Welsh Assembly

The 1998 Government of Wales Act was created along with the National assembly for Wales. This led to the first referendum in Wales in 1997. In 2006, the National Assembly for Wales was given the authority to look for permission to create legislation on delegated matters in the form of Assembly Measures.

The Welsh Government was also created by the 2006 Act. This is different from the National Assembly for Wales. The Welsh Government is an executive body of Ministers and they have the power to control and make changes in matters which can affect every life in Wales. They make changes involving Education and Training, Local Government and Social Welfare.

According to Roberts (2011), ‘A referendum on the National Assembly for Wales’s legislative powers was held on 3 March 2011. Following a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum, the National Assembly for Wales will now be able to pass laws on all subjects in the 20 devolved areas without first needing the agreement of the UK Parliament.’

These 20 devolved areas are controlled by the Government of Wales. However, the non-devolved areas, such as defence and taxation, stay under power of the UK Government.

For more details about the referendum, you can visit: http://wales.gov.uk/legislation/referendumpowers/

Roberts,M.(2011) Referendum information. [email] Message to Z.Ali (zainab_almajed93@hotmail.com). Sent 02 November 2011,2:32.

Arabic Language

Arabic is a language spoken in many Arab countries like, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Sudan and many more. The language of most Muslims is Arabic and it is spoken in the UK too by Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Arab speakers live in many places in the UK and are spread all over. Arabs left the Gulf and came to the UK to open their businesses.

Photo from: google.co.uk

Arabic was the seventh most familiar or spoken language in the capital proved by a survey performed in London school children in 2000. Even though Arabic is not spoken by most people in the UK, it is a language that is know or recognized  by people in the UK. Al Hayat is an Arabic newspaper issued in London and in the Kufa Gallery in Westbourne Grove, Arabic history is displayed.

Islam is a religion and its sacred language is Arabic. It was spoken first in the Arabian peninsula and then started to expand. Arabic vocabulary is said to be progressed. Even though it is spoken in the Arab countries, the language differs from one country to another.

Arabic language is known for more than 1500 years and so its literacy. Arabic language is written by inserting vowels and it is written from right to left.

Edwards, V. (2007) ' Arabic ', BBC. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/multilingual/arabic.shtml#A ( Accessed on: 11 November 2011 ).

Time Management

Time Management helps to organise a person’s life.  It is mainly important for students because it helps them track their deadlines, assessments and being to classes in time. People or students should make a table or reminder notes to do everything for a particular time. By doing this students will have more free time and will not have to worry about anything that missed the. Even though many students do not manage their time properly, they should think about it.

Feedback on Presentation

The presentation that I have done was my first and I have a lot to improve. I have identified the features that I have to improve. During the presentation I did not make any eye contact with the people in the room. I did not face forward and I was just looking at the slides. I used an informal word ‘stuff’. My next presentation I hope to make it better by making more eye contact with each person in the room and face forward to look at the people in the room. Even though I had a lot to improve, I think that I did well and my presentation was well-prepared, fluent and complete.

University of Glamorgan (2011) BEng (Hons) Computer Systems Engineering. Available at: http://courses.glam.ac.uk/courses/642-beng-hons-computer-systems-engineering ( Accessed on: 3 November 2011 )

Welsh Assembly - Children smacking ban

Children should feel safe and secure just like any other adults do. They should not be chastised or smacked in any way because physically hurting a child is considered to be wrong. A mother from a guardian article stated " I was smacked as a child and I can still remember it."( guardian.co.uk), this might affect the child even when he grows up. These are the reasons for introducing the smacking ban on 19th October 2011.

The EU and the New Government

   Photo from itaseinaudi.it

In 1957, the European Union or the EU was formed by 6 countries which are West Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Italy. Later on, Britain, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland joined the Union in 1973. Today, there are 27 members in the EU.

Here are some advantages and disadvantages of being a member of the EU:

        Advantages

v  Being a member of the EU gives migrant workers the right to work in any one of the EU countries without the need of a work permit and they also have the right to live there. A Migrant worker should know that he/she will have to pay taxes (ec.europa.eu).

v  Being a member of the EU improves the standards, laws and environment of a country. In general, the EU country will show a major change especially in the undeveloped places of the country (kypros.org).

v  As Oakland J, 2006 stated, members of the EU united their currency to euro.

v  According to unitetheunion.org, the EU offers its nation the freedom of speech, security and fairness.

       Disadvantages

v  Many skilled workers may choose to travel from East to West to countries who offer superior settlement and higher wages which would lead to the decline of the country's economy.

v  Independence was lost in many areas.

v  The EU's plan is to step away from agricultural protection and head towards competitiveness and growth (RACL, 2009).

economicshelp.org

A New Government

A new government has been formed since the general election on 6^th May. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats replaced the Labour Party. David Cameron is the new prime minister and also the leader of the Conservative Party. The Conservatives went for a free market and lower taxes while the Labours preferred social and economic parity. The Conservatives got the most votes and seats in the general election which is almost all the seats of the other parties combined together, this is usually called hung parliament. The number of seats a party has can be equal or similar to the national vote, that’s why the Leb Dems got a few votes The Conservatives and the Leb Dems declared that they would form a coalition. Britain has 650 districts and each district has one member in parliament, the members are mostly Conservatives or Labours. The electoral system is said to be unjust by the Leb Dems and many British people, the Leb Dems wanted a change in the system before entering the coalition and the Conservatives have agreed.

Education Systems In The UK And Bahrain

Education Systems In The UK And Bahrain

Photo from Photo from dailymail.co.uk

Photo from education.gov.bh

Education in Bahrain generally consists of formal education, non-formal education, private education and special education.

There are 2 types of education; Basic Education and Secondary Education. Basic Education begins from Grade 1-9; it mainly starts from the age of 6 and ends at the age of 14. Secondary Education is Grade 10, 11 and 12, students start Grade 10 at the age of 14 but it usually depends at what age does the student completes his/her Basic Education.

"Education in Bahrain is compulsory" according to education.gov.bh. Students in Bahrain either go to public schools or to private schools. Public schools offer free education for Bahraini and non-Bahraini students and there are public schools for boys only and a separated one for girls only. Private schools do not separate boys from girls but there are a few who do. Education for both private and public schools are similar but the only difference is that subjects in public schools are taught by Arabic and the private schools are taught by English.  (education.gov.bh/)

Similar to the education in Bahrain, the UK also has primary and secondary education. Schools in England, Scotland and Wales are funded through a Local Education Authority.

Children in England and Wales begin their education at the age of 5. However, children in Northern Ireland begin at the age of 4. Students in the UK often graduate from high school at 16 but the UK government says that they will increase it to the age of 18 so that students will have the choice to stay more in high school or advance to a college or university. (educationuk.org)

There are three main categories of school and they are Community, Foundation and Voluntary. These schools are funded by the LEAs and the government plays a huge part in all these schools, they either decide the arrangement of pupils or employ staff. (schoolswork.co.uk 2007)

To conclude, students who have studied in the UK have a higher education than the ones who studied in Bahrain. Education in Bahrain is not very strong and so the UK students are better and more qualified in their studies. Even though schools in Bahrain teach good English, it cannot be compared to the schools of the UK.