With the new school year beginning next month, teachers and senior education managers will soon begin preparing for the autumn term.
Discussions in dynamic institutions will focus on continuous improvements with questions like: how can we do better than last year?
Targets might include things like increasing educational innovation or improving parent-teacher relations.
The very best schools, however, will also be discussing ways to reduce bullying.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) undertook an international survey last year, which included a focus on peer victimisation, or bullying.
Out of 72 countries, the UAE had the eighth highest rate of victimisation, with more than a quarter of 15-year-olds reporting that they experienced bullying "at least a few times a month".
One of the reasons for this high prevalence might be related to the UAE's globally mobile population. UAE schools are filled with new arrivals, who often find themselves targets.
But beyond the numbers and the rankings are real children. And if even one child is being bullied, that is one child too many.
Most schools pay lip service to the idea of a zero tolerance policy on bullying, with the endgame being to reduce victimisation, if not eradicate it altogether.
Zero tolerance, however, focuses on detection and punishment rather than prevention.
Furthermore, it does little to discourage the type of bullying that flies below the radar: the insidious behaviour that often get rebranded and dismissed as “boys being boys” or “girls being catty”.
It’s easy to see how zero tolerance approaches might sometimes encourage under-reporting, misclassification and the minimisation of victim experiences.
The worst piece of advice I ever bought into as a child was “sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me”.
It's well-meant I’m sure but this rhyming couplet was composed long before the research on peer victimisation in childhood had been undertaken.
It turns out that names can hurt us and the psychological wounds, if unattended, can reverberate throughout lifetimes and down through generations.
The research is unequivocal: children who are verbally or physically abused by their peers have higher odds of developing severe mental health issues later in life.
A systematic quantitative review of all the existing research on this topic was published in a 2012 issue of Schizophrenia Bulletin. The study concluded that childhood adversity, including peer victimisation, is strongly associated with increased risk for later-life psychosis – or severe mental health issues.
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Beyond psychosis, the story is similar for other mental health concerns too. From depression and anxiety disorders to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, peer victimisation increases the likelihood that a child will grow up to experience one or more of these often debilitating psychological complaints.
The targets of bullying are many but the selection process typically involves discrimination. Bullies will frequently select targets who they perceive as being different or outsiders.
This discriminatory tendency shows up in what researchers have termed the immigrant effect, so named because of relatively higher rates of severe mental health issues among immigrants.
This effect was first reported in 1932 among Norwegian immigrants to the US and has since been noted repeatedly among different groups across many nations.
The primary finding is that immigrants tend to have higher rates of severe mental health issues than their counterparts still residing in their home nation. Perhaps more surprising, the children of these immigrants have even higher rates of severe mental health disorders, or psychoses, than their parents.
One proposed explanation for this is that the parents experienced victimisation as adults while their offspring experienced it in childhood, where its effects were even more devastating.
Whatever the motivations for bullying – ethnicity, accent, body shape – we are wise not to tolerate it. However, as well as rejecting it, we also need to actively cultivate and promote alternate behaviour.
But what is the opposite of a bully? The word itself is derived from the Dutch word boel, meaning brother. It was initially meant as a term of endearment but, as sometimes happens, the meaning was flipped and today the bully personifies the antithesis of fraternity and compassion.
The bully is cruel, discriminatory and inclined to form cliques. We need to ensure our schools are increasingly populated by students who are compassionate, accepting and inclusive.
Interestingly, we don’t seem to have developed an antonym for the word bully. Perhaps we don’t need it. We would, however, benefit from increasing empathy and morally sound decision-making skills among our young people.
Let’s keep the zero tolerance policy while simultaneously promoting values that are the polar opposites of those embodied by the typical, hopefully soon-to-be-extinct bully.
Dr Justin Thomas is professor of psychology at Zayed University
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
FIGHT CARD
Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)
Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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World ranking (at month’s end)
Jan - 257
Feb - 198
Mar - 159
Apr - 161
May - 159
Jun – 162
Currently: 88
Year-end rank since turning pro
2016 - 279
2015 - 185
2014 - 143
2013 - 63
2012 - 384
2011 - 883
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
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Engine: 5.7-litre Hemi V8
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Fuel economy, combined: 12.5L / 100km
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
'Midnights'
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
