With the rapid growth of cellur phone users in Taiwan,the voice service market is going to mature.The 2.5G and 3G become the main stream.The license of 3G has released in last year.Therefore,mobile value-added services are more and more important for telecommunication service oprators.The study combines the TAM and task-technology fit theory to analyze the adoption of mobile value-added services.

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In this study, for elimination the bias of accounting traditional policy resulted, I use economic value added (EVA) to analyze the performance of Taiwan semiconductor industry. Its findings are as follows: 1.Taiwan semiconductor industry's operating performance is vloatile, the standard deviation of EVA-Spread is more than 14% for years, inter-firm difference in performance is becoming increasingly, and less of 50% of companies is worth to invest. 2.The reason of EVA-Spread performance influence as WACC, mainly be influenced by bank interest rates and industry capital structure changes. And the factors affect ROIC, including the global demand for semiconductor and the real GDP growth rate of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore, but not related with China¡¦s real GDP growth rate. 3.In Sub-industries, IC design industry is the best performance and steady, but there is obviously different in inter-firm; semiconductor equipment industry has the worst performance and negative EVA-Spread in recent 7-years. IC manufacturing without DRAM has nice performce in recent 5 years and more and more stable. In the orher hand, DRAM industry has performed poorly. That means that corporations have obvious effect on performance in various sub-industries. 4.Focus on the stability of sub-industries performance, the IC design industry has minimum volatility, secondary is lead-frame, photomask and IC packaging and testing industries. And the maximum volatility is DRAM industry and then is DRAM module and semiconductor equipment industry. On the growth, IC packaging and testing, wafer material, manufacturing without DRAM and substrate industries are steady growing industries. Although lead-frame industry is a kind of slow-growing industry, but its EVA-Spreads are minus. Other, flash module and photomask industries are declining industries. 5.Focus on the investing behavior and value creation capcity, when IC packaging and testing, substrate, wafer material and photomask industries increasing their capital, would be helpful to increase EVA-Spread; and it would not be helpful on semiconductor equipment, flash module and IC design industries. 6.It is related with the sub-industries of IC design, substrate, packaging and testing, wafer material, discrete devices, DRAM and flash industries, and IC manufacturing industry without DRAM. It implied that these 7 sub-industries affected by the semiconductor business. It is not related with the sub-industries of semiconductor equipment, DRAM module, lead-frame, photomask and other industries, and the IC manufacturing without DRAM. It implied that these 5 Sub-industries deeply affected by other factors.

Economic Value Added ¡]EVA¡^to be a business performace indicator popularly. It surveys business¡¦ ability of value creation through tranditional accounting net income and capital opportunity cost. In this study, I focus on IC Design industries¡¦ performance by EVA and use ten years data to examine it. The study purposes as below, A. Does Taiwan IC Design Industry owns ability of value creation for share owners ? B. Find out the factors of Taiwan IC Design Industry¡¦s performance. C. Comment on Taiwan IC Design Industry¡¦s performance in various sub-industries D. Does Taiwan IC Design Industry exist variation in various sub-industries ? E. Find out which sub-industry owns the best efficiency and the lowest volatility in the meanwhile. F. Find out the factors of Taiwan IC Design Industry¡¦s ability of value creation. The study finding as below, A. The standard deviation and quartile deviation of Taiwan IC Design Industry are uniformity and it is implying that the normal distribution and probability distribution are similar. B. About 80% of EVA-Spread of Taiwan IC Design companies are positive, it implies that the ability of value creation of Taiwan IC Design Industry is very well. C. According to evidence-based data, the WACC of Taiwan IC Design Industry is influenced by the cost of equity capital. D. The ROIC of Taiwan IC Design Industry is influenced by Taiwan Semi-conductor Inductry¡¦s ROIC and the real GDP growth rate of Hongkong, China and South Korea. E. The capital turnover of Taiwan IC Design Industry does not link with the ROIC of Taiwan IC Design Industry. F. According to evidence-based data, the variation is exist between Taiwan IC Design Sub-industries. G. The result of regression analysis that past years Invested Capital Growth Rate of sub-industries to be independent variable and EVA-Spreads to be dependent variable implys that the EVA-Spread of Taiwan IC Design Industry is not effected by Invested Capital Growth Rate, then we know that Invested Capital is not the main factor of value creation of Taiwan IC Design Industry. H. The Capital Turnover Rate and the Return Rate of EBIT is the main factors of ROIC, they effected the sub-industries by different levels.

In 2010, the L.A. Times newspaper used the test results of Los Angeles County elementary students to assess and rank the elementary teachers. They then published the results on their website. Publicly ranking teachers in this manner has important implications on the careers of the teachers being ranked. It is, therefore, important that any model claiming to rank teachers be as accurate as possible. It seems plausible that a teacher's ability to help a student depends upon that student's prior academic ability. Some teachers might be better at teaching gifted students while others might be better at teaching remedial students. The L.A. Times did not account for this in their model. This paper looks at the results of allowing teacher effect to vary with prior student ability and how that interaction affects the relative rankings of the individual teachers. To assess this, the same Value-Added model the L.A. Times used is employed, with the exception that teacher effect is allowed to vary with the prior abilities of the students. New teacher ranks are then calculated and compared with the ranks calculated by the L.A. Times. The results of this analysis show a relatively small number of rank changes between the two models. In general, allowing teacher effect to vary results in a 5% to 12% change in the rankings of both the Math and Reading teachers relative to the L.A Times model. Other research on the same data has resulted in a 20% to 55% change in the rankings of the Math teachers and a 40% to 65% change in the rankings of the Reading teachers relative to the L.A. Times model. Although ranking teachers is a popular idea for determining the distribution of funding, the model shown in this paper as well as the other models reviewed, illustrate that a change in the model results in a change in the rankings of the teachers. A model that allows teacher effect to vary with prior student ability results in a better model fit than a model that does not. Whether or not this is a good thing is hard to say. Two examples are provided in this paper. One shows a teacher whose rank appears to be artificially inflated by this model and the other shows a teacher whose rank appears to be artificially lowered by this method. Although the fit of the model proposed by this paper is better than the model used by the L.A. Times, it does not result in radical changes in the rankings of the teachers. Rather, it seems that teacher rankings are sensitive to the particular model used and there are countless numbers of valid models. For this reason it is not wise to release such sensitive information to the public. It is probably true that the weak teachers are ranked relatively low in this analysis and that the truly good teachers are ranked relatively high. However, these rankings should only be used as one part of a larger metric to rank teachers and too much weight should not be placed on them for the purposes of rewarding or penalizing teachers due to the sensitivity of the model specification. / text

This dissertation comprises three chapters. The first chapter investigates whether consumers can help governments improve firm compliance with the Value Added Tax. It exploits quasi-experimental variation from a government program from Sao Paulo, Brazil that created monetary rewards for consumers to ask for receipts. To assess how incentives to consumers can be effective despite potential collusion opportunities, I construct datasets for 1 million firms, 40 million consumers, and 2.7 billion receipts. I estimate that revenue reported in retail increased by at least 22% over four years. The estimated compliance effect is stronger for sectors with a high volume of transactions and small receipt values, consistent with a model in which there are fixed costs to negotiate collusive deals to avoid issuing receipts. Furthermore, the effect has an inverted-U shape with respect to firm size. This result is consistent with a model of higher baseline compliance among larger firms, and in which shifts in audit probability from consumer monitoring increase in firm size. I find no effects on exit rates or formal employment decisions.

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The micronutrient intake of the average South African is not optimal. National fortification of staple foods does not solve all micronutrient deficiencies. Furthermore, urbanisation causes a shift in food intake, increasing the availability of cheaper and more energy dense food and drinks that are often lacking in micronutrients. It is unclear whether the current literature provides sufficient evidence of nutrient dilution by the moderate consumption of alcohol and/or added sugar. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the dietary intakes of a population in nutrition transition and determine the effect of intake of alcohol and added sugars on intakes of micronutrients and food groups to provide information for the development of preventive strategies in public health. A number of countries, including South Africa, suggest limited alcohol and sugar intakes in the Food Based Dietary Guidelines but do not quantify this recommendation. Data from the "Transition and Health during Urbanisation in South Africa" survey (THUSA) were analysed for dietary intakes (as determined by a validated quantified food frequency questionnaire), age and body mass index (BMI). The THUSA study was conducted during 1996 and 1998 in the North West Province and included 1854 "apparently healthy". Respondents aged 15 years and older from 37 randomly selected sites from rural and urban areas. Alcohol intake (absolute intake and percentage of energy) was the highest for men living in middle class urban areas. With increased urbanisation, the type of beer shifted from sorghum based to commercial beer. Sixty-one percent of men and 25% of women reported that they consumed alcohol at the time of the survey. Eighteen percent of men and 11.7% of women consumed more than 30g and 15g alcohol per day, respectively (intakes which are regarded as moderate). Men and women consuming the most alcohol had significantly higher mean intakes of most macro and micronutrients. However, the intake of vitamin Bi2, B6, folate, vitamin E and vitamin C did not meet the recommended dietary intake (RDA) across all levels of alcohol intake. Although the total energy intake increased with increased alcohol intake, there was no significant difference between the mean BMI of men or women with different levels of intake. One third of the population consumed more than a 100g of added sugar daily. Intake of sugar was the highest in the farm dwellers but the intake of sweets, cakes, cookies and cold drinks was the highest in the urban areas. As sugar intake increased so did energy, carbohydrates and most micronutrients. However, the intake of vitamin B12, folate, vitamin C and calcium did not meet the RDA across all levels of sugar intake. BMI did not differ between respondents with the highest and lowest sugar intake and no association was found between BMI and sugar intake. The THUSA study was conducted before fortification of staple food became law in October 2003. Maize meal and wheat flour are nowadays fortified with certain vitamins and minerals which may alleviate some micronutrient deficiencies. For future research it is imperative to establish the reasons for low intake of certain micronutrients rather than to look at a single food item in the diets of the South African adult population. Proper education on the intake of cheaper food sources of micronutrients needs to be highlighted at all levels of the health sector. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Dietetics)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Lactobacillus panis PM1 is a novel microorganism isolated from thin stillage (TS), a major by-product resulting from bioethanol fermentation, and was selected as the focus of this thesis due to its ability to produce 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) from glycerol. The purpose of this thesis was to understand the central and auxiliary metabolic pathways of L. panis PM1 and to metabolically-engineer strain PM1 based on the improved metabolic knowledge for industrial applications. The 16S rRNA sequence and carbohydrate fermentation pattern were used to classify L. panis PM1 as belonging to the group III lactobacilli; thus, strain PM1 exclusively fermented glucose to lactate, acetate, and/or ethanol, clearly suggesting that its primary metabolism occurred via the 6-phosphogluconate/phosphoketolase (6-PG/PK) pathway. In contrast to typical group III lactobacilli, for fructose fermentation, L. panis PM1 utilized both the 6-PG/PK and the Embden-Meyerhof pathways, showing distinct strain-specific characteristics (more lactate, less acetate, no mannitol, and sporadic growth). In the PM1 strain, auxiliary metabolic pathways governed end-product formation patterns along with central metabolism. Under aerobic conditions, a coupled NADH oxidase-NADH peroxidase system was a determinant for NAD+ regeneration and was regulated by oxygen availability; however, the accumulation of its major end-product, hydrogen peroxide, eventually resulted in oxidative stress. The citrate-to-succinate route was another important auxiliary pathway in L. panis PM1. This route was directly connected to central energy metabolism, producing extra ATP for survival during the stationary phase, and was regulated by the presence of citrate, acetate, and succinate and a transcriptional repressor (PocR). Lactobacilli panis PM1 produced 1,3-PDO via the glycerol reductive route; however, the absence of the glycerol oxidative route restricted the utilization of glycerol to solely that of electron acceptor. Lower ratio of glucose to glycerol, in combination with PocR, repressed the glycerol reductive route, resulting in less 1,3-PDO production. In an effort to metabolically engineer L. panis PM1, an artificial glycerol oxidative pathway was introduced, and the engineered PM1 strain successfully produced a significant amount of important platform chemicals, including 1,3-PDO, lactate, and ethanol, solely from TS. Overall, this thesis reveals the significant feasibility of utilizing L. panis PM1 for industrial fermentative applications.

The micronutrient intake of the average South African is not optimal. National fortification of staple foods does not solve all micronutrient deficiencies. Furthermore, urbanisation causes a shift in food intake, increasing the availability of cheaper and more energy dense food and drinks that are often lacking in micronutrients. It is unclear whether the current literature provides sufficient evidence of nutrient dilution by the moderate consumption of alcohol and/or added sugar. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the dietary intakes of a population in nutrition transition and determine the effect of intake of alcohol and added sugars on intakes of micronutrients and food groups to provide information for the development of preventive strategies in public health. A number of countries, including South Africa, suggest limited alcohol and sugar intakes in the Food Based Dietary Guidelines but do not quantify this recommendation. Data from the "Transition and Health during Urbanisation in South Africa" survey (THUSA) were analysed for dietary intakes (as determined by a validated quantified food frequency questionnaire), age and body mass index (BMI). The THUSA study was conducted during 1996 and 1998 in the North West Province and included 1854 "apparently healthy". Respondents aged 15 years and older from 37 randomly selected sites from rural and urban areas. Alcohol intake (absolute intake and percentage of energy) was the highest for men living in middle class urban areas. With increased urbanisation, the type of beer shifted from sorghum based to commercial beer. Sixty-one percent of men and 25% of women reported that they consumed alcohol at the time of the survey. Eighteen percent of men and 11.7% of women consumed more than 30g and 15g alcohol per day, respectively (intakes which are regarded as moderate). Men and women consuming the most alcohol had significantly higher mean intakes of most macro and micronutrients. However, the intake of vitamin Bi2, B6, folate, vitamin E and vitamin C did not meet the recommended dietary intake (RDA) across all levels of alcohol intake. Although the total energy intake increased with increased alcohol intake, there was no significant difference between the mean BMI of men or women with different levels of intake. One third of the population consumed more than a 100g of added sugar daily. Intake of sugar was the highest in the farm dwellers but the intake of sweets, cakes, cookies and cold drinks was the highest in the urban areas. As sugar intake increased so did energy, carbohydrates and most micronutrients. However, the intake of vitamin B12, folate, vitamin C and calcium did not meet the RDA across all levels of sugar intake. BMI did not differ between respondents with the highest and lowest sugar intake and no association was found between BMI and sugar intake. The THUSA study was conducted before fortification of staple food became law in October 2003. Maize meal and wheat flour are nowadays fortified with certain vitamins and minerals which may alleviate some micronutrient deficiencies. For future research it is imperative to establish the reasons for low intake of certain micronutrients rather than to look at a single food item in the diets of the South African adult population. Proper education on the intake of cheaper food sources of micronutrients needs to be highlighted at all levels of the health sector. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Dietetics)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.