Ethical Management Practices in Advertising
Northeastern University
Abstract
The roles of advertising and ethics have been in constant tension as companies attempt to
market their products in an ever-changing social environment. Recently, certain campaigns have
come under fire for perpetuating dangerous messages, specifically in the alcohol, tobacco and
fashion industries. This paper attempts to explore the advertising regulations currently in place,
its impact on society, a company’s role in upholding these moral and ethical standards, and
personal recommendations for regulations in these three product categories.
Methods
In order to make recommendations regarding ethical practices in advertising, it is
necessary to examine the history of advertisements, specifically controversial campaigns. The
lessons learned from a review of advertisements that have had a significant impact on society
that prompted new regulatory laws, will be able to be applied to reviewing problems that are
occurring today. There are some limitations to this method, however, in that history does not
always effectively apply to modern day issues. Society changes over time, as do trends and
norms. Therefore, the regulations instituted historically may be outdated and no longer
applicable. Additionally, even if regulations are passed, companies will often find ways around
them, or exploit other facets of advertising.
Tobacco
The evolution of the image of smoking in America is an extremely relevant topic in
today’s society. Cigarette smoking went from a common habit in the 1900s, to a socially
consider cool activity, doctors approved it and it seemed like a permanent fixture in American
society from the 1930s to 1950s. Then, in 1964 the Surgeon General announced the connection
2
between lung cancer and cigarette smoking. Currently promoting cigarettes is not perceived as a
trendy activity, tobacco companies are no longer able to celebrities for endorsements. One
company, Camel, decided to use a different advertising strategy by creating a cartoonish camel
figure with the body of a man. Camel created ads that showed the Camel, Joe Camel, playing
pool or hanging out with girls by the pool with a caption of “Smooth Character.” These ads
portrayed Joe Camel as a cool masculine guy, who beautiful women wanted to be with and also
happened to smoke Camel cigarettes. There would be nothing ethically or morally wrong with
these ads if they were appealing solely to adults of legal age. The ethical problem this presents is
that young children are heavily influenced by cartoons and Joe Camel was no exception. In a
study called ”Brand Logo Recognition by Children Aged 3 to 6 years.” published in 1991 in
JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) it was discovered that more than 90% of 6
year olds could match the Camel logo with cigarettes, almost the same percentage that matched
Mickey Mouse with Disney. R.J. Reynolds, the parent company, was adopting a strategy to
target young adults with the intent to get young adults addicted to cigarettes early in life, therefor
causing them to be customers throughout their lifetime. If a company’s advertisements
accidently appealed to consumers younger than legally allowed, it could be described as
negligent, but this was not the case with RJ Reynolds. In documents from a court course
investigating allegations of targeting youth under 18, internal documents showed that they were
targeting and researching smoking habits of youth as young as the age of 12. Documents quoted
in a Washington Post article titled “Internal R.J. Reynolds Documents Detail Cigarette
Marketing Aimed at Children.” from 1998, show that they viewed the targeting of youths as
essential to the company’s success. (Mintz, Torry, 1998) RJ Reynolds was taking advantage of
3
lenient advertising laws to target youth with a harmful and addictive product that was illegal for
them to buy.
R.J. Reynolds was intentionally targeting underage youth with their cigarette ads, but
being able to measure and prove that the ads increased youth smoking is different. It is known
that a larger percentage of the youth market was using Camel cigarettes after the Joe Camel
campaign (Figure 2) and that R.J Reynolds supported this approach as stated in the Washington
Post Article previously referenced. Fortunately this scandal resulted in increased rules and
regulations to bar this type of advertising. The public is very aware of the health risks of
cigarettes and government administrations imposing increasingly restrictive regulations on
advertising. Tobacco companies are no longer allowed to sponsor sporting or entertainment
events. Point-of-sale advertising is limited except in adult-only facilities, and limits any
advertising that could come in contact with youth to black text on white background.
Regulations of advertisements in the cigarette industry in the United States are very
different from other consumer products because it is classified as a hazardous product. This
hazardous product label has a few advertising implications. There are substantial rules and
regulations on what can and cannot be said, it has to be extremely clear this product is
detrimental to your health, and it cannot be targeted at youth. In 2010, the Obama Administration
passed the Tobacco Control Act, which implemented even more restrictions on tobacco and
tobacco advertisements (Quinn, Mark Jane., Bahaudin, Mujtaba G., & Cavico, Frank J. 2011).
Banning all advertising from tobacco companies is impractical and unlikely to ever
occur. The regulations currently in place for advertising are substantial and have made vast
improvements in the last 20-30 years. Cigarettes are rarely smoked in movies or seen in popular
culture anymore. Regulations need to keep moving forward in this direction until youth are not
4
exposed to any form of tobacco advertising. This could be accomplished by banning cigarette
sales in any location that does not have an age restriction to enter. This may mean that tobacco
could only be bought at specialty stores, much the way alcohol is purchased in many states. This
would be one more step in the right direction of separating our youth from the influence of
tobacco advertising.
Alcohol
Unlike tobacco, alcohol advertising does not have the same extremely negative
connotation. The major concern over advertisements is similar to the problems with cigarette
advertising of targeting young adults under the age of 21. In the alcohol industry there is much
stronger self-regulation and regulatory bodies that has resulted in much less legal restrictions
from the U.S. Government. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) is the
main regulatory body of the alcohol industry and has implemented extensive regulatory code on
advertisements in the alcohol industry. A few noteworthy items in the code are: “Beverage
alcohol products should not be advertised or marketed in any manner directed or primarily
appealing to persons below the legal purchase age…”; “Beverage alcohol advertising and
marketing should be placed in broadcast, cable, radio, print, and internet/digital communications
only where at least 71.6 percent of the audience is reasonably expected to be of legal purchase
age…”; and, “Beverage alcohol advertising and marketing materials should not depict situations
where beverage alcohol is being consumed excessively or in an irresponsible manner.” (DISCUS
Code, 2011) Other points in the code address matters such as driving while intoxicated and using
sex to sell alcohol. Additionally it includes a public semi-annual report on advertising
complaints.
5
The alcohol industry has a more positive image in the eyes of the public than the tobacco
industry and this is in part due to the fact that tobacco products cause cancer. Even so, the
difference in regulatory code should not be ignored. The alcohol industry has shown to have
much higher ethical standards related on what they are willing to advertise. Unfortunately having
a higher ethical advertising standard than the tobacco industry is not significantly impressive.
Tobacco companies came under heavy scrutiny for targeting youths and it seems that through the
alcohol industry’s self-regulatory bodies they have avoided this scrutiny.
An article titled, “Alcohol Advertising: What Makes It Attractive to Youth?" in the
Journal of Health Communication states “A study on the responses of young people to
alcohol advertising found that underage youth are drawn to music, animal and people
characters, story and humor in alcohol advertising… The three most popular alcohol ads
among youth in the study used animal characters as the leading actors” (Chen, Grube,
Bersamin, Waiters and Keefe, 2005).
Are alcohol companies intentionally targeting youth under the legal drinking age? It would be
impossible to say for certain without looking at internal marketing documents of the companies,
but intentional or not youths are responding to alcohol ads.
Drinking during pregnancy continues to be a problem for women. In 2005, data taken
from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows that 12% to 15% of
pregnant women reported use of some alcohol, with 3% to 4% reporting binge drinking during
pregnancy (SAMHSA, 2013).
Contrary to popular belief about college drinking culture, approximately the same
percentage of young adults in college and not in college participate in episodic drinking or binge
drinking (US Department of Health., 2006).This means that binge drinking, which can be
6
extremely detrimental to one’s health, is a significant problem among youth. The alcohol
companies do not seem to be actively trying to target youths or harm society, but they seem to be
taking very little effort to help those with alcohol problems.
Alcohol companies do not have a profit incentive to discourage the purchase of alcohol,
but shouldn’t they be morally obligated to discourage drinking during pregnancy? Do these
companies not take their ethics into question when their ads are appealing to underage youth? If
these companies are legitimately unaware of their ads appeal to youth or the amount of women
still drinking during pregnancy, then there should be increased regulations to decrease these
adverse effects of advertisements. The self-regulatory body of DISCUS should have more
oversight from federal government or parties outside of the alcohol industry that do not have
extreme bias in the matter. Alcohol companies have escaped a large amount of scrutiny for the
impact that their product has on our society. It will obviously be impossible to stop youth
drinking alcohol 100% or mothers drinking during pregnancy 100%, but that should not stop
efforts from being made. Alcohol companies, as the producers of the product, have an ethical
responsibility to take these matters into consideration and should be leading the way in more
responsible consumption of their beverage.
Fashion
Perhaps the most recent controversial topic in advertising right now exists within the
fashion industry. The fashion industry in no stranger to criticism; they have historically been
under fire for perpetuating unrealistic body images and subsequently causing unhealthy
behaviors in the public hoping to achieve such an impossible standard of beauty. This societal
pressure “to be thin is thought to be a major contributor to the high levels of body dissatisfaction
7
and eating disturbance in young women” (Bennett & Hetherington, 2008). This is thought to
stem from our society’s tendency to celebrate thinness as the pinnacle of beauty. Fashion
advertisements perpetuate this stigma in their use of underweight models.
In April 2105, France became the latest country to ban the use of underweight models in
the fashion industry, joining the ranks with countries like Israel, Spain, and Italy. Any model
with a Body Mass Index (BMI) under 18 is considered “unhealthy” as decreed by the ministers
of Health and Labor. President of France Francois Hollande hopes that this bill, in conjunction
with an earlier bill banning pro-anorexia websites, will “attempt to stop the idealization of the
dangerously thin, and perhaps, curb anorexia” (Stampler, 2015). Even more recently, the United
Kingdom banned the circulation of an advertisement by Yves Saint Laurent that portrayed and
“unhealthily underweight” model (Mackay, 2015). The article, titled “Yves Saint Laurent ad
featuring ‘unhealthily’ thin model banned in UK” by Mairi Mackay, goes on to explain how the
advertisement (Figure 1) goes against the rules imposed by the Advertising Standards Authority
(ASA). “The ASA ruling is not about whether this person in the picture is healthy, but whether
the images of her are being used in a way that can have an irresponsible effect on others.” This
demonstrates perfectly how images and standards portrayed in the media in advertisements can
directly affect the population, and how seriously these negative body images are being taken.
Although other countries have started a movement to ban the glamorization of unhealthy
body standards, the United States is reluctant to follow suit. According to Ashley O’Neil’s article
titled “A call for truth in the fashion pages” in the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, the
protection of free speech under the first amendment of the Constitution creates a difficult
environment to navigate when regulating advertisers (O’Neil, A., 2014). However, it is time for
the United States to take the example of other countries and take steps towards regulating
8
advertising in fashion. In 2012, Diane Von Furstenberg, in collaboration with the Council of
Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), worked to establish guidelines to help alleviate the
prevalence of eating disorders among models in New York City (Hoff, 2015). Although this was
a positive first step, these guidelines more publically targeted age issues within the industry
rather than body image issues in the public. It is time for advertisers to recognize their
responsibility in how the perpetuation of beauty standards affects the consumer. Instead of
perpetuating unrealistic body image, why not celebrate healthy and achievable standards?
Proposal
To what extent should companies be held responsible for the ramifications of their
advertising efforts in any industry? Upon review of these three categories discussed, it is very
clear that messages propagated by advertisements have a significant impact on the general
public, whether for better or worse. In the case of the tobacco, alcohol, and fashion industry, the
impact is negative and unhealthy, resulting in sickness, and even death. The future of advertising
relies on companies’ ability to take these ramifications into account and alter their practices in
order to address the growing concern about misleading advertising. This is not just an issue for
marketing and advertising professionals issue to tackle. It equally is the responsibility of
management professionals. The departments must merge and work together in order to properly
manage the ethical responsibilities of advertising.
Note from authors
This topic, addresses both marketing and management issues, however it is not highly
technical and does not require a significant amount of prior information in the marketing or
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management field to understand. Everyone in society has been affected by advertising either
directly and indirectly, and we feel that any audience can relate to our topic and that it would
invoke a strong reaction from a reader. In fact, the reason we selected this particular topic was
the strong emotions it invoke in ourselves, and the relevancy to today’s world.
The collaborative process was relatively easy for us. Being business students, we are
intimately familiar with group projects and collaborative processes. The only hurdle that we
faced was geographical distance, which forced all correspondences to be virtual. A lack of faceto-face interaction makes this particular project difficult, as real time responses and
collaborations are the best ways to complete it. However, we feel we were successfully able to
overcome this issue and were both able to equally contribute to the end project.
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Exhibits
Figure 1
Source: Elle (http://www.elle.com/fashion/news/a27621/france-officially-bans-too-thin-models/)
Figure 2
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Source: https://bizgovsoc9.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/screen-shot-2013-11-19at-2-16-02-pm.png
12
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Alcohol advertising and youths. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
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Mackay, Mairi. (2015, June 3). Yves Saint Laurent as featuring ‘unhealthily’ thin model banned
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M.J. Chen, J.W. Grube, M. Bersamin, E. Waiters, and D.B. Keefe, "Alcohol
Advertising: What Makes It Attractive to Youth?," Journal of Health
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Regulation Means for U.S. Beauty and Fashion Advertisers. Indiana Journal of Global Legal
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15
Running head: ADDERALL: DRUG MISUSE AND ABUSE
1
Adderall: Drug Misuse and Abuse
Northeastern University
ADDERALL: DRUG MISUSE AND ABUSE
2
Abstract
Adderall is a highly addictive drug that is often abused. While the drug is commonly used
in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), there is no reliable method of
diagnosing the disease. This makes it easy for those seeking the drug to acquire legitimate
prescriptions. Not only does this lead to controversy over the use of study drugs by high school
and college students, but the frequent distribution of the drug allows pharmaceutical companies
to capitalize off of illicit drug use. This paper aims to propose methods for decreasing the rates
of Adderall abuse by tightening regulations on the drug as well as developing a more effective
method of diagnosing ADHD. The paper also aims to find a solution for the financial impact of
Adderall abuse on consumers.
Adderall and ADHD
Adderall is a neurological stimulant that is prescribed to treat narcolepsy and, more
1
commonly, attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD).
In recent years, the prescription rate
of Adderall has increased dramatically in the US. The jump in Adderall prescriptions has both
social and financial effects. This drug was intended for use in treating a childhood disease, but
as those children grow up they continue taking Adderall, often using it as a study aid. The
prevalence of Adderall among school and college-aged young adults leads to the illicit
circulation of the drug and its abuse as a study aid. Drug trade in itself creates economic issues,
and in addition to this, large pharmaceutical companies capitalize off of the abuse of the drugs
that they put into circulation.
ADHD, the primary medical use of Adderall, is a behavioral disorder generally seen in
children. ADHD can present with a wide range of symptoms; however at its core, it causes lack
2
of focus and impulse control.
It is a prevalent belief that technology is responsible for the
ADDERALL: DRUG MISUSE AND ABUSE
3
increase in ADHD cases seen in recent years. While there is no evidence that exposure to
2
technology causes ADHD, it can be seen to exacerbate an already existing condition.
However,
not all technology is bad. While some television shows offer nothing more than a mindless
distraction, other programs can promote learning, positive social behavior, and even help
3
increase focus.
The more research that is done regarding ADHD, the clearer it becomes that
there is no one cause, but rather an interaction of many smaller factors that lead to the disorder.
Because there is no known cause of ADHD, it is difficult to find an accurate method of
diagnosing the disorder. There is currently no scientific test used to identify patients with ADHD;
the diagnosis is reached by assessing behavior and matching the patient with a list of
symptoms. As a result, it is relatively easy to be misdiagnosed with ADHD, whether by accident
or by design. In young adults, the diagnosis is almost entirely in the hands of the patient. A
student seeking an Adderall prescription could easily describe in themselves behaviors typical
of those with ADHD. This holds true for those diagnosed as children who wish to continue taking
the drug, regardless of whether they still need it. The official diagnosis of ADHD, and the access
to stimulants, can often stand as a safety net: a medical excuse for lack of focus or the inability
to complete work on time and meet deadlines.
Adderall Misuse
Every medication has side-effects, and medications are only prescribed when the
benefits outweigh the risks posed by these side-effects. With most other drugs it is easy to
determine whether the pros and cons of use are in balance. However, with Adderall it is not so
easy. Common side effects of Adderall, when being used as prescribed, include headache,
insomnia, and loss of appetite. When Adderall is not used correctly, an overdose can cause
4
more serious side effects. These include increased heart rate, tremors, and even seizures.
ADDERALL: DRUG MISUSE AND ABUSE
4
Adderall is highly effective in those that have ADHD; however, those that misuse the drug
experience only limited benefits while still experiencing all of the side-effects and are at a
greater risk for the more severe effects that come with an overdose. These patients claim to
need the drug, claim to see results, and physicians currently have no way of distinguishing if
these claims are true or not. In order to resolve this issue, the process of diagnosis with ADHD
must be re-assessed and made more rigorous.
Economics and Drug Policy
In addition to the medical issues of misuse, there are also economic issues. Big Pharma
companies are capitalizing off of the misuse of the drugs that they produce. According to a
report released by EvaluatePharma, 2013 showed a rise in drug approvals from the prior four
5
years, many of which were simply increased dosage versions of existing drugs.
Stimulant sales
for the treatment of ADHD between 2002 and 2012 rose from $2 billion to $9 billion, while
2
ADHD diagnosis rose from 600,000 cases in 1990 to 3.5 billion cases today.
Adderall was introduced in 1994 by Shire Pharmaceuticals, along with other stimulants
including Concerta, Vyvanse, and Ritalin. These drugs are all highly effective, but also highly
damaging, coming with a laundry list of side effects. In addition to the physical effects, these
drugs cost patients thousands of dollars, while they make millions for the companies backing
6
them.
According the the Center of Disease Control (CDC), ADHD costs patients over $1,500
annually in medical care and costs society between $12,000 and $18,000 annually per
2
individual with the disease.
In order to combat the soaring costs of Adderall to the public, tighter regulations need to
be placed upon its distribution. Adderall prescriptions must be treated with the same caution as
other addictive medications, such as opioids. In 1988 the Anti-drug Abuse Act was put into
ADDERALL: DRUG MISUSE AND ABUSE
5
7
place, which established The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
This program works to combat illegal use of prescription drugs as well as other illicit drugs. Of
prescription drugs, this program has in the past focussed mostly on opioids, pain relieving
drugs. The ONDCP allocates a portion of its budget towards educating the public on the
7
dangers of prescription drug abuse.
Despite the presence of the ONDCP, very little has
changed regarding drug policies in the past few decades. The resources allocated to the
ONDCP circulate through an endless cycle of apprehending drug dealers, and new dealers
8
taking their place.
The decriminalization and legalization of drugs such as Marijuana, which has
already begun, will free up resources to focus on more dangerous drugs and the abuse of
prescription drugs. If these resources were focused on the dangers of Adderall abuse in addition
to opioids, in combination with the diligence of physicians in weeding out drug seekers, Adderall
misuse could be decreased dramatically.
Moving Forward: Diagnosis and Treatment
With tighter regulations on who can be given an Adderall prescription, a more accurate
method of diagnosis of ADHD must also be developed. While it is important to prevent those
who would misuse the drug from receiving it, this cannot be done at the expense of those who
actually need access to Adderall in order to function effectively. Accurate diagnosis is the key to
achieving this balance. A reliable method of diagnosis continues to evade researchers and
physicians. They have yet to identify a biological marker that can be used to identify those with
the disorder. However, current research is developing new methods to recognise the disorder. A
study conducted by He et al. makes a step in the right direction. Using 3D high-resolution
structural magnetic resonance imaging (hr-sMRI) technology, the study was able to identify
9
several regions of the brain in which individuals with ADHD had reduced gray matter.
While an
ADDERALL: DRUG MISUSE AND ABUSE
6
MRI alone cannot serve as a method of diagnosis, it could in the future be used to confirm
diagnosis of ADHD.
A second new method of identifying ADHD has also been proposed in a study run by M
Ahmadlou. This method use an electroencephalograms (EEGs) to distinguish patients with
10
ADHD from healthy controls.
An EEG detects electrical activity in the brain through electrodes
placed on the scalp. By comparing EEG patterns between patients and controls, Ahmadlou was
able to identify deficits in neural activity in the patients, diagnosing ADHD with 95.6%
10
accuracy.
These added steps could streamline the diagnosis process, helping to prevent the
unnecessary introduction of stimulants to children who do not need them, as well as weed out
young adults who are seeking Adderall as a study drug.
Even after assuring that only those that need medication are receiving Adderall,
alternate methods of ADHD treatment are still needed. The best way to preemptively combat
ADHD and Adderall misuse is to limit behaviors in early childhood that lead to ADHD symptoms.
This would include watching too much tv, playing video games, and playing with smartphones
and tablets. As technology continues to move forward, it is highly unlikely that the prevalence of
these forms of entertainment among children will decrease. Therefore, it is up to the parents to
set restrictions on the use of technology. Another option is to use technology as a tool in
increasing focus. Smart Brain Technologies has developed a neurofeedback system using
technology developed by NASA, implemented in both video game form as well as in a DVD
player. The player is fitted with a headset monitoring brain activity. The video game is a car
racing game; the more the player focuses on the game, the faster the car goes and the more
steering control the player has. In the DVD player, the child’s focus controls the size of the
11
screen as well as the volume.
An increase in the prevalence of games and technologies like
this would make combating and preventing ADHD without medication much more effective.
ADDERALL: DRUG MISUSE AND ABUSE
7
Conclusion
ADHD is a disease which is on the rise in the United States, and as such, the research
associated with it must advance. While Adderall and other stimulants provide effective treatment
of the symptoms of ADHD, these drugs do nothing to correct the underlying behavioral issues
that the disease creates. Moving forward, methods of behavioral therapy should be used in
place of, or in conjunction with, drugs in the treatment of ADHD. Tighter regulations need to be
placed on Adderall, and new methods of diagnosis of ADHD must be established and validated.
Tighter control on the distribution of Adderall will help defray the cost of healthcare for patients
and their familoies, preventing large pharmaceutical companies from capitalizing off of their
hardships.
Reflective Note
Throughout this paper, the authors seek to address the issues of the misuse and abuse of
Adderall, a stimulant used to treat ADHD. The paper also aims to express awareness of the
capital gain made by pharmaceutical companies during the sale this and similar drugs. Failure
in the system is identified, and methods are suggested to better control the effective diagnosis
of ADHD. Research is primarily taken from peer reviewed material and statistical sources whilst
each author collaborated using their own individual discipline, as well as reaching beyond their
fields of interest into topics concerning economics and
d
rug control policies. The main goal of
the proposed changes to the treatment of ADHD is to better control the distribution of Adderall:
to prevent children from being given unnecessary drugs and to prevent students from abusing
Adderall as a study-drug.
ADDERALL: DRUG MISUSE AND ABUSE
8
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Mario Barbagallo, Avtandil Pataridze, Wen Xu
Annotated Bibliography
Background
We are hoping to investigate the implications of artificial intelligence and the role it is
playing in identifying and solving financial crimes. The main issue with financial crimes is that
they are hard to detect. Criminals are getting smarter, and are finding better ways to cover their
tracks. This ties into all of our disciplines of finance, accounting, and criminal justice. This issue
is very important in today’s society. High profile examples of financial crime include the Bernie
Madoff Ponzi Scheme and Wells Fargo’s falsification of customer records.
However, there are many smaller examples of financial crime that affect people across
the world. We’ll attempt to research and offer a solution for this problem by looking into
artificial intelligence and the different roles it is playing in the world. We’d like to see if there is
potential for it to be integrated into the solving of financial crimes. Artificial intelligence learns
from the data it gathers, so there is potential for AI to analyze all known financial crimes and
detect patterns within them that would serve as key indicators of wrongdoing.
Citations
Sudjianto, A., Yuan, M., Kern, D., Nair, S., Zhang, A., & Cela-Diaz, F. (Feb, 2010). Statistical
Methods for Fighting Financial Crimes. Retrieved from https://www-jstororg.ezproxy.neu.edu/stable/pdf/40586676.pdf?refreqid=excelsior:58bdbc4aefdc885e4bade6e042
7b8b31
This article discusses two frequent and important financial crimes, money laundering and
fraud. It goes on to discuss statistical techniques used to recognize and analyze these crimes. The
rise of big data has made it easier to identify trends in potential wrongdoing, and AI has the
potential to identify these types of crimes before they occur. The source is professional in tone
and clearly explains their findings.
Walton, A. (2013). Financial Intelligence Uses and Teaching Methods. Retrieved from
https://www-jstororg.ezproxy.neu.edu/stable/pdf/26485084.pdf?refreqid=excelsior:4f25a42eef8f3e218baacd03c5f
f644b
The article introduces the idea of Financial Intelligence and discusses some of the uses of
it. Financial intelligence is financial information regarding business transactions by financial
institutions and is reported to the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. These
include items such as Suspicious Activity Reports, which can become an important metric for
identifying potential crimes. The article is professional and gives clear and easy to understand
use cases for the data.
Grove, H., & Basilico, E. (2008). Fraudulent Financial Reporting Detection: Key Ratio Plus
Corporate Governance Factors. Retrieved from https://www-jstororg.ezproxy.neu.edu/stable/pdf/40397733.pdf?refreqid=excelsior:d6805509ed4dd026f4aeb5b43c
d09045
The article discusses a model including 5 factors that worked well in detecting fraudulent
financial reporting. The model had 76% accuracy detecting frauds 1 year before the crimes took
place. The three most important ratios were the gross margin index, sales growth index, and
accounts receivable index. There were also corporate governance ratios used. Overall, this article
presents an interesting way to identify financial crime using a tried and true statistical
methodology.
Delotta, C., & Otranto, E. (2011, July 9). Cycles in Crime and Economy: Leading, Lagging, and
Coincident Behaviors. Retrieved from https://www-jstororg.ezproxy.neu.edu/stable/pdf/43551932.pdf?refreqid=excelsior:cc4b6de83b667b4c2d081fdfb6
373292
This article details the relationship between the business cycle and crime rates. It tries to
identify leading, lagging, and coincident behaviors and indicators to see if they can be used to
identify future crimes. The authors used Italy as the case study. Evidently, most crimes show a
counter-cyclical behavior with respect to overall economic performance. That is when, the
economy does well, there is less crime. However, financial crimes seem to anticipate the
business cycle.
Chelst, K. (1978, August). An Algorithm for Deploying a Crime Directed Patrol Force. Retrieved
from https://www-jstororg.ezproxy.neu.edu/stable/pdf/2630696.pdf?refreqid=excelsior:cf51e6dafda01dc89ef2d7c452
58ddb5
This article discusses the possibility of efficiently deploying a patrol force according to an
algorithm. The main idea would be to identify areas where there is a high likelihood of crime,
and deploy patrol cars there. The paper shows the comparison of the algorithm to the
traditional way of deploying patrol cars according to total crime rate. The result was a much
higher chance of interception.
Kennedy, L., Caplan, J., & Piza, E. (2011, September). Risk Clusters, Hotspots, and Spatial
intelligence: Risk Terrain Modeling as an Algorithm for Police Resource Allocation Strategies.
Retrieved from https://www-jstororg.ezproxy.neu.edu/stable/pdf/23883826.pdf?refreqid=excelsior:e78dd289915807ff8720f796
7ea8eb5e
This paper continues the discussion of Risk Terrain Modeling. This talks about efficiently
allocating patrol cars to intercept the most crime. Distinguishing from other spatial awareness
techniques. Spatial awareness methods can be used for financial crimes to detect which sectors
are most likely to commit them.
Evans, D. (2001, July). Spatial Awareness of Crime. Retrieved from https://www-jstororg.ezproxy.neu.edu/stable/pdf/40573578.pdf?refreqid=excelsior:520db8996b73692a453b344
3be5aa6c5
This article discusses spatial analyses of crime and the best way to allocate the police
force. This particular article focuses on violent crimes. The ideology is applicable to financial
crimes. Once the algorithm is developed, it can be modified to apply to financial crimes.
Detecting those will require new indicators, but the basic framework is applicable.
Stevens, J. (1984, January). Objective Indicators, Personal Characteristics, and Satisfaction with
Safety from Crime and Violence: An Interaction Model. Retrieved from https://www-jstororg.ezproxy.neu.edu/stable/pdf/27521176.pdf?refreqid=excelsior:fa964185e2728c2e768c75ff9
c64ff1c
This paper discusses a model that allows crime rates, personal characteristics, or both to
determine satisfaction from reduction in crime rates. Essentially, the model attempts to find
the class of citizen that will benefit the most from reduction in crime rates. The model finds that
young children, older people, females, and the wealthy would benefit the most. Although this is
a very vague distinction, seemingly saying that middle aged males are the only ones who
wouldn’t benefit from a reduction in crime, it is still applicable to determining the parties that
will benefit from a reduction in financial crime.
Ybarra, L., & Lohr, S. (2002, March). Estimates of Repeat Victimization Using the National Crime
Victimization Survey. Retrieved from https://www-jstororg.ezproxy.neu.edu/stable/pdf/23366729.pdf?refreqid=excelsior:49f5dbe7e9a68e532d53487
9997dc739
Oftentimes, victims of crime are repeat victims. This means that those affected by
crimes have usually been affected by a crime beforehand. This paper uses National Crime
Victimization Survey data to look at this phenomenon. This can help identify whether victims of
financial crime are repeat victims.
Gottschalk, Petter. “Private Policing of Financial Crime: Fraud Examiners in White-Collar Crime
Investigations.” International Journal of Police Science & Management, vol. 18, no. 3, Sept.
2016, pp. 173–183, doi:10.1177/1461355716647744.
http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy.neu.edu/doi/abs/10.1177/1461355716647744
This article concentrates on fraud examiners in white-collar crime investigations represent the
private policing of financial crime. Examiners in crime investigations reconstruct the past to
create an account of who did what to make it happen or let it happen. This article addresses the
following research question: What is the contribution of fraud examiners in private
investigative policing of white-collar crime?
National Center for Victims of Crime. (2017). Financial Crime.
https://onesearch.library.northeastern.edu/primoexplore/fulldisplay?docid=NEU_ALMA51262998380001401&context=L&vid=NU&lang=en_US&
search_scope=default_scope&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=default_tab&query=an
y,contains,financial%20crime&sortby=rank
Financial and economic crimes cost American individuals and businesses billions of dollars every
year, causing financial and emotional distress. Financial fraud occurs when someone uses
deception or misrepresentation for financial gain. Financial fraud includes, but is not limited to:
mortgage or healthcare fraud, romance scams, sweepstakes, and Internet scams.
Baker, Neil. "Fraud and artificial intelligence: new machine-learning technology may help
businesses detect suspicious activity and mitigate the risk of fraudulent transactions." Internal
Auditor, Feb. 2005, p. 29+. Academic
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A129977780/AONE?u=mlin_b_northest&sid=AON
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Computer audit tools have been used for years to detect and investigate fraudulent behavior,
but can technology enable auditors to stop fraud before it actually takes place?
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