Self-Utility


Book Description

Until the most unacceptable, primitive, massively bungled and rigged elections of 2007, which most observers agree was the worst and most shameful of its type anywhere, the world hardly realized that nowhere in sub-Saharan Africa have ordinary citizens been so disappointed, abused and severely traumatized by their leaders than in Nigeria. And nowhere in Nigeria are the people more brutalized, marginalized and oppressed by the leaders than in the Niger Delta. As we remember the human tragedy that was Rwanda and now glued to the sad and despicable images of Darfur, the world must also pause to see the riveting and equally disturbing images that are emerging from the Niger Delta. In the Creeks of Fire is the inside story of a people as they try to emancipate themselves from a terribly broken down Nigerian system. The people in the center of this struggle for justice and freedom have become simply known as the militants of the Niger Delta. The world cannot help but listen to their plight and the voices of those they are fighting for. The rippling effects of this struggle may touch you directly or indirectly wherever you live. And that's both the sad and powerful reality of humanity's inter-connectedness.




Lead by Driving Actions to Outcomes


Book Description

Dr. Listenberger is a visionary. He doesnt change what you see; he changes how you see it. Learn to focus on the results you want. See how to influence change in people, groups and organizations by repeating feed-back loops of Lead - Driving Actions to Outcomes. Use the axiom Ask-Act-Reward to direct others toward their successes. Sharing this process with others can leverage your success as well as build lasting friendships. Give the world your gift of leadership. Change lives. Change the future. Change the world. Part I starts with an inventory of who you are and how to mold yourself into the leader you want to be. Learn the theory of feed-back loops to implement change. Part II is about combining your strengths with the strengths of others to influence and change volunteer non-profit organizations from local to international.




Mastering Python for Finance


Book Description

If you are an undergraduate or graduate student, a beginner to algorithmic development and research, or a software developer in the financial industry who is interested in using Python for quantitative methods in finance, this is the book for you. It would be helpful to have a bit of familiarity with basic Python usage, but no prior experience is required.




Realistic Decision Theory


Book Description

Within traditional decision theory, common decision principles -- e.g. the principle to maximize utility -- generally invoke idealization; they govern ideal agents in ideal circumstances. In Realistic Decision Theory, Paul Weirch adds practicality to decision theory by formulating principles applying to nonideal agents in nonideal circumstances, such as real people coping with complex decisions. Bridging the gap between normative demands and psychological resources, Realistic Decision Theory is essential reading for theorists seeking precise normative decision principles that acknowledge the limits and difficulties of human decision-making.




Moral Choices for Our Future Selves


Book Description

This book investigates the relationship between our present and future selves. It focuses specifically on diachronic self-regarding decisions: choices involving our earlier and later selves, in which the earlier self makes a decision for the later self. The author connects the scientific understanding of the neurobehavioral processes at the core of individuals’ perceptions of their future selves with the philosophical reflection on individuals’ moral relationship with their future selves. She delineates a descriptive theory of the perception of the future self that is based on empirical evidence and that systematizes and integrates the current theoretical literature. She then argues for the morality of prudence and interprets diachronic self-regarding decisions as decisions between two agents— the earlier and later selves—that belong to the realm of intergenerational ethics, which regulates the relationship between contemporary people and future generations. Finally, the author provides a moral theory of prudence based on respect for one’s agency. This theory identifies what the present and the future selves owe to one another in diachronic self-regarding decisions. Moral Choices for Our Future Selves will be of interest to scholars and students working in ethics, moral psychology, philosophy of mind, and cognitive science.




Regulatory Choices


Book Description

Regulatory Choices offers the first comprehensive economic history of energy policy and its consequences for California, where some of the most innovative and far-ranging programs of regulatory reform have originated. The authors of this volume have gathered together an impressive wealth of material about actual policy decisions and their repercussions and have subjected their findings to astute economic analysis. This book will serve for years to come as an invaluable reference on the costs and effects of various energy policies. With its focus on bringing prices in alignment with the true cost of producing power and delivering it to the customer, the first part of the book outlines the issue of setting utility rates and considers some of the proposals to provide regulated industries with incentives to respond to economic and environmental concerns. The problems of energy supply occupy the second part of the book, which includes a survey of the costs of alternative energy sources and estimates of their environmental impacts, as well as a case study of the construction of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The book concludes by documenting the results of subsidy programs that were designed to target the development of wind power and residential energy conservation. Regulators, we learn, have a mixed record when it comes to managing the production of energy. Some conservation programs have enjoyed considerable economic success, particularly those that correct a lack of consumer information. Others, such as the renewable energy tax credits or programs designed to subsidize new technologies, have cost much more than the value of the energy they have saved. What emerges clearly from this study is that regulated industries are not immune from the forces of competition. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1991.










Combined Heating, Cooling & Power Handbook


Book Description

Many of the economic road blocks which have previously served to discourage the implementation of alternative power generation technologies can now be readily overcome through effective energy resource optimization. It is now a fact that solid financial returns can be achieved from combined heating, cooling and power generation projects by integrating energy and cost efficiency goals, and seeking a match between power production and heating/cooling requirements. This book is intended to serve as a road map to those seeking to realize optimum economic returns on such projects. The first section provides an introduction to basic heat and power thermodynamics, with an overview of heat and power generation technologies and equipment. The second section explores the infrastructure in which the project must be implemented, including environmental considerations, as well as utility rate structures. The third section provides detailed coverage of a broad range of technology types, and discusses how opportunities for their application can be identified and successfully exploited. The final section takes you through each step of project development, implementation and operation. Numerous examples are provided of actual field applications, with supporting documentation of system layouts and performance. The text is supplemented with more than one thousand graphics, including photos, cutaway drawings, layout schematics, performance curves, and data tables.




Journal of Proceedings


Book Description