Culturally Inclusive Classrooms Essay Example for Free

Culturally Inclusive Classrooms Essay How to build culturally inclusive and resilient ELEMENTARY classrooms and what types of supports are in communities that can facilitate student efforts to overcome cultural gaps in the home and in the school (elementary/secondary school level) A culturally inclusive classroom may consist of extremely diverse ethnic composition of students. With new immigration, more and more students are entering school, with little or no knowledge of English and have diverse educational and cultural backgrounds. A recent study on 400 school children in California shows that only 4% of enrolled children come from a single racial group (Chang, 1993). This has resulted in making of classrooms that have students coming from various nationalities, languages, social and economic backgrounds. The growing diversity is not only a problem to the teachers who are not adequately equipped to handle them, but also to parents, who are not sure whether the child’s adaptation will help him or alienate him from his community. Efforts are made to give prominence to the learning of the children with diverse backgrounds. Anti-bias curricula, use of home language and culture of the child, is recommended by National Assessment for Education of Young children, to foster learning of English and basic skills. It aims to make the first school experience a positive one. The forum on the Future of Children and Families held a workshop in 1993 in order to frame a sketch, to assess the scope of adequacy of research in early education of culturally diverse children. It tried to assess the most important factors in the early childhood education of a diverse group of students. Efforts were made to understand the influence of culture on human development and emphasis was laid on examining differences within culture and outside culture. Claude Goldenberg warned against treatment of culture as ‘straitjacket that predetermines the learning experience that children benefit from’ ( Goldenberg . C. 1987). It was observed and accepted that exposure at home influenced the adaptation of the children to school norms and environment. The workshop structured three questions that came up as a result of in depth study. These were- †¢ What role was played by the culture and home experience in shaping learning opportunities? †¢ How the cultural and linguistic background of children affects the knowledge skills and expectations they bring with them? †¢ How should the nature of instruction vary with learning and motivation from various backgrounds? A child has to learn the rules of two environments home and school from his pre school days i. e. , age of 3-4 years. Children who face a language and culture thoroughly different at home and school face a lot of conflicts about behavior which might result in incompatibility. Researchers have found that inconsistency in home and school make learning difficult and adjustments uneasy. The children who do not have some insightful understanding of alphabets and numbers are likely to be left behind in class. Sharon, Griffin and her colleagues (Case and Griffin, 1990, Griffin, Case and Siegler 1992) noticed striking difference in the understanding of maths in low income groups. Claude Goldenberg his colleagues designed an intervention to improve the early literacy achievement of Spanish speaking children in Kindergarten. Timothy Shanahan and his colleagues designed the FLAME project to enable parents with limited expertise in Spanish to improve literacy achievements of their children. Both the projects on evaluation showed significant positive effects on the children’s literacy achievement, Goldenberg reported that control group which received structured instructions outperformed those with informal intervention. Research shows that guided learning at home can effect children’s adjustment in classrooms. Children who remain unaware of such guidance become incompatible in learning, may retreat from learning and even become disruptive. It also showed that there was no proof to suggest that children are constrained by culture in their learning abilities. Social Setting of learning constituted teaching, learning and performance. Research with Hawaiian families showed that ( Gallimore, Boggs and Jordan, 1974) children were accustomed to learning in peer interactions and indirect supervision from teachers exhibited a decline in disruptive and inattentive behavior. Classrooms fostering independent learning seemed alien to these students. Study made on Navajo children (Vogl, Jordan and Tharp , 1987) brought in the fact that peer group study was less prevalent in this culture. Effective classrooms brought out best performance when the children were allowed to work independently- as they did in their communities. Culture shapes conversations and paces response patterns. Pueblo Indian children give more elaborate responses and have spontaneous participation when given enough response time. (Winterton, 1977). Native Hawaiian students when given long waiting time are inhibited in participation. (White Tharp, 1988). Claude Goldenberg found that children learn in accustomed way of entering into a speech- guided by their culture. Latino –American students corroborated this experience, whose mothers use highly directive pattern of communication. Research evidence points to the fact that certain amount of compatibility between home and school culture is required to improve classroom activities. Goldenberg says â€Å"with the exception of same studies of cooperative learning and bilingual education, the experimental evidence linking cultural compatible instructions scholastic outcome can be very tenuous†. Constancy in school environment may not be always wanted. Yet some parents seek it so that the child is exposed to different educational experiences. For a child, the process of adjustment to varied environment at school and home may prove beneficial in future years of schooling and multicultural environment. Differences in the two environments may compliment and reinforce their learning. A culturally inclusive environment requires mutual respect, effective relationships, clear communication, explicit understandings about expectations and critical self –reflection. (Flinders University). In a culturally inclusive environment a student will be allowed to express his opinion freely, participate in classroom’s activities, experience stress free classes with no fear of unfair treatment or abuse. It also facilitates that teachers are approachable and open to concepts and ideas from different culture, allow diversity and promote a relaxed setting of learning. When teaching students from diverse background, a teacher needs to plan out his instruction with attention and care, with skills and strategies, specialized with an array of educational aids and materials. He has to keep in mind certain facts about his students, their experience in school, home and outside school and design the curriculum in accordance with their exposure. It should also be guided by the strengths and weaknesses of their experience. Teachers need to connect to the experience of his students. Reading about flowers, fruits, animals children are not familiar with in their culture or may not have been exposed to, makes it meaning less for the child. Readings to build vocabulary and comprehension are meaningful, when the child can connect to it. He also understands that his views are being respected, making him feel secure . Children are intelligent to sense if the support for diverse culture is superficial or genuine. Ysseldyke, Algozzine Thurlow point out that a teacher needs to ask himself if the curriculum is tailored to the interest of the student, are the study materials used in any way reflective of cultural or ethnic diversity. He also needs to be aware of the learning styles adapted by his students. The curriculum needs to be complete and accurate and have materials for all the students. It should avoid being symbolic and should not make the underrepresented group feel ‘the other’. Check should be made to see that the curriculum does not discriminate. Teaching materials used should be unbiased and un-oppressive (male centric, race centric etc). The content must explore a large angle of variety, be accurate and complete. Students need to be made aware about the issues of social justice. Lessons on racism, sexism, classism and other forms of oppression need to be facilitated and discussed in class, to enhance the awareness. In the assessment student feedback should be encouraged. Teachers should work with each other and critically appreciate each others work . Teachers could introduce various awareness activities in the class. Participants can introduce themselves and share their ethnicity, similarities and diversities with other members of the group Students may be encouraged to speak on their multi-cultural experiences . Some activities may include students sharing their identity through a poem. Sharing experiences of prejudices or discrimination as a sufferer or doer, personal experience of gender-bias may be discussed. Students can be encouraged to relate aspects of their personality, identity. Feeling of inclusion or exclusion in a learning process and multicultural awareness quiz etc may be conducted. A model developed by Australian Ministries of Education, aimed at education of educational equality of indigenous people, focused on three areas- community, school and classroom. Parents, Teachers, care givers, and previous school needed to be involved in a common understanding and adopting new approach to teaching of students from multicultural backgrounds. Strong partnerships between school and homemakers made the study supportive. School officials had the duty to look after and assist each student in the development of essential skills and attitude of the students to work independently, cooperatively and responsibly. The programs monitoring and assessment provided vital clues to the future direction of the curriculum. It stated the importance of assessment made as a joint effort between students, parents and community members who provide important input in the assessment. The data collected by various workshops and research points out to the fact that there is more room for study to be made on improvising culturally inclusive schools, classrooms. Very few teachers are trained and equipped to handle such diverse culture classes. Coordination between community and schools are wanted, to make a complete, homogeneous education to students from diverse cultural background. . References Case, R. , and S. Griffin 1990 Child cognitive development: The role of central conceptual structures in the development of scientific and social thought. In C-A. Hauert ed. , Developmental Psychology: Cognitive, Perceptuo-Motor and Psychological Perspectives. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. Chang, H. 1993 Affirming Childrens Roots: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Early Care and Education. San Francisco, Calif. : California Tomorrow. Gallimore, R. , J. W. Boggs, and C. Jordan 1974 Culture, Behavior, and Education: A Study of Hawaiian-Americans. Beverly Hills, Calif. : Sage. Goldenberg, C. 1987 Low-income Hispanic parents contributions to their first-grade childrens word-recognition skills. Anthropology and Education Quarterly 18:149-179. In press. Promoting early literacy development among Spanish-speaking children: Lessons from two studies. In E. Hiebert, ed. , Teaching Children to Read: The State of Early Interventions. Boston, Mass. : Allyn Bacon Griffin, S. , R. Case, and R. Siegler 1992 Rightstart: Providing the Central Conceptual Prerequisites for First Formal Learning of Arithmetic to Students at Risk for School Failure. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Education, Clark University. Howard Weiner, Adelphi University, Garden city, New York, Culturally Insulated Students : Assessing the Diversity Disposition Cap in a Predominantly White University with a New Instrument, the Culturally Responsive Educator Test. Journal of Authentic Learning, Volume 2, Number 1, September 2005. National Association for the Education of Young Children 1989 The Anti-bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children. Washington, D. C. : National Association for the Education of Young Children. National Association for Family Day Care 1990 Helping Children Love Themselves and Others: A Professional Handbook for Family Day Care Providers. Washington, D. C. : National Association for Family Day Care.

Networking :: Free Essay Writer

Networking For my independent study, I have created a network in my house. A network by definition are more than one computer that are linked together electronically via a protocol (common language) so the computers can communicate and share resources. This network improves the day-to-day life by adding value and usefulness to the computers. The processes and ideas that I have learned thru this experience can be applied directly into today’s rich electronic business environment. Identifying the needs of the user is the first step for building a well-designed Network. A professional installation was needed to maintain the aesthetics of the rental house. Most of the wires are run in the attic and then down plastic conduit attached to the wall. The conduit is run all the way to the wall boxes where the Ethernet ports are located. Every wire is clearly labeled and included in an easy to read schematic of the house. This way future tenants will have the ability to utilize the network. Next, every room needed to have access to the network. In order to minimize the overall use of wires, hubs were placed in strategic locations. An 8-port 10/100-megabit auto-sensing hub is located in the computer room and a 5 port 10-megabit in the sound room. There, needed to be docking stations, so laptop users or visiting computers could easily plug into the network and utilize the pre-existing monitor, keyboard, and mouse. These are the basic needs that have been put int o the design of the network. Each computer setup is unique with certain strengths and weaknesses. The network takes advantage of the strengths of each individual computer and makes them available to all users. A network essentially expands the capabilities of each computer by increasing functionality thru resource sharing. In the house, there are a total of four computers and two laptops. Processing speed and an abundance of ram is not essential for a server with such low traffic. Thus the most antiquated computer was elected for this function. Between all the computers, we have several extra pieces of hardware such as a zip drive, CDRW, DVD ROM, scanner, and multiple printers. Each piece of hardware is dispersed between the computers. There were several immediate efficiencies that occurred when the network went operational. The zip drive is located on the server while the CDRW is located on one of the individual workstations. Networking :: Free Essay Writer Networking For my independent study, I have created a network in my house. A network by definition are more than one computer that are linked together electronically via a protocol (common language) so the computers can communicate and share resources. This network improves the day-to-day life by adding value and usefulness to the computers. The processes and ideas that I have learned thru this experience can be applied directly into today’s rich electronic business environment. Identifying the needs of the user is the first step for building a well-designed Network. A professional installation was needed to maintain the aesthetics of the rental house. Most of the wires are run in the attic and then down plastic conduit attached to the wall. The conduit is run all the way to the wall boxes where the Ethernet ports are located. Every wire is clearly labeled and included in an easy to read schematic of the house. This way future tenants will have the ability to utilize the network. Next, every room needed to have access to the network. In order to minimize the overall use of wires, hubs were placed in strategic locations. An 8-port 10/100-megabit auto-sensing hub is located in the computer room and a 5 port 10-megabit in the sound room. There, needed to be docking stations, so laptop users or visiting computers could easily plug into the network and utilize the pre-existing monitor, keyboard, and mouse. These are the basic needs that have been put int o the design of the network. Each computer setup is unique with certain strengths and weaknesses. The network takes advantage of the strengths of each individual computer and makes them available to all users. A network essentially expands the capabilities of each computer by increasing functionality thru resource sharing. In the house, there are a total of four computers and two laptops. Processing speed and an abundance of ram is not essential for a server with such low traffic. Thus the most antiquated computer was elected for this function. Between all the computers, we have several extra pieces of hardware such as a zip drive, CDRW, DVD ROM, scanner, and multiple printers. Each piece of hardware is dispersed between the computers. There were several immediate efficiencies that occurred when the network went operational. The zip drive is located on the server while the CDRW is located on one of the individual workstations.

Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster

The Space Shuttle Columbia was the second space shuttle disaster and the first shuttle lost on land happened on February 1, 2003. In this mission, six American astronauts and Israel's first spaceman died when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated 200,000ft above Texas. They are David Brown, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson, William McCool and Ilan Ramon. Rick husband is the Columbia's commander was a US air force colonel recruited to the space program in 1994. He made his first flight in 1999; last week's was his second.William McCool is the Columbia pilot was on his first flight. A naval commander and test pilot, he was selected for the space program in April 1996, and trained at the Johnson space centre. Michael Anderson is one of only a handful of African-American astronauts, Anderson had logged 211 hours in space before the Columbia disaster. A USAF lieutenant-colonel, he joined Nasa in 1994. Kalpana Chawla is an experienced astronaut who made her f irst flight on STS-87 in 1997. David Brown was a military flight surgeon before joining the astronaut corps.Laurel Clark joined Nasa in the same year as Brown, and was trained as a space flight surgeon. Lastly is the Ilan Ramon, an Israeli air force colonel, Ramon was his country's first astronaut. He took part in the 1973 Yom Kippur war and the 1981 bombing raid that destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor. With the Columbia accident, not only has the nation lost a four-billion-dollar shuttle, seven outstanding astronauts and priceless experimental results, it has also lost confidence in manned space flight and space exploration. February 1, 2003 was a sunny day.It was the perfect day for the Columbia shuttle return to earth. Everyone at NASA was excited for their return because the shuttle would bring back a lot of useful information from the 16 days mission. No one suspected tragedy will happen. At around 9am, the shuttle lost contact with NASA. The mission controllers thought it was a temporary problem because of the shuttle reentry into the atmosphere and also the temperature sensors on the inboard and outboard elevons (A control surface on an airplane that combines the functions of an elevator and an aileron. on the left wing had stopped functioning minutes before. NASA start to recognize something unusual happened when several 911 calls were made by the residents in Texas, Arkansas and the Louisiana area. The space shuttle Columbia and her seven crewmembers were lost. Immediately after losing of the shuttle and the seven crewmembers, NASA stopped all shuttle operations at Kennedy Space Center. They collected all the remains piece of the Columbia shuttle and grid on the floor of the Reusable Launch Vehicle Hangar.The Columbia Reconstruction Project Team attempted to reconstruct the bottom of the orbiter as part of the investigation into the accident. The engineers found that a 20-inch piece of hardened insulation foam breaking off the main fuel tank and hitti ng the shuttle’s left wing during the launch on January 16th. They asked the top shuttle managers for outside agency assistance, but the request was denied. This is because the shuttle managers concluded that there was no safety concern due to the foam’s impact and decided to let the mission continue. Other possible causes were pilot mistake and space debris.After investigations continued in the next few weeks, some molten aluminum debris from the shuttle’s wing structure, as well as molten steel debris, had been found. When the engineers eliminated the other possibilities, they began to focus on the foam from the external tank only. When the shuttle reenters the atmosphere, the temperature on its surface can reach nearly 1649oC. So the Thermal Protection System (Various materials applied to the outer structure protect the orbiter from excessive heat) on the shuttle is critical. There are four different materials in the space shuttles Thermal Protection System ( TPS).There are high-temperature reusable surface insulation (HRSI) , low-temperature reusable surface insulation (LRSI), felt reusable surface insulation(FRSI), and reinforced carbon-carbon composite (RCC). The HRSI cover the high surface temperature reaches between 649 and 1260oC. The LRSI cover the low surface temperature reaches between 371 and 649oC. For another 2 materials are used in small amounts. Due to the temperature during reentry exceeds 1260oC at the nose cap, chin panel, forward external tank, and wing leading edge panels and T-seals, the RCC was break down.For reuse purpose and to prevent oxidation, the outer layer of the RCC is converted into silicon carbide in a furnace filled with argon with a temperature cycle up to 1649oC. The main reason of the shuttle to break down is because the foam from the bipod of the external tank was shed, and struck the shuttle’s left wing during the launch. It had damaged the wing’s leading edge RCC structures which allow ing reentry plasma to penetrate and disintegrate the underlying aluminum, damaging the wing’s structure.The foam of the bipod ramp is BX-250, polyurethane foam applied with CCF-11 which is used to cover outside of the tank to prevent ice and frost on the surface. The foam is to reduce the weight so it made by light material. The engineers couldn’t believe that such a light material could damage the wing of the shuttle. Thus, some research had done by the Southwest Research institute. They used a compressed air gun to fire a foam block of similar size and mass to that which struck Columbia and at same estimated speed.To represent the leading edge of Columbia's left wing, RCC panels from Enterprise and from NASA stock, along with fiberglass mock-up panels, were mounted to a simulating structural metal frame. In the final round of testing, a block fired at the side of an RCC panel created a hole 41 by 42. 5 centimeters (16 by 17 in) in the protective RCC panel. The tests clearly show that the foam could cause visible crack on the tested RCC panels. These cracks could lead the shuttle breakup during reentry. The final report of the Columbia Accident Investigation was released on August 26th, 2003.It concluded that this tragedy was caused by technical and organizational failures. The foam problem of the bipod area has existed for years, and NASA engineers have looked at a variety of ways to correct it. The report indicated that the space shuttle should not have been launched with this problem extant. The report further proposed that, although the shuttle had always returned to earth safely after the foam hit the wing during previous shuttle flights, the managers at NASA should not have rejected the engineers' requests to make sure Columbia's wing was not damaged this time.Finally, it suggested that NASA should have had a backup plan for fixing the shuttle in space and insuring the crew's safety if they found out the wing was badly damaged. On 26th Jul y 2005, a shuttle discovery was launched. NASA had formed an independent Return to Flight (RTF) panel to monitor its preparations. There are 7 out of the 26 RTF panel members issued a minority report prior to the launch. They questioning if Columbia’s lessons had been learned and also expressing concerns about NASA’s efforts.During launch, a large piece of foam separated from the external fuel tank, but fortunately did not strike the shuttle, which landed safely 14 days later. The shuttle fleet was once again grounded, pending resolution of the problem with the external fuel tank insulating foam. Reference: Columbia space shuttle disaster 2003. World news. http://www. guardian. co. uk/gall/0,,888045,00. html Space shuttles thermal protection system (TPS). US Centennial of Flight Commission. http://www. centennialofflight. ov/essay/Evolution_of_Technology/TPS/Tech41G2. htm Final report of Columbia Disaster. Columbia Accident Investigation Board http://caib. nasa. gov/ N ASA’s Space Shuttle Program: The Columbia Tragedy, the Discovery Mission, and the Future of the Shuttle. Marcia S. Smith Resources, Science, and Industry Division. Updated by January 4, 2006. fas. org/sgp/crs/space/RS21408. pdf Lessons Learned from the Columbia Disaster. Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS). www. aiche. org/uploadedFiles/CCPS/†¦ /Presentation_Rev_newv4. ppt

Porter Five Forces Analysis for Siemens AG Free Essay Example, 3250 words

It is evidently clear from the discussion that in the industrial electrical equipment industry, buyers are generally commercial users, engineering companies, and governments of different countries. Products are highly technical in nature and specialized knowledge is required in order to evaluate purchased items. Generally, buyers need to sign the contract with companies in order to purchase equipment. Bargaining power of buyer has been reduced by three factors which are, 1- an absence of electrical equipment sellers who can meet a specialized need of buyers, 2- high switching cost and 3- a need of buyers to maintain the relationship with sellers throughout the project lifecycle for implementation of technical equipment. Large electrical equipment companies buy electronic parts and raw materials from the variety of suppliers situated in different geographic locations. Due to the presence of multi-channel sourcing model and abundance of sourcing partners, companies do not rely on any particular supplier. On the other hand, many MNE electronic and engineering companies have their own production facilities to produce technical components that can be used in manufacturing complex electrical systems. Therefore, these MNE electronic and engineering companies have little dependency on suppliers. We will write a custom essay sample on Porter Five Forces Analysis for Siemens AG or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Within last 10 years, many small level companies and entrepreneurs have established the market for green technologies that can be classified as the potential substitute for electrical equipment being offered by existing companies.

Physical Education In Higher Education - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2401 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/06/13 Category Education Essay Level High school Tags: Physical Education Essay Did you like this example? Abstract The purpose of this research paper is to discuss the importance of having physical education in higher education for students to be successful by having a mandatory PE courses. Physical education is a requirement of most K-12 programs, but by the time a student enters their first year of college it is no longer required. Students are more worried about grades, and the courses the students need to graduate, but the students forget their own health issues and the benefits of PE course can provide which students will be overwhelm and get health issues as young adults. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Physical Education In Higher Education" essay for you Create order This research paper wo;; explain the benefits and the need for a physical education requirement, the implication and contributions that the universities will impact if physical education classes are part of the curriculum. This research paper has taken other studies and research then selecting the importance of having courses in college for students. All the studies and research are showing the benefits of having a physical education program required for college students. Introduction Is physical education courses valuable in college curriculum? There are many studies that suggest that physical education can improve the well being of a young adult in college. Adams, Graves and Adams (2006) suggest that higher education curriculum offers a valuable opportunity for improving the level of health-related physical fitness knowledge of students and providing them support to more successfully develop lifestyle wellness behaviors, including exercise. In the early 1920s, all U.S. college students was required to take physical education and exercise requirements; today that number is at an all time low of 39 percent. The research shows the benefit of this in the curriculum for college students and that all young adults should be informed but also be active during this stressful time in their education career. The researcher in this paper has also included the implication and contribution for the PE in higher education that can benefit students in college. The curriculum that involve knowledge and physical activity can keep young adults healthy and safe during the college years. HRF (health related fitness) levels influence not only health conditions, but also productivity, workday loss, mood, and performance but since college students are the future workforce, it is important to ensure that they have a sound health condition to be productive (Liu, J., Shangguan, R., Keating, X. D., Leitner, J., Wu, Y. 2017). It is found that PE programs will help students improve internally (feeling good with themselves) and externally (fit and fighting obesity) for students that attend college. This type of course can promote not only an improved understanding of concepts such as energy balance and proper nutrition, but also the characteristics and practices of optimal health, thereby aiding students in exerting healthful behavior change (Williams, S. E., Greene, L., Satinsky, S., Neuberger, J. 2016). The PE curriculum is valuable for college and should be a mandatory. Physical education course mandatory to assure students are being healthy and active throughout the students stayed at the university. Higher education is believed to have the potential to require to recommend students to master the knowledge and skills needed to establish a healthy lifestyle (Masksymchuk, I., Maksymchuk, B., Frytsiuk, V., Matviichuk, T., Demchenko, I., Babii, I., Savchuk, I. (2018). Many young adults will increase in physical health benefits of regular moderate physical activity and exercise are numerous including a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, some forms of cancer, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, osteoporosis (a condition in which bones become weak and brittle), and early mortality, as well as improved weight management, performance, stamina, and quality of life (Blair et al., 1996; Blair, Kohl, Barlow, Paffenbarger, Gibbons, 1989; Blair et al., 1995; Calfas et al., 2000; Leslie et al., 2001; Paffenbarger, Hyde, Wing, Hsieh, 1986; Sailors et al., 2010; HHS, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2010). Exercise is also associated with improving other aspects of health including psychological, intellectu al, and social dimensions (Wankel Bonnie, 1990; Warburton, Crystal, Bredin, 2006). In fact, young college and university adults may stand to benefit the most, given their transitional stage of growth and development as they embark on their independent lives (Williams, S. E., Greene, J. L., Fry, A., Neuberger, J., Satinsky, S. (2018). Literature Review The purpose of this research was to determine whether university students who participated in conceptually based physical education (CPE) would achieve greater positive improvements in their physical fitness level, compared to students in traditional activity- and skills-based physical education (ASPE). Method: This was a pilot study based on an experimental (Williams, S. E., Greene, J. L., Fry, A., Neuberger, J., Satinsky, S. 2018). The results of the studies prove to all be beneficial for physical education programs. Most of each research shows that there was a higher outcome when participants were involved with the studies from physical activity than the participants that were not involved. A conceptual physical education course and college freshmenrs health-related fitness and other studies in this paper showed great outcomes and proven that having knowledge with healthy lifestyles and being physical activity can improve a student lifestyle and success academically. Benefits In one of the research studies the researchers examined the effect of a new physical education program that aimed at improving social skills for new university students. There was an experimental group and two control groups. The social skills is for companionship, self control, self disclosure, and adaptation. Students social skills increased after the new PE program. Specifically, the researchers found that after PE lessons, it was easier for students to engage in social contact with others, independently problem-solve, and introduced themselves to others (Wang, X., Sugiyama, Y. 2014). Students were more likely to apologize immediately after they made mistakes. In contrast, the control group showed almost no change. The researchers suggest that the new PE program was effective in improving social skills. PE provides an opportunity to improve students social development. In the research with Williams, Greene, Fry, Neuberger, and Satinsky it was found that the physical health benefits of regular moderate physical activity and exercise are numerous including a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, some forms of cancer, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, osteoporosis (a condition in which bones become weak and brittle), and early mortality, as well as improved weight management, performance, stamina, and quality of life, the study is to prove the benefits of the health knowledge and physical activity (Blair et al., 1996; Blair, Kohl, Barlow, Paffenbarger, Gibbons, 1989; Blair et al., 1995; Calfas et al., 2000; Leslie et al., 2001; Paffenbarger, Hyde, Wing, Hsieh, 1986; Sailors et al., 2010; HHS, 1996, 2000, 2008, 201). Implications and Contributions The researchers, Liu, Shangguan, Keating, Leitner, and Wu discuss the importance of physical education course should be recommended as a mandatory for college students. One of the statements the researchers all discuss is that physical education course instructors should provide students with highly individualized interventions while taking into considerations of students background such as sex, majors, previous lifestyles and HRF (health related fitness) levels. Implementing knowledge based lectures alone may not be sufficient to enhance HRF levels. Assignments and activities that lead to behavior changes such as goal setting, PA planning, and PA assessment may be utilized to help students enhance or maintain HRF levels (Liu, J., Shangguan, R., Keating, X. D., Leitner, J., Wu, Y. (2017)). In higher education it will further prevent adulthood obesity by educating and promoting a healthy lifestyle for students. Considering the design and setting in which the PE course will be conduct to many other large universities in US, it is likely that many universities could achieve the above goal by offering CPE (conceptual physical education) courses credit as a degree requirement. The highly individualized interventions in CPE courses are essential in enhancing college freshmenrs health related fitness levels and will be successful. Methodology The researcher methodology will be collecting surveys and questionnaires into the university of Kean students. The study will be two different groups, athletic students and normal non athletic students. The athletic students will have to be students who are into physical activity and health conditions (students who go to the gym 3x/week, students who play sports, weight training, conditioning, and any other students into physical activity or knowledge or nutrition and health). The study will contain their GPA, active on school campus, and social skills with other students for both different groups of the research. Another contribute to determine the if physical education will benefit the higher education to improve college studentrs life is having 10 students who is physically activity and knowledge of health and nutrition (five female and five male students) and the other 10 students who is not physical academic (five female and five male students) in total 20 subjects. They both will be around the ages of 18 to 26. The end of the research we will compare and contrast the results, or being successful in both physical activity and health is beneficial. If the research wants to advance in study, she will collect both groups and do studies for attention span, stress, and other components that can benefit a student successfully in college other than academically. Conclusion There is more needed research to determine all the benefits for every student will be able to receive physical education but it is believed that PE courses should be mandatory for all college students. In the research it is proven that physical education courses are beneficial for the young adults and will help the students to become successful later in life as well. College is a stressful place and can cause lots of issues with students, PE will become the outlet and help relieved students from health diseases, obesity, and stress instead of making it worse for the students. Students who work and also go to school might have the problem of having a healthy nutrition and a healthy physical activity, those students are usually the ones struggling the most with this issue. These courses will remind them to importance of their body and health. These courses can also informed the students on their sexual activity for a protective way of intercourse and interactions with other students or other young adults. Physical education is very important for college students as much as it is for K-12 students. References Allar, I., Baek, J.-H., Taliaferro, A. (2014). Addressing Inclusion in Higher Education Physical Activity Programs. JOPERD: The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation Dance, 85(9), 36â€Å"41. Retrieved from https://kean.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=s3hAN=99077596site=ehost-live Bjerke, W. (2013). Health and Fitness Courses in Higher Education: A Historical Perspective and Contemporary Approach. Physical Educator, 70(4), 337â€Å"358. Retrieved from https://kean.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=aphAN=98591093site=ehost-live Keating, X. D., Wallace, J., Schafer, J., OConnor, M., Shangguan, R., Guan, J. (2012). Analyses of Higher Education Conceptual Physical Education Courses. ICHPER SD Journal of Research in Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport Dance, 7(2), 38â€Å"44. Retrieved from https://kean.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=s3hAN=84960344site=ehost-live Liu, J., Shangguan, R., Keating, X. D., Leitner, J., Wu, Y. (2017). A conceptual physical education course and college freshmenrs health-related fitness. Health Education (0965-4283), 117(1), 53â€Å"68. https://doi-org.kean.idm.oclc.org/10.1108/HE-01-2016-0002 Maciulevien—, E., Gedvilien—, J. (2014). Subjective Perception of the Realities of Modern Physical Education Classes among Physical Education Teachers and Students in Higher Grades. Baltic Journal of Sport Health Sciences, 95(4), 9â€Å"15. Retrieved from https://kean.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=s3hAN=102132948site=ehost-live Maksymchuk, I., Maksymchuk, B., Frytsiuk, V., Matviichuk, T., Demchenko, I., Babii, I., Savchuk, I. (2018). Developing pedagogical mastery of future physical education teachers in higher education institutions. Journal of Physical Education Sport, 18(2), 810â€Å"815. Retrieved from https://kean.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=s3hAN=130654900site=ehost-live Wang, X., Sugiyama, Y. (2014). Enhancing Social Skills Through College Physical Education. Journal of Physical Education Sport, 14(2), 158â€Å"163. Retrieved from https://kean.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true AuthType=cookie,ip,url,cpidcustid=keaninfdb=s3hAN=99030636site=ehost-livescope=site Williams, S. E., Greene, J. L., Fry, A., Neuberger, J., Satinsky, S. (2018). A Study of Conceptually Based Physical Education in Higher Education. Physical Educator, 75(3), 471â€Å"497. Retrieved from https://kean.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=s3hAN=130439574site=ehost-live Adams, T. M., II, Graves, M. M., Adams, H. J. (2006). The effectiveness of a university level conceptually-based healthrelated fitness course on health-related fitness knowledge. Physical Educator, 63, 104â€Å"112. Blair, S., James, B., Kohl, H., III, Barlow, C., Macera, C., Paffenbarger, R., Gibbons, L. (1996). Influences of cardiorespiratory fitness and other precursors on cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in men and women. Journal of American Medical Association, 276, 205â€Å"210. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1996.03540030039029 Blair, S., Kohl, H., III, Barlow, C., Paffenbarger, R., Gibbons, L. (1989). Physical fitness and all-cause mortality: A prospective study of healthy men and women. Journal of American Medical Association,262,2395â€Å"2401.https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1989.03430170057028 Blair, S., Kohl, H., III, Barlow, C., Paffenbarger, R., Gibbons, L., Macera, C. (1995). Changes in physical fitness and all-cause mortality: A study of healthy and unhealthy men. Journal of American Medical Association, 273, 109 Leslie, E., Sparling, P. B., Owen, N. (2001). University campus settings and the promotion of physical activity in young adults: Lessons from research in Australia and the USA. Health Education, 101, 116â€Å"125. https://doi.org/10.1108/09654280110387880 Paffenbarger, R. S., Hyde, R. T., Wing, A. L., Hsieh, C. C. (1986). Physical activity, all-cause mortality, and longevity of college alumni. New England Journal of Medicine, 314, 605â€Å"613. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM198603063141003 Sailors, M. H., Jackson, A. S., McFarlin, B. K., Turpin, I., Ellis, K. J., Foreyt, J. P., . . . Bray, M. S. (2010). Exposing college students to exercise: The training interventions and genetics of exercise response (TIGER) study. Journal of American College Health, 59(1), 13â€Å"20. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2010.483712 Williams, S. E., Greene, L., Satinsky, S., Neuberger, J. (2016). Content Analysis of Conceptually Based Physical Education in Southeastern United States Universities and Colleges. Physical Educator, 73(4), 671â€Å"688. Retrieved from https://kean.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=s3hAN=119741598site=ehost-live 7 Tips for Including Kids with Autism in Physical Education | Inclusion Lab. (2018). Retrieved from https://blog.brookespublishing.com/7-tips-for-including-kids-with-autism-in-physical-education/

Course Affects on My Views Regarding Sexuality Essays

Overall, I found the course to be freeing, liberating and challenging. I have what many think to be an unorthodox view regarding sexuality and the way that the physical union between husband and wife reflects our relationship with God. It was freeing to be confirmed in my open exploration and beliefs. It was liberating to apply areas of Penner’s readings to my marriage. It is good to introduce freshness to a marriage along the way and even more so as the years go by. I am challenged to new levels and depths of biblical thinking regarding sex and sexuality. The Crooks and Baur text was a good contrast to Penner’s text. The two text books coupled with the Bible made for interesting discoveries and confirmations. Writing out my story of†¦show more content†¦Knowing one’s self is essential to bringing wholeness and health to the union. â€Å"Physical and emotional self-awareness are crucial elements in satisfying sexual experiences† (Morehouse, 2001; Schwartz, 2003). After one has embraced the gift of sex, one still must be whole, healthy and know one’s self well. The individual who is confident and comfortable with self is ready to be united in marriage and experience the enjoyment of all aspects of the gift of marriage with another. Any attempt to become one with another apart from wholeness will most likely result in the unrealistic expectation of completeness coming from one’s spouse. This is idolatry, because it is Christ who completes us and giving that responsibility to someone else is wrong. â€Å"And you are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power† (Colossians 2:10). Self-awareness is a personal responsibility to God, self, and one’s mate. While I know myself well, I still discovered that I can know myself better as self evolves as one experiences seasons of life. Another concept that was thought provoking was attachment styles. One is a product of those that are influential in their lives. â€Å"Individuals transfer attachment styles and patterns acquired from parent-child relationships to peers with whom they become emotionally and sexually involved. In this sense, romantic partners come to serve as attachment figures† (Aspelmeier Kerns, 2003;Show MoreRelatedSex Education Is A Process Of Building A Strong Foundation For Sexual Health1166 Words   |  5 Pagesdecisions regarding sexual activity, if they are not properly educated. Not educating America’s youth in all or most aspects of sex education, it is similar to allowing them to drive without being previously instructed. Which means students will be confused and unfortunately end up in collisions. The choice of not allowing comprehensive sex education is schools is dangerous and can result in lifelong consequences. These consequences will not only affect the individual, bu t can ultimately affect AmericaRead MoreThe Ethics Of Human Sexuality1362 Words   |  6 PagesHuman Sexuality provided the introduction to the required skill set for the counseling profession not as a specialty, but as an avenue to self-reflect upon the learning of new concepts and ideas, gathered from sex researchers. Recognizing the impact of societal beliefs concerning the gender socialization process helps us understand bits and pieces of human sexuality. It is important to also understand attitudes, worldview, ethical considerations and prejudices as we process the topic of human sexualityRead MoreThe Self Assessment Questionnaire Revealed1658 Words   |  7 PagesThe self-assessment questionnaire revealed a lot about my outlook and my understanding towards different cultures. This first section of questions was based on ethnocentrism, which is described as being â€Å"ignorant of the relation of culture to behavior and self, lacking competency in understanding cross-cultur al issues, and lacking appreciation of the effects of historical and contemporary racism† (Winkelman, 2009). My answers scored a value of 2 on a range from 0-12, where 0 is described as normalRead MoreEssay on Im Just a Girl1696 Words   |  7 Pagesoff my eyes I’m exposed and it’s no big surprise Don’t you think I know exactly where I stand This world is forcing me to hold your hand. Cause I’m just a girl Oh, little old me Well don’t let me out of your sight Oh, I’m just a girl A pretty effigy So don’t let me have any rights Oh, I’ve had it up to here. (No Doubt). Being a female and all it entails has not altered much since the beginning of time. Today, in the 21st century, we may be able to vote, hold property, and work, but the view onRead MoreTheraphy: Self-Intake Analysis1855 Words   |  8 Pagesdisclose concerns of sexual problems in the relationship therapists must take several factors into consideration including begin the process is to have the client(s) fill out a sex-intake analysis that can provide important data regarding multigenerational family myths regarding sex, potential biological factors, sexual history, traumas, and cultural issues. The collective data assists the therapist to engage other professionals that may be needed to properly diagnose and treat the client(s). RidleyRead MoreEthics in Counselling Essay1601 Words   |  7 PagesI intend to show an understanding of the ethical framework for good practice in counselling, relating it to practice and also my own beliefs and opinions, how this influences the counsell ing relationship, I will also show the need for protection of self and client. The importance of having a good ethical framework to work to is essential, it help’s to give guidance to counsellors as well as providing protection for the counsellor and client, the BACP ethical framework considers values, principalsRead MoreSex Education And Its Effects On The Body And Physiology1507 Words   |  7 Pageseducate the youngsters on the topic of sex: whether parents should explain their children about the birds and the bees, or schools need a course to educate students about sexual activity. This paper is going to examine sex education from different perspectives: psychology, education, and religion studies. Sex education is instruction on issues regarding human sexuality, emotions, responsibilities, anatomy, sexual intercourse, reproduction, health issues, rights, how to practice safe sex, sexually transmittedRead MoreHealth Assesment1387 Words   |  6 Pagescontributes to what she perceives as good health. Things that were noted to negatively affect her health was the fact that she chews a lot of gum which she feels contributes to her headaches. No specific religious or spiritual practices were identified. The statement was made that â€Å"my conscience is my god.† In analyzing these responses, the history of Breast cancer is of most concern. Creating an education plan regarding the importance of monthly self-breast exams, routine mammograms and regular GYN visitsRead MoreMy Personal Philosophy Of Nursing1257 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout the first year Foundations of Professional Nursing course, I have gained a better understand of nursing and thus my perspective on nursing has developed a lot. After learning about the different concepts and theories in nursing, I feel I understand the role of nurses better and it makes me proud to have chosen this profession. I have also realized how much the concepts I have learned this year have affected my perspective on nursing and have helped shape me into becoming a nurse. In addi tionRead MoreHuman Sexuality And Culture Course1403 Words   |  6 PagesWhile taking this Human Sexuality and Culture course, I was presented with a question during one of the discussions: If you had a child with ambiguous genitalia, what would you do? How would you raise him or her? I had to think about this question for a few moments; I had never even considered it! I live in a culture where people fight for equality and others strive to be accepted because they may be different but they are human beings, and I support them; yet, I never imagined how I would be as

Oracle Supply Chain Software Competitors Customer Empowerment

Questions: Drawing on relevant literature, analyse the claimed benefits of a web-based business strategy; Using relevant strategic choice models, identify and explain the ways in which the company could compete and the key strategic decisions that it will need to make; Identify and critically explain the strategic implementation challenges the company will need to address to turn the e-commerce strategy into a reality. Answers: Introduction: The current assignment has considered the case of Amazon.co.uk, the e-commerce organization. In this regard, the strategic issues will be discussed along with justified recommendations. Furthermore, the critical analysis will be demonstrated for explaining the significance of the integrational thinking for understanding the strategy and its formation in the complex organizations. The assignment will also focus on the development of the ability for the recognition of the strategic issues and designing the appropriate courses of action. The synthesis of knowledge has been gained from different business modules to generate a comprehensive understanding to underpin the competitive advantage. Finally the critical analysis will be provided on the strategic position and the interconnected activities of POM (Production and Operations Management) in the organizations. Task 1: Critical analysis of the case in terms of the strategic issues and justified recommendations: Logistics: The logistics is the crucial element to provide the significant customer service. However, it has become the main challenge for the renowned e-commerce player Amazon, since the UK market is too large and fragmented with the medium logistics infrastructure. This has highly forced this e-commerce organisation to build its own logistics system at time outlay and enormous cost. Considering the view of Alshibly and Chiong (2015), Amazon Logistics was set up around two years ago in the UK. Building such logistic system from the scratch requires the enormous cost and time investment. Furthermore, it has three major implications. The first is the substantial impact of Amazons profit volume, the second is the delivering the crucial competitive advantage against the new global and local entrants. On the other hand, according to Barnes (2007), the third is that it opens the new business opportunity for the e-commerce players by allowing the competitors for using the delivery network for free. A mazon encourages the small business firms to utilise the marketplace or the cloud computing service. For example, more than 50 e-commerce firms in Russia have already introduced the online retailer Ozon.Rus strong courier network. Digital infrastructure: The digital infrastructure also plays the vital role in sustaining and establishing the e-commerce operations of Amazon in emerging UK market (Chaffey, 2011). The challenge is not limited to the physical infrastructure alone. It is also associated with the digital infrastructure. As the internet penetration is rapidly increasing in the UK market, the majority of the UK population also has the internet access. However, Barnes (2007) argued that few countries of the Asian market like Singapore, Malaysia, India has the trend of lower internet penetration. However, the linking of Amazons businesses for creating the centralised systems for the e-commerce is generating its own challenges. For example, Cleartrip when first started the online travel services in India, it was not the part of the Global Distribution System (GDS). According to Dietz (2006), the GDS is the computerised reservation network, which acted as the single point of access for the reservation of the airline ticket worldw ide. As a result, the customers could get easier access of the total inventory access for all airlines. Payment: Due to the limited banking and the credit card penetration, the cash-based societies are generated. On the other hand, Ke and Zhang (2009) argued that sometimes, few consumers also have the lack of consumer trust in the online merchants. This has prompted various leading e-commerce firms like Flipkart, Amazon to offer the cash collection on delivery (COD). Considering the opinion of Kauffman (2009), the COD approach imposes the significant financial cost for the e-commerce firms like Amazon in terms of cash handling, labour and the higher return of the purchased items. On the other hand, Diniz, Birochi and Pozzebon (2012) argued that the COD can solve the strategic issue in terms of theft and payment thereby substantially increases the cost. This had resulted new payment gateways, which allow the young customers for buying the prepaid cards at the retail outlets. These cards can be later used for purchasing the online games from Amazon. Amazon has recently launched the installation o f the delivery lockers at the convenient store location for providing the service in the United States. Price Sensitive customers: The per capita income of the majority of the consumers in the UK market is not equal also in the developed countries like UK, Singapore and United States. This mentality has compounded by the Amazons e-commerce offers to the price-sensitive shoppers to compare the price online basis. The online retailers of e-commerce face the extreme price pressure not only for competing in the websites, but also from the offline stores. However, Kim (2006) argued that the offline stores also run in such low cost and highly efficient operations that the powerful organisations also found it challenging issue in the business. The e-commerce firms offer often free shipping for competing with the local merchants (Keskin and Taskin, 2015). These firms also introduce the flexible return policies to make more palatable online services to the specific price sensitive consumers for attracting. To overcome these strategic issues, the e-commerce firm Amazon is required to invest heavily in the logistics and the infrastructure (www.statista.com, 2016). These are helpful to enhance the fixed cost. Building the offline presence can earn the consumer trust for managing the highly price sensitive customers. Despite of the challenges, the promise of potentially large valuations and a rapidly growing market could rise the increased score for the e-commerce player like Amazon. Task 2: Importance of the integrational thinking in understanding the strategy, formation and development in complex organizations: Since the majority of the e-commerce organisations are facing logistics and shipping problem, it has become prime time FOR the marketers integrating e-commerce business with other functionalities to serve customers in a flawless way. In this context, Kauffman (2009) stated that the integrational thinking could help the e-commerce firms making real time integration through a large ERP platform. However, the integration becomes too complex in the bigger organisation, as it comprised of different departments, which starts from payment gateways, shipping, order fulfilment, product inventory and final communication to the customers (Kim, 2006). The integrational thinking could help the firms, managing proper coordination among different departments in the global business context. Payment gateway integration and strategy formulation: The transaction failure in the e-commerce companies such as eBay, Amazon, and Flipkart has created customer issues, due to which the tendency to switch to emerging brands is increasing rapidly. Considering the fact, Dietz (2006) stated that e-commerce payment gateway integration could enable the marketers resolving customer payment issues in a faster way. Eventually, higher brand sustainability can be managed. Real time shipping integration: Amazon can be taken as a good example of this integration, as it is integrated with its own logistics as well as logistics firms such as FedEx, UPS, etc. Once the customer places an order, it could increase the convenience to send instant messages regarding the delivery date. Formulation of the shipping integration has helped Amazon to increase its sales volume up to 25% in the last year (www.amazon.co.uk, 2016). Additionally, the shipping integration has also enabled Flipkart increasing margins on the shipping cost by 12.5%. Eventually, the overall profit margin has been increased accordingly. Order fulfilment integration: Order fulfilment integration reduces the manual labour options from the firm, thereby enhances the operational efficacy (Chaffey, 2011). Statistical data show that Amazon has experienced reduced sales volume in the year 2009, due to the lack of adequate integration between the UPS and FedEx logistics services. Mass customer complaints generated and many customers switched over to the brands like Flipkart, eBay, etc. Hence, integration over the order fulfilment platform needs to be made so that the people and systems associated with shipping can be made fully coordinated, which in turn, could speed up the warehousing communication as well. Product inventory integration: Managing product diversity has become a crucial agenda of the present e-commerce organisations. At the same time, all product information needs to be integrated with the website information, so that customers could choose and place the order as per their requirement. Supporting to this fact, Barnes (2007) stated that Amazon has created a custom selling point option for serving global marketers in the online business process. This strategy has helped the Amazon synchronising product and inventory data to potentially synchronise with the website. The custom point of sale (POS) or the ERP system integration saves time and money by reducing the administration time employed by the workers. The database synchronisation helps to fetch data as and when required and ensures data accuracy as well. Malaga (2011) also indicated that expectation of the customers can also set in accordance with the price and product availability as well. Hence, the overall integration process could improve the efficacy of the e-commerce business, thereby improving the long term sustainability as well. Customer information and communication integration: The customer information and communication process improves the overall functionality for B2B e-commerce systems, by employing ERP framework. The custom requirement for B2B e-commerce employs ERP in all modules, which pushes the customers to visit the website frequently. This type of data consists of company name, specific account number, and email id for customers, zip code, contacts, pricing discounts and shipping address. Considering the fact, Mamaghani (2013) stated that Flipkart and Amazon has employed ERP modules, which has enabled the firm addressing all customer requirements within a lesser time span and the order fulfilment process has also become typically flexible as well. The customers accessibility in the login page through email address and outing items in the cart has increased the customer freedom within the website of Amazon. Only, the billing information needs to be provided by the customers. The ERP integration has made the order fulfilment process so flexible that all booking details are automatically updated and sends to the packaging and shipping department (www.wiley.com, 2016). Finally, the customers can look into the order placing details and the tentative delivery date by viewing the website of the e-commerce firm as well. All in all, it has been identified that the integrational thinking is of sophisticated level, which enhances operational flexibility for the company. Thus, the strategy formulation and development might become easier for the operating firm. Task 3: Evaluation and development of the ability for identifying the strategic issues and designing the appropriate course of action: The e-commerce activities by Amazon till date have been really experimental. However, several crucial issues have been emerged which can be recognised for the purpose of the promotion for future analysis. These strategic issues actually vary depending on the type of product and services, the e-commerce organisations sell online. According to Malaga (2011), the online selling pattern, approach to online selling, resource expansion and the online customer base are also the crucial parameters for the development of the strategic issues. The emerging issue in this regard is the pattern of the sales. The total sales level to date varies between Amazon and other e-commerce firms. The majority of the e-commerce partners experience the erratic sales pattern like extremely high in one month and drop in the next month. Such erratic sales pattern might attribute two factors. The major issue of this activity is not creating the revenue. However, Mallor et al. (2009) argued that the primary focus of the private-sector online selling organisations is to make profit. In this regard, the e-commerce firms put more stress on marketing the products for gaining competitive advantage in the marketplace. However, the major issue is that the e-commerce firms like Amazon might not be able to put enough capital for marketing the products in the marketplace. Without implementing the strategic marketing technique, the potential customers may not be able to know the products existence (Yang, 2011). So the customers will not buy the products online. Hence, the sales pattern of e-commerce firms depends on the customers online ad-hoc purchasing pattern. Thus the e-commerce firms are required to take the appropriate course of action for identifying the purchasing pattern of the online customers. On the other hand, the adequate resources can be put in developing the most effective marketing techniques and strategies for the product being offered. The way for gaining synthesis of knowledge from different business for underpinning competitive advantage: The impact of the internet on the marketing mix elements and the competitive forces are the crucial ways to gain the synthesis of knowledge to achieve the competitive advantage in the e-business strategies. The customers can easily collect the information through the internet regarding the products and services (Miller and Cross, 2012). As a consequence, the consumers rely on the product retailers and the suppliers for aiding in the search. As a result, the suppliers and retailers take total advantage of this situation and charges higher prices (Noyes and MacInnes, 2006). The consumers end up with paying more and also often dont receive the desired product. In case of the e-commerce market, the consumers can do the complete search regarding the product offerings. This is possible at no cost as made virtually. The e-commerce firms are forced to reduce the prices, as the customers can compare the prices easily and find the close substitutes e-commerce companies. Thus , the companies in the e-commerce can achieve the competitive advantage than the physical market. The innovation in the product lines and introducing the niche markets can generate the competitive advantage in the e-commerce players (www.marketwatch.com, 2016). By using the internet, the e-commerce companies can directly access the consumers preferences, needs and trust regarding the product and services. Considering the view of Stuart, Sarow and Stuart (2007), the e-commerce companies can also collect the information regarding the new innovative products through the small segments from the market. However, Park et al. (2011) argued that the customer-centric strategy can act best with the innovation or niche products. Through the creation of the products which meets the requirements of the consumers in the niche market, the e-commerce companies can easily command over the higher prices. Thus the product-centric strategy pushes the products directly to the consumers. Thus, the customer-centric strategy helps to pull the information from the customers for improving and customising the products. This approach is highly beneficial for the e-commerce organisation to build the competitive business advantage. Critical analysis of the strategic position and the interrelated functions of Production and Operation Management (POM) in the organizations: Strategic positioning of Amazon: The inventory turnover of Amazon has been sequentially increased to 9.15% in the year 2013, which has been identified remarkable strategic brand positioning in the global e-commerce business market. As per the financial data published by CSI Market, the inventory growth has been accounted for 11.23%, while the cost of sales growth has been identified 14.55% in the year 2015, 30th September (www.amazon.co.uk, 2016). However, the average inventory processing period has been found 40, which needs to be revised by Amazon. Analysing all the perspectives, it has been identified that Amazon has lost its strategic positioning, although in terms of inventory turnover ratio Amazon has been ranked number 1. Radford (2014) also indicated that the sector wise ranking has been acquired by Amazon is 8. On the other hand, the sales volume of the Amazon has been increased by 35% in the year 2014, which is also remarkable value in the e-commerce business portfolio. The recent mobile application of the Amazon has also increased customer purchase frequency by 48%, due to which the past losses met by Amazon has been replenished by the current revenues. Moreover, if Amazon could put inventory turnover ratio up to 51.16%, the firm can be termed as highest strategic positioning achiever in the global e-commerce market. Interrelated functions of production and operation management: The production management functions consist of selection of product design, production process, right production capacity and adequate production planning as well. Yang (2011) also indicated that the e-commerce chain has a significant relationship with the production management, as the right production planning helps to manage production control. It is a proven fact that Amazon has increased its quality and cost control by 31%, employing right inventory control and its optimum maintenance as well (csimarket.com/stocks, 2016). Out of all these elements, the most vital part is the production planning, as it helps to manage adequate routing, scheduling of the product to the global consumers. Depending on the planning, e-commerce firms such as Amazon, Flipkart, update the website information related to the availability of the product. On the other hand, the operation management functions are termed as ethically responsible management of an operating system, which helps firm to meet its strategic objectives. The inputs, processing and the outputs streamline the business competitiveness with the operational system. The strategic initiatives such as managing facility design, potential layout, sufficient material management, moreover the new logistic system unit operated by Amazon has increased the operational flexibility across all global regions. Additionally, Alshibly and Chiong (2015) mentioned that technological the operational management of Amazon has employed equal responsibility to all departmental managers following transformational process, so that modification of the services could satisfy all types of consumer needs. However, apart from the B2C system, the functionality of the operation management impacts on the B2B scenario also (allsupplychain.com, 2016). The operational functionality of the product manu facturers could improve the transaction frequency and the warehouse of the e-commerce firms could also be full of up to date products. Thus, the customer searching can also be fruitful due to the full packaging of differentiated products and the brand loyalty might get influenced. Hence, it can be found that production and operation management is interlinked with each other and one units performance improvement influences anothers efficiency also. Thus, the strategic brand positioning of the Amazon can be improved by employing all interrelated functions of the production and operation management system in the e-commerce industry. Impact of group work on individual: From the group work on the e-commerce business of Amazon, my knowledge has been enriched regarding the benefits of the web-based business strategy. The web-based business is more efficient and easy to generate revenue within little time. However, few strategic issues like logistics, digital infrastructure, payment gateway and the price sensitive customers are the factors which can create severe challenges for the e-commerce business. From the group assignment, I have gained knowledge about the relevant strategic models like Porters five force, SWOT analysis. Through these models the e-commerce companies can compete and take the crucial strategic decisions for sustaining in the business environment. From the group work, the strategic implementation challenges have also been recognised for the e-commerce strategy. The added cost of the retailers, the engrossing delivery cost are the major issues during applying the membership strategy in Amazon. As Amazon is not associated with the bog capital, hence Amazon Prime has also faced the free shipping delivery issue. Another challenge is the supplier or the manufacturers of amazon are capable enough to open own online business with own capacity. Hence, it is considered as the major challenge for the eimplementation of e-commerce strategy for this company. Conclusion: The overall study indicates that logistics issue, digital infrastructure and higher pricing are the basic strategic issues of Amazon. As the market competitiveness has increased rapidly, lack of convenience factors has reduced the sales growth of Amazon in a significant way. Hence, managing payment gateway integration and strategy formulation, the real time shipping integration, order fulfilment integration, etc. have been found as the core catalyst for improving the operational flexibility of Amazons operation. However, the improved customer communication has been identified as the result of managing integrated operations in the e-commerce industry. The strategic issue such as fluctuating sales volume has been identified the reason of customers changing purchase intention. It has been analysed that it is high time to Amazon for improving its operational pattern, so that more customers can be attracted towards the firm. This can be done by employing right integration between the prod uction and operation management process employed in the e-commerce business environment. References: Allsupplychain.com (2016).Oracle Supply Chain Software Competitors. [online] Available at: https://allsupplychain.com/oracle-supply-chain-competitors.php [Accessed 19 Feb. 2016]. Alshibly, H. and Chiong, R. (2015) Customer empowerment: Does it influence electronic government success? A citizen-centric perspective,Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 14(6), pp. 393404. Amazon.co.uk, (2016). Amazon.co.uk: Low Prices in Electronics, Books, Sports Equipment more. [online] Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2016]. Barnes, S. (2007)E-commerce and v-business: Digital enterprise in the twenty-first century. 2nd edn. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Chaffey, D. (2011)E-business and e-commerce management: Strategy, implementation and practice. 5th edn. Harlow, England: Pearson/Financial Times Prentice Hall. Csimarket.com, (2016). Amazon.com (AMZN) Inventory Turnover Ratio, from third quarter 2015 to third quarter 2014, current and historic results, rankings and more, Quarterly Fundamentals - CSIMarket. [online] Available at: https://csimarket.com/stocks/singleEfficiencyit.php?code=AMZN [Accessed 19 Feb. 2016]. Dietz, G. (2006) HRM inside UK e-commerce firms: Innovations in the new economy and continuities with the old,International Small Business Journal, 24(5), pp. 443470. Diniz, E., Birochi, R. and Pozzebon, M. (2012) Triggers and barriers to financial inclusion: The use of ICT-based branchless banking in an Amazon county,Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 11(5), pp. 484494. Kauffman, R.J. (2009) WITHDRAWN: Editorial guest editors introduction to special issue economics and electronic commerce,Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 12(9), pp.234-256. Ke, W. and Zhang, P. (2009) Motivations in open source software communities: The mediating role of effort intensity and goal commitment,International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 13(4), pp. 3966. Keskin, T. and Taskin, N. (2015) Strategic pricing of horizontally differentiated services with switching costs: A pricing model for cloud computing,International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 19(3), pp. 3453. Kim, S. H. (2006) Impact of mobile-commerce: Benefits, technological and strategic issues and implementation,Journal of Applied Sciences, 6(12), pp. 25232531. Malaga, R.A. (2011) Taxing e-commerce affiliates: The potential impact of New York States Amazon Tax,Journal of Applied Business Research (JABR), 25(4). Mallor, J.P., Barnes, A.J., Bowers, T.L., Barnes, J.A. and Langvardt, A.W. (2009)Business law: The ethical, global, and e-commerce environment. 14th edn. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education. Mamaghani, F. (2013) STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF E-COMMERCE: issues and challenges,International Journal of Business Research, 13(1), pp. 3138. Marketwatch.com, (2016). Amazon.com Inc.. [online] Available at: https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/amzn/financials [Accessed 19 Feb. 2016]. Miller, R.L. and Cross, F.B. (2012)The legal environment today: Business in its ethical, regulatory, e-commerce, and global setting. 7th edn. United States: South-Western College Publishing. Noyes, E. and MacInnes, I. (2006) Small business electronic commerce implementation: A case study,Journal of Internet Commerce, 5(1), pp. 122. Park, S., Zo, H., Ciganek, A.P. and Lim, G.G. (2011) Examining success factors in the adoption of digital object identifier systems,Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 10(6), pp. 626636. Radford, C. (2014) Challenges and solutions protecting data within Amazon web services,Network Security, 2014(6), pp. 58. Statista, (2016). Statista - The Statistics Portal. [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2016]. Stuart, B.E., Sarow, M.S. and Stuart, L.P. (2007)Integrated business communication: In a global marketplace. United Kingdom: Wiley, John Sons. Wiley.com, (2016). Wiley: Home. [online] Available at: https://www.wiley.com/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2016]. Yang, J.G.S. (2011) What is new Yorks Amazon tax on Internet commerce?,International Journal of E-Business Research, 7(4), pp. 5061.