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Books in Social sciences and humanities

  • Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine

    • 1st Edition
    • Roger W. Byard + 4 more
    • English
    The Encyclopedia of Forensic & Legal Medicine comprehensively covers forensic and legal medicine (including related specialities and scientific, technical and legal issues) and is available online and in three printed volumes, offering any practitioner in a forensic, medical, healthcare, legal, judicial, or investigative field easily accessible and authoritative overviews on a wide range of topics. The work is edited and written by experienced professionals with medical, legal or dual training – and who are internationally renowned for their experience or expertise within their areas of specialty. The Editorial Board reflects the multidisciplinary, multi-jurisdictional and global emphasis of forensic and legal medicine. The individual articles are written in a clear and concise manner and are supplemented by diagrams, tables and full-color images. Key further reading and extensive cross-referencing make this work an invaluable reference source for undergraduates and graduates looking for an introduction to key fields and experts reading outside their specialization.
  • Plastics China: Technologies, Markets and Growth Strategies to 2008

    • 1st Edition
    • Donald V Rosato
    • English
    'Plastics China: Technologies, Markets and Growth Strategies to 2008' outlines the structure of the Chinese industry, assesses market and technological trends, offers market figures and forecasts to 2008 and identifies the major players.Contents include:* Market figures and forecasts to the year 2008* Assessment of the Chinese plastics market including enduse plastics analysis* Plastic technology and growth strategies in China* Comprehensive directories of Chinese plastics suppliers, fabricators and endusers, state contracts, trade associations, trade journals and trade shows* Includes numberous tables, diagrams, charts and graphics.
  • Microbial Forensics

    • 1st Edition
    • Bruce Budowle + 2 more
    • English
    Microbial Forensics describes the new and growing field of Microbial Forensics- the science that will help bring to justice criminals and terrorists who use biological material to cause harm. This book describes the foundation of the field of microbial forensics and will serve as a basic primer to initiate those scientists and officials that have an interest in the topic. It covers a variety of areas from forensic science, to microbiology, to epidemiology, to bioinformatics, and to legal issues.
  • Capital Investment & Financing

    a practical guide to financial evaluation
    • 1st Edition
    • Chris f Agar
    • English
    The requirement to maximise value for shareholders is at the core of any corporate investment or financing decision. The intrinsic value of proposed investments should be assessed before deciding how much capital to allocate; the benefits and risks associated with each available source of finance should be considered when capital is being raised; and capital, and any associated financial risks, should be managed in a way that continues to maximise value. At every stage, an analysis should be carried out to ensure the decision is optimal for shareholders and other capital providers.This book provides practical guidance on the application of financial evaluation techniques and methods (mainly covered in Appendices), as well as comprehensive coverage of traditional corporate finance topics, discussed in the context of capital investment, raising and management and financial risk management (using derivatives). Models, formulae and other quantitative techniques are illustrated in over 100 examples (using only basic mathematics). Topics discussed include the following:* business appraisal using financial ratios* corporate valuation (mainly discounted cash flow and real options)*investment appraisal techniques* acquisition structuring and evaluation* the nature of loans and loan agreements* features and pricing of bonds (straight and convertible)* leasing (including leveraged leasing)* equity raising (Initial Public Offerings)* long and short term capital management* basic pricing of derivatives (forwards, futures, options, swaps)* interest rate and currency risk management using derivativesCapital Investment & Financing provides a comprehensive, in-depth coverage of concepts, methods and techniques involved when evaluating acquisitions and other investments, assessing financing opportunities, and managing capital. The core chapters provide practical guidance on key corporate finance topics; the Appendices contain more quantitative material, focusing on pricing techniques. Examples are used throughout, and an integrated case study (fictional) in the final Appendix uses many of the techniques discussed.
  • Interest Rate Risk Management

    • 1st Edition
    • Christine Helliar
    • English
    Financial risk management is currently subject to much debate, especially the accounting for derivative products, and a number of commentators are objecting to the introduction of International Accounting Standard IAS 39 for Derivatives that will be in force by January 2005 for all EU companies. The topic of hedge accounting and the treatment of fair values may have a significant impact on many companies reported profits, and the volatility of earnings is likely to increase. Uniquely this monograph focuses on interest rate risk management. Most studies of corporate risk management have typically dwelt on the topic of management of exchange rate risk, with interest rate risk management being neglected. The book’s findings examine the views of UK corporate treasurers who are usually involved in the risk management strategies of their organisation and who have responsibility for implementing those strategies in practice.
  • Corporate Social Responsibility

    a case study guide for Management Accountants
    • 1st Edition
    • John Innes + 1 more
    • English
    Corporate Social Responsiblity is based on critical insight gained by analysing four large companies’ experiences of corporate social responsibility. This study highlights the inadequacies of social and ethical reporting by business, both in terms of the ad-hoc nature of the information currently reported, and the absence of internal reporting. It will serve as evidence to companies, that producing a glossy report does not necessarily equal social responsibility.
  • A Practical Logic of Cognitive Systems

    The Reach of Abduction: Insight and Trial
    • 1st Edition
    • Dov M. Gabbay + 1 more
    • English
    The present work is a continuation of the authors' acclaimed multi-volume APractical Logic of Cognitive Systems. After having investigated the notion ofrelevance in their previous volume, Gabbay and Woods now turn to abduction. Inthis highly original approach, abduction is construed as ignorance-preserving... in which conjecture plays a pivotal role. Abduction is a response to acognitive target that cannot be hit on the basis of what the agent currently knows.The abducer selects a hypothesis which were it true would enable the reasoner to attain his target. He concludes from this fact that the hypothesis may be conjectured. In allowing conjecture to stand in for the knowledge he fails to have, the abducer reveals himself to be a satisficer, since an abductive solution is not a solution from knowledge. Key to the authors' analysis is the requirement that a conjectured proposition is not just what a reasoner might allow himself to assume, but a proposition he must defeasibly release as a premiss for further inferences in the domain of enquiry in which the original abduction problem has arisen.The coverage of the book is extensive, from the philosophy of science tocomputer science and AI, from diagnostics to the law, from historical explanation to linguistic interpretation. One of the volume's strongest contributions is its exploration of the abductive character of criminal trials, with special attention given to the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.Underlying their analysis of abductive reasoning is the authors' conception ofpractical agency. In this approach, practical agency is dominantly a matter of thecomparative modesty of an agent's cognitive agendas, together with comparatively scant resources available for their advancement. Seen in these ways, abduction has a significantly practical character, precisely because it is a form of inference that satisfices rather than maximizes its response to the agent's cognitive target.The Reach of Abduction will be necessary reading for researchers, graduatestudents and senior undergraduates in logic, computer science, AI, belief dynamics, argumentation theory, cognitive psychology and neuroscience, linguistics, forensic science, legal reasoning and related areas.Key features:- Reach of Abduction is fully integrated with a background logic of cognitive systems.- The most extensive coverage compared to competitive works.- Demonstrates not only that abduction is a form of ignorance preservinginference but that it is a mode of inference that is wholly rational.- Demonstrates the satisficing rather than maximizing character ofabduction.- The development of formal models of abduction is considerably more extensive than one finds in existing literature. It is an especially impressive amalgam of sophisticatedconcept... analysis and extensive logical modelling.
  • Reliability, Maintainability and Risk

    Practical Methods for Engineers including Reliability Centred Maintenance and Safety-Related Systems
    • 7th Edition
    • David J. Smith
    • English
    For over 30 years, Reliability, Maintainability and Risk has been recognised as a leading text for reliability and maintenance professionals. Now in its seventh edition, the book has been updated to remain the first choice for professional engineers and students. The seventh edition incorporates new material on important topics including software failure, the latest safety legislation and standards, product liability, integrity of safety-related systems, as well as delivering an up-to-date review of the latest approaches to reliability modelling, including cutsec ranking. It is also supported by new detailed case studies on reliability and risk in practice.
  • Implementing Database Security and Auditing

    • 1st Edition
    • Ron Ben Natan
    • English
    This book is about database security and auditing. You will learn many methods and techniques that will be helpful in securing, monitoring and auditing database environments. It covers diverse topics that include all aspects of database security and auditing - including network security for databases, authentication and authorization issues, links and replication, database Trojans, etc. You will also learn of vulnerabilities and attacks that exist within various database environments or that have been used to attack databases (and that have since been fixed). These will often be explained to an “internals” level. There are many sections which outline the “anatomy of an attack” – before delving into the details of how to combat such an attack. Equally important, you will learn about the database auditing landscape – both from a business and regulatory requirements perspective as well as from a technical implementation perspective.
  • Mergers and Acquisitions Security

    Corporate Restructuring and Security Management
    • 1st Edition
    • Edward Halibozek + 1 more
    • English
    In reaction to the continually changing business climate companies develop many business strategies to increase their competitiveness and improve profitability. Companies regularly reshape themselves continually exploring new markets and developing new products. When they can't expand into new markets or develop new products on their own, they seek alternatives. These alternatives include merging with or acquiring other companies to create a single more capable company. Companies acquire other companies for a wide variety of reasons. In some cases company survival may actually be the reason. What does this condition mean to the security professional? In the course of mergers and acquisitions, security plays a vital role in helping to make the endeavor successful. There are numerous titles on the business aspects of M&A such as the ones listed below. However, this unique book focuses on the role security plays in helping to make a merger, acquisition or divestiture successful. It addresses the fundamental security elements that are required to support the effort. In addition, it provides an integrated "how to" approach to implementing M&A security complete with methods and processes that have been quickly and cost-effectively implemented.