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A Course in Game Theory
Martin J. Osborne , and Ariel Rubinstein Manufacturer: The MIT Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0262650401 |
Book Description
A Course in Game Theory presents the main ideas of game theory at a level suitable for graduate students and advanced undergraduates, emphasizing the theory's foundations and interpretations of its basic concepts. The authors provide precise definitions and full proofs of results, sacrificing generalities and limiting the scope of the material in order to do so. The text is organized in four parts: strategic games, extensive games with perfect information, extensive games with imperfect information, and coalitional games. It includes over 100 exercises.Customer Reviews:
good read for those interested.......2007-03-01
A Decent Survey.......2007-02-06
Maybe for class but not for personal exploration..........2003-06-02
An essential course in game theory........2003-01-28
To much Math........2002-05-04
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The Real Estate Game: The Intelligent Guide To Decisionmaking And Investment
William J. Poorvu , and Jeffrey L. Cruikshank Manufacturer: Free Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 068485550X |
Amazon.com
Real estate is as much about people as it is about property, and, after location, success in real estate depends upon understanding the motives of those who play the game, because many critical decisions revolve around what real estate people think, how they act and why. The Real Estate Game, by William J. Poorvu and Jeffrey L. Cruikshank, is a clear, comprehensive overview illustrated with real-life experiences about individual investors, small developers, and moguls. Poorvu has developed and managed real estate and taught real estate investing at the Harvard Business School for over 35 years. This book is drawn from his course, and is designed to help investors make the right decisions derived from the right assumptions and to provide an insider's perspective on how to spot risks and develop strategies that provide protection and adequate investment returns.The book uses the analogy of a game to illustrate some of the intricate and unpredictable interactions in real estate deals, and it lays out the rules of the game, including identification of the key players and periods of play: concept, commitment, development, operation, reward, and reinvestment. Readers are taught to be "value investors," ready to buy at the right price at the right time, because the best opportunities come from buying at a discount-to-replacement cost. The value investor must be prepared to sell at the right juncture, and must not be compelled to be in the game when conditions make the game not worth playing.
The case studies that run through the book show how to evaluate, develop, and operate all kinds of real estate investments from the points of view of all involved in the process. There's an extensive appendix covering the different property types, and the authors' "back-of-the-envelope" method for analyzing the financial implications of a potential deal is probably worth the book's weight in gold. --Scott Harrison
Book Description
The Real Estate Game is a comprehensive guide to successful real estate investment from one of the masters in the field. Drawing upon four decades of experience developing, owning, and managing properties and on almost thirty years of teaching at the Harvard Business School, William J. Poorvu offers an insider's perspective on how to make smart decisions about real estate.
The real estate "game" is played by people, and it's the stories of real people that make Poorvu's introduction to the industry colorful and interesting. The reader meets players ranging from real estate moguls to small-scale developers to individual investors in exotic investment instruments. Their stories evolve throughout the book and illustrate how these people -- with all their complicated needs, talents, and motives -- fit into the larger process and context.
In clear and nontechnical language, Poorvu explains how variables -- players, properties, capital markets, and the external environment -- come together to influence the shape and outcome of a real estate deal. He explains the time frame for different kinds of real estate investments and walks the reader through the key "periods of play" in the real estate game: concept, commitment, development, operation, reward, and reinvestment.
The Real Estate Game introduces a simple but powerful "back-of-the-envelope" technique for analyzing the financial implications of a potential deal. Using this tool and others, Poorvu shows readers how to use direct investments, syndicates, and REITs to get into the real estate game across a broad range of property types: residential, office, hotel, industrial, and retail.
Offering unique insight into the ways that developers and investors can create value, The Real Estate Game is both a perfect introduction for the novice and an invaluable overview for the experienced professional.
Customer Reviews:
Great read for serious investors.......2007-09-01
Great for deepening understanding of subject..........2007-03-12
Not a get rich quick scheme.......2006-03-15
Best of the RE Investment Books!.......2003-12-18
A Sophisticated Yet Interesting Real Estate book.......2003-02-10
What this is, is a book about commercial real estate projects from concept, commitment, development, operations, and harvest. The authors bring a behind the scenes and insiders' approach to commercial development. He lays it out in the form of a game with properties, capital markets, players and external environment. One of the stories in the book is that of Bill Zeckendorf's classic assemblage of Swift slaughterhouses into the United Nations property and vicinity. Included in the book is the authors' commercial due diligence checklist. This book would be most interesting to a person involved in commercial real estate, someone interested in commercial real estate or someone interested in the business of commercial real estate. I think that this is the kind of book that you can refer back to time and time again. There is a lot of information in this book and it may even be a book that you will want to read more than once. It has a depth, and quality of information contained far superior to the average mass media real estate book without the dryness of a real estate textbook
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Multi-Objective Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms
Kalyanmoy Deb , and Deb Kalyanmoy Manufacturer: Wiley ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 047187339X |
Book Description
Evolutionary algorithms are relatively new, but very powerful techniques used to find solutions to many real-world search and optimization problems. Many of these problems have multiple objectives, which leads to the need to obtain a set of optimal solutions, known as effective solutions. It has been found that using evolutionary algorithms is a highly effective way of finding multiple effective solutions in a single simulation run.Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-02-26
Great book; a must for engineers and scientists alike.......2001-09-28
The Reference in Evolutionary Multiobjective Optimization.......2001-07-23
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Building Thinking Skills-Book 1
Howard Black Manufacturer: Critical Thinking Co ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0894552503 |
Book Description
Includes units on figural and verbal descriptions, similarities and differences, sequences, classifications, and analogies. Skills addressed include reading comprehension; describing shapes, things, and words; following directions; antonyms and synonyms; several types of analogy; deductive reasoning; parts of a whole; mapping and directionality; logical connectives; spelling and vocabulary; overlapping classes; pattern folding; tracking, rotation, and reflection; mental manipulation of two-dimensional objects. Reading level: grade 2; ability level: grades 2-4; 326 activities. Reproducible for single-classroom or single-home use.Customer Reviews:
So Fun.......2006-06-02
Great for all ages.......2004-09-08
I love this book!!!.......2002-08-26
My third-graders spatial skills were not well developed........1999-07-07
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Games of Strategy, Second Edition
Avinash K. Dixit , and Susan Skeath Manufacturer: W. W. Norton ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 0393924998 |
Book Description
Now available in a Second Edition, Games of Strategy remains the most accessible principles-level text for courses in game theory, addressing a remarkably broad range of concepts in a narrative that is both clear and compelling. Using resonant real-world examples, the authors simplify difficult theoretic ideas, helping students see the value of strategic thinking in a variety of situations. The text has been carefully updated for this Second Edition, including thorough revisions of the sections on sequential- and simultaneous-move games and those on voting and auctioning.This is an inviting introduction to game theory, offering students an engaging, comprehensive view of the discipline without assuming a prior knowledge of economics or complex mathematics (uses only high school algebra).
Customer Reviews:
bad book............2004-12-02
Excellent introduction to game theory.......2004-11-06
Excellent Starter.......2003-10-02
Although it keeps the mathematics rather minimal, you'll need to do your own workings to better understand the text. To get more from this book, you'll need to be involved in the examples the book provides... breezing through may not help you understand the theory better.
While I do read other books on game theory, I find myself going back to Games of Strategy to review the basics and the examples. The example on the tennis game has provided me some starting ideas on the issues I've to face in some research areas I'm working on.
From a student perspective.......2002-12-09
Positives: the book is written in a simple style with relatively good examples that promote conceptual understanding.
Negatives: the book is very poorly laid out. Some chapters don't seem to follow any logical progression, so the reader must frequently jump from one section to another. Additionally, the book doesn't utilize some fairly standard terms, and the index doesn't facilitate the book's use as a reference manual.
The reason I wrote this review was because I came online to try to find a better Game Theory textbook -- I ran into problem studying from this one.
Good and interesting introduction to game theory.......2001-05-03
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Behavioral Game Theory: Experiments in Strategic Interaction (The Roundtable Series in Behavioral Economics)
Colin F. Camerer Manufacturer: Princeton University Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 0691090394 |
Book Description
Game theory, the formalized study of strategy, began in the 1940s by asking how emotionless geniuses should play games, but ignored until recently how average people with emotions and limited foresight actually play games. This book marks the first substantial and authoritative effort to close this gap. Colin Camerer, one of the field's leading figures, uses psychological principles and hundreds of experiments to develop mathematical theories of reciprocity, limited strategizing, and learning, which help predict what real people and companies do in strategic situations. Unifying a wealth of information from ongoing studies in strategic behavior, he takes the experimental science of behavioral economics a major step forward. He does so in lucid, friendly prose.
Behavioral game theory has three ingredients that come clearly into focus in this book: mathematical theories of how moral obligation and vengeance affect the way people bargain and trust each other; a theory of how limits in the brain constrain the number of steps of "I think he thinks . . ." reasoning people naturally do; and a theory of how people learn from experience to make better strategic decisions. Strategic interactions that can be explained by behavioral game theory include bargaining, games of bluffing as in sports and poker, strikes, how conventions help coordinate a joint activity, price competition and patent races, and building up reputations for trustworthiness or ruthlessness in business or life.
While there are many books on standard game theory that address the way ideally rational actors operate, Behavioral Game Theory stands alone in blending experimental evidence and psychology in a mathematical theory of normal strategic behavior. It is must reading for anyone who seeks a more complete understanding of strategic thinking, from professional economists to scholars and students of economics, management studies, psychology, political science, anthropology, and biology.
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The Big Book of Business Games: Icebreakers, Creativity Exercises and Meeting Energizers
John W. Newstrom , and Edward E. Scannell Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0070464766 |
Book Description
Break the ice at your next meeting with The Big Book of Business Games!
In this exciting resource book, two of today's acknowledged games masters serve up a cookbook of activities that you can learn to use, guaranteed to generate a lively discussion, or simply give a group a "breather" from the monotony of a boring staff meeting or presentation. Each of the 75 group games and activities here is adapted from the best-selling Games Trainers Play series and shortened to suit the needs of managers and team leaders to use with their departments, staff, or committees.
Customer Reviews:
The Big Book of Business Games: Icebreakers, Creativity Exercises and Meeting Energizers.......2006-11-04
Icebreakers Only.......2006-07-09
Another "Big Book" that doesn't deliver.......2002-11-22
Chapter two of "The Big Book of Business Games" is titled, "How to Use This Book." My suggestion? As kindling or compost. In the book you will find 54 activities. The nine dot problem and the human knot are examples of the many common activities found in countless other books.
You'll also find suggestions for "presentation boosters." One "booster" example: Display two flip charts. On one ask what things were valued about how the meeting was run. On the other ask how future meetings might be improved. As part of the description you are reminded to "tear off the flip charts and return to your office. . .celebrate your success and change something needing improvement." In the book, the previous activity actually merits a two page description.
Applying their exercise to their book, I'd say I valued very little if anything. How might future books be improved? Provide NEW activities or suggest creative variations for the countless recycled exercises. Also, be certain the content is relevant to a business audience. A skilled facilitator will find a way to successfully use most any of the activities in this book. However, a skilled facilitator is also likely to have a number of better selections in her bag of tricks to choose from.
Once again if the price entices you to purchase this book, I'd suggest you keep exploring. You will find a number of resource books available on Amazon.com that are significantly better.
The big Book of Business Games.......2001-11-30
Great for the Price.......2000-02-19
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Games, Strategies, and Managers: How Managers Can Use Game Theory to Make Better Business Decisions
John McMillan Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0195108035 |
Book Description
"Business is a game--the greatest game in the world if you know how to play it," said IBM's founder Thomas J. Watson. He would probably agree that business negotiations are essentially the game of predicting what the other person will do. Faced with employees, subcontractors, salespeople and others, managers are continually called upon to make strategic decisions based on how someone else will act and react. How do the successful ones do it? Is it savvy? Guesswork? Even the most canny negotiators would be hard pressed to describe their own methods, which they generally develop intuitively over long and costly experience. But a key to becoming a top negotiator is now available to managers at all levels, in Games, Strategies, and Managers--the revealing new book that injects some science into the art of business decision-making. Adapted from the hottest new area of economic theory and based on the latest breakthroughs, Games, Strategies, and Managers goes far beyond the advice commonly offered to negotiators--the old saws, the tales about what worked once in Cleveland--to provide powerful insight into what's really going on beneath every negotiation. Using seven key questions as a starting point, it helps the executive strip away the distracting details of a situation. It doesn't matter if the issue is commissions, piece rates, royalties, managerial incentives, or cost-overrun provisions--the game is the same. The negotiator who recognizes these underlying rules and exploits them to best advantage will gain the upper hand, in formal negotiations as well as in dozens of everyday business situations. Of course, any game involves risk. Managers often have to make a decision without full knowledge of the consequences, and others' actions are not entirely predictable. Game theory explores how to take creative risks to get the strategic edge. Invaluable practical illustrations that show game theory in action include the setting of executives' incentives, the organizing of a network of subcontractors, and a behind-the-scenes look at how international trade negotiations really work. For the sales manager devising a commission-payment scheme to motivate salespeople, the procurement manager trying to get a subcontractor to limit production costs, the compensation committee designing a managerial incentive scheme, and beginning or experienced executives in all industries, Games, Strategies, and Managers shows how to excel at "the greatest game in the world." Even more than a powerful tool of business strategy, game theory is a valuable habit of mind--a way for executives to sharpen their thinking in business and in life. While experience may help you see the trees, game theory shows you the whole forest.
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Satisficing Games and Decision Making: With Applications to Engineering and Computer Science
Wynn C. Stirling Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0521817242 |
Book Description
We constantly make decisions which are simply "good enough" rather than optimal--a type of decision for which Wynn Stirling has adopted the word "satisficing". Most computer decision making algorithms, however, seek only the optimal solution based on rigid criteria and reject others. Outlining an alternative approach, this book uses novel algorithms and techniques to more closely model the way humans make decisions. It is, therefore, of interest to engineers, computer scientists and mathematicians working on artificial intelligence and expert systems.Download Description
In our day-to-day lives we constantly make decisions which are simply 'good enough' rather than optimal. Most computer-based decision making algorithms, on the other hand, doggedly seek only the optimal solution based on rigid criteria and reject any others. In this book, Professor Stirling outlines an alternative approach, using novel algorithms and techniques which can be used to find satisficing solutions. Building on traditional decision and game theory, these techniques allow decision-making systems to cope with more subtle situations where self and group interests conflict, perfect solutions can't be found and human issues need to be taken into account - in short, more closely modelling the way humans make decisions. The book will therefore be of great interest to engineers, computer scientists and mathematicians working on artificial intelligence and expert systems.
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Team Challenges: 170+ Group Activities to Build Cooperation, Communication, and Creativity
Kris Bordessa Manufacturer: Zephyr Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1569762015 |
Book Description
Team Challenges promotes effective communication skills and teamwork. Designed to offer teachers, facilitators, and parents a wide variety of activities to cultivate children's problem-solving skills while fostering cooperation between group members, the activities in the book utilize common household items and recycled materials, and require no more than 10 minutes, start to finish. Presented with a challenge from this book, kids work cooperatively to solve open ended problems which can incorporate structure building, improvisation skills and physical tasks. The challenges will teach children to experiment with building methods, discover new uses for everyday items, try on new personas, and express themselves as they work together toward a successful solution. Team members are required to think outside the box, communicate clearly, and cooperate with each other in order to complete each task.Activities include building structures from materials such as index cards, drinking straws, paper clips and sticky dots; moving items from one location to another without directly touching them; or presenting a skit portraying their solution to a hypothetical dilemma. Children will learn not only from each other, but also from observing how other teams navigate each task.
Pass some creative problem solving skills on to the kids (and adults!) in your life with the fun activities you'll find in Team Challenges. Adults who work with children will find this to be a great addition to their repertoire.
Ever found yourself with five extra minutes to spare, but nothing to discuss in that short amount of time? Turn to Chapter Five, and you'll find questions such as these:
*Name things that you carry on your back (a backpack, a baby, a monkey)
*Name things that you take out (garbage, Chinese food, an opponent)
*List things that are printed (newspapers, the alphabet, T-shirts)
Need a simple activity to occupy the kids and encourage them to work cooperatively? Challenge them to one of the Tiny Tasks, found in Chapter Four:
*Build a structure as tall as possible using 5 marshmallows and 10 drinking straws
*Create a bridge that will span 18" using 3 sticky notes and 10 cotton balls
*Create a continuous line as long as possible using 1 envelope and 5 recycled bottle caps
More detailed challenges are found in subsequent chapters.
Customer Reviews:
fun team challenges.......2007-08-14
A wide variety of great ideas. .......2006-12-16
3 activities with 1001 variations.......2006-11-23
From the Creativity Editor at BellaOnline.com.......2006-05-11
Must have! Wish I'd had it years ago!.......2005-12-21
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