Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2022 -

This terse and acerbic book argues for three urgent and critical changes to workplaces: democratize firms, decommodify work, and decarbonize the environment. These three D's are presented first as a manifesto, modeled on a petition one might deliver to a politician in the hope of impelling immediate and relevant legislative action. In this case, the calls for action stem from both long-standing trends in a majority of workplaces and the inequalities the global COVID-19 pandemic revealed. The authors' assessment of the status quo is not sugarcoated with easy-to-swallow challenges and uplifting signs of progress. Rather, the ideas presented are ambitious and bold. After the brief introduction and manifesto on work, the authors include 12 separate companion pieces, each making the case that dire consequences will result without changes to workplaces and society. The suggested workplace adaptations represent logical approaches to long-term economic success, yet the dramatic changes may be polarizing and difficult to undertake incrementally without widespread support. Bold and fascinating, this book offers an important perspective on the priorities of the workplace and society at large.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty and general readers.

Global Fintech is a rare collection of expert essays that explains and defines the origins of fintech (financial technology), assesses its current development, and sketches its various possible futures in clear and concise language. This is quite the feat in the area of fintech, where texts are frequently either too simplistic for a professional or too technical for a lay reader. The well-chosen essays in this volume chart a complex series of fintech developments and their global implications. The contributors apply their deep knowledge of the subject to case studies to provide a wide-ranging text that serves as both a primer and an advanced discussion at the same time. These case studies emphasize the possible interactions between fintech and other societal players, including governments, financial institutions, and legal and regulatory authorities. The discussion of blockchain and related technologies is particularly lucid and accessible. By selecting essays that offer detailed topical explanations while advancing the overall narrative of fintech's development, the editors have created a much-needed gazetteer to help both professionals and lay readers--an impressive achievement.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers.