In November 2017, Students for Fair Admissions Inc. filed a complaint alleging that Harvard College violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibited racial discrimination in institutions that received federal funding. The complaint alleged that Harvard College engaged in intentional discrimination against Asian American applicants in its admissions process. Harvard College acknowledged its use of race in the admissions process but maintained that it was only one of many factors the school considered. It also claimed that using race as a "plus factor" was supported by the law. Both sides used a large set of data to plead their cases and both hired econometrics experts to argue their positions, who reached opposite conclusions. The trial judge needed to assess the two experts' findings and reach a decision about the story the data was telling.
In November 2017, Students for Fair Admissions Inc. filed a complaint alleging that Harvard College violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibited racial discrimination in institutions that received federal funding. The complaint alleged that Harvard College engaged in intentional discrimination against Asian American applicants in its admissions process. Harvard College acknowledged its use of race in the admissions process but maintained that it was only one of many factors the school considered. It also claimed that using race as a “plus factor” was supported by the law. Both sides used a large set of data to plead their cases and both hired econometrics experts to argue their positions, who reached opposite conclusions. The trial judge needed to assess the two experts’ findings and reach a decision about the story the data was telling.
James Waite, the manager at Western Film, must decide which film to screen at his cinema in the upcoming week. He must evaluate whether to continue showing Spider-Man: Far From Home (Spider-Man), or replace it with one of three other films available for him to screen. Western Film, a second-run theatre, has the advantage of having domestic box office information available, and Waite must analyze whether this information is helpful to him in making this decision.
James Waite, the manager at Western Film, must decide which film to screen at his cinema in the upcoming week. He must evaluate whether to continue showing Spider-Man: Far From Home (Spider-Man), or replace it with one of three other films available for him to screen. Western Film, a second-run theatre, has the advantage of having domestic box office information available, and Waite must analyze whether this information is helpful to him in making this decision.
In December 2022, after the independent film distributing company levelFILM Inc. experienced several box office failures, the company's manager of sales strategy was wondering if the company needed to re-examine its portfolio strategy. Based in Toronto, Ontario, levelFILM Inc. operated in the highly uncertain film industry, in which it was almost impossible to predict how any one film would perform at the box office. The various distributors in the industry employed different strategies for managing risk, including building a large diversified portfolio of projects or pursuing a blockbuster strategy with heavy investment in fewer projects. The company's manager was wondering which strategy would be most appropriate for levelFILM Inc. and how he might use extensive historical data that he had available to determine optimal risk management and investment returns options for the company.
In December 2022, after the independent film distributing company levelFILM Inc. experienced several box office failures, the company’s manager of sales strategy was wondering if the company needed to re-examine its portfolio strategy. Based in Toronto, Ontario, levelFILM Inc. operated in the highly uncertain film industry, in which it was almost impossible to predict how any one film would perform at the box office. The various distributors in the industry employed different strategies for managing risk, including building a large diversified portfolio of projects or pursuing a blockbuster strategy with heavy investment in fewer projects. The company’s manager was wondering which strategy would be most appropriate for levelFILM Inc. and how he might use extensive historical data that he had available to determine optimal risk management and investment returns options for the company.
Maya Fonseca, the marketing analyst for video streaming service FilmCast, and her colleague Rupert Cruz had to interpret the results of a conjoint analysis conducted by their company. FilmCast was a large company, competing against Videosource and Webflickstream. The marketing analysts were debating whether it made sense to lower the price of their services and if the conjoint analysis results supported this idea.
Maya Fonseca, the marketing analyst for video streaming service FilmCast, and her colleague Rupert Cruz had to interpret the results of a conjoint analysis conducted by their company. FilmCast was a large company, competing against Videosource and Webflickstream. The marketing analysts were debating whether it made sense to lower the price of their services and if the conjoint analysis results supported this idea.
Technology is advancing at a rapid rate, changing various aspects of our everyday lives. Businesses and governments are trying to adapt to this change by embracing positive aspects, while remaining attentive to negative aspects. This note focuses on technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data, considering the ethical issues that these technologies create within our society and also how these ethical issues are being addressed.
An actuarial intern at World Reinsurance Company was casually checking his e-mail and noticed that he had received a request from his manager to develop a quote for an upcoming request for proposal from one of World Reinsurance Company’s larger clients, Ontario Life. The request for proposal would have to contain a quote for an excess-of-loss policy to reinsure Ontario Life’s 10-year-term life insurance policy, consisting of 100 high-risk policyholders, for retention limits over CA$250,000 on a per-loss basis. The quote was to be submitted for review by the end of the day, so the intern had to get started on it immediately.
An actuarial intern at World Reinsurance Company was casually checking his e-mail and noticed that he had received a request from his manager to develop a quote for an upcoming request for proposal from one of World Reinsurance Company's larger clients, Ontario Life. The request for proposal would have to contain a quote for an excess-of-loss policy to reinsure Ontario Life's 10-year-term life insurance policy, consisting of 100 high-risk policyholders, for retention limits over CA$250,000 on a per-loss basis. The quote was to be submitted for review by the end of the day, so the intern had to get started on it immediately.