Street Smarts: Linking Professional Conduct With Shareholder Value in the Securities Industry

Book Description

On Wall Street, the pressure to perform and the ethical dilemmas that accompany it did not fade away with the insider trading scandals of the 1980s. As headlines in recent years attest, criminal proceedings, regulatory complaints, and customer litigation continue to mar the reputation of the banking and securities industries. This book is a forceful call to action for Wall Street leaders to strengthen and protect their shareholders' value by instituting and maintaining much higher professional standards. The authors-with their dozens of years as insiders on Wall Street-cast a revealing eye on corporate and individual conduct in financial institutions and markets. They identify the major issues of professional conduct confronting the banking and securities industries today- including misrepresentation, market rigging, insider trading, money laundering, whistleblowing, and conflicts of interests-as they recount the lessons of scandals and rogue behavior that have rocked even the most venerable firms on the Street. Smith and Walter argue that it is not enough for firms to rely on surveillance and compliance efforts to prevent their people from stepping over the line of legal and appropriate conduct; reputations in the finance world are too important. Connecting professional conduct to shareholder value, the authors call for immediate action. The industry, they contend, needs to create an environment in which each firm develops its leaders and individual managers to take responsibility for shaping and upholding the standards through creative and supportive employee development and retention programs. Nothing less than the future of the industry is at stake. Street Smarts will help bankers, securities analysts, traders, and investors understand what needs to be done now to foster an open, responsible corporate culture that creates long-term value and higher returns.

Book Description

Effective Interviewing and Interrogation Techniques, Second Edition, is completely revised and updated building on the previous editions groundbreaking search for truth in criminal and non-criminal investigations. The Second Edition contains all the information an investigator needs to know about obtaining answers from a witness, a victim, or a suspect and how to interpret these answers with the utmost accuracy. Highly illustrated, the chapters include several model worksheets and documents as well as complete instructions for using the authors Integrated Interrogation Technique, a 10-point, highly successful approach to obtaining confessions that can stand up in court.

In addition, the Second Edition contains five new chapters which include coverage of false confessions, interviewing the mentally challenged, and the ethics of interrogation in a post 9/11 world. New material presents an extensive look at the Forensic Assessment Interview (FAINT), providing sample interviews and explaining how to rate levels of truth and deception in these interviews. The book concludes with an insightful look at the future of truth verification.

- Expanded coverage of Statement Analysis, including actual statements from real cases.
- New photos to aid in assessing nonverbal behavior.
- Added section on assessment of written statements.

Customer Reviews:

Masterpiece -- The Art and Science of Interviewing and Interrogation.......2006-05-16

This book is the benchmark by which all other books on the art and science of interviewing and interrogation should be measured. It is truly a grand tour in every sense of the term. The text covers the greatest discoveries, techniques and practices in the field, and provides valuable insights by the authors, who are widely acknowledged experts and seasoned practitioners. The historical basis for truth-determining techniques is discussed at some length. However, the book really shines in its coverage of interviewing and interrogation theories and techniques developed over the past eighty years, paralleling the great advancements in law enforcement and psychology. The authors present a concise, insightful and balanced examination of the significant theories and theoreticians in the field, all the while drawing upon their substantial knowledge and expertise when evaluating and assessing the various theories and techniques discussed throughout the book. Their observations on interrogation ethics post 9-11 are thought-provoking.

Through words and illustrations the authors bring to life verbal and non-verbal truth/falsity indicators. The two subject areas that I found particularly interesting and useful were the Forensic Assessment Interview Technique ("FAINT") and the Morgan Thematic Apperception Testing Technique ("MITT"). Although these techniques are quite sophisticated, the authors' explanations and discussions are so clear and well-presented that virtually anyone will be able to understand and appreciate them.

Several reviews commented that the book is easy to read. While that is so, the simplicity and clarity of the text belie the considerable range and depth of thought and insight that went into this book. As such, I would advise readers to slowly digest the book, one paragraph at a time, if possible, and really give the text some thought. In doing so you will most likely gain a much better appreciation of the subject matter. As someone with an extensive law enforcement and legal background who thought he knew everything there was to know about interviewing, I can honestly say that this book really expanded my knowledge and appreciation of the subject.

Effective Interviewing and Interrogation Techniques.......2002-08-09

I have read several books on this topic in the past. I found this book to be very interesting and easy reading. It contained excellent information applicable for anyone involved in the field of interviewing.

The book was very well organized, and answered many questions for even a trained interviewer/interrogator.

I would highly recommend it for anyone in the fields of intelligence, law enforcement, private investigations or polygraph.

This Book Delivers.......2002-05-11

I have just finished reading this book and I am thoroughly impressed with it's attention to detail, usable procedures, and overall organization. It was a very quick read, and I now feel like an expert in the art of interrogation. I am already confidently putting these new techniques into practice and seeing results. If your goal is attaining the truth in an interview situation, buy & read this book.

An Obligatory Handbook on Interviews and Interrogations.......2001-12-01

Nathan J. Gordon, et al have authored an outstanding publication which is well documented, authoritative, well organized, and an easy read as well as a page turner. This reviewer,who has authored several textbooks on polygraph testing, highly recommends this book to anyone involved in the art and science of interviewing and interrogation.

Effective Interviewing and Interrogation Techniques, Second Edition.(Book review): An article from: Security Management

Average customer rating:

Effective Interviewing and Interrogation Techniques, Second Edition.(Book review): An article from: Security Management
Ross Johnson
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Security Management, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2006. The length of the article is 516 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Effective Interviewing and Interrogation Techniques, Second Edition.(Book review)
Author: Ross Johnson
Publication: Security Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 50 Issue: 10 Page: 108(1)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Rescuing Science from Politics debuts chapters by the nation's leading academics in law, science, and philosophy who explore ways that the law can be abused by special interests to intrude on the way scientists conduct research. The high stakes and adversarial features of regulation create the worst possible climate for the honest production and use of science especially by those who will ultimately bear the cost of the resulting regulatory standards. Yet an in-depth exploration of the ways in which dominant interest groups distort the available science to support their positions has received little attention in the academic or popular literature. The book begins by establishing non-controversial principles of good scientific practice. These principles then serve as the benchmark against which each chapter author compares how science is misused in a specific regulatory setting and assist in isolating problems in the integration of science by the regulatory process.

Customer Reviews:

Rescuing Our Children..........2007-04-05

Today, at least one of out of every 15 children under the age of three has a food allergy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimate that one out of every 150 children has autism (it was one out of every 1,250 in 1996); and childhood obesity is discussed in lunchrooms and boardrooms across America.

Apparently there is something in our food creating this juvenile health crisis, only according to this courageous book, the "complex truth" has been distorted.

This is a must-read for every mother in America.

Important book for those who care about science, law, public policy ...and abuses thereof.......2006-10-08

The editorial reviews have described this book pretty well.

Science, law, and public policy have some strange interactions, and citizens should get informed about them. This is especially important given the number of Orwellian terms like "sound science" or the Data Quality Act, which in practice mean just the opposite.

This is a good source for understanding the issues, which are increasingly important, as we face many public policy issues that need good science as input.

Book Description

This edition includes 250 alphabetically arranged articles on astronomy and astrophysics-most selected from the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, Seventh Edition, with 30 written by leading authorities especially for this volume-and more than 400 illustrations, including 14 color plates. It covers the latest data, advances, discoveries, models, theories, and scientific methods, and provides quick access to every subject of classical and modern astronomy. An indispensable tool for scientists, students, librarians, science writers, serious amateur astronomers, and all others who need reliable, accurate, detailed, and up-to-date technical information on a wide variety of astronomical topics in a readily accessible format.

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McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Astronomy
Sybil P. Parker~Jay M. Pasachoff
Manufacturer: Mcgraw-Hill (Tx)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astronomy | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000OFQ2L2

Customer Reviews:

Science Matters! An Eye Opener in the QUest for Truth.......2004-06-18

As the title implies, Dr. Warren B. Crummett spent decades of his career as an honored analytical chemist working with and studying dioxin in its various forms. In particular, Dr. Crummett focuses on the dioxin known as 2-3-7-8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, or 2-3-7-8-TCDD. This is the type of dioxin that has accounted for so much media hysteria over the past twenty years; yet, as Dr. Crummett ably shows, it is only a molecule, not a monster - and perhaps not a very scary one at that.

Decades of Dioxin traces Dr. Crummett's life and career, starting with his boyhood in rural West Virginia. The chapters are short and stand-alone; indeed, one of the charms of the book is that readers may read it in short chapters or longer installments. The explanations, insights, photos, graphics, quotes, and anecdotes all shed light on the author's life and the dioxin molecule, and it's fascinating reading.

The quotations that help introduce each chapter are often humorous, always apt, as this one by Will Rogers: "I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts."

Warren Crummett joined the Dow Chemical Company in 1950, and was assigned to work under Dr. Vernon Stenger, who was regarded by some as the best industrial analytical chemist in the world. Dioxins came to light in the 1960s, and Dr. Crummett traces the events of several industrial accidents in which dioxins were released, and nothing more than a severe case of acne was ever detected. He doesn't shy away from the tragedy of Seveso, Italy, in which 26 women underwent abortions after a dioxin release; studies of the fetuses showed they were normal, even at the chromosomal level.

Subsequent chapters deal with the challenge of identifying smaller and smaller amounts of trace chemicals, such as dioxins. Several of these chapters warrant special attention for the intriguing view they offer into the world of the analytical chemist. Dr. Crummett puts these unimaginably small amounts into layman's terms: one part per trillion, for example, is a six-inch leap on a journey to the sun, whereas one part per quintillion is one pinhead on an area the size of Earth's surface.

Dr. Crummett also details the frustration of watching sound scientific knowledge disappear under a media onslaught of self-proclaimed "experts" with scant training in chemistry. He presents a reasoned argument against the extremely low levels of allowable dioxin as set by the government, given that dioxin has not been proven to cause anything more serious than a case of acne in some of the people who are directly exposed to it. Those who recall the "saccharine scare" of the 1970s will no doubt see his point.

The book also offers an interesting insight into the corporate world. The Dow Chemical Company was an acknowledged leader in detection of very low levels of trace chemicals, but Dr. Crummett doesn't shy away from citing incidents of company shortcomings during his tenure in their labs. Lest readers think this book is nothing more than pro-Dow propaganda, Dr. Crummett spends quite a bit of time acknowledging leading scientists in the field, including those working for regulatory agencies such as the U. S. Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Dr. Crummett wrote this book in an attempt to report the facts about a topic that creates a knee-jerk fear reaction in most people, thanks in large part to the government and the media. The author's enthusiasm for finding, understanding and communicating the raw scientific facts, is relentless. His adventurous outlook will be refreshing to any person considering a career in science. This quest for the truth is indeed the foundation of this book, as well as the life story of its author. It's the defining characteristic of a successful scientist.

Decades of Dioxin should be required reading for all environmentalists, lawyers, professors, law makers, public policy makers, regulators and others who deal with any aspect of dioxin and other toxins. The book's facts, truths and explanations equip the reader with a solid grasp and outlook on handling public policy safety concerns.

The tragedy of this book is its lack of sales and distribution. The book's facts, insights and practical information appear to be obscured by a growing culture of distrust of industrial capitalism. If this book had been written about heart transplants, NASA or cancer treatments, it would be a best seller. Unfortunately the success of this book has been hampered by the public's near hysterical fear of dioxin, a fear perpetrated by the US media.

Decades of Dioxin is a teacher, a truth squad and an eye opener all wrapped into one. Those who don't read it are destined to keep monsters under their beds.

Science Matters! An Eye Opener in the Quest for Truth.......2004-06-18

The quotations that help introduce each chapter are often humorous, always apt, as this one by Will Rogers: "I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts."

Decades of Dioxin is a teacher, a truth squad and an eye opener all wrapped into one. Those who don't read it are destined to keep monsters under their beds.

Interesting book..........2004-05-18

One reviewer is from Midland and give it raves. One from Cary NC gives it raves.

What I wonder is why this book was given out by Dow public relations people at the offices of our local governments. I have been approached by several people in the Tittabawassee Township offices that comment that they have a large number of these books that were dropped off by someone with Dow's PR office.

This book is a dangerous screed about how Dow knows everything and that scientists outside of Dow and outside the United States are ignorant about dioxin. That is HOGWASH! This book and threats of Dow leaving Midland Michigan are striking fear into the hearts of people here. This book is just another ploy by the Dow Chemical Corporation to exhonerate dioxin and allow it to continue 'leaking' this chemical into the environment.

Money talks and there are millions talking in Midland, Saginaw and Bay City Michigan and in the halls of local governments and state government in Lansing Michigan and at the ATSDR in Atlanta and of course the center of money: Washington DC.

This book is being billed as 'the truth about dioxin'. One thing that I've learned is that 'the truth' often depends on who is paying for it...

Makes you think.......2004-01-19

The first reviewer is way off base.

The second reviewer knows of what he is talking.

Warren Crummett was an internationally reknowned analytical chemist who worked at Dow. He headed up a laboratory which revolutionized the analysis of dioxin at levels which are almost incomprehensible to the human mind. In addition, he was a member of the team which hypothesized that dioxins were formed during combustion(as long as chlorine was present). Basically, he was the first to discover that dioxin was a product of incineration.

So I find it quite ironic that many of those with environmental concerns would blast the guy whose lab could find the stuff better than any other lab in the world and tell you how it got there in the first place!

Dioxin made Dr. Crummett's career and he muses as to how this is so. He feels the risk of dioxin is overblown and clearly points out the sensationalism of the media and the paranoia of governmental agencies.

The first reviewer implies that Dr. Crummett wrote the book in cahoots with Dow management. HOGWASH! Dow management was ambivalent about Dr. Crummett. Can you imagine being president of Dow and one of your scientists is finding dioxin all over the place and advancing the analytical technology to assure that even more would be found in the future? Management was happy to have a scientist of Dr. Crummett's caliber but were afraid of what he might find.

Dr. Crummett's book makes one ponder about risk. Unfortunately, we will never know the exact risks of extremely low levels of dioxin but as a physician I feel that in the grand scheme of things it's very small. The fear and paranoia of this molecule is a much greater risk to one's health than the molecule itself.

Bagassosis M.D.

Excellent Scientific Perspective.......2003-10-07

First, I'll address the first review. It is blatantly incorrect and misleading. Warren Crummett was the managing scientist in Dow's environmental research area from the late '70's until his retirement. This book was not rushed out in response to the flood. This book has been in the making for many decades. The flood did not cause contamination of the river by 2378TCDD. The data is in the public record - just read it!

Now, to the review:

This book is a refreshing look at science in the commercial world we live in today. The writing style is unusual, providing the reader with snapshots spaced throughout the evolution not only of Warren's life and career, but through the political evolution of industrial environmental contamination and toxicology. The reader is introduced to the meaning of environmental contamination and toxicology and just how ludicrously our laws have evolved.

For example, the measurement of parts-per-quadrillion levels of 2378-TCDD are required currently for wastewater at industrial sites such as Dow. The text brings these numbers into clear perspective and shows that, if one can analyze to this exceedingly low limit, that trillions of unique chemical species can be detected in what is considered to be clean drinking water!

Decades of Dioxin was completed well afer Warren's retirement. To stereotype it as was done in the first review involves the same degree of misguided environmental paranoia that led to so many ill-informed government regulations that are in place today.

Book Description

John Tyler Bonner argues that we can understand progression in terms of natural selection, but that in order to do so we must consider the role of development--or more precisely the role if life cycles--in evolutionary change.

Customer Reviews:

Though 12 years old, it still has a wealth of ideas!.......2000-08-02

Bonner is a master developmental/evolutionary biologist who is best known for his work on the development and morphogenesis of a little known group of organisms called slime molds. A wonderful group of organisms, by the way. In this book, however, Bonner takes on the task of explaining how natural selection can produce increasingly complex systems of living things. A formidable challenge.

The book contains 8 chapters, as follows:

1. A brief summary of Darwinian evolution, along with an indication of the purpose of the book.

In this section Bonner addresses issues such as time, what natural selection is, and the roles that factors such as development, ecology, behavior, and genetics play in the processes of evolution. This chapter is a great primer on ideas regarding natural selection.

2. Evidence for the evolution of size increase (and decrease) from the fossil record.

In this chapter Bonner presents data from the fossil record (which is unavoidably biased) that indicates how the size of things have changed over time. He makes a case that, generally speaking, things have tended to get larger over time.

3. The size of organisms in ecological communities.

Here is a good thought to consider while reading this chapter...organisms of increased size are necessarily more structurally complex than smaller organisms, but, complexity that allowed increases in size to occur existed BEFORE those size increases took place (e.g., mammals). In this chapter Bonner considers topics such as relations between the size and abundance of organisms, size and life histories, size changes wtihin a species, and size in sexual selection. A great chapter full of thought provoking ideas!

4. A problem in developmental biology: Why and how larger plants and animals are built.

In this chapter Bonner addresses these topics: ways to become multicellular; selective forces for multicellularity; development of support structures (thus allowing increased size); proportions and size; developmental steps and size; and the legacy (opportunities and constraints) of past developments.

5. The relation between the complexity of communities and the size, diversity, and abundance of the organisms within them.

This is the chapter that will catch ecologists' eyes. In this chapter Bonner discusses what complexity is, relationships between diversity, abundance, and size, connections between diversity and habitat, and the evolution of diversity. Great stuff!

6. How size affects the internal complexities of organisms in their evolution and in their development.

This was my favorite chapter in the book. Since I have done a good chunk of research on clonal animals, I was interested in reading Bonner's thoughts on clonal versus aclonal animals (the first topic in this chapter). He also addresses topcis such as size and internal complexity, cell size and internal complexity, how large complex organisms are built, plasticity in development, the evolution of internal complexity, and related ideas. This chapter will catch the attention of developmental/evolutionary biologists.

7. Animal behavior: The pinnacle of biological complexity.

In this chapter Bonner looks at relationships between behavior and nervous systems, and natural selection and behavior.

8. The evolution of complexity: A conclusion with three insights.

Bonner concludes with three insights: 1) somatic versus genomic complexity; 2) size-complexity connections; and 3) and connections between integration and isolation.

Though this book is now 12 years old, it is well worth the effort. Bonner does a great job of making complex ideas understandable, and he is able to bring the professional and advanced amateur along for the ride. At 241 pp. this book is not a daunting challenge. It is a great addition to anyone's library!

5 stars, no doubt about it!

Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College, IN

Book Description

This edition of the invaluable text Modern Differential Geometry for Physicists contains an additional chapter that introduces some of the basic ideas of general topology needed in differential geometry. A number of small corrections and additions have also been made.

These lecture notes are the content of an introductory course on modern, coordinate-free differential geometry which is taken by first-year theoretical physics PhD students, or by students attending the one-year MSc course "Fundamental Fields and Forces" at Imperial College. The book is concerned entirely with mathematics proper, although the emphasis and detailed topics have been chosen bearing in mind the way in which differential geometry is applied these days to modern theoretical physics. This includes not only the traditional area of general relativity but also the theory of Yang-Mills fields, nonlinear sigma models and other types of nonlinear field systems that feature in modern quantum field theory.

The volume is divided into four parts: (i) introduction to general topology; (ii) introductory coordinate-free differential geometry; (iii) geometrical aspects of the theory of Lie groups and Lie group actions on manifolds; (iv) introduction to the theory of fibre bundles. In the introduction to differential geometry the author lays considerable stress on the basic ideas of "tangent space structure", which he develops from several different points of view - some geometrical, others more algebraic. This is done with awareness of the difficulty which physics graduate students often experience when being exposed for the first time to the rather abstract ideas of differential geometry.

Customer Reviews:

Good, with problems.......2006-01-02

Wow! What a great Table of Contents. It has all the stuff I've been wanting to learn about. So I bought the book in spite of seeing only one review of it. After one day, I'm now only at page 26, but I already have read enough to make some comments about it.
The main point about this book is that it is, as the author specifically states, LECTURE NOTES, not, I repeat, not a textbook. What are the implications of this (outside of a somewhat more chatty style than a textbook)? ["chatty" isn't quite what I mean; "smooth" might be a better word'] There are two which are noticable to me. 1) A lot of math knowledge is taken for granted. 2) It has a somewhat sloppy style to it.

Regarding point one, make sure you have a lot of math under your belt before picking up this book. By page 18 the author uses these terms without defining them: Differentiable Manifold, semigroup, Riemannian Metric, Topological Space, Hilbert Space, the " " notation, vector space, and Boolean Algebra. Fortunately for me, I have a fairly extensive math education, and self-studied Functional Analysis, so I wasn't thrown for a loop; but for many others -- brace yourselves!

Regarding point two, Here are two examples:
1) Here is a quote: "The collection of all open sets in any metric space is called the topology associated with the space." Sounds like a definition to me! Fortunately the author gives a (sloppy) definition a few lines later. By the way, the only thing the reader learns about what an 'open set' is, is that it contains none of its boundary points. All the topology books I have read define open sets to be those in the topology. This is another point of confusion for the reader. In fact, points of confusion abound in that portion of the book.
2) On page, 17, trying somewhat haphazardly to explain the concept of a neighborhood, the author defines N as "N := {N(x) | x is an element of X}" This is already a little disconcerting: x is already understood to be an element of X. So he is saying that N is defined as N(x) (which he defines to be a collection of subsets of X). This is all he has to say on the matter until, on page 26, he writes "each N, an element of N(x)". Now N isn't both N(x) and an element of N(x). This is a point which the author does not clear up. He then starts using N all over the place, yet the reader isn't sure of what he's refering to.

A couple of other things:
-When he defines terms, they is not highlighted, and are embedded in a sentence, making it difficult to find them later.
- The index is pitifully small. Typical for English texts, I know; but this *is* the 3rd millinium!

On the other hand, I have good things to say about the book, too.
I like his style of writing. If it were just more precise, it would be fine for me. I like it better than the normal higher math texts, which tend to be too laconic for me. Notice that I make a distinction between the somewhat chatty style, which I like, and the sloppiness, which is confusing. One can be chatty, yet clear. So far, the undefined math terms which I listed above were not central to the text; and one would not miss much by just reading past them. The author includes many 'comments' sections throughout the book. These are wonderful so far. They are full of comments and examples which really clear up a lot of points. His examples are very good, too, although he is very terse in stating them. The paperback is nice looking. The paper, font, etc. make for easy reading (except for the sub/super-script font, which is too small for me).

To wrap this review up, I had already pretty much learned the stuff covered in the book so far, but judging from what I have read, I will be able to learn a lot from the rest of it; and, unlike some other math books I have studied, the experience won't be too painful.
p.s. See other reviews of it on the UK Amazon site.

Very readable presentation of diff. geometry.......2000-08-18

I have found Isham's treatment of differential geometry very clear, while maintaining quite an abstract nature. Isham takes care to motivate his definitions and include comments where comments are due. No problems are included but the book sometimes omits the simpler results and lets you work them out by yourself. A very readable introduction indeed.

Modern Differential Geometry for Physicists

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Modern Differential Geometry for Physicists
Chris J. Isham
Manufacturer: Allied Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 8177643169

Book Description

In this wonderful exploration of the meaning of laughter, Barry Sanders queries its uses from the ancient Hebrews to Lenny Bruce, turning up evidence of its age-old power to subvert authority and give voice to the voiceless.

Customer Reviews:

wonderful.......2001-05-17

This book truly works at the essence of what it means to be human, the idea the sentience can be seen as the ability to laugh may seem at times to be a stretch it is argued in such a effortless care-free manner that one is drawn to share the authors conclusions.

Not light reading but well worth the time and effort.

Average customer rating:
Sudden Glory: A Brief History of Laughter
Barry Sanders
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBUFAW

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