research or experimentation.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Petri Nets for Systems Engineering

Using formal methods for the specification and verification of hardware and software systems is becoming increasingly important as systems increase in size and complexity. The aim of the book is to illustrate progress in formal methods based on Petri net formalisms. It presents both practical and theoretical foundations for the use of Petri nets in complex system engineering tasks. In doing so it bridges the gap between Petri nets and the systems modeling and implementation process. It contains a collection of examples arising from different fields, such as flexible manufacturing, telecommunication and workflow management systems.

Get 39% OFF

Click here for more information about Petri Nets for Systems Engineering

Read More...

Bayesian Data Analysis, Second Edition (Chapman & Hall/CRC Texts in Statistical Science) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Note, this is a review of the first edition.
Overview
This book was the textbook used at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the graduate course in Bayesian Decision and Control I during the fall of 2001 and 2002. It strikes a good balance between theory and practical example, making it ideal for a first course in Bayesian theory at an intermediate-advanced graduate level. Its emphasis is on Bayesian modeling and to some degree computation.
Prerequisites
While no Bayesian theory is assumed, it is assumed that the reader has a background in mathematical statistics, probability and continuous multi-variate distributions at a beginning or intermediate graduate level. The mathematics used in the book is basic probability and statistics, elementary calculus and linear algebra.
Intended audience
This book is primarily for graduate students, statisticians and applied researchers who wish to learn Bayesian methods as opposed to the more classical frequentist methods.
Material covered
It covers the fundamentals starting from first principles, single-parameter models, multi-parameter models, large sample inference, hierarchical models, model checking and sensitivity analysis (model checking and sensitivity analysis are especially well covered), study design, regression models, generalized linear models, mixture models and models for missing data. In addition it covers posterior simulation and integration using rejection sampling and importance sampling. There is one chapter on Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation (MCMC) covering the generalized Metropolis algorithm and the Gibbs sampler.
Over 38 models are covered, 33 detailed examples from a wide range of fields (especially biostatistics). Each of the 18 chapter has a bibliographic note at the end. There are two appendixes: A) a very helpful list of standard probability distributions and B) outline of proofs of asymptotic theorems.
Sixteen of the 18 chapters end with a set of exercises that range from easy to quite difficult. Most of the students in my fall 2001 class used the statistical language R to do the exercises.
The book's emphasis is on applied Bayesian analysis. There are no heavy advanced proofs in the book. While the proofs of the basic algorithms are covered there are no algorithms written in pseudo code...Additional books of related interest
1) Statistical Decision Theory and Bayesian Analysis, James Berger, second edition. Emphasis on decision theory and more difficult to follow than Gelman's book. Covers empirical and hierarchical Bayes analysis. More philosophical challenging than Gelman's book.
2) Monte Carlo Statistical Methods, Robert and Casella. Very mathematically oriented book. Does a good job of covering MCMC.
3) Monte Carlo Methods in Bayesian Computation, Ming-Hui Chen, Qi-Man Shao, Joseph George Ibrahim. An enormous number of algorithms related to MCMC not covered elsewhere. If you need MCMC and need an algorithm to implement MCMC this is the book to read.
4) Monte Carlo Strategies in Scientific Computing, Jun S. Liu. Covers a wide range of scientific disciplines and how Monte Carlo methods can be used to solve real world problems. Includes hot topics such as bioinformatics. Very concise. Well written, but requires effort to understand as so many different topics are covered. This book is my most often borrowed book on Monte Carlo methods. Jun S. Liu is a big gun at Harvard.
5) Probabilistic Networks and Expert Systems. Cowell, Dawid, Lauritzen, Spiegelhalter. Covers the theory and methodology of building Bayesian networks (probabilistic networks).

Click Here to see more reviews about: Bayesian Data Analysis, Second Edition (Chapman & Hall/CRC Texts in Statistical Science)

Incorporating new and updated information, this second edition of THE bestselling text in Bayesian data analysis continues to emphasize practice over theory, describing how to conceptualize, perform, and critique statistical analyses from a Bayesian perspective. Its world-class authors provide guidance on all aspects of Bayesian data analysis and include examples of real statistical analyses, based on their own research, that demonstrate how to solve complicated problems. Changes in the new edition include:
Stronger focus on MCMC
Revision of the computational advice in Part III
New chapters on nonlinear models and decision analysis
Several additional applied examples from the authors' recent research
Additional chapters on current models for Bayesian data analysis such as nonlinear models, generalized linear mixed models, and more
Reorganization of chapters 6 and 7 on model checking and data collectionBayesian computation is currently at a stage where there are many reasonable ways to compute any given posterior distribution. However, the best approach is not always clear ahead of time. Reflecting this, the new edition offers a more pluralistic presentation, giving advice on performing computations from many perspectives while making clear the importance of being aware that there are different ways to implement any given iterative simulation computation. The new approach, additional examples, and updated information make Bayesian Data Analysis an excellent introductory text and a reference that working scientists will use throughout their professional life.

Get 16% OFF

Click here for more information about Bayesian Data Analysis, Second Edition (Chapman & Hall/CRC Texts in Statistical Science)

Read More...

Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World (with CourseMate Printed Access Card) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Speaking as an undergraduate, _Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World_ is not an easy read, and I found some parts (e.g., OO statechart diagrams) almost inaccessible despite my persistent and conscientious efforts to grasp the material given my little but solid background in OO programming. The authors know their field well, and it is evident they put much effort into writing this book. Yet the model-making approach they presented (notably in chapters 5, 6, 7, and 9) obscured rather than improved my understanding of software development. Perhaps I tend to be averse to graphical models of this kind. In any case, a good introductory object-oriented programming textbook covering Java or C++ is a better place to start to learn these ideas because without actually implementing program code, the models seem like "floating" abstractions.
I have two recommendations to the authors that might improve the average student's ability to understand the content, especially the treatment on modeling:
1. Make the writing style less academic and more conversational. A good example of an accessible and engaging presentation of otherwise "mundane" content is David Kelley's _The Art of Reasoning_ (I know it's a book on informal logic and not systems analysis and design, but there are many parallels between the subjects).
2. After a new concept is introduced, immediately provide exercises *with* ideal solutions at the back of the book. There are no solutions in this textbook and no student solution manual is available. Most students need to start out with many easy but progressively more challenging problems and build on that foundation in order to gain confidence in the discipline. Again, see the "Practice Quizzes" in David Kelley's _The Art of Reasoning_ as an example of a textbook that helps the student comprehend the material. After every significant section, Kelley includes many small exercises (with solutions) in order to test the student's understanding of the concepts or principles and to ensure the student has thoroughly absorbed the information before moving on to more complex knowledge. I stress that I am not recommending that the content be "dumbed down." What I am saying is that since systems analysis and design is difficult and requires much practice to master, it is the job of the teacher to build a bridge between the challenging but potentially graspable ideas and the students who fall short of brilliant. In other words, this book is in desperate need of many smaller, easier problems that progressively build up to the kind of arduous case studies that *are* included at the end of the chapters.
This is a good book if you have the aptitude and appetite for graphical model-making and some experience in programming. Yet I highly suspect there are better books out there on this topic for introductory students.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World (with CourseMate Printed Access Card)

SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN IN A CHANGING WORLD teaches the conceptual technical and managerial foundations for systems analysis design and implementation, as well as project management principles for systems development projects. The fifth edition continues the book's popular format of teaching both approaches to systems analysis and design: the traditional (structured) and the object-oriented (OO). This new edition offers expanded coverage of the object-oriented approach to design in two newly formed chapters, with Chapter 11 concentrating on principles and Chapter 12 covering use case realizations in depth. New and enhanced coverage of project management also teaches important issues related to adaptive projects as well as the traditional predictive approach to projects. Added perspective is provided for students via the running case studies and "Best Practices" feature.

Get 28% OFF

Click here for more information about Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World (with CourseMate Printed Access Card)

Read More...

Finite Element Methods and Their Applications (Scientific Computation) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The book show your basic idea in Chapter 1, and then put a lot of energy on how to use this method in real world. You can easily apply to your own major with very small change.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Finite Element Methods and Their Applications (Scientific Computation)

Get 53% OFF

Click here for more information about Finite Element Methods and Their Applications (Scientific Computation)

Read More...

Principles of Finance with Excel: Includes CD Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)As a university teacher of strategic corporate finance and optimal investment, I have watched the financial industry analytics transcend hand calculation with financial calculators to financial modeling with spreadsheet software. Depending on whether the financial specialty is in corporate or banking/brokerage, the job skills requirement can range from corporate cost control to optimal portfolio design. In watching the analytics development within the financial industry, I have repeatedly witnessed students with financial modeling skills obtain jobs that are typically reserved for specialists holding advanced degrees or having multiple years of experience.
My course design typically takes the form of a strategic analysis class in either corporate financial planning or investment issues. Optimal corporate financing affects optimal investments. Additionally, since my research interests are in international corporate finance, global finance themes surface in most lectures. In corporate finance, raising funds on favorable terms and then allocating those funds efficiently among various projects are decisions made by every company financial officer-in every country; in investment, fund managers face global choices. Thus, business is no longer exclusively domestic ventures. It is because of this that I would like to see a global analysis chapter added in the next revision of both of Dr. Benninga's textbooks. Business, and the financing of business, is global-even at the principles level.
Statement: There is not an employer on the planet who will care that you can solve a time-value-of-money problem using a hand-held calculator. Real world financial applications require spreadsheet analysis.
CORPORATE:
Companies are increasingly requiring sophisticated modeling skills from financial specialists. Logic in today's business environment calls for constant surveillance of possible global funding sources in an optimal growth strategy. There is no better way to do this than through financial modeling using the business spreadsheet standard-Excel.
With the skills developed in studying advanced business analytics in Dr. Benninga's textbooks, a businessperson can develop "what-if" scenarios analyzing the effects to a business in a change in any economic or financial element. The gain from being able to complete a model forecasting company strategy and financials is being able to increase efficiency in business operations. This efficiency comes from being able to analyze the events that affect business, either favorably or unfavorably, and then adjust operations and project financing appropriately. Company growth is directly affected by this ability to adjust operations. Growth at any level requires capital: Either capital in the form of machinery or capital in the form of money in order to purchase machinery. Being able to forecast company strategy and financials allows company flexibility in growth planning and budget. Optimal strategy realizes that the only growth that matters is growth that adds value to the company. It is the ability to strategically design growth that is driving the demand for Excel modeling skills by companies. Begin developing your financial modeling skills by purchasing this book; extend your beginning level skills by studying Dr. Benninga's textbook, Financial Modeling (2e), (see my review). It has advanced financial modeling.
Table of Contents: Principles of Finance with Excel
Chapter 1: Introduction to Finance
Chapter 2: Business Organization and Taxes
Chapter 3: An Accounting Primer
Chapter 4: Cash Management With Excel
Chapter 5: The Time Value of Money
Chapter 6: What Does It Cost? Applications of the Time Value of Money
Chapter 7: Introduction to Capital Budgeting
Chapter 8: Issues in Capital Budgeting
Chapter 9: Choosing a Discount Rate
Chapter 10: Using Financial Planning Models for Valuation
Chapter 11: What Is Risk?
Chapter 12: Statistics for Portfolios
Chapter 13: Portfolio Returns and the Efficient Frontier
Chapter 14: The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and the Security Market Line (SML)
Chapter 15: Using the Security Market Line (SML) to Measure Investment Performance
Chapter 16: The Security Market Line (SML) and the Cost of Capital
Chapter 17: Efficient Markets-Some General Principles of Security Valuation
Chapter 18: Bond Valuation
Chapter 19: Valuing Stocks
Chapter 20: Capital Structure and the Value of a Firm
Chapter 21: The Evidence on Capital Structure
Chapter 22: Dividend Policy
Chapter 23: Introduction to Options
Chapter 24: Option Pricing Facts
Chapter 25: Option Pricing-The Black-Scholes Formula
Chapter 26: The Binominal Option Pricing Model
Finally, the last section, Part 7, has eight chapters on Excel features that are especially useful in business applications.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Principles of Finance with Excel: Includes CD

Principles of Finance with Excel is the first textbook that comprehensively integrates Excel into the teaching and practice of finance. This book provides exceptional resources to the instructor and student, combining classroom-tested pedagogy with the full potential of Excel's powerful functions. In today's business world, computation is done almost wholly in Excel. Excel's ability to combine graphics with computation and perform complex sensitivity analysis with ease provides potent insights into financial problems. Despite this, most finance texts rely heavily on hand-held calculators and ignore Excel. As a result, many students find that after they enter the professional environment, they have to relearn both finance and Excel. Principles of Finance with Excel is ideal for undergraduate courses in introductory finance or as a reference for finance professionals. A Free In-Text CD for students contains electronic versions of all spreadsheets in the book. A Companion Website -- http://www.oup.com/us/benninga -- contains lecture notes, PowerPoint Slides, and a Test Bank for instructors.

Get 23% OFF

Click here for more information about Principles of Finance with Excel: Includes CD

Read More...

Equity Valuation: Models from Leading Investment Banks (The Wiley Finance Series) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is the most pratical decent EVA vs. CFROI discussion I have ever seen, complete with examples. Plus, a review of several major valuation models on the street. A must read the night before your financial analyst interview.
Only shortcomming is it does not cover the differences that arise when EVA and CFROI are applied in different sectors.
Still, I give this a 5.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Equity Valuation: Models from Leading Investment Banks (The Wiley Finance Series)

Equity Valuation: Models from the Leading Investment Banks is a clear and reader-friendly guide to how today's leading investment banks analyze firms. Editors Jan Viebig and Thorsten Poddig bring together expertise from UBS, Morgan Stanley, DWS Investment GmbH and Credit Suisse, providing a unique analysis of leading equity valuation models, from the very individuals who use them. Filled with real world insights, practical examples and theoretical approaches, the book will examine the strengths and weaknesses of some of the leading valuation approaches, helping readers understand how analysts:
· estimate cash flows
· calculate discount rates
· adjust for accounting distortions
· take uncertainty into consideration
Written for investment professionals, corporate managers and anyone interested in developing their understanding of this key area, Equity Valuation: Models from the Leading Investment Banks will arm readers with the latest thinking and depth of knowledge necessary to make the right decisions in their valuation methodologies.

Get 44% OFF

Click here for more information about Equity Valuation: Models from Leading Investment Banks (The Wiley Finance Series)

Read More...

Stochastic Petri Nets Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Petri nets have been used in operations research and the mathematical modeling of discrete-event systems ever since they were invented in the early 1960s. The applications of Petri nets are immense, having permeated many different fields, some of these being network engineering, queueing theory, and automated manufacturing. This book gives a very clear introduction to the mathematical theory of stochastic Petri nets (SPNs), which were invented in the 1980s, and which are used to model discrete-event systems which undergo stochastic state transitions occur only at an increasing sequence of random times. The book should be viewed as a monograph rather than a textbook since there are no exercises (unfortunately), but readers could still gain a good understanding of stochastic Petri nets by its perusal. One could make up for the lack of exercises by perhaps thinking of new applications of SPNs. My interest in the book was motivated by my wish to use SPNs to model network and application servers, poker games, and machine curiosity and decision-making in artificial intelligence. I only read chapters 1-5 and chapter 9, and so my review will be confined to these.
The author defines an SPN as a graph composed of a finite set of `places' and a finite set of `transitions'. A subset of these transitions are taken to be `immediate' transitions, and the set of places consists of normal input places, inhibitor input places, and output places, given a particular transition. A (countable) set of markings denoting the number of `tokens' in a place is also defined. In chapter 2, the author gives several examples of SPNs, such as a producer-consumer system, a queue with batch arrivals, a token ring network, a flexible manufacturing system, a particle counter, and a slotted ring network. Some of these examples illustrate the use of marking-dependent transitions, and the fact that SPN representations of discrete-event systems are not unique. The author also briefly discusses the SPSIM simulation language for SPNs. Also discussed briefly are restricted SPNs, wherein the marking set is not specified explicitly, and an accompanying notion of reachability.
The marking process of an SPN is described in terms of an underlying general state-space Markov chain in chapter 3. This allows sample paths to be generated, and one can utilize the results from the theory of Markov chains to study the long-time behavior of SPNs and define performance measures for them. The author gives an explicit algorithm for generating sample paths for the underlying chain and using this, for the marking process itself. This is followed by a discussion of sufficient conditions needed to guarantee infinite lifetimes for the marking process, thus avoiding "explosions", wherein an infinite number of marking changes occur in a finite time interval with probability 1. The author also gives criteria for showing when the marking process is a time-homogeneous continuous-time Markov chain.
In chapter 4, the author discusses to what extent discrete-event systems can be modeled within the SPN framework. He does not answer this in general, claiming that it cannot be, but instead compares the modeling power of SPNs to that of generalized semi-Markov processes (GSMPs). These systems differ, he says, in their event-scheduling and state-transition mechanisms, and the form of the state-space. GSMPs are more general than SPNs, but the author shows that SPNs have at least the modeling power of GSMPs, in that for any GSMP there exists an SPN that `strongly mimics' it: there is a marking process such that both of the processes have the same finite-dimensional distributions using an appropriate mapping between the underlying state spaces. Conversely, for any SNP with both timed and immediate transitions, the author shows that there exists a GSMP that strongly mimics the marking process of the SPN. A very brief but interesting discussion on the ability of Petri nets to mimic a Turing machine is given in the notes to the chapter.
The author turns his attention to stability issues in chapter 5. This attention is dictated by the fact the in order for SPNs to be practical for simulation purposes, their marking processes must have well-defined time-average limits. The stability of an SPN is shown, as expected, with reference to the underlying state-space Markov chain used to define the marking process. In this context, the author uses the notion of "Harris recurrence", wherein Markov chains that have this property repeatedly return to a dense, compact set of states. Criteria for establishing Harris recurrence are given throughout the chapter. Readers will have to know some amount of measure theory in order to read this chapter. The author gives a brief review of it in one of the appendices.
Chapter 9 covers colored stochastic Petri nets (CSPNs), which have myriads of applications and so a thorough reading of it is essential for those involved in those applications. As the author explains, associating colors with tokens and transitions will allow the simplification of Petri nets that have large numbers of places and transitions. The tokens are removed and deposited deterministically, and so CSPNs have less modeling power than SPNs. The tradeoff though is the conciseness of the CSPNs. Noted in the definition of CSPNs is the presence of input and output incidence functions, which determine when a transition is enabled in a color and the number of tokens removed and deposited when a transition fires in a color. Several examples of CSPNs are discussed, including machine repair, a token ring network, a system of cyclic queues with feedback, and one dealing with customer complaint processing. As was the case for SPNs, the marking process of a CSPN is defined in terms of a general state-space Markov chain that describes the CSPN at successive marking changes. The author studies the stability of CSPNs , and considers what are called "symmetric" CSPNs, which are those that remain the same under permutations of its set of colors. The mathematical analysis of symmetric CSPNs is, as expected, simpler than non-symmetric CSPNs.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Stochastic Petri Nets

Written by a leading researcher this book presents an introduction to Stochastic Petri Nets covering the modeling power of the proposed SPN model, the stability conditions and the simulation methods. Its unique and well-written approach provides a timely and important addition to the literature. Appeals to a wide range of researchers in engineering, computer science, mathematics and OR.

Click here for more information about Stochastic Petri Nets

Read More...

An Introduction to Queueing Theory: and Matrix-Analytic Methods Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I haven't read the book. However, from its content I know it is a good book. It seems that everyone loves "Fundamentals of Queueing Theory". However, it has too many pages. 464 pages. I can not believe someone can finish it mostly unless he/she uses that book for textbook and has a weekly lecture about this book. Therefore, if you have good mathematical skill and plan to self-study queueing theory, this is the book for you.

Click Here to see more reviews about: An Introduction to Queueing Theory: and Matrix-Analytic Methods

Click here for more information about An Introduction to Queueing Theory: and Matrix-Analytic Methods

Read More...