@phdthesis{Melnichenko2022,
  author    = {Melnichenko, Anna},
  title     = {Selfish Creation of Realistic Networks},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-54814},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-548141},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xi, 175},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Complex networks like the Internet or social networks are fundamental parts of our everyday lives. It is essential to understand their structural properties and how these networks are formed. A game-theoretic approach to network design problems has become of high interest in the last decades. The reason is that many real-world networks are the outcomes of decentralized strategic behavior of independent agents without central coordination. Fabrikant, Luthra, Maneva, Papadimitriou, and Schenker proposed a game-theoretic model aiming to explain the formation of the Internet-like networks. In this model, called the Network Creation Game, agents are associated with nodes of a network. Each agent seeks to maximize her centrality by establishing costly connections to other agents. The model is relatively simple but shows a high potential in modeling complex real-world networks. In this thesis, we contribute to the line of research on variants of the Network Creation Games. Inspired by real-world networks, we propose and analyze several novel network creation models. We aim to understand the impact of certain realistic modeling assumptions on the structure of the created networks and the involved agents' behavior. The first natural additional objective that we consider is the network's robustness. We consider a game where the agents seek to maximize their centrality and, at the same time, the stability of the created network against random edge failure. Our second point of interest is a model that incorporates an underlying geometry. We consider a network creation model where the agents correspond to points in some underlying space and where edge lengths are equal to the distances between the endpoints in that space. The geometric setting captures many physical real-world networks like transport networks and fiber-optic communication networks. We focus on the formation of social networks and consider two models that incorporate particular realistic behavior observed in real-world networks. In the first model, we embed the anti-preferential attachment link formation. Namely, we assume that the cost of the connection is proportional to the popularity of the targeted agent. Our second model is based on the observation that the probability of two persons to connect is inversely proportional to the length of their shortest chain of mutual acquaintances. For each of the four models above, we provide a complete game-theoretical analysis. In particular, we focus on distinctive structural properties of the equilibria, the hardness of computing a best response, the quality of equilibria in comparison to the centrally designed socially optimal networks. We also analyze the game dynamics, i.e., the process of sequential strategic improvements by the agents, and analyze the convergence to an equilibrium state and its properties.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Rigamonti2023,
  author    = {Rigamonti, Lia},
  title     = {Use of digital media for remote instruction in exercise sciences education and research},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-58364},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-583642},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {129},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {To grant high-quality evidence-based research in the field of exercise sciences, it is often necessary for various institutions to collaborate over longer distances and internationally. Here, not only with regard to the recent COVID-19-pandemic, digital means provide new options for remote scientific exchanges. This thesis is meant to analyse and test digital opportunities to support the dissemination of knowledge and instruction of investigators about defined examination protocols in an international multi-center context. The project consisted of three studies. The first study, a questionnaire-based survey, aimed at learning about the opinions and preferences of digital learning or social media among students of sport science faculties in two universities each in Germany, the UK and Italy. Based on these findings, in a second study, an examination video of an ultrasound determination of the intima-media-thickness and diameter of an artery was distributed by a messenger app to doctors and nursing personnel as simulated investigators and efficacy of the test setting was analysed. Finally, a third study integrated the use of an augmented reality device for direct remote supervision of the same ultrasound examinations in a long-distance international setting with international experts from the fields of engineering and sports science and later remote supervision of augmented reality equipped physicians performing a given task. The first study with 229 participating students revealed a high preference for YouTube to receive video-based knowledge as well as a preference for using WhatsApp and Facebook for peer-to-peer contacts for learning purposes and to exchange and discuss knowledge. In the second study, video-based instructions send by WhatsApp messenger showed high approval of the setup in both study groups, one with doctors familiar with the use of ultrasound technology as well as one with nursing staff who were not familiar with the device, with similar results in overall time of performance and the measurements of the femoral arteries. In the third and final study, experts from different continents were connected remotely to the examination site via an augmented reality device with good transmission quality. The remote supervision to doctors' examination produced a good interrater correlation. Experiences with the augmented reality-based setting were rated as highly positive by the participants. Potential benefits of this technique were seen in the fields of education, movement analysis, and supervision. Concluding, the findings of this thesis were able to suggest modern and addressee- centred digital solutions to enhance the understanding of given examinations techniques of potential investigators in exercise science research projects. Head-mounted augmented reality devices have a special value and may be recommended for collaborative research projects with physical examination-based research questions. While the established setting should be further investigated in prospective clinical studies, digital competencies of future researchers should already be enhanced during the early stages of their education.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Ziemann2022,
  author    = {Ziemann, Niklas},
  title     = {Four essays on the role of distance for economic decision-making},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-59107},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-591073},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xii, 128},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Distances affect economic decision-making in numerous situations. The time at which we make a decision about future consumption has an impact on our consumption behavior. The spatial distance to employer, school or university impacts the place where we live and vice versa. The emotional closeness to other individuals influences our willingness to give money to them. This cumulative thesis aims to enrich the literature on the role of distance for economic decision-making. Thereby, each of my research projects sheds light on the impact of one kind of distance for efficient decision-making.},
  language  = {en}
}