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In An Engine, Not a Camera, Donald MacKenzie argues that the emergence of modern economic theories of finance affected financial markets in fundamental ways. These new, Nobel Prize-winning theories, based on elegant mathematical models of markets, were not simply external analyses but intrinsic parts of economic processes. Paraphrasing Milton Friedman, MacKenzie says that economic models are an engine of inquiry rather than a camera to reproduce empirical facts. More than that, the emergence of an authoritative theory of financial markets altered those markets fundamentally. For example, in 1970, there was almost no trading in financial derivatives such as "futures." By June of 2004, derivatives contracts totaling $273 trillion were outstanding worldwide. MacKenzie suggests that this growth could never have happened without the development of theories that gave derivatives legitimacy and explained their complexities. MacKenzie examines the role played by finance theory in the two most serious crises to hit the world's financial markets in recent years: the stock market crash of 1987 and the market turmoil that engulfed the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management in 1998. He also looks at finance theory that is somewhat beyond the mainstream—chaos theorist Benoit Mandelbrot's model of "wild" randomness. MacKenzie's pioneering work in the social studies of finance will interest anyone who wants to understand how America's financial markets have grown into their current form.
"Mackenzie has achieved a masterful synthesis of engrossing narrative, imaginative concepts, historical perspective, and social concern." Donald MacKenzie follows one line of technology—strategic ballistic missile guidance through a succession of weapons systems to reveal the workings of a world that is neither awesome nor unstoppable. He uncovers the parameters, the pressures, and the politics that make up the complex social construction of an equally complex technology.
In The World Computer Jonathan Beller forcefully demonstrates that the history of commodification generates information itself. Out of the omnipresent calculus imposed by commodification, information emerges historically as a new money form. Investigating its subsequent financialization of daily life and colonization of semiotics, Beller situates the development of myriad systems for quantifying the value of people, objects, and affects as endemic to racial capitalism and computation. Built on oppression and genocide, capital and its technical result as computation manifest as racial formations, as do the machines and software of social mediation that feed racial capitalism and run on social difference. Algorithms, derived from for-profit management strategies, conscript all forms of expression—language, image, music, communication—into the calculus of capital such that even protest may turn a profit. Computational media function for the purpose of extraction rather than ameliorating global crises, and financialize every expressive act, converting each utterance into a wager. Repairing this ecology of exploitation, Beller contends, requires decolonizing information and money, and the scripting of futures wagered by the cultural legacies and claims of those in struggle.
This book comprehensively covers the principles of Risk-based vulnerability management (RBVM) – one of the most challenging tasks in cybersecurity -- from the foundational mathematical models to building your own decision engine to identify, mitigate, and eventually forecast the vulnerabilities that pose the greatest threat to your organization. You will learn: how to structure data pipelines in security and derive and measure value from them; where to procure open-source data to better your organization’s pipeline and how to structure it; how to build a predictive model using vulnerability data; how to measure the return on investment a model in security can yield; which organizational structures and policies work best, and how to use data science to detect when they are not working in security; and ways to manage organizational change around data science implementation. You’ll also be shown real-world examples of how to mature an RBVM program and will understand how to prioritize remediation efforts based on which vulnerabilities pose the greatest risk to your organization. The book presents a fresh approach, rooted in risk management, and taking advantage of rich data and machine learning, helping you focus more on what matters and ultimately make your organization more secure with a system commensurate to the scale of the threat. This is a timely and much-needed book for security managers and practitioners who need to evaluate their organizations and plan future projects and change. Students of cybersecurity will also find this a valuable introduction on how to use their skills in the enterprise workplace to drive change.
This book is a critical analysis of the impact of the financial system on the economy, society and the natural environment. It cuts through the noise to looks at its purpose, its activities, and what it does in practice. Unlike other books that cover the last financial crisis and the risk of another one; this book is about the consequence of the financial system continuing in its current form. It argues that the financial system is a construct of flawed economic theories, designed in the hope that the market will efficiently allocate society’s capital. Instead, the finance sector allocates savings and investment to maximize its own revenues, with resulting collateral damage to the economy, society and the environment. Although governments try to preserve and regulate the existing system, it is being replaced by a new system driven by technological innovation. The book describes the opportunities this presents for a renaissance of the financial system to actually meet the needs of society, and to re-engineer our economy to avoid environmental crisis. The book is for anyone who would like to understand the finance system’s purpose, what it does in practice and its impact on the real world. For those working in the industry it provides an overview of the system, their place within it, and how to bring about change. For students and academics it provides a valuable critique of the financial system, and the theories on which it is based. For financial policymakers and regulators it identifies key challenges in their activities.
To the Brink of Destruction exposes how America's rating agencies helped generate the global financial crisis of 2007 and beyond, surviving and thriving in the aftermath. Despite widespread scrutiny, rating agencies continued to operate on the same business model and wield extraordinary power, exerting extensive influence over public policy. Timothy J. Sinclair brings the shadowy corners of this story to life by examining congressional testimony, showing how the wheels of accountability turned—and ultimately failed—during the crisis. He asks how and why the agencies risked their lucrative franchise by aligning so closely with a process of financial innovation that came undone during the crisis. What he finds is that key institutions, including the agencies, changed from being judges to being advocates years before the crisis, eliminating a vital safety valve meant to hinder financial excess. Sinclair's well-researched investigation offers a clear, accessible explanation of structured finance and how it works. To the Brink of Destruction avoids tired accusations, instead providing novel insight into the role rating agencies played in the worst crisis of modern global capitalism.
This Handbook examines the study of failure in social sciences, its manifestations in the contemporary world, and the modalities of dealing with it – both in theory and in practice. It draws together a comprehensive approach to failing, and invisible forms of cancelling out and denial of future perspectives. Underlining critical mechanisms for challenging and reimagining norms of success in contemporary society, it allows readers to understand how contemporary regimes of failure are being formed and institutionalized in relation to policy and economic models, such as neo-liberalism. While capturing the diversity of approaches in framing failure, it assesses the conflations and shifts which have occurred in the study of failure over time. Intended for scholars who research processes of inequality and invisibility, this Handbook aims to formulate a critical manifesto and activism agenda for contemporary society. Presenting an integrated view about failure, the Handbook will be an essential reading for students in sociology, social theory, anthropology, international relations and development research, organization theory, public policy, management studies, queer theory, disability studies, sports, and performance research.
Shows how the digital revolution, sponsored by government and funded by speculation, now challenges the authority and legitimacy of the state.
This book covers both the theory and practice of game engine software development, bringing together complete coverage of a wide range of topics. The concepts and techniques described are the actual ones used by real game studios like Electronic Arts and Naughty Dog. The examples are often grounded in specific technologies, but the discussion extends way beyond any particular engine or API. The references and citations make it a great jumping off point for those who wish to dig deeper into any particular aspect of the game development process. Intended as the text for a college level series in game programming, this book can also be used by amateur software engineers, hobbyists, self-taught game programmers, and existing members of the game industry. Junior game engineers can use it to solidify their understanding of game technology and engine architecture. Even senior engineers who specialize in one particular field of game development can benefit from the bigger picture presented in these pages.