Skip to main content

Books in Social sciences and humanities

Price Expectations in Rising Inflation
1st Edition
Volume 152
I. Visco
English
It is claimed in this book that expectations should not necessarily be treated as unobservable variables and that there is much to be learned from survey data. A unique data set is examined, the output of surveys conducted twice a year since 1952, among informed Italian businessmen and economic experts. The predictive accuracy, rationality and determinants of inflation expectations are investigated, following an extensive analysis of measurement issues.The estimate of inflation expectations are evaluated for both wholesale and consumer price changes, comparing them with those held by respondents to other surveys for different countries and with the forecasts generated by alternative predictors of the inflation process. The expectations considered in the study are shown to be remarkably accurate, anticipating all major price changes, even if during the years of high and rising inflation which have followed the first oil crisis they appear to underestimate on a number of occasions the inflation rates actually experienced, as the alternative predictors also do.An accurate testing of the rational expectations hypothesis is conducted, rejecting it over the entire sample period but not for the period of mild, but variable inflation which preceded the first oil crises.It is shown that a mixed adaptive-regressive model, with both error-learning and return-to-normality components adapts very well to the data considered in this study and that inflation expectations are also influenced by an uncertainty component which affects the adaptive coefficient. Furthermore, regression towards normality is slowed down when industrial capacity is utilized above normal, and vice-versa. Many other issues such as the dispersion of individual answers, the problems of aggregation and measurement error are also considered and an extensive bibliography of other works where use is made of direct information on expectations, is included.
Practices of Archaeological Stratigraphy
1st Edition
Edward C. Harris
English
Practices of Archaeological Stratigraphy brings together a number of examples which illustrate the development and use of the Harris Matrix in describing and interpreting archaeological sites. This matrix, the theory of which is described in two editions of the previous book by Harris, Principles of Archaeological Stratigaphy, made possible for the first time a simple diagramatic representation of the strategraphic sequence of a site, no matter how complex. The Harris Matrix, by showing in one diagram all three linear dimensions, plus time, represents a quantum leap over the older methods which relied on sample sections only.In this book 17 essays present a sample of new work demonstrating the strengths and uses of the Harris Matrix, the first ever published collection of papers devoted solely to stratigraphy in archaeology. The crucial relationships between the Harris methods, open-area excavation techniques, the interpretation of interfaces, and the use of single-context plans and recording sheets, is clarified by reference to specific sites. These sites range from medieval Europe, through Mayan civilizations to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. This book will be of great value to all those involved in excavating and recording archaeological sites and should help to ensure that the maximum amount of stratigraphic information can be gathered from future investigations.
Explaining the Growth of Government
1st Edition
Volume 171
J.A. Lybeck + 1 more
English
The aim of this book is to explain the post-war growth of the public sector in a number of developed economies. The purpose is to see whether scientists familiar with their respective countries' institutional, political and economic framework, but still working as a group, can advance some common factors behind the growth of government.
Applied Iterative Methods
1st Edition
Louis A. Hageman
English
Applied Iterative Methods discusses the practical utilization of iterative methods for solving large, sparse systems of linear algebraic equations. The book explains different general methods to present computational procedures to automatically determine favorable estimates of any iteration parameters, as well as when to stop the iterative process. The text also describes the utilization of iterative methods to solve multidimensional boundary-value problems (such as discretization stencil, mesh structure, or matrix partitioning) which affect the cost-effectiveness of iterative solution procedures. The book cites case studies involving iterative methods applications, including those concerning only three particular boundary-value problems. The text explains polynomial acceleration procedures (for example, Chebyshev acceleration and conjugate gradient acceleration) which can be applied to certain basic iterative methods or to the successive overtaxation (SOR) method. The book presents other case studies using the iterative methods to solve monoenergetic transport and nonlinear network flow multidimensional boundary-value problems. The text also describes the procedures for accelerating basic iterative methods which are not symmetrizable. The book will prove beneficial for mathematicians, students, and professor of calculus, statistics, and advanced mathematics.
Accounting Education for the 21st Century
The Global Challenges
1st Edition
Jane O. Burns + 1 more
English
Accounting practice, whether in business or government, is more dynamic, more complex, and addresses a wider array of issues than it did as little as five years ago. Significant and rapid social, political, technological and economic changes are taking place in the world economy and it is increasingly recognised that accountants in all countries play a key role in the process of economic development.Accounti... education is undergoing a thorough review on a worldwide basis and major developments are taking place to produce quality accounting education that can keep pace with dramatic world change.This book provides an up-to-date view of the state of accounting education throughout the world and focusses on the global challenges facing accounting education as we approch the millenium.
Handbook of Human Stress and Immunity
1st Edition
Ronald Glaser + 1 more
English
In 1964, George Solomon coined the term psychoneuroimmunolog... In the intervening 30 years, this term has emerged into a dynamic field of study which investigates the unique interactions between the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. The Handbook of Human Stress and Immunity is a comprehensive reference for this dynamic new field. Focusing on how stressors impact the central nervous system and the resulting changes in immune responses, the Handbook is the first to describehow stress specifically affects human immune systems. It discusses how stress generally makes people more susceptible to infection, how personal support systems can counteract the physiological effects of stress, and how stress, or lack of stress, affects the aging process. Chapters are authored by the leading names in the field and cover such diseases as autoimmune disease, viral pathogenesis, herpes, HIV, and AIDS.
New Horizon Testing
Latent Trait Test Theory and Computerized Adaptive Testing
1st Edition
David J. Weiss
English
New Horizons in Testing: Latent Trait Test Theory and Computerized Adaptive Testing provides an in-depth analysis of psychological measurement, espoused by the computer-latent trait test theory (item response theory) and computerized adaptive testing. The book is organized into five parts. The first part addresses basic problems in estimating the parameters of the item response theory models that constitute a class of latent trait test theory models. The second part, discusses the implications of item response theory for measuring individuals using more than just simply a trait level (e.g., ability) score. Part III describes the application of item response theory models to specific applied problems, including the problem of equating tests or linking items into a pool, a latent trait model for timed tests, and the problem of measuring growth using scores derived from the application of item response theory models. Part IV is concerned with the application of item response theory to computerized adaptive testing. Finally, Part V includes discussion of two special models beyond the standard models used in the rest of the book. One of these models, the constant information model, is a simplification of the general latent trait models, whereas the other is an extension of latent trait models to the problem of measuring change. Psychometricians, psychologists, and psychiatrists will find the book useful.
HERMES: Harmonised Econometric Research for Modelling Economic Systems
1st Edition
Commission of the European Commission of the European Com
English
The "HERMES" European system of models is featured in this book. This system was set up at the initiative of the Commission of the European Communities (Directorate-General for Science, Research and Development). It involves a series of medium term, macrosectoral econometric models in which energy plays a special role as a production factor. The different models are interlinked by a bilateral flow module, which describes for each product the trade between all the Community countries taken in twos. The United States, Japan and five zones are represented in this by simplified versions of the Commission's COMET model.This volume will help the reader to understand and interpret the numerous studies which have been undertaken with the help of the HERMES system. Economists and researchers will find valuable information and figures, with a common nomenclature, on the economies of the different countries, both on structural data and on economic operators.
Philosophy and Archaeology
1st Edition
Merrilee H. Salmon
English
Studies in Archaeology: Philosophy and Archaeology presents the circumstances under which archeological hypotheses can be considered confirmed or disconfirmed. This book discusses the role of analogy in archeological reasoning, particularly in ascribing functions to archeological items. Organized into seven chapters, this book begins with an overview of the relationship between archeology and philosophy. This text then examines the importance of laws for archeology and discusses some essential features of law statements. Other chapters consider the strong claims for the hypothetico–deductiv... method of confirmation in various works by archeologists. This book discusses as well the different uses of analogical reasoning in archeology and provides a discussion of the structure of analogical arguments, criteria for evaluating them, and their relations to the Bayesian arguments for confirmation. The final chapter deals with several issues related to the development of a theory of archeology. This book is a valuable resource for archeologists and philosophers.
Speech and Language
Advances in Basic Research and Practice
1st Edition
Volume 2
Norman J. Lass
English
Speech and Language: Volume 2, Advances in Basic Research and Practice is a compendium of papers that discusses the processes and pathologies of speech and language, such as functional articulation disorders, lexical development, and a group therapy for treating stuttering. Some papers deal with vocal fold vibrations, childhood homonymy, framework for conversational speech behaviors, and vibrotactile testing. One paper cites studies of Hersen and Barlow (1976) that treatments warrant consideration only if these are powerful enough to effect obvious gains; and of Gilbert, McPeek, and Mosteller (1977) that treatment research is more likely to give modest than substantial gains—the degree of gains which can also be difficult to detect. Another paper examines suggestions for teaching words to language-disordered children, that when knowledge of normal language processes is applied in training approaches, effective and individualized programs will follow. Used in the treatment of stuttering, the Shaping Group, which employs action and many other treatment models, shows that its approach is effective. Another paper notes that before a surgical correction of voice disorders is undertaken, the importance of knowing the possible effects of various procedures on the voice should first be known. The compendium is well suited for linguists, ethnologists, psychologists, speech therapists, and researchers whose works involve linguistics, learning, communications, corrective surgery, and syntax.

Related subjects