Tell the audience about how the technologies transform the society Term Paper

Tell the audience about how the technologies transform the society from the three films below, which are Illusions (Julie Dash, - Term Paper Example Automobile, manufacturing, IT- all have evolved radically. Technology impacted the television and movie industry. Sound and Color effects in cinematography all has changed along with the time (Ogburn, 81). In this paper, the main focus lays on the development of technology and its impact on the movies, keeping sync with the society. Here the discussion is based on three different movies of three different times: Illusions-directed by Julie Dash of 1983, Papapapa directed by Alex Rivera of 1995 and Sleep Dealer directed by Alex Rivera of 2008. Analytic Filmmaking: In the modern world the concept of new digital video technologies are changing the way people are documenting, publishing, and consuming different ideas. According to the analysis of Germano, knowledge production is now increasingly associated with digital or visual modes of expression. In his view, a new way of imparting social science research and a new way of making nonfiction films may be described as analytic filmmaking . There is a clear difference between analytical and documentary films, whereas in the past the main focus used to be on the documentary films when people were more interested in political affairs. In modern age social and political films also have appeal to the intellect with considerable special effects and use of science and technologies. Technological innovation in moviemaking started with Julie Dash’s Illusions where the concept of voiceover (sound dubbing) was first represented in front of the audience (Germano, Abstract). The Movie Illusions: Transformation of Sounds: Illusions was one of the well known and award wining movie of Julie Dash. It was released in the year 1983. In this movie, the audience was first come across with the concept of sound effect –more precisely the use of technology in order to develop the sounds effect. According to Klotman, the movie Illusions was the first segment of Dash’s planned series about Black women in the United State s. The movie has won award for Black American cinema society in the year 1985 and was also nominated for a award in the year 1988 for Art Direction as well.(Koltman, 193). According to the review of Dash, the movie Illusions follows the story of a fictitious production studio and two African-American women in the film industry: Ester Jeeter, a singer who lends her voice to a white actress, and Mignon Dupree, a studio executive who appears to be white. In this movie, Dash portrayed the struggles of these women to be recognized for who they are, especially in the white-dominated Hollywood studio of 1942. According to the review of Caughie, modern concept of sound engineering is being dominated by the concept of dubbing. In his word â€Å"Being heard but not seen offers possibilities for re-imagining ‘passing’ as other than erasure, invisibility, appropriation or blackface†.(Caughie, 97). The application of this concept was first demonstrated by Dash’s movie Illusions in the year 1983. According to his point of view, Illusions takes its subject matter from the common practice of having black women dub the voices of white singers performing jazz or blues songs. In the film, Esther Jeeters (Rosanne Katon), a black woman, is hired to fix the faulty soundtrack when the words sung by the white film star do not synchronize with her mouth movements.

Racism and ethnicity Essay Example for Free

Racism and ethnicity Essay Joseph Addison once said that, â€Å"If men would consider not so much where they differ, as wherein they agree, there would be far less of uncharitableness and angry feeling in the world. † This holds true to the sentiments I have when it comes to the numerous injustices people incur due to their skin color, ethnicity, and the like. I have seen and witnessed first hand the harm people can cause to one another due to petty differences between them; and I have also often pondered why such acts occur in our world. I used to think that this may be an isolated case; a freak phenomenon that has occurred solely in the confines of my home land. A social phenomenon that has existed in my home land due to the history our people have gone through. Yet, I have seen that such injustices and anger occur in other lands such as the United States of America and knowing of this makes me wonder if racism can be found in all societies regardless of geographic location and history. To get a better understanding of this social phenomenon I have decided to look into the cases of racism I have seen in my home country of Serbia and compare that to those acts I have seen here in America. Before I do proceed, I think it is necessary to take into consideration what racism really is. Many scholars have given various definitions to this phenomenon and the differences in the definitions can be attributed to the fact that the term covers a broad spectrum of implications of race-based bigotry, prejudice, violence, oppression, stereotyping or discrimination. Since it covers such a wide array of topics and takes into account various social issues we can take into account 2 general definitions of racism; the sociological and the legal. Racism is broadly defined as a form of discrimination based on characteristics of race and existing either as individual racism, which originates in the racist beliefs of a single person, or institutional racism, which occurs when racist ideas and practices are embodied in the folkways, mores and norms (Leeder. 2003). On the other hand, sociologists Noel Cazenave and Darlene Alvarez Maddern define racism as â€Å" a highly organized system of race-based group privilege that operates at every level of society and is held together by a sophisticated ideology of color/race supremacy. Racist systems include, but cannot be reduced to, racial bigotry,† (Cazenave and Maddern 1999: 42). Based on these definitions we can see two dominant themes when we speak about racism. The first among the two is the fact that racism takes into account the psyche of an individual. To be more precise, we deal with the construct of beliefs a person or group may hold against others as embodied by the mores and norms they have. The second aspect that we find is the fact that racism is a highly organized group structure as pointed out by Noel Cazenave and Darlene Alvarez Maddern. With regard to the second aspect, we find that racism is a social construct, a privilege of certain groups within a society. Hence, we are led to conclude that the social phenomenon can very well exist in any society. After all, there is no true homogenous society and the fact remain that differences abound between groups. Take the United States of America, though it is a single country the social structure can still clearly delineated between the different races that occupy its geography. As for my home country of Serbia, we also see that racism cuts across groups as I have seen people display acts of racial discrimination on gypsies; a group who since their unexplained appearance in Europe over nine centuries ago, the gypsies have refused to fall in with conventional settled life. They remain a people whose culture and customs are beset with misunderstanding, and who cling to their distinct identity in the teeth of persistent rejection and pressure to conform. This social group has been long been ridiculed and persecuted in Serbia. I have also personally seen people who look like neo-Nazis with their shaved heads launching verbal assaults and beating up gypsies. It is a saddening truth that things like this happen. What’s worse is the fact that gypsies are actually persecuted all around Europe. Other shocking instances of racial acts can also be seen in soccer games in Serbia. An example of this is even cited on a blog/news commentary on the Fox Sports website.

Unregulated Capitalism Undermines the Legitimacy of Liberal Democracy E

Introduction In a capitalist system, businesses compete with one another to produce the most innovative merchandise at the most competitive prices; in turn, consumers freely select the most desirable products. According to Adam Smith, this competition, when left unregulated, fosters maximum wealth and the common good (Economist 2-3). Indeed, unmanaged competition may ensure prices are affordable for consumers (2). However, in a global free market that exploits cheap labour; market demand dwindles, resulting in excessive credit lending and debt crises (Li 295-6). In this way, capitalism’s efficiency and promotion of the common good is questionable. Since the resurgence of unregulated capitalism in the late 20th century, social inequalities have grown significantly, with one percent of the most powerful countries attaining more wealth than half the world (Dunklin 2). Canada’s income gap has also risen, exacerbating morbidity and mortality (Bryant 47). However, the extent that government should reduce social inequities is controversial in a liberal democracy, which prioritizes economic freedom. That being said, social inequalities may lead to wealthier individuals gaining an advantage in policy making (Bryant 54; Rein 63), undermining the liberal democratic value of political equality. Moreover, the ideal of economic freedom is shrinking in today’s global economy, which exhibits massive enterprises stifling competition and creating economic instability (Foster 2). In light of these issues, the aim of this essay is to detail how unregulated capitalism detracts from a liberal democracy by undermining political eq uality and economic freedom. Ideals of a Liberal Democracy The values of freedom and equality, which are pr... ...21-134. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete. Raphael, D., Curry-Stevens, A., & Bryant, T. (2008). Barriers to addressing the social determinants of health: Insights from the Canadian experience. Health Policy, 88, 222-235. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2008.03.015. Reich, R. (2007). How capitalism is killing democracy. Foreign Policy, Sep/Oct2007, 38-42. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete. Rein, S. (2009). Radical politics. In J. Brodie & S. Rein (Eds.), Critical concepts: An introduction to politics (4th ed.) (pp. 60-71). Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Education Canada. Shahrokhi, M. (2011). The global financial crises of 2007-2010 and the future of capitalism. Global Finance Journal, 22, 193-210. doi: 10.1016/j.gfj.2011.10.010. Workman, T. (2010). Renewing the left in Canada. Canadian Dimension, 44(3), 49-52. Retrieved from the Canadian Reference Centre.

Outline the objectives of economic management and analyse the role of fiscal policy Essay

The Australian Government targets economic objectives that may provide equality and higher living standards throughout the country. For these benefits to reach Australian households, the Australia government has to overcome objectives such as economic growth, distribution of income, and external stability. To do so, the government uses the fiscal policy in order to influence the amount of government expenditure and revenue which can alter economic activity. The government’s fiscal strategy aims to ensure fiscal sustainability over the medium term; therefore the government is responsible for meeting its current and future spending commitments with revenue raised. Australia has had a low historical use of fiscal policy during the 1990s, however since the Global Financial Crisis; fiscal policy has been a powerful tool in maintaining Australia’s economy. Fiscal policy has a large influence over economic activity, through using the expansionary fiscal stance which involves a net increase in government spending, or a fall in taxation revenue. However, this was not the case during the period 1996-2007 as fiscal policy had a smaller role to play in the economy. As the Howard Government came into office, the stance of fiscal policy was largely contractionary. A contractionary stance occurs when government spending is reduced. An example of this stance is when the Howard Government was committed to achieving a balanced budget over the course of the economic cycle, as fiscal policy was tightened in 1996-97, 1998-99, resulting in a surplus of $1171 million. This meant that fiscal policy was generally not a major role in influencing the business cycle, instead monetary policy had the central role in maintaining economic activity. Although fiscal policy was not greatly used from the mid-1990s to 2007, it has had a large impact on recessions. As the Global Financial Crisis hit Australia, the fiscal policy was introduced in order to increase the level of economic activity, instead of letting Australia plunge into a recession. The impact of the GFC dramatically changed the budget balance, through a decline in government taxation revenue and an increase in discretionary government spending. This led to the movement from a cash surplus of $19. 7 billion in 2007-08 to a cash deficit of -$27 billion in 2009-10. Economic growth decreased to 1. 4% of GDP, which gave the government the incentive to introduce the fiscal stimulus, while the Rudd Government used an expansionary fiscal stance to support aggregate demand. The stimulus package involved a $77 billion package, with a $42 billion Nation building plan and Jobs Plan in the 2009 budget to support infrastructure and investment and the Economic Security Strategy package of $10 billion in spending on cash transfers to low and middle income households. The result of expansionary fiscal policy helped Australia avoid a recession, as these stimulus measures were estimated to boost Australia’s economic growth by 2. 75% of GDP in 2009-10. In addition, fiscal policy can influence the objective of inequality in income distribution. The government is committed into try to use a progressive taxation system which will provide a fairer distribution of income. The progressive taxation system is when higher income earners pay a larger proportion of tax compared to low income earner, leading to a redistribution of income to low income earners. An example of the progressive tax system can be seen in the ‘personal income tax thresholds’, where the highest income bracket of $180,001 and over has an effective tax rate of 30. 3-44. 9%. However, the structure of the progressive system of personal income tax changed when the Gillard Government announced it would increase the tax-free threshold to $18,200 on 1st July 2012 as part of the Clean Energy Future Package from the carbon tax and will rise again to $19,400 the following year. This threshold bracket changed from the previous 2009 and 2010 Personal Income tax threshold as all taxpayers where given a tax free threshold of $6000. Between 1996 and 2008, the Federal Government used fiscal policy in order to maintain external stability. External stability is an aim of government policy that seeks to promote sustainability on external accounts so that Australia can service its foreign liabilities in the medium to long run. External stability can be managed by the government achieving fiscal consolidation, which is running a budget surplus over the course of the business cycle. One of the main ways to run a budget surplus is to eliminate public debt, which in turn can help reduce the part of net foreign debt owned by the Australian Government. For instance, when the Howard Government was in power, there was a series of consecutive surplus budgets to retire a significant amount of public debt. From 1996-2007 the stance of fiscal policy was largely contractionary, since the Howard Government was committed to achieving a balanced budget over the course of the business cycle. It was tightened throughout the years of 1996-1999, and thereby, eliminated Commonwealth general government debt from the peak of $96 million (17. 6% of GDP) in 1996-97 to -0. 5% of GDP by 2005-06. This in turn increased Australia’s national savings and resulted in low net foreign debts. Subsequently, the fiscal policy has an effective role in achieving the economic objectives of economic growth during downturn economic activity, equal distribution of income and maintaining external stability. Australia was successful in using fiscal policy to avoid recession in 2009, when it implemented one of the largest fiscal stimulus packages in its history, as well as changes to the personal income threshold that gave a more equal distribution of income to lower income earners. By aiming to achieve fiscal surplus the Australian economy can achieve its economy objectives rapidly.

How to Create Active Reading Notes

ENGLISH 4U ACTIVE READING NOTES While you read your chosen novels and other relevant material you should be keeping notes. The goal is to jot down ideas and thoughts as you are reading, thus making the process active. You should write something every time you read. Your instinct may be to write your opinion of what you have read. While this is okay to include in reading notes, reserve these comments for your reading log. Your active reading notes should be of more substance in order to formulate an essay-worthy comparison. The suggestions below should help guide your note writing. Jot other elements you want to investigate on the back of this sheet. Use the margin of your page! Note the date, chapter and/or page numbers, as well as ideas for comparison. Limit what you put in the margin, but use it to help you access information for easy reference and citations. Sample Questions to answer: †¢ How does the author develop elements of the novel: †¢ What devices have been used? †¢ Are foreshadowing and flashback integral in the development of the novel’s elements? What is the author’s lexicon like and how does this reflect the novel’s elements? †¢ Is the language formal or informal? How does this contribute to the author’s style? †¢ What wording/phrasing is used – what mood is being set? †¢ Does the author create empathy? Other factors to consider – this information may not be useful to create your comparison essay; however it will help you make other decisions (for example determine which text is better, consider how the book is marketed, etc. †¢ Front and back cover – impression, style, what’s there? †¢ Shape and size of the book; paper used †¢ Layout of chapters and information therein †¢ Font, layoutof pages (numbering) †¢ Reviews – who they are, what they said, do you agree †¢ Pages outside the story: foreward, author’s notes, glossary, acknowledgements Also note: †¢ Interesting or questionable grammar and vocabulary †¢ Historical facts that help a reader understand the story †¢ Information about the author

the American constitution essays

the American constitution essays The Federalist No. 10 by James Madison and The Tyranny of the Majority by Alexis de Tocqueville are two political papers which analyze some parts of the American constitution. Each of the authors have their own distinct thoughts on the constitution and they agree in some areas, and, differ drastically in others. To start, a topic that is touched upon in both of these documents was the fact that although it may not be in the best interest of the general public, the needs of the many will outweigh the needs of the few. This is also know as the concept of majority. Although Madison was trying to prove the constitution was a worthy government plan, he yet was honest in his Federalist No. 10. He knew that there would be drawbacks to the factions that were beginning to form. Yet, he was sure to sate the brighter side of the picture about the factions and how the government planned to limit the number of parties to prevent a non-majority. He also came to the conclusion that when a majority has been reached it has two options. First, the majority can continue being the winning argument and virtually control the minority. Or, if the majority sees fit, it can surrender it position of control and give the power to the minority therefore limiting the absolute power of the minority. Tocqueville on the other stated his views on the factions from the view of an unlimited faction republic. He wrote that majority was impossible with unlimited factions due to that they would be so numerous and inadequate in size for there to even be a chance for a majority. Another thing that Tocqueville had theorized was that if a government ran simply upon majority rule, there would be a great upset in the balance of law. There would be this upset due to that the majority would vote one way and there would be no other option on the subject. For example, a man killed an attempted murderer in self defense. Giving the majority the benefit of th...

Bread Givers essays

Bread Givers essays What it means to be an immigrant? In the Bread Givers, by Anzia Yezierska, tells the story of life as an immigrant in the Untied States, particularly immigrant women's pursuit of the American Dream. For many immigrants, the U.S. was the key to a better life, a life free of economic depression and religious oppression. America was a fantasy to all immigrants. The Jewish immigrants used historical analogies to describe sites of Jewish suffering in distinction to America as a place of freedom, opportunity, and promise. In the narratives that Jewish Americans tell about their collective past in the United States, the Lower East Side functions not just as a particular neighborhood where many Jews lived for some period of time but as exemplary of the Jewish experience in America. They came to America and found instead the Lower East Side, a warren of crowded, dirty, and mean streets. In this slum, these impoverished Jewish immigrants re-created the culture of Eastern Europe, thick with the smells, sounds, tastes, and noises of life in the "Old World." Lower East Side served as some kind of transitional zone for the Jewish immigrants. In that neighborhood, they underwent an ordeal of cultural reeducation as they learned to be free. The Lower East Side served as a middle ground where the Jewish immigrants dwelled among themselves while waiting for permission to enter the real America. It served as their narrow bridge between slavery and freedom, between the their homeland and the promised land of Ameri ca. Jewish immigrants in America, like any other immigrants, faced many obstacles. Their lives were ran thought by the recurrent themes of oppression, constriction, and danger, on one hand, followed by the expansiveness of liberation, on the other. Immigrants had to adjust to industrial labor, unfamiliar languages, and city life. Clinging to their national identities and religions. Jewish immigrants worked long and hard, to strongly ...

An Introduction to Virtue Ethics

An Introduction to Virtue Ethics â€Å"Virtue ethics† describes a certain philosophical approach to questions about morality. It is a way of thinking about ethics that is characteristic of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, particularly Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.   But it has become popular again since the later part of the 20th century due to the work of thinkers like Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, and Alasdair MacIntyre. The Central Question of Virtue Ethics How should I live?   This has a good claim to being the most fundamental question that you can put to yourself.   But philosophically speaking, there is another question that perhaps has to be answered first: namely, How should I decide how to live? There are several answers available within the Western philosophical tradition:   The religious answer:  God has given us a set of rules to follow. These are laid out in scripture (e.g. the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, the Koran). The right way to live is to follow these rules. That is the good life for a human being.Utilitarianism: This is the view that what matters most in the world in the promotion of happiness and the avoidance of suffering.   So the right way to live is, in a general way, to try to promote the most happiness you can, both your own and that of other people– especially those around you–while trying to avoid causing pain or unhappiness.Kantian ethics: The great German philosopher Immanuel Kant argues that the basic rule we should follow is neither â€Å"Obey God’s laws,† nor â€Å"Promote happiness.† Instead, he claimed that the fundamental principle of morality is something like: Always act in the way that you could honestly want everyone to act if they were in a similar situation. Anyone who abides by this rule, he claims, will be behaving with complete consistency and rationality, and they will unfailingly do the right thing. What all three approaches have in common is that they view morality as a matter of following certain rules. There are very general, fundamental rules, like â€Å"Treat others as you’d like to be treated,† or â€Å"Promote happiness.† And there are lots of more specific rules that can be deduced from these general principles: e.g. â€Å"Don’t bear false witness,† or â€Å"Help the needy.† The morally good life is one lived according to these principles; wrongdoing occurs when the rules are broken. The emphasis is on duty, obligation, and the rightness or wrongness of actions. Plato and Aristotle ‘s way of thinking about morality had a different emphasis. They also asked: How should one live? But took this question to be equivalent to What kind of person does one want to be? That is, what sort of qualities and character traits are admirable and desirable. Which should be cultivated in ourselves and others? And which traits should we seek to eliminate? Aristotles Account of Virtue In his great work, the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle offers a detailed analysis of the virtues that has been enormously influential and is the starting point for most discussions of virtue ethics. The Greek term that is usually translated as â€Å"virtue† is arà ªte.  Speaking generally, arà ªte is a kind of excellence. It is a quality that enables a thing to perform its purpose or function. The sort of excellence in question can be specific to particular kinds of thing. For instance, the main virtue of a racehorse is to be fast; the main virtue of a knife is to be sharp. People performing specific functions also require specific virtues: e.g. a competent accountant must be good with numbers; a soldier needs to be physically brave. But there are also virtues that it is good for any human being to possess, the qualities that enable them to live a good life and to flourish as a human being. Since Aristotle thinks that what distinguishes human beings from all other animals is our rationality, the good life for a human being is one in which the rational faculties are fully exercised. These include things like the capacities for friendship, civic participation, aesthetic enjoyment, and intellectual enquiry. Thus for Aristotle, the life of a pleasure-seeking couch potato is not an example of the good life. Aristotle distinguishes between the intellectual virtues, which are exercised in the process of thinking, and the moral virtues, which are exercised through action.   He conceives of a moral virtue as a character trait that it is good to possess and that a person displays habitually.   This last point about habitual behavior is important.   A generous person is one who is routinely generous, not just generous occasionally. A person who only keeps some of their promises does not have the virtue of trustworthiness. To really have the virtue is for it to be deeply ingrained in your personality. One way to achieve this is to keep practicing the virtue so that it becomes habitual. Thus to become a truly generous person you should keep performing generous actions until generosity just comes naturally and easily to you; it becomes, as one says, â€Å"second nature.† Aristotle argues that each moral virtue is a sort of mean lying between two extremes. One extreme involves a deficiency of the virtue in question, the other extreme involves possessing it to excess. For example, Too little courage cowardice; too much courage recklessness. Too little generosity stinginess; too much generosity extravagance. This is the famous doctrine of the â€Å"golden mean.†Ã‚   The â€Å"mean,† as Aristotle understands it is not some sort of mathematical halfway point between the two extremes; rather, it is what is appropriate in the circumstances. Really, the upshot of Aristotle’s argument seems to be that any trait we consider a virtue as to be exercised with wisdom. Practical wisdom (the Greek word is phronesis), although strictly speaking an intellectual virtue, turns out to be absolutely key to being a good person and living a good life. Having practical wisdom means being able to assess what is required in any situation. This includes knowing when one should follow a rule and when one should break it. And it calls into play knowledge, experience, emotional sensitivity, perceptiveness, and reason. The Advantages of Virtue Ethics Virtue ethics certainly didn’t die away after Aristotle. Roman Stoics like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius also focused on character rather than abstract principles. And they, too, saw moral virtue as constitutive of the good life– that is, being a morally good person is a key ingredient of living well and being happy.   No-one who lacks virtue can possibly be living well, even if they have wealth, power, and lots of pleasure. Later thinkers like Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) and David Hume (1711-1776) also offered moral philosophies in which the virtues played a central role.   But it is fair to say that virtue ethics took a back seat in the 19th and 20th centuries. The revival of virtue ethics in the mid-late 20th century was fueled by dissatisfaction with rule-oriented ethics, and a growing appreciation of some of the advantages of an Aristotelian approach. These advantages included the following. Virtue ethics offers a broader conception of ethics in general.  It doesn’t see moral philosophy as confined to working out which actions are right and which actions are wrong. It also asks what constitutes well-being or human flourishing. We may not have a duty to flourish in the way we have a duty not to commit murder; but questions about well-being are still legitimate questions for moral philosophers to address.It avoids the inflexibilities of rule-oriented ethics.  According to Kant, for instance, we must always and in every circumstance obey his fundamental principle of morality, his â€Å"categorical imperative.† This led him to conclude that one must never tell a lie or break a promise.   But the morally wise person is precisely the one who recognizes when the best course of action is to break the normal rules. Virtue ethics offers rules of thumb, not iron rigidities.Because it is concerned with character, with what kind of person one is, virtue ethics pay s more attention to our inner states and feelings as opposed to focusing exclusively on actions. For a utilitarian, what matters is that you do the right thing–that is, you promote the greatest happiness of the greatest number (or follow a rule that is justified by this goal).   But as a matter of fact, this is not all we care about. It matters why someone is generous or helpful or honest. The person who is honest simply because they think being honest is good for their business is less admirable that the person who is honest through and through and would not cheat a customer even if they could be sure that no one would ever find them out. Virtue ethics has also opened the door to some novel approaches and insights pioneered by feminist thinkers who argue that traditional moral philosophy has emphasized abstract principles over concrete interpersonal relationships. The early bond between mother and child, for instance, could be one of the essential building blocks of moral life, providing both an experience and an example of loving care for another person. Objections to Virtue Ethics Needless to say, virtue ethics has its critics. Here are a few of the most common criticisms leveled against it. â€Å"How can I flourish?† is really just a fancy way of asking â€Å"What will make me happy?†Ã‚   This may be a perfectly sensible question to ask, but it really isn’t a moral question. It’s a question about one’s self-interest. Morality, though, is all about how we treat other people. So this expansion of ethics to include questions about flourishing takes moral theory away from its proper concern.Virtue ethics by itself can’t really answer any particular moral dilemma. It doesn’t have the tools to do this. Suppose you have to decide whether or not to tell a lie in order to save your friend from being embarrassed. Some ethical theories provide you with real guidance.   But virtue ethics doesn’t. It just says, â€Å"Do what a virtuous person would do† which isn’t much use.Morality is concerned, among other things, with praising and blaming people for how they behave.   But what sort of character a person has is to quite a large extent a matter of luck.   People have a natural temperament: either brave or timid, passionate or reserved, confident or cautious. It is hard to alter these inborn traits. Moreover, the circumstances in which a person is raised is another factor that shapes their moral personality but which is beyond their control.   So virtue ethics tends to bestow praise and blame on people for just being fortunate. Naturally, virtue ethicists believe they can answer these objections. But even the critics who put them forward would probably agree that the revival of virtue ethics in recent times has enriched moral philosophy and broadened its scope in a healthy way.

International business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International business - Research Paper Example The analysis has been done in terms of the nations’ political and economic climate, their methods of marketing and distribution and also the labor climate in the two countries. Economic and political climate for foreign business Singapore has an extremely successful and developed free market economy. It also offers a corruption free and open environment where prices remain stable and the per capita GDP growth also remain high in comparison to other developed nations. The economy’s high dependence on exports of products like electronic and information technology products, pharmaceutical and growth in financial services make it a popular place for conducting business. The nation has demonstrated a GDP growth of 7.1% between the years 2004 and 2007 (CIA, â€Å"Economy - overview:†). On the other hand Hong Kong also demonstrates a free market economy which depends highly on international finance and trade. The nation’s open economy was however greatly affected by the global economic recession which makes it a less popular place, in comparison to Singapore for doing business. The residents of Hong Kong can establish RMB denominated savings accounts, the RMB denominated corporate, and the Chinese government bonds have also been issued in the nation. Moreover, the RMB trade settlement has also been allowed in Hong Kong. The nation has a GDP growth rate of 3.8% between 1989 and 2010, however the growth gradually slowed down in the year 2009 (CIA-a, â€Å"Economy - overview:†). It is apparent that the higher GDP growth of Singapore in comparison to Hong Kong coupled with a free market economy makes it more popular for conducting business operations. Also the nation’s growth in the financial sector and high dependence on trade and finance compliments the same. Methods for marketing and distribution With improvement of the Singapore economy there has been an increasing amount of affluent consumers who are able and willing to spend and consume more. In addition to this a number of new shopping malls like the VivoCity, Ang Mo Kio Hub and Central have emerged which have further added stimulus to the retail sector since 2007. The existing shopping malls like Centrepoint, White Sands and Tampines Mall have also been revamped, with the new extensions established to accommodate more number of retailers for remaining competitive. The inflows of new retailers in the selling spaces have further attracted more consumers who have been increasingly visiting them. This had boosted their growth further in 2007 (Laposte, â€Å"Singapore†). There are two different categories of consumers in the country Hong Kong. There are the local consumers, who account for 6.5 million numbers, while on the other hand the tourists, who are avid lovers of the luxury items. The tourism sector generates greater than ten billion USD of income every year. It must be noted that tourists who come for shopping in Hong Kong are primarily Chi nese from Mainland. The distribution network comprises of many medium and small family-type enterprises which try to remain in groups. The larger stores like the Lane Crawford, Sogo or display a very upscale image while the supermarkets and the neighboring stores like Wing on, Jusco and Sincere remain more profitable for making bulk products. The second market is more dominated by duopoly by Wellcome and Park'n shop. Hong Kong also has a number of discount stores

Discussion Board Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Discussion Board - Essay Example A manufacturing supervisor must attempt to address the requirements of the organization with the worker’s needs. In addition, manufacturing supervisors are faced with environmental challenges (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy, 2008). Also, the manufacturing supervisors are faced with the challenge of ensuring the organization meets its targets and goals. There are a number of ways a manufacturing supervisor can deal with the different challenges arising in the organization. These problems can reduce when the organization employ a supervisor who posses technical, administrative, human relations, and conceptual skills. The manufacturing supervisor should comprehend the technical features of the work being carried out. It is essential for the manufacturing supervisor to understand the needs of employees when trying to manage job performance. In addition, a manufacturing supervisor who posses people skills will accomplish the objective of the people through and with the workers. Also, it is essential for the manufacturing supervisor to gain an understanding of the organization’s dynamics and be familiar with politics in the organization (Kotter & Cohen, 2002). Adopting these perspectives will help decrease these

A long way gone 'Ishmael Beah and Allegory of the cave Plato's Essay

A long way gone 'Ishmael Beah and Allegory of the cave Plato's - Essay Example In this article, I will use the two texts, Allegory of the Cave by Plato and A long Way Gone’ by Ishmael Beah to justify the statement ‘can childhood ever be lost beyond recovery?’ The childhood ages are characterized by innocence of the mind and soul. Children are notable for being able to express their feelings and emotions in a manner that is straight, often hiding nothing compared to the older generations where hypocrisy characterizes most of their talks and manner of expressions. In his Memoir, Ishmael creates his protagonist; a child aged 12 years of age at the beginning of the story. Ishmael at this age has an innocent mind of a child making him central to the flow of the story. Living in a country rocked with war and violence due to the locals’ invasion by the country rebels, the young boy is forced to join the militia forces in order to fight and be able to defend himself and those close to him. Alongside other young boys from his tiny village in Sierra Leone, Ishmael, while traversing the lonely war torn fields develop feelings and emotions that derails him completely of his innocent childhood feelings. He looses his innocence in the field as he comes into close encounter with the war atrocities. Killing, sights of blood and dead people all around him becomes his usual norm in his war days. Contrary to the feelings of childhood that is free from crimes and the normalcy of reveling in criminal offences, Ishmael totally loose his childhood innocence and becomes a child combatant. However, the even as Ishmael revels in war and engages in serial killings as a combatant, his childhood likings such as the love for rap music remain his most revered hobby. Even though his present perception is derailed by the events encountered during combat, his childhood perception of life, far from that of evil combat remains and when this is discovered, he

The Results of Safety Training at the Moline Plant and Recommendations Essay

The Results of Safety Training at the Moline Plant and Recommendations for Future Trainings - Essay Example As the research discovers the tendency of decrease of safety incidents was slowed down in the middle of the evaluation period, which corresponds to our pre-training expectations. In this regard, one of the most important factors that contributed to the mentioned positive trend from the very beginning of the evaluation period was the high level of employee`s motivation in relation to observance of safety rules, confirmed by the questionnaires distributed in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end of the evaluation period. The decline in the level of employee`s motivation in relation to observance of safety rules was marked in the middle of the evaluation period, which correlates with the slowed decrease of safety incidents. In this regard, the important conclusion can be drawn that for safety trainings to remain maximally effective for prolonged periods of time, they should be integrally incorporated into the work process at the Moline plant in the future. This paper stresses that building on the above-mentioned considerations, some relevant recommendations can be made as to the ways to achieve the most effective inclusion of regular safety trainings, and safety culture as such as well, to the work process at the Moline plant. Firstly, the practice of involvement of contract trainers has had mixed results and should be reevaluated. As a matter of fact, two of the four trainers received relatively low ratings from the students.

Language Crossing by B. Rampton Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Language Crossing by B. Rampton - Assignment Example According to the research findings, Rampton found that the speakers moved outside the language varieties they normally used and they briefly adapted codes which they didn’t have full and easy access to and that these appropriations of someone else’s language occurred in moments and activities when the world of daily life known in common with others and with others taken for granted. These findings have important implications for the ethnic process and the way social identities are negotiated in interactional code-switching. According to Cutler, Rampton’s book describes how groups of multiracial adolescents in a British working-class community mix their use of Creole, Panjabi, and Asian English. Rampton found that language crossing, in many instances, constitutes an anti-racist practice and is emblematic of young people striving to redefine their identities. The young people he studied used this mixed code to contest racial boundaries and assert a new â€Å"derac inated† ethnicity. Rampton also cited in his book the two types of code-switching namely situational and figurative. Situational code-switching is a standard speech that indicates a shift in a certain situation while figurative code-switching or double-voicing describes the way that utterances can be affected by a plurality of competing languages, discourse, and voices. Under figurative code-switching are metaphorical code-switching (uni-directional) and ironic code-switching (Vari-directional). Rampton defines metaphorical code-switching as a switching that introduces varieties of speech that is harder for the recipients to understand. It is uni-directional because speakers go along with the momentum of the second voice, though it generally retains an element of otherness which makes the appropriation conditional and introduces some reservation into the speakers’ use of it. On the other hand, ironic code-switching (Vari-directional) is a speech in which the speaker spe aks in someone else’s discourse, but introduce into that discourse a semantic intention directly opposed to the original one.

Financial statement analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial statement analysis - Research Paper Example NCT&H has taken up some of the important projects on the hospitality industry, which are Hotel Le Bristol, Grand Millennium, Saadiyat Island and Nareel Island. The project of Hotel Le Bristol is the most stylish of its kind, based in Paris it was voted for as the best hotel of the year 2011. The Grand Millennium property of NCT&H was famous for its food and beverage outlet having grand ballroom which has the capacity of 1000 guests and is expected to open in the second quarter of 2012. Saadiyat Island is a joint venture of NCT&H and the UAE’s capital’s TDIC (Tourism Development and Investment). The plan is to set up a low rise hotel with 250 rooms on the shores of Saadiyat Beach district. Lastly, the project of Nareel Island is also a joint venture but with ALDAR Properties of PJSC developing premium gate and the residential property with features like health and fitness club, spa and restaurants. It will even provide Private Marina for the VIP’s along with hotel excursions. ... Introduction From the very inception of the economic environment it is going through massive changes. In comparison to the previous times economic environment has become more lenient and open towards the private participation of the economic activities related to trade and capital flow (Pailwar, n.d., p. xi). The study of the company’s annual report gives us the idea that NCT&H is mainly affected by the economic factor which are under constant fluctuation for the interest rate risk of the company which the company is avoiding by the entering into swap trading through the banks. But the company has faced the economic downturn like all other industries during the year of 2008-09. This was the time when the economy went into the sudden depression creating unrest for all the industries of the economy. The economic depression is the main reason behind the low spending capacity of the common mass which again was lower than the NCT&H business for a long period of time (Pailwar, 2009, pp. 1-10). Industry Environment and Industry Risks There are a few factors that are responsible for affecting the environment of the hospitality and tourism industry and are also the reason of its probable risks. The factors being the weather, political conditions, economic conditions and globalisation may be the reason for making or breaking the business of a hospitality and tourism industry. As far as weather is concerned is the hotel is situated in place where snow storming is prevalent the charges may get doubled as skiing can be enjoyed along with the stay. But when it comes to hotels in tropical countries as is NCT&H if the weather turns out to be windy the hotel might lose business as well. Even the natural disasters can affect the hotel

Language Crossing by B. Rampton Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Language Crossing by B. Rampton - Assignment Example According to the research findings, Rampton found that the speakers moved outside the language varieties they normally used and they briefly adapted codes which they didn’t have full and easy access to and that these appropriations of someone else’s language occurred in moments and activities when the world of daily life known in common with others and with others taken for granted. These findings have important implications for the ethnic process and the way social identities are negotiated in interactional code-switching. According to Cutler, Rampton’s book describes how groups of multiracial adolescents in a British working-class community mix their use of Creole, Panjabi, and Asian English. Rampton found that language crossing, in many instances, constitutes an anti-racist practice and is emblematic of young people striving to redefine their identities. The young people he studied used this mixed code to contest racial boundaries and assert a new â€Å"derac inated† ethnicity. Rampton also cited in his book the two types of code-switching namely situational and figurative. Situational code-switching is a standard speech that indicates a shift in a certain situation while figurative code-switching or double-voicing describes the way that utterances can be affected by a plurality of competing languages, discourse, and voices. Under figurative code-switching are metaphorical code-switching (uni-directional) and ironic code-switching (Vari-directional). Rampton defines metaphorical code-switching as a switching that introduces varieties of speech that is harder for the recipients to understand. It is uni-directional because speakers go along with the momentum of the second voice, though it generally retains an element of otherness which makes the appropriation conditional and introduces some reservation into the speakers’ use of it. On the other hand, ironic code-switching (Vari-directional) is a speech in which the speaker spe aks in someone else’s discourse, but introduce into that discourse a semantic intention directly opposed to the original one.

Drama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drama - Essay Example In Jack’s case, his friendship with Gwendolyn commenced in London when he was moving under the guise of Earnest, It was as Earnest that Jack had first captured Gwendolyn’s attention and affection, while Algernon deliberately assumes the identity in order to approach Cecily, Jack’s niece and ward. Hence, the name Earnest is significant in imparting acceptability to the respective suitors. In Jack’s case, as Algernon states: â€Å"You answer to the name of Earnest. You look as if your name was Earnest. You are the most earnest looking person I ever saw in my life.† (Act I, Part II). Gwendolyn’s affection is directed specifically at a man she sees as Earnest in her own mind and is reflected in her delight when she discovers that Jack is actually Earnest after all: â€Å"Ernest! My own Earnest! I felt from the first that you could have no other name!† (Act II, part 2). Hence, capturing the attention and affection of their lady loves is one solid reason for the importance of the name Earnest. The most significant reason however, for the importance of being Earnest, lies in the bestowal of a noble identity on Jack as a result of the name. Since he was adopted after being discovered in a large handbag at a railway station, his antecedents remain unknown. This is a barrier for him in class and status conscious Victorian society and is also the cause for Lady Bracknell being unfavourably disposed towards him. At the end of the play, Miss Prism’s confessions disclose the fact that Jack is none other than General Moncrieff’s eldest son and as such would have also inherited his name. When Jack goes through the army records, he finds out that the General’s name was indeed Earnest; as a result his own name was also actually Earnest. Hence the name Earnest is all tied up with Jack’s lineage and identity and is significant and

The Indian Culture Essay Example for Free

The Indian Culture Essay Cultural patterns define the people of a country and help in understanding their behavior, mind-set and mode of living. In India, the diverse population of the country shows some singular similarities in communication, inter-personal relations, and views about marriage and family which together constitute the unique structure of the Indian culture. Man-woman equations in the family set-up as well as the position of elders in the house are significant pointers to the culture of India. The Indian Culture Every culture has its unique characteristics which define its identity and amplify the behavioral pattern of its people. In the Indian context, the diverse languages, religions and regions of the vast country play a major part in the multifarious communication and relation markers within the same cultural texture. However, certain qualities remain uniformly similar within the assorted hues of the Indian culture. As Nirad C Chaudhuri writes: â€Å"modern Indian culture was based on a fusion of two independent and unconnected cultures, the European and the ancient Indian† ( The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian 474). The effect of long-term British colonization and the rich heritage of the Sanskrit past combine to give the Indian culture its distinctive color and identity. By nature, Indians are usually verbose and like sharing/discussing ideas with each other, at times personal problems, even communicating thoughts on public issues from politics to sports. Greetings are usually with folded hands (and the accompaniment of ‘Namaste’ in Hindi, the national language), but significantly, respect to elders is shown by touching the feet of the seniors. Greetings normally go hand in hand with queries about health and life in general. However, unlike the Western concept of a strict adherence to one’s privacy, Indians by and large want to know what’s going on in their fellow men’s lives, and the questions are expected to be answered with detailed explanation about the current situation in one’s life. Emotions run high in the horizon of the ordinary Indians’ existence, from the annoyance at the over-crowded bus to the jubilation at the Indian cricket team’s victory. The western concept of direct eye-contact while talking with colleagues or superior suggesting a honest rapport is deemed an act of shamelessness especially with someone senior in age or status. Downcast eyes are a symbol of good values and respect for the other person. The American idea of private space is difficult to follow in the Indian family set-up, especially in the joint-family structure. Time is a relative term of understanding in India, as punctuality and discipline are often dependent on the irregular schedule of public transportation, people’s habit of taking things at their own pace, and long queues everywhere. Marriage is generally a family matter rather than a personal choice in India. Men and women meet in social and professional gatherings and may emotionally bond with each other. While marriage by choice or ‘love marriage’ as commonly referred to, is on the rise in modern Indian culture, most Indians still resort to an ‘arranged marriage’ to the prospective bride or groom selected by family members on the basis of status, education, and often caste, region and religion. As Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni portrays in her Indian characters in Arranged Marriage, it does not matter what the origins of the marriage, the ultimate consideration is the compatibility of the partners engaging in it. ( Transcultural Women of Late Twentieth-century U. S. American Literature 210) Unlike the liberated parlors of Western life, sex or topics about sexuality are considered taboo and it is socially unacceptable to discuss or question one’s sexual preferences openly. The cultural texture of India bars the liberal thoughts and voices on this subject. Premarital sex is discouraged by the unwritten rules of the conservative society. Modesty, virginity are praised in unmarried men and women, especially in the latter. The role of family is of paramount interest to the average Indian. The joint-family set up is an umbrella structure sheltering extended branches of the family grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins beyond the usual parent-child family of the Western world. Though nuclear families in the lines of the western model are increasingly popular, the common Indian is rooted in the traditions and customs of his family life, especially the joint family-structure. Indian society is predominantly patriarchal in nature, and the head of the family is usually the eldest son of the family. The equation of the genders in family and society is not evenly balanced, as the women normally are submissive to the decisions of the males in the Indian culture. However, the aged play a positive role in the family context, as grand-parents and seniors are treated with respect and love, and cared for in most households. Though old people are at times sent to old-age homes by their family members for reasons of economy or scarcity of care-givers at home, usually the aged are taken care of at home, and they in turn, help with the children, spending time with them and instilling in them values and good morals. The women are expected to be the primary care-givers in the family, performing the duties of the kitchen as well as taking care of children and elders. Even if the woman is a career- person, her family obligations are her first priority in the Indian culture. The man of the house on the other hand is the financial provider, and is responsible for the standard of living. However, in the changing dynamics of modern lifestyle, men and women have become flexible about their roles and responsibilities and the distinct line of difference between their gender expectations is blurred today. References Chaudhuri, N. (2001). The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian. New York: The New York Review of Books. Newton, P. (2005). Transcultural Women of Late Twentieth-century U. S. American Literature: First-generation Migrants from Islands and Peninsulas. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing.

Comparing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer :: comparison compare contrast essays

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer are the best of friends with remarkably different personalities. Each brings their unique characteristics into this comical friendship giving the novel numerous amusing passages. Throughout the tale, Tom is often the leader while Huck is the reluctant follower. It doesn't matter that Tom's ideas are ridiculous and extravagant, and Huck's are simple and practical, together they always proceed with Tom's imaginative plans. In contrast to Tom's great imagination and creativity, Huck is humorless and literal minded. Tom's imaginativeness comes only from knowledge he has gained through books. Huck, on the other hand, actually lives out the fantasies Tom can only imagine. Tom Sawyer, already civilized, follows the values and beliefs of society. Due to these convictions, Tom always abides by the laws. For these reasons, Tom would never have helped free Jim unless he knew that Jim had already been freed. Conversely, Huck Finn rejects the philosophy of political beliefs for the fear of becoming civilized. He usually runs away at the first notion of him becoming "sivilized." Huck is able to function in any society with the help of his adaptability and survival skills. He is able to go from the freedom of the raft, to the perceived harshness of civilization, and back again with ease. Although Tom has been able to slip past Death's grip so far, his chances of escaping may not always work out to his liking. Of the two, Huck will always be the survivor in life. Together this pair achieves their goals because of their intelligence and witty personalities. They have the ability to put the knowledge they obtain into their every day lives. They are two adventurous souls in search of fresh and exhilarating escapades. Their ages united with their exceptional education keeps them on their toes. Huck's humorless personality and Tom's extravagance has made

James Joyces Araby - Setting and Theme in Araby :: Joyce Dubliners Araby Essays

How the Setting Reinforces the Theme and Characters in Araby      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The setting in "Araby" reinforces the theme and the characters by using imagery of light and darkness.   The experiences of the boy in James Joyce's "Araby" illustrate how people often expect more than ordinary reality can provide and then feel disillusioned and disappointed.   The author uses dark and obscure references to make the boy's reality of living in the gloomy town of Araby more vivid.   He uses dark and gloomy references to create the mood or atmosphere, then changes to bright light references when discussing Mangan's sister.   The story expresses its theme through the setting, the characterization of the boy and his point of view as the narrator.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Darkness is used throughout the story as the prevailing theme.   James Joyce's story begins at dusk and continues through the evening during the winter, in Araby Ireland.   He chooses this gloomy setting to be the home of a young boy who is infatuated with his neighbors sister.   The boy is young and naive and he leads a dull and boring life.   Joyce uses darkness to make the boy's reality more believable through more vivid, precise descriptions.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bright light is used to create a fairy tale world of dreams and illusions.   James Joyce uses the bright light when describing Mangan's sister, the boy's infatuation.   The protagonist is infatuated with his neighbor's sister and he imagines that he will heroically bring her something back from the bazaar.   Joyce refers to bright light when discussing Mangan's sister in order to give her a heavenly presence.   Light is used to create a joyful atmosphere.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The ending of the story is filled with images of darkness and light. James Joyce uses the lights of the bazaar to illustrate the boy's confrontation with reality.   The bazaar lights are almost all off because the bazaar is almost closed.   This is significant because the boy wants the bazaar to be bright and open, but it is dark and closed.   This is when the boy finally realizes that

Ozone layer depletion Essay

The increased cancer levels caused by exposure to this ultraviolet light could be enormous. Recent studies estimates that 60 million Americans born by the year 2075 will get skin cancer because of ozone depletion. About one million of these people will die. In addition to cancer, some research shows that a decreased ozone layer will increase rates of malaria and other infectious diseases. According to recent studies 17 million more cases of cataracts can also be expected. . The environment will also be negatively affected by ozone depletion. The life cycles of plants will change, disrupting the food chain. Effects on animals will also be severe, and are very difficult to foresee. Oceans will be hit hard as well. The most basic organisms such as plankton may not be able to survive. If that happened, it would mean that all of the other animals that are above plankton in the food chain would also die out. Other ecosystems such as forests and deserts will also be harmed. The planet’s climate could also be affected by depletion of the ozone layer. Wind patterns could change, resulting in climatic changes throughout the world. Global warming is the continuing rise in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. Global warming is caused by increased concentrations of green house gases in the atmosphere, resulting from human activities such as deforestation and burning of fossil fuels. Some of the effects of global warming and climate change on the environment include the folloing

Eco Parks & Environment

Industrial ecologists are championing eco-industrial parks or EIPs as tools for pursuing sustainable development. An EIP is a community of companies located in one region that exchange and make use of each other's by-products or energy. Among the best known is Kalundborg, Denmark, a city in which the major industries and the local government trade their waste streams and energy resources. Many commentators see Kalundborg as a model that should be copied and improved upon. Imagine what a team of designers could come up with if they were to start from scratch, locating and specifying industries and factories that had potentially synergistic and symbiotic relationships,† writes Paul Hawken (1993, 63), author of The Ecology of Commerce. Ernest A. Lowe (1997, 58) points out that â€Å"while industrial ecosystems must be largely self-organizing, there is a significant role for an organizing team in educating potential participants to the opportunities and in creating the conditions that support the development. Because of this enthusiastic endorsement, numerous EIPs have been planned in North and South America, Southeast Asia, Europe and Southern Africa (Ayres 1996; Indigo Development 1998; Gertler 1995; Lowe 1997). Kalundborg, a small city on the island of Seeland, 75 miles west of Copenhagen, is indeed an impressive example of a recycling network. In this city of 20,000, the four main industries–a coal-fired power plant (Asn?s), a refinery (Statoil), a pharmaceuticals and enzymes maker (Novo Nordisk), a plasterboard manufacturer (Gyproc), as well as the municipal government and a few smaller businesses–feed on each others' wastes, in the process turning them into useful inputs. The Asn?s power company supplies residual steam to the Statoil refinery and, in exchange, receives refinery gas that used to be flared as waste. The power plant burns the refinery gas to generate electricity and steam. It sends excess steam to a fish farm that it operates, to a district heating system serving 3,500 homes, and to the Novo Nordisk plant. Sludge from the fish farm and pharmaceutical processes becomes fertilizer for nearby farms. The power plant sends fly ash to a cement company, while gypsum produced by the power plant's desulfurization process goes to a company that produces gypsum wallboard. Finally, the Statoil refinery removes sulfur from its natural gas and sells it to Kemira, a sulfuric acid manufacturer. However, consultants id not design, nor did Danish government officials finance, Kalundborg's industrial symbiosis. It was, rather, the result of many separate bilateral deals between companies searching to reduce waste treatment and disposal costs and to gain access to cheaper materials and energy while generating income from production residue. Kalundborg, like other similar examples, developed entirely through market forces (Garner and Keoleian 1995; Gertler 1995; Lowe et al. 1996; Schwartz and Steininger 1997). Today, there is still no higher level of administration managing the interaction of Kalundborg companies and local government. Lowe 1997, 59). Jorgen Christensen, a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, notes: â€Å"I was asked to speak on ‘how you designed Kalundborg. ‘ We didn't design the whole thing. It wasn't designed at all. It happened over time† (Lowe 1995, 15). This essay shows that the movement toward public planning of eco-industrial parks rests on a misreading of the Kalundborg experience. Kalundborg is not unique but rather is characteristic of industrial loops that cities have fostered for hundreds and even thousands of years. To assume that EIP planners can replicate and improve upon Kalundborg reflects insufficient knowledge of how market forces have historically promoted resource recovery. This essay compares private and public mechanisms in the development of industrial loops and illustrates how regulation of hazardous waste in the United States currently thwarts such industrial symbiosis. The essay concludes by arguing that greater reliance on market forces would be the most effective way of replicating the Danish experience.

Multicultural Education Essay

The country is becoming a potluck of people coming from different nations. Many of them decided to pursue their studies in the U. S. in the hope of acquiring quality education. Consequently, a dilemma has arisen in this particular field which is caused by cultural and racial diversity. To address this problem, multicultural education emerged. Multicultural education aims to provide equal educational opportunities to all students coming from â€Å"diverse racial, ethnic, social-class, and cultural groups† (â€Å"Multicultural Education†, 1995, n. p. ). One of its main objectives is to aid students to acquire the necessary â€Å"knowledge, attitudes, and skills† in order to perform and function successfully in a free society where various races and cultures are present (â€Å"Multicultural Education†, 1995, n. p. ). Another primary objective of multicultural education is to arm the students with socializing skills that are highly essential for interacting, negotiating, and communicating with individuals from various groups that are culturally, racially and ethnically diverse so as to establish a value-centered community that benefits everyone in it (â€Å"Multicultural Education†, 1995). One of the major problems in multicultural education is the integration of the various cultural backgrounds of different nations in the school curriculum. The various cultural overviews and concepts should be reflected in the curriculum that offers multicultural education. A nation or a school that denies the integration of different aspects of culture into the curriculum is neither demographic nor cohesive, in the sense that the curriculum focuses mainly on one dominant culture and neglect the growing culture of the other students. Thus, diversity and disparity are encouraged by such types of curriculum for enriching one main culture (Banks, 1991). The topic has long been debated since there is a major alteration on the ethnic and cultural fabric of the country. The issue revolves on whether or not the changes in the cultural texture should be extended over the schools’ curricula. It is vital to affirm the adherence of the schools’ curricula to the nation’s racial, ethnic and cultural diversity. At present, most schools in the U. S. are utilizing the multicultural education and integrating cultural education in their curricula such as the Palm Beach County School District which has a separate department for multicultural education (Department of Multicultural Education, 2008). References Banks, J. A. (1991). Curriculum guidelines for multicultural education. National Council for the Social Studies.Retrieved August 15, 2008 from http://www. socialstudies. org/positions/multicultural/. Department of Multicultural Education. (2008, August 21). The School District of Palm Beach County. Retrieved August 22, 2008 from http://www. palmbeach. k12. fl. us/MULTICULTURAL/ Multicultural education. (1995). North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Retrieved August 15, 2008 from http://www. ncrel. org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/presrvce/pe3lk1. htm.

(choose one from the three topices) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

(choose one from the three topices) - Essay Example He asserts that human reason is his will, which government and other human institution should put first for better co-existence of the two. On the part of Marx, he argues that human reason should influence the changes that people prefer. He aims at showing that the most important thing in any society is the people. They form the institutions, thus the authorities’ and power rest on people. Freethinking and active emancipation of self conforms to Marx’s view on human reason. On the side of Machiavelli, having lived at a time of political instability, of sheer violence, war torn era characterized by betrayal and blackmail, he sees too little to rely on human reasoning (Machiavelli 25). He concludes human reason as wicked and merely a push for self-satisfaction. This paper will bring out the position of human reasoning according to the three personalities and its influence on government, property, and labor. Nicollo Machiavelli’s philosophy on human reason describes man as a fickle, unreliable creature. One should not trust his reasoning. He is content to dismiss men as a sad lot that will lie, cheat, and steal if this has benefit on them. Look at the issue of governance, Machiavelli believes that whoever comes to power is from the ordinary men. He is a prince who works his way out of the common lot of deceivers in the society. His reasoning is not far off, the lot which he was part of. Men reasoning according to Machiavelli are rich in qualities, which bring him praise or fame. Since the ruler in power or the prince is a man, he will exhibit the same reasoning behavioral to his subjects (Machiavelli 41). Thus, man is an indecisive creature. Machiavelli seems to argue that man cannot govern himself, and cannot subject a prince to conform to his reasoning. As a prince, one should put on remarkable qualities on public and wise enough not to expose his weaknesses to his subjects. If a prince depicts false strong character, then his people’ s reasoning will conclude he is indeed a good prince. By this notion, Machiavelli neglects the importance of human reasonin

Existentialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Existentialism - Essay Example Levinas claimed that human existence in terms of Holocaust is rather a descriptive than prescriptive. Thus, Levinas claimed that humans were unable to oppose to a dreadful Holocaust. There can be no religious solution to the phenomenon of Holocaust. Therefore, these philosophers question the existence of God. Such an awful historical whip has made these philosophers reevaluate their attitude to God and religion. The reasons for God’s actions cannot be interpreted. Auschwitz existence cannot be removed from our history; nevertheless it is possible to prevent its future occurrence. With this regard, the essence of its existence should be found out. Concerning the basic concepts of a human existence, such as freedom†, â€Å"responsibility† and â€Å"suffering†, Frankl suggests an interesting interpretation of these concepts from existential perspective. Frankl considers freedom from an existential perspective and he considers it together with the concept of re sponsibility. Existential freedom of a person exists in spite of the fact whether he is politically free or not. Frankl relates freedom and responsibility in the following terms: "Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual" (Frankl).

Finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Finance - Assignment Example To create a child day care center the YMCA must identify the space for the project. Then it must invest in infrastructure improvements as well as equipment and accessories for the day care center. The required human resource and its monthly cost must be determined. The second cash flow aspect of the project would be once the center is built. The YMCA must pay for maintenance expenses, payroll, utilities, and other expenses associated with the day care center. The demand for the services might exceed the supply capacity of the center. The company should establish a fee to the mothers or fathers of children that are attended in the day care center in order to cover operating expenses. The weekly fee for services in the child day care of the YMCA should be below market value for similar services in the community. Despite the YMCA’s best intentions there is no way that the YMCA can offer the child day care services for free. If it was free the center would receive an incredible amount of applications since everyone desires free child day care

Tobacco Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Tobacco - Term Paper Example Many people enjoyed tobacco after introduction in 15th century. However, use of tobacco was seen as a sign of disrespect to the public. Research reveals that tobacco users suffered extremely leading to introduction of warning statements. King James was the victim of tobacco in 1604 and so he was prompted to issue warnings against tobacco use. The first industry of tobacco was started in early 17th century by John Rolf in North America. His industry was boosted by high demand from England. Study reveals that John exported his tobacco products from his firm to England. Approximately two hundred pounds of tobacco were shipped to England by John’s firm due to the demand from tobacco users in England. The demand was increased by high price imposed by Spanish sellers to the people of England (Yeargin, 2008). High competition between John Rolf and Spanish traders forced John to smuggle the sweetest seeds of tobacco from Varina firms and started producing more desirable products. The sweetness of his products led to high demand from England. Later he named his firm Varina farms. Study shows that the farm in still in existence to date despite that it is not growing tobacco anymore (Yeargin, 2008). The high demand of tobacco in England increased the requirement of labor force. African slaves were used as labor force in tobacco farms in early 17th century. Satcher (1998) point out that Jamestown in Virginia was the most profitable tobacco firms due to high demand for tobacco in England and other European countries. Study by the author reveals that the colonies wealth was from tobacco trade in early 17th century. Other cash crops such as cotton were not common but it was later introduced in 1793. The profitability of tobacco led increase in a number of farms in North America and later spread Southern part. Though it was profitable crop, it was later planted with other crops in

Private Vs. Public School Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Private Vs. Public School Education - Essay Example But the fees of the private schools are generally very high, and not all parents can afford them. Public schools provide free education. they are equally focused and dedicated to the education of children like those in private schools. Private schools are found to be more expensive than public schools. The most significant concern is the tuition fees. Public schools do not charge tuition. Instead, they are funded through federal, state or local taxes (Private vs. public schools: what’s the difference?, 2009). But private schools are funded by tuition, fundraising, donations and other private grants. Public schools are subject to various state and federal regulations that allow them to provide education to all children including those with special needs. Private schools are not obligated to accept all students. When it comes to educating children in accordance with the learning advancements, curriculum is considered to be the most significant concern of the school authorities as well as the government policies (Kennedy, 2009). There are evident differences between private and public schools in the context of curriculum design for students. Public schools offer a generalized curriculum designed for all students, which includes all the essential subjects (math, English, science, etc.) as well as physical education. The curriculum is mandated by the state government, and learning ability of children is measured by various state standardized tests. In other words, curriculum design in public schools is somewhat definite as regulated by the state. Whereas private schools allow a considerable amount of flexibility while designing the curriculum. For instance, they can develop various specialized programs determined by the requirements of the students. Students are evaluated by standardized tests just like those in the public schools, but private schools can develop their own curriculum and assessment systems. Special

Federal Highway Act Essay Example for Free

Federal Highway Act Essay The accounting part of the airline industry focuses on the financial statements. The financial statements are composed of the balance sheet, the income statement, and the statement of cash flows. The customers and the general public are more interested in the passenger ticket prices as well as the cargo shipping rates. The following paragraphs expounds on some of the many issues on the United States Airline Industry. In the article The Future of American Transportation Policy, the Federal Highway Act of 1956 was an important milestone in the history of American airline transportation and travel history.   For, it focused on the finished the interstate highway system. Finally, the completion occurred in the early 1990s which where the general agreement on transportation among the Americans had faded away. Many economists had expressed their concern over the American government’s management the transportation infrastructure. (Dilger, 2003). And, in the article The Law on Securities, was approved into law within the market economy development and the entrepreneurship program as the 1989 era closed. It was again revised in June of 1990. For, many airline companies trade their shares of stocks in Wall Street and other stock markets to any one who wants to own a part of airline companies. This law gives the guidelines on the issuance of treasury bills, commercial notes and bonds. This law gives a wide interpretation on how people can ‘buy’ a share of an airline company. Meaning, any airline company that has a profit character can freely offer its shares to the moneyed public. These shares are generally divided into ordinary (common) shares, preferred (as to dividend payments), cumulative, non –cumulative, bearer and registered shares of stocks. In addition, the airline companies can also enter into a creditor –debtor relationship when it offers bonds and other short term liability securities. However, the stocks offered in the stock markets must be branded as profitable in order to sell like hotcakes. To accomplish this, the airline companies offer to the interested investors free copies of their income statements that show that they have been making (passing) the grade because profits is the bottom line of the company for the past year or years of actual airline operations. And, to further give credence to the airline companies’ balance sheet and income statements, the companies attached an auditor’s reported that the financial statements are fairly presented. On the other hand, an auditor’s report stating that the financial statements are adversely presented means that the financial reported issued by the company are falsely  presented. Also, an auditor’s report that gives a â€Å"no opinion† portion shows that the financial statements have not been audited for one reason or another (Skof Vukmir, 1993). Further, the article The CEO as an Organization Designery states that Professor Germeshausen, a Professor Emeritus in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology opined that many senior officers in the airline companies can comfortably assess ahead of time the effect ad influence of their many policies on the stableness, growth nuances and the monetary behavior of the organizations that they manage and are responsible for. (Keough Doman, 1992) Also, the article A Problem –Finding Approach to Tactical Planning states that questions should be answered by the airline managers for tactical planning in terms of strategic planning environment. Some specific and important questions that could be asks include â€Å"What Corporate planning information is needed by top management and corporate planners to give direction to the company tomorrow? † should be renovated to the better â€Å"What tactical plans are needed by middle –level managers to insure a high level of sales (such as an annual increase in prior sales by a minimum benchmark of fifteen percent). Another good question would be to â€Å"did the company generate profits generated after deducting total costs and expense from the net sales? † One way of answering this question well is for the managers to implement a budget. A budget will state the maximum costs and expenses that the company will pay and the projected net sales and collections of accounts receivables in advance (a month or more ahead of the actual use of the expenses and cots). The budget shows the estimated amounts that will occur in the future such as the budgeted sales, budgeted purchases, budgeted production, budgeted administration expenses, the budgeted marketing and promotion expenses, budgeted balance sheet and other budgets. In addition, the planning strategy using the â€Å"what if this happens? †, and the accompanying â€Å"what must be done to win here? † approach will be a very useful tool to plan for a future action to resolve a future problem in terms of cost, expenses, sales, production and the like. To resolve this, the company must continuously update its information database because lack of information may result to a wrong decision or interpretation of data.

Trends in Indias Film Industry

Trends in Indias Film Industry 1.  Chapter One: Introduction In these modern times of instant digital communication, film has turn out to be one of the most vital way through various nations and cultures reveal their values and identities. Moving image technologies has turn out to be all-encompassing in our lives. They are huge business. Apart from that, a capability to recognize and apply them has become as important for the people of this present era as literacy was in the times of19th and 20th century (India PR Wire, April 4, 2007). The tempo, scale and consequences of this transformation are significant enough. The Indian Film industry has made a huge development ever since the Motion pictures first arrived in India in the year of 1896 when the Lumiere brothers revealed six silent short films in Bombay. The first feature film of India named- King Harishchandra (which was a silent movie) was released in the year of1913. In India the first ‘talkie’ movie that released was Alam Ara in the year 1931 (India PR Wire, April 4, 2007). 1.1  Film Production Houses In India A film production house is normally connected with the in-house production. It could categorize, make or telecast various segments of programs around news, films, multimedia, television shows, sports or ad films. India can be regarded as a home to a several well-known production houses from all the aforesaid stated areas. www.bestindiansites.com specifies top leading Indian websites on production houses of India, sports production house, ad film production house, film production house, sports production house, information on production house, list of production houses, television production house, multimedia production house, and a several other significant information’s (Subramaniam, A, 2003). We can in reality utter about various types of production houses such as Independent and corporate and just detail it by stating that Individual production houses are managed by just 1 or 2 producers and the infusion of capital investment for the production purpose is mainly generated by personal investment or by the means of loans taken from private investor. For corporate houses we could only cite that it is just like as any other corporate deal with the only differentiation that it produces films which is considered under the head of creative segment (essentially organised corporate structure of producing in creative industries – which is a new concept for Indian film industry) (Subramaniam, A, 2003) So when ‘Industry’ status was granted in 2000, Corporate started getting attracted towards the films industry realising the huge potential that was there to be exploited. When the corporate started entering to film industry with huge investment power they started incorporating studio culture of Hollywood by following vertical integration. Leaving behind the prevailing system of horizontal integration to the independent producers. The studio model production house started giving more importance to the content. It stressed on script development, introducing younger generation actors and directors, budget and time management, co productions and international distribution.  None of the new corporate production house had the background of film production when they entered the segment. However most of them were involved in activities related to the media (The Business Line, 2007). Barney says that the first to exploit the resources would gain competitive advantage over its rivals. This is exactly how the corporate production houses gained advantage over independent producers. The Industry had a lot of potential to grow with its wide acceptance globally. but the independent production houses had neglected this aspect, so when the corporate entered the industry they took complete advantage by using the unexploited resources of reach of the films and its growth possibilities steps (Barney, 1991). To exploit the resources of growth prospective, the studio model was developed under these parameters- To Produce and co produce the movies with strong content and story line. To complete the movie with in the budget and also in time. To sign contractual agreements with actors and directors. To focus on medium and large scale budget movies. To develop a huge distribution network nationally and internationally These parameters are not different from any other studio model in the world. Corporate production houses main aim was to apply these practices and standards in other markets, to the Indian market. The reason for doing this was to make maximum utilisation of the resources available. Already registered in the London Stock Exchange, several Indian film companies like as Eros, Ad labs, India Film Company, and utv – have generated immense capital from the various institutional investors who were keen to invest in Indian film companies. Moreover several Western film companies are looking forward for acquiring an ample equity share in these companies (Desai 2007). In this regard on 24 January 2005, Percept Picture Company associated with Michael Douglas’ production company Further Films and Sahara One to co-produce the $50-million Racing the Monsoon. Also on 1 September Sahara declared one more alliance, and this time with a Hollywood producer Donald Rosenfeld for Tree of Life starring Colin Farrell. These are two among a total of six Hollywood coproductions. (Kohli- Khandekar 2006.). On 20 October, 2005, Sony Pictures sign on Sanjay Leela Bhansali to co-produce Saawariya. The film was released globally in the year of 2007 with around 1,000 prints, a figure which was not heard of in the previous times for an Indian film. [The figure is on average 250.] Moreover this was the first time that a renowned Hollywood studio (that one of top six) had produced an Indian film. (Kohli-Khandekar 2006.) Indian admired cinema, remarkably Bollywood – the Mumbai (Bombay) film industry has witnessed several transformations given that it’s first beginnings. A few key modifications that took place at the turn of the century when Indian Popular Cinema gained the position of an industry.(1) After that the Indian film has developed in new directions. One such change was a more intense interplay between the global and the local which took place during the 1990s. Today, every single function and activity related to the Indian film business is becoming well defined and systematized, be it the retail infrastructure, financial aspect, marketing or distribution. Even films themselves are gradually falling into place. In just under five years, the industry has shed five decades of baggage and has become an organised business. This is a new Indian film industry (Kohli-Khandekar 2006). Film producers are interested in creating serious corporate structures, and Indian as well as foreign business is pouring money into the cinema. A wall of money is descending on Bollywood and there is a huge bubble building up (Desai 2007). Evaluating by the amount of movies produced by the Indian film industry, which is about more than one thousand movies per year, it is been regarded as the largest movie industry of the globe. The studio has reached international and also the profit earnings of the several Indian movies were greater in overseas locations than in India. Indian films have been witnessed in the leading ten lists of movies in the continents of UK and USA ((The Business Line, 2007)). 1.2  An overview of Indian film industry 1.2.1  Historical Section How Bollywood has evolved India is been regarded as the biggest movie industry of the world, if we talk about the number of movies produced in a year. It produces around more than 1000 films per year, which is greater than any of the film producing country. The Indian film industry is commonly regarded as BOLLYWOOD. The first Indian cinema was arrived in the year of 1913 with RAJA HARISHCHANDRA firstly coming into the picture and paving its way to the new period of silent cinema in India (Das Gupta, S., 2006). Since that time it has witnessed a vast series of evolution both in conditions of making and marketing of the Indian films.  We will largely talk about the evolution that took place from the year of 1980s to present time. India produces more films than any other country in the world, the government of India didn’t recognize filmmaking as an official industry until as recently as 2001. Before then, it was impossible for producers to get loans from banks or even insurance for their productions. As a result, producers often paid for their films out of their own pockets – a practice most American producers would consider absurdly risky – or obtained financing from less savory sources (Das Gupta, S., 2006): The unruly aspects of film production weren’t just limited to its financing. In some cases, it would take years to shoot a film. Overbooked film stars would show up egregiously late on set (or not at all) without penalty, scripts were often rewritten on set depending on which actors showed up, contracts were verbal and often violated, and produced films had no guarantees of finding distribution. All of these factors combined to make Bollywood film production an extremely risky endeavour (Das Gupta, S., 2006). 1980-1990 In India maximum number of films were produced by Independent (SingleSolo) producers or Family production houses, Big production companies like Rajashri productions, B.R Productions and R.K Productions were family owned production houses  and in some cases it can be traced back to several generations.(Taebue and Lorenzen-2007)   â€Å"In this period the Indian film industry seemed to make the least progress and in some case journey in the path of deprogress† (Ashish Tiwari). Most of the films were produced on a Formula which had protagonist the male lead character of the film who is called as the Hero and his female counter part as the Heroine who romanced with the Hero singing and dancing around the trees, this strategy gave birth to the masala films (Hindi for â€Å"spice mix†) â€Å"It was a compound made up of several elemental combinations that had drama comedy and romance along with song and dance sequences in symbol driven rather than plot driven† ( Lorenzen Taeube-2006). â€Å"The controversial author Salman Rushdie found a very precise and creative term that sums up the subject of Indian films perfectly, describing it as: ‘Epico-Mythico-Tragico-Comico-Super-Sexy-High- Masala-Art’ (Salman Rushdi, 1995 in â€Å"The Moor’s Last Sigh† quoted in Mishra,)à ¢â‚¬ (Adleline Pissang-2000).  Repetition of these kinds of stereotype films kept the audience away from theatres. Introduction of colour television and national coverage by Doordarshan in early 1980’s caused a drop in demand for Indian films. The middle class audience preferred to watch new Television soaps and old films on video cassettes (VHS) in their home rather than going to cinema halls. So the cinema halls became a run down and regarded suitable only for lower class men who could not afford a television preferred watching hard core violent films in theatres with lots of action and skimpily clad women dancing in the rain (Misara-2002). Competition from television made film production houses think innovatively, to hold their grip on the medium, so they started upgrading their films with lavish sets and so called â€Å"multi starrer† films which in turn increased the importance of star actors. So naturally the star actors wanted to cash in on their ‘star value’ and started charging exorbitant sums to act in a single film which in turn escalated the production cost of the film (Gopalan-2002). This was at the same time when the Indian music industry was on a high and could turn around the profit margins of even those films that failed at the box- office. The movie soundtrack became a key publicity stunt for the movies and the number of tracks and their popularity increased steadily. The pre- movie launch of music could determine the fate of a movie because if the music did well in the market then it created a huge wave amongst the public before the film got released. The sales of the audio cassettes used to bring in good share of revenue. The producers always hoped and worked towards making the music of their film a hit by casting good/popular music directors and famous playback singers for their films. Again, the producer had to invest a lot more on a popular music director but it was chance worth taking (Ganti-2004).   1990-2000 The introduction of cable T.V. was the greatest revolution of this era. It changed the outlook of film industry, though initially the survival of film industry was challenged with the entry of cable T.V. as it was an instant hit with the audience because it provided plenty of regional language channels like ZEE TV, SUN network and as well as few English channels STAR, HBO which aired films on their channels. But gradually the production houses understood the potential of the cable T.V. as it found a way for new source of income through selling its film rights at relatively higher prices for its telecast in television which is called as satellite rights (Pendakur-2003). Subsequently the film industry started depending on television as a medium of publicity by broadcasting songs and advertising campaigns of their films to pull the audiences to the theatres (David Hancock-1999). Music channels like MTV and V channel could not sustain by just transmitting private non film and international music albums so they had to take cover of film songs to increase their popularity in India (Bose-2006). It is believed that the criminal sources like underworld had a very strong hold on the Indian film industry; they controlled the whole production process of the films that they financed by dictating the terms in Bollywood like casting a superstar and selecting brilliant directors to work for their films. It is also believed that celebrities of the industry had close links with the mafia. Though usage of Black money (unaccounted money) in films was not an unfamiliar thing for ages but funding from underworld started in this period. It is estimated that 40% of film productions were financed by the underworld (Kripalani and Grover 2002; David Hancock-1998).   The early 1990’s can be called as the period of stagnation; the commercial cinema had ridiculous dialogues, baseless stories with no originality in them (Ashish Tiwari 2007). Few films in mid 1990’s were huge hits which broke most of the previous records. These films were big budget, romantic films (Dwyer and Patel) which upheld the family values in them. The two astronomical hits were HUM APKE HAI KAUN? (Who am I to You?) This released in 1994 and went onto run for two years in more than 50 theatres and DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE!! (The Brave Heart Will Take the Bride) got released in 1995 and was still running in its 13th year for 679th week as on 17th October 2008 at Marata Mandhir Cinema in Mumbai (www). Both these films were on similar lines, they were big budget romantic films with no actions sequence in them. In the former’s case the whole film was shot in beautiful gigantic sets going outdoors only for song sequence, which had 12 music tracks in it. In latter’s case maximum portion of the shoot took place in foreign locales. The audio of both these films were massive hits because they used the full potential of television by telecasting their songs and ad campaigns before the theatrical release. Both the production houses (Rajashri Productions and Yashraj Productions) of these films took great interest in refurbishing the theatres before the release of their films because they precisely knew their target audience were the upper middle class and family audiences who were content with television and they had to bring them back to the theatres. Once they succeeded â€Å"it marked the dominance of new middle class and uphold them to the pleasure of socially mixed audie nce both in India and overseas†. (Dwyer and Patel-2002) Rajashri and Yashraj Productions were the good old big production houses which started the trend for these kinds of films with big budget, but most of the small scale productions could not cope with this and had to stop producing films. Gradually number of films produced per year dropped. Source: David Hancock; Global Film production (Working Document) Venice Conference The biggest and greatest breakthrough in the Indian Cinema came in 1998. This is the year the Indian government recognised the potential of Indian cinema and granted the official status of ‘Industry’. Until then the public as well as private banks and other big financial institutions desisted from getting involved with the film production companies so the producers always had to depend on private money lenders for the capital for their films (Dwyer Patel, 2002). Now the production houses are getting their capital from public investments through semi public Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) and other public banks (Lorenzen Taeube, 2006) 2000- Till date.. Indian Film Industry started in its way of revival of sorts, in 2001 all the prints of the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke which had a huge star cast was seized by the Central Bureau of Investigation suspecting it to be funded by the underworld and the producer of the film Bharath Shah was arrested for having close connections with the underworld. After this incident most of the producers feared to be identified with the under world. So the underworld gradually lost its hold in the Bollywood. Shooting at overseas location for a film is not new to Bollywood they have been doing this since 1960’s but currently there is an increasing trend of Indian film crew shooting at foreign locales. This is because of the huge global market for the Indian films. Many films are released simultaneously in U.S.A. and U.K.  and there are instances where the returns from overseas collections is higher than the home collections.  The script writers and Directors cannot neglect the overseas market any more while scripting and shooting for their film (Dudrah, R K, 2006). After the liberalisation of the industry in 1998 Direct Foreign Investments, Global Investors, Private Corporate started entering the film industry. Hollywood Majors like Universal, 21st Century Fox started investing in the Indian film industry through joint ventures with the Indian production houses. The corporate production houses are gaining importance in the film industry. Corporate houses like ADLABS, EROS, UTV, K.SERA SERA and many others have already made a mark in B.S.E. (Bombay Stock Exchange) and even in L.S.E. (London Stock Exchange). In the current scenario 20% of the total India films are produced by corporate giants (Anand times- 2006).   They have developed professional ways of organising business, mergers, outsourcing, distributing, use of new technology and marketing content.  The corporate houses have brought in the much needed professional flavour in to films which were missing in the production process earlier. The main advantage of the corporate house is it can produce more number of films simultaneously; it produces 5-6 films per year where as compared to the individual production houses cannot afford to produce more than 2-3 films in a year even after the deregulation. The greatest advantage of a corporate production house is it has a huge capital to invest on its films. Usually the risk is higher on a single movie basis, but the risk spreads out as they produce lot of films simultaneously.  They employ professionals in their firm as compared to the single producers of 80’s who used change their crew after every film. Few corporate houses even have their own multiplex cinema which helps in theatrical release as well as in developing a marketing strategy for their films. The corporate giants are investing hugely on the industry as a result of this the film Industry is already the 3rd largest industry in India (Dudrah-2006). The production houses are aiming at a homogenous or serial form of production as opposed to heterogeneous form of production they had earlier. The main purpose of switching to this form of production is to control all means of production and operate all aspects of film making from finance to production and distribution (Prasad-1998). The best example being Yashraj Productions. They have their own studios for recording, dubbing and editing and also have production equipments required for the shoot. With in the production  house they also have different sections like Yashraj Distribution for overseas and home market, Yashraj Music for all their audio sales and Yashraj Video for home video like DVD’s and VCD’s. It was one of the first production houses to hire management students from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad (IIMA) to market their films and also to set up their whole business process. They also stated their own website to market and project their media image  (Dywer Patel- 2002). Professionalization has brought new and better modes of planning. There are changed practices of production where there are professionals working constantly for the better utilization of funds, bringing production costs down and maximizing the profits  Film production in India is becoming an organised business. The overall film industry is taking on professional colours. 1.3  Size and growth opportunities The total size of Indian film industry was estimated at around Rs.56.5bn (inr40 = usd1) WHEN was this?, it is  anticipated to touch a huge figure of about Rs.153bn by the year of 2010 with taking into account 18 percent compound annual growth rate (cagr) as per the estimates of  ficci-Pricewaterhouse- Coopers in the year 2006. On the whole, the Indian film industry was anticipated to be value of about usd1.8bn in the year 2006. On the basis of a thorough top-down analysis considering the share of private consumption as a proportion of gdp, the marketshare for media and entertainment (me) expenditures, and film budgets within the me space it was accounted that the Indian film industry will be valued in between usd4.4 and 5.1bn (between inr176bn and inr204bn) by 2011 (cii-A.T. Kearney 2007). The movie industry has been getting more and more corporatized. Many film production, distribution and exhibition houses are listed on the stock markets and they have raised capital through public issue. Several theatres around the nation have been developed into multiplexes and plans to build up additional digital cinema halls are by now in lime light. This will certainly not only enhance the quality of prints and thereby providing viewing a extra pleasant experience for the audiences but will also decrease the piracy of prints (ficci-PricewaterhouseCoopers 2006). These days piracy is a major issue for the Indian film industry. Not initiating nay major anti-piracy laws on the part of the government and an absence of educated officers that implements anti-piracy laws remains the vital issue. These are the main issue which is why the piracy business has not been able to control to a greater extent. This issue along with the lengthy legal and arbitration process is regarded as prevention to the fight against piracy. Apart from this the present Copyrights Act is also obsolete in conditions to technology enhancement and in addition, it does not deal with the requirements of the electronic media where the degree of piracy is amongst the maximum in present time. The Optical Disc Law draft established to deal with the requirement for regulating piracy at the manufacturing phase is still pending for the approval of the Indian ministry (ficci-PricewaterhouseCoopers 2006). As against to few developed markets where the home market symbolizes greater than 40% of total movie revenues, the home market share in India is comparatively small (8%), though, this share is anticipated to rise to about 14% by the year of 2010. The important pushers that will facilitate this are the rising amount of reasonably priced DVD players and lesser prices of original DVDs so as to battle the issues of piracy (cii-A.T. Kearney 2007). The Indian entertainment and media industry enjoys a lot of aid in the present times – be it regulations that permit foreign investment, the momentum from the economy, digital lifestyle and spending styles of the consumers, and also several opportunities the development in technology have to provide. The industry only has to do is to realize its growth potential and opportunities. The government is required to play a greater dynamic task in solving out the policy-related obstruction for the purpose of growth. The industry is required to get rid of all obstructions, like as piracy in an intensive way along with the measures to produce high-quality global class end products. The entertainment and media industry has all ingredients which it generally takes to turn into the star of Indian economy (ficci-PricewaterhouseCoopers 2006). There are two important movements that will basically transform the scene of the Indian film industry in the coming couple of years, namely digitization and a change in consumer preferences. Digitization will lead to consolidation and appearance of huge scale exhibition networks and, and apart from this, in the balance of power among producers-distributors and exhibitors. Changing customer preferences will lead to rising international acceptance of Indian films and in the upcoming of new media (cii-A.T. Kearney 2007). Growth opportunities in terms of Corporate production houses Indian film industry comprises of numerous regional clusters, and Bollywood is merely one of them. Bollywood is the cluster located in Mumbai, producing the biggest share of films (40%) mainly in Hindi (PWC FICCI, 2007). Bollywood is the oldest film cluster in India, dating back to early 20th century. Other film clusters in India like as one in Hyderabad, called â€Å"Tollywood† produces second biggest amount of films mainly in Telugu. While other clusters produce films chiefly in their local language. Growth opportunities in terms of Indian Film Industry 1.31 Current situation Currently the success ratios of films are very low at the box office. Only 10 to 20% of films break even or earn profits (Ganapathi, 2002; Pendakur, 2003; Ganti, 2004; Lorenzen Taeube, 2006) but most of the producers make money, recouping their investments through new auxiliary sources of revenue () like satellite rights music rights, home video rights(DVD),  video games, toys, computer wallpapers, ring tones, movie clips for mobile and selling ancillary rights. The new trend is product placement in films which brings in a lot of revenue and even helps in publicity of the film. In the period of 1998-2005 i.e after gaining the status of industry, the revenues in the films have grown by 360% this is including all revenues from advertising, selling of ancillary rights and music rights (Kholi- Khandekar, 2006; Lorenzen Taeube, 2006). The digital relay of films in cinema theatres is saving a lot of money as you don’t have to develop the physical print, which took a major share in a film budget.   The industry is losing more than 40% of its revenue through Piracy (David Hancock-1998). Copyright infringement of films is so wide spread in India it can be called as a ‘small scale industry’. Bootleg copies of DVD’s are available in the market on the same day the film officially releases in theatres or some times even before that. Pirated DVD’s and CD’s of Bollywood movies are available in most of the South Asian and South East Asian countries. The small cable television channels broadcast newly released films in their channels without paying any kind of compensation. Another problem is consumer copying which is very difficult to stop. To add on to this is Online Internet movies where consumers can download movies from websites like www.bhejafry.net, www.indiaonlinemovies.com and many more without actually paying anything. The technical skills of the Indian Film Industry has always been extraordinary but most of the time they had to settle for old and very poor quality of equipments.  But now due to huge market and Corporatisation they can afford to buy more sophisticated equipments. Digital facilities for Sound Recording, Dubbing, Editing is as good as anywhere in the world (Dwyer Patel, 2002). Bollywood has always been very enthusiastic about embracing new technologies in their films, and it is also been much quicker in doing this than the Hollywood (Currah, 2007). The Film Industry is using all the latest technologies like Arry 435 for the shoot, Avid and Mac products for post production work. Sync sound, D.I.(Digital Intermediate), Animations and special effects with Graphics are used extensively.  The Indian Film Industry can now even employ foreign technicians to work for them to improve the quality of the final product. In the blockbuster film KRRISH- (2006) the action sequence was choreographed by Tony Ching from Hong Kong and all the special effects for the film was done by Hollywood technicians (Minocha and Stonehouse- 2006). Globalisation has four facets, that is, movement of goods, capital, technology and people across borders. In terms of movement of goods (i. e., movies) Indian movie industry has a long history of presence in the global market. Awara was sent to the Soviet Union and other Communist bloc countries crazy in the year of1950s. Mehboob’s Aan had a French release after its premiere in London. Long before that Himansu Rai made visually stunning films in cooperation with the Germans in the early 1930s, like The Light of Asia and A Throw of Dice, and many more which were shown in Europe as Indian films with Indian stories. By then the Bombay film industry had been around for 35 years. The film industry is definitely as old as the cinema itself and surely older than Hollywood, which has its early development in the late 1900s (Desai 2007). The exports of the Indian movie have grown for approximately 60% in recent times. The USA and Canada are two main export locations witnessing for 30 percent than by the UK with 25% and Mauritius and Dubai with 10% each. Some other main markets comprise South Africa, Russia, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia where there is abundant Indian diasporas present. Making a film for the diaspora market is a certainly a moneymaking project as against to making a film for the Indian domestic market (Desai 2007). With the global audience, there is outstanding recognition of Indian movie themes along with sew of the cross-over films made by global movie production players. The profit earnings of these movies can be match up to to few of the Hollywood box office hits. A number of Bollywood movies have gained greater than 50% of their total gross profit margin from global box office collection. However it is a welcome movement that requires to be carried on. One of the significant success factors for these cinemas is to recognize ideas from within the Indian subjects which are liked by the audience. An additional important success factor is to associate with a top global distributor; films produced by the person of Indian origin have had up to 2–3 times greater global earnings as compared to the national bestsellers (cii- A.T. Kearney 2007). Table 2 reveals a series of cross over films and the revenue earning generated by these films. India has stated its determined plans to double its share in the international film industry by the end of this year. This shows the great determination of the country to build itself as a cultural as well as economic powerhouse. There are many reasons why we must believe that. To begin with, the government, which aims on considering Bollywood to set up India as a ‘soft power’, considers the Indian film industry is competent enough to capture five percent of the international market this season. The share at the present time is two percent (Johnson 2007). Kishore Lulla, the chief executive of Eros International, a uk Trends in Indias Film Industry Trends in Indias Film Industry 1.  Chapter One: Introduction In these modern times of instant digital communication, film has turn out to be one of the most vital way through various nations and cultures reveal their values and identities. Moving image technologies has turn out to be all-encompassing in our lives. They are huge business. Apart from that, a capability to recognize and apply them has become as important for the people of this present era as literacy was in the times of19th and 20th century (India PR Wire, April 4, 2007). The tempo, scale and consequences of this transformation are significant enough. The Indian Film industry has made a huge development ever since the Motion pictures first arrived in India in the year of 1896 when the Lumiere brothers revealed six silent short films in Bombay. The first feature film of India named- King Harishchandra (which was a silent movie) was released in the year of1913. In India the first ‘talkie’ movie that released was Alam Ara in the year 1931 (India PR Wire, April 4, 2007). 1.1  Film Production Houses In India A film production house is normally connected with the in-house production. It could categorize, make or telecast various segments of programs around news, films, multimedia, television shows, sports or ad films. India can be regarded as a home to a several well-known production houses from all the aforesaid stated areas. www.bestindiansites.com specifies top leading Indian websites on production houses of India, sports production house, ad film production house, film production house, sports production house, information on production house, list of production houses, television production house, multimedia production house, and a several other significant information’s (Subramaniam, A, 2003). We can in reality utter about various types of production houses such as Independent and corporate and just detail it by stating that Individual production houses are managed by just 1 or 2 producers and the infusion of capital investment for the production purpose is mainly generated by personal investment or by the means of loans taken from private investor. For corporate houses we could only cite that it is just like as any other corporate deal with the only differentiation that it produces films which is considered under the head of creative segment (essentially organised corporate structure of producing in creative industries – which is a new concept for Indian film industry) (Subramaniam, A, 2003) So when ‘Industry’ status was granted in 2000, Corporate started getting attracted towards the films industry realising the huge potential that was there to be exploited. When the corporate started entering to film industry with huge investment power they started incorporating studio culture of Hollywood by following vertical integration. Leaving behind the prevailing system of horizontal integration to the independent producers. The studio model production house started giving more importance to the content. It stressed on script development, introducing younger generation actors and directors, budget and time management, co productions and international distribution.  None of the new corporate production house had the background of film production when they entered the segment. However most of them were involved in activities related to the media (The Business Line, 2007). Barney says that the first to exploit the resources would gain competitive advantage over its rivals. This is exactly how the corporate production houses gained advantage over independent producers. The Industry had a lot of potential to grow with its wide acceptance globally. but the independent production houses had neglected this aspect, so when the corporate entered the industry they took complete advantage by using the unexploited resources of reach of the films and its growth possibilities steps (Barney, 1991). To exploit the resources of growth prospective, the studio model was developed under these parameters- To Produce and co produce the movies with strong content and story line. To complete the movie with in the budget and also in time. To sign contractual agreements with actors and directors. To focus on medium and large scale budget movies. To develop a huge distribution network nationally and internationally These parameters are not different from any other studio model in the world. Corporate production houses main aim was to apply these practices and standards in other markets, to the Indian market. The reason for doing this was to make maximum utilisation of the resources available. Already registered in the London Stock Exchange, several Indian film companies like as Eros, Ad labs, India Film Company, and utv – have generated immense capital from the various institutional investors who were keen to invest in Indian film companies. Moreover several Western film companies are looking forward for acquiring an ample equity share in these companies (Desai 2007). In this regard on 24 January 2005, Percept Picture Company associated with Michael Douglas’ production company Further Films and Sahara One to co-produce the $50-million Racing the Monsoon. Also on 1 September Sahara declared one more alliance, and this time with a Hollywood producer Donald Rosenfeld for Tree of Life starring Colin Farrell. These are two among a total of six Hollywood coproductions. (Kohli- Khandekar 2006.). On 20 October, 2005, Sony Pictures sign on Sanjay Leela Bhansali to co-produce Saawariya. The film was released globally in the year of 2007 with around 1,000 prints, a figure which was not heard of in the previous times for an Indian film. [The figure is on average 250.] Moreover this was the first time that a renowned Hollywood studio (that one of top six) had produced an Indian film. (Kohli-Khandekar 2006.) Indian admired cinema, remarkably Bollywood – the Mumbai (Bombay) film industry has witnessed several transformations given that it’s first beginnings. A few key modifications that took place at the turn of the century when Indian Popular Cinema gained the position of an industry.(1) After that the Indian film has developed in new directions. One such change was a more intense interplay between the global and the local which took place during the 1990s. Today, every single function and activity related to the Indian film business is becoming well defined and systematized, be it the retail infrastructure, financial aspect, marketing or distribution. Even films themselves are gradually falling into place. In just under five years, the industry has shed five decades of baggage and has become an organised business. This is a new Indian film industry (Kohli-Khandekar 2006). Film producers are interested in creating serious corporate structures, and Indian as well as foreign business is pouring money into the cinema. A wall of money is descending on Bollywood and there is a huge bubble building up (Desai 2007). Evaluating by the amount of movies produced by the Indian film industry, which is about more than one thousand movies per year, it is been regarded as the largest movie industry of the globe. The studio has reached international and also the profit earnings of the several Indian movies were greater in overseas locations than in India. Indian films have been witnessed in the leading ten lists of movies in the continents of UK and USA ((The Business Line, 2007)). 1.2  An overview of Indian film industry 1.2.1  Historical Section How Bollywood has evolved India is been regarded as the biggest movie industry of the world, if we talk about the number of movies produced in a year. It produces around more than 1000 films per year, which is greater than any of the film producing country. The Indian film industry is commonly regarded as BOLLYWOOD. The first Indian cinema was arrived in the year of 1913 with RAJA HARISHCHANDRA firstly coming into the picture and paving its way to the new period of silent cinema in India (Das Gupta, S., 2006). Since that time it has witnessed a vast series of evolution both in conditions of making and marketing of the Indian films.  We will largely talk about the evolution that took place from the year of 1980s to present time. India produces more films than any other country in the world, the government of India didn’t recognize filmmaking as an official industry until as recently as 2001. Before then, it was impossible for producers to get loans from banks or even insurance for their productions. As a result, producers often paid for their films out of their own pockets – a practice most American producers would consider absurdly risky – or obtained financing from less savory sources (Das Gupta, S., 2006): The unruly aspects of film production weren’t just limited to its financing. In some cases, it would take years to shoot a film. Overbooked film stars would show up egregiously late on set (or not at all) without penalty, scripts were often rewritten on set depending on which actors showed up, contracts were verbal and often violated, and produced films had no guarantees of finding distribution. All of these factors combined to make Bollywood film production an extremely risky endeavour (Das Gupta, S., 2006). 1980-1990 In India maximum number of films were produced by Independent (SingleSolo) producers or Family production houses, Big production companies like Rajashri productions, B.R Productions and R.K Productions were family owned production houses  and in some cases it can be traced back to several generations.(Taebue and Lorenzen-2007)   â€Å"In this period the Indian film industry seemed to make the least progress and in some case journey in the path of deprogress† (Ashish Tiwari). Most of the films were produced on a Formula which had protagonist the male lead character of the film who is called as the Hero and his female counter part as the Heroine who romanced with the Hero singing and dancing around the trees, this strategy gave birth to the masala films (Hindi for â€Å"spice mix†) â€Å"It was a compound made up of several elemental combinations that had drama comedy and romance along with song and dance sequences in symbol driven rather than plot driven† ( Lorenzen Taeube-2006). â€Å"The controversial author Salman Rushdie found a very precise and creative term that sums up the subject of Indian films perfectly, describing it as: ‘Epico-Mythico-Tragico-Comico-Super-Sexy-High- Masala-Art’ (Salman Rushdi, 1995 in â€Å"The Moor’s Last Sigh† quoted in Mishra,)à ¢â‚¬ (Adleline Pissang-2000).  Repetition of these kinds of stereotype films kept the audience away from theatres. Introduction of colour television and national coverage by Doordarshan in early 1980’s caused a drop in demand for Indian films. The middle class audience preferred to watch new Television soaps and old films on video cassettes (VHS) in their home rather than going to cinema halls. So the cinema halls became a run down and regarded suitable only for lower class men who could not afford a television preferred watching hard core violent films in theatres with lots of action and skimpily clad women dancing in the rain (Misara-2002). Competition from television made film production houses think innovatively, to hold their grip on the medium, so they started upgrading their films with lavish sets and so called â€Å"multi starrer† films which in turn increased the importance of star actors. So naturally the star actors wanted to cash in on their ‘star value’ and started charging exorbitant sums to act in a single film which in turn escalated the production cost of the film (Gopalan-2002). This was at the same time when the Indian music industry was on a high and could turn around the profit margins of even those films that failed at the box- office. The movie soundtrack became a key publicity stunt for the movies and the number of tracks and their popularity increased steadily. The pre- movie launch of music could determine the fate of a movie because if the music did well in the market then it created a huge wave amongst the public before the film got released. The sales of the audio cassettes used to bring in good share of revenue. The producers always hoped and worked towards making the music of their film a hit by casting good/popular music directors and famous playback singers for their films. Again, the producer had to invest a lot more on a popular music director but it was chance worth taking (Ganti-2004).   1990-2000 The introduction of cable T.V. was the greatest revolution of this era. It changed the outlook of film industry, though initially the survival of film industry was challenged with the entry of cable T.V. as it was an instant hit with the audience because it provided plenty of regional language channels like ZEE TV, SUN network and as well as few English channels STAR, HBO which aired films on their channels. But gradually the production houses understood the potential of the cable T.V. as it found a way for new source of income through selling its film rights at relatively higher prices for its telecast in television which is called as satellite rights (Pendakur-2003). Subsequently the film industry started depending on television as a medium of publicity by broadcasting songs and advertising campaigns of their films to pull the audiences to the theatres (David Hancock-1999). Music channels like MTV and V channel could not sustain by just transmitting private non film and international music albums so they had to take cover of film songs to increase their popularity in India (Bose-2006). It is believed that the criminal sources like underworld had a very strong hold on the Indian film industry; they controlled the whole production process of the films that they financed by dictating the terms in Bollywood like casting a superstar and selecting brilliant directors to work for their films. It is also believed that celebrities of the industry had close links with the mafia. Though usage of Black money (unaccounted money) in films was not an unfamiliar thing for ages but funding from underworld started in this period. It is estimated that 40% of film productions were financed by the underworld (Kripalani and Grover 2002; David Hancock-1998).   The early 1990’s can be called as the period of stagnation; the commercial cinema had ridiculous dialogues, baseless stories with no originality in them (Ashish Tiwari 2007). Few films in mid 1990’s were huge hits which broke most of the previous records. These films were big budget, romantic films (Dwyer and Patel) which upheld the family values in them. The two astronomical hits were HUM APKE HAI KAUN? (Who am I to You?) This released in 1994 and went onto run for two years in more than 50 theatres and DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE!! (The Brave Heart Will Take the Bride) got released in 1995 and was still running in its 13th year for 679th week as on 17th October 2008 at Marata Mandhir Cinema in Mumbai (www). Both these films were on similar lines, they were big budget romantic films with no actions sequence in them. In the former’s case the whole film was shot in beautiful gigantic sets going outdoors only for song sequence, which had 12 music tracks in it. In latter’s case maximum portion of the shoot took place in foreign locales. The audio of both these films were massive hits because they used the full potential of television by telecasting their songs and ad campaigns before the theatrical release. Both the production houses (Rajashri Productions and Yashraj Productions) of these films took great interest in refurbishing the theatres before the release of their films because they precisely knew their target audience were the upper middle class and family audiences who were content with television and they had to bring them back to the theatres. Once they succeeded â€Å"it marked the dominance of new middle class and uphold them to the pleasure of socially mixed audie nce both in India and overseas†. (Dwyer and Patel-2002) Rajashri and Yashraj Productions were the good old big production houses which started the trend for these kinds of films with big budget, but most of the small scale productions could not cope with this and had to stop producing films. Gradually number of films produced per year dropped. Source: David Hancock; Global Film production (Working Document) Venice Conference The biggest and greatest breakthrough in the Indian Cinema came in 1998. This is the year the Indian government recognised the potential of Indian cinema and granted the official status of ‘Industry’. Until then the public as well as private banks and other big financial institutions desisted from getting involved with the film production companies so the producers always had to depend on private money lenders for the capital for their films (Dwyer Patel, 2002). Now the production houses are getting their capital from public investments through semi public Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) and other public banks (Lorenzen Taeube, 2006) 2000- Till date.. Indian Film Industry started in its way of revival of sorts, in 2001 all the prints of the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke which had a huge star cast was seized by the Central Bureau of Investigation suspecting it to be funded by the underworld and the producer of the film Bharath Shah was arrested for having close connections with the underworld. After this incident most of the producers feared to be identified with the under world. So the underworld gradually lost its hold in the Bollywood. Shooting at overseas location for a film is not new to Bollywood they have been doing this since 1960’s but currently there is an increasing trend of Indian film crew shooting at foreign locales. This is because of the huge global market for the Indian films. Many films are released simultaneously in U.S.A. and U.K.  and there are instances where the returns from overseas collections is higher than the home collections.  The script writers and Directors cannot neglect the overseas market any more while scripting and shooting for their film (Dudrah, R K, 2006). After the liberalisation of the industry in 1998 Direct Foreign Investments, Global Investors, Private Corporate started entering the film industry. Hollywood Majors like Universal, 21st Century Fox started investing in the Indian film industry through joint ventures with the Indian production houses. The corporate production houses are gaining importance in the film industry. Corporate houses like ADLABS, EROS, UTV, K.SERA SERA and many others have already made a mark in B.S.E. (Bombay Stock Exchange) and even in L.S.E. (London Stock Exchange). In the current scenario 20% of the total India films are produced by corporate giants (Anand times- 2006).   They have developed professional ways of organising business, mergers, outsourcing, distributing, use of new technology and marketing content.  The corporate houses have brought in the much needed professional flavour in to films which were missing in the production process earlier. The main advantage of the corporate house is it can produce more number of films simultaneously; it produces 5-6 films per year where as compared to the individual production houses cannot afford to produce more than 2-3 films in a year even after the deregulation. The greatest advantage of a corporate production house is it has a huge capital to invest on its films. Usually the risk is higher on a single movie basis, but the risk spreads out as they produce lot of films simultaneously.  They employ professionals in their firm as compared to the single producers of 80’s who used change their crew after every film. Few corporate houses even have their own multiplex cinema which helps in theatrical release as well as in developing a marketing strategy for their films. The corporate giants are investing hugely on the industry as a result of this the film Industry is already the 3rd largest industry in India (Dudrah-2006). The production houses are aiming at a homogenous or serial form of production as opposed to heterogeneous form of production they had earlier. The main purpose of switching to this form of production is to control all means of production and operate all aspects of film making from finance to production and distribution (Prasad-1998). The best example being Yashraj Productions. They have their own studios for recording, dubbing and editing and also have production equipments required for the shoot. With in the production  house they also have different sections like Yashraj Distribution for overseas and home market, Yashraj Music for all their audio sales and Yashraj Video for home video like DVD’s and VCD’s. It was one of the first production houses to hire management students from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad (IIMA) to market their films and also to set up their whole business process. They also stated their own website to market and project their media image  (Dywer Patel- 2002). Professionalization has brought new and better modes of planning. There are changed practices of production where there are professionals working constantly for the better utilization of funds, bringing production costs down and maximizing the profits  Film production in India is becoming an organised business. The overall film industry is taking on professional colours. 1.3  Size and growth opportunities The total size of Indian film industry was estimated at around Rs.56.5bn (inr40 = usd1) WHEN was this?, it is  anticipated to touch a huge figure of about Rs.153bn by the year of 2010 with taking into account 18 percent compound annual growth rate (cagr) as per the estimates of  ficci-Pricewaterhouse- Coopers in the year 2006. On the whole, the Indian film industry was anticipated to be value of about usd1.8bn in the year 2006. On the basis of a thorough top-down analysis considering the share of private consumption as a proportion of gdp, the marketshare for media and entertainment (me) expenditures, and film budgets within the me space it was accounted that the Indian film industry will be valued in between usd4.4 and 5.1bn (between inr176bn and inr204bn) by 2011 (cii-A.T. Kearney 2007). The movie industry has been getting more and more corporatized. Many film production, distribution and exhibition houses are listed on the stock markets and they have raised capital through public issue. Several theatres around the nation have been developed into multiplexes and plans to build up additional digital cinema halls are by now in lime light. This will certainly not only enhance the quality of prints and thereby providing viewing a extra pleasant experience for the audiences but will also decrease the piracy of prints (ficci-PricewaterhouseCoopers 2006). These days piracy is a major issue for the Indian film industry. Not initiating nay major anti-piracy laws on the part of the government and an absence of educated officers that implements anti-piracy laws remains the vital issue. These are the main issue which is why the piracy business has not been able to control to a greater extent. This issue along with the lengthy legal and arbitration process is regarded as prevention to the fight against piracy. Apart from this the present Copyrights Act is also obsolete in conditions to technology enhancement and in addition, it does not deal with the requirements of the electronic media where the degree of piracy is amongst the maximum in present time. The Optical Disc Law draft established to deal with the requirement for regulating piracy at the manufacturing phase is still pending for the approval of the Indian ministry (ficci-PricewaterhouseCoopers 2006). As against to few developed markets where the home market symbolizes greater than 40% of total movie revenues, the home market share in India is comparatively small (8%), though, this share is anticipated to rise to about 14% by the year of 2010. The important pushers that will facilitate this are the rising amount of reasonably priced DVD players and lesser prices of original DVDs so as to battle the issues of piracy (cii-A.T. Kearney 2007). The Indian entertainment and media industry enjoys a lot of aid in the present times – be it regulations that permit foreign investment, the momentum from the economy, digital lifestyle and spending styles of the consumers, and also several opportunities the development in technology have to provide. The industry only has to do is to realize its growth potential and opportunities. The government is required to play a greater dynamic task in solving out the policy-related obstruction for the purpose of growth. The industry is required to get rid of all obstructions, like as piracy in an intensive way along with the measures to produce high-quality global class end products. The entertainment and media industry has all ingredients which it generally takes to turn into the star of Indian economy (ficci-PricewaterhouseCoopers 2006). There are two important movements that will basically transform the scene of the Indian film industry in the coming couple of years, namely digitization and a change in consumer preferences. Digitization will lead to consolidation and appearance of huge scale exhibition networks and, and apart from this, in the balance of power among producers-distributors and exhibitors. Changing customer preferences will lead to rising international acceptance of Indian films and in the upcoming of new media (cii-A.T. Kearney 2007). Growth opportunities in terms of Corporate production houses Indian film industry comprises of numerous regional clusters, and Bollywood is merely one of them. Bollywood is the cluster located in Mumbai, producing the biggest share of films (40%) mainly in Hindi (PWC FICCI, 2007). Bollywood is the oldest film cluster in India, dating back to early 20th century. Other film clusters in India like as one in Hyderabad, called â€Å"Tollywood† produces second biggest amount of films mainly in Telugu. While other clusters produce films chiefly in their local language. Growth opportunities in terms of Indian Film Industry 1.31 Current situation Currently the success ratios of films are very low at the box office. Only 10 to 20% of films break even or earn profits (Ganapathi, 2002; Pendakur, 2003; Ganti, 2004; Lorenzen Taeube, 2006) but most of the producers make money, recouping their investments through new auxiliary sources of revenue () like satellite rights music rights, home video rights(DVD),  video games, toys, computer wallpapers, ring tones, movie clips for mobile and selling ancillary rights. The new trend is product placement in films which brings in a lot of revenue and even helps in publicity of the film. In the period of 1998-2005 i.e after gaining the status of industry, the revenues in the films have grown by 360% this is including all revenues from advertising, selling of ancillary rights and music rights (Kholi- Khandekar, 2006; Lorenzen Taeube, 2006). The digital relay of films in cinema theatres is saving a lot of money as you don’t have to develop the physical print, which took a major share in a film budget.   The industry is losing more than 40% of its revenue through Piracy (David Hancock-1998). Copyright infringement of films is so wide spread in India it can be called as a ‘small scale industry’. Bootleg copies of DVD’s are available in the market on the same day the film officially releases in theatres or some times even before that. Pirated DVD’s and CD’s of Bollywood movies are available in most of the South Asian and South East Asian countries. The small cable television channels broadcast newly released films in their channels without paying any kind of compensation. Another problem is consumer copying which is very difficult to stop. To add on to this is Online Internet movies where consumers can download movies from websites like www.bhejafry.net, www.indiaonlinemovies.com and many more without actually paying anything. The technical skills of the Indian Film Industry has always been extraordinary but most of the time they had to settle for old and very poor quality of equipments.  But now due to huge market and Corporatisation they can afford to buy more sophisticated equipments. Digital facilities for Sound Recording, Dubbing, Editing is as good as anywhere in the world (Dwyer Patel, 2002). Bollywood has always been very enthusiastic about embracing new technologies in their films, and it is also been much quicker in doing this than the Hollywood (Currah, 2007). The Film Industry is using all the latest technologies like Arry 435 for the shoot, Avid and Mac products for post production work. Sync sound, D.I.(Digital Intermediate), Animations and special effects with Graphics are used extensively.  The Indian Film Industry can now even employ foreign technicians to work for them to improve the quality of the final product. In the blockbuster film KRRISH- (2006) the action sequence was choreographed by Tony Ching from Hong Kong and all the special effects for the film was done by Hollywood technicians (Minocha and Stonehouse- 2006). Globalisation has four facets, that is, movement of goods, capital, technology and people across borders. In terms of movement of goods (i. e., movies) Indian movie industry has a long history of presence in the global market. Awara was sent to the Soviet Union and other Communist bloc countries crazy in the year of1950s. Mehboob’s Aan had a French release after its premiere in London. Long before that Himansu Rai made visually stunning films in cooperation with the Germans in the early 1930s, like The Light of Asia and A Throw of Dice, and many more which were shown in Europe as Indian films with Indian stories. By then the Bombay film industry had been around for 35 years. The film industry is definitely as old as the cinema itself and surely older than Hollywood, which has its early development in the late 1900s (Desai 2007). The exports of the Indian movie have grown for approximately 60% in recent times. The USA and Canada are two main export locations witnessing for 30 percent than by the UK with 25% and Mauritius and Dubai with 10% each. Some other main markets comprise South Africa, Russia, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia where there is abundant Indian diasporas present. Making a film for the diaspora market is a certainly a moneymaking project as against to making a film for the Indian domestic market (Desai 2007). With the global audience, there is outstanding recognition of Indian movie themes along with sew of the cross-over films made by global movie production players. The profit earnings of these movies can be match up to to few of the Hollywood box office hits. A number of Bollywood movies have gained greater than 50% of their total gross profit margin from global box office collection. However it is a welcome movement that requires to be carried on. One of the significant success factors for these cinemas is to recognize ideas from within the Indian subjects which are liked by the audience. An additional important success factor is to associate with a top global distributor; films produced by the person of Indian origin have had up to 2–3 times greater global earnings as compared to the national bestsellers (cii- A.T. Kearney 2007). Table 2 reveals a series of cross over films and the revenue earning generated by these films. India has stated its determined plans to double its share in the international film industry by the end of this year. This shows the great determination of the country to build itself as a cultural as well as economic powerhouse. There are many reasons why we must believe that. To begin with, the government, which aims on considering Bollywood to set up India as a ‘soft power’, considers the Indian film industry is competent enough to capture five percent of the international market this season. The share at the present time is two percent (Johnson 2007). Kishore Lulla, the chief executive of Eros International, a uk