Managing Safety of Heterogeneous Systems
Managing Safety of Heterogeneous Systems

Author: Yuri Ermoliev

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-01-31

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 3642228844

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Managing safety of diverse systems requires decision-making under uncertainties and risks. Such systems are typically characterized by spatio-temporal heterogeneities, inter-dependencies, externalities, endogenous risks, discontinuities, irreversibility, practically irreducible uncertainties, and rare events with catastrophic consequences. Traditional scientific approaches rely on data from real observations and experiments; yet no sufficient observations exist for new problems, and experiments are usually impossible. Therefore, science-based support for addressing such new class of problems needs to replace the traditional “deterministic predictions” analysis by new methods and tools for designing decisions that are robust against the involved uncertainties and risks. The new methods treat uncertainties explicitly by using “synthetic” information derived by integration of “hard” elements, including available data, results of possible experiments, and formal representations of scientific facts, with “soft” elements based on diverse representations of scenarios and opinions of public, stakeholders, and experts. The volume presents such effective new methods, and illustrates their applications in different problem areas, including engineering, economy, finance, agriculture, environment, and policy making.

Handbook of Consumer Finance Research
Handbook of Consumer Finance Research

Author: Jing Jian Xiao

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-05-30

Total Pages: 379

ISBN-13: 3319288873

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This second edition of the authoritative resource summarizes the state of consumer finance research across disciplines for expert findings on—and strategies for enhancing—consumers’ economic health. New and revised chapters offer current research insights into familiar concepts (retirement saving, bankruptcy, marriage and finance) as well as the latest findings in emerging areas, including healthcare costs, online shopping, financial therapy, and the neuroscience behind buyer behavior. The expanded coverage also reviews economic challenges of diverse populations such as ethnic groups, youth, older adults, and entrepreneurs, reflecting the ubiquity of monetary issues and concerns. Underlying all chapters is the increasing importance of financial literacy training and other large-scale interventions in an era of economic transition. Among the topics covered: Consumer financial capability and well-being. Advancing financial literacy education using a framework for evaluation. Financial coaching: defining an emerging field. Consumer finance of low-income families. Financial parenting: promoting financial self-reliance of young consumers. Financial sustainability and personal finance education. Accessibly written for researchers and practitioners, this Second Edition of the Handbook of Consumer Finance Research will interest professionals involved in improving consumers’ fiscal competence. It also makes a worthwhile text for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in economics, family and consumer studies, and related fields.

State and Local Pensions
State and Local Pensions

Author: Alicia H. Munnell

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2012-08-27

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 0815724136

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In the wake of the financial crisis and Great Recession, the health of state and local pension plans has emerged as a front burner policy issue. Elected officials, academic experts, and the media alike have pointed to funding shortfalls with alarm, expressing concern that pension promises are unsustainable or will squeeze out other pressing government priorities. A few local governments have even filed for bankruptcy, with pensions cited as a major cause. Alicia H. Munnell draws on both her practical experience and her research to provide a broad perspective on the challenge of state and local pensions. She shows that the story is big and complicated and cannot be viewed through a narrow prism such as accounting methods or the role of unions. By examining the diversity of the public plan universe, Munnell debunks the notion that all plans are in trouble. In fact, she finds that while a few plans are basket cases, many are functioning reasonably well. Munnell's analysis concludes that the plans in serious trouble need a major overhaul. But even the relatively healthy plans face three challenges ahead: an excessive concentration of plan assets in equities; the risk that steep benefit cuts for new hires will harm workforce quality; and the constraints plans face in adjusting future benefits for current employees. Here, Munnell proposes solutions that preserve the main strengths of state and local pensions while promoting needed reforms.

Financial Planning Competency Handbook
Financial Planning Competency Handbook

Author: CFP Board

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2015-07-09

Total Pages: 877

ISBN-13: 1119095018

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The official guide for exam success and career excellence Financial Planning Competency Handbook, Second Edition is the essential reference for those at any stage of certification and a one-stop resource for practitioners looking to better serve their clients. This fully updated second edition includes brand new content on connections diagrams, new case studies, and new instructional videos, and a completely new section devoted to the interdisciplinary nature of financial planning. You'll gain insights from diverse fields like psychology, behavioral finance, communication, and marriage and family therapy to help you better connect with and guide your clients, alongside the detailed financial knowledge you need to perform to the highest expectations as a financial planner. This book contains over ninety chapters that are essential for practitioners, students, and faculty. Whether a practitioner, student, or faculty member, this guide is the invaluable reference you need at your fingertips. Comprehensive, clear, and detailed, this handbook forms the foundation of the smart financial planner's library. Each jurisdiction has its own laws and regulations surrounding financial planning, but the information in this book represents the core body of knowledge the profession demands no matter where you practice. Financial Planning Competency Handbook, Second Edition guides you from student to practitioner and far beyond, with the information you need when you need it.

Preference Measurement in Health
Preference Measurement in Health

Author: Glenn C. Blomquist

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing

Published: 2014-08-18

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 1784410284

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It is fundamental to measure the individual value of different medical interventions in order to prioritise resources. Preference-based approaches can produce measures that allow comparisons of such values. This volume covers altruism within families, differences in risk attitudes, and estimation of health benefits of food safety.

De Gruyter Handbook of Personal Finance
De Gruyter Handbook of Personal Finance

Author: John E. Grable

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2022-03-07

Total Pages: 510

ISBN-13: 3110727706

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The De Gruyter Handbook of Personal Finance provides a robust review of the core topics comprising personal finance, including the primary models, approaches, and methodologies being used to study particular topics that comprise the field of personal finance today. The contributors include many of the world’s leading personal finance researchers, financial service professionals, thought leaders, and leading contemporary figures conducting research in this area whose work has shaped—and continues to affect—the way that personal finance is conceptualized and practiced. The first section of the handbook provides a broad introduction to the discipline of personal finance. The following two sections are organized around the core elements of personal finance research and practice: saving, investing, asset management, and financial security. The fourth section introduces future research, practice, and policy directions. The handbook concludes with a discussion on an educational and research agenda for the future. This handbook will be a core reference work for researchers, financial service practitioners, educators, and policymakers and an excellent supplementary source of readings for those teaching undergraduate and graduate-level courses in personal finance, financial planning, consumer studies, and household finance.

Portfolio Theory and Management
Portfolio Theory and Management

Author: H. Kent Baker

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2013-01-07

Total Pages: 798

ISBN-13: 019931151X

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Portfolio management is an ongoing process of constructing portfolios that balances an investor's objectives with the portfolio manager's expectations about the future. This dynamic process provides the payoff for investors. Portfolio management evaluates individual assets or investments by their contribution to the risk and return of an investor's portfolio rather than in isolation. This is called the portfolio perspective. Thus, by constructing a diversified portfolio, a portfolio manager can reduce risk for a given level of expected return, compared to investing in an individual asset or security. According to modern portfolio theory (MPT), investors who do not follow a portfolio perspective bear risk that is not rewarded with greater expected return. Portfolio diversification works best when financial markets are operating normally compared to periods of market turmoil such as the 2007-2008 financial crisis. During periods of turmoil, correlations tend to increase thus reducing the benefits of diversification. Portfolio management today emerges as a dynamic process, which continues to evolve at a rapid pace. The purpose of Portfolio Theory and Management is to take readers from the foundations of portfolio management with the contributions of financial pioneers up to the latest trends emerging within the context of special topics. The book includes discussions of portfolio theory and management both before and after the 2007-2008 financial crisis. This volume provides a critical reflection of what worked and what did not work viewed from the perspective of the recent financial crisis. Further, the book is not restricted to the U.S. market but takes a more global focus by highlighting cross-country differences and practices. This 30-chapter book consists of seven sections. These chapters are: (1) portfolio theory and asset pricing, (2) the investment policy statement and fiduciary duties, (3) asset allocation and portfolio construction, (4) risk management, (V) portfolio execution, monitoring, and rebalancing, (6) evaluating and reporting portfolio performance, and (7) special topics.