The purpose of this case study is to examine the crisis response strategies and rhetorical tools Östersunds FK (ÖFK) used in their crisis communication during an economic-crime-crisis. To examine which response strategies ÖFK used to protect their image, Benoit's ​image repair theory (1997)​ supplemented with Bruce & Tahlia’s (2008) ​diversion ​and Coombs ​SCCT​ (2007), are crucial throughout this case study. In addition to that, we have done a rhetorical analysis to examine the use of ethos, pathos and logos in ÖFK:s crisis communication. The analysis indicates that ÖFK mostly used ​ethos​ and ​logos​ as rhetorical tools. Denial​, ​corrective action​ and ​reduce of offensiveness​ were the most common response strategies. Our study provides an insight into how sports associations in Sweden act in crisis. The conclusions are that ÖFK was reactive in their crises communication and we could see tendencies that are consistent with previous crisis communication research in sports association context, but also in political context.

The different ways countries trade with each other have developed during the years but the purpose, free exchange in goods and services, remains intact. The main idea of trade between countries is that both parties gain from the exchange. The European Union is the world’s biggest trading block, and in the form of a customs union there are mainly two different ways in which it theoretically can affect bilateral trade flows, namely by trade diversion or by trade creation. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how the European Union affects the bilateral trade flows both within the union, as well as with countries outside of it. In order to examine these effects a quantitative method will be used where a regression analysis is applied based on a gravity model, observing the years 2000–2019. The results indicate a significant positive effect of EU-membership on both trade flows with different member countries, as well as with countries without a membership. The estimations from the different regressions indicate that the bilateral trade flows between member countries increases with around 33%–40%, while bilateral trade flows with countries outside of the union increases with around 3%. / Länders sätt att handla med varandra har utvecklats genom åren men syftet, fritt utbyte av varor och tjänster, är intakt. Grundidén till handel mellan länder är att båda tjänar på utbytet. Europeiska unionen är världens största handelsblock, och som en tullunion så finns det framförallt två effekter detta kan ge på länders bilaterala handel, antingen handelsfrämjande eller handelsomfördelande. Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera hur den europeiska handelsunionen påverkar den bilaterala handeln dels med andra medlemsländer, dels med länder utanför handelsunionen. För att undersöka dessa effekter används en kvantitativ metod där en regressionsanalys genomförs med hjälp av en gravitationsmodell, där de observerade åren är år 2000–2019. Resultatet av denna studie visar ett positivt signifikant samband mellan bilateral handel med både andra medlemsländer såväl som länder utanför unionen. Estimeringarna från de olika regressionerna indikerar att den bilaterala handeln ökat mellan EU-medlemmar med cirka 33%–40% och med cirka 3% med länder utanför unionen.

The 2014-15 lava flow crisis at Kīlauea volcano, Hawai‘i and post-September 2015 elevated unrest at adjacent Mauna Loa volcano provided opportunities to assess households’ psychological and behavioral responses to different levels of volcanic activity. Weused the Protective Action Decision Model to examine stakeholder perceptions and confidence in warnings, in addition toattitudes toward lava flow mitigation strategies, such as diversion by berms and bombing, and people’s acceptance of additional risk to personal property in exchange for protecting important elements of their community, such as schools, major roads, electrical substation, and shopping centers. Respondents’ confidence in events important in decision-making during emergencies and evacuations were significantly correlated with their past experience with lava forecasts. Consistent with previous studies, overall support for the two different mitigation measures was higher for earthen berms/trenches than it was for bombing/blasting. Finally, diversion acceptance was strongly correlated with residents’ perceptions of lava flow diversion strategies.

The purpose of the following report is to account for and summarize the authority and tasks that municipalities, authorities and contractors have in the implementation of temporary traffic diversions. In addition to this, the cooperation between all actors has also been investigated with the aim of finding out what types of routines and potential tools are used in connection with the work. The implementation of the report is based on a qualitative study, for which relevant people with different tasks have been interviewed or answered questionnaires. Furthermore, governing documents for relevant parties have been studied with the intention of describing the requirements that apply to work adjacent to or on the road. The results have subsequently been compiled in an account of the work parties' tasks, views and suggestions for improvement. In this it appears that the road maintenance authorities have an examinative responsibility and has the authority to approve the work carried out on its behalf. For and in particular all road works, of which the diversion is a part, traffic device plans must also be drawn up and describe solutions for traffic-related problems. These are the tasks of the executing contractor to draft with regard to the requirements of the road maintenance authority. It also appears that the majority of the interviewees consider the cooperation to be satisfactory, but state how interpretation of the governing documents can result in conflicts between the parties. In addition, significant differences for the systems used in the coordination can be noted for each municipality and authority.

The present study utilized a mixed-methods strategy to examine the effectiveness, diffusion, and institutionalization of the Memphis Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model. To evaluate the effectiveness of the training component of the CIT model, a panel research design was employed in which a sample of 179 law enforcement officers and 100 correctional officers in nine Florida counties were surveyed on the first day of training (pretest), the last day of training (posttest), and one month following their completion of CIT training (follow-up). These surveys measured the extent to which CIT training achieved several officer-level objectives, including increased knowledge of mental illness and the mental health referral process, improved self-efficacy when responding to mental health crises, and enhanced perceptions of verbal deescalation skills, mental health services in the community, and the mental health referral process. The results of these surveys revealed officers experienced a statistically significant increase on every measure of training effectiveness between the pretest and posttest data collection points. However, a significant decline was found among the 117 officers that responded to the follow-up survey on the measures associated with self-efficacy and perceptions of verbal de-escalation, which points to a measurable decay in the effectiveness of the training in the intermediate timeframe with regard to these two measures. To examine the extent to which the diffusion of the CIT model resembles a social movement in the field of criminal justice and to explore the impact of CIT institutionalization on the organizational structure of criminal justice agencies, an online survey was distributed to 33 representatives of law enforcement and correctional agencies known to participate in the CIT program in the nine Florida counties in which officers were surveyed. The results of this survey indicate interagency communication and external pressure i from mental health providers and advocates largely contribute to the decision of criminal justice agencies to adopt the CIT model. In addition, the findings of this survey suggest criminal justice agencies modify their organizational structure in a number of different ways to internalize and institutionalize the CIT model. By coupling a training program evaluation with an assessment of diffusion and institutionalization, this study makes a unique contribution to organizational and evidence-based literature.

Background and Purpose: Flow diversion is increasingly used as an endovascular treatment for intracranial aneurysms. In this retrospective multicenter study, we analyzed the safety and efficacy of the treatment of intracranial, unruptured, or previously treated but recanalized aneurysms using Flow Re-Direction Endoluminal Device (FRED) Jr with emphasis on midterm results. Materials and Methods: Clinical and radiological records of 150 patients harboring 159 aneurysms treated with FRED Jr at six centers between October 2014 and February 2020 were reviewed and consecutively included. Clinical outcome was measured by using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Anatomical results were assessed according to the O’Kelly-Marotta (OKM) scale and the Cekirge-Saatci Classification (CSC) scale. Results: The overall complication rate was 24/159 (16%). Thrombotic-ischemic events occurred in 18/159 treatments (11%). These resulted in long-term neurological sequelae in two patients (1%) with worsening from pre-treatment mRS 0–2 and mRS 4 after treatment. Complete or near-complete occlusion of the treated aneurysm according to the OKM scale was reached in 54% (85/158) at 6-month, in 68% (90/133) at 1-year, and in 83% (77/93) at 2-year follow-up, respectively. The rates of narrowing or occlusion of a vessel branch originating from the treated aneurysm according to the CSC scale were 11% (12/108) at 6-month, 20% (17/87) at 1-year, and 23% (13/57) at 2-year follow-up, respectively, with all cases being asymptomatic. Conclusions: In this retrospective multicenter study, FRED Jr was safe and effective in the midterm occlusion of cerebral aneurysms. Most importantly, it was associated with a high rate of good clinical outcome.

No description available.

Real-time control of traffic diversion during non-recurrent congestion continues to be a challenging topic. Especially, with the advent of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), the need for models and algorithms that will control the diversion in real-time, responding to the current traffic conditions has become evident. Several researchers have tried to solve this on-line control problem by adopting different approaches such as, expert systems, feedback control, and mathematical programming. In order to ensure the effectiveness of real-time traffic diversion, an implementation framework capable of predicting the impact of the incident on the traffic flow, generating feasible alternate routes in real-time, and controlling traffic in order to achieve a pre-set goal based on a system optimal or a user equilibrium concept is required. In this dissertation, a framework that would satisfy these requirements is adopted consisting of a "diversion initiation module", a "diversion strategy planning module", and a "control and routing module" which determines the route guidance commands in real-time. The incident duration data collected by the Northern Virginia incident management agencies is analyzed to determine major factors that affect the incident clearance duration. Next, prediction/decision trees are developed for different types of incidents. Based on the validation of these trees using the data that is not employed for the development of the trees, it is found that they perform well for the majority of the incidents. A simple deterministic queuing approach is used to predict the delays that will be caused by the incident for which the clearance duration is predicted using the prediction/decision trees. The diversion strategy planning module, Network Generator, is developed as a knowledge based expert system that uses simple expert rules in conjunction with historical and realtime data to determine the incident impact zone, and to eliminate links that are not suitable for diversion. Finally, it generates alternate routes for diversion using this modified network. Network generator is tested using simulation on a small portion of the Fairfax network. Finally, feedback control models for dynamic traffic routing models, both in distributed and lumped parameter settings, are developed. Methods for developing controllers for these models are also discussed. Two heuristic and analytic feedback controllers for the space discretized lumped parameter models are developed and their effectiveness for realtime traffic control is shown by simulating several scenarios on a simple network. An analytic feedback controller is also designed using a feedback linearization technique for the space discretized model. This controller also performed very well during simulations of various scenarios and proved to be an effective solution to this feedback control problem. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this research is to develop methodologies for applying traffic flow theories to various ITS categories through the utilization of evolving surveillance technologies. This integration of theory, measurement and application has been overlooked since the advent of ITS because of the number of disciplines involved. In this context, the following illustrative methodologies are selected, developed and presented in this study: - a methodology for automatic measurement of major spatial traffic variables for the present and the future implementation of various ITS functional areas, in general; and - a methodology for real-time link and incident specific freeway diversion in conjunction with freeway incident management, in particular. The first methodology includes the development of a dynamic flow model based on stochastic queuing theory and the principle of conservation of vehicles. An inductive modeling approach adapted here utilizes geometric interpretations of cumulative arrival-departure diagrams which have been drawn directly from surveillance data. The advantages of this model are real-time applicability and transportability as well as ease of use. Analysis results show that the estimates are in qualitative and quantitative agreement with the empirical data measured at 30-second intervals. The analytical expression for link travel times satisfies traffic dynamics where the new form of the equation of conservation of vehicles has been derived. This methodology has potential applicable to automatic traffic control and automatic incident detection. The methodology is then applied to freeway diversion in real-time in conjunction with freeway incident management. The proposed new form of the equation of conservation of vehicles is applied to detect recurring or non-recurring congestion analytically. The principle of conservation of vehicles is applied to develop the concept of progression and retrogression of incident domain, which turns out to be compatible with traditional shock wave traffic mechanism during incidents. The link and incident specific diversion methodology is achieved by using a delay diagram and volume-travel time curves, which can be plotted per link per incident. The use of such graphic aids makes problem solving much easier and clearer. The dynamic traffic flow model developed here can also be applied to estimate travel times during incidents as a function of time. The development of a computer program for freeway diversion concludes this research. / Ph. D.

This dissertation evaluates the feasibility of extending restorative justice to school disciplinary action in South African schools. It considers developments in education and identifies relevant shortcomings before addressing them. The extension of restorative justice to school disciplinary action establishes a new way of thinking that has, until recently, not been applied to civil law. In Dikoko v Mokhatla (2007 (1) BCLR 1 (CC)) honourable justice Sachs ruled that any remedy applied in civil law must aim for the restitution of relationships, rather than punishment of the guilty party. Children are often on unequal footing compared to adults when it comes to prosecution or punishment and consequently they are exposed to excessive punitive measures, as illustrated by the Dey saga (Le Roux and Others v Dey 2011 (3) SA 274 (CC)). The implementation of restorative justice as an alternative to current school disciplinary action may result in limiting these excessive punishments. Because of the universal nature of the subject a comparison will be made to the successful implementation of restorative justice programs in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The various departments of education in these countries have developed proactive strategies for managing students' behaviour. In New Zealand, schools place particular emphasis on the use of restorative practices, rather than suspension, to ensure the establishment of beneficial learning environments. Furthermore, parents’ and community members' involvement is encouraged by inter alia the National Safe Schools Framework, which has been implemented in Australia since 2003. These countries have long been regarded as leaders in the field of restorative justice. It is of the utmost importance to consider international trends due to the guidance that it can offer school governing bodies in South Africa. The principle of restorative justice has received extensive international support due to various practical tools that have been developed by the above-mentioned countries. Therefore, these tools are considered in order to assist governing bodies in determining the way forward in South African schools. / LLM (Comparative Child Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015