For the past 30 years international monetary economists have believed that exchange rate models cannot outperform the random walk in out-of-sample forecasting as a result of the 1983 paper written by Richard Meese and Kenneth Rogoff. Marking the culmination of their extensive research into the Meese-Rogoff puzzle, Moosa and Burns challenge the orthodoxy by demonstrating that the naïve random walk model can be outperformed by exchange rate models when forecasting accuracy is measured by met...

The book presents arguments against the taxpayers'-funded bailing out of failed financial institutions, and puts forward suggestions to circumvent the TBTF problem, including some preventive measures. It ultimately argues that a failing financial institution should be allowed to fail without fearing an apocalyptic outcome.

Navigate the world's belief systems with this faith-filled resource!Want to learn more about Judaism? Confused about Confucianism? This book is the answer to your prayers! World Religions DeMYSTiFieD is filled with the knowledge you need to ace a religion exam or satisfy your own curiosity.Written by a professor of religion, World Religions DeMYSTiFieD gives you a tour of belief systems found around the globe. You will learn about the world's major relig...

This book explores how South Africa’s histories of colonialism and apartheid, together with cultural and social norms, shape how primary school teachers understand and respond to men’s absence and presence in the early years of schooling. It shows that explanations for why men do—or do not—teach young children are not neutral, but are embedded in complex, gendered processes that reflect the country’s distinctive socio-political landscape. In doing so, these interpretations often reproduce ...

When Things Went South is a collection of four short stories that will take you somewhere new. Exploring dark tones, each story enters the world of a unique character. From a struggling rock band in a Muslim region, to a repressed high-school teacher, When Things Went South offers a surprise at every turn. Originally written for web-series and films, they have been revisited and expanded for this new collection

Moderate to severe earthquakes can cause vast damage to buildings and their foundations, endangering the lives of residents and leading to complex and costly search, rescue, and clean-up efforts. Seismic Retrofit of Buildings provides in-demand information on state-of-the-art technology and materials that are reshaping the field, with a particular focus on prefabricated, moment-resisting steel portal frames.The book's gradual introduction of performance-based plastic design concepts primes...

This book provides an overview of the National Dialogue design process in fragile settings at the national, regional, and international levels in the MENA region. Itprovides acomparative analysis at the international level by examining the Yemeni NDC 2013 with those of Afghanistan and Ethiopia, and at the regional level, focusing on Iraq and Tunisia. It also goes beyond the traditional exploration of political and social conflicts by adding a rich theoretical layer of analysis of Humanitar...

Impressive engineering advances have occurred that can curb the impact of seismic events on residential properties, commercial edifices, architectural heritage, and infrastructure. Written by a university professor with decades of on-site experience, Construction of Earthquake-Resistant Concrete and Steel Structures offers up-to-date information and technical competence with the aim of supporting understanding of fundamental concepts for concrete and steel structures, shell elements, and r...

We often get to hear about the next big fundraise that a startup made and the large plans that they are about to unleash. Entrepreneurs are optimistic people and most often, they initiate the fundraising plan without thinking about what follows. The journey of a startup starts to feel like a journey from one bankruptcy to the next. Many of us have to project a very successful façade to the outside world and do not talk about the struggles of a startup. This book is a chronicle of the ups a...

Only relatively recently has the research community embraced fracture mechanics as the conceptual framework to capture the cracking of concrete. As many factors affect crack development and propagation, the complex subject matter is still being thoroughly studied from different angles to ensure effective applicability in practical scenarios. With its gradually progressive pedagogical approach, Concrete Fracture Mechanics: Failure Analysis, Modeling, and Applied Examples of Reinforcement of...

In this book, the author attempts to debunk some myths about Western exceptionalism and to evaluate critically the characteristics that make the West superior to the Rest. The author suggests that the West does not represent a homogenous group of countries and that the most common characteristic of the core Western countries is imperialism. The author goes on to provide a detailed critique of the proclaimed characteristics of Western countries, including democracy, human rights, judicial i...