Models and Experiments in Risk and Rationality (Theory and Decision Library B)

Book Description

Models and Experiments in Risk and Rationality presents original contributions to the areas of individual choice, experimental economics, operations and analysis, multiple criteria decision making, market uncertainty, game theory and social choice. The papers, which were presented at the FUR VI conference, are arranged to appear in order of increasing complexity of the decision environment or social context in which they situate themselves.
The first section `Psychological Aspects of Risk-Bearing', considers choice at the purely individual level and for the most part, free of any specific economic or social context. The second section examines individual choice within the classical expected utility approach while the third section works from a perspective that includes non-expected utility preferences over lotteries. Section four, `Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Under Uncertainty', considers the more specialized but crucial context of uncertain choice involving tradeoffs between competing criteria -- a field which is becoming of increasing importance in applied decision analysis. The final two sections examine uncertain choice in social or group contexts.

Product Description

In the past decade, debt relief has become an increasingly significant vehicle for delivering development aid. This update builds on the findings of the 2003 independent evaluation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. It finds that many of the original conclusions remain relevant for the HIPC initiative and are potentially instructive for future debt relief initiatives. The Enhanced HIPC initiative cut debt ratios in half for 18 countries. But in eight of these countries, the ratios have come to once again exceed HIPC thresholds. Debt reduction alone is not a sufficient instrument to affect the multiple drivers of debt sustainability. Sustained improvements in export diversification, fiscal management, the terms of new financing, and public debt management are also needed, measures that fall outside the ambit of the HIPC initiative. Debt relief under HIPC has channeled additional development resources to qualifying countries these countries have received an increased share of overall aid transfers. HIPC countries that are not yet at completion point face serious challenges in managing their economies. Maintaining policy performance is essential for these countries to reap the benefits of debt reduction.

Debt relief at last? Hope for the world's poorest countries.(JUBILEE): An article from: Sojourners

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Debt relief at last? Hope for the world's poorest countries.(JUBILEE): An article from: Sojourners
Elizabeth Palmberg
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Sojourners, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2004. The length of the article is 709 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Debt relief at last? Hope for the world's poorest countries.(JUBILEE)
Author: Elizabeth Palmberg
Publication: Sojourners (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2004
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 33 Issue: 11 Page: 9(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Debt Relief for the Poorest Countries

Manufacturer: Transaction Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Policy & Current Events | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Development & Growth | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Policy & Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

International | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Public Finance | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Debt & Deficits | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0765801612

Debt Relief for the Poorest: An Oed Review of the Hipc Initiative (World Bank Operations Evaluation Study.)

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Debt Relief for the Poorest: An Oed Review of the Hipc Initiative (World Bank Operations Evaluation Study.)
Madhur Gautam
Manufacturer: World Bank Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Policy & Current Events | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Development & Growth | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Policy & Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Public Finance | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Debt & Deficits | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Conditions | International | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Personal Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 082135521X

Download Description

The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative, a major innovation in development finance, was designed to relieve the high external debt of some of the world's poorest nations. The Initiative was put in place by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1996 and enhanced in 1999. The HIPC Debt Initiative addresses a key obstacle to economic growth and poverty reduction, but it also contains multiple and overly-ambitious objectives. Debt Relief for the Poorest is an independent evaluation which assesses the progress and prospects of the HIPC Debt Initiative achieving its objectives. This review makes recommendations which address the strategic issues confronting the Initiative.

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Not as funny as I thought it would be

Humour at it's Best

The Sacred Diarist

Adrian Plass, Sacred Diarist, Presents the Horizontal Epistles of Andromeda Veal
Adrian Plass
Manufacturer: Zondervan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, Aged 37 3/4

The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, Christian Speaker, Aged 45 3/4

ASIN: 0551016175

Book Description

Readers of The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass will recall the 'small but powerful' figure of Andromeda Veal.

Andromeda has broken her femur while trying to 'eat muesli and roller skate at the same time'. Deserted by her separated parents, she lies in a hospital bed feeling very lonely.

Anne Plass mobilises the whole church into writing letters. Among the old friends who put pen to paper are Gerald Plass, the enigmatic Leonard Thynn, Charles Cook (from Deep Joy Bible School), Adrian himself and even the dreaded Mrs Flushpool.

Andromeda not only replies to these letters, but writes to the famous - among them Cliff Richard - with stern, if badly spelled, advice.

Then, with the urging of Father John, Andromeda decides that her family problems will only be solved if she goes right to the top. She writes to God ...

Customer Reviews:

Not as funny as I thought it would be .......2007-02-04

My friend loved this book, but it didn't have a lot of appeal to me. I think it's better suited for a young reader.

Humour at it's Best.......2006-12-29

If while reading this book you do not laugh out loud, you are missing a sense of humour. This is a series of letters from a friend of the Plass family who has broken her femur and writes with the fervor, passion and spelling of an eight year old. Plass collected her letters and some of the responses she received and published them in this hilarious collection.

Andromeda has written to the Plass's and some of their friends but she also writes to famous people: Mister Gorgeouschops, her MP, Pope John Paul, Cliff Richard ad many more. The humour and wit surrounding this girl as she recovers from her injury will make you laugh and look at any future convalescence you have with very different eyes.

This little book is picked up in my extended family time and time again, and never fails to bring a laugh and smile.

The Sacred Diarist.......2000-09-04

Though the Horizontal Epistles of Andromeda Veal is not as funny as Plass's Sacred Diaries, it provides a wonderful twist to Christian meaning and values. What better way to appreciate the world than to glimpse it through the twisted view of quasi-feminist Andromeda Veal? Better yet, as Andromeda struggles with her concept of God, and pleads not-so-subtly for a dolly, "even though they are bad", she becomes one of the most endearing characters in the book. And who needs more reason to re-immerse themselves into the life of Adrian Plass himself as he writes letters and sends snippets of his diary to the "horizontal attraction" Andromeda? Our favorite characters reappear in this book as well, which alone makes it worth reading.

Average customer rating:

a useful intro, but it has problems

good skeletal arrangements

Excellent collection

Good if you read tab

nice, but not mandolin-specific at all

The Mandolin Picker's Fakebook (Mandolin)
David Brody
Manufacturer: Oak Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Plastic Comb

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Exercises | Theory, Composition & Performance | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Fretboard Roadmaps - Mandolin: The Essential Patterns That All the Pros Know and Use

Guitar Picker's Fakebook

The Fiddler's Fakebook (Fiddle)

The Banjo Picker's Fakebook (Banjo)

Mel Bay Monroe Instrumentals: 25 Bill Monroe Favorites

ASIN: 0825602394
Release Date: 1993-12-31

Book Description

Contains over 250 jigs, reels, rags, hornpipes, and breakdowns from all the major traditional instrumental styles. Special introductory materials on regional styles, interpretation, and ornamentation. Includes an extensive discography.

Customer Reviews:

a useful intro, but it has problems.......2007-03-24

If you can't read music, this is great-- any idiot can read tab-- and it's a musical smorgasbord of Euro and N.American trad so you can learn a variety of things.

However, some of the arrangements (esp. for the non-improvisational genres, like Irish and Scottish) are way off. Bluegrass and country are open forms, where the musician improvises withon a framework, and the tunes are "outlines" of chord progressions. Irish and Socttish, ont he other hand, are closed forms, where the tunes are played straight up, no improv. You can go anywhere int eh world and hear irish trad an play along...and Brody's book has some of these arrangements wrong enough to jar the ear.

The Irish musician should get O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland if s/he wants to be serious; this book is useful, but only as an intro. And if you read music and don't want to bother with tab, get the fiddler's verion. Same tunes etc just written in standard notation.

good skeletal arrangements.......2005-08-15

This is a good resource to learn the essence of a tune and supply your own embelishments and style. If you get easily bored like me, its a good source to skip around

Excellent collection.......2005-06-23

As noted, this is a colleciton of mandolin tab, not standard music notation. If you can read standard notation, you're better off with any number of fiddle books (including the Fiddle Player's Fakebook from the same publisher) but if not, this is a great reference. I read for guitar and bass, but not mandolin, so I've gotten a lot out of this book.

This series concentrates on traditional and old time music, which suits me perfectly as that's what I play on mandolin and banjo. (I also have the Banjo Player's Fakebook, which has most of the same songs- though not all- in frailing and clawhammer styles.) Just about every classic old time song, and a lot of the popular Celtic songs can be found here- Shady Grove, Little Beggerman, Joe Clark, Sleepy Maggy, etc. If you're an ear player or tab player just starting out, this book is a great place to learn a lot of the tunes played by string bands.

Good if you read tab.......2005-04-03

I bought this and returned it. I can't read mandolin tab. If you're like me and need standard notation for your mandolin music, buy the fiddler's fakebook. Same songs, similar introductory material, and it's in standard notation. That's where I'm going now, to order the fiddle book. But if you read tab, this book will suit you fine.

nice, but not mandolin-specific at all.......2004-01-07

"The Mandolin Picker's Fakebook" contains a nice collection of pieces notated in tablature and it contains indeed an extensive discography.
However, the only things specific to mandolin seem to be: the tablature notation, a list of eight recordings which are of specific interest to mandolinists (half a page, while all the rest seems to be folk fiddle) and some extremely thin introductory material which seems to be mostly copy-and-paste from the same author's "Fiddler's Fakebook", no information on picking-technique at all etc. When copy-and-pasting, they didn't even bother to change the word "fiddling" into "picking" or similar.
All in all: a nice collection of tunes. Good discography. Just be aware of its limitations for mandolinists.

Book Description

This collection of eight articles by journalist Steven Hager covers the JFK assassination, the East Village art scene, the Rainbow Family, the Waco massacre, the Cannabis Cup awards in Amsterdam, out-of-control police, counterculture spirituality, and includes his groundbreaking essay on rap music and breakdancing in which he coined the term “hip hop.”

Customer Reviews:

Dyno=mite.......2002-11-21

This book covers a breadth of vital experiences among the counter-culture and is must reading for those that care about the true history of our age. Steve gets to the crux of many places and times where the subtle actions of a few individuals spreads out to the real world of culture, human interactions and become forces upon the world stage by sheer beneficence. An enduring work covering what the mainstream either ignores or gives skimpy, stereotyped coverage.

no one knows the counterculture like Hager.......2002-11-06

For many years I have read High Times magazine for its informative fight for the counterculture. Editor in chief, Steven Hager, is the best at what he does. His book looks at many aspects of the counterculter over the years. To JFK and police brutality, he seems to cover all on his mind. Not to mention the fact that he is the best at what he does. The man coined the term hip-hop for gods sake. Definitely a must read for anyone who is the counterculture.

Highly informative read for those who care about the culture.......2002-10-15

I didn't realized just how much Hager's writing and political convictions have been an inspiration to me throughout the years until seeing his work compiled in Adventures. From obsessing over Art after Midnight in my early college years to using High Times for cultivation tips in my later years, his writing has hade a major impact on my life. The East Village scene he documented in the early 80s was my inspiration for becoming an artist and moving to New York in 1995. It was refreshing to read his piece on the Rainbows, having attended a Gathering at the Ocala National Forest in Florida, and found it to be an enlightening experience. But the only press I ever read of the movement has been condescending. Steven Hager has been on the forefront of documenting the counterculture for over three decades, and for those who have been intimately involved in the culture, his work stands as some of the earliest and best of our time. His book on hip hop remains a staple to any hip hop archivist today. And for the record, he's never claimed to invent "hip hop," but his essay was the first to use the term in print journalism. Overall a very informative read for those who really care about the counter culture.

not so adventurous.......2002-10-07

This is pretty ponderous stuff.. definitely not the Electric Acid Kool Aid Test. The Author's claim to having invented hip hop should be filed next to Al Gore's claim to have invented the internet. The rest of the book is about 60s hippie culture in the 80s, conspiracies, and pot. It's a lot of the same stuff High Times writes about, so if you read High Times, you've heard this stuff before. It doesn't cover any of the real 80s counter culture like skateboarding and alternative rock. For a real 80s counterculture book check out Dogtown or Get in the Van.. This is for hippies, and even so, it's not very well done.

Book Description

"Throughout training I kept having the thought,
WELL, ALL THEY CAN DO IS KILL ME.
It seemed to help."

SEALs are the world's toughest soldiers. Working in squads and platoons that make up SEAL teams, they are trained in everything from underwater demolition to high-altitude parachute drops. Now John Carl Roat, graduate of Class-29, one of the earliest SEAL training classes, has written the only book devoted to the training of that exclusive warrior force. With unflinching honesty, Roat describes the brutal six-month program that took young men well beyond the endurance limits even of gifted athletes and created warriors who could proudly take their places in the teams. It was a program so demanding that by the end of Hell Week, the third week of the course, the original class of one hundred and thirty-four physically fit young men had been sliced to sixty-two.

After retelling his own class's experience, Roat visits today's SEAL program and reveals how the program has changed over the last thirty-five years to include more classroom training and better and more sophisticated equipment-- without at all lowering the physical demands. SEAL training is still the best, and the toughest, training in the world.

Customer Reviews:

A great story of the early SEAL training days.......2005-12-03

John Roat's book demonstrates the toughness and determination that was required in the early days of SEAL training.

I enjoyed the way that he describes in great detail the training that he went through. It's like you are right there with him.

Also, there are many stories about their "interactions" with their instructors.

I especially appreciated the last chapter in the book where the author describes, by observing the training the candidates currently go through, the differences in training between then and now. The training now has causes less long-term damage to the body, especially to the knees (the duck-walk was a favorite of the instructors back then).

Above all as you read the book you can see his loyalty, after all these years, to his team members.

From The Author.......2004-08-22

This was written for my Classmates and like them it has brought me nothing but joy. The book comes from the heart, theirs and mine. I've been pleased to hear how much help the book was for some in getting through BUD/S. I do love the questions from young men who aspire to become Team Members so feel free to ask. I will do my best to answer.
realnavyseal@yahoo.com

John Carl Roat
Class-29, UDT-21, UDT-11, SEAL Team 1

Bless our SEALs.......2004-06-11

To the point, easy to read and like a couple reviewers said " It makes me proud and it made me laugh" Who thought SEALs would be such down to earth enjoyable guys.

Extraordinary read about Extraordinary men.......2004-05-27

Probably one of the most humbling, interesting, and down-to-earth books that I have ever read. It is very cut and to the point with none of the wishy washy fillers that other literates try and throw at you. Get a hold of this book ASAP.

WOW.......2004-02-26

Helped me understand why SEALs are so special and made me laugh as well.

CLASS - 29 THE MAKING OF U.S. NAVY SEALS: The toughest training program in the world and what it takes to survive.

Average customer rating:

CLASS - 29 THE MAKING OF U.S. NAVY SEALS: The toughest training program in the world and what it takes to survive.

Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739408135

Book Description

This book introduces a customer-centered approach to business by showing how data gathered from people while they work can drive the definition of a product or process while supporting the needs of teams and their organizations. This is a practical, hands-on guide for anyone trying to design systems that reflect the way customers want to do their work. The authors developed Contextual Design, the method discussed here, through their work with teams struggling to design products and internal systems. In this book, you'll find the underlying principles of the method and how to apply them to different problems, constraints, and organizational situations.

Contextual Design enables you to
+ gather detailed data about how people work and use systems
+ develop a coherent picture of a whole customer population
+ generate systems designs from a knowledge of customer work
+ diagram a set of existing systems, showing their relationships, inconsistencies, redundancies, and omissions

Amazon.com

There's certainly no shortage of software design methods: most demand total allegiance, and many claim to be the only true way to delivering useful and maintainable software systems in a timely manner. Contextual Design describes another worthwhile software engineering method, one that places the user (or customer) at the forefront of the software design process from beginning to end. This method seems to be a particularly worthwhile addition to the literature.

Contextual Design begins with contextual inquiry, where software developers interview users and attempt to understand the way they work. Such "customer empathy" is central to the Contextual Design process and a total understanding of "work" within organizations is the mantra here. The book describes how, later in the process, software developers step back from the user data and do an "affinity," which is an overall analysis of hundreds (or even thousands) of individual facts. Contextual Design then explains the additional steps required to build systems using this method, including building models for flow, sequence, and artifacts, and establishing the cultural and the physical environments for a system. After getting an overview, developers consolidate these initial models, get more user input, and then design user interfaces.

This book, written in a clear, informal style without excessive jargon, reads very much like a book on business motivation. Various practitioners of Contextual Design offer short testimonials on the software design method.

Customer Reviews:

In how many ways can you say it..........2007-04-27

If you've got a memory like a gold fish this might be a great book. For others this book is likely to be repetative to the extreme. Half of the pages could easily be cut out. The same message gets repeated over and over again. Many of the ideas are great but.. for many people out there time is a limiting factor, thats my largest issue with both the book and the method in general.

Techniques requirement.......2004-05-13

This book provided a method to gather requirement efficiently but the rest of the method should be revised.

Great book, right price.......2002-02-14

Beyer & Holtzblatt have done an excellent job describing the process of contextual design. I'm currently implementing a new company-wide business process, in conjunction with co-workers, and thought it would simply be a good idea to both refresh my memory, gather ideas, and form concepts that would be helpful in the organizational design process. This book has undoubtedly served the purposes I've wanted it to. Again, excellent book - worth the buy.

Useless.......2001-11-27

This is quite a useless book about an otherwise interesting subject. The writers give redundancy and repetition new meaning as they repeat themselves by saying the same thing over and over innumerable ways.

That said, the examples scattered throughout the text are the most interesting part.

Hard to Penetrate.......2001-08-22

I have read a lot of glowing reviews about this book but I have found that, while it is good, I think it is too dense to be great. It is a very difficult read. The writing style is very heavy. I would love a one-pager of the ideas in this book. My sense is that it would read "Watch Users." There are better books on the subject. I like "The Inmates are Running the Asylum."

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