Littlefield Technologies Simulation Game 2 strategy Share Essay

Littlefield Simulation 2 strategy: Littlefield Technologies Simulation Game 2 strategy Share 1 More Next Blog » Create Blog Sign In Littlefield Simulation 2 strategy Sunday, July 17, 2011 Littlefield Technologies Simulation Game 2 strategy Followers Join this site with Google Friend Connect Just went through this last semester. We ended up in first place even though we made a few minor mistakes. First a few links that helped us: There are no members yet. Be the first! http://archive.ite.journal.informs.org/Vol5No2/Miyaoka/ http://wordpress.shetgar.com/blog/?p=59 http://www.scribd.com/doc/51139499/Littlefield ­Simulation ­2 ­Report Already a member? Sign in Here is what we did: Pre ­Game Activities: The team met the Tuesday before class to examine the data  and discuss strategies. It was apparent that both Stations 1 and 3 were operating at full capacity, frequently hitting 100% utilization. Station 3 seemed more strained since it had higher queues (Mean=506, STD=498) than Station 1(Mean=187, STD=175). Since the average job lead time exceeded 2 days during days 43 through 46, inclusive, we thought it would be unprofitable to attempt to move to the $1,000 contracts. We discussed the options of altering the lot sizes, but decided that the extra setup time would only create more bottlenecks downstream. About Me Blog Archive HB ââ€" ¼ 2011 (1) View my complete profile ââ€" ¼ July (1) Littlefield Technologi es Simulation Game 2 strateg†¦ Stage 1: As a result of our analysis, the team’s initial actions included: 1. Leave the contracts at $750. 2. Change the reorder point to 3000 (possibly risking running out of stock). 3. Change the reorder quantity to 3600 kits. 4. Purchase a second machine for Station 3 as soon as our cash balance reached $137,000 ($100K + 37K). This strategy proved successful and after the second machine for Station 3 was purchased on Day 56 and the queue cleared, we were able to switch to the $1,000 contracts. We occasionally lost a few dollars for being a little late, but we always made more than we would have under the $750 contracts. Stage 2: The next goal was to save enough cash to purchase a machine for Station 1 so that we could switch to the $1,250 contracts. During the cash building stage, we made the inventory order quantity as high as we could afford, which was 6,900 kits at a purchase price of $70,000. When the 6,900 kits were delivered, we switched the order quantity back to 3,600 so that we could purchase a Station 1 machine as soon as our cash balance reached $127,000 ($90K + 37K). After 21 factory days, we were able to purchase the fourth machine for Station 1 and immediately moved to the $1,250 contracts. The average lead time declined to under a half a day during factory days 69 through 76. There was a substantial decline in arriving orders during the same time period. The team noticed the drop in lead time and regrets not having moved to the $1,250 contracts sooner. We lost $22,750 of potential revenue for not moving on the information sooner. On the other hand, orders are random and an early move could have backfired on us. Stage 3: During our preliminary meeting, the team discussed the possibility of purchasing a fifth machine for Station 1. We decided to wait and see if the loss of potential ea  rnings was sufficient to justify a $90 K purchase. We knew that if we were going to buy a fifth machine we should do it as soon as possible to maximize the return on investment. We calculated the loss of potential revenue as ($1,250 – actual average revenues * jobs completed). Our initial estimates showed a potential revenue loss of $266 per day, but within a few factory days the rate of potential loss rose to $419 per day. There is another consideration in the decision to purchase a fifth machine for Station 1. The title of the Littlefield Technologies game 2 is Customer Responsiveness. The title implies that we should be concerned about the consistency with which we deliver on our service level agreements (SLAs). The potential loss of $419 per day barely covers the $90,000 machine purchaseÍ ¾ however we were missing our SLAs 13 out of 15 days and the percent of potential revenues lost due to missing SLAs was 3%. We decided to purchase the fifth machine on Day 94 primarily to improve our customer responsiveness. This strategy did not perform as well as we had hoped. While our potential revenues lost declined to 1%, we were still missing our SLAs six out of seven days. Stage 4. During Stage 4, we explored job splitting as a solution to the SLA problem. First, we split jobs into two batch of 30 kits each. This strategy worked so well that we wondered why we hadn’t explored job splitting during Stage 2 or 3. We met our SLAs 12 out of 16 days and our percent of potential revenues lost declined to 0.4%. We calculated the setup times as a proportion of a

House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Sandra Cisneros Mango Street is a alone narrative about a deprived immature Chicana miss, Esperanza, who grows up in a hapless vicinity where she feels she does non belong. She does non wish what she experiences, and invariably hunts for a new hereafter. As Esperanza grows and alterations throughout the book, she realizes that adult females in her civilization are treated below the belt, and makes a witting pick non to fall into the same trap as the adult females around her. The adult females in Esperanza ‘s vicinity are held surety within their ain credence of an unfair cultural destiny. For illustration, Minerva who is merely small spot older than Esperanza is largely found praying for better fortune and a happier life. While praying for happier life she stills lets her hubby take advantage of her, and this sets an unhappy and atrocious life. Minerva knows that her hubby is non truly sorry but she still forgives him. For illustration, there is a twenty-four hours when Minerva had sufficiency of her hubby so out the door he goes but subsequently through the twenty-four hours he is regretful for his action and every bit much as Minerva is forgiving, she lets her hubby back in the house accepting his apology cognizing it will go on once more. She thought matrimony was traveling to be a manner out from unwanted life but alternatively it has the same features. Without contending for a satisfactory life she settles with the manus she is dealt. In this novel there is another character name Sally. She is an guiltless friend of Esperanza. Sally tries to get away her male parent ‘s barbarous whippings through matrimony, but her fortunes do non alter. Sally hubby still treats her as her male parent treated her in yesteryear. For illustration, he wo n't allow her speak on the phone, he does non allow her look out the window and he does non like her friends. Sally friends can non see her unless her hubby is at work. First, Sally ‘s male parent controlled her and now it is her hubby. She thinks that she is get awaying when in world she is merely giving the tether to person else. Sally chose the easiest manner out of her life which she thought was matrimony, without thought of her hereafter. In this novel there are mistreatments which lead some of the characters into another life of the letdown and their unhappy effects, believing that there is no way-out. Esperanza will non accept and is determined to get the better of the unjust destiny instructed on the adult females in her household, such as her great grandma. Esperanza references in the novel that she does non like her name that was given after her grandma and she would baptise herself to acquire a different name that would stand for a existent her and no 1 else. Harmonizing to Hispanic household the names are passed down the coevals without pick. Esperanza negotiations about â€Å" I have inherited her name, but I do n't desire to inherit her topographic point by the window † ( Cisneros Pg.11 ) . Esperanza does non desire to populate a life of unhappiness. Esperanza knows that she does non desire to stop up like her great grandma. Esperanza grandma had no pick but to get married without her being able to do determination for it. She was trapped by a adult male who â€Å" threw a poke over her caput and carried her off † ( Cisneros Pg. 11 ) . After this incident her great grandma looked out the window her whole life like so many adult females sit their unhappiness on their cubitus. Esperanza admirations if her grandma made the best of what she got or was she sorry because she could non be all the things she wanted to be. She searches for a way that would take her out of the rhythm that has captured her great grandma and so many adult females around her. In â€Å" Boys & A ; Girls † chapter it talks about how in Esperanza ‘s vicinity male childs and misss can non socialise with each other because it is known that male childs and misss are from different universes. For illustration, Esperanza could speak to her brothers at place but outside place they can non be seen speaking to each other. In add-on, towards the terminal of the book, Esperanza feels a demand to come b ack and help those who are unable to go forth, because she is positive that her destiny will alter. â€Å" One twenty-four hours I will state adieu to Mango. I am excessively strong for her to maintain me here everlastingly. One twenty-four hours I will travel off. They will non cognize I have gone off to come back. For the 1s, I left behind. For the 1s who can non acquire out † ( Cisneros Pg. 110 ) . In decision, Esperanza experiences the suffering faces of the adult females around her, she is certain that traveling through this life experience and acquisition procedure will take her life to a positive result. She believes the lone manner out of her vicinity and unjust intervention in the Hispanic community would be by educating and composing. Esperanza does non merely take the right way of willingness to contend for a nicer life but she adapts to her milieus and builds her ain assurance so that she can assist the other adult females around her bash good. Esperanza is a really strong and determined adult female in herself and she is able to carry through her dream of a better hereafter. Esperanza ends are non to bury and accomplish the freedom together. Esperanza wants the adult females in her civilization to go stronger, independent and she is determined to make so.

Social Causes of Drug Abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Causes of Drug Abuse - Essay Example In childhood, one's family is the model for social norms and acceptable behavior. Thus it stands to reason that a child's family has the most significant sway over the lifestyle choices that the child will make in the future. Studies have shown that parents' perceived positive or neutral attitudes towards drug use tends to increase their child's likelihood of engaging in drug use (McDonald, Towberman). Parents' direct involvement in some form of substance abuse also increases their child's likelihood of developing a substance abuse problem. In a 1988 study conducted on drug use and familial attitude toward substance use, 25.4% of teenagers who admitted to having used drugs had at least one parent who was a heavy drinker (McDonald, Towberman). Furthermore, the child's relationship with his or her parents also affects his/her likelihood of drug experimentation. Studies have shown that children with strong and healthy relationships with their parents are less likely to use drugs (McDona ld, Towberman). ... On the other hand, though, studies have found that teenage drug users are likely to have either authoritarian or uninvolved parents (Jenkins). The most consistent risk factor in studies on teenage drug use is peer influence. A study was conducted which analyzed significant risk factors in teenagers in grades 8, 10, and 12. In all three grades, the most significant predictors of drug use, ranked from most to least significant, were (1) number of drug-using friends, (2) average grade in school, and (3) involvement in an enjoyable extracurricular activity (Jenkins). In grades 8 and 10, average grade and involvement in extracurricular activities pose a substantial variance, but in grade 12, they have little to no significant determination on the likelihood of the teenager's use of drugs. The study ultimately found that, overall, involvement in extracurricular activities or after-school employment have little to no bearing on the prediction of future drug abuse. One study found that the number of drug-abusing friends a teenager had and a positive attitude towards drug-use accounted for 55% of the variance in drug use, with the n umber of drug-using peers accounting for twice as much variance as a favorable attitude towards drug-use (Jenkins). While these studies clarify the definite link between the likelihood of drug use and the number of drug-using friends a teenager has, they do not tell us whether drug use results from these relationships or whether teens with a proclivity for substance abuse tend to gravitate together. R. Michael McDonald and Donna B. Towberman suggest that the most effective deterrent to future drug abuse is to encourage children to bond with their parents and other children

Personal and professional development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6750 words

Personal and professional development - Essay Example Life is a journey of a self-discovery. I can’t believe how far I’ve come considering my childhood on the tiny Japanese island of Okinawa. After spending much of young adult life in the United States, however, my recent return to Okinawa brought me to terms with the importance of my heritage. Okinawa consistently ranked as a number-one popular destination for the Japanese domestic tourist. In 2009, the prefecture recorded nearly 6 million visitors, close to that of Hawaii’s number. Surprisingly, during my tenure at the Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau (OCVB), public destination marketing organization, however, only 3 percent of tourists were international visitors. It is not understatement to say that Okinawa’s beauty is virtually unknown to the outside world. I began to understand that Okinawa needed more people with sophisticated business acumen to effectively aid in municipal development on many occasions especially during promotional activities such as tradeshows and conferences. Fierce competition led by foreign investment resulted in the buyout of major hotel properties in Okinawa. I was fortunate to be able to sit in on meetings with highly energetic and extremely bright executives. They consistently demonstrated excellent entrepreneurship and I recognized that my college education had not prepared me to conduct business on the senior level. Small island economies such as Okinawa, tourism industry becomes the most important business, accounting for 20-70% of the current external receipts. In an effort to strengthen the industry and with new policies known as â€Å" Visit Okinawa Program† in fiscal year of 2010, the prefecture set a goal of attracting 10 million tourists and generating

Synopsis of the Activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Synopsis of the Activity - Essay Example In the case of King- san life, the Adultery is divided into kinship ties of casts. According to Max Weber, the social class is a group that is divided into a broad definition other than material or wealth such as prestige, honor, and the type of religion an individual responds to. The perspective of Adultery by Parsons argues to the aspects placed on social differentiation. The society is defined by such social pledges keen in differentiating the patterns of socialization (Harris 45). The Adultery of the King-san life The take on adultery on the life of the king is evident in the article. After reading this article, it strikes me that King-san life use polygamy. I never knew that much about the religion of Mormonism. The church’s practice on polygamy has created controversies in the past. It is the same as today the same still runs. It was interesting to learn that Mormonism came from Christianity. Christians have no reception for polygamy as many denominations do not accept t he culture. This article directly relates to the primary source document because Joseph Smith discusses about his family and having multiple wives and in this article, bowman talks about more than one wife at the same time (Heider and Blakely 34). Adultery is not considered by the King-san life as the relationship if the individuals are in a union of marriage. The King-san life thought they were justified and did not think this was considered adultery. Though, if women were to do the same deed, they would have committed adultery. In the society of the King-san life, the women are belittled in the eyes of men, as they are considered possessions. During this time, men had all the power and women were treated unfairly. The men could get away with any relationship misfit as compared to women. The society that Joseph Smith currently lives in is still the same, but on a different level. Women remain the weaker sex. They cannot get away with things that men would simply get away with rando mly. The importance of literacy is applicable is the functioning of a society. According to (Andersen & Taylor, 2007) literacy plays an important role of how literal children will apply theoretical aspects in real life experience. In the case of the King-san life these strong literacy skills will ensure continuity of a community in the sense of earning a good job, earnings or even gaining training opportunities. Literacy comes through various studies, but main through education. One gains the different types of literacy through education from an elderly person or belonging to a given community (Hughes, Sharrock and Martin 78). The types of literacy include functional, cultural, and critical. Functional literacy is the ability of an individual to use basic reading and writing skills to run daily activities. It is the ability to read and write basic sentences in a given language. It is the ability of one to freely and easily communicate with others. Cultural literacy is the ability of an individual to relate to allusions, informal content and idioms that are related with the dominant culture. This includes one being familiar with street signs, restaurant signs, and commonly used slang. Relation to commonly used expression, art and historical experience is one of the aspects used by the culture. Critical literacy is the highest level of literacy. It involves an individual being able to interpret given

Leadership and Management Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Leadership and Management Development - Essay Example As the paper discusses  the dynamism in technology and the overall globalization are attributable to the leadership and management styles in today’s organizations, particularly the corporation under consideration. For instance, Barclays bank has an intensive structure of communication from a centralized point. The global operations of Barclays are monitored from a central location. This has been made possible by embracing technology in networking and programming. In fact, the bank’s management is able to monitor millions of transaction daily. This is one of the primary benefits of technology. This study observes that, Barclays bank embraces a considerable level of virtual management compared to physical. The bank has edged competitively in the banking and investment industries through apt leadership and management skills, which are in line with the latest technological trends.From the discussion it is clear that  Barclays bank’s leadership and management cons ist of numerous departments and sub-departments that act as the overall administration unit of the bank. Some researchers term it as the heart beat of the company. It oversees and coordinates all the activities of the bank in a daily basis. In fact, its absence literally implies absence of the bank’s transactions.  The primary function of the management and leadership team of any organization is to work to ensuring high level of alignment between the company’s structure and the attributed strategies intended for execution.... Some researchers term it as the heart beat of the company (LEES, 1992). It oversees and coordinates all the activities of the bank in a daily basis. In fact, its absence literally implies absence of the bank’s transactions. Consider the following structure. Courtesy of Mumford A. and Gold, J. (2006) Management Development: Strategies for Action, London, CIPD Management Strategy and structure alignment at Barclays bank The primary function of the management and leadership team of any organization is to work to ensuring high level of alignment between the company’s structure and the attributed strategies intended for execution. Alignment of the two instruments is fundamental in the overall realization of a firm’s objectives (MULLINS, 2010). For the case of Barclays bank, strict flow of information in both vertical and horizontal directions as illustrated in the management structure remains the core priority. It enables proper conveyance of information of emerging t rends in diverse sectors of the firm. Such information needs to be relayed frequently due the ever-dynamic business milieu (SCHEIN, 1989). Effective managers should apply informal managerial skills to ensure interactive culture with all the stakeholders to facilitate effective leadership that is characterized by inclusiveness. Management and leadership operations As depicted from the structure above, the Barclays bank’s leadership has become more challenging due to the global dynamism that the industry is facing today. The company has become more flexible to change, responsive and less structured (PERREN, & BURGOYNE, 2002). While the CEO’s have remained the ultimate authority, the bank continues to depend on

Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Portfolio - Essay Example The graduate employers find it hard to fill up the vacancies in spite of receiving innumerable applicants because of the shortage of good quality graduates. It is now utmost important for the applicant to consider what constitute the good quality graduates. However, there has been a shift in the preferences and expectations of the employer when it comes to graduates and the skills that they suppose them to possess. The organisations prefer to have people with firm or industry specific knowledge (Scribd, n.d.). Preferred Job Area After completion of my graduation, I wish to work as a ‘Human Resource Officer’. The respective field has been chosen as I have always been interested in the Human Resource related activities. The task of the human resource officer is to provide advice and implement policies that relates to the effective use of the personnel within the organisation. The main aim of the human resource officer is to ensure that the organisation employs right balanc e of the staffs according to their knowledge and skills. They also need to check if the training and development opportunities are made available to the employees in order to enhance their performances. The human resource officer needs to have a clear understanding of what the objective of the employers business is and they must be able to make and implement the policies that helps to select, develop as well as retain the correct staff which is required to meet these objectives. There has been change in the character of the HR professionals. The nature of the work of the human resource profession varies according to the organisation. However, it is likely to include working in tandem with the departments, liaising with the wide range of people that is involved in the policy areas such as staff performance, their health and safety, negotiating with the staffs and their representatives on matters related to the pay and condition, administering the payroll and the maintenance of the em ployee record (Prospects, 2010). Various organisations offers HR Officers job in the UK. Few of them are United Response, Huntress Search Limited and Candidate Source Limited (Monster, 2010). United Response is a charity that works across England and Wales. It caters support to the people who have various disabilities (United Response, 2010). The recruitment process of the United Response is quite simple. The candidate needs to register online. The candidate will be required to answer few simple questions and then they can either qualify for an interview on the day of recruitment or on some other day (United Response, 2010). Huntress is one of the most creative, active and rapidly growing recruitment groups. It is a multi award wining company having 18 centres in the UK. It is soon going to expand its operation both internationally and domestically (Huntress Commercial, n.d.). The company requires that the candidate should have certain kind of generalist HR experience and must be ab le to deal with various kinds of HR issues (Monster, n.d.). Networx is another famous company based in the UK, Leicestershire. The company work together with the clients and the candidates and tries to deliver a qualitative professional service that not only focus upon the time and the cost efficiency, but also put stress upon the

Case study - knowledge management strategy Essay

Case study - knowledge management strategy - Essay Example The key emphasis is on the sustainable environmental management intention of MOTO. The raw information on environment friendly strategies from the staff of different nationalities is ensured to be collected and scientifically analyzed by the proposed knowledge management system. The proposal also covers the peculiar measures to be taken so that the knowledge is stored and retrieved as per the requirements. The market performance of the company, the staff participation, their consensus, cost factor, time factor and the conceptual adherence with the key policies of the company are other key factors which have to be taken care of during the implementation process. While considering the formulation of strategies, a sustainable approach has been followed in each level of the implementation. The company’s responsibility towards the environment and the society has been well understood and addressed. The technologies recommended for knowledge management within the environment of MOTO is thus environment friendly and community oriented. Latest innovations in the knowledge management systems which uphold these values have been carefully selected. To formulate the strategy for the change process, it is important to review the background information on the company pertaining to its policies and past performance. MOTO, all through its 35 years of market records, have stayed true to the ethical side of business while having excellent sales performance. The company has always maintained promising employment conditions. The corporate social responsibility always had been a priority for the company. MOTO has developed a work environment which is quire friendly with the environment. The paper free work procedures, the recycling procedures, waste management strategy, sustainable utilization of resources, compliance with environmental policies all has helped the company to have a responsible approach towards the environment. Despite the increased efforts, the production

Marketing - Pricing Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing - Pricing Strategy - Essay Example To ensure that the number of customers is controlled, the restaurant will charge high prices for their products while ensuring that the quality of food and other services provided are great. The statement of the restaurant should be to offer high quality food to the target market by ensuring emphasis on customized / personalized services. By adhering to the statement, the restaurant will aim at offering good food to the customers and at the same time be driven by the changes in the market (Milligan, 2012). This will ensure that the customers’ needs are met in a timely manner with customer considered king in the business operations. At the same time, offering of quality food and drinks will make the business operate within the legal requirements and cater for the interests of their stakeholders (Gupta, 2009). Because of this, the business will remain socially responsible and reduce costs that are associated with litigation charges. Most cases involving restaurants are based on tortuous actions or criminal proceedings if customers get injured or incur losses because of consuming food or having injuries in the restaurants. If the statement guiding the operations of the restaurant is maintenance of quality, the cases of such litigations will be minimized hence reducing costs. This statement would simultaneously cause customer satisfaction and loyalty. Every retailer in conducting business has the objective of maximizing returns ion the investment. Pricing is the only marketing mix element that generates cash to the business hence its importance. However, settling on the pricing strategy to use may not be an easy task to businesses. There are various pricing strategies including cost plus margin pricing, competitive pricing, psychological pricing, multiple pricing, discount pricing, and prestige pricing (Nagle Hogan & Zale, 2011). Any business that considers profit key however must thus consider the cost of production and ensure that the prices are above all the total costs and other overheads used in production. For the case of the upscale pricing, there is need for exclusion and uniqueness. The kinds of customers who are expected to be served in the restaurants are those of high class and will be interested in high quality services. They will thus be less sensitive to changes in the prices since they are also capable of paying even where charges are very high. Prestige pricing will therefore be the best pricing strategy to adopt in the restaurant (Nagle Hogan & Zale, 2011). Prestige pricing is one way that will ensure that the prices charged are above the costs and therefore make the business make huge profits to justify its operations and expansion of their services. In addition, the customers of upscale restaurant are those who need a feeling of being very important and non-ordinary. This makes them associate the high price with very high quality ad uniqueness. They will therefore be more comfortable with paying high prices than jus t the normal prices as a cost to the exclusive nature of their environment. In an upscale restaurant, highly qualified staffs who also expect to be paid highly normally prepare the food. The hotel attendants must be people with great skills and knowledge whose services are compensated very highly. In addition, the furniture, jewelers, and other beautification products to make the environment look prestigious make the customers overlook the

It is about culture(Anthropology) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

It is about culture(Anthropology) - Essay Example The end of First World War did not get any relief to the peasants. First the Socialists took over, and then the Fascists took over from the socialists. But it seemed that the condition of the peasants remained the same. They were first oppressed by the landlords, then by the Socialists, then by the Fascists and the Landlords. The food was always in short supply, meat was a rarity. Ironically during times of war the peasants in the villages fared a lot better than those living in the cities, as they could live of the wild. And many people in the cities use to go to the rural area to get some food of there. The Barter system was also very prevalent. People worked for food and traded various items to sustain themselves. The degradation of Women is also covered very thoroughly in this chapter. They were encouraged not to work. They were also not encouraged to educate themselves. They were generally encouraged to stay at home. The Fascists further painted women who did not marry or bear c hildren or selfish or unattractive. While Women were expected to be virgin till marriage, men were expected to show of their virility before that. This created a situation where prostitution thrived. This had a psychological impact on women in Italy long after the war was over. There is a brief coverage of the family structure as well. While the male was the titular head of the household, his wife generally ran the family. Sharing of food with less fortunate neighbors even though the quantity was low was common. The fascists and the socialists are also given their due coverage and it is not a flattering picture. While the socialist’s looted shops and farms, apparently to redistribute the wealth, but in reality it was to benefit a few. While the fascists did not make an attempt to cover up their intentions and joined hands with landlords and other wealthy people to wreak havoc on the peasants.

Learning Disabilities Essay Example for Free

Learning Disabilities Essay Puzzling is the term teachers use to describe students with learning disabilities.   They tell us that these students look entirely normal, seem intelligent, carry on intelligent conversations – that they don’t appear to any different than other students. Yet these students have difficulty doing certain tasks – not all- in school.   Some have difficulty reading; others perform poorly in spelling; still others make frequent mistakes in math.   Teachers in many schools tell us that these students are very hard to teach – that they simply do not learn in the same ways or as easily as others their age.    They tell us that these students have special needs and are not easy to teach in large classes in which most other students perform reasonably well.   They tell us that modifying instruction so that these students can profit from teaching is an intricate process. Because of the heterogeneous nature of this group of children, the concept of specific learning disabilities has been hard to define or describe in few sentence or by a numerical score such as an IQ or by a decibel loss. Furthermore, because the field has been of interest to educators, psychologists, psychiatrists, neurophysiologists, pediatricians, ophthalmologists, optometrists, speech pathologists, and others, the problem has been viewed in each of those disciplines from different perspectives. Hence there is really the need for several definitions for learning disabilities and thus we can conclude that its definition is defined in â€Å"case to case† basis. Definition of Learning Disabilities Historically, the following terms were used to name children with Learning disabilities: ââ€"   perceptually handicapped ââ€"   brain injured ââ€"   neurologically impaired Then, there came two broad aspects of concern in defining and or identifying those children: biological etiology- â€Å"minimal brain dysfunction†, psychoneurological learning disorders. behavior – â€Å" developmental disparity in psychological processes†, developmental imbalance† The definition of learning disabilities in an educational term has derived its heritage from: ââ€"   neurology ââ€"   psychology ââ€"   speech pathology ââ€"   ophthalmology ââ€"  Ã‚   remedial reading      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wiederholt (1984) has traced the history of Learning disability and has delineated three dimensions of disorders namely: (1) disorders of the spoken language studied primarily by neurologists and ophthalmologists such as; ââ€"   Samuel Kirk developed a test, the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, for use in describing language functioning and developing remedial programs. disorders of written language represented mostly by psychologists, speech pathologists, and educators such as; ââ€"   Grace Fernald established a clinic at UCLA where she perfected remedial reading and spelling techniques. disorders of perceptual and motor behaviors studied mostly by a number of disciplines such as; ââ€"   Goldstein, Werner and Strauss as pioneers of the field which listed the following behavioral characteristics that differentiated between those with and those without brain injuries: excessive motor activity, hyperactivity, awkwardness and consistently poor motor performance, erratic behavior, poor organization, high distractibility and faulty perceptions (like reversals) and ââ€"   Samuel Orton was a neurologist who believed that lack of cerebral dominance was a cause of language disorders. (In normal individual either the left or right side of the brain has dominance in controlling specific functions.) ââ€"  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cruickshank focused his efforts on the study of brain-injured children, specifically children with cerebral palsy. ââ€"   Getman, Marianne Frostig, Newell Kephart, and Ray Barsch focused on the correlation of perceptual disorders and developed remedial procedures ranging from optometric eye exercises, tracing and copying patterns, and differentiating figure from background in a puzzle, to making angels in the snow.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Today, there are various provinces in Canada that have established programs for learning disabilities which was instituted for example by ââ€"   The Ontario Ministry of Education ââ€"   Saskatchewan Department of Education ââ€"   Halifax Board of Education and ââ€"   Quebec Ministry of Education But the most widely used definitions is the one incorporated by the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada or LDAC (2002) which state that, the term â€Å"Learning Disabilities refer to a number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning. As such, learning disabilities are distinct from global intellectual deficiency. Learning disabilities result from impairments in one or more processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering or learning. These include, but are not limited to: language processing; phonological processing; visual spatial processing; processing speed; memory and attention; and executive functions (e.g. planning and decision-making)†. Further, LDAC mentioned that learning disabilities range in severity and may interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of the following: oral language (e.g. listening, speaking, understanding); reading (e.g. decoding, phonetic knowledge, word recognition, comprehension); written language (e.g. spelling and written expression); and mathematics (e.g. computation, problem solving). Further, the U.S. Department of Education regulation further states that a student has a specific learning disability if: the student does not achieve at the proper age and ability levels in one or more of several specific areas when provided with appropriate learning experiences; the student has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of these seven areas: (a) oral expression, (b) listening comprehension, (c) written expression, (d) basic reading skill, (e) reading comprehension, (f) mathematics calculation, and (g) mathematics reasoning. To summarize, all these definitions of learning disabilities, it includes the following major concepts: The individual has a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes.   Ã‚  Ã‚   (These processes refer to intrinsic prerequisite abilities, such as memory, auditory   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   perception, visual perception, oral language, and thinking.) The individual has difficulty in learning, specifically, in speaking, listening, writing, reading (word-recognition skills and comprehension), and mathematics (calculation and reasoning.) The problem is not primarily due to other causes, such as visual or hearing impairments; motor handicaps; mental retardation; emotional disturbance; or economic, environmental, or cultural disadvantage. A severe discrepancy exists between the student’s apparent potential for learning and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   his or her low level of achievement.   In other words, there is evidence of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   underachievement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The various definitions of learning disabilities have several elements in common: neurological dysfunction uneven growth pattern difficulty in academic and learning tasks discrepancy between potential and achievement exclusion of other causes Identification of Learning Disabilities In identifying individuals with learning disabilities, the following common characteristics must be observed: ââ€"   Disorders of attention: Hyperactivity, distractibility, poor concentration ability, short attention span; ââ€"   Poor motor abilities: Poor fine and gross motor coordination, general awkwardness and clumsiness, spatial problems; ââ€"   Perceptual and information processing problems: Difficulty in discrimination of auditory and visual stimuli, auditory and visual closure, and sequencing; ââ€"   Oral language difficulties: Problems in listening, speaking, vocabulary, and linguistic competencies; ââ€"   Failure to develop and mobilize cognitive strategies for learning: Lack of organization, active learning set, metacognitive functions; ââ€"   Reading difficulties: Problems in decoding, basic reading skills, and reading comprehension; ââ€"   Written language difficulties: Problems in spelling, handwriting, and written composition; ââ€"   Mathematics difficulties: Difficulty in quantitative thinking, arithmetic, time, space, and calculation facts; and ââ€"   Inappropriate social behavior: Problems in social skills deficits, emotional problems, and establishing social relationships. There are also other practical classification schemes that are useful: (1) the academic learning disabilities ( reading, arithmetic, handwriting, spelling, and written expression) (2) the developmental learning disabilities: ( attention, memory, perceptual skills, thinking skills, and oral language skills) A somewhat more systematic way to look at characteristics of students with learning disabilities is to look at those factors referenced in screening devices.   The following outline reflects the types of difficulties often observed in learning disabled students: (1) significantly different classroom behaviors difficulty in beginning or finishing tasks difficulty in organizing inconsistent in behavior difficulty in peer relationships (2) significantly below-average performance in auditory comprehension and listening difficulty in following directions difficulty in comprehending or following class discussions inability to retain information received aurally difficulty in understanding or comprehending word meanings (3) significantly below-average performance in spoken language use of incomplete sentences or unusual number of grammatical errors use of immature or improper vocabulary or very limited vocabulary difficulty in recalling words for use in self-expression difficulty relating isolated facts, scattered ideas difficulty in relating ideas in logical sequence (4) significant academic problems difficulty in reading fluency difficulty in associating numbers with symbols incorrect ordering of letters in spelling confusion of manuscript and cursive writing avoidance of reading confusion of math concepts – addition, multiplication (5) orientation difficulties poor time concept, no grasp of meaning of time difficulty in â€Å"navigating† around building or school grounds poor understanding of relationships (big, little, far, close, under, on, near) inability to learn directions (north, south, left, right) motor disabilities or significant underdevelopment for age poor coordination very poor balance awkward, poorly developed manipulative or manual dexterity lack of rhythm in movements III. Intervention for Learning Disabilities. This knowledge of the characteristics of learning disabled students is one basis for intervention. Thus, we have seen that children with learning disabilities compose quite a diverse group.   It should be no surprise then to find that the teaching and strategies approaches designed to help those children are also quite a diverse. But it is possible to cluster the various approaches into three broad educational strategies: task training, in which the emphasis is on the sequencing and simplication of the task to be learned. ââ€"   Ysseldyke and Salvia (1984) have advanced tow theoretical models namely: (a) analyzing the child’s abilities and disabilities and (b) analyzing the task and the direct training of the terminal behavior or task. This view is supported by behavioral analysts who advocate (1) finding out what the child can and cannot do in a particular skill, (2) determining whether or not the child has the behaviors needed to succeed in the task, (3) defining the goals in observable terms, and (4) organizing a systemic remedial program using reinforcement techniques. The applied behavior analysts do not infer processes or abilities that underlie difficulties but rely solely on the child’s interactional history and the current behavior and environmental situation.   They feel that their approach, which is task oriented and observable, is the most parsimonious approach, and to some it is the only approach needed. ability or process training, in which the focus is on the remediation and simplification of the task to be learned. Quay (1983) discussed the relative efficacy of ability or process training.   He stated that three approaches to remediation have evolved: (1) remediating a disability so that learning will be facilitated at a later date, (2) training and ability or process for its own sake, and (3) direct training of the task.   He concludes that the direct instruction method (task training) should be tried first and then discarded in favor of other methods if direct instruction is not successful. ability – or process-task training, in which the first two approaches are combined and integrated into one remedial program. Raschke and Young (1986) support this approach.   They compared the behavior – analysis model with the diagnostic-prescriptive model. They state that neither approach alone has the answer and propose what they call a dialectic-teaching approach into one system. Essentially the model assesses the abilities and disabilities of the children (intraindividual diffences), makes task analyses of the skills to be learned, and prescribes remediation in the functions and skills to be developed. This dialectic system they maintain â€Å"permits the teacher to assess, program, instruct, and evaluate the child’s psycholinguistic characteristics in the same system as his skill competencies and consequential variables†. Hence, the task of developing a definition of learning disabilities proved to be a formidable challenge.   Indeed, defining this population is considered such an overwhelming task that some have likened learning disabilities to Justice Potter Stewart’s comment on pornography: impossible to define, â€Å"but I know it when I see it.† Thus, defining learning disabilities in a way acceptable to all has continued as a debatable issue since the inception of the field.   Although a number of definitions have been generated and used over the years, each has been judged by some to have some shortcomings.  Ã‚   There are many types of disabilities, each of which may require a unique diagnosis and a unique remedial method. POSITION PAPER   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The definitions of learning disabilities are numerous and so varied that it is difficult to present taxonomy or even a specific list of these different definitions.   The definition of learning disabilities is a problem in much of the nations throughout the world. This problem first came out when some parents in the United States became concerned because their children who were not learning in school were rejected from special education since they were not mentally retarded, deaf or blind, or otherwise handicapped.   Their children were called by various names such as; neurologically handicapped, brain-injured, aphasodic, dyslexic, and perceptually handicapped. In spite of its current widespread use, the term learning disability is vulnerable to misunderstanding and misuse. The condition is difficult to define operationally since the designation learning disability is an umbrella term for a variety of deviations that are not included in traditional categories of exceptional children. Also it has been confused with general learning problems that are common to some degree in most children. In addition, it has been misused to include educational retardation, which is found in slow learning children and in children who have not learned because of poor teaching or absence from school. Another vulnerability of the term comes from the difficulty in drawing an explicit line between normal and abnormal.   Some allowances must be made for biological and psychological diversity, and considerable variation in abilities is accepted as normal. So, the question now is, â€Å"If there are objections to the term learning disabilities, why use it?   Why not use some other term? Well and good, if a better term can be found.   Other terms are either too specific or too broad.   Dyslexia for example, only refers to severe reading disability and it is not the only learning disability.   Brain injury has little or no educational relevance.   Perceptual handicaps exclude children with language disorders. Hence, the label learning disability has evolved to encompass the heterogeneous group of children not fitting neatly into the traditional categories of handicapped children. And that, substantial number of children show retardation in learning to talk, do not acquire other communication skill, do not develop normal visual or auditory perception, or great difficulty in learning to read, to spell, to write, or to make arithmetic calculations. Some of them even, are not receptive to language but are not deaf, some are not able to perceive visually but are not blind, and some cannot learn by ordinary of method of instruction but are not mentally retarded. Although such children are from a heterogeneous group and fail to learn for diverse reasons, they have one thing in common: they do not perform as well in school as they could. Discussing the problem and the difficulties of names for these children, Kirk (1963) explained that sometimes classification labels block our thinking. He further stated that it is better to state that a child has not learned to read than to say the child is dyslexic. So he advised that the name should be functional.   He suggested further that since the parents were interested in service to their children, it might be preferable to use a term related to teaching or learning and that the term learning disability might be preferable over the currently used terms such as cerebral function and brain injured. The term learning disabilities were agreed by these parents and they consider it more appropriate since it implied teaching and learning and since they were interested primarily in service for their children. So, one of the major problems of definition is that a learning disability is not as obvious or homogenous as blindness or deafness. There are many types of disabilities, each of which may require a unique diagnosis and a remedial method may vary differently from another condition also termed a learning disability. It is no wonder that many students, teachers, and parents have become confused about the term learning disability and the characteristics of children so labeled. This confusion appears to be international and is illustrated by the remarks of a teacher who, in testifying to a government committee studying the subject (Learning Difficulties in Children and Adults, 1986), stated:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I find myself asking the following questions:   What does the term â€Å"learning difficulty† mean?   Does the term â€Å"learning difficulty† mean the same as â€Å"learning disability†? How about the term â€Å"dysfunction†? What does the term â€Å"minimal brain dysfunction† mean? Do they all mean the same? Certainly, all these labels are not necessary, or are they? Does labeling a child with learning problems create more problems? It all becomes a bit confusing†¦The terminology changes often, varies from state to state and from country to country. Out of these definitions, came my own definition of learning disability: Learning disability describes a result rather than the cause of the learning disability.   Therefore, the conditions we call a learning disability is defined in terms of the student’s difficulties – what he can and cannot do in school – and focuses primarily on the academic performance.   So, one cannot be labeled as learning disabled if he has not yet started formal schooling as the label learning disabled indicates that a student is having unusual learning difficulties and involves speculations to possible causes, but it specifically indicates that the primary cause cannot be a condition such as mental retardation, hearing or visual impairment, and so on. Learning disabilities should be identified in the formal school context. Thus, preschoolers should not be labeled as learning disabled as growth rates are so unpredictable at young age,   In addition, very young children who appear to have problems may be identified under a noncategorical label, such as developmentally delayed.   For many children, learning disabilities first become apparent when they enter school and fail to acquire academic skills.   The failure often occurs in reading, but also happens in mathematics, writing, or other school subjects.   Among the behaviors frequently seen in the early elementary years are inability to attend and concentrate; poor motor skills, as evidenced in the awkward handling of a pencil and in poor writing; and difficulty in learning to read.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the later elementary years, as the curriculum becomes more difficult, problems may emerge in other areas, such as social studies or science.   Emotional problems also become more of an impediment after several years of repeated failure, and students become more conscious of their poor achievement in comparison with that of their peers.   For some students, social problems and inability to make and keep friends increase in importance at this age level. A radical change in schooling occurs at the secondary level, and adolescents find that learning disabilities begin to take a greater toll.   The tougher demands of the junior and senior high school curriculum and teachers, the turmoil of adolescence, and the continued academic failure may combine to intensify the learning disability.   Adolescents are also concerned about life after completing school.   They may need counseling and guidance for college, career, and vocational decisions.   To worsen the situation, a few adolescents find themselves drawn into acts of juvenile delinquency.   Because adolescents tend to be overly sensitive, some emotional, social, and self-concept problems often accompany a learning disability at his age.   Most secondary schools now have programs for adolescents with learning disabilities. Many teachers in Canada suggested that we abolish the label learning disability, and merge it with the emotionally disturbed and the educable mentally retarded and only deal with the child from an instructional point of view by defining learning tasks so that they can be taught step by step.   I strongly opposed with this suggestion.   Though maybe it is possible for the child with severe learning disability, but this approach is not sufficient to mild learning disabilities students. This is one of the greatest sources of controversy about the identification issues. The question of how much academic and learning retardation is evidenced before an individual should be identified as learning disabled.   Aside from identifying children with learning disability, it is very important to judge the extent of a child’s learning disability as either mild or severe.   Determining the level of severity is helpful in placement and in planning teaching delivery.   I strongly suggest that students with mild learning disabilities should be given different remediation from those of students who have severe learning disabilities. At this point, it is very crucial to differentiate the two cases.   Mild learning disabilities describe the problems of many students.   Students with mild learning disabilities usually have a disability in just one or two areas of learning, and although they need supportive help and special teaching, they can probably get along – at least for part of the day – in the regular classroom. So, within the regular classroom, the regular teachers should often make changes in instruction that will benefit these students. On the other hand, students with sever learning disabilities pose a very different problem and they require quite different educational services.   These students are likely to lag significantly in several areas of learning and to have concomitant social, emotional, or behavioral problems.   They need the environment of a special classroom, should contact mainly with one teacher, and should be given special services for most of the day.   Because of the intensity of their problems, the special class should be given fewer students than the regular classroom.   I suggest the 1:3 teacher to student ratio is the best to maximize and hasten the remediation process.   However, students with severe learning disabilities can gradually be mainstreamed for special subjects or activities or placed in the resource room, or even back in the regular classroom as their progress permits.   Because of these definitions; teachers, guidance councilors, and other school personnel, play the biggest role in identifying, diagnosing, remediating or treating this kind of disability within the school context.   So any teaching/service delivery should best meet the requirements needed to serve properly learning disabled students within the regular classroom.   Hence, learning disabled students should be treated or given remediation within the given school context with the greatest help of the regular classroom teacher but the guidance of the learning disabilities specialist.   So, it is implied that each school should have a learning disabilities specialist. With this, a change in the administrative arrangements for the placement for instruction of children with learning disabilities is a must.  Ã‚   It is important to take note that in the past, the rapid growth of special education was in the direction of removing atypical children from the mainstream of regular classroom and placing them into special education programs. Even the regular education supported this movement which maybe because the responsibility of educating children with a variety of learning problems is transferred to the domain of special education, and that would really lighten the work load of regular teachers.  Ã‚   But that should not be the case and I do not support that movement. The trend should be reversed and all students with learning disabilities should be brought back into the regular classroom with the regular students and in the hands of the regular teacher with the help of the learning disabilities specialist.     Ã‚  A number of movements and researches support this claim. The influential movement that supports this claim is the REI or the regular education initiative led by Madeline Will, the director of special education in the U.S. Office of Special Education in 1986.   She stated that this initiative is designed to promote collaborative efforts among regular and special educators and â€Å"shared responsibility† (Will, 1986).   In this initiative, regular and special educators were encouraged to pool their talents and coordinate their efforts in planning and teaching.  Ã‚   I greatly support this initiative as the underlying premise of this concept is that student’s learning disabilities can be more successfully taught in the regular education classroom than in special education classes or resource room. By promoting the merging of special and regular education, the regular education initiative reflects a major change in the way students with learning disabilities are identified, assessed, and educated. The approach is supported by many special educators (Lloyd, Singh, Repp, 1991; Maheady Algozzine, 1991; Biklen Zollers, 1986; Greer, 1988; Reynolds, Wang Walberg, 1997).     Ã‚  A specific example is, more than fifty years ago, Samuel Kirk, in his presidential address to special educators, emphasized that all teachers (regular and special educators) have the responsibility for teaching learning disabled children.   Kirk implored that â€Å"every teacher †¦ is a teacher of learning disabled children† (Kirk, 1941).   He further wrote the following: Actually the education of exceptional children is not wholly the responsibility of any one group of teachers †¦. It is hoped that in the future all special class teachers will not only be responsible for the education of children in their classroom, but will take on the added responsibility of contributing their knowledge and special skill to the regular classroom teacher †¦ who (has0 many learning disabled children in (the) classroom. (Kirk, 1941) In 1968, Lloyd Dunn wrote an influential article about the benefits of having special educators work with regular teachers in serving learning disabled children (Dunn, 1968). Another view to change the administrative arrangement in special education is to group children with different disabilities together for instruction.   This categorical system in special education historically evolved as the field of special education developed.   Each category of disability (such as visual impairment, hearing impairment, mental retardation, orthopedic disabilities, speech disorders, emotional disturbance, and learning disabilities) became established individually over the years when there was sufficient interest in that particular area of exceptionality.   This concept emphasizes the common characteristics among students with disabilities and the common instructional methods for teaching students with various disabilities.   In this system, students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, and mental retardation are often grouped together. Some parents and special educators are concerned that children with learning disabilities might be lost in the shuffle of this kind of placement, if such classes become a dumping ground for students with a variety of unrelated problems.   The resulting diversity of learning and behavior problems would impede teachers in helping students with learning disabilities. But this view is also opposed by a number of authors and has even provoked unusual levels of confusion, emotion, and debate within the special education community (Jehkins Pious, 2001).   Moreover, other special educators and parents, express concern regarding the regular education initiative movement and caution that more study is needed before making full-scale and far-reaching changes in procedures and policies that will affect the lives of students with learning disabilities (Lloyd et al., 1991; Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1988; Cannon, 1988; Kaufman, Gerber, Semmel, 1998; McKinney Hocutt, 1988, Lerner, 1997). But these opposing views have no substance and should be disregarded altogether.   Fuchs Fuchs (2000) have conducted research on the perceptions of and attitudes toward the regular education initiative among both regular and special educators.   These studies suggest that neither regular nor special education teachers are dissatisfied with the current special education delivery system.   In fact, the teachers favored the resource room model over the consultant model.   Many of the teachers saw no improvement in the achievement levels for either special or regular education students as a result of the regular education initiative reforms.   The success of the initiative depends on the support of regular and special teachers (Semmel, Abernathy, Butera, Lesar, 1991; Coates, 1989).   Moreover, the research prove that merely shifting the responsibility from the resource room teacher to the regular or a consultant is not enough to ensure the success of the reform. Hence, major policy changes in regular education profoundly affect students with learning disabilities.   Several recent national study commissions on the poor quality of schools serving the learning disabled students.   It is my fear that, most school’s pursuit for academic excellence standards will left behind students with learning disabilities – or they will be the losers.   Being unable to meet the educational standards set by the pursuit-of-excellence movement, some students with learning disabilities will be denied a high school diploma and thus be denied the opportunity to complete their schooling.   Further, if regular teachers are held accountable for the academic excellence of their students, they will be reluctant to accept the responsibility for hard-to-teach students.   Some special educators predict that the push for excellence may serve to widen the schism between regular and special education (Pugach Sapon-Shevin, 1997). Hence, it is my challenge to educators and healthcare professionals to undergo another education reform movement where school curriculum requirements for the learning disabled should be added to the current curriculum standards for the regular students. So in this recommendation for curriculum changes, a greater consideration should be given for the learning disabled students.   But this should be within the context of the regular education curriculum. This approach is same with the integration of regular and special education.   Some special educators also are now urging that the integration process should be taken much further – that the current special education system should be drastically restructured and that regular and special education should be merged into a single system (Kauffman Trent, 1991).   Such educators cite several reasons for changing the current system.   Special education, they maintain, is not effective when it occurs outside of the regular classroom.   In addition, the physical separation of students with disabilities is demeaning and degrades instruction.   These special educators maintain that integrated special education is more effective than separate programs. So the delivery options for teaching students with learning disabilities should also include regular classes and resource room classes.   This approach is concomitant to the observation that successful adults with disabilities have learned to function comfortably in society as it exists – an unrestricted environment composed of all people.   To promote experiences in the greater society, it must be ensured that, to the extent appropriate, students with disabilities should have experiences in school with regular (or non-special education) students. Since society includes the family, parents too should not be forgotten as an important element in the entire complex.   Parents are a vital component in the student’s education. These parents of children with learning disabilities need help in accepting their situation.   Mental health professionals should help make parents be aware that the problem must be faced both by the child and by other members of the family.   In addition to an honest acceptance of the disability, there must be recognition that improvement is often a slow process. So any approach concerning children with learning disability should establish healthy parental attitudes and ensure parent-teacher cooperation is of course, very necessary.   Parent support groups and family counseling are effective in assisting parents understand their children and their problems and in finding ways to help their children within the home.   In addition, parent-teacher conference can become a bridge between the home and school and can involve parents in the educational process. Learning disabilities is now at a crossroads, as it seems to have been throughout its thirty-year history.   Many innovative ideas are only in their beginning stages and will develop more fully in the years to come. The approach I suggested as discussed in this paper is one of those ideas.   It is very important for this approach that more students with learning disabilities are served through regular education.   In addition, there should be more collaboration between special and regular educators.   A consequence of all of these shifts is that the responsibilities of learning disabilities teachers will change to meet the new demands. References Bush, W., and Giles, M.(1979).   Aids to Psycholinguistic Teaching. Columbus,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ohio: Charles E. Merrill. Clements, S. (1986). Minimal Brain Dysfunction in Children.   Public Health   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Service Publications. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Washington, D.C. Dunn, L.M. nad Smith J.O. (1987). Peabody Language Development Kits. Levels   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   P, I.II.III. Circle Pines, Minn.: American Guidance Service. Fernald, G.M. and Keller, H. (1971), â€Å"The Effect of Kinesthetic Factors in the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Development of Word Recognition in the Case of Non –Readers.† Journal of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Educational Research 4:355-357. Getman, G.H. (1985). â€Å"The Visuo-Motor Complex in the Acquisition of Learning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Skills.† Learning Disorders, Volume 1. Seattle: Special Child Publications Gellingham,A. and Stillman B. (1986). Remedial Training for Children with   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship, 5th ed. Cambridge,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mass: Educators Publishing Service. Hegge,T., Kirk,S. and Kirk, W.(1986). Remedial Reading Drills.   Ann Arbor,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mich.: Geroge Wahr. Hirsch,E. (1983). â€Å"Training of Visualizing Ability by the Kinesthetic Method of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Teaching Reading.† Unpublished master’s thesis. University of Illinois. Karnes,M., Zehrbach, R. and Teska, J. (1984). â€Å"The Karnes Preschool Program;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rational Curricular Offerings and Follow up Data.   Report on Longitudinal   Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Evaluations of Preschool Programs, vol. 1: 95-108. Kirk, S.A. (1963).   â€Å"Behavioral Diagnosis and Remediation of Learning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Disabilities.† In Proceedings of the Conference on Exploration into the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Problems of the Perceptually Handicapped Child.   Chicago: Perceptually   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Handicapped Children. Kirk, S.A. and Elkins, J. (1985) â€Å"Characteristics of Children Enrolled in the Child   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Service Demonstration Centers.†Ã‚   Journal of Learning Disabilities 8: 630-637. Learning Difficulties in Children and Adults. (1986). Report of the House of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Representatives Select Committee on Specific Learning Difficulties. Lombardi, T.P., and Lombardi, E.J. (1987).   ITPA: Clinical Interpretation and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Remediation. Seattle: Special Child Publication. Minskoff, E.D., Wiseman, and Minskoff J. (1985). The MWM Program for   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Developing Language Abilities. Ridgefield, N.J.: Educational Performance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Associates. Orton, S.J. (1978). â€Å"Specific Reading Disability – Strphosymbolia.† Journal of the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   American Medical Association 90:1095-1099. Spalding, R.B.AND Spalding W.T. (1987). The Writing Road to Reading.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Morrow: New York. Strauss, A.A. and Lehtinen. (1987). Psychopathology and Education of the Brain-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Injured Child, vol. II. New York: Grune and Stratton. Weiderholt, J.L (1984).†Historical Perspectives on the Education of the Learning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Disabled.† In L. Mann and D.A. Sabitino, eds. The Third Review of Special   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Education.  Ã‚   Philadelphia: JSE Press.

Blasphemous Movie on Prophet Muhammad Essay Example for Free

Blasphemous Movie on Prophet Muhammad Essay Abstract: Media is held responsible for the distorted and caricature image of Muslims and their most holy figure prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the West. The movie â€Å"innocence of Muslims† is the most recent stereotype demonstration of them. People’s thinking on a matter, which they don’t have much knowledge about, is largely formed by what media determines, following an agenda setting theory. Islam has always been such issue in the West and Muslims have always been shown as fanatics, extremists and violent killers thus giving negative connotations to Islam. According to semiotic theory of sighs, every image or sign has a coded message, which is always decoded by different people in the same way by a common cognitive system. When the messages in the carton images of Prophet Muhammad published by a Danish magazine Jyllands-Posten in 2006 were decoded, there was an outcry in the Muslim world, which later developed a carton controversy around the global politics. This blasphemous movie of prophet Muhammad, another genre of visual communication, created the same political conflict between East and West and upheaval in the politics of Muslim countries too. The first part of my paper which is a media plan for Pakistani government to deal with the issue, analyses how Muslim world reacted to this movie and how a troublesome situation in all the Muslim countries is affecting the relations of Muslims’ with the U.S. Second part examines how western media, in the name of freedom of speech, has been deconstructing the bodies of Muslims as violent treacherous men and their religion as a danger to West. This message has been continuously shot into the heads of masses since ages analyzing magic bullet theory of media. Media effects theory can easily elucidate the results of such efforts. The article advocates media should consider ethical boundaries while discussing religions and religious entities. Key words: Muslims, stereotypes, prophet Muhammad , cartons, movies, western media, protests, politics. Background of the problem. Just a 14 minute trailer of the blasphemous movie â€Å"innocence of Muslims† caused a great upheaval in the Muslim world .the holiest figure of Islam  prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has been shown in this movie as a child molester, womanizer, drunk and a violent killer. This is not the first movie, there is a list of such movies against Muslims and Islam, e.g. Black Hawk Dawn, the kingdom, the Seige, fitna, which created havoc in Muslim world and we saw riots, violence, boycotts and deaths as a result of them. Later on, such trouble tic situations were always manipulated by politicians.(see links of movies trailers in references) This movie produced by Nakoula Basseley led Muslims protests in Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, India, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia and in many other Muslim countries including the killing of US ambassador to Libya in a violent attack by extremists. Obama and Clinton condemned this movie like many other governments of the countries, even Cindy Lee Garcia told The Hollywood Reporter that she and many actors were duped by filmmaker. â€Å"He has a price to pay, this Mr.Bacile, maybe not here on Earth, but he’ll stand before God one day for what he has done†. These protests were going on and â€Å"meanwhile a French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published the controversial cartoons of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) further inflaming Muslims’ sentiments†.(the Dawn 30 sep) Such protests were started in earlier September in Pakistan where hundreds of thousands from all walks of life recorded their protest against this movie and publication of carton images again. Many marched towards US embassy in Islamabad and many were killed and wounded in clash with police there. There were rallies of protests nationwide having more than 45,000 people earlier in September, 21 were killed and 229 wounded, more than 200 protesters set fire to effigy of Barack Obama in the capital of Pakistani administered Kashmir.(Aljazeerah 21sep). Pakistanis are demanding from the government to stop missions with US If they don’t ban this movie altogether, though it was banned later in many Muslim countries on a request from Washington house to goggle. Problem for Pakistani Government: In Pakistan election campaigns are going on and the political parties are engaging mob in violent attacks to make unrest in the country. By highlighting the weaknesses of the government and the wrong dealings of the issue by the government, the other political parties are trying to take advantage of the situation. Many banners in the rallies led by other  political parties demand from government to shut US and French missions in Pakistan which is definitely not possible. So there is a great need to make a well developed strategy through media to handle the situation as president is loosing the popularity because of many stories of the corruption of government and this issue of blasphemy is very complex to handle as the demand to ban this movie cannot be accomplished at once like Pakistani are wishing. so is the case with their demands to shut the missions with US. Objectives of the media plan: 1) Stop the people from violent protests by giving references from Islamic values teaching peace and tolerance. 2) Gain trust and confidence of the people as a responsible government by focusing what government has done to deal with the issue. 3 minimize the nation’s hatred for US and shift their focus from their demands of not to assist US in the war going on in the region. 4) Present your nation’s viewpoint on international forums regarding the issue. Key messages of the plan: 1) By quoting from the life of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), the people should be stopped from making violent protests and showing hatred to other countries as it is leaving a bad image of the nation and the Islam as well. Media should focus how prophet has taught Muslims to be tolerant and how he hated bloodshed and violence. So key message would be â€Å"Islam is a religion of tolerance not of violence†. 2) Key message to the west should be that we respect freedom of speech but reject freedom of hatred. This movie like other blasphemous movies and carton images of prophet Muhammad fall in the category of later. Such laws should be formulated to avoid these distasteful attempts leading to the unrest in the whole world. 3) Focus on requests of Obama’s government to goggle and you tube to ban the video and also tell your nation through the media the U.S effort to make the laws against such blasphemous acts in the future, so that their hatred towards America could be minimized as their demands to shut missions with America are not easy to be considered. Theoretical framework: Edward said’s famous work on the relations of east and west received much criticism that opens with a quotation by Karl Marx: ‘they cannot represent themselves, they must be represented’. So the west took as its responsibility to represent the east and civilize them by calling them uncivilized. Said unfolds the binary opposition as â€Å"self is familiar (Europe, the west, â€Å"us†) and the other is strange (the orient, the east, â€Å"them†) (said, 1978:43) Said asserts that European knowledge of the East goes arm in arm with expansionism, exploration and settlement. He argues that the Orient is constructed and represented in the binary opposition against the Occident, as the Other. In many respects, the Orient is seen by European values, assumptions, and cultural codes and as the Occidents other. He criticizes the way that the Occident views the Orient by her own culturally-determined and biased and limited historical perspectives.(Moosavinia, Niazi Ghaforian,2011) The universal declaration of Human Rights states â€Å"everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression† (United Nations 1948). Some people could argue that they have boundless rights to mock other people’s religious believes including their holy books and holy figures. In the name of freedom of speech, 12 cartoons of Muslims Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)were published by a Danish magazine. The one most debated showed prophet Muhammad as having a bomb in the cloth over his head. (Bond B, 2007) talks about Danish media landscape as â€Å"It is fair to say that the factual social vulnerability, the stereotyping, and the division between â€Å"them† and â€Å"us† in the news media, has created a very hostile rhetoric against visible foreigners and particularly Muslims.â €  He also talks about Danish media representations of Muslim women. â€Å"Appearing in the 1970s the stereotype of minority women as oppressed and battered was prominent from the late 1990s to early 2000s. The  stereotype of oppressed minority women was emphasized by televised pictures of veiled women illustrating many stories about refugees and other immigrants. Another stereotype since the 1970s was the image of immigrant men as hypersexual threats to women† (Green L, Aly A, 2011) state in their research that â€Å"there was some resentment voiced by Muslim respondents in interviews and focus groups that the media did not fully represent the diversity of Muslims and instead perpetuated stereotypes of Muslims: ‘the ugly Muslim male’ and ‘the oppressed Muslim female’. This mediated construction of Muslims was thought to provide an influential pathway for the broader community’s understanding of Muslims.† Reporting on Islam has been a mandatory part of western media agenda. A research about agenda of German media concludes as following. In summarizing the results, it can be said that in non-fictional formats such as magazines, talk shows, documentaries and reportages over 80% of the content reproduces an image of Islam that portrays this religion as a problem and a danger for politics and society. This image of Islam in the non-fictional formats of ARD and ZDF is an exaggerated image of violence and conflict, conveying the impression that Islam is less a religion than a political and social ideology that collides with the morality and values of the West. (Richter C, Hafez K, 2009) Talking about the publication of caricature images of Muslims’ holiest figure of Muslims prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), one can solemnly say that visuals have strong power of global communication. The analysis of one of the images is as following. The turban bomb could also be interpreted as a symbolic depiction of a globe and the Arabic inscription would thus be located in the Middle East. The ideological threat of Islam is translated into a fanaticized face, meant to depict the prophet of Islam, and also the non-communicative attitude of his followers, who are focused on destruction instead of dialogue. This was one of the most criticized of the 12 cartoons, presumably because of its hostile depiction of the prophet, and because of the implication that all Muslims are potentially dangerous suicide-bombers. (Mà ¼ller M Ãâ€"zcan E, Seizov O, 2009). The examination of over 900 Hollywood movies by Jack Shaheen (2001) may be regarded as a cornerstone in Orientalism canon where he argued how the Hollywood film genre has stereotyped the Arab society by representing them  as greedy precarious men and subjugated women. Such stereotyped presentation paves a way in justification of American foreign policy with the Middle East. The continued production and successes of such movies as Black Hawk Down, The Kingdom and The Siege cannot be overlooked in light of the power struggles resulting from the ‘War on Terror’ and hegemonic representations of Muslim men and women in a variety of Western Media. The visual narrative in The Kingdom—with its deployment of the only American female main character, Janet Mayes, whose body was scripted to represent essential differences between white and brown women—illuminates imperialist discourses, with Muslim bodies becoming the battleground upon which such discourses are both visually and literally being fought. It was argued that a critical engagement with Hollywood cinema is necessary to unveil the complex ways in which Muslim bodies are scripted as dangerous, pre-modern and uncivilized in U.S popular culture. (Michelle Aguayo, 2009) Discussion: The concept of binary opposition given by Edward said (1978) op,cit. as â€Å"us† and the â€Å"Others† is applicable to present scenario easily, western media has always presented the eastern countries specially Muslim countries as â€Å"others† uncivilized, savages, brutal, untamed and western countries as â€Å"us† civilized, educated, tamed and rational. Thinking of Agenda setting approach, I can easily relate how western media has set an agenda against Muslims by presenting them always as violent, precarious, killers and women as oppressed. While talking about Danish media landscape, there were riots, protests, boycotts, deaths in Islamic world including the burning of Danish embassies in Syria and Egypt in response to publication of caricature images of prophet Muhammad. But the western media proved so stubborn that 143 newspapers in 56 countries of West re –published the images again after sometime. To mock Muslims’ holy figure, their holy book and to show Muslims stereotype was included in the common agenda of western media. Semiotic theory helps understanding the process of carrying meanings by those images as semiotics refers to Modality, which is a specific way to encode the information for presentation to people and the meaning, is conceived by people as an effect of it. A list of sign types is considered in such presentations like writing, symbol, color, map, index, graph etc. The different people decode all the signs in the same way by a common cognitive  system according to psychology of perception; this concept elucidates how all people about prophet as a terrorist decoded negative messages in such images of prophet Muhammad. The movie â€Å"Innocence of Muslims† brought another catastrophe in the hearts of Muslims that presented prophet Muhammad as a womanizer, child abuser, homosexual and a violent killer. The purpose of this low quality picture is just to mock and insult Islam and prophet Muhammad and the producer gave as many negative attributes to Prophet Muhammad as he could. Agenda setting approach of media can be helpful in understanding the western agenda of presenting Muslims and Islam as dangerous men and violent religion respectively. Another anti-Islamic movie â€Å"fitna† made by a Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, where Quranic versus are shown alongside the scenes of terrorism. Those versus, in reality, are about the wars going on in that era of fourteen hundred years back but without giving the actual context those versus are misrepresented to show that Quran teaches Muslims to be violent killer. And this proved to be another extreme distortion of Islam. (See link in references). The production of such movies by Hollywood confirms common western agenda to present Muslims stereotypes. All these negative connotations continuously given to Islam and Muslims had a power to shape the thinking of people about Muslims as terrorists, that is also explained by Magic Bullet theory that messages by media are so powerful, and act as a bullet shot into the heads of people by shaping the thoughts of people in a magical way. So the people who don’t know much about Islam and Muslims mostly get Muslims as terrorists. Western media has cast a spell over the people by continuous shots of negativity into their heads. Media effects theory elucidates easily such stereotype representations of Muslims as we can see isolation of Muslims in the world and negative concepts of them in the eyes of common people in the west. People in the West always think of Muslims as extremists, the feelings of hatred and fear against Muslims is prevailing in the western society, which is the most visible effect of media’s stereotype presentations. Conclusion: Whenever media takes such blasphemous steps, they take to riots, protest and upheaval in Muslim countries, which may also lead to global political conflicts sometimes. The biased approach to one religion or to one  particular group of people is surely an attempt to divide the world population into the boundaries of pointless hatred. Media should take great care while talking about religion and religious entities. It should consider some ethical limits while talking negative about Islam as it hurts the feelings of almost 2 billion people in the world. references http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR0Vj-8dqTMfeature=fvsr http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0ET9qez-Kshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HLNawUg_ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUJ6cxWdZwA3s Pakistan hit by anti-Islamic video protests. (2012, September21). Aljazeerah Said,Edward W. (1978). Orientalism. New York. Penguin Moosavinia, S. R., Niazi, N. N., Ghaforian, A. (2011). Edward Saids Orientalism and the Study of the Self and the Other in Orwells Burmese Days. Studies In Literature Language, 2(1), 103-113. Bonde,B. (2007). How 12 Cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed were brought to Trigger an International Conflict. NORDICOM Review, 28(1), 33-48 Green, L., Aly, A. (2011). How Australian Muslims Construct Western Fear of the Muslim Other. At The Interface / Probing The Boundaries, 7765-90 Richter C, Hafez K. The image of Islam in German public service television programmes. Journal Of Arab Muslim Media Research [serial on the Internet]. (2009, Dec), [cited October 23, 2012]; 2(3): 169-181. Available from: Communication Mass Media Complete. Mà ¼ller, M. G., Ãâ€"zcan, E., Seizov, O. (2009). Dangerous Depictions: A Visual Case Study of Contemporary Cartoon Controversies. Popular Communication, 7(1), 28-39. doi:10.1080/15405700802598361 Shaheen, Jack. (2001). Reel bad Arabs. New York: Olive Branch Press Aguayo, M. (2009). Representations of Muslim Bodies in The Kingdom: Deconstructing Discourses in Hollywood. Global Media Journal: Canadian Edition, 2(2), 41-56.

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication in Retail

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication in Retail Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication All around the various environments/ settings that man lives in, there is always some form of communication that takes place, whether verbal or non-verbal communication. Most of the communication that happens with man is often conveyed through non-verbal means. The non-verbal communication may happen both consciously and non-consciously. This paper seeks to give an analysis of a social setting – in this case, a shopping mall – and give an application of the various communication concepts in relation to this setting. There are many reasons as to why people decide to take trips down to the shopping malls. Perhaps they could be going to do some actual shopping or window-shopping, to relax/ meet someone, watch a movie, access the internet, and have a cup of coffee or a meal, among other reasons. At times people walk into the shopping malls as individuals or in groups. As they go about doing their own businesses, they communicate in various ways. For example, an individual may walk into the goods bay and begin walking around the shelves. The pace of walking in itself communicates a certain message. For instance, based on the kinesics theory, if the person is walking hurriedly and pacing back and forth among the shelves, especially in the same area, one may easily conclude that the person is either confused or in a hurry to escape from something or someone. At this point, if there are shopping attendants in the goods bay, they may approach the person and try conversing. In relation to the adjacency pa irs concept, the shopping attendant may begin a conversation with words like, â€Å"Sir, may I help you?† The response the individual is expected to give may be similar to, â€Å"Yes, please. Could you please show me where I can find product X?† In this case, product X could be a particular detergent, shaving cream, electronic equipment, and so on. If a response that may sound to be rude, disrespectful, or harsh is given, then the shopping attendant may try to want to know more in order to identify the problem or seek assistance from somewhere else. In this scenario, customer service and public relations may be necessary. The two techniques may come in handy to resolve the situation. At times, a person may walk into the shopping mall and may just take their time moving around the shelves. They may seem to pick up things off the shelves but then return them. At times, they may be seen to compare two items as they talk to themselves. In such instances, in relation to kinesics concept, the person may appear to be undecided and does not know the choice to make. Perhaps, the person could be doing a mental budget by comparing the products picked, or they may just not know what to pick. Sometimes, people go to purchase products that they are not familiar with at all. In such cases, the person doing the shopping may befriend another shopper and solicit for advice. In the process, they may actually converse and show curtsies and smiles. Different people may actually interpret this act differently. Some may see it to be a friendly and relaxed looking environment. As the people who have just met continue to talk and laugh, it may signify socializing and friendly society. Ot her people may think that the two people may have known one another for ages and are just catching up. To some, they may think that the two people are just drawing unnecessary attention. Some buyers as they do their shopping some go picking anything from the shelves and in large quantities. Some pick a variety of one product, e.g. different types of a particular brand of soap or lotion. Some do not even care to look at the product prices. However, others have to compare the prices carefully before making up their minds on what to buy. These contrasting behaviors show that different buyers have different purchasing capabilities. For instance, when a parent walks into the shopping mall with their child, the child may want something that was outside the budget. Some parents may choose to buy the child what they have asked without thinking twice while others will have to convince their children that it is not possible to buy them what they want. According to the proxemics concept, this behavior shows that different people have different purchasing power. When a shopper buys a variety of things, they are even treated differently by the shopping attendants and cashiers as well. For instance, they may be offered a mall attendant to help them carry the goods to their car, they may be given discounts, or they may be offered some preferential treatment like being offered extra items at no extra cost. There are also people who purchase goods without having to come to the shopping mall and have the goods delivered at their doorstep at an extra cost. Some people do not have trouble paying for the extra cost of transport delivery while others have to consider their options. Regular customers are also treated in a special way that seems to appreciate them. However, those who exhibit high purchasing power and do not necessarily fall to the category of regular customers are always treated in a nice way compared to others. They may even be taken to the front line, skipping other shoppers waiting to be served. This underscores the fact that the elite in society will always have their way as they please. The inequalities that exist in society are also evident thro ugh such gestures. At the cashier counters, there are those who pay cash while others pay using credit or debit cards. Those who have electronic payment cards may at times be in possession of more than one card. The communication here is that in society, there are the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. There are those with plenty and spend with ease as they can afford whatever they want. Others have even to negotiate at the counter as they pay and may even end up not paying for everything that they picked from the shelves. All these help in explaining the concept of proxemics. In addition, some clients may experience problems with their credit cards. This scenario at times may lead to the involvement of the managers. In such cases, the customer may converse with the manager and want to find out why they cannot purchase anything yet they may have the funds. In such instances, the transmission model of communication is applicable. This is because the manager may involve the bank of the cl ient or access the personal details of the client under authorization from relevant authorities. However, encoding and decoding of the messages may lead to too much bureaucracy that wastes time for the client even when there is no major issue. Shopping malls are at times social meeting points. People who know each may bump into one another in the malls or may arrange to meet there. When they meet, there may be the excitement of meeting as they greet one another. In the process of greetings, they may either hug or shake hands. This scenario best explains the speech act concept. The two parties express their greetings in action form through hugging or shaking hands. When they are even saying goodbyes in the shopping malls, they may kiss or show some signal to the public. However, the danger with sign language is that not all symbols/ signs are standard across various localities. One friendly gesture in a certain locality may be an offense in another locality. The same case applies to certain words used in the public. There are words in certain cultures that are not offensive while in other cultures they are highly offensive. For this reason, extra caution should be taken when speech acting. The challenge however is that most of the time, people speech act at times unconsciously. They may not even consider to have made an offense. One important communication concept that marketers in shopping malls use is the looking-glass self. Whenever a customer goes to buy or just wants to try a product, the marketers may give pleasant comments to the potential buyer in a bid to sell the product. For example, when one wants to buy clothes, they may go window-shopping and in the process try them out to see how they look in them. The marketers often take advantage of these situations to give compliments to the potential buyer. The nice or positive compliments regarding the cloth in relation to the potential buyer play around with the psychology of the potential buyer. As a result, the potential buyer’s self-esteem may be boosted and the compliments may play a major role in influencing the decision to buy. Even if the potential buyer may not have money now to buy the product, they may go and come back later to purchase the item after a while. When clients are made to look good and are motivated to buy, they will buy ev en if they did not intend to buy a given product. The sales promotion personnel should learn to utilize the looking-glass self concept in ensuring that they sell their products/ services. The provision of demos goes a long way in further convincing the potential buyer and influences their decision to buy greatly. Well-presented demos or promotions capture the attention of potential buyers. At the same time, the promotions and demos influence the perceptions of how the potential buyer thinks the sales promoter views them, consequently affecting decision to buy in a number of potential buyers. In conclusion, verbal and non-verbal communication often takes place concurrently. However, the majority of the communication is what happens non-verbally. Learning how to interpret different messages as they are communicated is the most important thing in interpersonal communications. The person who learns to decode messages, especially non-verbal messages, always knows how to relate with other people in society effectively. Clarity especially in verbal is important. This is because if the message is not properly encoded for the intended recipient to decode appropriately as intended, then meaning will have been lost. Hence, elaborations in verbal communications are extremely importance for clarity purposes and ease of understanding.