While gamification has been extensively studied in specific fields, such as education and health, its application in other domains remains understudied. This thesis explores how battle passes, a common gamification system found in video games, are implemented and examines their potential challenges and limitations within and beyond video games. The study adopted a mixed-methods research approach, gathering qualitative and quantitative data through a survey designed to inquire battle pass users about how they use and are affected by the battle pass systems in Apex Legends, Destiny 2, Fortnite, Overwatch 2 and Valorant. The results indicate that gamers generally prefer completing the battle pass through passive generation of XP by playing the game. Challenges are still considered a fun addition to the battle pass system, although with varying levels of enjoyment. Gamers are motivated to complete even unenjoyable challenges to earn higher rewards, both highlighting the power of extrinsic motivators and the risks of implementing battle passes. It is important that companies implement battle passes responsibly, as these systems can be manipulative and exploitative. For example, entities implementing battle passes should consider that battle passes can cause exhaustion in users, and participation should as a consequence be optional. While the intentions of companies cannot be controlled, informing battle pass users about the potential negative impacts of battle passes can help them to protect themselves from exploitation. Overall, this study offers a foundation for future investigation into the effectiveness of gamification and battle passes.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect physical activity has on an attempt to quit smoking, and whether this effect varies over time and/or is mediated by other variables. Previous research has demonstrated that cravings to smoke are associated with higher odds of relapse, and that the strength of this effect increases throughout a quit attempt. A bout of physical activity has also been shown to reduce cravings to smoke. We hypothesized that physical activity would have a time-varying effect on smoking mediated by cravings to smoke. Methods: The Wisconsin Smokers Health study was a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of five smoking cessation therapies. Each day, participants measured their steps with a pedometer and used their cell phone to complete Ecological Momentary Assessments of their cravings to smoke. We analyzed data from 7-days prior to a target quit day through 7-days following quit day. Participants were grouped by their daily step count and considered “less active” if they averaged less than 10,000 steps per day. Results: We found evidence among less physically active smokers that 1,000 additional steps per day on the first 1-3 days of a quit period is associated with a lower odds of smoking relapse on those days. This effect remained significant after including covariates in subsequent models, as well as both the effects of cravings and negative affect on smoking. We were also able to replicate the previous finding in this dataset that the effect of cravings to smoke on smoking odds increases during the first week post-quit day as time from quit day increases. Despite our finding that steps per day was associated with lower relapse among inactive smokers, and that inactive smokers had higher cravings and higher relapse rates, our study did not yield evidence for our mediation hypothesis that steps per day would associate with lower cravings to smoke. Conclusion: These findings could be used to tailor smoking cessation interventions to people at high risk of relapse and failure to successfully quit. A bout of 1,000 steps is roughly a 15-minute walk. Encouraging this kind of behavior when cravings are high could lead to successful quitting for less active smokers. Future cessation research with a focus on framing physical exercise as a protective tool against smoking relapse could be valuable for creating more efficient interventions. / Public Health

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Hoarding disorder (HD) is characterized by (a) the acquisition of and inability to discard a large number of possessions; (b) clutter that interferes with the use of appliances and general living areas in the home; and (c) clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning. Although previous studies have reported that individuals with HD exhibit emotional dysregulation when discarding personal items, this investigation is the first to examine the biological indices of distress. The current study aimed to examine whether individuals with HD differed from healthy controls in their psychological and biological responses to a general psychosocial stressor and to investigate whether individual differences in stress response relate to differences in symptom severity and impairment. Twenty-one individuals with HD and 22 healthy controls (CTLs) completed the Trier Social Stress Task and self-reported affect and salivary cortisol responses to the stressor were assessed. Individuals with HD did not significantly differ compared to CTLs in their salivary cortisol levels in relation to the stressor. However, individuals with HD significant-ly differed compared to CTLs in their subjective levels of distress in relation to the stressor. Contrary to our hypotheses, responses to stress were not significantly correlated with measures of symptom severity and impairment due to hoarding. The current findings indicate that individuals with HD exhibit a greater self-reported emotional response to a general stressor. The implications of these findings are discussed. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

Bioenergy is extracted from biomass. What counts as biomass is generally quite diverse, but broadly speaking, it is material that previously lived. Today, energy extracted from biofuels make up around 23% of Stockholm city's total energy consumption. Stockholm city has set a goal to be a fossil-free city by 2040, i.e. zero emissions from energy use. Two sectors have been identified where emissions occur and these are the transport sector and the electricity and heating sector. This thesis will only address the electricity and heating sector. This includes all energy consumption within Stockholm city municipality. When Stockholm is developing towards a fossil fuel free city, it’s interesting to look at how important bioenergy will be as an energy source in the future. This thesis has scrutinized the role of bioenergy in reaching a fossil fuel free city. Three major policies have been investigated. The carbon dioxide tax and the emission rights system have promoted the bioenergy and its deployment in a positive way. The system of electricity certificates has shown to indirectly affect the bio energy in a negative way. The key finding is that bioenergy will have a great impact in reaching the goal mainly through its contributions with negative emissions, but it is also an important substitute to fossil fuels. / Bioenergi utvinns ur biomassa eller biobränslen. Biomassa och biobränslen är ganska diffusa begrepp då definitionen varierar runt om i världen, men generellt sett är det material som tidigare levt. Idag utgör energi från biobränslen cirka 23% av Stockholms stads totala energiförbrukning. Stockholms stad har satt upp ett mål att vara en fossilfri stad år 2040, det vill säga inga utsläpp från stadens energiförbrukning. Det finns två huvudsakliga sektorer där koldioxidutsläpp förekommer, dessa är transportsektorn och eloch värmesektorn. Detta inkluderar all energiförbrukning inom Stockholms kommuns gränser, till exempel uppvärmning av hushåll och energin de fordon som körs i staden förbrukar. När Stockholm utveckling går mot att bli en fossilbränslefri stad är det intressant att se hur viktig bioenergi kommer att vara som energikälla i framtiden. Denna rapport granskar bioenergins roll i att nå klimatmålet till 2040. De huvudsakliga slutsaterna är att bioenergi kommer ha en stor och viktig roll i att nå målet och att dess största inverkan kommer vara de negativa utsläppen. Vissa lagar har främjat bioenergin medans vissa indirekt har påverkat dess utveckling negativt. Bioenergin har en ljus framtid i Stockholm.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第24633号 / 工博第5139号 / 新制||工||1982(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科物質エネルギー化学専攻 / (主査)教授 安部 武志, 教授 阿部 竜, 教授 作花 哲夫 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DGAM

In a variance component model,(Formula presented.), Pukelsheim (1981) proved that the non-negative and unbiased estimation of the variance components σ(Formula presented.), j=1, …, c, entails a transformation of the original model to Q(Formula presented.) (called Q-reduced model). The maximum likelihood (ML) approach based on the likelihood of Q(Formula presented.) (denoted Q-ML) is considered and applied to an incomplete block design (IBD) model. The Q-ML estimators of variance components and are shown to be more efficient in the mean squared error sense than the non-negative MINQUE’s (minimum norm quadratic unbiased estimators) in the IBD. The effect of using Q-ML estimators of the variance components to estimate the variance ratio in the combined estimator of the treatment contrast is also considered.

<p>To sustain the upcoming paradigm shift in computations technology efficiently, innovative solutions at the lowest level of the computing hierarchy (the material and device level) are essential to delivering the required functionalities beyond what is available with current CMOS platforms. Motivated by this, in this dissertation, we explore ferroelectric-based devices for steep-slope logic and energy-efficient non-volatile-memory functionalities signifying the novel device attributes, possibilities for continual dimensional scaling with the much-needed enhancement in performance.</p> <p> </p> <p>Among various ferroelectric (FE) materials, Zr doped HfO₂ (HZO) has gained immense research attention in recent times by virtue of CMOS process compatibility and a considerable amount of ferroelectricity at room temperature. In this work, we investigate the Zr concentration-dependent crystal phase transition of Hf_1-xZ_xO₂ (HZO) and the corresponding evolution of dielectric, ferroelectric, and anti-ferroelectric characteristics. Providing the microscopic insights of strain-induced crystal phase transformations, we propose a physics-based model that shows good agreement with experimental results for 10 nm Hf_1-xZ_xO₂. Further, in a heterogeneous system, ferroelectric materials can exhibit negative capacitance (NC) behavior. Such NC effects may lead to differential amplification in local potential and can provide an enhanced charge and capacitance response for the whole system compared to their constituents. Such intriguing implications of NC phenomena have prompted the design and exploration of many ferroelectric-based electronic devices to not only achieve an improved performance but potentially also overcome some fundamental limits of standard transistors. However, the microscopic physical origin as well as the true nature of the NC effect, and direct experimental evidence remain elusive and debatable. To that end, in this work, we systematically investigate the underlying physical mechanism of the NC effect in the ferroelectric material. Based upon the fundamental physics of ferroelectric material, we investigate different assumptions, conditions, and distinct features of the quasi-static NC effect in the single-domain and multi-domain scenarios. While the quasi-static and hysteresis-free NC effect was initially propounded in the context of a single-domain scenario, we highlight that the similar effects can be observed in multi-domain FEs with soft domain-wall (DW) displacement. Furthermore, to obtain the soft-DW, the gradient energy coefficient of the FE material is required to be higher as well as the ferroelectric thickness is required to be lower than some critical values. Otherwise, the DW becomes hard, and their displacement would lead to hysteretic NC effects. In addition to the quasi-static NC, we discuss different mechanisms that can lead to the transient NC effects. Furthermore, we provide guidelines for new experiments that can potentially provide new insights on unveiling the real origin of NC phenomena.</p> <p> </p> <p>Utilizing such ferroelectric insulators at the gate stack of a transistor, ferroelectric-field-effect transistors (FeFETs) have been demonstrated to exhibit both non-volatile memory and steep-slope logic functionalities. To investigate such diverse attributes and to enable application drive optimization of FeFETs, we develop a phase-field simulation framework of FeFETs by self-consistently solving the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) equation, Poisson’s equation, and non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) based semiconductor charge-transport equation. Considering HZO as the FE layer, we first analyze the dependence of the multi-domain patterns on the HZO thickness (<i>T_FE</i>) and their critical role in dictating the steep-switching (both in the negative and positive capacitance regimes) and non-volatile characteristics of FeFETs. In particular, we analyze the <i>T_FE</i>-dependent formation of hard and soft domain-walls (DW). We show that, <i>T_FE</i> scaling first leads to an increase in the domain density in the hard DW-regime, followed by soft DW formation and finally polarization collapse. For hard-DWs, we describe the polarization switching mechanisms and how the domain density impacts key parameters such as coercive voltage, remanent polarization, effective permittivity and memory window. We also discuss the enhanced but positive permittivity effects in densely pattern multi-domain states in the absence of hard-DW displacement and its implication in non-hysteretic attributes of FeFETs. For soft-DWs, we present how DW-displacement can lead to effective negative capacitance in FeFETs, resulting in a steeper switching slope and superior scalability. In addition, we also develop a Preisach based circuit compatible model for FeFET (and antiferroelectric-FET) that captures the multi-domain polarization switching effects in the FE layer. </p> <p> </p> Unlike semiconductor insulators (e.g., HZO), there are ferroelectric materials that exhibit a considerably low bandgap (< 2eV) and hence, display semiconducting properties. In this regard, non-perovskite-based 2D ferroelectric -In₂Se₃ shows a bandgap of ~1.4eV and that suggests a combined ferroelectricity and semiconductivity in the same material system. As part of this work, we explore the modeling and operational principle of ferroelectric semiconductor metal junction (FeSMJ) based devices in the context of non-volatile memory (NVM) application. First, we analyze the semiconducting and ferroelectric properties of the α-In₂Se₃ van der Waals (vdW) stack via experimental characterization and first-principles simulations. Then, we develop a FeSMJ device simulation framework by self-consistently solving the Landau–Ginzburg–Devonshire equation, Poisson's equation, and charge-transport equations. Our simulation results show good agreement with the experimental characteristics of α-In₂Se₃-based FeSMJ suggesting that the FeS polarization-dependent modulation of Schottky barrier heights of FeSMJ plays a key role in providing the NVM functionality. Moreover, we show that the thickness scaling of FeS leads to a reduction in read/write voltage and an increase in distinguishability. Array-level analysis of FeSMJ NVM suggests a lower read-time and read-write energy with respect to the HfO₂-based ferroelectric insulator tunnel junction (FTJ) signifying its potential for energy-efficient and high-density NVM applications.

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