The financial meltdown resulting from the subprime mortgage fiasco culminated in the most dramatic economic slowdown since the Great Depression. The global economic crisis raised the debate about the role of financial institutions and the role of regulators in an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world. It also altered the marketplace's perception of historically trusted financial institutions. Over the years, geopolitical, economic and technical trends have had a subtle, but very powerful, impact on the basic business model for financial institutions worldwide and on their interactions with accountholders. Add to that increased margin pressures, regulatory and compliance issues, fraud and compliance concerns, and competitive threats, and it becomes obvious that the old business model simply won't work going forward. At the same time, the financial industry is littered with some of the oldest technologies of any industry, which contributed to the poor credit decisions that fueled the crisis. A recognized entrepreneur and award-winning innovator, Louis Hernandez, Jr., using historical examples, points out that the rate of change impacting the financial services industry is accelerating. The industry has been slow to respond to change, and the focus on the recent crisis has uncovered fundamental problems that financial institutions have been avoiding. Hernandez outlines a process to map the future direction of individual institutions and the industry in a way that addresses near-term issues and overarching global changes, such as a re-emergent Asia and the dynamics of a knowledge economy. He points out that the "Too Big to Fail" thesis has given way to the seemingly more prudent, community-based institutions that largely avoided the subprime crisis. These institutions have demonstrated that they represent a unique pillar of economic stability. Now, he says, is the perfect time for the leaders of these community-based institutions to seize the day and lead the financial services industry back to the center of economic vitality and drive global economic growth, one community at a time. In Too Small to Fail, Hernandez issues the call to action, "Do you have the extraordinary drive it will take to inspire the industry and bring financial institutions back to their place as trusted intermediaries?"

The difference between B2B sales winners and losers is that winners are ready to win. Winners take time to honestly answer the question, "am I ready to sell?" Winners prepare themselves for winning through reproducible steps that will put them in a better position to win. These steps are not magic or unknowable - they can be learned. Once learned the key to success becomes discipline in applying the steps every day during every encounter with your prospects and your own sales team. Are You Ready to Sell shows the steps you need to be a winner in B2B sales. Owning this book will provide you with:

A winning process for sales preparedness throughout your daily selling life

Strategies to determine if a sales opportunity is an order opportunity

A road map for change to deal with the "new normal" of Business to Business selling

Strategies for creating a valuable lifetime income stream from your customers

Sales scenarios at the end of each chapter to test your strategies for winning

A mindset to move sold-to accounts back to prospects for value you can deliver

New strategies for building customer loyalty

Guidelines for shaping your prospect's definition of value throughout the sales process

Today's B2B industrial prospects are struggling to survive within the new normal of doing more with less. Help your prospects be winners in this environment and you will be an order winner. "Are You Ready to Sell?" equips you with the tools you need to be a consistent B2B sales order winner.

Teaching to Individual Differences in Science and Engineering Librarianship: Adapting Library Instruction to Learning Styles and Personality Characteristics applies learning styles and personality characteristics to science and engineering library instruction. After introducing the idea that individuals tend to choose college majors and occupations in alignment with their learning style and personality characteristics, the book presents background on the Kolb Learning Styles model, the 16 PF (Personality Factor) framework, and the Big Five/Narrow Traits personality framework. It then reviews extant knowledge on the learning styles and personality characteristics of scientists, engineers and librarians. Next, the book considers general approaches to the personalization of instruction to learning styles and personality characteristics, opportunities for such personalization in science and engineering library instruction, and science and engineering librarian attitudes towards, and approaches to, this type of personalization of instruction.

In the summer of 1945, the world was introduced to the horrific consequences of nuclear warfare. On the sixth day of August, an American B-29 bomber dropped a revolutionary new weapon, the atomic bomb, over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The catastrophic detonation instantly killed over 100,000 residents of the city, with thousands more dying from explosion-related injuries in the months and years to follow. Three days later, a second nuclear weapon was released over the skies of Nagasaki, killing over 40,000 Japanese citizens, most of whom were civilians. Six days after the second nuclear attack, the Empire of Japan surrendered, and World War II was ended. Jubilation among the Allied countries was tempered by a profound sense of relief; nearly four years of bloody war had finally come to an end. Some 406,000 Americans died during World War II, while another 671,000 were wounded. By the end of the war, an astonishing one out of every one hundred thirty six Americans had been killed or wounded in the fighting. American military personnel, along with their spouses, children, parents, and friends, were eager to see the bloody conflict come to and end, by any means possible. Consequently, President Harry Truman's decision to utilize the atomic bomb to bring Japan to its knees was wildly popular in the weeks and months that followed the Japanese surrender. In the six plus decades since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, however, many have questioned both the necessity and morality of America's deployment of the bomb. Significantly influenced by revisionist history, passionate debate has focused on the justification for nuclear warfare to subdue an enemy already nearing defeat. Like so many other momentous events, the reader must balance the reality of the world in 1945 against the seemingly clearer prism of revisionist history. Fire in the Sky: The Story of the Atomic Bomb chronicles the development and use of the first atomic bombs. This is a remarkable story about the lives and times of the brilliant scientists, seasoned military officers, and determined government leaders, who reshaped history, and irrevocably changed the dynamics of warfare.

As technological change and digital disruption becomes normalized in the fourth industrial revolution, workplace leaders are seeking new solutions to evolving problems. Managing Technology and Middle- and Low-Skilled Employees is an illuminating study of workplace leadership for improving the employee experience and adjusting the organizational culture to reduce tensions between technology and people at work. Reliance on artificial intelligence has created apprehension and anxiety among some employees and the general public as they try to understand whether or not employees will be replaced by new technologies. This book examines technological developments, such as artificial intelligence and big data, and reveals the practical implications of how people and new technologies can co-exist, harmoniously, within the workplace through virtual teams. Managing Technology and Middle- and Low-Skilled Employees offers routes to new solutions for scholars and professionals in the fields of business, human resource development, human resource management, information systems, and workforce development.

As information resource management becomes increasingly dependent on emerging technologies to combat its challenges and decipher its effective strategies, the demand builds for a critical mass of research in this area. Innovative Technologies for Information Resource Management brings together compelling content related to the continually emerging technologies in areas of information systems such as Web services, electronic commerce, distance learning, healthcare, business process management, and software development. Focusing on the implications innovative technologies have on the managerial and organizational aspects of information resource management, this book provides academcians and practitioners with a requisite and enlightening reference source.

Industry officials and government policymakers have for some time decried the lack of a framework for establishing and defending Research and Development (R&D) policies. Effective policy requires an understanding of the underlying economics. This book offers models and analysis of the economic elements that drive technology-based growth with emphasis on their implications for policy analysis. It also compares existing U.S. policies with those used in Europe and Japan. The results of these models and analysis is a framework for matching various forms of underinvestment with efficient strategic and policy responses. This market-failure based approach enables industry and government R&D initiatives to be developed, analyzed, and implemented with greater success than previously attained.

The first part of the book analyzes economic trends to show how they are affected by technological change and the evolving nature of foreign competition. R&D spending patterns are studied to identify and characterize market failures that prevent adequate private-sector investments in technology. A model is presented for a typical technology-based industry. The second part looks at specific technologies and policies that impact R&D investment and that have been the subject of intense policy debate.

During emergency situations, society relies upon the efficient response time and effective services of emergency facilities that include fire departments, law enforcement, search and rescue, and emergency medical services (EMS). As such, it is imperative that emergency crews are outfitted with technologies that can cut response time and can also predict where such events may occur and prevent them from happening. The safety of first responders is also of paramount concern. New tools can be implemented to map areas of vulnerability for emergency responders, and new strategies can be devised in their training to ensure that they are conditioned to respond efficiently to an emergency and also conscious of best safety protocols. Improving the Safety and Efficiency of Emergency Services: Emerging Tools and Technologies for First Responders addresses the latest tools that can support first responders in their ultimate goal: delivering their patients to safety. It also explores how new techniques and devices can support first responders in their work by addressing their safety, alerting them to accidents in real time, connecting them with medical experts to improve the chances of survival of critical patients, predicting criminal and terrorist activity, locating missing persons, and allocating resources. Highlighting a range of topics such as crisis management, medical/fire emergency warning systems, and predictive policing technologies, this publication is an ideal reference source for law enforcement, emergency professionals, medical professionals, EMTs, fire departments, government officials, policymakers, IT consultants, technology developers, academicians, researchers, and students.

In today's business world, your success relies directly upon your ability to make your mark online. An effective website is one that can sell your products or services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Many businesses turn to online marketing experts to help them navigate the choppy waters of online marketing. Web service providers can help make your website the "go to" resource for your - but how do you know who to hire? Online marketing providers come in many different price categories and levels of competency. Without doing your due diligence, you'll end up placing the viability of your company's website in the wrong hands. In this book, SEO services expert Jeev Trika will walk you through multiple categories of of search engine marketing that your business will need in order to have an effective presence online. Each chapter looks at an industry in depth and shows you what to look for in an excellent service provider or software package. The categories covered include of: search engine optimization, pay per click management services, link building, content services, social media, landing page optimization, video SEO, affiliate marketing, local SEO, mobile optimization, virtual spokesperson, site audit services, hosting, training programs, PSD to HTML conversion services, press release distribution services, SEO shopping cart software, PPC bid management software, email marketing services, web analytics software, and marketing automation software. In each chapter, you'll learn the basics of each service or software and see real world examples of how actual customers have been helped by professionals in the field. Armed with this information, you'll be able to confidently hire and work with a web services professional or company to get your website where it needs to be.