The domestic production activities deduction (DPAD) was created to incentivize U.S. firms to produce within the U.S. and thereby increase domestic investing. I test whether the DPAD is a large enough incentive for firms to invest in the U.S. I used a simulation, and I found that without the DPAD incentive the firms never chose to produce within the U.S. With the DPAD incentive, only firms with relatively low costs of labor will produce domestically. These firms are rare and will not have a large impact on domestic investment and these firms increasing their production in the U.S. will not have a large impact on our employment rates. Therefore, the U.S. government is losing out on tax revenue without a large benefit to the economy. I also analyzed the DPAD at the state level. Currently 25 states allow the DPAD, but since it is a broad domestic deduction, these states might not be gaining the benefit of increased investing in their own state. Through a separate simulation and ANOVA tests on archival data, I found that states do not benefit from the DPAD.

The thesis enticingly describes a synergetic mix of productivity related topics at macroeconomic level. It aims at whetting potential readers to understand in more insightful ways topics such as: (1) the use of human capital in sectoral growth; (2) the role played by rising public expenditures (health and education) in strengthening production activities; (3) the role played by disaggregation in improving models’ forecasting ability and policy guidance; etc. The current research constitutes a valuable tool for understanding and predicting a country’s overall economic behavior and the behavior of important industrial sectors. In the present study, lack of data on important variables at sectoral level led to the use of advanced econometric estimation methods such as the implied transfer function equations system. As cited in the thesis, the literature reports a set of interesting economic investigations in this field that have been successful in describing some of the features included in this study. However, this research not only enhances the theoretical discussion on the issue but also provides empirical evidence using South African data. It is anticipated that further use and development of the outcomes of this thesis will yield additional explanatory, predictive and policy-making results that will be useful to many. In addition to the usefulness of this thesis’ contribution to the body of knowledge, several suggestions for further improvement are considered. Most predominantly, the work presented in this thesis has been reported in two interrelated papers (chapters). In the first paper, a methodical discussion is provided on the use and the size of social ingredients estimated as the level of normalized human capital per capita together with the conditional convergence process applied to South African sectoral growth. In the second paper, the parameters obtained are embodied into a full-fledged Macroeconometric (Marshallian) Model employing South African economic sectors. In fact, the second paper goes beyond the simple discussion of a Disaggregated Macroeconometric Model. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the effects that freedom (Thatcher-like) reforms may induce to the South African economy. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Economics / unrestricted

Swedish learners of French often do not speak French in the FLE class (French as a foreign language). They experience large difficulties which are on the one hand specific to the French language e.g. chaining and deletion of Schwa, liaison, accentuation and on the other hand the excessive use of the mother tongue in FLE class. The aim of this essay is to understand why French learners communicate little in the target language. The essay consists of three parts. In the first part, through previous studies, we present the importance of the use of the target language in class. Theorists (Lundahl (2012), Tornberg (2015), Dysthe (1996,2003), Lindberg (1996) et Stoltz (2011), as well as the study plan, agree that it is very useful to expose students to the target language as often as possible in order to enrich their vocabulary and increase their knowledge in the taught foreign language. The second part consists in the responses and comments from the questionnaires submitted to the learners and the two teachers. In these questionnaires, most students admit not only that they like to speak French in class, but they would also like the teacher to use the target language. However, to overcome their difficulties to communicate they would like to have more oral production activities. The third part is based on our observations in class. We find out that the most spoken language in the classroom is the mother tongue, which is an obstacle. We also noticed that certain activities, such as watching a film followed by work in a small group and simple dialogues with themes very common in everyday life, prepared in advance and playing them in front of the class, encouraged students to express themselves in French without worrying too much about their faults.

The aim of the master's thesis is to develop theoretical and practical methods for increasing the efficiency of the enterprise’s vehicles and ensuring the development of the quality of operation of the operational service. The practical significance of the work lies in the application of methods and calculations to improve the efficiency of the operational and maintenance services of the enterprise LLC “Jasmine”. The introduction of the results of work at the enterprise will increase the efficiency of the use of rolling stock due to its rational use, as well as reduce material costs for transportation. In the master's thesis, an analysis was made of the activity of the enterprise, the possibility of using a tractor- transport unit in the construction of roads was considered, the construction of a transport bogies for semi trailers was proposed, and the maneuverability indicators of a motor train were determined. / Целью магистерской диссертации является разработка теоретических и практических методов повышения эффективности работы транспортных средств предприятия и обеспечение развития качества работы эксплуатационной службы. Практическое значение работы заключается в применении методик и расчетов для повышения эффективности работы эксплуатационной и обслуживающей службы предприятия ООО «Жасмин». Внедрение результатов работы на предприятии позволит повысить эффективность использования подвижного состава за счет рационального его использования, а также снизить материальные затраты на транспортные работы. В магистерской диссертации проведен анализ деятельности предприятия, рассмотрена возможность применения тракторно-транспортного агрегата при строительстве автомобильных дорог, предложена конструкция подкатной тележки для полуприцепа, а также определены показатели маневренности автотракторного поезда.