Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2022, Mass Communication (Communication)

Game developers use verbs, actions that players take to alter the gamestate, to craft games but lack a language to communicate about these verbs. This grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) project generated a detailed modeling system for game verb systems. A total of 12 games were used to develop the model (all Nintendo or PC titles) and engage with four areas of interest: nuance in platformers, verb themes, shifts in franchises over time, and violent verbs. In addition to the modeling system, a system for quantifying the emergent properties of games was developed which demonstrated the extraordinary emergent properties in games from Super Mario Bros. to Portal. The developed theory links Mechanics Dynamics Aesthetics (MDA) theory with emergence, ludo narrative dissonance, and procedural rhetoric. The grounded theory portion was embedded in an “exploratory–confirmatory MM-GT design” (Shim et al., 2021). The quantitative validation suggested users can understand the system but may consider it challenging.

Committee: Gregory Newton (Committee Chair); Jacob Hiler (Committee Member); John Bowditch (Committee Member); Drew McDaniel (Committee Member) Subjects: Mass Media

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2022, Business Administration

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine how entrepreneurs who start new businesses can mitigate business decision risk while exploring how their business experience plays a role in their decision-making process. Previous meta-analysis of Ultimatum Game bargaining has shown that student populations do not follow a Nash Equilibrium. Based on a review of literature, the author's study explored if entrepreneurs would make offers closer to the Nash Equilibrium, (risker) based on their business background. While entrepreneurs did not make statistically different offers than the student group, their unique background and experiences did play a significant role in how they approached the problem with several significant findings: 1) Entrepreneurs ($4.76, average offer) did not make different (p = .805) offers than those of the students ($4.86 average offer). 2) There was not a significant difference (p = 0.846) between the acceptance rates of the entrepreneurs (88%) and the students (91%). 3) There was a significant difference (p = <0.001) between how entrepreneurs (3.85 on a Likert scale) viewed their background's role in decision making, and that of the student group (2.90). 4) There was a significant (p=0.017) medium negative correlation (-0.348) between entrepreneurs' feelings of risk and the size of their offer amounts. The qualitative results found that the decision making of the entrepreneurs was influenced by key themes of: Responsible Risk Taking, A Sense of Fairness, Altruistic Outlook, Application of Business Experience, and A Nash Mindset.

Committee: Charles Fenner (Committee Chair); Gary Stroud (Committee Member); Steven Tincher (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Administration; Business Community; Business Education; Economic History; Economic Theory; Economics; Entrepreneurship; Labor Economics; Social Psychology; Social Research; Social Structure; Sociology; Systems Science

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Electrical and Computer Engineering

This dissertation is concerned with the efficient computation of Nash equilibria (solutions) in nonzero-sum two player normal-form (bimatrix) games. It has long been believed that solutions to games in this class are hard, and recent results have indicated that this is indeed true. Thus, in this dissertation we focus on identifying subclasses of bimatrix games which can be solved efficiently. Our first result is an algorithm that identifies nonzero-sum bimatrix games which are strategically equivalent to zero-sum games via a positive affine transformation. Games in this class can then be solved efficiently by well-known techniques for solving zero-sum games. The algorithm that we propose runs in linear time to identify games in this class, representing a significant improvement compared to existing techniques. The second result uses the theory of matrix pencils and the Wedderburn rank reduction formula to develop a generalized theory of rank reduction in bimatrix games. The rank of a bimatrix game is defined as the rank of the sum of the payoff matrices of the two players. Under certain conditions on the payoff matrices of the game, we devise a method that reduces the rank of the game without changing the equilibrium of the game. The final result applies the general theory to the subclass of strategically equivalent rank-1 games. We show that for this subclass, which may include games of full rank, it is possible to identify games in the subclass and compute a strategically equivalent rank-1 game in linear time. These games can then be solved in polynomial time by relatively recent results for solving rank-1 games. Overall, our results significantly expand the class of bimatrix games that can be solved efficiently (in polynomial time).

Committee: Abhishek Gupta (Advisor); Atilla Eryilmaz (Committee Member); Kevin Passino (Committee Member); Ness Shroff (Committee Member) Subjects: Applied Mathematics; Computer Science; Economics; Electrical Engineering

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE), Wright State University, 2017, Electrical Engineering

The thesis is aimed at developing optimal defensive strategies that dissuade an attacker from engaging a defender while simultaneously persuading the attacker to retreat. A two-player Engage or Retreat differential game is developed in which one player represents a mobile attacker and the other player represents a mobile defender. Both players are modeled as massless particles moving with constant velocity. The choice to terminate the game in engagement or retreat lies with the attacker. The defender indirectly influences the choice of the attacker by manipulating the latter's utility function. In other words, the defender co-operates with the attacker so that retreat appears to be the best option available. The solution to the differential game is obtained by solving two related optimization problems namely the Game Of Engagement and Optimal Constrained Retreat. In the Game of Engagement, the attacker terminates the game by capturing the defender.In the Optimal Constrained Retreat, a value function constraint is imposed which deters the attacker's retreat trajectory from entering into a region where it may lead to engagement. Such regions where constrained retreat occurs are known as escort regions. The solutions to these two problems are used to construct the global equilibrium solutions to the Engage or Retreat differential game.The global equilibrium solution divides the admissible state space into two regions that contain qualitatively different equilibrium control strategies. Numerical solutions are included to support the theory presented.

Committee: Zachariah E. Fuchs Ph.D. (Advisor); Luther Palmer Ph.D. (Committee Member); Xiadong (Frank) Zhang Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Electrical Engineering

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Engineering and Applied Science: Electrical Engineering

Controller design for adversarial dynamic systems has applications in robotics, aerospace, economics, biology, and warfare. Oftentimes, an optimal control strategy for the agent of interest is calculated by assuming a control strategy for the adversary and optimizing against the assumed strategy. However, control strategies developed using this approach are only viable if the adversary adheres to its assumed control strategy. To develop more robust control strategies, the adversarial scenario can be posed as a differential game. Differential game theory is a mathematical framework to simultaneously calculate equilibrium control strategies for both sides of an optimization problem. While differential game theory is a powerful tool, equilibrium control strategies can only be determined by calculating the global solution to the differential game, which often requires solving for singular surfaces. Singular surfaces occur in regions where the developed first-order equilibrium conditions breakdown. Solving for singular surfaces is a challenging, non-intuitive process that requires the development and utilization of analytical and numerical techniques. My research has primarily focused on developing numerical techniques to solve for singular surfaces within the global solutions of differential games. The developed techniques include a generalized coupled shooting method for determining non-linear dispersal surfaces; a non-linear programming problem to determine boundaries between singular surfaces; and the development of a multi-point boundary value problem to calculate solutions with regular and singular arcs. The developed methods are generalized for optimal control problems and differential games with various system complexities. In order to verify the validity and utility of these methods, equilibrium controllers for an automatic target recognition game are developed and numerically synthesized using the developed numerical methods. The numerical controller sy (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Zachariah Fuchs Ph.D. (Committee Chair); John Gallagher Ph.D. (Committee Member); Braham Himed Ph.D M.A B.A. (Committee Member); Dieter Vanderelst Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ali Minai Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Electrical Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Mechanical Engineering

There has been increasing incorporation of connectivity and automation into systems that have been traditionally isolated and mechanical. In applications ranging from transportation to manufacturing, these large, interconnected systems are increasingly being tasked to perform several safety-critical functions. Considering the widespread implementation of these systems and increasing reliance on them, they have also become prime targets for malicious actors. In such scenarios, it is essential to develop and test systems to ensure safety and security right from the design stage of the product development cycle. This dissertation is an effort to develop tools and methodologies towards this goal. Given the scale of modern connected and autonomous systems, it is impossible to have a single solution for the entire system. To achieve the goals of this thesis, we split our study to target specific challenges seen at the network level, at the controller level, and in testing and validation. We draw from the fields of game theory, control theory, and optimization to address issues in network design, safe control synthesis, and safety validation of connected and autonomous vehicles. We begin by studying the problem of improving network level security when the network defender has a restricted budget for fortifying and protecting the network assets. We consider scenarios where the defender, in addition to making optimal decision on where to allocate the limited security budget, can also intervene and modify the design of the network to strengthen it against attacks. We first propose algorithms to decide on the optimal allocation of the security budget across large inter-connected networks, by first reducing them to equivalent networks of lower dimensionality, in a way that enables faster computation of defense decisions. We further study various network design interventions to improve network security, and showcase our proposed approaches by applying them on practical a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Qadeer Ahmed (Advisor); Giorgio Rizzoni (Committee Member); Parinaz Naghizadeh (Committee Member) Subjects: Mechanical Engineering

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2021, French, Italian, and Classical Studies

This thesis studies the relationships between sport and migration in Baru's comics. Examining sport as a pull factor of migration in these comics leads us to the close analysis of individual experiences, trajectories, and motivations. Respectively set in the colonial and the postcolonial era, Le Chemin de l'Amerique and Fais peter les basses, Bruno! reveal similar patterns used to account for Said Boudiaf's and Slimane's journeys from Africa to France, with America being the ultimate destination for Said. Analyzed comparatively, these two comics enable us not only to codify Baru's unique style, but also to unravel a tradition of discourses and imaginaries that make the connection between sport and migration trendy and complex. At the level of the form, this thesis seeks to analyze how Baru uses similar techniques, resources, and strategies in these two comics to account for individual migration narratives, with an emphasis on the aesthetics of the image over the text. At the level of content, this thesis will analyze how sport, in tracing migration roads, unveils political, economic, and social imaginaries that connect Africa to France.

Committee: Mark McKinney (Advisor); Elisabeth Hodges (Committee Member); Jonathan Strauss (Committee Member) Subjects: African History; African Literature; African Studies; Art Criticism; Literature

BA, Oberlin College, 2021, Computer Science

Mutual aid groups often serve as informal financial organizations that don't rely on any central authority or legal framework to resolve disputes. Rotating savings and credit associations (roscas) are informal financial organizations common in settings where communities have reduced access to formal financial institutions. In a Rosca, a fixed group of participants regularly contribute small sums of money to a pool. This pool is then allocated periodically typically using lotteries or auction mechanisms. Roscas are empirically well-studied in the development economics literature. Due to their dynamic nature, however, roscas have proven challenging to examine theoretically. Theoretical analyses within economics have made strong assumptions about features such as the number or homogeneity of participants, the information they possess, their value for saving across time, or the number of rounds. This work presents an algorithmic study of roscas. We use techniques from the price of anarchy in auctions to characterize their welfare properties under less restrictive assumptions than previous work. We also give a comprehensive theoretical study of the various Rosca formats. Using the smoothness framework of Syrgkanis and Tardos [46] and other techniques we show that the most common Rosca formats have welfare within a constant factor of the best possible. This evidence further rationalizes these organizations' prevalence as a vehicle for mutual aid. Roscas present many further questions where algorithmic game theory may be helpful; we discuss several promising directions.

Committee: Adam Eck (Advisor); Samuel Taggart (Advisor) Subjects: Computer Science; Economic Theory

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Electrical and Computer Engineering

The mismatch between user demand and service supply creates a congestion in mobile wireless networks. The literature has a strong evidence that user behavior is highly predictable. Service Providers (SPs) can track, learn and predict user demand and mobility patterns. Taking advantage of user demand predictability allows SPs to smooth out the network load. Caching some of the data items in the off-peak times shifts some of the network load and reduces the incurred service cost. Moreover, the Device-to-Device (D2D) communication allows users to share their proactive downloads with other users in their neighborhood. Therefore, users find their request either in their local cache or with other users around them. Nevertheless, harnessing the information about user mobility enhances SP's caching decisions and reduces the incurred service cost. The information about users trajectories allows the SP to predict their presence in some popular locations, which experience high demand levels. Finding an optimal caching strategy alleviates the network congestion in these locations and improves the network performance. This dissertation introduces a study to extend the capabilities of D2D caching networks and investigates how to enhance its performance. The research consists of three main directions: (1) exploiting user behavior predictability to smooth out the network load, (2) leveraging the relations between users to introduce a content trading marketplace, and (3) leveraging the information about user mobility to enhance the caching strategy. We start by investigating how to exploit the user behavior predictability to cache some data contents during off-peak times for a future possible request during peak times. This part of the research creates a benchmark that allows us to evaluate the performance of the proposed models. We compare the gains achieved by this proactive caching scheme with the flat pricing scenario. The gains achieved later, by content trading and mobility (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Hesham ElGamal (Advisor); Atilla Eryilmaz (Advisor); Yuejie Chi (Committee Member); Jian Tan (Committee Member) Subjects: Electrical Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Music

Undergraduate music students often experience a high learning curve when they first encounter pitch-class set theory, an analytical system very different from those they have studied previously. Students sometimes find the abstractions of integer notation and the mathematical orientation of set theory foreign or even frightening (Kleppinger 2010), and the dissonance of the atonal repertoire studied often engenders their resistance (Root 2010). Pedagogical games can help mitigate student resistance and trepidation. Table games like Bingo (Gillespie 2000) and Poker (Gingerich 1991) have been adapted to suit college-level classes in music theory. Familiar television shows provide another source of pedagogical games; for example, Berry (2008; 2015) adapts the show "Survivor" to frame a unit on theory fundamentals. However, none of these pedagogical games engage pitch-class set theory during a multi-week unit of study. In my dissertation, I adapt the show "Survivor" to frame a four-week unit on pitch-class set theory (introducing topics ranging from pitch-class sets to twelve-tone rows) during a sophomore-level theory course. As on the show, students of different achievement levels work together in small groups, or “tribes,” to complete worksheets called “challenges”; however, in an important modification to the structure of the show, no students are voted out of their tribes. Challenges are graded individually, and these grades are averaged together to yield a score for each tribe. At the end of the unit, each member of the tribe that earned the highest cumulative average score on the challenges receives a modest gift card as a non-academic prize. While students' grades are based solely on their own work, the game element promotes peer mentoring through cooperative learning (Johnson and Johnson 1999; Slavin 2012) and inspires constructive peer pressure that motivates all students to do their best. Aspects of the game designed to enhance student enjoyment and build (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Clampitt Ph.D. (Advisor); Anna Gawboy Ph.D. (Committee Member); Johanna Devaney Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Theory; Music; Music Education; Pedagogy; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Mathematics

We study dimorphisms by applying adaptive dynamics theory and singularity theory based on a new type of equivalence relation called dimorphism equivalence. Dimorphism equivalence preserves ESS singularities, CvSS singularities, and dimorphisms for strategy functions. Specifically, we classify and compute normal forms and universal unfoldings for strategy functions with low codimension singularities up to dimorphism equivalence. These calculations lead to the classification of local mutual invasibility plots that can be seen in systems of two parameters. This problem is complicated because the allowable coordinate changes are restricted to those that preserve dimorphisms and the singular nature of strategy functions; hence the singularity theory applied in this thesis is not a standard one.

Committee: Martin Golubitsky Dr. (Advisor); Yuan Lou Dr. (Committee Member); King-Yeung Lam Dr. (Committee Member); Rephael Wenger Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Evolution and Development; Mathematics

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, Electrical and Computer Engineering

This dissertation is given in two parts followed by concluding remarks. The first three chapters describe the generalization of optimal foraging theory for the design of solitary task-processing agents. The following two chapters address the coordinated action of distributed independent agents to achieve a desirable global result. The short concluding part summarizes contributions and future research directions. Optimal foraging theory (OFT) uses ecological models of energy intake to predict behaviors favored by natural selection. Using models of the long-term rate of energetic gain of a solitary forager encountering a variety of food opportunities at a regular rate, it predicts characteristics of optimal solutions that should be expressed in nature. Several engineered agents can be modeled similarly. For example, an autonomous air vehicle (AAV) that flies over a region encounters targets randomly just as an animal will encounter food as it travels. OFT describes the preferences that the animal is likely to have due to natural selection. Thus, OFT applied to mobile vehicles describes the preferences of successful vehicle designs. Although OFT has had success in existing engineering applications, rate maximization is not a good fit for many applications that are otherwise analogous to foraging. Thus, in the first part of this dissertation, the classical OFT methods are rediscovered for generic optimization objectives. It is shown that algorithms that are computationally equivalent to those inspired by classical OFT can perform better in realistic scenarios because they are based on more feasible optimization objectives. It is then shown how the design of foraging-like algorithms provides new insight into behaviors observed and expected in animals. The generalization of the classical methods extracts fundamental properties that may have been overlooked in the biological case. Consequently, observed behaviors that have been previously been called irrational are shown t (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kevin M. Passino (Advisor); Andrea Serrani (Committee Member); Atilla Eryilmaz (Committee Member) Subjects: Animals; Biology; Computer Science; Ecology; Economics; Electrical Engineering; Engineering; Mathematics; Robots; Systems Design; Technology

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2008, Political Science (Arts and Sciences)

Using post-structuralist psychonanalytic theory and ludology theory, this analysis looks at the game World of Warcraft (Warcraft). It asserts that Warcrafts relationship to its players resembles society's connection to the individual: they both give a framework of myths, of unreality, from which the individual defines him/herself. Defining oneself from a constructed reality results understanding of self and others in terms of a constructed identity. This arouses a desire for a unified sense of self, a way to connect back to the real. However, this desire can turn into pathology, where players try to ascribe meaning onto others in a possessive and degrading manner. In their attempts to reconcile their disconnectedness, anxiety and melancholy, they can choose to avoid this pathology. Games can inscribe myths on players, but players can resist this through creative use of meaning, creating identity from the self rather than as myths dictate, and avoiding power relationships created from constructed identity.

Committee: Judith Grant (Advisor); Michelle Frasher-Rae (Committee Member); Mia Consalvo (Committee Member) Subjects: Political Science

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1969, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2024, College-Conservatory of Music: Theory

The filmic experience of animated multimedia can be deeply understood if sync points are identified for their functions. My methodology combines Sergei Eisenstein's film editing concepts with music theories of rhythm and meter to contribute a sync point analysis framework for studying rhythmic audio (music) and visual (image) interactions in multimedia such as American and Japanese animated musicals as well as mobile rhythm games. In this framework, music shows what image is synchronized to, while image shows how music is synchronized. I argue that applying the study of film rhythm to music-theoretical frameworks of phrase structure, formal function, and rhythm and meter helps understand the creation and consumption of films. While music theory and film theory each have specialized terminology and limitations, I connect shared concepts between fields to develop an encompassing interdisciplinary framework. This dissertation focuses on identifying sync points in animated multimedia. At the same time, I seek to push even the most on-the-nose synchronicity, commonly known as mickey-mousing, beyond its status as a mere plot accessory or visual gimmick. My use of “synchronicity” refers to precise moments when image and sound closely and rhythmically mirror each other in fluctuating periodicities. I place audio and image on equal grounds to explore how music-theoretical and visual film-editing techniques define the sync point functions. I argue that functional sync points feature visually marked moments that support musical functions, whether formal, rhythmic, metric, or cadential. That is how sync points pinpoint audiovisual relationships that are reciprocal, equal, and functional when audio and image are perceived together. In the initial chapters, I develop a framework for sync point analysis that (1) differentiates synchronous from nonsynchronous audio-image relations and (2) assigns labels to describe sync point functions. This system's originality lies (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Cristina Losada Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Samuel Ng Ph.D. (Committee Member); Christopher Segall Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Mechanical Engineering

The increasing adaptation of nuclear power plants to incorporate software-based components along with digital communication networks in their operation has resulted in improved control, automation, monitoring, and diagnostics, while simultaneously opening those power plants to a new dimension of threats, cyber-attacks. In contrast to traditional information technology systems, cyber-attacks on cyber-physical systems such as nuclear power plants can impact the physical world and may put the safe operation of the plant in jeopardy while endangering many lives. In addition, incorrect diagnosis of a cyber-attack as a component malfunction that elicits a wrong response from the plant operator can further deteriorate the system. Hence identifying and correctly classifying an abnormal event as either a safety event or a cyber-attack is of utmost importance. Additionally, it is essential to systematically estimate the risks associated with cyber-attacks on nuclear power plants. Two objectives are proposed in this research: 1. Develop an abnormal event classifier that detects and classifies an abnormal event as either a safety event caused by component failures or a cyber-attack. 2. Develop a dynamic probabilistic risk assessment framework for cybersecurity risk analysis in nuclear power plants. For objective – 1, a dynamic Bayesian network-based classifier that uses both the physical behavior (sensor data) and the network data of a cyber-physical system simultaneously to detect and classify abnormal events is built. Bayesian network structures to infer the states of hardware components, software components and communication devices such as network switches are defined. A hardware-in-the-loop experimental system was setup with two tanks in conjunction with a full scope nuclear power plant simulator, and a set of experiments were designed to successfully test the proposed classifier. For objective - 2, the framework of Dynamic Probabilistic Risk Assessment (DPRA) is exte (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carol Smidts (Advisor); Abdollah Shafieezadeh (Committee Member); Marat Khafizov (Committee Member); Tunc Aldemir (Committee Member) Subjects: Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor of Science (BS), Ohio University, 2023, Mathematics

Infectious disease has been an issue since the beginnings of humankind. Though highly controversial, vaccination has been a solution for this ongoing struggle between science and disease. In this paper, we view vaccination through the eyes of game theory. We illustrate the importance of the addition of human behavioral aspects to the mathematics behind vaccination games. In order to show the significance, this paper covers two foundational models that set the precedent for the future of vaccination modeling. The goal of this project is to produce results that show the importance of vaccination, and how with enough of the population vaccinated, we are able to completely eradicate a disease from the population.

Committee: Winfried Just (Advisor); David Gerberry (Advisor) Subjects: Mathematics

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Economics

This dissertation makes use of laboratory experiments to investigate behavior in social and strategic settings. Chapters 2 and 3 look at Market Entry games which are regularly used in empirical industrial organization. Chapter 4 looks at public goods games. In Chapter 2 titled "Global Games with Strategic Substitutes: An Experimental Investigation," we experimentally investigate the theory of global games in a simultaneous three-agent market entry game with strategic substitutes. The payoff from staying out is constant, whereas the payoff from entering depends on a random state, a heterogeneous cost of entry, and decreases in the number of entrants. The game predicts multiple Nash equilibria for intermediate state values. The (global) game, however, where agents observe a noisy but precise private signal about the state has a unique equilibrium where agents adopt threshold strategies that are ordered by the entry cost. This equilibrium persists in the limit and characterizes the unique equilibrium that is selected in the game without noise. The experiment provides support for the theory. Aggregate and individual behavior follow comparative static predictions. A majority of subjects adopt threshold strategies with few mistakes. Finally, a majority of outcomes in the game without noise correspond to the equilibrium selected by the theory. Chapter 3 titled "Understanding Entry Games using Laboratory Experiments (joint with John Rehbeck)," examines behavior in the two-player one-shot complete information entry game of Bresnahan and Reiss (1990) while varying payoff parameters. This entry game is regularly used in empirical industrial organization, but has not been examined experimentally. We find that subjects regularly play dominant strategies (98.2% on average), however there are violations of iterated dominance (13.6% on average). We find more coordination in regions of multiple equilibrium when there are payoff asymmetries (67.3% on average) compared to payoff (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Paul Healy (Advisor); John Kagel (Advisor); John Rehbeck (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2022, Economics

International efforts to mitigate climate change constitute a global coordination game between world actors regarding their contribution to and prevention of a warming global environment. While national climate policy decisions are likely focused on domestic political pressures, a second driving force exists in this international coordination: climate policy adopted by each individual nation impacts the inherent payoff of policy decisions available to other nations. We study this coordination specifically between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). Implementing an event study approach, our results indicate that US policies which loosen climate protections are associated with decreased market pricing for EU emissions allowance futures, while the opposite is true for US policies which tighten climate protections. We interpret these results as suggestive evidence that markets perceive the US and the EU to engage in a common interest game with respect to climate policy in which their policy decisions are strategic complements.

Committee: David Lindequist (Advisor); Nam Vu (Committee Member); Jing Li (Committee Member) Subjects: Climate Change; Economics; Environmental Economics; Finance

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2022, Engineering

Autonomous Systems are soon expected to integrate into our lives as home assistants, delivery drones, and driverless cars. The level of automation in these systems, from being manually controlled to fully autonomous, would depend upon the autonomy approach chosen to design these systems. This selection would also affect other operational as well as essential aspects such as cybersecurity and trust. Consequently, the dawn of the areas of human-machine teams (HMT) and cyber-physical human systems (CPHS) have attempted to address the human trust in autonomy while traditional domains of security, along with these new domains, continue to attempt to address the security concerns. This dissertation revolves around these general ideas and attempts to answer many open questions. How did we get here? Where is the future? How do we ensure that the autonomous systems are secure enough so that we may trust their autonomous operation? Can we model the attacker and defender behavior based on the strategies for defense or attack? Given the importance of cybersecurity of these systems, we propose that simulation and modeling of these interactions to predict or select appropriate behavior is expected to lead to a greater trust in autonomous systems through explainable cause and action sequences. This first phase of this research reviews the historical evolution of autonomy, its approaches, and the current trends in related fields to build robust autonomous systems. Towards such a goal and with the increased number of cyberattacks, the security of these systems needs special attention from the research community. To gauge the extent of stat-of-the-art in this area, we study the works that attempt to improve the cybersecurity of these systems. We also found that it is essential to model the system architecture from a security perspective, identify the threats and vulnerabilities and then model the cyberattacks. A survey in this direction explores the various attack models that have (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Weiqing Sun (Advisor); Devinder Kaur (Committee Member); Junghwan Kim (Committee Member); Quamar Niyaz (Committee Member); Mohammed Niamat (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Engineering