Bad tyres in lorries pose grave danger

Readers say worn-out tyres in lorries are more dangerous than in cars. Other topics: scams, job insecurity, Latin phrase

Readers say it is more dangerous for lorries to have worn-out tyres than cars. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Cars with poor tyres? Then why is there a picture of a lorry (Number of cars with poor tyres increasing on Dubai's roads, August 12)? But it's true that lorries have worse tyres than a lot of cars, at least that's what I've seen in the last 10 years. Add to that the weight and brakes, and they're a recipe for disaster. No wonder there are lorry roads here.

Michael Cardy, Dubai

People often fail to replace worn-out tyres probably because they are expensive. They think of continuing with old tyres as long as they last.

Felicity Joy, Dubai

Best way to keep scamsters at bay is to remain alert

Your report on the increase in scams in the UAE was informative (Fraudsters target UAE in advance fee scams, August 18). The report says scamsters are posing as genuine investment companies and individuals to dupe investors. I wonder where they get everyone's personal email address. I say everyone because I think every person in this country receives those emails. There are individuals who also pose as a friend or colleague and ask for money. They will typically tell you to send the money into their bank accounts saying that they are stuck in that place because they have been robbed.

A few days ago I received an email from a person who proposed a business to me and wanted to meet me personally. Most people understand these things, but a few people who do not will learn the lesson in a hard way. One more interesting thing about these people is that they seem to know in which industry you are working and what kind of proposal will attract you.

In this context I would also like to point out that I still get calls from men saying I have won a lottery from Etisalat. I thought this problem was solved once and for all. It is surprising how these people still operate from inside this country despite police vigilance. This only proves one thing – you can’t stop these desperate men. The best solution is to stay alert.

Peter Dominic, Abu Dhabi

Job insecurity a global issue

I refer to the article UAE universities are under threat from job insecurity, research suggests (August 17). A growing global trend in academia is the steadily diminishing traditional model of "tenure track" employment.

Increasingly, academic staff in many countries are hired on a part-time and contract basis. In the UK, USA and other western contexts, lecturers, teachers and tutors in the tertiary sector complain of increasing workloads combined with insecure terms of employment and lack of professional development.

Research activities are also being tied to very pragmatic and short-term target instruments for determining funding. Of course, it is important to acknowledge the unique variables that may explain the occurrence of the academic job insecurity phenomenon in different contexts. However, the UAE is probably not very unusual in exhibiting this trend.

On one other issue raised in the article, I would imagine that many institutions of higher education in the UAE would argue that they have a very strong commitment to encouraging, funding and facilitating the professional development of their academic staff regardless of their nationality.

Andrew O'Sullivan, Dubai

Latin phrase does not convey idea

I am not wanting to be picky, but if you are going to use a Latin headline, it ought to be correct. The heading of your editorial, Hominis ex machina (August 17) alludes to the phrase "Deus ex machina", which originally referred to the god who was wheeled in at the end of tragedies to put things straight. If the desired meaning was "man from the machine", it would give us Homo ex machina; Men from the machine – Homines ex machina. The phrase actually used could mean something like "From man's machine", but that would be a little tortured. I'm struggling to work out how it relates to the content of the article.

To balance out my negativity, let me recall the best headline I’ve ever read, which you once used to top a story about the need for water filters: The quality is murky if not strained (March 12, 2012). Wonderful.

Joe Booth, Abu Dhabi