An Evaluation of the Teacher Certification Process Research Paper

An Evaluation of the Teacher Certification Process - Research Paper Example In this paper, I will endeavor to discuss the traditional route for attaining a teaching certificate, and the alternative routes available to becoming a teacher. Certification, from the very essence of the word, pertains to the process wherein students receive a professional credit from their colleges or universities for completing all the requirements of their curriculum and for being a graduate of their program. Normally, students receive a professional certification through engaging in a four-year college or university degree, which is basically the same for the standard teacher certification route. In the standard route, also called traditional certification process, students have to take a four-year college or university bachelor’s degree (for instance education courses), complete all the requirements from different subjects, serve as a student teacher for a certain number of months under the guidance of a certified classroom teacher, and take the state mandated teaching certification test to obtain a teaching license (Steeley, 2010). The standard certification route requires students to complete a bachelor’s degree with a carefully planned coursework, which means that there are obligatory subjects that students have to take each year of their studies (Teachers Support, 2011). For example, during the first year of their studies students are required to take fundamental courses in English, science, math, and history, or sometimes categorized as the general education courses. In the second year, the students have to take major courses in education, or courses which are more centered on the subject of education, for instance theories in teaching, psychology of teaching, and others. Teaching methods will then be the focus of the students’ third and fourth years, and two of the most critical parts of these teaching methods are the teacher training program and the supervised student teaching. After the completion of all the bachelor degreeâ €™s requirements, the students are expected to take and pass the state mandated standard teaching certification examination. The traditional route for obtaining a teaching certificate is perceived to be most suitable for students who just graduated high school and are pursuing a college education in teaching (Watts, 2008). Since this type of teacher certification sets the highest requirements for teachers, this route is basically appropriate for those students who have the time and financial capabilities to support their studies. On the other hand, the alternative, or non-traditional, routes for obtaining a teacher certification is designed for those individuals who have not completed a four-year bachelor’s degree in education through a university or college but are interested in attaining a certificate in teaching. It might be that these individuals who are seeking for alternative route teaching certificate have already completed a bachelor’s or master’s de gree in a different field, or career changers (Teachers Support, 2011). Furthermore, the alternative routes to certification suit those people who lack the time and money to go through the traditional certification process. The various alternative routes for obtaining a teaching certificate have surfaced due to the alleged shortage of teachers (Steeley, 2010). Due to the highly competitive standards set

ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS Essay Example for Free

ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS Essay Inadequate skills is present if the problem is the employee’s lack of certain skills, a supervisor should see that the employee gets the necessary training. Talent management is the automated end-to-end process of planning, recruiting, developing, managing, and compensating employees throughout the organization. Lisa needs to set up a mentoring and coaching programs that will advises, counsels, and guides her current employees. Both coaching and mentoring skills are needed for appraising employees, but appraising and assessing refer to rating an employee. While employers have long managed their talent without computerized systems, talent management today is usually information technology–based. Several software providers offer specialized talent management suites. The suites include and integrate underlying talent management components such as e-recruiting, e-training, performance reviews, and rewards. For example, talent management software includes e-recruiting software, employee performance management, a learning management system, and compensation management. Among other things, this program relieves the stress of writing employee performance reviews by automating the task and ensures that all levels of the organization are aligned—all working for the same goals (Dessler, 2011).† Lisa and the CFO have sufficiently investigated whether training is really called for through the control process. A manager should continuously gather information about each employee’s performance. This is an ongoing activity, not something the supervisor saves to do when filling out appraisal forms. Ways to gather information include keeping regular performance records (such as a work team’s output or the customer calls handled by each employee), saving customer notes of complaint or praise, writing a summary whenever an employee is observed doing something exceptional, and encouraging employees to keep track of their accomplishments. This record keeping may seem time-consuming, but it is essential. Lisa and other supervisors need to make sure employees know and understand what is expected of them. To do this, they should make sure that objectives for the employees are clear, and he or she should communicate them effectively. Employees are most likely to  understand and be committed to objectives when they have a say in developing them. More and more firms now require that supervisors and employees together set mutually acceptable performance goals. Hospitality Skills/Training Guide for Valet Attendant Set your property apart from the competition with this excellent job-specific training program for valet attendants. This binder is divided into 6 tabbed sections: This guide provides the basis of a six-day training course for new employees and current employees. The Employee Knowledge tab includes: †¢Quality Guest Service †¢Bloodborne Pathogens †¢Personal Appearance †¢Emergency Situations †¢Lost and Found †¢Recycling Procedures †¢Safe Work Habits †¢Manager on Duty †¢Your Propertys Fact Sheet †¢Employee Policies †¢The Americans with Disabilities Act Employee Skill tab contains: †¢Follow the Propertys Valet Posting Positions †¢Maintain Clear Drive-up/Drop-off Area †¢Welcome Guests and Offer Assistance †¢Load and Transport Luggage Using Luggage Cart †¢Valet Park Guest Vehicles †¢Retrieve Vehicles That Have Been Valet Parked †¢Provide Storage for Guest Luggage †¢Assist With Luggage for Group Arrivals and Departures †¢Use the Guest Information Directory †¢Prepare Maps and Provide Directions †¢Arrange for Services Requested by Guests †¢Handle Guest Service Problems †¢Arrange for or hail Taxis for Guests †¢Arrange Limousine Services †¢Provide Courtesy Transportation †¢Report Vehicle Accidents †¢Clean the Drive-up, Entrance, Valet Stand, and Luggage Carts †¢Assist Guests at Check-out †¢Respond to Situations Requiring First Aid †¢Handle Cash Payment and Tips †¢Assist in Rooming Guests †¢Assist Guests During Room Changes The Hotel Paris’s competitive strategy is â€Å"To use superior guest service to differentiate the Hotel Paris properties, and to thereby increase the length of stay and return rate of guests, and thus boost revenues and profitability.† HR manager Lisa Cruz must now formulate functional policies and activities that support this competitive strategy by eliciting the required employee behaviors and competencies. References: Dessler, G. (2011). Human Resource Management. (13 Ed.).Upper Saddle River,NJ: Prentice Hall

Comparison of an Evil mastermind in Shakespeare’s Othello and MacDonald

Iago is one of the most renowned villains of pre-modern literature, as first introduced in Shakespeare’s Othello. His deceiving personality and complex nature is painted such that readers are amazed by his ingenious schemes. At the beginning of Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is represented as trustworthy and honest, but readers soon realize that he is the opposite of what he seems. Even though Iago’s personality and thoughts are revealed less in MacDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), he carries on the same immoral legacy as in Othello. Throughout the plays, he turns his friends against one another who look to him for guidance and support. Iago thirsts to upgrade this status in society which causes him to take advantage of peoples’ good-nature and even comes to an extreme of killing anyone who stands between him and his schemes. In Shakespeare’s Othello and McDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), Iago manipula tes and deceives both Othello and Desdemona by his language and personality, which leads to different results. The personalities of Othello and Desdemona have been portrayed differently throughout the two plays and are susceptible to the mind games of Iago. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello is a character with depth that has a genuine personality. He is seen as being too trustworthy and continuously tries to look for the good in people. Despite his honoured reputation in the state and status as a general, he is ridiculed by his society because of his dark completion. Othello recognizes himself as an outsider and at times is extremely self-conscientious. His quality to be judgmental towards himself and his reputation in the eyes of others makes him a target for Iago. Were I the Moor, I would not b... ...espeare’s Othello. The actions of Othello and Desdemona within the two plays are directed by Iago. He uses his reputation and finds flaws within the personality of others for his own benefit. Within Shakespeare’s Othello and MacDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), Iago misleads Othello and Desdemona which leads to two different outcomes. Works Cited MacDonald, Ann-Marie. Goodnight Desdemona (good Morning Juliet). New York: Grove, 1998. PrintShakespeare, William, and David M. Bevington. Othello. Toronto: Bantam, 1988. Print. Philip, McGuire C. "Othello as an "Assay of Reason"" Shakespeare Quarterly 24.2 (1973): 198-209. Print. Laura, Snyder. "Constance Ledbelly's Birthday: Construction of the Feminist Archetype of the Self in Ann-Marie MacDonald's Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)." Text & Presentation 2005 (2005): 43-55. Print.

Essay examples --

Whether you want to disseminate an issue, send invitations for an upcoming event, promote or support a good cause, connect with old friends, or even create a buzz about something for that matter, social networking sites are what people take to these days for any sort of such activity. The rising trend of this generation is that almost everything, personal or professional, is online. Forms like email and instant messaging are losing their significance in the lives of today's generation as the bulk of users engaged in social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus, and LinkedIn are increasing at an exponential rate. Although impossible to pick the best, the most prevalent today are Facebook and Twitter. They are both ruling social media today, but are different in terms of their versatility, privacy settings, and features such as groups and pages. Both Facebook and Twitter are extremely popular social networking services with a colossal user base. With Facebook touching a monthly user base of 1.23 billion in 2013, it has emerged as the most powerful social media of all time ("Facebook Userbase," 2014). Not so far behind is Twitter that has now evolved as one of the top most social messaging platforms with 232 million monthly active users (Edwards, 2013). Both are based on the central idea of connecting the world and are special in their own ways. They are both now available as mobile apps for Android, Apple, Windows Phone and BlackBerry users. However, there exist some features that make Facebook quite distinct from Twitter. To begin with, the former is quite evolved in terms of versatility compared to the latter. Every Facebooker can upload photos and videos, play popular games such as Fa... ...nuously as well. In fact, if the user base of Twitter grows at a faster rate and the developers add more new features to make it more versatile and user-friendly it may even prove to be a threat to Facebook. Nevertheless, it is paramount for both to stay in their zones and work on what they are best known and valued for in order to cater to the masses in the long run. References Facebook userbase touches 1.23 billion in 2013. (2014, January 30). The Economic Times. Retrieved from http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-01-30/news/46828393_1_ad-revenue-facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-facebook-coo-sheryl-sandberg Edwards, J. (2013, Nov 5). Twitter is surprisingly small compared to a bunch of other apps and online companies. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-user-base-compared-to-other-apps-and-online-companies-2013-11

BrownGirl Brownstones

The prose fiction Brown girl, brownstones by Paula Marshall, is a bloodcurdling with autobiographical elements, tracking the life and experiences of the main protagonist, Salina Boyce and the family and friends in her life. Marshall uses various elements and techniques in the prose, to bring about different themes, characteristics and aspects in her novel. The text is set mainly in the sass's Brooklyn, New York, at a community of brownstone houses occupied by the Baja immigrants.Though there are various perspectives of other personae in the prose, Marshall uses a third person reiterative to show the first person perspective of Salina. The story begins with Salina at ten years old and continues until she is no longer a minor. It shows the theme of identity as Salina is trying to find who she is amongst members in her family. â€Å"But they have taken no photographs†¦ † Was one of the first time Saline's loneliness can be seen in the text. She is Jealous of the fact her par ents took photographs of the family before the death of her infant brother, yet took no keepsakes of hers.Then it goes on to where Marshall is a very descriptive narrator, using a cinematic effect in her story ailing. The scenes shift continuously to suggest simultaneous action which produces a dramatic effect that helps to build conflict and suspense. She also uses devices and diction to bring about various themes and symbolic elements in her text. She uses the technique of epigraph to start each chapter, it is a type of foreshadowing, hinting of what will happen throughout the chapter. It also helps to characterize individuals in the story.Contrast is also a reoccurring technique in the text, as characters such as Sills and Tighten, Nina and Salina, have contradictory personalities. There is also introduction in the symbols and diction in the text. Words such as ‘winter' and ‘Sun', ‘darkness' and ‘light', are contradictory symbols referring to the character istics of individuals such as Saline's parents in the text. The writer involves the use of the Baja dialect as well as English, as if trying to incorporate the reader in the culture of Barbados and also add credibility and realism to the story.It suggests pride in the Baja culture. The author uses various figurative devices in the text. There is a heavy focus on the use of personification and architectural imagery. Symbolism is evident n the prose; using colors such as red to represent romance and sexual relationships; and white, and brownstones to represent upward mobility, status and unattainable goals. Land in the text is also symbolic of independence and opportunity. The use of conflict, such as; mother-daughter, husband-wife, black-white, is brought out by the symbols and conflicting elements in the prose.It shows the destruction in relationships, and accentuates climatic moments, such as when Tighten, used the money Sills stole from him, or when Silent told the whole Baja asso ciation, she'd tricked them. Marshall uses devices such as; imagery, epigraph, motif, reasoning, pathetic fallacy and biblical allusion, to show racism, identity, women in society, family, deceit, and various other themes in the prose fiction. The denouement, begins with Silent recognizing who she is and making final decisions for herself.After all her trials and lost relationships, she finally covers her identity, accepting who she has become, the trials she is yet to face and the people in her past who has made her who she is today. Especially her mother, whom she had always fought against. Rational The life of Tighten Boyce, was the subject chosen for the poem between many view Tighten as a problem in the text Brown girl, brownstones, giving him no sympathy. The poem was intended to convey sympathy for Tighten.His life in the poem is specifically intriguing as though he causes many shifts in characteristics of others in the text, his own life is not emphasized. The poem will hope fully give an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the issues of Tighten death, and his life. Mocking Jay I saw a song bird fight a bird of prey, Beautiful-ugly, he was, filled with sorrow, was she. Night and day, He sang a tune of love and wonder, She sang back of vices and plunder, I tried to save that mocking Jay, But the night stole him away.Where are you my mocking Jay? Trapped in the tomb of brown stones? Your young are calling, where are you? Won't you fight the snow away? Don't you hear the light's moans? Has she trapped him too? No longer perched on your window sills They've clipped your wings You've destroyed their prison The flock screams their Baja banter Fly away home my mocking Jay Swim home my song bird But, mocking Jay's never dive†¦ I'll send a new light your way†¦ For you to see through winter's clock†¦ To save your flock†¦ To blind your eyes†¦And save you from the dark†¦ Shattered tunes of my broken song bird Remember your pra yers Eulogy. The sad broken memory. The life you ran away. Dead like marrow staining the asphalt. Staining corals a sea away. Songs long dead, I'll sing them to you. I'll pray your tarnished soul away. Tighten, my mocking Jay. Analysis The poem â€Å"mocking Jay†, is a kind of stanza elegy, in tribute to a character in the prose text â€Å"Brown girl, Brownstones†. The poet uses the mimicking bird, mocking Jay, to represent the character Tighten in the prose text.Not only do mocking Jays have a gift in music, which was one of the professional genres Tighten attempted, but hey repeat everything sung to them in a mocking manner. Tighten, like these birds, reflects a mocking version of the negatives surround him; from using the money his wife stole from him, to purchase frivolous gifts to spite her; to changing his course of study every time he is confronted with racism or barriers. Tighten also has the dream like (surreal), and fun loving attributes common to these birds .The poem comprises of four sestets, a couplet a single line and a septet. The stanza formation, is quite symbolic. The first stanza is the first of the four sestets. At the end of each sentence in this sestets is a comma. This represents the fact that this relatively pleasant chapter in his life is not yet complete, it won't end in a ‘happy ever after'. It is as if to say that the beginning of their relationship was an unfinished dream. The second sestets ends in a question within, as if questioning the relationship, not understanding the change in the relationship and in Sills.The third sestets ends without punctuation is representative to all the times Tighten and the audience were waiting to see Sill's response to sightings behavior. The final sestets concludes with â€Å"structured-chaotic† punctuation, of when Sill's revenge unfolds it was chaotic n the circumstances of deportation, but structured in that it was her plan all along. Combining with the lack of punct uation, the couplet of stanza five signifies his never ending pain. It symbolizes that, as the lack of punctuation prevents the sentence from truly being complete, his pain and suffering will not end even in the afterlife.The single line consists of one word â€Å"Eulogy†, this refers to the speech given at a funeral or a recollection of the past doings of an individual after he is dead. This word being the shortest stanza, represents the lack of quality and memorabilia Tighten has left behind with his children. The final stanza a sestets can be tied to the biblical representation of the day God rested. The number seven represents the change that occurs after an accomplished cycle. Tighten, accomplices all he could so the last stanza represents his death the final rest he accomplished after his life cycle.The poem has a steady rhythms. Though not all stanzas have a structured rhyme scheme, the poem still flows as if it does. It is like the steady yet unusual flow of life, Jus t as the poem is a depiction of Digestion's life as was represented in the rose fiction. The first stanza contains a set of rhyming couplets, repeating the first rhyme in the last stanza (an â€Å"a, a b, b a, a† format). The last rhyme however is a forced rhyme, this is there to show that leaving the omnipresence was not something the Jay wanted, but was what was forced on him.The second stanza consists of alternate rhymes that emphasize the questioning in this stanza, that he is running alternate scenarios in his mind as to why the wife who used to love him hates him so much now. The fourth sestets has the last rhyme, â€Å"clock† and â€Å"flock†. This symbolizes hat the time he has left with his children is limited as his death is nearing. The rest of the poem is rhyming going parallel to the pores fiction as explanations are revealed in the story, the confusion and rhyming stops.The poem commences with the omnipresent narrator giving a visual imagery of the meeting between two contradicting birds. The â€Å"song bird† represents something happy, passive and peaceful, while â€Å"bird of prey† represents something sly, dominating and warlike. The story continues with oxymoron inverted syntaxes of line two, that helps to emphasize that the creatures have contradicting personae and that their union could ever last as it was based on confusion. Just as in the prose fiction, Sills thought she could turn Tighten into someone he wasn't, and failed.The diction used in the first stanza such as; â€Å"vices†, â€Å"Jay† and â€Å"Night†, aid in displaying the theme of conflict in relationships. ‘Vic's' is the Latin word for change, in reference to the context it highlights Sill's need to change her husband's persona and fight to create a life for them that he never wanted. The capitalization dif words such as Jay and Night, personify these nonhuman objects, in the case of the Jay it helps to emphasize th is Ewing a character trait of Tighten, while the Night highlights Sill's character as bright cold and heartless, but at that time seeming beautiful and peaceful.Lines three and four of the first stanza also help to concretion the theme of contradictory persons in relationships, displayed in the first stanza. Stanza two is a rhetorical question sestets, it constantly asks questions the Jay' is obviously unable to answer, and these are symbolic of the time where the relationship between Sills and Tighten was confusing. He didn't know where she stood, whether still in love with IM or hating h for the injustice she believes he did to their son, the first line emphasizes this.It follows with a reference to the brownstone house Sills spent a majority of the text fighting to obtain. The use of diction such as â€Å"prison†, â€Å"brown†, and â€Å"stones† was a slight pun as a Jay would find a house made of stones a prison, and Juxtaposed with the text, it can be said that Tighten saw the house his wife fought so much for was like a prison to him, and a symbol of his failures in his relationships and providing for his family. Line two is the first and only mention of their children in the poem.This is symbolic as it shows that not only did Tighten not spend enough time with them and focused more on himself, but he also failed as a father in that he couldn't protect them from the â€Å"snow† which is a personified symbolism of his wife. The personification of the ‘light', at the end of the stanza references all the happiness and innocence still in the family. When the persona asks about the moaning light that ‘she' has trapped it means that he was unable to prevent the happiness and life from leaving their family, this aids in uncovering the themes of failing one's family and loosing things that are important.The third stanza has the most textual allusions, the stanza opens with a pun, â€Å"window sills†. As a bird a sil l is somewhere you can rest, be at peace like a home, in this means Tighten no longer feels at home in the browns stones. Sills is also the name of his wife so it can mean that he is also no longer feeling happy in his marriage, as shown in the text queen he began going you the house form his mistress in the nights. â€Å"They've clipped your wings† line two of the stanza refers to when he almost got his arm amputated due to his indolence.This is symbolic as it is a physical representative ND slight foreshadowing of how his time was ending. The next line refers to the song they sang to him at the wedding. The ‘f†, ‘s', ‘the' and ‘b' fricative and plosive so funds of the fourth line in the third stanza, emphasizes the running and the drama happening in that scene of the text. The ‘swim home' in the last line of that stanza references the Caribbean since Islands in the Caribbean are surrounded by water. The last sestets refers to the last act ions before Digestion's death.It starts with a pun, on Digestion's childhood, as he dived for the coins white men through at him, and also an allusion to him diving to his death. The ‘new light' is symbolic for Digestion's religious period, where the movement of the new light helped him to finally discover himself, though completely swiping his personality. Winter's clock' is symbolic for Digestion's attempts at going back in time to rectify the problems mainly caused by his relationship with his wife.The couplet, single line and septet, is after his death. People have pained cries due to morning Digestion's death. The mansion of Prayers refer to his newfound beliefs and Eulogy is the speech given at a funeral. The final stanza is technically the omnipresence's eulogy for Tighten, though it shows that he s not someone people will remember with respect. It speaks of how he could have had a life if he'd made different choices. It gives an image of his death at sea, and its conne ction to his past in the Caribbean.It then shows the general sadness surrounding his death, and accentuates the theme of death in the text. The poem changes from a tone of observation, to unease, to sadness. Hopefully bringing out an overall sympathy for the persona. Though it is not a total rhyming poem, it still has a flowing rhythms that showcases the life cycle of Tighten, as shown in the text. Conclusion The text Brown girl, brownstones, is an excellent depiction of women and men in immigrant communities.Most persons generally sympathize with the women of these communities, however this poem has hopefully garnered a positive response to men in these communities, and those shown in the text. This may help persons to recognize that women were not the only ones with problems in the text. The blame for these conflicts also, should not be solely the fault of males like Tighten, in the prose, but equally shared between each individual, and characters in the prose fiction.

Green Mile essays

Green Mile essays The Green Mile is based on a 5 part series of the same name from author Stephen King. This is the second collaboration between Darabont and King, the first being the highly popular The Shawshank Redemption (1994). The Green Mile was nominated for 4 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Michael Clarke Duncan), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound, but like the Shawshank Redemption before it, it failed to pick up anything. The Green Mile is an epic, running over three hours, and a powerfully-told story that lays bare the triumphs and tragedies of the human condition. And though the film's intensity occasionally falls from its wandering narrative, The Green Mile remains riveting nonetheless, touching on themes of redemption and justice, while illustrating how, for evil to sustain itself, that it only requires good men to do nothing. It spends the majority of the first hour introducing us to the characters and to who and what they are. The film opens in a nursing home, with a man called Paul Edgecomb, telling his story of his days as head guard at Coal Mountain Louisiana State Penitentiary during the Depression. The young Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) is a righteous man who treats the inmates with the utmost respect and dignity, and instills his sense of right-and-wrong into the men that work under him, including his best friend Brutus 'Brutal' Howell (David Morse), rookie Dean Stanton (Barry Pepper), and veteran Harry Terwilleger (Jeffrey DeMunn). Together, they are in charge of E-block (which is also referred to as 'the Green Mile' for its lime-colored floors), which houses the prison's death row inmates. We discover 4 new characters brought into the story who are a representation of good and evil: new guard Percy Whitmore, a sniveling, sadistic man who because of his connections cannot be touched; the new prison er John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), an imposing giant of a man, who we discover has been sentenced to...

Proposal. Impact of Recession on Buying Behaviour of Ethical Consumers The WritePass Journal

Proposal. Impact of Recession on Buying Behaviour of Ethical Consumers Introduction Proposal. Impact of Recession on Buying Behaviour of Ethical Consumers Introduction1. Proposed Working Title3. Research Aims4. Research Questions / ObjectivesThe primary objective of this research is to evaluate the impact of the economic downturn on the purchasing behaviour of ethical consumers. Other key objectives include –6. Methodology7. Project ScheduleBIBLIOGRAPHYRelated Introduction 1. Proposed Working Title Impact of the Recession on the Buying Behaviour of Ethical Consumers in the UK food industry 2. Research Background According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, an economy is said to be in a recession when there is a decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two successive quarters. The recent economic downturn which commenced in 2007 has hit UK in a huge way. The recent recession is described as the worst recession to have hit the country since the Second World War, with GDP declining up to 3.8% in 2009 and unemployment having risen to its highest point in sixteen years. The credit crunch has undoubtedly has had a significant impact on consumer trends and behaviour. With many households facing unemployment, there has been a major cut back in consumer spending. The areas where consumers were found to cut back on spending are personal durables (e.g. clothing), indulgences (e.g. premium coffee), household durables (.g. electronics) and services (e.g. salon treatment). Alongside alterations have also been found in consumer preferences and purchase behaviour. Numerous studies have found that consumer behaviour during the recession is characterised by an increased sensitivity to price, marking a shift to lower cost products. Studies have also found that there is an increased focus on quality during the recession period, implying that consumers are increasingly looking for products that are of good quality, yet affordable. With retailers facing increasing cost of production during the economic downturn, to make a profit it is necessary for retailer to push the increase in prices to customers. This may prove to be an even greater challenge for ethical goods producers. In line, Carrigan et al state that it is all very well asking people to spend a little more to save the planet while everyone is rolling in and times are good, but once things turn sour and people start tightening their belts then things may be a little different. The credit crunch is bound to pose the biggest challenges ever for ethical consumerism. In this context, it is high ly relevant to study the impact of the recession on ethical consumer behaviour. This research will focus on evaluating the impact of recession on ethical consumer behaviour in the food sector. Specifically, the study will focus on ethical retailers in the food industry in the UK. Gaining a good understanding of how consumers are responding to the prolonged economic downturn in regard to ethical purchase behaviour is crucial in leading both ethical and non ethical companies in making changes to their fundamental business model in order to ensure success. Although there are signs that the economy is improving, which might question the relevance of this research, it is important to note that changes in consumer behaviour caused by a recession are likely to remain for a long period. So whilst economists may signal that the recession has ended and recovery has begun, consumers are unlikely to reflect this in their buying behaviour immediately. 3. Research Aims The aim of this research is to evaluate the impact of the recent recession on the buying behaviour of ethical consumers. 4. Research Questions / Objectives The most important question that this research proposes is: How does the economic downturn impact ethical consumer behaviour? This question in turn provokes us to find answers to other significant questions such as: What challenges does the recent recession present to consumers wishing to consume sustainably and ethically? Does price factor outweigh ethical values during the recession? What challenges does the recent recession present to marketers in the food industry to produce sustainable and ethical goods? The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the impact of the economic downturn on the purchasing behaviour of ethical consumers. Other key objectives include – 1. To evaluate the impact of the economic downturn on marketers of ethical goods 2. To explore ways in which ethical retailers can engage consumers with social responsibility attitudes and retain their loyalty during and after the recession 5. Literature Review The Ethical Consumer Researcher Association (ECRA) describe ethical consumerism in its truest sense as purchasing goods or services which do not harmful to the environment and society, and are made without harming the environment or exploiting workers. Consumers can express their ethical values and feelings of responsibility towards society by either buying products for their positive ethical qualities (e.g. free trade, organic etc) or by boycotting products for their perceived unethical characteristics (e.g. products produced using child labour). Ethical consumerism has been a growing trend globally and particularly in the UK. Cooperative Bank 2009 Ethical Consumerism Report revealed that the total sales of ethical products in the UK has grown almost threefold in the past ten years. The ethical market in the UK was worth 13.5 billion pounds in 1999 and in 2008 was estimated to be worth 36 billion pounds. The growth in ethical consumerism during the last decade has been in the 2005 – 2007 periods and primarily in the food and finance sectors. The report further highlights that there is a significant rise in Britons holding socially responsible attitudes and this growth has not been affected by the recession. However, Carrigan et al caution that this picture is not very encouraging as firstly reality is far from how it is pictured, describing it as the 30:3 syndrome. According to Carrigan et al, while a third of consumers admit to care about companies social responsibility and sustainability initiatives, it is important to note that ethical goods rarely achieve more than 3 per cent of the market share. Carrigan et al note that even though the idea of ethical consumerism is better understood by customers today and they hold more socially responsible attitudes, it does not necessarily mean that these attitudes are translated into ethical purchases. The findings of some researches suggest that except among a minority of consumers, ethical values and principles hold third stand in purchase decisions, with factors such as price and quality holding the greatest priority. The cause for this substantial gap in between consumer attitude towards ethical purchases and actual purchase of ethical products is that consumers consider several product attributes jointly when making a purchase decision, such as, price, quality, attitude and brand knowledge. When evaluating an ethical product, consumers are influenced by several relevant product and marketing attributes. These can be divided into three categories. Fi rstly, consumers are faced to choose between different types of ethical claims. Second, their purchase decision will depend upon the credibility of the brand and third marketing efforts and advertisements will influence consumer purchase decision. Thus clearly ethical consumer behaviour like all other attributes of consumer behaviour is exposed to the risks of recession and can be highly unpredictable. Although the Ethical Consumerism Report highlights a consistent growth in the ethical market in the last ten years, it is forecasted that the value of the ethical sector would slow down until 2012 owing to the sluggish economy with price being the most important factor influencing consumer purchase decisions. The ethical market is expected to pick up again in 2012 as the economy becomes more favourable. With some surveys revealing that in the context of the recession, consumer ethical behaviours are being limited by cost as people are less likely to pay a premium price for goods produced ethically, some other survey findings reveal that consumers are willing to pay more for ethically produced goods and services during the recession period. A major limitation of these studies is that they have not focused on any one particular se ctor. 6. Methodology The proposed research is guided by the philosophy of positivism. According to logical positivism the world simply consists of observable empirical regularities and science should restrict itself to describing these in the form of objectives, falsifiable propositions. The nature of the proposed research is exploratory in order to develop deep insights and ideas about the underlying nature of the research topic and in turn generate a hypothesis. The exploratory research will begin with a study of the reported findings of other researchers. This process is called literature review. For conducting the literature review, Hart six step process will be employed. The six steps for conducting the literature review are Begin general reading to define the topic Establish the scope of the research topic and locate major themes Establish objectives for the literature search Plan the structure of the literature search, including codes and cross referencing Plan sources to be read Begin reading of selected sources In addition to helping gain deep insights into the research topic, the literature review is also used for evaluating the research methods selected for the recent research. The main sources of the literature review will be core marketing textbooks and professional journals from online databases such as Emerald and JSTOR. Stemming from the deductive nature of positivist researches, both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection will be used. Specifically, semi structured face to face interviews will be used for gathering data from key respondents of the selected ethical retail firms in the food industry; and survey questionnaire will be used for gathering data from consumers. Interviewing is selected for gathering data from the ethical retail firms as it stands out as the best method for gathering rich and holistic information quickly from a relatively small sample[12]. A list of topics to be covered will be prepared to help ensure that important points are not overlooked and that the interview follows a logical progression. Survey method is the technique of gathering data by asking questions from people who are thought to have the desired information. Survey method is chosen for gathering data from customers because compared to other primary data collection techniques, questionnaires he lp gather data from a large sample with lesser cost and time. In addition, questionnaires also provide participants the chance to submit thoughtful responses, since they have time to look up information and reflect before responding, plus there is a high contact rate. Questions will be crafted carefully so that it will stimulate unambiguous answers from the respondents. The questionnaires will be administered directly to consumers. 7. Project Schedule Research Gantt Chart (Week commencing 11 July 2010) BIBLIOGRAPHY    Bhattacharyya, D.K., 2003. Research Methodology. New Delhi: Excel Books.   Carrigan, M. and Pelsmacker, P., 2009. Will ethical consumers sustain their values in the global credit crunch? International Marketing Review, Vol 26, Issue 6, pp. 674 – 687 Carrigan, M., Marinova, S., Szmigin, I., 2005. Ethics and international marketing. International Marketing Review, Vol 22, No 5.   Harrison, R., Newholm, T. and Shaw, D., 2005. The ethical consumer. Sage Publications. Interbrand, 2009. Consumer spending in a recession. Available online: www.interbrand.com [accessed on 21 May 2010   Keinert, C., 2008. Corporate social responsibility as an international strategy. Springer.   Gill, J. and Johnson, P., 2002. Research Methods for Managers. 3rd ed. London: SAGE publications.   Patton, M.Q., 2002. Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. 3rd ed. USA: SAGE publications   Varey, R.J., 2002. Marketing communication: principles and practice. Routledge.   UK Cooperative Bank, 2009. Ethical Consumer Report 2009. Available online: www.ethicalconsumer.org [accessed on 21 May 2010