Launching a child from home is second only to child-birth in its impact on a family. Parents can end up reeling with the empty-nest blues, while teens find their powers of self-reliance stretched to the breaking point. During the time of upheaval that begins senior year of high school with the nerve-wracking college application process and continues into the first year of life away from home, The Launching Years is a trusted resource for keeping every member of the family sane. From weathering the emotional onslaught of impending separation to effectively parenting from afar, from avoiding the slump of “senioritis” to handling the newfound independence and the experimentation with alcohol and sexuality that college often involves, The Launching Years provides both parents and teens with well-written, down-to-earth advice for staying on an even keel throughout this exciting, discomforting, and challenging time.

This book offers a comprehensive treatment of the exercises and case studies as well as summaries of the chapters of the book "Linear Optimization and Extensions" by Manfred Padberg. It covers the areas of linear programming and the optimization of linear functions over polyhedra in finite dimensional Euclidean vector spaces.Here are the main topics treated in the book: Simplex algorithms and their derivatives including the duality theory of linear programming. Polyhedral theory, pointwise and linear descriptions of polyhedra, double description algorithms, Gaussian elimination with and without division, the complexity of simplex steps. Projective algorithms, the geometry of projective algorithms, Newtonian barrier methods. Ellipsoids algorithms in perfect and in finite precision arithmetic, the equivalence of linear optimization and polyhedral separation. The foundations of mixed-integer programming and combinatorial optimization.

As an extension of Volumes I and II of this series, this book contains a detailed elaboration of the Tesla story, in a way that also serves to examine the interaction of technology and economic forces that determine the structural profitability of any industry, especially capital-intense industries. The economics are the "five forces" introduced to the management lexicon by strategic management scholars. Here there is strong emphasis on the interplay among product technology, production and supply chains, and "Wall Street." The author is a retired business professor; his research interest has been the management of technology and innovation. For this book, he double-checked none of the 1,250 media items collected, accepting their overall veracity at face value. This approach advocates no one person, no one company, no one technology, and no portion of the global automobile industry. Analysis and practical application came foremost.

Gilboa and Schmeidler provide a new paradigm for modeling decision making under uncertainty. Case-based decision theory suggests that people make decisions by analogies to past cases: they tend to choose acts that performed well in the past in similar situations, and to avoid acts that performed poorly. The authors describe the general theory and its relationship to planning, repeated choice problems, inductive inference, and learning. They highlight its mathematical and philosophical foundations and compare it to expected utility theory as well as to rule-based systems.

This volume contains a selection of manuscripts referring to lectures presented at the Symposium on Operations Research 1999 (SOR'99) held at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Sep- tember 1 -3, 1999. This international conference took place under the auspices of the German OR society (GOR), and it was the first one organized in Germany since the foundation of GOR by merger of the two predecessor societies (DGOR and GMOOR) in 1998. The Symposium had 420 participants from 22 countries around the world. It attracted academicians and practitioners working in various fields of Operations Research and provided them with the most recent developments and advances in the full spectrum of Operations Research and related areas in economics, mathematics, and computer science. The selection of contributions to SOR'99 accepted by the program committee and the invited pa- pers formed a program which consisted of 265 lectures in 19 sections, including 2 plenary and 19 semi plenary presentations. 119 manuscripts were submitted for publication in the proceedings vo- lume. Due to the page limit for this volume and in order to insure a high quality level of the OR Proceedings a further review procedure had to take place which was strongly supported by the sec- tion chairpersons. It resulted in a selection of 87 manuscripts which are now presented in this volume.

Variational inequalities proved to be a very useful tool for investigation and solution of various equilibrium type problems arising in Economics, Operations Research, Mathematical Physics, and Transportation. This book is devoted to a new general approach to constructing solution methods for variational inequalities, which was called the combined relaxation approach. This approach is rather flexible and allows one to construct various methods both for single-valued and for multi-valued variational inequalities, including nonlinear constrained problems. The other essential feature of the combined relaxation methods is that they are convergent under very mild assumptions. The book can be viewed as an attempt to discribe the existing combined relaxation methods as a whole.

This volume is a collection of papers presented at the Workshop on fll-Posed Variational Problems and Regularization Techniques held at the University of Trier (Germany) in September 1998. From September 3 through September 5, 1998, about 50 scientists met at Trier to discuss recent developments in the field of ill-posed variational prob lems and variational inequalities. 17 lectures were delivered, covering a large range of theoretical, numerical and practical aspects. The topics, as well as the invited speakers, were selected by the organizers. The main topics dis cussed were o Regularization methods for equilibrium problems o Variational inequalities and complementarity problems and their reg ularization o Regularization of fixed point problems o Links between approximation, penalization and regularization o Bundle methods, nonsmooth optimization and regularization o Error bounds for regularized optimization problems The organizers are gratful to all participants for their contribution to the success of this workshop. We also wish to express our cordial thanks for the financial support granted by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschajt, Bonn and the University of Trier. We are indebted to the referees for their helpful comments and suggestions and to our colleagues of the University Trier for their assistance in preparing this volume. M. Thera, U niversite de Limoges (France) R. Tichatschke, University of Trier (Germany) Contents Antipin A., Vasil'ev F. Regularization Method for Equilibrium Programming Problem with Inaccurate Initial Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Attouch H., Champion T. LP-Regularization of the Non-Parametric Minimal Surface Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Auslender A., Teboulle M., Ben-Tiba S."

This book is unique in identifying and presenting tools to environmental decision-makers to help them improve the quality and clarity of their work. These tools range from software to policy approaches, and from environmental databases to focus groups. Equally of value to environmental managers, and students in environmental risk, policy, economics and law.

Although everyone has goals, only some people successfully attain their respective goals on a regular basis. With this in mind, the author attempts to answer the question of why some people are more successful than others. He begins with the assumption that the key to personal success is effective decision-making, and then utilizes his own theory--The Self-Regulation Model--to explain the origin and nature of individual differences in decision-making competence. The author also summarizes a number of existing models of decision-making and risk-taking.
This book has two primary goals:
* to provide a comprehensive review of the developmental literature on the decision-making skills of children, adolescents, and adults, and
* to propose a theoretical model of decision-making skill that offers a better description of this skill than prior accounts.
Taken together, the literature review and theoretical model help the reader acquire a clear sense of the development of decision-making skills as well as reasons for the developmental differences that seem to emerge.

The basis for much of medical public health practice comes from epidemiological research. This text describes current statistical tools that are used to analyse the association between possible risk factors and the actual risk of disease. Beginning with a broad conceptual framework on the disease process, it describes commonly used techniques for analysing proportions and disease rates. These are then extended to model fitting, and the common threads of logic that bind the two analytic strategies together are revealed. Each chapter provides a descriptive rationale for the method, a worked example using data from a published study, and an exercise that allows the reader to practice the technique. Each chapter also includes an appendix that provides further details on the theoretical underpinnings of the method. Among the topics covered are Mantel-Haenszel methods, rates, survival analysis, logistic regression, and generalised linear models. Methods for incorporating aspects of study design, such as matching, into the analysis are discussed, and guidance is given for determining the power or the sample size requirements of a study. This text will give readers a foundation in applied statistics and the concepts of model fitting to develop skills in the analysis of epidemiological data.

This book outlines risk management theory systematically and comprehensively while distinguishing it from academic fields such as insurance theory. In addition, the book builds a risk financing theory that is independent of insurance theory. Until now, risk management (RM) theory has been discussed while the framework of the theory has remained unclear. However, this book, unlike previous books of this type, provides risk management theory after presenting a framework for it. Enterprise risk management (ERM) is seen differently depending on one's position. For accountants, it is a means for internal control to prevent accounting fraud, whereas for financial institutions, it quantifies the risk that administrators can take to meet supervisory standards. Therefore, most of the ERM outlines are written to suit the intended uses or topics, with no systematic RM overviews. This book discusses a systematic RM theory linked to the framework of it, unlike previous books that were written according to topic. After the Enron scandal in December 2001 and WorldCom accounting fraud in June 2002, several laws were enacted or revised throughout the world, such as the SOX Act(Sarbanes-Oxley Act) in the United States and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and Companies Act in Japan. In this process, the COSO(Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of Treadway Commission) published their ERM framework, while the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) published their RM framework. The author believes that the competition between these frameworks was an opportunity to systematize RM theory and greatly develop it as an independent discipline from insurance. On the other hand, the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011, caused enormous losses. Also, because pandemics and cyber risks are increasing, businesses must have a comprehensive and systematic ERM for these risks associated with their business activities

If you have ever had the opportunity to observe a master craftsperson at work, one of the first things you will notice is how easy they make their work look. This principle applies to artists, athletes, plumbers and painters. It also applies to teachers. If you were fortunate enough to have some master teachers in your K to 12 schooling or for your university student teaching, you will have seen this principle at work. You will recall how easy they made teaching look. For the most part, their classes just flowed. The teacher would ask the students to do something, and the students did it. The teacher would cue the kids to transition into a new activity, and the kids transitioned. There was little conflict, few arguments, and the vast majority of classroom time was spent engaged in learning. It is a pleasure to observe these kinds of behaviors in the classrooms of master teachers, but this leaves us with an important question: how do they do it? Just how did these teachers get their students to be so cooperative and have their classroom running so smoothly? That is what THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER'S SURVIVAL KIT: 83 simple things that successful teachers do to thrive in the classroom will show you - the kinds of things that master teachers do to make their classes work - both for themselves and for their students. You too can become a master teacher. This book will show you how.

Although scientists have effectively employed the concepts of probability to address the complex problem of prediction, modern science still falls short in establishing true predictions with meaningful lead times of zero-probability major disasters. The recent earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and China are tragic reminders of the critical need for improved methods of predicting natural disasters. Drawing on their vast practical experience and theoretical studies, Dr. Yi Lin and Professor Shoucheng OuYang examine some of the problems that exist in the modern system of science to provide the understanding required to improve our ability to forecast and prepare for such events. Presenting a series of new understandings, theories, and a new system of methodology, Irregularities and Prediction of Major Disasters simplifies the world-class problem of prediction into a series of tasks that can be learned, mastered, and applied in the analysis and prediction of forthcoming changes in materials or fluids. These internationally respected authors introduce their novel method of digitization for dealing with irregular information, proven effective for predicting transitional changes in events. They also: Unveil a new methodology for forecasting zero-probability natural disasters Highlight the reasons for common forecasting failures Propose a method for resolving the mystery of nonlinearity Include numerous real-life case studies that illustrate how to properly digitize available information Supply proven methods for forecasting small-probability natural disasters This authoritative resource provides a systematic discussion of the non-evolutionality of the modern system of science-analyzing its capabilities and limitations. By touching on the n

Learning from experience, making decisions on the basis of the available information, and proceeding step by step to a desired goal are fundamental behavioural qualities of human beings. Nevertheless, it was not until the early 1940's that such a statistical theory - namely Sequential Analysis - was created, which allows us to investigate this kind of behaviour in a precise manner. A. Wald's famous sequential probability ratio test (SPRT; see example (1.8 turned out to have an enormous influence on the development of this theory. On the one hand, Wald's fundamental monograph "Sequential Analysis" ( Wa]*) is essentially centered around this test. On the other hand, important properties of the SPRT - e.g. Bayes optimality, minimax-properties, "uniform" optimality with respect to expected sample sizes - gave rise to the development of a general statistical decision theory. As a conse quence, the SPRT's played a dominating role in the further development of sequential analysis and, more generally, in theoretical statistics."

This monograph is intended for an advanced undergraduate or graduate course as well as for researchers, who want a compilation of developments in this rapidly growing field of operations research. This is a sequel to our previous works: "Multiple Objective Decision Making--Methods and Applications: A state-of-the-Art Survey" (No.164 of the Lecture Notes); "Multiple Attribute Decision Making--Methods and Applications: A State-of-the-Art Survey" (No.186 of the Lecture Notes); and "Group Decision Making under Multiple Criteria--Methods and Applications" (No.281 of the Lecture Notes). In this monograph, the literature on methods of fuzzy Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) has been reviewed thoroughly and critically, and classified systematically. This study provides readers with a capsule look into the existing methods, their characteristics, and applicability to the analysis of fuzzy MADM problems. The basic concepts and algorithms from the classical MADM methods have been used in the development of the fuzzy MADM methods. We give an overview of the classical MADM in Chapter II. Chapter III presents the basic concepts and mathematical operations of fuzzy set theory with simple numerical examples in a easy-to-read and easy-to-follow manner. Fuzzy MADM methods basically consist of two phases: (1) the aggregation of the performance scores with respect to all the attributes for each alternative, and (2) the rank ordering of the alternatives according to the aggregated scores.

The axiomatic foundations of the Bayesian approach to decision making assurne precision in the decision maker's judgements. In practicc, dccision makers often provide only partial and/or doubtful information. We unify and expand results to deal with those cases introducing a general framework for sensitivity analysis in multi-objective decision making. We study first decision making problems under partial information. We provide axioms leading to modelling preferences by families of value functions, in problems under certainty, and moJelling beliefs by families of probability distributions and preferences by familics of utility functions, in problems under uncertainty. Both problems are treated in parallel with the same parametric model. Alternatives are ordered in a Pareto sense, the solution of the problem being the set of non dominated alternatives. Potentially optimal solutions also seem acceptable, from an intuitive point of view and due to their relation with the nondominated ones. Algorithms are provided to compute these solutions in general problems and in cases typical in practice: linear and bilinear problems. Other solution concepts are criticised on the grounds of being ad hoc. In summary, we have a more ro bust theory of decision making based on a weaker set ofaxioms, but embodying coherence, since it essentially implies carrying out a family of coherent dccision anitlyses."

A company's reputation is one of its most valuable assets, and reputational risk is high on the agenda at board level and amongst regulators. Rethinking Reputational Risk explains the hidden factors which can both cause crises and tip an otherwise survivable crisis into a reputational disaster. Reputations are lost when the perception of an organization is damaged by its behaviour not meeting stakeholder expectations. Rethinking Reputational Risk lays bare the actions, inactions and local 'states of normality' that can lead to perception-changing consequences and gives readers the insight to recognize and respond to the risks to their reputations. Using case studies, such as BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Volkswagen's emissions rigging scandal, Tesco, AIG, EADS Airbus A380, and Mid-Staffordshire NHS Hospital Trust, and analysis of their failures, this hard-hitting guide also applies lessons drawn from behavioural economics to the behavioural risks that underlie reputation risk. An essential read for risk professionals, business leaders and board members who need to understand and deal with business-critical threats to their reputation, this book presents a new framework that will be invaluable for all involved in safeguarding an organization's reputation.

Andrew Furness and Martin Muckett give an introduction to all areas of fire safety management, including the legal framework, causes and prevention of fire and explosions, fire protection measures, fire risk assessment, and fire investigation. Fire safety is not treated as an isolated area but linked into an effective health and safety management system.Introduction to Fire Safety Management has been developed for the NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management and is also suitable for other NVQ level 3 and 4 fire safety courses. The text is highly illustrated in full colour, easy to read and supported by checklists, report forms and record sheets. This practical approach makes the book a valuable reference for health and safety professionals, fire officers, facility managers, safety reps, managers, supervisors and HR personnel in companies, as well as fire safety engineers, architects, construction managers and emergency fire services personnel.Andrew Furness CFIOSH, GIFireE, Dip2OSH, MIIRSM, MRSH, is Managing Director of Salvus Consulting Limited who specialise in Fire Safety. He was the chairman of the NEBOSH / IOSH working party that developed the NEBOSH Fire Safety and Risk Management certificate.Martin Muckett MA, MBA, CMIOSH, MIFireE, Dip2OSH, former Principal Health and Safety Advisor to The Fire Service Inspectorate and Principal Fire Safety Officer, Martin is currently Salvus Consulting Limiteds Senior Fire Safety Trainer / Consultant.

An original approach to the identification of fallacies focusing on their relationship to human self deception, mental trickery, and manipulation. Introduces the concept of fallacies and details 44 foul ways to win an argument.

Thousands of people continue to die from heat. Heat illnesses and advice for preventing heat casualties at work, during heatwaves, sport and the effects of global warming are described. A new perspective on thermoregulation integrates physiological and psychophysical regulated variables. Heat stress indices, the WBGT and the SWreq are presented. It is time to understand and routinely use computer simulations of people in hot conditions. How to understand how a model can be constructed is also described. This book provides an accessible, concise and comprehensive coverage into how people respond to heat and how to predict and avoid heat causalities. A practical productivity model, and Burn thresholds, complete the book which begins with up to date knowledge on measurement of heat stress, heat strain, metabolic rate and the thermal properties and influences of clothing. Features Provides methods and regulations through international standards Illustrates the WBGT and analytical heat stress indices and how to construct a thermal model Discusses the role of clothing on heat stress and thermal strain Presents a new model for predicting productivity in the heat Offers a new method of human thermoregulation Considers heat illness and prevention during heatwaves and in global warming

Teachers stand at the intersection of educational goals, directing students down the road to success or to the byways of diminished opportunities. They are the most important school variable effecting student achievement. Consequently, placing and retaining only qualified and effective teachers in our nation's classrooms is a critical responsibility of school leaders. Effective supervision and evaluation requires that the school leader possess the knowledge of effective instruction, exhibit skills in documentation of professional conduct, and embrace a professional approach with the will to place and keep students at the center of school policy and practice decisions. Supervising and evaluating teachers is a difficult, but essential work. Research shows that time and expertise are necessary to effectively supervise and to build a case for adverse employment decisions, when necessary. Threading the Evaluation Needle: The Documentation of Teacher Unprofessional Conduct addresses the legal and professional knowledge that structures discipline and dismissal in the public schools. The authors, based on their educational, legal, and research experience, provide templates for various types of documentation necessary to effectively build a case for discipline. This book seeks to give principals the tools and knowledge to institute in good faith a fair and accurate documentation system.

Optimization methods play a central role in financial modeling. This textbook is devoted to explaining how state-of-the-art optimization theory, algorithms, and software can be used to efficiently solve problems in computational finance. It discusses some classical mean-variance portfolio optimization models as well as more modern developments such as models for optimal trade execution and dynamic portfolio allocation with transaction costs and taxes. Chapters discussing the theory and efficient solution methods for the main classes of optimization problems alternate with chapters discussing their use in the modeling and solution of central problems in mathematical finance. This book will be interesting and useful for students, academics, and practitioners with a background in mathematics, operations research, or financial engineering. The second edition includes new examples and exercises as well as a more detailed discussion of mean-variance optimization, multi-period models, and additional material to highlight the relevance to finance.

Risks are increasingly regulated by international standards, and scientists play a key role in standardization. This fascinating book exposes the action of 'invisible colleges' of scientists loose groups of prominent scientific experts who combine practical experience of risk and control with advisory responsibility in the formulation of international standards. Drawing upon the domains of medicines, 'novel foods' and food hygiene, David Demortain investigates new regulatory concepts emerging from invisible colleges, highlighting how they shape consensus and pave the way for international standards. He explores the relationship between science and regulation from theoretic and historic perspectives, and illustrates how scientific experts integrate regulatory actors in commonly agreed modes of control and structures of regulatory responsibilities. Sociological and political implications are also discussed. Using innovative methodologies and an extensive insight into food and pharmaceutical regulation, this book will provide a much-needed reference tool for scholars and students in a range of fields encompassing science and technology studies, public policy, risk and environmental regulation, and transnational governance. Contents: 1. Risk Regulation From Controversies to Common Concepts 2. Communities, Networks and Colleges: Expert Collectives in Transnational Regulation 3. From Qualifying Products to Imputing Adverse Events: A Short History of Risk Regulation 4. Drawing Lessons: Medical Professionals and the Introduction of Pharmacovigilance Planning 5. Modelling Regulation: HACCP and the Ambitions of the Food Microbiology Elite 6. The Value of Abstraction: Food Safety Scientists and the Invention of Post-market Monitoring 7. Exploring Invisible Colleges: Sociology of the Standardising Scientist 8. Scientists, Standardisation and Regulatory Change: The Emergent Action of Invisible Colleges Appendix 1. Research Strategy and Methodology References Index