APPROACHES FOR EVALUATING AND FINANCING INVESTMENT PROJECTS

This article presents the financial investment approach and the investment evaluation methods, which are criteria for assessing both investment projects and their funding sources. An important role in the analysis carried out is played by the investment decision and financing decision quality. Making an investment decision implies computing the related investment efficiency indicators. They allow the comparison of several variants of the same investment project as well as their comparison with other projects in the same industry or in other industries. The financing decision concerns the selection between their own sources (share capital, depreciation fund, profits, reserve funds, additional capital, revenues from investments), attracted sources (domestic resource mobilization) and borrowed sources (credits)

E-LEARNING INNOVATIONS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

This scientific work is presenting the ways to do computer assisted education for students, giving the good practice examples, presenting new electronic learning systems, the advantages and limits and to try to emphasize that these days E-learning is one of the most efficient way to reach education at all levels, specially higher education systems. The objectives of this paper are: to explain the contribution of modern technologies and electronic systems to educational processes, to define the concept of technology based learning, to introduce the electronic tools for education, to present good practice examples in implementing E-learning systems in higher education and corporate environment in Romania and last but not least the new electronic learning systems. Introducing the computers and ITC in educational processes facilitates them and makes the educational system modern and efficient. E - learning innovations offers a core group of professional development courses designed to help anyone achieve professional advancement and personal enrichment. The programs are founded on an extensive experience and understanding of technology-based learning environments. They focus on the most current industry practices for various learning environments and best approaches for multiple learning styles. They ensure that the students get the information and skills needed to achieve more in teaching practice and to confidently enter the distance or online classroom

THE LINK BETWEEN FISCAL PRESSURE AND DEVELOPMENT PREMISES FOR ROMANIAN COMPANIES

Romanian companies bore, during 2005 and 2011, the brunt of a fiscal policy, respectively a fiscalpressure whose final effects proved to be harmful to Romania’s real economy, and, chiefly, to itsdevelopment perspectives – particularly, of long term and coherent economic growth.The results of planning and management with which Romanian state was worked up, quantifiableas far as their materialization in real economy, form a signal, respectively the component of a sound caseof signaling the need to assimilate this lesson of the ever-present economic crisis: fiscal policy can be, andmust be, used inclusively in a prospective mode.Certain is just, even if quantified values of an index or other may, apparently, deny solidity of thispicture (and assertion), the capability of Romanian fiscal system (possibly in the future, too) to work in auseful manner especially in the long term, if it will determine precisely its future (expected) revenues, in theframework of a coherent long term fiscal policy.On the other hand, it is equally fundamental for fiscal policy to make it crystal clear for everyonehow much will be collected from the companies, when this will happen, and, respectively, what they willmake still good use of, and, first and foremost, that companies must be able, after taxation, to employ atleast some of their (gross) revenue

CHOOSING BETWEEN DIRECT TAXATION OR INDIRECT TAXATION AS PRIME FISCAL TOOL WITHIN ROMANIA’S ECONOMY OF TODAY

This paper focuses on a central issue of fiscal policy applied anywhere in the world of market economies: the problem to determine which type of taxation, direct taxation or indirect taxation, is better suited to assure maximum efficiency for fiscal policy applied in Romania. Mathematics proves to be a very useful tool in this case too, given it is applied through a sound economic and logical reasoning, with important results. In other words, it is applied in order for this paper not only to state which type of taxation must be used preponderantly in Romania, especially today, in times of continuous economic and financial crisis, but, especially, to compute how to use it, in long term, not in the least to alleviate effects of economic crisis, and, why not, curb economic crisis itself

Population Growth and Global Nutrition: Implications for Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals

The purpose of this article is to examine the implications of population growth for global nutrition, and how nutrition interventions can support universal health coverage (UHC) and the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The article uses a systematic review of literature to analyze the relationships between population dynamics and nutrition outcomes across different regions and contexts. The findings show that population growth poses significant challenges for food systems, health systems and environmental sustainability, and that malnutrition in all its forms undermines human development and well-being. The article also highlights the opportunities and benefits of integrating nutrition into UHC and the SDGs and proposes a set of policy and programmatic actions to achieve nutrition equity. The article contributes to the existing knowledge on population-nutrition linkages and provides valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners working on health and development issues. The article also suggests some practical implications for improving nutrition service delivery, financing, governance and accountability within health systems and beyond

Aspects regarding the Level of Education in the Context of Sustainable Development

Employers are demanding ever higher levels of training. Higher level qualifications offer the possibility of accessing those opportunities that appear on the labor market. Changes are occurring in all areas of social life. As a consequence of these changes, education is becoming more and more important. Employment rates can be increased by applying flexible learning pathways. Technological changes occur in economic systems, which are based on the updating of skills, abilities and knowledge. Both pre-university education, and especially higher education, have in mind the development of skills and competences. Sustainable development can be achieved through quality education. Through the analysis carried out, the statistical data related to students enrolled in pre-university education, as well as to people who have a tertiary level of education, are highlighted. The comparative analysis gives us a picture of the evolution of these educational indicators

Intelligent Diagnosis of Thyroid Ultrasound Imaging Using an Ensemble of Deep Learning Methods

Background and Objectives: At present, thyroid disorders have a great incidence in the worldwide population, so the development of alternative methods for improving the diagnosis process is necessary. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, we developed an ensemble method that fused two deep learning models, one based on convolutional neural network and the other based on transfer learning. For the first model, called 5-CNN, we developed an efficient end-to-end trained model with five convolutional layers, while for the second model, the pre-trained VGG-19 architecture was repurposed, optimized and trained. We trained and validated our models using a dataset of ultrasound images consisting of four types of thyroidal images: autoimmune, nodular, micro-nodular, and normal. Results: Excellent results were obtained by the ensemble CNN-VGG method, which outperformed the 5-CNN and VGG-19 models: 97.35% for the overall test accuracy with an overall specificity of 98.43%, sensitivity of 95.75%, positive and negative predictive value of 95.41%, and 98.05%. The micro average areas under each receiver operating characteristic curves was 0.96. The results were also validated by two physicians: an endocrinologist and a pediatrician. Conclusions: We proposed a new deep learning study for classifying ultrasound thyroidal images to assist physicians in the diagnosis process

Silver Economy in EU – Long-term Perspectives of Labour Force Structure

This paper is focused on circumscribing in what manner labour force structure, as distinct economic factor, will influence, in next decades, process of building up a silver economy in EU. For this, we use statistical data, put to use so as to generate a proper prognosis of future increase in size of ageing population in EU, relative to size of total population. This task is accomplished using the strategy of comparing positions of different countries in European Union, the more economically developed Western EU economies and the less developed Eastern EU economies, so that to be able to argue whether European Union has its (certain) opportunities – and, of course, its drawbacks – for constructing its ‘silver economy’, and, the scope of these opportunities (which necessarily counterbalance drawbacks).

INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT

Information and knowledge are two important entities, which make up present stage of globalization, based mostly on their dynamics. This paper is providing an overview of information and knowledge in global context, highlighting the importance of information society that turned into knowledge society in the beginning of the 21 century, being driven by Internet – the latter, as part of globalization process. Modern economic theories recognise the importance of information in economic process because its impact on globalization process in economy was essential, and change the way how markets and companies work and represent the key factor of new era of economic development. This paper presents main results from available literature about the relationship between information, knowledge and economic theory in a global conterxt and finally explained the benefits of the knowledge economy to all countries