It is widely acknowledged that many financial modelling techniques failed during the financial crisis, and in our post-crisis environment many techniques are being reconsidered. This single volume provides a guide to lessons learned for practitioners and a reference for academics. Including reviews of traditional approaches, real examples, and case studies, contributors consider portfolio theory; methods for valuing equities and equity derivatives, interest rate derivatives, and hybrid products; and techniques for calculating risks and implementing investment strategies. Describing new approaches without losing sight of their classical antecedents, this collection of original articles presents a timely perspective on our post-crisis paradigm. - Highlights pre-crisis best classical practices, identifies post-crisis key issues, and examines emerging approaches to solving those issues - Singles out key factors one must consider when valuing or calculating risks in the post-crisis environment - Presents material in a homogenous, practical, clear, and not overly technical manner

EPUB and EPDF available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. This original volume brings together academics and activists from Europe to think creatively about the social and environmental imbalances of global production and how to reform the current economic system.

Since passage of the of No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, academic researchers, econometricians, and statisticians have been exploring various analytical methods of documenting students‘ academic progress over time. Known as value-added models (VAMs), these methods are meant to measure the value a teacher or school adds to student learning from one year to the next. To date, however, there is very little evidence to support the trustworthiness of these models. What is becoming increasingly evident, yet often ignored mainly by policymakers, is that VAMs are 1) unreliable, 2) invalid, 3) nontransparent, 4) unfair, 5) fraught with measurement errors and 6) being inappropriately used to make consequential decisions regarding such things as teacher pay, retention, and termination. Unfortunately, their unintended consequences are not fully recognized at this point either. Given such, the timeliness of this well-researched and thoughtful book cannot be overstated. This book sheds important light on the debate surrounding VAMs and thereby offers states and practitioners a highly important resource from which they can move forward in more research-based ways.

This book offers innovative ideas and frameworks for sustainable strategizing to advance business by scaling-up its positive impact, which is so urgently needed at this time in the 21st century. It shows practitioners how to effectively deal with socio-ecological systems’ disruptions to their operating environments and play an active role in transforming markets toward a sustainable future. In short, the book demonstrates how to make business sense of sustainability, highlighting new approaches and examples that translate sustainability into strategy and action. The ultimate goal is to provide a path toward a thriving future for both business and society. This book was written for strategy practitioners and decision makers who want to understand why sustainable strategizing is important in today’s business world and are seeking actionable business knowledge they can apply in their companies. It was also written for students of management and can be used as a supplemental text to support traditional graduate and undergraduate management courses.

Learn the fundamentals of market research with this bestselling guide that delivers an overview of the whole process, from planning a project and executing it, what tools to use, through to analysis and presenting the findings. Market Research in Practice provides a practical and robust introduction to the subject, providing a clear step-by-step guide to managing market research and how to effectively to obtain the most reliable results. Written by an industry expert with over 35 years' practical experience in running a successful market research agency, tips and advice are included throughout to ground the concepts in business reality. This text also benefits from real-world examples from companies including Adidas, Marks & Spencer, Grohe and General Motors. Now in its fourth edition, Market Research in Practice is now fully updated to capture the latest changes and developments in the field and explores new tools of qualitative research using online methods as well as expanding further on online surveys such as SurveyMonkey. Accompanied by a range of templates, surveys and resources for lecturers, this is an invaluable guide for students of research methods, researchers, marketers and users of market research.

Exploring the Cloud Computing (CC) commercial landscape as it matures; this book asserts that the key ingredient in sustaining the Software as a Service (SaaS) business model is subscription renewal. Chronicling the evolution and future trajectory of the CC concept, the authors examine the new paradigm it is creating for the distribution of computer software applications among business-to-business (B2B) clients. CC enabled SaaS has been fundamentally changing the revenue expectations and business model for the application software industry, and impacting on how SaaS providers pursue, acquire and retain B2B clients. Securing SaaS subscription renewal is critical to the survival and prosperity of this business as attrition can have a significant impact on the financial viability of SaaS businesses based on this model. Focusing on the B2B client and the SaaS industry dependency on renewal subscriptions delivered through the CC channel, the primary research presented in this book seeks to examine the key drivers behind the B2B SaaS subscription renewal decision and, in doing so, to explore the recurring revenue framework for the Cloud SaaS business.

Econophysics explores the parallels between physics and economics and is an exciting topic that is attracting increasing attention. However there is a lack of literature that explains the topic from a broad perspective. This book introduces advanced undergraduates and graduate students in physics and engineering to the topic from this outlook, and is accompanied by rigorous mathematics which ensures that this will also be a good guide for established researchers in the field as well as researchers from other fields, such as mathematics and statistics, who are interested in the topic. Key features: Presents a multidisciplinary approach that will be of interest to students and researchers from physics, engineering, mathematics, statistics, and other physical sciences Accompanied by Python code with further learning opportunities, available for readers to download from the CRC Press website. Accessible to both students and researchers Carlo R. da Cunha is an associate professor of physics and engineering physics at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and has been since 2011. Dr. da Cunha received his M.Sc. Degree from the West Virginia University in 2001 and his Ph.D. degree from Arizona State University in 2005. He was a postdoctoral researcher at McGill University in Canada in 2006 and an assistant professor of engineering at the University Federal de Santa Catarina between 2007 and 2011. He has been a guest professor at the Technische Universität Wien (Austria), Chiba University (Japan) and Arizona State University (US). His research revolves around the physics of complex systems where he has been drawing parallels between physical and economic systems from quantum to social levels. To access additional resources please take a lookhere.

Creative Industry practices are increasingly manifested through hybrid models and methods and emerging sub-sectors. With ever finer dividing lines between form and content, product and service, participation and consumption, the distinctions between sectors are increasingly blurred, while new, convergent models emerge. Reflecting this fluid context, this book provides a new perspective on strategy in the Creative Industries. Based on extensive original research and live empirical data derived from case studies, interviews, and observations with creative managers, it reveals strategic decision-making by analysing business manoeuvres and stages of innovation in the Creative Industries. Through analysing the interactive features of aesthetically driven information assets, and how new user/consumer cultures are applied, it uncovers the principles that are transforming strategy in the Creative Industries. This innovative volume will be of significant interest to scholars, advanced students and practitioners in the Creative Industries as well as well as industry consultancies and practitioners.

Rethinking Return on Investment: The Challenge of Accountable Meaningful Use offers a timely exploration of the value achieved through the Meaningful Use of electronic health records and other components of the HITECH legislation. The authors provide a look back at how ROI of health IT has typically been measured and explore how Meaningful Use regulations are driving healthcare organizations to adopt a value-based purchasing model--thus challenging readers to rethink how they define the ROI of health IT. The authors examine Meaningful Use within a three-stage Value Management Framework: value identification, value realization and value optimization. To assist organizations in evaluating how to drive value out of an investment in people, processes and technology, the book includes numerous value maps for measuring a project's benefits, such as quality improvement, care management and cost reduction. The authors conclude by setting the stage for how the current impact of Accountable Meaningful Use will continue to transform the healthcare delivery system for years to come.

Information value and quality can be considered an essential factor to evaluate both conceptual and practical contributions in organizational, technical, and scientific tasks and projects. It is important to effectively observe and implement these concepts in real organizational plans and efforts. Rethinking the Conceptual Base for New Practical Applications in Information Value and Quality discusses the re-evaluation of the conceptual base of information value and quality found in different forms of media; and how these concepts can be analyzed in real applications and business scenarios. This book is a vital reference source for scholars, practitioners, IT specialists, and students interested in information and knowledge management.