Internet and CALL

1.IntroductionFor a long ti me,the traditional English teaching mode is teacher-centered and knowledge-instruction-based.Inthis kind of teach-ing mode the teachers usually givelectures only by usingtextbooksinclassroom.The learners have to passively acquire knowledge andcomplain the boring learning of English in such a single method;therefore,it is essential to set up a newteaching mode to meet thehigher need of Englishlearners andincrease their interest of learningEnglish.Withthe rapid deve…     

Forensic Accounting and Fraud： Capability and Competence Requirements in Malaysia

The 2011 Global Economic Crime Survey instituted by PricewaterhouseCoopers （PwC） confirms the economic crime in Malaysia to be on the increase and, therefore, requires immediate attention to stem the tides. In anticipation of the challenges occasioned due to a shift from the modified cash basis to the accrual basis of accounting, the Malaysian State＇s determination to move from a developing nation to a developed nation, and to be ranked among the first 10 in 2020, this paper presents the need for forensic accountant and auditor capability （i.e., mindset and skills） on forensic accountant and auditor competence （i.e., task performance fraud risk assessment （TPFRA）） in the Malaysian public sector. It also draws the attention of the users of public sector accountants and auditors to the understanding of fraud mechanisms and how to deal with fraudsters. The population of this study comprised the accountants and auditors in the office of the Accountant General and Auditor General of Malaysia. The objective of this paper is to investigate the competence requirements of accountants and auditors in the effective and efficient utilization of capability requirements, which have the potentials to usher in the best global practices in fighting fraud in the Malaysian public sector.     

Macroeconomic factors and firm’s cross-border merger and acquisitions

This study investigates the impact of macroeconomic variables on the wealth effects of cross-border acquisitions by Malaysian multinational companies. The sample consists of 159 cross-border acquisitions by Malaysian MNCs bidding in 22 countries around the world from 2000 to 2007. The macroeconomic variables examined in this study are foreign economic condition, GNP correlation between countries, and level of economic development of target country. The findings indicate that, foreign economic condition affects the wealth effect negatively, while the level of economic development of target country affects the wealth effect positively. Aside from the macroeconomic variables, we also find that English or non-English language, government’s rules index and the telecommunication infrastructure all play certain roles in the Malaysian cross-border acquisitions. Implied from this study is that, value creation of the Malaysian cross-border acquisitions is a function of the foreign economic condition and the level of economic development of the target foreign country.     

Reforms and agricultural productivity in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Republics: 1989–2005

This paper analyses the changes in agricultural performance in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet republics since the start of the transition process. We provide a conceptual framework for the evolution of productivity and efficiency measures and link this evolution to the issue of factor abundance taking into account specific transition characteristics. We document the changes in agricultural performance using empirical data on the evolution of partial productivity and total factor productivity estimates and we illustrate how productivity varies between countries at various stages of the transition process. Over the past twenty years, virtually all transition countries witnessed an initial decline in productivity, and virtually all countries currently witness an increase in productivity. However, the depth and length of the initial decline differs enormously between countries. Our analysis indicates that the productivity changes were related to the extent of the pre-reform distortions, initial resource endowments and technology use, and the reform implementation in the countries.     

Anti-Monopoly：Sense and Sensibility

In this summer,the most stringent action ever to rectify the Chinese automotive market was launched by the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）and its branches,the State Admin istration of Industry and Commerce（SAIC）,     

Language and Creativity: The Leadership Quandary (and Opportunity?)

The author argues that for leadership research and praxis to better conjoin leadership with creativity and innovation, it is necessary to understand how language shapes the relationship. Language reflects both political and referential qualities, and the relationship is not always harmonious. If leadership practitioners fail to address the schism, dysfunctional situations can ensue. To avoid such problems, it is suggested that researchers and practitioners engage the aforementioned relationships through a reflexive process that continually doubles back and interrogates its basic assumptions.     

罗奇：Goodbye and Thanks

作为一个西方人,史蒂芬·罗奇已经达到了理解中国的极限,离开的时刻到来,但这不会是真正的告别     

Cheese and Cheese文化

奶酪,又名干酪,英文名作Cheese,即芝士。在法国,从1月1日到12月31日,每天都可以吃到不一样的奶酪。我们对奶酪的抗拒很大程度上来自嗅觉的障碍,以及害怕变得脂肪丰满,其实呢,搭配得法,也许你也会天天都Cheese的。     

Intellectual capital and value creation in the production and assembly of vehicles and auto-parts sector in Brazil： A panel data analysis

This work investigates the relationship between intellectual capital and value creation in the sector of production and assembly of vehicles and auto-parts in Brazil. Through the access of the database from the annual industrial research conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, we gathered 865 observations, from 2000 to 2006, of public and private Brazilian companies with more than 100 employees. The database allows the estimate of relevant aggregated variables such as national accounts, gross domestic product, intermediate consumption, as well as propitiates a sectorial study of business strategies and performance, including value added by individual companies. In particular, in this study we use data on variables associated to intellectual capital. To achieve the goal of the study, we consider intellectual capital as defined by Pulic （2000, 2002）, including human capital and structural capital. For the analysis of business performance, we used Pulic＇s VAIC （Value Added Intellectual Cofficient） index as a measure of efficiency of the employed financial and intellectual capital. Regression models were run to verify the relationship among the efficiency in the use of intellectual capital and the profitability of Brazilian companies. The gross income, calculated as before selling, general and administrative expenses, depreciation expenses, amortization and interest expenses, was used as measure of the flows of value creation and the profitability was measured by the gross income to the total assets of the companies. Considering the constructs defined by Pulic （2000, 2002）, we tested, for the Brazilian sector of Production and Assembly of Vehicles and Auto-parts, the following hypotheses： （l） there is a positive relationship between value creation and intellectual capital, （2） there is a positive relationship between value creation and stock of intellectual capital, （3） there is a positive relationship between value creation and efficiency of the employed capital, （4） there is a positive relationship between value creation and efficiency of the human capital, （5） there is a positive relationship between value creation and efficiency of the structural capital. The results of the study, obtained through panel data analysis and through the use static and dynamic models, support the hypotheses that the intellectual capital of the companies, in its flow and stock dimensions, is positively and significantly related to value creation.     

Exchange rate regimes and capital mobility: issues and some lessons from central and eastern European applicant countries☆

The five most advanced central and eastern European countries that aspire to join the European Union, EMU and to adopt the euro, have pursued very dissimilar exchange rate strategies up to now. Yet, there is only one instance in which a country was unable to sustain its chosen exchange rate regime. This paper explores two keys to exchange rate sustainability and argues that failure to maintain internal policy consistency and policy credibility is decisive in forced exit. The paper then relates the findings to possible policy lessons for emerging market economies in the Western Hemisphere.     

Corporate governance mechanisms and performance： Analysis of Malaysian family and non-family controlled companies

Most study concentrating on family and non-family companies is conducted overseas with little research carried out in Malaysia. This study examined the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on family and non-family controlled companies＇ performance. The sample size of this study is 730 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2003 to 2007. The findings reveal that corporate governance mechanisms influence the family and non-family controlled companies＇ performance. But not all corporate governance mechanisms are significant. The significant variables differ between family and non-family controlled companies. Thus, regulators need to be vigilant that family and non-family controlled companies practise differently and to set different code needed for each type of families.     

Capital Structure and Regulation: Do Ownership and Regulatory Independence Matter?

We study the effect of ownership structure and regulatory independence on the interaction between capital structure and regulated prices using a comprehensive panel data of publicly traded European utilities. We find that firms in our sample tend to have a higher leverage if they are privately controlled and regulated by an independent regulatory agency. Moreover, the leverage of these firms has a positive and significant effect on their regulated prices, but not vice versa. Our results are consistent with the theory that privately controlled regulated firms use leverage strategically to obtain better regulatory outcomes.     

Small,Local and Cheap? Walkable and Car-oriented Retail in Competition

Abstract

I develop a model of competition between walkable shops, and other shops whose customers drive (car-oriented shops). Walkable shops operate in monopolistic competition within a local area, or neighbourhood. A small cost advantage for car-oriented shops can turn into a larger price advantage. High prices in walkable shops effect a regressive transfer from poorer to richer consumers, since the poorer are less likely to have cars. Internalizing environmental and social costs of urban automobile use could reduce prices and increase capacity utilization in walkable shops in more densely populated local areas. Many common combinations of planning and pricing tools fail to internalize important costs, and may actually subsidize driving to shop, but a combination of planning and the pricing (through taxation) of retail parking could effectively internalize the relevant costs.     

How Does Cooperation and Competition Foster or Inhibit Creativity and Innovation?

The current article provides a brief insight into the relationship between cooperation and competition in organizational settings as they relate to the origination and proliferation of new ideas. Does cooperation stifle creativity? Does competition promote innovation? Or is it likely the answer resides in a more complex process somewhere in the middle? With a vested interest in organizational productivity, leadership should pay special attention to what social processes give rise to these phenomena.     

How Do Developmental and Accommodative HRM Enhance Employee Engagement and Commitment? The Role of Psychological Contract and SOC Strategies

In the context of the changing workforce, this study introduced two perspectives on HRM and distinguished universalistic developmental HRM from contingent accommodative HRM. We predicted two separate pathways for the effects on two employee outcomes: work engagement and affective commitment. We expected that developmental HRM would universally relate to employee outcomes by rebalancing the psychological contract between the employee and organization into a less transactional to a more relational contract. We also predicted that accommodative HRM would relate to outcomes only when fulfilling specific needs of employees, associated with their selecting, optimizing, and compensating strategies. Results of a multilevel study among 1058 employees in 17 healthcare units fully supported our expectations regarding the role of the psychological contract. Additionally, we found support for the expected roles of selection and compensation, but not for optimization strategy. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that HRM relates to employee outcomes through multiple pathways, which can be either universal or contingent.     

Tunneling, overlapping owner and investor protection： Evidence from merger and acquisition in Asia

Tunneling is to describe transfer resource out of the firm for benefit of their controlling shareholders. Better legal protection and stronger social norms improve minority shareholders＇ protection from expropriation. They consequently reduce the private benefits of controlling shareholders （La Porta, 1999）. This study aims to investigate tunneling in the context merger and acquisition （M＆A） and to examine whether tunneling occurs only in emerging markets with poor law enforcement or whether it also occurs in developed countries. This study documents that managers are more likely to overpay target in merger and acquisition with high overlapped owner which have stakes in bidder and target firm. That overpayment, a transfer of wealth from owners of bidder＇s firm to overlapping owners, is a type of tunneling. This study concludes that tunneling occurs in nations not only with low investor protection, but also with high investor protection.