Prentice Hall

Connecting top managers; developing executive teams for business success.

Taylor, a former healthcare executive who heads a consulting firm and specializes in leadership, human resources, and employee/labor relations, and Haneberg, a former executive who works in organizational development at the firm and has experience in executive development, training and coaching, and other areas, explain how to improve the way executive teams work together. They describe measuring success, methods for teaming, making the most of meetings, building the desired organizational culture, recognizing individual leadership opportunities, leadership team member coaching and development, building organizational agility, and helping organizations remain union-free. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Corporate governance matters; a closer look at organizational choices and their consequences.

The authors (both of the Corporate Governance Research Program at the Stanford School of Business) have written this book on corporate governance for practitioners and aspiring practitioners interested in improving governance. They address governance choices relevant to the duties and liabilities of directors; selection, compensation, and removal of directors; structure of the board of directors; organizational strategy, business models, and risk management; the executive labor market and executive succession planning; executive compensation and incentives; executive equity ownership; financial reporting and external audit; institutional shareholders and activist investors; and corporate governance ratings. For each issue, they describe potential benefits and costs, review the research evidence, and present conclusions. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Decision management systems; a practical guide to using business rules and predictive analytics.

This guide for executives and technologists outlines principles for the development of decision management systems and presents a framework for building decision management systems. Part 1 explains how decision management systems can transform an organization and sets out principles of decision management systems. Part 2 explains how to develop and sustain decision management systems in an organization, covering characteristics of suitable decisions and giving advice on documenting and prioritizing decisions, designing and implementing decision services, and monitoring and improving decisions. Part 3 gives details on people, process, and technology factors for success with decision management systems. The reader-friendly layout offers bullet points, case boxes, tip boxes, and summary points. Taylor is a decision management consultant. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Drupal user's guide; building and administering a successful Drupal-powered web site.

This guide to creating websites with Drupal provides design theory, development best practices, and step-by-step instructions for creating several types of projects using this powerful open source content management system. The volume provides a strong foundation of planning and design theory as well as specific advice, reinforced through case studies, on practical applications. The material includes a quick start section showing readers how to get a basic website up and running, as well as chapters on extensions and modules, theming, and search engine optimization. Illustrations and code examples are included throughout and access to additional online resources is provided. Hogbin is a Drupal trainer and consultant. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Evidence-based instruction in reading; a professional development guide to response to intervention.

In this professional development guide for administrators, literacy coaches, reading specialists, and teachers, Wisniewski (education, Baldwin-Wallace College) et al. explore the necessary components for creating a literacy program for students who have special needs in reading. They identify elements of instruction and suggest modifications for the general education classroom (focusing on the elementary grades) using a response-to-intervention framework. They overview current research and professional literature, then address assessment; research-based instructional practices for phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (the subjects of other books in the series); helping parents with at-home activities, including recommendations for English language learners; and instructional and professional resources. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Extreme money; masters of the universe and the cult of risk.

In prescient speeches he gave on "The Coming Credit Crash," Das, an international consultant to financial institutions and corporations, provided insights into the problematic structure and risks of the global financial system. In an analysis drawing on the ideas of philosophers as well as economists, Das critiques the "financialization" of everyday life behind such recent trends as the housing boom-and-bust, "casino banking," the "doomsday debt machine," and "botox economics." (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Get bold; using social media to create a new type of social business.

This work presents a six-step framework for using social media techniques to build a collaborative and customer-driven business. Emphasis is on the importance of creating a culture of social collaboration throughout the entire organization. The framework involves identifying change needed, aligning organizational goals and culture, leveraging existing internal and external networks, and engaging customers with interactive experiences. Other elements of the framework include using social techniques for business processes, managing risks and reputation, and analyzing data. The book's reader-friendly layout features b&w diagrams, case boxes, checklists, bullet points, and frequent headings. A glossary of social business terms is also included. Author Carter helps direct IBM's Social Business Initiative. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

High performance operations; leverage compliance to lower costs, increase profits, and gain competitive advantage.

Glazer, who is associated with a consulting firm, explains how to build a high-performance operation that allows all forces to be managed systematically as a single entity. He draws on systems engineering ideas for an approach to creating harmony between high performance operations and compliance. He addresses cultural/psychological and interpersonal issues, how an operation is made up of interconnected services, and systems engineering, as well as how high performance operations focus on being lean. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Making reading real.

Snyders (Ivy Tech Community College) uses activities and readings from various sources like the Internet, magazines, literature, textbooks, and other media to help college students improve their reading skills. She considers different learning styles and includes readings related to relevant themes like life relationships, money management, global issues, and health to teach building vocabulary with word parts and in context, finding the main ideas and supporting details, finding implied main ideas, recognizing patterns of organization, detecting facts and opinions, recognizing inferences and the author's purpose and tone, and developing critical thinking. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Making the move to K-12 online teaching; research-based strategies and practices.

Rice (educational technology, Boise State U.) provides a guide for K-12 teachers interested in exploring online education, as well as administrators, policy makers, and those preparing future teachers. She explains standards guiding teaching, course development, and program quality; best practices and key principles for online teaching, including learner-centeredness and ways to evaluate preparedness for online teaching; tools that facilitate communication, delivering instruction, and instructional design like learning management systems, chat, the Internet, and social networking; and specific strategies for setting the tone, collaboration and community building, facilitating discussions, developing lessons, assessment, supporting learners with special needs, and understanding what it means to be a digital citizen. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Mastering market timing; using the works of L.M. Lowry and R.D. Wyckoff to identify key market turning points.

This volume illustrates how to combine the Wyckoff method for understanding price/volume interactions with the Lowry Analysis for understanding the forces of supply and demand into a single approach. Writing for investors interested in participating in long-term uptrends and avoiding downtrends, the authors provide techniques for identifying major market tops and bottoms in the equity market based on the Wyckoff and Lowry methods. They review major tops and bottoms in the 1966-82 and 2000-present secular bear markets, explaining key characteristics of each market action as it applies to the formation and conclusion of the tops and bottoms and illustrating other tools that can be used to recognize them. They include a case study of the 2000-2001 market top and end with the current market. Dickson, a technical market analyst, and Knudsen, a market technician, both work at Lowry Research. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The new players in life science innovation; best practices in R&D from around the world.

Mroczkowski (international business, American U.) describes how China, India, and other emerging Asian economic powers are gaining leadership roles in the biosciences industries and what the implications of this are for the West. He details the key future centers of innovation in emerging economies that have recently joined the global research and development race, their national and regional policies supporting innovation, including science and education reform, manpower development, and clusters and bioparks. He evaluates the potential and maturity of the emerging markets for pharmaceuticals and related sectors, explores Western companies' offshoring of discovery and clinical trials to these markets, and reviews new research and development strategies and investments in emerging economies by leading international pharmaceutical companies. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Now you're thinking; change your thinking — revolutionze your career — transform your life.

Five American authors and consultants specializing in critical thinking, learning and development offer general readers their approach to achieving greater success and satisfaction through transformed thinking. The text opens with a true story of Amenah, a dying two-year old Iraqi child saved by a team of American Marines and others in the US by using critical thinking to overcome obstacles. The authors then present key concepts and strategies, incorporating examples from Amenah's story to illustrate them in practice. These include understanding how the human mind works; using the authors' five-step model for organizing one's thoughts to approach opportunities, problems, and decisions in a different way; understanding a variety of thinking styles; and practicing new ways of thinking to transform one's life. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The option trader's workbook; a problem-solving approach, 2d ed.

Augen, who teaches at the New York Institute of Finance, provides investors with a workbook that uses an active learning process consisting of real problems to demonstrate the rules and trade structures of option trading. He illustrates basic to advanced situations, including pricing basics, purchasing puts and calls, covered puts and calls, and complex trades. This edition has coverage of using precisely tuned ratio trades, structuring income-generating trades with well-defined risk profiles, capitalizing on trades containing both stocks and options, mastering the dynamics of CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange) weekly options expiration trades, and using VIX (Volatility Index) options to take advantage of unusual volatility arbitrage situations. FT Press is an imprint of Pearson Education. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Social boom!; how to master business social media to brand yourself, sell yourself, sell your product... — by the global authority on sales, attitude, trust, and loyalty.

Gitomer, an author, columnist, and sales specialist, shows how business professionals can use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube to build attraction, engagement, and connections with customers, prospective buyers, and contacts. He gives step-by-step instructions for implementing a social media plan that involved these four platforms and explains the differences between social media and business social media for each, and how to use them and other tools like blogs and e-zines. He includes guest columns by other business professionals. There is no index. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Strategies for teaching students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms; a case method approach.

Boyle (Rutgers, State U. of New Jersey) and Provost (College of Charleston) present a practical textbook for use in undergraduate and graduate classrooms, and with teachers who are new to special education or inclusive teaching. The text includes content chapters providing overviews of special education law and inclusion; teaching in inclusive classrooms; behavior management; and techniques for teaching reading, writing, math, and content and study skills in inclusive classrooms. Case chapters follow each of the content chapters, providing readers with opportunities to apply concepts to actual cases. The book is also available for purchase at a reduced cost as an electronic CourseSmart eTextbook. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Supporting grade 5-8 students in constructing explanations in science; the claim, evidence, and reasoning framework for talk and writing. (DVD included)

McNeill (science education, Boston College) and Krajcik (U. of Michigan) supply middle grades science teachers with a framework that teaches all students (including English language learners and students with special needs) how to construct scientific explanations through three components: making a claim, and using evidence and reasoning to support it. After providing a rationale for why students should construct scientific explanations, they provide an example and detail challenges students face in writing and classroom discussions. They then introduce the framework, provide writing examples, and discuss planning and designing instruction, developing classroom supports such as curricular scaffolds and visual representations, and different teaching strategies that can be used. They address assessments, rubrics, and ways to support student learning over time. The DVD contains 13 videos of teachers using the framework. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Time the markets; using technical analysis to interpret economic data.

Countering the buy-and-hold philosophy of investing, Kirkpatrick (Brandeis U. International Business School), head of a technical analysis research firm and author of a textbook used in market technician accreditation, advocates buying as much as possible when the market is going up and losing as little as possible when it's going down. Arguing that being a "sheep" investor has led to destruction of wealth historically, he applies his market timing model to determine the optimal time for stock market trading. Tables on model parameters are appended. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Trend commandments; trading for exceptional returns.

In short colorful chapters, Covel (creator of TurtleTader.com) tells engaging stories about trend trading. There are as many interesting points made throughout the book about life as there are about stock trading. The book closes with a cheat sheet that outlines in a straight-forward way ten key recommendations for trend trading. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Understanding China's economic indicators; translating the data into investment opportunities.

For thirty five key economic indicators, this volume proceeds in a consistent manner, explaining the relative importance of the data, how it is calculated, ways to interpret it and the likely market impact. Orlik, the China correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, has produced a practical manual useful for anyone considering investments in China. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)