Knowledge Update

 

Investment is the key to economic development, which is a continuous process, for it is a respond to the ever-rising human wants. Investment, in the case of underdeveloped countries, of which the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was one just a few years ago, are called upon to break the shackle of the ‘vicious circle of poverty’ (VCP) and put them on the road to economic development and prosperity.

The rise of the economy through investment is, perhaps, better demonstrated in the United Arab Emirates, which has risen from a low level of economic development to a world-class economic development. The UAE is considered to be a high home for national and international investments, and private as well as public investments. For example, the recessionary ecosystem which appears to be ever haunting the business world owes to the depressed demand and investment conditions to stimulate which is an easy money/credit policy that is universally in vogue.

According to the IMF, the year 2019-2020 is likely to end in with 90 percent of the world in declined growth rates. The current great depression which began with Covid-19 in December 2019 hints the need for business firms to think of their investments in terms of social needs and values, without giving up their profit goals or objectives. There is already a thought heading to this direction— the Social Value Investment, a recent book making headlines in this field. The Social Value Investing by Howard W. Buffett, the grandson of Warren Buffett of the renowned Berkshire Hathaway, and William B. Eimicke, from Colombia University -- business icons and pride of the United States of America who continue to hold their heads high despite being buffeted by friends and foes alike. The book is a well-researched one. Utopian Entrepreneurs and business people, so to speak, live and work for profit, and then believe that there is nothing wrong or immoral with profits in business term because without profits, which are rewards or “wages” of entrepreneurship and enterprise, there won’t be any entrepreneurial or business activity and no production and delivery of goods and services.

There won’t be that "making of bread and making of wine" so to speak. These concepts are familiar since Adam Smith expounded the principles of business of prices and profits, moving the economic system in an atmosphere of letting the business alone or laissez-faire, which prioritizes the freedom of enterprise or production for profits rather than for social purposes. Smith was the father of the Industrial Revolution and Trade Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries when industrialists and traders were the ‘monarchs,’ but which cannot be the case today. So, social value investing cannot be held to be a Utopian concept that cannot take off.

Berkshire Hathaway is considered to be an example of social purpose or value investment, which is not making too much of Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffett is known for simple living, high wealth creation, and philanthropy in billions of dollars. In any case, the case for social value or purpose investments is quite strong in itself and seems an investment inevitability in our uncertain and disturbed world. Social Value Investment appears to be the first condition for realizing sustainable development goals (SDGs), after MDGs. Companies consider it their best.

Corporate Social Responsibility is a different game, which many corporations do not take seriously. Hence, the decision of French President Macron to tax non-tax paying stellar MNCs. Governments, too, are not above the blame game. The golden rule of investment is not just to think of the ‘self’', but also of ‘society', to which one owes a debt of Return and not of default or write-off. SDGs would be a distant dream than their fixed time horizon which is 2015-2030.

There are rays of hope spread across the horizon in the form of the millennial start-ups, especially in India where millions of young women and men with education and well-paying jobs at home and abroad are moving into the town and villages with solutions to the problems in their country in every field, especially in its poor-paying agriculture. They worked with a 24/7/365 work schedule of farmers. There are various ventures from organic farming to the production of environment-friendly agricultural goods. In the UAE, the move is towards a Green Economy. In the field of housing, the premier iconic house of Tata’s, has a Nano housing for the poor in India. They were also makers of the common man’s Nano Car. There seems a need for Nano-tractors through Social Value Investment, with which the passage of time is sure to develop momentum.

Competition is ever-present in today's business, and all the companies spend billions to address the mounting competition of consumers. It is imperative to understand that each company focuses to identify, target, and reach the set of consumers which it believes would buy its product/service.

The last few weeks have proven how mankind is adaptive to difficult and awkward situations. The current crisis of the Coronavirus known as COVID-19 has dictated the behavior of humans and restricted us to stay at home. Now the question is, “will we stay put?” The answer is “of course not,” but how will we be able to do our jobs and complete the tasks assigned to us. For us, particularly the educators, it was not hard to find alternatives, as one of the most obvious and easy substitutes for the conventional classroom is online live teaching. Education, both sides of the coin — whether teaching or learning, has no limits and does not believe in obstacles or boundaries. With the help of information technology and its fast-paced evolution, education can be easily facilitated anywhere across your home town, city, or even globally. The dramatic evolution in telecommunications and connectivity has powered and equipped the teachers and students with information technology skills that help in the process of education. It has made a wider range of courses available online and students can learn wherever they are. Today, for instance, I had a class where some of my students attended from their workplace. Online education is now part of our normal lives as we are surrounded by a wide range of technologies and live video streaming that makes online classes more engaging as the traditional classes, proving that conventional education is changing drastically. Technology goes hand in hand with education nowadays as new techniques and skills can be acquired by both teachers and students, ensuring the quality of education that students get which they can use to attain academic success. Now, teachers can conduct live online classes and also produce digital content of almost the same quality and content created during the conventional classes. With the state-of-the-art technology available today, the classroom has reached the optimum settings equal to or sometimes better than the traditional settings. With the Learning Management Systems, smart contents that include textbooks, figures, audio files, video files, and live video lectures, education has been made easy in both ways. Beyond that, technology made the traditional syllabuses to create customized learning materials for certain subjects as mentioned, and as a result, teaching and learning materials are being digitized with new interfaces that are made easy to help the students of all academic grades and ages. Of course, not to forget shedding light on the valuable role of Artificial Intelligence in the education process. The dynamic nature of Artificial Intelligence makes new opportunities for teachers-students interaction that was not available a few years ago. This is all because of the variety of top-notch technologies and dynamic contents as compared to the outdated materials and documents in fixed static environments of the past. Moreover, we must agree that Artificial Intelligence has a great potential to excel and expedite new synergistic teaching pedagogies that helps in the learning process.

 

In the 21st century, or more specifically, in the digital age, the enormity of challenges confronting oral literature is immense. This might be a corollary of the unprecedented and pervasive presence of the virtual communities nowadays that without a doubt weakened a key element in oral literature, which is the physical community. Thus, the digital revolution has significantly contributed to the spread and dissemination of new forms of cultures—such as low cultures, for example, video games, popular culture, etc.—that negated and marginalized oral literature and the art of storytelling and its artistic and aesthetic forms. Surely, every one of us or most of us have been exposed to different kind of folklores that have greatly contributed to the process of our socialization. However, what we should bear in mind is that those stories were meant to be transmitted and preserved as strong historical artifacts for their significance in enduring and employing moral and cultural values. Generally, kids tend to admire stories.

 

This comes from the fact that stories can create a very good image in the minds of youngsters. Hence, storytelling in this regard can be seen as an important tool to teach kids and tell them about their values and ethics. Undoubtedly, quarantine can be seen as a golden opportunity to rethink the concept of physical community and more importantly to teach and tell our kids about the value and centrality of oral literature vis-à-vis their cultures and places of origin. Oral literature as a literary genre that is composed and transmitted orally from generation to another is a considerable means for sharing the indigenous oral cultures which may vanish in front of the beast of urbanization and globalization.

 

The question that may raise itself here is why should we think about the art of storytelling only during quarantine? Key elements in the creation of an arable soil for storytelling are space, time, and the storyteller. Seemingly, the quarantine has created an atmosphere or a situation where individuals particularly parents have to spend most of their time at home due to the circumstances. Thus, even though quarantine is temporary, one cannot gloss over the fact that it forces all of us to think painstakingly about the value of physical communities as much as we could. Finally, let's seize the opportunity during this current quarantine and inculcate the culture of storytelling in the minds of our youngsters and contribute to rescuing this wonderful art from vanishing. Stay home, educate and entertain your kids using the art of storytelling.

Artificial Intelligence embraces different technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, sentinel analysis, among others, and becomes an integral part of our lives.

The transport sector plays an important contribution to any given economy. The more advanced the transport infrastructure the more likely the economy will grow and vice versa.

 

United Arab Emirates (UAE) is reported to be the second-largest economy in the MENA region with a gross domestic product (GDP) of 434 billion as of 2018. In the past, for example in 2012, oil revenues contributed a third of the GDP or 70 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). This is, however, is likely to reduce as a result of recent fall oil prices. The fall in oil prices has made the UAE economy to no longer depend on oil revenues for sustained growth. The UAE government has embarked on policies aimed at diversifying its economy, for example, the 10-year visa for private investors, designed to encourage private investment and attract a wider range of economic activities.

Non–oil revenues are expected to propel and accelerate economic growth in UAE in response to the government's newly introduced policies. Oxford Economics is forecasting non-oil GDP growth of 3.6 per cent in 2019, up from 3 per cent the previous year[1]. By 2015 sectors such as the media, tourism and other non-traditional revenue earners increased to 70 percent of the UAE's GDP. The travel and tourism sector in 2015 directly contributed USD 18.7 billion which is equivalent to 5.2 per cent of the total GDP, and with the diversification policies, the economy is expected to grow at higher levels. It is estimated that by 2021, international tourists will spend $43.8 billion (Dh160 billion) on bags, shoes, jewellery, and other items at retail shops across Dubai[2], making the city one of the world’s top shopping destinations. However, the recently introduced 5 % value-added tax (VAT) in the untested territory, is likely to result in unprecedented impacts in the retail market.

The tax is argued might act as a disincentive to shop in popular retail outlets with unlikely purges in retail sales . To safeguard against a possible backlash in sales, the UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA)[3] has announced a tax refund scheme for eligible tourists. Starting in November 2018, international tourists may request refunds of value-added tax (VAT) incurred on their purchases from registered retail outlets. Tourists will be able to claim back 85 per cent their VAT on goods they have purchased in the UAE. The remaining 15 per cent will be charged in administration fees to Planet, the global operator of the refund system. Posters on the storefronts of registered stores will be displayed for easier visibility to the visitors with minimum spending of Dh 250 to claim a tax refund. Tourists can claim the refund within 90 days of their purchase. The FTA explained that a special device has been created at the point of departure where refunds will be received from purchases of registered outlets.

Documents required include the tax invoice from the 4000 registered retail outlets, along with copies of their passport and credit cards. Departing tourists will have the option of getting their refunds in dirhams or deposited their credit cards. The scheme is designed “to attract and retain larger numbers of tourists and allows them to enjoy the UAE's unique tourism offering, especially in retail shopping" sentiments expressed by Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director-general-FTA [1] Oxford Economics is a leader in global forecasting and quantitative analysis comprising more than 1,500 international corporations, financial institutions, government organizations, and universities. [2] Data was from Dubai Chamber of Commerce [3] UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) is responsible for collecting of federal receipts.

 

UAE recently hosted a series of international forums on Non-communicable diseases (NCD’s). The Third Global NCD (Non-Communicable Diseases) Alliance Forum 2020 was under the theme of "Bridging the Gaps" was inaugurated by His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. Sheikh Sultan previously highlighted the extreme need to hold an international gathering of like-minded individuals from across the globe, saying that NCDs have become a burden to every country[1]. His Highness stressed the need to combine efforts that protect people’s health and wellbeing by promoting healthy habits and promoting campaigns against bad lifestyle choices. Jose Luis Castro, President of the NCD Alliance, in his speech drew attention to the crucial role of civil society to stimulate equitable progress by 2025 and 2030: “Here in Sharjah, we took critical steps as a movement to identify how we can accelerate the implementation of life-saving and transformative policies; and how to strengthen our movement to deliver change”[2]. 

 

Chronic diseases require long term, costly and specialist treatment. 

Combating NCDs remains a major economic challenge to countries celebrating an increase in life expectancy rates as a result of improved economic status, but are bemoaning increases in the so-called lifestyle diseases. Approximately 300 million people in the world have diabetes, with the number predicted to rise above 435 million by the year 2030 (IDF, 2013) In the Gulf Corporation Council region (GCC) investments made in healthcare since the first oil boom has started paying dividends. GCC nationals are enjoying much longer lives where average life expectancy across the region has increased from 60 years in the late '70s to 75 years in 2012 (IDF, 2013; Hu, 2011). However, the same GCC nationals are likely to suffer from health complications where the Western lifestyle has replaced the traditional lives and traditional eating habits. 

Urbanization and rising personal wealth, for example, have prompted many a local population to reject active outside activities and instead embraced fondness of processed foods and detestation of physical exercises. Chronic diseases and obesity-related illness, previously uncommon in this region are on the rise. The US management consultant McKinsey & Company forecasts that the total cost of healthcare delivery in the Gulf will increase to nearly $60bn by 2025, up from $12bn in 2007 (Rahim, Sibai, Khader, et al, 2014).

 

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - a major economic powerhouse in the Gulf region- recent data suggest that 20% of the population has been diagnosed with diabetes and another 18% are at risk of developing it. Diabetes rates in UAE and the Gulf region are forecast to triple by 2030, from 1.5 million cases in 2000 to 4 million in 2030 representing the second-highest prevalence rates in the world (Ibid). The health cost of diabetes management is likely to rise to 43 billion dollars imposing a substantial financial burden not only on the UAE economy but also on many households in the country. The forum (in one of its series) concluded by observing that civil society has the mandate of working with governments to enact policies that promote healthy lifestyles for example increased physical activities and improved diets.  

 

 The World Health Organization estimated deaths from NCDs in the UAE to be 65 per cent out of 9,700 deaths. In 2017, the Ministry of Finance in the UAE introduced fiscal policies (value-added taxes) on selected goods and services. Such taxes are imposed for the primary purpose of achieving better health outcomes for the entire population. It is estimated that the UAE could raise a revenue of about 1.6 per cent of GDP from VAT in the first year following its introduction[3]. The proceeds of the food-related taxes could be used to fund or subsidize health programs and health insurance, diversify the government’s health spending away from the government’s direct payout. It is envisaged that taxes on sugar-related items like sodas and tobacco products will reduce consumption of sodas and tobacco products, eventually lowering levels of diabetes and diseases related to tobacco use for example lung cancer.  

 

Fast forward to February of 2020, the UAE government through the Ministry of Health, reduced the prices of 573 medicines, between 2 per cent and 74 per cent- the largest in quantity and quality for chronic diseases[4]. It is expected the reduced prices of medicines will ease the financial burden on patients and contribute to their access to the world's best and most modern drugs at affordable prices, especially those with chronic diseases. 

The 2020 forum was organized by the NCD Alliance in partnership with the local host organization, Friends of Cancer Patients. Nearly 400 delegates from 80 countries attended the Forum from 9-11 February in Sharjah, UAE. Delegates included representatives from 53 national and regional NCD alliances, civil society from cross-cutting areas relating to NCDs, youth leaders, academia, and people living with NCDs, NCD Alliance supporters, global stakeholders, and recognized champions. Over the course of three days, the delegates participated in 5 plenaries and 18 workshops, discussing NCD advocacy, building synergies, and sharing tools and strategies to further the NCD response[5].

 

REFERENCES

Hu, F.B. (2011). Globalization of diabetes: the role of diet, lifestyle, and genes. Diabetes Care,

34:1249–1257

 

International Diabetes Federation (2013). Diabetes Atlas. 6th ed. International Diabetes Federation. 

 

Rahim, H.F., Sibai, A., Khader, Y., Hwalla, N., Fadhil, I., Alsiyabi, H., Mataria, A., Mendis, S., Mokdad, A.H., & Husseini, A. (2014). Non-communicable diseases in the Arab world. The Lancet; 383(9914):356-67.

 

World Health Organization (2008). Nine voluntary global targets with a framework of 25 indicators to curtail the escalation of the chronic disease. 

 

 

 

[1] Gulf News Feb 2020

[2] Third NCD Alliance Sharjah 2020

[3] Shailesh Jha, an economist at ADCB Gulf News, June 2017

[4] Ministry of Health bulletin Gulf News Feb 2020.

[5] NCD Alliance report 2020

There are a lot of different investment opportunities in 2020 and because everyone’s resources are limited, people have to make a decision on where to invest their time and money. This decision is to a large extent depending on a potential return, but mostly on the need, willingness, and ability to take a risk.

The highest potential return and the lowest risk at the same time can be achieved if people decide to invest in themselves. Investing time and money into any form of education is usually the best investment people can make, especially when they are young. Learning a useful skill such as picking up a new language, designing a website, or developing an application for Android can bring a better paying job in the future, or even opportunity for starting their own business with less risk involved and greater success rate.
When thinking about starting a business, many people imagine a scary process of leaving a job and jumping into the unknown. It is important to realize that starting or running a business does not have to be a full-time activity. According to The Hartford (2018), 25% of the US citizens have some sort of a side business while continuing their full-time job. This research is suggesting that launching a side business is becoming a common practice and that in 2020 the field can become large enough for anyone to start their own venture.

To minimize risk even further, many ways of starting a business today do not require a large upfront investment. People only need to take advantage of this opportunity and implement their ideas in practice to reap the benefits in the form of extra income the business might quickly start generating.
The extra revenue generated by the side business is the most obvious reason why people launch new ventures. But the research is showing there are other reasons too. Many people feel stuck in their full-time jobs without being financially or emotionally fulfilled and the idea of starting a business offers them an opportunity to do the kind of work they enjoy.

While starting a business might still seem off-putting for some, others might realize that spending some extra hours on doing what they like thinking how to transform it into an income-generating business can eventually pay off. Moreover, the side hustle soon becomes a primary source of income and wealth for many.
When thinking about which business to start, people should first focus on their passions, talents and specific skills they have, whether work-related or not. This will increase both the motivation and experience needed to make the business successful.

While having a lot of extra money allow people to comfortably invest in a more passive, automatic way, investing in education or starting a business can be the best investment anyone can make in 2020 – whether to generate extra income or to simply spread the wings and get away from feeling stuck in the current position.

References:
The Hartford (2018) No Business Is Too Small for Insurance. Available at: https://mms.businesswire.com/media/20180925005605/en/680213/1/TheHartford_Side_Business_Survey_InfographicFINAL.pdf.

One of the determents of success for any person in the past was based on an intelligence test IQ, that measures memory, analytical thinking and mathematical capabilities, and thus the possibility of predicting future success in work. Recently, Emotional Intelligence also a determent of success which measure the ability to communicate with people and control feelings and skills of expression, as it contributes significantly to achieving success on many levels of life. There is no doubt that traditional intelligence and emotional intelligence play an important role in achieving professional success. But finally, in the digital transformational era and the field of Artificial Intelligence capabilities in work, and its skills for success, a new type of intelligence appeared that represent the ability of the mind to understand the changes in the environment in the right way and right time and take the proper action. The mind able to process a high level of analysis and the ability to adapt and response and deal with environmental uncertainty effectively. "Adaptive Intelligence" is not only the ability to understand new information, but also to be able to select the appropriate ones and discard useless information, as well as to overcome challenges and a conscious pursuit of change. This type of intelligence is coupled with flexibility, a passion for knowledge, courage and the ability to challenge difficulties and enjoy the skills of solving dilemmas.

Will the "Adaptive Intelligence" in the environmental uncertainty become more important for professional success compared to traditional intelligence? Technologies have dramatically changed the performance of many jobs and will continue to change. Having such skills would be better to do the work more quickly and accurately. And in order for the employee to maintain his/her role, he/she must acquire new creative skills that enable him/her to solve emerging problems as well as the ability to understand and communicate better and accountability with the use of human hyper intuition to have better performance results.

The three forms of intelligence are integrated to achieve success, as it helps the organization to overcome obstacles and improve adaptation, as the ideal approach to do what possesses traditional intelligence, emotional intelligence and adaptive intelligence together, which is not available to all, as "there are geniuses who are not creative", and intelligence without flexibility and adaptation alone makes one find it difficult to be the best. Today, organizations are looking for those who are able to adapt, where behavioral skills are the most important work today, and at the forefront of these skills is “preparing for flexibility, adapting to it and adapting to change".