PAW Class Notes (April 22, 2015)

ECONOMICS: Dr. Kai Chan *08 (in photo) writes from Dubai, where he is working as a policy adviser for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) federal government. Kai and his wife, Dominika, have been in Dubai since September 2011, shortly after their marriage in New York’s City Hall. They have immersed themselves into life in Dubai and have taken advantage of the location to travel extensively to Europe, Asia, and Africa. For this academic year Kai is a distinguished fellow at INSEAD at the Abu Dhabi campus. INSEAD, with campuses in Paris, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi, has as its motto “the business school for the world.” Kai was also on the team that was successful in getting the 2020 Expo for Dubai. While Kai was in New York, he was active in the Princeton Club as a graduate-alumni representative, hosting several alumni get-togethers. A proud Canadian -- and playing more hockey in Dubai than he did  in New York -- Kai is continuing to work to build up the Princeton alumni presence in the UAE, hosting quite a few visiting alums. Written by Timothy J. Butts *72 (Princeton Alumni Weekly Class Notes (April 22, 2015))

Canada’s parliament and its diversity problem

Canada's parliament and its diversity problem BY ASHLEY SPLAWINSKI   | JANUARY 30, 2015 Canada is widely renowned for being a 'diverse mosaic'. However, a newly released study by Kai Chan concludes that Canada's current Conservative government and cabinet are not an accurate reflection of our population. Not surprised? Perhaps it's time to contemplate the meaning of "multiculturalism" in all of its controversial glory. Why are we just questioning this now? The term 'diversity' can be used quite loosely. However, in Chan's study, it is defined through: geography, language, religion, age, gender, education, ethnicity and occupation. Chan, currently a policy advisor to the prime minster of the United Arab Emirates, stated that his motivation to study parliamentary representation was fueled by the escalating tension between Canada's Conservative government and its scientific community. The relationship between policy and science has been outlined by the Canadian Science Writers' Association (CSWA) in a statement saying that, in the past, Canada's federal scientists were encouraged to publicly discuss their research. This changed when the Conservative government introduced media policies to control communication between scientists and the public. The move to cut funding to scientific services and programs added to the scientific community's concern, resulting in…

Toronto Star article: “Parliament’s lack of diversity goes beyond race, gender: study”

January 2, 2015 Parliament’s lack of diversity goes beyond race, gender: study A study exploring the demographics of Parliament suggests a mismatch with the Canadian population that goes beyond race and gender to issues such as religion and education. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="545"] Report author Kai L. Chan says a homogeneous House and Senate are likely to result in "uniformed" perspectives that do not represent the general population.[/caption] By: Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter, Published on Fri Jan 02 2015   The ruling Conservatives and federal cabinet don’t look remotely close to the new Canada they represent, says a new study, which suggests there are real consequences to the lack of diversity. Kai L. Chan’s demographic study of who’s representing us in Parliament shows that the federal NDP comes closest to matching Canada’s visible-minority and gender realities, but both the House of Commons and Senate fail miserably in mirroring the diversity of Canada. “The socio-demographic biases are not without consequence as Parliament is the policy-making and political governing body of the country,” Chan writes in “Canada’s Governing Class: Who rules the country?” “When these decision makers debate the merits of initiatives, laws or policies that affect . . . women, minorities or the scientific community, the…

Forbes online article: “Big Data and the death of passion”

October 19, 2014 Big Data and the death of passion By Shellie Karabell We live in the “information age” – perhaps too much information – and the consultants are having a field day telling us how to handle it all. “It may not be possible to overstate at this point how important Big Data analytics could be to the business world… what may look like a revolution is really an evolution,” writes David Meer, a New York-based retail sector partner at Strategy& (formerly Booz & Co, now part of PwC) in the company’s online magazine, Strategy & Business. He calls it “the next frontier of a trend toward greater data-driven decision-making that began with the adoption of mainframe computers for business use in the 1960s.” Those, you may remember, were the days of manual typewriters, mimeograph machines, and the Post Office. Meer contends that companies which can use this data in their business decisions will “significantly outperform” their competitors and enter into a virtuous cycle of continuous improvement. The missing link between being snowed under by facts and figures and the optimum output is the “high-value business questions that new sources of data and more powerful analytics can help them…

Qatar Today article: “Trading with our neighbours”

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014 Trading with our neighbours by Qatar TodayBy Aparna Shivpuri,"Why has the profile of intra-GCC trade remained almost constant (in proportion to total trade) over the years? We go behind the scenes to find out what’s holding back the bloc."The issue of boosting intra-regional trade within the GCC has been in existence since the Council was established in May 1981. The six GCC countries – Bahrain, UAE, KSA, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait – have implemented numerous measures to push this agenda forward. Even though trade flow within the Council has gone up, it hasn’t achieved the desired results. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 1980 trade flows among the GCC countries were at approximately $8 billion (QR29 billion), which was about 4% of the region’s total trade with the rest of the world. By 2008, it had reached $67 billion (QR244 billion), which was equal to 6% of the total trade. According to data from the Bahrain Ministry of Industry and Commerce, at the end of 2012 intra-GCC trade was close to $100 billion (QR364 billion).According to a report by Booz & Company, the European Union’s common market generated 2.75 million jobs over a 15-year period…