This thesis discusses the relationship between Taiwanese television (idol) dramas, advertising - in particular product placement, and the way in which young Taiwanese women, i.e. students between...Show moreThis thesis discusses the relationship between Taiwanese television (idol) dramas, advertising - in particular product placement, and the way in which young Taiwanese women, i.e. students between 18-25 years, identify with popular TV-series. The research itself is based on an on-line survey designed by the author herself.Show less
Over the course of history, the bicycle has earned its place in the Chinese and Taiwanese streets and has long been the primary mode of transportation for many people. Even though both China and...Show moreOver the course of history, the bicycle has earned its place in the Chinese and Taiwanese streets and has long been the primary mode of transportation for many people. Even though both China and Taiwan play a big role in the world’s bicycle market, changes seem to have occurred in the presence of bicycle in the Chinese and Taiwanese streets as well as its corresponding perception. This thesis will reflect on changes in the public perception of bicycles in Taiwan and China in the last 60 years by answering questions such as; how have people’s views on the bicycle and its use changed? How can these changes be explained and does the bicycle have a future in China and Taiwan?Show less
Deze scriptie bespreekt het groeiende Chinese toerisme naar Europa en de mogelijkheden die dit voor Nederland biedt. Door middel van een analyse van het Chinees toerisme in het Nederlandse dorp...Show moreDeze scriptie bespreekt het groeiende Chinese toerisme naar Europa en de mogelijkheden die dit voor Nederland biedt. Door middel van een analyse van het Chinees toerisme in het Nederlandse dorp Giethoorn wordt gekeken naar wat Nederland kan doen om ervoor te zorgen dat de toeristen uit het Chinese cultuurgebied naar Nederland komen.Show less
Dit bachelor werkstuk onderzoekt het consumptiegedrag van Chinese toeristen in outlet stores. Een outlet store is een winkel waar niet-courante collecties van (Westerse) merkproducten worden...Show moreDit bachelor werkstuk onderzoekt het consumptiegedrag van Chinese toeristen in outlet stores. Een outlet store is een winkel waar niet-courante collecties van (Westerse) merkproducten worden verkocht voor 30% tot 70% van de oorspronkelijke prijs. Aangezien er nog geen eerder onderzoek is gedaan naar het consumptiegedrag van Chinese toeristen in outlet stores, ben ik zelf onderzoek gaan doen in de Designer Outlet Roermond, het grootste outlet center van Nederland en onderdeel van McArthurGlen Designer Outlets. Bij dit onderzoek werden Chinese toeristen gevraagd een enquête in te vullen, waarbij ze hun mening moesten geven over merkproducten in outlet stores. Aan de hand van de resultaten van deze enquêtes kan geconcludeerd worden dat: (1) Chinese toeristen de symbolische waarde van een Westers merkproduct uit een outlet store niet minder vinden dan uit een flagship store; (2) sociale status een steeds minder belangrijke reden is om merkproducten te kopen; (3) de Designer Outlet Roermond is succesvol in het verlenen van gastvrijheid aan de ChinezenShow less
Although many studies have researched consumer purchasing behaviour in general, relatively few studies on car purchasing behaviour are publically available. Also, purchasing behaviour studies...Show moreAlthough many studies have researched consumer purchasing behaviour in general, relatively few studies on car purchasing behaviour are publically available. Also, purchasing behaviour studies focusing on both car segments and cross-cultural car purchasing behaviour are limited available. Nor did these studies include the role of materialism in their research on car buying decision making process. In addition, no study has yet conducted research on the comparison of Sino-European car segment buying behaviour. Besides contributing to the corporate automotive sector, this bachelor thesis is written in the context of Chinese Consumption Culture, with the aim to extend the existing academic literature on cross-cultural consumption behaviour by researching and identifying to what extent differences in consumer characteristics – including culture (Dutch versus urban Chinese) and materialism - affect the consumer’s car segment buying decision making process. Overall, the results have proven that (1) cultural differences between Chinese and Dutch (Non-Chinese) people affect differences regarding the consumer’s car segment buying decision in the following manner: Chinese cultural concepts Face, Family relationships and Sense of shame are positively correlated with Car segment. This implies-, that the higher the score on Chinese culture is, the higher the score on Car segment. Chinese-national respondents in this study generally scored higher on Chinese culture than Dutch nationals. Thus, culture differences affect differences in the consumer’s car segment buying decision. (2) Differences in Materialism as consumer characteristic do also influence the consumer’s car segment buying decision. The more materialistic, the higher the car segment. Thus, differences on materialism affect differences regarding the consumer’s car segment buying decision. (3) Multiple consumer characteristics may interact, causing a leverage or “turbo” effect regarding the consumer’s car segment buying decision. For example, if a person is both Chinese and highly materialistic, a leverage effect takes place on car segment buying decision – thus scoring higher on car segment than cases with no interaction.Show less
Met de invoering van een marktgerichte economie in 1978 gingen mensen steeds meer consumeren. Zo ontstond er onder de vrouwelijke consument een groeiende behoefte aan ideeën en tips over kleding en...Show moreMet de invoering van een marktgerichte economie in 1978 gingen mensen steeds meer consumeren. Zo ontstond er onder de vrouwelijke consument een groeiende behoefte aan ideeën en tips over kleding en uiterlijke verzorging. Deze behoefte werd ingevuld door de komst van overwegend Westerse en later ook Aziatische modetijdschriften vanaf 1988 die de lokale modetijdschriften markt domineerden. De internationale tijdschriften brachten nieuwe beelden en ideeën over schoonheid met zich mee. Dankzij het groeiende aanbod aan internationale cosmetische producten werd het voor de Chinese consument mogelijk het Westerse uiterlijk na te streven. De ideeën over schoonheid en mode worden in de gemondialiseerde commerciële wereld bepaald door de keuzes van anderen. Hierbij spelen redacteuren en de inhoud van modetijdschriften in China een belangrijke rol. Werd er bij de introductie van vele internationale modetijdschriften rond de eeuwwisseling nog weinig rekening gehouden met de lokale context, zo is er de laatste jaren een trend te zien waarbij de inhoud juist wordt aangepast aan die context. Na 1978 lijkt er langzamer-hand een scheiding te zijn ontstaan tussen uiterlijke schoonheid (voornamelijk ingevuld door Westerse uiterlijke kenmerken) en de innerlijke, morele schoonheid (Chinese modellen). Het uiterlijke schoonheidsideaal is heel commercieel en wordt toegeschreven aan de culturele ‘ander’ (Westen), terwijl de innerlijke schoonheid en de daarbij horende culturele waarden blijven toegeschreven aan Chinese vrouwen.Show less
This thesis looks into the change in leisure activities in the modern Chinese society since 1978 compared to traditional activities during the imperial period (before 1911) and the Maoist era (1949...Show moreThis thesis looks into the change in leisure activities in the modern Chinese society since 1978 compared to traditional activities during the imperial period (before 1911) and the Maoist era (1949-1976) and thereby focus on the concept of leisure, the population involved in leisure and the leisure activities. Furthermore this thesis explores the causes for these developments. Since 1978 leisure activities have become available to a greater variety of people, are more hedonistic and consequently less tied to idealistic goals than they have been before. Leisure has become a matter of the individual instead of the group and is used to define self and image. Driving forces underlying these changes can be found in several factors e.g. rising buying power, more available leisure time, individualisation of society and the opening up of China. This thesis further argues that money has played a big role by the development and coming into existence of these factors.Show less
China is een ontwikkelingsland waarin verstedelijking en sociaaleconomische veranderingen in een razendsnel tempo plaatsvinden. Deze veranderingen hebben ervoor gezorgd dat het inkomen, levensstijl...Show moreChina is een ontwikkelingsland waarin verstedelijking en sociaaleconomische veranderingen in een razendsnel tempo plaatsvinden. Deze veranderingen hebben ervoor gezorgd dat het inkomen, levensstijl en voedingspatroon van vele Chinese families zijn veranderd. Vóór de jaren negentig waren besmettelijke ziekten en ondervoeding de belangrijkste gezondheidsproblemen bij kinderen. Op dit moment nemen niet-besmettelijke ziekten, zoals diabetes en obesitas, de overhand.Show less
The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (CSPFTZ) has been established on September 29th 2013 in Shanghai. Shanghai has been the center of many historical events. In the 19th century, Shanghai...Show moreThe China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (CSPFTZ) has been established on September 29th 2013 in Shanghai. Shanghai has been the center of many historical events. In the 19th century, Shanghai was opened up to the outside world and forced to outside trade relations due to the Nanking Treaty of 1842 after the First Opium War (1839-1842) and was selected as a new port: the ‘Shanghai International Settlement’. The British, American and French settled in Shanghai and after 100 years Shanghai developed as the largest foreign trade port in China. Meanwhile, during the first Sino-Japanese War of 1895, China was mauled by a strong, Western influenced Japan. Attempts to reform China into a modern nation failed but after the 1911 Revolution, Shanghai emerged as a center of modern activities. The population doubled between 1895 and 1910 from 245,675 to 501,541 people as many Chinese were attracted by the city. During World War I (1914-1918) many people left while the diminished supply of Chinese export goods led to a higher demand of these export goods. Especially in the 1920s and 1930s, Shanghai grew as many silk filatures, cotton mills, and chemical works emerged. In the 1930s, Shanghai’s Port served as the main shipping center in the Far East; the city was seen as a cosmopolitan city. However, in 1937 Japan bombed Shanghai and occupied parts of China again, which lasted until 1945. People lived under brutal circumstances under the occupation of Japan and the conditions to develop into a cosmopolitan city moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong. In 1949, the CCP, led by Mao Zedong, took power and focused on rural regions resulting in neglected cities; the nation controlled Shanghai and the city was forced to dispose of its cosmopolitan life. However, when Mao Zedong died in 1976, the balance of power changed: Hua Guofeng established the ‘Open Door’ policy in 1977 before Deng Xiaoping returned to power in 1978. The new policy led to the beginning of its modernization process and several Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were established mainly to attract foreign direct investment. Since the opening up until 1997, China attracted billions of foreign investment (US dollars) and by the mid-1990s, the economy moved away from a command economy to a functioning market economy. After 1978, China’s modernization process took off really quickly and created a gap between South China including its coastal regions and North-East China as the South and its coastal areas are developing much faster. Therefore, China can be divided into two different phases of modernization according to Rostow’s Five-Stages of Growth (1960). The South and its coastal regions can be assigned to the final phase of modernization while the North-East part of China can be assigned to phase three. The SEZs which have been established since 1978 are particular geographic regions in countries used to encourage export services, industry, and manufacturing. In China, initially four SEZs were established in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Xiamen and Shantou to test the new policies and new institutions for the market-oriented economy in order to improve China’s economy. The role SEZs, and especially Shenzhen, played in China’s modernization process was quite apparent as average annual growth has been 9.4 percent since the 1980s: the SEZs boost China’s economy and moved towards a more technology-intensive and higher-value economy. 34 years later, on 29th September 2013, a new SEZ was established in Pudong, Shanghai: the CSPFTZ. The CSPFTZ has been established to enhance China’s economic position globally and to develop a new, replicable financial and administrative system which can be implemented in every region of the country. Nevertheless, the privileged status of ‘special’ is diminished since there are already many SEZs in China. However, as analysis shows, the zone operates differently from the majority of the SEZs which enables the CSPFTZ to offer enough advantages to attract foreign investors to be successful. The chances of success nonetheless depend on the government. The government encourages so many aspects and is experimenting with so many measures that the chance of success is questioned. But, if the government is able to achieve its aims, the CSPFTZ can be successful and could contribute to China’s South and coastal regions’ modernization process as the leading sectors shift towards more durable consumer goods and services in Rostow’s final phase.Show less
Television possesses the power to frame people’s lives and activities on a scale that no other form of media has ever been able to enjoy. This paper explores the various political missions of the...Show moreTelevision possesses the power to frame people’s lives and activities on a scale that no other form of media has ever been able to enjoy. This paper explores the various political missions of the Chinese television broadcast, and examines the modern type of propaganda publicized and disseminated throughout contemporary TV formats. Since its first introduction to China, the domestic digital box has become one of most efficient media for the spread of a new form of propaganda, thus helping the Party in its attempts to construct people’s identities. Given the findings that the media have always acted as mouthpieces of the government, this research points out that some particular television formats have been widely employed as thought work distributors. This thesis focuses primarily on TV serial dramas, which, despite often appearing to be the most innocuous and entertaining of broadcasts, are instead practically brimming with political discourses. More specifically, the main aim of this study is to explore the social and political contexts that have given rise to Dynasty dramas, which have emerged as the most conspicuous genre present on prime time TV thus far. Which sorts of political messages are concealed behind historical dramas? And for which reasons is the Party so committed to promulgating these types of ideas? Do these messages serve to legitimize the Party’s mandates? This research departs from the well-researched trend of exploring governmental media use in broad terms, turning its attention instead to television in particular. This essay widely examines the use of television in modern society, and epitomizes it as the new platform upon which the Party is able to construct or mold “politically educated” and “spiritually civilized” identities. Ultimately, the active engagement of dramas with cultural and political issues is proved, through the analysis of two of the most renowned contemporary Dynasty series “Yongzheng Dynasty” and “The Great Han Emperor Wu”-.Show less
De paper geeft een overzicht van het fenomeen shanzhai en intellectueel eigendomsrecht in China. Daarnaast gaat de paper in op intellectueel eigendomsrecht omtrent medicijnen. Ook wordt de...Show moreDe paper geeft een overzicht van het fenomeen shanzhai en intellectueel eigendomsrecht in China. Daarnaast gaat de paper in op intellectueel eigendomsrecht omtrent medicijnen. Ook wordt de geschiedenis van het zorgstelsel in China belicht. Dit alles geeft een beeld van de manier waarop shanzhai is ontstaan en dat het vooral in de geneesmiddelenindustrie belangrijk is het onderscheid te maken tussen 'shanzhai' en 'namaak'.Show less
