The Impact of Investment in IT on Economic Performance: Implications for Developing Countries

This paper reviews quantitative and qualitative evidence on the impact of IT on economic performance in developed and developing countries. Two strands of this literature are considered: the IT-productivity connection and the effects of IT on labor composition and the work environment. Policy implications for developing countries are considered.

FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI STRUKTUR MODAL PADA PERUSAHAAN DI SEKTOR AGRICULTURE YANG TERDAFTAR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA PERIODE 2007-2011

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis faktor-faktor perusahaan yang memberikan pengaruh pada struktur modal. Variabel-variabel yang dipakai yaitu profitability, liquidity, growth, size, dan business risk. Penelitian ini memakai pendekatan kuantitatif dengan modal analisis linier berganda. Penelitian ini memakai sampel berupa laporan keuangan secara runtut setiap tahunnya selama periode 2007-2011 pada perusahaan di sektor Agriculture yang terdaftar PT Bursa Efek Indonesia. Penelitian ini menggunakan sampel sebanyak 60 observasi. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa variabel profitability dan size berpengaruh signifikan terhadap struktur modal tetapi memiliki arah negatif (-). Variabel liquidity, growth, dan size berpengaruh signifikan positif terhadap debt

Learning to Dream, Dreaming to Learn

The importance of sleep for healthy brain function is widely acknowledged. However, it remains mysterious how the sleeping brain, disconnected from the outside world and plunged into the fantastic experiences of dreams, is actively learning. A main feature of dreams is the generation of new realistic sensory experiences in absence of external input, from the combination of diverse memory elements. How do cortical networks host the generation of these sensory experiences during sleep? What function could these generated experiences serve? In this thesis, we attempt to answer these questions using an original, computational approach inspired by modern artificial intelligence. In light of existing cognitive theories and experimental data, we suggest that cortical networks implement a generative model of the sensorium that is systematically optimized during wakefulness and sleep states. By performing network simulations on datasets of natural images, our results not only propose potential mechanisms for dream generation during sleep states, but suggest that dreaming is an essential feature for learning semantic representations throughout mammalian development

Semiclassical description of resonant tunneling

We derive a semiclassical formula for the tunneling current of electrons trapped in a potential well which can tunnel into and across a wide quantum well. The calculations idealize an experimental situation where a strong magnetic field tilted with respect to an electric field is used. The resulting semiclassical expression is written as the sum over special periodic orbits which hit both walls of the quantum well and are perpendicular to the first wall.Comment: LaTeX, 8 page

DNA Copy Number Variations as Markers of Mutagenic Impact

DNA copy number variation (CNV) occurs due to deletion or duplication of DNA segments resulting in a different number of copies of a specific DNA-stretch on homologous chromosomes. Implications of CNVs in evolution and development of different diseases have been demonstrated although contribution of environmental factors, such as mutagens, in the origin of CNVs, is poorly understood. In this review, we summarize current knowledge about mutagen-induced CNVs in human, animal and plant cells. Differences in CNV frequencies induced by radiation and chemical mutagens, distribution of CNVs in the genome, as well as adaptive effects in plants, are discussed. Currently available information concerning impact of mutagens in induction of CNVs in germ cells is presented. Moreover, the potential of CNVs as a new endpoint in mutagenicity test-systems is discussed

Rise of Asia: implications for Europe and the United States

There appears to be a consensus that Asia is “rising.” Much of the change in the decades ahead will relate, of course, to the rise of China and, in China’s wake, the rise of India. They add to Asia’s already substantial share in the world economy and, within little more than a decade or so, that will make Asia the largest centre of world output and trade of any region in the world — bigger than North America, and bigger than all of Europe.Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00