Business, Management, Marketing, Money, Tax, Law, People

Want to Make Diversity Stick? Break the Cycle of Sameness

When US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in 2020, Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Edward Chang noticed something interesting: To fill the vacancy, then-President Donald Trump replaced Ginsburg with another woman, Amy Coney Barrett, even though he had previously added two men to the bench.“There was plenty of evidence showing Trump wasn’t particularly pro-diversity,” says Chang, noting that Trump had issued a memo telling federal agencies to halt…

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Porter’s Hypothesis – Regulating AI

Regulation does not necessarily stifle innovation, as many tech firms claim, but can in fact encourage a more sustainable, ethical side of proceedings, says Chirantan Chatterjee of University of Sussex Business School As we arrive in the last quarter of 2023, there is a general impression globally that while the AI genie is out of the bottle, the genie needs to be regulated, otherwise there may be unanticipated consequences. An…

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The guilty project

California’s “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law, which passed in 1994, was one of the tough-on-crime measures that swept the country in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Later, as the prisons were overflowing, the stories started to come out: A man sent to prison for life for stealing a pair of shoes. Another sentenced to life for breaking into a soup kitchen. Michael Romano, JD ’03, is the founder…

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Will Large Language Models Really Change How Work Is Done?

1. “Beyond the Buzz: A Look at Large Language Models in Production,” PDF (San Francisco: Predibase, 2023), https://go.predibase.com. 2. A. Rosenbaum, S. Soltan, and W. Hamza, “Using Large Language Models (LLMs) to Synthesize Training Data,” Amazon Science, Jan. 20, 2023, www.amazon.science. 3. “Storm Reply Launches RAG-Based AI Chatbot for Audi, Revolutionising Internal Documentation,” Business Wire, Dec. 21, 2023, www.businesswire.com. 4. “Beyond the Buzz.” 5. P. Vaithilingam, T. Zhang, and E.L.…

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Massachusetts Superior Court Finds Incentive Payment Under Profit-Sharing Scheme Is Not a Commission Under Wage Act

Quick Hits In a recent decision, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge held that a percent-of-profit incentive payment under a profit-sharing scheme is not a commission subject to the Wage Act. The court reasoned that an executive’s profit-sharing incentive was tied to the company’s profits, but not to revenue that he personally generated, and therefore he did not have a viable claim under the Wage Act. The decision clarifies that, although…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read
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Solving a Problem for the Used Electronics Market

Did you ever wonder what happens to your old smartphone when you trade it in for a new one? At Tuck, Laurens Debo, professor of operations management, teaches the Management of Service Operations elective in the MBA program. Most likely, it’s sold by your cell phone carrier to a phone remanufacturer who refurbishes it and sells it to a price-sensitive consumer who doesn’t want to buy a new one. The…

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Tuna Sandwich Sparks Legal Battle (with Law firm…)

After being dismissed for eating a leftover sandwich, a cleaner is taking legal action against a London law firm, Devonshires Solicitors, alleging indirect race discrimination. Gabriela Rodriguez, an Ecuadorian national employed by Total Clean, was contracted to clean the law firm. The United Voices of the World union (UVW), advocating for migrant workers, has taken up her case, claiming that Ms Rodriguez’s termination stemmed from discriminatory motives. Background Ms Rodriguez…

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Low iron levels resulting from infection could be key trigger of long COVID

The discovery not only points to possible ways to prevent or treat the condition, but could help explain why symptoms similar to those of long COVID are also commonly seen in a number of post-viral conditions and chronic inflammation.Although estimates are highly variable, as many as three in 10 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 could go on to develop long COVID, with symptoms including fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle aches and…

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Exhausting exhaustion – where does trade mark protection end?

Trade marks grant their owner the exclusive right to offer the goods for which the trade mark is registered. Once the original goods are placed on the market within the European Economic Area (“EEA”), this right is however exhausted, meaning that the trade mark owner cannot oppose the further distribution of its products based on trade mark rights. This principle of exhaustion, stipulated in Art. 15 (1) EUTMR, has an…

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Do “Whole Child” Education Models Work?

This interview focuses on a chapter from A Nation at Risk +40, a report by the Hoover Education Success Initiative (HESI) that looks back at the birth, struggles, and future of the modern school reform movement. Maria D. Fitzpatrick is professor of economics and public policy in the Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University. (Download her  chapter here and the full publication here.)   Q. How would you…

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March 2024 Global Immigration Alert

Please note:  while we address certain country-specific updates, this Alert contains information regarding global requirements, policies, and procedures as they stand as of the date of publication. We highly recommend reviewing any global mobility inquiries on a case-by-case basis, including any consulate-specific or immigration authority resources, in “real-time” before traveling internationally. Please reach out to our Global Mobility Team in advance of any international travel. Brazil – Tourist and Business…

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:10 mins read
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The Week in Weed: March 1, 2024

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we check on the retail market legislation in Virginia. New Hampshire’s House of Representatives passed an adult-use cannabis bill. Arkansas’ Attorney General gives the go-ahead for advocates to start collecting signatures for a ballot initiative. Nevada opens its first cannabis consumption lounges. And finally, what have those teachers at…

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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NYC Council Proposes Broad Non-Compete Ban

Seyfarth Synopsis: While New York State failed to pass a non-compete ban last year, a new bill in the New York City Council would eliminate non-compete agreements entirely, presenting new challenges and considerations for employers in the Big Apple. On December 12, 2023, the New York State Legislature delivered a bill for the Governor’s signature that would have banned “any agreement, or clause contained in any agreement, between an employer…

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Biden Administration Announces New Measures to Safeguard Americans’ Sensitive Personal Data

Quick Hits The EO directs the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to set standards addressing access to Americans’ sensitive personal data by hostile nations and their affiliates through commonly utilized channels like employment, investment, vendor, and other commercial relationships. The EO also seeks to stem the bulk sale of sensitive personal data by commercial data brokers and other commercial entities to…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read
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Three Questions with… Jamil Khan, H&R Block

This content first appeared in the February 2024 Fintech newsletter. If you’d like more commentary and analysis about news and trends from the a16z Fintech team, you can subscribe here. “The amount of innovation we’re about to see in tax is unparalleled in recent history,” says Jamil Khan, the Chief Strategy and Small Business Officer for tax giant H&R Block. “But we know that with something like tax, having a trusted…

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Introducing Talent x Opportunity Spring ‘24 Cohort

Since its launch, the Talent x Opportunity Initiative (TxO) has been more than a funding vehicle; it’s been a launchpad for culturally inspired innovation and a community of support for under-networked founders. Like the startups in our portfolio, TxO is constantly evolving to ensure we’re meeting the needs of our founders.  While funding is just a small part of the value we aim to provide our founders, we’re thrilled to…

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How to define and launch a subscription product

Welcome to our Drive to Subscribe blog series, created to provide readers with insight into the world of subscriptions while drawing parallels with the world of Formula 1. In this, part two, we will look at key considerations for successful subscription product development. You can find part one here which explores the approach to a successful subscription.   Creating a subscription product and packages that are competitive is ultimately the key to…

  • Post category:Clarasys
  • Reading time:7 mins read
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A Cheating Scandal, Abandoned Research, and Other News

Harlan Krumholz: Welcome to Health & Veritas. I’m Harlan Krumholz. Howard Forman: And I’m Howie Forman. We’re physicians and professors at Yale University. We’re trying to get closer to the truth about health and healthcare. Harlan and I have intentionally set aside several episodes each year to cover a broader range of important news in the healthcare and health realm. And so I want to start off today with something…

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Leadership Should Be a Team Sport

Just as there is no yin without yang, there is no leadership without followership. The two interdependent and complementary roles cannot exist without each other. Followership is the symbiotic interchange between a leader and those they seek to influence. However, the word has long carried connotations of subservience, implying that followers are subordinates – a term derived from the Latin word for “lower order”. This notion is deeply misguided.Although the concept…

  • Post category:INSEAD Knowledge
  • Reading time:6 mins read
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Chatbots are getting nicer

As artificial intelligence has begun to generate text and images over the last few years, it has sparked a new round of questions about how handing over human decisions and activities to AI will affect society. Will the AI sources we’ve launched prove to be friendly helpmates or the heartless despots seen in dystopian films and fictions? Matthew Jackson. Photo by Do Pham/Stanford University. A team anchored by Matthew Jackson,…

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Reassessing Trade Secrets Amid Proposed Noncompete Ban

Lawmakers in New York passed a bill in June of 2023 to ban noncompetes statewide. Although Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed the bill in December 2023 due to overbreadth, citing concerns regarding its impact on the economy, the governor noted she favored a ban on noncompetes for middle-class and low-wage workers. Lawmakers plan to reintroduce a revised bill in 2024. Noncompetes are increasingly being banned by states, and a proposal to…

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Learning from children’s drawings

Children’s drawing and drawing recognition abilities change throughout childhood By Madeline Reinsel A child using a kiosk at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. Drawings from the kiosk were collected and analyzed using AI to help the researchers better understand how children perceive the world, and how they communicate those perceptions through drawing. (Image credit: Nick Gamurot) Children’s ability to draw recognizable objects and to recognize each other’s drawings…

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Develop a staying, growing, thriving culture

In a rapidly changing work environment, organisations grapple with retaining quality talent amidst an exhausted workforce, shrinking budgets, and an uncertain economy. The desire to stick around is decreasing among employees. According to Gartner, employee attrition averaged around 20% in 2022. The evolving landscape of employment—characterised by a surge in remote working, the loss of critical knowledge due to an aging workforce, and a demand for purpose-driven roles—underscores the need for…

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Understanding geographical indications: Use and protection for food products

A geographical indication (or "GI") is a type of intellectual property protected by the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), as well as Canadian trademark law. GIs are akin to trademarks in that they help consumers identify and differentiate the source of products. However, GIs are an especially valuable branding tool which can greatly enhance the exclusivity and reputation of a product. GIs also assist with…

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Can We Boost the Power of Renewables while Reducing Electrical Demands?

As climate change accelerates and wreaks more and more havoc across the globe, a crucial question is how we can increase the share of power produced by renewables while simultaneously reducing demands on the electrical grid. Policymakers have an important role to play in this transition, but businesses arguably have a bigger one. In 2022, the U.S. produced 4.24 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity, which resulted in $488 billion in…

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2024 M&A Deal Trends in Consumer Products

In 2023, many consumer products (CP) companies focused on profitability and optimization of existing assets instead of making large growth-oriented investments in their business. Acquisition activity also slowed, as many companies focused on refining their core offerings in preparation for moves in the future. In addition, a challenging financing environment with higher interest rates and recent pauses in Fed hikes has caused many companies and investors to take a “wait…

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101 Guide – What is Strategy Execution

An organization’s success is made or broken by its ability to execute its strategies successfully. Simply stated, strategy execution is the process of carrying out activities to complete objectives outlined by an organization over a distinct period. While generally apparent in its definition, many organizations struggle to achieve the objectives they set out to accomplish. […] The post Strategy Execution 101 Guide: What is Strategy Execution? appeared first on Accelare.

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Oxford scientists launch roadmap for circular carbon plastics economy

Researchers from the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Plastics, University of Oxford, have outlined ambitious targets to help deliver a sustainable and net zero plastic economy. In a paper published in Nature, the authors argue for a rethinking of the technical, economic, and policy paradigms that have entrenched the status-quo, one of rising carbon emissions and uncontrolled pollution. Currently the global plastics system results in over 1 gigatonnes…

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ETF approval for bitcoin – the naked emperor’s new clothes

22 February 2024By Ulrich Bindseil and Jürgen SchaafBitcoin has failed on the promise to be a global decentralised digital currency. Instead it is used for illicit transactions. The latest approval of an ETF doesn’t change the fact that Bitcoin is not suitable as means of payment or as an investment. On 10 January, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitcoin. For disciples, the formal…

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Combating AI deepfakes in elections through today’s new tech accord

As the months of 2024 unfold, we are all part of an extraordinary year for the history of both democracy and technology. More countries and people will vote for their elected leaders than in any year in human history. At the same time, the development of AI is racing ever faster ahead, offering extraordinary benefits but also enabling bad actors to deceive voters by creating realistic “deepfakes” of candidates and…

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Mitigating the Risks of Delegated Design

The use of delegated design in construction, where a project’s design professional of record (DPR) assigns responsibility for a specific part of the design to the contractor, is on the rise throughout the industry. This approach, historically limited in practice to a narrow set of specialized elements like steel stairs and fire sprinkler systems, is now being used for an ever-growing scope of specialties, from intricate excavations and sophisticated deep…

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Experts call for new economic modelling on energy transition ambition

In a featured comment publication for Nature Energy, researchers - including from the Institute for New Economic Thinking and the Oxford Smith School at the University of Oxford - outline the challenges facing policymakers working with traditional economic modelling across the public and industrial sectors. The paper calls for a shift from narrow cost-benefit analysis and modelling based on economic equilibrium, towards models which capture the dynamics of the transition…

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Public pensions – mixing risky investments with unrealistic predictions

More than 20 million Americans are covered by state and local government pensions. Unlike the 401(k) plans found in the private sector, these “defined benefit” plans promise to pay retirees a set amount of money every month for the rest of their lives. For most public workers, these generous programs are a cornerstone of their financial security; for many, they’re one of the main attractions of government jobs. Yet the…

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Piero Cipollone: Digital euro: Debunking banks’ fears about losing deposits

19 February 2024By Ulrich Bindseil, Piero Cipollone and Jürgen Schaaf Many banks worry their customers might withdraw deposits to hold digital euro instead. These fears are misplaced: a digital euro will be designed as a means of payment and not for investment, argue ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone, Ulrich Bindseil and Jürgen Schaaf. On 18 October 2023 the ECB’s Governing Council outlined the scope and key features of a…

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Countdown to the Digital Services Act (DSA) – Your Legal Guide

The Digital Services Act stands out as the most important and ambitious regulation globally in the realm of protecting the digital space against the spread of illegal content and safeguarding users’ fundamental rights, heralding a safer and more equitable online environment throughout the European Union (EU). With the deadline for compliance approaching, this article breaks down the crucial next steps to help your online business get on the right track.…

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The experts guide to designing your operating model for growth, cost, agility

In a rapidly evolving business landscape, strategic organisational design has never been more critical. This was the central theme of our recent panel discussion titled, ‘The experts’ guide: Design your operating model for growth, cost & agility’. Targeting business leaders across all sectors, the discussion consisted of practical insights and tools for effectively navigating the complexities and challenges of today’s dynamic business environment. Attendees were also given a roadmap for understanding…

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Assessing the People Cost of an “Always-on” Work Culture

Our increasingly digital-first workplaces have profound implications for the employee experience, particularly on employee well-being and overall mental and physical health. This shift, underscored by an "always-on" culture, has necessitated a deeper examination of how continuous availability and the blurring lines between our work and personal lives are impacting employees at all levels. Drawing from Perceptyx research, I want to unpack some of the complexities of these work dynamics and…

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