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Pekka Neittaanmäki, Sergey Repin and Tero Tuovinen (Eds.). Mathematical Modeling and Optimization of Complex Structures; Series: Computational Methods in Applied Sciences. Springer International Publishing AG, Switzerland; 2016. E-book, XXI, 328 pages, ISBN: 9783319235646, Hard-cover ISBN: 9783319235639, Library of Congress Control Number: 2015947948, DOI . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the book "Monetary Policy Rules," edited by John B. Taylor. It contains papers by seventeen authors from a conference about monetary policy. Most of the papers present models in which monetary policy can be evaluated, and they evaluate a common set of monetary policy rules. The editor's introduction provides a summary of the volume and of the implications of the cross-model comparisons of the effects of the various policy rules, and his own contribution studies the historical evolution of monetary policy rules and their effects. The book is about the Taylor rule. This is a policy rule that specifies changes in the central bank's interest rate according to what is happening to two variables, real output and inflation. The conclusions from the cross-model comparison of rules are as follow. A Taylor rule, like what is estimated by ordinary least squares from post-1982 U.S. data, performs well in most models. Performance can be improved, in terms of inflation and the variability of output by making the coefficients in the Taylor rule larger, so that interest rates are more responsive to inflation and the output gap.

Mathematical modeling allows flexibility for a project-based experience. We share details of our regular capstone course, successful for virtually 100% of our math majors for almost two decades. Our research-like approach in this course accommodates a variety of student backgrounds and interests, and has produced some award-winning student conference presentations. This process satisfies some national guidelines in helping students practice good mathematical investigation, effective use of technology, and competent written and oral communication. The timeline, structure, rubric, development of student presentation skills, and reflections that are shared could be useful in a variety of project-based curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews the book "A Guided Tour of Mathematical Methods for the Physical Sciences," by Roel Snieder.

This article reviews the book "Modelling the Economy and the Environment," by Bjarne Madsen, C. Jensen-Butler, Jørgen Birk Mortensen, and Anne M. Bruun Christensen.

Reviews the book "Mathematical Methods in Scattering Theory and Biomedical Technology," edited by G. Dassios, D. I. Fotiadis, K. Kiriaki and C. V. Massalas.

Reviews the book "Chaos Theory in Economics: Methods, Models and Evidence," edited by W. Davis Dechert.

Reviews the book 'Mathematical Models in Ecology,' edited by J.N.R. Jeffers.

Reviews the book "Economic and Financial Modeling With Mathematica," edited by Hal R. Varian.

The article presents a review of the book "Mathematical Model Building in Economics and Industry."

The article reviews the book "Modelling Forest Systems," edited by A. Amaro, D. Reed and P. Soares.

Students must come to appreciate that mathematics is not only useful in understanding these things, but, in the case of the human world, mathematical models are often the actual basis of things in their experience. Besides the overall importance of applying mathematics in the world as reflected in the importance of STEM, these challenges constitute core motivations for Niss and Blum's book. In chapter 4, Niss and Blum look at various lists that have been made over the years leading to the explicit competencies related to modeling in the Danish KOM project which Niss directed. Mathematical modeling is involved to some degree in all applied mathematics, that is, all mathematics used to describe the world around us, both the world of nature and that of human activity and production. [Extracted from the article]

Reviews the book "Systems and Simulation," by Dimitris N. Chorofas.

The article reviews the book "Composites with Micro- and Nano-Structure: Computational Modeling and Experiments," edited by E. Oñate.

This article reviews the book "Stochastic Volatility: Selected Readings," which was edited by Neil Shephard as part of the "Advanced Texts in Econometrics series."

The article reviews the book "Simultaneous Equation Models with Measurement Error," by Vincent J. Geraci.

The article reviews the book "Nonlinear Models," Vols. I and II, edited by Herman J. Bierens and A. Ronald Gallant.

The options-based approach to studying irreversible investment under uncertainty emphasizes that the opportunity cost of investment includes the value of the option to wait that is extinguished when an investment is undertaken. Thus, the investment decision is affected by the determinants of the value of this option. We extend and generalize a standard model of irreversible investment by introducing a second fully reversible technology, and also incorporate partial reversibility by allowing capital to be abandoned at a cost. As in the existing literature, we find that the threshold value of the "underlying asset" (in our case, demand) at which investment takes place is increasing in the uncertainty of demand. We also find that the value of the option and thus the threshold value of the option value multiple at which investment takes place may be either increasing or decreasing in the uncertainty of demand. In addition, we find that for the case in which capital is used to replace the reversible technology, the threshold value of the option value multiple is insensitive to the degree of reversibility of capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews the book "Theory Construction: From Verbal to Mathematical Formulations," by Hubert M. Blalock.

Reviews the book "Global International Economic Models: Selected Papers From an IIASA Conference," edited by Bert G. Hickman.

Reviews the book "Optima and Equilibria: An Introduction to Nonlinear Analysis," by Jean-Pierre Aubin.

This piece briefly introduces my Painting By Numbers, which aims to take the core messages of the QL/QR community from academic and professional circles to the rest of the citizenry. I describe the book in the context of the critical need for the most basic numeracy tools to help consumers of news, information, and analysis--delivered through traditional and contemporary social media outlets--determine where a reported numerical result lies on the scale from utter nonsense to a widely established and accepted "fact." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reviews Hofmann’s (2012) An Introduction to Modern CBT: Psychological Solutions to Mental Health Problems. Hofmann’s book is a new tool in the struggle to disseminate CBT to the uninitiated and to train new clinicians in the basic elements of cognitive behavioral treatments. This book is an accessible introduction to basic cognitive behavioral models and techniques across a variety of conditions, with ample hypothetical case material to illustrate the approaches described. The book provides a theoretical introduction to CBT, discusses the general processes and procedures used in treatment, illustrates the approach in 10 specific problem areas, and summarizes empirical support for the approaches described. Particularly helpful are the clinical examples, learning objectives, suggested exercises, and sample dialogues that are provided. While the book tends to give less attention to the behavioral tradition in CBT, and is not intended to illustrate the use of CBT in complex cases or diverse populations, it achieves the author’s goal of providing a primer on both traditional CBT techniques and emerging CBT technologies. Students, new clinicians, allied health professionals, and patients can benefit from this important work. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article reviews the book "Applied Mixed Models in Medicine," 2nd edition, by H. Brown and R. Prescott.

Reviews the non-fiction book 'Sliceforms: Mathematical Models from Paper Sections,' by John Sharp.

In this article, the author responses towards the comments and feedbacks of Wendy Parker, Jay Odenbaugh, and Bill Wimsatt on his book "Simulation and Similarity: Using Models to Understand the World." Topics include the arguments of Parker on account of similarity and weighted feature matching (WFM), the views of Odenbaugh on the ontology of mathematics, distinction between models and model descriptions, and the comments of Wimsatt about differences between scientific models and experiments.

Reviews the book "Utility Theories: Measurements and Applications," edited by Ward Edwards.

The article reviews the book "Mathematical Models of Sociology," edited by P. Krishnan.

Reviews the book "Mathematical Models for Social Psychology," edited by Wilhelm F. Kempf and Bruno H. Repp.

Reviews the book "Theory Construction: From Verbal to Mathematical Formulations," by Hubert M. Blalock, Jr.

The article reviews the book "Model Selection and Model Averaging," by G. Claeskens and N. L. Hjort.

The article reviews the book "Advances in Latent Variable Mixture Models," by Gregory R. Hancock and Karen M. Samuelson.

The article reviews the book "Dynamic Stability of Structures," by Wei-Chau Xie.

The article reviews the book "Semiparametric Modeling of Implied Volatility," by Matthias R. Fengler.

Reviews the book 'Mathematical Modelling for Water Pollution Control Processes,' by Thomas M. Keinath and Martin Wanielista.