@phdthesis{Mussotter2023, author = {Mußotter, Marlene}, title = {On nation, homeland, and democracy: Toward a novel three-factor measurement model for nationalism and patriotism}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-13781}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {100, ca. 100 ungez{\"a}hlte Seiten}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The nationalism-patriotism distinction is one of the most influential distinctions in the field of political psychology. While frequently used, the distinction suffers from a number of shortcomings that have hitherto been devoted little attention to. This dissertation aims to contribute to fill this research gap by systematically addressing these pitfalls. Notably, it does not abandon the binary distinction as such, but aims to further refine it. Thoroughly revisiting the nationalism-patriotism distinction, it synthesises the field's two predominant research traditions, i.e. the work of Kosterman and Feshbach (1989) in the U.S. and the one of Blank and Schmidt (2003) in Germany, that have not been brought into dialogue. In so doing, and engaging with research on attachment, it calls for a more nuanced triad of attachments: nationalism, that revolves around the nation; patriotism, that refers to the homeland; and democratic patriotism with democracy as its object of attachment. In line with this triad, it introduces a novel three-factor measurement model that has been validated in three studies in Germany. Overall, the dissertation underlines the need to approach ambiguous and complex concepts such as nationalism and patriotism in a more theoretically consistent way before operationalizing them in a rigorous manner.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Fink2023, author = {Fink, Simon Dominik}, title = {Constrained Planarity Algorithms in Theory and Practice}, doi = {10.15475/cpatp.2024}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-13817}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {216 Seiten}, year = {2023}, abstract = {In the constrained planarity setting, we ask whether a graph admits a crossing-free drawing that additionally satisfies a given set of constraints. These constraints are often derived from very natural problems; prominent examples are Level Planarity, where vertices have to lie on given horizontal lines indicating a hierarchy, Partially Embedded Planarity, where we extend a given drawing without modifying already-drawn parts, and Clustered Planarity, where we additionally draw the boundaries of clusters which recursively group the vertices in a crossing-free manner. In the last years, the family of constrained planarity problems received a lot of attention in the field of graph drawing. Efficient algorithms were discovered for many of them, while a few others turned out to be NP-complete. In contrast to the extensive theoretical considerations and the direct motivation by applications, only very few of the found algorithms have been implemented and evaluated in practice. The goal of this thesis is to advance the research on both theoretical as well as practical aspects of constrained planarity. On the theoretical side, we consider two types of constrained planarity problems. The first type are problems that individually constrain the rotations of vertices, that is they restrict the counter-clockwise cyclic orders of the edges incident to vertices. We give a simple linear-time algorithm for the problem Partially Embedded Planarity, which also generalizes to further constrained planarity variants of this type. The second type of constrained planarity problem concerns more involved planarity variants that come down to the question whether there are embeddings of one or multiple graphs such that the rotations of certain vertices are in sync in a certain way. Clustered Planarity and a variant of the Simultaneous Embedding with Fixed Edges Problem (Connected SEFE-2) are well-known problems of this type. Both are generalized by our Synchronized Planarity problem, for which we give a quadratic algorithm. Through reductions from various other problems, we provide a unified modelling framework for almost all known efficiently solvable constrained planarity variants that also directly provides a quadratic-time solution to all of them. For both our algorithms, a key ingredient for reaching an efficient solution is the usage of the right data structure for the problem at hand. In this case, these data structures are the SPQR-tree and the PC-tree, which describe planar embedding possibilities from a global and a local perspective, respectively. More specifically, PC-trees can be used to locally describe the possible cyclic orders of edges around vertices in all planar embeddings of a graph. This makes it a key component for our algorithms, as it allows us to test planarity while also respecting further constraints, and to communicate constraints arising from the surrounding graph structure between vertices with synchronized rotation. Bridging over to the practical side, we present the first correct implementation of PC-trees. We also describe further improvements, which allow us to outperform all implementations of alternative data structures (out of which we only found very few to be fully correct) by at least a factor of 4. We show that this yields a simple and competitive planarity test that can also yield an embedding to certify planarity. We also use our PC-tree implementation to implement our quadratic algorithm for solving Synchronized Planarity. Here, we show that our algorithm greatly outperforms previous attempts at solving related problems like Clustered Planarity in practice. We also engineer its running time and show how degrees of freedom in the theoretical algorithm can be leveraged to yield an up to tenfold speed-up in practice.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Danner2023, author = {Danner, Dominik}, title = {Towards Quality of Service and Fairness in Smart Grid Applications}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-13731}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {xx, 172 Seiten}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Due to the increasing amount of distributed renewable energy generation and the emerging high demand at consumer connection points, e. g., electric vehicles, the power distribution grid will reach its capacity limit at peak load times if it is not expensively enhanced. Alternatively, smart flexibility management that controls user assets can help to better utilize the existing power grid infrastructure for example by sharing available grid capacity among connected electric vehicles or by disaggregating flexibility requests to hybrid photovoltaic battery energy storage systems in households. Besides maintaining an acceptable state of the power distribution grid, these smart grid applications also need to ensure a certain quality of service and provide fairness between the individual participants, both of which are not extensively discussed in the literature. This thesis investigates two smart grid applications, namely electric vehicle charging-as-a-service and flexibility-provision-as-a-service from distributed energy storage systems in private households. The electric vehicle charging service allocation is modeled with distributed queuing-based allocation mechanisms which are compared to new probabilistic algorithms. Both integrate user constraints (arrival time, departure time, and energy required) to manage the quality of service and fairness. In the queuing-based allocation mechanisms, electric vehicle charging requests are packetized into logical charging current packets, representing the smallest controllable size of the charging process. These packets are queued at hierarchically distributed schedulers, which allocate the available charging capacity using the time and frequency division multiplexing technique known from the networking domain. This allows multiple electric vehicles to be charged simultaneously with variable charging currents. To achieve high quality of service and fairness among electric vehicle charging processes, dynamic weights are introduced into a weighted fair queuing scheduler that considers electric vehicle departure time and required energy for prioritization. The distributed probabilistic algorithms are inspired by medium access protocols from computer networking, such as binary exponential backoff, and control the quality of service and fairness by adjusting sampling windows and waiting periods based on user requirements. The second smart grid application under investigation aims to provide flexibility provision-as-a-service that disaggregates power flexibility requests to distributed battery energy storage systems in private households. Commonly, the main purpose of stationary energy storage is to store energy from a local photovoltaic system for later use, e. g., for overnight charging of an electric vehicle. This is optimized locally by a home energy management system, which also allows the scheduling of external flexibility requests defined by the deviation from the optimal power profile at the grid connection point, for example, to perform peak shaving at the transformer. This thesis discusses a linear heuristic and a meta heuristic to disaggregate a flexibility request to the single participating energy management systems that are grouped into a flexibility pool. Thereby, the linear heuristic iteratively assigns portions of the power flexibility to the most appropriate energy management system for one time slot after another, minimizing the total flexibility cost or maximizing the probability of flexibility delivery. In addition, a multi-objective genetic algorithm is proposed that also takes into account power grid aspects, quality of service, and fairness among par-ticipating households. The genetic operators are tailored to the flexibility disaggregation search space, taking into account flexibility and energy management system constraints, and enable power-optimized buffering of fitness values. Both smart grid applications are validated on a realistic power distribution grid with real driving patterns and energy profiles for photovoltaic generation and household consumption. The results of all proposed algorithms are analyzed with respect to a set of newly defined metrics on quality of service, fairness, efficiency, and utilization of the power distribution grid. One of the main findings is that none of the tested algorithms outperforms the others in all quality of service metrics, however, integration of user expectations improves the service quality compared to simpler approaches. Furthermore, smart grid control that incorporates users and their flexibility allows the integration of high-load applications such as electric vehicle charging and flexibility aggregation from distributed energy storage systems into the existing electricity distribution infrastructure. However, there is a trade-off between power grid aspects, e. g., grid losses and voltage values, and the quality of service provided. Whenever active user interaction is required, means of controlling the quality of service of users' smart grid applications are necessary to ensure user satisfaction with the services provided.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Groesbrink2022, author = {Gr{\"o}sbrink, Carl-Friederich}, title = {Three Essays on Firm Value and Firm Risk and their Relation to IT-Exposure, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Religiosity}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-11558}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {IV, 236 Seiten}, year = {2022}, abstract = {1. IT-Exposure and Firm Value: We analyze the joint influence of a firm's information technology (IT)-Exposure and investment behavior on firm value. Estimating a firm's (partial) IT-Exposure allows for distinguishing between firms with a business model that is challenged by IT above and below market average. Hence, we estimate the annual IT-Exposure of a firm using a 3-factor Fama-French model extended by an IT-proxy. Subsequently, we analyze the relationship with Tobin's Q in a panel data context, accounting for the relationship between IT-Exposure and investments proxied by R\&D as well as CapEx. We use more than 48,000 firm-year observations for firms in the Russell 3000 Index covering the period 1990 to 2018. Although IT-Exposure has a negative impact on firm value, this discount can be overcompensated by up to 2.1 times by sufficient investments through R\&D and CapEx, giving a firm with an average Tobin's Q a premium of 14.8\% to 19.2\%, while controlling for endogeneity. 2. Corporate Social Responsibility, Risk, and Firm Value: An Unconditional Quantile Regression Approach: This paper examines the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm risk, comprising total risk, idiosyncratic risk, and systematic risk, as well as firm value. We focus on analyzing the interrelationships along the entire distribution of the dependent variables, thus estimating an unconditional quantile regression (UQR). The analysis is based on CSR scores from Refinitiv and MSCI, using up to 12,013 firm-year observations over the period 2002 to 2019 for all U.S. companies listed on NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX. UQR reveals strongly heterogeneous effects along the unconditional quantiles of the dependent variables, which are reflected in sign changes, magnitude and significance variations. For CSR we find a risk-reducing as well as value-enhancing effect. When applying fixed effects OLS, we can just partly confirm the risk-reducing and value-enhancing effect of CSR shown in the literature. 3. Heterogenous Effects of Religiosity on Firm Risk and Firm Value: An Unconditional Quantile Regression Approach: This paper examines the impact of religiosity on firm risk, comprising total risk, idiosyncratic risk, and systematic risk, as well as firm value. We focus on analyzing the interrelationships along the entire distribution of the dependent variables, thus estimating an unconditional quantile regression (UQR). The analysis is based on all U.S. companies listed on NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX for the period from 1980 through 2020. UQR reveals strongly heterogeneous effects along the unconditional quantiles of the dependent variables, which are reflected in sign changes, magnitude and significance variations. Overall, the risk-reducing effect of religiosity is more pronounced in the higher quantiles of the distribution. We further observe a value-reducing as well as value-enhancing religiosity effect. When applying fixed effects OLS, we can confirm the risk-reducing and non-existing value effect of religiosity shown in the literature. The robustness of our results is underpinned by a battery of additional tests.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Seruset2023, author = {Seruset, Marco}, title = {Three Essays on Price Discovery, Stock Liquidity, and Crash Risk}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-11563}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {IV, 227 Seiten}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Abstract 1: This paper investigates whether market quality, uncertainty, investor sentiment and attention, and macroeconomic news affect bitcoin price discovery in spot and futures markets. Over the period December 2017 - March 2019, we find significant time variation in the contribution to price discovery of the two markets. Increases in price discovery are mainly driven by relative trading costs and volume, and by uncertainty to a lesser extent. Additionally, medium-sized trades contain most information in terms of price discovery. Finally, higher news-based bitcoin sentiment increases the informational role of the futures market, while attention and macroeconomic news have no impact on price discovery. Abstract 2: We investigate whether local religious norms affect stock liquidity for U.S. listed companies. Over the period 1997-2020, we find that firms located in more religious areas have higher liquidity, as reflected by lower bid-ask spreads. This result persists after the inclusion of additional controls, such as governance metrics, and further sensitivity and endogeneity analyses. Subsample tests indicate that the impact of religiosity on stock liquidity is particularly evident for firms operating in a poor information environment. We further show that firms located in more religious areas have lower price impact of trades and smaller probability of information-based trading. Overall, our findings are consistent with the notion that religiosity, with its antimanipulative ethos, probably fosters trust in corporate actions and information flows, especially when little is known about the firm. Finally, we conjecture an indirect firm value implication of religiosity through the channel of stock liquidity. Abstract 3: This study shows that higher physical distance to institutional shareholders is associated with higher stock price crash risk. Since monitoring costs increase with distance, the results are consistent with the monitoring theory of local institutional investors. Cross-sectional analyses show that the effect of proximity on crash risk is more pronounced for firms with weak internal governance structures. The significant relation between distance and crash risk still holds under the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, however, to a lower extent. Also, the existence of the channel of bad news hoarding is confirmed. Finally, I show that there is heterogeneity in distance-induced monitoring activities of different types of institutions.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Maimunah2022, author = {Maimunah, Siti}, title = {Reclaiming "Tubuh-Tanah Air": A Life Project on Doing Feminist Political Ecology at the Capitalist Frontier}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-11656}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {163 Seiten}, year = {2022}, abstract = {My study examines how the configuration of the capitalist frontier through extractivism shapes ethnicity, gender, and intersectionality in the areas surrounding a nickel mine in Sorowako (East Luwu District, South Sulawesi), logging and coal mining along the Lalang River (Murung Raya District, Central Kalimantan) Indonesia. The colonial frontier intersects with the capitalist frontier and provides the circumstances for its formation. The colonial restrictions, religions, commodities, the imposition of labor discipline, and political changes have molded ethnic identities and relationships with nature. Furthermore, using autoethnography and Feminist Political Ecology, I combine my experiences as a woman academic-activist with the experiences of the people in my research area. I identify how communities and individuals interact with the multiple-frontier in everyday life by defining the configuration of the frontier from above and below. Thus, my dissertation contributes to understanding how I, the community, and the capitalist frontier landscape are contained and can potentially transform into multidimensional resistance. I develop a link between the body as the interior frontier and the extractive landscape to be transformed into a perspective of "Tubuh-tanah air" as a future arena of engagement and resistance to extractivism.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{McLarren2021, author = {McLarren, Katharina}, title = {Religion and International Society - Approaches to Including Religion in the International Relations Research Agenda}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-12365}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {143 Seiten}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Religion can unite and divide, it can lead to a strengthening or a weakening of identity and legitimacy. Religion can stoke conflicts but it can also pacify them - within societies and in international politics. Religion endures and it can exist independently of states, it can constitute them, and it can provide new forms of states, societies, and empires. Arguably, religion shapes or even constitutes the international society of states, an aspect so far neglected in the field of International Relations. The dissertation provides a new definition of religion for International Relations and the English School in particular. Based upon this understanding of religion, the five publications presented in the dissertation provide new analytical and theoretical concepts and approaches to fill the research gap. Religion is integrated into the theoretical framework of the English School in the form of a "prime institution" and with the help of the "quilt model". While the former expands the theoretical framework, the latter adds an analytical layer. Based upon this definition religion is also introduced as a concept ("hybrid actorness") in Foreign Policy Analysis, opening it up to become less state-centrist and more transnational-oriented, thereby boosting its relevance considering the evolving international (global) society. In another step, the Securitization framework of analysis is expanded to include (freedom) of religion. By revisiting the publications, the dissertation is able to identify next steps in terms of avenues of research. Finally, the dissertation reveals areas of study which contribute to increasing the pertinence of IR, particularly of the English School.}, language = {en} } @article{CaspariSadeghi2022, author = {Caspari-Sadeghi, Sima}, title = {Learning assessment in the age of big data: Learning analytics in higher education}, series = {Cogent Education}, volume = {2023}, journal = {Cogent Education}, number = {Volume 110, issue 1}, publisher = {Taylor \& Francis}, doi = {0.1080/2331186X.2022.2162697}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-12236}, pages = {11 Seiten}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Data-driven decision-making and data-intensive research are becoming prevalent in many sectors of modern society, i.e. healthcare, politics, business, and entertainment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, huge amounts of educational data and new types of evidence were generated through various online platforms, digital tools, and communication applications. Meanwhile, it is acknowledged that educa-tion lacks computational infrastructure and human capacity to fully exploit the potential of big data. This paper explores the use of Learning Analytics (LA) in higher education for measurement purposes. Four main LA functions in the assessment are outlined: (a) monitoring and analysis, (b) automated feedback, (c) prediction, prevention, and intervention, and (d) new forms of assessment. The paper con-cludes by discussing the challenges of adopting and upscaling LA as well as the implications for instructors in higher education.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Duffourc2023, author = {Duffourc, Mindy}, title = {Liability for Negligent Healthcare Clinical Risk Management in the United States and Germany}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-13859}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {xvi, 141 Seiten}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Systems-focused error prevention efforts are internationally recognized in the healthcare industry, and industry efforts to identify and correct organizational defects through the process of CRM are well established in the U.S. and Germany. However, in both countries, there is no clear corresponding liability for healthcare organizations who fail to engage in systems-based learning through the process of clinical risk management (CRM). Although both jurisdictions do recognize organization-based theories of liability, liability for negligent CRM has not been explicitly recognized by courts in either jurisdiction to date. German legal scholars, recognizing this gap in liability for healthcare organizations, have written in support of finding liability for negligent CRM under existing tort law; however, there is no corresponding discussion in the American legal literature. This dissertation fills that gap with a comparative analysis of medical negligence law in the U.S. and Germany through the international lens of modern medical error prevention science and policy to articulate a legal basis and sketch the evidentiary framework for tort liability based on negligent CRM.}, language = {en} } @article{HerboldHautli‑JaniszHeueretal., author = {Herbold, Steffen and Hautli‑Janisz, Annette and Heuer, Ute and Kikteva, Zlata and Trautsch, Alexander}, title = {A large‑scale comparison of human‑written versus ChatGPT‑generated essays}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {13}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-023-45644-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-13961}, pages = {11 Seiten}, abstract = {ChatGPT and similar generative AI models have attracted hundreds of millions of users and have become part of the public discourse. Many believe that such models will disrupt society and lead to significant changes in the education system and information generation. So far, this belief is based on either colloquial evidence or benchmarks from the owners of the models—both lack scientific rigor. We systematically assess the quality of AI-generated content through a large-scale study comparing human-written versus ChatGPT-generated argumentative student essays. We use essays that were rated by a large number of human experts (teachers). We augment the analysis by considering a set of linguistic characteristics of the generated essays. Our results demonstrate that ChatGPT generates essays that are rated higher regarding quality than human-written essays. The writing style of the AI models exhibits linguistic characteristics that are different from those of the human-written essays. Since the technology is readily available, we believe that educators must act immediately. We must re-invent homework and develop teaching concepts that utilize these AI models in the same way as math utilizes the calculator: teach the general concepts first and then use AI tools to free up time for other learning objectives.}, language = {en} } @article{HassenBenAhmed, author = {Hassen, Wiem Fekih and Ben Ahmed, Mariem}, title = {Optimization of a Redox-Flow Battery Simulation Model Based on a Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach}, series = {Batteries}, volume = {10}, journal = {Batteries}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, doi = {10.3390/batteries10010008}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-13994}, pages = {20 Seiten}, abstract = {Vanadium redox-flow batteries (VRFBs) have played a significant role in hybrid energy storage systems (HESSs) over the last few decades owing to their unique characteristics and advantages. Hence, the accurate estimation of the VRFB model holds significant importance in large-scale storage applications, as they are indispensable for incorporating the distinctive features of energy storage systems and control algorithms within embedded energy architectures. In this work, we propose a novel approach that combines model-based and data-driven techniques to predict battery state variables, i.e., the state of charge (SoC), voltage, and current. Our proposal leverages enhanced deep reinforcement learning techniques, specifically deep q-learning (DQN), by combining q-learning with neural networks to optimize the VRFB-specific parameters, ensuring a robust fit between the real and simulated data. Our proposed method outperforms the existing approach in voltage prediction. Subsequently, we enhance the proposed approach by incorporating a second deep RL algorithm—dueling DQN—which is an improvement of DQN, resulting in a 10\% improvement in the results, especially in terms of voltage prediction. The proposed approach results in an accurate VFRB model that can be generalized to several types of redox-flow batteries.}, language = {en} } @article{RowedderWilcoxBrandtstaedter, author = {Rowedder, Simon and Wilcox, Phill and Brandtst{\"a}dter, Susanne}, title = {Negotiating Chinese Infrastructures of Modern Mobilities: Insights from Southeast Asia}, series = {Advances in Southeast Asian Studies (ASEAS)}, volume = {vol. 16}, journal = {Advances in Southeast Asian Studies (ASEAS)}, number = {no. 2}, doi = {10.14764/10.ASEAS-0103}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-13973}, pages = {175 -- 188}, abstract = {Since the launch of the BRI, particular modes of movement are integral to its vision of what it means to be a modern world citizen. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Southeast Asia, where China-backed infrastructure projects expand, and at great speed. Such infrastructure projects are carriers of particular versions of modernity, promising rapid mobility to populations better connected than ever before. Yet, until now, little attention has been paid to how mobility and promises of mobility intersect with local understandings of development. In the introduction to this special issue, we argue that it is essential to think about the role infrastructure plays in forms of development that place connectivity at the center. We suggest that considering development, mobility and mo-dernity together is enlightening because it interrogates the connections between these interlocking themes. Through an introduction to five ethnographically grounded papers and two commentaries, all of which engage with infrastructures in different contexts throughout Southeast Asia, we demonstrate that there are significant gaps between of-ficial policy and lived experience. This makes the need to interrogate what infrastructure, mobilities, and global China really mean all the more pressing.}, language = {en} } @article{HassenImenAzzouz, author = {Hassen, Wiem Fekih and Imen Azzouz, Imen Azzouz}, title = {Optimization of Electric Vehicles Charging Scheduling Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning: A Decentralized Approach}, series = {Energies}, volume = {16}, journal = {Energies}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, doi = {10.3390/en16248102}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-13985}, pages = {18 Seiten}, abstract = {The worldwide adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) has embraced promising advancements toward a sustainable transportation system. However, the effective charging scheduling of EVs is not a trivial task due to the increase in the load demand in the Charging Stations (CSs) and the fluctuation of electricity prices. Moreover, other issues that raise concern among EV drivers are the long waiting time and the inability to charge the battery to the desired State of Charge (SOC). In order to alleviate the range of anxiety of users, we perform a Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) approach that provides the optimal charging time slots for EV based on the Photovoltaic power prices, the current EV SOC, the charging connector type, and the history of load demand profiles collected in different locations. Our implemented approach maximizes the EV profit while giving a margin of liberty to the EV drivers to select the preferred CS and the best charging time (i.e., morning, afternoon, evening, or night). The results analysis proves the effectiveness of the DRL model in minimizing the charging costs of the EV up to 60\%, providing a full charging experience to the EV with a lower waiting time of less than or equal to 30 min.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Daschner2024, author = {Daschner, Stefan}, title = {Essays on Trust, Behavior, and Decision-Making in the Human-Algorithm Interaction}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-14749}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {XVII, 154 Seiten}, year = {2024}, abstract = {With recent progresses in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms can support more complex tasks (Frey and Osborne, 2017) that seemed safe from automation a few years ago (Brynjolfsson and McAfee, 2012). They can even outperform human decision-making in many task domains (Meehl, 1954; Dawes et al., 1989). The prominent defeat of Garry Kasparov, the world champion in chess, in 1997 is a milestone for the potentials of algorithms, increasing the value of IBM's stock increased by \$18 billion (Norvig and Russell, 2010). More recently, universal chatbots such as ChatGPT and the Bing Chatbot Sydney can influence millions of users and provide them answers to a broad range of tasks. To gain a competitive edge, companies invest heavily in algorithmic systems (Kappelman et al., 2021), which are considered as one of the most important drivers of today's economy (Brynjolfsson and McAfee, 2011; Hogharth and Makridakis, 1981; {\"O}nkal et al., 2019). Particularly in management accounting, an algorithmic data analysis offers the potential to support a high decision quality, making their usage a key factor for success. However, algorithms can not only support, but also manipulate human decision-making (Roose et al., 2023). Algorithmic advice can lead to overtrust, i.e. to the heuristic replacement of vigilant information seeking and processing in favor of the advice provided (Mosier et al., 2001). The implementation of algorithmic decision support systems is thus no panacea to improve human decision-making. In contrast, they can entail new risks, such as the uncritical use of these algorithms (Boden, 2016). Yet, this 'dark side' of algorithms is not sufficiently investigated in the field of management accounting. With advances in machine learning, algorithmic support can become even more of a black box, blurring the reference points for evaluating its advice quality and thus increasing the risk of overtrust. Stephen Hawking even warns that AI will be "either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity" (Alex Hern in: The Guardian: Stephen Hawking: AI will be 'either best or worst thing' for humanity, 19th October 2016). Interacting with such algorithmic systems therefore requires data literacy skills for an appropriate use. They seem to be a crucial prerequisite in today's data-driven world to reap of the benefits of algorithmic systems. If no reflective and critical interaction between human and algorithm can be ensured, the trend towards a digitalized world will be a race against the algorithm (Brynjolfsson and McAfee, 2011). This dissertation takes this understudied critical perspective on the increasing implementation of algorithmic systems and sheds light on different aspects of human-algorithm interaction, ranging from the ability to use data visualization tools to trust calibrations and critical evaluations of algorithmic advices. Study I investigates an adequate information representation of subjective multiple criteria decision problems, an important task in management accounting, to support human decision-making. Study II distinguishes different designs of the human-algorithm interaction investigated in the trust in automation literature and compiles factors influencing the calibration of trust and behavior toward the true capabilities of the algorithm. Study III examines the role of performance feedback on trust and advice usage in a forecasting task for a better understanding of the recently observed phenomenon 'algorithm aversion'. Finally, Study IV focusses on the risk of overtrust in advice in repeated interactions with a forecasting advisor and investigates the calibration of advice usage. Each study thereby represents an independent contribution and contains all information relevant to the respective research questions asked in the study.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Stoffer2024, author = {Stoffer, Gloria}, title = {Three essays on b2b solution selling - challenges in sales, contracting, and pricing}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-14728}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {VIII, 165 Seiten}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Offering solutions impose manifold challenges on suppliers. To master these challenges, suppliers need excellent commercial capabilities. This thesis considers these challenges and opportunities in sales, contracting, and pricing of complex B2B solutions in three essays: Essay 1 addresses the increased complexity for solution salespeople, who represent an essential strategic asset in solution selling. In-depth interviews with solution sales managers in study 1 and survey data from matched sales manager-salesperson dyads in study 2, reveal nine specific equifinal configurations of key personal and procedural competencies that qualify individual salespeople in their role and thus determine their solution sales success. The focus of essay 2 lies on B2B export relationships for complex product-service combinations in an international context. A regression analysis based on a survey study with 198 responses shows several direct and indirect effects of contractual and cultural constructs. The results give insights under which cultural framework conditions contract specificity serves as a safeguarding mechanism against uncertainty and opportunism. Essay 3 examines how the bidirectional agency relationship between suppliers and customers and the performance uncertainty of a solution influence B2B customers' acceptance of performance-based pricing (PBP). Drawing on a cross-industry survey with 196 managers of B2B firms, this study contributes to extend PBP literature by showing how bidirectional agency relationships shape customers' acceptance of PBP. In sum, this thesis contributes to a better understanding on how to optimize commercial capabilities in the context of national and international solution selling. It thereby focuses on addressing recently identified causes that hinder B2B firms from increasing their margins through solution selling by (1) optimizing the sales force through a better understanding of important resources and capabilities for solution selling, (2) optimizing their contractual set-up through a better understanding of cultural factors and the interplay with contract specificity, and 3) optimizing price policy through a better understanding of framework conditions, which have an impact on customers' acceptance of PBP.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Mladenov2024, author = {Mladenov, Mladen}, title = {Running in the Hamster Wheel. The Foreign Policy of Serbia between National Identity and the International Society.}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-14702}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {ii, 51 Seiten}, year = {2024}, abstract = {The thesis addresses a current topic related to the foreign policy of Serbia whereby Serbian foreign policy is analysed with reference to its domestic factors - in particular national identity - and also with regards to Serbia's foreign factors, such as the Europeanization process and the nature of the international system. The overarching focus of the thesis is laid on the following puzzle: in spite of not attaining self-declared foreign policy goals and changing dynamics at the systemic level, Serbia's foreign policy appear to be stable over time. In each of the five publications comprising the thesis, a narrower aspect of this puzzle is addressed.}, language = {en} } @unpublished{KloepfWehner2024, author = {Kl{\"o}pf, Tobias and Wehner, Stefanie}, title = {Vulnerabilities and capacities : dealing with coastal flooding in Ghana´s Volta Region}, number = {2}, address = {Passau}, doi = {10.15475/mitrawa.upa2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-14597}, pages = {14 Seiten}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Coastal flooding events pose an existential threat to populations around the world, particularly in the Global South. As a result of climate change and other, direct forms of anthropogenic interference, the magnitude and frequency of such floodings is predicted to continuously increase in the near future. Therefore, it is important to understand the vulnerability of affected people to implement appropriate measures. This research presents a case study on coastal flooding and its impact on livelihoods in the Volta Region of Ghana. The paper utilizes a vulnerability framework that focuses on exposure, susceptibility, as well as the capacities to anticipate, cope with, and recover from the effects of natural hazards. Based on a qualitative approach, the study focusses on those households who were directly affected of a severe tidal flood in November 2021, leading to a total destruction of their property. The research was conducted in March, July and August 2022. It revealed that the studied group had low capacity to anticipate and had no contingency plans in case of relocation. Further, we discovered different strategies that people applied to deal with the situation eight months after the flood event. Most households applied (short term) coping strategies to reestablish their former marine-based livelihood systems. Adaption in terms of long-term adjustment of their livelihoods played only a minor role and could be found in form of out-migration in a limited number of households.}, language = {en} } @article{PatilGhasemideMeer2024, author = {Patil, Amit and Ghasemi, Abdorasoul and de Meer, Hermann}, title = {Analysis of protection blinding in active distribution grids}, series = {IET Renewable Power Generation}, journal = {IET Renewable Power Generation}, doi = {10.1049/rpg2.13037}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-14661}, pages = {15 Seiten}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Protection blinding is a challenging issue in renewables-penetrated distribution grids and refers to a situation where a circuit breaker may not trip due to fault current contribution from distributed generation. This research addresses how the distributed generation location and capacity impact the operation of the circuit breaker in terms of the response time of the circuit breakers. The relative electrical distances of the faults and distributed generation to the circuit breakers are considered. The impact of distributed generation capacity considering the fault location is characterized using a new index called the heterogeneity index. The electrical distance between distributed generations and circuit breakers and the electrical distance between fault and circuit breaker is considered by a second new index called the electrical distance ratio. Data analysis on simulation results shows that these indices capture the phenomena of protection blinding caused by distributed generation. Results show that a higher distributed generation penetration and faults that are electri cally further away from a circuit breaker show severe cases of protection blinding captured by the indices. Furthermore, it is demonstrated how these indices can identify the worst impacted locations in the distribution grid. A key result is that protection blinding does not necessarily occur solely due to the presence of distributed generation between a circuit breaker and a fault, but is dependent on factors such as distributed generation location in the distribution grid, fault level, fault level distribution across the generation units and fault location.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Puellen2024, author = {P{\"u}llen, Dominik}, title = {Holistic Security Engineering for Software-Defined Vehicles}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-14497}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {XXIII, 161 Seiten}, year = {2024}, abstract = {With the increasing use of digital technologies in the automotive sector, the traditional automobile is undergoing a structural transformation, requiring new technologies and enabling innovative mobility concepts. In particular, the ability to drive automatically or even fully autonomously, update control software, and remain connected to the environment allows attackers to infiltrate highly critical vehicle systems and take control without adequate protection. Once not only individual vehicles but entire fleets are dominated by software, cyberattacks could disrupt a significant portion of the infrastructure and expose passengers to substantial risks. This work follows a holistic approach to protecting highly automated software-defined vehicles from cyberattacks by designing and implementing security concepts in the main phases of a vehicle's lifecycle. We use SAE level 4 prototype vehicles to evaluate our proposed techniques. We start with a systematic security requirement analysis using the ISA-62443 standard series, demonstrating how threats can be identified in a collaborative, hierarchical process and how the resulting security risks impact the software and hardware architecture of a self-driving vehicle. We show how this analysis process results in concrete requirements whose consideration reduces the overall security risk to a tolerable level. Subsequently, we develop technical solutions for selected requirements. We begin by securing the CAN and FlexRay legacy protocols, which we foresee being used in specific areas of SDV in a transitional period despite technological changes. To enable vehicle-wide security management, we address the management and distribution of cryptographic keys within such networks, mainly focusing on resource-constrained devices. We propose using lightweight implicit certificates for deriving cryptographic group keys that can be used in CAN networks. Additionally, we demonstrate how the slot-based frame structure of the FlexRay protocol allows for efficient "multi-slot" authentication, for which we calculate cryptographic keys using hash-based key chains. SDV use Ethernet-based communication protocols and custom middleware stacks to transmit large amounts of data in real-time. We develop a three-stage security process for the novel ASOA, which enables the development and central orchestration of system-agnostic functional software components on embedded systems and HPC platforms. After the central specification of the security architecture at the data flow level, security tokens are automatically calculated and distributed for runtime protection of the service-oriented, DDS-based data transmission. Our process ensures the strict separation of function and system knowledge, allowing for cost-effective and adaptable security architecture management. The evaluation in four self-driving, software-defined vehicles demonstrates an average runtime overhead of approximately 5.71\%. As the initial risk analysis and actual cyberattacks have shown, protective measures against the compromise of control units must be taken alongside communication security. To address this, we develop a method for verifying and validating the software integrity of control units. A governmental third party confirms a measurement through a digital certificate, proving the examined vehicle's trustworthiness and suitability for participation in automated traffic. In the final step of this work, we present an assessment scheme that allows software-defined vehicles to evaluate security incidents during operation in terms of their maximum expected damage and initiate appropriate countermeasures. We follow the ISO/SAE 21434 standard and model attack paths using a graph representing dependencies among internal vehicle assets to account for the propagation effects of cyberattacks. The assessment of a security incident considers not only the probability of individual attack paths but also the vehicle context. Our practical evaluation demonstrates that we can detect, report, and assess security incidents below the human reaction time in the earlier mentioned prototype vehicles.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Donner2024, author = {Donner, Eva Katharina}, title = {4 Essays on Sustainable Development and Organizations' Response to Stakeholder's Expectations}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-14516}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Passau}, pages = {181 Seiten}, year = {2024}, abstract = {As integral part of the society, environment, and economy, the organization's survival and growth depend on legitimacy which reflects the social support and acceptance of its stakeholders, the institutions and individuals it interacts with. Organizations interact with internal and external stakeholder groups which not necessarily have the same legitimacy expectations. Due to several reasons, such as the adoption of new laws or the invention of new technologies, stakeholders' expectations of legitimate actions can change in the course of time. Thus, to respond to changing stakeholder's expectations, as integral part of a changing environment, is complex. The main objective of this dissertation is to answer the research question: "How do organizations respond to changing stakeholder's expectations in context of sustainable development?". Building on two empirical settings with four essays, this dissertation provides insights into organizations' responses as reaction to changing stakeholder expectations with regard to sustainable development. In particular, it takes a closer look on the interplay between internal stakeholders, such as employees, and external stakeholders, such as politics or customers. The first essay summarizes the organizational factors for the implementation of a research data management (RDM) system within higher education institutes (HEI) and how they interact with each other. Based on Leavitt's (1965) classical model of organizational change, the essay provides an overview about the interrelation between the individual components that make up an RDM system. The second essay investigates how early career researchers within HEI make use of different respond strategies to the state, market, professional, and community logic in context of RDM. It provides insights how employees deal with changing environmental conditions and the organization's response to them. The third essay analyses the shift from voluntary to mandatory sustainability reporting and demonstrates different strategies organizations adopt to respond to it. The fourth essay incorporates the findings of the third essay and investigates which factors influence the organization's strategy to respond. It focuses on the interface between the top management team and the chief executive officer. This dissertation makes at least two overall contributions to management and organization studies research. First, it emphasizes the role of different stakeholder groups and their impact on the organizations' activities. Second, this dissertation shows the value of connecting different theoretical approaches such as institutional logics, upper echelon theory, and organizational transparency research in context of organizational legitimacy and demonstrates that a nuanced view is necessary to understand the concept of organizational legitimacy. This cumulative dissertation is structured as follows. Part A is an introduction to the study organizational legitimacy. Part B contains the four essays.}, subject = {Strategisches Management}, language = {en} }