Italian Asset Managers＇ Behavior： Evidence on Overconfidence, Risk Taking and Gender

This paper offers new insights into the Italian mutual fund industry. Surveying Italian professionals, we do not only reveal typical gender differences but also detect divergence to their German counterparts. While disclosing Italian professionals＇ overly positive self-assessment in general, we find evidence for male overconfidence in particular--though without being accompanied by excessive control illusion of the own information level. Asset managers＇ risk taking reveals further differences： Italian female professionals do not only assess themselves as more risk averse than their male colleagues, they also prefer a more passive portfolio management compared to the level they are allowed to. Moreover, in a tournament scenario near the end of the investment period female asset managers do not try to become the ultimate top performer when they have outperformed their peer group so far. However, in case of underperformance, the risk of deviating from the benchmark makes especially female professionals willing to seize a chance of catching up. Overall, compared to their German counterparts, we find Italian asset managers to be slightly more risk averse. Matching bounded former results on Italian mutual funds, we discuss interdependencies as well as impact of our findings at the individual asset managers＇ level on trading activity, management style and performance.

Differentiated Use of the Cross-Lingual Strategy in Foreign Language Teaching： A Grounded Theory

Despite its potential in foreign language education, the cross-lingual strategy has been marginalized and stigmatized in many EFL contexts including language education in private language schools of Iran. This study aims to uncover the facilitative role of the cross-lingual strategy in foreign language instruction by theorizing experienced language teachers＇ practice. To this end, some experienced teachers were selected in line with the sampling procedures of Grounded Theory from famous English language institutes of Tehran, the capital city of lran. Iterative data collection and analysis revealed that first language use can be differentiated based on learners＇ level of proficiency. For the beginners, it can be used to present classroom management rules, provide learners with the necessary classroom language and establish rapport. Similarly, at intermediate level LI can be used to check mastery over the teaching points, give vocabulary equivalents, and explain writing rules. As for advanced learners, it can be used to explain the subtleties of grammar and provide learners with ideas to participate in classroom discussion and text processing.

The Influences of Cultural Conflict On Business Administration

With the global economic integration, companies from different countries are involved in increasingly close interchange and unavoidably run into the problem of culture difference in management, and properly handling the resulting culture conflict is of positive practical significance. The enterprise culture is the coexistence of culture and management. Different cultural background decides totally different business philosophy and management style.？Chinese culture belongs to the humanistic culture, while western culture is a culture of science. The difference between two kinds of culture mainly lies in four aspects which are decision making, management philosophy, governance structure and the judgment criterion of the management effect. Enterprise management culture in the west has both advantages and disadvantages. China enterprises should foster strengths and circumvent weaknesses, and combine the excellent traditional culture and the western advanced scientific management culture organically.

Controlling and Corporate Social Responsibility： A Comparative Study of German and Estonian Controlling

This paper focuses on the functions of controlling in Estonia and Germany, The analysis based on the study carried out in Estonian enterprises in 2008. The study was conducted by the Estonian work group of the International Controller Association ICV （internationaler controller verein）. The methodology and controlling questionnaire were the same, which were used by the German work group of ICV in 2006. The mentioned questionnaire was also worked out in Germany by Otto Beisheim School of Management. The authors compared the results of both studies Cultural differences and their impact on the tasks of controllers were also scrutinized. The results of the research indicate that the tasks of Estonian controllers are strictly fixed with procedure documents, which leaves very lithe room lbr independence and initiative. Usually, they are not involved in the strategic planning and goal setting. The final conclusion is that the sustainability function of controlling is much more on the background compared to other functions of controlling, but in the future the role of this function is expected to increase

Genetic variation in foundation species governs the dynamics of trophic interactions

Various studies have demonstrated that the foundation species genetic diversity can have direct effects that extend beyond the individual or population level, affecting the dependent communities. Additionally, these effects may be indirectly extended to higher trophic levels throughout the entire community. Quercus castanea is an oak species with characteristics of foundation species beyond pre- senting a wide geographical distribution and being a dominant element of Mexican temperate forests. In this study, we analyzed the influence of population （He） and individual （HL） genetic diversity of Q. castanea on its canopy endophagous insect community and associated parasitoids. Specifically, we studied the composition, richness （S） and density of leaf-mining moths （Lepidoptera： Tischeridae, Citheraniidae）, gall-forming wasps （Hymenoptera： Cynipidae）, and canopy parasitoids of Q. castanea. We sampled 120 trees belonging to six populations （20/site） through the previously recognized gradi- ent of genetic diversity. In total, 22 endophagous insect species belonging to three orders （Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, and Diptera） and 20 parasitoid species belonging to 13 families were identified. In general, we observed that the individual genetic diversity of the host plant （HL） has a significant positive effect on the S and density of the canopy endophagous insect communities. In contrast, He has a significant negative effect on the S of endophagous insects. Additionally, indirect effects of HL were observed, affecting the S and density of parasitoid insects. Our results suggest that genetic variation in foundation species can be one of the most important factors governing the dynamics of tritrophic interactions that involve oaks, herbivores, and parasitoids.

Using Fundamental Economic Structures to Estimate Chinese Regional Input-Output Tables

The estimation of regional input-output tables is well discussed in the literature and a large variety of methods exist. In this paper we will use the concept of fundamental economic structure （FES） to estimate the matrix of intermediate deliveries for some ＂missing＂ region（s）. Furthermore, the estimates will be compared with the estimates obtained from ＂traditional＂ estimating techniques, including regionalization on the basis of the national table, and borrowing coefficients from similar regions. The results show FES is very helpful for compiling regional tables of China.