Download or read book Reducing Uncertainty written by Thomas Fingar and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2011-07-20 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes what Intelligence Community (IC) analysts do, how they do it, and how they are affected by the political context that shapes, uses, and sometimes abuses their output. It is written by a 25-year intelligence professional.
Download or read book Reducing Uncertainty written by Thomas Fingar and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2011-07-20 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An look at what Intelligence Community analysts do and how, and how they are affected by the political context that shapes, uses and abuses their outputs. The US government spends billions of dollars every year to reduce uncertainty: to monitor and forecast everything from the weather to the spread of disease. In other words, we spend a lot of money to anticipate problems, identify opportunities, and avoid mistakes. A substantial portion of what we spend—over $50 billion a year—goes to the US Intelligence Community. Reducing Uncertainty describes what Intelligence Community analysts do, how they do it, and how they are affected by the political context that shapes, uses, and sometimes abuses their output. In particular, it looks at why IC analysts pay more attention to threats than to opportunities, and why they appear to focus more on warning about the possibility of “bad things” happening than on providing the input necessary for increasing the likelihood of positive outcomes. The book is intended to increase public understanding of what IC analysts do, to elicit more relevant and constructive suggestions for improvement from outside the Intelligence Community, to stimulate innovation and collaboration among analysts at all grade levels in all agencies, and to provide a core resource for students of intelligence. The most valuable aspect of this book is the in-depth discussion of National Intelligence Estimates (NIE)—what they are, what it means to say that they represent the “most authoritative judgments of the Intelligence Community,” why and how they are important, and why they have such high political salience and symbolic importance. The final chapter lays out, from an insider’s perspective, the story of the flawed Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) NIE and its impact on the subsequent Iran nuclear NIE—paying particular attention to the heightened political scrutiny the latter received in Congress following the Iraq NIE debacle. Praise for Reducing Uncertainty “This is a well-documented, well-written piece by a former high-ranking member of the intelligence community . . . . Recommended.” —CHOICE “Fingar provides a clear and useful tour of how intelligence analysis is produced.” —Political Science Quarterly “Tom Fingar provides a frank, detailed examination of the challenges to and successes of the U.S. Intelligence Community. In doing so, he reveals insights and strategies that directly address our national security needs. High-stakes examples described by Fingar provide an insider-account only he can provide. The result is riveting and informative.” —William J. Perry, Secretary of Defense for the United States, 1994 to 1997
Download or read book Risk and Uncertainty Reduction by Using Algebraic Inequalities written by Michael T. Todinov and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2020-06-02 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book covers the application of algebraic inequalities for reliability improvement and for uncertainty and risk reduction. It equips readers with powerful domain-independent methods for reducing risk based on algebraic inequalities and demonstrates the significant benefits derived from the application for risk and uncertainty reduction. Algebraic inequalities: • Provide a powerful reliability improvement, risk and uncertainty reduction method that transcends engineering and can be applied in various domains of human activity • Present an effective tool for dealing with deep uncertainty related to key reliability-critical parameters of systems and processes • Permit meaningful interpretations which link abstract inequalities with the real world • Offer a tool for determining tight bounds for the variation of risk-critical parameters and complying the design with these bounds to avoid failure • Allow optimising designs and processes by minimising the deviation of critical output parameters from their specified values and maximising their performance This book is primarily for engineering professionals and academic researchers in virtually all existing engineering disciplines.
Download or read book Risk Uncertainty and Profit written by Frank H. Knight and published by Cosimo, Inc.. This book was released on 2006-11-01 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A timeless classic of economic theory that remains fascinating and pertinent today, this is Frank Knight's famous explanation of why perfect competition cannot eliminate profits, the important differences between "risk" and "uncertainty," and the vital role of the entrepreneur in profitmaking. Based on Knight's PhD dissertation, this 1921 work, balancing theory with fact to come to stunning insights, is a distinct pleasure to read. FRANK H. KNIGHT (1885-1972) is considered by some the greatest American scholar of economics of the 20th century. An economics professor at the University of Chicago from 1927 until 1955, he was one of the founders of the Chicago school of economics, which influenced Milton Friedman and George Stigler.
Download or read book Managing Banking Risks written by Eddie Cade and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-11-26 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Banking and financial services are some of the fastest-growing industries in the world's developed countries. As growth is spurred on by huge demand for new and improved services, bankers face the daunting and difficult challenges of reducing risks and uncertainty at a time of unprecedented innovation and prosperity. Managing Banking Risks fills a gap in banking literature by providing a professional and sophisticated risk planner--for bank directors, executives, and managers at every operational level. This important work covers the full range of banking risks that operation managers and executives need to understand--from liquidity risk to price risk to operating risk.
Download or read book How to Measure Anything written by Douglas W. Hubbard and published by Wiley. This book was released on 2010-03-25 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now updated with new research and even more intuitive explanations, a demystifying explanation of how managers can inform themselves to make less risky, more profitable business decisions This insightful and eloquent book will show you how to measure those things in your own business that, until now, you may have considered "immeasurable," including customer satisfaction, organizational flexibility, technology risk, and technology ROI. Adds even more intuitive explanations of powerful measurement methods and shows how they can be applied to areas such as risk management and customer satisfaction Continues to boldly assert that any perception of "immeasurability" is based on certain popular misconceptions about measurement and measurement methods Shows the common reasoning for calling something immeasurable, and sets out to correct those ideas Offers practical methods for measuring a variety of "intangibles" Adds recent research, especially in regards to methods that seem like measurement, but are in fact a kind of "placebo effect" for management – and explains how to tell effective methods from management mythology Written by recognized expert Douglas Hubbard-creator of Applied Information Economics-How to Measure Anything, Second Edition illustrates how the author has used his approach across various industries and how any problem, no matter how difficult, ill defined, or uncertain can lend itself to measurement using proven methods.
Download or read book Taming Uncertainty written by Ralph Hertwig and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2019-08-13 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of the cognitive tools that the mind uses to grapple with uncertainty in the real world. How do humans navigate uncertainty, continuously making near-effortless decisions and predictions even under conditions of imperfect knowledge, high complexity, and extreme time pressure? Taming Uncertainty argues that the human mind has developed tools to grapple with uncertainty. Unlike much previous scholarship in psychology and economics, this approach is rooted in what is known about what real minds can do. Rather than reducing the human response to uncertainty to an act of juggling probabilities, the authors propose that the human cognitive system has specific tools for dealing with different forms of uncertainty. They identify three types of tools: simple heuristics, tools for information search, and tools for harnessing the wisdom of others. This set of strategies for making predictions, inferences, and decisions constitute the mind's adaptive toolbox. The authors show how these three dimensions of human decision making are integrated and they argue that the toolbox, its cognitive foundation, and the environment are in constant flux and subject to developmental change. They demonstrate that each cognitive tool can be analyzed through the concept of ecological rationality—that is, the fit between specific tools and specific environments. Chapters deal with such specific instances of decision making as food choice architecture, intertemporal choice, financial uncertainty, pedestrian navigation, and adolescent behavior.
Download or read book Natural Hazard Uncertainty Assessment written by Karin Riley and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-12-12 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uncertainties are pervasive in natural hazards, and it is crucial to develop robust and meaningful approaches to characterize and communicate uncertainties to inform modeling efforts. In this monograph we provide a broad, cross-disciplinary overview of issues relating to uncertainties faced in natural hazard and risk assessment. We introduce some basic tenets of uncertainty analysis, discuss issues related to communication and decision support, and offer numerous examples of analyses and modeling approaches that vary by context and scope. Contributors include scientists from across the full breath of the natural hazard scientific community, from those in real-time analysis of natural hazards to those in the research community from academia and government. Key themes and highlights include: Substantial breadth and depth of analysis in terms of the types of natural hazards addressed, the disciplinary perspectives represented, and the number of studies included Targeted, application-centered analyses with a focus on development and use of modeling techniques to address various sources of uncertainty Emphasis on the impacts of climate change on natural hazard processes and outcomes Recommendations for cross-disciplinary and science transfer across natural hazard sciences This volume will be an excellent resource for those interested in the current work on uncertainty classification/quantification and will document common and emergent research themes to allow all to learn from each other and build a more connected but still diverse and ever growing community of scientists. Read an interview with the editors to find out more: https://eos.org/editors-vox/reducing-uncertainty-in-hazard-prediction
Download or read book Managing Uncertainty in Organizational Communication written by Michael W. Kramer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-04-04 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines uncertainty reduction theory (URT) and research applicable to organizational settings; it proposes a model for a Theory of Managing Uncertainty (TMU). For scholars/students in organizational/interpersonal/group communication.
Download or read book Reducing Uncertainty in Reading written by Beverly Kemble Duval and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reducing Uncertainty in Laboratory Sediment Toxicity Tests written by Burton C. Sudel and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Uncertainty Advantage written by Gary S. Lynch and published by Archway Publishing. This book was released on 2017-01-12 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Risk and uncertainty may sound scary, but todays best business leaders are navigating both to gain strategic advantage over competitorsand you can, too. This guide for business leaders examines risk and opportunity through the lens of some of the worlds most respected visionaries, including Howard Schultz, Andy Grove, Peter Huntsman, John Krafcik, Peter Leibinger, Doug Hepper, and many more. These visionaries looked beyond financial performance to see opportunitiesand they did so by understanding uncertainty. Then, they decisively acted to create measurable results that coincided with the future they envisioned. Find out how they did it, and learn how to: identify, define, and convert uncertainty into value; become more opportunistic when facing uncertainty; develop the skill to spot where advantages are likely to emerge; and create an environment where managers and leaders complement each other. Filled with case studies on companies such as Hyundai, Starbucks, Roche, and Intel, this guide delivers proven ways to create value and leverage uncertainty. It is the culmination of a decade of research and interaction with dozens of companies and growth leaders who prove that pursuing a market driven strategy to navigating uncertainty will gain measurable market advantage.
Download or read book Uncertainty Based Ship Design Optimization written by Zuyuan Liu and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Uncertainty Mindset written by Vaughn Tan and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2020-07-28 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Innovation is how businesses stay ahead of the competition and adapt to market conditions that change in unpredictable and uncertain ways. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, high-end cuisine underwent a profound transformation. Once an industry that prioritized consistency and reliability, it turned into one where constant change was a competitive necessity. A top restaurant’s reputation and success have become so closely bound up with its ability to innovate that a new organizational form, the culinary research and development team, has emerged. The best of these R&D teams continually expand the frontiers of food—they invent a constant stream of new dishes, new cooking processes and methods, and even new ways of experiencing food. How do they achieve this nonstop novelty? And what can culinary research and development teach us about how organizations innovate? Vaughn Tan opens up the black box of elite culinary R&D to provide essential insights. Drawing on years of unprecedented access to the best and most influential culinary R&D teams in the world, he reveals how they exemplify what he calls the uncertainty mindset. Such a mindset intentionally incorporates uncertainty into organization design rather than simply trying to reduce risk. It changes how organizations hire, set goals, and motivate team members and leads organizations to work in highly unconventional ways. A revelatory look at the R&D kitchen, The Uncertainty Mindset upends conventional wisdom about how to organize for innovation and offers practical insights for businesses trying to become innovative and adaptable.
Download or read book Intelligent Systems in Oil Field Development under Uncertainty written by Marco A. C. Pacheco and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-04-27 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The decision to invest in oil field development is an extremely complex problem, even in the absence of uncertainty, due to the great number of technological alternatives that may be used, to the dynamic complexity of oil reservoirs - which involves mul- phase flows (oil, gas and water) in porous media with phase change, and to the c- plicated combinatorial optimization problem of choosing the optimal oil well network, that is, choosing the number and types of wells (horizontal, vertical, directional, m- tilateral) required for draining oil from a field with a view to maximizing its economic value. This problem becomes even more difficult when technical uncertainty and e- nomic uncertainty are considered. The former are uncertainties regarding the existence, volume and quality of a reservoir and may encourage an investment in information before the field is developed, in order to reduce these uncertainties and thus optimize the heavy investments required for developing the reservoir. The economic or market uncertainties are associated with the general movements of the economy, such as oil prices, gas demand, exchange rates, etc. , and may lead decision-makers to defer - vestments and wait for better market conditions. Choosing the optimal investment moment under uncertainty is a complex problem which traditionally involves dynamic programming tools and other techniques that are used by the real options theory.
Download or read book Uncertainty in Medicine written by Paul K.J. Han and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-07-09 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Medical uncertainty has been with us for centuries and remains a recurrent problem for patients, doctors, and researchers alike. Yet uncertainty in health care is still poorly understood and ineffectively managed; it is generally feared and avoided rather than directly confronted. This systemic disregard of uncertainty leads us to treat medical uncertainty as a pathological condition to be cured through the pursuit of knowledge, but often further medical knowledge begets further uncertainty in kind. Uncertainty in Medicine offers an alternative, multi-disciplinary perspective on this challenging problem. Integrating insights across clinical medicine and social science, Dr. Paul Han argues that uncertainty is an essential form of knowledge to be cultivated, rather than eradicated, in medical practice. He makes the case that the paradigm of medicine should be expanded to include not only the pursuit of medical knowledge but the treatment and palliation of medical uncertainty and its effects on physicians, other health professionals, and patients. Using clear language and a textbook approach, he analyzes the nature, etiology, and natural history of medical uncertainty, and develops a conceptual framework to guide its management. By promoting a more systematic way of conceptualizing the problem, this framework can enable clinicians and patients to better address medical uncertainty, and can help make uncertainty tolerance a more central focus of medical care. Rational and reassuring, Uncertainty in Medicine forges a new path for approaching medical uncertainty by arming readers from an array of disciplines with the tools they need to diagnose, treat, and confront its challenges more intentionally and effectively.
Download or read book Flexibility and Real Estate Valuation under Uncertainty written by David Geltner and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-02-23 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a revolutionary conceptual framework and practical tools to quantify uncertainty and recognize the value of flexibility in real estate development This book takes a practical "engineering" approach to the valuation of options and flexibility in real estate. It presents simple simulation models built in universal spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel®. These realistically reflect the varying and erratic sources of uncertainty and price dynamics that uniquely characterize real estate. The text covers new analytic procedures that are valuable for existing properties and enable a new, more profitable perspective on the planning, design, operation, and evaluation of large-scale, multi-phase development projects. The book thereby aims to significantly improve valuation and investment decision making. Flexibility and Real Estate Valuation under Uncertainty: A Practical Guide for Developers is presented at 3 levels. First, it introduces and explains the concepts underlying the approach at a basic level accessible to non-technical and non-specialized readers. Its introductory and concluding chapters present the important “big picture” implications of the analysis for economics and valuation and for project design and investment decision making. At a second level, the book presents a framework, a roadmap for the prospective analyst. It describes the practical tools in detail, taking care to go through the elements of the approach step-by-step for clarity and easy reference. The third level includes more technical details and specific models. An Appendix discusses the technical details of real estate price dynamics. Associated web pages provide electronic spreadsheet templates for the models used as examples in the book. Some features of the book include: • Concepts and tools that are simple and accessible to a broad audience of practitioners; • An approach relevant for all development projects; • Complementarity with the author's Commercial Real Estate Analysis & Investments—the most-cited real estate investments textbook on the market. Flexibility and Real Estate Valuation under Uncertainty: A Practical Guide for Developers is for everyone studying or concerned with the implementation of large-scale or multi-phase real estate development projects, as well as property investment and valuation more generally.
