Sunday, February 27, 2011

Child car seats

It’s in your hands

The article says that child seats in cars save lives. In the UAE, traffic injuries cause most childhood fatalities but they are preventable. The shocking statistics, from Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD), are that 98% of children here do not travel in child safety seats. 23% of children travel frequently and illegally in the front seat, 96% of them unrestrained. In 46% of all countries the use of child safety restraints is mandatory by national law but, among GCC countries, only in Saudi Arabia.

83% of belted and restrained children remain uninjured in accidents. So Chevrolet, a division of General Motors, is launching in initiative to raise awareness of infant car safety across the UAE. Chevrolet is working with HAAD, Dubai Health Authority, Sharjah Medical District and the child injury prevention agency Safe Kids Worldwide, to train maternity nurses in car safety across three hospitals in the UAE. It will also donate 1,500 premium Maxi-Cosi child car seats to parents of new-born babies. The basic idea is that if parents take home their babies strapped in a child seat they are more likely to continue to strap them in throughout childhood. The article concludes with advice on which car seat best suits the size and age of your child.

Thekkepat, Shiva Kumar. "It’s in Your Hands." Gulf News Friday Magazine 25 Feb. 2011: 14-19

205 words.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Bibliography & Citation

Kharma and Hajjaj (1989) describe characteristics of conditional usage in writing by learners whose first language is Arabic. The Type 1 conditional (If + present + future) was the next most common form they encountered. They state that it generally does not pose a problem for Arab learners (Kharma and Hajjaj, p.138). This correlates with my experience in the UAE where I have found upper elementary and lower intermediate learners quickly demonstrate an ability to conceptualize and use the Type 1 conditional.



Bibliography:


Kharma, N., & Hajjajj, A. (1989). Errors in English Among Arabic Speakers: Analysis and Remedy. Essex: Longman. pp. 137 - 142

(1) Who did the original research? Kharma, N & Hajjajj, A
(2) What was the name of the book? Errors in English Among Arabic Speakers
(3) Who was the publisher? Longman
(4) Where was the book published? Essex
(5) When was the book published? 1989
(6) What format has been used? MLA