Book Description
Designed to form the basis of an undergraduate course in mathematical finance, this book builds on mathematical models of bond and stock prices and covers three major areas of mathematical finance that all have an enormous impact on the way modern financial markets operate, namely: Black-Scholes’ arbitrage pricing of options and other derivative securities; Markowitz portfolio optimization theory and the Capital Asset Pricing Model; and interest rates and their term structure. Assuming only a basic knowledge of probability and calculus, it covers the material in a mathematically rigorous and complete way at a level accessible to second or third year undergraduate students. The text is interspersed with a multitude of worked examples and exercises, so it is ideal for self-study and suitable not only for students of mathematics, but also students of business management, finance and economics, and anyone with an interest in finance who needs to understand the underlying theory.
Customer Reviews:
Mathematics for Finance: A useful tool for the unskillled investor.......2007-03-19
I enjoyed reading the book and solving exercises in it. I have a Ph.D.in chemistry and my wife and I did our his and her's MBA in the 1990s. I wanted to learn more concepts in finance and needed an easy entry, something I could enjoy, and without spending much money. The book by Capinski came recommended from a friend who teaches Economics at Cal State. I can speak for myself: I feel reasonably informed and I feel the book gave me concepts I can use to handle my own portfolio.
In the future, this text should be offered with an interactive CD that contains Xls, matrix, calculus, and graphing capabilities so one (I) can visualize the outcomes of proposed solutions.
Incoherent.......2007-01-18
Anyone can scribble a bunch of equations on paper and call it a book. Without sufficient context, they are useless.
Insufficient and disappointing. Not even a good introductury text........2006-05-15
As a graduate student in Financial Engineering I have found this book useless.
The title of the book is "Mathematics for Finance", but can you find in it even an elementary introduction to the stochastic processes? No. Ditto for the Ito's lemma and many other topics. The derivation of the Black Scholes formula is just sketched, and the insight that you can get from it is very limited.
Nevertheless, I wouldn't mind these limitations if this book provided a clear introduction to more advanced topics: unfortunately this book is not good even in that. In comparison to other textbooks the theorems and definitions are convoluted and do not go straight to the point. For example, in Shreve's "Stochastic Calculus for Finance" or Baxter & Rennie "Financial Calculus" the Fundamental Theorem of Asset Pricing is stated in this way: "In a market with risk neutral probability there is no arbitrage". Can you find such a simple and explanatory definition in Capinski's book? Not at all. The theorem at page 83 (you can see it yourself by searching inside the book) basically says the same thing using 8 lines of text and little financial intuition.
The only good thing that I can say about this book is that all exercises are resolved.
Overall, "Mathematics for Finance" has been a big disappointment: it doesn't have either the mathematical depth of Shreve's books or the conciseness in explaining financial concepts of Baxter & Rennie.
Whatever is the level of education that you are pursuing, graduate or undergraduate, I don't see any point in using it.
Great Book for Undergrad Quants.......2005-08-29
Mathematics for Finance (An Introduction to Financial Engineering) is a book intended for undergrad students "IN MATHEMATICS" or other discipline with a relative high mathematical content.
The book assumes some basic notion of Calculus and Probability Theory and it is focused more on the mathematics than in its theory and application of Finance. If you are looking to dwell into the mathematics (Proof of Equations) this is a great book, but if you are looking for a book that is rich in theory and in application then you should consider "Option, Future and Other Derivatives" or "Quantitative Methods for Finance" as an alternative. Both books are "a most" for any finance student and are of great help. Now if you want an introduction into the mathematics behind Finance then this book is a perfect purchase.
Important to state that all the problems presented in this book are solved meaning that it is great for self teaching. Marek Capinsi and Thomas Zastawniak have done a great job on this book.
I gave it four stars, because it has room for impovement.
Joining the chorus.......2005-08-03
I can only echo the other reviewers. As far as I can tell this book has no serious competition. This is an excellent introduction to mathematical finance for those with a solid undergraduate level understanding of higher math but without graduate level exposure. I agree that it is ideal for self study as that is exactly what I am using it for. The price is right especially in contrast with its overpriced brethren. Five stars!
Book Description
This book provides the first clear, comprehensive, and accessible account of complex adaptive social systems, by two of the field's leading authorities. Such systems--whether political parties, stock markets, or ant colonies--present some of the most intriguing theoretical and practical challenges confronting the social sciences. Engagingly written, and balancing technical detail with intuitive explanations, Complex Adaptive Systems focuses on the key tools and ideas that have emerged in the field since the mid-1990s, as well as the techniques needed to investigate such systems. It provides a detailed introduction to concepts such as emergence, self-organized criticality, automata, networks, diversity, adaptation, and feedback. It also demonstrates how complex adaptive systems can be explored using methods ranging from mathematics to computational models of adaptive agents.
John Miller and Scott Page show how to combine ideas from economics, political science, biology, physics, and computer science to illuminate topics in organization, adaptation, decentralization, and robustness. They also demonstrate how the usual extremes used in modeling can be fruitfully transcended.
Customer Reviews:
Annie Wu -- Book #1.......2007-08-10
I am a purchasing agent who buys books for my faculty, and as far as I know, this faculty member is very impressed with this particular book.
The Emergence of Convergence .......2007-08-04
At the time of writing this review, this book isn't searchable through Amazon, that's too bad because if you're reading the reviews wondering if it's worth buying, just browsing through any page from the intro or appendix B would clearly resolve any remnant hesitation. This book is a must have for anyone even remotely interested in complex adaptive systems. Scott Page and John Miller dress the landscape and state of the art of computational social science, the issues are motivated from the ground up and the existing approaches to resolve them explicitly detailed, yet using clear and jargon free language. For example, descriptions of the many concepts repeatedly used in the scientific method (of CAS et al) such as ergodicity or optimization theory are refreshing and insightful, simply stuff you don't get from textbooks, but rather that one would learn over years of experience doing.
In summary, the authors are handing us an expert summary of literature and developments of a complex field in a concise, fun and delightful read, it would be a shame to miss it.
Book Description
Political Game Theory is a self-contained introduction to game theory and its applications to political science. The book presents choice theory, social choice theory, static and dynamic games of complete information, static and dynamic games of incomplete information, repeated games, bargaining theory, mechanism design and a mathematical appendix covering, logic, real analysis, calculus and probability theory. The methods employed have many applications in various disciplines including comparative politics, international relations and American politics. Political Game Theory is tailored to students without extensive backgrounds in mathematics, and traditional economics, however there are also many special sections that present technical material that will appeal to more advanced students. A large number of exercises are also provided to practice the skills and techniques discussed.
Book Description
The two volumes that comprise String Theory provide an up-to-date, comprehensive account of string theory. Volume 1 provides a thorough introduction to the bosonic string, based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. The first four chapters introduce the central ideas of string theory, the tools of conformal field theory, the Polyakov path integral, and the covariant quantization of the string. The book then treats string interactions: the general formalism, and detailed treatments of the tree level and one loop amplitudes. Toroidal compactification and many important aspects of string physics, such as T-duality and D-branes are also covered, as are higher-order amplitudes, including an analysis of their finiteness and unitarity, and various nonperturbative ideas. The volume closes with an appendix giving a short course on path integral methods, followed by annotated references, and a detailed glossary.
Customer Reviews:
Do yourself a favour and use instead the book by Green Schwarz & Witten or the one by Theisen........2006-08-26
Dr. Polchinski may know a lot on string theory but he doesn't know that much on how to write a book. I have been struggling with this book trying to learn string theory and it has been a total failure. You may think it's me but is not. I have studied chapters 1 to 4. I will announce some of its bad features: 1-The notation is awful specially on chapter 2 when he defines the infinitesimal variation of a physical quantity in a very complicated way, all formulas are presented in terms of awful excesively complicated expresions that make you feel sick (and I'm not joking), also on chapter two he defines a way for applying Wicks theorem (eq.(2.2.7)) using exponential operators but I finally gave up and did it my way for calculating expression (2.2.13). 2-Many of the results are not derived and trying to understand what happen from line to line is, besides being a mystery, in my opinion hard to say the less.
3- On chapter 3 I liked the way he calculates de Faddeev Popov determinant in terms of ghosts and you begin to hope that the book is finally going to start getting better but is not, on page 102 and 'till the end of the chapter (page 118) he starts just throwing a lot of equations that you just can't understand where they came from, specially page 105 where he uses the geodesic distance to higher orders but never explains nor show what this expressions are nor what approximations he is doing, nor where they came from. Then again on page 107 he gives a relation between operators regularized by dimensional regularization and by 'polchinski' regularization, at least the second one is defined but the other is not (on curved space)and he just shows some awful equations that no one knows where they come from. This book has been written for someone who already knows a lot on string theory but it is not for someone who is trying to learn string theory for the first time. All in all try instead the classic book by Green Schwarz and Witten or the one by Theisen and this one use it only as a reference.
The string theory book.......2006-04-01
In short, I think volumes I and II of "String Theory" are the best books on string theory available. Presumably any serious student of string theory will study them both. The writing style is clear, physical considerations are at the forefront, the selection of topics is excellent and the treatment is as up-to-date as any I'm aware of.
Volume I covers the bosonic string. Of course this doesn't provide a realistic model for our universe, but understanding it forms the foundation of the study of more realistic string theories.
The first chapter provides the physical motivation for string theory. A brief description of some current unsolved problems in physics, and how string theory may resolve them, is given. Most notably this includes not only providing a quantum theory of gravity, but also providing a grand unified theory. A brief outline of techniques used throughout the book is given. These are covered in more detail as the book develops and include: the Polyakov action (how to get it from the Nambu-Goto form and why it's more useful), the Polyakov action symmetries, string theory as a two-dimensional quantum field theory, string boundary conditions, the string spectra, supersymmetry (worldsheet and spacetime) and the critical dimension. This is an excellent introduction and nicely sets the stage for the rest of the book.
The next chapter presents conformal field theory. It's also an excellent introduction. In particular covering conformal field theory with anticommuting fields. The Virasoro algebra is also derived. He could have covered these conformal field theory concepts as they came up, but I liked having them in one central location early in the book.
Strings take center stage again in the following chapter as the Polyakov path integral is examined in great detail. Among the results are a calculation of the critical dimension and the recovery of general relativity in the low energy limit of string theory. These are just a couple of the interesting results, there is much more in this chapter.
The following chapters quantize the string, calculate the string spectrum, derive the S-matrix, calculate tree level scattering amplitudes and calculate one-loop amplitudes (higher order amplitudes are covered in the final chapter). One of many things that stand out is his discussion of divergences. He describes the difference between infrared and ultraviolet divergences. After showing ultraviolet divergences are absent in string theory he comments on how the mechanisms that remove them is different for open and closed strings. This is just one example of how physical concepts are kept at the forefront.
The chapter on compactification covers more than just the basics such as (D - 4) dimensions must be compactified and this gives rise to some extra gauge fields. Orbifolds are introduced in this chapter. It also covers T-duality, one of the important (and unexpected) symmetries of string theories. D-branes are also introduced (D-branes are covered in more detail in volume II), obviously this is an important concept in string theory. I was happy to see such important concepts introduced so quickly.
In short, this is a great book. Even with only light coverage of supersymmetry (this is covered in detail in volume II) many interesting and up-to-date topics are presented. Clearly the author put a lot of time into thinking about how to make a difficult subject as approachable as possible. Throughout the book he anticipates questions the reader may have, or maybe should have, and addresses them.
Enlightening text on a murky topic.......2002-09-17
This book succeeds in what seems to be the impossible. It actually presents a clear, up to date, and entertaining version of a field that is still very much in a state of active research and is still, after all these years, on quite uncertain ground. By studying this, the reader who thinks intelligently about the material presented will be able to form his/her own opinions on this still somewhat controversial topic and will be able to converse intelligently with others who have opinions on the topic. I know that for me personally, this text opened up beautiful ideas which, to a large extent, are still unexplored. Before I read this book, my gut feelings about the topic were that it was rather dubious at best, but now that I understand (I think) the basic ideas of the field, I feel quite comfortable in it, indeed almost as if it is completely natural. What I think is one of the best things about this book is that it does not assume the pretense that string theory is on firm ground, that everything is quite certain and that string theory HAS to be the final theory of nature in all its glory. I find this attitude EXTREMELY pretensious and annoying. Instead, it simply covers what we know about string theory, and explains in detail just why it is consistent, and why it offers an explanation for what we see in nature. In short, it leaves just enough room for the imagination of an intelligent reader to philosophize as to the meaning of the theory and as to its ultimate place in nature
As for practical details, it seems to me that the reader should at the very least have a firm understanding of Quantum Field Theory (at least at the level of Weinberg's first volume, see my review on that modern masterpiece), and to a lesser extent of General Relativity, before even attempting to tackle this. I know that I myself, despite the fact that I have read several texts on QFT, had to reread several sizeable chunks of the book to fully digest it.
Good try, but too dense.......2002-04-12
Lets face it, string theory is a difficult subject. But the only reason this book is the best string theory text is because they are all lousy. What it comes down to is string theory is too new for a good textbook writer to have tackled the task. What has happened, is string theory is currently populated by a small group of elite geniuses. So some of these elite geniuses take to writing a book, which turns out to be clear to other geniuses, but maybe not so clear to others, who are nonetheless capable of learning the theory. This happens in all fields, you will find that modern quantum mechanics books are much more readable than volumes written by the founders of the theory. Polchinski has clear writing, but can you solve the problems? If it seems clear but solving the problems is a mystery, it isn't a good book. Why can't people put in lots of examples? Why can't they include solutions to at least odd numbered problems? If they went to all the trouble to write the book they could at least do that. After all the goal is to teach, not to be mysterious. What needs to happen is some physicist with a talent for writing needs to A)Write an undergraduate level text on field theory, and B)write a more accessible book about string theory aimed at people who aren't at the level of Weinberg intelligence wise.
very thorough and complete.......2000-08-22
Polochinski presents upto date developments (mostly in 2nd volume) in string theory such as D-branes and dualities that are not discussed in Green, Witten, Schwarz's Superstring theory text. However, I found GWS's arguments easier to follow because they were intuitively and physically motivated. Although Polchinski's books lack physical insights, he more than makes up for them by completeness of the material, mathematical rigor and helpful exercises. However, I highly recommend that you first get Di Francesco's conformal field theory and read chapters 3-7 , 10 and 12 to get a better feel for stuff like state-operator mappings, Virasoro algebra, OPE's, etc. Although Polchinski claims the books are pretty much self-contained, I would say QFT (probably around lvl of 1st vol. of Weinberg) and GR are min prereq and some knowledge of SUSY, rep. theory of Lie alg, alg. toplogy wouldn't hurt. Lastly, the first edition had many many typos but corrections are frequently updated and you can download them through a website whose address is given in the book (the address in the book has a typo and should read "ucsb").
Customer Reviews:
Solid introduction to the policy process.......2007-09-08
There are a number of books "out there" on the nature of the public policy process. This is one of the better textbooks on the subject.
The book begins with a solid chapter on the nature of public policy and how we study the phenomenon. This flows into the second chapter, which focuses on the history of public policy (going back to Constitutional design) and culminates with a discussion (albeit brief) of the fragmentation of the policy process.
The next two chapters explore key actors--official governmental actors like the President and Congress and unofficial actors such as media and think tanks.
Thereafter, the text focuses on the various "stages" of the policy process--from agenda setting to policy types to policy design and the toolbox of policies to implementation.
The volume concludes with an examination of several theories of the policy process.
This book isn't the best of the lot; however, it is a good, serviceable introduction to the policy process.
A clear public policy book...it is possible!.......2005-01-30
This book explains how public policy is made, the types of models which could be used to make/evaluate a public policy, and an overview of how public policymaking fits into the American government process.
Since most people have only learned about the three branches of government, they may not be certain how passed laws are enacted. Lacking the time and expertise needed to implement these laws, legislators at the federal, state, and local levels delegate authority to agencies to make the policy which will implement these laws.
The chief benefit of this text is the qualitative approach which Birkland personally prefers (although he does warn that other approaches use an economics-based approach) and clear explanations. It also contains an annotated bibliography of influential works and a dictionary of key terms used in the public policymaking process.
Birkland's text is written so that it can be used either by students or public policy practitioners. Instead of bogging down the reader in minutiae and personal liberty, he wanted to emphasize how important public policy is.
Book Description
Integrates the traditional approach to differential equations with the modern systems and control theoretic approach to dynamic systems, emphasizing theoretical principles and classic models in a wide variety of areas. Provides a particularly comprehensive theoretical development that includes chapters on positive dynamic systems and optimal control theory. Contains numerous problems.
Customer Reviews:
Good book, but consider a used copy!.......2007-06-14
This "2001 edition" (according to Amazon) was actually copyrighted in 1979. While the book remains very useful, prospective consumers may wish to consider a good used copy in order to save some money.
Although the publication date is misleading, at least Wiley correctly prints the original copyright date within its "new" texts (there are other examples of this practice). Springer-Verlag performs still greater magic. In "Linear and Nonlinear Programming", also by Luenberger, Springer decided to print the copyright date as 2003 instead of 1984, thus giving the impression that the text contains an up-to-date treatment of the subject matter. If I were buying a copy of "Green Eggs and Ham", I would not care about an incorrect copyright date. However, where technical subjects are concerned, this practice borders on fraud (in my view). It is a deliberate attempt to deceive its customers into believing that they are purchasing something more current and relevant than is actually the case.
Excellent treatment of dynamic systems.......2001-05-03
This introduction to dynamic systems is presented with an algebraic formalism which makes things clear and concise. All concepts are explained intuitively as well as formally, having in mind the objective of making things clear. Few books exhibit such a good approach and other reviewers are right when they emphasize the highly pedagogical quality of Luenberger's books ! This is no overstatement.
The advantage of using this algebraic formulation lies in the simplicity as well as the understandability of the state-space approach, which is best explained in those terms. Most books assume that everyone knows what a state space is without explicitly showing what it is really about. This book just uses the reverse assumption, in that you're not asssumed to know everything before getting into it.
Only some basic knowledge in algebra (undergraduate-level) is required but even without experience in algebraic formalism, it is possible to go through the content thanks to the important number of examples and the intuitive explanations.
A must-read !
Excellent supplementary reading of Linear System Theory.......1999-04-24
The economic application examples are interesting for engineering students.
The best mathematical textbook ever written.......1999-02-19
I studied this book for two semesters as a doctoral student, and consider it the best mathematical textbook ever written. Luenberger writes concisely and with great clarity and elegance. His notation is crisp and easy to follow. The book begins with basic concepts of matrix algebra and dynamic equations, and then builds step-by-step to encompass an enormously broad set of applications. The examples are drawn from all over the map, and are great fun to explore. This is a truly mind-expanding text.
Thomas P. Lyon, Associate Professor, Business Economics and Public Policy, Indiana University
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Introduction to the Replica Theory of Disordered Statistical Systems (Collection Alea-Saclay: Monographs and Texts in Statistical Physics)
Viktor Dotsenko
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521773407 |
Book Description
This text describes the statistical mechanics of classical spin systems with quenched disorder. The first part covers the physics of spin-glass states using results obtained within the framework of the mean field theory of spin glasses. The second part is devoted to the theory of critical phenomena in the presence of weak quenched disorder. This includes a systematic derivation of the traditional renormalization group theory. In the third part Dotsenko describes other types of disordered systems, relating them to new results at the frontiers of modern research. The book is suitable for graduate students and researchers in the field of statistical mechanics of disordered systems.
Book Description
This book aims at a middle ground between the introductory books on derivative securities and those that provide advanced mathematical treatments. It is written for mathematically capable students who have not necessarily had prior exposure to probability theory, stochastic calculus, or computer programming. It provides derivations of pricing and hedging formulas (using the probabilistic change of numeraire technique) for standard options, exchange options, options on forwards and futures, quanto options, exotic options, caps, floors and swaptions, as well as VBA code implementing the formulas. It also contains an introduction to Monte Carlo, binomial models, and finite-difference methods.
Customer Reviews:
Most Practical Financial Engineering textbook.......2006-02-14
Dr Kerry Back in my opinion wrote one the best if not the best practical book in financial Derivatives. In such a crowded field where books are published at an exponential rate; finding a practical book is often a challenge especially since many of them repeat the same information over and over. The best feature of this textbook lies in the problems at the end of chapters. The problems are well chosen and very practical and require the use of VBA/Excel. This book does not get involved with complicated math as so many books in financial engineering do. I am doing a Phd degree in math, I deal with abstract mathematics on a daily basis so am looking for a textbook that will provide a good intuition to the concept of Derivative Securities without sacrificing too much Mathematical rigor. In this regard Dr Kerry Back did a very good job, the book requires only an understanding of non-measure probability theory, calculus, linear algebra and differential equations making it accessible to MBA students and undergraduates as well. I strongly recommend this book to math majors who want a textbook that explain Financial Derivatives well. I also recommend Stochastic Calculus for Finance II by Shreve for readers who want a measure theoric and PDE approcah to Financial Derivatives.
Average customer rating:
- Dive into the deep end... or atleast pretend you are...
- Cheap Binding
- So Much Potential
- Good book overall, organization is very poor
- A very good introductory book
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An Introduction to Stochastic Modeling, Third Edition
Samuel Karlin , and
Howard M. Taylor
Manufacturer: Academic Press
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A First Course in Stochastic Processes, Second Edition
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Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis (with CD Data Sets) (Duxbury Advanced)
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Statistical Analysis of Financial Data in S-PLUS
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Adventures in Stochastic Processes
ASIN: 0126848874 |
Book Description
Serving as the foundation for a one-semester course in stochastic processes for students familiar with elementary probability theory and calculus,
Introduction to Stochastic Modeling, Third Edition, bridges the gap between basic probability and an intermediate level course in stochastic processes. The objectives of the text are to introduce students to the standard concepts and methods of stochastic modeling, to illustrate the rich diversity of applications of stochastic processes in the applied sciences, and to provide exercises in the application of simple stochastic analysis to realistic problems.
* Realistic applications from a variety of disciplines integrated throughout the text
* Plentiful, updated and more rigorous problems, including computer "challenges"
* Revised end-of-chapter exercises setsin all, 250 exercises with answers
* New chapter on Brownian motion and related processes
* Additional sections on Matingales and Poisson process
* Solutions manual available to adopting instructors
Customer Reviews:
Dive into the deep end... or atleast pretend you are..........2006-07-20
This book opens with a nose dive into Conditional probability. Unlike some other authors that devote a half their entire bloody book on review of probability, random variables, and conditional probability distributions, this book assumes a firm or atleast an introductory knowledge of the above. Ideally, a good probability book such as Hogg and Tanis would prove to be quite helpful as a supplementary reference.
Markov Chains and Processes are introduced in the third chapter and the definition is lucid, complete with examples that are easy to comprehend. One of the examples that calculated the frequency with which an autoparts store must replenish its stock was absolutely brilliant and made things a lot easier to understand. The exercises are rather thorough, so if you are purchasing this book for a class and will be assigned homework assignments from the text, be prepared to devote atleast an hour on an average to each problem.
The book is relatively easy to read, if you have a good background in random variables, and hence, i repeat, keep a book on introductory probability and statistics handy.
Cheap Binding.......2006-01-10
Letting the other reviews critique the content, I would like to mention that I was unimpressed with the quality of the binding.
Although I may be a unique occurence, the binding of my book was cheap and broke so that several pages came loose. For an $80 book I expect better durability than a paperback.
So Much Potential.......2005-10-19
I purchased this book to use as the text for a graduate level Stochastic Processes course that I am taking by independent study, and have had a large role in designing. I purchased the book, sight unseen, based on reviews that indicated there were many examples with solutions, wary that reviews also mentioned a lack of organization.
The organization was worse than I could have anticipated, and is one of two major flaws that do not render the book unusable, but make it very unpleasant to work with.
As has been mentioned, the outline numbering system makes chapters harder to follow, rather than easier, and it is difficult to distinguish the exercises with solutions from the problems with no solutions. This strange numbering system is carried out in the answer key portion, as well. When I read similar comments in reviews, I thought, how bad can it be? Creatively bad.
The most problematic organizational point, however, is the fact that concepts are covered in homework problems before they are introduced in the text. Chapter 1, for example, contains problems that could only be done after reading Chapter 2. This juxtaposition of discussion and exercise is still taking place as I am about three fourths of the way through the book.
The second issue with this text, besides the confusing organization, is the cumbersome use of notation with no key or explanation. Commonly, sections of text are only three or four pages long. They consist of, "Here is a formula. Now here is the proof," without any real explanation of what the formula is for, and perhaps, worse, no indication of what the variables stand for. The field of statistics is notorious for it's inconsistent use of symbology. Most texts address this by including a key of symbols. Not only has a key not been included in this text, but the symbology is most uncommon. It has taken me quite a bit of searching to decipher a number of symbols for which there were much more common alternatives.
In it's favor, the exercises and problems in the book are good, appropriate, and even classic examples.
With a strong enough background in probability, particularly Markov processes, or, with good instruction, this book is a decent source of exercises. But certainly there are better sources of exercises if we must look elsewhere for instruction.
Good book overall, organization is very poor.......2003-02-21
First, let me say that I found the content of this book to be, on the overall, wonderful and fairly well explained. Concepts are presented well and, unlike many other books on Stochastic Modeling, sigma algebra is avoided (this is a definant plus for making it into an undergrad or low-level grad textbook).
That having been said, this book has some of the worst organization I have ever seen in a textbook. Every chapter is divided into sections and at the end of each section there are questions which are separated into "Exercises" and "Problems"; this in-and-of itself is not as much of a problem as that everything is numbered the same way.
Therefore problem 5 in section 4 chapter 3 is numbered the same way (4.5) as exercise 5 in the same section and chapter is numbered the same way as exercise/problem 5 in the same section of any other chapter in the book. The only real difference between "Exercises" and "Problems" is that exercises tend to be answered in the back of the book.
There are also other organizational difficulties in the text itself--such as that it is never entirely clear where the examples are in the text: there are several things which are labeled as examples (and are), however, over half of the examples in some chapters seem to be simply thrown into the text without any special indicator that they are examples of what is being discussed.
While the content in this book is good, the organization is so wretched that I have to knock it down two stars.
A very good introductory book.......2000-02-10
The book shows through examples the very vast collection of stochastic models without going too deep in the technical details. I consider the book a good introduction for undergraduate students with a calculus and probability course. Most adequately for engineers than mathematicians.
Book Description
This accessible text provides an extensive survey of the major theories and models that influence reading instruction and research. Readers learn why theory matters in designing and implementing high-quality instruction; how to critically evaluate the assumptions and beliefs that guide their own work with students; and the benefits of approaching everyday teaching situations from multiple theoretical perspectives. Every chapter features classroom application activities and illuminating teaching vignettes. Of particular utility to graduate students, the book also addresses research applications, including descriptions of exemplary studies informed by each theoretical model.
Books:
- Matrix Computations (Johns Hopkins Studies in Mathematical Sciences)(3rd Edition)
- Mechanics of Composite Materials, Second Edition (Mechanical Engineering)
- Mirror Symmetry (Clay Mathematics Monographs, V. 1)
- Mirror Symmetry (Clay Mathematics Monographs, V. 1)
- Modeling Structured Finance Cash Flows with Microsoft Excel: A Step-by-Step Guide.Book & CD-ROM
- Modern Control Systems (10th Edition)
- MP for Convective Heat & Mass Transfer
- Nonlinear Control Systems (Communications and Control Engineering)
- Nonlinear Oscillations, Dynamical Systems, and Bifurcations of Vector Fields (Applied Mathematical Sciences Vol. 42)
- Numerical Solution of Partial Differential Equations: An Introduction
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Real Analysis: Measure Theory, Integration, and Hilbert Spaces
- My Life in France
- Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness
- History: Fiction or Science
- How Not to Write a Screenplay: 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make
- Modern Ferrite Technology
- Last Place on Earth
- The Other Side of the Dale
- Europe: One Labour Market
- Escape From Mexico
Principles of Financial Engineering (Academic Press Advanced Finance)
The Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance (Mathematics, Finance and Risk)
Introduction to the Mathematics of Financial Derivatives
Stochastic Calculus for Finance I: The Binomial Asset Pricing Model (Springer Finance)
Financial Calculus : An Introduction to Derivative Pricing
Interest Rate Models - Theory and Practice: With Smile, Inflation and Credit (Springer Finance)
Monte Carlo Methods in Financial Engineering (Stochastic Modelling and Applied Probability)
