Something of great significance has just arrived on earth, and it is past due. Just as thirty-six-year old graphic designer Trevin Lambrose decides he needs much more from his unfulfilling life, he unexpectedly becomes the first to witness a shimmering anomaly. Suddenly, his head is filled with happy memories of childhood parties, good friends, and unconditional love. As the anomaly quietly disappears, Trevin has no idea he is slowly inching closer to a truth that will shake the entire world.

He is already dealing with the stress of living in Chicago, away from family during a crushing recession, strife besieging the planet. Open to change of every kind, Trevin seeks solace and understanding from his new enigmatic and nostalgic girlfriend, Constance Summerlin, as he questions why he is unexpectedly turning to his memories for comfort. He is desperate for something-anything-to take his worries away. But when a violent impetus sets Trevin on a visit to reconnect with his past, he soon realizes that Constance is his saving grace.

In this poignant tale, Trevin is about to open a new chapter on humanity that reveals a monumental truth. The future always embraces the past.

A Maori activist prepares to enforce his claim over the indigenous rights to New Zealand. A local tramper stumbles across a hide of weopons. What follows is the break down of society, civil war, a government caught on the hop and unable to deal with the situation, Military blunders, political deception and a personal vendetta that see both men meet face to face in the defense of their own beliefs. Pray it never comes to this.

It is a long-held perception that America is a nation where the government typically stays out of day-to-day business activities. Yet the U.S. federal government is in many ways the biggest and most influential financial institution in the world, with $10 trillion in federal guarantees and loans going to the private sector. Even before recent implementation of massive interventions meant to stave off financial calamity, the federal government directly or indirectly provided significantly more credit than any of the country's largest private sector banks. And, of course, the government's credit activities have recently expanded far beyond this core of traditional programs in the face of economic crisis. What does the true picture of this sector look like, and how does it affect the overall economy?

"Uncle Sam in Pinstripes" is an accessible primer on U.S. federal lending, providing an instructive look at one of the most important interfaces between the U.S. government and its citizens as well as the transactions that result. Douglas Elliott's introductory chapter makes clear the critical importance of federal credit programs and hints at some of their complexities. The remainder of this book fills in the details --the how, what, why, and the ramifications --allowing readers of all stripes to understand the history, current state, and key policy issues surrounding federal credit provision. No picture of the U.S. economy is complete without a fuller understanding of this increasingly important sector.

There is considerable evidence that taxpayers are not receiving the value for money that they should. The author believes that a number of steps should be taken to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of federal credit programs. These are explained in the final chapter and include the following actions, among many others:

- Target borrowers more carefully. - Take into account more fully the relative risk of different loans. - Use the same budget rules for all federal credit programs. - Use risk-based discount rates for federal budget purposes. - Create a federal bank to administer all credit programs.

Recent years have seen a number of introductory texts which focus on the applications of modern stochastic calculus to the theory of finance, and on the pricing models for derivative securities in particular. Some of these books develop the mathematics very quickly, making substantial demands on the readerOs background in advanced probability theory. Others emphasize the financial applications and do not attempt a rigorous coverage of the continuous-time calculus. This book provides a rigorous introduction for those who do not have a good background in stochastic calculus. The emphasis is on keeping the discussion self-contained rather than giving the most general results possible.

A number of methodologies have been employed to provide decision making solutions to a whole assortment of financial problems in today's globalized markets. Hidden Markov Models in Finance by Mamon and Elliott will be the first systematic application of these methods to some special kinds of financial problems; namely, pricing options and variance swaps, valuation of life insurance policies, interest rate theory, credit risk modeling, risk management, analysis of future demand and inventory level, testing foreign exchange rate hypothesis, and early warning systems for currency crises. This book provides researchers and practitioners with analyses that allow them to sort through the random noise of financial markets (i.e., turbulence, volatility, emotion, chaotic events, etc.) and analyze the fundamental components of economic markets. Hence, Hidden Markov Models in Finance provides decision makers with a clear, accurate picture of core financial components by filtering out the random noise in financial markets.

The aim of this book is to present graduate students with a thorough survey of reference probability models and their applications to optimal estimation and control. These new and powerful methods are particularly useful in signal processing applications where signal models are only partially known and are in noisy environments. Well-known results, including Kalman filters and the Wonheim filter emerge as special cases. The authors begin with discrete time and discrete state spaces. From there, they proceed to cover continuous time, and progress from linear models to non-linear models, and from completely known models to only partially known models. Readers are assumed to have basic grounding in probability and systems theory as might be gained from the first year of graduate study, but otherwise this account is self-contained. Throughout, the authors have taken care to demonstrate engineering applications which show the usefulness of these methods.

Since the groundbreaking research of Harry Markowitz into the application of operations research to the optimization of investment portfolios, finance has been one of the most important areas of application of operations research. The use of hidden Markov models (HMMs) has become one of the hottest areas of research for such applications to finance. This handbook offers systemic applications of different methodologies that have been used for decision making solutions to the financial problems of global markets. As the follow-up to the authors' Hidden Markov Models in Finance (2007), this offers the latest research developments and applications of HMMs to finance and other related fields. Amongst the fields of quantitative finance and actuarial science that will be covered are: interest rate theory, fixed-income instruments, currency market, annuity and insurance policies with option-embedded features, investment strategies, commodity markets, energy, high-frequency trading, credit risk, numerical algorithms, financial econometrics and operational risk. Hidden Markov Models in Finance: Further Developments and Applications, Volume II presents recent applications and case studies in finance and showcases the formulation of emerging potential applications of new research over the book's 11 chapters. This will benefit not only researchers in financial modeling, but also others in fields such as engineering, the physical sciences and social sciences. Ultimately the handbook should prove to be a valuable resource to dynamic researchers interested in taking full advantage of the power and versatility of HMMs in accurately and efficiently capturing many of the processes in the financial market.

Why is it that so many children in the US and England underperform academically in comparison with people in many other industrialized countries? Despite the ongoing search for effective teaching approaches, it would appear that for many children, motivation is the central issue. Arguing that current perspectives on motivation are too narrow, this book draws upon a major five year international study that has examined the impact of factors at the level of the child, the school, the family and wider society. In providing recommendations for policy and practice, this text sets a challenge to those who seek simplistic solutions to problems of student apathy and disaffection.

First student-oriented text on critical human resource development Contains core material to meet the needs of ordinary HRD modules, but avoids the dominant instrumentalist, managerialist, masculine rationality of most competing textbooks International perspectives in all chapters, through a repeated "Notes from the World of HRD" feature where global academics and practitioners contribute a short note about a technique, practice, theory, exercise, or policy that is particularly relevant for their regional/country context Other pedagogical features include case studies, vignettes, end-of-chapter application and reflection questions, and links to relevant resources and websites

Offering a strikingly original treatment of feminist literature, "Popular Feminist Fiction as American Allegory "argues that feminist novels served as a means of narrating and negotiating the perceived decline of American progress after the 1960s. Elliott analyzes popular tropes ranging from the white middle class housewife trapped in endless domestic labor to the woman of color haunted by a traumatic past--exploring the way in which feminist narratives represented women as unable to access positive futures. In a powerful new reading of temporality in contemporary fiction, Elliott posits that feminism's image of women trapped in time operated as a potent allegory for the apparent breakdown of futurity in postmodernity.

This self-contained volume brings together a collection of chapters by some of the most distinguished researchers and practitioners in the fields of mathematical finance and financial engineering. Presenting state-of-the-art developments in theory and practice, the Festschrift is dedicated to Dilip B. Madan on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Specific topics covered include: * Theory and application of the Variance-Gamma process * L?vy process driven fixed-income and credit-risk models, including CDO pricing * Numerical PDE and Monte Carlo methods * Asset pricing and derivatives valuation and hedging * It? formulas for fractional Brownian motion * Martingale characterization of asset price bubbles * Utility valuation for credit derivatives and portfolio management Advances in Mathematical Finance is a valuable resource for graduate students, researchers, and practitioners in mathematical finance and financial engineering. Contributors: H. Albrecher, D. C. Brody, P. Carr, E. Eberlein, R. J. Elliott, M. C. Fu, H. Geman, M. Heidari, A. Hirsa, L. P. Hughston, R. A. Jarrow, X. Jin, W. Kluge, S. A. Ladoucette, A. Macrina, D. B. Madan, F. Milne, M. Musiela, P. Protter, W. Schoutens, E. Seneta, K. Shimbo, R. Sircar, J. van der Hoek, M.Yor, T. Zariphopoulou

First student-oriented text on critical human resource development Contains core material to meet the needs of ordinary HRD modules, but avoids the dominant instrumentalist, managerialist, masculine rationality of most competing textbooks International perspectives in all chapters, through a repeated "Notes from the World of HRD" feature where global academics and practitioners contribute a short note about a technique, practice, theory, exercise, or policy that is particularly relevant for their regional/country context Other pedagogical features include case studies, vignettes, end-of-chapter application and reflection questions, and links to relevant resources and websites

Completely revised and greatly expanded, the new edition of this text takes readers who have been exposed to only basic courses in analysis through the modern general theory of random processes and stochastic integrals as used by systems theorists, electronic engineers and, more recently, those working in quantitative and mathematical finance. Building upon the original release of this title, this text will be of great interest to research mathematicians and graduate students working in those fields, as well as quants in the finance industry. New features of this edition include: End of chapter exercises; New chapters on basic measure theory and Backward SDEs; Reworked proofs, examples and explanatory material; Increased focus on motivating the mathematics; Extensive topical index. "Such a self-contained and complete exposition of stochastic calculus and applications fills an existing gap in the literature. The book can be recommended for first-year graduate studies. It will be useful for all who intend to work with stochastic calculus as well as with its applications."-Zentralblatt (from review of the First Edition)

This book describes the modelling of prices of ?nancial assets in a simple d- crete time, discrete state, binomial framework. By avoiding the mathematical technicalitiesofcontinuoustime?nancewehopewehavemadethematerial accessible to a wide audience. Some of the developments and formulae appear here for the ?rst time in book form. We hope our book will appeal to various audiences. These include MBA s- dents, upperlevelundergraduatestudents, beginningdoctoralstudents, qu- titative analysts at a basic level and senior executives who seek material on new developments in ?nance at an accessible level. The basic building block in our book is the one-step binomial model where a known price today can take one of two possible values at a future time, which might, for example, be tomorrow, or next month, or next year. In this simple situation "risk neutral pricing" can be de?ned and the model can be applied to price forward contracts, exchange rate contracts and interest rate derivatives. In a few places we discuss multinomial models to explain the notions of incomplete markets and how pricing can be viewed in such a context, where unique prices are no longer available. The simple one-period framework can then be extended to multi-period m- els.TheCox-Ross-RubinsteinapproximationtotheBlackScholesoptionpr- ing formula is an immediate consequence. American, barrier and exotic - tions can all be discussed and priced using binomial models. More precise modelling issues such as implied volatility trees and implied binomial trees are treated, as well as interest rate models like those due to Ho and Lee; and Black, Derman and Toy.

Health geographers are well situated for undertaking population health intervention research (PHIR), and have an opportunity to be at the forefront of this emerging area of inquiry. However, in order to advance PHIR, the scientific community needs to be innovative with its methodologies, theories, and ability to think critically about population health issues. For example, using alternatives (e.g. community-based participatory research) to traditional study designs such as the randomised control trial, health geographers can contribute in important ways to understanding the complex relationships between population health (both intended and unintended consequences), interventions and place. Representing a diverse array of health concerns ranging across chronic and infectious diseases, and research employing varied qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the contributions to this book illustrate how geographic concepts and approaches have informed the design and planning of intervention(s) and/or the evaluation of health impacts. For example, the authors argue that geographically targeting interventions to places of high-need and tailoring interventions to local place contexts are critically important for intervention success. Including an afterword by Professor Louise Potvin, this book will appeal to researchers interested in population and public/community health and epidemiology as well as health geography.

This is a developing area of modern probability theory, which has applications in many areas. This volume is devoted to the systematic study of results on large deviations in situations where Cramer's condition on the finiteness of exponential moments may not be satisfied

Health geographers are well situated for undertaking population health intervention research (PHIR), and have an opportunity to be at the forefront of this emerging area of inquiry. However, in order to advance PHIR, the scientific community needs to be innovative with its methodologies, theories, and ability to think critically about population health issues. For example, using alternatives (e.g. community-based participatory research) to traditional study designs such as the randomised control trial, health geographers can contribute in important ways to understanding the complex relationships between population health (both intended and unintended consequences), interventions and place. Representing a diverse array of health concerns ranging across chronic and infectious diseases, and research employing varied qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the contributions to this book illustrate how geographic concepts and approaches have informed the design and planning of intervention(s) and/or the evaluation of health impacts. For example, the authors argue that geographically targeting interventions to places of high-need and tailoring interventions to local place contexts are critically important for intervention success. Including an afterword by Professor Louise Potvin, this book will appeal to researchers interested in population and public/community health and epidemiology as well as health geography.

As accountability in education has become an increasingly prominent topic, teacher preparation programs are being asked to provide credible evidence that their teacher candidates can impact student learning. Teacher Work Samples, first developed 30 years ago, have emerged as an effective method of quantifying the complex set of tasks that comprise effective teaching and documenting the effectiveness of preservice teachers' impact on student learning. Hilda Rosselli, Mark Girod, and Meredith Brodsky, editors of Connecting Teaching and Learning, have assembled case studies from ten universities and insights from key policy leaders. Now implemented in more than 200 colleges and universities across the country as well as in Scotland and Chile, a preponderance of new evidence is evolving from the use of Teacher Work Samples in various venues that is expanding the field's knowledge in areas of practice, research, and policy. This volume also includes a chapter by the forerunner of Teacher Work Sample theory, Del Schalock, with his thoughts about remaining theory development needed to effectively link teacher preparation and student learning. Furthermore, Connecting Teaching and Learning provides practical advice on implementing Teacher Work Samples and is a must-have resource for all educators alike.

Community Music Today highlights community music workers who constantly improvise and reinvent to lead through music and other expressive media. It answers the perennial question "What is community music?" through a broad, international palette of contextual shades, hues, tones, and colors. With over fifty musician/educators participating, the book explores community music in global contexts, interconnections, and marginalized communities, as well as artistry and social justice in performing ensembles. This book is both a response to and a testimony of what music is and can do, music's place in people's lives, and the many ways it unites and marks communities. As documented in case studies, community music workers may be musicians, teachers, researchers, and activists, responding to the particular situations in which they find themselves. Their voices are the threads of the multifaceted tapestry of musical practices at play in formal, informal, nonformal, incidental, and accidental happenings of community music.

Provides mathematicians and applied researchers with a well-developed framework in which option pricing can be formulated, and a natural transition from the theory of optimal stopping problems to the valuation of different kinds of options. With the introduction of generalized optimal stopping theory, a unifying approach to option pricing is presented.

This text includes coverage of asymptotic expansions taking into account the cases when the number of summands comparable with the sum is less than or equal to two and asymptotic expansions of the probabilities of large deviations and non-uniform estimates of remainders in CLT.

This is the only comprehensive guide to the state's diverse herpetofauna.A hidden world of amphibians and reptiles awaits the outdoor adventurer in Georgia's streams, caves, forests, and wetlands. ""Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia"" makes accessible a wealth of information about 170 species of frogs, salamanders, crocodilians, lizards, snakes, and turtles. Throughout, the book stresses conservation, documenting declines in individual species as well as losses of local and regional populations.Color photographs are paired with detailed species accounts, which provide information about size, appearance, and other identifying characteristics of adults and young; taxonomy and nomenclature; habits; distribution and habitat; and reproduction and development. Typical specimens and various life stages are described, as well as significant variations in such attributes as color and pattern. Line drawings define each group's general features for easy field identification. Range maps show where each species occurs in Georgia county by county, as well as in the United States generally. State maps depict elevations, streams, annual precipitation, land use changes, physiographic provinces, and average temperatures.The book includes a checklist, a chart of the evolutionary relationships among amphibians and reptiles, a list of the top ten most reported species by major group, and a table summarizing the diversity of amphibians and reptiles in the state's five physiographic provinces. ""Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia"" is an authoritative reference for students, professional herpetologists, biologists, ecologists, conservationists, land managers, and amateur naturalists.It features nearly 500 color photographs. It contains 24 line drawings showing each group's defining features. It includes almost 200 range maps detailing county-by-county distribution. It contains detailed species accounts written by 54 regional experts, which provide information on size, appearance, and other identifying characteristics of adults and young; taxonomy and nomenclature; habits; distribution and habitat; and reproduction and development. It includes introductory sections, providing overviews of physiography, climate, and habitats of Georgia, the Georgia Herp Atlas Project, taxonomic issues, conservation, and herpetology as a science and a career.

Community Music Today highlights community music workers who constantly improvise and reinvent to lead through music and other expressive media. It answers the perennial question "What is community music?" through a broad, international palette of contextual shades, hues, tones, and colors. With over fifty musician/educators participating, the book explores community music in global contexts, interconnections, and marginalized communities, as well as artistry and social justice in performing ensembles. This book is both a response to and a testimony of what music is and can do, music's place in people's lives, and the many ways it unites and marks communities. As documented in case studies, community music workers may be musicians, teachers, researchers, and activists, responding to the particular situations in which they find themselves. Their voices are the threads of the multifaceted tapestry of musical practices at play in formal, informal, nonformal, incidental, and accidental happenings of community music.

Cable Engineering for Local Area Networks provides a complete guide to the design, procurement, installation, and testing procedures for local area networks (LANs) using both copper and optical fibre cable technology-describing theory as well as practical issues involved in the complexities of today's office-based LANs. Comparing international, European, and U.S. LAN and premises cabling standards, including the latest Category 5, Category 7, and Category 7 proposals, Cable Engineering for Local Area Networks details up-to-the-minute standards in testing electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) compliance and fire safety serves as an ideal and comprehensive textbook for a wide range of cable engineering courses worldwide facilitates understanding of this developing technology needed by IT managers, consultants, cable installation engineers, and systems designers provides numerous diagrams and drawings that clarify and reinforce complex text material and more. Cable Engineering for Local Area Networks serves as timely reading for electrical and electronics, microwave circuit, circuit/system design, and radio and telecommunications engineers, and graduate-level students in these disciplines.