<p>Criminological studies have shown that economical and/or occupational crimes are committed within all examined trades and occupations. This is also a fact in the gendered occupational context the Norwegian and Swedish long-distance trucking trade constitutes. This dissertation sets out to determine, by qualitative in-depth interviews with 24 interviewees and field observations, what certain gaining occupational and economical crimes mean to trade actors and how to interpret the meaning criminologically. A hermeneutical orientation constitutes the methodological and epistemological basis of the interpretation.</p><p>Analysis of the material shows two central consistent patterns in the interpretations made by interviewees and other trade actors:</p><p>1) T<u>he actors´ explanations of why law violations are committed</u>. These are influenced by the actors´ view of how wide the specific violations are spread and influence the violation’s acceptability.</p><p>2) <u>The actors´ normative evaluation of the law violations</u>. The actors construct normative distinctions between normal, acceptable and unacceptable actions. The distinction is influenced by how the law violations are explained and how widespread they are considered to be.</p><p>The first pattern; actors interpretation of why law violations are committed, corresponds with explanations in established criminological theories. The actors’ explanations are discussed as techniques of neutralisation. However, explanations of cause of actions are established also in the discourse of trade-actors who do not violate laws, and a deeper interpretation is called for. A discussion about law violations, based on interviewees discourse, as caused by criminogenic structures are developed. The actors identify the structures as criminogenic and this discourse of coersive structures implies conservation of law violations as part of normality. An interpretation of why several but not all individuals violate laws even if the law violations considers to be normal and acceptable, is developed in terms of differential association.</p><p>However, solely use of established theoretical perspectives is not a sufficient interpretation of the law violations; the perspective of interpretation indicated by the second pattern will then be lost. Why is law violations considered both normal and deviant? This dissertation applies a gender-theoretical perspective and argues that actors constitute masculinity through acceptable law violations and that masculinity and normality are correlated. A cultural discourse of borders between normality and deviance is conserved and processed, and the actors discourses of law violations as without victims and as a necessity to continue as truckers, are central in the normalization of normative borders.</p>

This thesis presents two models to determine technological change and cost inefficiency in the regulated U.S. Motor Carrier Industry following regulatory reform. Data from the LTL sector of the industry from 1976 to 1987 are used in this study. Results provide insights about the observed increase in industry concentration and the effects of regulatory reform. In chapter II, a translog cost function model is used to examine the impact of deregulation and technological bias. We show that technological change has been labor saving and purchased capital using, and that these input biases were induced by changes in output level. The increase of capital cost share and the decrease of fuel cost share are attributed to deregulation. Overtime, the LTL sector of the motor carrier industry has become more capital intensive resulting in even higher entry barriers. Deregulation has had a negative impact on technological change and led to higher industry costs. In chapter III, a stochastic cost frontier model is used to examine cost inefficiency. Results suggest that cost inefficiency accounts for 12.61% of the industry's total cost and the average level of inefficiency has not significantly changed over time. The mean estimates of firm-specific inefficiencies range between 5.5% and 29.6% for the period 1976-1987. Based on the estimated firm-specific inefficiencies, Tobit regression models are constructed to examine variations of inefficiency among firms in different ICC regions and to identify factors contributing to overall inefficiency. The main factors contributing to inefficiency are output, percent of LTL shipments, and input ratios; in particular, large firms appears to operate more efficiently than small firms. We also show that, although large firms have a slower rate of technological advancement than small firms, economies of scale exist and are increasing over time. Therefore, the rise in industry concentration could be justified from the standpoint of scale economies and efficiency gain. Finally, deregulation has had no impact on the overall level of inefficiency. / Graduation date: 1999

Long-haul truck drivers are absent from their families for prolonged periods of time. This paper examines the methods trucking families use to remain connected given such absences. Interviews with ten women married to long-haul truck drivers underwent qualitative analysis. Initially, personal profiles were developed to illustrate life experiences of the women. While the trucking industry set the context, the families decided how to cope with the lifestyle. Patterns of coping strategies developed by the families were described by the women. Coping strategies did not result from the efforts of one individual. All family members contributed to it in a dynamic process. One instrumental source of support was the driver's trucking company. Support systems instrumental in helping families utilize coping mechanisms were identified. Women used ambivalent thought to resolve negative emotions. In addition, an environmental analysis that compared the homes of the women and the homes of non-truckers was conducted to determine whether trucking women's homes reflected their lifestyle and attitudes toward their husband's absence. The trucking family engages in an atypical lifestyle, yet their issues are similar to those experienced by families whose husbands and fathers are home every night. Trucking families continually seek to find methods that allow them to think of themselves as normative. / Graduation date: 1999

This thesis consists of two essays on applied microeconomics issues. The first essay presents a hedonic price econometric model of vacant commercial land. The second essay presents cost frontier analysis on the industry and firm's performance of the U.S. Motor Carrier industry. Our hedonic price econometric model includes two new developments in estimating land values in a multicentric urban area First, two composite indexes of market accessibility and highway accessibility are developed to account for the impacts of different characteristics of different regional nodes on land value at a particular site. Second, we use nonlinear least squares to estimate the decay parameters of the accessibility indexes within the model. We found that market accessibility is the dominant land value determinant. The estimated market accessibility decay parameter is different in value from the ones that are commonly assumed in hedonic models. The effect of access to highway interchanges is insignificant. Corner lots are of higher value. Finally, under Seattle's zoning policy, zoning classification of neighborhood commercial and community commercial land does not have significant effect on land value. The second essay uses the stochastic cost frontiers to analyze the performance of the U.S. motor carrier industry in the pre- and post-MCA periods. The average industry inefficiencies were between 14 and 27 percent during studied period. Our results indicate that the deregulation has no impact on industry efficiency. After a short adjustment period, the average industry inefficiency in the post-MCA years falls back to its pre-MCA level of around 14 to 16 percent. We analyzed the firm-specific inefficiencies by tobit regression. Our result shows that union firms are 1.5 and 4 percent less efficient than non-union firms in the pre- and post-MCA years, respectively. Firms located in the southern region are relatively efficient and the ones in the northern regions are relatively inefficient. Our result supports Stigler's Survivor Principle that survivor firms are relatively efficient. / Graduation date: 1998

Criminological studies have shown that economical and/or occupational crimes are committed within all examined trades and occupations. This is also a fact in the gendered occupational context the Norwegian and Swedish long-distance trucking trade constitutes. This dissertation sets out to determine, by qualitative in-depth interviews with 24 interviewees and field observations, what certain gaining occupational and economical crimes mean to trade actors and how to interpret the meaning criminologically. A hermeneutical orientation constitutes the methodological and epistemological basis of the interpretation. Analysis of the material shows two central consistent patterns in the interpretations made by interviewees and other trade actors: 1) T<u>he actors´ explanations of why law violations are committed</u>. These are influenced by the actors´ view of how wide the specific violations are spread and influence the violation’s acceptability. 2) <u>The actors´ normative evaluation of the law violations</u>. The actors construct normative distinctions between normal, acceptable and unacceptable actions. The distinction is influenced by how the law violations are explained and how widespread they are considered to be. The first pattern; actors interpretation of why law violations are committed, corresponds with explanations in established criminological theories. The actors’ explanations are discussed as techniques of neutralisation. However, explanations of cause of actions are established also in the discourse of trade-actors who do not violate laws, and a deeper interpretation is called for. A discussion about law violations, based on interviewees discourse, as caused by criminogenic structures are developed. The actors identify the structures as criminogenic and this discourse of coersive structures implies conservation of law violations as part of normality. An interpretation of why several but not all individuals violate laws even if the law violations considers to be normal and acceptable, is developed in terms of differential association. However, solely use of established theoretical perspectives is not a sufficient interpretation of the law violations; the perspective of interpretation indicated by the second pattern will then be lost. Why is law violations considered both normal and deviant? This dissertation applies a gender-theoretical perspective and argues that actors constitute masculinity through acceptable law violations and that masculinity and normality are correlated. A cultural discourse of borders between normality and deviance is conserved and processed, and the actors discourses of law violations as without victims and as a necessity to continue as truckers, are central in the normalization of normative borders.

Univ., Diss.--Göteborg, 2007.

The research designs, develops, validates, and applies an exposure model of productivity-permitted general freight trucking on uncongested highways. Productivity-permitted general freight trucks (long trucks) are multiple trailer configurations, consisting of van trailers, which exceed basic vehicle length limits but operate within basic weight restrictions. The three predominant long trucks in North America are Rocky Mountain doubles (Rockies), Turnpike doubles (Turnpikes), and triple trailer combinations (triples). Long trucks have been used in Canada since the late 1960s. Recent highway investments in the Canadian Prairie Region have effectively completed the network on which long trucks are allowed to operate. Despite widespread use of long trucks for many years and these recent infrastructure investments, there is a knowledge deficiency about long truck exposure. The research uses the transportation systems analysis approach to design, develop, and validate the long truck exposure model. Exposure is expressed as an explanatory variable in three principal dimensions (volume, weight, and cube), which is needed for predicting transportation system impacts of long truck operations. The research applies the model to clarify issues that should be considered in establishing charges for long truck permits, determining long truck safety performance, and developing load spectra for long trucks. The exposure model relies on a unique dataset that integrates output from a classification algorithm, field observations, and industry intelligence. The results indicate that long trucks travelled 67 million kilometres on a 10,000 centreline-kilometre highway network in the Canadian Prairie Region in 2006. The model demonstrates strong temporal and geographic concentration of long truck travel on the network. Application of the results reveals the following findings: • Decisions about establishing long truck permit charges are supported by consideration of options within a revenue adequacy rationale that are sensitive to freight density and the distance travelled by long trucks. • The exposure-based collision rate for Turnpikes is half of the collision rate for Rockies, about one-third of the rate for legal-length articulated trucks, and one-quarter of the rate for triples. • The model provides loading indicators required for pavement and bridge design and evaluation procedures and demonstrates the cubic orientation of long truck operations.

The purpose of this creative project was to provide those Black entrepreneurs interested in the trucking industry with information necessary for success in this dynamic field. This learning package was developed to satisfy two specific goals.The first goal was to provide future Black entrepreneurs with a background of the trucking industry. The second goal was to prepare an effective instructional learning tool for Black entrepreneurs going into the trucking industry.The problem of meager statistics on Blacks in the trucking industry led me to the development of my study. / Department of Urban Planning

The research designs, develops, validates, and applies an exposure model of productivity-permitted general freight trucking on uncongested highways. Productivity-permitted general freight trucks (long trucks) are multiple trailer configurations, consisting of van trailers, which exceed basic vehicle length limits but operate within basic weight restrictions. The three predominant long trucks in North America are Rocky Mountain doubles (Rockies), Turnpike doubles (Turnpikes), and triple trailer combinations (triples). Long trucks have been used in Canada since the late 1960s. Recent highway investments in the Canadian Prairie Region have effectively completed the network on which long trucks are allowed to operate. Despite widespread use of long trucks for many years and these recent infrastructure investments, there is a knowledge deficiency about long truck exposure. The research uses the transportation systems analysis approach to design, develop, and validate the long truck exposure model. Exposure is expressed as an explanatory variable in three principal dimensions (volume, weight, and cube), which is needed for predicting transportation system impacts of long truck operations. The research applies the model to clarify issues that should be considered in establishing charges for long truck permits, determining long truck safety performance, and developing load spectra for long trucks. The exposure model relies on a unique dataset that integrates output from a classification algorithm, field observations, and industry intelligence. The results indicate that long trucks travelled 67 million kilometres on a 10,000 centreline-kilometre highway network in the Canadian Prairie Region in 2006. The model demonstrates strong temporal and geographic concentration of long truck travel on the network. Application of the results reveals the following findings: • Decisions about establishing long truck permit charges are supported by consideration of options within a revenue adequacy rationale that are sensitive to freight density and the distance travelled by long trucks. • The exposure-based collision rate for Turnpikes is half of the collision rate for Rockies, about one-third of the rate for legal-length articulated trucks, and one-quarter of the rate for triples. • The model provides loading indicators required for pavement and bridge design and evaluation procedures and demonstrates the cubic orientation of long truck operations.

Alternative fuels and technologies for truckload carriers can provide significant environmental and social benefits over traditional heavy duty diesel vehicles by reducing petroleum-based fuel consumption and vehicle tailpipe emissions. These alternative fuels and technologies, however, often carry a cost premium or require significant capital investment. Dedicating vehicles, equipment, and infrastructure to an alternative fuel or technology also represents a significant risk in the extremely volatile trucking business. A Triple-Bottom-Line analysis, which includes economic, social, and environmental impacts of an alternative fuel or technology will strengthen the business case by incorporating the benefits of emissions reduction. A stronger business case will promote the use of alternative fuels and technologies while mitigating the risk. This thesis proposes a method for identifying alternative fuels and technologies that provide the best Triple-Bottom-Line benefit and provides a structure for modeling the emissions of the target application, quantifies the value of emissions reduction, and constructs a Triple-Bottom-Line business case. The Triple-Bottom-Line business case proposed by this method is incremental. It presupposes an existing or planned truckload carrier business already exists and only investigates the changes which occur with implementation of an alternative fuel or technology. This method may be useful for any carrier business or any company with an extensive shipping and logistics network. A case study, which was created for large automotive manufacturer, details the Triple-Bottom-Line business case for an on-site compressed natural refueling system and vehicles.