University

A university (Latin: universitas, "a whole") is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which grants academic degrees in various subjects and typically provides undergraduate education and postgraduate education. The word "university" is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars."

History

Definition

The original Latin word "universitas" refers in general to "a number of persons associated into one body, a society, company, community, guild, corporation, etc." At the time of the emergence of urban town life and medieval guilds, specialised "associations of students and teachers with collective legal rights usually guaranteed by charters issued by princes, prelates, or the towns in which they were located" came to be denominated by this general term. Like other guilds, they were self-regulating and determined the qualifications of their members.

In modern usage the word has come to mean "An institution of higher education offering tuition in mainly non-vocational subjects and typically having the power to confer degrees," with the earlier emphasis on its corporate organization considered as applying historically to Medieval universities.

University of Birmingham

University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1828 as the Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery) and Mason Science College (established in 1875 by Sir Josiah Mason), making it the first English civic or 'red brick' university to receive its own royal charter. It is a founding member of both the Russell Group of British research universities and the international network of research universities, Universitas 21.

The university was ranked 15th in the UK and 76th in the world in the QS World University Rankings for 2015-16. In 2013, Birmingham was named 'University of the Year 2014' in the Times Higher Education awards. The 2015 Global Employability University Ranking places Birmingham at 80th world-wide and 12th in the UK. Birmingham is also ranked 4th in the UK for Graduate Prospects in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2015.

University (album)

University is the 1995 album by the American alternative rock band Throwing Muses, released on Sire Records and Reprise Records in the USA, and on 4AD elsewhere. It features the single "Bright Yellow Gun", the band's first national hit. The album's radio exposure led to feature articles in Rolling Stone and other major music magazines.

The album was recorded in the fall of 1993, right before lead Muse Kristin Hersh recorded her first solo album, Hips and Makers. 4AD founder and president Ivo Watts-Russell convinced Hersh to release the solo album first, in early 1994. This led to this album being delayed until 1995.

Despite all the positive notices and exposure for the album, sales were disappointingly low, and the band was dropped from Sire's roster, ending the Muses' major label years. The band has continued sporadically ever since, releasing two more albums on the independent 4AD, one in 1996 and one in 2003, before releasing 2013's Purgatory/Paradise on their own label.

United Arab Emirates

Coordinates: 24°N 54°E / 24°N 54°E / 24; 54

The United Arab Emirates ⁱ/juːˌnaɪtᵻd ˌærəb ˈɛmɪrᵻts/ (Arabic: دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة‎ Dawlat al-Imārāt al-‘Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah), sometimes simply called the Emirates or the UAE, is a country located in the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing sea borders with Qatar and Iran. In 2013, the UAE's total population was 9.2 million, of which 1.4 million are Emirati citizens and 7.8 million are expatriates.

Established in December 1971, the country is a federation of seven emirates. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi (which serves as the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed by an absolute monarch; together, they jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the monarchs is selected as the President of the United Arab Emirates. Islam is the official religion of the UAE, and Arabic is the official language, although English is widely used.

Azzam (2014 yacht)

Azzam (Arabic: Determination‎) is a Volvo Ocean 65 yacht. She won the 2014–15 Volvo Ocean Race skippered by Ian Walker.

Career

Azzam was launched on 5 March 2014 at the Williams Shipping facility in Southampton Docks. She was built at Green Marine in Hythe, UK.

See also

References

UAE Five

The UAE Five are five Emirati activists who were imprisoned from April to November 2011 on charges of insulting President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates. The five arrested activists were Nasser bin Ghaith, an Emirati economist and lecturer at the Abu Dhabi branch of the Paris-Sorbonne University; Ahmed Mansoor, who signed a pro-democracy petition; and online activists Fahad Salim Dalk, Hassan Ali al-Khamis and Ahmed Abdul Khaleq. There were dozens of other activists who were also interrogated,

Arrests

Inspired by the growing momentum of the pro-democracy Arab Spring, Emirati activists began to be more vocal in their opposition to the UAE government in early 2011. Bin Ghaith, an "outspoken economics professor", was arrested on 11 April for his call for "democratic and economic reforms". Mansoor, an engineer, blogger, and member of Human Rights Watch, was arrested the same day for signing a petition in favor of an elected parliament, and Dalk, al-Khamis, and Khaleq were detained for their online activities before the end of the month. Following their arrests, UAE government-controlled media reported that the five were "religious extremists" and Iranian foreign agents.