Over the weekend, I spent a happy few hours wandering around the Adihex hunting show in Abu Dhabi. With my rural background, I always find something of interest, even if it only prompts a bit of nostalgia. Although some exhibitors said that business was quiet compared to previous years, there was, nonetheless, a respectable crowd of visitors, both adults and children.
For many children, I suspect, Adihex may be the nearest they get to an insight into country life and the rural environment. Plenty of youngsters were at the stand of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, learning about coral reefs, the ghaf tree and Jebel Hafeet. At the stand of the International Fund for Houbara Conservation, the enclosure containing a few captive-bred birds was surrounded by fascinated kids.
The fund, I hear, is planning more in the way of public outreach. That’s important, because the houbara is a fundamental part of the UAE’s most favoured traditional pastime of falconry. Reaching out into the schools might also prevent a reoccurrence of a rather amusing incident at the fund’s stand at Adihex a year or two ago.
On that occasion, I was told, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed had spent some time being briefed on its captive breeding and release programme and looking at some of the houbara on display. As he was about to leave, a little girl came rushing up to greet him.
Greetings having been duly exchanged, he pointed to a houbara and asked the little girl if she knew what it was called.
“A duck,“ she proudly replied.
The fund promptly set about examining ways of enhancing its outreach programme.
At least, however, the little girl knew that it was a bird.
A few months ago, a young Emirati colleague was asked at an office meeting to say what a houbara was. “A fish,“ she confidently responded.
In the process of the country’s rapid development, a large percentage of UAE citizens have lost their connection to rural life, whether in the deserts or mountains. They know nothing of hunting or of farming. The same is true of many expatriate kids.
There are, I am told, children living in big cities around the world who do not understand the link between milk and cows or between eggs and chickens. Domestic animals, apart from pets, farming and the countryside as a whole play no part in their lives.
There is plenty of evidence that many people in highly urbanised societies, adults as well as children, know little of the sources of much of the food they consume.
A department of agriculture study in the United States in the early 1990s found that nearly 20 per cent of the adults contacted didn’t know that hamburgers were made of beef. More curiously, in a recent study for the American dairy industry, it was found that 7 per cent of those taking part believed that chocolate milk comes from brown cows.
It’s easy to laugh at such surveys, but equally odd results can be found in other countries. It wouldn’t surprise me to find similar ignorance here, although Emirati children, perhaps with the opportunity to visit family-owned farms, may be slightly better informed. There’s certainly a need for more effective education about the sources of food and about the role that agriculture and animal husbandry play in our lives.
These issues are as relevant to the UAE as they are to other countries. With more and more people living in cities, knowledge of the countryside, from agriculture to its environment, begins to fade. We are all the poorer for that, and as ignorance grows, so the potential rises for serious policy errors.
Education, of course, should equip children and young adults with the intellectual and technological skills they need for life. It’s important, though, that they also learn about the nature of the world in which they live, chocolate milk, cows, houbara and all.
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
For first two Test in India Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson , Dom Bess, Stuart Broad , Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. Reserves James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
