The Soft-Path Approach for Sustainable Water Management: An Analysis of Its Suitability in Abu Dhabi

In Abu Dhabi, rapid population growth, exponential changes in lifestyle, steady depletion of natural resources, and increased reliance on desalinated water require stringent water regulation regime to secure a sustainable water future. The government of Abu Dhabi, in an attempt to regulate water usage, introduced or increased water tariff, in 2015, but did not achieve much success in reducing water use. The purpose of this research is to analyze a possible alternative approach to sustainable water governance in Abu Dhabi – (the ‘soft-path approach’). This thesis outlines the water situation and need for sustainable water management in Abu Dhabi, discusses the theoretical basis and importance of the ‘soft-path approach’ in water management, and analyzes the applicability and institutional capability of the ‘soft-path approach’ in Abu Dhabi. The work is based on a comprehensive study of the relevant government documents, academic literature, and the evaluation of responses from several key personnel in the water sector in Abu Dhabi. The study reveals that Abu Dhabi water sector has embraced different aspects of the four principles of the ‘soft-path approach’ to water management. But it notes some deficiencies in the six dimensions of institutional capacity in implementing ‘the soft path’ in Abu Dhabi and provides recommendations

Vulnerability of the Emirati Energy Sector for Disaster: A Critical Review

Infrastructure in all its forms is a valuable asset and vulnerable to any natural or manmade hazard. The protection of infrastructure is thus one of the most important and difficult tasks for any government. The energy sector dominates in the UAE and consists of various assets - electricity, oil and natural gas that are geographically dispersed and connected by systems and networks. The protection of these systems and assets and within the energy sector especially, the safeguarding of oil and gas infrastructure from any and all internal and external threats should become top priority in the UAE. Threats to geopolitical and economic stability that need to be considered and prepared for include tectonic activity, climate change, nuclear energy, terrorism and war. This paper explores the disaster vulnerability of the Emirati energy sector with specific focus on Abu Dhabi and Dubai cities. It is based on secondary data, taken from various academic and professional sources, and primary data from a questionnaire survey administered on site at two electricity-generating plants in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Forty questionnaires were distributed and 35 were returned back- 20 Abu Dhabi and 15 Dubai. Oil and gas sectors were identified as the most vulnerable energy sources in both Abu-Dhabi and Dubai. Risk from terrorism was thought to be the greatest hazard with every single respondent choosing it. This was despite the fact that respondents believe it to be one of the threats that the energy sector is prepared for

A Study on the Atmospheric Quality and Control in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Limited data are available on air pollution levels in Abu Dhabi Emirate in general. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the level of atmospheric contaminants in the environment of Abu Dhabi Emirate. This includes measurement of suspended particulate matter less than 10 micron (SPM10) in Al Ain City during normal and stormy conditions and measurement of the same air solids besides the gaseous pollutants: ozone, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and methane and non-methane hydrocarbons in Abu Dhabi City and follow up of hourly variation in their concentration. The study further includes collecting sufficient data for the prevailing meteorological factors in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi. The study was undertaken with a Mobile Air Pollution Laboratory. As the first of its kind in the country, and being equipped with the most advanced monitoring devices, the laboratory can provide accurate measurement of low concentrations of the above air contaminants, besides the meteorological parameters. The available results contribute much in ascertaining the role of the major man-made activities taking place in contaminating the Emirate atmosphere as well as the natural materials. These results will help also in comparing the pollution levels in Abu Dhabi Emirate with the established air quality standards. Air pollution legislation and control in Abu Dhabi Emirate has been taken into consideration in the present study. It is expected that the present study will form an important contribution for air quality management in Abu Dhabi Emirate

Factors influencing information privacy in Abu Dhabi Emirate

Individuals in the UAE and Abu Dhabi Emirate, in particular, have become increasingly concerned about their private information. This is mainly due to the use of technology, which makes accessing, transmitting and editing personal information faster and easier. Besides the use of technology, and the awareness and understanding of the privacy of expatriates, working in Abu Dhabi Emirate has had an impact on UAE citizens in terms of their rights to privacy. There is a need for organisations to comply with international bodies in protecting individuals rights to privacy and to increase the exploration of culturally sensitive information in the media. These issues have all led to the importance of and need to explore and identify Abu Dhabi Emirate employees perceptions, and the factors influencing their behaviour, towards privacy. The aim of this research was to investigate and analyse factors influencing employees information privacy behaviour and employees perceptions, awareness and behaviour on the handling of private information in the Abu Dhabi Emirate public sector, ADEC, as well as to provide practical recommendations to improve the privacy. The research methods used in this project are based on a mixed-method approach comprising both quantitative and qualitative strategies. Qualitative data collection in this research included face-to-face interviews and focus groups with Abu Dhabi Education Council. Quantitative surveys for all the Abu Dhabi Education Council were also utilised. The research identified the types of information that were considered private and defined privacy in the context of UAE culture. The main factors influencing privacy in Abu Dhabi Emirate employees were identified and analysed such as national culture, organisation culture and perceived benefits as examples. Following this, practical recommendations for changes to promote and enhance privacy in Abu Dhabi Emirate were offered. A model has been developed and designed based on the factors influencing individual information behaviour regarding private information handling, interrelated and influenced. This is essential to provide a practical model capable of acting as a guideline to help organisations, decision makers, and strategic planners in the Abu Dhabi Emirate public sector decide how best to approach privacy policy

Educational Globalization Strategies of UAE

This research is related with the Global HR Forum 2008-Regional Conference in Dubai conducted by KRIVET, The Korea Economic Daily and Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. In this research, we introduced the Dubai Model, which has grown as a ‘center of the world’ by producing a big project such as Internet City, Media City and Knowledge Village in Dubai, and the Abu Dhabi Model, which has started the business that focuses on Culture and Education after established the board of ‘Abu Dhabi tourism’ on fall of 2004. In addition, we were looking for implications from the UAE’s educational globalization and knowledge management strategies by examining and comparing the Dubai Education Model and Abu Dhabi Education Model. The method of the study was the ‘situational comparative analysis.’ Through this method, we found a lot of characteristics of Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s educational globalization and knowledge management strategies. The findings of the study are summarized as follows. First, Dubai adopts the strategies that industrialize all the educational resources as much as available; on the other hand, Abu Dhabi adopts anti-industrialization of education and cultural development strategies. Second, Dubai gives priority to educational industrialization, economic development, market-based knowledge society, foreign capital, market while Abu Dhabi gives priority to anti-educational industrialization, Cultural development, ethnocentrism, cultural knowledge development, domestic capital, governmental regulation. Finally, Dubai adopts industry-oriented higher educational system; on the other hand, Abu Dhabi adopts culture-oriented higher educational system

E-Administration in The Public Schools of The Abu Dhabi Education Council From Teachers' View Point

Since the e-administration is something new, and the studies in this field still rare, and this is a very important sector in management, another reason also is to motivate the specialists to study this subject in theory and to apply it in actual life, and like that we can utilize the e-administration. The purpose of this study was to reveal the level of applying e-administration of public schools in the Abu Dhabi Education Council. The study population consisted of all teachers in the Abu Dhabi Education Council during the academic year 2014/2015. The sample of the study consisted of (153) teachers who were selected randomly from the study population. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers prepared a questionnaire that included (48) items distributed among three types. The results of the study showed that the level of applying e-administration from the teachers was high, and the The individuals in the study sample thinks that it is important to apply the e-administration in the public schools Abu Dhabi Education Council. The results also showed that the level of acceptance of the e-administration among teachers in the public schools in Abu Dhabi Education Council was high depend of TAM and the correlation coefficient indicated a high positive relationship between TAM elements.  Finally the individuals in a study sample think that there are obstacles to apply the e-administration in the public schools in the Abu Dhabi Education Council. Keywords: E-administration, TAM, Abu Dhabi Education Council

Water quality of two semi-closed areas in the United Arab Emirates Coast along the Arabian Gulf:a comparative study

A comparative study was carried out between the two biggest creeks along the Arabian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates to evaluate impacts of sewage and industrial effluents on their hydrochemical characteristics. Surface and bottom water samples were collected from Abu Dhabi and Dubai creeks during the period from October 1994 to September 1995. The hydrochemical parameters studied were: temperature (21.10-34.00°C), salinity (37.37-47.09%), transparency (0.50-10.0 m), pH (7.97-8.83), dissolved oxygen (1.78-13.93 mg/l) and nutrients ammonia (ND- 13.12,ug-at N/1), nitrite (ND-6.66 ,ug-at N/1), nitrate (ND- 41.18 ,ug-at N/1), phosphate (ND- 13.06 ,ug-at P/1), silicate (0.68-32.50 ,ug-at Si/1), total phosphorus (0.26- 21.48 ,ug-at P/1), and total silicon (0.95- 40.32 ,ug-at Si/1). The present study indicates clearly that seawater of Abu-Dhabi Creek was warmer (28.l2°C) than Dubai (27.56°C) resulting in a higher rate of evaporation. Owing to more evaporation, salinity levels showed higher levels at Abu Dhabi (43.33%) compared to Dubai (39.03%) seawater. The study also revealed higher secchi disc readings at Abu Dhabi Creek (4.68 m) as compared to Dubai Creek (2.60 m) suggesting more transparency at Abu Dhabi Creek. Whereas, seawater of Dubai exhibited higher levels of pH (1.03 times), and dissolved oxygen (1.05 times) than Abu Dhabi seawater due to an increase in productivity. Meantime, seawater of Dubai showed higher tendency to accumulate ammonia (8.22 times), nitrite (10.93 times), nitrate (5.85 times), phosphate (10.64 times), silicate (1.60 times), total phosphorus (3.19 times), and total silicon (1.54 times) compared to Abu Dhabi seawater due to the enrichment of seawater at Dubai with domestic sewage waters which has distinctly elevated the levels of the nutrient salts particularly in inner-most parts of the creek leading to eutrophication signs. The changes occurred in the receiving creek water of Dubai as a result of waste-water disposal that have also reflected on the atomic ratios of nit: Effect of pollution rogen: phosphorus: silicon

Same same but different: the destination image of Dubai and Abu Dhabi on YouTube

Dubai and Abu Dhabi are striving for a unique destination image that will differentiate each and attract visitors. The projected destination images of Abu Dhabi and Dubai found on YouTube are examined in this paper. On the explicit level, six of nine attributes are similar in the portrayals of the two destinations. Dubai is shown to be a place where there is more action plus sun, sea and sand. Abu Dhabi is shown to have more opportunity for social experiences. At the implicit level, Dubai is shown to emphasise more pop culture and more globalised experiences. Abu Dhabi has slightly greater emphasis on folk and high culture and portrays its visitors as travellers more than tourists and interactors rather than isolates. The two destinations are seen as same-same but different rather than being completely different or similar. The implications of these contrasts and similarities are discussed

Construction of Composite Business Cycle Indicators in a Sparse Data Environment

Business cycle indicators are important instruments for monitoring economic development. When employing indicators one usually relies on a sound statistical database. This paper deals with indicator development in a sparse data situation. Indicator building is merged with temporal disaggregation, which is often used by statistical offices. The discussed tools are applied in a case study for Abu Dhabi. Because the economy of Abu Dhabi is very dependent on oil, real income reflects the economic situation better than real gross domestic product (GDP). For this reason a measure of real gross domestic income (GDI) was chosen as reference series.business cycle indicators, temporal disaggregation, terms of trade, oil-producing countries

Artificial Intelligence Adoption in Predictive Policing to Predict Crime Mitigation Performance

The global adoption of AI-powered predictive policing, utilizing big data, is becoming a prevalent strategy for crime control and law enforcement enhancement. Recognizing its potential, Abu Dhabi Police places emphasis on officer training and collaborative efforts for crime prevention. As the integration of predictive policing continues within Abu Dhabi Police, the importance of exploring the value of training and collaborative learning becomes even more crucial (Abu Dhabi Police GHQ, 2020). This study's objective is to uncover the intricate relationship between crime mitigation performance and key factors, encompassing Predictive Policing Adoption, Specialised Technology Training, Innovative Officer Performance, and Collaborative Learning. Questionnaire survey was used to collect data from participants who are employees of the Abu Dhabi Crime Scene Department. A total of 316 valid responses were used in the development of multi-linear regression model to predict crime mitigation performance. By utilizing the developed multi-linear regression model, stakeholders can forecast Crime Mitigation Performance (CMP) by substituting the values of Predictive Policing Adoption (PPA), Specialised Technology Training (STT), Innovative Officer Performance (IOP), and Collaborative Learning (CL) into the formula. This predictive tool offers the Abu Dhabi Crime Scene Department a valuable resource to proactively assess and plan for crime mitigation outcomes, enhancing their strategic decision-making capabilities and fostering a more effective approach to law enforcement operation