In a corner of the world where most nation-states are deeply problematic, Costa Rica’s success is a puzzle. This scholarly yet accessible book explores which political decisions led to a very different outcome for the little country that could.Since a brief civil conflict in 1948, the Central American country of Costa Rica has built a stable democracy, with regular, scheduled, and fair elections and respect for human rights. The country has built public and private...

The Mexican Revolution lives on in literature, film, song, and popular culture. An enduring part of the cultural memory of Mexican and Mexican American communities, the revolution has shaped--and continues to be shaped by--later generations' experiences and conceptions of history. This volume offers instructors a variety of vantage points for teaching the revolution, including the role of women as family protectors and soldiers, petroculture, the heroization of famous revolutionary figures...

Lu and Elliot had a plan...until Ireland changed everything.If hard-of-hearing therapist Luisa Mendes knew her ears would one day fail her, she never would've chosen a listening profession. Time to pivot as an advice columnist, and make an unexpected connection to the magazine's new photographer. Too bad he also happens to be the toxic ex from one of her reader's letters.If photographer Elliot O'Bryan knew his influencer girlfriend would cheat on h...

Lonely Planet's local travel experts reveal all you need to know to plan the trip of a lifetime in this latest edition of our guide to the USA.Discover the USA's most popular experiences and best kept secrets from exploring Chicago's hidden architecture and lakefront beache, to immersing yourself in the New Orleans jazz scene, and hiking through miles of misty trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Build a trip to remember with Lonely Pla...

Learn to understand and implement the latest machine learning innovations to improve your investment performanceMachine learning (ML) is changing virtually every aspect of our lives. Today, ML algorithms accomplish tasks that – until recently – only expert humans could perform. And finance is ripe for disruptive innovations that will transform how the following generations understand money and invest.In the book, readers will learn how to:Stru...

Machine learning (ML) is changing virtually every aspect of our lives. Today ML algorithms accomplish tasks that until recently only expert humans could perform. As it relates to finance, this is the most exciting time to adopt a disruptive technology that will transform how everyone invests for generations. Listeners will learn how to structure Big Data in a way that is amenable to ML algorithms; how to conduct research with ML algorithms on that data; how to use supercomputing methods; a...

A memoir by the highest-ranking covert warrior to lift the veil of secrecy and offer a glimpse into the shadow wars that America has fought since the Vietnam Era.Enrique Prado found himself in his first firefight at age seven. The son of a middle-class Cuban family caught in the midst of the Castro Revolution, his family fled their war-torn home for the hope of a better life in America. Fifty years later, the Cuban refugee retired from the Central Intelligence Agen...

The Explosive National BestsellerA memoir by the highest-ranking covert warrior to lift the veil of secrecy and offer a glimpse into the shadow wars that America has fought since the Vietnam Era.Enrique Prado found himself in his first firefight at age seven. The son of a middle-class Cuban family caught in the midst of the Castro Revolution, his family fled their war-torn home for the hope of a better life in America. Fifty years later, th...

Successful investment strategies are specific implementations of general theories. An investment strategy that lacks a theoretical justification is likely to be false. Hence, an asset manager should concentrate her efforts on developing a theory rather than on backtesting potential trading rules. The purpose of this Element is to introduce machine learning (ML) tools that can help asset managers discover economic and financial theories. ML is not a black box, and it does not necessarily ov...

Life can change in an instant. The Last Payslip is a heartfelt guide for anyone who’s experienced job loss, career uncertainty, or the emotional rollercoaster of sudden change. Drawing from personal experience, Nenen Prado shares practical steps, premonitions, and reflections to help you:• Recognize early signs of professional shifts.• Heal from unexpected setbacks.• Rebuild confidence, clarity, and purpose.• Transform uncertainty into opportunity.Fi...

A frantic tale of escape by any means necessary, "Peace Keeper" will keep you on the edge of your seat. Dr. William Rutger has been called on by the Prime Minister himself to rescue a medically fragile patient during the Third World War. Through a series of mysterious and unexpected events, the good doctor begins to uncover the reason for their retrieval from enemy territory. Can Doctor Rutger successfully save the Fisher family and the state s...

Long gone are the times when investors could make decisions based on intuition. Modern asset management draws on a wide-range of fields beyond financial theory: economics, financial accounting, econometrics/statistics, management science, operations research (optimization and Monte Carlo simulation), and more recently, data science (Big Data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence). The challenge in writing an institutional asset management book is that when tools from these differe...