We have seen many empires come and go. From the Roman Empire to the British Empire, we are now witnessing the decline of the US as a superpower. How do economic innovations foster global economic dominance, and how does the natural evolution of an economic empire eventually bring about its demise and replacement by other economic superpowers?

"The complete story of the devastating BP oil spill of 2010. The author puts forward an objective account of what happened, a documentation of the true costs, not the hyperbolic costs, and an explanation of the science and business of the spill and its remediation"--

A fascinating discussion of the role played by fear in financial market panics. Professor Read demonstrates, in easy-to-understand terms, that rising market fear portends to major financial declines. He explains the science and the economics of fear and shows that the financial market has learned how to capitalize on investor or economic fear

The Corporate Financiers is the fifth book in a series of discussions about the great minds in the history and theory of finance. While the series addresses the contributions of scholars in our understanding of modern finance, this volume presents the ways in which a corporation creates value. More than two centuries ago, Adam Smith explained the concept of division of labor and the efficiencies of specialization as the mechanism in which a firm creates value. However, corporations now find themselves outsourcing some processes to other firms as an alternative way to create value. There must be other economic forces at work than simply the internal efficiencies of a firm. We begin by describing the work of a rather obscure scholar named John Burr Williams who demonstrated in 1938 how the earnings of a firm are capitalized into corporate value through its stock price. We then delve into the inner workings of the modern corporation by describing the contributions of Nobel Memorial Prize winners Ronald Coase and Oliver Williamson. More than any others, these scholars created a renewed appreciation for our understanding of the institutional detail of the modern corporation in reducing costs and increasing efficiency. While Coase and Williamson provided meaningful descriptions of the advantage of a corporation, they did not offer prescriptions for the avenues the corporation can create more value in an era when new technologies make outsourcing and telecommuting increasingly possible. Michael Jensen and William Meckling describe in greater detail the nature of the implicit contracts a corporation employs, and recommend remedies to various problems that arise when the goals of the corporation are not aligned with the incentives of its agents. We also describe the further nuances to these relationships as offered by Armen Alchian and Harold Demsetz. We treat the lives of these extraordinary individuals who looked at a very familiar problem in a sufficiently novel light to change the way all look at corporations ever since. That is the test of genius.

The third book in the Great Minds in Finance series examines the pricing of securities and the risk/reward trade off through the legends, contribution, and legacies of Jacob Marschak, William Sharpe, Fischer Black and Myron Scholes, and Robert Merton, influencing both theory and practice, enabling the question of how do we measure risk?

Colin Read explores the intricacies of modern financial markets and explains in easy to understand terms the reasons for global financial unrest arising from the sub-prime mortgage crisis and global economic meltdowns. He proposes that a well educated economic citizen is our most effective tool to prevent future financial collapses, like the one witnessed in 2007-2008. He walks us through a number of topics in economics, and connects these topics to real world financial problems. He then leaves us with a series of recommendations that can strengthen the economy and leave it less prone to manipulation. Throughout, he describes the role of globalization and the expected profound impact countries like India and China will have on our economic future.

Read examines probability, risk, and uncertainty through the contributions of John von Neumann, Leonard Jimmie Savage, Kenneth Arrow and Harry Markowitz. These Portfolio Theorists provided us with a dramatic leap forward in our understanding of and insights into financial rewards under risk and uncertainty.

Read addresses the contributions of significant individuals to our understanding of financial decisions and markets. Great financial theorists created the basis for what we now know as personal finance and this volume describes four great minds in finance that forever established the role of the rate of return and life cycle decision-making.

The Corporate Financiers is the fifth book in a series of discussions about the great minds in the history and theory of finance. While the series addresses the contributions of scholars in our understanding of modern finance, this volume presents the ways in which a corporation creates value. More than two centuries ago, Adam Smith explained the concept of division of labor and the efficiencies of specialization as the mechanism in which a firm creates value. However, corporations now find themselves outsourcing some processes to other firms as an alternative way to create value. There must be other economic forces at work than simply the internal efficiencies of a firm. We begin by describing the work of a rather obscure scholar named John Burr Williams who demonstrated in 1938 how the earnings of a firm are capitalized into corporate value through its stock price. We then delve into the inner workings of the modern corporation by describing the contributions of Nobel Memorial Prize winners Ronald Coase and Oliver Williamson. More than any others, these scholars created a renewed appreciation for our understanding of the institutional detail of the modern corporation in reducing costs and increasing efficiency. While Coase and Williamson provided meaningful descriptions of the advantage of a corporation, they did not offer prescriptions for the avenues the corporation can create more value in an era when new technologies make outsourcing and telecommuting increasingly possible. Michael Jensen and William Meckling describe in greater detail the nature of the implicit contracts a corporation employs, and recommend remedies to various problems that arise when the goals of the corporation are not aligned with the incentives of its agents. We also describe the further nuances to these relationships as offered by Armen Alchian and Harold Demsetz. We treat the lives of these extraordinary individuals who looked at a very familiar problem in a sufficiently novel light to change the way all look at corporations ever since. That is the test of genius.

The third book in the Great Minds in Finance series examines the pricing of securities and the risk/reward trade off through the legends, contribution, and legacies of Jacob Marschak, William Sharpe, Fischer Black and Myron Scholes, and Robert Merton, influencing both theory and practice, answering the question 'how do we measure risk?'

Read examines probability, risk, and uncertainty through the contributions of John von Neumann, Leonard Jimmie Savage, Kenneth Arrow and Harry Markowitz. These Portfolio Theorists provided us with a dramatic leap forward in our understanding of and insights into financial rewards under risk and uncertainty.

The complete story of the devastating BP oil spill of 2010. The author puts forward an objective account of what happened, a documentation of the true costs, not the hyperbolic costs, and an explanation of the science and business of the spill and its remediation.

Read addresses the contributions of significant individuals to our understanding of financial decisions and markets. Great financial theorists created the basis for what we now know as personal finance and this volume describes four great minds in finance that forever established the role of the rate of return and life cycle decision-making.

"This investment is all about integration of processes, data, technology, and, crucially, our culture. Knitting together our people and getting them to share and communicate is critical." PHIL BENTLEY, CFO, CENTRICA

"We look to globally share our information on brands, knowledge, consumer insights…What we need now is outstanding decision-support tools, built around our structured database…We need an analytical environment which will fuel our growth, not just cut our costs." GARY FAYARD, CFO, THE COCA COLA COMPANY

"What differentiates success in this industry is the ability to execute. This, coupled with our installed infrastructure represents our competitive advantage. More and more, we are being asked to build total solutions." JIM DALEY, CFO, EDS

"Our mantra in finance: driving superior performance and being more proactive. What, exactly, does this means? Driving functional excellence, setting standards, and developing KPIs for risk management and decision support. Our priorities in finance? Playing our part in developing our global business approach." WOLFGANG REICHENBERGER, CFO, NESTLE

Today, the CFO's role has moved beyond that of understanding and harnessing the awesome resources of eBusiness to proactively integrating those resources - across business functions, alliance partners, and geographic boundaries to create a truly global company. The CFO as Business Integrator is a practical, results-driven guide to reaping the benefits of new integration technology and shaping a new, forward-driving finance agenda around the financial supply chain, managed services, and advanced analytics and decision-support.

Interactive products designed for children-whether toys, games, educational products, or websites-are increasingly embedded in children's lives and school experiences. Making these products safe, effective, and entertaining requires new methodologies for carrying out sound and unbiased evaluations for these users with unique requirements, environments, and ethical considerations.
This book directly addresses this need by thoroughly covering the evaluation of all types of interactive technology for children. Based on the authors' workshops, conference courses, and own design experience and research, this highly practical book reads like a handbook, while being thoroughly grounded in the latest research. Throughout, the authors illustrate techniques and principles with numerous mini case studies and highlight practical information in tips and exercises and conclude with three in-depth case studies. Essential reading for usability experts, product developers, and researchers in the field.
* Presents an essential background in child development and child psychology, particularly as they relate to technology.
* Captures best practices for observing and surveying children, training evaluators, and capturing the child user experience using audio and visual technology.
* Examines ethical and legal issues involved in working with children and offers guidelines for effective risk management.

This book is an invaluable resource for graph theorists and researchers in related areas, and is the first of its kind. It provides a comprehensive catalogue of over 10,000 graphs, with accompanying tables of parameters and properties.

We have seen many empires come and go. From the Roman Empire to the British Empire, we are now witnessing the decline of the US as a superpower. How do economic innovations foster global economic dominance, and how does the natural evolution of an economic empire eventually bring about its demise and replacement by other economic superpowers?

A fascinating discussion of the role played by fear in financial market panics. Professor Read demonstrates, in easy-to-understand terms, that rising market fear portends to major financial declines. He explains the science and the economics of fear and shows that the financial market has learned how to capitalize on investor or economic fear

In easy to understand terms and journalistic style, Read describes the reasons for global financial unrest arising from the sub-prime mortgage crisis and economic meltdowns. He walks the reader through a number of topics in economics and connects these topics to real world financial problems concluding with recommendations for the future.

There's no greater thrill than spotting one of these tiny birds when on holiday, and young readers will be fascinated by how this avian machine works. Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world, but they exploit every advantage that comes with their modest size. 'Exploring the World of Hummingbirds' is a fully illustrated introduction to the hummingbird's high-performance lifestyle. Built for efficiency and fueled with high-energy nectar, this bird runs at a high temperature during the daytime, its heart beating 650 beats a minute, and its dense feathers keep it warm at night as it rests. Most impressive, however, are its skills as an aerial acrobat. Like a helicopter, it can move forward, backward and sideways. When feeding from a blossom, it can hover in midair and then turn and whir away at full speed - all in two-tenths of a second. Readers will find out how hummingbirds and flowers have evolved for their mutual success. They'll also discover intriguing facts about hummingbird biology, flight, mating and nesting behaviors, family life, migration, and just how a hummingbird achieves and maintains its dazzling, shimmering colors. The Exploring the World of...nature series was created for young readers who are eager to learn more about the wild creatures of the world. Each title contains beautiful photographs of the animals in their natural habitats and the highly readable text explores their daily lives and physical characteristics, how they make their homes, how they raise their young and what they eat.