The role of play in the curriculm for young children with special Term Paper

The role of play in the curriculm for young children with special needs - Term Paper Example It is believed that such pedagogy enables young children to begin the process of early learning (Open University, 2009). During play, â€Å"children demonstrate improved verbal communications, high levels of social and interaction skills, creative use of play materials, imaginative and divergent thinking skills and problem-solving capabilities† (Wood, 2004, p. 21). Play offers many benefits. It engages the mind to actively imagine various scenarios for fun or for problem-solving. Babies and toddlers display play in motion and we observe that they do it to get to know their world – how things work, how people react, etc. They get to explore and discover things that otherwise they will not learn about if they do not actively engage in play. Free exploration is considered Heuristic play by Holland (2003). It is encouraged without adult intervention. Adults simply provide simple materials and allow the child to just be and let his imagination take off . â€Å"The child lea rns from observing directly what these objects will ‘do’ or ‘not do’, in sharp contrast to much of the ‘educational’ equipment which has a result predetermined by the design which has been devised by the adult maker (Holland, 2003, p. 142). Heuristic play will not only stimulate a child’s thinking, but it also develops his creativity as he will see in his mind endless possibilities in imaginatively transforming ordinary objects into various things with various functions. Play has value in all the developmental areas of children (Macintyre, 2003). Unwittingly, children delight in games that stimulate thinking. Such cognitive benefits extend to their real lives as they make decisions, compare and contrast things, use their imaginations and thinking critically and creatively. Play also engages the body. Certain games involve gross and fine motor coordination. It also helps to expend the stored energy within them, willing to be set free. Run ning around, jumping, tumbling and other physical activities help them be physically fit as well as release tension. Active play develops their muscles, agility, flexibility and endurance. It is the foundation of one’s potential for certain sports. Socially, play coaxes a shy child outside his shell. Play fosters the development of friendships. As children play with other children or adults, they get to know about how other people behave, think and feel. They also get to learn socially acceptable behavior like not hurting others and playing fair. Most importantly, they get to know themselves better- how they react to certain situations in the play setting. Vygotsky (1978) believed that children’s intellectual development is influenced more by social context than by individual experiences. His theory places a great deal of emphasis on effective social interaction. Bingham (2008) cites Vygotsky (1978) as he writes: â€Å"Play creates a zone of proximal development of th e child. In play the child always behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behavior; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself." He defined the ZPD as the distance between a child’s independent problem-solving level and that obtained under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers (Wertsch, 1985). A young learner’s exposure to peers, teachers and other adults and learning materials greatly influences his development. â€Å"Such cognitive apprenticeships are, of course, inherently reliant on a

Competation Law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Competation Law - Coursework Example According to researcher’s viewpoint, very first thing is that it is a competition and not competitors so that it is to be protected. And also the ultimate aim of every business is to please the customers so that it is very much necessary to avoid the customers harm. â€Å"I like aggressive competition – including by dominant companies – and I don’t care if it may hurt competitors – as long as it ultimately benefits consumers. That is for the reason that the chief and ultimate aim of Article 82 is to protect customers and this does, of course, need the defense of the undistorted competitive practice on the market. There are two main laws in UK that defending competitions that are, the Competition Act in the year of 1998 and the Enterprise Act in the year of 2002. These are laws are, supported by Articles 101 and 102 of the â€Å"TFEU† (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) 1990) that are, previously the Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty of the EC. â€Å"The Competition Act 1998 prohibits anti-competitive agreements between businesses. You must not, for example: †¢ agree to fix prices or terms of trade, eg agreeing price rises with your competitors †¢ agree with your competitors to limit production in order to reduce competition †¢ Share out markets or customers with your competitors - eg agreeing with a competitor that you'll bid for one contract and they'll take another. The law mostly applies to contracts among businesses with an important presence in the marketplace. But even the smallest company requires avoiding anti-competitive contracts like price fixing. In addition to formal contracts, the law also relates to other looser types of cooperation among businesses. The â€Å"Competition Act† (Competition Act 1998) forbids the mistreatment of a dominant position in a marketplace. This can apply to companies that have an extremely big market share. It is also an illegal and illicit offence for persons fraudulently engaged in certain kinds of cartel behavior in the â€Å"Enterprise Act 2002† (Enterprise Act n.d.). Fundamental aim of Article 82, when examining exclusionary conduct is the defense of competition on the marketplace as a way of enhancing wellbeing of the customer and of guaranteeing a well-organized distribution of resources. â€Å"Adopting an economics-based approach to Article 82 will also unify and provide a clearer and more consistent enforcement approach of the Treaty provisions on competition law† (The Reform of Article 82: Recommendations on Key Policy Objectives 2005, p. 4). The concern is to stop exclusionary behavior of the dominant organizations which is expected to limit the remaining competitive constrictions on the dominant organizations, consisting of entry of beginner, so as to avoid that customers are harmed. This denotes that it is competition and not merely competitors as such, that is to be confined and protected. In addition, â€Å"the purpose of the Article 82 is not to be protect competitors from dominant firms genuine competitions based on factors such as higher quality, novel products, opportune innovation or otherwise better performance but to ensure that these competitors are also able to expand in or enter the market and compete therein on the merits, without facing competition conditions which are distorted or impaired by dominant firm† (Jones & Sufrin 2008, p. 327). And also, Anti-competitive activities are injurious not only to customers but also to compan ies that contend moderately or which are themselves consumers of certain goods or services. So that in order to assess this statement, we require to be considered not only the short term harm but also both long and medium harm that may arise from the exclusion of competitors. Failure to obey with UK or EU competition law can have extremely grave consequences. â€Å"