Information and communication Technology and Poverty: An Asian Perspective

The emergence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), in particular the Internet, has generated new enthusiasms about the development prospects for poor economies. Many now think that new technologies can provide a faster route to better livelihoods and improved quality of life than the one afforded by the standard process of industrialization. The opposing view holds that the focus on ICTs will detract attention from the more fundamental task of addressing the basic problems of economic developmentICT; poverty; growth

Comparing Chinese and the Indian Software MNCs: Domestic and Export Market Strategies and Their Interplay

China and India are emerging as major new entrants in the international software industry. Both are rapidly learning through outsourcing with multinational enterprises from advanced nations. Yet, their paths to this dynamic sector are very different. Chinese software firms have focused on their domestic market by working with foreign MNCs, while they move cautiously abroad. Indian firms, despite already being large, continue to expand overseas as well as to climb the value chain. We show that a macro perspective on the global movement of work can be gained by utilizing concepts from different approaches to the MNC. At the same time, the innovation systems perspective is necessary to explain the foundations of the industry. The paper provides hypotheses and performs an initial validation of them. It concludes that the internationalization and learning processes are somewhat different in the Chinese and Indian MNCs, and provides explanations for the different patterns.outsourcing, software industry, industrial development, MNCs, MNEs, multinational enterprise, China, India

Loss of EAAC1 Decreases IPSC Amplitude at D1-D1 Medium Spiny Neuron Synapses

EAAC1 is a neuronal glutamate transporter expressed in the brain and the peripheral system, including kidney. Within the brain EAAC1 is mostly expressed in the cortex and striatum, two regions involved in the execution of stereotyped movements and reward-based behaviors. EAAC1 is expressed post-synaptically at excitatory synapses. By contrast, EAAC1 is expressed presynaptically at inhibitory synapses. Here, by transporting glutamate into the presynaptic terminal, EAAC1 supports GABA synthesis and release, as glutamate is a precursor for the biosynthesis of GABA. It is currently unknown whether EAAC1 is differentially expressed and whether it exerts a different modulatory effect at different types of GABAergic inhibitory synapses. The striatum contains two types of GABAergic long-range projection neurons, which receive dopaminergic inputs from the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA). These neurons, called medium spiny neurons (MSNs) based on their morphology, can be distinguished based on immunohistochemical and anatomical criteria. The first group of neurons expresses D1 dopamine receptors; the second group expresses D2 dopamine receptors. D1-MSNs project to the SNc, whereas D2-MSNs project indirectly to the SNc via an intermediate synapse in the globus pallidus. Here we ask how EAAC1 modulates synaptic inhibition among D1-D1, D1- D2, D2-D1and D2-D2 synapses. We first target the expression of the light-gated ion channel Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) to D1- or D2-MSNs by taking advantage of the Cre-LoxP system using BAC transgenic mice. We then use a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) approach to determine whether EAAC1 is differentially expressed in D1- and D2-MSNs. Our data show that there is a preferential effect of EAAC1 at D1-D1 synapses as opposed to D1-D2, D2-D1, and D2- D2 synapses, and that this preferential effect may be due to an increased concentration of EAAC1 in D1-MSNs. These findings shed light on the interplay of neuronal circuits in the striatum, and may better our understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders such as OCD

Energy transfer and electron conduction in the fluid transpiration arc column

The energy relaxation and electrical conductivity of an electron gas in one atmosphere argon arc discharge has been examined theoretically and observed quantitatively in an experimental arrangement. The plasma column utilized for study is the type generated in a fluid transpiration arc equipment in which the argon working fluid is injected through a porous graphite anode. The rate of forced convection is such as to insure significant electron-heavy particle nonequilibrium in the sample volume of interest. A simple model of a developing arc column with internal heat generation indicates that, with typical rates of argon injection realized in practice, the development of the column in the axial direction from a constant radial profile to a nearly fully-developed profile requires several cm, of which the first cm or so may be characterized as quasi one-dimensional in z. This region is large enough to allow transient probings and spectrometric observations the results of which can then be compared in a straight forward manner with a theoretical one-dimensional model. An examination of the various relaxation times in a three-component fluid (electron-ion-neutral) reveals that the self-relaxation times are short and the electron-heavy particle relaxation times are not negligible compared with the transit times through the nonequilibrium volume. It is therefore proper to employ the usual two-temperature macroscopic model equations obtained from the Boltzmann equation. Accordingly, the electrical conductivity and the two-temperature volume rates of energy transfer have been obtained. The diagnostic techniques utilized include (1) Hall-effect magnetic field probe for current density, (2) floating electrostatic probe for electric field, (3) spherical thermocouple heat transfer probe for heavy particle temperature, and, (4) continuum intensity measurement for electron density and temperature. High-speed motion pictures give qualitative measure of the plasma volume and its reaction to a material probe. The results indicate that while somewhat higher electrical conductivities are observed the volume rates of energy transfer show fairly wide discrepancy between theory and experiment. Thus, although electron energy loss is observed to be due to volume transfer to the heavy particles the familiar current density compatibility relation, J = nee√3k(Ts- Ts)/ms appears not to hold. This is ascribed to the possibility that the collision frequency for momentum transfer and the collision frequency for energy transfer may not be the same. In particular, the observed collision frequency for energy transfer between electron and ion appears to be one fifth of that magnitude predicted by current theories. It is suggested that a modified theory is needed for the particular condition of low nD (the number of electrons within a Debye sphere) for ne≈2x1016 cm-3 and Te≈ 104 °K

Plurals in child speech

The development of plurals in two German-speaking children was analysed, based on observational data. It was found that (1) plurals were supplied in 90% of the obligatory contexts somewhere between Stage IV and Stage V; (2) plurals were not functionally distinguished from singulars, occurring also in singular contexts; (3) the predominant morphological deviations were of the type in which an additional plural marker was attached to an already correct plural; (4) referring to a single object or event, formally correct plural utterances were often constructed, partly because of as yet unestablished verb conjugation rules. It was argued that the children were learning plurals by rote, conditioned by morphological complexity which cannot be subsumed under any general rul

Language mixing in young bilinguals

The speech of four two-year-old children growing up bilingually in a German-speaking community was studied for periods varying between five and nine months. An analysis of their language mixing revealed an initially higher rate of mixing which diminished with a growth in language development as measured in MLU. The data suggest that the children were at various stages in a gradual process of language differentiation thus providing support for the one-system theory of bilingual acquisition. An examination of the distribution of lexical substitutions by part of speech revealed that nouns were most frequently substituted by all children; however, more function words were substituted than content words overal