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New York and Tokyo: Global Cities as Essential Hubs for Our Collective Future
Throughout, cities have faced repeated pronouncements of their demise. Yet, as centers of soft power, cities adapt, persevere, and ultimately, reinvent themselves to thrive. Photo: Orbon Alija / Getty Images On August 24, 2020, in the dog days of the New York summer and at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, comedian Jerry Seinfeld wrote an op-ed for The New York Times titled "So You Think New York Is 'Dead' (It's not.)" The king is dead, long live the king! "Real, live, inspiring human energy exists when we coagulate together in crazy places like New York City," wrote Seinfeld. Cities change, "They mutate. They re-form. Because greatness is rare. And the true greatness that is New York City is beyond rare." In fact, megacities around the world have been experiencing similar trends related not just to the novel coronavirus--climate change, natural disasters, population shifts, and transformations in business, infrastructure, and transportation will all shape the contours of the 21st century. New York City's own history--when and why it has been pronounced "dead" during the last century--is instructive in and of itself. Other megacities of consequence should take note and take heart, especially Tokyo, which will be under the microscope in a new way as it prepares to host the Olympic Games in today's unprecedented environment. History repeats itself In the tensions of living in the present time, it's easy to forget New York City's long history of disaster, recovery, growth, and innovation--the 1918-19 influenza epidemic, the seasonal threat of polio, the scourge of HIV-AIDS, and the current pandemic, all define the city's history. In October 1975, New York City, America's largest and wealthiest city, narrowly averted bankruptcy. Refused rescue by the federal government and President Gerald Ford, the city was saved only through the beneficence of the city's own Teacher's Retirement System pension fund, which made up a $150 million shortfall. The next day, the Daily News headline shouted "Ford to City: Drop Dead." We survived, and we thrived! Then there was 9/11, 20 years ago this September, when the U.S. rallied around the city. New Yorkers cheered as heavy equipment driven from across America arrived to help clear the devastation, and were joined by the entire nation in mourning those who were lost. Along came the 2008 financial crisis, sounding another death knell for New York. Today, we know from past history that what has closed will reopen, or be reborn in a different form. And we'll be here to celebrate. Global cities generate soft power Like Tokyo, London, or Paris, New York is a global center for arts and culture, a place where diverse creative arts flourish and inspire people in close proximity, where there is always space for tradition and innovation, and a place, too, for those who come for entertainment. But whether in Japan, Europe, or America, whether in the arts, innovation, or civil society, the soft power of a global city is so much more than the sum of its parts. It is a treasure trove of history, a platform for the future, a home for diversity, and an incubator for social change. What is soft power and why do we need it? The term "soft power" was crafted by Harvard political scientist Joseph Nye in the 1980s, and is now widely used in a foreign policy context. As a 2004 Foreign Affairs review of Nye's book, Soft Power; The Means to Success in World Politics noted: "Nye argues that successful states need both hard and soft power--the ability to coerce others as well as the ability to shape their long-term attitudes and preferences... But overall, Nye's message is that U.S. security hinges as much on winning hearts and minds as it does on winning wars." Almost two decades later, soft power--the cultural, intellectual, and social bonds that bring diverse countries and societies together for mutual understanding--has become a critical component of American foreign policy. This is especially important for the U.S.-Japan alliance, as most recently evidenced by Hideki Matsuyama's thrilling Masters Tournament win and President Biden hosting Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as the first head of state to visit the White House during his tenure. As I've written before, based on my experience from the State Department, "innovative and entrepreneurial partnerships based on shared objectives--economic growth, stability, and more--will be the engine for increased security and prosperity." In other words, the future of diplomacy will not only be national, but subnational, where megacities like Tokyo and New York will shape their own destinies based on the partnerships that their leaders--political, business, and civil--can forge together in the best interests of their constituents. Japan Society and New York As the President and CEO of Japan Society, my work is to take the Society's mission into its second century, to be the deep connection, or kizuna, that brings the United States and Japan together through its peoples, cultures, businesses, and societies. From our New York headquarters, which opened to the public 50 years ago, we are looking toward the next half century knowing that we will be defined not so much by our now-landmarked building but by our digital and ideational impact. Our future can only be enhanced by continuing to exchange with our friends in Tokyo and beyond. Long before soft power was defined, in the radical days of 1960s New York, Japan Society supported international exchange in the arts between Japan and the U.S. through fellowships and grants to Japanese artists and students, among them Yayoi Kusama, Yutaka Matsuzawa (Radicalism in the Wilderness: Japanese Artists in the Global 1960s), Shiko Munakata (Improvisation in Wood: Kawamata x Munakata, fall/winter 2021), and many others who made history in the arts in both the U.S. and Japan. Now, performing arts commissions and gallery exhibitions at Japan Society build on and evolve U.S.-Japan cultural exchange even as Japanese traditional and contemporary artists have been mainstreamed into New York's major cultural institutions. Our work continues--in arts and culture, education, business, and civil society. Even as the COVID pandemic recedes through continued social distancing practices and increasing vaccinations, the changes it has wrought on the ways we work and communicate are here to stay. Remote work, flexible schedules, and collaboration and connectivity across time zones all predate the pandemic but were scaled up at a rate that was previously unimaginable. While physical borders closed to travelers, virtual ones opened --and technology has allowed us to engage and convene with those near and far like never before. We at Japan Society are committed to finding new connections and building new bridges outside of New York City, starting with Tokyo and then the rest of the world. Our 37 other Japan-America sister societies across the United States have much to offer even as New York remains an essential global stage and financial platform. Partnerships will ultimately define the future of which global hubs thrive and where populations gravitate post-COVID. As we continue our mission for the future of the world, and for the U.S.-Japan alliance, I'm incredibly optimistic for Japan Society and for New York City's long-term evolution. This article was originally published in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
As America tries to come to grips with and find lasting solutions to issues of systemic racism, new research shows staggering hiring trends that negatively impact Black Americans when they enter the workplace and as they near retirement age. Sociologist and UConn expert Dr. Matthew Hughey discussed the findings with the Washington Post: "A new experiment at Texas A&M University helps illustrate the surprising pattern, which has not been widely studied but tends to line up with Labor Department data reviewed by The Washington Post: Black workers are typically less likely to be hired than White workers with the same experience, but the gap closes in middle age. When he saw the chart above, University of Connecticut sociologist Matthew Hughey was struck by the steadiness of the trend for Whites, compared to the volatile swoop of the line representing Black workers. It shows hiring managers tend to accept White applicants at face value while subconsciously scrutinizing Black ones, he said. “Black people have always been more objectified, scrutinized and surveilled than White people,” Hughey said. “Every little thing is nitpicked on a résumé or explained as a possible red flag.” The larger pattern is common in government data, but the chart comes from a new analysis in the Journal of Policy and Management from Texas A&M economist Joanna Lahey, a widely cited authority on discrimination in the labor market. Lahey noticed the counterintuitive pattern of age discrimination against Black workers when she and her collaborator, Douglas Oxley, asked about 150 business and MBA students to evaluate about 40 résumés each. About a quarter of the students had previously screened résumés in the real world, and 11 percent had experience in human resources." May 14, 2021 - Washington Post If you are a journalist looking to cover this subject, let us help. Professor Matthew Hughey is a scholar of racism and racial inequality in identity formation, organizations, media, politics, science, religion, and public advocacy. If you are looking to book an interview, simply click on Dr. Hughey’s icon today.
Taking on Super Polluters to Reduce Greenhouse Gases
If just the top five percent of carbon-emitting plants in the U.S. reduced emissions to the average intensity of all plants, overall emissions from the electricity sector would fall 22 percent. A new book co-authored by Wesley Longhofer, associate professor of organization and management at Goizueta Business School, offers new insights into a persistent problem—how to curb carbon emissions from top-polluting power plants around the world. In Super Polluters: Tackling the World’s Largest Sites of Climate-Disrupting Emissions (Columbia University Press), Longhofer and co-authors Don Grant and Andrew Jorgenson argue that reducing pollution from fossil-fueled power plants should start with the dirtiest producers. From data they gathered over eight years on the carbon emissions of every power plant in the world, they found that a small number of plants contribute the lion’s share of pollution. For instance, if just the top five percent of carbon-emitting plants in the U.S. reduced emissions to the average intensity of all plants, overall emissions from the electricity sector would fall 22 percent. The book also questions claims that improvements in technical efficiency will always reduce greenhouse gases. “It’s the paradox of efficiency,” Longhofer says. “Just because a plant produces power more efficiently doesn’t mean they’ll pollute less. It just becomes cheaper to produce.” As sociologists, the authors are the first to put the problem into context, investigating global, organizational, and political conditions that explain super-polluter behavior. They demonstrate energy and climate policies most effective at curbing power-plant pollution and show how mobilized citizen activism shapes those outcomes. “Climate change is fundamentally an organizational problem. Even if you think about the Paris Accords, it’s the power plants and the cars within those states that produce the emissions, not the states themselves,” Longhofer says. “What do we do with what we already know? How do we develop policies to help us achieve our climate goals?” If you’re a journalist looking to speak with Wesley Longhofer about his book or discuss big pollution and how to cut carb emissions - then let us help. Simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.
Maple Report - May 2021 Edition
May 2021 Welcome to our second edition of The Maple Report. This quarterly newsletter is designed to keep Canadian technology executives updated on the latest trends, market research, events and valuable resources from IDC Canada's expert analysts. In this edition, we want to show you how IDC can help Canadian executives like yourself make important technology decisions. We also want to invite you to our upcoming events and give you a sample of some of our thought leadership through our IDC blog. We hope you find these insights practical to help propel your business into a more resilient digital enterprise. Trust IDC to be your research partner in 2021. We welcome your thoughts about this newsletter. Please send them to askIDC@idccanada.com. HOW CAN IDC HELP YOU? IDC PeerScapes – Helping You Find Technology Best Practices An IDC PeerScape minimizes your missteps by identifying peer business practices worthy of emulating or avoiding, increasing the likelihood of positive impacts from a technology initiative. To assist your organization finding technology best practices, IDC publishes dozens of IDC PeerScape reports. Similar to IDC MarketScapes that we explored in the last edition of The Maple Report, IDC PeerScapes sit on the Engage part of our IDC DecisionScape framework , and include reports to help you launch, evaluate and optimize new technology initiatives. The report outlines key challenges your peers encountered when implementing a specific technology initiative, as well as key insights your peers learned along the way. IDC PeerScapes help you to increase the likelihood of a tech initiative’s success by giving you insight into best practices (and practices to avoid) through specific use case examples implemented by your peers who have already led a similar technology initiative. These documents can help your organization recreate successful implementations of technology and help you mitigate risk. To help you understand the value of these reports, we have included here our IDC PeerScape: Practices for Including Cloud Services into Outsourcing Contracts in Canada report. In it, you'll find Best practices from three areas of cloud adoption are discussed in the document: security, cost management, and skills gap. Companies created security checklists to mitigate security risks and retain control of security when working with external vendors. They also filled the skills gap and minimized cost unpredictability by collaborating with their outsourcing service providers. VIRTUAL EVENTS FOR IT EXECUTIVES IDC Fireside Chat | Content Cloud as a Critical Component of Virtual Work May 19, 2021 | 2:00 pm ET Does your organization have a holistic view of your customers when they contact you for assistance? Are your security protocols on your content systems up to snuff with your virtual workforce? Is your content customized for the different employee roles? If any of these content challenges sound familiar to your organization, then you need to attend this webinar to provide a seamless content experience for your customers and your employees. On our next webinar for Canadian technology executives on May 19th at 2pm ET, we'll hear how ATB Financial's Barry Hensch conquered multiple content management challenges to provide seamless experiences in its virtual workplace during a fireside chat with IDC's Megha Kumar. Walk away with a better understanding of what Cloud Content Management entails, why it's important to manage your content effectively and how you can leverage it to prosper in the digital future. Confirmed Speakers: Megha Kumar: Director, Software & Cloud Services, IDC Canada Barry Hensch: SVP & Head of Technology Enablement, ATB Financial Varun Parmar: SVP & Chief Product Officer, Box IDC CIO Panel Series | Accelerate & Simplify Your Canadian Digital Transformation Journey June 16, 2021 | 2:00pm ET Our IDC Canada research indicates that many Canadian organizations are not where they need to be yet to thrive in the digital economy. If you think your organization could benefit from simplifying and accelerating your digital transformation efforts, then you need to attend this upcoming webinar on June 16 at 2pm ET. Join this virtual webinar to understand where Canadian organizations are on their respective digital transformation journeys, what types of projects were accelerated as a result of the pandemic and what impact it had on Canadian industries. Then hear from our all-Canadian CIO panel on how they've stickhandled the impact of the pandemic at their organizations to set themselves up for future success in the digital economy. Learn what you need from your peers to get your organization moving in the right direction. Confirmed Speakers: Tony Olvet: Group VP, Research, IDC Canada Nigel Wallis: Research VP, IoT & Industries, IDC Canada Catherine Chick: SVP, IT, Canada Goose Pamela Pelletier: Canada Country Manager, Dell Technologies IDC THOUGHT LEADERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS DID YOU KNOW? You Can Get Actionable Research, KPIs, Benchmarks & Best Practices with IDC IDC Canada's IT Executive Programs (IEP) make it easy to access the relevant technology research and advice you need to make data-driven decisions as you lead your organization into the digital future. Get in touch today to learn more or visit our IT Executive Portal to learn more. IT EXECUTIVE RESOURCES Set Your Future IT Roadmap with IDC IT leaders need to rethink what is critical and evaluate where the organization stands as they manage complex changes. For strategies on transforming your organization's IT, read the new eBook from IDC: Future IT: Operating System of the Future Enterprise.
Research Reveals Uptick in Hostility toward Black Americans during Tough Economic Times
Goizueta Experts Encourage Business Leaders to Double Down on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts. Do recessions stoke racial tension? When there’s an economic downturn, are White Americans more likely to feel distrust or even animosity towards their Black peers? Researchers have long wondered about the broader societal impact of financial recessions, but until recently their effects on race relations have been unclear. In a recent paper, Emily Bianchi, associate professor of organization and management, Erika Hall, assistant professor of organization and management, and Sarah Lee 19PhD, assistant professor of management, Dominican University of California and visiting professor of organizational behavior, Pepperdine University, find that there is indeed a subtle uptick in hostility towards Black Americans during bad economic times. Their paper, Reexamining the Link Between Economic Downturns and Racial Antipathy, examines publicly available data on attitudes, political trends, and behavioral patterns in the U.S. Sarah Lee 19PhD While businesses tend to cut diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts during economic downturns, Bianchi and Hall underscore that these efforts may be even more critical during these times. To study this phenomenon, the researchers analyzed more than 20 years of data from the American National Election Survey (ANES), a biannual survey capturing political affiliations and perceptions of political candidates from 1964 until 2012. They analyzed how White Americans’ attitudes towards Blacks changed depending on the state of the economy and found that in worse economic times, Whites felt more negatively about Blacks. As Bianchi notes: “we were able to analyze the responses of more than 30,000 individuals who identified as White. And we do find that for decades – between the 1960s and the first part of the 21 century – White Americans feel less warmly about Black Americans during times of financial hardship.” Emily Bianchi, associate professor of organization and management In a second study, Bianchi, Hall, and Lee examined data from Project Implicit, a popular website that allows people to test their own implicit bias and also gauges racial attitudes. Again, the authors found that in worse economic times, White Americans held more negative implicit and explicit attitudes about race. In particular, during the Great Recession, they found that White’s attitudes towards Blacks became substantially more negative in states that were hard hit by the economic crisis compared to states in which the economic downturn was less severe. Having established that economic conditions affected fluctuations in attitudes towards race, the authors then examined whether these emotional shifts translated into actual behavioral outcomes. In other words, if Whites felt more negatively towards Blacks during recessions would this mean that Black professionals were less likely to be successful when the economy floundered? They tested this possibility by looking at two domains of public activity: record sales and voting patterns. First, they examined data from the Billboard Top 10 American songs between 1980 and 2014 and recorded the race of each musician who secured a Billboard hit. They found that in bad economic years, Black musicians were 90% less likely to have a top 10 hit, presumably because White consumers (by far the biggest consumer group during this period) were less likely to support them. Next, they examined the results of more than 8000 elections to the U.S. House of Representatives over the same period. They found that in bad economic times, Black politicians were 21% less likely to win elections. Interestingly, the converse also appears to be true. In good times, Black musicians and politicians fared much better in the polls and the charts – pointing to a certain fluidity in attitudes, says Bianchi. “Across these very different domains, studies, and sample sizes, we find the same consistent pattern: when times are tough, White Americans feel more animosity towards Black Americans and are less likely to support Black musicians or politicians. When things pick up, White Americans have more positive attitudes towards Black Americans and are more likely to endorse Black musicians and Black candidates.” The authors attribute these effects to innate human feelings of fear in the face of threat. Economic threats or shocks tend to evoke uncertainty and fear about what is to come. This translates into greater distrust of others, particularly those perceived as different in some way. And it’s an effect, they argue, that should be very much on the radar of businesses and decision-makers. Erika Hall, assistant professor of organization and management The research cites, “Anecdotally, we know that when times are good, organizations will tend to prioritize their efforts in the area of diversity and inclusion. But while this is critically important at all times, our research suggest that these efforts are probably even more important when times are tough.” All of this points to a need to attend to these issues more acutely when there’s a downturn, says Bianchi. And she cautions that this is likely to be counterintuitive to most leaders, who are likely more inclined to sideline diversity efforts when the economy slides. In terms of the current debate around race relations in the US, however, Bianchi stresses that the economic dimension is just one piece of a “very complicated puzzle.” “What we have seen and are seeing in 2020 and 2021 is a confluence of many major factors: a pandemic that has put a lot of people out of work, and that has put everyone on edge, punctuated by some horrific and well documented instances of violence against Black citizens,” Bianchi says. “So many of these things are in the mixing pot, that it’s hard to pinpoint one specific cause behind the current race crisis in the U.S. So many things coming together at once that have put us in this moment.” Only time will tell how this might play out compared to what we saw in the 80s and 90s, which were economic fluctuations rather than a complete drop off a cliff, she says. It will be more difficult to tease apart the effect of the economy versus the effect of the pandemic versus the effect of police violence on America’s race relations – a situation that Bianchi describes as a “cauldron of mess.” That said, she stresses that for business leaders, now is a good time to double down on efforts to drive diversity and inclusion. “I’d suggest leaders be especially mindful that at times of economic stress such as we are currently experiencing, there is a very real danger of heightened racial animosity.” We’ve attached a full article with even more advice and helpful information from our experts – but if you are looking to learn more or cover this topic, we can help. All of our faculty are available to speak with media, simply click on either expert’s icon now – to book an interview today.
How does the job market look for the Class of 2021 ? The answer: much better, says IU expert
As the class of 2021 graduates this weekend to embark on new challenges and careers, Rebecca Cook, executive director of undergraduate career services at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, reflects on the current job market and offers insights into what summer internships may be like for current students. “The summer of 2020 was a mess for student internships and full-time roles, with pretty much all either going virtual or, in the case of many internships, being cancelled altogether as companies tried to figure out business during the pandemic. Luckily, the job outlook for both full-time roles and internships in May 2021 looks a lot different – and a lot better. “The job market is hopping right now with a significant number of internship and full-time opportunities, as companies open up and business grows. Industries such as professional services, technology, health care, manufacturing and financial services are all seeing significant upticks in job postings. Even companies hard-hit by the pandemic, such as retail and hospitality, are picking up their hiring. “While hiring is back to pre-pandemic levels in many industries, the level of competition for those roles has increased significantly. In a normal year, the majority of job seekers are that year’s graduates. However, this year we have 2021 grads plus some 2020 grads who still are seeking plus those who went to graduate school to put off job hunting during the pandemic and are now graduating. This all leads to a much more competitive job market and one where a student needs to work to stand out from the crowd, particularly through networking and reaching out to potential connections at their companies of interest. “We recommend that students spend a lot more time networking than they may have in the past, creating a focused list of companies they are interested in and then spending the time to connect and speak with employees at those companies. Leverage any ‘warm’ connections possible, such as friends, family members, fellow Kelley alumni, faculty and staff recommendations. “An important point to remember is that roughly 75 percent of jobs are never advertised publicly, so the only way to find out about them is through networking. Many new jobs, as well as internships, may start out virtual “It’s important to note that many roles that students are entering will still be virtual, at least for the time being, as companies are very mixed as to if they are back in the office already, not returning to the office until early fall, or staying remote entirely. Internships in particular are likely going to be virtual, while full-time jobs are looking to be mixed, with many starting out virtual but then likely moving in-person when offices open up. While being virtual once again is probably disappointing, students should remember that they can be just as successful with a virtual full-time role or internship as an in-person one. “The key is staying connected with their supervisor and co-workers on a regular basis. They should also network with as many people in their full-time or internship company as possible, taking the initiative to set up Zoom (or whatever video conferencing tool that the company uses) meetings regularly in order to learn as much about the company and role as possible, as well as to build their network for future opportunities. “Overall, there are a lot of available opportunities out there for students – they just need to put in the time to network and get their name and brand known.” To schedule an interview with Cook, contact George Vlahakis at vlahakis@iu.edu.
Kelley School expert who studies causes and effects of recalls available to discuss Peloton
Peloton Interactive Inc. on May 5 announced that it is recalling its treadmills in a statement from CEO John Foley who also apologized for the company’s initial refusal to comply with federal safety regulators’ prior request for this action. George Ball, assistant professor of operations and decision technologies and Weimer Faculty Fellow at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, studies the causes and effects of product recalls. Below are comments from Ball. He can be reached at gpball@indiana.edu. “Recall decisions like this are very difficult for managers to make, especially the ones that are high profile and associated with consumer injury. Managers have to balance the firm financial health with consumer safety. Thus, this is a rich area of research. The research that my colleagues and I undertake in this field deal both with the regulator and the firm. My comments will attempt to address both perspectives. “I will start with the regulator. I am currently involved in a research project with two colleagues that is specifically critiquing the Consumer Product Safety Commission for situations very similar to this Peloton recall. There are three main regulators in the US that oversee product quality and in particular recalls: the FDA, NHTSA and the CPSC. “Of those, CPSC is the least proactive and in my view, least successful in properly managing product recalls and their timeliness. This is because there are two main ways in which a firm can push firms to recall; they can force them to, or they can work with the firm management to help encourage them, or nudge them, to recall. The FDA is very good at influencing firms while NHTSA is quite good at mandating recalls. CPSC does neither well. “In particular, the FDA frequently chooses to use their relationships with senior quality executives at firms to nudge them to recall when FDA feels it may be necessary and the firm has not yet acted upon the quality problem. Conversely, NHTSA mandates approximately 20 to 30 percent of auto recalls, such that they choose to force instead of nudge. However, in both cases, while neither industry (medical products and autos) are perfect when it comes to recall timeliness, and both have suffered unfortunate well-known examples of firms dragging their feet in the recall decision, both have a well-developed approach. “CPSC mandates practically no recalls and they do not, from my research, have strong relationships with firm executives that can help them nudge firms to make the quick recall decision. Thus, this Peloton example is one of many in which consumer product firms may take too long to recall. “From the firm perspective. There are several potential red flags that may indicate the firm took too long. The longer a consumer product industry CEO has been in their role, the slower they are to make recall decisions. This is because the longer a CEO is in the role, the less open they are to taking responsibility for such high-profile mistakes. Interestingly, a new CEO, such as one who has been in their role for two to three years, is much more likely to recall a faulty product. “The CEO of Peloton definitely falls into the category of a fairly long-tenured CEO who has his reputation tied closely to the firm’s success. Secondly, the more stock a CEO owns in their firm, the slower they are to make the recall decision, because they are trying to protect their financial welfare. The CEO of Peloton appears to have a significant fortune at stake in Peloton stock, which would be consistent with our research. The more stock a CEO owns, the slower the firm take to recall defective products.”
Expert available to discuss Facebook Oversight Board's decision on Trump's account
Reporters: Girish Mallapragada, a social media marketing expert at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, is available Wednesday (May 5) to discuss the Facebook Oversight Board's decision to uphold Facebook's ban on former President Donald Trump. In advance of the announcement, Mallapragada, an associate professor of marketing and Weimer Faculty Fellow, said he questioned whether the board’s decision will have much of an impact on Trump’s outreach to his followers. He noted that Trump’s rise in popularity primarly came through his use of another social media platform, Twitter, and not as much through Facebook. “He was more adept at short form communication than long contextual messages. Twitter is ideal for the former, Facebook for the latter,” Mallapragada said. “Twitter is closest online to a live large audience, where he thrives.” “If Facebook allows him to comeback, it might make people unhappy and others happy, but I don’t think it would be impactful to make a big difference.” George Vlahakis, associate director of communications and media relations at Kelley, can help arrange for interviews with Mallapragada, and can be reached at vlahakis@iu.edu.
STORY: CAA is Canada’s most trusted brand for the second year running.
The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) has been named the most trusted brand in Canada for the second year in a row in the annual Gustavson Brand Trust Index, released today. Since being named in the Index five years ago, CAA has been one of the top two trusted brands, beating out several hundred other prominent international and Canadian brands. CAA has received the top trusted spot, four years consecutively in the insurance category. In addition, CAA leads the pack this year on the following trust attributes: good customer treatment and honest communications. Conducted by the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria, the sixth annual Gustavson Brand Trust Index asked more than 7,800 consumers to score 342 prominent Canadian companies and brands, across 27 industry sectors, on a range of brand value measures. Consumers are asked to assess their perception of the reliability, consistency, honesty, societal responsibility and integrity of the brands surveyed. CAA Clubs are active in communities across Canada. At the start of the pandemic, the clubs quickly pivoted to offer community services, including deliveries of food and medical supplies, free roadside assistance to medical workers, and calls to housebound seniors. Full report 2021 Gustavson Brand Trust Index
COVID expert: Prof Lawrence Young, UK
Professor Lawrence Young of the University of Warwick is one of the go-to experts in the UK on COVID-19. A Professor of Molecular Oncology at Warwick Medical School, he can comment on many aspects of the pandemic -- from the nature of the virus itself and its effects in patients, to its impacts on hospitals and wider society. He regularly features on TV, radio, and newspapers in the UK and worldwide, including: If you would like to book an interview with Prof. Young, contact press@warwick.ac.uk or L.Walton.1@warwick.ac.uk
