ABU DHABI // Abu Dhabi Police are planning a geographic database to provide comprehensive, immediate data on crime, traffic accidents and demographics for use by the public and other government agencies.
The police department is one of 17 government agencies involved in the Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure initiative. The others include the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, the Education Council, the Health Authority, Etisalat and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
Government functions such as city planning, crisis control, critical infrastructure management and environmental research would benefit from geographic information systems (GIS), said officials of the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Committee, which is managing the project.
Most of the participating agencies, including the police, are taking part in a two-day exhibition on GIS that started yesterday. GIS Day has been held annually in 70 countries for the past decade during Geography Awareness Week.
Abu Dhabi Police signed an agreement last week with Experts Computer Consulting to plan for a GIS, which would help analyse crime patterns and provide critical information in emergencies.
"Basically, GIS adds the concept of location on anything," said Mohammed al Dada, the general manager of Experts Computer Consulting.
"If you want to find out what happened in a certain place, you need GIS. If you want to find out where is the concentration of crime, where is the concentration of traffic accidents and where are the accidents occurring at a specific time, you need GIS.
"The GIS adds a lot of information that helps them plan and mitigate danger in a way that nothing else can do."
Mr Dada gave the example of a fire. Using the GIS software, fire officials would be able to determine the locations of dangerous or vulnerable places nearby, such as petrol stations or schools.
He said a police GIS system could also locate fire engines and police cars, and determine the fastest way of sending them to the fire.
About 80 per cent of the larger, emirate-wide GIS system has already been implemented and is available for use by government agencies, said Abdul Karim Raeisi, GIS manager for Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Committee.
The system is to be made available for use by the general public on the committee's website once the committee has compiled the required data.
Information will be divided into two security classifications, Mr Raeisi said. The first would comprise declassified information that the general public and other institutions could use. The second grouping, of more sensitive information, would require authorisation for government users.
GIS technology has been widely used in the US for crisis response and planning functions, said Henry Garie, one of the presenters at the exhibition and a senior manager at Grant Thornton, a corporate advisory company.
"Location really can serve as the glue that ties things together," said Mr Garie, who is not associated with Abu Dhabi's GIS initiative.
"I think that what we're promoting is the concept of organisations coming together and leveraging their resources. So if you were going to invest in aerial photography, you might only want to do that once and have the right organisation be the steward of that data and share it with others."
mbradley@thenational.ae
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
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- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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