This research investigates how players can be encouraged to alternate between offensive and defensive play within the game Martyr of Carnage (MoC), through the use of nudges. Nudges are subtle design elements that influence behavior without restricting choices, and they are commonly used in marketing, business, and government sectors. This study aims to extend the application of nudge theory to game design and find out if the theory is effective in altering playtester behavior in our game. The research was conducted using iterative game design methods, where various nudges were integrated and tested within the game environment. The main findings indicate that incorporating nudges in games serves as a useful analytical tool, effectively guiding player behavior and enhancing the overall gaming experience of Martyr of Carnage.

We present a comprehensive approach to designing and optimizing infectious disease mitigation strategies, with a focus on COVID-19 and closed communities like college campuses. By integrating vaccination and routine screening, we first develop a model to evaluate the efficacy of various strategies in reducing infections, hospitalizations, and deaths on a college campus during the Fall 2021 semester. The findings emphasize the importance of customizing interventions based on factors such as initial vaccine coverage, vaccine effectiveness, compliance rates, and disease transmission dynamics. As COVID-19 variants continue to emerge, we highlight the necessity for adaptive screening strategies that account for the existing variants and differences in transmission and outcomes among population groups, such as faculty/staff, and students, based on their vaccination status and level of natural immunity. Using the Spring 2022 academic semester as a case study, we study various routine screening strategies and find that screening faculty and staff less frequently than students, and/or screening the boosted and vaccinated less frequently than the unvaccinated, may avert a higher number of infections per test compared to universal screening of the entire population at a common frequency. We also discuss key policy issues, including the need to revisit the mitigation objectives over time and determine if and when screening alone can compensate for low booster coverage. In contexts where mandates are not feasible and vaccine hesitancy is prevalent, we explore the role of voluntary vaccination compliance, supported by monetary incentives and routine screening. We introduce an optimization framework that considers the dual role of screening as both a mitigation tool and a non-monetary incentive. This framework necessitates a novel optimization model for incentive design, integrated with a utility-based decision model that accounts for resource constraints and uncertainties in community response to mitigation efforts. We establish structural properties of Pareto sets of strategies and analyze how they adjust with community characteristics, leading to key insights. Our findings offer actionable strategies for diverse communities and underscore the substantial value of tailoring mitigation efforts to community characteristics and incorporating the incentive effect of routine screening. Overall, this research provides actionable insights into the development of targeted and adaptive mitigation strategies that can be applied in diverse community settings, ensuring safe operations and effective disease control amidst evolving epidemiological challenges. The methodologies and insights from our study are poised to inform and guide the design of mitigation strategies in a variety of institution and community settings, contributing significantly to the collective efforts against infectious diseases. / Doctor of Philosophy / This research focuses on developing strategies to reduce the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19, particularly in communities such as college campuses. We explore how combining vaccination and regular testing can help reduce the number of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. By studying different approaches during the Fall 2021 semester, we found that strategies need to be adjusted based on factors like how many people are vaccinated, how effective the vaccines are, and how willing people are to follow the guidelines. As new COVID-19 variants appear, it is important to adapt testing plans based on how these variants spread and how they affect different groups, such as students and faculty, depending on their vaccination and immunity levels. In our study of the Spring 2022 semester, we found that testing faculty less frequently than students, or testing those who are vaccinated less often than those who are unvaccinated, can be more effective than testing everyone at the same rate. We also discuss when testing alone might be enough if vaccination rates are low. In situations where vaccines aren't mandatory and some people are hesitant to get vaccinated, we explore how offering a monetary incentive and regular testing can encourage more people to get vaccinated. We introduce a model that helps decision makers choose the best monetary incentive amount and testing rate, considering the dual role of testing both as a health measure and as an incentive to encourage vaccination. Our findings show that communities can benefit from strategies that are tailored to their specific needs and that include both vaccination incentives and testing. Overall, this research provides practical recommendations for creating flexible strategies that help communities stay safe and control the spread of disease, even as conditions change.

Bakgrund: Det finns ett starkt intresse kring klimat- och hållbarhetsrelaterade frågor idag vilket speglar sig i allmän opinion och i politiska debatter. Den rationella investeraren antas placera sina pengar med hänsyn tagen till beslutskriterier som risk och avkastning. Men frågan är om etiska och hållbara ställningstaganden kommer till uttryck i människors val av placeringar? Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att testa ifall individer tenderar att välja socialt hållbara investeringar i större utsträckning då de reflekterar över sina attityder och värderingar kring etik och hållbarhet i samband med ett placeringsval. Teori: Studien grundar sig i en deduktiv ansats, där vi utifrån rådande teorier inom ekonomi och beteendevetenskap skapat ett antagande om människan. Antagandet är att människan investerar utifrån beslutskriterierna risk och avkastning, men att denne även har etiska värderingar och attityder som tenderar att falla bort vid placeringsvalet p.g.a. bristande rationalitet och kognitiv bias. Det uppstår därmed en dissonans mellan människans beteende och dess attityder och värderingar. Denna dissonansen ska reduceras genom en system 2 nudge som låter investeraren reflektera över sina värderingar och attityder rörande hållbarhet och etik innan placeringsvalet. Detta för att se om det kan leda till en högre andel placeringar i socialt hållbara investeringar. Empirisk metod: Den empiriska metoden bestod av ett enkätexperiment där två grupper av respondenter fick göra ett hypotetiskt placeringsval, men där experimentgruppens enkät innehöll en system 2 nudge innan valet. Resultat: Vår nudge fick ingen signifikant påverkan på respondenternas placeringsval. Detta kan delvis förklaras av ett felaktig antagande om människan som redan placerade mer hållbart än förväntat samt bristande effektivitet av vår system 2 nudge i kontexten av denna studie. / Background: Climate- and sustainable related questions are strong topics in today’s society and are highly debated by decision-makers. The rational investor is supposed make investments based on risk and return. But the question is if the concerns about sustainability and ethics really influence the decision of the investor? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to test if individuals tend to invest more in SRI (Socially responsible investments) if they have a moment of reflection regarding ethics and sustainability before an investment decision. Theory: We apply a deductive approach, by creating an assumption of how humans function according to economics and behavioral science. Due to theory, humans can be seen as rational investors who solely make investment decision based on risk and return. But they can also have strong attitudes and values regarding social responsibility, which because of bounded rationality and cognitive bias tend not to be included as criteria in investment decisions. This creates a dissonance between the person's values and attitudes and their investment decisions. To make people invest more in consonance with their values and attitudes we construct a system 2 nudge that let them reflect about their view of ethics and sustainability before an investment decision. This can lead to increased investments in SRI. Empirical method: The empirical method consisted of a survey experiment in which the participants were asked to make a hypothetical investment decision. The treatment survey contained a system 2 nudge before the investment decision, while the control survey remained neutral. Results: The nudge, or the reflection of attitudes and values by the investor, had no significant effect on their investment decision. This can partly be explained by a wrong assumption of the rational investor who already invested according to their values and attitudes, and by a lack of effectiveness of our system 2 nudge in the context of this study.

I uppsatsen beskrivs vad dark patterns är och hur de påverkar enskildas dataskydd. Det konstateras att metoderna faktiskt är ett gammalt fenomen som nu även förekommer inom den relativt nya datadrivna marknaden i den digitala världen. Det finns flera olika varianter av dark patterns och de kan förefalla överlappa varandra. Gemensamt är att dark patterns inom data-skydd påverkar enskildas integritetsval genom att nudgea enskilda till att dela personuppgifter. Metoderna inverkar på enskildas rätt till kontroll över sina personuppgifter och därmed borde dark patterns i de flesta fall utgöra överträdelser av dataskyddet i EU. Ingen lagstiftning omfattar dark patterns uttryckligen men i uppsatsen visas på att det torde vara få dark patterns som inte träffas av gällande dataskyddsregler. Det är inte svagheter i gällande dataskyddsreglering som uppmärksammas i uppsatsen utan snarare svagheter i efterlevnad och tillsyn av vederbörande regler. Bristerna i tillsyn påverkar inte endast förekomsten av dark patterns utan det gäller för samtliga dataskyddsöverträdelser. I uppsatsen föreslås behov av ytterligare riktlinjer och klargöranden från EDPB för att effektivisera efterlevnad och tillsyn av gällande regler. Därutöver förespråkas ytterligare finansiering till dataskyddsmyndigheter samt utbildning av enskilda tillika konsumenter om vad dark patterns är. I uppsatsen analyseras även konsumentområdets koppling till dataskydd samt eventuella tillsynsansvar av dark patterns för att sedermera diskuteras som ett ytterligare alternativ till att motverka dark patterns. Uttryckliga förbud i EU-lagstiftningsakter anses också vara önskvärd för att öka efterlevnad. En utblick över framtida regleringar görs, dels i USA där reglering som uttryckligen omfattar dark patterns införs år 2023, dels i EU där ett uttryckligt förbud mot dark patterns är under förhandling till att införas i DSA. Samtidigt kan kakväggar, vilket är en typ av dark pattern, komma att bli delvis tillåtna i och med ePrivacy-förordningen

[pt] A presente dissertação de mestrado tem como proposta analisar o fenômeno da desigualdade social, sobretudo aquela que aflige os grupos mais vulneráveis da nossa sociedade, problemas este tradicionalmente caracterizado como um fato social e transmutar tal aporia numa questão jurídica. Para tanto, utiliza-se do Pacto Internacional sobre Diretos Econômicos, Sociais e Culturais de 1966 e de sua previsão que veda a discriminação na fruição dos direitos objetos do referido pacto. Como efeito, a discriminação no desfrute desses direitos, mesmo que involuntária, é uma infração ao dever de não discriminação, dever este que é de aplicabilidade imediata e não sujeito a considerações de ordem orçamentária. Posteriormente, é analisado o caráter neoliberal do Regime de Recuperação Fiscal ao qual aderiu o Estado do Rio de Janeiro, sendo pontuadas as repercussões deste regime excepcionalíssimo para o proveito dos direitos socioeconômicos e culturais numa situação de recrudescimento do conflito pelo dispêndio público. Após, abordam-se exemplos de políticas implementadas de modo geral a assegurar a fruição dos direitos socioeconômicos e culturais, bem como de políticas para verificar se as políticas implementadas pelo Estado são ou não discriminatórias. Por fim, é apresentada tanto uma sugestão de estrutura de verificação das políticas a serem implementadas em âmbito estadual quanto enumeradas iniciativas inovadoras em âmbito internacional que combinam baixo custo orçamentário para sua implementação e alto impacto sobre o público-alvo dos programas. / [en] This Masters Dissertation aims to analyze the phenomena of social inequality, especially that which affects the most vulnerable strata of our society. Problems such as these are traditionally characterized as social facts. However, it is this Dissertation s purpose to approach the issue as a legal matter. To that end, this work will have recourse to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, and its provision which prohibits discrimination in the recognition of the rights it sets forth. In effect, the discrimination in the fruition of such rights, even when unintentional, constitutes a breach of the duty of non-discrimination, a duty of immediate applicability and not subject to budgetary considerations. Afterwards, the neoliberal character of the Fiscal Recovery Regime to which the State of Rio de Janeiro adhered will be analyzed. Remarks will then be made on the repercussions of this overly exceptional regime on the enjoyment of socioeconomic and cultural rights in an environment afflicted by the escalation of disputes on public expenditure. Furthermore, examples of policies implemented with a general objective to ensure the fruition of socioeconomic and cultural rights, as well as policies aiming to verify whether the policies adopted by the State are discriminatory or not, will be presented. At last, a proposal of State level policy verifying structure will be put forward, and several innovative initiatives in the international ambit, which combine low budget cost for implementation and high effectiveness over the target demographic, will be evaluated.

The master thesis The concept of libertarian paternalism in the recodification of Czech private law introduces a concept that works as an efficient synthesis of two different approaches to the relationship between the individual and the state: liberalism and paternalism. Libertarian paternalism deals mainly with the default system setting and setting of the recommendations and mechanism that are helpful in the decision making process of an individual as well as the whole society. The master thesis defines this concept, its main attributes and its tradition in the behavioral economics as well as its means and limits. The thesis shows how the use of this concept provides cheap and effective tools for nudging human decisions and behavior. The libertarian paternalistic approach in the law regulation is demonstrated in the new civil recodification, especially Civil Code 2012 as the fundamental act of civil law. The master thesis uses interdisciplinary approach to the topic, applying the perspectives of philosophy of law, economy, psychology and sociology.

Face-to-face communication is always complemented with non-verbal signals that give us clues as to how a message shall be interpreted, but as communication is moved online the possibilities to express oneself becomes more limited. This paper focuses on the instant messaging client Windows Live Messenger and three of the non-verbal functions that it provides (nudges, winks and emotes). The purpose of the paper and its underlying study is to compare the senders' intentions with the receivers' conceptions when it comes to these functions. The study was done as a questionnaire with two different versions of the questions, one looking at the senders' intentions and the other at the receivers' conceptions. The results were then compared in order to look for tendencies. The results showed that the most common intention among the senders was also the most common conception among the receivers, but that the rest of the attitudes didn't match at all. The functions that are supposed to help the conversation flow often create ambiguity instead and lead to vagueness, misconceptions and annoyance. / Kommunikation som sker ansikte mot ansikte kompletteras alltid med icke-verbala signaler som ger ledtrådar till hur ett budskap ska tolkas, men i och med att kommunikationen flyttas online begränsas möjligheterna att uttrycka sig. Uppsatsen fokuserar på chatt-tjänsten Windows Live Messenger och tre av de icke-verbala funktioner som den tillhandahåller (vibbar, blinkningar och uttryckssymboler). Syftet med uppsatsen och dess bakomliggande studie är att jämföra avsändarnas avsikter med mottagarnas uppfattningar när det gäller dessa funktioner. Studien utfördes med kvantitativ metod i form av en enkätundersökning. Respondenterna fördelades jämnt mellan två olika enkäter vilka behandlade avsändarnas avsikter och mottagarnas uppfattningar var för sig. Resultaten av de två enkäterna jämfördes sedan med varandra i ett försök att avläsa vissa tendenser. Analysen visade att den vanligaste avsikten hos avsändarna också var den vanligaste uppfattningen hos mottagarna, men att resterande åsikter inte alls stämde överens. Funktionerna som ska hjälpa konversationen framåt visar sig istället vara mångtydiga och leda till så väl oklarheter som missförstånd och irritation.

Implementing behavioral insights into policy making goes along well with widespread effort for increased efficiency. From the public budget administrator point of view, this efficiency is crucial since it directly affects the current state of the budget. The theoretical part of this thesis consists of description of the most important parts of behavioral economics that can be used during the creation and setting of public policies. It also consists of brief description of current behavioral insights teams that are already using the insights representing more realistic behavior and decision making of individuals. In the analytical part of this thesis, I provide methodology of experiment evaluation as well as result extrapolation facets and risks. Those experiments usually take place before any reasonable extension is made. I also provide financial analysis of several experiments, should they be extended to larger group of individuals. In the last chapter of the analytical part, I discuss the possibilities of implementation of behavioral economics in the Czech Republic. Based on the calculations I ran, even a small change of the environment where people make decisions can significantly improve the results of the intervention, all that with minimal costs. It is however important to point out that not all behavioral insights inspirations end with success. Application of behavioral insights into policy making has got a great potential when it comes to the Czech Republic, as I show Using two examples from Health care and taxes revenues.

Pourquoi prend-on ou non des risques ? Pourquoi ne recycle-t-on pas davantage ? En situation d'incertitude, quels prix immobiliers peut-on anticiper ? Pour d'éventuelles explications et pronostics concernant ces questions, les principes d'économie comportementale peuvent être invoqués. L'économie comportementale (CE) est l'association de la psychologie et de l'économie ayant pour but de donner une explication aux comportements observés sur les marchés, comportements humains faisant preuve de rationalité limitée et de raisonnements complexes (Mullainathan et Thaler, 2000). L'étude de l'économie comportementale a inspiré un grand nombre de théories différentes et a été utilisée dans de nombreuses applications empiriques et cette thèse suit le même schéma en explorant différentes applications de l'économie comportementale. Cette thèse développe trois nouvelles extensions de l'économie comportementale aux champs du management, du choix en termes de politiques et en termes de décision d'investissement immobilier. / Why do we take risks or we do not? Why do not we recycle more? Under uncertainty what do we expect will happen to our home prices? These and many other questions are asked on daily basis.For possible explanations and answers to these and similar questions principles of behavioural economics can be used. Behavioural economics (BE) is the combination of psychology and economics that investigates what happens in markets in which some of agents display human limitations and complications (Mullainathan and Thaler, 2000). Behavioural economics provides more realistic psychological foundations to increase explanatory and predictive power of economic theory. The study of behavioural economics has inspired a number of different theories and has been used in many applications, and this thesis follows the same path and investigates different applications of behavioural economics. This thesis explores three novel applications of behavioural economics to management, policy making and property investment decision making.

Nudging påverkar människors val utan att begränsa deras valfrihet, vid varje valtillfälle existerar olika strukturer som påverkar valet, en valarkitektur som är möjlig att utforma för att främja specifika val. Den aktuella studien undersökte om nudging kan användas som påverkansteknik för attityd- och intention förändringar till kollektiv pendling hos bil- och icke-bilpendlare. Av svarande var 44 kvinnor och 7 män. Detta genomfördes med hjälp av en enkät utformat utifrån Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), som syftar till att förklara mänskligt beteende, samt Generalised Attitude Measure (GAM). Data analyserades med 2x2 ANOVA, attityd och intention relaterades till valet av primärt färdmedel samt före och efter nudgingen. Resultatet visade endast en signifikant skillnad, icke-bilpendlare hade en större intention till att pendla kollektivt jämfört med bilpendlare. Detta kan till största del bero på att ickebilpendlare redan innehar ett beteende att pendla kollektivt och därav intention. Undersökningen väcker frågor om framgången av enskilda påverkanstekniker.