The Ocean Enterprise–understanding and quantifying business activity in support of observing, measuring and forecasting the ocean

Sustained ocean observations, measurements and models provide a wide range of societal benefits underpinning the safety, operational and compliance needs of beneficiaries that operate around, on and under the ocean (In the context of this paper, the term ‘ocean’ is defined as encompassing the global ocean, enclosed seas and the US Great Lakes.) They also provide an essential input to ocean scientific research and the effective protection of the marine environment. Delivering the means to collect and use ocean data and information on a sustained basis constitutes a significant business undertaking. The companies that enable sustained ocean observation, measurement and forecasting, and deliver its benefits as commercial services, combine to create a unique and growing industry cluster; the Ocean Enterprise. Ocean Enterprise businesses underpin the ability to provide societal benefit from sustained ocean observations, measurements and models, as well as delivering significant economic and employment benefits in their own right. In this paper, we describe a systematic evaluation of the scale, scope and characteristics of the Ocean Enterprise in the United States. We explore the ways in which this industry cluster interacts with the US Integrated Ocean Observing System and how the United States Ocean Enterprise compares to that of the United Kingdom

Does the adoption of IFRS affect corporate social disclosure in annual reports?

In this exploratory study we investigate the impact of the implementation of IFRS on corporate social disclosures (CSD) within the context of stakeholder theory. We measure the level of CSD in annual reports using a disclosure instrument based on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report “Guidance on Corporate Responsibility Indicators in Annual Reports”. We find that IFRS adoption had a differential effect on CSD based on a firm\u27s institutional setting i.e., the stakeholder–management relationship prevalent in their institutional environment. Firms in the stakeholder countries did not have a significant change in the level of CSD following the mandatory adoption of IFRS while firms from the shareholder countries experienced a significant increase over the same period resulting in shareholder countries providing an overall higher level of CSD after IFRS adoption than stakeholder countries. These findings suggest that firms\u27 reactions to the requirements of IFRS and the stakeholder pressure to provide additional CSD are influenced by institutional environment. Further, our results provide support for the use of stakeholder theory to predict the level of CSD

Ocean observing and the blue economy

Sustained ocean observations provide an essential input to ocean scientific research. They also support a wide range of societal and economic benefits related to safety; operational efficiency; and regulation of activities around, on, in, and under seas and the ocean. The ocean economy is large and diverse, accounting for around US$1.5 trillion of global gross value-added economic activity. This is projected to more than double by 2030. Delivering this growth in economic activity is dependent on ocean observations. This review paper summarizes the projected changes in the scale and scope of the ocean economy and the role that observations, measurements, and forecasts play in supporting the safe and effective use of the ocean and ocean resources, at the same time as protecting the environment. It also provides an overview of key future work being planned to develop a better understanding of the present and likely future ocean economy and the role and value of ocean observations in its sustainable realization

The mechanism of action of coenzyme B12. I: Mechanism of action of coenzyme B12. Hydrogen transfer in the isomerization of beta-methylaspartate to glutamate. II. Kinetic studies of 3-fluoro-1,2-propanediol, a new substrate for dioldehydrase. III. Reaction of 5'-deoxyinosylcobalamin with propanediol dehydrase. IV. Adenosine deaminase

NOTE: Text or symbols not renderable in plain ASCII are indicated by [...]. Abstract is included in .pdf document. PART I. Use of a mixture of non- and tetradeutero-beta-methylaspartate with coenzyme B12 dependent beta-methylaspartate-glutamate mutase has shown that the hydrogen that migrates becomes one of three equivalent hydrogens during the reaction. Kinetic isotope effects suggest that cleavage of the bond in the substrate from carbon to that hydrogen which migrates is an important component of the rate determining step. The evidence also supports the existence of an intermediate which can partition with similar probabilities to beta-methylaspartate or to glutamate. Some possible mechanistic implications of these findings are discussed. PART II. The mechanism and the kinetics of the action of diol dehydrase on 3-fluoro-1,2-propanediol, a new substrate for diol dehydrase, were examined. The results of this study lead to a reexamination of the kinetic behavior of the natural substrate, 1,2-propanediol, with diol dehydrase. The [...] values of (S)-, (RS)-, and (R)-3-fluoro-1,2-propanediol were found to be 340[...], 128[...], and 104[...] respectively, compared to 368[...], 250[...], and 191[...], for the corresponding isomers of 1,2-propanediol. A modification of the existing analytical procedure for the determination of aldehyde was necessary in order to measure the values of Km for these substrates. Km values for (S)-, (RS)-, and (R)-3-fluoro-1,2-propanediol were found to be [...], [...], and [...] respectively. For (R)-, (RS)-, and (S)-1,2-propanediol, Km values were measured at [...], [...], and [...] respectively. These results show that the (R)- and (S)- isomers of both substrates exhibit simple competitive behavior for the active site in the racemic mixture, and that both the (R)- and (S)- isomers of the substrate pass through a similar transition state in the enzyme catalyzed conversion to aldehyde. PART III. The reactivity of 5'-deoxyinosylcobalamin in the propanediol dehydrase reaction was examined. This coenzyme B12 analogue showed no coenzyme activity in the diol dehydrase reaction. 5'-Deoxyinosylcobalamin was found to inhibit the activity of coenzyme B12 although it bound less efficiently than the natural coenzyme by a factor of 100. Previously reported experiments regarding the release of 5'-deoxyinosine by this system were shown to be inconclusive. PART IV. The kinetic behavior of 5'-deoxyadenosine in the adenosine deaminase reaction has been examined. The low catalytic rate and inefficient binding observed for this substrate suggest that the 5'-hydroxyl is very important to both catalysis and binding of ribosyladenines. In spite of the low catalytic rate and the poor binding, adenosine deaminase was used to effectively synthesize 5'-deoxyinosine from 5'-deoxyadenosine

The effects of increased transparency of CEO pay-equity and friendship on manager’s earnings management behavior

Recent regulation has increased Chief Executive Officers’ (CEO) accountability for the fairness of their pay as evidenced by the recent Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) pay-equity disclosure requirement which will likely lead to lower levels of perceived CEO pay fairness by subordinates. This study uses an experiment to examine the effects of the DFA pay-equity disclosure and friendship ties with the CEO on the earnings management behavior of business-unit managers. The results indicate that CEO friendship ties, which are associated with lower levels of social distance, results in less earning management in the absence of the DFA CEO pay-equity ratio disclosure. However, CEO friendship may result in negative repercussions in the post-DFA environment when managers are provided with the pay-equity disclosure. These findings highlight the possibility of unintended consequences of the increased transparency of CEO pay-equity under the DFA which should be considered in the design of management control systems

Extradition from Israel

Following an introduction, the main part of the article will review the law of extradition from Israel-a subject about which little is known outside this country. The discussion will focus on the decisions and practices of both the judiciary and the executive. The remainder of the article will consider special problems that have arisen in Israel as a country with an open gate immigration policy for the Jews of the world and a new unwillingness to hand over its own nationals for trial and sentence abroad

An examination of corporate social disclosures of multinational corporations: A cross-national investigation

a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o We examine cross-national differences in corporate social disclosure (CSD) using a sample of 136 multinational corporations from the US, Continental Europe, and Scandinavia. Despite international market pressures to disclose higher levels of information, we find that CSD varies systematically across business cultures. Additionally, CSD is higher in business cultures that are more stakeholder rather than stockholder-oriented. Our findings provide support for business culture as an important influencing factor on the disclosure of corporate social information for multinational corporations