Flaws with Utilitarianism Essay

Among the most glaring problems that I see with Utilitarianism is its inclusion of animals under the umbrella that blankets this theory. It seems irrefutable that there exists an inordinate number of cases where the consequence that is against the best interest of an animal is favorable to humans, yet that dictating action is one that has been continually taken and condoned by the general public. This is a fundamental challenge, as the Utilitarian philosophy decrees that the pleasure and pain experienced by all individuals, including animals, has equal worth and must be considered when determining the net benefit of an action’s consequences. The most drastic and prevalent of examples that one could provide to illustrate this contradiction would be the practice of using animals to provide food. It cannot be argued that it is in the best interest of a cow, a chicken, or another animal to be slaughtered to serve the dietary needs of mankind. Accordingly, Utilitarian reasoning suggests, in direct opposition to the intuition of humanity, that it is morally impermissible to kill the animals. While a Utilitarian philosopher might provide the counter-argument that such is natural order of the world that there exist a hierarchical food tree. Further they would insist that the greater good is that humans be nourished and provided for by the meat, for our pleasure is superior in quality to that of the beast. This reasoning, however, is flawed in two ways. Initially, the method by which meat finds its way to grocery stores for our purchase and eventual consumption is not one governed by the ways of nature, but rather is one engineered for efficiency by humans. Animals are bread forcibly, then nourished with specific intent of managing fat content, meat flavor, and healthiness, each of which discounts the Utilitarian claim that nature makes our carnivorous methods ethically permissible. Secondly, and perhaps more fundamentally, such a claim is in direct contradiction to the Utilitarian tenet that each individual has equal value regardless of identity or stature. Because humans could be sufficiently nourished without the killing of animals, it cannot be argued that the consequence of causing death to an animal is equivalent or less substantial than that of feeding a man. Conversely, there exist equally as many challenges to raise had the ethicist taken the alternate position that animals have equal value and accordingly that their pleasure is impermissibly infringed upon when they are killed for human interest. Arguments could be presented for a bevy of actions taken on a daily basis by society as a whole. One might address the fact that using animal testing for the advancement of medicine has benefits that outweigh the pains. Similarly, while the development of land effectively kills the previously animal inhabitants, it is an accepted result that society has displayed it is willing to disregard. In each of these cases, the majority of society condones such behavior, as evidenced by their existence as common public practice. While it is undeniable that opposition to each behavior does exist, the magnitude of this resistance is far outweighed by those in finding the long term benefits worthy of the negative consequences. In the end, it grows apparent that while it may be valuable to consider the interests of animals when calculating the net benefit of a given action, neither their pleasure nor their pain should be equated to ours. Such a principle has been introduced through the ethical thought experiment The Dilemma of the Swine. Resultantly, human existence constitutes higher pleasure that does that of an animal and we are often better served by making such a distinction through intuitive analysis rather than applying â€Å"Hedonistic Calculus. † The fact that Utilitarianism can be forced into contradictions regardless of the stance they choose makes the inclusion of animals under their ethical umbrella a significant problem.

Heuristics

Heuristic can be defined as a method of argument in which postulates or assumptions are made that remain to be proven or that lead the arguers to discover the proofs themselves. Examples could be an educated guess or common sense. Educated guess because a person considers what they have observed in the past, and applies that history to a situation where a more definite answer has not yet been decided. Common sense because it is practical approaches that right and wrong nswers seem relatively clear cut.One out of three examples is the representativeness. Also considered the rule of thumb; when people are asked to Judge the probability that an object or event A belongs to class or process B, probabilities are evaluated by the degree to which A is representative of B, that is, by the degree to which A resembles B. Are used mainly in algorithms which is a program that doctors use to diagnose their patients by putting n their symptoms and following the questions and leads to more question s until the computer can say what is issue is and how to cure it.Two out of three examples is the availability. This is defined as a cognitive heuristic in which a decision makes relies upon knowledge that is readily available rather than examine other alternatives or procedures. This example shapes the way we view our world. The probability does make a difference in availability whether it be lives, whether or statics. Three out of three examples is the anchoring and adjustment.Anchoring and adjustment is what people use to make quantitative estimates. The primary effect and anchoring may combine, for example in regards to a Jury opinion can be swayed by an anchor by the first opinion. First impressions are everything but people are better at relative thinking than absolute thinking. Relative thinking is more conclusive because the truths are altered and absolute thinking is more of a common sense thing in todays functioning society.

Course & syllabus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Course & syllabus - Essay Example The importance of considering both are stressed and explained, as well as the difficulties involved. A greater emphasis on needs, aims, objectives and learning outcomes began when the Council of Europe’s Modern Languages Project attempted to remedy the over-emphasis on teaching methods in the 1970s (Stern, 1989: 212). This was a positive step but it became apparent later on, that treatment and evaluation related factors also needed to be considered for a more balanced approach. However, the focus of attention in this paper is on the needs, aims, objectives and learning outcomes. Needs analysis A needs analysis is a â€Å"systematic collection and analysis of all subjective and objective information necessary to define and validate defensible curriculum purposes †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Brown, 1995: 36). Often, a needs assessment is not undertaken for devising language courses. It is generally thought that it is not possible to be specific in identifying needs. However, it has been sho wn to be not only possible, but also useful in English language classrooms to support problem solving and â€Å"as a basis for aims, courses, and materials; and to provide a concrete illustration of how analysis of data can be performed, and how a tight and direct link can be maintained between needs, aims, and materials, and what actually occurs in the classroom† (Seedhouse, 1993). ... According to Brown (1995, ch. 2), they generally involve two things, firstly making basic decisions such as identifying the types of people involved, the information needed and points of view, and secondly gathering information such as types of questions, instruments, choosing procedures and other factors. For providing such information, Richards (2001: 63-64) recommends a number of strategies such as conducting a literature survey and conducting interviews. This would help to find out information such as the situations in which English is used most frequently, in which difficulties are encountered, perceived difficulties, frequencies of errors, suggestions, opinions, and so on. The Council of Europe model suggests the approach should be systematic and centred on the learner (Richterich & Chancerel, 1977). The Munby (1978) model also advocates the same but also suggests considering features pertaining to the target situation in which the language will be used. The information gleaned from this analysis is then fed as input for processing both language skills and meaning, i.e. for identifying the micro-skills and functions that would be required. Muby also mentions a number of other variables that should be considered, but these are recommended for after, not before, the syllabus is specified. However, all the pertinent information should ideally be gathered beforehand as part of the needs analysis not when the syllabus is finalised. Hutchinson & Waters (1987) formed a number of specific questions in their framework for target situation analysis, and based on these, further questions for analysing learning needs. These are listed in the table below. These questions are useful to ensure that all the important aspects

Administration and Politics Dichotomy Research Paper

Administration and Politics Dichotomy - Research Paper Example He came up with this theory because of the increased rate of corruption, urbanization and migration. He thought that jobs were given out to people who were under-qualified for public service jobs, which resulted to more inabilities. That is why he wanted to discover what a government could do more efficiently and in what ways without any involvement from the politics. In his investigation he figured the existence of politics and administration distinction which became known as â€Å"politic- administration dichotomy†. He thought that politics should only determine what government should do by the elected persons and administration should be responsible to put these policies to work by the civil servants. (Overeem, 2012) In my opinion Wilson’s theory has proved workable for politics being the expression of policies for the well-being of the nation and its people and administration being the body for executing these policies in the best possible way. It has proved to be practical in the United States which helped the US to move from a rural agricultural society to an industrial nation. Although some have contradictory believes about this study can work very well in a small town where day to day managerial decisions are taken by the community or the aldermen of the society, who are also law-makers of the community, whereas this form of government cannot work on one coming out of a dictatorship, communism and socialism and is known as a third-world nation. One advantage of administration-politics dichotomy is that administrative matters and decisions would not be driven by politics. Although politics provides work to administration but it should not be able to make it do what it wants and should not affect laws and regulations. The purpose of politics is to provide guidance to the public administrations, it’s their job to be the voice for the public and make it heard by the administrators. Whereas, the job of a

Book review of Hiroshima by Ronald Takaki Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Book review of Hiroshima by Ronald Takaki - Essay Example He seeks to prove that the American desire to end the war was just one of the many factors that lead to the final decision to drop the bomb. The story around Takakis argument is the little known reasoning behind the decision to drop the atomic bomb. Instead of simply focusing on the most accepted reason, to end the war, he explores other factors other than the obvious. His study of Harry Trumans letters to his wife, sister, mother, and his secret Potsdam Diary to open a "way to a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of the reasons for the atomic attack" (Takaki 5). By analyzing the feelings of the President he succeeds in bringing together the many factors that led to the end decision. He proves to the reader the overwhelming postwar concern that Truman and other leaders felt and their urgency to exert their world power and dominance towards Stalin and Soviet expansion. As Robert Griffith reveals in his article for The American Historical Review Dwight D Eisenhower was aware of these postwar concerns writing, â€Å"Eisenhower struggled to strike a balance among the competing claims of the services and his lette rs are filled with angry denunciations of military self interest† (Griffith 96). Takaki reveals that in the beginning the atomic bomb was intended to target Germany, not Japan and that it was later determined that Germany did not have any atomic capabilities therefore diminishing the threat. Takaki then questions why the bomb was then dropped on Japan, a country we also knew did not have any atomic capabilities. He says, "The reason for this acceleration was not the possibility of Japanese atomic threat. Japan lacked the resources and technical knowledge to become a nuclear power" (Takaki 20). As Andrew Rotter confirms in his book review for the Journal of American History, â€Å"Japans nascent bomb project was

The term globalization used in relation to a host of social, economic, Essay

The term globalization used in relation to a host of social, economic, cultural and political processes - Essay Example To provide the reader with a broader meaning of globalization, I provide lists of selected definitions from recent authors and writers. These experts are from different disciplines and organizations as well as from both poor and rich countries. The organizations include the United Nations systems, universities, and leading media outlets. The disciplines include management and journalism. Still, the list must be seen only as a small sample and is not intended to be comprehensive. "It is the inexorable integration of markets, nation-states and technologies to a degree never witnessed before-in a way that is enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before, and in a way that is enabling the world to reach into individuals, corporations and nation-states farther, faster, deeper, cheaper than ever before." "Globalization is the growing interdependence of the world's people a process integrating not just the economy but culture, technology, and governance. People everywhere are becoming connected-affected by events in far corners of the world." "Present day globalization is a unique convergence of technological, economic and political forces of daunting power and influence, having a massive impact on all aspects of public and private life in economic, social, political and cultural affairs at global, national and local levels. As it influences states and their partner actors, it is also exploited and shaped both positively and negatively by those with the foresight and resources to appreciate its power. Yet, so diverse and overwhelming is globalization's manifold influences that no one group or sector can control or stop it. As such, it has been responded to and manipulated by a range of actors in the public, private and civil society actors, is instigated in good and bad motives, and has benefited some social and economic groups, but has hurt others who have become more vulnerable and disempowered due to its influence." -United Nations (2000:10) "Globalization has three dimensions: cultural-ideational, politico-institutional, and economic. There are three ordinarily ranked levels of economic integration: existence of global infrastructure, harmonization and convergence of economic policies and institutions, and/or borderlessness. To understand the policy implications of cross border economic integration, we need to focus on flow of goods and services as well as factors of production-land, labour, capital, entrepreneurship, and technology." -Aseem Prakash and Jeffery A. Hart (1998:611) "All institutions have to make global competitiveness a strategic goal. No institution, whether a business, a university, or hospital, can hope to survive, let alone to succeed, unless it measures up to the standards set by the leaders in its field, any place in the world. The world economy is increasingly becoming global. National boundaries are impediments and cost centers." -Peter F. Drucker (1999:61, 63)"We cannot live as isolated individuals. As market

Protest & Reform - Protest Songs From the Civil Rights Movement Essay

Protest & Reform - Protest Songs From the Civil Rights Movement - Essay Example One person might start humming a tune and ultimately those who heard it would join in, spreading the music across the multitude of people gathered. The leaders of the Civil Rights Movement inspired many of the lyrics used in the existing gospel songs. King found many of his words from the speeches he had delivered incorporated into the music. When King explained to a group of individuals that he had woke that morning with freedom on his mind, he was later quoted in a gospel song that had been altered to reflect his comments. The message that he had delivered during his speech had been set to music and circulated throughout the communities. King’s oration â€Å"I Have A Dream† (Dlugan, 2009) may have been the inspiration for other songs that promoted the message of freedom. The songs that were used in the Civil Rights Movement stem from Negro Gospel Music. Tunes were jazzed up and lyrics were changed to accommodate the situation. By changing a few words to well-known songs, everyone could participate in a congregational setting and sing in unison at any event. While all of the songs are still sung in worship services across the United States, some of the Civil Rights lyrics have made it into Choral groups and been performed for various audiences by both children and adult groups. The following list of songs were frequently sung during the Civil Rights Era: The number of songs used during the Civil Rights Movement were not limited to just these titles. Many other songs were created to capture the attention of the media, promote unity, and create a cohesion between all individuals supporting the Civil Rights Movement. Depending on the situation or event, the song chosen was often determined by an individual in the congregation. One such event found all the prisoners at a jail singing â€Å"Hold On† and they were joined by others who heard and recognized the music. The lyrics to several of the

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mycobacterium tuberculosis - Essay Example Particles that are 1-5 mm in size may be kept airborne for prolonged periods, and when inhaled by a susceptible individual, the droplet traverses through the nasal passages, towards the lung alveoli where they are engulfed by macrophages and distributed throughout the body. The bacteria may remain dormant but still viable for many years (this is called latent TB infection). People with latent TB infection are not infectious, but have 10% chance of developing an active TB infection later in life. Persons who have poor immune systems or who have other sicknesses have higher risks of being actively infected; for example, persons with HIV have the highest risk of getting TB (Gandhi, et al., 2006). Co-infection with other diseases increases the difficulty in treating the tuberculosis. A TB patient that has high chances of enhancing transmission has the following characteristics: a) lung disease; b) has cough; c) positive for presence of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in the sputum; d) does not c over mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing; e) has chest cavitations as observed in the chest radiograph or X-ray; f) and did not finish the whole range anti-TB drug therapy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005). The likelihood of transmitting TB to others is enhanced in relatively small, enclosed spaces with inadequate local ventilation that does not ensure the removal of the air droplets containing the bacterium. M. tuberculosis by itself does not cause harm because it does not produce any toxin. However it can steadily build up and increase in number in the body. It attaches to surfaces in the lungs and produces deposits called tubercles. The tubercles cause inflammation and parasitically deplete the nutritional requirements of the host resulting in what is known as the condition of â€Å"consumption†. This condition results in loss in appetite, over-all weakness and coughing as more tubercles are formed in the patient. Tuberculosis is a global problem; in 2006, the disease killed 1.7 million people and is the main cause of deaths in people with HIV/AIDS (World Health Organization, 2009). Eight million people worldwide, and in the US, 1 in 14,801 or 0.01% of the population are actively infected. The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world’s population harbor the TB bacterium, with potential of becoming actively infected. Tuberculosis can also be transmitted from persons who have the bacterium but are not being treated for TB, or from persons with TB, but are unaware that they have it. Infectiousness of individuals also vary; some patients are never infectious, while those that are unaware that they have TB and are not receiving treatment could be infectious for prolonged periods (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1994). Symptoms of TB are persistent cough, bloody sputum, weight loss, night sweats and fever. Tests for TB are available and should be performed if a person is thought to be infected especially in countries or regions where TB is prevalent. To diagnose TB, chest radiography (or X-rays), skin tests, and sputum microscopy and culture are performed. All of these tests may be necessary to make a diagnosis. The purified protein derivative (PPD)-tuberculin skin test is the only known test that can detect the infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but care should be given in interpreting the results. Chest x-rays are suggestive of TB if cavitation

History of the Maori language Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of the Maori language - Research Paper Example In the 1980s, there were vigorous initiatives that were aimed at reviving the Maori language (NZ History, 2012). These initiatives yielded admirable results as more than a hundred thousand people could speak and understand the language without any difficulties. The Maori language evolved over time, and it changed as people separated in to villages and occupied different geographical locations. The regional variations came up due to the differences in regional climates and modes of subsistence of the regional constituents. It is imperative to note that the modern Maori language is different from the native language, as it has borrowed many terminologies from other languages like English. The high number of settlers increased the need for communication in New Zealand, and the Maori language did not meet the entire demands for communication (NZ History, 2012). The missionaries imitated the documentation of the Maori language to preserve and protect it from disappearing. Later, in the 1820s, a professor from Cambridge University systematized the Maori language. In the 1870s, the Maori language was the official language of communication with the missionaries, their children and the government officials during official New Zealand national functions (Flittner, 2001). Later on, the Maori language started loosing its popularity to English language. The native speakers of the Maori language questioned the language and its representation of their cultural identity. The Maori native speakers lost pride in their language since they deserved a language that could represent their true identity as a distinct culture. Further, many schools scrapped off the Maori language from the school syllabus, and any student who was caught speaking the Maori language was severely punished (NZ History, 2012). The Second World War gave the Maori language

Employee Participation Essay Example for Free

Employee Participation Essay Of all the subjects controlled by the societal, public, and employment strategy set by the European Union (EU), the intrinsic worth of implementing worker participation in the administration of businesses on a wide extent has turned out to be highly contentious over the years. The stipulations put forward by the EU, for example, equivalent opportunities for employees as that of employers, operational or working timing, and unusual contracts, all of them, time and again, have triggered disagreements amid employers. Despite the fact that an increasing number of organizations are turning out to be of interest in employee participation as a possible measure for expanding labor efficiency and trimming down nonattendance, staff resignation rate, and rate of recurrence of industrial disagreements. Considered as the most hostile and invasive, is that kind of employee participation, which outwardly inflicts constrictions on the management’s perquisites or their privilege for that matter. Traditional executives dread, though, that due to the pressures on an employee participation system, grounding on their temporary, peculiar interests would, among other things, steer to too much wage upsurge. These could possibly lead to a decline of internal principal on hand for investing or capital spending in the short run and for moving the available capital out of the country in the long run. It is much unexpected that there has been very slight economic evaluation of the present familiarity with employee participation. The majority of researches have dealt with the topic entirely from a philosophical, historical, or sociological perspective. (Svejnar, pp. 1, n. d. ) Recently, employee participation has grown into a central point in labor-management discourse and a significant matter on the European political arena. (Raskin, n. p. , 1976) In certain countries systemized work force has been revealing an urge for involvement in management, as a way of democratizing the whole business systems and policies. Lately, though, this gravity has intensified, nonetheless, creating numerous problems, which are in fact, compounded by a number of reasons, one, and a very major, of which is the utter assortment of standing official and legal frameworks within the associate states of the EU. Various Systems followed by the EU Member States Considering the member states of the EU, the employee participation and representation at executive level, for instance, is obligatory in private corporations situated in Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, and most Scandinavian countries. On the other hand, countries like France and the Netherlands practice the ‘hybrid form’, while there are still others like Greece and Spain, which allow for this kind of system only in the communal or public sector. In contrast, countries such as, Italy, Belgium and the UK constitute no stipulation at all. (EIRO, pp. I-IV, 1998) The principles and conventions regulating works councils and coalition representation at workplace or sub-executive levels evenly complicated. In the Scandinavian countries, Italy, Ireland and the UK, there happens to be ‘single channels’ of representation via the joint associations. In case of ‘dual channel’ system of representation, the employees are spoken for by work councils, which function beside the unions. In countries like France and Belgium, the manager presides over the work council; however in the majority of other countries, for example Portugal, the Netherlands, and Germany, the work councils simply contain employee representatives. On the other hand, in Ireland and the UK, employee representation has conventionally been identified merely on a voluntary base, even though elsewhere it is regulated by established rules or communal agreements. Rationales The concepts of a ‘democratic organization’, ‘employee involvement and ‘employee participation’ have sustained arguments and disagreements. The degree to which the management is ready to let their employees to take part in matters concerning decisions about their lives at work is in fact one of the most complicated, vibrant debated features of employment relations as they have developed in technologically advanced countries. All concerned parties differ in their interests and viewpoints. In general, the managers suppose that the employees should be assimilated into organization’s frameworks to make certain that they realize the organization’s intentions, targets and objectives and can add into its success. Unions, on the other hand, may possibly be keen to hold out their impact over the management’s decision making to making sure that their own priorities, for example power over work patterns, or in cases when employment patterns are stable, are suitably met. System Followed by Germany The system of employee participation is developed and regulated by the German co-determination law. This law making has its origin in the Weimar Constitution of 1919, which, grounded on a social-democratic philosophy, created constraints on personal rights over possessions and took care for the social privileges and entitlement to life of its people. Under the Article No. 65 of the very Constitution, it was publicly stated that the waged working staff was to be granted correspondence with managers in settling with salaries and working circumstances and to be allowed a full opportunity to express opinions when deciding the overall economic advancement. The 1920 Works Councils Act specified that organizations with no less than twenty workers ought to set up a works council made up of representatives opted for at workplaces, which consult with the board on the carrying out of business objectives. Two years later, the directive was revised to allow works council representation of a couple of their members in directorial management of corresponding organizations and restricted involvement in the board’s decision making process. These were the fundamental developments that molded the base for co-determination law. Both the Weimar Constitution and the Works Council were done away with as the Nazi’s rule made its entrance. The directive, on the other hand, was revitalized in the shape of the Coal, Iron and Steel Industry Co-determination Act of 1951. The Act was originally designed for the coal and steel firms employing greater than a thousand employees but then later, in 1976, the Co-determination Act enfolding all large organizations was legislated and is presently in effect. In case of major and significant organizations, the present structure grants for an equal number of twenty representatives to in the same way be represented by stockholders and employees, with the stockholders decided on at the general stockholders’ meeting. The worker representatives include delegates from workers’ associations and those chosen from all the different levels of workers. The twofold technique of industrial relations in Germany has maintained collective bargaining and the ascertaining of salary and specifications, not together with the subject of participation for example information release, discussions, meetings and co-determination. Here the industrial relations system has been portrayed as ‘sanctioned, integrated, and cooperative’. Focusing on the effects of employee participatory system in Germany, regarding the wages, both in short and long-run, the representation is said to be quite a fruitful one, because it gives evident examples of several participatory systems from the post World War II events to the Co determination law of 1951, which provided employees with 50% representation on the executive boards. The very Act is also said to have created the rank of a labor director on the management panels of all corporations. Despite of the fact that the employee participatory and representative groups in Germany were considered as distinct from the trade unions and the process of wage determination, an uncertainty comes up that whether their effect on wages was in fact missing. In real, there happens to be a considerable connection between unions and the employee representative groups in relation to their workforce, their objectives and activities. But without any reason, it is said that the union and board representatives diverge substantially in their opinions as to the influence of employee participation and representation on wages. Having a unique system of employee participation in corporate management, the German corporate system is said to have some gain. The very advantage appears when it is about effectively testing out and verifying mistreatments by the management. The German corporate system is a twofold one, where the administrative management performs the role of corporate surveillance, whereas the executive board accountable for execution. Originally, the Co determination Act was envisioned to arbitrate the possible disagreements or conflicting interests between the employees and employers and was highly in the favor of workforce. Currently it has been moving on, assuming to an increased level, the function of managing the corporate administration. Although there is some disapproval regarding the fact that the legislation has mislaid its essence with reported circumstances where the board treated employee representatives, in a way to high officials accommodated for and by them, it stays to be a considerable extent to elevate the understanding of societal responsibilities and obligations amid corporate managers and their movements for public causes. (Otsuka, pp. 3, 2006) System followed in the UK In the UK, the whole world is observed through a prism of collective bargaining by unions, which has provided industrial relations with an argumentative placement. Contrasting with the ‘sanctioned, integrated, and cooperative’ industrial relations followed in Germany, the UK’s system is ‘voluntary, dispersed, and opposition-based’. (William, pp. V, 1988) However, such divergences haven’t been taken much into consideration by the Commission of the European Communities, when it is time for them to propose systems of employee participation. In the year 1970, the European company statute and the Fifth directive were founded widely on the basis of the German model but did not have much appeal for the UK. Moreover, amid the important factors, particularly governments, point of views regarding employee participation have gone through periods of interest and aggression. Taking successive UK governments as instances, the governments in the 1970s, both the Conservative and Labour, were normally in favour of the propositions included in the European company statute and the Fifth directive for employee participation and representation at management’s level. But on the other hand, in the 1980s and 1990s, the Conservative governments were unbendingly against all systems of employee participation, even though these situations were, as a minimum, partly looked over when the succeeding Labour government, in 1997, endorsed the social chapter, and in so doing established European Works Councils into the UK. (Gold, pp. 2 , n. d. ) If looked upon in the past, the Commission has been prosperous in achieving approval for the system of employee participation when it is connected with certain areas of industrial relations. According to the 1975 directive on collective redundancies, the employers are required to notify employee representatives concerning the particulars and to refer to them with a view to pursuing an agreement. Then there was an ‘acquired rights directive’ of 1977, after that, the ‘health and safety framework directive’ of 1989, which provided the employees the privilege to acquire information on threat considerations and safety measures. More recently, the statute adopted in 2004, provides employee representatives in the organizations included several rights to information and consultation without any bias. However, the implementation of all these employee rights has time and again, proved challenging in the UK, because the commandments put away the characterization of ‘employee representatives’ up to the state’s legislation. Under the critical environment of sinking union membership, and prior to the arrival of legislative stipulations for union recognition, leave alone worker representation, this has implied that managers frequently do not possess representatives to advise or consult. In 1994, the European Court of Justice, brought forward two litigations against the UK for failing to suitably implement the directives passed in 1975, and the transfer of responsibilities, instructed that it was mandatory for all the EU states to establish appropriate systems for assigning suitable employee representatives. In the UK, the Bullock Committee was established by the government to assess the matter of executive-level employee representation, but managers and several other officials of the labour movement proved intimidating, and the Conservative governments voted for during the course of 1980s and 1990s ruled out any possibility of lawmaking on the issue, as it has a need of an undisputed, common vote on the Council. Nonetheless, a Green Paper was published in 1975, by the Commission, to inspect the major disagreements provoked. The Social and Economic Committee along with the European Parliament both argued upon the topic in detail. To close, the Commission assumed an amended text, in 1953, on the draft Fifth which has not been withdrawn officially up till now. Conclusion In my opinion, keeping in mind all the aforementioned prospects of employee participation and representation, the UK should certainly respect all the directives passed by the EU and all other Unions formed in coalition with all the European states and should give up its present times general framework, under which representation only occurs through unions, and which leaves large gaps in stipulation in those organizations where union membership is vulnerable and sometimes even non-existent. It is necessary for the UK to revive itself from being isolated in the Council, and should bring about measures in order to mobilise its blocking minority. Following the German twofold system, which is better in every way, and also being successful in introducing European Works Councils, it has been foreseen and seen respectively, by the UK employers themselves that this has enhanced their effectiveness in granting a medium for information exchange

The Related Diversification In A Business

The Related Diversification In A Business Since the pioneering study of Rumelt (1947) an extensive research has focused on the effects of diversification on firm performance. Two types of diversification are generally selected by then firms. Variables of investigation like firm size, industry performance and their effects on performance are not controlled. Typical studies always focus upon that how a firm diversifies? Managers take strategic decisions about product/industry diversification and always choose the appropriate strategies. Current study reveals that much diversification has reduced the risk leading to a better performance. More diversification need not to improve the performance of firms. It can be argued that current thinking encourages the broad diversification which is warranted, suggesting that unrelated diversification selection has poorer managers on average. In this paper we examine an alternative explanation of the difference between the two types of the diversifications across the different firms impacting on their performances. Porters thinking on corporate strategies is focused on the diversification and its effects on the firms. Hamel and Prahalad advocate the diversified corporations must be not looked only the portfolio of discrete business but a collection of important competencies used in market for different products. Literature on diversification and performance represents the sustainable work in the business strategy. Rumelts (1947) has tested the hypothesis that companies adopting the strategy other than related diversification has not performed well. Another avenue taken in the efforts marks linear versus non-linear structure of diversification-modeling relationship (Palich, Cardinal and Miller, 2000). Three main important perspectives are identified by the Montgomery (1994) which helps to know that why a firm selects to diversify: market power, resource based view and agency theory. Agency theory says that diversification is due to the managerial interests at the expense of stakeholders. Managers seek the diversification because they want to increase the compensation and also provide the ways to make the firms more secure and also reduce the dangers of their personal investment portfolio. Diversified firms are more consolidated and form the organizing of economic activities in more effective ways (Penrose, 1959). Market power is third theoretical perspective from which corporate diversification is motivated. Why the Firms Diversify? Firms exist due to their products and managers maximize the profits. An entity called Marshalls representative firm has resemblance with the real business firms and more than one products are integrated. Business transactions are key role player which determine distribution of the firms activities in industries. Related Diversification It is claimed that multi-business firms having the same business portfolios may get advantages which non-diversifies business firms cannot achieve. This raises the two main questions. Firstly the kinds of similarity and secondly the circumstances under which similar business portfolios give the efficient advantages. It is seen that relevant similarities imply the resources substitution and complement the resources in other company. First we look the situation in which involving resources substitute across the industries. Teece (1980, 1982) has pointed out that there exist such indivisibilities which explain the joint production but did not explain that why joint production is organized in a single firm. In case when the excess capacity is created and traded in well established markets, then single firm and unrelated diversifier have opportunity to sell out their excess products. They can also buy the products according to their capacity from other companies. Two separate companies ca n contact each other to share the input facilities. Joint production may have fewer benefits as compared to the dangers which are greater in numbers and their impacts. Firm integration depends upon the comparative benefits of contacting and costs. Only the resource substitutability is not the source of efficiency gains but it also needed the resource complementarily (Teece, Rumelt, Dosi, Winter, 1994). The process of complementary increases as the investment in another company is increased. Also the resource use in one industry affects the resource use in another industry. These qualitative and quantitative coordination problems are well controlled by the diversified firms (Richardson, 1972; Milgrom Roberts, 1992). All kinds of supply chain use the process of complementarities but only a few are integrated. Diversification exploits the complementarities only when specialized firms are prevented by the transaction costs to recognize the benefits of contacts. Complementary products are also main type of the relatedness. The products of every company are used with the conjunction of other complementary products of same company or another company. For example computers are used with software, cars are purchased with loans, and e lectronic equipments are purchased with other accessories; hence these strategic practices concerning the complements are distinguished (Porter, 1985). Unrelated Diversification So for the arguments presented mainly focus upon the decisions which exploit the valuable resources across the industries. A prediction that related diversification should outperform the unrelated diversification or conglomerate diversification exists in the literature about the diversification. In US the conglomerates that arose during 1960s did not disappear from corporate scene. As the Rumelt (1982) has reported that number of single business firms decreased very rapidly during the 1950s which resulted in increase the unrelated business firms. However the major US companies continued to be diversified during the 1990s. Montgomery (1994) reported that from 1985 to 1992 more than two third of 500 Fortune companies were interested in five distinct business lines. Companies having slow growth industry need to use the excess cash to initiate the diversifying. Business firms can leverage their core using the best strategy. But unrelated businesses only need the diversification when attractive profit prospects are offered by the related business opportunities. Joint venture is logically possible with other organizations into areas of business. Strategic sense makes a sizeable profit in companies adopting the diversification. A strong company with slow-growth industry needs to curtail the new investment in present facilities. A concept about the diversification is the strategic fit in the field of strategic management. This concept also implies that when the weaknesses and strengths of companies are realized and top management begins considering the need of diversification through the process of acquisition. The purpose of this model is not only acquiring through the diversification but also identifying the strengths which are transferable into other markets. This model is useful for the firms with distinctive capabilities entering into new market through the acquisition (Salter Weinhold, 1979). Finally companies try to manage the interdependence through the acquisition or diversification and also sustain their growth. Objectives of Diversification Trends and contingencies provide the analysis which indicates that a company must diversify and avail the diversification opportunities. What are the diversification opportunities? Three main opportunities are included here in this paper which significantly impacts the firms performance. Diversification due to unique products ensures that material used for the manufacturing is composed of the functional components, basic materials and other parts which form the final shape of the product. A big lot of material is purchased from the suppliers from outside. Vertical diversification branches out the all production into its components, parts and materials. One of outstanding example of vertical diversification is the Ford Empire. This vertical diversification not only introduces the new products but also caters the new mission. We have already given a touch to horizontal diversification that introduces the new products which are not inline; cater to those missions in companys knowledge a lso experience in marketing, technology and finance. Third way of diversification is lateral diversification that moves beyond the limits of the firms which a firm belongs. Horizontal and vertical diversifications are restrictive because horizontal and vertical diversifications delimit the field of interest while lateral diversification is more extensive. Premises of Corporate Strategy Numbers of premises are required to build the successful corporate strategy. Facts of diversification cant be altered and when these are ignored the corporate strategy fails. The diversification at Marriot has exploited the food services and hospitality due to well-developed skills. Marriot earns a great margin due to its services in nine regional procurement centers. The diversification in Marriot has balanced the start- ups and acquisitions. The start-up is used for the acquisition of small companies. Marriot has expanded its geographic base; acquires the companies and disposes those parts which do not fit. Companies need sharing activities when diversify across the business evolving the similar evolutionary paths. Many industries in the market share the activities. Wal-Mart performs such activities of sharing and distributes at its discount stores and Sams Club warehouses. These companies get success through diversifying across the similar companies enough for their requirements. Companies compromise on activities which become generic when the divisions of companies grow in different in their core requirement. Porter has worked on the business strategies for different industries, companies and concentrated on different aspects of the diversification in business. Porter has also worked on diversification and companies can spread risk and attain development by the diversification and acquisition. Blue-Chip companies including the Boston Consulting Companies and McKinsey developed the models for discovering which companies will raise and fall. Porter has identified the three critical tests for the success. An Attractive Test: Diversification adopting companies must be structurally attractive and attractive industries will produce better results and entry barriers will be high. Suppliers and customers will have very moderate bargaining power and very few products will substitute. Unattractive industries have high fixed costs and also high rivalry. Cost of Entry Test: When cost of entry is high it will prejudice the potential investment and profitability which will also erode before the game starts. Better-off test: It is required that how the acquiring will provide the advantage in acquiring and significant advantage to others. Porter has tackled these issues by knowing the competition unit level. Identifying the core businesses based on the strategies. Core businesses include those which are found in attractive industries and competitive advantage is found in these industries. Interrelationships among the core businesses can be facilitated by creating the horizontal organizational mechanisms. Diversification opportunities are pursued based on the shared activities and pass the all three critical tests. Skills can be transferred through the shared activities pursuing the diversification. Porter has further addressed the assertion and says that internet is in infancy; too observes that lack of strategies like diversification will result in weak market penetration. He has argued that many internet companies are following to run on the unsustainable competitiveness. He further says that new rules of competition will be thrown up by the re-emerging principles (Porter, 2001). Porter found that diversification st rategies had failed in US as many companies were not successful to create the value (Porter, 1987). He provided the proof of his comments as he had seen that many companies in US cut costs and downsized their staff during the 1980s. However this strategy of diversification could not create value for these companies. Porter (1985) has also said that diversified company is nothing without synergy; it is only a mutual fund. Kanter (1989) has also argued that diversifications justification is only the achievement of synergy. However both of the Porter and Knater have acknowledged that companies find it hard to achieve the synergy, therefore the high rate of failure is there for companies. Porter has vast experience to study the diversification from 1950 to 1986 for leading thirty-three companies of the US and concluded that track record of diversification remained poor and in many cases of acquisition was divested. During the 1970s many acquired business units were resold and establishe d themselves as independent firms (Porter, 1987). Prior to porter strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats were framed on SWOT framework developed by the Harvard (Andrew, 1971). However this framework lacked an analytical foundation. Porter Competitive strategy has changed the strategic management during his work in 1970; it has achieved high value in 1990 and still is shaping the thinking on competitive strategy. His work is academic to a fault Mr. Porter is about as likely to produce a blockbuster full of anecdotes and boosterish catch-phrases as he is to deliver a lecture dressed in bra and stockings. (Porter, 1994). He abstracted his thinking into digestible chunks of business and he proved to be helpful for the business and academic world. In every organization of the world Porters five forces are used more frequently. Later thinking of the Porter on corporate strategy rides runs on the new ways of evolutionary approach. Value chain model of Porter attempts to analyze those resources which are possessed by the companies; companies perform the activities linked together. Intrinsic factors like work morale, corporate culture, level of communication, team spirit, leadership and interpersonal skills exploit the maximum inherent power of employees. However Porter does not include these factors in analysis. Primary and supporting technologies are identified in competitive advantage. What are the core technologies which impact an organization in achieving the competitive advantage? The core functions consist of internal resources of a company such as company culture, management and organizational stru cture. Joint ventures or acquisition adds new skills to the corporation but in Competitive Advantage the intrinsic factors always lead to create or develop technology advancement. Merging or acquiring is also included in the advance technology of diversification. Prahalad and Hamel (1990) have argued that diversified corporations must not be seen as portfolio of discrete business; but also the collection of the competitively necessary competencies; which are used in many markets and different products. Above arguments of Prahalad and Hamel are based on the Honda Company. The core competence theory of Hamel and Prahalad has identified the fundamentals of the core competencies in companies. Bundle of skills and technologies shape the core competence and not the single skill or the technology do it. Prahalad et.al (2001) argues that firms achieve the core competencies when multiple technologies are harmonized along with the customer knowledge, skills and marketing institution to manage them synergistically. This is called the creative building (Prahalad et.al, 2001). Both of Hamel and Prahalad have focused upon the production skills and corporate wide technologies to define the core competencies. The importance of the Prahalad arguments rests on the similarities found in the forms of relatedness as well as in unrelated business. However Hamel and Prahalad concede that approach adopted by the Porter embodies the concept of strategic fit; matching the external requirement with the organizations resources is not so much wrong but it can be referred as unbalanced. Managers imply the concept of strategy that fits with the resources of an organization. According to Hamel and Prahalad the Porters approach is not wrong but it tends to vague the approach where strategic stretch supplements the strategic fit. Here the strategic means the creation of the gap between resources and ambition. We again come to the core competencies but now it comes from the school of Prahalad and Hamel. Hamel and Prahalad (1990) argued that management created organizational abilities of making the products according to the needs of the customers. They have argued as: The skills that together constitute the core competence must coalesce around individuals whose efforts are not so narrowly focused that they cannot recognize the opportunities for blending their functional expertise with those of others un new and interesting ways (Prahalad Hamel, 1990, p.82). The strategic capability brings the cluster of attributes which assist to achieve the competitive advantage. Toyota is a company which has adopted the diversification strategy and Toyota carmakers are happy with the preferred brands as Prius and hybrid cars. General Motors, BMW and DaimlerChrysler have scrambled to roll out their own hybrid products. Ford has also taken step to increase its products but Toyota is leading to produce the more diversified hybrid products. So for we have discussed the different aspects of the diversification across the different companies; theories of Hamel and Prahalad have focused upon the core competencies of the organizations. These core competencies make differentiation of firms adopting them. Porter has advocated that co-operation and collaboration are the means to retain the competitive advantage. Porter has seen that any sign of alliance may prove to be the source of erosion for the long term competitive advantage. Conclusion: We have tried in this paper to focus upon the corporate strategies in business. In most part of the paper we have focused upon the diversification strategy. Diversification with its two common types is described briefly. We have seen that most of the companies in the world operate on the related diversification. The relationship between the cash flow sensitivity and corporate diversification is also investigated in this paper. The cash flow of diversified companies is lower as compared to cash holding. Diversification objectives are also given in this paper. Arguments on the corporate strategy have focused the views of the Porter and other economists. Corporate strategy of Porter depends upon the competitive advantage. It is tried to evaluate the arguments of porter that diversification destroys the value; but Hamel and Prahalad have contradicted the views of the Porter about the core competencies with examples. Quotes from the Porters work are included in this paper which is based o n corporate strategy.

Global Warming Merits Widespread Moral Outrage Essay -- Climate Change,

Global Warming Disaster Merits Widespread Moral Outrage    Global warming will take its toll of human life to the tune of hundreds of thousands every year. According to John Broome--the Chair of Moral Philosophy at Oxford--these unfortunate victims of society's next big challenge will die by three main causes: heat waves, expansion of tropical diseases to temperate latitudes, and increased flooding. And yet many of my fellow EEB (ecology and evolutionary biology) grad students felt that the direct loss of life was a pittance in comparison with the indirect effects of global warming, such as the loss of ecosystem services caused by the devastation of the natural world and the social turmoil associated with the inundation of the many millions of homes by the rising oceans.    There are three paradoxes to the politics of global change, which together can only lead to the conclusion that the US government's stance is horrendously unjust. The Bush stance to which I'm referring is the recent decision to withdraw completely from negotiations for the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. By this international treaty, the Clinton administration had agreed to limit US emissions of CO2--the largest anthropogenic contributor to global warming--to 7% less than 1990 levels by 2007. Bush's decision directly contradicted an explicit campaign promise to limit national emissions of air pollutants including carbon dioxide. This monumental decision enraged EU leaders and humiliated EPA director (ex-NJ Governor) Christie Whitman, who had just stated publicly that Bush would implement the Kyoto Protocol.    The first paradox is that Bush's justification of the decision is that the Protocol is unfair to US because it does not explic... ... spend thousands of dollars to prevent their children contracting malaria as the plasmodium-carrying mosquitoes spread North? And what are we going to tell the many millions of Bangladeshis who will soon lose their lowland communities? I am going to tell them that I am deeply sorry, and that I fought the good fight. I will tell them that I refused to act as an apologist for indefensible American policies. I will tell them that I refused to partake in discussion of the finer points of emissions trading or carbon sink credits without first pointing out that the very basis for discussion is deeply unjust. This Earth Day, I am making a resolution not to legitimize Bush's despicable climate change position by accepting the paradoxical assumptions upon which it is based. I invite you to join me--for the sake of future generations and disenfranchised people everywhere.

Colombia :: essays research papers

Colombia Climate The climate, however, varies with the elevation. The low regions along the coast and the deep Patà ­a and Magdalena river valleys are torrid, with mean annual temperatures of 75 ° to 80 ° F. From about 1500 to 7500 ft the climate is subtropical, and from about 7500 to 10,000 ft it is temperate. Above about 10,000 ft is the cold-climate zone, where temperatures range from 0 ° to 55 ° F. The average January and July temperatures in Bogotà ¡ are 58 ° F and 57 ° F, respectively. The averages for the same months in Barranquilla are 80 ° F and 82 ° F. Throughout the year, three-month periods of rain and dry weather alternate. Along the Pacific coast precipitation is heavy. At Bogotà ¡ the annual rainfall averages about 40 in, and in Barranquilla it averages about 32 in. Dry weather prevails on the slopes of the Eastern Cordillera. Government Colombia has a Republican form of government. Colombia has a president who is elected by popular vote. He is chosen by any man or woman 18 years or older. The president can serve one four year term. He appoints a cabinet which has to be approved by congress. Congress is composed of a House of Representatives (199 members) and a Senate (112 members). Land Area The total land area of the country is 440,831 sq. mi. The capital and largest city is Bogota. Population Characteristics, Religion, and Language The population of Colombia (1993 estimate) was 34,942,767, giving the country an overall population density of about 79 per sq. mi. About 95 percent of the people are Roman Catholics. Small Protestant and Jewish minorities exist. The official language of Colombia is Spanish. The racial makeup of the Colombian population is diversified. About half the people are mestizo (of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry), about 20 percent are of unmixed European ancestry, and about 14 percent are mulatto (of mixed black and white ancestry). The remaining 8 percent is made up of blacks, Native Americans, and people of mixed race. History In 1538 Spanish conquistadors founded New Granada. In 1717 Bogota became the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Granada which consisted of present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. In 1819 Simon Bolivar defeated Spanish troops near Bogota and became the first president of the new republic of Gran Colombia. Currency The basic unit of currency is the Colombian peso (829 pesos equal U.S.$1; 1994).

Physics of Projectile Motion in Computer Games :: physics video game computer

Introduction Physics define the rules by which we live our physical existence. Many of us go about our day to day lives without any true understanding of the Laws which govern how we interact with our surroundings. Physics is our way of making sense of the forces which act upon us and shape the way we accomplish even the most menial of tasks. From walking to driving to playing a game of catch, anyone can see physics in action. A computer game programmer must take a special look at the forces at work around us. The programmers who code flight simulators, first person shooters, and similar games, often need to model their virtual world as closely as possible to our own. In this project we will look at the first person combat simulator called "Tribesâ„ ¢", by Dynamix. We will focus mainly on projectile motion, but we will also discuss the challenges the programmers had in computing ranges for projectiles, friction, and momentum. Also touched on, will be how they succeeded and failed in their efforts. Challenges In Tribesâ„ ¢, the programmers had to create an environment for the players. The challenge is to model our real life Laws of physics as accurately as possible. However, programmers are not physicists and it would take a super computer to accurately model all physics in a real world environment. This environment includes a variable gravity. This was important to game play in that the programmers could now make different worlds for the players to fight in. A planet of different mass will obviously have a different gravity. The following equation shows the horizontal range of a projectile, R = (VÂ ²o / g) * sin(2Ø) (Halliday, et al 60-64). Where R is the range, Vo is the initial velocity, g is gravity, and Ø is the angle the projectile is fired at. It is easy to see from the equation that a change in gravity will affect the total horizontal range achievable by a projectile. An interesting note is that a 45 degree angle will provide the maximum horizontal range for the projecti le, no matter what the force of gravity is. (Assuming gravity does not equal zero). We are neglecting air resistance in our calculations, as did the makers of Tribesâ„ ¢. When the programmers did this however, they got some unexpected, yet fun results. While projectile motion was not affected greatly, a person flying in the game could reach insane speeds, as there was no terminal velocity.

Difference in Us Gaap and International Accounting

IS IFRS a better Accounting Standard than US GAAP for achieving good financial reports? This research paper delivers an analysis of determining whether the International Financial Reporting Standards, hereafter known as IFRS, is a better reporting standard than the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP). Financial Statements have to provide high quality financial reporting information with regards to economic entities, primarily financial in nature, which are useful for economic decision making (FASB, 1999; IASB, 2008).International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have been extremely involved in making IFRS the international Accounting Standard. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been working on evaluating the implications of incorporating IFRS into the US financial reporting system, currently known as US GAAP. More than one hundred countries have moved to IFRS reporting, or have decided to require the use of these standards in the near future. (SEC,[2007]).Financial reports are a combination of four different key statements. They are balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements and the statements of shareholders equity. Currently, the FASB is the highest authority in establishing generally accepted accounting for public and private companies in the United States. Financial reports are a necessary tool used by current and prospective investors to see how a company function and stands financially. It is also used to analyze and assess a company’s potential areas of growth as well as its areas of weakness.US GAAP has many guidelines and rules to follow whereas IFRS is more based on basic principle. Comparing the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP) and IFRS might help to understand which standards will better serve the Goal of achieving good financial reports. Both IFRS and US GAAP have many rules in common and are significantly similar due to the conjunction efforts of both officials over the years. Despite this, numerous differences between US GAAP and IFRS also exist. The big four audit firms have been instrumental in developing a difference between the standards.The followings are the comparisons of rules between IFRS and US GAAP to remotely see the difference between two accounting standards in three different areas. The areas are A) Revenue Recognition, B) Business Combination and C) Inventories. A) Revenue Recognition: US GAAP revenue recognition guidance is extensive and includes a significant number of standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The guidance tends to be highly detailed and is often industry-specific.One of the most common general revenue recognition issues has to do with the determination of when transaction with multiple deliverables should be separated into components and how the revenue gets allocated to the different components. Under US GAAP, detailed separation and allocation criteria is focused whereas IFRS focus on the economic substance of the transactions (Ernst & Young, 2011). Revenues are likely to increase with less detailed guidance under IFRS. B) Inventory Valuation: The US GAAP permits last in first out (LIFO), first in first out (FIFO), and weighted average cost.The inventories carried are recorded at the lower of the cost or market price. According to IFRS, first in first out and weighted average cost are only permitted. Companies that use last in first out must revalue inventory, which could result in tax liabilities due to the IRS’s last in first out conformity rule. C) Business combination: Business combination refers to the takeover of one enterprise by another. Business combinations are one of the important business activities carried out in current capital market (Bohusova, 2009). More than 13000 M&A transactions were carried out worldwide in 2006 (IASB, 2006).Although US GAAP has largely converged with IFRS in this area, certain important differences have remained. The business combination standards under US GAAP and IFRS have two major differences: (1) Full goodwill and (2) the requirements regarding recognition of contingent assets and contingent liabilities. Different requirements for impairment testing and accounting for deferred taxes are among the most significant. The Business combination project has contributed to Mergers and Acquisition recording harmonization and to comparability of financial statement in the area of business combination (Svoboda, 2009).Importance of Good Financial Reporting: Financial reporting and disclosure quality are very important because it is linked with various economic consequences such as market liquidity, firms’ cost of capital, and corporate decision making (Daske, 2006). It is relatively impossible to compute all of the economic consequences that may have cause due to corporate decision. Additionally, all the effects a re not properly understood nor will there be supportive evidence. Investors depend upon the financial reports provided by the companies for investment opportunities.Financial reports provided by the companies are the only evidence of the effectiveness of reporting quality. Less informed investors are worried about the better informed investors. This causes less informed investors to lower the price of the security to protect against the losses from trading with better informed financiers. The unwillingness of the less informed investors reduces the liquidity of the securities market. Corporate disclosure can alleviate the problem and increase market liquidity by leveling information among investors (Verracchia, 2001).Good reporting and disclosure can affect the cost of capital. Better disclosure can improve risk sharing in the economy, either by making investors aware of certain securities or by making them more willing to hold them, which again reduces the cost of capital (Diamond and Verrecchia, 1991). It is also very likely that better reporting improves corporate decision making. For instance the efficiency of firm’s investment decision would improve. There have been a number of studies conducted suggesting that better reporting leads to higher investment efficiency.However, the evidence on the effects of reporting quality on corporate decisions is still in its early stages (Biddle et al, 2008). The disclosure of one firm can be very useful to other firms for decision-making purpose but it can also help reduce agency problems in other firms. The disclosure of operating performance and governance engagements provides useful standards that help outside investors to evaluate other firm’s managerial efficiency or potential agency conflicts and doing so lowers the cost of monitoring. Another very important element of corporate reporting is its comparability among firms.Corporate reporting can be precisely useful to the investors and other stakehol ders if they are using similar accounting standards. More comparable reporting makes it easier to differentiate between less and more profitable firms, which in turn reduces information asymmetries among investors and provides lower risk to the investors. These improvement resulting from greater comparability can also increase market liquidity and reduce firms cost of capital (Daske, 2006). Better comparability can also have positive effects on corporate decision making.More comparable reports allow firms to make better informed investment choices due to a better understanding of competing firms, both within a country and across countries. Growing numbers of firms with comparable financial reports increases the number of two ways communication linkages in the â€Å"Financial reporting† network. This enhances the value of the overall network to both the investors and firms (Meeks and Swann, 2008). Although there are many benefits of more comparable reporting and disclosure, th ere are also costs to improving corporate reporting.The reporting and disclosure costs include the preparation and certification. Regulators should carefully weigh the convergence of costs and benefits to firms, investors, and other parties in the economy. The benefit of high quality and more comparable reporting may also vary significantly across industries and markets. Impact of IFRS in Foreign Countries: Financial reporting quality is affected by many factors other than just the accounting principle adopted. These include legal and political systems, reporting incentives and other market incentives. Ball, Robin, & Wu, 2003). The quality of financial reporting also depends on the relevance and reliability of the financial and non-financial information recognized and disclosed (Ferrari, Momente, and Reggiani, 2011). Empirical research conducted by Ferrari, Momente and Reggiani studied the earning quality in relation between the German companies practicing IFRS and German companies practicing German accounting standards (HGB). This research has been conducted based on German companies, excluding financials and utilities listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange.German is the only large country in Europe with a strong set of local GAAP where a substantial quantity of firms applied IFRS on a voluntary basis before 2005. Out of 746 German companies 368 were following IRFS and 378 companies were following HGB (SEE APPENDEX 1). The mathematical finding articulates that the analyses supports the idea that the IFRS adopter are generally characterized by a level of earnings management lower than or equal to the HGB adopters. Another study conducted by Daske, Hall, Leuz and Verdi looked for evidence on economic consequences after mandatory IFRS Reporting.The analyses were based on market liquidity and cost of capital in 26 different countries. Their research provides us with the synopsis on the capital market effects after introducing the IFRS in 26 countries around the w orld. The study analyzes the effects in stock market liquidity, cost of equity capital, and equity valuations. The results propose that the mandatory adopters experience statistically significant increases in market liquidity after IFRS reporting becomes compulsory. These research and results indicate that results have mixed results on quality changes after the adaption of IFRS in different countries.Whether IFRS can work properly in markets that are disciplined mainly by regulators rather than the market mechanism can be verified by observing the adoption of IFRS by China (DING & SU, 2008). What’s more, a single set of standards may not be suitable for all settings and thus may not improve reliability due to differences among countries (Soderstrom & Sun, 2007). The adoption of IFRS in the Chinese economy has significantly improved the quality of accounting and reported earnings (Liu el at, 2001).Evidence also reveals that value significance of reported earnings increased whi le earning leveling decreased with the standard change. Empirical evidence showed by Daske et al. ’s (2008) claim that quality improvement from IFRS adoption is expected to be higher for adopters with poorer quality as firms audited by the Big Four before the standard change. This clearly shows that IFRS has been the preferable accounting standards for foreign countries. Is Conversion to IFRS economically advantage? Quality reporting and more comparable reporting and disclosure can create economy-wide benefits.Therefore it is safe to say that it makes economic sense for regulators to access the current reporting environment within a market or country to determine if any changes to the reporting environment could move reporting quality and comparability closer to the peak. My question is, what role the accounting standards play in achieving good quality and comparable reporting practices? How will policymaker achieve these goals? The capital markets and investors appreciate hi gher transparency and high quality reporting.However, the evidence from academic studies suggests a limited role of standards in influencing reporting practices (Daske, 2006). To further support this point, we need to highlight the role of reporting incentives and institutional frameworks in shaping firms’ reporting practices. We can also assume that changing the accounting standards can also lead to undesirable effects depending upon the economy. Studies steered by Ball and Shivakumar (2005) illustrated the importance of firms reporting incentives, rather than accounting standards, as key drivers of observed reporting quality.The studies identify that accounting standards give firms considerable reporting choice because the application of the standards involves considerable judgment since accounting measurements rely on management’s private information and involve an assessment of the future, making them subjective demonstration of management’s evidence set. Fi rms reporting inducements are molded by many factors which includes the capital market forces, the law of the nation and a firm’s compensation on performance to the management.It is relevant for the IFRS debater that the studies show that even the firms with the same accounting standards, reporting practices fluctuate considerably across firms and countries (Ball and Shivakumar, 2005). Studies also shows that even if these standards are strictly enforced and implemented, moving to a single set of accounting standards is not enough to produce comparability of reporting and disclosure practices (Ball and Shivakumar, 2005). This proves that accounting standards are more limited than often thought.They are just one of many factors which help shape actual reporting and disclosure practices. Accounting standards are a very important organized element that affects financial reporting practices in a country. In a good economy, these elements are most likely to help one another becaus e accounting information plays an important role in financial contracting (Ball, 2001). Investors in public equity markets use financial statements to witness their entitlements, make speculations, or use their rights at shareholder meetings.Therefore, it is practical to think that corporate reporting improvements in conjunction with other institutional factors to enable financial transaction and contracting (Ball, 2001). IFRS is favored because of the idea behind its effects on capital market and investors. Another thing to consider is that the adoption of IFRS can also improve financial reporting to outside investors. We can conclude that IFRS leans more toward capital markets which is more relevant to investors. Tightening the accounting standard can reduce the level of earning management and improve reporting quality (Soderstrom, 2007).Hence, IFRS helps to lower the quantity of reporting discretion comparative to many local GAAP. However reducing the level of reporting discretio n can also makes it more difficult for management to track their private information through the financial statements. Using a similar accounting standard across the world likely improves foreigner’s ability to notice earnings management and accounting manipulations. Hence, a shift to IFRS does in fact increase the comparability of a firm’s report, and it can also improve market liquidity. In contrary, Daske et al. 2008) verifies that the capital market effects around the mandatory IFRS reporting are not evenly distributed across countries because countries with weak law enforcement and reporting incentives are most susceptible to remain substantially unaffected by the IFRS mandate. There is evidence of constructive capital market outcome by the IFRS mandate in several countries. However, there is significant variance in the effects across firms and countries. IFRS adoptions in the US economy rests on whether the quality of US firms reporting fluctuate in the capital m arket.Therefore, it is necessary to acknowledge such changes in reporting quality are likely to occur. IFRS is now similarly compared with US GAAP and the remaining differences are minor (Krishnan el at 2012). Both standards have a similar fundamental viewpoint and capital market positioning. In 2002, the two standard setting bodies issued a Memorandum of Understanding (â€Å"Norwalk Agreement†), agreeing to make the two financial reporting standards more compatible and to coordinate their future work program in order to maintain compatibility (FASB (1999).IFRS and US GAAP have converged in many areas bringing both standards closer to each other. The US is one of the largest economies in the world. The institutional framework of the US economy is very unique. US firms typically rely heavily on publicly traded external finance (Juang el at, 2012). Directly or indirectly, a larger portion of US household hold debt and equity securities through mutual funds compare to other coun tries. Retirement savings represents a substantial amount of those securities. Hence, the regulators have a great responsibility to support this financial system.Therefore, the current securities laws and the US GAAP primarily are geared towards supporting public debt and equity markets. The US economy and its capital market are diverse. Reporting outcomes under US GAAP are generally considered to be high quality because of its ability to reflect economic events in a timely manner (Ball et al, 2001). The public enforcement system is supplemented by robust private administration, intimidating lawsuit, and potentially substantial financial consequences for managers, directors, and corporations that engage in reporting crimes.FASB standards and additional SEC filing rules requires a more substantial amount of disclosure than in any other countries (SEC). Hence, a switch to IFRS can bring a dilemma weather to maintain disclosure requirements mandated by the SEC or stick to IFRS limited disclosure (SEC). Cost Analysis of Adopting IFRS-From the preceding discussion, the capital market benefits of IFRS and the effects on U. S reporting practices are likely to be small. However, let’s take a look at the cost consequences of adopting IFRS.In the first year of publishing IFRS reports, companies will have to train their employees in the preparation of IFRS financial statements. Hiring outside specialists and consultants and upgrading the software are other major expenses companies will have to bear. It should be noted that there will be additional revenue for the firms who does the advisory and auditing of those firms. Not surprisingly, many of the accounting firms take very optimistic attitude regarding the potential adoption of IFRS by the US. The cost for US firms would be substantial.According to ICAEW, 2007 per firm estimates ranging from 0. 31% of total sales for firms with sales below $700 million to . 05% of total sales for larger firms. This amounts to an average onetime cost of $430,000 for small firms and $3. 24 million for large firms. Based on these estimates, the US economy as a whole could cost up to $8 billion. The cost might go up if SEC requires firms to provide reports under both standards. Although the one-time conversion costs are likely to be substantial, there is no guarantee for any recurring cost.There might be periodic costs associated with inconsistencies within the US legal and institutional system (ICAEW, 2007). To my understanding issues like this wouldn’t be easily to fixed. One can argue that there are also many reasons to believe that adoption of IFRS could also save money because of a single global reporting system in the long run. The foreign US holdings multinationals often have to fulfill with the domestic reporting standards of their residence which is most likely to be IFRS. If foreign multinationals that use IFRS no longer have to maintain US GAAP reporting then they will save money on the conve rsion.The adoption of IFRS could save money to many US firms indirectly. Effect on Education System due to conversion: The accounting professionals and educators need to be brought up to speed in an adequately time frame in order for smooth conversion to IFRS. As mentioned earlier, China and Germany were able to convert the standard smoothly; the same should be possible in the U. S. The big four accounting firms have been releasing a number of reports that IFRS education is lagging behind. The big four accounting firm have reported that U.S. investors and issuers are not yet appropriately educated with IFRS, and that at present college curriculums, text books and other instructional tools do not adequately train students and other interested parties in IFRS proficiencies (Ernst & Young, 2007b; KPMG, 2008b). Writers Point of View: This research paper has mentioned a few times about the issues related to the compatibility of IFRS with the US institutional framework. The countryâ€℠¢s financial reporting system is a very important determinant of aggregate economic effects.Hence, the financial reporting system is one of the basics of country’s organized framework which is likely to detect the performance of a country’s financial and economic system. A switch to IFRS by US regulators can cause unwanted concerns for the US economy if there are any incompatibilities with other elements of the organizational framework, even when IFRS are thought to be high quality and perform well in other countries. Financial markets are a network where one is reliant upon others’ financial reports. It is difficult to ascertain and quantify the complexity that can caused due to the adoption of IFRS.As countries institutional frameworks play a key role in determining manager’s reporting inducements and the use of discretion, it is significant to know whether the amount of reporting preference in IFRS creates a problem for the US litigation system since i t is moderately exclusive. Because IFRS has less specific standards and guidance, executives have to apply more judgment in interpreting IFRS. IFRS could lead to uncertainty about litigation outcomes which could even induce executives to make conservative accounting decisions.A vital issue is whether a single set of accounting standards is necessary and would benefit firms, investors, and additional stakeholders. Striving for a single set of accounting standards can generate some cost savings and comparability supports, but the adoption of IFRS in the US would also eliminate the existing competition between IFRS and US GAAP. This could also mean the monopoly of IFRS. Monopoly has never been a good sign in the business world for a consumer. As I have mentioned earlier in my paper, US GAAP and IFRS have very small differences.Hence, it makes perfect logic that comparability of US GAAP is likely to increase globally because additional countries plan on adopting IFRS. US investors will be in better position if they are capable of understanding the IFRS due to growing adoption around the globe. Alternatively, FASB could keep up with the work on adapting the favorable principles of IFRS into the US GAAP yet not converting completely into IFRS. U. S investors and executives will have sufficient time to adapt with the change if U. S GAAP is slowly modified to converge with IFRS.This could possibly be the most inexpensive and least disruptive option for the US economy. CONCLUSION: A vital role of accounting standards is to cut back the transactions cost of communicating data among various shareholders, permitting them to make more effective judgments and to undertake transactions within, outside, and among firms. There are pros and cons for adopting IFRS. Comparability could be seen as pros whereas higher initial cost for convergence and monopoly of IFRS could be seen as cons. Since US economy is very complex, the effect of IFRS could not be forecasted in its eternity. It is better for US regulator to slowly convert the favorable principle of IFRS into US GAAP. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ball, R. , A Robin, and Wu, 2003, Incentives Versus Standards: Properties of Accounting Income in four East Asian Countries, Journal of Accounting and Economics36, 235-270. Ball, R. , 2001, Infrastructure Requirements of an Economically Efficient System of Public Fianncial Reporting and Disclosure, in Brooking- Wharton papers on Financial Services, R. Litan, And T. Herring (eds), Brooking Insitution Press, Washington, 127-169. Ball, R. , Shivakumar, 2005, Earning quality in U.K Private Firms, Journal of Accounting and Economics 39, 83-128 Biddle, G, G Hilary and R. Verdi, 2008, How does Financial Reporing Quality Improve Investment Efficiency.? Working paper, University of Hong Kong, Hong kong university of science & technology and MIT Sloan School of Management. Bohusova, Hana, and Patrick Svoboda. â€Å"IFRS AND US GAAP CONVERGENCE IN AREA OF MERGER AND ACQUISITION. † Economics & Management 14. 1822-6515 (2009): 20-27. Print. Daske, Holger. â€Å"Economic Benefits Of Adopting IFRS Or US-GAAP – Have The Expected Cost Of Equity Capital Really Decreased?. Journal Of Business Finance & Accounting 33. 3/4 (2006): 329-373. Business Source Premier. Web. 6 Aug. 2012. (65 pages) Daske, H. , Hail, L. , Leuz & Verdi, R. (2008). Mandatory IFRS reporting around the world: Early evidence on the economic consequences. Journal of Accounting Research, 46, 1085-1142. Diamond, D and R, Verrecchia, 1991, Disclosure, liquidity and the cost of capital, journal of finance 46, 1325-1359. Ding, Y. , & Su, X. (2008). Implementation of IFRS in a regulated market. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 27, 474- 479.Ernst & Young, 2007b, IFRS- An option for U. S Issuer? , Hot Topic, Professional Practice Group, Ernst & young LLP. Ernst & Young, DEC 2011, US GAAP versus IFRS: The Basic, Ernst &Young LLP. FASB (1999). International standard setting: a vision for the future. Norwalk Ferrari, Mascia, Francesco Momente, and Francesco Reggiani. â€Å"Investor Preception of the International Accounting Standards Quality: Inferences From Germany. † Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance (2011): n. pag. Business Source Complete. Web. 03 Aug. 2012.Hail, Luzi, Christian Leuz, and Peter Wysocki. â€Å"Global Accounting Convergence and the Potential Adoption of IFRS by the United States: An Analysis of Economic and Policy Factors by Luzi Hail, Christian Leuz, Peter Wysocki :: SSRN. † Social Science Research Network (SSRN) Home Page. N. p. , n. d. Web. 4 Sept. 2012. . IASB (2008). Exposure Draft on an improved Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting: The Objective of Financial Reporting and Qualitative Characteristics of Decision- Useful Financial Reporting Information.London ICAEW, 2007, EU Implementation of IFRS and the Fair Value Directive: A Report for the European Commission, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, London. Juang, Yuan, and Guochang Zhang. â€Å"An Examination of the Incremental Usefulness of Balance-Sheet Information Beyod Earnings in Explaining Stock Returns. † Journal of Auditing & Finance 27. 2 (2012): n. pag. EBSCO. Web. 03 Aug. 2012 Krishnan, Sudha, and Lin Ping. â€Å"Inventory Valuation Under IFRS And GAAP. † Strategic Finance 93. 9 (2012): 51-58. Business Source Premier. Web. 6 Aug. 2012. (8 pages) Liu, chunhui, lee J. Yao. Nan Hu and Ling Liu. The Impat of IFRS on Accounting Quality in Regulated Market: An Empirical study of China. † Journal of Auditing & Finance 26. 4 (2001): 659-76. Business Source Complete. Web 04 aud 2012 Ramanna, Karthik , and Ewa Sletten. â€Å"Why do countries adopt International Financial Reporting Standards?. † Harvard Business Publication 5 Jan. 2009: 09-102. Print. Rodrigo Verdi, et al. â€Å"Mandatory IFRS Reporting Around The World: Early Evidence On The Economic Consequences. † Journal Of Account ing Research 46. 5 (2008): 1085-1142. Business Source Premier. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. Securities and exchange commission(SEC).Sec soliciting public comment on role for IFRS in the U. S Washington, DC: SEC, July 25, 2007. http://www. sec. gov/news/press/2007/2007-145. htm SEC â€Å"How the SEC Protects Investors, Maintains Market Integrity, and Facilitates Capital Formation (Securities and Exchange Commission). † U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Homepage. N. p. , n. d. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. . Soderstrom, N. S. , & Sun, K. J. (2007). IFRS adoption and accounting quality: A review. European Accounting Review, 16, 675-702. Verrechia, R. , 2001, Essay on Disclosure, Journal of Accounting and Economics 32, 91-180.

Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Chapter 5~6

CHAPTER FIVE Hey, Buddy, Why the Big Brain? The next morning the four of them stood in a row on the front of the old Pioneer Hotel, looking across the Lahaina Harbor at the whitecaps in the channel. Wind was whipping the palm trees. Down by the breakwater two little girls were trying to surf waves whose faces were bumpy with wind chop and whose curls blew back over the crests like the hair of a sprinter. â€Å"It could calm down,† Amy said. She was standing next to Kona, thinking, This guy's pecs are so cut you could stick business cards under them and they'd stay. And my, is he tan. Where Amy came from, no one was tan, and she hadn't been in Hawaii long enough to realize that a good tan was just a function of showing up. â€Å"Supposed to stay like this for the next three days,† Nate said. As disappointed as he appeared to be, he was extraordinarily relieved that they wouldn't be going out this morning. He had a rogue hangover, and his eyes were bloodred behind his sunglasses. Self-loathing had set in, and he thought, My life's work is shit, and if we went out there today and I didn't spend the morning retching over the side, I'd be tempted to drown myself. He would rather have been thinking about whales, which is what he usually thought about. Then he noticed Amy sneaking glances at Kona's bare chest and felt even worse. â€Å"Ya, mon. Kona can spark up a spliff and calm down that bumpy brine for all me new science dreadies. We can take the boat no matter what the wind be,† Kona said. He was thinking, I have no idea what the hell I'm talking about, but I really want to get out there with the whales. â€Å"Breakfast at Longee's, and then we'll see how it looks,† Clay said. He was thinking, We'll have breakfast at Longee's, and then we'll see how it looks. None of them moved. They just stood there, looking out at the blowout channel. Occasionally a whale would blow, and the mist would run over the water like a frightened ghost. â€Å"I'm buying,† Clay said. And they all headed up Front Street to Longee's restaurant, a two-story gray-and-white building, done in a New England architecture with shiplap siding and huge open windows that looked across Front Street, over the stone seawall, and out onto the Au' au Channel. By way of a shirt, Kona slipped on a tattered Nautica windbreaker he'd had knotted around his waist. â€Å"You do a lot of sailing?† Amy asked, nodding to the Nautica logo. She intended the remark as dig, a return for Kona's saying, â€Å"And who be this snowy biscuit?† when they'd first met. At the time Amy had just introduced herself, but in retrospect she realized that she should probably have taken some offense to being called both snowy and a biscuit – those things were objectifying, right? â€Å"Shark bait kit, me Snowy Biscuit,† Kona answered, meaning that the windbreaker had come from a tourist. The Paia surfing community on the North Shore, from which Kona had recently come, had an economy based entirely on petty theft, mostly smash-and-grabs from rental cars. As the host led them through the crowded dining room to a table by the windows, Clay leaned over Amy's shoulder and whispered, â€Å"A biscuit is a good thing.† â€Å"I knew that,† Amy whispered back. â€Å"Like a tomato, right?† â€Å"Heads up,† Clay said, just as Amy plowed into a khaki package of balding ambition known as Jon Thomas Fuller, CEO of Hawaii Whale Inc., a nonprofit corporation with assets in the tens of millions that disguised itself as a research organization. Fuller had pushed his chair back to intercept Amy. â€Å"Jon Thomas!† Clay smiled and reached around the flustered Amy to shake Fuller's hand. Fuller ignored Clay and took Amy by the waist, steadying her. â€Å"Hey, hey, there,† Fuller said. â€Å"If you wanted to meet me, all you had to do was introduce yourself.† Amy grabbed his wrists and guided his hands to the table in front of him, then stepped back. â€Å"Hi, I'm Amy Earhart.† â€Å"I know who you are,† said Fuller, standing now. He was only a little taller than Arny, very tan and very lean, with a hawk nose and a receding hairline like a knife. â€Å"What I don't know is why you haven't come to see me about a job.† Meanwhile, Nate, who had been thinking about whale song, had taken his seat, opened a menu, ordered coffee, and completely missed the fact that he was alone at the table. He looked up to see Jon Thomas Fuller holding his assistant by the waist. He dropped his menu and headed back to the site of the intercept. â€Å"Well, partly† – Amy smiled at the three young women sitting at Fuller's table – â€Å"partly because I have some self-respect† – she curtsied – â€Å"and partly because you're a louse and a jamoke.† Fuller's dazzling grin dropped a level of magnitude. The women at his table, all dressed in khaki safari wear to approximate the Discovery Channel ideal of what a scientist should look like, made great shows of looking elsewhere, wiping their mouths, sipping water – not noticing their boss getting verbally bitch-slapped by a vicious research pixie. â€Å"Nate,† Fuller said, noticing that Nate had joined the group, â€Å"I heard about the break-in at your place. Nothing important missing, I hope.† â€Å"We're fine. Lost some recordings,† Nate said. â€Å"Ah, well, good. A lot of lowlifes on this island now.† Fuller looked at Kona. The surfer grinned. â€Å"Shoots, brah, you make me blush.† Fuller grinned. â€Å"How you doing, Kona?† â€Å"All cool runnings, brah. Bwana Fuller got his evil on?† There were neck-snapping double takes all around. Fuller nodded, then looked back at Quinn. â€Å"Anything we can do, Nate? There are a lot of our song recordings for sale in the shops, if those will help out. You guys get professional discount. We're all in this together.† â€Å"Thanks,† Nate said just as Fuller sat down, then turned his back on all of them and resumed eating his breakfast, dismissing them. The women at the table looked embarrassed. â€Å"Breakfast?† Clay said. He herded his team to their table. They ordered and drank coffee in silence, each looking out across the street to the ocean, avoiding eye contact until Fuller and his group had left. Nate turned to Amy. â€Å"A jamoke? What are you, living in a Cagney movie?† â€Å"Who is that guy?† Amy asked. She snapped the corner off a piece of toast with more violence than was really necessary. â€Å"What's a jamoke?† Kona asked. â€Å"It's a flavor of ice cream, right?† Clay said. Nate looked at Kona. â€Å"How do you know Fuller?† Nate held up his ringer and shot a cautionary glare, the now understood signal for no Rasta/pidgin/bullshit. â€Å"I worked the Jet Ski concession for him at Kaanapali.† Nate looked to Clay, as if to say, You knew this? â€Å"Who is that guy?† Amy asked. â€Å"He's the head of Hawaii Whale,† Clay said. â€Å"Commerce masquerading as science. They use their permit to get three sixty-five-foot tourist boats right up next to the whales.† â€Å"That guy is a scientist?† â€Å"He has a Ph.D. in biology, but I wouldn't call him a scientist. Those women he was with are his naturalists. I guess today was even too windy for them to go out. He's got shops all over the island – sells whale crap, nonprofit. Hawaii Whale was the only research group to oppose the Jet Ski ban during whale season.† â€Å"Because Fuller had money in the Jet Ski business,† Nate added. â€Å"I made six bucks an hour,† Kona said. â€Å"Nate's work was instrumental in getting the Jet Ski parasail ban done,† Clay said. â€Å"Fuller doesn't like us.† â€Å"The sanctuary may take his research permit next,† said Nate. â€Å"What science they do is bad science.† â€Å"And he blames you for that?† Amy asked. â€Å"I – we have done the most behavioral stuff as it relates to sound in these waters. The sanctuary gave us some money to find out if the high-frequency noise from Jet Skis and parasail boats affected the behavior of the whales. We concluded that it did. Fuller didn't like it. It cost him.† â€Å"He's going to build a dolphin swim park, up La Perouse Bay way,† Kona said. â€Å"What?† Nate said. â€Å"What?† said Clay. â€Å"A swim-with-the-dolphins park?† said Amy. â€Å"Ya, mon. Let you come from Ohio and get in the water with them bottlenose fellahs for two hundred dollar.† â€Å"You guys didn't know about this?† Amy was looking at Clay. He always seemed to know everything that was going on in the whale world. â€Å"First I've heard of it, but they're not going to let him do it without some studies.† He looked to Nate. â€Å"Are they?† â€Å"It'll never happen if he loses his research permit,† Nate said. â€Å"There'll be a review.† â€Å"And you'll be on the review board?† asked Amy. â€Å"Nate's name would solidify it,† Clay said. â€Å"They'll ask him.† â€Å"Not you?† Kona asked. â€Å"I'm just the photographer.† Clay looked out at the whitecaps in the channel. â€Å"Doesn't look like we'll be getting out today. Finish your breakfast, and then we'll go pay your rent.† Nate looked at Clay quizzically. â€Å"I can't give him money,† Clay said. â€Å"He'll just smoke it. I'm going to go pay his rent.† â€Å"Truth.† Kona nodded. â€Å"You don't still work for Fuller, do you, Kona?† Nate asked. â€Å"Nate!† Amy admonished. â€Å"Well, he was there when I found the office ransacked.† â€Å"Leave him alone,† Amy said. â€Å"He's too cute to be bad.† â€Å"Truth,† said Kona. â€Å"Sistah Biscuit speak nothin' but the truth. I be massive cute.† Clay set a stack of bills on the table. â€Å"By the way, Nate, you have a lecture at the sanctuary on Tuesday. Four days. You and Amy might want to use the downtime to put something together.† Nate felt as if he'd been smacked. â€Å"Four days? There's nothing there. It was all on those hard drives.† â€Å"Like I said, you might want to use the downtime.† CHAPTER SIX Whale Wahine As a biologist, Nate had a tendency to draw analogies between human behavior and animal behavior – probably a little more often than was strictly healthy. For instance, as he considered his attraction to Amy, he wondered why it had to be so complex. Why there had to be so many subtleties to the human mating ritual. Why can't we be more like common squid? he thought. The male squid simply swims up to the female squid, hands her a neat package of sperm, she tucks it under her mantle at her leisure, and they go on their separate ways, their duty to the species done. Simple, elegant, no nuance†¦ Nate held the paper cup out to Amy. â€Å"I poured some coffee for you.† â€Å"I'm all coffeed out, thanks,† said Amy. Nate set the cup down on the desk next to his own. He sat in front of the computer. Amy was perched on a high stool to his left going through the hardbound field journals covering the last four years. â€Å"Are you going to be able to put together a lecture out of this?† she asked. Nate rubbed his temples. Despite a handful of aspirin and six cups of coffee, his head was still throbbing. â€Å"A lecture? About what?† â€Å"Well, what were you planning to do a talk on before the office was ransacked? Maybe we can reconstruct it from the field notes and memory.† â€Å"I don't have that good a memory.† â€Å"Yes you do, you just need some mnemonics, which we have here in the field notes.† Her expression was as open and hopeful as a child's. She waited for something from him, just a word to set her searching for what he needed. The problem was, what he needed right now was not going to be found in biology field notes. He needed answers of another kind. It bothered him that Fuller had known about the break-in at the compound. It was too soon for him to have found out. It also bothered him that anyone could hold him in the sort of disdain that Fuller obviously did. Nate had been born and raised in British Columbia, and Canadians hate, above all things, to offend. It was part of the national consciousness. â€Å"Be polite† was an unwritten, unspoken rule, but ingrained into the psyche of an entire country. (Of course, as with any rule, there were exceptions: parts of Quebec, where people maintained the â€Å"dismissive to the point of confrontation, with subsequent surrender† mind-set of the French; and hockey, in which any Canadian may, with impunity, slam, pummel, elbow, smack, punch, body-check, and beat the shit out of, with sticks, any other human being, punctuated by profanities, name-calling, questioning parentage, and accusations of bestiality, usually – coincidentally – in French.) Nate was neither French-Canadian nor much of a hockey player, so the idea of having invoked enmity enough in someone to have that person ruin his research†¦ He was mortified by it. â€Å"Amy,† he said, having spaced out and returned to the room in a matter of seconds, he hoped, â€Å"is there something that I'm missing about our work? Is there something in the data that I'm not seeing?† Amy assumed the pose of Rodin's The Thinker on her stool, her chin teed up on her hand, her brow furrowed into moguls of earnest contemplation. â€Å"Well, Dr. Quinn, I would be able to answer that if you had shared the data with me, but since I only know what I've collected or what I've analyzed personally, I'd have to say, scientifically speaking, beats me.† â€Å"Thanks,† Nate said. He smiled in spite of himself. â€Å"You said there was something there that you were close to finding. In the song, I mean. What is it?† â€Å"Well, if I knew that, it would be found, wouldn't it?† â€Å"You must suspect. You have to have a theory. Tell me, and let's apply the data to the theory. I'm willing to do the work, reconstruct the data, but you've got to trust me.† â€Å"No theory ever benefited by the application of data, Amy. Data kills theories. A theory has no better time than when it's lying there naked, pure, unsullied by facts. Let's just keep it that way for a while.† â€Å"So you don't really have a theory?† â€Å"Clueless.† â€Å"You lying bag of fish heads.† â€Å"I can fire you, you know. Even if Clay was the one that hired you, I'm not totally superfluous to this operation yet. I'm kind of in charge. I can fire you. Then how will you live?† â€Å"I'm not getting paid.† â€Å"See, right there. Perfectly good concept ruined by the application of fact.† â€Å"So fire me.† No longer The Thinker, Amy had taken on the aspect of a dark and evil elf. â€Å"I think they're communicating,† Nate said. â€Å"Of course they're communicating, you maroon. You think they're singing because they like the sound of their own voices?† â€Å"There's more to it than that.† â€Å"Well, tell me!† â€Å"Who calls someone a maroon? What the hell is maroon?† â€Å"It's a mook with a Ph.D. Don't change the subject.† â€Å"It doesn't matter. Without the acoustic data I can't even show you what I was thinking. Besides, I'm not sure that my cognitive powers aren't breaking down.† â€Å"Meaning what?† Meaning that I'm starting to see things, he thought. Meaning that despite the fact that you're yelling at me, I really want to grab you and kiss you, he thought. Oh, I am so fucked, he thought. â€Å"Meaning I'm still a little hungover. I'm sorry. Let's see what we can put together from the notes.† Amy slipped off the stool and gathered the field journals in her arms. â€Å"Where are you going?† Nate said. Had he somehow offended her? â€Å"We have four days to put together a lecture. I'm going to go to my cabin and do it.† â€Å"How? On what?† â€Å"I'm thinking, ‘Humpbacks: Our Wet and Wondrous Pals of the Deep –  » â€Å"There's going to be a lot of researchers there. Biologists – † Nate interrupted. † – and Why We Should Poke Them with Sticks.  » â€Å"Better,† Nate said. â€Å"I got it covered,† she said, and she walked out. For some reason he felt hopeful. Excited. Just for a second. Then, after he'd watched her walk out, a wave of melancholy swept over him and for the thirtieth time that day he regretted that he hadn't just become a pharmacist, or a charter captain, or something that made you feel more alive, like a pirate. The old broad lived on a volcano and believed that the whales talked to her. She called about noon, and Nate knew it was her before he even answered. He knew, because she always called when it was too windy to go out. â€Å"Nathan, why aren't you out in the channel?† the Old Broad said. â€Å"Hello, Elizabeth, how are you today?† â€Å"Don't change the subject. They told me that they want to talk to you. Today. Why aren't you out there?† â€Å"You know why I'm not out there, Elizabeth. It's too windy. You can see the whitecaps as well as I can.† From the slope of Haleakala, the Old Broad watched the activity in the channel with a two-hundred-power celestial telescope and a pair of â€Å"big eyes† binoculars that looked like stereo bazookas on precision mounts that were anchored into a ton of concrete. â€Å"Well, they're upset that you're not out there. That's why I called.† â€Å"And I appreciate your calling, Elizabeth, but I'm in the middle of something.† Nate hoped he didn't sound too rude. The Old Broad meant well. And they, in a way, were all at the mercy of her generosity, for although she had  «donated » the Papa Lani compound, she hadn't exactly signed it over to them. They were in a sort of permanent lease situation. Elizabeth Robinson was, however, very generous and very kindhearted indeed, even if she was a total loon. â€Å"Nathan, I am not a total loon,† she said. Oh yes you are, he thought. â€Å"I know you're not,† he said. â€Å"But I really have to get some work done today.† â€Å"What are you working on?† Elizabeth asked. Nate could hear her tapping a pencil on her desk. She took notes during their conversations. He didn't know what she did with the notes, but it bothered him. â€Å"I have a lecture at the sanctuary in four days.† Why, why had he told her? Why? Now she'd rattle down the mountain in her ancient Mercedes that looked like a Nazi staff car, sit in the audience, and ask all the questions that she knew in advance he couldn't answer. â€Å"That shouldn't be hard. You've done that before, what, twenty times?† â€Å"Yes, but someone broke in to the compound yesterday, Elizabeth. All my notes, the tapes, the analysis – it's all destroyed.† There was silence on the line for a moment. Nate could hear the Old Broad breathing. Finally, â€Å"I'm really sorry, Nathan. Is everyone all right?† â€Å"Yes, it happened while we were out working.† â€Å"Is there anything I can do? I mean, I can't send much, but if – â€Å" â€Å"No, we're all right. It's just a lot of work that I have to start over.† The Old Broad might have been loaded at one time, and she certainly would be again if she sold the land where Papa Lani stood, but Nate didn't think that she had a lot of money to spare after the last bear market. Even if she did, this wasn't a problem that could be solved with cash. â€Å"Well, then, you get back to work, but try to get out tomorrow. There's a big male out there who told me he wants you to bring him a hot pastrami on rye.† Nate grinned and almost snorted into the phone. â€Å"Elizabeth, you know they don't eat while they're in these waters.† â€Å"I'm just relaying the message, Nathan. Don't you snicker at me. He's a big male, broad, like he just came down from Alaska – frankly, I don't know why he'd be hungry, he's as big as a house. But anyway, Swiss and hot English mustard, he was very clear about that. He has very unusual markings on his flukes. I couldn't see them from here, but he says you'll know him.† Nate felt his face go numb with something approximating shock. â€Å"Elizabeth –  » â€Å"Call if you need anything, Nathan. My love to Clay. Aloha.† Nathan Quinn let the phone slip from his fingers, then zombie-stumbled out of the office and back to his own cabin, where he decided he was going to nap and keep napping until he woke up to a world that wasn't so irritatingly weird. Right on the edge of a dream where he was gleefully steering a sixty-foot cabin cruiser up Second Street in downtown Seattle, plowing aside slow-moving vehicles while Amy, clad in a silver bikini and looking uncharacteristically tan, stood in the bow and waved to people who had come to the windows of their second-story offices to marvel at the freedom and power of the Mighty Quinn – right on the edge of a perfect dream, Clay burst into the room. Talking. â€Å"Kona's moving into cabin six.† â€Å"Get some lines in the water, Amy,† Nate said from the drears of morpheum opus. â€Å"We're coming up on Pike's Place Market, and there's fish to be had.† Clay waited, not quite smiling, not quite not, while Nate sat up and rubbed sleep from his eyes. â€Å"Driving a boat on the street?† Clay said, nodding. All skippers had that dream. â€Å"Seattle,† said Nate. â€Å"The Zodiac lives in cabin six.† â€Å"We haven't used the Zodiac in ten years, it won't hold air.† Clay went to the closet that acted as a divider between the living/sleeping area and the kitchen. He pulled down a stack of sheets, then towels. â€Å"You wouldn't believe how they had this kid living, Nate. It was a tin industrial building, out by the airport. Twenty, thirty of them, in little stalls with cots and not enough room to swing a dead cat. The wiring was extension cords draped over the tops of the stalls. Six hundred a month for that.† Nate shrugged. â€Å"So? We lived that way the first couple of years. It's what you do. We might need cabin six for something. Storage or something.† â€Å"Nope,† said Clay. â€Å"That place was a sweat box and a fire hazard. He's not living there. He's our guy.† â€Å"But Clay, he's only been with us for a day. He's probably a criminal.† â€Å"He's our guy,† said Clay, and that was that. Clay had very strong views on loyalty. If Clay had decided that Kona was their guy, he was their guy. â€Å"Okay,† said Nate, feeling as if he had just invited the Medusa in for a sandwich. â€Å"The Old Broad called.† â€Å"How is she?† â€Å"Still nuts.† â€Å"How're you?† â€Å"Getting there.†