Investment Strategies Order Number Essay

There are many methods an investor can use to determine if a stock is a good buy or not. Three indicators often used to assess the risk of a security are beta, alpha and the Sharpe ratio. One of the most popular measures of risk associated with a security is its beta. Beta is a measure of a stock’s volatility in relation to the market as a whole. The market is given a beta of 1. 0 and individual stocks are ranked according to how much they deviate from the market’s beta. Stocks with a beta of less than 1. 0 are considered less volatile than the market and, therefore, pose less risk. Stocks that have betas higher than 1. 0 are considered more volatile than the market and, therefore, pose more risk. All things being equal, an investor would expect to see higher returns on a stock with a beta higher than the market than one with a beta lower than the market. (1) Beta is also a key component for the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). The original CAPM defined risk in terms of volatility, as measured by a stock’s beta coefficient. The formula is: Kc = Rf + beta Km – Rf) where Kc is the risk-adjusted discount rate (also known as the cost of capital) Rf is the rate of a â€Å"risk free† investment, i. e. ten-year treasury bill Km is the return rate of a market benchmark, such as the S&P 500 Kc is the expected rate of return you would require before you would be interested in a particular stock at a particular price. The CAPM expresses the amount of risk a particular stock has and gives an investor an idea of the expected returns he should expect given a certain level of risk. The more risky a stock is the higher the level of returns an investor would expect for that particular stock. (2) A stock’s alpha is a mathematical estimate of the amount of return expected from a stock’s inherent values, such as the rate of growth of in earnings per share, management strengths or other factors, as opposed to general market conditions. Stocks with an alpha greater than 1. 0 can be expected to outperform the market regardless of what happens to the market as a whole. (3) The Sharpe ratio helps investors determine the best possible proportion of securities to use in a portfolio that can also include cash. The formula for the Sharpe ratio is: S(x) = (Rx – Rf) / StdDev(x) where x is some investment Rx is the average annual rate of return of x Rf is the best possible rate of return of a â€Å"risk free† security (i. e. cash) StdDev is the standard deviation of Rx The Sharpe ratio is a direct measure of reward-to-risk. In other words, the Sharpe ratio is used to characterize how well the return of an asset compensates the investor for the risk taken. (4) Although beta, alpha and the Sharpe ratio are useful for an investor to gauge the risk of a security or portfolio of securities there are also other methods an investor can use to determine whether a security is a good investment or not. The two most common methods used to determine the investment potential of a security are fundamental analysis and technical analysis. Fundamental analysis is the process of looking at a business from its financial statements. This type of analysis typically looks at various ratios of the business to determine its financial health. The goal of fundamental analysis is determine the current worth of a stock and how the market values the stock. (5) Probably the most two important factors looked at in fundamental analysis are a company’s earnings and revenue growth. Investors like to see earnings and revenue increasing by at least 25% for each of the last three quarters and year-to-date. Return on equity (ROE) is also a major fundamental factor. ROE reveals how much profit a company earned in comparison to the total amount of shareholder equity found on the balance sheet. (6) The higher a company’s ROE compared to its industry the better. Investors typically look for an ROE of at least 17%. Technical analysis is a method of evaluating stocks by relying on the assumption that market data, such as charts of price, volume and open interest can help predict future market trends. (7) Investors using technical analysis typically look for trends in chart data and use a variety of technical indicators, such as moving averages, Bollinger bands, fast and slow stochastics, MACD, and RSI to determine the right buy point for a stock. More sophisticated investors use a combination of fundamental analysis and technical analysis to determine whether a stock is a good buy or not. They use fundamental analysis to make sure a company is healthy from a financial standpoint and is a leader in its industry. Once determining a stock is healthy from a fundamental standpoint, these investors will use technical analysis to determine the correct buy point for a stock. A stock’s chart will show the investor how the stock is actually performing in the market and whether it is rising out of a good base or is overbought based on how far its current price is from its 50 day moving average. If a stock’s price is 30% or more above its 50 day moving average, the risk that it will fall into a correction is greater. References: (1) http://www. investopedia. com/articles/stocks/04/113004. asp Beta: Know the Risk (2) http://www. moneychimp. com/articles/valuation/capm. htm CAPM Calculator (3) http://www. allbusiness. com/glossaries/alpha/4943389-1. html Business Definition for Alpha (4) http://www. moneychimp. com/articles/risk/sharpe_ratio. htm The Sharpe Ratio (5) http://stocks. about. com/od/evaluatingstocks/a/Fundanatools1. htm Tools of Fundamental Analysis (6) http://beginnersinvest. about. com/cs/investinglessons/l/blreturnequity. htm Return on Equity (ROE) (7) http://www. investorwords. com/4925/technical_analysis. html Technical Analysis

Develop Teams Individual

This report will look at identifying and implement learning and development needs for an automotive service workshop. It will look at developing a learning and development plan, elaborating a strategy to encourage staff to self evaluate performance, assessing performance, providing feedback and managing follow up.It will use Richard Parser's Automotive Service Team workshop as a case study to help understand the problems of managing people learning needs and performance implementing. Background Richard Parker has been in business for three years, in Preston, Melbourne. Richard employs eight full-time and two part-time staff. Four of the full-timers work in the workshop and two in in the back office and two in the front office dealing with customers. Richard has noticed that the front office staff and their customer service are not up to the expected level. For example customers don't get the service that they require or the product they order.Richard complains of staff not showing up for work at the right time and so on. Richard has also faced some issues with the local council over solid and liquid waste disposal. The back end office staff often confronts the mechanics when they order spare parts for the services to be carried out. The back office staff always complain of issues with suppliers. Suppliers complain of the ambiguous ordering process of the back staff. Richard finds some irregularity in his teams in terms of application of skills and knowledge. He believes that it is the right time for him to take the right actions to turn the business into the right direction.That's why he decides to identify and implement learning and development needs for is staff. Report AAA . Recommended learning method is a Training Needs Analysis (TAN) Richard could identify his team learning needs using a systematic approach and going through four steps of analysis: 1. Analysis of the competencies that each employee must have to improve the business flow. 2. Analysis of th e organization requirements to focus where is the learning and development need located. 3. Task analysis to establish what individuals and teams must learn in order to satisfy the required learning and development need. . Team analysis to determine which employee needs a learning program. To conduct this analysis Richard will need to: now his company situation, ; identify required competencies of his team, ; involve employees in decision making, survey, discuss and analyses actual data, prepare specific employee development plans, implement the plans. Before to designing the training program, it will be very important that Richard conduct a SOOT analysis, to identify his team Strengths and Weakness points; and his business Opportunities and Threats.To fill the gap between the Job requirements and current abilities of his employees, Richard has to conduct a training needs analysis, making sure that it's targeted to a specific need and satisfies training acquirement. The training nee ds will be the result of collecting information on the skills, knowledge and attitude required to perform a Job task, identifying the training need and performance gap. When designing the learning needs analysis, Richards aim is to: ; assess the current situation. Define the problem (what gaps exist? ). Determine if there is a need for training/learning. Determine what is driving this need for training/learning. ; evaluate existing training. Assess the possible learning solutions. Ascertain information about logistical considerations/constraint. The Training Needs Analysis will provide the following benefits: ; A clear indication of what needs to be included in a training program. ; Assists in developing learning outcomes (by identifying precisely what needs to be learnt). ; Clarifies areas for assessment. O Provides guidance on development, delivery, presentation methods and media to be used. Provides knowledge of the target audience, training gaps and proposed content. ; Will allo w specific evaluation to ascertain its success. AAA. Learning and Development Plan. Name: Paul smith Date: 25. 02. 2014 Job position: Front office, customer service. Learning improvements goals Dealing with customers Communication with the staff Being at work on time Learning outcomes Delivering effective customer service Team working Effective internal communication Respect of workplace rules and workflow Strategies / steps or actions Analysis of training needs: interview to identify performance needs. Identification of appropriate learning methods: consulting of guest speaker. ; Employee self-evaluation of performance: simulated work experience. ;Owner feedback: on-the-Job coaching or mentoring. Follow up: simulated work experience. Behavior/expectations/support ; Elaborate a learning plan targeted, collaboratively developed, agreed to and implemented. ; Owner identifying and approving resources and time lines required for learning activities. ; Employee proclivity to fill in the performance gaps.Owner providing coaching and mentoring assistance. Owner providing encouragement and positive feedback to the employee. Data/ resources Survey to be subordinated during informal interview. ; Guest speaker identifying appropriate learning methods. Timeline ; 1 week for analysis ; 1 week for simulating work experience, feedback and follow up. AAA. Employee self-assessment. SELF ASSESSMENT Employee details Name: PAUL SMITH position: FRONT OFFICE work area: CUSTOMER SERVICE contact no. : 555 555 555 1. Sees your current level of skill/knowledge relating to the skills/knowledge provided: I know how to take orders from clients, how to answer to phone calls, how to record appointments on the agenda. 2. Think about the requirements of your Job in relation to the skill areas and note the major task/knowledge requirements of your position: I need to improve my approach to the Clients, delivering effective customer service. I need to learn how to use suppliers database, to imp rove communication tit back office staff. I need to learn more about mechanical components, to improve communication with staff.I need to respect more workplace rules and workflow. 3. Where you can identify that your skills/knowledge are less than those required for your position, tick the box Training Required: a) Dealing with customers b) Communication with the staff c) Being at work on time 4. Where training is required, decide how soon your training should occur: a) the next 2 weeks b) In the next 2 weeks c) Immediately AAA. Feedback mechanisms. In Richard needs to collect feedback on performance of team members from relevant resources and compare with established team learning needs.Feedback on performance may include: ; Formal/informal performance appraisals. Obtaining feedback from clients. Obtaining feedback from supervisors and colleagues. Personal, reflective behavior strategies. ; Routine organizational methods for monitoring service delivery. Richard may use some formal systems in comparing established team learning needs, such as measurement systems (including planning), individual and team performance and reward systems, resource allocation systems. Richard should use also some informal yester in comparing established team learning needs, including meeting formats and conflict resolution protocols.AS. Development program Goals. Richard has to identify and develop program goals and objectives in order to establish clear training goals, learning objectives, and long-term objectives based on the outcomes that his employees wish to achieve. The goals and objectives indicate what the participants will learn and achieve as a result of their learning. To be effective, training must be specifically structured to meet stated outcomes and must be based on: ; Clear and measurable goals. Clear and learner focused objectives. Long-term objectives, to establish a pattern for future evaluation.Richard should provide to his employees a document that specifies in a structured format how they should perform a Job or work role (competency standard). AAA. Appropriate Learning Methods. Learning delivery methods appropriate to the learning goals may include: ; Conference and seminar attendance ; Formal course participation ; Induction Involvement in professional networks On-the-Job coaching or mentoring Presentations/demonstrations ; Problem-solving Work experience It is important to give the right consideration to participants expect and their earning style.Some learning methods might be not effective because: ; Lack of practical information (too much theory or background and not enough â€Å"how-to† approaches or action steps). ;Material too elementary and/or out of date, no â€Å"state of the art†. ; Not enough group interaction (too much lecturing). O Lecture notes and visuals not sequenced with course coverage. Sometimes boring. Disorganized – skipping from topic to topic with no sense of direction. ; Poor visuals. To p rovide an effective training program, the trainer should: ; Assess in advance the relative importance of each segment of the learning program. Spend more time on the most vital segments. Determine priorities for the elements of the session in advance. An effective trainer should avoid spending too much time on relatively lightweight portions of the learning program and being sidetracked by too many questions. AAA. Workplace opportunities. Informal session for customer service for front office staff. ;Refresh training in the main workshop. Rear house session with supplier sell manager. AAA. Assess and record outcomes of recommended training.Assessment in training is about measuring learners to see if they have reached the stated objectives of the course. To assess and record outcomes and performance of individuals and teams you need to evaluate their knowledge and their skills. 1 . Knowledge: what learners gained as a result of training. These assessments test the recall of facts, co mprehension skills, analysis skills, synthesis skills and evaluation skills. 2. Practical skills: the application of knowledge to a given situation. Knowledge and Practical skills include four main types of assessment: 1 .Real work: Takes place whilst the learner is performing real work, on- the-job. 2. Simulated work: Usually performed off-the-job, possibly in a training room or mock up work site. 3. Written: Used to demonstrate in written form what they know, either on paper or on computer. 4. Oral: When learners speak about what they know. One of the key challenges with assessment is to be able to assess the learning back in the workplace, â€Å"on the Job†, and it is possible to check it through the Performance Review Programs, which include observations on the Job.It is also fundamental to record assessment, keeping â€Å"training records† through a recording system that enables easy identification of what training each staff member has completed and when. Dependi ng on the size of the organization, this could be a simple matrix or it ay be done through the use of software commonly known as a â€Å"Learning Management System† (ALMS). AY. Adjusting the learning program. After monitoring and evaluating if the training course met the aims and objectives for which it was developed, it is important to adjust the learning program, if it is not u to expected dimension.Based on both assessment and evaluation, it might be needed to make or recommend changes for future training to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of learning. Changes can be made on different sides: TIME: Recommending a review of time to address the time to provide a more impressive treatment of the subject or selecting in lecture notes. CONTENT: Reviewing or re-writing the content of a presentation, for example to ensure emphasis on the practical application of the material. DELIVERY: Focusing learning material on fact and accepted knowledge not on opinion or on a partic ular style of management.Proposing to the learners generally and officially accepted management techniques and policies. FORMAT: Including a glossary of terms and an annotated bibliography to the notes. Organizing the content of the learning notes, making frequent use of headings and sub-headings and bullet points. Reviewing formatting and printing to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of learning. Providing copies of the learning material in advance so that those involved with changes can be appraised of the current presentations. AI. Documenting and maintaining records and reports of competency gained.Many methods can be employed to document and maintain records: ; Training evaluation form template Course participants to complete and to hand form to trainer after completion ; Assessment by course Director/Supervisor/Owner Owner/Supervisor to complete either with, or after discussion with the participant. Owner/Supervisor to complete either with, or after discussion with the participant 1 . Have you seen the desired changes to the participant's skills or knowledge? Yes 2. How will you test that the participant has gained from this course? Simulating work experience. . If the participant did not make the gains necessary, what can be done to address this? He can be trained again trough an on-the-Job coaching or mentoring and he could attend a formal course about customer service, internal communication and mechanical components. 4. From discussions with the participant, are you both attested that attendance at the training plan was worthwhile? Yes 5. Other comments? Elaborating a training need analysis was a effective way to improve my staff knowledge and skills and to implement and develop an effective team work.Supervisor: Richard Parker Date: 25. 02. 2014 Conclusion/Summary This report has looked at identifying and implement learning and development needs for an automotive service workshop. Developing a learning and development plan, elaborating a stra tegy to encourage staff to self evaluate performance, assessing performance, providing feedback and managing follow up. The process of monitoring, evaluating, implementing and developing people performance is essential to the success of any business.

Moral Relativism Essay

At first glance, moral relativism appears to be an appealing, well though out philosophical view. The truth of moral judgments is relative to the judging subject or community. The basic definition of moral relativism is that all moral points of view are equally valid; no single person’s morals are any more right or wrong than any other person’s. As you look closer at the points that moral relativists use to justify their claims, you can plainly see that there are, more often than not, viable objections that can be made against the moral relativist’s arguments. Moral, or ethical, relativism is made up of two types of relativism: cultural and individual relativism. Cultural relativism says that right and wrong, good and evil, are relative to a culture, to a way of life that is practiced by a whole group of people. Individual relativism says that right and wrong, good and evil, are relative to the preferences of an individual. Cultural and individual relativism support the claim that there are no â€Å"universal moral truths† in the world. Universal moral truths are morals that apply to all societies and cultures. I believe that morality is relative to culture simply since our morals develop from the surroundings in which we are raised. Our parents, culture and societal experiences build our individual views on what is moral and immoral. Perceptions are formed through example, especially when we are children as we learn what is right and wrong through our parents and how they react to situations. The theory behind ethical relativism states that ethical standards are not concrete for all societies and times, but rather are relative to the standards of individual societies and time periods. I disagree with this theory because societies should be judged by their moral beliefs on the foundations that time doesn’t change what is morally right and wrong and their should be more emphasis based on the individual rights as opposed to respecting the morals of that individual’s society. Allowing us, as a society, to say that a time or a location makes any ethical belief or theory practiced by the masses of that time/place right and that should be respected by people of other cultures is ignorant. There are a set of universal rights all human beings should enjoy no matter the location or time period, and those cultures that violate these rights shouldn’t be embraced for being different but rather shunned upon for not recognizing the universal basic rights of the indi vidual, despite the fact that it is hard to say what are ALL of these basic human rights. Ethical relativism places more emphasis on the society and not enough on the individual of that society. For example lets say that in some imaginary culture it is perfectly normal to kill or maim people if they annoy you. Ethical relativism says that being of a culture where this is not an accepted practice I cannot say that this is wrong, rather I must respect their culture thereby placing more emphasis on respecting a culture then the rights of the individuals to life no matter how annoying they happen to be. In a system where everything is relative there can be no set ethical belief because then no one is bound by any universal set code of ethics. Nothing is ever immoral since actions can’t be compared to a standard and thus nothing is immoral and nothing is moral. Societies should be judged by their moral beliefs because time and place doesn’t change what is morally right and wrong and more emphasis should be given to the individual rather than to the society. Ethical relativism contradicts the point of ethical theory in that there is no universal standards therefore n o action is moral, and vice versa no action is immoral. Society defines what is moral at a certain point in time. Morality is adaptive and can change over time, however it is still dependent upon its culture to decide whether it is accepted or not accepted. For example, in the early twentieth century, pre-marital sex was considered a huge sin and looked down upon with disgrace. A person’s entire character was jeopardized if they had participated in pre-marital sex. Today however, although pre-marital sex is not considered virtuous, society does not cast aside those who have sex before marriage. It is considered normal as a matter of fact to have several partners before marriage, that is, if you even decide to get married (another topic that has lost importance over time). Benedicts also gives an example to further prove her point that morality and or normality is culturally relative. She gives the example of a man in a Melanesian society who was referred to as â€Å"silly and simple and definitely crazy† because he liked to share and to help people and do nice things for them. In the United States, these are virtuous qualities. If you are stingy and not helpful you are looked down upon, but in this contrasting society, to share and be helpful is so disgraceful that one is ridiculed for possessing those traits or even condemned for them. One who believes that morality is relative could give further example of traits that are despised in one culture but admired in a different culture. History and evolution provide codes of what is accepted in a culture, things such as sorcery, homosexuality, polygamy, male dominance, euthanasia, these things are completely dependent upon its society to define its morality. Within this world that we live on, there is an enormous amount of people. Each of these people belongs to different cultures and societies. Every society has traits and customs that make it unique. These societies follow different moral codes. This means that they may have different answers to the moral questions asked by our own society. What I am trying to say is that every society has a different way of analyzing and dealing with life’s events, because of their cultural beliefs. This claim is known as Cultural Relativism. Cultural Relativism is the correct view of ethics. (a) Different societies have different moral codes. (b) There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societal code better than another. (c) The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is merely one among many. (d) There is no â€Å"universal truth† in ethics-that is, there are no moral truths that hold for all peoples at all times (e) The moral code of a society deter mines what is right within that society; that is, if the moral code of a society says that a certain action is right, then that action is right, at least within that society. (f) It is mere arrogance for us to try to judge the conduct of other peoples. We should adopt an attitude of tolerance toward the practices of other cultures (Pojman). Above are six claims that help explain the notion of Cultural Relativism. In Rachel’s article, the Eskimos practice infanticide as well as the killing of elders. The elders are too feeble to contribute to the group but; they still consume precious food, which is scarce. This practice is necessary for the survival of the group. The males within the Eskimo tribes have a higher mortality rate because they are the hunters and food providers. The killing of female infants helps keep the necessary equilibrium for the survival of the group. So, this infanticide and killing of elders does not signal that Eskimos have less compassion for their children, nor less respect for human life; it is merely recognition that murder is sometimes needed to ensure that the Eskimos do not become culturally extinct (Pojman). To continue with the subject of murder, there are many questions about murder that our own society faces. Within our own society there are conflicting views on topics such as abortion, capital punishment and, euthanasia. To some these acts are considered to be murder, to others they are necessary to our society. The point of this conflict is that even within our own society, there is a discrepancy between what is morally right or wrong. There is an exception to every so-called moral absolute. This eliminates the possibility of Moral Absolutism, and proves there is no universal truth (Pojman).Ruth states that homosexuals deal with many conflicts that are culturally based (Pojman). For example, in our western society, the Catholic religion believes that is a sin for individuals to partake in homosexual activity. By this I mean, the tendency toward this trait of homosexuality in our culture exposes these individuals to all the conflicts that coincide with this choice of lifestyle. Some of these conflicts include hate groups that partake in â€Å"gay bashing†, public ridicule and even laws against homosexuals taking wedding vows. This differs from what Ruth explains about how in American Indian tribes there exists the institution of the berdache (Pojman). These are men who, after puberty, take up the dress and occupations of women and even marry other men. These individuals are considered to be good healers and leaders in women’s groups. In other words, they are socially placed and not ridiculed by other members of their society. This is an example of how different societies have different moral codes. Ruth states within her article how every society integrates itself with a chosen basis and disregards itself with behavior deemed uncongenial (Pojman). This means societies will choose their own moral standards and ethical codes and, disregard actions that do not lie within the boundaries of these moral standards and ethical codes. She goes on to say that our moral codes are not formed by our inevitable constitution of human nature. We recognize that morality differs in every society. Our own culture and environment will dictate these codes. This explains why different people have different moral standards, because behavior is culturally institutionalized.

Microeconomic Phenomenon In Daily Life Term Paper

Microeconomic Phenomenon In Daily Life - Term Paper Example The paper tells how in January 25, 2011, Egyptians took to the streets in protest of dysfunctional political and economic systems in their nation. The youth took the forefront in revealing economic predicaments that had riddled their lives for a long time. In the process, members of the public engaged in confrontations with military personnel in a struggle which resulted in overthrow of Egyptian president Mubarak. The revolution period ushered in adoption of a new government system and new economic policies for Egyptian people. Immediately after the revolution, macroeconomic aspects of productivity had significantly reduced. The military regime that took over tried to restore economic sanity through measures which would take longer to yield the desired effect than expected. In this regard, Egyptian economic environment witnessed profound microeconomic predicaments in the period after revolution. Inflation effects are attributed to effects of revolution on Egyptian financial markets. In this context, Egyptian currency dropped substantially after the revolution to unprecedented low levels in the nation’s history. Egyptian net reserves for foreign currency featured at $ 30 billion in March 2011. This value represents a significant decrease since its reserves in January was approximately $33 billion. Based on theoretical effects of decreased dollar reserves within a nation’s economic system, Egyptian pound suffered a setback in value. Like most nations across the globe, Egyptian central bank has no mandate to depreciate the US dollar value. In this case, the only option to achieve a desired micro-economic trend would be to reduce purchasing power of affected currency. In the first attempt to improve the situation, Egyptian central bank purchased more pounds into their reserve stocks. These efforts fell into dead ends after dollar reserves hindered this tactical move. As a contingency plan, Egyptian central bank deliberately left deposit rates as 8.25%, while lending at a 9.75% for approximately 12 hours every week (Fraser 87). In practical application, these low interest rates were supposed to improve Egyptian currency value in order to reverse negative trends within the financial markets. Immediately after the revolution, foreign investors under sponsorship of the European Union staged a world economic summit in Alexandria. The summit aimed at addressing economic effect of revolution and increasing inflation, whi ch posed

Identifying the elements of interpersonal communication Essay

Identifying the elements of interpersonal communication - Essay Example On the contrary, a child who grows up in a poor environment can be timid, defensive and therefore inhibited in his actions. In some cultures, a person is respected by the way he speaks as in the case of Asian people. They have words that indicate politeness and courtesy which is important when talking to elderly people. Filipinos use â€Å"po† and â€Å"opo† to indicate that they are talking to someone with a higher position or someone older than them. Not observing such practice could be translated as being rude. The westerns setting does not have such words but â€Å"please†, â€Å"excuse me† and â€Å"I’m sorry† indicates good manners. As for the second statement, people who communicate more often can also be rude and tactless, quality of communication matters since people love to hear from sensible people. This is primarily why Oprah’s talk show and Dr. Phil is successful, they make people feel good and give hope. They also bring a wealth of ideas , advice and opinion to all the listeners which makes them interesting. There are also some sarcastic images in media such as â€Å" Dr House† which makes him earn the ire of people around him. NO matter how truthful and valid his advice maybe, people still value on how one expresses a certain viewpoint. Tone of voice is important since the receiver of the message may decode the meaning of the message differently. Another important thing about personal communication is that it depends upon the circumstance or situation; therefore, one must be sensitive about the context of a conversation or even an argument. This is also important especially when communica ting with people from different cultures. More often than not, conflicts in the workplace happen because of difference in cultural background. Since language is a necessity in interpersonal communication, certain meanings are attached to words or symbols of a certain language that can be a source of

A Speech on Bullying in Schools Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Speech on Bullying in Schools - Assignment Example According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that bullying among students takes various forms, such as physical, emotional, verbal or cyber harassment. This implies that the victims may experience harassment in any form that is prevalent in their schools. The researcher would like to tell that the physical and verbal forms are common with the boys while girls normally use the emotional and verbal tendencies. The cyberbullying aspect is also on the rise because of the advent of the social media networks where students interact with their peers and strangers. Similarly, both girls and boys can still apply the other forms of bullying that they like and depend on environmental and background factors. The researcher states that bullies are always known individuals, especially the popular students. They take advantage of their popularity and seniority within the school to harass others for their own personal interests. This also takes place in the presence of other studen ts who might influence the action to proceed or be prevalent in their school. The parents should try to mold their children to embrace good manners and know how to relate to others. It is also appropriate for the teachers to encourage the students to speak out whenever something like bullying happens. Bullying poses negative consequences in schools and affects the bullies and the victims in similar measures. For instance, bullying can derail a student’s academic performance due to the psychological effects and physical injuries. The mental well being of a student is vital for academics and socialization since he or she feels comfortable learning in that environment. The other undesirable consequence of bullying is that it can make a student skip classes for fear of victimization. This happens if the administration does not control the bullying activities and the students feel the school is not the right place. They end up missing classes, which drops their academic performanc e.

The strategic plan for your organization Assignment

The strategic plan for your organization - Assignment Example An appropriate implementation plan of Davivienda bank will help it to transform the developed planned projects into actual service provision (Jeffes, 2008). Figure 1: Implementation and Planning (Source: Standard bank, 2011). The above chart shows the various activities that encompass the planning and implementation of an organization. Thus, it becomes highly rational to analyze and set an efficient implementation plan for the Davivienda bank of Columbia. Objectives The recessionary trails in the contemporary world have reduced velocity of circulation of money in many economies. It has been estimated that the scope of banking activities have reduced in Sri Lanka and that has not only affected the economy of the nation, but has also negatively influenced the neighboring economies. The essay has previously incorporated certain growth strategies that would help to reduce the economic crisis in Sri Lank by expanding the scale of banking business. This part of the essay will frame the imp lementation plan with the help of these strategies (DPMC, 2012). The primary objectives to be studied in the implementation plan of Davivienda bank are:- Allocate substantial finances to incorporate the growth strategies. Reduce crisis in the economy by offering varied financial products in different regions of the economy. Introducing financial products that focus on investment banking. Increase the speculative transactions in the economy. Reducing the risks in the transactions of the bank. Facilitating the growth of other banking institutions. Incorporating a strong organizational structure and hierarchy in the bank. Focusing in financial products differentiation. Functional Tactics The functional tactics adopted by the officials of the Davivienda bank are all the small tasks that must be accomplished to implement the desired growth strategies. The functional tactics that are to be executed in the implementation plan are:- Time Horizon: the bank must set an appropriate time span w ithin which it would target to achieve its desired goals and objectives. Resources: only evaluating the required time is not enough, the bank must try to estimate the required resources that would be necessary to execute the implementation plan. Money: the most important resource that is required for completion of any task is money, the Davivienda bank must analyze the gross liquidity required to execute the desired objectives. Strategies: finally the bank must be clear about the core competences and strategies to be incorporated in the implementation plan (Pinson, 2008). Action items The following table explains the action items of the Davivienda bank that are requisites for launching the implementation program. Activities Objectives Implementation Allocate sufficient finance to incorporate the growth strategies. To increase the scale and scope of banking operations and consequently reduce the crisis in the economy. Mobilize maximum possible funds that may be allocated in the expan sionary policies. Offering varied and differentiated financial products. Encouraging individuals to participate in the banking activities. Set

DB5 Part 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DB5 Part 1 - Essay Example He connected with the canvas in a form of expression that had not previously been seen before. His work was emotional, the paint on the canvas an infliction of his emotional self, much the same as is achieved by the solo artist, opera soprano singer, a classical pianist, and all the other artists whose art bears the infliction of their emotional commitment and intensity. For the art world, Pollock’s work was the introduction of new and innovative ideas into an environment where abstract had become the norm, and expressionism still in many ways resembled abstract. There was not a distinct enough approach between impressionism and abstract to differentiate it until Pollock’s Convergence. Pollock ushered in what social scientists refer to as â€Å"cultural convergence (Jenkins 2006 viii).† That is when the new and old converge, transitioning to the new cultural direction (Jenkins 2006). Convergence is about bridging the gap between the old and the new, transitioning to the new cultural direction, and building upon the old through new creative styles and expressions across the range of media and mediums (Jenkins 2006).

Environmental Studies, Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Environmental Studies, Ethics - Essay Example Large-scale farming is more complicated than large-scale industry. Also, the growth pace is very slow. To Karl Marx, capitalism meant a progressive historical stage that would eventually freeze because of internal contradictions, and in the end, making way for socialism. This ideology provides the base for Marxist theory on the impact of capitalism and mechanization on farmers, the transition from peasant-based agriculture towards an agricultural-industrial revolution. The need for revolution was inevitable. The conventional means of agriculture just could not feed the mouths of billions of people. The impact of this revolution cannot be categorized as either good or bad in absolute terms. The peasant domestic industry was the backbone to the system providing protection for laborers. But with the transition this industry vanished and with it the traditional peasant culture. For the same reason, people started to see the benefit of having a small family, which meant fewer mouths to feed in the winters. The need for more money was the primary driving force. Marxs idea about agricultural revolution is defined within the comparison of large-scale farming versus small-scale agriculture. The assumption here is that the rural population will be segmented into strictly defined social classes; a small minority of wealthy farmers living alongside the majority of agricultural workers. This relationship would not be based on equality because the workers would have been always trying to free themselves from the oppression and influence of the authority. Marx proposed the success of transition but suggested that an alliance of industrial and agricultural working class was imperative for the healthy growth of the society. Ultimately, this union could become a force against the capitalists. Kautsky does not limit himself to a narrow debate. Only considering the

Philosophy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Philosophy - Assignment Example Therefore this distinct and clear perception of Descartes depends on assumption that the Almighty God exists, which also depends on the criteria of distinct and clear perception. It is therefore a common knowledge that what we clearly and distinctly perceive as true always exists like Descartes clearly and distinctly perceives that God exists and that He (God) cannot lie. Loeb contrasts Descartes current belief of clearly and distinct perception that something exists. Loeb compares a time when one is not able to currently perceive something a clear and distinct perception, but he/she can previously recollect a clear and distinct perception of something that existed in the past. He calls this a recollected distinct and clear perception unlike the current distinct and clear perception that has no basis at all. He therefore puts it that beliefs that are based on distinct and clear perception, as either recollected or current distinct and clear perceptions. He (Loeb) therefore, says that a current distinct and clear perception will include a current assumption and current theorems. But recollected distinct and clear perception will include recollected assumptions and theorems. This is unlike Descartes who had invoked the distinction between recollected and current theorems in his passages to the circle. It is therefore clear that any psychological doctri ne that can use recollected distinct and clear perceptions will be dislodged by the doubtful supposition, and that it will seem more acceptable because doubt is a state that can destabilize belief. (Loeb, pg 96) Again Loeb finds a problem in the Cartesian cycle that claims that the rule of knowledge of truth is a complete condition for stability of beliefs that are based on distinct and clear perceptions. This is by the supposition that claims the skeptical hypothesis as true.

Pros and Cons on Death Penalty Essay Example for Free

Pros and Cons on Death Penalty Essay Ms. Pat Johnson ENG-099 Pros and Cons of Assisted Suicide: Argument Essay When death is knocking at your door, do you answer or ignore the call? Unfortunately, some people answer the call willingly. Euthanasia is painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. All motives are compassionate for a patient, whether the killing is by a direct action, such as a lethal injection, or by failing to perform an action necessary to maintain life. The euthanasia movement started in l935 in Britain, in l938 in the U S A, and in l980 in Canada (catholicapologetics). Opinion polls show average support of 60 percent in the USA, 74 percent in Canada, and 80 percent in Britain (catholicapologetics). Many people disagree that death is a decision upon GOD but, why make a person suffer more pain being alive? Today, many people are against euthanasia because; they feel that it is murder. This is because there are certain cons of euthanasia that compel them to think this way. Firstly, medical science has made great advancements in the recent years. There is almost always a cure available for a disease. So euthanasia should not be kept as a viable option. One of the other cons of euthanasia is that sometimes there is pressure from family members who want to induce death for their own gains. The doctor may get influenced by the ideas that are put forward by them. In that case it becomes very difficult to decide whether euthanasia was completely necessary or was influenced by the family members. Sometimes even medical science cannot predict with certainty the fate of a patient. In such cases, euthanasia would mean snatching away the chances of a patient’s survival. There are many cases where mercy killing has often been misused. To prevent such manhandling euthanasia should be prohibited. Something that concerns the life of a person should not be left in the open for people to play around with.

Pharmaceutical Drug Companies Essay Example for Free

Pharmaceutical Drug Companies Essay Pharmaceutical drug companies comprise the main driving force behind drug design, production and marketing. Pharmaceutical companies are very active in research, wherein they devote 80% of their funds for research and development and only 20% to sales of their drugs. The concentration of these companies in research and development has significantly expanded in the last two decades, resulting in the introduction of a large number of drugs to the public. It has been observed that the amount of funds spent on research and development is strongly correlated with the strength of a company’s drug sales. Potent novel drugs generally result in huge drug sales that can be utilized or recycled for further research and development. Other resources such as stock market investments have been determined to be inferior tools for financing of activities of pharmaceutical drug companies because supplementary expenses are always part of such joint ventures. Unfortunately, fluctuations in actual drug prices directly affect the activities for research and development of drug companies because more expensive drugs result in an increase in the amount of income that drug companies generate, and only a small portion of the income is needed for investment. The continuous research and development activities of pharmaceutical drug companies only slightly stimulate the speed of development of new drugs that will be introduced to the market. The main governing body that controls the endorsement of prescription drugs is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This administrative group is also responsible for establishing standards for regulation and advertisement of drugs to both potential consumers and medical practitioners. The FDA provides requirements that advertisements accurately explain all pertinent information of the drug and appropriately present the benefits and risks of using the drug. It is required that drug advertisements be submitted to the FDA as soon as these forms of media are released to the consumer public. These forms of media include any types of publications, flyer distributions and broadcast media, including radio and television advertisements. In the past 5 years, the amount of advertisements for pharmaceutical drugs has grown significantly. Consequently, the number of communications released by the FDA regarding regulation of drug advertising has also increased. These communications explain the dangers of presenting deceptive and confusing information regarding the pharmaceutical drug that a company is promoting. Should the FDA determine that a drug advertisement has misinformed the public, the advertising pharmaceutical company is asked to change the content of their advertisement, or else the entire advertisement will be removed from further exposure to the public. Currently, there are fewer pharmaceutical advertisements that have been advised to be modified or removed, suggesting the pharmaceutical drug companies have lately been following the FDA regulations cautiously and properly. Society has been increasingly procuring pharmaceutical drugs during the last ten years. Drug purchase comprises approximately 10% of health care expenses in the United States, and it has been estimated that almost 3% of the entire household expenses of elderly adults are spent towards buying medicines (Kreling et al. , 2001). Such amplification in the general drug expenses per household results from variations in the price of the pharmaceutical drugs and the frequency of usage of drugs. A higher frequency of drug usage, as also influenced by the amount of prescriptions given by a medical practitioner to a patient, plays one of the major influences on the general increase in drug expenses. An increase in general drug expenses in a household is also influenced by the increase in price of the particular drugs that the household routinely procures for medication and health maintenance. Another force that generates an increase in the household expenses for drugs involves the switching from previous medications to newer prescription drugs. Old medications are usually replaced by newer drugs because newer drugs tend to be more efficacious and potent that the old medication. Unfortunately, newer drugs are commonly more expensive. It has been estimated that there has been a 17% increase in the purchase of pharmaceutical drugs recently, wherein 6% of such increase was due to inflation in the price of the pharmaceutical drug, and another 6% was due the actual increase in price of the drug itself, and another 4% increase was influenced by the switch from an old prescription to a new medication (NIHCM, 2002). It has been determined that the consumption of pharmaceutical drugs has increased yearly for the last 10 years, mainly due to the aggressive advertising and promotion of pharmaceutical drugs by the corresponding drug companies to medical practitioners. In addition, the increased utilization of pharmaceutical drugs is also influenced by the number of elderly patients that are being prescribed multiple pharmaceutical drugs for treatment and maintenance. Among such drugs are those effective to management of blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and depression. The increase in the price of pharmaceutical drugs provides a way for a pharmaceutical drug company to acquire resources to funds their activities in research and development. Hence, there is always a factor to consider when picking a pharmaceutical drug. A drug that is preferentially bought by the consumer public significantly raises more revenue for the pharmaceutical drug company, and in turn, the pharmaceutical drug company is thus encouraged to design and develop additional new drugs that the consumer public will appreciate in the same way as they did with the principal pharmaceutical drug. However, the price of a pharmaceutical drug does not automatically determine whether the consumer will purchase that particular drug. An example to this dilemma can be observed in certain pharmaceutical drugs that are sold at such a high price when bought through its brand name, but the same active ingredient or the generic form of the drug can also be bought at an affordable and cheaper price. A certain fraction of the consumer public will purchase generic drugs instead of brand-name drugs, mainly to decrease their average household expenses of medication. Unfortunately, there are certain drugs that are unavailable in its generic form, hence the consumer has no choice but to buy the brand-name drug, which is usually very expensive. A comparative research has determined that the efficacy of a brand-name medication is as good as its generic form (Liebermann, 2005). The employment of insurance companies has facilitated consumers in reducing the prices of pharmaceutical drugs, wherein the health insurance companies have indicated that specific drugs with reasonable prices will only be included in their formulary of prescription drugs. Health insurance companies have also adapted co-payment options which guide the consumer to procure cheaper yet effective drugs for their treatment. In addition, medical practitioners are also advised that they provide their patients with both brand and generic names of the prescription drugs they are handing out to their patients, so that the patients will have the freedom to choose which pharmaceutical drug they will buy from the pharmacy (Lanjouw and Cockburn, 2005).

Success of the Kong Hong Crossover Film

Success of the Kong Hong Crossover Film Chapter 1 Introduction Preface The purpose for this dissertation is to discover what is crossover film and what makes the crossover film a success. The cinema of Hong Kong has consider as the pioneer of chinese language movie. Especially between the 1970à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, most of movie fans will be familiar with names like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, John Wu from Hong Kong cinema. The reason why these movie star become so popular because they produce a lot of martial art film during that time. And then these martial art film brought to the western audiences. In fact, A lot of english speaking country or european start to aware of asian movie in that time. However, the English audiences might consider these martial art film as the crossover film. The English audiences think these martial art film as the crossover probably because these martial art film come with simple plot. The story are quite easy to understand for them such as the good and evil character. So the audienes are not nessesary to understand what the character speaking. Therefore, there is no language boundary when the english audiences watch it. In my research, these martial arts films in the past does not count as the crossover film. I would say the crossover film is relate to several elements which is culture references, co-production, company investment, audiences expectation, marketing, etc. Research background Back to Hong Kong cinema, The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the major movie industry in the Chinese language speaking cinema. Before 1997, Hong Kong was a colony of Britain and therefore Hong Kong had a greater freedom on economic and political than mainland China. Even in film industry, The censorship system in Mainland China have a very strHYPERLINK http://cdict.net/q/straightict rule. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“ Hong Kong filmmakers either steered away from criticzing China or did so in oblique ways à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“(Clara Lawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Farewell China,1989. P.127: Bordwell, 2000). Therefore, the Hong Kong film maker can barely sell their film or have to re-produce another verison to adapt the market in China. On the other hand, the America or other Euro country censorship syetem are vary widely than China. And a lot of Hong Kong film producers try to sell their films to some western country. But I think it was not that easy for the very beginning because the western audiences probabl y havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seen any kind of asian movie before. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“European and North American audiences have never been particularly interested in Asian cinema, Apart from the occasional exotic import and anime.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (D. Bordwell, 2003, P. 83) During the 1970s, the matrial art /Ku fung film become one of the major theme in Hong Kong. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Golden Harvest was the top studio, signing up Jackie Chan, the kung fu comedy actor-filmmaker who would spend the next twenty years as Asias biggest box office drawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Chan and Yang, 1998, P.  164à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"165: Bordwell, 2000). However, during the 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. there was a industry crisis because of the Asian financial crisis and also the illegal copy and download over the internet. However, there was a few local film receive a huge success even it was a hard time for film industry by that period. Those are the film that I am going to cover in my research. Chapter 2 What is crossover film? 2.1 Chapter introduction In this chapter, I will be discuss how we define crossover film especially the film made in Hong Kong. Also, Hong Kong produced a lot of martial art or action movie during the late 1980à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and early 1900à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. And Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s probably relate to the politcal and society problem. It might be represent the identity of Hong Kong movie as the martial art film from the english audiences. And I want to find out why they have this thought. Apart from these martial art film, do they know other films that made in Hong Kong? 2.2 Hong Kong movie = Ku fung ? The Martial art movie can be chase back to 1930à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s originally. And the Chinese people called it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wuxiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? film, the term à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wuxiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? is based on some fictional Chinese novel and always use of the old chinese dynasty as the background. The features of these à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wuxiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? characters always appear with sword as the weapon and come with superpower. The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wuxiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? film probably the most popular genre in the early cinema of Mainland China. I think the Chinese audiences need this kind of topic in the cinema such as heroic and myth after the post-war period. However, the chinese government strongly disapprove à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wuxiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? film in China as the subject matter is over superstition and violence. And some Hong Kong movie producer try to bring action movie to Hong Kong audiences in the late 1930à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. The reason is Hong Kong had a superior level of freedom as the social culture and economy development during the colony era. That was the competitive advantage for Hong Kong could produce some action film but Mainland China. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“In the British colony of Hong Kong, which had since 1950à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s transformed itself from an entreport to an industial city, the 1960à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s was also a period of rapid economic growth and social turmoilà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Po Shek fu and David Desser, P.71: Cambridge university press, 2000). Therefore, I believe the martial arts movie has became popular start by the late 1960à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. The Martial arts movies still feature à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wuxiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? style in the early Hong Kong cinema. However, there was some significant change in the Hong Kong cinema during the 1970à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. I think the first time to allow western audiences to get to know about Hong Kong movies is the master of martial arts Bruce Lee return to Hong Kong cinema. Bruce Lees career achievement as well as cultural aspects of the film have an influence, he not only open the gate for the Chinese to first enter Hollywood, but also created his own philosophy on martial arts Jeet Kune Do. And make Action movies become one of the mainstream genres in Hong Kong. The early co-production with hollywood (Warner Bros) and Hong Kong (Golden Harvest) was à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Enter the Dragonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? in 1973. It was also the first time Hong Kong attempt to break into western audiences market. The film combined the traditional Kung fu and James bond action style genres. It wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really successful for the first breakthrough with western audiences because Lee dead in 1973. And then the action movie production seem to be lay low for while. This situation change until Golden Harvest studio sign up Jackie Chan as the action movie star. Jackie Chan as early as 1982 when it began to break into the Hollywood market, but he does not run smoothly into the international road. His first foray into the international market film called Cannonball Run. Unfortunately at the box office failure, And then after many years later Jackie took the first Hollywood movie Rush Hour which made him become popular in Hollywood. During the 70à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"early 90à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, Hong Kong exported a lot of local movie to western country. In my opinon, I think the western audiences probably consider the early Hong Kong action movie as the crossover film. But I think these action movies just the films that made in Hong Kong. Therefore, I m going to look for the real definition for crossover film in next paragraph. 2.3 The definition of crossover film In fact, I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t find any book that mention about the term à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“crossover filmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? during my research. However, I found some other sourse over the internet to explain what is crossover film. Also I will use my own understanding to outline the definition of crossover film through the research. When I start typing the word à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“crossover filmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? on google search engine. I found this web blogger called Pardesi over the internet and talk about what he/she thinks about crossover film. This blogger Pardesi make a compare between two successful crossover films which is Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Slumdog Millionaire in the blog entry. Pardesi suggest that the definition of crossover film à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Such films go beyond the traditional markets in the home country, or already exploited by films from the country, and usually end up making a lot of money.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Pardesi, (2010). In my opinion, I think Pardesi only suggest c rossover film more concern by marketing way. However, I believe crossover film can be relate many different elements apart from marketing. Firstly, I think it can separate into two parts which is the crossover film itself and the production. The crossover film itself can develop to culture, actor, and audiences expectation, and narrative structure. And the production element can define as company investment, finanical, special effect, and film location or studio. I think culture represent a lot within the crossover film because it can show some of the local element to western audiences. Also, it probably involve different actor from different coutry or speak different language. And the most important one is audiences expectation, the western audiences might expect to see something where the local film specialize at , or something they probably wont see from the english movie. for example, Martial art, high population or modern city scene. The second part to define crossover film is about production. firstly, it might involve western company to invest Hong Kong movie and re-packaging the film to be come suitable western marketing. Even finanical support is key element as produce a crossover film. Some western film production company might already own their advanced technology to create some imaginary scenes. However, these are just the thoughts come from my research. I will be provide some evidences to proof these elements are relevant. 2.4 Chapter summary This chapter has mainly introduced the theories and article which relevant in this research. It can give some idea to the reader about the crossover film. Also have the primary understanding about the marketing side and production side of the crossover film. In next chapter, I will discuss more about the elements which make the crossover film success. Chapter 3 The Crossover films 3.1 Chapter introduction The purpose of this chapter is to use three significant crossover films as the example. And then I will discuss the key elements which bring them to become sucessfull around the global. The films I will be focus on Kung Fu Hustle(2004), The film saved Hong Kong film industrial during the global economic crisis and the local film industrial decline. The second film I will look at is Rush Hour (1998), see how the western audiences expectation change from crossover film. Finlly, I will discuss how cross-movies in the western region of Hong Kongs success, rather than in Hong Kong by using à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? 3.2 Crossover to international à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Stephen Chowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“ Kung Fu Hustleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? During the late 90à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, hong kong movie industrial met a several crisis. The internet technology was developing extremely fast. People start sharing the movie over the internet, or even purchase the illegal movie DVD copies rather than go to the cinema . Some movie production studio find it difficult to maintain the movie production as the box office decline. However, Hong Kong actor Stephen chow seem to be saved this crisis for Hong Kong movie industrial. Hong Kongs population is 7,061,200. As a small population and economic decline region, Some Hong Kong movie studio find it hard to survive. Therefore, they can only rely on producing some low budget film to maintain the business. Nevertheless, the cinema of Hong Kong still find the way to survive from mainland China and international market. Kung Fu Hustle 2004 is a one of the great successful example. The film recieve highly positive result. Before Kung Fu Hustle, there are several film which co-production with Columbria studio. Howeve, these film have failed at the box office because they remain a little local flavour. The western audiences probably more familiar with one of the most popular actor in Hong Kong Stephen Chow. He created his own comedy style on acting called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Mo lei tauà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? , this term can be referred to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Silly talkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“During an interview with Stephen Chow for his 2006 Asian Invasion season, the BBCs film critic Jonathan Ross referred to the genre as Silly Talk, a label that Chow was happy to accept.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Wikipedia. 2011. Mo lei tau), the interview also avalible on YouTube(Asian Invasion Episode 2 Part 2) . Stephen Chow produced the first film à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Shaolin Soccerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? which break through the western market. However, the second film Kung Fu Hustle Stephen Chow became an international success. Columbia pictures impressed by stephen previous film Shaolin Soccer and wanted to provide finanical support to Stehpen. As a result, Stehpen came up the new idea on the film Kung Fu Hustle in 2004. Stephen Chow also is an actor himself, he started his acting career from a local television. In early 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, he began to making film with his Mo lei tau comedy style. But this kind of acting style only limited to cantonese speakers understanding. Therefore, Stephen tried not to put too much Mo lei tau acting style in Kung Fu Hustle, and used the CGI and pop culture references instead. In addition, Stephen co production with Columbria studio and several film studio in mainland China. In my opinion, I think such as this kind of collaboration with western movie studio is quite benefit to Hong Kong film industrial. The reason is western movie studio has already built up a very mature technique on film production. Also, they developed some advance computer graphic during the editing part. This is a great improvement on visual effect for the Hong Kong film, so the CGI technology can perform the scene that impossible become possible. For example, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Kung Fu Hustleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? refer a lot of superhuman ability combine with martial art. During the interview with BBC, Stephen said this kind of technology did a great help for his film, but he insist to put CGI graphic as the assistant role for the film. I agree what Stephen says because it wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t lose the originality with martial art element. Also, the CGI effect just play a little role that make western audiences easier accept the film rather than produce the stereotype martial art movie. The western audiences probably have seen a lot different martial art film from the past. Furthermore, the Hollywood production system more focus on quality rather than quantity. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hollywood directors count themselves lucky to make a film every three yearsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In the late 1990s Andre Lau( Hong Kong director) was directing as many as 4 films per year.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (David B, P.  117 2003). In such a condition, I think hong kong filmmaker can only produce some low budget film and lack of idea on creating some stunning story. Therefore, I reckon the collaboration between western film studio and Hong Kong film maker which is quite benefit to Hong Kong film to break through western market. Apart from big company support, Stephen Chow also wanted try some new element into the film such as put a several American pop culture in different scenes. These references including Road Runner à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wile E. Coyote and Road Runnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? , and a dance scene which refer to Amercian musical à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“West side storyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and the horror scene à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Shingingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?1908. When I look at some Hong Kong movie in the past, I think they cant become mainstream movie in western country because the film is more focus on local audiences taste. Only some of the popular martial art or action movie can be sell to western. Beside, the western audiences only understand because these film content involve simple plot such as bad character get beat up by the good character. It might be already label that Hong Kong movie represent martial art or kung fu in some sence. Therefore, I believe the way to make western audiences re-consider Hong Kong movie not just another martial art or action film could be consider to put some western pop culture. This is not only reduce the language boundry, but also bring up some new element to the film. 3.3 Cultural cross-over movieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Rush Hourà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Even Stephen Chowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s gain a hugh success from western market. There is still some movie fans not quite fancy foreign film. Especially the film is based on chinese language. According to producer Terence Chang à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A lot of Hong Kong films have things that I think American audiences canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t accept.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? D. Bordwell (P.19 ,2000) In 1998, Jackie Chan finally arrived to Hollywood. Chanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Rush hourà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? series become at Rank #1 at the North American box-office with a weekend gross of $33 million in September 1998 (figure on Appendix -1) Which is unexpected result for foreign film. I would say the Martial Art combine buddy movie opened the gate for crossover film. The movie applied the buddy film style like the hollywood film normally use. In Rush Hour, it is about a Chinese inspector and American detective. The character James Carter (Chris Tucker) keeps the American comedy element in the film, and Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) remain his action scenes throughout the movie. I think the audiences have never seen the buddy film like this before which bring a lot of new visual elements to them. However, Jackie Chan reveal on his official blog that he didnt really like the film and he felt very disappointed. Chan Said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I felt the style of action was too Americanized and I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand the American humor.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Which I consider the film might suitable for western audiences rather than local audiences. In à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Rush Hourà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? series, there are a lot of jokes which based on minority racial stereotypes in Amer ican society. I think that makes the film easier to get accepted by majority white audiences. The two character portray totally different personality. Carter portray as a loud, speak with high pitch, impulsive, childish Black man who often causing trouble, Lee is a respectful Asian man who good at Kung Fu. According to King (2002) points out that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"reduce any threat created by the spectacle of a seemingly dominating Black characterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (p. 149).These features of both characters become likeable for the western audiences. In Bar fighting scene, Lee says à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Whats up my Niggerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? to the bartender because Carter said that to the African customer. But Lee doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand the wordà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?Niggerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? is a racist word to African. I think the director uses quite a lot this kind of jokes in the film to reflect the culture differences from society. In contrast with Jackie Chanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s earlier Hong Kong action movie. He represented as a masculinity and tough character most of the time. But in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Rush Hourà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, character Lee who always wanted help the FBI to solve the case. And the FBI try to use character Carter to send Lee away. Altough White Character involved small role in this film. I think the director still want White character to portray as important position in the film. 3.4 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Crouching Tiger was very well received in the Western world, however Crouching Tiger was widely dismissed as just another wuxia film among many others in asia.) Chapter 4 Research Methodology 4.1 Chapter introduction The purpose of the primary research provide the basic level of understanding for the researcher. I will use questionnaire during the primary research. The questionnaire will be conducted ten questions which indicate the western audiences interest on crossover film. The result will indicate the future trends for crossover film. This chapter will be described how the methodology adopt and analysis research question. Furthermore, this chapter is going to explain the research design, research location, sampling design and data collection process, survey instrument, and ethical issue. 4.2 Research processes Primary research: Survey ÃÆ'  Questionnaire by Student/Internet users ÃÆ'  Collect from: Northampton/ linking the questionnaire on facebook ÃÆ'  Analyze results In primary research, it will be carry out a questionnaire research. According to Ticehurst, Gregory W (2000: P.135) defined a questionnaire survey is the way to collect information from individual by using a set of question. Therefore, I believe the first to do is focus on what type of information and respondent are looking for. Then start to think about an appropriate questions for the research. The primary research will only take 10% part of this dissertation. The reason is I am hoping to get about medium size of response rate from that. Here is the brief descript type of questionnaire survey will be use: Type of questionnaire Cost Length of questionnaire Response rate Street/University/Internet Low Short Medium 4.3 Research Location The questionnaire survey is taken place from the three locations in Northampton which are the Abbeyfield school , Northampton town center and University of Northampton. The reason of chosen these place to research because it can save time to traveling different places which far way from Northampton. Further more, it can widely spread collecting the data over the internet. 4.4 Survey Instrument Development The questionnaire (Appendix). There are 3 parts of the questionnaire. The first part is about personal information such as age, gender. this is designed to collect the demographic data of the respondents. Then, the second part is about the respondentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s knowledge on crossover film. That is to collect the information about how much respondent know about crossover film. Finally, the third part is about respondentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s interest on crossover film. And that is designed to what sort element the respondent like so I can provide the recommendation for the future crossover film. 4.5 Ethic Issue in Research The protection for the respondentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s information is one of the most important thing in the research. In à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Doing your research projectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, According to the Judith Bell (2005: 51) the researcher can follow two things to maintain the respondentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s right when they carry out a research. 1.) Keep the participant innominate. 2.) Treat all the information as confidential file which from the respondent. However, My questionnaire is based on personal opinion rather than personal details. Therefore, I suppose my research will not meet any ethical issue. Chapter 5 Conclusion 5.1 The future for the crossover film 5.2 Conclusion Appendix Part -1 Rush Hour Domestic Total Gross: $141,186,864 Distributor: New Line Release Date: September 18, 1998 Genre: Action Comedy Runtime: 1 hrs. 37 min. MPAA Rating: PG-13 Production Budget: $33 million 1998 Date (click to view chart) Rank Weekend Gross % Change Theaters Change / Avg. Gross-to-Date Week # Sep 18à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"20 1 $33,001,803 2,638 $12,510 $33,001,803 1 Sep 25à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"27 1 $21,202,929 -35.8% 2,643 +5 $8,022 $64,037,138 2 Oct 2à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"4 3 $14,492,122 -31.7% 2,701 +58 $5,365 $84,014,663 3 Oct 9à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"11 2 $11,105,465 -23.4% 2,701 $4,111 $98,382,886 4 Oct 16à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"18 4 $8,247,411 -25.7% 2,724 +23 $3,027 $109,911,590 5 Oct 23à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"25 6 $5,860,347 -28.9% 2,602 -122 $2,252 $117,284,969 6 Oct 30à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Nov 1 6 $3,799,380 -35.2% 2,402 -200 $1,581 $122,428,446 7 Nov 6à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"8 10 $3,322,424 -12.6% 2,043 -359 $1,626 $127,044,896 8 Nov 13à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"15 11 $1,866,524 -43.8% 1,615 -428 $1,155 $129,829,673 9 Sources from: http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=rushhour.htm Part -2 I am a student from University of Northampton. I am going to conduct a survey about the Crossover film that made in Hong Kong. I would be grateful if you could finish this questionnaire. Your honest view is taken with highly to appreciate. All the information in the questionnaire will be kept confidential for analysis only. Thank you very much. (Please tick the appropriate box) Gender à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Male à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Female Age à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 15 ~ 25 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 25 ~ 35 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 35~ 45 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 45 ~ above Do you know any of these asian movie stars from below? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Jackie Chan à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Bruce Lee à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Jet Li à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Stephen Chow à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Andy Lau à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Tony Leung à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Other ________________ Have you ever watched any other films that has been made in Hong Kong? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Yes à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ No à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Not sure if the film is made in Hong Kong 5. How often do you watch Hong Kong movies? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Daily à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Weekly à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Monthly à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Occasionally 6. Do you think Hong Kong movies representing martial arts? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Yes à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ No à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Not sure Do you understand what the story is about when you watch crossover films? If the film is using original Chinese language, just subtitles. (such as these films for example) Shaolin soccer, kung fu hustle, Internal affairs, In the mood for love à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Yes à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡No 8. Do you prefer to see the actor you familiar with from Hong Kong movie? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Yes à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ No What sort of things do you expect to see when you watch a Hong Kong movie? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Kung Fu fighting à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Action movie star à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Local culture à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Comedy Would you recommend friends to watch film that made in Hong Kong? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Yes à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡No Success of the Kong Hong Crossover Film Success of the Kong Hong Crossover Film Chapter 1 Introduction Preface The purpose for this dissertation is to discover what is crossover film and what makes the crossover film a success. The cinema of Hong Kong has consider as the pioneer of chinese language movie. Especially between the 1970à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, most of movie fans will be familiar with names like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, John Wu from Hong Kong cinema. The reason why these movie star become so popular because they produce a lot of martial art film during that time. And then these martial art film brought to the western audiences. In fact, A lot of english speaking country or european start to aware of asian movie in that time. However, the English audiences might consider these martial art film as the crossover film. The English audiences think these martial art film as the crossover probably because these martial art film come with simple plot. The story are quite easy to understand for them such as the good and evil character. So the audienes are not nessesary to understand what the character speaking. Therefore, there is no language boundary when the english audiences watch it. In my research, these martial arts films in the past does not count as the crossover film. I would say the crossover film is relate to several elements which is culture references, co-production, company investment, audiences expectation, marketing, etc. Research background Back to Hong Kong cinema, The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the major movie industry in the Chinese language speaking cinema. Before 1997, Hong Kong was a colony of Britain and therefore Hong Kong had a greater freedom on economic and political than mainland China. Even in film industry, The censorship system in Mainland China have a very strHYPERLINK http://cdict.net/q/straightict rule. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“ Hong Kong filmmakers either steered away from criticzing China or did so in oblique ways à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“(Clara Lawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Farewell China,1989. P.127: Bordwell, 2000). Therefore, the Hong Kong film maker can barely sell their film or have to re-produce another verison to adapt the market in China. On the other hand, the America or other Euro country censorship syetem are vary widely than China. And a lot of Hong Kong film producers try to sell their films to some western country. But I think it was not that easy for the very beginning because the western audiences probabl y havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seen any kind of asian movie before. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“European and North American audiences have never been particularly interested in Asian cinema, Apart from the occasional exotic import and anime.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (D. Bordwell, 2003, P. 83) During the 1970s, the matrial art /Ku fung film become one of the major theme in Hong Kong. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Golden Harvest was the top studio, signing up Jackie Chan, the kung fu comedy actor-filmmaker who would spend the next twenty years as Asias biggest box office drawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Chan and Yang, 1998, P.  164à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"165: Bordwell, 2000). However, during the 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. there was a industry crisis because of the Asian financial crisis and also the illegal copy and download over the internet. However, there was a few local film receive a huge success even it was a hard time for film industry by that period. Those are the film that I am going to cover in my research. Chapter 2 What is crossover film? 2.1 Chapter introduction In this chapter, I will be discuss how we define crossover film especially the film made in Hong Kong. Also, Hong Kong produced a lot of martial art or action movie during the late 1980à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and early 1900à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. And Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s probably relate to the politcal and society problem. It might be represent the identity of Hong Kong movie as the martial art film from the english audiences. And I want to find out why they have this thought. Apart from these martial art film, do they know other films that made in Hong Kong? 2.2 Hong Kong movie = Ku fung ? The Martial art movie can be chase back to 1930à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s originally. And the Chinese people called it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wuxiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? film, the term à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wuxiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? is based on some fictional Chinese novel and always use of the old chinese dynasty as the background. The features of these à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wuxiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? characters always appear with sword as the weapon and come with superpower. The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wuxiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? film probably the most popular genre in the early cinema of Mainland China. I think the Chinese audiences need this kind of topic in the cinema such as heroic and myth after the post-war period. However, the chinese government strongly disapprove à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wuxiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? film in China as the subject matter is over superstition and violence. And some Hong Kong movie producer try to bring action movie to Hong Kong audiences in the late 1930à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. The reason is Hong Kong had a superior level of freedom as the social culture and economy development during the colony era. That was the competitive advantage for Hong Kong could produce some action film but Mainland China. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“In the British colony of Hong Kong, which had since 1950à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s transformed itself from an entreport to an industial city, the 1960à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s was also a period of rapid economic growth and social turmoilà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Po Shek fu and David Desser, P.71: Cambridge university press, 2000). Therefore, I believe the martial arts movie has became popular start by the late 1960à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. The Martial arts movies still feature à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wuxiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? style in the early Hong Kong cinema. However, there was some significant change in the Hong Kong cinema during the 1970à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. I think the first time to allow western audiences to get to know about Hong Kong movies is the master of martial arts Bruce Lee return to Hong Kong cinema. Bruce Lees career achievement as well as cultural aspects of the film have an influence, he not only open the gate for the Chinese to first enter Hollywood, but also created his own philosophy on martial arts Jeet Kune Do. And make Action movies become one of the mainstream genres in Hong Kong. The early co-production with hollywood (Warner Bros) and Hong Kong (Golden Harvest) was à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Enter the Dragonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? in 1973. It was also the first time Hong Kong attempt to break into western audiences market. The film combined the traditional Kung fu and James bond action style genres. It wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really successful for the first breakthrough with western audiences because Lee dead in 1973. And then the action movie production seem to be lay low for while. This situation change until Golden Harvest studio sign up Jackie Chan as the action movie star. Jackie Chan as early as 1982 when it began to break into the Hollywood market, but he does not run smoothly into the international road. His first foray into the international market film called Cannonball Run. Unfortunately at the box office failure, And then after many years later Jackie took the first Hollywood movie Rush Hour which made him become popular in Hollywood. During the 70à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"early 90à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, Hong Kong exported a lot of local movie to western country. In my opinon, I think the western audiences probably consider the early Hong Kong action movie as the crossover film. But I think these action movies just the films that made in Hong Kong. Therefore, I m going to look for the real definition for crossover film in next paragraph. 2.3 The definition of crossover film In fact, I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t find any book that mention about the term à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“crossover filmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? during my research. However, I found some other sourse over the internet to explain what is crossover film. Also I will use my own understanding to outline the definition of crossover film through the research. When I start typing the word à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“crossover filmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? on google search engine. I found this web blogger called Pardesi over the internet and talk about what he/she thinks about crossover film. This blogger Pardesi make a compare between two successful crossover films which is Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Slumdog Millionaire in the blog entry. Pardesi suggest that the definition of crossover film à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Such films go beyond the traditional markets in the home country, or already exploited by films from the country, and usually end up making a lot of money.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Pardesi, (2010). In my opinion, I think Pardesi only suggest c rossover film more concern by marketing way. However, I believe crossover film can be relate many different elements apart from marketing. Firstly, I think it can separate into two parts which is the crossover film itself and the production. The crossover film itself can develop to culture, actor, and audiences expectation, and narrative structure. And the production element can define as company investment, finanical, special effect, and film location or studio. I think culture represent a lot within the crossover film because it can show some of the local element to western audiences. Also, it probably involve different actor from different coutry or speak different language. And the most important one is audiences expectation, the western audiences might expect to see something where the local film specialize at , or something they probably wont see from the english movie. for example, Martial art, high population or modern city scene. The second part to define crossover film is about production. firstly, it might involve western company to invest Hong Kong movie and re-packaging the film to be come suitable western marketing. Even finanical support is key element as produce a crossover film. Some western film production company might already own their advanced technology to create some imaginary scenes. However, these are just the thoughts come from my research. I will be provide some evidences to proof these elements are relevant. 2.4 Chapter summary This chapter has mainly introduced the theories and article which relevant in this research. It can give some idea to the reader about the crossover film. Also have the primary understanding about the marketing side and production side of the crossover film. In next chapter, I will discuss more about the elements which make the crossover film success. Chapter 3 The Crossover films 3.1 Chapter introduction The purpose of this chapter is to use three significant crossover films as the example. And then I will discuss the key elements which bring them to become sucessfull around the global. The films I will be focus on Kung Fu Hustle(2004), The film saved Hong Kong film industrial during the global economic crisis and the local film industrial decline. The second film I will look at is Rush Hour (1998), see how the western audiences expectation change from crossover film. Finlly, I will discuss how cross-movies in the western region of Hong Kongs success, rather than in Hong Kong by using à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? 3.2 Crossover to international à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Stephen Chowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“ Kung Fu Hustleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? During the late 90à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, hong kong movie industrial met a several crisis. The internet technology was developing extremely fast. People start sharing the movie over the internet, or even purchase the illegal movie DVD copies rather than go to the cinema . Some movie production studio find it difficult to maintain the movie production as the box office decline. However, Hong Kong actor Stephen chow seem to be saved this crisis for Hong Kong movie industrial. Hong Kongs population is 7,061,200. As a small population and economic decline region, Some Hong Kong movie studio find it hard to survive. Therefore, they can only rely on producing some low budget film to maintain the business. Nevertheless, the cinema of Hong Kong still find the way to survive from mainland China and international market. Kung Fu Hustle 2004 is a one of the great successful example. The film recieve highly positive result. Before Kung Fu Hustle, there are several film which co-production with Columbria studio. Howeve, these film have failed at the box office because they remain a little local flavour. The western audiences probably more familiar with one of the most popular actor in Hong Kong Stephen Chow. He created his own comedy style on acting called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Mo lei tauà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? , this term can be referred to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Silly talkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“During an interview with Stephen Chow for his 2006 Asian Invasion season, the BBCs film critic Jonathan Ross referred to the genre as Silly Talk, a label that Chow was happy to accept.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Wikipedia. 2011. Mo lei tau), the interview also avalible on YouTube(Asian Invasion Episode 2 Part 2) . Stephen Chow produced the first film à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Shaolin Soccerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? which break through the western market. However, the second film Kung Fu Hustle Stephen Chow became an international success. Columbia pictures impressed by stephen previous film Shaolin Soccer and wanted to provide finanical support to Stehpen. As a result, Stehpen came up the new idea on the film Kung Fu Hustle in 2004. Stephen Chow also is an actor himself, he started his acting career from a local television. In early 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, he began to making film with his Mo lei tau comedy style. But this kind of acting style only limited to cantonese speakers understanding. Therefore, Stephen tried not to put too much Mo lei tau acting style in Kung Fu Hustle, and used the CGI and pop culture references instead. In addition, Stephen co production with Columbria studio and several film studio in mainland China. In my opinion, I think such as this kind of collaboration with western movie studio is quite benefit to Hong Kong film industrial. The reason is western movie studio has already built up a very mature technique on film production. Also, they developed some advance computer graphic during the editing part. This is a great improvement on visual effect for the Hong Kong film, so the CGI technology can perform the scene that impossible become possible. For example, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Kung Fu Hustleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? refer a lot of superhuman ability combine with martial art. During the interview with BBC, Stephen said this kind of technology did a great help for his film, but he insist to put CGI graphic as the assistant role for the film. I agree what Stephen says because it wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t lose the originality with martial art element. Also, the CGI effect just play a little role that make western audiences easier accept the film rather than produce the stereotype martial art movie. The western audiences probably have seen a lot different martial art film from the past. Furthermore, the Hollywood production system more focus on quality rather than quantity. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hollywood directors count themselves lucky to make a film every three yearsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In the late 1990s Andre Lau( Hong Kong director) was directing as many as 4 films per year.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (David B, P.  117 2003). In such a condition, I think hong kong filmmaker can only produce some low budget film and lack of idea on creating some stunning story. Therefore, I reckon the collaboration between western film studio and Hong Kong film maker which is quite benefit to Hong Kong film to break through western market. Apart from big company support, Stephen Chow also wanted try some new element into the film such as put a several American pop culture in different scenes. These references including Road Runner à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wile E. Coyote and Road Runnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? , and a dance scene which refer to Amercian musical à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“West side storyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and the horror scene à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Shingingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?1908. When I look at some Hong Kong movie in the past, I think they cant become mainstream movie in western country because the film is more focus on local audiences taste. Only some of the popular martial art or action movie can be sell to western. Beside, the western audiences only understand because these film content involve simple plot such as bad character get beat up by the good character. It might be already label that Hong Kong movie represent martial art or kung fu in some sence. Therefore, I believe the way to make western audiences re-consider Hong Kong movie not just another martial art or action film could be consider to put some western pop culture. This is not only reduce the language boundry, but also bring up some new element to the film. 3.3 Cultural cross-over movieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Rush Hourà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Even Stephen Chowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s gain a hugh success from western market. There is still some movie fans not quite fancy foreign film. Especially the film is based on chinese language. According to producer Terence Chang à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A lot of Hong Kong films have things that I think American audiences canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t accept.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? D. Bordwell (P.19 ,2000) In 1998, Jackie Chan finally arrived to Hollywood. Chanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Rush hourà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? series become at Rank #1 at the North American box-office with a weekend gross of $33 million in September 1998 (figure on Appendix -1) Which is unexpected result for foreign film. I would say the Martial Art combine buddy movie opened the gate for crossover film. The movie applied the buddy film style like the hollywood film normally use. In Rush Hour, it is about a Chinese inspector and American detective. The character James Carter (Chris Tucker) keeps the American comedy element in the film, and Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) remain his action scenes throughout the movie. I think the audiences have never seen the buddy film like this before which bring a lot of new visual elements to them. However, Jackie Chan reveal on his official blog that he didnt really like the film and he felt very disappointed. Chan Said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I felt the style of action was too Americanized and I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand the American humor.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Which I consider the film might suitable for western audiences rather than local audiences. In à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Rush Hourà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? series, there are a lot of jokes which based on minority racial stereotypes in Amer ican society. I think that makes the film easier to get accepted by majority white audiences. The two character portray totally different personality. Carter portray as a loud, speak with high pitch, impulsive, childish Black man who often causing trouble, Lee is a respectful Asian man who good at Kung Fu. According to King (2002) points out that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"reduce any threat created by the spectacle of a seemingly dominating Black characterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (p. 149).These features of both characters become likeable for the western audiences. In Bar fighting scene, Lee says à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Whats up my Niggerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? to the bartender because Carter said that to the African customer. But Lee doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand the wordà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?Niggerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? is a racist word to African. I think the director uses quite a lot this kind of jokes in the film to reflect the culture differences from society. In contrast with Jackie Chanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s earlier Hong Kong action movie. He represented as a masculinity and tough character most of the time. But in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Rush Hourà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, character Lee who always wanted help the FBI to solve the case. And the FBI try to use character Carter to send Lee away. Altough White Character involved small role in this film. I think the director still want White character to portray as important position in the film. 3.4 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Crouching Tiger was very well received in the Western world, however Crouching Tiger was widely dismissed as just another wuxia film among many others in asia.) Chapter 4 Research Methodology 4.1 Chapter introduction The purpose of the primary research provide the basic level of understanding for the researcher. I will use questionnaire during the primary research. The questionnaire will be conducted ten questions which indicate the western audiences interest on crossover film. The result will indicate the future trends for crossover film. This chapter will be described how the methodology adopt and analysis research question. Furthermore, this chapter is going to explain the research design, research location, sampling design and data collection process, survey instrument, and ethical issue. 4.2 Research processes Primary research: Survey ÃÆ'  Questionnaire by Student/Internet users ÃÆ'  Collect from: Northampton/ linking the questionnaire on facebook ÃÆ'  Analyze results In primary research, it will be carry out a questionnaire research. According to Ticehurst, Gregory W (2000: P.135) defined a questionnaire survey is the way to collect information from individual by using a set of question. Therefore, I believe the first to do is focus on what type of information and respondent are looking for. Then start to think about an appropriate questions for the research. The primary research will only take 10% part of this dissertation. The reason is I am hoping to get about medium size of response rate from that. Here is the brief descript type of questionnaire survey will be use: Type of questionnaire Cost Length of questionnaire Response rate Street/University/Internet Low Short Medium 4.3 Research Location The questionnaire survey is taken place from the three locations in Northampton which are the Abbeyfield school , Northampton town center and University of Northampton. The reason of chosen these place to research because it can save time to traveling different places which far way from Northampton. Further more, it can widely spread collecting the data over the internet. 4.4 Survey Instrument Development The questionnaire (Appendix). There are 3 parts of the questionnaire. The first part is about personal information such as age, gender. this is designed to collect the demographic data of the respondents. Then, the second part is about the respondentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s knowledge on crossover film. That is to collect the information about how much respondent know about crossover film. Finally, the third part is about respondentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s interest on crossover film. And that is designed to what sort element the respondent like so I can provide the recommendation for the future crossover film. 4.5 Ethic Issue in Research The protection for the respondentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s information is one of the most important thing in the research. In à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Doing your research projectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, According to the Judith Bell (2005: 51) the researcher can follow two things to maintain the respondentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s right when they carry out a research. 1.) Keep the participant innominate. 2.) Treat all the information as confidential file which from the respondent. However, My questionnaire is based on personal opinion rather than personal details. Therefore, I suppose my research will not meet any ethical issue. Chapter 5 Conclusion 5.1 The future for the crossover film 5.2 Conclusion Appendix Part -1 Rush Hour Domestic Total Gross: $141,186,864 Distributor: New Line Release Date: September 18, 1998 Genre: Action Comedy Runtime: 1 hrs. 37 min. MPAA Rating: PG-13 Production Budget: $33 million 1998 Date (click to view chart) Rank Weekend Gross % Change Theaters Change / Avg. Gross-to-Date Week # Sep 18à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"20 1 $33,001,803 2,638 $12,510 $33,001,803 1 Sep 25à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"27 1 $21,202,929 -35.8% 2,643 +5 $8,022 $64,037,138 2 Oct 2à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"4 3 $14,492,122 -31.7% 2,701 +58 $5,365 $84,014,663 3 Oct 9à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"11 2 $11,105,465 -23.4% 2,701 $4,111 $98,382,886 4 Oct 16à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"18 4 $8,247,411 -25.7% 2,724 +23 $3,027 $109,911,590 5 Oct 23à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"25 6 $5,860,347 -28.9% 2,602 -122 $2,252 $117,284,969 6 Oct 30à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Nov 1 6 $3,799,380 -35.2% 2,402 -200 $1,581 $122,428,446 7 Nov 6à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"8 10 $3,322,424 -12.6% 2,043 -359 $1,626 $127,044,896 8 Nov 13à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"15 11 $1,866,524 -43.8% 1,615 -428 $1,155 $129,829,673 9 Sources from: http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=rushhour.htm Part -2 I am a student from University of Northampton. I am going to conduct a survey about the Crossover film that made in Hong Kong. I would be grateful if you could finish this questionnaire. Your honest view is taken with highly to appreciate. All the information in the questionnaire will be kept confidential for analysis only. Thank you very much. (Please tick the appropriate box) Gender à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Male à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Female Age à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 15 ~ 25 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 25 ~ 35 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 35~ 45 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 45 ~ above Do you know any of these asian movie stars from below? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Jackie Chan à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Bruce Lee à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Jet Li à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Stephen Chow à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Andy Lau à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Tony Leung à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Other ________________ Have you ever watched any other films that has been made in Hong Kong? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Yes à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ No à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Not sure if the film is made in Hong Kong 5. How often do you watch Hong Kong movies? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Daily à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Weekly à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Monthly à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Occasionally 6. Do you think Hong Kong movies representing martial arts? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Yes à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ No à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Not sure Do you understand what the story is about when you watch crossover films? If the film is using original Chinese language, just subtitles. (such as these films for example) Shaolin soccer, kung fu hustle, Internal affairs, In the mood for love à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Yes à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡No 8. Do you prefer to see the actor you familiar with from Hong Kong movie? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Yes à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ No What sort of things do you expect to see when you watch a Hong Kong movie? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Kung Fu fighting à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Action movie star à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Local culture à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Comedy Would you recommend friends to watch film that made in Hong Kong? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡Yes à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡No