The waters off the west coast of Scotland have one of the highest densities of harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in Europe. Harbour porpoise are listed under Annex II of the EU Habitats Directive, requiring the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) for the species’ protection and conservation. The main aim of this thesis is to identify habitat preferences for harbour porpoise, and key regions that embody these preferences, which could therefore be suitable as SACs; and to determine how harbour porpoise use these regions over time and space. Designed visual and acoustic line-transect surveys were conducted between 2003 and 2008. Generalised Estimating Equations (GEEs) were used to determine relationships between the relative density of harbour porpoise and temporally and spatially variable oceanographic covariates. Predictive models showed that depth, slope, distance to land and spring tidal range were all important in explaining porpoise distribution. There were also significant temporal variations in habitat use. However, whilst some variation was observed among years and months, consistent preferences for water depths between 50 and 150 m and highly sloped regions were observed across the temporal models. Predicted surfaces revealed a consistent inshore distribution for the species throughout the west coast of Scotland. Regional models revealed similar habitat preferences to the full-extent models, and indicated that the Small Isles and Sound of Jura were the most consistently important regions for harbour porpoise, and that these regions could be suitable as SACs. The impacts of seal scarers on distribution and habitat use were also investigated, and there were indications that these devices have the potential to displace harbour porpoise. These results should be considered in the assessment of sites for SAC designation, and in implementing appropriate conservation measures for harbour porpoise.

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Interest in the question of when and how species recognition and mate preferences emerge in animals with strong species-typical predispositions has faded since the time of the classical ethologists. In its place, the role of plasticity has surfaced as a central emphasis in the study of animal behavior. Here, I step back and examine the origin and execution of sexual behavior in a tropical frog for which auditory predispositions are key. These experiments challenge assumptions about behavioral development, auditory perception, and stereotyped behavior. First, I illustrate when and how a sex- and species-typical behavior—conspecific phonotaxis—emerges during development. This study demonstrates that phonotaxis, presumably restricted to mature females, is present in both sexes early in postmetamorphic development—potentially long before such behavior might serve an adaptive function. I place this result in the context of hypotheses regarding the development of learned versus non-learned behaviors, and in light of the potential for perception to be altered by physiological changes occurring concomitantly with ontogeny. Next, I describe a set of dynamic mate choice studies that highlight how decision-making in a relatively simple system is more flexible, and less stereotyped, than was previously assumed. Results here show that frogs temporally update their mate choice decisions in a moment-to-moment fashion as advertisement signals change in real time. By decomposing the decision-making process, I determine the stimulus parameters essential for commitment to an initial phonotactic approach. These studies are followed up by experiments that reveal a high level of individual variation in female choosiness during mate choice. Lastly, I describe a mate choice study that revealed categorical perception in frogs, the first “lower” vertebrate now known to exhibit a perceptual mode previously considered a hallmark of “higher” organisms. Collectively, I make the following arguments: (1) constraints on sensory systems play a larger role in shaping behavior than is generally appreciated, irrespective of the involvement of learning; (2) unstudied sources of variation may contribute significantly to the raw material for sexual selection; and (3) phonotaxis in anurans amphibians is not the simple, stereotyped behavior that has been suggested of it in the past. / text

In humans, the capacity to extract meaning from another person’s behavior is fundamental to social competency. Adults recognize emotions conveyed by body movements with comparable accuracy to when they are portrayed in facial expressions. While infancy research has examined the development of facial and vocal emotion processing extensively, no prior study has explored infants’ perception of emotion from body movements. The current studies examined the development of emotion processing from body gestures. In Experiment 1, I asked whether 6.5-month-olds infants would prefer to view emotional versus neutral body movements. The results indicate that infants prefer to view a happy versus a neutral body action when the videos are presented upright, but fail to exhibit a preference when the videos are inverted. This suggests that the preference for the emotional body movement was not driven by low-level features (such as the amount or size of the movement displayed), but rather by the affective content displayed. Experiments 2A and 2B sought to extend the findings of Experiment 1 by asking whether infants are able to match affective body expressions to their corresponding vocal emotional expressions. In both experiments, infants were tested using an intermodal preference technique: Infants were exposed to a happy and an angry body expression presented side by side while hearing either a happy or angry vocalization. An inverted condition was included to investigate whether matching was based solely upon some feature redundantly specified across modalities (e.g., tempo). In Experiment 2A, 6.5-month-old infants looked longer at the emotionally congruent videos when they were presented upright, but did not display a preference when the same videos were inverted. In Experiment 2B, 3.5-month-olds tested in the same manner exhibited a preference for the incongruent video in the upright condition, but did not show a preference when the stimuli were inverted. These results demonstrate that even young infants are sensitive to emotions conveyed by bodies, indicating that sophisticated emotion processing capabilities are present early in life.

My dissertation uses multiple methods to introduce the novel concept of racial sexual preference - individuals’ preferences for a sexual or romantic partner based on race. This project builds on an insight from Daryl Bem’s “Exotic Becomes Erotic” theory of sexual development: a diverse set of sexual preferences exists beyond gender. I argue the very real social consequences of race make preferences in regard to it (sexual or otherwise) an important area for systematic study. I focus on gay male subculture, which has uniquely developed a terminology for expressing racial preferences. I investigate how racial preference is understood and organized within this subculture by collecting gay men’s sexual history narratives of cross-race preferences through interviews, as well as collecting archival materials from the national organization Black and White Men Together (BWMT) that pertain to racial sexual preference. I find that racial sexual preferences are experienced early in the life course and are consistent over time, similarly to experiences of gendered sexual orientation, though generally less exclusive. Unlike gendered sexual orientation, identities are unlikely to form in relation to racial sexual preferences because there is little ideological structure to support expression of cross-race racial preferences. Even within the organizational structure of BWMT, founded to support racial sexual preferences, over time I find a decrease in discourse and identity related to racial sexual preference (in favor of a colorblind ideal of preferences). I end my study by using the concept of racial sexual preference, supported by the findings from interviews and case study, to build on and challenge the theoretical work of Daryl Bem, Lisa Diamond, and James Giles in the area of sexual development and desire.

本研究利用1992年至2006年間台灣證券交易所的逐筆成交資料，探討機構投資人的投資偏好。將法人分為外資、自營商、投信及其他法人四類，依Ng和Wu(2006)年提出的研究方法，利用投資者投入資金的比重做為偏好強度的衡量，以各種股票特性因子作為偏好的替代變數，分別進行迴歸分析。研究結果發現四類法人皆偏好市值占總市值較高、流動性較高、高價、低報酬波動性的股票，在報酬率方面，外資、自營商及投信皆偏好資產報酬率、股票報酬率以及現金股利率的股票。此外，觀察不同年度，四類法人對於高流動性、高報酬率及低報酬率波動度的股票有較穩定的偏好，但對於其他變數的偏好則會隨著時間及環境發生改變。

此篇論文研究當無通膨目標、存在固定通膨目標及央行宣示通膨目標之三種不同情況下，央行之最適貨幣政策。我們建立數個顯示不同通膨和產出比重之模型，並探討當央行偏離中位數投票者偏好時，對貨幣政策有何影響。 若社會福利函數中之產出的比重較重，在無通膨目標、存在固定通膨目標下，通膨偏誤皆較大。但央行宣示通膨目標時，無論通膨或產出比重較重，視其不同條件而定，通膨偏誤可能較大或較小。另外，央行偏離通膨目標的懲罰，罰責越重使央行宣告之通膨率對民眾預期通膨之影響可能越大，亦可能越小。 將央行偏離中位數投票者偏好之因素納入考量時，在無通膨目標、存在固定通膨目標下，社會福利函數中之通膨比重較重時，通膨偏誤仍較低，而央行宣示通膨目標時，通膨偏誤仍可能較大或較小。但引入央行偏離中位數投票者偏好時，在某些條件下，通膨偏誤可能進一步下降。 / The paper studies the central bank’s monetary policy under pure discretionary, noncontingent targeting and targeting with announcement. We construct models with different weight on inflation and output in the social welfare function. Furthermore, we introduce the central bank’s deviations from the preference of the medium voters into the models to show the effects on monetary policy. The inflation bias is larger when there is more weight on output in the social welfare function in the case of pure discretionary policy and noncontingent targeting. In the case of targeting with announcement, regardless of more weight on inflation or on output, the inflation bias is either larger or smaller under different conditions. Besides, a greater penalty on the central bank’s deviations from the inflation target may increase or decrease the effect of announcements on the public’s inflation expectations. With consideration of the central bank’s deviations from the preference of the medium voters, the inflation bias is still smaller when there’s more weight on inflation in the social welfare function in the case of pure discretionary policy and noncontingent targeting. In targeting with announcement, the inflation bias may still be larger or smaller. However, with the central bank’s deviations from the preference of the medium voters, the inflation bias can be reduced further under some conditions.

本文旨在探討當央行的目標函數中對通膨和產出的權重有相關時，並且將央行的偏好納入模型之中，對央行其目標通膨機制下之通膨偏誤(inflationary bias)有何影響，最後再比較在不同的目標通膨機制下之通膨偏誤以及預期社會福利。相較於Walsh (1999)的結果，我們得到部份相同、部分不同的結論。以下為三點相異之發現：（1）當央行愈在乎通膨，對通膨有較高的權重，不論在何種目標通膨機制下，其通膨偏誤皆會變小。（2）相較於沒有考慮央行偏好下的政策結果，我們發現考慮央行的偏好後，對通膨偏誤和預期社會福利會有很大的影響。影響的結果則是決定於央行偏好的大小。（3）相較於權衡性政策(discretionary policy)下的通膨偏誤，在非任意政策和宣示政策的模型中加入央行的偏好後，未必有助於降低的通膨偏誤。同樣地，政策比較的結果也是決定於央行偏好的大小。 / In this paper, we extend the model of inflation targeting with a penalty borne by the central bank in Walsh (1999) and add the specification of the central bank’s preference in Muscatelli (1998) to study how the weight on inflation, the central bank’s preference affect the inflationary bias under a non-state-contingent policy and an announcement policy. Moreover, we investigate how the expected social welfare varies under a discretionary policy, a non-state-contingent policy, and an announcement policy. We obtain the following findings in contrast with those in Walsh (1999): First, for a non-state-contingent policy and an announcement policy, when the central bank more cares about inflation, the inflationary bias becomes smaller. Second, compared with the inflationary bias under a non-state-contingent policy and an announcement policy without the central bank’s preference, it has a substantial effect on the inflationary bias and the expected social welfare after considering the preference of the central bank into the models. The monetary policy effect depends on the magnitude of the central bank’s preference. Third, adding the preference of the central bank is not definitely beneficial to reduce the inflationary bias and enhance the expected social welfare compared with under a discretionary policy. Similarly, the outcome is dependent on the degree of the central bank’s preference.

Same-sex experiences are more prevalent than is thought. Individuals often engage in same-sex behaviours in order to understand their same-sex attractions, which may result in the incorrect integration of a homosexual or bisexual sexual identity. Same-sex behaviour may also lead to feelings of guilt and shame, and can result in confusion regarding sexual identity, which could ultimately influence the successful integration of a sexual identity (a key developmental task during adolescence) and subsequent stages of an individual’s life. This study investigated how young males experienced their sexual identity after having same-sex experiences. In order to better understand these experiences, this study also looked at sexual identity and its development from a psychosocial approach. In addition, this study also took a phenomenological approach into account to better understand how young males understand their same-sex experiences within their socio-cultural context. The qualitative research method was used because it aims to understand how people make sense of their everyday lives and foregrounds participants’ perceptions and experiences. When researching human behaviour, context and behaviour cannot be separated and therefore a phenomenological design was used. The population included five young males who lived in the Boland and Northern suburbs of the Western Cape and who have had same-sex experiences. The participants were selected utilizing the non-probability (convenient purposive) sampling technique, however, the sampling procedure also made use of snowball sampling. Biographically, the participants were between the ages of 18 and 24, and had different sexual orientations. The participants included black and white students who spoke Afrikaans or English, and originated from different provinces in South Africa. Data were collected through a two-part semi-structured interview. The first interview focused on questions about the participants’ sexual preference and identity, same-sex experiences and support system. During the second interview participants were asked to make a collage representing how they viewed their sexual identity with regards to the same-sex experiences they have had. This interview also focused on member checking. The collages and member checking served as forms of triangulation. Data were transcribed and analysed by means of a content analysis that focused on four main categories. These categories corresponded to four main questions that formed part of the first interview. The researcher concluded that each participant experienced his sexual identity and same-sex encounters differently and that none of them experienced the development of their sexual identity as ‘natural’ or as something that was present from birth. They all experienced confusion and conflict about their sexual preference because it was in contrast to their sociocultural context. Same-sex experiences were the result of confusion but also caused confusion and this confusion was mostly experienced in the earlier life stages. More research is needed on the heterosexual identity development of heterosexual identified individuals who have same-sex experiences, so that these individuals can also be accommodated within a sexuality. The development of programmes for therapeutic and/or educational purposes, that focus on the sexual identity and sexual identity development of adolescents, must also be considered in future research. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This study's primary aim is to explain Urban Adult Chinese Consumers' preference between foreign and Chinese products. It examines how Country of Origin (COO), Consumer Ethnocentrism (CE) and Consumer Animosity (CA) influence Urban Adult Chinese Consumers' product preference and willingness to buy. The existing knowledge is divided on this issue. By reviewing the relevant literature, it is clear that there are two completely different approaches of investigating the impact of COO on Chinese consumers. The researcher of this current study classified the two opposing methods as 'the simplistic approach' and 'the cautious approach'. Studies follow 'the simplistic approach' firmly believe Chinese consumers overwhelmingly evaluate foreign products positively and they have a strong preference for foreign products. Research follows 'the cautious approach' argues that Chinese consumers' complexity and internal differences cannot be ignored, some of them prefer Chinese products and they cannot be simply considered as in favour of foreign products. Past studies all concluded that Chinese consumers hold low to moderate level of CE beliefs. However, two investigations concluded Chinese consumers harbour strong animosity towards the Japanese. This study follows the philosophical understanding of pragmatism. The research questions are the most important factors that determine the research strategy and quantitative and qualitative methods can complement each other to address the research problem. This study employs a concurrent embedded mixed methods research strategy that consists of a street survey and semi-structured interviews. Due to the distribution pattern of the quantitative data, this study used non-parametric analysis methods including: Chi-Square Test for Independence, Spearman's Rank Order Correlations, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis Test. The qualitative section of the investigation focuses on four issues: how Urban Adult Chinese Consumers (UACC) determine whether a product is foreign or Chinese, sources and background of animosity, the impact of domestic alternatives and areas for Chinese products to improve. This study discovered that UACC's preference between foreign and Chinese products remain divided. They cannot be simply considered overwhelmingly in favour of foreign products or prefer Chinese products. For those UACC have a preference for foreign products, quality and design are the main two reasons. Desire to support China's domestic industry and patriotism are the main driving forces behind some UACC's preference of Chinese products. UACC holds low to moderate level of CE beliefs, which suggests they are worldminded consumers that capable of evaluate foreign products based on merits, without strong negative bias. UACC have strong animosity towards the Japanese, but antagonistic sentiments towards the Americans and French are relatively low. There are complex sources of animosity and this study identified a wide range of factors that contributed to UACC's strong animosity towards the Japanese. The main area of original contribution of this study concentrates on Consumer Animosity. It discovered a wide range of sources of animosity towards the Japanese and constructed an enhanced animosity model.