ARABIC LANGUAGE

 

 Arabic is the official language of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Mauritania, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, where it is spoken by some 360 million people. It is also the language of religion for millions of Muslims in many other countries, including Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in the UK. It is estimated that more than half a million Arabs live in the UK, with London attracting the majority who have settled here largely from Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, the Gulf States and Iraq. Speakers of Arabic in the UK fall into a number of groups. Longer-established communities include Yemeni in Birmingham, Newcastle and Cardiff, and Moroccans in the North Kensington and Ladbroke Grove areas of London.

  The Arabs started Migrating to the UK substantially  in the 1940s by the Egyptians. It started up again during the 1960s. A mixture of the professional and unskilled - they came in search of employment, and mostly from Egypt and Morocco, by 1950’s and 1960’s general Arab migration to Britain increased as the Arab world struggled to emerge from the era of colonialism.
  In the oil-boom of the 1970s, significant numbers of Arabs arrived from the Gulf and set up businesses in the UK, living in some of the affluent areas of  London. More recently, political turmoil in Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine has given rise to growing numbers of refugees. Although no national statistics are available, a survey of London schoolchildren conducted in 2000 showed that Arabic was the seventh most commonly spoken language in the capital, used by 1.23 per cent of the school population. The independent Arabic language newspaper Al Hayat is published in London with worldwide morning-of-publication distribution. The Kufa gallery in Westbourne Grove is an important cultural centre, promoting Arabic arts in written and performance and visual form.
Many Arabs has established careers in the hotel and catering industry, the centre of London has a thriving Arab community, particularly around Edgware road, Some have had to leave behind highly skilled careers in their own countries. Unable to resume the same path in the UK, they have instead taken advantage of the growth of London’s café society, opening up lucrative coffee shops and patisseries all over London, including suburbs such as Richmond and Harrods. the hotel and catering industry in general has attracted skilled and unskilled workers, largely from Morocco and Palestine.
Mohammed Al Fayed, owner of Harrods.
The centre of London, including SW1, NW London, W2 and W1 - particularly around Edgware Road - has a thriving Arab community. The Borough of Westminster has the highest density of Arabic speakers in the capital and is one of the most expensive areas to live. Knightsbridge is another example, with its nightclubs, banks, restaurants and the famous department store owned by the Egyptian Al Fayed brothers.
Associations such as the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) are geared towards the intellectual Arabs who find in these a forum for debate on current affairs, as well as a platform for the arts. This particular association was founded in order to give the Arab perspective of Middle East affairs to the British public.
Director of BBC World Service announces BBC Arabic
More recently London has become a centre for communications with the Arab world.  The news channel Al Jazeera broadcasts in English from London and in 2008 the BBC launched BBC Arabic, a news channel broadcasting in Arabic from Broadcasting House in Central London.
In contrast, some Arabs, Moroccans amongst them, lead a completely different lifestyle, sometimes in the deprived areas of London – a far cry from the opulence of Bond Street, where it is not uncommon to see chic Arabs adorned in the finest jellabas (an Arabic robe), their princely heads swathed in the traditional ghutra (white Arabic head dress), shopping for high-class goods




 Sources.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/multilingual/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/05/27/arabic_london_feature.shtml

TIME MANAGEMENT

Time management  is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity. Time management may be aided by a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects and goals complying with a due date. This set encompasses a wide scope of activities, and these include planning, allocating, setting goals, delegation, analysis of time spent, monitoring, organizing, scheduling, and prioritizing. Initially, time management referred to just business or work activities, but eventually the term broadened to include personal activities as well. A time management system is a designed combination of processes, tools, techniques, and methods. Usually time management is a necessity in any project development as it determines the project completion time and scope.

 

*STRENGHTS

My strengths are my friendly nature, good communication skills, optimistic approach towards life, always try to maintain relationships everywhere,I am a quick learner, hard worker, easily adaptable to any situation, honest to my work, punctual in work, goal oriented and helping in nature.

 

*MY WEAKNESS

* I am not able to express my feeling easily.
* I can't take rest until I finish my work.
* I am very sensitive.

 *I trust people very easily sometimes it puts me in trouble.

* I cant give my 100% effort under higher pressure.

 

 

 

 Strategies to Improve Time Management Skills.1. Get Organised - paperwork and task sorting.
2. Protect time
3. Achieve through Goal management Goal Focus- motivational emphasis
4. Set up planners e.g Daily,Weekly and Long term.

 5.Avoid procastination

 

 

*SOURCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_management

The European Union(EU) is an economic and political union of 27 members states which are located primarily in Europe. the EU operates through a system of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states.Important institutions of the EU includes the European Commission,the Council of the European Union,the  European Council ,the Court of Justice of the European Union,and the European Central Bank.The European Parliament is elected every five years by EU citizens.The EU's de facto capital is Brussels.

The Advantages of Being a Part of the European Union

To begin with,the European single market is the first advantage of being a member of the EU,according to Europa (2009) the EU member states have formed a single market with more than 500 million people.

This enable companies to trade in the international market,in addition he mentions that without this platform,competing individually and  

making products and services in the EU states would be more expensive and difficult. Derhan(2010) in his article,

“European Union: Risk 

-

Benefit Analysis”, says that both EU citizens and

businesses have the benefits of the single market. According to him, 2.15% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from the money that citizens get from the single market which was approximately 708 EUROS per person in 2006. In addition to this, the single market has contributed to reduce the number of unemployed. According to CEC (2008) as result of the Lisbon Strategy, more than six million jobs were created in the last decade and the European industry has contributed a lot to increase the number of jobs within European Member States.

Another advantage of European Union membership is a monetary union .Monnet (2005) claims that a unique currency makes the trade easier because any alteration in the prices is noticeable. Furthermore, he mentions that the buying and the selling prices are equal  in  different  countries   which shows transparency and makes a single market in Europe.What is more, a monetary union brings many facilities. According to Ilskovitz, Dierx  and Sousa (2007) a single currency facilitates not only customers but also businessmen in their transitions costs as there is no need to use different currencies. In addition they mention that with the introduction of a new currency (EURO), EU member states have the same
 Another two advantages of the European Union relate to science and citizenship. In science, national budgets are being seriously cut so that research--for example, into dark matter--is being sorely impacted with facilities being closed because funding has stopped. The EU has its own science research funding and therefore can buffer some of the negative affect of nations' budget cuts. Regarding citizenship, travel and work between member nations is unrestricted, so people facing economic difficulties and unemployment in their home nations may more easily move between nations to find employment.

 Disadvantages of being a member of EU.

1. Cost. The EU costs the UK £6.4bn. The Bruges (which is an anti European group claim the cost per head of EU membership is £873, but according to Foreign and Commonwealth office the cost is about £300 per head
2. Inefficient Policies. A large percentage of EU spending goes on the Common Agricultural Policy. For many years this distorted agricultural markets by placing minimum prices on food. This lead to higher prices for consumers and encouraging over-supply. Reforms to CAP have reduced, but not eliminated this wastage.
3. Problems of Euro. Membership of the EU doesn't necessarily mean membership of the Euro. But, the EU has placed great emphasis on the Single Currency. However, it has proved to have many problems.
4. Net Migration. Free Movement of Labor has caused problems of overcrowding in UK cities. The UK's population is set to rise to 70 million over next decade, partly due to immigration. This has pushed up house prices and led to congestion on roads.
5. More bureaucracy less democracy.

 sources...
 http://www.enotes.com
 http://www.scribd.com
 http://europa.eu
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com
 http://www.economicshelp.org
en.wikipedia.org
 http://www.slideshare.net

About the Welsh Assembly

About the Assembly

The National Assembly for Wales is the democratically elected body that represents the interests of Wales and its people, makes laws for Wales, and holds the Welsh Government to account,in all 20 areas which it has powers.

2. my Assembly Member (A.M)-  Name: Mick Antoniw  Party: Labour Party    Constituency: pontypridd

The Assembly performs three functions: representing Wales and its people; making laws for Wales; and holding the Welsh Government to account.

What is the role of the Assembly?

The Assembly performs three functions: representing Wales and its people; making laws for Wales; and holding the Welsh Government to account.

Representing Wales and its people

The Assembly is made up of 60 elected Assembly Members. Forty are chosen to represent individual constituencies, and 20 are chosen to represent the five regions of Wales (North Wales, Mid and West Wales, South Wales West, South Wales Central, and South Wales East). Assembly Members represent their area as a member of a political party or as an independent.

Making laws for Wales

Following a referendum on the National Assembly for Wales’s legislative powers held on 03 March 2011, the people of Wales voted in favour of granting the National Assembly for Wales further powers for making laws for Wales.

Holding the Welsh Government to account

Effective scrutiny of a government’s work is at the heart of any democratic process, and this work is undertaken by the National Assembly through a number of Committees made up of Assembly Members from all political parties.

History of the Assembly and its Buildings 

 The Senedd was opened in 2006, and is where Assembly Members gather for Plenary. The Assembly estate also includes the Pierhead, an historical building in Cardiff Bay.
 The Senedd is situated in a prime position on the waterfront in Cardiff Bay. It houses the National Assembly for Wales’ Siambr (debating chamber) and Committee Rooms.
 The Pierhead is a unique visitor, events and conference venue for the people of Wales; a space to express opinions and give voice to issues that matter.

 Reference;
www.assemblywales.org
Notes in class