The railway system is often considered to be an industry where a monopoly occurs “naturally”, which can explain the public ownership and the use of regulations. However, railways in Europe have been subject to reforms during the last three decades. The use of tendering has increased, which is a way of introducing competition for the market in absence of competition within the market. Still, contracting out services previously produced in-house places a heavy burden on the client, where contract design and its incentive structures can be decisive for the outcome of the reform. This dissertation provides empirical evidence on costs and incentives in a publicly owned monopoly that is subject to reforms, namely the provision of railway maintenance in Sweden. Essay 1 estimates the effect of exposing rail infrastructure maintenance to competitive tendering. The results show that this reform reduced maintenance costs in Sweden by around 11 per cent over the period 1999-2011, without any associated fall in the available measures of quality. Essay 2 estimates the relative cost efficiency between and within maintenance regions in Sweden. The results indicate considerable efficiency gaps together with economies of scale not being fully exploited. Essay 3 analyses the effect of incentive structures in railway maintenance contracts. An increase in the power of the incentive scheme reduces the number of infrastructure failures according to the results. In addition, the estimated effect of the performance incentive schemes suggests that more effort towards preventing train delays is made at the expense of preventing other failures. Essay 4 comprises an estimation of marginal costs of rail maintenance. The static model produces slightly lower marginal costs compared to previous estimates on Swedish data. The results from the dynamic model show that an increase in maintenance costs in year t - 1 predicts an increase in maintenance costs in year t. Indeed, there is an intertemporal effect that depends on the performed maintenance activities (governed by the contract design).

Savoir apprendre de ses actions est crucial pour la survie de l'individu. Apprenons-nous différemment selon que nos actions sont récompensées ou punies? Le cerveau intègre-t-il de la même façon les différentes dimensions du choix, tels que les récompenses, les punitions et l'effort physique? Ces dimensions de choix sont-elles représentées par le même circuit neural? Quelle est l'influence de la dopamine sur différents types d'apprentissage (A)?La théorie d'A par renforcement postule que l'A s'effectue par la minimisation de la différence entre les prédictions (des représentations internes du résultat attendu) et le réel résultat des choix. On a étudié l'activité cérébrale liée à ces variables internes dans différents types d'A et comment elles sont altérées par des manipulations pharmacologiques ou par la stimulation cérébrale profonde.Dans l'étude 1, on a observé une puissance spectrale (10-20Hz) élevée dans le noyau pédonculopontin (NP) de patients parkinsoniens suite à la récompense. La stimulation du NP améliore l'A par la récompense, mais pas par la punition. Le NP pourrait contribuer à la représentation de la récompense via une interaction avec les neurones dopaminergiques mésolimbiques impliqués dans la computation de l'erreur de prédiction.Dans les études 2 et 3, on a comparé l'A par la récompense et par l'effort. Les résultats d'IRMf montrent des circuits neuraux partiellement dissociables pour ces deux types d'A. La dopamine, connue pour ces effets bénéfiques sur l'A par la récompense, n'a pas d'effet sur l'A par l'effort.Ce travail permet de généraliser l'algorithme d'A à plusieurs dimensions du choix ainsi que son implémentation dans des circuits spécialisés. / Learning from actions is a key ability for survival. But do we learn differently depending on whether the action outcome is positive or negative? Did the brain integrate different choice dimensions such as rewards, punishments or physical efforts in the same way? Do they all rely on the same neural circuit? Does dopamine influence both learning from rewards and efforts? Reinforcement learning theory postulates that learning follows stepwise minimization of the difference between prediction (e.g. internal representation of expected outcome) and actual outcome. We investigated how brain activity relates to these internal variables in different types of learning and how these representations are altered by pharmacological manipulation and deep brain stimulation.In study 1, we found an increase in power in beta band (10-20Hz) in response to reward in the peduncolopontine nucleus (PPN) of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Stimulation of the PPN specifically improved learning from rewards but not from punishments. This brainstem structure might contribute to the reward-related representations in the midbrain dopamine neurons that are known for their computations of reward prediction errors.In the studies 2 and 3, we compared learning to maximize reward with learning to minimize effort. FMRI results suggest that reward and effort related computations are carried by partially dissociable neural networks. Moreover, dopamine, a neuromodulator known to enhance reward maximization did not influence learning to minimize efforts.Overall, this PhD helps generalizing learning algorithms across different choice dimensions and specifying their implementation in different neural networks.

Organ donation is traditionally based on the notion of making a gift based on altruism. An important aspect of ‘altruistic gifting’ is commitment to a solidaristic approach to meeting transplant needs. In line with this, people are encouraged to donate their organs at death to a common pool for collective provision, or donate a live organ to another freely. Given a chronic organ shortage, proposals have been made to change this system to increase donation. Proposals include introducing some organ market or payment in the form of a reward to incentivise live or deceased donation. However, these proposals have been opposed because of the grip of ‘altruistic gift’ as the only ethically acceptable way to procure and distribute organs. To support the ethical acceptability of other systems, ‘altruistic gift’ has been subject to various criticisms. One criticism is the moral relevance of altruism: people may donate on other motives other than altruism; or, altruism is not the motive that underpins most deceased organ donations. Another criticism is the moral value of altruism: even if deceased organ donations are in general altruistic, altruism does not express communal virtues like generosity that support solidarity. A third criticism is the value of the concept of altruism when understood in the pure sense: ‘pure altruism’ fashions an unnecessary or false dichotomy – gift versus sale – in the way people can ethically relate and help each other. Consistent with or following this criticism, it has been argued that use of a financial reward to incentivise donation can be compatible with preserving donation as altruistic albeit in a ‘non-pure’ sense. ‘Altruism’ and reward can co-exist as motives for donation. This thesis concerns itself centrally with the third criticism. It argues that the concept of altruism delineates a distinctive moral ‘perspective’ of a common humanity that engenders a devotion to others’ interests. Accordingly, as I argue, ‘non-pure’ definitions of altruism are misleading as to how a financial reward can be compatible with altruism. From this, the thesis argues that introduction of a financial reward for organ donation would not preserve donation as altruistic. Based on an understanding of altruism as also a motive for ‘creative’ relationships, the thesis counters criticisms of its relevance and value to deceased organ donation under a gift model. As part of its legal analysis, the thesis considers the antithesis of ‘altruistic gift’: the idea of organs as property which places individual control on their disposition at its moral centre. It has been argued that organs should be owned as property so that individuals can sell them, or transmit them to relatives so that relatives can claim payment from donation. To provoke thought on whether organs should be owned as private property like any other, the thesis proposes an inheritance regime for organs with family as default successor.

Belöningssystem är något som många organisationer använder sig av för att bland annat skapa arbetsmotivation. Inom banksektorn används mestadels den monetära belöningen allmän bonus. Den allmänna bonusen är en kollektiv belöning som nästan alla i hela banken kan ta del av. I och med detta blir det intressant att studera om denna belöningen skapar arbetsmotivation för de anställda. Förväntningsteorin är en teori som beskriver hur individer skapar motivation. Den fokuserar på motivation i allmänhet, men har även använts som grund av forskare för att analysera arbetsmotivationen. Studiens syfte är att förklara bankpersonalens arbetsmotivation i relation till personalens egna förväntningar och deras upplevelse om värdet av den allmänna bonusen. Detta studeras genom en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi med en deduktiv forskningsansats, vilket grundas i att forskningen är hypotesprövande. Empiriska data mäts utifrån en kvantitativ metod i form av webbenkäter. Undersökningens resultat indikerar att den anställdes individuella upplevda värde av den allmänna bonusen samt personens upplevda nåbarhet av bonusen har en positiv inverkan på dennes arbetsmotivation. Med värde menas hur värdefull individen upplever att bonusen är. En begränsning som har gjorts i arbetet är att den endast studerar respondenter inom en svensk bankkoncern som använder sig av den allmänna bonusen. Detta för att vi förutsätter att bankerna kan ha olika krav, storlekar och regler avseende sådana belöningar. Forskning kring hur vidare banksektorns användande av ett allmänt bonussystem bidrar till ökad arbetsmotivation är nästintill ostuderat. Därför anses denna uppsats ha ett värde för att belysa motivationseffekten av att använda sig av sådana belöningssystem.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a growing concern in today’s society. Substantial research has advanced our understanding of how cognitive control, reward processing, and emotional difficulties may contribute to the development and maintenance of SUDs; however, the impact of affective instability in SUDs has received limited attention. I sought to examine how different dimensions of affective instability interact to increase substance misuse, and to investigate the impact of affective instability and substance use on neural mechanisms of reward and emotion processing. Specifically, I was interested in two event-related potential (ERP) components, the reward positivity and the late positive potential (LPP), which respectively reflect the neural mechanisms of reward and emotion processing. Toward this end, I recorded the ongoing electroencephalogram (EEG) from undergraduate students as they navigated two T-maze tasks in search of rewards. Further, one of the tasks included neutral, pleasant, and unpleasant pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Participants also completed several questionnaires pertaining to substance use and personality. A principal components analysis (PCA) revealed a factor related to affective instability, which I named reactivity. This factor significantly predicted increased substance use. Interestingly, individuals reporting higher levels of affective reactivity also displayed a larger reward positivity following stimuli with emotional content. The current study identified a group of high-risk substance users characterized by greater levels of affective reactivity and increased reward processing. It is my hope that these results further elucidate the complexities of SUDs and help to create efficacious, individually-tailored treatment programs for those struggling with SUDs. / Graduate

Worldwide, young drivers are involved in more road traffic collisions than any other age group (Taubman & Katz, 2012). Comprehensive driver training and various forms of pre- and- post-test road safety interventions (RSIs) are in place, but young drivers continue to be involved in more at-fault, fatal collisions than older, newly qualified drivers (e.g. Emmerson, 2008; Braitman et al, 2008; Clarke et al, 2010). The evidence base to date is mixed regarding why young drivers are at a heightened risk of collision and so this thesis aims to provide further understanding about the factors underpinning young drivers’ engagement in risky driving. An evaluation of a young driver RSI, found that young males were less likely than young females to report safer attitudes and intentions after attending the RSI. We considered that this may be due to young males’ behaviour being motivated by a desire to seek rewards (e.g. the thrill of risky driving) rather than a fear of punishment which forms the basis of traditional RSIs. Two subsequent studies were conducted to ascertain whether a heightened sensitivity to reward might underpin the risk-taking behaviour of those most at risk. We found that young males and females scoring high on reward sensitivity reported engaging in more road traffic violations and displayed slower reaction times on a driving game; suggesting that young people may have a heightened sensitivity to reward, in general, and concurrently tend to accept a higher degree of risk than other drivers. We also found that reward sensitive young drivers rated road safety messages framed in terms of financial gains as most effective, suggesting that financial incentives may be a potential route to engage young drivers in the future. The findings from another study provided insight into the precise mechanisms at play in the relationship between young drivers and their peer passengers, and the evaluation of the pilot peer-to-peer RSI showed how it might be possible to improve young drivers’ intentions to drive safely by modifying the norm that risky driving is an appropriate way to attain social prestige within a peer group. The thesis offers a significant contribution to the literature by establishing empirically the effect of reward sensitivity on young drivers’ engagement in risky driving and suggesting multiple ways to better improve young drivers’ safety in the future.

Background: Roux-en-y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery produces significant weight loss, however a number of patients experience some and/or complete recidivism of weight years after surgery. Limited research has investigated why patients are experiencing weight regain after surgical interventions. Our objective was to identify appetite-related measures associated with weight regain after RYGB surgery. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, 29 participants (49.6 ± 9.1 years of age; 29-62 months post-RYGB) were divided into three weight categories; (weight maintainers, n = 9; low weight regainers, n = 10; and high weight regainers, n = 10). Appetite, smell function, eating behaviours and food reward were measured in response to a standardized meal. Results: Weight regain increased significantly in association with time after surgery (rs = 0.768, p = 0.016). High regainers gained on average 8.6 kg/year, compared to low regainers and maintainers, 3.8 ± 0.9 kg/year and 0.9 ± 0.9 kg/year, respectively (p < 0.001). Dietary restraint (using the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire) was significantly higher in weight maintainers and low regainers compared to high regainers using clinical subscales (p < 0.05). Weight regain was associated with higher “liking” of high-fat sweet foods (measured with the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire) among high weight regainers. Conclusion: Weight regain after RYGB may be associated with higher preferences for high-fat sweet foods, whereas, higher dietary restraint may be associated with lower wanting of high-fat sweet foods among weight maintainers. Findings provide insight into why some patients after RYGB regain weight, while others maintain their weight. Future research is needed to further explore the relationships between appetite-related factors and weight regain after RYGB employing a longitudinal study design.

The main objective of this thesis was to examine the independent effects of sleep duration and timing on appetite, food reward and energy balance. Study 1 investigated the associations between satiety quotient (SQ) with habitual, self-reported sleep duration, quality and timing. No significant associations were noted between SQ and sleep parameters. Short-duration sleepers had a lower mean SQ vs. those with ≥7h sleep/night (P=0.04). Study 2 evaluated associations between changes in sleep duration, efficiency and timing with changes in next day food reward. Greater sleep duration and earlier wake-times were associated with greater food reward (P=0.001). However, these associations were no longer significant after controlling for elapsed time between awakening and completion of the food reward task. Study 3 examined the effects of 50% sleep restriction (SR) anchored during the first (delayed bedtime) or second (advanced wake-time) half of the night on appetite, SQ, food reward, energy intake (EI) and energy expenditure (EE). Greater appetite ratings and explicit high-fat food reward were noted following SR with an advanced wake-time vs. control and SR with a delayed bedtime (P=0.03-0.01). No difference in SQ was noted between sessions. Energy and carbohydrate intakes were greater on day 2 and over 36h in the delayed bedtime vs. control session (P=0.03). Activity EE and moderate-intensity physical activity (PA) time were greater following delayed bedtime vs. control and advanced wake-time on day 1, whereas vigorous-intensity PA time was greater following advanced wake-time vs. delayed bedtime on day 1 (P=0.01-0.04). Greater sleep quality and slow-wave sleep duration between SR sessions were associated with lower EI and increased vigorous-intensity PA time, respectively (P=0.01-0.04). Collectively, these findings suggest that appetite, SQ and food reward are influenced by sleep parameters, but these changes may not alter EI. These findings also suggest that individuals with greater sleep quality in response to SR had greater vigorous-intensity activity time and lower EI.

Raising funds through crowdfunding has experienced an accelerated growth for start-up companies. Moreover, recent literature suggests that crowdfunding has developed from being just a fundraising tool to a versatile marketing tool (Brown et al., 2016). Even though the marketing aspect of crowdfunding has been researched, there are no clear distinctions of explicitly what marketing values a crowdfunding campaign may entail. This study investigates the two dominating crowdfunding approaches for commercialized ventures, namely, reward- and equity-based crowdfunding. A gap in literature has been identified regarding differentiating reward- and equity-based crowdfunding, in terms of what marketing values they encompass from an entrepreneur’s point of view. The authors’ theoretical position comprehends a connection between crowdfunding and marketing values, which the authors aim to investigate through an exploratory approach. The empirical findings are based upon eleven face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs who has launched a successful crowdfunding campaign and can thereby be considered experts in the field. Through the empirical findings, the authors were able to identify how each approach creates value for the company. The empirical findings suggest that there are convergences and divergences, differentiating reward- from equity-based crowdfunding. This study aims to support and guide entrepreneurs who want to start a crowdfunding campaign by giving the entrepreneurs directions depending on what marketing values they may seek.

This thesis is concerned with the set up of an evaluation employee system which is based on the matrix of ability. The theoretical part describes the motivational system, appraisal system and competency model. In addition, this part of the thesis explains the difference between the importance of qualifications and education, and subsequently the ways of deepening and increasing of qualifications is described. The matrix of qualification is going to be defined, which is based on my findings and experiences with it, and the final part of my thesis deals with additional employee rewards. The practical part is focused on the fulfillment of set targets. In this part, the matrix of qualification of a company from town Vimperk is explained, in particular its utilization, and in addition its possible strengths and weaknesses are pointed out. Furthermore, the practical part is concerned with the inclusion of the matrix of qualification in the reward system and in the system of personal appraisal.