The prevalence of physical aggression increases during adolescence and is associated with negative health outcomes. It is important to identify risk and protective processes for adolescent aggression in the context of the parent-adolescent relationship. The current study examined the potential moderating role of positive parenting at Wave 1 on relations between perceived parental messages supporting fighting at Wave 1 and adolescent aggression based on parent- and student-report at Wave 2. Participants included a sample of 537 adolescents and their primary caregivers, recruited from four sites in the U.S. No significant moderating effects were found. However, parental messages supporting fighting were positively associated with increased student-reported aggression six months later, and positive parenting was related to decreased parent-reported aggression over the same timeframe. Implications suggest that parental messages supporting fighting and positive parenting represent a risk and promotive factor, respectively, in relation to aggressive behavior in early adolescence.

This thesis explores the impact and effects of a leadership development programme in-depth and over time. There has been a lack of attention given to understanding the impact of such interventions in the academic literature. Where studies do investigate the impact (s) of leadership development they tend to focus almost exclusively on positive outcomes or the achievement of pre-determined targets and tend to be short-term in focus. This research finds that there is also a shadow side of leadership development, defined as the unintended effects of leadership development programmes which can be counter-productive and dysfunctional. A longitudinal case study approach was adopted comprising documentary analysis, observation and interviews, the latter of which were conducted with multiple stakeholders at three different junctures in time during and beyond the length of the leadership development programme. Three conceptual dimensions of identity, organisational culture and organisational context were identified which together facilitated a multi-faceted understanding of the changing impact and effects of the leadership development programme over time. In conclusion this thesis makes both a theoretical and methodological contribution by adding a longitudinal, multi-level analysis and evaluation of leadership development, evidencing both positive and shadow impacts and effects.

Title: The influence of swimming part of triathlon the total performance in competitions of world championships 2000-2010. Objectives: The aim is to investigate the influence of the swimming part of the total performance in triathlon in the lost 10 years. Methods: The relation between two variables (times from swimming and the total time of competitions from competitions of world championships 2000-2010 were described with the help of linear regression. Individual years were then compared in a point graph. Results: Our hypothese were confirmmed. It means that the result from the swimming part explains the result from the competition in less than 30%, which means the R2 is smaller than 0,3. We also found, that the influnence of the swimming part on the final result in triathlon has not changed in the last years. The relationship times in the swimming part and total (final) times was closest in 2005 (R2= 0,21). In other years, this dependence is lower, R2 was smaller than 0,07. Keywords: linear regression, longitudinal analysis, performance

A ship must be designed for efficiency and economy, thus there is an everlasting desire for the design of better and better ships. One of the important factors which directly influence the worthiness of a design is its resistance. Throughout decades of ship design, the resistance is given top most importance as a design objective. With the increase in computational speeds of both software and hardware, there has been an opportunity for optimizing ship hulls using iterative methods of design and modification. A method for calculating resistance for a given hull geometry and to optimize it using optimization algorithms are required for achieving better hulls. The resistance is calculated using a panel method for a given hull and the hull geometry is later changed by applying Lackenby's method of longitudinal shift of stations. An optimization algorithm extracts the best possible design out of the numerous design alternatives possible.

This thesis documents the development of a computational method for wave induced longitudinal bending in ships. First, there will be a discussion about the importance of longitudinal bending in ship design. The paper will then outline the basic physics at work in the system. It will review the wave forcing computation as well as the response of the vessel. It will then document the progression of the program, which was constructed in Fortran 90, as it solves the linear differential equation for the vessel bending caused by an incoming wave. The entire program then appears at the end of the paper. While the current program is not complete the theory behind it is valid and the code can be augmented to include non-linear components in the future.

In this thesis, we present research on synthesizing autonomous driving with shared autonomy using Unity Engine. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is considered as level 1 autonomous vehicle, which has been studied by academia and commercialized by industry. Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) system is an expansion of ACC, in which communication is set up between members to share driving information. Shared autonomy is a subject about human-computer interactivities. In our research, we developed a highly customizable 3D environment. We can simulate various driving scenarios and analyze the performance of different driving methods from human driving to CACC. The result of simulation proves the safety and efficiency of CACC, and the project also provides a potential of assisting the improvement of autonomous vehicles.

Thesis advisor: Sara M. Moorman / There is much prior research on the benefits of marriage for adults, including for mental and physical health (Carr and Springer 2010). Further research has demonstrated that the quality of one’s marriage provides benefits, and not merely the status itself (see Carr and Springer 2010; Proulx, Helms, and Buehler 2007). A close, salient relationship such as marriage is not experienced in isolation, but is rather an interpersonal system, where the characteristics, feelings, and opinions of each partner can influence the other (Berscheid and Ammazzalorso 2001; Carr et al. 2014; Moorman 2016). However, less research has been performed that takes advantage of dyadic data to determine whether and how a partner’s marital quality may affect one’s own well-being (Carr et al. 2014; Kenny 1996). Moreover, emotional experiences rarely remain truly private; individuals unconsciously signal and express their feelings to others, and can even transmit these emotional experiences to close social partners (Christakis and Fowler 2013; Hatfield, Cacioppo, and Rapson 1994). The present dissertation examines the associations among older husbands’ and wives’ marital quality and well-being, using two sources of dyadic data, a range of measures of marital quality and well-being, and advanced analytic strategies appropriate for longitudinal and cross-sectional data. Older couples can differ from their younger and midlife counterparts, as both men and women trim their broader social networks in later life and increasingly focus on their closest and most rewarding relationships, such as marriage (Carstensen, Isaacowitz, and Charles 1999; Mancini and Bonanno 2006). Gendered roles may shift in later life, as well, as older adults cease activities such as child-rearing and full-time employment (Bookwala 2012). Thus, potential differences according to gender are also explicitly tested. The results of this dissertation will shed greater light on how older couples’ perceptions of marital quality influence various aspects of spouses’ well-being, cross-sectionally and over time. Mutual Influence and Older Married Adults’ Anxiety Symptoms: Results from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing analyzes cross-sectional dyadic data from 1,114 married older couples surveyed in the initial wave of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA; Kenny 2014), 2009-2011. Dyadic structural equation models (SEM) examined the direct and indirect associations between husbands’ and wives’ reports of marital strain and generalized anxiety symptoms in later life. Findings revealed that perceptions of marital strain were related with husbands’ and wives’ own generalized anxiety symptoms. Further, husbands’ anxiety symptoms were significantly related with wives’ anxiety symptoms, and vice versa, illustrating bi-directional feedback. Lastly, husbands’ and wives’ perceptions of marital strain were significantly indirectly related with their partners’ anxiety symptoms, with these associations being mediated by spouses’ own anxiety symptoms. These results suggest that emotional contagion may be the pathway for partner effects of marital strain on spouses’ well-being. Findings also suggest that efforts to reduce anxiety symptoms may be most effective when taking marital context and quality into account. Two-Wave Dyadic Analysis of Marital Quality and Loneliness in Later Life: Results From The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing analyzes dyadic reports of marital quality and loneliness over a two-year period, using longitudinal dyadic data collected from 932 older married couples who participated in both of the first two waves of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), collected from 2009-2013. Two-wave lagged dependent variable (LDV) models tested the cognitive perspective on loneliness, emotional contagion theory, and actor-partner interdependence by examining whether husbands’ and wives’ reports of marital quality and loneliness at baseline predicted both spouses’ loneliness two years later. Results indicated that one’s own perceptions of negative marital quality at baseline were related with greater loneliness after two years, supporting the cognitive perspective on loneliness. Further, both spouses’ reports of loneliness at baseline were related with loneliness two years later, supporting emotional contagion theory. Partners’ reports of marital quality were not related with future loneliness, failing to support actor-partner interdependence. Do “His” and “Her” Marriage Influence One Another? Older Spouses’ Marital Quality Over Four Years uses two-wave longitudinal data from the Disability and Use of Time (DUST) supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to examine associations between husbands’ and wives’ reports of marital quality over a four-year period. The sample consisted of 209 older married couples who participated in both the 2009 and 2013 waves of DUST. Lagged dependent variable (LDV) models tested whether older husbands’ and wives’ perceptions of marital quality are themselves subject to emotional contagion, by examining whether baseline reports of marital quality were related with one’s own and a partner’s marital quality after four years. Results indicated that (a) husbands reported better marital quality than their wives in both 2009 and 2013, (b) for both husbands and wives, baseline marital quality was significantly related with both one’s own and one’s partner’s marital quality four years later, and (c) there were no differences in effects according to gender. These findings offer support for the framework of “his” and “her” marriage, as well as emotional contagion theory. Together, these papers examine whether and how older spouses’ reports of marital quality and well-being are associated with one another, with a particular emphasis on assessing emotional contagion as a potential explanation and mechanism for dyadic partner effects. The results of these articles contribute empirically and theoretically to the literature(s) on marital quality and well-being; spousal interdependence; and emotional contagion. I discuss the implications of these articles for theory and future research concerning marriage and well-being in later life.

Compared to microarray-based genotyping, next-generation whole genome-sequencing (WGS) studies have the strength to provide greater information for the identification of rare variants, which likely account for a significant portion of missing heritability of common human diseases. In WGS, family-based studies are important because they are likely enriched for rare disease variants that segregate with the disease in relatives. We propose a multilevel model to detect disease variants using family-based WGS data with longitudinal measures. This model incorporates the correlation structure from family pedigrees and that from repeated measures. The iterative generalized least squares (IGLS) algorithm was applied to estimation of parameters and test of associations. The model was applied to the data of Genetic Analysis Workshop 18 and compared with existing linear mixed effect (LME) models. The multilevel model shows higher power at practical p-value levels and a better type I error control than LME model. Both multilevel and LME models, which utilize the longitudinal repeated information, have higher power than the method that only utilize data collected at one time point.

Alcohol use during pregnancy is common and its consequences often result in a broad range of negative, lifelong developmental outcomes. This study describes the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure and interacting socio-demographic factors on early childhood development. One hundred and twenty one children from the Northern Cape, South Africa, were clinically examined using standard diagnostic procedures and assessed using the Griffiths Mental Development Scales (GMDS/ER) at 7-12 months (Time 1) and 5 years of age (Time 2). Participants were assigned to either: a Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS/Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (PFAS); a Prenatal Alcohol Exposed (PAE); or a Control group based on the diagnosis at 5 years. Mothers/caregivers were interviewed to ascertain socio-demographic information, including prenatal alcohol exposure. During infancy, the FAS/PFAS group showed significantly lower gross motor and language abilities, with delays in higher-order executive functioning becoming more apparent with age. No significant differences were noted during infancy between the PAE and Control groups over any developmental subscales. However, with age, higher-order executive function delays were reported in the PAE group. Performance on the infant and child versions of the GMDS was not significantly correlated, suggesting that the tests may be measuring different developmental constructs. Lower maternal education, unemployment and later recognition of pregnancy were associated with reduced social adaptive functioning, and language and eye hand coordination abilities, irrespective of amount of prenatal alcohol exposure over both time points. Larger anthropometric birth measurements and longer duration of breastfeeding were significantly related to increased performance on the GMDS at 5 years within the groups exposed to prenatal alcohol. Socio–demographic variables are likely to complicate developmental profiles for all three groups, with prenatal and postnatal nutrition emerging as possible protective factors for positive developmental outcomes at 5 years of age.

A aplicação do ultra-som terapêutico é contra-indicada nas adjacências da cartilagem de crescimento pelo temor de que possa provocar algum efeito lesivo. Entretanto, não há confirmação experimental ou clínica de que este efeito possa ocorrer. Foi objetivo deste trabalho investigar uma possível ação do ultra-som terapêutico aplicado na região da cartilagem de crescimento. Foram usados coelhos albinos da raça Nova Zelândia de 1 kg de peso, fêmeas, que foram distribuídas em 2 grupos, sendo que em ambos foi aplicado ultra-som na cartilagem de crescimento proximal da tíbia direita e a tíbia esquerda mantida como controle. No grupo 1 (20 coelhas), os animais foram sacrificados 3 dias após o término da aplicação do ultra-som e a cartilagem de crescimento foi avaliada morfometricamente do ponto de vista histológico e com microscopia de luz ultra-violeta para o estudo da neoformação óssea marcada com tetraciclina. No grupo 2 (10 coelhas) os animais foram mantidos vivos até o final do crescimento e realizada a morfometria macroscópica pelo alinhamento frontal dos joelhos e região proximal da tíbia pelo uso de radiografias e medidas diretas nas peças. A forma de ultra-som utilizada foi a pulsada, frequência de 1 MHz, pulso de 2:8, e intensidade 20% do valor nominal apresentada no potenciômetro do aparelho. A morfometria, tanto da espessura global da cartilagem, como por camadas e pela contagem de células não mostrou diferença entre os lados. A avaliação do crescimento ósseo também não mostrou diferenças. Da mesma forma, a morfometria macroscópica foi igual entre os lados. Como resultado final, não foram observadas diferenças entre o lado tratado e lado controle. / The therapeutic ultrasound is not applied to areas that one close to the growth plate to avoid some injury to that structure. Nevertheless, there is neither experimental nor clinical evidence that supports such fear. Based on this premise this investigation was designed to study some possible action of the application of therapeutic ultrasound on the growth plate, using morphometric analysis. White New Zealand female rabbits, weighning 1 kg were used and divided into two groups according to the follow up period. In the first group (20 rabbits) the animals were killed 3 days after the completing of ultrasound application and the growth plate was evaluated with histological morphometric methods and with tetracycline bone labeling. In the second group (10 rabbits) the animals were killed after the completing skeletal maturit and the analysis was made with X-Ray (knee frontal angle) and diret measurements of the proximal tibia in the specimens. Pulsed ultrasound with frequency of 1 MHz, 2:8 of pulse was applied on the proximal part of the right tibia for all the animals. The left side was kept as a control. The morphometric analysis of the thickness of the growth cartilage as a whole and for its different layers and the cell counting did not show any difference between the sides. The bone growth was the same on both tibias and the macroscopic morphometry did not show any difference between the sides as well. It was concluded that no differences was observed between the treated and the control side.