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its been quite a few days since the last time i posted and ive had a couple of different things ive wanted to discuss, ranging from thesis readings, to advance album reviews, and the whole likes.  thats not to say that i couldnt have written multiple postings, however it gets kind of tedious to write those postings the way i do.  thus, i blew it off.  however, i said that i would still maintain routine postings, and such as i am.

my parents came down to visit almost two weeks ago, and i had the pleasure of accompanying them to see the drowsy chaperone at the marquis theatre.  im always a little skeptical about broadway musicals, however my parents wanted to see it and i figured it couldn’t be as corny as something like tarzan or even the producers.  the end result was that i happened to enjoy it more than i had anticipated.  there were three key things that led to my enjoyment of the play.

1) the music - all too often, broadway musicals follow the rogers & hammerstein formula for introducing music into the plot of a story.  in addition, the music is obviously written for a pit orchestra, making the songs of “camelot” seem out of place.  in chaperone however, the setting of the play within the play puts all the relevant musical numbers in a 1920s context, which naturally evokes a ’20s big band sound, befitting of a pit orchestra.  the end result is that the musical numbers not only relate to the period, but they make for good songs.

2) the man in the chair - bob martin, one of the original writers of the play, casts himself as the “narrator” character.  the premise of the play revolves around this character frequently breaking down the “fourth wall.”  by doing this, he allows himself to set the pace of the show, as well as set the concept of the play within a play.  while this concept could have been pursued easily, and in a cliched manner, martin adds a completely innovative and creative concept, key to the show’s success.

3) the use of the record as the plot vehicle - this plot device goes hand-in-hand with the usage of the man in the chair.  by conceiving the play within the play as an old recorded show, martin allows for his own interpretations on the play and is able to speed through all the musical numbers of a typical broadway play.  as the actors are playing out on stage what is happening on the record, it also makes for some interesting acting challenges, such as a skipping record, the wrong side of the record is played, etc.

like i said, i wasnt sure what i was going to make of it going in, but had a rather good time.

as for myself, the first half of the semester is winding down and i am leaving tomorrow afternoon to go back to CT until the 7th.  on the 9th, there is the big east career fair, where i am hoping to hand out more resumes and some cover letters in hopes to get myself into an internship position for the summer.  originally, i wasnt sure how international business/marketing was going to fit in a market for finance/accounting majors, however in a discussion with a friend today, i found out that even some of those companies have sustainability reporting divisions.  not only would working at them become crucial to my thesis understandings (of which i am making good progress and even developed my 8-part outline), but would benefit me careerwise as well in the field of csr.

whilst i am home, i hope to get done some thesis reading (perhaps a blog post or two), as well as make some minor edits to my resume, and possibly work on a few cover letters to prospective employers.  though i havent actually commenced actual writing of the thesis, i’m pleased with how my readings/research have been going and now that i have a working outline (my advisor was right, it came the form of a some spontaneous breakthrough as i reading a book on management and labour in europe), it will be even easier to piece together just what information becomes relevant to developing the logical inductive reasoning of my argument.

that said, it’s time for class.  keep reading…

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Arcade Fire
Neon Bible
[Merge; 2007]
Rating: 9/10

I must confess, though I thought that the Arcade Fire’s 2004 release, Funeral was a musical masterpiece, it was equally difficult to swallow at first. The beginning of the album was off to interesting and swelling starts that ended up creating a masterpiece. At the same time, it came off sounding like something ripped off of a primary school music lesson. Genius, yet inacessible.

And yet, backed by the endorsement of David Bowie and the usage of their song “Wake Up” as the introduction music for U2’s 2005 Vertigo tour, it was not hard to see why the Montreal octet was topping nearly all music critics’ top 10 albums lists of that year. Seemingly, the group had nowhere to move but forward on their sophomore album. With the release of their new album, Neon Bible, the members of Arcade Fire prove their meddle, not as hasbeens, but as cemented leaders in the indie-rock mainstay. Thanks to an online leak, we are able to gain advance insight as to the couse of the band’s future (though like a good person, I aim to purchase when available).

The album opens with “Black Mirror,” a dark song that contrasts with the livelier song following it, “Keep the Car Running.” There is something familiar about lead vocalist/guitarist Win Butler’s strumming patterns that are reminiscent of his same style displayed on Funeral. However across this album, there are subtle refinements that are highlighted by the addition of even more instruments. The organ-inspired “Intervention” courts us through church hymn and is backed by acoustic guitar, before finally resting into orchestral bliss and a subtle key change.

On “Oceans of Noise,” the band uses 50s-rock-inspired triplets over a rather vacuous, reverb-laden background. “In an ocean of noise/I first heard your voice/Now who here among us/Still believes in choice? Not I!” bemoans Butler before building up the song into a full-on orchestra. Arcade Fire starts to showcase musical echoes of The Smiths and of Chuck Berry on “(Antichrist Television Blues),” eventually crescendoing into a complete halt. This releases into “Windowsill,” a darker version of the previous song, where Butler reaches deep, discussing a sense of isolation by not wanting to live in his father’s house. “No Cars Go” lifts straight from U2, borrowing Larry Mullen’s drumline and the Edge’s solo from “New Year’s Day” and creating a sense of sophistication beyond what U2 already brought to the table.

Perhaps the album’s best treat though, is the title track, one of the most fantastic short songs ever written. The bassline of “Neon Bible” strolls along an arppegio in a 4/4 time signature, which is obviously simple enough. However, it is the reverberated drone of Butler’s voice during the chorus, combined with the sweet undertones of Regine Chassagne’s backing vocals and violin plucking that complement this bassline. The song loses itself in its simplicity, serving to illuminate the satirical anti-evangelical/pre-apocalyptic morasses of society.

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Here I develop the breakthrough I came up with in the shower the other morning:

Thus far, I have read about nine different countries and have started reading about a tenth. My previous thesis entry dealt with the notions of Finnish, Danish, and Norwegian CSR. Each country has seemed to have a distinct personality in its approach to CSR. Continuing along those lines, I have since learned about approaches in several other countries.

In the U.K. for instance, the government seems to be dependent on business and a greater sense of institiutionalism. In Ireland however, it seems to follow that CSR is not high on the corporate agenda — the result of antidisestablishmentarianism towards the Anglican Church and the British Crown. Instead, there has been lesser apathy toward CSR as the Irish Roman Catholic traditions tend towards a more capitalist nature.

In Belgium, the bi-cultural historic nature has led to a more progressive corporate agenda optioning toward CSR, but a lack of corporate transparency and communication seems to undermine this notion. In the Netherlands, CSR is heavily engrained in the business agenda, particularly with respect to environmental issues. The Dutch aim for greater transparency and self-regulation, but actively participate in dialoguing on the issues via political means.

The French tend to look at the role of social responsibility as that partaken by government. This is heavily descended from the mistrust of labour relations and the paternalistic roles of the state since the end of the Second World War. However, since the corporate/labour relations have warmed only recently, the general population expects the government to exert more paternalistic pressure on both parties.

By contrast, in Germany, there is more of a laissez-faire, apathetic attitude toward CSR. German apathy toward CSR seems different from that of the Irish however, steeped namely in the inherent tradition of corporatism and the belief that government will mediate between the various groups. Since neither group seems to be budging and the government has not particularly involved itself in promoting socially responsible agendas, the German concept of CSR has become rather stagnant unless institutions find themselves pressured by greater EU agendas.

This has all led to the breakthrough I’ve been talking about. Though there are some major and minor variations in the themes that I have read about so far, there is also a general arc that seems to be suggested to me. On the whole, there is a difference between mere communication and an obligation to be transparent. In other words, CSR is not just about a company being accountable and expressing these results in communication - it is about providing a level of transparency that leaves accountability inherently open and visible to all stakeholders.

As I will be attempting in this thesis to draw comparisons between American and European companies, these differences may show themselves namely evident in property rights entrenched in various national constitutions. In America, the right to private enterprise and private property has been the result of a form of capitalism that only finds itself regulated when catastrophe strikes the economic markets. The result is that many American corporations seem to find themselves, on the offset, less responsible to the public interests.

Take for example, the infamous Wal-Mart. Over the past several months, I have broached to various parties my disapproval of them - particularly over their ability to disclose the bare, regulated minimum of data and continuance to opaquely mask the various parts of their operations that have otherwise drastic effects on U.S. economic indicators. In response, many of these people have told me that as a private company, Wal-Mart has a right to NON-disclosure of certain things.

While this is an American legal truism, it leads to a certain American scepticism and distrust of corporations (myself included). Instead, Wal-Mart communicates a message that is askew in its lack of transparency and willingness to become transparent. Consumer apathy feeds this effect, leading Wal-Mart to continue its opaque misgivings. The root cause of the slow change in corporate practice is both historically and constitutionally based and through these lenses, will most likely remain unchallenged.

This stands in opposition to European companies, where their expectations to follow social welfare and corporate society are the norms. These companies feel an obligation to society to be transparent and to communicate that transparency through actions and words. As a result, European corporations tend to be more highly trusted - even over government in some countries. The relationship between the corporation and all of its stakeholders thus becomes a pattern of cyclical interdependency.

As in America, the concepts of private property and private enterprise are entrenched in national constitutions, however the European allocation of resources tends to lean toward statist business models and thus, in European models of CSR there is more commitment for private corporations to work with NGOs as well as with governmental bureaucracies to bring about social change.

I now pose the following question: In the United States, the NBC national news broadcast is the same homogeneous broadcast from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles. However over the same distances in Europe, the national news broadcast will vary from Warsaw to Vienna to Lisbon. Given that the same geographical distances in Europe encompass over 20 nations, whereas the same space in America encompasses one nation, are there any implications on the meaning of CSR to American corporations as opposed to European corps?

Stay tuned for another update. Next time, I’ll be briefly talking about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Comment, question, discuss away…

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Drink’s calorie-burning claims probed

the controversy about enviga is going to be about their marketing claims. in conjunction with atty gen blumenthal, they’re actually being sued by another nonprofit - center for science in the public interest.

the thing is, bluementhal is saying enviga is the first to claim that theres some weight loss associated with drinking it. however, enviga doesnt market it as a weight-loss aid, they market it as a calorie burner. those claims may be unsubstantiated, however there is no more or less substantiation for calorie reduction than there is (or not) for any other product offering antioxidants. for instance, their marketing relies on the whole EGCG antioxidant concept, which, with some small amounts of caffeine are supposed to be weight controllers or calorie-burners or cholesterol reducers. atleast thats what we’ve been told by scientists. however, if you look on say, snapple’s green tea, they market the same ingredient.

thus, the question becomes whether or not blumenthal is targeting the effect of the product itself or the validity of marketing claims. and if he succeeds in rejecting the claims, then i would be curious to see what kind of impact this has on the marketing of any other product that contains antioxidants.

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i had a major thesis breakthrough in the shower yesterday morning.  i wrote it all down and i should have a posting in the next day or so.  in the meanwhile, ive just been keeping busy reading for that and attending seth’s superbowl party.  such a disappointing game and commericials - definitely one of the worst yet. 

not much else has been happening of consequence for me to comment on, other than trying to see how george bush will balance the budget by 2012.  he has managed to increase military funding to $20,000 per second (making the pentagon the worlds 16th largest economy) yet slashed some of the entitlement funding to do so.  i understand his reasons for cutting entitlement funding for the wealthy, however it doesnt seem to balance military spending.  at this rate, the budget will not be balanced by 2012 (leaving this legacy to his successor) and instead will remain at the same deficit by 2012, unless the next president manages to reduce military funding. 

it will be interesting to see what congressional debate says about this budget, given the failure of the democrats to pass an opposition resolution against the iraq troop surge.  if they cant pass a non-binding resolution, it seems only likely that military appropriation as outlined in the budget will remain as-is and the bush agenda will live on….

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