Evaluation of an inventory for the assessment of critical incidents involving football fans

Introduction: Fan violence is a frequent occurrence in Swiss football (Bundesamt für Polizei, 2015) leading to high costs for prevention and control (Mensch & Maurer, 2014). Various theories put forward an explanation of fan violence, such as the Elaborated Social Identity Model (Drury & Reicher, 2000) and the Aggravation Mitigation Model (Hylander & Guvå, 2010). Important observations from these theories are the multi-dimensional understanding of fan violence and the dynamics occurring in the fan group. Nevertheless, none of them deal with critical incidents (CIs) which involve a tense atmosphere combined with a higher risk of fan violence. Schumacher Dimech, Brechbühl and Seiler (2015) tackled this gap in research and explored CIs where 43 defining criteria were identified and compiled in an integrated model of CIs. The defining criteria were categorised in four higher-order themes “antecedents” (e.g. a documented history of fan rivalry), “triggers” (e.g. the arrest of a fan), “reactions” (e.g. fans masking themselves) and “consequences” (e.g. fans avoiding communication with fan social workers). Methods: An inventory based on this model is being developed including these 43 criteria. In an exploratory phase, this inventory was presented as an online questionnaire and was completed by 143 individuals. Three main questions are examined: Firstly, the individual items are tested using descriptive analyses. An item analysis is conducted to test reliability, item difficulty and discriminatory power. Secondly, the model’s four higher-order themes are tested using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Thirdly, differences between sub-groups are explored, such as gender and agerelated differences. Results: Respondents rated the items’ importance as high and the quota of incomplete responses was not systematic. Two items were removed from the inventory because of low mean or a high rate of “don’t know”-responses. EFA produced a six-factor solution grouping items into match-related factors, repressive measures, fans’ delinquent behaviour, intra-group behaviour, communication and control and inter-group factors. The item “fans consume alcohol” could not be ordered into any category but was retained since literature accentuates this factor’s influence on fan violence. Analyses examining possible differences between groups are underway. Discussion: Results exploring the adequacy of this inventory assessing defining criteria of CIs in football are promising and thus further evaluative investigation is recommended. This inventory can be used in two ways: as a standardised instrument of assessment for experts evaluating specific CIs and as an instrument for exploring differences in perception and assessment of a CI e.g. gender and age differences, differences between interest groups and stakeholders. References: Bundesamt für Polizei. (2015). Jahresbericht 2014. Kriminalitätsbekämpfung Bund. Lage, Massnahmen und Mittel [Electronic Version]. Drury, J., & Reicher, S. (2000). Collective action and psychological change. The emergence of new social identities. British Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 579-604. Hylander, I., & Guvå, G. (2010). Misunderstanding of out-group behaviour: Different interpretations of the same crowd events among police officers and demonstrators. Nordic Psychology, 62, 25-47. Schumacher-Dimech, A., Brechbühl, A. &, Seiler, R. (2016). Dynamics of critical incidents with potentially violent outcomes involving ultra fans: an explorative study. Sport in Society. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/17430437.2015.1133597

A systematic evaluation of the Zr-in-rutile thermometer in ultra-high temperature (UHT) rocks

The Zr-in-rutile geothermometer is potentially a widely applicable tool to estimate peak metamorphic temperatures in rocks from diverse geological settings. In order to evaluate its usefulness and reliability to record and preserve high temperatures in granulite facies rocks, rutile from UHT rocks was investigated to assess different mechanisms of Zr (re-)distribution following cooling from high temperature. Granulite facies paragneisses from the lowermost part of the Ivrea Zone, Italy, incorporated as thin sheets into the extensive basaltic body of the Mafic Complex were selected for this study. The results show that Zr-in-rutile thermometry, if properly applied, is well suited to identify and study UHT terranes as it preserves a record of temperatures up to 1190 °C, although the thermometer is susceptible to partial post-peak metamorphic resetting by Zr diffusion. Texturally homogeneous rutile grains preserve Zr concentrations corresponding to temperatures of prograde rutile growth. Diverse rutile textures and relationships between some rutile host grains and included or adjacent Zr-bearing phases bear testimony to varying mechanisms of partial redistribution and resetting of Zr in rutile during cooling and link Zr-in-rutile temperatures to different steps of the metamorphic evolution. Rutile grains that equilibrated their Zr concentrations at temperatures above 1070 °C (i.e. 1.1 wt% Zr) could not retain all Zr in the rutile structure during cooling and exsolved baddeleyite (ZrO2). By subsequent reaction of baddeleyite exsolution lamellae with SiO2, zircon needles formed before the system finally closed at 650–700 °C without significant net loss of Zr from the whole host rutile grain. By reintegration of zircon exsolution needles, peak metamorphic temperatures of up to 1190 °C are derived for the studied rocks, which demonstrates the suitability of this solution thermometer to record UHT conditions and also confirms the extraordinary geological setting of the lowermost part of the Ivrea Zone.

On the Evaluation of a DSL for Architectural Consistency Checking

Software architecture erodes over time and needs to be constantly monitored to be kept consistent with its original intended design. Consistency is rarely monitored using automated techniques. The cost associated to such an activity is typically not considered proportional to its benefits. To improve this situation, we propose Dicto, a uniform DSL for specifying architectural invariants. This language is designed to reduce the cost of consistency checking by offering a framework in which existing validation tools can be matched to newly-defined language constructs. In this paper we discuss how such a DSL can be qualitatively and qualitatively evaluated in practice.