Comprehensive Proposal for the Development of an Early Childhood Education Program Essay

Do you realize how important the first few years of your child’s life are? We at Lighthouse Learning Academy understand how important these years are. The early years are when the foundation for your child’s life is being implemented. That is why at Lighthouse Learning Academy we provide programs from ages 6 weeks through 12 years old. Our Early Care program services infants from 6 weeks through 24 months. This program is designed to make sure that each child’s physical and developmental needs are met. Daily schedules are adjusted to meet each child’s sleeping and eating patterns. At the appropriate time, toddlers are introduced to different concepts and skills that will help them as they prepare to move to the next program. Our Preschool program serves children from the age of 2 through 5 years of age. Each age group will be divided into classrooms. Once the child is 4 years of age (by September 1st), he/she will enter our stated funded Pre-K program. Each class will use a theme based curriculum designed to introduce concepts and skills based on each child’s age and development. Daily schedules will be designed with a balance of teacher-directed and child-directed activities. Lighthouse Learning Academy understands that we serve a community that works various and long hours. We gladly provide before and after school care for families that require assistance. During the after school program we provide various activities and projects to enhance life skills as well as, an established time for children to do homework and tutoring is also available if your child needs help. Transportation services are available to and from local elementary schools. Lighthouse Learning Academy hopes to make getting to and from work less strenuous for working parents by providing the operating hours of 5:30 am to 6:30 pm. Being that we set out to service our community, the vision of Lighthouse Learning Academy is to make it possible for all children, youth, and families to reach their potential in a safe, nurturing, and affordable environment. Our mission at Lighthouse Learning Academy is to afford children with the premier quality early care and education, to serve as an accommodating system and source for families, strengthening the communities that we serve, and to work interchangeable with other networks and services to make certain that high quality preschool education remains safe and affordable for all families. We believe that from infancy, and through the school years, we are helping to chart a successful outcome for our children. We work with parents from pregnancy to make sure that their children are placed in a compassionate, encouraging, and nurturing environment. We offer a curriculum that focuses on all of the developmental domains, and an age specific method that helps children move forward from one milestone to the next in a way that has been confirmed to establish a strong basis for lifelong learning. We believe that there is a vital link between these values and the ongoing commitment of our staff. Therefore, our staff is encouraged and supported as they further their educational understanding of early childhood education. Lighthouse Learning Academy staff members serve as coaches and mentors to each other; enabling them to share ideas, experiences, and up to the minute knowledge of new research, policies and best practices. In addition, we provide on going skill set training for staff through meetings, newsletters, and state specified trainings. We do our best to provide parents with resources pertaining to high quality health and dental care, as well as nutrition, cognitively stimulating home environments, access to services, strong social connections, and safety precautions for children. New parents, or parents that are new to our neighborhoods, can rely on us for information and support during life’s transitions. Lighthouse Learning Academy is one of the strongest advocates for children and families in the area that we serve. We are aware of the responsibilities that we have to our families and children to be a voice for affordable, high quality preschool services. We take pride in working with local support agencies, legislatures, and school systems to provide safe, strong, and constant services for children from birth through the school years. We take pride in our parents, our staff, and the valuable chance that we have to be a part of your child’s development. The influence that we can have as partners for children is beyond measure. At Lighthouse Learning Academy we think that all children have a right to respect, in spite of their skill levels. We provide an environment that is safe yet thought-provoking, and a curriculum that challenges them through creativity and learning through play. Consequently, our program supports the following philosophy about children and their growth: 1. Each child has a unique learning style, learns at a different pace, by different methods and at different ages of maturation. 2. A positive attitude develops in children, who can fulfill their goals, complete tasks on their own, and work with others and receive positive feelings from others. 3. Children learn self-discipline through understanding, commitment, and reinforcement. 4. Children gain their independence by being allowed to do things for themselves as they are capable of, but keeping in mind new skills. In a safe, caring, respectful environment, children have the greatest chance to grow and develop. Such a setting should be the basis of all childcare programs. We, as educators, should do our best to create an environment that is rewarding, inspiring and supporting of all possible learning and growing opportunities. An encouraging learning environment is provided through a well design physical environment, the instructional materials, equipment, relationships established between everyone, and daily routines. It is in this environment that each child’s growth takes place. The basis for creating learning environments that promotes growth comes from the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC’s) philosophy of child development and learning that contains developmentally appropriate practice. A developmentally appropriate learning environment: (1) Provides learning centers that encourage mixing of multiple content areas, the library should contain a variety of books such as big books, picture books, books with words for teacher to read, books covering a wide range of topics, headsets with audiotapes; in blocks there will be large unit blocks, hollow blocks, different types of vehicles, pencil, paper and books related to construction. (2) Provides both active and quiet activities, the library should be an area for children wanting to read alone or quietly listen to a book read by the teacher or enjoy music through head sets; while the block area promotes lots of movement to complete projects. (3) Provides materials that encourage awareness and knowledge of diversity through books about different cultures, as well as dolls of different races, and musical instruments from a variety of cultures. (4) Ensures that children have easy access to materials. (5) Makes sure that there are plenty of materials available. (6) Offers children the chances for isolated and group play in view of an adult. (7) Makes sure that there is adequate space for individual, small- and large-group experiences, both inside and outside. (8) Displays classroom materials and children’s art at children’s eye level. (9) Promotes literacy in the environment through a variety of sources for print and audio. The infant room through the 4 year old room will be comprised of teachers that are highly qualified. This program employs qualified persons who are 18 years of age or older, who have been taught in Early Childhood Education, and who show the personal characteristics for working with children†¦. Employees working with school-age children have been trained in early childhood, child development, or a related field. The amount of schooling will vary depending on the level of responsibility of the position. Employees of a large group of children should have at least a CDA or an associate degree in Early Childhood Education. The Pre-K classrooms will have a Lead Teacher and an Assistant Teacher. The Lead Teacher will be required to possess a two- or four-year degree in the early childhood field. All assistant teachers must possess at least a CDA. Teaching is full of many responsibilities, roles, and challenges. As an early childhood educator, you will be required to wear many hats. As a teacher, you should be prepared to be flexible. It is important to remember that your job description may change if you are needed in other areas to fill in. Early childhood teachers assist learning by providing activities and materials that children find appealing. By supplying a developmentally appropriate environment, interesting materials, and time to explore, and play, children find learning easy and fun! Teachers have to communicate with many people throughout the day, ranging from parents to administrators, as well as the children. Early childhood teachers must be ready to communicate with all of these people. You should feel at ease opening up, asking questions, and sharing your experiences. Paperwork, lesson planning, preparing materials and the environment, require teachers to have strong management skills. Managing a classroom requires organizational skills, and commitment. There are many balloons floating in the air and it is your task to keep them up! Discipline is the guidance, encouragement, and support that adults use to influence children. Appropriate discipline helps children learn how to interact and develop self-control. The staff at Lighthouse Learning Academy understands these concepts and uses the following discipline strategies: First and most importantly, the staff creates a positive and safe environment in which all competencies can be fostered and where there is little opportunity for misbehavior. Secondly, teachers always model appropriate behavior, both verbal and non-verbal, including body language. Teachers set limits, which reflect realistic expectations for the age and development of each child. When there is conflict between children, teachers will utilize Dan Gartrell’s Five Finger Formula. The five finger formula involves five steps. The first step is to cool everyone down. No one can negotiate when they are upset. The second step involves having everyone involved to agree what the conflict is about. Thirdly, you would want to involve everyone in coming up with possible solutions to the problem. Fourth, you would want every to agree on the solution. And finally, you must try out the solution that everyone agreed upon. This technique teaches children how to solve problems on their own. If these strategies are not successful, a child may be removed from the group and guided to a quite area with an independent activity. If your child continues to have problems, we will contact you. We will do our best to work with you to correct the behavior issues. If there is still no change in the behavior, a short suspension may be used at the judgment of the director. If a child is not adapting or benefiting from our program, we reserve the right to disenroll the child from the program, also at the discretion of the programs director. Communication between the parent and the caregiver is important to having a successful child care arrangement. After an adjustment period, your child should be able to make the move from home to child care fairly easily. The staff will be providing support to you by discussing your child’s progress and will recognize the parent as the primary caregiver. A tour of the center is a vital part of the orientation process. It is at this time when you will meet the staff members that will be responsible for educating your child as well as view the classroom environment. We suggest that you bring your child along so that, he/she can become familiar with the teacher and the classroom. A tour can be arranged at anytime, just call to set up a scheduled time or just drop in. Our staff welcomes you with open arms. Lighthouse Learning Academy will distribute monthly newsletters so that you will be aware of what is happening with our program. The newsletter will inform you of the themes that will be introduced to your child each month. It will also detail ways in which you can assist the program, as well as upcoming events. Teachers may opt to send home either weekly or a monthly newsletter, keeping you aware of the happenings in the classroom. Through newsletters we are able to keep you updated of the programs effort to make sure that your child’s light shines. Assessment is the method of collecting data about children in order to determine where they are developmentally and to make decisions about their education. Teachers obtain useful data about children’s skills, and progress by observing, documenting, and reviewing children’s work over time. Ongoing assessment that happens in the context of classroom activities can provide an accurate and fair picture of the children’s abilities and progress. The purposes for assessment in programs for young children are: instructional planning and communicating with parents. This helps to determine, what are the child’s strengths, needs, and learning processes, as well as how is this child doing, and how will this child’s instruction and guidance be planned? Another purpose is identification of children with special needs. This allows for assessing whether the child’s needs can be met in the program and if not, how does this program need to be adapted, or what program is required? The third purpose is program evaluation and accountability. This assessment allows for assessing whether the program, as now implemented, is meeting its goals and objectives? One of the assessment techniques that we use is the student portfolio. The portfolio is a system for the collection of the child’s work. Work samples are products of children’s work that mirrors situations in the learning environment, rather than manufactured instructional situations. The collection of work samples along with the recorded observations of children’s interactions and comments shows the child’s progress over time and in a variety of settings. The key to the use of information collected through this approach is the teacher’s knowledge of child development and skill as an observer. Parent conferences will provide you with the opportunity to discuss and learn about your child’s portfolio and how it is used in assessing your child’s development. Observations will also be used as an assessment tool. Observations can be an assessment tool used while a child is playing usually in his/her natural environment. The observer is able to see the interactions between the children as well as noting speech and language, and motor skills. Lighthouse Learning Academy wants to make sure that your child will receive the individualized attention that they deserve, so we have established groupings of children for care which comply with the following staff ratios for every age group. For infants to one and a half year olds, the teacher-child ratio will be 3 to 6 infants for 1 teacher. There is a maximum of twelve infants in one room. If there are more than six infants, another teacher will be placed in the classroom. For one year olds that are walking, the ratio will be 1 teacher to 8 children, with a limit not to exceed sixteen children. For two year olds, the ratio will be 1 teacher to every ten toddlers, with no more than twenty in the classroom. For the three year old classroom, the ratio will be 1 teacher for every 15 children, with no more than thirty. And in the four year old room as well as the pre-k program, the ratio is 1 teacher to eighteen children. In the pre-k program there are always two teachers. Children may be mixed in age groups only during early morning arrivals and late afternoon times of departure. When mixing age groups, you must go by the staff: child ratio and group size based upon the age of the youngest child in the group. During rest time the staff: child ratio may be doubled the number of children as long as there is one staff member in the classroom. Lighthouse Learning Academy prides itself on providing a safe learning environment for your child. But we know that accidents and injuries will occur. If an accident occurs at our center, we will follow the following guidelines depending on the severity of the injury. First and foremost, our staff and teachers are trained to apply first aid to minor injuries such as cuts, scrapes, and bruises. The director will report to you at the end of the day or during the day based on the nature of the injury. If your child is seriously injured and it requires medical attention, you will be notified immediately and emergency personnel will be contacted. In cases where you child has to be taken to the emergency room, we require you to sign an authorization form so that we may act during your absence. This form is provided in your enrollment package. References Decker, C. A. , Decker, J. R. , Freeman, N. K. , & Knopf, H. T. (2009). Planning and administering early childhood programs (9th ed. ). Columbus: Pearson. Gartrell, Dan. Guidance Matters. March 2006, retrieved on October 16, 2010 from http://www. naeyc. org/files/yc/file/200603/GuidanceBTJ. pdf.

Ladylikeness empowering or demeaning

Ladyfingers can be empowering or demeaning depending on the woman and the circumstance. Ladyfingers can be empowering for women by helping them be more gentle and fruitful in everyday life. Ladyfingers can cause a woman who is more of the calm type to be demeaned, disrespected and dismissed. Women become more aggressive and assertive because they don't want to be treated unfairly and women taken serious. Most women who are successful and acknowledged in society today display strength.A definition of â€Å"ladyfingers† is â€Å"lacking in strength, force, or virility'. Ladyfingers for a â€Å"Woman M† who is rough, destructive, vulgar and violent would be empowering. She will be empowered by being more gentle and fruitful in everyday life. For example, this woman being more nurturing toward her children and taking time to listen and understand before acting on impulse. Ladyfingers for a â€Å"Woman N† who is meek, gentle, weak and pleasant would not be demeaning until she tries to stand up for a belief or position.Woman N will be demeaned by being discouraged and falling short of her position. The more timid she is the easier it is for people to shun her and her ideas. The more she is shot down people will look at her less seriously. The more people see how weak she is they will be comfortable with dismissing her. A definition of â€Å"demean† Is â€Å"to lower character, status, or reputation†. There are many things that can lower character, status, or reputation. For example, a loss of wages, a loss of respect, a loss of a position, etc.Ladyfingers should not demean a woman. I am assuming the word â€Å"lady' In the word â€Å"ladyfingers† Implies that ladyfingers Is safe for women. Therefore, a woman being ladylike should not be lowered in character, status or reputation. If a lady can be ladylike without negative percussion, then who can? The definition of â€Å"ladyfingers† Implies that being feminine and r esilient cannot co-exalts together In one woman. The main reason ladyfingers raises a concern for women Is because women don't want to be treated unfairly and women want to be heard.The women In society today who are successful In their craft are assertive and aggressive. Women who are aggressive and assertive may be Intimidating but they are the women who made It out of the shadows and Into a spotlight. All women need strength to be Independent and sufficient at what Is required of them In their dally lives Ladyfingers can be empowering or demeaning depending on the woman and the circumstance. Ladyfingers raises concern for women. Therefore, ladyfingers raises a concern for women.Ladyfingers Is empowering for women Like ‘Woman M† but causes â€Å"Woman N† to become put down overtime. According to the definitions women who are successful today are not ladylike and this Is fine. These women combated what was against them In such a way that they accomplished their g oals and get where they wanted to be. However, women should be able to be ladylike without worrying about being treated unfairly, overlooked and disrespected. Dillydallies empowering or demeaning By lady dismissing her. A definition of â€Å"demean† is â€Å"to lower character, status, or reputation†. Mean a woman. I am assuming the word â€Å"lady' in the word â€Å"ladyfingers† implies that ladyfingers is safe for women. Therefore, a woman being ladylike should not be repercussion, then who can? The definition of â€Å"ladyfingers† implies that being feminine and resilient cannot co-exist together in one woman. The main reason ladyfingers raises a concern for women is because women don't want to be treated unfairly and women want to be heard. The women in society today who are successful in their craft are assertive and aggressive.Women who are aggressive and assertive may be intimidating but they are the women who made it out of the shadows and into a spotlight. All women need strength to be independent and sufficient at what is required of them in their daily lives Ladyfingers can be women. Ladyfingers is empowering for women like â€Å"Woman M† but causes â€Å"Woman N† to become put down overtime. According to the definitions women who are successful today are not ladylike and this is fine. These women combated what was against them in such a way that they accomplished their goals and get where they

Environmental Management Essay

The world climate is changing and the effects of global warming are being witnessed in various part of the world. Available researches points out human activities as the major case for climate change and global warming. United States is the world leading emitter for global warming pollution and its emission mainly being from green houses and burning of fossils. The country is now on the forefront in taking the appropriate steps to contain the situation and it have come out with a program known as cap trade program. The cap-trade program which is a market based approach utilizes the market forces to achieve environmental protection which are cost effective by giving business both direct and flexible incentive to find innovative way of pollution reduction. The policy has been implemented successively in several states and it is looking forward to be implemented at the national level. The world climate is changing and the evidence of global warming is unequivocal. According to the report of IPPC synthesis 2001 (Crowley, 2000), the increase in earth warmth is dated back in the years between 1900 and 1940 which later cooled down between 1941 and 1965. Information collected from millions of thermometer in the world since 1860 shows an increase in the average surface air measurement. These data which is believed to be the most accurate and useful in global climate description, shows 1998 as being the warmest year on record with 1990-2000 being the warmest decade. The global temperature has increased by approximately 0. 6 degrees since the start of 20th century with 0. 4 of this occurring during 1970s (McIntosh & Roderick, 2006). As result of alteration in the world ecosystem which consists of the atmosphere, ecosphere and social sphere harmful gases have been released impacting negatively to our atmosphere. Scientists believe that the gases have led to global warming due to depletion of ozone layer. They attribute Human activities like deforestation and fossil combustion to increase of carbon dioxide emission while organic wastes and fossil fuel mining increases the release of methane which is affect negatively on ozone layer (Hardoy et al, 2001). Also Nitrogen fertilizers commonly used by farmers and release of refrigerant cfcs in factories increases nitrogen oxide and chlorofluorohydrocarbons gases respectively to the atmosphere (Hardoy et al, 2001). Over the years this gas has accumulated in the atmosphere bring adverse effect ranging from acid rains, climate change and depletion of the layer (Burroughs, 2001). Ozone layer is made up of ozone o3 molecules which three atoms of oxygen. It is located in the stratosphere portion of the atmosphere and it shields the harmful UV rays from the sun to reach the earth. Ozone layer depletion is the major cause of global warming and its effect such as Elevated temperature and weather extremes. Melting of ice as witnessed in the Polar Regions and flooding of major cities are clear indications of temperature elevations (Crowley, 2000). As human being competes to exhaust the precious resources around them they leave behind a serious environmental trauma which pauses danger not only to themselves but also to other living things (Hardoy et al, 2001). The environmental problems of the world today are much greater compared to last century when the damage was smaller. It is predicted that the situation will not reverse in near soon since the population is expanding and also the fact that human being have continued to stress for development without conservation of the environment (Broecker, 1995) In 2007 the panel consisting of the world leading scientist charged with the task of reviewing summarizing and validating the latest research concluded that the warming of the climate is clear. The panel attributed ninety percent of warming in the 50 s to green houses which are human creation. Other scientific reports have documented the specific impacts of warming including the melting down of the artic ice cap, shifting of the wildlife habitat, increased heat waves and wild fires. The United States of America is the global leading emitter of overall warming pollution. The emission is mainly through green houses and also burning of fossils. Their however not spared by the effects of the climate change as they experience glaciers, flooding of cities and intense storms in their backyard (Broecker, 1995) The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze climate change as one of the environmental issues and discuss the policy that united states have adopted in dealing with the issue. I wish to take the proactive side that indeed the climate change is being managed in the correct way in reducing its effects in the present and in the future. Important steps are being taken by various stakeholders in United States to contain the effects of climate change. In order to achieve reduction in large scale emissions as a necessary step to address climate change, there is need to adopt effective policies that stresses on shifting in the way the world uses and produces energy. Policy makers are treating the issue of climate change as an urgent one and are deploying currently available resources to reduce global warming pollution at all cost (Comiso, 2002) United States is now leading the way after years of inaction. The country now recognizes the need for effective environmental program for management of climate change which is perceived is a threat to environment and human beings in general. The climate policy which United States adopted is called cap-trade program. The plan requires the natural gas producers to purchase allowances for emissions from downstream gas consumers with less likelihood that the cost will be passed to consumers. Cap and trade program was designed in united states and also tested and proven by the Americans as a program within the clean air amendment of 1990. Its success as shown in the appendix 1, led to be crowned the green success story by the economist magazine. The program which is a market based approach utilizes the market forces to achieve environmental protection which are cost effective by giving business both direct and flexible incentive to find innovative way of pollution reduction. The policy has been implemented successively in several states Groups of states especially in the east and west coast are coming together to set up market place for electric facilities to buy and sell credits to release carbon dioxide among other gases which lead to global warming (NYT, 2002). In Chicago an emission trading allowance program have been launched which uses electricity utility in more than nine north eastern states. Western states on their side have teamed up with Canadian provinces to unveil yet another ambitious trading system which encompasses both industries and utilities . the plan aim at reducing greenhouse emissions by 15% within 12 years. Also a program to have a carbon trading market aiming to be running by 2010 is underway in Wisconsin, Illinois and other Midwestern states. I am optimistic that this program will go along way in reducing the emissions blamed for global warming and they will do so efficiently and less cheaply than regulatory program. New York merchantile first auction of emission allowance opened a new beginning in America response to change in climate, although reducing carbon dioxide is predicted to increase electric rates the cost will be lesser as compared to convectional regulation . to ensure protection of consumers. The program uses the cap and trade approach to realize proceeds that can be used to promote energy efficiency and conservation saving money for household (Houghton, 2004) Emission dealings began in 1990 and focused on reducing sulfur dioxide which causes the acid rain. The cap and trade program is preferred than the regulatory program since it is effective in cutting emissions quickly. In fact with the both McCain and Obama supporting the cap and trade program there is high likelihood of national trading program which will cover the whole country (Houghton, 2004). The problem related to this policy is that it will lead to fewer natural gas wells which may result to shortfall in production and over all reduction in supplies. High demand and low supply entails that prices will go high in order to meet the new climate goals. An eventual increase in consumer spending is likely and the price will also drive gas dependent industries abroad resulting to job losses (Hardoy, 2001) Conclusion The great scholars seem to agree that the world climate is changing and the earth is warmer than it was a century ago. Scientist attributes the global warming to human activities such as fossil burning and deforestation. An immediate step is required in the establishment of compulsory emission limits joined with a market based system that provide for a reduction in emission which is cost effective. Nevertheless to address the issue of climate change cannot succeed without involvement of united sates. The starting point is a program that will enable United States to substantially and permanently reduce their emission since they are the largest emitters of global warming pollution.There is need for quick enactment of energy policies which include more stern fuel efficiency regulations. Reference Broecker, W. C. (1995). The Glacial earth According to Wally. Eldigo Press, Columbia University, Palisades, New York Crowley, T. J. (2000). Origin of climate change over the past. UK: Cambridge University Press, Comiso, J. C. (2002). A rapidly declining permanent sea ice cover in the Arctic. London: Routledge press. New York Times (NYT) (2002, November 9). â€Å"Waters and dying lobsters and warming waters†. Times, 143, pp. 30-32 McIntosh & Roderick (2006). Atmosphere, History, and Human Action. New York: Columbia University Press, Burroughs, W. J. (2001, November 9). â€Å"Climate change† The Journal for Comparative Change, New York Times, Vol. 36-118-134. Hardoy et al, (2001). Global warming: multidisciplinary climatic approach. London: Arnold press. Houghton, J. T. (2004, May 22). Global warming: the Complete Briefing, 89-456-458 U. K: Cambridge University Press.

Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff - Essay Example But in "Hunters in the Snow", lies, betrayal and insensitivity have overshadowed the good aspects of one another. This situation is played out in a snowy surrounding, as if the whiteness of the place makes a stark background to the evil that's brewing among the three friends. Each of the three buddies tries to look for a deer to shoot, each not really keen on doing so, and this accounts so much for their failure (other hunters as told in the story would have their deer "strapped to the hoods" of their jeeps and cars) as not having seen a deer to shoot. Tub, the first character introduced in the story is a sensitive person who battles a gluttony problem and hides it with apparent efforts to diet. Sensitivity in a person, though a positive trait makes that person vulnerable to others and makes him violent at times. Tub fires off at a Kenny for shooting at old dog after their failure to shoot any deer, "What did he ever do to you" Both Frank and Kenny, rib him for being fat, knowing that "Nobody knows. That's the worst of it, Frank. Not the being fat, I never got any big kick out of being thin, but the lying. Having to lead a double life like a spy or a hit man. Like when I make a big deal about only having an orange for breakfast and then scarf all the way to work. Oreos, Mars Bars, Twinkies. Sugar Babies. Snickers". And when Tub shoots Kenny, out of weakness and fear that he would end up like the unfortunate dog, he could only say, "I had to". Among the three friends, Frank probably has the capacity to be understanding about the extreme sides of his two friends - Tub's sensitivity and Kenny's toughness. Instead, this insight to the truth made him perverted and manipulative. When Tub was horrified with Frank's confirmation of an affair with a fifteen-year old girl, he makes for a philosophical pitch against conformity, "You can't just put people into categories like that, Tub. That's why the whole system is wrong. And that's why this country is going to hell in a rowboat." Frank even likens his young girlfriend with Shakespeare's Juliet, an indication of his intellectual capacity "Fifteen. She'll be sixteen in May. May fourth, three twenty-seven p.m. Hell, Tub, a hundred years ago she'd have been an old maid by that age. Juliet was only thirteen." Frank also pitches for Tub's sympathy for his relationship trouble and to appease his guilt towards his plans of leaving his wife. He does by taking advantage of Tub's food weakne ss - and succeeds because Tub also needs Frank to expiate himself from shooting their friend. The two takes their time at another roadhouse, not really in a hurry to carry their bleeding friend to a hospital. Instead, Frank orders Tobias Wolff's's "Hunters in the Snow" platefuls of pancakes, butter and syrup to further corrupt Tub and make him an accomplice in his deceit. When at the end, and on the wheel, he says "I'm going to the hospital" to the bleeding Kenny's hope of making it alive - he commits the final betrayal, with Tub's connivance. Kenny, the apparent

Data Analysis and Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Data Analysis and Research - Essay Example 1978).  Several software have been developed (Hahn,G.J. and Meeker, W.Q. 1991), to help analyze data this include Statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Stata, R, Minitab, SAS and many more. Data analysis in mixed methods research consists of analyzing the qualitative data using qualitative methods and the quantitative data using quantitative methods; therefore, knowing the steps in both forms of analysis is necessary in mixed research methods (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007). For both forms of analysis, researchers go through the following similar set of steps: preparing the data for analysis, exploring the data, analyzing the data, representing the analysis, and validating the data. These procedures in quantitative research and qualitative research are different from each other as stated by Creswell and Plano Clark, (2007). In this project, to prove or rather to disapprove the hypothesis in an effort to answer the set of questions SPSS has been used to analyze the given se t of data. The answers to the questions are thus given in the preceding paragraphs; Question A Hypothesis to be tested; a) H0: There is no significant difference in the salary earned by male and female employees b) H1: There is significant difference in the salary earned by male and female employees Since we have two groups (male and female) to compare their means and whose sample is less than 30 (a sample of 25 in this case), T-Test would be an appropriate test to use. T-Test is appropriate to be used to conduct the test since it assesses whether the means of two groups are statistically different from each other. From table 1 below, it can clearly be observed that the mean earning for the male employees is higher than that of the female employees. On average the male employees earn ? 24005 while the female employees earn 20319. Table 1: Report How much did you earn (?) last year Gender Mean N Std. Deviation Male 24005 13 3931.393 Female 20319 12 2370.797 Total 22236 25 3719.652 Th e difference can further be shown in the boxplot below; To answer part A of the questions i.e. whether there is any evidence that male and female employees differ in their salaries an independent samples test had to be conducted. From table 2 (Independent Samples Test), it can be observed that the p-value=0.010 (that is when the equal variances are assumed) which is less than the significance level (5%), we thus reject the null hypothesis and conclude that indeed there is a significant difference in the salaries earned by the male employees and the female employees. The male employees earn more than the female employees. Similar decision rule is made when unequal variances is assumed (p-value=0.10). Table 2: Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference Std. Error Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper How much did you earn (?) last year Equal variances assumed 2.710 .113 2.808E0 23 .010 3.686E3 1.313E3 970.142 6.401E3 Equal variances not assumed 2.863E0 1.994E1 .010 3.686E3 1.287E3 999.698 6.371E3 Question B Hypothesis to be tested; H0: There is no significant difference in the likelihood of raising a safety issue with the company’

Analyzing an image and text - assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Analyzing an image and text - - Assignment Example The painting was able to capture the different emotions of the narrow street through the expressions of the people in the scene. The colors of the picture and the strokes that had been used by the painter also contributed to the message of vibrant activities of the people in the narrow street. But the said painting was given a deeper meaning by the poem. Every part of the picture was given meaning, the child and the ball, the baker, the couple, the child and the mother, and the other elements of the picture. Though the written words, the meaning of the picture was elevated to the point that the audience can perceive that the narrow street is bursting with emotions of excitement, love, etc., which is more than a painting can ever express. The two works elevated the normal activities of the people in the narrow street and gave it more life, color and importance. Although the painting was able to capture the emotions that gave the audience a better and more exciting perspective, the written words was able to create a higher level of understanding. On a personal note, the written words can give a higher perspective because it can lead to the limitless imagination of the audience or the reader. Although the painting can elicit an emotion, the picture that it creates is more exact and leaves less space for the mind to explore. It can make the mind think of meanings behind the painting but the imagery it can stimulate is limited to the scenarios in the

None Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

None - Essay Example In order to understand the poem properly, one needs to pay attention to its key words. According to Elizabeth Bishop, every word in poetry matters. The need for close poetry reading reading is conditioned by the value of each meaning for the general picture (Bishop). Since there are not many words in each poem, one needs to have a clear understanding of every word used by poets in their woks. Aftermath by Longfellow consists of only two stanzas; the word choices are very accurate and clear. The title is crucial in this case so it is necessary to define what aftermath means and research the etymology of this word. In the Online Etymology Dictionary, it is stated that the origin of the word aftermath dates back to 1520-s. It meant â€Å"a second crop of grass grown after the first had been harvested † and consisted of two parts after + an Old English word mà ¦Ãƒ ° that was defines as cutting grass (â€Å"Aftermath†). The figurative meaning of this word appeared later in 1650-s. Contrary to this original meaning, now aftermath is defines as â€Å"the consequences of significant unpleasant event† in the Oxford Dictionary. Obviously, Longfellow uses both meanings to intensify the overall impression after reading the poem and give readers a hint about its content. The first line of the poem underpins the etymology of the word aftermath, â€Å"When the su mmer fields are mown† (Longfellow). In the next line Longfellow moves to a short description of the next season, â€Å"When the birds are fledged and flown† (Longfellow). The word fledged means that birds have already grown up and their wings are ready to fly long distances. With the next line â€Å"And the dry leaves strew the path† readers understand that the poet talks about autumn when nature fades out and birds fly away to warmer places (Longfellow). The transformation of nature is continued further in the next lines where the fields covered with snow continue the cycle of lead to new grass and its

Team Organizational Style of Fisher and Paykel Essay

Team Organizational Style of Fisher and Paykel - Essay Example This aspect was highlighted by Imai (1997) in his approach when he highlighted the importance of the shop floor or the teams working on the industry floor in ensuring that continuous improvement takes place within an organization. The advantages of employing such lean manufacturing processes through the Kaizen approach has also been explained by Wilson (2005). Â  Once the new teams were developed, they have engaged actively in the team building process. The changes that occur were in terms of additional time spent in communication skills and team building, followed by activities that were focused on the improvement of work performances and promoting team goals and a common understanding. The goal of the process was to bring about changes in a positive manner through the application of inspiration and communication developed among team members. Â  This process is summed up in the Kaizen approach to organizational behavior. The Kaizen philosophy has been defined as "a means of continuous improvement in personal life, home life, social life, and working life. At the workplace, Kaizen means continuing improvement involving everyone—managers and workers alike. The Kaizen business strategy involves everyone in an organization working together to make improvements without large capital investments." (Imai, 1986) Â  The organization took great pains to improve the teams because they recognized the importance of the shop floor to the success of the organization, as highlighted by Imai (1997).

External Factors Affecting Recruitment Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

External Factors Affecting Recruitment - Article Example This article is an attempt to discuss some of the significant aspects of this area of study while focusing on the recruitment of entry-level staff in different organizations, and the effects different factors cause on them. Authors of the article has identified various factors in which, sources of the recruitment stands as one of the common external factors that affect the recruitment process in an organization. Nowadays, recruitment has become an intense and complex process of HR that involves advertising, interviews, categorization, and characterization of employees, etc. In the result, more and more organizations are now putting this responsibility on shoulders of external recruiters that play a significant role in affecting the recruitment procedure in the organization, especially the external recruitment where organizations seeks candidates from outside the organization. In addition, budget and cost are some another factors that also affect the recruitment process in the organizations, as it is an observation that companies often do not go for identifying candidates far away from the region of their organization due to higher costs of advertising and other expenses involved in the process. However, internet has resulted in ease of this process, and various organizations are not putting efforts to recruit individuals from the internet recruitment that has eliminated various factors of the past. One of the noteworthy attributes of this article is the inclusion of different factors based on the perceptions of recruitment officers of an organization rather than focusing primarily on the theoretical frameworks of the recruitment and HR process, which has been a common practice of authors globally. Besides sources of the recruitment, labor market is another significant factor that plays a crucial role in the success or failure of the recruitment process. In specific, supply and demand ratio in the labor market affects the planning of

Self Awareness Essay Example for Free

Self Awareness Essay 1. Introduction How you access yourself in order to become more self-aware and how you reflect on your career on an ongoing basis is of utmost importance to ensure a successful personal development plan is followed continuously. In the current day and age most managers find it very difficult to set time aside for proper reflection and to spend some quality time putting development plans in place to ensure constant personal growth and development. Some of the key questions a typical manager will have to answer is how to find a balance between work, family life and personal development, or what would be the best models and tools currently available to assist him or herself to enable optimum personal growth. Another question would be how to apply these tools optimally based on your current circumstances. In this assessment I will attempt to address some of these questions, however, I do think that some of the proposals that I will put forward will have to be reviewed on an ongoing bases. This is to ensure it stays aligned with my ever evolving understanding of self-development. 2. Reflection and the way forward 2.1 Reflecting on personal development If I have to reflect back on my career it is clear that I have reached a key moment in my life about three years ago when I hit a ceiling as a subject matter expert. I also realised that I do not have sufficient management experience to make a smooth transition from a subject matter expert to a senior manager. I have reached this ceiling because I have exhausted all possible promotion options. The only way ‘forward’ for me was sidewards. The first question that came to mind was how do I change this conundrum and where do I go from here? I embarked on an MBA at Henley business school without a scientific approach in the hope that it will provide some answers. Fortunately we were exposed early on to tools and models to assist us. I used the Strategic Analysis diagram developed by Prof. Marc Day (2013) to determine which model will be the best suited for my current situation. I decided that the Force Field Analysis model developed by Lewin, K (1952) was the best fit. The reason is because I mainly need to improve my capability to become a better manager, or rather to refine my capabilities, to become a better manager. It also lies close to the Competition quadrant within a firm. This is also very applicable because of the severe competition when it comes to climbing the corporate ladder. Refer to figure 2.1 for details. The first question that now comes to mind is how do I eliminate the opposing forces in order to move from my current state to my desired state. Another question would be how can I best utilise my learning style to speed up the transition? I evaluated these opposing forces and have identified some of them that are more tangible and easier to manage. * Is an MBA the right vehicle or choice for me? I have the highest preference for the Monitor Evaluator team role according to the Belbin Team Role Report (Belbin, 2012) compiled by Henley Business School (2013). This, in short, means that I can often judge accurately, however, I sometimes lack drive. I currently have more confidence that the MBA is probably the right decision because I have the ability to judge accurately, according to Belbin, however, it will remain an open ended question that will only be answered in due time. The MBA is also a formal program. This will hopefully provide the drive I lack from time to time and the motivation I need to complete my studies. I am also Pragmatist (AE) according to Kolb (1985). Honey Mumford (2000) commented that Pragmatists like to see how learning is put into practice in the real world. This also supports my decision to join the formal Henley MBA program because all the case studies are real and theory will thus be applied into practice in real world scenarios. I therefore think that I have made the right decision to decide on an MBA as my education vehicle of choice. In doing so I have definitely weakened one of the opposing forces. * Impact on my personal life, my career and my family I realise that completing an MBA will require serious commitment and will definitely impact my family, my career and my personal life. My wife and children realise that I have reached a dead end in my career and that I will have to do something extra ordinary to change direction. They have also committed to support me from day one because they know that my despondency about my work will eventually rub off on our marriage and family life. We also realise that it is still early days and that the real challenges lie ahead. I am, therefore, convinced that this is an opposing force that I can manage down in order to weaken it. These two are also the most prominent opposing forces, so it will have a major effect on the outcome if they are managed properly. * Financial Constraints This constraint is one of the few that are not really manageable, however, I have arranged with Henley Business School to pay the tuition fees in payments. This will definitely assist me and it will also weaken the opposing force. * Networking ability My ability to network is still an ongoing constraint. I will address this developing need in the next sessions. 2.2 Reflect on recent career I used the Henley Team Working Questionnaire (2010) to reflect on my recent career in order to establish a fit (or lack thereof) between me as a manager / team leader and my role within my organization. I realize that this is not an assessment tool of my current job, but rather a tool to be used to asses my current need of learning in going forward. This has highlighted a few areas that require development. These areas might also be the reason for the misalignment/misfit between my current career expectation and my progression within my organization. I have always realized that I have areas in need of development, hence my decision to start my Henley MBA. The Henley Team Working Questionnaire has assisted me a great deal in identifying those areas. I have used the Henley Star (Henley Business School, 2011), as part of this assignment, to assist me in analysing my most important development areas. The area that has come out on top was my development need to demonstrate impact and to influence others. I currently have a lot of questions that are still unanswered. I hope to get a better understanding of exactly how to approach it and how to address them in order to ensure a successful outcome. I will spend more time on how I plan to address these questions in the next section. For now it is important that I have a starting point for my own personal development in order to improve my current fit. I have also completed chapter 5 of the textbook provided, A Manager’s Guide to Self Development (Pedler, M, Burgoyne, J Boydell, T, 2007: 27). This has also indicated that I need to develop my creativity as well as my command of the basic facts in my company. 2.3 Planning ahead The key question at this stage is how would I go about addressing these areas of development over the next twelve months? I will need to balance three main areas, my life and family, my working career as well as my time spend studying for my MBA. In addition, I will also have to constantly focus on my areas of development in order to try and approve them. Doing this should improve my management capabilities. It will also align me with the correct individuals in my current company to ensure improved opportunities in growing my career. Pedler, M, Burgoyne, J Boydell, T (2007:37) gave a list of activities to do for each area that requires development in their book A Manager’s Guide to Self Development. I have highlighted some of these activities and have drawn up a plan to do it over the next 12 months. Refer to appendix A. I will also have to make sure I spend more time in our office and with top management in order to gain access to valuable information, insights and data. This will assist in improving my impact and my influence with other people. I will also have to manage my time with my client more efficiently in order to attend all the ‘open days’ and information sessions at our company so that I can achieve my goal. I put a schedule together to ensure I manage all areas of development. I know this is premature, however, it is a start. Refer to Appendix B. I intend recording my progress as well as my learning journals in a tool called Evernote. This tool is available across all platforms and it syncs seamlessly between all my devices. This makes it an ideal tool for my requirements. Conclusion I have tried various approaches in the past to improve my managerial capabilities to move from a subject matter expert orientated environment to top management. I realise now that I will have to change my approach because I tend to favour the Monitor Evaluator team role and I am a pragmatist. The key question that still remains is exactly how? This assignment has assisted me in identifying three main areas where development is needed, namely the ability to demonstrate impact and to influence other, creativity and a command of the basic facts. I have put an activity plan together (Appendix A) to assist me improving my areas in need of development. The main issue to keep in mind is that I continuously will have to be self-aware. I will also have to reflect on each and every move I make from now on. My activity plan should also be revaluated on an ongoing basis to ensure it is still the best fit for my current needs. The finer detail is still missing. My hope is that I will be able to i mprove it by applying the models, tools and exercises available during the course of the MBA and to get more clarity in moving forward.

Passivhaus Standard Replacing The Code For Sustainable Homes Construction Essay

Passivhaus Standard Replacing The Code For Sustainable Homes Construction Essay Should the PassivHaus standard replace the Code for Sustainable Homes as the UKs national standard for the design and construction of all sustainable dwellings? Overall Summary The term PassivHaus refers to a specific ultra low-energy construction standard developed in Germany, and now used throughout Europe, for buildings which have excellent comfort conditions in both the winter and summer. The Code for Sustainable Homes is the national standard for the design and construction of social housing in England, which measures the sustainability of a home against design categories, rating the whole house as a complete package. The project I am proposing involves comparing the two standards to determine which performs better in a range of different circumstances, and why? I also propose to establish whether the whole of the UK housing sector would benefit from adopting the PassivHaus standard in place of its current Code for Sustainable Homes standard. Introduction / Background In practice I am currently involved primarily in the design of social housing development projects which require full compliance with Code Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes standard. Through my experience working on these projects I have noticed an increase in the adoption of concepts used as part of the PassivHaus standard to assist in achieving full compliance with the Code for Sustainable Homes. These adopted concepts have included increasing the levels of insulation used in the external envelope of new dwellings, improving the air tightness of the construction details used, and increasingly specifying mechanical ventilation and heat recovery (MVHR) units for new dwellings. The PassivHaus standard was first developed in the early 1990s in Germany, by Professor Wolfgang Feist of the PassivHaus Institut in Darmstadt, where the first dwellings to be completed to the PassivHaus standard were also constructed in 1991. The core focus of the PassivHaus design is to significantly reduce the requirement for space heating and cooling, without compromising thermal comfort or relying on the falling cost of renewable energy technologies. This focus is also what enables new PassivHaus dwellings the ability to typically achieve an energy saving of 90%, compared to existing housing. The PassivHaus design principles are not exclusively applicable to the residential sector, they can also be applied to commercial, industrial and public buildings, which can also achieve the classification of PassivHaus status upon completion. The performance of the first dwellings to be completed to the PassivHaus standard were subsequently monitored, which eventually led to other PassivHa us projects being monitored around Europe as part of the European CEPHEUS project. The CEPHUS project involves the construction and scientific evaluation of 250 housing units built to the requirements of the PassivHaus standard, in five European countries, with in-process scientific back-up, and with the evaluation of building operation through systematic measurement programmes. To date there are approximately 17,000 buildings, worldwide, that have been constructed in accordance with the PassivHaus principles, several of which projects are now nearing completion and certification in the UK. The PassivHaus standard is publicised as representing one approach that the building industry can adopt in its aspiration towards zero-carbon buildings, and it is proposed that although a PassivHaus building is not in itself carbon neutral, the reduced energy requirements should allow potentially smaller and cheaper quantities of renewable technologies to be specified to achieve zero-carbon stand ards. The Code for Sustainable Homes standard was introduced in England in April 2007, replacing the EcoHomes scheme developed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), and acting as a voluntary national standard to improve the overall sustainability of new dwellings. The EcoHomes scheme was a version of the BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), developed for homes, intended to provide an authoritative rating for new, converted, or renovated homes and was developed to be applicable to houses, flats and apartments. The Code for Sustainable Homes standard measures the sustainability of new dwellings against 9 design categories: Energy and CO2 emissions, water, materials, surface water run-off, waste, pollution, health and wellbeing, management, and ecology, in order to provide a sustainability rating for the whole dwelling as a complete package. The Code for Sustainable Homes standard uses a rating system of 1 to 6 stars to communicate the overall sustainability performance of a dwelling, based on the extent to which it has achieved the required standards. From its inception in April 2007, compliance with the Code for Sustainable Homes standard was voluntary. But from the 1st May 2008 the UK Government enforced the requirement of a minimum of Code Level 3 for all new social housing developments. The Code for Sustainable Homes standard was prepared by the Government in close working consultation with Building Research Establishment (BRE) and Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA), and through consultation with a Senior Steering Group consisting of Government, Industry and NGO representatives. The standard was also developed so that it could be integrated with current UK Building Regulations and other relevant design guides, such as Robust Details and Lifetime Homes. The Code for Sustainable Homes standard is publicised as aiming to protect the environment by providing guidance on the construction of high performance homes with sus tainability in mind. Since April 2010, planning authorities across the UK have increasingly demanded the achievement of Code Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable homes on new developments. This has been done so in anticipation of the Governments intention to update the UK Building Regulations in 2013 so that they fall in line with the energy requirements of Code Level 4. The Government are also committed to achieving zero-carbon homes by 2016. There remains speculation from professionals in the construction industry that the Governments 2016 target for zero carbon homes is unrealistic, and many developers still believe that building to Code Level 6 is too expensive and unviable. The recent 2010 revisions to the Code for Sustainable Homes standard have been done so in parallel with the 2010 revisions made to the UK Building Regulations. These revisions are already showing a step towards the concepts employed by the PassivHaus standard, with a redefined section relating to Fabric Energy Efficiency Standards (FEES), which will reward reductions in predicted energy demand for space heating and cooling in terms of kWh/m2/year. Currently the PassivHaus standard enforces tough energy efficiency standards and a maximum calculated energy demand, which it also measures in kWh/m2/year. At present, dwellings which are constructed in the UK to meet the requirements of the PassivHaus standard will expect to achieve a Code for Sustainable Homes rating of Code Level 3 or 4. This level is achieved through highly insulating the external fabric, passive use of solar energy, air tightness, heat recovery, use of energy efficient appliances, and ensuring a low energy demand for space heating and cooling. But doesnt factor in water efficiency, surface water management, site waste management, household waste management, and use of materials, which are all addressed within the Code for Sustainable Homes standard. Formal Proposal In this study I am proposing to provide answers to a range of sub-questions, which are intended to provide a wider context to the subject topic and enable an informed conclusion to be made with regard to the overarching question Should the PassivHaus standard replace the Code for Sustainable Homes as the UKs national standard for the design and construction of all sustainable dwellings? These sub-questions are detailed within this section, along with the means in which I intend to answer them, the tasks associated with providing an answer to them and what I anticipate the outcome of each question will illustrate. I propose to provide an answer to the question: what are the full ranges of criteria addressed by the PassivHaus and Code for Sustainable Homes standards? I intend to answer this question by analysing and comparing the full range of criteria addressed by each standard, and in doing so provide a full explanation of the list of requirements for each of the two standards. I anticipate that the outcome of this task will show that the differences between the requirements of each standard are clearly identifiable. I also anticipate that the outcome will show that the PassivHaus standard involves the use of more passive concepts for achieving sustainability, which are mainly applicable during the design stages of a project. Whereas the Code for Sustainable Homes standard involves more active concepts for achieving sustainability, which are mainly applicable during the occupancy stage of a project and heavily reliant on the actions of the end user. I propose to provide an answer to the question: are the design principles employed by the PassivHaus standard suited to the construction of dwellings in the UK, and suited to the UKs climate? I intend to answer this question by exploring the suitability of designing and constructing dwellings in accordance with the requirements of the PassivHaus standard, which are also suitable for production in the UK. I intend to implement this through the analysis of existing dwellings that have been constructed in the UK in accordance with the PassivHaus standards principles and have achieved PassivHaus status, and through the analysis of personally prepared questionnaires completed by professionals in the construction industry. I anticipate that the outcome of this task will show that it is possible for dwellings to be designed and constructed in accordance with the requirements of the PassivHaus standard within the UK, and that those professionals who are familiar with the PassivHaus standard will be receptive to the integration of its principles within the UKs construction industry. But that they will however, be required to vary slightly in their design from PassivHaus dwellings constructed throughout the rest of Europe, and therefore adjustments to the original PassivHaus model may be required for it to be practically applicable to dwellings within the UK. I propose to provide an answer to the question: what implications will the predicted affects of global warming have on PassivHaus dwellings and those designed to meet the requirements of the Code for Sustainable Homes, and are these standards capable of easily adapting to take account of future climate change? I intend to answer this question by analysing the predicted affects that global warming will have on dwellings within the UK, according to publications by leading specialists in the field, and by analysing the adaptability of dwellings designed and constructed to meet the requirements of the PassivHaus and Code for Sustainable Homes standards. I anticipate that the outcome of this task will show that dwellings designed and constructed to meet the requirements of the PassivHaus standard will be more easily adaptable to the predicted climate change, whereas dwellings designed and constructed to meet the requirements of the Code for Sustainable Homes will potentially demand additi onal cooling during the summer months to account for the rise in temperature. I propose to provide an answer to the question: what affect do the occupants have on dwellings designed and constructed to meet the requirements of the PassivHaus and the Code for Sustainable Homes standards? I intend to answer this question by exploring the effect occupants have on the sustainability of dwellings designed and built to meet the requirements of the PassivHaus and Code for Sustainable Homes standards. I intend to implement this by analysing the reliance each principle of the two standards has on the end user and by analysing case studies. I anticipate that the outcome of this task will show that the sustainable principles that the Code for Sustainable Homes standard employs are more reliant on the occupants of a dwelling, as they tend to be more active principles. Whereas the sustainable principles that the PassivHaus standard employs tend to be more passive principles designed in to the fabric of the dwelling, and therefore are less reliant on the occupants of a dwelling. I propose to provide an answer to the question: which option is more economical in terms of cost, a dwelling designed and constructed in accordance with the requirements of the PassivHaus standard, or a dwelling designed and constructed in accordance with the requirements of the Code for Sustainable Homes standard? I intend to answer this question by performing a cost analysis taking into account the design, construction and occupancy of a dwelling. This cost analysis will then be applied to a standard house type model, designed to meet the requirements of the Code for Sustainable Homes standard and achieve compliance with the UK building regulations, and designed to meet the requirements of the PassivHaus standard. I anticipate that the outcome of this task will show that designing a house to achieve Code Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes will be more expensive overall than designing a house to the requirements of the PassiveHaus standard, which also achieves the equivalent of Code Level 4. I also propose to provide an answer to the question: can a dwelling designed in accordance with the PassivHaus standards principles, be developed to the equivalent of Code Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, and meet the Governments 2016 target for the construction of zero-carbon homes? I intend to answer this question by performing simulations on standard house type models in order to produce a range of dwelling designs which achieve Code Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. The methods used to model these zero-carbon dwellings will simulate the upgrade of a range of house types designed to achieve Code Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes standard and designed to meet the requirements of the PassivHaus standard, into zero-carbon homes which achieve Code Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes standard. I anticipate that the outcome of this task will show that dwellings which have been upgraded from the PassivHaus standard so that they meet the requirements of Co de Level 6 will be less expensive, less complicated and quicker to upgrade, compared to the upgrade of Code Level 4 dwellings into zero-carbon homes. I predict that the outcome of this study as a whole will prove that the ideal solution will be for the UK to adopt a new sustainability standard which includes all of the design principles of the PassivHaus standard and also incorporates the more active concepts used as part of the Code for Sustainable Homes standard. I also predict that this study will highlight that the immediate adoption of the PassivHaus standards design principles, in the construction of new dwellings in the UK, could enable the simple future upgrade of existing dwellings into zero-carbon homes, which would also be adaptable to future climate change. Literature Review The topic that this research will focus on specifically is whether the German PassivHaus standard would be more suitable than the UKs current sustainability standard, the Code for Sustainable Homes, in terms of achieving the UK governments 2016 target of zero-carbon homes. The parameters of this topic will take into account the predicted affects of future climate change, according to publications by leading specialists in the field, and aims to analyse the effects that the occupants have on dwellings designed to meet the requirements of the two standards, the cost implications of designing homes in accordance with each standard, and the potential for existing dwellings designed and constructed to both PassivHaus and the Code for Sustainable Homes standards to be upgraded to zero-carbon homes in the future. The selection of literature that I have chosen to review mainly consists of journal articles as I have been unable to find any published books that directly address this topic area . The journal articles chosen for this review have been selected according to the authors affiliations with the subject matter, and according to their date of publication, with the most current literature prioritised over older articles, to eliminate reference to outdated views and information. From the literature I have reviewed it is evident that the principal questions being asked in relation to the topic, by professionals in the construction industry and sustainability specialists, include: whether it is possible to design and construct dwellings in accordance with PassivHaus standards principles, in the UK, using traditional methods of construction; what the potential cost savings of a dwelling designed and constructed in accordance with the PassivHaus standard are, over a dwelling designed and constructed to meet the requirements of Code Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes; and whether it is possible to achieve Code Level 6 of the Code For Sustainable Homes by adopting the principle of the PassivHaus standard. The current discoveries relating to this topic suggest that the two standards are not directly comparable, because the PassivHaus standard is measured in terms of the total energy use for space heating only, whereas the Code for Sustainable Homes standard and the governing UK building regulations, set standards according to reductions in carbon dioxide emissions for space heating, heating of water and lighting. Literature published by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) suggests that new-build dwellings designed and constructed in accordance with the PassivHaus standard can be expected to typically achieve the equivalent energy requirements of Code Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, but states that it is not possible to go beyond Code Level 4 without specifying renewable energy technologies, and also states that the fabric requirements of Code Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes is currently based on the PassivHaus standard. Discoveries presented by the literature I have reviewed also suggest that PassivHaus dwellings are capable of using up to 90% less energy to heat them than the average UK house, and can cost about a tenth of the price to run. The general consensus from the literature I have reviewed seems to be that environmentalists and sustainability experts are eager for UK architects and other professionals in the construction industry to adopt the principles of the PassiveHaus standard in the UK as a means of reaching the Governments 2016 target for zero-carbon homes. The literature relating to this topic also speculates that there hasnt been a wider uptake of the PassivHaus standard within the UK due to a range of misconceptions related to the quality of internal comfort levels achieved by PassivHaus dwellings, and it is suggested that for dwellings to be effectively designed and constructed in accordance with the PassivHaus standard, in the UK, professionals within the construction industry would need to be educated accordingly. However the PassivHaus standard is criticised in the literature as requiring the use of synthetic materials and products in their construction, which involve the depletion of non-renewable resource in their production and transportation, and which may be difficult to recycle at the end of their lifespan. Also it has been highlighted that the PassivHaus standard. In the literature reviewed it is also expressed by professionals in the construction industry that the PassivHaus standard is only suitable for producing highly energy-efficient building fabric, whereas the Code for Sustainable Homes standard has been meticulously developed to incorporate existing building regulations and collaborate with new design legislation. It is also commented that the Code for Sustainable Homes standard is continuously evolving at regular intervals, working towards the 2016 target of zero-carbon homes, at which point it is believed that the industry will emerge with similar levels of energy efficiency for new homes as the PassiveHaus standard, but with a more holistic context of sustainability, which will incorporate water efficiency, waste management and consideration of the environmen tal impact of building materials. However, it is highlighted in the literature that there is a very little monitoring of low-energy buildings that have been designed and constructed in accordance with the Code for Sustainable Homes standard, in the UK, but those that are monitored are often found to be lacking. The methods of investigation used in the literature relating to this topic are predominantly case studies, performed on occupied dwellings which have been designed and constructed in accordance with the PassivHaus and Code for Sustainable Homes standards. The disadvantage of using this type of methodology however, is that it can result in subjective data. The reviewed literature relating to this subject area encourages the adoption of the PassivHaus standard within the UK construction industry as a means in which to achieve zero-carbon homes in the future, and emphasises the suitability of energy efficient dwellings to be designed and constructed in accordance with its principles within the UK. But however, highlights the concerns surrounding the sustainability of PassivHaus materials, and the rigidness of the standard as just a guide for producing highly energy-efficient building fabric. The Code for Sustainable Homes is complimented, in the reviewed literature, for the way in which it incorporates existing and new legislation, and is continuously evolving into a better performing, more holistic sustainability standard. Very little direct comparison is made between the PassivHaus and Code for Sustainable Homes standards in the available literature, and very few informed conclusions are drawn. Also due to the selected literature consi sting mainly of journal articles, much of the information available is presented from the authors perspective and consequently is mainly subjective and lacking in sufficient statistical data, which is vitally needed to support the authors arguments. The study I am proposing will attempt to collate factual secondary data taken from a range of sources, addressing a wider scope of parameters than has previously been attempted, and supplement this research by running simulations on model house types, which will produce a range of primary data that can also be analysed and compared. Thus enabling a more holistic conclusion to be formed in relation to whether it is feasible, and indeed practical, for the German PassivHaus standard to be adopted in place of the current UK governments Code for Sustainable Homes standard. Methodology and Research Methods I am proposing to conduct a deductive study which involves the collection of primary research data and the analysis of secondary research data. The inclusion of primary research will be in the form of simulation and modelling, and questionnaires. This will be used to supplement the collected secondary research, due to gaps in the current literature relating to directly comparable cost analysis and efficiency ratings. It will also be used to explore the practicality of upgrading dwellings designed in accordance with the PassivHaus and Code for Sustainable Homes standards, into zero carbon homes, and to obtain current opinions regarding the integration of the PassivHaus standards design principles into UK building projects, from professionals working in the construction industry. The primary research data will be used independently in a comparative analysis, from which conclusions can be drawn. The secondary research will be used in the form of correlational research, and will involve the analytical comparison of secondary data and case studies, from which conclusions can be drawn. The research itself will be predominantly quantitative, but will however contain some qualitative elements. The secondary correlational research will be used to form comparisons between the content of the PassivHaus and Code for Sustainable Homes standards, and to form case study analysis of existing dwellings in the UK designed and constructed in accordance with the two standards. The research data obtained from these methods will be subsequently analysed and enable the deduction of an informed conclusion. The primary simulation and modelling research will be used to form a cost analysis for a range of modelled dwellings designed to meet the requirements of the PassivHaus and Code for sustainable Homes standards, and to simulate the upgrade of dwellings designed in accordance with the two standards, into zero carbon homes in accordance with Code Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. The primary research based questionnaire will be used to obtain the views of a limited number and range of professionals working in the UK construction industry, relating to the suitability of employing the principles of the PassivHaus standard into the construction of dwellings in the UK. The research data obtained from these methods will be subsequently analysed, independently, and definitive conclusions will be formed. The results obtained and conclusions formed from each methodology will finally be comparatively analysed as a whole, and form the basis for an overall conclusion which aims to answer the question Should the PassivHaus standard replace the Code for Sustainable Homes as the UKs national standard for the design and construction of all sustainable dwellings?

The Growing Market Of Organic Clothing

The Growing Market Of Organic Clothing This proposed research paper is based on the growing market of organic clothing in UK fashion and retail industry. The organic industry has started with the organic food because people are very much conscious about a healthy lifestyle. But now the consumers are concerned about the environment as well. So the organic industry has increased the range of products from food to gifts, clothing, accessories, skin care products, beauty products baby and maternity products. Now organic industry is becoming popular in high streets and retailers realised that the consumers are looking forward for the ethically sound fashion. Moreover government is very much concerned about the increasing UK landfill and they have launched a campaign for tackling the environmental impact of the current fashion culture. They want the retailers to make sustainable clothes where people can use and dispose it without damaging the environment. The cheap throwaway clothes are adding to the landfill because these clot hes are not eco friendly. So poisonous gases are emitting from these sites and harm the environment as well as living beings. Though people are aware about all these things, organic clothes are not able to compete with the other materials. The entrance of organic clothes is a new challenge for retailers, suppliers and also the designers. The cheap throwaway clothes are fewer prices compared to organic clothes. The main problem which is going to be discussed in this research is how sales of organic clothes are affected by cheap throwaway clothes and how we can make the organic clothing to an everyday reality? If cheaper clothes become the market leader, then organic clothing will not be there in the future market. So how organic industry can be the market leaders and make it affordable and fancy everyone with its designs and prices. To give a detailed explanation about these problems the researcher will assess the challenges facing by organic clothing industry shows the comparison of organic and other fabrics and also the benefits of organic clothing. This research involves the analysis of how cheap regular clothing affects organic clothing industry and environment, challenges facing by organic clothing and also the future of organic clothing industry in the competitive retail market. Below are the following aims of this research: Æ’ËÅ" Analysing the impact of cheap regular clothing industry over organic clothing industry. Æ’ËÅ" Consumer awareness about the benefits of buying organic clothes Æ’ËÅ" Analysis of sales prospects for organic clothing and its future to establish a sustainable market share. Æ’ËÅ" Environmental impact and the consequences on stakeholders due to cheap clothing market. Below listed are the objectives which are the main focus of this research and it depends on the above mentioned aims.  · Understanding the ethical fashion and the importance of biodegradable clothes.  · Production and the process involved in the manufacturing of organic clothing  · Consumer behaviour in fashion and retail industry  · Market of cheaper clothes affecting the growth of organic clothing industry.  · Better marketing strategy for easy penetration of organic clothing in to the fashion industry 2) Research Methodology This following section talks about the method which has been implemented for the purpose of conducting this research. Each methods and its performance will be described and also the reasons for using these methods and techniques. Towards the end of this research paper, restrictive weakness regarding the applied methods and techniques will be explained briefly. There are two methods of research and that is inductive and deductive. In inductive method general principles are building up from detailed observations. The deductive research approach is a method which is expanded on the basis of general principles from the exact expectations of hypothesis. Types of research There are 2 types of data collection method in a market research and that is Qualitative research method and quantitative research method. When the two methods of research unite, the effect of research can be more useful. Qualitative research Qualitative research is used to help us understand how people feel and why they feel as they do. It is concerned with collecting in-depth information asking questions such as why do you say that? Samples tend to be smaller compared with quantitaive projects that include much larger samples. Depth interviews or group discussions are two common methods used for collecting qualitative information. http://www.marketresearchworld.net Qualitative is a kind of scientific research and this investigates the areas which give answers to the question, collect evidences, produce findings etc. it takes researcher to the deeper truth of the topic. It gives a proper understanding of a given research topic from the perspective point of view of the locality which is involved. Qualitative research is an effective method to gain information about the opinion, value and behaviour of the population. Qualitative research provides appropriate answers to the question given by the researcher and also gives so me valuable evidence which may not get from other methods. Quantitative research Quantitative research is a research method that relies less on interviews, observations, small numbers of questionnaires, focus groups, subjective reports and case studies but is much more focused on the collection and analysis of numerical data and statistics.(paranormality.com, 2009) This is a research method which will measure the peoples reaction in a particular way. That means the way they think, feel, act and it provides the information in a statistical and numerical way. The common methods used in quantitative researches are experiments, documentary, survey etc which will give a statistical and numerical data for a final judgement. Qualitative research will gain some information to form theories and those theories can be tested with quantitative research. In this research the author has used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. There are certain reasons why the researcher has used both qualitative and quantitative methods in this research paper. That is given below. The researcher will be conducting interviews with an online retailer of organic products to collect information which will make the topic clearer to the reader. This will be both qualitative and quantitative data collection method. There are questionnaires to customers which are used to collect some data from the customers point of view. This is quantitative in character but when the researcher gives explanation to it, turns to be qualitative and quantitative ending. Research strategy This is an area where the researcher is going to discuss about the research strategy that is used for conducting the research. The information about research strategy in the website www.lib.unca.edu shows that research strategy will give right directions to the work and will make researcher to do the research systematically instead of arbitrarily. It reduces the frustration of the author, saves time and also improves the quality of the research. Here the researcher has taken retail clothing industry and in that, organic clothing market as a focusing area to find out the challenges and business issues which they are facing. The research is not made on a particular organization or a company but the researcher has approached an organic retailer to collect some information and data for an in-depth study of the topic. With all these information, the researcher tried to analyse the competitive states of the clothing industry, the difference between the throwaway clothes and the organic clothes and its benefits, the environmental effects, easy penetration, product developments and innovation, future of organic clothes market, pricing strategies etc. Data collection methods Here the researcher would give a detailed description about the data collection methods which is used in this research. There are two types of data collection methods. They are primary data collection method and secondary data collection method. Primary data collection methods In primary data collection method, data is collected by the author by using certain methods like interviews, surveys, questionnaires, focus group interviews, case studies etc. the very important thing to be noticed in this is, the data which is collected by the author for the purpose research should not be taken from any books or from others works. It should be unique until it publishes. The primary data may be qualitative in its behaviour or can be quantitative. Here the researcher has collected primary data by taking interviews and questionnaires. Introduction What is organics? The organic world is detailed and compound with governments, businesses, organisations and other individuals from many part of the world who attempts to generate an agreement on what has to be organic. For eg. Organic food production, the farming and agriculture is done by using the system that stay away from any kind of artificial interference. These method of organics doesnt harm the environment as well as wildlife by avoiding the use of pesticides and fertilisers and if necessary antibiotics can be used. The whole idea is to work in accord with the nature using the techniques and tools which nature offer instead of dominating and destroying the nature with man-made fertilisers and pesticides. Clothing with scruples-organic clothing. Organic clothing is becoming a trend in high street. The variety of organic clothing is massive and it starts from organic sportswear to night wears. Most of the people go for shopping and buy things which magnetize their eyes without a second thought of who made that and what it is made up of or where are they coming from. But nowadays there are consumers who are conscious about their healthy life style as well as environment. And that is the reason behind the rise of organic cotton and fair trade clothing. People are always fashion conscious and each season leap from one trend to another trend because the retailers in high streets are imitating the newest catwalk looks. But now the high street retailers are into another trend that is organic materials. Though they are trying to make the organic trend popular there are lot of challenges facing by organic world of clothing. This research goes through that challenges and difficulties facing by organic clothing industry and appears with some findings which provides an answer for organic materials are just a pricey opulence for well-off or will it mature into a high street reality? if the retailers can provide the customers with eco friendly and ethically sound apparels and get them into fashion stakes, then organic clothes can become an everyday realism. Production of organic clothes is done by using sustainable resources like hemp, silk, organic cotton, bamboo fabric and linen. The harvesting and the production process should not affect the environment and the surrounding or human being. Organic clothing does not include only food, sandals or t-shirts. It includes a wide range of clothing which we can see in other fabrics. There are reusable nappies for babies. There is a good market for baby products by organic industry. Naturally produced materials are very important for babys health and skin. The fabrics which are chemically treated can irritate the baby skin because they are delicate. For example cotton fabrics, everyone think it is pure, safe and comfortable for people in any climate but it is shocking when we look into the production methods of this fabrics. So by purchasing organic materials we support a secure and eco friendly working practices, protecting the environment from toxic waste, saving the life of living beings an d as well as getting a healthier life style for ourselves. The retailers are investing lot of money for producing ethically sound fashion. Marks Spencer and its suppliers have started developing eco factories to make a way for different process of sustainable manufacturing. They have realised that the customers want clothes which are not only look good or feel good but also should not leave harmful effects in the environment. Literature review Ethical fashion According to ethicalforum.com Ethical fashion represents an approach to the design, sourcing and manufacture of clothing which maximizes benefits to people and communities while minimizing impact on the environment. The meaning of ethical goes beyond doing no harm, representing an approach which strives to take an active role in poverty reduction, sustainable livelihood creation, minimizing and counteracting environmental concerns. It covers a range of issues such as working conditions, exploitation, fair trade, sustainable production, the environment, and animal welfare. (ethicalfashionforum.com, 2009) Ethical fashion is defined as an approach to the manufacture, source of clothing and also designs range which has to be aware of society and environment and also sustainable. Ethical fashion and its products should do the promotion of eco friendly materials and the process of production should not harm the environment. It also has to provide fair wage and fair working atmosphere for the employees in the industry. There are two areas to focus when we talk about ethical fashion, environment and the people or giving preference to organic standard and fair-trade standard. Fair-trade standards are about the employees who make the clothes and who fabricate the raw materials. Worldwide there are more than 30million cotton farmers. Much of the materials are coming from developing countries. This fair-trade ensures that the workers are given a fair pay and also exploit child labour. It also ensures the working condition and the atmosphere. Basically ethical fashion respects the nature and the earth. Cotton cultivation will pollute the atmosphere. Cotton cultivation needs eight times more chemicals than what we use on a normal food crop. This pollutes air, soil and river. It also affects the people who are working in this field. A large percentage of death is happening every year due to pesticides in the cotton field. Many pesticides are used unnecessarily. We can protect the cotton by using soap, garlic, chilli etc. Rest chemicals are used at the time of processing and dyeing the fabric. One company approximation is almost 8000 types of chemicals are used to produce a t-shirt. Ethical fashion is clothing which is made with fair-trade organic cotton where in sweatshop free conditions. This is a growth market and it is slowly finding its way to high streets. Ethical fashion mention the way fashion industry currently works and the problems such as labour exploitation, environmental destruction, cruelty towards animal etc. It is very important for the people to know the need of ethical fashion in todays world. The organic industry has to find a permanent market place in retail industry and fancy people with its quality, benefits, designs, price etc. So ethical fashion has to be encouraged by the government, retailers, suppliers and the consumers, who are the stake holders and this can give a better living condition, health and a good lifestyle. This is a great challenge for the designers to promote ethical fashion by getting the newest trends to the organic fabrics like organic cotton, hemp, bamboo fabrics etc. The way a chair breaks up space or a building cuts into the sky with so many different views is how I feel a garment relates to the body, says Brooklyn designer Nina Valenti, who launched the sustainable line nature vs future in 2002. I design pieces that have a strong line, form and texture. (organicconsumers.org, 2009) The designers are trying to widen the range of designing in organic clothes. For example designs of Nina Valenti, her clothes has gathers, pleats, stiffness, slits etc and she uses the fabrics like organic cotton, hemp, wool and also the fabric made from recycled soda bottle. If the consumers understand the difference between organic and cheap clothes and if they are getting the vast variety of products based on their demand, the eco fashion will be a turning point to the todays fast fashion culture and organic clothing industry will turn to be everyones choice. Branding Famous marketing author Kotler saysA name, term, symbol or design (or combination of them) which is intended to signify the goods or services of one seller or groups of sellers and to differentiate them from those of the competitors. (Groucutt, 2005) Here it gives a proper understanding that branding is not about achieving the target market and be the market leader but it is about receiving the outlook to see the brand as that is the only thing which gives solution to the consumers problems. Branding creates many challenges to the marketers. To get success in branding the brand should have clear prospects about the needs and wants of the consumers. It is important to spend some time for defining, understanding, researching and then building a brand. A brand is a kind of promise which is given to the consumers and it is also a foundation in the marketing communication. Before branding was just identification for the customers to differentiate one product from another. Gradually people became brand conscious and they started rating the products with the brand name. Then marketers started creating effective brands. Now every sector has got brands and people choose the products with the brand names. In the case of organic clothes the re are lot of brands like Eden clothing, Edun, rain tee etc and there are designers as well to encourage eco fashion. But still ethical fashion is not able to compete with the larger brands. The organic brands are targeting niche group of green consumers instead of mainstream brands consumers. There are some ethical fashion brands that are successful in the way they are communicating with the target consumers. Patagonia is one of them who became an international brand. But now the retailers have worked out another way to penetrate organic clothing in to the market. They are promoting eco friendly clothes as a different section of the existing brands. For example Nike, Levis, MS etc, these brands are taking a significant pace to progress the organic industry to the mainstream. These global brands are producing profit of multimillion pounds every year by using sweatshop labour in developing countries. After decades, the brands like Nike, Gap etc have admitted that the employees have b een abused and exploited by force labour in the factories. So they promised that they will improve the working condition for a lot of people who are not paid well to produce their highly demanded goods. There are lot of factors which affect the purchasing habit of the consumers. Though they are concerned about the environment and social problems, there are lot more reasons for the consumers to select a particular brand or the product. As the high streets are welcoming ethical fashions or organic clothing, there are some changes in consumers buying behavior. They are being responsible socially and culturally. The marketers are aware of this situation and even they are making changes to the existing brand to make sure that they are ethical in the way they process. Ethical marketing and advertising Ethical marketing frames messages in a way that the consumer identifies with. It encourages companies to integrate cultural, social, economic and environmental values into their culture, strategy and actions, and reinforces the positive values of the brand, creating a strong citizen brand. This is all done on a voluntary basis, and is generally an offering above and beyond statutory requirements. Through the effective use of ethical marketing and corporate social responsibility, companies are able to positively contribute to society and manage the environmental impact of their organisation, whilst maintaining and even growing the contribution to their bottom line. It can have direct benefits on businesses and can help secure long-term competitiveness. (grassrootsideas.co.uk, 2009) Ethical marketing is defined as applying marketing ethics into the process of marketing. Ethical marketing comes in a socially, culturally responsible and sensitive business area. It is an examination from the moral point of a marketing issue which needs a moral judgment. The survival of human race for long period and the successful future basically depends on accepting these concepts or refuse them. Ethical marketing should also have an observation whether the representation or marketing of a product or service has reached in a framework where social and cultural values meet. It is a business which makes its own way of marketing ethics and uses this code in every portion of business process which gives ability to offer valuable benefits to the customers. The consumers have to realise this competitive advantage. The ethical issues like child labour, the employers working condition, the environmental problems etc made the world think that they are more responsible socially and cultura lly. This pressured the companies and made them market their services and products which is socially moral and responsible. The best example for ethical marketing is the increasing demand of fair-trade. The whole idea of this fair-trade is, consumers pay a certain amount for the goods to a group of producers and the producers offer fair wages to employers and also preserve the environment. This sets up a trade which is ethically sound. The main aim of ethical marketing is to achieve customer loyalty by supporting positive values of a brand to make it a strong citizen brand. Though it is a new method of process which forms new challenges for the marketers, this will pressurize in developing products which gives long term benefits without any reduction of quality of the products. Ethical marketing comes in the picture when the marketers and the organisation realise that more improvements has to be done for making a better human life possibilities. Some companies like Coop Group have decline to invest money in business of fur, tobacco etc. In the case of organic clothing a strong awareness has to be done to improve the sales and the demand. The retailers of organic clothes have to be more concentrated in the way they market they products. In highly developed markets where consumers are often cynical about brands, word of mouth is increasingly the main source of recommendation. And the brands most likely to be recommended are from companies that are ethical in the way they behave. With the explosion of blogs and online social networking, word of mouth has become one of the most potent brand management tools available. There is no longer anywhere to hide-your brand will be found out and rejected unless you commit to ethical business and marketing practices. (The Marketing Society Forum, 2009) As we mentioned above developed markets will have consumers who are more conscious about the brands. Word of mouth has become an effective marketing tool in todays world. This has become powerful with the help of online social networking, creating blogs etc. The brands need recommendation from the companies to be shown that they are ethical in all the ways. Each brand has got its own production ways and marketing. They have to make sure that they are processing their business in a social responsible way. It should be acceptable culturally and socially. For example Gap, the brand which had highest turnover, they got a black mark when the brand name was related to child labour practices in the manufacturing state. This has affected their sales and the retailer Zara had hit the highest turnover label in the following year. Also Gap had to remove those items from the sale which they used child labour. All western clothing chain makes their production process in Asia. They take the advant age of cheap labour providing by Asian countries like India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, Indonesia etc. So the way they process should be ethical in all the ways because there are consumers who encourage ethically sound business and its marketing. In this instance each brands can encourage the organic clothing industry by providing organic clothes with their brand name. In UK like places people are very much conscious about the newest fashion as well the brand which they wear. So if every brands make their clothes eco friendly, that means they are being fair towards the human and the society as well. Consumers are acquiring better quality products which dont harm their skin and the environment. Through effective advertisement organic retailers can make everyone aware of the importance of organic clothes in todays era. The government and the marketers have launched campaigns to give awareness about eco fashion and also to undertake environmental impact of fast fashion culture. Organi c consumers association launched global campaign to raise the awareness of negative health and environmental effects of cheaper clothes and its production process. Then we can make ethical fashion an everyday reality. Market leadership Market leadership is usually understood in terms of the position of a given company within an industry or market, based on three factors. When determining whether a corporation can properly be referred to as a market leader, the profitability of the company will play a major role. Along with how profitable the company happens to be, the market share volume and value will also be considered. (wisegeek.com, 2009) In the above sentence it is explained that an industry, market or an organizations position in the market is depends on three points. That is profitability, market share, market volume. But now the market is more competitive and the competitors are also high in number. So there are some more points which have to be added to get a market leadership like innovations and developments, advertising, branding, quality, price etc. Fashion is a very copycat industry, says Scott Hahn, who launched Loomstate, an American organic cotton denim line, to the likes of Harrods and Selfridges last year. There are a few pioneers and other brands follow. For some its because they think organic cotton is trendy now that its escaped its tree-hugger image. But more I think are now doing so for the right reasons. (organicconsumers.org, 2009) In the case of organic industry, the organic clothes have penetrated to the market. To increase their market volume, share and profitability and be a market leader they need to do innovations, product development, pricing and advertising. Advertising and promoting the product is a very important and effective marketing tool to get the consumers attention. There are some consumers who are concerned about the environment as well as they has realized the benefits of using organic clothing. It is not only an understanding about the benefits of organic clothing but they also have to know the harmful effects of cheaper clothes to the environment and to the health of human beings. The BBC has released news about the environmental problems and UK landfill due to the growing sales of cheaper throwaway clothes. According to the survey done by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) says the clothing and textiles sector in the UK produces around 3.1m tonnes of carbon dioxi de, 2m tonnes of waste and 70m tonnes of waste water per year. Gases such as CO2, emitted by fossil fuel burning, and methane, released from landfill sites, are widely believed to be contributing to global warming. (bbc.co.uk, 2009) UK ministers told that the consumers should make sure that the production, selling and disposal of clothes are not harming the environment as well as not exploiting the workers by the use of poor labour practices. The fashion has to be more sustainable throughout the whole process which includes design, production, selling and disposing. The whole idea is to get the attention of consumers to make them understand the negative impact of cheap throwaway clothes which is highly in demand in the high streets of UK but this is making a way to increase the landfill in UK. The campaigns launched by the government and clothing associations were useful to make consumers aware about why to use organic clothes. Through these campaigns the retailers of organic clothing and the government is aiming to build a highly demand market for eco-fashion. To enter in a vast market like fashion or clothing industry, need to plan highly competitive business strategies. Marketing and advertising alone will no t make the organic clothes sustain in the market and capturing the market to be a market leader. From the perspective view of new entrance like organic clothes, entering a drenched market with limited designs wouldnt make a difference in the market and wont get an entrance easily. The entrance of Body Shop to the market is the best example here. Anita Roddick has entered in the cosmetic market where lots of high end brands are competing each other. But her innovative idea of handmade and natural cosmetic products attracted the customers and gave body shop a permanent position in the market. According to a study done by OCA (Organic Consumers Association) sales of organic cotton is doubling every year. Sales of organic cotton are set to triple to $2.6 billion at the end of 2008 from its current $900 million level as retailers and brands make significant new commitments to sustainable textile and apparel production. (organicconsumers.org, 2009) There is lot of brands like Nike, Timberland, MarksSpencer, Wal-mart etc have already opened organic lines they were joined by Reebok, CA etc as new comers. The market of organic cotton is widening every year and it also attracts the global investors. In this situation the only issue which is worrying is the availability of fiber to satisfy the increasing demand for cotton and other organic fabrics. It is a known factor from these reports that organic industry is going to be a good competitor in the fashion and retail world in the coming years. Consumer behaviour Blackwell et al said, Consumer behaviour is defined as activities people undertake when btaining, consuming and disposing of products and services.(Blackwell et al, 2001). Consumer behaviour is a study of buying behaviour of the customers in the market that means what consumers are buying, why they are buying. Better understanding of the consumer behaviour will help organisations to improve the products and services and also their business, marketing strategies. This will influence consumers to buy that particular product. In the case of organic clothing, they attract the consumers by quality and the elegant designs of the products. The consumers are aware that organic products are good for health and skin. So they started getting attracted to the food products firstly and then to baby products. Much of the consumers are worried about the delicate skin of the babies, so they go organic especially nappies which can be recycled. Here comes the importance of the study of consumer behaviour. One official definition of consumer behavior is The study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. (consumerpsychologist.com, 2009) Understanding consumer behaviour will help to develop the marketing strategies like pricing, segmentation, targeting, product designing, positioni