Final Project

Introduction:

Obesity: in statistics

People are getting fatter almost everywhere in the world. The World Health Organization predicts there will be 2.3 billion overweight adults in the world by 2015 and more than 700 million of them will be obese. Figures for 2005 show 1.6 billion adults were overweight and 400 million were obese. Obesity is a modern problem - statistics for it did not even exist 50 years ago. The increase of convenience foods, labour-saving devices, motorised transport and more sedentary jobs means people are getting fatter.

BMI Explained

The body mass index (BMI) is the most commonly-used way of classifying overweight and obesity in adult populations and individuals.

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/)


So, growing obesity rates are a worldwide problem. It is a particular problem here in the UAE. In the past, most Emiratis lived a tougher, more nomadic existence, involving hard travel and physical labour. Today most live a softer, more sedentary life, travelling by car and holding desk jobs requiring little physical exertion. That these jobs exist is due to the rapid economic expansion over the past 40 years, since the discovery and exploitation of oil. In addition, many people today entertain themselves by watching TV or playing computer games, neither of which involves physical exercise. Even when they leave home, many Emiratis no longer walk; they drive everywhere and many seem to have an antipathy towards leaving their cars: for example, parking outside shops and tooting for service seems to be a local pastime. Finally, as well as traditional Arab cuisine, itself often quite high in fat and sugar content, there is today the widespread temptation and easy availability of high-fat and high-sugar fast food. McDonalds, KFC, Dunkin' Donuts,and various pizza chains are ubiquitous throughout the UAE. As a consequence, the UAE had the highest rate of diabetes in the world in 2007, with 19.5% of the population aged 20-79 affected ( The Economist, Pocket World in Figures, 2009, p. 84), with 17.1% of total male population and 31.4% of female population clinically obese, meaning a body mass index of over 30 (The Economist, Pocket World in Figures, 2009, p.87).

Suzanne Trease, Chair of the Department of Health & Physical Education at Dubai Women's College, blames a sedentary lifestyle for the rise of obesity in the UAE. "A lot of them [students] have things done for them," she said. Trease said that from observation, physical activity is not typically part of the Emirati culture and is therefore not instilled in children by parents. "If we start here with these ladies, hopefully the next generation will incorporate physical activity into their lifestyle." She added: "Physical activity is not encouraged for women here." She said she has observed that PE is not part of girls' development, and this is evident in their weak motor skills. "Basic motor and coordination skills are not there and if they are, they're not refined." Trease stressed the urgency of incorporating healthy living into UAE's lifestyle. "It's imperative we educate this generation and those to come, about healthy living because if we don't, life expectancy will grow even shorter. If you can walk moderately for 30 minutes a day and keep your heart rate above 130 beats per minute, that's a great start (Naidoo & Moussly, Gulf News 2009).

 It is not just the food we eat but also what we drink that contributes to obesity. With more than 80 per cent of the UAE's adolescent and young women regularly downing fizzy drinks, they run a higher risk of becoming obese and getting osteoporosis later in life.These were the findings of a study conducted by Dubai Medical College students, titled ‘Health Effects of Soda Drinking in Adolescent Girls in the UAE'. The study was published in the international medical Journal of Critical Care. The students tested about 300 adolescents in the 10-22 age group from Al Raya High School, Al Sorouq Private School, Dubai Modern Education School and Dubai Medical College for Girls. "Soda drinking was associated with higher risk of obesity and decreasing levels of blood calcium and increasing urinary calcium excretion, which may lead to osteoporosis later in life," they concluded (Naidoo & Moussly, Gulf News2009).

The solutions? The only viable long-term solution is education. At an early age, children should be taught the importance of two things: a healthy diet and regular physical exercise. A better diet involves not just choosing healthier ingredients, such as fruit and vegetables. Sauces and style of cooking need to be watched. A healthy salad becomes a less healthy option if coated in, say, mayonnaise. Fish and potatoes are themselves good nutritious foods, but less so if fried as fish and chips. Governments around the world can help by encouraging schools to teach nutrition seriously. Campaigns in the media to educate all sections of the population, especially parents, to eat healthily, can also help. Cars, TVs and computers are not going to disappear so the only viable solution is education to encourage better diet and more physical exercise.

920 words

Bibliography:

The Economist, Pocket World in Figures, 2009, Profile Books, London, 2009.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7151813.stm

Naidoo, Amelia, and Rania Moussly. "Youth Obesity: the UAE's Big Problem." Gulf News [Dubai] 13 Dec. 2009. Print.

Research Assignment

E-mail

The innovation which has transformed my professional life in recent years is the e-mail. At ADMC we faculty live and die by electronic mail. We send, every day, e-mails to people who are only a few desks away. In the past we would have gone to see these people in person or written hard copy notes to leave on their desks.

Electronic mail predates the inception of the Internet and was in fact a crucial tool in creating the Internet. MIT first demonstrated the Compatible Time-sharing System (CTSS) in 1961. It allowed multiple users to log into the IBM 7094 from remote dial-up terminals, and to store files online on disk. This new ability encouraged users to share information in new ways. E-mail started in 1965 as a way for multiple users of a time-sharing mainframe computer to communicate. Although the exact history is murky, among the first systems to have such a facility were SDC's 32 and MIT's CTSS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail).

So e-mail has been around a long time but it is only in the last 10-15 years that it has played a part in my professional development. In fact, all aspects of life have been changed by e-mail. When I first went to Brunei (we landed in Bandar Seri Begawan, or BSB, the capital, on 1st January, 1980) there was no widely available worldwide web. No-one had a computer. E-mails were unheard of. There were no projectors in classrooms. There weren't even whiteboards or airconditioning units in classrooms. I used chalk on a blackboard. And this was in the Pusat Tingkatan Enam (Sixth Form Centre), at that time the leading academic institution in the whole country. We didn't even have air-conditioning in our staff room, and papers had to be weighted down on desks to prevent them being blown away by the fans.

The contrast with the situation here today in ADMC is striking. Every classroom has a/c, projectors, smartboards, whiteboards (http://www.admc.hct.ac.ae/internet/). I can communicate with all my students by e-mail; getting them to check and read their e-mails is a different matter.

E-mails have transformed not just my professional life but all aspects of life in general. Increasingly people in their everyday lives, as well as their professional ones, are switching from old-fashioned letter writing to e-mail. It would appear to be an inexorable progression from hard to soft copy. When, in 1986, I was studying for my Licentiate Diploma in TESOL with Trinity College, London, (http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk), I received work modules by airmail, and returned the completed work likewise. It would take weeks for work to arrive, be completed, returned to London, get marked and sent back. The same tasks could be completed today by e-mail in a fraction of the time. The world has been transformed by electronic mail.

As to future devgelopments, prediction is a notoriously difficult business. E-mail, I think it is fairly safe to assume, will continue to be of paramount importance in all aspects of our lives. The future seems likely, however, to become increasingly mobile. ADMC has already begun a potentially transformative operation with the introduction of i-pads. This and the recent advent of 4G mobile phones seem set to inaugurate a new mobile revolution in both teaching and learning.

580 words


Bibliography:

"E-mail." En.wikipedia.org. http://www.google.com/. Web. 15 Nov. 2009.

"E-learning." www.admc.hct.ac.ae/internet. Web. 15 Nov. 2009.
 

http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/

Mini Report practice 2

UAE farmers have been learning about hydroponics, which allows them to grow fruit and vegetables using less water and energy. The technology uses 80% less water, less fertilizer and fewer pesticides than traditional farming, and gives at least 30% more productivity.

The system was imported from Holland and grows  plants without soil. Two government-run organizations, the Khalifa Fund and the Farmers’ Service Centre help farmers with the costs of conversion and with technical advice

Normally, productivity on Abu Dhabi farms falls during the hot summer months but hydroponics is expected to change that. The system can be used both in open-field farms and in greenhouses. All water is recycled and re-used. An open hydroponics system saves up to 40% of water compared to conventional farming and the closed system saves 60-80%. Productivity increases, maintenance costs are lower, there is limited chemical usage and the new system is easy to manage.

150 words.

Mini Report practice 1

The numbers of UAE houbara declined in the past due to two factors: first, the destruction of their natural habitat, caused by urban development, and, second, the trapping of the birds in order to train falcons to hunt them, as the houbara is not the natural prey of the falcon.

The International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC) has bred more than 13,000 Asian Houbara chicks this year, exceeding expectations. Apart from two UAE breeding centres there is also one in Morocco and one in Kazakhstan. Plans to introduce the birds into the wild have to be balanced with the needs of falconers. The IFHC conducted surveys at the 2012 Abu Dhabi International Hunting & Equestrian Exhibition to get information on the correct balance needed. The exhibition, designed to represent Emirati culture and giving all visitors a chance to learn more about endangered animals, hunting equipment and locally-made items and to watch shows performed by Arab horses, camels and police dogs, attracted a worldwide audience.

164 words.

Extended summary 2

How do corals survive in the very hot Gulf waters? Is it due to a 4,000 year-long evolutionary process? Samples of Gulf coral have been analysed in a British lab to work out the molecular basis of the corals’ acclimatization to hot water. One reason for the corals’ success is that they live in symbiosis with a type of algae which produces sugar which gives the coral energy. In return the coral provides shelter and nutrients for the algae. It seems a perfect arrangement  but both coral and algae are entirely co-dependent. At very high temperatures the algae produce chemicals which damage the coral, causing bleaching. As a result many corals have been lost.

Still, overall, corals have recovered from damage and are surviving. How? Corals reproduce by fragmentation, which is tricky, or by larval reproduction, which seems to be key. Coral larvae are produced in billions during spawning and float around until they can attach themselves to rocks and so begin to form new reefs. Scientists suspect there may be seeding reefs upstream in the Gulf, which would strengthen calls for cross-border environmental protection agreements to protect coral reefs.

190 words

1st Extended Summary

The Ras-al-Khaimah Pearls Museum

Pearls historically have been prized around the world and they have had a great impact on the local Gulf economy. Evidence of this, together with the many myths that have surrounded the pearl, can be found in RAK’s new Pearls Museum. RAK used to be the capital of the pearl trading industry, which collapsed in the 1930s with the Japanese invention of cultured pearls. Natural pearls occur in oysters so pearl diving became virtually obsolete.

The thousands of local pearls on display at the 2-storey museum are from RAK’s waters. Apart from the pearl, every bit of the oyster is used: the shell for design, the interior for food and what’s left for fertilizer. On the first floor is a historical journey, including divers’ equipment, which makes it clear just how dangerous diving was. Visitors can also take a pearl-diving experience trip on a dhow. On the second floor there are photographs, some of Japanese female divers, and displays of the world’s famous pearls, including information on how to distinguish natural from cultured pearls. The centerpiece of the display is RAK’s 12mm Miracle of Arabia pearl.

186 words

1st practice summary

The Hajj

Each year about 2M  Muslims from all over the world perform the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. All Muslims, physically fit and financially able are expected to do the Hajj, which takes place in the twelfth month of the Islamic year and lasts about 6 days. Vaccination and crowd control are major problems for the Saudi authorities. Before entering Mecca the pilgrims cleanse themselves and don fresh, simple clothing symbolizing the equality of all before God. First pilgrims walk 7 times around the Ka’aba, the large black cube in Mecca.  They also travel 7 times between the hills of Safa and Marwah. They then travel to Mina and stay overnight. The next day they travel to the plain of Arafat, scene of Mohamed’s last sermon.. That evening they camp at Muzdalifah. Back at Mina they throw stones at pillars where they believe Satan tempted Abraham. Sheep are slaughtered by or in the name of each pilgrim. Returning to Mecca, the pilgrims repeat the first-day tasks. They then return to Mina for 3 days of prayers. The final ritual is the farewell Tawaf around the Ka’aba.

187 words