Brain Gain Of Corporate Board And Firm Performance: Evidence From Malaysia

Despite the importance of brain gain to alleviate brain drain issues and to fulfil the demand of human capital in Malaysia, current research on brain gain does not sufficiently reflect the brain gain situation in Malaysia and its financial impact brought is not evident. While there is abundance of research on brain gain issues from human resource and strategic management context, little has viewed it from corporate finance perspective, owing primarily to privacy reason and capacity of brain gain data. As Malaysia is an emerging country, corporate sector remains the main driver of economic growth. The growing of corporations need to be supported and led by talented company board and management. Using the sample of 803 firms from 10 industries in Bursa Malaysia’s Main Board from year 2009 to 2015, this study examined the impacts of the presence of brain-gain director on firm performance. Two-step robust GMM estimation result showed that for every additional number of brain-gain director on board, we can expect firm performance to increase by an average of 4.55%, holding others constant. As brain-gain director is made up of foreign director and returnee director, analysis is repeated for these two groups. It is shown that, for every number of foreign director and returnee director increased on board, firm performance is expected to increase by an average of 7.41% and 3.23% respectively. It is also found that board meeting attendance and the presence of family director do not affect the relationship between the presence of brain-gain director and firm performance

Investigating innovation in English language teaching :three case studies at a junior college in Taiwan

PhD ThesisThis qualitative research study attempts to investigate innovation in general English language teaching/learning as perceived by English teachers at a private vocational junior college in Taiwan, a Chinese-speaking context. The underachievement reported in the literature highlights the important issue that innovation is always constrained by many factors at all levels, in terms of institutional, educational, and cultural levels, etc. (Kennedy 1988). Recently research on innovation has been moving from a method-oriented understanding to broadening perspectives beyond language and classroom (Holliday 1996). In this context, this research aims to identify the mechanisms of three ELT innovation projects and investigate the factors affecting their success on many levels. The method adopted was ethnographic research that gave a thick description of how the teachers participated in the ELT projects leading to innovation. The three ELT projects to be examined were carried out on a school basis and located in the same context. One was initiated entirely top-down, one from both directions, and the other bottom-up. The first one aimed to implement a new teacher role of teacher-cum-researcher, the second to integrate technology into the English program, and the last to improve teaching through better materials. These projects were non-aided and independent of expatriates, and in this way different from the expatriate-aided ELT projects in the literature. Besides, unlike many projects that are designed and evaluated by their change agents, these projects were examined from the perspective of the end users (teachers), and in this way provide insights from a different angle. Several conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of the outcomes. It is found that the rise of the double centre-periphery innovation model in the field of education was ineffective in helping under-informed implementers to develop their change capacity. Dalin's four barriers (1983) are inadequate to address the barriers to innovation effectiveness, without taking the communication barrier and local negative rhythms into account, as they also inhibited the success of innovation. This study also shows that it seems naYve to expect that success is more likely in bottom-up innovations than in top-down innovations. In fact, if innovations, whether top-down or bottom-up, are to succeed, they require the same favourable conditions to facilitate their success, such as the development of the change capacity and effective conflict management

The impact of E-commerce on direct selling companies

This study looks at the impact of E-commerce on direct selling companies, and examines how the direct selling companies react to the effects of E-commerce business

The Functions Of Cultural Schemata In The Chinese Reading Comprehension And Reading Time Of College Students In Taiwan

The study examined the effects of cultural familiarity with a text on Chinese students’ reading comprehension performance and reading time. In the first phase of the study, participants were required to read a culturally familiar text, write down the time they spent reading the passage, and immediately complete a cloze test without referring back to the culturally-embedded text. In the second phase, they went through the same procedure for a culturally unfamiliar text. Upon completion of the reading tasks, a topic familiarity questionnaire was distributed to them to complete in order to screen out those who were culturally familiar with both reading texts. A survey about their attitudes toward the role that background knowledge played in their reading process was administered to them following the topic familiarity questionnaire. The results showed that the students’ reading comprehension performance and reading time were both significantly affected by their familiarity with the target culture. They spent less time on and comprehended better the culturally-embedded text they were familiar with. Analysis of the survey also substantiated the claim that they relied on the facilitative role of background knowledge in reading so as to read in a faster and more efficient way. The findings suggest that a reader’s cultural schemata impacts memory, reading comprehension, interpretation and reading time. Pedagogical implications of the study and suggestions for future research are also discussed in the article

Critical Care Nurses' Cognitive Ergonomics Related to Medical Device Alarms

This study uniquely gained insight into the intricacy of intensive care nurses' decision-making process when responding to and managing device alarms. Difficulty in responding to alarms included low staffing, multiple job responsibilities, and competing priority tasks. Novice nurses are more tolerant of alarms sounding owing to a lower threshold of comfort with resetting or silencing alarms; more experienced nurses are more comfortable resetting alarm limits to the patient's baseline. Understanding the decision-making process used by nurses can guide the development of policies and learning experiences that are crucial clinical support for alarm management.12 month embargo; published online: 20 March 2018This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

MOLECULAR ELECTRONIC CONTROL OVER TUNNELING CHARGE TRANSFER PLASMONS MODES

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Intercultural Communication and Foreign Language Teaching

Nowadays intercultural communication is the subject of great topical interest in foreign languages circles. The close relationship between language and culture determines the connotation of foreign language teaching. We should realize that teaching foreign language means not only imparting of language knowledge but also spreading cultural knowledge and cultivating of students’intercultural communication ability. This between language and culture,and some problems existing in foreign language teaching and discusses the necessity and importance of cultivating of students’ intercultural communication ability. Keywords: culture, language, foreign language teaching, intercultural communication Résumé La communication transculturelle est aujourd’hui un sujet chaud dans le monde des langues étrangères. La relation inséparable entre la langue et la culture décide que l’enseignement des langues étrangères ne comprend pas seulement la transmission des connaissances de la langue, mais aussi celle de la culture et la formation des capacités des étudiants dans la communication transculturelle. Cet essai traite, à travers l’analyse de la connotation de la communication transculturelle, des relations entre la langue et la culture et des problèmes existants dans l’enseignement des langes étrangères, la nécessité et la signification de former les capacités de la communication transculturelle dans l’enseignement des langues étrangères. Mots-clés: culture, langue, enseignement des langues étrangères, communication transculturelle 摘 要 跨文化交際是當今外語界的一個熱門話題。語言和文化密不可分的關係決定了外語教學不僅是語言知識的傳授，而且更應包括文化知識的傳播和對學生跨文化交際能力的培養。本文通過分析跨文化交際的內涵, 語言與文化的關係 ,外語教學中存在的一些問題，探討新時代外語教學中培養跨文化交際能力的必然性和重要意義。 關鍵詞：文化；語言；外語教學；跨文化交

The effects of a peer-tutoring strategy on children’s e-book reading comprehension

Reading competence is one of the most critical skills for children’s academic success. In the study reported on here we proposed an integrated peer-tutoring strategy for reading comprehension that employs e-books for elementary school students. The effects of this strategy on children’s reading comprehension were investigated using a quasi-experimental design. Three classes of 11–12-year-old students (n = 73) participated in the study for 12 weeks. Compared to the control group, students in the experimental group, who engaged in peer tutoring with e-book reading, showed significant gains in reading comprehension. Students’ perceptions of the benefits of the peer-tutoring resources to their reading are discussed. The findings demonstrate that the integration of peer tutoring in e-book reading results in an effective instructional model for the enhancement of elementary school students’ reading. Keywords: e-book; elementary school children; mobile learning; peer tutoring; reading comprehensio