Pricing Derivative Securities: An Interactive, Dynamic Environment with Maple V and Matlab

Book Description

Pricing derivatives theory comes alive in this self-contained interactive experience in financial pricing. The no-arbitrage perspective in a one-period state-preference model drives the book, and the Maple® and Matlab® programs help readers visualize payoffs and respond to various constraints and conditions. With clear explanations and lavish illustrations, Pricing Derivative Securities: An Interactive, Dynamic Environment with Maple V and Matlab teaches the core theoretical concepts so often disguised behind difficult terms and institutional details.
Readers can experiment with the electronic packages forever, using the book and its solutions manual as a tutorial that can help solve problems of increasing complexity.

Key Features
* Enclosed CD-ROM includes the student version of Maple V; it provides an interactive, dynamic and friendly environment allowing students to learn through hands on experience
* Enhances learning by altering the commands in the on-line files, varying them at will, in order to experiment with applications of the concepts and different (reader-generated) examples, in addition to the ones already in the prepared file
* Provides both the framework and the tools, based on the no free lunch concept, by which readers can analyze and appreciate different scenarios, including those that are not covered in the book, related to derivative securities
* Basic concepts of stochastic calculus are enriched with demonstrations using animation, simulation and three-dimensional graphs thereby overcoming mathematical complexity
* The MATLAB® Graphic User Interface provides the ability to bring to life on the screen the theoretical material of the chapters

Customer Reviews:

Ok,but.........2006-11-14

For the mathematically oriented reader there are much better books around, like Wilmott's and books on the more numerical and easygoing side and Shreve and Bingham-Kiesel for example on the analytic side.

This book could be useful as a first introduction to derivatives especially for someone who hasn't studied mathematics all that much. But this book doesn't go too much into the methods that are really used in practice, like Monte Carlo.

Not sure who this book is for.......2004-10-13

This book is far too advanced for undergrads or even MBA students. It's not really an introductory book on derivative pricing, but is an excellent supplementary book to, say, Hull's text ("Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives").

This text provides a solid foundation for considering any derivative security in a no-arbitrage market. It then goes on to cover the Black-Scholes model and derivative pricing based on the price distribution of the underlying.

Here's an anicdote from my experience: I wanted to learn the fundamentals of a (Cox-Ross-Rubenstein) binomial pricing model. I opened up the Prisman book and was thoroughly confused with what I understood to be a pretty simple model. The text referenced previous chapters, which referenced previous chapters - you get the picture. It was very unreadable. I then opened up a Hull text and in 3 pages I had a full and sound understanding of a simple binomial model. (-1 star)

I agree with a previous review that "Matlab" has no place in the book's description, let alone in the title. I am a long time Matlab user. There is no Matlab code in this book, no Matlab CD, and the Maple CD that's included cannot be used with an existing Matlab license! (-1 star)

I have also come across a few serious typos in equations that make this text a subpar publication. (-1 star)

Pricing Derivative Securities.......2002-06-03

For when life throws you that derivative that you just can't look up in some book...
This book provides the building blocks on both the practical and theoretical levels that one needs to price derivatives. The book provides an essential combination of three things: 1) clear explanations and examples of fundamental concepts, 2) a hands on approach to software and pricing algorithms, and 3) emphasis on graphic visualization in understanding the behavior of derivatives in general. While clearly a textbook for a Master's level course, from the point of view of a practitioner, this book has also become my first reference source at the office for those times when I can't just look up the answer, and have to resort to first principles.

Pricing Derivative Securities: An Interactive Dynamic Envir.......2001-05-31

The theory of financial derivates is now much easily understood by combining mathemtical models with the symbolic, numeric and visualization capabilities of a CAS such as Maple. The author made an excellent choice to select Maple (primarily) and Matlab. Maple is used extensively in many academic and industry settings, and its integration into the presentation of the materials makes the content come alive. Great addition, that (even) every mathematician should read! I highly recommend it.

Pricing Derivative Securities if You Can't Program at All.......2001-03-21

Based on the title and description of this book, I bought it hoping to learn more about developing financial tools, specifically interest rate models, in Matlab. After working through most of the book, I have concluded that the use of the name "Matlab" in the title is misleading: it only means that Maple, the main tool of the book, may be accessed via the kernel of Matlab.

The book appears to be targeted primarily at undergraduates and MBA students, not practitioners in the field. Such an audience may have little interest (or need) in learning to develop code or the intricacies of the underlying mechanics of financial models, and for them, the book would no doubt be very helpful. The software that comes with the book includes a stripped down version of Maple, (which is nice, since you can't really use the book without it), and author-developed analytical tools. These tools support the goals of learning through the ability to quickly vary inputs and see the impact on the output, but as they are more or less a black-box, do not add much to one's independent ability to model new financial objects or extend existing ones.

The book includes the de rigueur definitions of typical financial instruments and explanations that facilitate understanding of these instruments (such as how to read and understand option data in newspapers, the mechanics of currency swaps and so on), but one really has to follow along with the Maple commands page by page to derive benefit. The fixed income section is very skimpy. It seems like the book is best suited as an extended set of lecture notes.

I like the book but would not recommend it to practioners looking for insight on tool development or to extend knowledge of cutting edge interest rate models (as these are not covered here). I would recommend it for newcomers to the field having mathematical or quantitative backgrounds who want a reasonably good introduction to financial instruments. It would also be useful as a companion text in master's programs in financial engineering or financial mathematics. Derivatives and Maple with training wheels.

Average customer rating:
Pricing Derivative Securities: An Interactive, Dynamic Environment with Maple V and Matlab
Eliezer Z. Prisman
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OHBHD8

Book Description

Managers often find it difficult to keep up with the multitude of factors that impact learning and knowledge management in business. This helpful volume analyzes these factors, details better practices for organizational learning and offers strategies on how to control and manage company's knowledge to its fullest potential.

The Harvard Business Review Paperback Series
The series is designed to bring today's managers and professionals the fundamental information they need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world. From the preeminent thinkers whose work has defined an entire field to the rising stars who will redefine the way we think about business, here are the leading minds and landmark ideas that have established the Harvard Business Review as required reading for ambitious businesspeople in organizations around the globe.

Customer Reviews:

Great Practitioner Guide!.......2005-05-27

This is another great book in the extraordinary Harvard Business Review (HBR) paperback series. It is one of the books I highly recommend.

This book begins with an outstanding article on communities of practice by Wenger & Snyder. If you can't read Wenger & Snyder's entire book, be sure to read this article/chapter.

There is a chapter by Pfeffer & Sutton on the knowing-doing gap that's very helpful. John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid offer a fascinating chapter on knowledge transfer through casual discussion.

Perhaps the most useful chapter in the book is Hansen, Nohria, & Tierney's article on managing knowledge. In this chapter, they discuss the critical distinction between codification and personalization knowledge management systems. This chapter alone is worth the cost of the book.

Add to these chapters the work of Argyris, Mintzberg, and others, and you have a resource every practitioner should own.

Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Learning"

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.".......2001-12-12

The title of this review is borrowed from Derek Bok who, when president of Harvard, responded to parents who crticized a recent tuition increase. Now the review.

This is one in a series of several dozen volumes which comprise the "Harvard Business Review Paperback Series." Each offers direct, convenient, and inexpensive access to the best thinking on the given subject in articles originally published by the Harvard Business School Review. I strongly recommend all of the volumes in the series. The individual titles are listed at this Web site: www.hbsp.harvard.edu. The authors of various articles are among the world's most highly regarding experts on the given subject. Each volume has been carefully edited. Supplementary commentaries are also provided in most of the volumes, as is an "About the Contributors" section which usually includes suggestions of other sources which some readers may wish to explore.

In this volume, we are provided with eight separate but related articles in which their authors examine these subjects: "The Organizational Frontier" (Wenger and Snyder), "The Smart-Talk Trap" (Pfeffer and Sutton), "Balancing Act: How to Capture Information Without Killing It" (Brown and Duguid), "What Your Strategy for Managing Knowledge?" (Hansen, Nohria, and Tierney), "Good Communicating That Blocks Learning" (Argyris), "Coevolving: At Last a Way to Make Synergies Work" (Eisenhardt and Galunic). "Organigraphs: Drawing How Companies Really Work" (Mintzberg and Van der Heyden), and "Stop Fighting Fires" (Bohn). Here are a few brief excerpts:

"As communities of practice generate knowledge, they renew themselves. They give both the golden eggs and the goose that lays them." (Wenger and Snyder)

"People will try to sound smart not only by being critical but also by using trendy, pretentious language." (Pfeffer and Sutton)

"[Organizational defensive routines] consist of all the policies, practices, and actions that prevent human beings from having to experience embarrassment or threat and, at the same time, prevent them from examining the nature and causes of that embarrassment or threat." (Argyris)

"The most effective decision makers are those at the business-unit level, where strategic perspective meets operating savvy." (Eisenhardt and Galunic)

No brief commentary such as this can do full justice to the rigor and substance of the articles provided. It remains for each reader to examine the list to identify those subjects which are of greatest interest to her or him. My own opinion is that all of the articles are first-rate. For me, one of this volume's greatest benefits is derived from various charts and diagrams included such as "How Consulting Firms Manage Their Knowledge" (on page 68). Here Hansen, Nohria, and Tierney juxtapose Codification with Personalization in areas such as competitive strategy, economic model, knowledge management strategy, information technology, and human resources. Another valuable chart is found on page 168. Bohn lists a series of "Rules of Thumb" (rational rules which create irrational results) and suggests why each such "Rule" should be carefully re-considered. Great stuff.

Even those who already subscribe to the Harvard Business Review will greatly appreciate this series because each volume gathers together separate but related articles (previously published in the HBR) on the same general subject. The cost of each volume in the series is relatively modest; the value provided is substantial. Those who share my high regard for this one are urged to read various books written by Peter Senge as well as Working Knowledge (Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak), Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together: A Pioneering Approach to Communicating in Business and in Life (William Isaacs), If Only We Knew What We Know: The Transfer of Internal Knowledge and Best Practice (Carla S. O'Dell et al), and finally, The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation (Daniel Yankelovich).

Average customer rating:

Worth it

Harvard business review reprint
W. Chan Kim
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Organizational Change | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Innovations | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: B0006S4OIA

Download Description

Identifying which business ideas have real commercial potential is fraught with uncertainty, and even the most admired companies have stumbled. In this article, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne introduce three tools that managers can use to help strip away some of that uncertainty. The first tool, "the buyer utility map," indicates how likely it is that customers will be attracted to a new business idea. The second, "the price corridor of the mass," identifies what price will unlock the greatest number of customers. And the third tool, "the business model guide," offers a framework for figuring out whether and how a company can profitably deliver the new idea at the targeted price. Applying the tools, though, is not the end of the story. Many innovations have to overcome adoption hurdles--strong resistance from stakeholders inside and outside the company. The authors conclude by discussing how managers can head off negative reactions from stakeholders.

Customer Reviews:

Worth it.......2002-11-16

Presents an excellent framework for brainstroming and categorizing business ideas. Worth having in your reference library. You may not use the framework directly, but it does help you think about the *entire* value chain and where your idea fits in.

Communities of practice: The organizational frontier (Harvard business review)

Average customer rating:

Communities of practice: The organizational frontier (Harvard business review)
Etienne Wenger
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Pub.?
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

ASIN: B0006S4Z7A

Download Description

A new organizational form is emerging in companies that run on knowledge: the community of practice. And for this expanding universe of companies, communities of practice promise to radically galvanize knowledge sharing, learning, and change. A community of practice is a group of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise. People in companies form them for a variety of reasons--to maintain connections with peers when the company reorganizes; to respond to external changes such as the rise of e-commerce; or to meet new challenges when the company changes strategy. Regardless of the circumstances that give rise to communities of practice, their members inevitably share knowledge in free-flowing, creative ways that foster new approaches to problems. Over the past five years, the authors have seen communities of practice improve performance at companies as diverse as an international bank, a major car manufacturer, and a U.S. government agency. Communities of practice can drive strategy, generate new lines of business, solve problems, promote the spread of best practices, develop people's skills, and help companies recruit and retain talent. The paradox of such communities is that although they are self-organizing and thus resistant to supervision and interference, they do require specific managerial efforts to develop them and integrate them into an organization. Only then can they be fully leveraged. The authors explain the steps managers need to take in order to get communities going--and to sustain them so they can become a central part of their companies' success.

Book Description

Generations have delighted in this guide to the myths and legends surrounding stars and constellations. Captivating retellings of the origins and histories of the ancient star groups include stories of Pegasus, Ursa Major, the Pleiades, the signs of the zodiac, and other constellations. "Classic." — Sky & Telescope. 58 illustrations.

Star Lore of All Ages: A Collection of Myths, Legends and Facts Concerning the Constellations of the Northern Hemisphere

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Star Lore of All Ages: A Collection of Myths, Legends and Facts Concerning the Constellations of the Northern Hemisphere
William Tyler Olcott
Manufacturer: Mokelumne Hill Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

jp-unknown1 | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0787310964

Book Description

America's greatest twentieth-century scientist tells his own story.

Glenn T. Seaborg (1912-1999) won a Nobel Prize before he was forty. He discovered the element that makes atomic bombs explode and the isotopes used to treat millions of cancer patients. He ran the University of California at Berkeley and advised nine U.S. presidents. Here is his autobiography -- the extraordinary story of a modest Swedish American who never strayed from his strong basic commitments throughout a career that gave him national and international fame. Seaborg's story begins in Michigan with his Scandinavian parents, but shifts quickly to California, where he got himself an education he didn't think he could afford during the dark days of the Depression. During World War II, he led the Manhattan Project group that devised the chemical extraction processes producing plutonium 239. He also shares the drama of scientific discovery and the inner history of his pioneering work on the many transuranium elements he co-discovered at the Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley -- work that earned him the Nobel Prize in 1951. As chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission under three presidents, Seaborg fought for the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and argued in favor of the peaceful uses and international controls of atomic energy. His is the riveting account of a life like no other -- a model of the best in our nation.

Customer Reviews:

A very human and humanizing book about Seaborg.......2003-09-24

I liked this book a lot. It reminded me so much of some projects I have worked on in terms of the happenstance and there you are. Seaborg was a kind, sane and good person, and it really comes across in this book.

Such a contrast to so many today, and the politics have become so impenetrable these days. The UC system was nearly new then, it made me really feel how California was bubbling with new and great possibilities 70-50 years ago.

I wish I had met the man. I hope I can be somewhere near as good a man as he was.

From someone in the middle of it........2003-01-29

This was a very interesting book. You got to learn about the guy who was first able to separate plutonium not just a small bit at a time but on an industrial scale at Hanford. The story got me interested in Lawerence and the cyclotron and how some of the newer elements were used like the one they use in smoke detectors. He was an interesting character who tried to work within the system. By the end of the story you can see his democratic leanings because none of the Republican seem to know what they were doing but aside from that it is an interesting story which made me want to know more about nuclear power. I never knew about all the peaceful uses they tried that were explained in this book. This book made me want to know more of what actually happened which is why I read the new Rickover book by Frances Ducan. In his book he mentions Seaborg several times. The book has it's funny parts like when he was chancellor of Berkley how the male students council came to him and ask him to turn one of the dorms into a brothel so the guys could stay on campus and still relief some stress. Seaborg wore a lot of hats and his story coinsides with the times that he lived. This is shown by how he felt about working on the bomb during World War II. At the time Germany had taken most of Europe and Japan was all over China and the Pacific and if he didn't do something to stop them, they would rule the world. It made it seem less of a moral choice than one of survival.

Adventures in the Mind.......2002-02-09

Adventures in the Atomic Age is a remarkably friendly book. It is Glenn Seaborg's autobiography (completed after his death by his son). He helped develop the atom bomb, won the Nobel Prize and had an element named after him and those are only a few of his many achievements. He also chaired the Atomic Energy Commission, was chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley and was a professor whenever there was a lull in his career. He worked to make science interesting and accessible to the public, especially to students. An idea of how well he succeeded is shown by the fact that this book actually makes the science of the atom bomb intelligible. This is a book that can be read on many levels. It can be simply a history of the atomic age for he was there at the very beginning. It can be a history of the changing political scene during his life. It can also be read simply as the history of a thoroughly decent person. Glenn Seaborg comes across as a nice guy, the sort of person you would want as a next door neighbor, and would definitely want as a teacher.

Find Out Why Element 106 Became Seaborgium And Other Stories.......2001-11-19

To have an element named for you while you are still alive is the rarest of honors and Adventures In The Atomic Age: From Watts To Washington by Glenn T. Seaborg is the story of a life worthy of that honor. Glenn T. Seaborg takes you on a trip through his life, starting with his boyhood in Michigan and his teen years in South Gate, California. Hard work gets Seaborg to UCLA and continued hard work gets him to UC Berkeley, the place where most of his academic life will take place. Seaborg was student, teacher, researcher, the Golden Bear's biggest fan, and chancellor. Seaborg quietly affected all of our lives as the head of the AEC, and, for the most part, we are better off for his rational leadership of that organization. He served on the committee that wrote the educational report 'A Nation At Risk' and served on the committee that recently reformed California's science curriculum. He is proof that a public education can be excellent and that you get out of your education what you put into it. The people who have heard of Professor Seaborg usually know him as one of the co-discoverers of the element plutonium, but this book should give anyone who reads it a wider view of a rich life. Glenn T. Seaborg is not the household name like J. Robert Oppenheimer or Edward Teller, but hopefully this excellent autobiography will be a step towards making this wonderful scientist and human being more widely known.

Book Description

Since its original publication in 1983, Evolution: The History of an Idea has been recognized as a comprehensive and authoritative source on the development and impact of this most controversial of scientific theories. This new edition has been entirely rewritten to take account of the latest work of historians and scientists. The sequence of chapters has been reconstructed in a way that will help students and general readers to understand the key phases in the development of modern evolutionism. The book's substantial bibliography has been updated to serve as a valuable introduction to the immense literature on this topic.

Customer Reviews:

A great book about evolution.......2006-11-11

This one is recommanded by my professor. It is written with detailed history and analysis. It not only provides a basic knowledge of how the theory of evolution develops, but also offers a great perspective to the history.

The evolution of an idea.......2003-01-30

This history of evolutionary thought is good at showing how the idea developed in Darwin's particular society, influenced by thinkers before Darwin such as Malthus. The book, also shows how Darwin's thinking evolved, how the idea itself evolved from outside influences (particularly plate tectonics and cosmology), and how it influenced non-biological thinking (such at utilitarianism, capitalism, Marxism) sometimes in scary ways such as eugenics.

Throughout the book, it seems like philosophers (at least in the West) desired a purpose and direction of evolution, if not a Director. Lamarckianism (inheritance of acquired characteristics) also seemed to have continual appeal and in the later editions of the Origin of Species, Darwin himself was leaning more that way. The continual difficulty of direct evidence and incomplete fossil record, leads to ongoing speculations.

Although generally dry/scholarly there are a few fun side-diversions, such as Kammerer's midwife toad. Bowler also highlights other key figures such as paleontologist Georges Cuvier and "Darwin's bulldog" Thomas Huxley. I would have like more history of how the general public accepted the idea, perhaps by tracing the teaching in schools or textbooks. Readers of this might also enjoy Dawkins "The Blind Watchmaker".

For those with serious interest in "the history of an idea".......2000-06-29

Peter Bowler is an Irish historian of science who is known for his studies of evolution as an "-ism". This is undoubtedly his magnum opus and is one of the best introductory texts on this subject available. But, a word of caution- reviews on this website are full of superlatives. Many books are advertised by reader-critics shouting "everyone should read this book!" Setting aside the obvious absurdity of that statement, I will state quite clearly that this book is not for everyone. With notes and index, it comes to 432 pages, and, as Bowler himself notes in the preface, it is intended for undergraduate students or as a survey text for the specialist. That having been said, his prose is approachable and one does not need to have a background in history or science to follow the argument.

Also, unlike many other texts on this subject, Bowler does not descend into triumphalist or other such ideologies that remove science from its own social context. In the words of the author, "Finally, we must look more closely at the problems the historian faces as he tries to chart the rise of scientific evolutionism. In particular, these problems arise from the normal view of science as an objective search for knowledge and the suspicions of many critics that scientific theories are themselves value-laden contributions to philosophical and ideological debates" (Bowler, pg.4). He does an excellent job of explaining not only the theories and their evidence but does so by relating them to their own social and historical context. His analysis is also distinguished from many of its predescessors (and descendents, unfortunately) by its breadth and scope. Bowler does not confine his study to the merely biological, but begins at the beginning with geology and early modern ideas of nature and change, or more appropriately, the lack thereof. Furthermore, he brings the reader up to the date of publication with a healthy discussion of the current debates, which once again stresses the idea of "evolution" as an "evolving" concept.

Thus, this book is for the novice, whether intially hostile to the concept of common descent through natural selection or not, who wants a comprehensive and scholarly introduction to the material. Note that this is a history text, however, and not science. This book is also for the biologist who finds herself caught in the throes of "biology as ideology," and wishes to read a scholarly text testing science's absolute claim to truth.

Product Description

Help yourself to a heaping helping of Strangled Eggs, and experience the wit and wisdom, the off-the-wall-wonder, and the laugh-out-loud lunacy found in Andy Junipers acclaimed essays. Strangled Eggs is the authors second collection of wry essays on family lifea much-anticipated follow-up to the acclaimed When You Get Done Bleeding, Will You Get Me A Snack. For the past 18 years, Andy has built a large loyal audience with his weekly humor/lifestyle columns that have appeared in The Oakville Beaver and various other newspapers and magazines across Canada. Strangled Eggs features the authors unique take on life and covers topics as off-beat and diverse as a diet thats sure to cleanse the colon; a society that is going straight to cell; the jousting abilities of Dr. Lance A Lot; Nude Recreation Week in North America; and the haunting specter of weird Uncle Willard in a thong.

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