100 SOA Questions brings together authoritative answers to the most crucial questions business, technical, and architectural decision-makers ask about SOA. It draws on the immense experience of two SOA experts who’ve participated in more than 100 SOA projects in the roles of architect, designer, consultant, technical manager, and strategist. Organized to reflect the Open Group’s Open Services Integration Maturity Model (OSIMM), this book provides fast, convenient access to information about all facets of SOA planning, implementation, management, and utilization. This book will be an invaluable resource for all executives, architects, and practitioners who have just started their SOA journey or are well underway. In-depth answers to questions about SOA topics such as • SOA Concepts and Planning • Business Strategy • Organization and Support • Governance • Methods and Techniques • Applications • Architecture • Information Management • Infrastructure • The Future of SOA 100 SOA Questions answers the most critical questions executives and practitioners have about SOA. Kerrie Holley and Dr. Ali Arsanjani draw on their unsurpassed experience from hundreds of SOA projects conducted worldwide. • Why should business stakeholders care about SOA? • What is the return on investment (ROI) of SOA adoption? • What is flexibility and how does SOA deliver on this promise? • Should service development be centralized in service centers? • How should services be identified or specified to maximize reuse? • How do SOA methods reduce the lifetime costs for applications? • How can organizational barriers to SOA success be removed? • What changes with application development when SOA is introduced? • How does architecture change as a result of SOA adoption? • What is a canonical message model? • How does the SOA infrastructure support events? • What are context-aware services?

100 SOA Questions brings together authoritative answers to the most crucial questions business, technical, and architectural decision-makers ask about SOA. It draws on the immense experience of two SOA experts who've participated in more than 100 SOA projects in the roles of architect, designer, consultant, technical manager, and strategist. Organized to reflect the Open Group's Open Services Integration Maturity Model (OSIMM), this book provides fast, convenient access to information about all facets of SOA planning, implementation, management, and utilization. This book will be an invaluable resource for all executives, architects, and practitioners who have just started their SOA journey or are well underway. In-depth answers to questions about SOA topics such as: SOA Concepts and Planning; Business Strategy; Organization and Support; Governance; Methods and Techniques; Applications; Architecture; Information Management; Infrastructure; The Future of SOA 100 SOA Questions answers the most critical questions executives and practitioners have about SOA. Kerrie Holley and Dr. Ali Arsanjani draw on their unsurpassed experience from hundreds of SOA projects conducted worldwide. Why should business stakeholders care about SOA? What is the return on investment (ROI) of SOA adoption? What is flexibility and how does SOA deliver on this promise? Should service development be centralized in service centers? How should services be identified or specified to maximize reuse? How do SOA methods reduce the lifetime costs for applications? How can organizational barriers to SOA success be removed? What changes with application development when SOA is introduced? How does architecture change as a result of SOA adoption? What is a canonical message model? How does the SOA infrastructure support events? What are context-aware services?

The Actuarial Probability Exam (P) Passbook(R) prepares you for your test by allowing you to take practice exams in the subjects you need to study. It provides hundreds of questions and answers in the areas that will likely be covered on your upcoming exam, including but not limited to: algebraic reasoning; understanding information presented in tables; basic actuarial reasoning; supervision; and other related areas.

An update of one of the most trusted books on constructing and analyzing actuarial models Written by three renowned authorities in the actuarial field, Loss Models, Third Edition upholds the reputation for excellence that has made this book required reading for the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) qualification examinations. This update serves as a complete presentation of statistical methods for measuring risk and building models to measure loss in real-world events. This book maintains an approach to modeling and forecasting that utilizes tools related to risk theory, loss distributions, and survival models. Random variables, basic distributional quantities, the recursive method, and techniques for classifying and creating distributions are also discussed. Both parametric and non-parametric estimation methods are thoroughly covered along with advice for choosing an appropriate model. Features of the Third Edition include: Extended discussion of risk management and risk measures, including Tail-Value-at-Risk (TVaR) New sections on extreme value distributions and their estimation Inclusion of homogeneous, nonhomogeneous, and mixed Poisson processes Expanded coverage of copula models and their estimation Additional treatment of methods for constructing confidence regions when there is more than one parameter The book continues to distinguish itself by providing over 400 exercises that have appeared on previous SOA and CAS examinations. Intriguing examples from the fields of insurance and business are discussed throughout, and all data sets are available on the book's FTP site, along with programs that assist with conducting loss model analysis. Loss Models, Third Edition is an essential resource for students and aspiring actuaries who are preparing to take the SOA and CAS preliminary examinations. It is also a must-have reference for professional actuaries, graduate students in the actuarial field, and anyone who works with loss and risk models in their everyday work. To explore our additional offerings in actuarial exam preparation visit www.wiley.com/go/actuarialexamprep.

As Derek Jeter strolls toward the plate, the announcer tosses out a smattering of statistics—from hitting streaks to batting averages. But what do the numbers mean? And how can America’s favorite pastime be a model for learning about statistics? Sandlot Stats is an innovative textbook that explains the mathematical underpinnings of baseball so that students can understand the world of statistics and probability. Carefully illustrated and filled with exercises and examples, this book teaches the fundamentals of probability and statistics through the feats of baseball legends such as Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, and Ted Williams—and more recent players such as Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, and Alex Rodriguez. Exercises require only pen-and-paper or Microsoft Excel to perform the analyses. Sandlot Stats covers all the bases, including• descriptive and inferential statistics• linear regression and correlation• probability• sports betting• probability distribution functions• sampling distributions• hypothesis testing• confidence intervals• chi-square distribution Sandlot Stats offers information covered in most introductory statistics books, yet is peppered with interesting facts from the history of baseball to enhance the interest of the student and make learning fun.