No abstract

Covariance function, Exponential inequality, Negative association, 60F15, 62G20,

As sport has become an integral part of society, it has also become a tool for diplomacy around the world. The purpose of this study is to introduce a sports diplomacy model and identify “the critical abilities” for converting sport soft power tools into resources for diplomatic outcomes. The data for this research comprise 30 online surveys completed by international experts in the fields of sports and public diplomacy. The responses were qualitatively analyzed using the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM). After running two rounds of fuzzy Delphi, two main strategies for sports diplomacy emerged—maintaining “official and sports diplomacy solidarity” and using sport figures as “competent cultural ambassadors.” The proposed model includes the most applicable sports diplomacy resources, the most expected diplomatic outcomes, and the major conversion tools (skillful strategies) in the viewpoint of sports and public diplomacy experts. The application of the model finds that states can expect diplomatic outcomes if appropriate sports diplomacy resources and conversion strategies are implemented in an orderly, innovative and accurate manner.

Negatively dependent, Complete convergence, Weighted sums, 60F15,

Different strategies of reliability theory for the analysis of coherent systems have been studied by various researchers. Here, the Gini-type index is utilized as an applicable tool for the study and comparison of the ageing properties of complex systems. A new stochastic order in terms of Gini-type index is introduced to compare the speed of ageing of components and systems. The parallel-series and series-parallel systems with shared components are studied by their corresponding Gini-type indexes. Also, the generalization of Gini-type index for the multidimensional case is discussed, and is used to compare components lifetimes properties in the presence of other dependent components. It is shown that the ageing properties of a component lifetime can differ when the other components are working or have already failed. Numerous illustrative examples are given for better intuition of Gini-type and generalized Gini-type indexes throughout the paper