Sound wave has much better transmission in ocean environment than electromagnetic waves, therefore sonar systems are widely applied in underwater investigations. However, not only the target signal is received by the sonar but also the noise from different directions. The noise will affect the performance of the sonar, so the understanding of ocean ambient is an important issue both in academic study and military applications. The ambient noise data of this research was collected by a passive acoustic recording system deployed in the southwest sea of Taiwan, along with the information of wind velocity in the experimented area. The influence on noise level fluctuations by the variation of the wind velocity was first discussed in light of correlation analysis. The fluctuations were expressed in terms of statistic distribution, mean value, standard deviation in different time series. As results, 500 Hz and 1.5k Hz were saturated by high levels signal from unknown sources in spring and summer, so the average sound levels were higher than in fall and winter, about 10 dB and 5 dB higher for 500 Hz and 1.5k Hz respectively. In seasonal analysis, 2.4k and 3.6k Hz have quite stable the mean levels and their standard deviations were around 3 dB. Especially, the noise level of 3.6 Hz has the least fluctuation throughout the year than any other frequencies analyzed. It was also observed that the noise level was decreased with the increase of frequency. Calculated by linear regression, this research worked out the estimation equation for the ambient noise level at high wind speed. However, the estimated values are higher than the measured data, it is due to the distribution of wind velocity. The wind data in this study was skewed towards the lower velocity, consequently the predicted values were overestimated.

There is a large body of research documenting the link between individuals’ perceptions of partners’ traits and relationship satisfaction (Simpson, Fillo, & Myers, 2012). Prior work indicates that both accurate understanding and idealized perception of partners’ traits are associated with greater relationship satisfaction (e.g., Luo & Snider, 2009). However, research in this area has predominantly focused on the impact of partner perception on relationship satisfaction. There is very limited evidence on whether relationship satisfaction in turn affects partner perception. The present study followed newlywed heterosexual couples during their first 2-3 years of marriage and examined the relations between individuals’ perceptions of spouses’ attachment style and marital satisfaction over time using two waves of data. Using cross-lagged structural equation models, the study finds that individuals’ greater satisfaction significantly predicted their greater accuracy in tracking their partner’s anxiety, lower accuracy in tracking their partner’s avoidance, increased positive illusions of their partner’s avoidance, and their partner’s decreased positive illusions of individuals’ avoidance one year later. Furthermore, individuals’ greater positive illusions of their partner’s anxiety and avoidance led to their partner’s increased satisfaction and individuals’ decreased satisfaction down the line, respectively. Potential explanations for contradictory results between anxiety and avoidance are discussed at length. The study extends the literature by investigating the directionality of the link between partner perception and relationship outcomes using cross-lagged models in a longitudinal design.

Personlighet är per definition relativt stabila mönster av tankar, känslor och beteenden men det finns även klara belägg för att personlighet kan ändras under hela livsloppet. Exakt hur stabil personligheten är och vilka förändringar som sker hos äldre individer är däremot inte klarlagt. Mognadsprincipen säger att förändring i personlighetsdrag med ökad ålder speglar en funktionell mognad. Nyligen har det föreslagits att sådan mognad i personlighet hos de äldsta individerna skiljer sig från den förändring som sker hos unga vuxna och i medelåldern. Den föreliggande uppsatsen hade två syften. Det första var att undersöka rangordningsstabiliteten i personlighet hos äldre och det andra var att undersöka medelvärdesförändring i personlighetsdrag hos äldre utifrån mognadsprincipen. En longitudinell design användes i ett material av 341 individer mellan åldrarna 60–78 år vid baslinjemätning, över en tidsperiod av 12 år. Personlighet mättes med hjälp av femfaktormodellen (The Big Five). Resultaten visade att: (1) rangordningsstabiliteten var moderat till hög i alla fem personlighetsdrag, (2) Conscientiousness och Extraversion minskade för hela gruppen medan Agreeableness och Openness endast minskade för de yngre deltagarna, (3) Neuroticism visade en icke-signifikant trend av att öka hos de äldsta individerna. Uppsatsens resultat ger stöd för att personlighet är relativt stabil även bland äldre. De förändringar i personlighet som sker verkar skilja sig från trenderna som tidigare påvisats hos unga vuxna och i medelåldern och därmed spegla en annorlunda mognad. / Personality is by definition relatively stable patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviour but there is also clear evidence that personality can change during the entire life span. Exactly how stable personality is and what kind of changes occur in the elderly, however, is not clear. The maturity principle states that change in personality traits with increased age reflects a functional maturity. Recently it has been proposed that such maturation of personality among the oldest individuals is different from the changes that happen in young adults and in middle age. The current study had two purposes. The first was to examine the rank-order stability of personality in the elderly and the second was to examine mean level change in personality based on the maturity principle. A longitudinal design was used in a sample of 341 individuals between the ages of 60-78 at baseline, over a time period of 12 years. Personality was measured using the five-factor model (The Big Five). The results showed that: (1) the rank-order stability was moderate to high in all five personality traits, (2) Conscientiousness and Extraversion decreased in the entire sample while Agreeableness and Openness decreased only in the younger participants, (3) Neuroticism showed a non-significant trend of increasing in the oldest participants. The results of the thesis support the notion that personality is relatively stable even among the elderly. The changes in personality that do occur seem to deviate from the trends that have been established in young adulthood and middle age and thereby reflect a different maturation.

A verificação de uma trajetória de valorização do câmbio ao longo de 2004 e 2005, que diminui a competitividade do produto brasileiro e a rentabilidade do setor exportador, ressaltou a importância das operações com adiantamentos de contratos de câmbio (ACCs) como meio de driblar os percalços de um câmbio adverso e manter a atratividade, em termos de lucratividade, da atividade exportadora. Este trabalho, então, busca aumentar o conjunto de informações dos exportadores que vislumbram a possibilidade de realizar operações de arbitragem com ACCs, analisando mais detalhadamente os fatores que determinam os resultados das operações com ACCs e verificando o papel da dinâmica cambial sobre esses ganhos. Para tal, são utilizados modelos econométricos de variância condicionada auto-regressiva (ARCH), cujos resultados sinalizam uma relação significativa e positiva entre volatilidade do câmbio e maiores margens de retorno na arbitragem com ACCs. / The appreciation path described by the exchange rate along 2004 and 2005, which reduced the Brazilian product competitiveness and the exportations profitability, showed the anticipation of exchange rate contracts (ACCs) importance as a way to overcome an adverse exchange rate and maintain the attractiveness of the exportation activity. Afterward, we try to increase the set of information of the exporters that look forward an ACC arbitrage operation possibility, analyzing more carefully the issues that determine their results and verifying the exchange rate dynamics role in those gains. Indeed, employing auto regressive conditioned heteroscedasticity (ARCH) econometric models, the results point out a significant and positive relationship between exchange rate volatility and larger ACC arbitrage returns.

A verificação de uma trajetória de valorização do câmbio ao longo de 2004 e 2005, que diminui a competitividade do produto brasileiro e a rentabilidade do setor exportador, ressaltou a importância das operações com adiantamentos de contratos de câmbio (ACCs) como meio de driblar os percalços de um câmbio adverso e manter a atratividade, em termos de lucratividade, da atividade exportadora. Este trabalho, então, busca aumentar o conjunto de informações dos exportadores que vislumbram a possibilidade de realizar operações de arbitragem com ACCs, analisando mais detalhadamente os fatores que determinam os resultados das operações com ACCs e verificando o papel da dinâmica cambial sobre esses ganhos. Para tal, são utilizados modelos econométricos de variância condicionada auto-regressiva (ARCH), cujos resultados sinalizam uma relação significativa e positiva entre volatilidade do câmbio e maiores margens de retorno na arbitragem com ACCs. / The appreciation path described by the exchange rate along 2004 and 2005, which reduced the Brazilian product competitiveness and the exportations profitability, showed the anticipation of exchange rate contracts (ACCs) importance as a way to overcome an adverse exchange rate and maintain the attractiveness of the exportation activity. Afterward, we try to increase the set of information of the exporters that look forward an ACC arbitrage operation possibility, analyzing more carefully the issues that determine their results and verifying the exchange rate dynamics role in those gains. Indeed, employing auto regressive conditioned heteroscedasticity (ARCH) econometric models, the results point out a significant and positive relationship between exchange rate volatility and larger ACC arbitrage returns.

A verificação de uma trajetória de valorização do câmbio ao longo de 2004 e 2005, que diminui a competitividade do produto brasileiro e a rentabilidade do setor exportador, ressaltou a importância das operações com adiantamentos de contratos de câmbio (ACCs) como meio de driblar os percalços de um câmbio adverso e manter a atratividade, em termos de lucratividade, da atividade exportadora. Este trabalho, então, busca aumentar o conjunto de informações dos exportadores que vislumbram a possibilidade de realizar operações de arbitragem com ACCs, analisando mais detalhadamente os fatores que determinam os resultados das operações com ACCs e verificando o papel da dinâmica cambial sobre esses ganhos. Para tal, são utilizados modelos econométricos de variância condicionada auto-regressiva (ARCH), cujos resultados sinalizam uma relação significativa e positiva entre volatilidade do câmbio e maiores margens de retorno na arbitragem com ACCs. / The appreciation path described by the exchange rate along 2004 and 2005, which reduced the Brazilian product competitiveness and the exportations profitability, showed the anticipation of exchange rate contracts (ACCs) importance as a way to overcome an adverse exchange rate and maintain the attractiveness of the exportation activity. Afterward, we try to increase the set of information of the exporters that look forward an ACC arbitrage operation possibility, analyzing more carefully the issues that determine their results and verifying the exchange rate dynamics role in those gains. Indeed, employing auto regressive conditioned heteroscedasticity (ARCH) econometric models, the results point out a significant and positive relationship between exchange rate volatility and larger ACC arbitrage returns.

How does personality develop with age? Although this question has attracted considerable interest in research, uncertainty remains about the exact development of personality with age. The present dissertation unites two articles that address heterogeneous findings regarding the influence of age on different concepts of stability and change in the Big Five personality traits. Article 1 examines stability and change in the rank order across age, which relates to the consistency of interindividual differences over time. This article supports a developmental pattern of rank-order stability in personality resembling an inverted U-shape and provides evidence for health-related processes to account for the decline in stability in older age. Article 2 investigates the influence of age on stability and change in the mean levels of personality, that is, the average developmental trajectories. This publication found, for young adulthood, mean-level changes of personality to be in accordance with development toward greater psychological maturity, but it also showed that single items can change differently with age, even when they pertain to the same personality dimension. Beyond, Article 1 and Article 2 highlight how methodological aspects affect the developmental trajectories, thereby providing an account for inconsistent previous findings regarding the influence of age on stability and change in personality.:General Introduction 2 Concepts of Personality Development 2 Outline of Article 1: The Development of the Rank-Order Stability of the Big Five Across the Life Span 5 Outline of Article 2: Using Within-Person Change in Three Large Panel Studies to Estimate Personality Age Trajectories 8 References 12 Article 1: The Development of the Rank-Order Stability of the Big Five Across the Life Span 19 Article 2: Using Within-Person Change in Three Large Panel Studies to Estimate Personality Age Trajectories 89 Appendix 177 / Wie entwickelt sich die Persönlichkeit mit dem Alter? Obwohl diese Frage in der Forschung großes Interesse erlangt hat, besteht weiterhin Unsicherheit über die genaue Altersentwicklung der Persönlichkeit. Die vorliegende Dissertation umfasst zwei Artikel, die sich mit heterogenen Befunden zum Einfluss des Alters auf verschiedene Konzepte von Stabilität und Veränderung der Big-Five-Persönlichkeitseigenschaften befassen. Artikel 1 untersucht Stabilität und Veränderung in der Rangordnung mit dem Alter, die sich auf die Konsistenz interindividueller Unterschiede über die Zeit bezieht. Dieser Artikel belegt ein Entwicklungsmuster in der Rangordnungsstabilität der Persönlichkeit, das einer umgekehrten u-Form gleicht, und liefert Evidenz dafür, dass gesundheitliche Prozesse die Abnahme der Stabilität im höheren Alter erklären. Artikel 2 behandelt den Einfluss des Alters auf die Stabilität und Veränderung in den Mittelwerten der Persönlichkeit, also den durchschnittlichen Entwicklungsverläufen. In dieser Publikation wurde festgestellt, dass im jungen Erwachsenenalter Mittelwertsveränderungen in der Persönlichkeit mit einer Entwicklung hin zu höherer psychologischer Reife übereinstimmen. Es zeigte sich jedoch auch, dass sich individuelle Items mit dem Alter unterschiedlich verändern können, selbst wenn sie zur selben Persönlichkeitsdimension gehören. Darüber hinaus zeigen Artikel 1 und Artikel 2, wie sich methodologische Aspekte auf die Entwicklungsverläufe auswirken, und liefern somit eine Erklärung für inkonsistente vorherige Ergebnisse zum Einfluss des Alters auf Stabilität und Veränderung der Persönlichkeit.:General Introduction 2 Concepts of Personality Development 2 Outline of Article 1: The Development of the Rank-Order Stability of the Big Five Across the Life Span 5 Outline of Article 2: Using Within-Person Change in Three Large Panel Studies to Estimate Personality Age Trajectories 8 References 12 Article 1: The Development of the Rank-Order Stability of the Big Five Across the Life Span 19 Article 2: Using Within-Person Change in Three Large Panel Studies to Estimate Personality Age Trajectories 89 Appendix 177