Language

         The language of French is officially the language of France and French people. According to Edwards (2007), the language of French is spoken by an estimated 128 million people worldwide. These include France, a part of Canada and 24 other countries  which were colonized by the French or originated from the French. Particularly in the UK, the larger population of the French-speaking population is situated in London; areas such as Croydon and Lewisham.

• The entrance of French into the UK in the year 1687 was signalled with the arrival of the Huguenot French people. These were members of the French protestant church who fled France with mass killing of anyone who did not worship in the catholic church. (Gwynn, 2012)
• According to Scarborough(2012), the ascension of king Louis XIVin 1661 brought the removal of the Edict of Nantes which was created by king Henry IV in 1598. This edict gave the Huguenots freedom of worship and religion but with its removal came their forced conversion to Catholicism or their mass massacre. 
• With the mass killing of Huguenots, many of them began to flee France but soon emigration was outlawed and those that were caught were sent to the galleys. However, an estimated 50,000 Huguenots arrived in England in between 1687 and 1714 (Gwynn, 2012) by means of the sea and for more years many of them still came to settle in england although a large number of them is said to have died at sea. 
• The settling of the Huguenots in England was not generally accepted by the english people but with growing interest in French fashion and style combined with the fact that they were hard workers, the French people became a gradual part of the English society. The evidence of their loyalty to England was proven in the Anglo-French wars and the Napoleonic wars. 
• Therefore, by the end of the 17th century the Huguenots has proven their willingness to become english and today, in the UK, French is the most commonly taught language in secondary schools across the UK (Edwards, 2007)

 

 Huguenot exiles from France (2005) 

References:

Edwards, V. (2007) French in the British Isles. Available at:http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/multilingual/french.shtml (Accessed: 6 March 2012)

Gwynn, R. (2012) 'England's First Refugees', History Today, 35(5) [Online]. Available at: http://www.historytoday.com/robin-gwynn/englands-first-refugees (Accessed: 9 March 2012) 

Scarborough, S. (2012) Huguenots- Their Faith, History and Impact. Available at: http://www.reformationsa.org/articles/The_huguenots.htm (Accessed: 9 March 2012)

Google Images (2005) Huguenot Exiles from France [Online]. Available at:http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=664&tbm=isch&tbnid=5dkRfAuntJdKlM:&imgrefurl=http://faculty.unlv.edu/gbrown/Hist103/index.html&docid=lJf0Y9nNF_GvyM/ (Accessed 9 March 2012)

The Welsh Assembly

       The Welsh Assembly is the law-making body of Wales. It consists 60 elected members; 40 of them are chosen to represent individual constituencies and 5 of them are chosen to represent the 5 regions of Wales. It can be suggested that because Cardiff city is the capital of Wales, the government building where the Assembly hold its plenary meeting is also located in Cardiff. This building is called the Senedd which was opened in 2006. It has public spaces where the people of Wales can watch Assembly meetings.
 
    History of Welsh Assembly Devolution  

• First of all, according to the Cambridge advanced learners dictionary[online] devolution is the moving of power or responsibility from a main organization to a lower level, or from a central government to a regional government. In the case of Wales, it was the movement of some powers from the UK government to the Welsh one.
• The commencement of this devolution was in 1997 when the people of Wales voted 'yes' in a referendum which led to the 1998 creation of the National Assembly for Wales. (Welsh Assembly Government, 2011) 
• Later on, in the 2006 Government of Wales Act, the National Assembly for Wales was given power to ask for allowance to create laws on issues re-assigned to the National Assembly.
• Recently, the 2011 referendum on law-making powers for the National Assembly for Wales resulted in a 'yes' vote. This does not mean that the National Assembly for Wales can make laws on more areas than before but that it no longer requires the assertion of the UK parliament in making laws on 20 devolved areas of economy. Some of these areas are agriculture, education, the environment, health, housing and local government.(National Assembly for Wales, 2012)  

     Summarily, this latest referendum has brough about a number of differences in welsh law-makin such as: "Assembly laws will no longer be called Assembly Measures;Proposed laws will now be called Bills" and many more     .

                                                            GoogleImages(2011)

References:

Welsh Assembly Government (2011) History of Devolved Government in Wales. Available at: http://wales.gov.uk/about/history/devolved/?lang=en (Accessed: 24 February 2012)

National Assembly for Wales (2012) The Referendum. Available at: http://www.assemblywales.org/gethome/vote2011/get_involved-referendum.htm    

GoogleImages (2011) [Online]. Welsh Referendum 2011 Available at: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=welsh+referendum+2011&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm/ 
 (Accessed: 24 February 2012).

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A New Government

       A new government has emerged from the latest general election led by David Cameron,  leader of the Coalition of Conservatives and Liberal democrats. For years, only either the Conservatives or Labour parties have partaken in government, while Lib Dems have been in between. This coalition was the product of a hung parliament. However, the negotiations that happened demanded a higher proportional system for future elections.

Reference:
InsideOut (2010) A New Government. Available at: http://www.insideout.net

Time Management

      'Time' is one of those elements can never be regained when lost. It is the building block of all the world because as world undergoes evolution, time plays a major role in its development. Even life as we know it is measures by time in years, months, week and days; in essence,  Time is Life.
      Like any other natural element, time must be managed judiciously, as it can never be regained. This is where the term "Time Management"comes into play.
Hence the question, 'what is time management?'
      It is believed that time management is process whereby an individual plans, calculates, schedules and organises daily, weekly or regular activities in order to make optimum use of available time  in a day and to avoid disorderliness and disorganisation. When time is effectively managed, an individual can benefit from it financially, socially, phycologically, emotionally and physically.
However, experts seem to have a more concise defition. According to Tiedemann(2007):                         
'Time management is a self-disciplined, self-discovered tool by which is a standard of measure that we are all given to quantify our priorities in any given day. It is simply how we manage our time, manage our disciplines and ultimately, manage our selves in our mindsets in a balanced mental, physical and Spiritual manner of delegation of that time'.

  Although this emphasis on time and time mangement had gone on for decades, many people still find it either difficult or unnecessary to manage this irreplaceable element. This is because time management requires some basic skills. Some of these skills are:

• Prioritization:- this is necessary in order to be able to separate one's needs from one's wants. This means differentiating between important activities and desirous activities for example, a student  putting a study session at higher priority than playing football which is for leisure. This can be achived by creating a task list which activities are arranged in order of importance. 

• Goal Setting:- this is also helps to create a pathway in which one can plan present and future ambitions. It gives individuals a sense of focus in every situation This can be achieved through structured schedules.   

As an individual, I also possess have some strengths and weaknesses with regards to time management:

TIME   MANAGEMENT    SKILL	STRENGTHS	WEAKNESSES	PROPOSED SOLUTION
Having a daily schedule or reminder	Keep a diary for daily activities.	Find it difficult to strictly keep to it.	Being principled and determined.
Assignments and Research	Mostly finish work on time.	Sometimes forget deadline of submission.	Have constant reminders on all devices.
Studying	Have a pre-planned study time.	Get easily distracted.	Locate quiet and suitable places to study.
Attendance	Always get to appointments and classes early.	May forget some of the necessary material that is required.	Do a check-list of necessary items before leaving.

In summary, TIME is the essence of Life and is measured by time, hence it should be properly invested in order to witness positive results in all areas of life.


Reference:
Tiedemann, L.(2007) What does Time Management Mean for You? Available at:        http://www.articlesbase.com/time-management-articles/what-does-time-management-mean-for-you-274353.html(Accessed: 17 February 2012)