Analysis of Scene 2 of Blue Remembered Hills Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Scene 2 of Blue Remembered Hills Essay In scene 2, the audience can see a slight change of pace. This is shown through the lack of physical violence in this scene in comparison to the previous scene 1. The pace starts off as fidgety as the two seven year old boys-Peter and Willie- can barely keep still but the pace hardly reaches any faster than this through the rest of the scene. The point in which they are both laughing and giggling uncontrollably is the only real point where the pace picks up a bit. This is when the boys are both laughing about Wallace peeing on a gorse bush due to the fact that he thought it was on fire. The subject of Wallace visibly fastens the pace, as is evidence in many other scenes. I think the slow pace of this scene shows the actual weakness of these two boys as their dilemmas and problems at their age are partially revealed through their banter and conversation. The seemingly raw subject of Donald and the beatings he receives at home seem to strike a misunderstood chord with the two boys but they shrug off the confusion and potential sadness and envelope themselves into another situation. This awkwardness is shown in the stage directions alone as they fall silent and the tension that they do not understand is quickly broken by more childishness, and they quickly run themselves into another less sensitive subject. The moments where there is quite a fast pace in this scene is only created by the characters purposely after they are bored and have nothing else to do or interesting to say. The subject of Donald is quickly followed by a purpose running about and swooping around by the two boys to bring up the energy levels. The back and forth conversation about the Dandy and Beano gets quite tedious for Peter and he quickly is distracted by something else more active and exciting. The characters in this scene are still both Willie and Peter and the relationship between the boys familiarly stays the same. In the previous scene, the audience saw that Peter was dominant in the relationship and frequently craved control of it and of Willie, often with physical violence but in this scene, he no longer results to this and uses his words more to cajole Willie into telling him where the jam jars are. Willie also still seems to have the upper hand in the argument though as he knows all the information Peter wants to get. Because of this, Peter has to still be moderately controlled in how he acts towards Willie to get the location of the jam jars out of him. This unexpected control Willie has is evident as when Peter once again threatens Willie with physical violence-his fist- he sees that this may completely blow his chance of getting any information so he rethinks and offers him his Dandy. Willie is now in control as he shows to Peter that he doesnt care and that he could buy his own comic. This under-valued control that Willie has is still present in scene 2 and similarly continues on in the play. Concluding, there is small change of pace and characters in Scene 2 but not on a large scale. The pace is slowed down visibly from Scene 1 as there is not as much playing about and fighting between the two characters. Apart from the stage directions in Scene 1 where it clearly stated if they were moving and what actions they were doing if they were talking, this was no stated in Scene 2, therefore, I have no choice but to assume most if their conversation was given mostly in stationary mode. There was no real change in characters in Scene 2 other than the fact that In scene 1, Peter was triumphant in his method of physical beating to get Willie to give him the apple and in scene 2, Willie was triumphant in his knowledge of information to keep a secret the information about the jam jars but that was only really successful because of the distraction of the squirrel.

Greece: Economic and Public Financial Situation

Greece: Economic and Public Financial Situation Greece: The Economic and Public Financial Situation S. Henry – J. Girigori – L. Davelaar ICUC MBA XI SUMMARY Greece is going through a very tense season related to their economy for a while now. They are facing ultimatums to correct their financial situation, taking measurements if they want to continue being part of the European Union. Greece’s economy rely majorly on service delivery areas, under which Tourism is one of the biggest income generating post (about 73% of the GDP). In 1980, Greece joined the European Union and in 2002 they officially adopted the Euro as a generic monetary agreement between the EuroZone. Greece, had different benefits since there merging with the EU. Their input per year account for about 2.35% of the GDP of Greece. Additionally, Greece received on a structural basis an EU funding of 20 billion from 1994 to 1999 and of 24 billion from 2000 to 2013. These funds has been used to lower the country’s deficit and to further development the country. Greece is currently progressing slowly in defeating the huge problems they were confronting with this torturous recession. Even though this recession was and still is a difficult period for Greece, we must accredit for the fact that they managed to achieve some quantifiable results with the challenges they confronted with the adjustments. As Greece and the other debtor countries such as Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal are heading towards default, the whole continent of Europe is in danger. Even though the economy of these countries are relatively small in comparison with several other members of the euro zone, they form a huge threat due to the huge interconnection of the European financial system because of the euro. As mentioned before, Euro is the common currency for the entire European Union, and this group known as the Eurozone is affected due to wide range of currency fluctuations and the Drastic fall in the value of Euro. The countries, forming part of the Eurozone, who agree to support Greece of preventing them from getting to default, were directly and immediate impacted by the financial crisis in Greece. As per most articles describe that the most viable option right now is to not exit the Eurozone and come to a deal in order to come out of the budget deficit they are in. Without a centralized fiscal union countries will continue to run deficits, accumulate depths, degrade the value of euro and threaten stability of Europe. Table of Contents (Jump to) SUMMARY INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 Greece and Economy Before Crisis 1.1 Public Finances the Crisis 1.1.1 European Union privileges CHAPTER 2 Greece Their Current Situation 2.1 Private consumption and unemployment 2.2 Investments 2.3 Uncertainty an liquidity 2.4 Current Public finance vs the international economy CHAPTER 3 Impact Greece on EURONET and Rest of The World 3.1 What is Grexit and the Impact CONCLUSION References Figures INTRODUCTION Greece is going through a very tense season related to their economy for a while now. They are facing ultimatums to correct their financial situation, taking measurements if they want to continue being part of the European Union. Greece is part of the European Union which consist of some countries united by the euro in the euro zone. And this group is about to financially collapse, due to financial problems from Greece and fellow countries as Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy. This situation is threatening to bring down the complete European continent and the rest of the World. In this paper, we will elaborate on the Economic developments around Greece prior becoming part of the European Union and when they adopted the Euro as their monetary identity. We will give an inside on Greece’s economic status before 2000 – 2002, during the adoption of the Euro (after 2002) and all the related consequences for themselves as well as the whole European Union and EuroZone countries. We will discuss, their Public Finances, International Economic aspects, some Domestic Economical aspects and their relationship and limitations with the other countries around the world. CHAPTER 1: Greece and Economy Before Crisis Greece’s economy rely majorly on service delivery areas, under which Tourism is one of the biggest income generating post (about 73% of the GDP). In 1980, Greece joined the European Union and in 2002 they officially adopted the Euro as a generic monetary agreement between the EuroZone. This adoption of the Euro, gave the country an increase in consumer’s spending which on its turn gave the country a boost in the economic growth. During this period Greece experienced great rates of growth. Figure 1, gives an overview of the GDP rate from 1996 until a dip (+ -0.2) in 2001 and a much greater dip (+ -0.7) in 2005. However, due to international financial crisis in 2008, also Greece started experiencing deficits within their economical budget, which had as a consequence the start of an economic crisis. 1.1 Public Finances the Crisis Public finances started going drastically in the negative direction, and same was the case for misreported statistics, which consequently had an effect on credit rating agencies, who limited the possibility of Greece to request additional credits. This limitation pushed Greece in more financial instability with a debt crisis as a result. 1.1.1 European Union privileges Greece, had different benefits since there merging with the EU. Their input per year account for about 2.35% of the GDP of Greece. Additionally, Greece received on a structural basis an EU funding of 20 billion from 1994 to 1999 and of 24 billion from 2000 to 2013. These funds has been used to lower the country’s deficit and to further development the country. To be able to continue receiving support and assistance of other EU countries and international lenders, the Government of Greece started a 3-year program, in the attempt to start pushing back on the debts. This program consisted of: Limiting government spending Resizing the public sector Reforming health care Revising tax regime The idea was for this new approach to help Greece to reduce the deficit by 4% of the GDP as per 2010 and by 3% of the GDP by 2012. The major deficit generating posts resulted to be the tourism the shipping industry. Another aspect that contributed to the crisis of Greece is a trade deficit in which in 2009, the import was about 64 billion whilst the export reached merely 21 billion. CHAPTER 2: Greece Their Current Situation Greece is currently progressing slowly in defeating the huge problems they were confronting with this torturous recession. Even though this recession was and still is a difficult period for Greece, we must accredit for the fact that they managed to achieve some quantifiable results with the challenges they confronted with the adjustments. This statement was set after the completion of the review mission for Greece which was conducted by the staff team of the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). This review was based on policies that they managed to create with the staff level authority in order to monitor compliancy with the terms and conditions that were set for the Program. The staff team and the authorities are well aware and also agree that Greece is at a beginning of an economic stability and a balance for a gradual restart or reboot of growth which is almost in line with their previous projections. Prices are adjusting and inflation is below the euro area average. The conditions to sustain this growth are available but the risks, uncertainty and restrained financing conditions are delaying the process of recovering and measuring the public finance. The real GDP increased with 0.8% in 2014 for the first time since 2007. The private consumption and the net exports caused economic activities that resulted in a 0.8% growth of the real GDP. 2.1 Private consumption and unemployment Due to reduction on the the prices and adjustment on the labor market, private consumption experienced an increase for the first time after 5 years of an ongoing contraction. The drop in oil prices and return of â€Å"under-the-mattress† deposits can benefit the Private consumption. Increase of net export was the result of improvement of service export caused by tourism, shipping sectors and goods export. The devalution of the euro can lead to more export growth in 2015 for tourism and shipping. At the same time the strong domestic demand is increasing import. In 2014, 100.000 new jobs were created which reduced the unemployment rate 26.5% . For this year the rate is projected to drop slightly to 25.6%. Once the expected growth in 2016 picks up the unemployment rate is expected to reduce further to 23.2%. 2.2 Investments Same as the real GDP and net export the investments experienced a minor increase for the first time since 2008 and is mainly caused by equipment investment. The uncertainty of investors not investing in Greece is still limiting the credit supply from the financial sector.The real GDP is projected to increase to 2.9% this year, as investment recuparate with the help of structutal reforms. 2.3 Uncertainty an liquidity Uncertainty and lack of clear vision on the policy stance of the new government that was elected last December 2014, is damaging the postive momentum for Greece. The economic sentiment indicator (ESI) worsen last March because of the diminishing confidence in the business sectors. This significant political uncertainty is a result of having recent election for a new government in January when the country has a scheduled expiry date of the Programme set for February 28th. The newly-elected government negotiated an extension of 4 months of the Programme. The extension allows Greek authorities to design and implement in coordination with EC/ ECB and IMF, reforms of the review and design follow up procedures to reach a succcessful conclusion of the Programme. The following agreements were agred upon with the new goverernment: 1 May: Loan interest payment of â‚ ¬200m to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with a few days grace due to the long bank holiday weekend 8 May: Payment of â‚ ¬1.4bn maturing 6 months Treasury bills 12 May: Loan payment â‚ ¬760m of IMF loan 15 May: Payment of â‚ ¬1.4bn maturing 3 months Treasury bills End of May: â‚ ¬2.5bn to pay salaries and pensions 30 June: Expire day of the â‚ ¬240bn bailout agreement between the euro zone and Greece June and July: â‚ ¬6.7bn due to be repaid to the European Central Bank The current account balance is projected to improve the forecast due to weakning euro as well as the ongoing structural and institutional reforms. The current CA deficit is estimated to decrease to 1.6 5 of GDP this year to 1.4% in 2016. The forecast for the headline balance must be lowered for this year and 2016 to -2.1% and -2.2% of GDP. This is a reflection of the weaker than expeted revenue, as a result of lower growth hampering the rebound in collection after the first three months of the year. Assuming that the profits from the Eurosystem securities transactions, SMP and ANFA programmes, are transferred will most probably lead to new fiscal measurements. Limitations on expenses were obligatory in 2014 and will remain the same in the future. This year the governmment’s debt-to-GDP ratio is due to reach it’s peak and start declining in 2016. Having back-loaded payment arrangements for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) loans together with favourable intrest rates and better cash management will add to the process of keeping interest expenditure low for a longe period , eventhough the stock of debt is high. 2.4 Current Public finance vs the international economy As Greece and the other debtor countries such as Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal are heading towards default, the whole continent of Europe is in danger. Even though the economy of these countries are relatively small in comparison with several other members of the euro zone, they form a huge threat due to the huge interconnection of the European financial system because of the euro. Greece borrowed money from banks, investors and other governments throughout Europe. As they are reaching closer to default everyone that lent them money is vulnerable and becomes financially weaker including the ones that lent to the lenders of Greece. The problem of Greece is affecting the whole European continent and is triggering a chain reaction of defaults. If Greece defaults, so will Spain, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and so one until it reaches the complete European continent with consequences for the whole World. Even if the other Nations adapt the austerity measurements on Greece and Germany and the other countries bail them out so they can pay their depths, there is no guarantee or system in place to avoid this from reoccurring. CHAPTER 3:  Impact Greece on EURONET and Rest of The World As mentioned before, Euro is the common currency for the entire European Union, and this group known as the Eurozone is affected due to wide range of currency fluctuations and the Drastic fall in the value of Euro. The countries, forming part of the Eurozone, who agree to support Greece of preventing them from getting to default, were directly and immediate impacted by the financial crisis in Greece. There is fright of a possible domino effect on the economy of Portugal, Ierland, Italy and Spain, well known as PIIGS, as result of the problems associated with the Greece economy. This fright has the consequences that the interest rates will be increased, which will reflect in a higher outflow for the countries when borrowing in the open market. The Global banking system will be affected also by the Greece crisis and also some other Global major banks who have invested in Greece when they issues their bonds or requested to invest in Greece. This means that the Grexit will have a direct impact on these investors, which will have difficulties getting their investment back. At the same time you will have the ordinary people who has their money in the pension funds. Grexit will have direct affect on the current funds. The unemployment percentage in Greece, which has been growing because of the economy crisis, will also have direct impact. Because of the relation with other market in the open market, these other markets will also be affected one way or the other, which might have an affect in their on their currency. The European Union, shorted as EU, has been formed with the countries that are members nowadays. They give the monetary the value that it has, which means that if one left, the value of the currency will also tend to drop, which has as consequences increasing its competiveness. 3.1 What is Grexit and the Impact? In February this year, the Eurozone gave the government of Greece an extension of 4-month period in order to come back with a plan on how they will proceed. Grexit, which stand for ‘Greece Exit’. It is important to differentiate the short and the long run when exiting the Eurozone. In the short run the economy of Greece might suffer a severe GDP contraction. In short run, currency devaluation, credit crash and a tighter fiscal stand will be the consequences. So far it seems that there is general consensus that if Grexit come true, there will be a severe direct impact on Greece. There are some who think that Greece should leave the euronet under the argument that on the long run, Greece will have a boost with a looser monetary policy and a cheaper currency. Segura-Cayuela, argue that having a weaker currency will be positive for the economy only if Greece implements the reform that the country has failed to implement to avoid Grexit. According to BAMLs Athanasios Vamvakidis, the new Greek currency could devalued by 50% after the Grexit. In summary exiting the Eurozone, Grexit, will: Reintroduce the drachma, which means that the euro will stop its existence in the country of Greece. Drachma was the currency Greece has. There exist the possibility to change the name. What will be the value of the currency is a question mark and a big issue is how much is the government allowed to print for the country. People might start pulling their money from their banks accounts. Being part of Eurozone, Greece has the access to emergency liquidity from the ECB, Euro Central Bank, means this option will not be possible anymore. Immediate spike inflation will be effective, which will do more damage to the economy of the country. Unemployment will peak higher then it is right now, which will have direct impact on the economy and social economy. CONCLUSION As per most articles describe that the most viable option right now is to not exit the Eurozone and come to a deal in order to come out of the budget deficit they are in. It would be to risky to get out of the Eurozone and still survive in this economy of today. The direct impact will be to big for the country and the recovery period might be to long. Grexit will also have an impact on the other countries in the Eurozone, there public finance will also be impacted. It might also impact the entire world in the financial aspect. Maintaining the Eurozone and implement a general fiscal policy, should be able to control the trading of the Eurozone members and mitigate a country getting into huge budget deficit. As the Euro area (euro zone) countries are using a fundamental division of a monetary policy and a fiscal policy, the euro requires a fiscal union and a monetary union to have some kind of â€Å"control† in the monetary system. By replacing this with one political organization with the authority to set fiscal policy within every euro area country with the power to cut spending, raise taxes, and set laws. A fiscal union like this can prevent excessive borrowing and spending like the case of Greece. The challenges to accomplish this central fiscal union are enormous but not impossible to realize. A Unites State of Europe. Without a centralized fiscal union countries will continue to run deficits, accumulate depths, degrade the value of euro and threaten stability of Europe. References Visited websites: (http://www.tradingeconomics.com/greece/gdp-growth) (visited on May 29th, 2015) (http://theindiaeconomyreview.org/Article.aspx?aid=41mid=3) (visited on May 29th, 2015 http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/eu/countries/greece_en.htm European (visited on May 29th, 2015) Commission- Economic and Financial Affairs- Economies of member states (visited on May 30th, 2015 (http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/142363.pdf) (visited on May 30th, 2015) http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/eu/forecasts/2015_spring/el_en.pdf (visited on May 31st, 2015) Viewed Video: GREECE The recovery fails to accelerate amid high political uncertainty Source: Bloomberg Published on Feb. 12 The European Debt Crisis by Jonathan Jarvis (viewed on May 29th, 2015) Figures Figure 1. This figure gives an overview of the GDP flow of Greece in the period of 1996 to 2005.

Export Potential of Halal Food Industries

Export Potential of Halal Food Industries 3.1  Total Exports and Share of Halal Food As per authentic statistics of Economic-Survey of Pakistan 2013-14, total exports of the country during July 2013-Apr 2014 were USD 20.997 billion[1] whereas total imports were USD 37.105 billion[2]. There is no separate data available on Halal food exported during last few years. However, as per SBP report, food group exports of last two years are tabulated below: Table-B: EXPORT RECEIPTS BY COMMODITY (Thousand US Dollar) (Thousand US Dollar) Commodity Jul-Jun Aug Jul ( R) Aug (P) Jul-Aug FY12 FY13 FY14 (P) FY14 FY15 FY15 FY14 P FY15 P A. Food Group 3,789,373 4,142,290 4,233,395 278,676 293,128 301,541 609,560 594,669 01. Rice 2,075,415 1,876,229 2,099,719 133,431 135,732 134,068 287,340 269,799 A) Basmati 1,064,366 822,420 993,794 70,169 80,177 73,809 148,448 153,986 B) Others 1,011,049 1,053,809 1,105,925 63,262 55,555 60,258 138,892 115,813 02 Fish Fish Preparations 338,959 336,151 366,403 21,523 26,389 22,298 45,780 48,687 03 Fruits 243,107 283,758 310,131 21,059 22,484 24,788 47,553 47,271 04 Vegetables/Leguminous Vegetabl 118,904 139,980 145,909 10,989 8,589 11,287 22,927 19,876 05 Tobacco 23,170 27,842 26,077 3,886 1,015 2,265 8,485 3,279 06 Wheat Unmilled 62,344 29,702 3,197 361 0 0 1,592 0 07 Spices 37,664 41,071 56,697 2,806 2,644 5,816 6,592 8,460 08 Oil Seeds, Nuts and Kernals 27,291 49,759 69,478 2,083 1,273 1,533 3,870 2,806 09 Sugar 20,659 431,161 304,816 8,914 11,982 22,427 37,298 34,409 10 Meat and Meat Preparations 212,106 224,432 237,120 18,200 23,653 22,206 40,952 45,859 11 All Other Food Items 629,753 702,204 613,849 55,424 59,369 54,854 107,171 114,223 Legend:P: Provisional, R: Revised,Source: http://www.sbp.org.pk/ecodata/index2.asp There are approximately 50 Halal certified companies operating in Pakistan[3]. The Al-Shaheer Corporation, PK Livestock and Zenith Associates are prominent meat exporters of the country. Meat-one, the subsidiary organization of Al-Shaheer has significantly enhanced the exports of halal food i.e. beef and mutton, particularly to Gulf countries. On the poultry side, KN’s is a big name. It is exporting chicken to the West and also opened branch in the USA. As per full year statistics of 2013-14, exports of more than 74,000 tonnes of meat and its products grabbed about $230m, up from about 63,000 tonnes worth $211m in 2012-13[4]. Meat is mainly exported to Saudi Arabia followed by Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, China and Afghanistan. Similarly, exports of milk and cream (not concentrated/sweetened) also witnessed significant growth during 2013-14 by fetching $50m in comparison with previous year figure of $20m[5]. While, the exports of concentrated or sweetened milk and cream, during 2013-14, stood at same level of $9m[6] as in 2012-13. Increasing exports and parallel rise in demand of processed milk and meat, are suggestive of sharp potential growth of both the sectors, in near future and calls for investments in dairy and meat industry. 3.2  Govt. policies for promotion of Halal products Government of Pakistan is striving to promote Halal food industry. The government has announced that 50 percent subsidy[7] shall be provided in order to enable businessmen and producers to explore the Halal market for Pakistani products. Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) is facilitating Halal Accreditation Scheme on the pattern on OIC Halal Guidelines developed by the SMIIC for promotion of Halal products in the international market. Similarly, PSQCA has also introduced Halal Standards i.e. PS-3733: 2010 for the companies in Halal food sector and PS-4992: 2010 regarding the authorized organizations dealing with certification of Halal[8] products. In May 2014, the Science and Technology Ministry GoP finalized the draft Bill to establish Pakistan Halal Authority (PHA) at the federal level to guide and facilitate the business of Halal products and processes. Moreover, PCSIR has recently established a state-of-the-art halal authentication laboratory at Lahore[9]. Despite passing of sufficient time, PHA Bill 2014 is still in pipeline and not approved, so far. 3.3  World Halal Assembly On 3-4 June, 2014, first World Halal Assembly with event them â€Å"Asia-Future of World Halal Trade† organized in Islamabad. The event was hosted by PSQCA and Halal Products Services Association of Pakistan (HAP). Over 250 scholars and expertise hailing from 40 different states attended the event[10]. At the occasion, Mr. Zahid Hamid, Federal Minister for Science Technology, vowed to provide complete support to private sector in Pakistan to boost Halal products. Participating scholars and dignitaries including Mr. Haluk Dag, Secretary General-SMIIC in his address underscored the importance of cooperation and coordination to accomplish the objective of ‘One Halal’ logo and ‘One Halal’ standard[11]. Global experts also shared their valuable information/ideas and discussed issues/challenges concerning with the Halal trade, certification, accreditation and marketing. Number of cooperation agreements were also signed in the gathering, which is likely to help local companies to enhance their exports of halal food items. Section-IV: International Market of Halal Food 4.1  Size of Global Halal Food Market The global Muslim population estimates stand at 1.8 billion[12], this represents 26 % of the total global population (6.8 billion), whereas share of worldwide halal food market is about 16 % of the aggregate food market, which means that a minimum space of at least 10 % is available to be filled by halal food companies. News story published in renowned TIME Magazine (May 2009 issue) suggests that total volume of global Halal food market[13] is worth about US$ 632. Market size of Halal food in Europe is about $66 billion[14], with France havingthe largest share of approx.$17 billion. InUnited Kingdom, only the Halalmeat sale is worthover $600 million annually.Muslims residing in the USA spend about $13 billion on Halal food products every year. It is worth mentioning that GCC countries’ aggregate exports of Halal food is approx. $44 billion. Similarly, in the neighboring India, worth of Halal food business is about $ 21 billion, per annum[15]. Worldwide halal food market is depicted in following global map with the help of circles[16]. 4.2  Stakes of Pakistan in the Global Halal Food Market Presently, Pakistan is the second largest Muslim country in the world with population of over 180 million, while Indonesia stood at first place. But according to a news story on website of TIME magazine[17], Pakistan is likely to overtake Indonesia and become the largest Muslim nation by 2030 with expected population over of 256 million. Thus, Pakistan has to aim for leading global Halal food market in the future. Unfortunately, the current share of the country in international halal food market is mere 0.5 %[18]. Pakistan has direct access to the markets of Central Asia, Middle East. On the other hand, Pakistan is not only the 6th largest cattle breeder but also world’s leading poultry breeder. Following table depicts the unprecedented vertical growth of poultry sector in Pakistan which has outpaced other sectors of livestock. Table C: Livestock Population in Pakistan Growth Livestock Population (In million) Year Buffaloes Cattle Goats Sheep Poultry 1990-91 17.8 17.7 37.0 26.3 146.9 1991-92 18.3 17.7 38.7 27.4 156.2 1992-93 18.7 17.8 40.2 27.7 182.6 1993-94 19.2 17.8 42.0 28.3 250.0 1994-95 19.7 17.8 43.8 29.1 318.8 1995-96 20.3 20.4 41.2 23.5 350.0 1996-97 20.8 20.8 42.6 23.7 382.0 1997-98 21.4 21.2 44.2 23.8 276.0 1998-99 22.0 21.6 45.8 23.9 278.0 1999-00 22.7 22.0 47.4 24.1 282.0 2000-01 23.3 22.4 49.1 24.2 292.4 2001-02 240 22.8 50.9 24.4 330.0 2002-03 24.8 23.3 52.8 24.6 346.1 2003-04 25.5 23.8 54.7 24.7 352.6 2004-05 26.3 24.2 56.7 24.9 372.0 2005-06 27.3 29.6 53.8 26.5 433.8 2006-07 28.2 30.7 55.2 26.8 477.0 2007-08 29.0 31.8 56.7 27.1 518.0 2008-09 29.9 33.0 58.3 27.4 562.0 2009-10 30.8 34.3 59.9 27.8 610.0 2010-11 31.7 35.6 61.55 28.1 663.0 2011-12 32.7 36.9 63.1 28.4 721.0 2012-13 33.7 38.3 64.9 28.8 785.0 Source: Pakistan Food Journal, Nov-Dec 2013 issue. 4.3  Leading Countries of Halal Food trade It is strange that non-Muslim nations like Brazil, France, the USA, New Zealand, Thailand, Philippines, etc. are leading the international Halal food market, whereas, Muslim countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. come later in the list. Australia, Canada, Singapore, India are also known as major exporters of Halal food. With 01 million MT export of frozen Halal chicken, and 300,000 MT of Halal beef products, Brazil is the leading the Halal food market[19]. France is second major player. It exports 750,000 MT Halal frozen chickens annually to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, etc. United States is the third largest beef exporter in the world and more than 80 percent of its frozen beef is Halal. Fourth largest beef exporter is New Zealand and 40 percent of its beef products exports are Halal[20]. 4.4  Windows of Opportunities for Pakistan. There are number of opportunities for Pakistan to grab its share in global halal market. Owing to its geo-strategic location Pakistan can easily become leader of Halal food market in the South Asia, later on, it can lead the global markets of halal food commodities. Population wise different global markets are mentioned: Asia[21]: Number of Muslim countries are situated in Asia. In Middle-East and western parts of Asia, aggregate population of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Jordon, Azerbaijan, etc. is more than 190 million. They constitute highly fertile Halal food market. In East Asia and ASEAN Market,Muslim population is more than 360 million including Indonesia (195million), China, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, etc. ASEAN countries are unique in the sense that they not only supply halal food products but import as well. For instance, Malaysia exports Halal food items to Indonesia. China possesses immense potential as a market of Halal food and local companies can focus on this untapped market, besides covering nearby countries of Indonesia and Malaysia. Importantly, our own region i.e. South and Central Asia is thickly populated with more than 600 million Muslims (including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, etc. It is a massive market for Halal products as food items are available in Muslim countries but without any HALAL certification. Africa[22]: North African countries like Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and Libya share population of more than 181 million Muslims. In West African nations i.e. including Nigeria,Niger, Mali, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Guinea, Ghana, etc. more than 150 million Muslims are residing. Whereas, East African countries including Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, and other countries have population of more than 92 million Muslims. Similarly, Central African countries including Congo, Chad, Cameroon has Muslim demography of about 17 million. In South Africa, though Muslim population is about 1.2 million but Muslims consumers are very particular on HALAL products which creates an opening for Pakistan to harness the potential for Halal products. Europe[23]:  More than 50 million Muslims are residing in different European countries like UK, France, Russia, Germany, Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania, Russia, etc. It is an important market for Halal food as consumers have high purchasing power and possess strong eager to buy those food brands which contain â€Å"Halal† logo. North South America[24]: Total population of Muslim residents in both Americas is about 10 million (USA 6.4m, Brazil 1m, Canada 0.8m and other countries). Muslims dwelling in the USA also possess high purchasing power and always prefer HALAL products. Conclusion Despite a predominant Muslim country, share of Pakistan in global Halal food market is very insignificant. Sindh province has considerable industrial base and some of the local companies are major players of Halal food market within country and export their products as well. However, a lot of potential in international Halal food trade is yet to be harnessed by local business organizations. Absence of central Halal food authority to guide and channelize the Halal food business is primary hurdle in promotion of Halal food exports throughout the world. It is strange that non-Muslim nations like Brazil, France, USA, New Zealand, etc. are currently leading the market of Halal products. There are number of potential markets which can be focused by local businessmen for exporting Halal food items. Pakistan falls at 6th rank in the growth of livestock, however, lack of necessary infrastructure and seriousness of investors has resulted into very low exports. The existing problem of negative trade balance of Pakistan can easily be addressed by focusing on Halal food markets and making local products equally compatible in the international market. There is need of structured approach of the rulers to carryout detailed study in global Halal industry and promote it, which would result into not only boosting of exports but also allied benefits like provision of employment opportunities. Recommendations The pending bill of Pakistan Halal Authority has to be converted into implementable legislation, at the earliest. Government of Pakistan has to devise short term and long vision plans for converting the country into hub of global Halal food market. In this regard, Vision-Halal 2020, as well as Vision-Hub of Halal-2030 as short and long term plans to achieve the goals like attaining significant space in international market by 2020 and then journey to become global leader of Halal food by 2030. Halal Certification bodies are to be established in line with international standards of Halal food and to meet the standard of hygiene food for western world. The Government has to extend financial and technical help to producers and encourage the local businessmen to participate in international exhibitions where they not only find buyers for their Halal products but also learn from the experience of established producers and suppliers of Halal products. Establishment of Halal food export zones in Sindh province, with tax rebates is need of the hour. In order to boost Halal food exports, the government will have to make investment in dairy farming infrastructure, cold chain and veterinary services and farm management systems. Private Banks can also introduce new financing schemes to encourage the Halal food industry throughout the country. Public-Private Partnership schemes in Halal food sector aiming at export of the value added products would also provide an impetus to the food industry. [1] Economic Survey of Pakistan 2013-14, Page 117 [2] Economic Survey of Pakistan 2013-14, Page 119 [3] Interview with Mr. Akram Khan, of HIRCP, dated 12.09.2014 [4] http://www.dawn.com/news/1130468 (accessed on 15.09.2014) [5] ibid [6] ibid [7] http://www.pnac.org.pk/index.php?PageId=110 (accessed on 01.10.2014) [8] http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2014/05/08/business/bill-drafted-to-establish-pakistan-halal-authority/ (accessed on 01.10.2014) [9] Ibid. [10] http://halalfocus.net/pakistan-oic-smiic-world-halal-assembly/ (accessed on 01.10.2014) [11] Ibid. [12] http://www.pnac.org.pk/index.php?PageId=110 (accessed on 07.10.2014) [13] http://www.halalpakistan.com/html/halal_market.htm (accessed on 07.10.2014) [14] Ibid. [15] Ibid. [16] Global Halal Food Industry Guide to tapping the fast growing Halal Food Market, Singapore (SPRING 2011), 06. [17] http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/01/27/2-2-billion-worlds-muslim-population-doubles/ (accessed on 25.10.2014) [18] http://nation.com.pk/business/24-Mar-2014/pakistan-shares-0-5pc-only-in-halal-food-market-zahid (accessed on 07.10.2014) [19] Ibid. [20] Ibid. [21] http://www.halalpakistan.com/html/halal_market.htm (accessed on 08.10.2014) [22] Ibid. [23] Ibid. [24] Ibid.

James Joyces Trieste :: James Joyce Trieste Essays

"And trieste ah trieste ate I my liver" -- Finnegan's Wake "The average traveler would not make a point of staying long in Trieste" -- Cook's Handbook The idea was born underground, one February morning in the Paris Metro. Weaving through tunnels the color of fluorescent light, we halted, stumbling over ourselves, before a yellowing tourism poster that was strangely symbolic amongst perfume advertisements and scrawled graffiti: a photograph of a violent fairy-tale, a photograph of a castle white and turreted, balanced upon a jagged cliff and reaching sharply towards the limits of a fierce, dark body of water, at the depths of which was inscribed once simple and mysterious word: Trieste. We knew the word. We stopped short not for the incongruous beauty of a faded poster, but for the faded beauty of a fabled city: James Joyce's Trieste, where he wrote most of Dubliners, all of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and much of Ulysses. Still I could see the stark outline of his words in my mind, still I could remember reading them for the first time in the white stillness of my bedroom, bound for Oxford the very next day, eyes squeezed tight in desperate gratitude, and yes, ecstasy, and above all, physical relief that as it turned out, reading is like this: ...and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes. And then, nearly inseparable, simply, and in italics: Trieste-ZÃ ¼rich-Paris, 1914-2 So that the word Trieste, gently italicized and right on the tail of Molly's final affirmation, becomes a part of the text: an unknown place and an unknown noise, hissed sound silently, meditatively, a word that rests dream-like on the floor of one's mind, giving space, pause, to the nothingness that floods before thought: somewhere that must be somewhere in this world, but perhaps not as one has known it. "Yes. Trieste", I said, and we went. It was not our first literary pilgrimage, or even our first Joycean pilgrimage. If you ask Jon why he decided to spend his junior year abroad at Trinity College, Dublin, he will first joke about his trouble with foreign languages, and next tell you about the excellent English department.

History of physical education :: essays research papers

The field of physical education has gone through many cycles over its long history. These cycles range from a strict authoritarianism to the liberal democracy of today. This transformation to the democracy has opened the field of physical education up to many new sciences, which are creating many new professional opportunities. If the cycles of physical education continue, these new professions will hopefully pave the way to future discoveries and studies of physical education. The Spartans and Athenians were the first to have a type of physical education. Though very different, both systems served the people and their needs. The Spartan system was similar to a dictatorship. Male children were taken at the age of seven to learn basic military skills while living in barracks. When the children reached the age of fourteen, they began learning group fighting tactics which would allow them to succeed while in the military from the ages of twenty to thirty. Once thirty, the men could then marry a women who had been doing some training of her own in order to make strong babies. The philosophy of the Spartans was basically to allow them to invade other countries if desired, and to prevent other countries from invading them. The philosophy of the Athenians was quite different compared to the Spartans. The Athenian culture was very democratic, and focused on training the mind and body. Reading and writing was a large part of society as well as physical activity which took place in the center of the city where the gymnasium was located. The physical education philosophy of the Athenians was the high point of physical education for many years. Some other cycles in physical education that we have evolved from are that of the Romans, the dark ages, and the crusades. The Roman era is a bit disturbing, but is nonetheless a cycle of physical education. Physical education for the Romans was about athletics, which was primarily about entertainment. People were forced to fight to the death, and oftentimes fed to lions. During the dark ages, religion viewed physical education as a waste of time and a work of the devil. The dark ages were a very sedentary time for human civilization. Following the dark ages in approximately 1096, were the crusades. The crusades were a time of muscular Christianity, because of the Muslims conquering Jerusalem. Muscular Christianity is basically Christians believing that the more one trained to become good soldiers, the more Christian a person was.

Basketball Junkie by Chris Herren and Bill Reynolds Essay

The book â€Å"basketball Junkie† is a Fantastic book it really is. This book is about a hometown high school superstar named Chris Herron on his journey from Fall River Massachusetts all the way to the Boston garden. Chris lived the dream of every kid who has ever bounced a basketball in their drive way. His accomplishments I believe is what really dragged me into the story. Just the fact that he wasn’t just an ordinary junkie from the streets that wrote a memoir. He was a basketball player that made it to the pros. I feel that gave it the edge just being up there compared to the best players such as Allen Iverson Jermaine o Neil and Kobe Bryant. Basketball Junkie was truly was an interesting story. Chris put it all out there. Herren talks about his substance abuse in brutally honest detail. He describes how his drug addictions caused him his basketball career and almost his life. How his NBA trip was short live as he spent more time chasing his next drug buy then working on his jump shot. Chasing what started out as Alcohol then to coke then to oxy cotton then to heroin caused his NBA career to fizzle out. How I related to the story was basically the same the story was told expect from another view. I witnessed a great basketball not as big as Chris Herren but good enough to get his name out there and play college basketball. This kid was great just like Chris a good person with many thing ahead in his life. Toward the end of his senior year I don’t know what you would call it. But I would say going down the wrong hanging with wrong crowd. That when he made the same mistake Chris made when he started. One thing lead to another just like Chris said in the book trying it once opened doors to other drugs. Unfortunately neither this kid nor Chris was able to close these doors. This was upsetting to watch so I could just imagine for a big superstar like this one. What there brothers were going through and the people who watched and taught Chris how to play. His coaches and people that helped Chris build up to this must have been so heartbroken. This story was really deep because you can tell that he wasn’t very appreciative of his life and accomplishments. He tells his nightmare on no matter what was going on he would always have to put his addiction first because the drug made him feel as if he couldn’t function otherwise. He also talks about his all-time low but I will let you figure out what that is in the book. This really made me feel bad for him. He wanted to be better but he couldn’t. Chris herren were stuck in a decade long nightmare of addiction. That ruined him causing him to get seven felonies and to overdose four times in his life time. One time his addiction actually leaving him dead for thirty seconds long. Overall I really enjoyed â€Å"Basketball Junkie†. I felt like in really brought me inside the life of a junkie addicted to drugs. He really put it out there. He gave his inside thoughts and feeling and how he needs drugs to function. Chris Herren saying this meant a lot even he was this big time basketball player in rolling stone, sport illustrator and all that. He still manages to get caught up in this lifestyle. â€Å"Basketball Junkie† inspired me to never take any chances for granted and to never let bad influences to get in between my future.

Individualized Education Program Essay

Introduction â€Å"Education is important for all children, but even more so for children with disabilities, whose social and economic opportunities may be limited (Aron & Loprest, 2012. ) Depending on the quality of education doors will open and the quality of life will all be determined by one’s education. Over the last decades children with disabilities have received many benefits under the education system. There is early identification of disabilities and greater inclusion. When educators intervene early, problems can be identified, and if a child is identified with a learning disability corrective measures can be taken. Although special education laws have come a long way, there are current and future challenges that have to be overcome. This area interests me because there are huge gaps educationally between disabled children and their non-disabled peers, and it is important that special education children achieve to their full potential. Historical Development and Current Legislation Within the last four decades legal changes have resulted in many major policies in the way of educating children with disabilities. Before the 1970s the children with disabilities had few educational rights. Many children with a disability were denied a public education. However, two federal laws that were enacted in 1975 would bring about changes. These laws were, â€Å"The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). The EHA establishes a right to public education for all children regardless of disability, while the IDEA requires schools provide individualized or special education for children with qualifying disabilities (Correspondent, 2012). In 1990, Public Law 101-476 was enacted which renamed EHA to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This law expanded the eligibility categories to include autism and traumatic brain injuries as well as defining assistive technology devices and services. In 1997, Public Law 105-17 often called IDEA 97 was enacted. This brought the transition plan of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) into effect. An IEP had to set out goals and indicators to fit the needs of a disabled child. â€Å"The IDEA also requires that education occur in the least restrictive environment and requires schools to take a child’s disability into account when enforcing discipline† (Correspondent, 2012). In 2001 and 2004, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) came into being. This act held schools accountable for the quality of special education provided. This act also added technology assistance and loan programs to help schools acquire needed special education resources. According to Aron & Loprest, (2012), â€Å"by the 2004–05 school – year, more than 6. 7 million children (13. 8 percent of all students nationally) were receiving special education services through the law. † The number of children served reached the highest in the middle of the decade. Since then the number of special education students has been gradually declining, and as of the 2009–10, school year, stood at 6. 5 million, or 13. 1 percent, of all students educated in the USA. Current Best Practices in Special Education Best practices in special education are linked to the child’s IEP. The No Child Left behind Act sets out guidelines for having each child achieve comparatively to other children without disabilities. Teachers need to follow through. Goals are set for each child and the curriculum is modified to meet each child’s individual needs. The teaching process is designed to be fluid, so lessons are adjusted, supplement materials are utilized and best practices that are supported by research are utilized. Students are taught in whole class, small group or on an individual basis as the need arises. Many special education students should be taught in inclusion classrooms. If the student has a special disability like Autism, the curriculum needs to be tailored to meet the needs of the student. Since there is network of persons responsible: teacher, counselor, IEP team, parents and so on, they all need to work together, and there are several accountability measures that need to be followed. In relation to associations, The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) is the only National Membership organization serving the needs of special education teachers. The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the largest international organization for both the gifted and students with disabilities. The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) is an organization that provides a website with resources like certification, professional courses, e-journals and IEP issues and so on. There is also the National Center to Improve Practice in Special Education and the World associations of Persons with Disabilities. Special Technology and Future Trends Under IDEA, 2004, equal access to technology for all individuals irrespective of their abilities has been the focus. However, although technology in special education has improved within recent years with the focus being on assistive technology, more needs to be accomplished. An assistive service is defined as, â€Å"any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or uses of an assistive technology device† (Bausch & Ault, 2008). On the other hand an assistive technology according to Lee & Templeton is defined as â€Å"any item, piece of equipment, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability. † Service providers must understand the nature of the disability whether cognitive, physical or sensory impairments and recommend the appropriate assistive technology. Once a student is in need of an assistive technology device as recommended in the IEP, the school must provide it at no cost to the parents. Lee & Templeton (2008), identify that â€Å"Four major models that have had significant contribution to the delivery of AT services are The SETT (Student, Environment, Tasks, & Tools) Framework (Zabala, Bowser, & Korsten, 2004), Tech Points (Bowser & Reed, 1995), Chamber’s Model (Chamber, 1997), and Unifying Functional Model (Melichar & Blackhurst, 1993) (Cited in Lee & Templeton, p. 213). However, the law related to assistive technology is vague and providers are challenged to develop effective AT services to meet needs. Many of the technological devices that have recently come on the market have been utilized successfully with special education students. For example, the communication challenges that many learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience have been resolved with newer technology like the iPad. Tools like the iPad can support learning for students with ASD. Children with autism have no control over the pace of information coming at them. Therefore in a regular classroom they would experience brain overload. However, with the iPad they can communicate about ideas, play games and even make puzzles. With the iPad children can utilize the interface unlike a laptop that uses a keyboard and a mouse. Many children with ASD cannot communicate or have limited communication skills therefore the iPad can serve as their voice and communication device. It can help the child to express his/her needs. All the child needs to do is touch a screen or point and sweep. The child touches a picture or words and it speaks out loud for them. There are thousands of APPs out there. For example, the emotion app uses diagrams and photographs and can help people with autism who often have a hard time talking to other people because they have difficulty reading someone’s facial cues. Improvements, Challenges, and Controversial Issues Educational Assessments as an Area of Improvement The passage of No Child Left Behind meant that students identified as disabled should be included in State testing and the standard used to measure how proficient they were performing should be the same as that used to measure progress of their non-disabled peers. However, although the results suggest some progress, there remain huge gaps between disabled and non-disabled peers. In the 2009 reading assessment for twelfth graders, 64 percent of students with disabilities but 24 percent of other students tested below basic proficiency; in math 76 percent of students with disabilities and 34 percent of other students fell below basic proficiency. (Aron, 2012:113). When other grade-levels are assessed they show similar gaps. There seems to be many different reasons for the lower scores among students with disabilities. The factors cited by one study were type of disability, cognitive ability, race, income, parental expectations, school absenteeism, and disciplinary problems. Grades, school mobility, and repeating a grade level were not significantly related to test scores (Aron, 2012:113). Quality of Service as Improvement IDEA and Section 504 are thought to have improved access to education for young people with disabilities. This is attested to be the millions of children who are receiving service. However, critics suggest that special education programs are not always serving the right students, and further many students are not being identified in a timely manner and given the most appropriate and effective services (Aron & Loprest, 2012). Since African Americans are over represented it seems as if some children may be misdiagnosed and inappropriately placed in special education, while others may go unidentified or not receive the services they require. Undoubtedly, many students who eventually receive special education did not receive the early intervention services to which they were entitled. Furthermore, transitions for young children from early childhood programs to preschool to school are not always smooth. When a child receiving Part C services reaches age two and a half, IDEA requires a meeting between the Part C service agency, parents, and the local education agency to determine continuing eligibility for special education services and to ensure a smooth effective transition to preschool. Critics opinion that this transition is not always timely. Funding as a Challenge Funding is a serious challenge. When IDEA was enacted, its intention was to help states provide special education by funding a portion of the additional, or â€Å"excess,† cost of special education over general education. The original legislation set the maximum federal contribution at 40 percent of the estimated excess cost of educating children with disabilities, but federal funding has never come close to this â€Å"full funding† cap. Resources are also limited. â€Å"For example, states are allowed to serve children who are at risk of a developmental delay, but only four states have opted to do so, in part because of funding concerns† (Aron & Loprest, 2012, p. 108). Parental Conflicts and Litigations as Controversial Issues Community Advocacy also seems also to present challenges. There seems to be a lot of parental conflict and confrontations since the inception of the IDEA. This is evident from the number of litigations involving parents of special education students. Schools should provide in-service sessions geared toward avoiding parental confrontation. Ballard and Hulett (2010) suggest that schools should reach out to a broader range of parent and professional education and human service clusters such as those representing all students, educationally disadvantaged students, English language learners, economically and socially disadvantaged students and students challenged in reading, math and science. Effort should also be made to bind the Internet in an effort to utilize this media of mass digital communication to further promote the objectives of the IDEA. In addition the authorities should pay attention to the statement made by Ballard & Hewlett (2010), â€Å"congress should order a national study and report. The charge: How and to what degree the IDEA principle of individualized education can be applied to all students in the nation toward the achievement of proficiency by the NCLB date of school year 2013–2014†. Why I Chose This Field and How It Relates To My Philosophy of Education and Future Professional Goals I chose this field because I believe that through teaching, I can transform students’ lives and help them to fulfill their goals and in so doing help they make the maximum contribution to developing their country and the world. All students could learn and achieve to their full potential if they are allowed to progress at their own pace in collaboration with a knowledgeable teacher or peer who can provide the needed support to allow them to grow cognitively. All students include students with disabilities who are often not encouraged and provided with the resources to achieve to their potential. As a â€Å"transformational teacher† (Stevenson, 2010) I can assist special education students to develop to their full potential through collaboration, questioning and scaffolding. As a program instructor at my previous place of employment, I noticed that there was a great deal of third graders that performed poorly on an IQ test and they were not expected to do well academically. However, there was a fourth grade teacher that I worked closely with and she convinced me that they had great potential and would provide extra support to ensure that they achieved. We placed them in the resource room to work in smaller groups until their levels in basic subjects had improved. This convinced me that students could learn if someone believed in them and provided the necessary support. I want to provide students with this â€Å"scaffold. † Scaffolding can be used as an umbrella metaphor to describe the way that â€Å"teachers or peers supply students with the tools they need in order to learn† (Jacobs, 2001, p.125). According to Vygotsky (1978) students teach through, â€Å"teacher – learner collaboration and negotiation† with teacher and peers. The teacher assists the student to reach the â€Å"zone of proximal development. † This zone is defined as the â€Å"distance between the actual development by independent problem solving and the level of potential development† (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86. Cited in S. A. McLeod 2010). Transformational teachers are conceptualized as change agents who engage students in active learning activities (reading, writing, discussions), and who develop critical thinking in students (Stevenson, 2010). Transformational teachers have mastered the art of classroom questioning. They therefore use inferential, interpretational, reflective, divergent, and transfer questions in the classroom and they teach students to ask questions (The Teaching Center, 2009). The gaps between what children with disabilities achieve in relation to their non-disabled peers need to be filled. All students could learn and achieve to their full potential if they are allowed to progress at their own pace in collaboration with a knowledgeable teacher who provides the needed support to allow them to grow cognitively. Through being a special education teacher I will make the above philosophy a reality. I aim to provide students with â€Å"scaffolding† or the support they need so they can realize their full potential. Furthermore, I aim to be a change agent in the classroom through utilizing active learning methods, encouraging questions and using technology and by being the catalyst that ignites a passion for learning in students. References Aron, L. & Loprest (2012). Disability and the Education System. Future of children. Vol. 22 (1). P. 97-122. Ballard, J. & Hulett, K. (2010). Future implications for Special Education Law. Council for Exceptional Children. Bausch, M. & Ault, M. (2008). Assistive Technology Implementation Plan. A Tool for Improving Outcomes. Council for Exceptional Children, 41(1) p. 6-14. (Correspondent, 2012) History of Special Education in the United States. Special Education News. Sept. 3rd, 2012. http://www. specialeducationnews. com Jacobs, G. (2001) Providing the Scaffold: A Model for Early Childhood/Primary Teacher Preparation. Early Childhood Education Journal, Vol. 29 (2), p. 125-130. Lee, H. & Templeton, R. (2008). Ensuring equal access to technology: Providing Assistive Technology for students with disabilities. Theory into Practice. 47, p. 212-219. McLeod, S. A. (2010). Zone of Proximal Development. Retrieved from http://www. simplypsychology. org/zone-of-Proximal-Development. html. Stevenson, J. R. (2010). Understanding the role of transformational teacher. Retrieved April 12, 2013, from http://Bethms. com/articles/pdf_articles/Stevenson_pdf/ The Teaching Center (2009). Washington University, Teaching Center. Wustl. edu Vygotsky, Lev S. (1978). Mind in society: Development of higher psychological processes. Edited by Cole, M. , John-Steiner, V. , Scribner, S. , Souberman, E. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.