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Based on the contradiction between the infinite demand of trade activities and the limited nature of environmental resources, this paper explores the coordinated development path of international trade activities and ecological environment from the perspective of law and policy. The ecological environment referred to in this paper is primarily concerned with environmental factors, particularly environmental pollution. First of all, this paper analyzes the current situation of international trade and the ecological environment, and it focuses on China. On this basis, the relationship between trade activities and ecological environment and the nature of the conflict between the two are explored. This paper holds that there is a dialectical unity relationship between the two, and the essence of the conflict between the two lies in the conflict between economic interests and environmental public welfare. Secondly, this paper examines and analyzes the current policies related to international trade and environment and resources, including multilateral principles, WTO rules and regional trade agreements, and focuses on the development trend of current environmental policies and trade policies, and the formulation of relevant trade policies increasingly focuses on environmental protection. Finally, in order to strengthen the coordination between the two and achieve a win-win situation between sustainable economic development and environmental protection, this paper puts forward some feasible suggestions, such as continuously promoting the integration of trade policy and environmental policy, advocating green trade, and drawing on existing excellent experience.

A publicly provided health service, accessible to all, is a key aspect of the Nordic welfare state project, but questions around its sustainability have arisen in the face of increasing demands and limited resources. Current Norwegian policy concerns coordination (samhandling) between the specialist hospital sector and municipal health and social care in order to shift routine care out of hospitals and into municipal services. Despite coordination reforms, challenges remain, and Norwegian policy has centred on digital solutions to coordination. Questions remain as to whether the policy vision of digitalisation is compatible with the troublesome realities of coordination. This paper presents a case study of a digital platform for skills transfer from hospital to municipal health and social care in a Norwegian health region. It follows the platformʼs transformation from a marginal initiative lacking strategic endorsement to an acknowledged potential resource for health and social care coordination in the region. The paper asks how this transformation came about and what it can teach us about how to make digital technology work for coordination. The paper locates the transformation in how staff and managers engaged with each other and the platform to solve day-to-day coordination problems – many caused by existing digital coordination technology – and thereby adapted the platform to local challenges. The paper further argues that the management of digital coordination must give room for staff and managers to use their local experience to shape tools to local contingencies of coordination. Finally, the paper warns that the Norwegian policy for coordination and digitalisation poses a challenge to the room for manoeuvre at the local level.

My main goal in this paper is to examine agreement in relative clauses with conjoined heads. Since there are many elements that can potentially agree with the conjoined head (i.e., the relative pronoun, the verb, nominal modifiers if present), there are many logically possible agreement patterns, only a subset of which is attested. I focus on the question of what the available (and unavailable) patterns tell us about the nature of the Agree, the mechanism responsible for agreement. The more theoretical question I examine is why sometimes Agree between a single Probe and multiple Goals surfaces as Resolved Agreement, and other times as agreement with a single Goal. Focusing on coordinate structures, I argue that Agree between a single Probe and multiple Goals in a Parallel Merge structure obligatorily leads to Single Conjunct Agreement, whereas Agree between a single Probe and multiple Goals in a non-Parallel Merge structure can result in either Single Conjunct Agreement or Resolved Agreement. This proposal has implications that go beyond Polish relative clauses, which I also discuss in the paper.

Abstract Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) proves its effectiveness in alleviating traffic congestion, especially in urban areas. The implementation of Transit Signal Priority (TSP) for BRT has shown a significant reduction in delays. However, in densely populated urban areas, this priority can inadvertently cause additional delays for other modes of transportation. In this paper, we propose a control strategy for Regionally Coordinating Bus Priority Signals Control (RCBPSC) at urban intersections. The aim is not only to reduce bus delays but also to consider minimizing delays for pedestrians and other vehicles. To achieve this, we modeled two consecutive intersections along the Amman BRT. Essentially, we evaluated three different control scenarios in addition to the current base scenario. These scenarios include adaptive traffic signal control, RCBPSC with no signal timing optimization, and RCBPSC with signal optimization. Simulation results indicate that the adaptive traffic signal timing has the worst operational performance in terms of average delay and Level of Service (LOS) compared to the base scenario. Additionally, the results show that BRT delays significantly decrease at both intersections when we implement RCBPSC scenarios. When implementing RCBPSC with optimization scenarios, the results show an average reduction of more than 60% in intersection delay, a decrease in emissions of more than 50%, and an improved LOS for system users compared to the base scenario. The findings of this work can help agencies improve the current operational condition of BRT when implementing RCBPSC.

The present paper is designed to promote awareness of DCD outside the academic world. With a prevalence of 5–6% it is one of the most common disorders of child development. It is therefore surprising that so little is known about it among professionals in child healthcare and education. Parents have expressed frustration about this lack of awareness, including the general public. The general aim of this paper was to describe those critical aspects of DCD that will promote awareness.

This paper introduces software patterns (registration, acquire-release, and cache awareness) and data structures (Petri net, finite state machine, and protocol flag array) to support the coordinated execution of software activities (also called “components” or “agents”). Moreover, it presents and tests an implementation for Petri nets that supports real-time execution in shared memory for deployment inside one individual robot and separates event firing and handling, enabling distributed deployment between multiple robots. Experimental validation of the introduced patterns and data structures is performed within the context of activities for task execution, control and perception, and decision making for an application on coordinated navigation.

The modern power system is progressing from a system based on synchronous generators toward systems with high penetration of renewable energy sources (RESs) such as photovoltaic (PV) and wind power generating units which are connected to the grid through inverters. RES units will represent a significant share of the power generation in near future; therefore, the conventional approach of integrating them into the grid may lead to frequency instability. Many researchers have suggested the use of inverters with virtual inertial control methods to act as synchronous generators in the grid and maintain and increase the frequency stability. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of virtual inertial strategies and current control strategies and makes a comprehensive comparison while describing their characteristics. Then, different types of stability analyses in the presented methods are examined and examples of each are presented. In continuation and in addition to the review studies conducted in this field, methods presented with the aim of improving the virtual inertial control are carefully examined and their characteristics according to the number of resources used, the adaptivity of parameters, the use of optimization methods, the issue of coordination between several resources and the type of communication network are studied. Moreover, a comprehensive review of multiple- virtual synchronous generator (VSG) methods to develop and implement the concept of virtual inertia in weak grids are presented. Finally, a discussion of challenges and research directions is presented, particularly pointing to the integration of multiple virtual inertial units at the system level.

The paper revises etymologies of Croatian adversative conjunction ali, commonly associated with Polish ale. Even though both lexemes contain a conjunction a, they are composed of a question particle li and restrictive particle le respectively. Old Croatian, Serbian, and modern Slovenian disjunctive function of ali seems to be unrelated to the adversative function, which might have evolved directly from rhetorical questions. The paper shows what such change could look like, in line with the pragmatics of rhetorical questions and adversative coordination, Old Church Slavonic examples, and the uses in Old Croatian texts.

The paper presents an example of using new technology to solve the problem of promoting goods and services according to the 7P concept. The technology was called virtual promotion. The reason for its occurrence is a decrease in the effectiveness of the currently classical search engine optimization methodology on the Internet. The task of the latter is to bring the given corporate WEB resource to the first place in the search server’s answers to the requests of potential buyers. Virtual promotion is based on two ideas. The first is based on marketing theory when to sell a product or service, you need to build a marketing channel. The second is that a search server is an intelligent machine. Then, to get the first position, we need to teach the virtual space, which consists of Internet nodes, to activate in such a way that the number of links to the WEB page with the desired product is maximum. To implement these ideas, two objects are synthesized as part of the virtual promotion: a semantic kernel and a promotion map. A semantic kernel is a description of a product or service or a training sequence of keywords. A map is a set of nodes on the Internet, where the semantic core should be placed to attract the maximum number of buyers of the product. The map is also a variant of marketing channels on the Internet. The paper considers an example of a situation where a semantic core and a minimal map have already been created using the classical approach (search optimization). In this case, the classic approach gave an increase in the number of visits to the WEB site, but there was not a single buyer of the product for six months. That is, the classical approach improved the key performance indicator, but it did not affect the sales performance in any way. The paper demonstrates how virtual promotion forms such a modification of the map that gives a given result in a given period. At the same time, it is not enough to synthesize a new map. It is necessary to apply a special mechanism for its implementation. For this purpose, the paper shows a real task of inter-functional coordination, which makes it possible to implement a promotion map. Real data for 2021, which was used to promote the product on the Ukrainian market, is given. The introduction of the new version of the map resulted in the first two orders within the first two weeks.

Abstract Background Discussions of health system resilience and emergency management often highlight the importance of coordination and partnership across government and with other stakeholders. However, both coordination and partnership have been identified as areas requiring further research. This paper identifies characteristics and enablers of effective coordination for emergency preparedness and response, drawing on experience from different countries with a range of shocks, including floods, drought, and COVID-19. Methods The paper synthesises evidence from a set of reports related to research, evaluation and technical assistance projects, bringing together evidence from 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Methods for the original reports included primary data collection through interviews, focus groups and workshop discussions, analysis of secondary data, and document review. Reports were synthesised using a coding framework, and quality of evidence was considered for reliability of the findings. Results The reports highlighted the role played by coordination and partnership in preparedness and response, and identified four key areas that characterise and enable effective coordination. First, coordination needs to be inclusive, bringing together different government sectors and levels, and stakeholders such as development agencies, universities, the private sector, local leaders and civil society, with equitable gender representation. Second, structural aspects of coordination bodies are important, including availability of coordination structures and regular meeting fora; clear roles, mandates and sufficient authority; the value of building on existing coordination mechanisms; and ongoing functioning of coordination bodies, before and after crises. Third, organisations responsible for coordination require sufficient capacity, including staff, funding, communication infrastructure and other resources, and learning from previous emergencies. Fourth, effective coordination is supported by high-level political leadership and incentives for collaboration. Country experience also highlighted interactions between these components, and with the wider health system and governance architecture, pointing to the need to consider coordination as part of a complex adaptive system. Conclusion COVID-19 and other shocks have highlighted the importance of effective coordination and partnership across government and with other stakeholders. Using country experience, the paper identifies a set of recommendations to strengthen coordination for health system resilience and emergency management.

The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive is of paramount importance for water management. According to the legal text, coordination with other directives like the Floods Directive is imperative and motivated by potential synergy effects. In this paper, the degree to which such coordination is achieved is evaluated for five Nordic and Baltic countries. The evaluation is based on legal documents, management plans, as well as on organizational structure in the five countries. The results show that the coordination between the Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive (or flood management for Norway's case), have been successful for Estonia and Lithuania, whereas Norway, Finland, and especially Sweden need to improve more. HIGHLIGHTS In this paper, the coordination of work with two EU directives in Nordic and Baltic countries is studied.; The potential for synergy effects is reached with varying success in the studied countries.; National legislation and organization of work affect the rate of success with coordination.; Our results confirm conclusions made by the European Commission.;

This paper presents results from an empirical study on number and person agreement with disjoined subjects in Standard German. We show that disjunctive agreement resolves to plural if one or both of the disjuncts are plural. The main empirical finding of the paper is that if both disjuncts are singular, verbal agreement is either singular or plural, irrespective of the relative order of subject and verb. We account for this observation in an Optimality Theoretic approach by assuming that the verb has to agree with each disjunct as well as with the disjunction itself, which bears a special kind of plural feature. The number feature of the verb has to match the number feature of both the disjunction and the disjuncts. This can lead to potential conflicts which as we show is the source of agreement optionality in case of singular disjunctions. Further, we discuss the effects of mismatching person in disjunctions, the effects of syncretic verb forms, as well as word order effects. Importantly, we observe that closest conjunct agreement is not consistently available in German. Finally, we present a brief excursus to agreement with disjoined subjects in other languages and discuss how data from Somali, Slovenian, and Hebrew fit into our analysis.

This paper sought to review the structural and operational modalities for Zimbabwe's water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector coordination architecture with an objective to identify gaps and recommend areas for further strengthening. Data were collected using a mixed-method approach involving a questionnaire survey, focus group discussions, key-informant interviews and literature review. The study established that the institution of the National Action Committee (NAC) remains incapacitated to effectively deliver on its mandate. Its various committees are failing to convene meetings on regular basis, hence issues take longer to resolve. Decision-making and role clarity among members still remain indistinct, triggering undesirable conflicts. The legitimacy of the institution of the NAC also remains highly questionable, lacking legal bases to back its operations. In terms of information management, structures and systems are in place, only requiring support to make sure they thrive. Finally, financing including intersectoral coordination remains very weak and would need to be built-on, considering the potential of the coordination mechanism to enhance service delivery. A key recommendation emerging from this study is the urgent need for government to commission a review of the current multi-stakeholder platform in the best interest of aligning the coordination structure to the 2013 national constitution and national water policy. HIGHLIGHTS On paper, Zimbabwe has an impressive WASH sector governance arrangement.; The institution of the National Action Committee on WASH remains weak in its operations.; WASH service delivery in Zimbabwe continues to regress.; Systems strengthening for sustainable WASH service delivery urgently required to reverse current negative trend.;

Anthropologists and scholars of science and technology have discussed the accuracy of describing “Western” societies as being underpinned by an ontology of unitary nature in contrast with the multinaturalism of “nonWestern” ones. They have postulated instead that multiple realities are enacted by practices and made to hang together through various forms of coordination. In this paper I analyze how coherence is achieved in a natural protected area in coastal Peru and discuss its particularities vis-à-vis other proposed types of multiplicity. By observing a group of 1 fieldworkers engaged in practices of direct observation, I focus on the use of the caseta, a perceptive device designed to approach birds without disturbance. Reflecting on this specific context in which this method is used, I argue that a refractive multiplicity emerges due to the interaction of institutionally differentiated perspectives that get entangled within the caseta.

This paper investigates the morphosyntactic properties of the mutually dependent markers in three representative constructions in Mandarin: the disjunctive yaome… yaome ‘or…or’ construction, the metalinguistic comparative yuqi…buru ‘than… rather’ construction, and the simultaneous temporal yibian…yibian ‘when…when’ construction. It argues that the two mutually dependent markers in each of these constructions originate from the morphological split of a functional element that unifies coordinate and modification constructions.

Microgrid protection schemes play a vital role in ensuring the reliability and efficiency of power distribution in urban and rural areas, especially as renewable distributed energy resources are increasingly integrated. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of existing microgrid protection schemes, discussing their advantages and limitations and highlighting key challenges and opportunities for future research. As microgrid systems become increasingly common, the management of power flow in small-community networks equipped with intelligent electronic devices, non-linear loads, and multiple distributed generation sources becomes more complicated. In order to address these challenges, coordination of protective schemes is required to prevent overload and damage to equipment. Firstly, the study discusses microgrid definitions and functional categories, highlighting their benefits and drawbacks. An analysis of microgrid protection literature includes adaptive protection systems as intelligent methods to address coordination challenges. Secondly, this review classifies microgrid protection techniques as modified, new knowledge-based and conventional schemes and provides a systematic analysis of optimization approaches. The study also examines the essential problems associated with the coordination of protective relays within microgrids. Finally, examining the current state of microgrid protection to identify the key research directions and opportunities for future development in this rapidly advancing field. The findings of this comprehensive analysis highlight the importance of effective microgrid protection in ensuring a stable and sustainable energy future.

Abstract Background Children with neurodisability (ND) represent a significant population with a demonstrated need for coordinated support. Patient navigation has a primary focus on: facilitating access to and connection amongst fragmented systems; as well as the provision of educational and emotional support. Given the distinct needs of children with ND and their families, programs built upon such core concepts could be of great benefit. The diversity of terminology encompassing navigation-related concepts and activities (e.g., care coordination, case management, family support), however, presents challenges to both practice and research. This scoping review examined the terminology and descriptions provided within published articles on navigation-type models for children with ND and their families. Methods The scoping review was conducted according to the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. A preliminary search was completed on PubMed (NCBI), MEDLINE (Ovid) and CINAHL (EBSCO) to identify initial search terms, upon which a full search strategy was developed and executed in MEDLINE (Ovid) and CINAHL (EBSCO). After screening records according to our inclusion and exclusion criteria, a full-text review of relevant articles was conducted and data extracted using a researcher-developed tool. Under close supervision by the research team, study selection was primarily performed by one author. Results Of the 2597 papers identified, 33 were included in the final review. From the included papers, a total of 49 terms were extracted, 20 of which were unique. Across the diversity of terminology observed, articles provided detailed and rich descriptions characterized by four central domains, namely: (i) what navigation-related resources, supports and services aim to facilitate and (ii) provide; (iii) descriptions of their intended outcomes; as well as (iv) guiding principles. Conclusions This scoping review addresses a gap in our knowledge related to the specification of patient navigation and related supports as applied to the specific context of children with ND and their families. Given the particular needs of this population, we propose an empirically-informed integrative model that synthesizes the findings from this scoping review. We suggest that this framework can be used as a guide to the mindful characterization of how supports aiming to connect children and families to needed service are termed and described within future research and in practice.

Substituting conventional energy sources with new renewable sources is crucial issue nowadays in energy generation systems to face climate changes and increased load demands. Due to the increased penetration levels of renewable sources in power systems, the benefits of the high-inertia of conventional sources are being insufficient. The resulting low-inertia power systems introduce several stability, reliability, and coordination problems for power system operation and control. Therefore, this paper tackles the coordination assessment and enhancement between digital frequency relays using a new fractional order load frequency controller equipped with superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) virtual inertia system. The improved coordination method is established using optimized fractional order controller based on slime mould optimization algorithm (SMA). The proposed SMA-based design method benefits the adaptive weights of SMA algorithm. The proposed design is generalized to be applied on single area and multi-area interconnected power systems as well. Compared to existing literature, this paper presents an advanced fractional order controller with coordinated operation with existing protection relays. The obtained results show the coordination shortcomings of renewable energy based microgrids with traditional control systems. However, improved design and coordination are obtained using the proposed SMA-optimized fractional order controllers. The superiority and feasibility of the proposed analysis and methods are verified on different case studies using single and multiple interconnected areas.

This paper aims to assess current theoretical findings on the origin of coordination by salience and suggests a way to clarify the existing framework. The main concern is to reveal how different coordination mechanisms rely on specific epistemic aspects of reasoning. The paper highlights the fact that basic epistemic assumptions of theories diverge in a way that makes them essentially distinctive. Consequently, recommendations and predictions of the traditional views of coordination by salience are, in principle, based on the processes related to the agent’s presumptions regarding the cognitive abilities of a co-player. This finding implies that we should consider these theories as complementary, and not competitive, explanations of the same phenomenon.

In this paper, we look at the properties of the clausal coordinator sì in Yorùbá. We will show that despite its unusual surface position in the middle field of the second conjunct, the element should still be treated as a proper coordinator and not, as sometimes claimed, as an adverb. We then go on to fully describe the distribution of sì in simple clauses as well as in complex constructions involving focus movement, adverbial or relative clauses. Based on these configurations, we argue that a search for a uniform syntactic position of sì is bound to be unsuccessful. Rather, we claim that the uniform underlying factor in all of these constructions is that sì always right-attaches to the first phonological phrase of the second conjunct clause irrespective of syntactic constituents or islands. We provide evidence for this claim from various phonological processes such as (i) phonological fusion, (ii) the association of floating tones, (iii) assimilation, (iv) tonal OCP-effects, and (v) allomorphy. The present study thus not only solves a curious language-specific puzzle in Yorùbá but also provides a convincing case of prosodically driven clitic displacement to a position after the first phonological/prosodic phrase. In doing so, it falls nicely into emerging typologies of clitic placement patterns in the world’s languages.

Purpose – At the inception of the Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management (JHLSCM), logistics coordination was identified as important, both in practice and research, but few studies on the topic had been published. Ten years later, many, if not most, papers in the journal mention the topic. So the picture has changed, but to what extent? This paper discusses how coordination research has followed humanitarian logistics practice and vice versa. Design/methodology/approach – The point of departure in the present article is the most salient topic from the study’s original papers (Jahre et al., 2009; Jahre and Jensen, 2010). The authors discuss how these topics have developed in research and practice. A recent literature review (Grange et al., 2020) enables us to pick relevant papers from JHLSCM and supplement them with more recent ones. The authors complement this approach with updated data on the cluster system, particularly the logistics cluster, to add insights from the empirical domain. Findings – In practice, the cluster concept has developed from coordination within clusters in response to the inclusion of inter-cluster coordination in preparedness, and more recently a focus on localized preparedness. However, JHLSCM research does not appear to have kept pace, with a few notable exceptions. The majority of its papers still focus on response. To the extent that preparedness is covered, it is primarily done so at the global level. Originality/value – The authors use a framework to discuss humanitarian logistics coordination research and identify important gaps. Based on developments in practice, the study’s key contribution is a revised model with suggestions for further research.

Abstract Background Community health workers (CHWs) play a critical role in grassroots healthcare and are essential for achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. While there is a critical shortage of essential health workers in low- and middle-income countries, WHO and international partners have reached a consensus on the need to expand and strengthen CHW programmes as a key element in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The COVID-19 pandemic has further revealed that emerging health challenges require quick local responses such as those utilizing CHWs. This is the second paper of our 11-paper supplement, “Community health workers at the dawn of a new era”. Our objective here is to highlight questions, challenges, and strategies for stakeholders to consider while planning the introduction, expansion, or strengthening of a large-scale CHW programme and the complex array of coordination and partnerships that need to be considered. Methods The authors draw on the outcomes of discussions during key consultations with various government leaders and experts from across policy, implementation, research, and development organizations in which the authors have engaged in the past decade. These include global consultations on CHWs and global forums on human resources for health (HRH) conferences between 2010 and 2014 (Montreux, Bangkok, Recife, Washington DC). They also build on the authors’ direct involvement with the Global Health Workforce Alliance. Results Weak health systems, poor planning, lack of coordination, and failed partnerships have produced lacklustre CHW programmes in countries. This paper highlights the three issues that are generally agreed as being critical to the long-term effectiveness of national CHW programmes—planning, coordination, and partnerships. Mechanisms are available in many countries such as the UHC2030 (formerly International Health Partnership), country coordinating mechanisms (CCMs), and those focusing on the health workforce such as the national Human Resources for Health Observatory and the Country Coordination and Facilitation (CCF) initiatives introduced by the Global Health Workforce Alliance. Conclusion It is imperative to integrate CHW initiatives into formal health systems. Multidimensional interventions and multisectoral partnerships are required to holistically address the challenges at national and local levels, thereby ensuring synergy among the actions of partners and stakeholders. In order to establish robust and institutionalized processes, coordination is required to provide a workable platform and conducive environment, engaging all partners and stakeholders to yield tangible results.

Interval demand is becoming more common than ever before, since the variation bounds of uncertain demand are only required in practice, and they could be obtained through only a small amount of uncertain information. The goal of this paper is to analyze the optimal decision and coordination of a competitive dual-channel supply chain under an interval uncertain demand. For this purpose, we establish a centralized decision model and a wholesale price contract model under both interval demand and channel competition, respectively. Meanwhile, both the satisfaction degree of interval and the order relation of interval number are proposed to convert interval uncertain optimization problems to deterministic ones. Then, we derive the optimal pricing decisions, ordering quantities, and performances of partners and the supply chain system. Meanwhile, a revenue sharing contract is proposed to coordinate the competitive dual-channel supply chain under interval demand. Moreover, we found that the bounds of interval demand and channel sensitivities affect the optimal strategies and revenue sharing contract under interval uncertainty. Finally, we present a numerical analysis to illustrate the proposed results in this paper and conduct sensitivity analyses. The findings of this paper provide important references for decision makers and managers to make scientific decisions in an interval uncertain environment.

Social work, in the theoretical discourse, is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary occupation. This fact has been confirmed throughout the history of the development of social work and has inevitably been reflected in practice. Social workers need to collaborate and coordinate, in everyday practice, with different services, agencies, institutions, and organizations. There is a legal framework for a multi-sector approach, namely for the participation of stakeholders from the governmental, non-governmental, civil, and private sectors, but also from the ranks of religious communities and individuals. The focus of this paper is to analyze the role of collaboration and coordination through the scope of theory and practice, in different areas of professional practice of social work. Collaboration is important on many different levels, as well as coordination of agendas designed by different stakeholders. Perceived as connective elements, collaboration and coordination make way for more efficient social activities, optimal use of resources, and timely social reaction to different issues and social needs of a specific local community. In a wider context, this also leads to raising the level of efficiency, which is a significant issue in contemporary social work practice. Furthermore, this paper will also shed a light on possibilities and limitations, causes, and reasons for collaboration, as well as on different kinds of collaboration and problems in the process of establishing and maintaining the collaboration. The paper also includes legal background and research focused on collaboration and coordination in social work.

From studying the bibliography and from experience we found that education issues regarding coordination abilities are addressed very vaguely and made by practical means scientifically unproven as effective. In today's sports branches, the importance of coordinative capacities is the starting point in the correct performance of motor skills but also in the ability to quickly adapt to different situations or working conditions. With the increase in the level of development of these motor capacities, in schools, through dedicated lessons, we could speak of a much better selection for certain sports branches but also for performance sports. Research presented at various scientific conferences and the published papers had a good impact on the specialists of Sport Science and Physical Education. We believe today that these studies are just the beginning to modernize the entire contents aimed at optimizing the motor capacities of the child. We know that today's young people, with problems of a motor nature, also have problems of an affective-social nature. This psychosocial imbalance is closely related to psychomotor development. In this sense, psychomotricity must be promoted as the main part of personality development.

This paper aims at presenting some aspects regarding the history of a controversial syntactical concept, i. e. the syntagm, as it is presented in foreign (Russian, French etc.) and Romanian grammars and Schools of grammar (notably, Iași, București and Cluj). In this study, we adopt only the definition given by the Cluj School of grammar, i.e. a group of two terms and the relation between them. Therefore, the syntagm is a relational unit, based on a relation, and not a unit in relation.

Despite the fact that agent technologies have widely gained popularity in distributed systems, their potential for advanced management of vehicle traffic has not been sufficiently explored. This paper presents a traffic simulation framework based on agent technology and fuzzy logic. The objective of this framework is to act on the phase layouts represented by its sequences and length to maximize throughput and fluidize traffic at an isolated intersection and for the whole multi-intersection network, through both inter- and intra-intersection collaboration and coordination. The optimizing of signal layouts is done in real time, and it is not only based on local stream factors but also on traffic stream conditions in surrounding intersections. The system profits from agent communication and collaboration as well as coordination features, along with decentralized organization, to decompose the traffic control optimization into subproblems and enable the distributed resolution. Thus, the separate parts can be resolved rapidly by parallel tasking. It also uses fuzzy technology to handle the uncertainty of traffic conditions. An instance of the proposed framework was validated and designed in the ANYLOGIC simulator. Instantiation results and analysis denote that the designed system can significantly develop the efficiency at an individual intersection as well as in the multi-intersection network. It reduces the average travel delay and the time spent in the network compared to multi-agent-based adaptative signal control systems.

Abstract To optimize railway car routing based on balanced station‐line capacities, thereby improving railway freight traffic organization efficiency, and reducing transportation costs, a railway car routing optimization model based on the coordinated utilization of station‐line capacities was developed. Based on the theory of the membership function in fuzzy mathematics, the level of railway station‐line coordination based on capacity utilization was presented. The occupancy of a railway line by each car was taken as a binary decision variable. Using a set of deviation constraints, the deviation between the station‐line flow of the railway network and the utilization of a certain level was expressed in the form of decision variables that were then penalized to different degrees in the objective function. The total transportation cost and the penalty cost were taken as the objective function for minimization. Based on the characteristics of the fuzzy membership degree, the relationship between the penalty for capacity deviation and the membership function in the optimization model was analyzed, and the calculation method of the penalty for the capacity deviation considering the membership function was presented. An adaptive large‐scale neighbourhood search (ALNS) algorithm was designed to solve the model, and its effectiveness was verified. An actual 36‐station railway network was used to validate the proposed railway car routing optimization model through comparison with existing models. The optimization results showed that, at the expense of increasing the transportation cost by 1.05%, the coordination penalty cost was reduced by 11.24%, the overall cost was reduced by 3.21%, and most of the situation with 90% utilization rate of stations and lines in the railway network was eliminated. The model proposed in this paper can help reduce the pressure on lines and stations with tight capacity in the network, improve the utilization of virtual lines and stations and coordination of station‐line capacities.

The Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) is an important growth pole of China’s economy, but it is also one of the most environmentally polluted basins in China. Maintaining the vitality of economic development while at the same time realizing the coordinated development of industry and ecosystems, is an important issue that needs in-depth discussion and research. This paper analyzes the degree of coordination regarding the industrial-ecological economy in the YREB, identifies important influencing factors, and puts forward measures for improvement. First, an evaluation model of the industrial-ecological economy is constructed. Second, a model is constructed for the measurement of the coordination degree of the industrial economy and industrial ecology based on the Lotka-Volterra Model. Third, the relationship is assessed with respect to competition versus cooperation. Finally, the important factors affecting coordination are identified using a Neural Network Model. Four main conclusions can be drawn: 1) The comprehensive development of the industrial economy and industrial ecology in 11 provinces and cities in the YREB is generally trending upward. 2) The coordination level of the industrial-ecological economy in the midstream area is high. The provinces Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Guizhou are in a coordinated state. 3) The midstream area has a more balanced industrial-ecological economy with significant symbiosis between the industrial economy and industrial ecology. Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Guizhou Provinces show a symbiotic relationship; Shanghai City, Chongqing City, and Anhui Province show a partially symbiotic relationship; and Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan, and Yunnan Provinces show a mutually inhibitory relationship. 4) The industrial ecosystem is the largest factor in the degree of coordination, and intensity of R&D investment, regional GDP per capita, and proportion of tertiary-industry added-value in GDP also have a great impact. Based on this analysis, this paper proposes measures for high-quality development of the industrial-ecological economy of the YREB with regard to balanced development of the industrial economy, transformation and upgrading of the surrounding environment, along with coordinated and integrated development.

For the rapid development of the cruise industry, the cruise disaster relief supply chain has attracted extensive attention, especially because COVID-19 cases on international cruise ships occurred. In this paper, we propose an idea of coordination layout for cruise ship emergency supplies, the problem optimized two objective functions of maximizing coverage satisfaction and minimizing the total cost, addressing the low efficiency of resource utilization at the same. By applying to cruise ship emergency supplies layout of Northeast Asia cruise port group system, using expert scoring method and AHP to evaluate cruise port security vulnerability. The NSGA-II algorithm is used to solve the multi-objective programming model. A numerical example shows that the optimization design model and method are valid and feasible, and the algorithm is efficient for solving the above collaborative location and allocation problem of sectional reserves, which can also offer a variety of decision-making options.

The European continent faces an apocalyptic pandemic that poses mortal danger to millions of citizens. This paper seeks to address the role played by European public policy in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, each Member State across Europe is applying its own measures to deal with the coronavirus; namely, decentralised decision-making that could trigger political tensions among the states. The paper argues that European public policy must change rapidly and fundamentally if these tensions are to be successfully managed; otherwise, such policy might simply cease to exist. Moreover, the known and notorious problem of collective action, information asymmetries, irrationality, negative externalities and the related free-riding phenomenon persistently are distorting the Member States’ combined efforts, resulting in deficient attempts to contain the spread of Covid-19. The paper also argues that the current unprecedented outbreak of this superspreading virus calls for a bigger EU-wide coordinated response. We argue that the Covid-19 pandemic is a good example of an area in which the central EU level holds a comparative advantage over lower levels of government. In addition, the paper offers several substantive insights into ways to improve the public policy response in the ‘war’ against Covid-19.

Abstract Background Despite many efforts to achieve better coordination, fragmentation is an enduring feature of the global health landscape that undermines the effectiveness of health programmes and threatens the attainment of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. In this paper we identify and describe the multiple causes of fragmentation in development assistant for health at the global level. The study is of particular relevance since the emergence of new global health problems such as COVID-19 heightens the need for global health actors to work in coordinated ways. Our study is part of the Lancet Commission on Synergies between Universal Health Coverage, Health Security and Health Promotion. Methods We used a mixed methods approach. This consisted of a non-systematic literature review of published papers in scientific journals, reports, books and websites. We also carried out twenty semi-structured expert interviews with individuals from bilateral and multilateral organisations, governments and academic and research institutions between April 2019 and December 2019. Results We identified five distinct yet interconnected sets of factors causing fragmentation: proliferation of global health actors; problems of global leadership; divergent interests; problems of accountability; problems of power relations. We explain why global health actors struggle to harmonise their approaches and priorities, fail to align their work with low- and middle-income countries’ needs and why they continue to embrace funding instruments that create fragmentation. Conclusions Many global actors are genuinely committed to addressing the problems of fragmentation, despite their complexity and interconnected nature. This paper aims to raise awareness and understanding of the causes of fragmentation and to help guide actors’ efforts in addressing the problems and moving to more synergistic approaches.

Models of governance of higher education in large and heterogeneous countries with numerous universities significantly differ from approaches to coordinating universities in unitary states. The research literature still lacks in-depth analysis of these differences. At the same time, achievement of national goals for the higher education’s development in federal countries requires an effective model for the distribution of responsibilities between government’s federal and regional levels. The paper studies the structure of a model of federal-regional relations in higher education in the Russian Federation. For this purpose, I consider the history and preconditions for shaping the model of federalism in higher education. Additionally, I examine the present balance of federal and regional powers in governance of higher education. The article analyses the structure of federalism in higher education in the Russian Federation in comparison with eight countries characterised by heterogeneous regional higher education systems. The study’s results have shown that Russian model of federalism in higher education remains one of the most centralised among comparable countries. Budget and tax policies are the prerogatives of the federal government, as the regions have limited opportunities to influence the development of universities, including restrictions on co-financing the federal universities. The model of governance of higher education in Russia is based on the principle of “pragmatic” federalism. This principle implies that the balance of federal-regional relations should solve specific problems facing the country in general, not individual regions. Based on the analysis, the paper suggests directions for changing the balance of federal-regional relations in higher education. They involve the expansion of the principle of subsidiarity between levels of government, with the preservation of the majority of powers at the federal level. Governance of regional higher education systems should enable concentration of federal and regional resources on certain university programs and development projects.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify how coordination has evolved in humanitarian logistics (HL), what were the triggers for change and how have they been facilitated. Design/methodology/approach – This paper applies a systematic literature review of academic journals. Findings – This is the first paper to discuss the concepts of network orchestration and choreography in a humanitarian context. The research revealed that network coordination has moved on in the commercial sector to include orchestration and now, choreography concepts which have not been tested in HL literature. This reveals a lag exists between HL research and practice. Research limitations/implications – This paper represents an exploratory study and provides the basis for further research on the concepts of orchestration and choreography in HL. The paper sets a research agenda for academics. Practical implications – This paper is the first to discuss the concepts of network orchestration and choreography in a humanitarian context. Originality/value – The areas of orchestration and choreography have received limited consideration within the humanitarian aid logistics literature to date. This paper is designed to redress this shortfall. As a result, it is hoped that it will act as a catalyst for further research and to widen and deepen the resultant debate with a view to improving the outcome for those affected by current and future disasters.

In the latest technologies for next generation using in Cyber-Physical Systems, 5G and IoT (Internet of Things) based solutions have a significant contribution. For the construction of such applications, component-based development approaches offer to produce systems by using pre-built tested and reliable components with shorter development time. At the architecture level, a software system can be viewed as a collection of two kinds of elements. One kind is responsible for computation and the other kind is responsible for communication. Using a component model, that separates the communication and computation into distinct layers, enables us to secure the communication part of the system. In this paper, we propose a design pattern which defines coordination/communication program units (referred to as exogenous connectors) for a repository of reusable connectors in the EX-MAN component model. There are many attempts of implementing exogenous connector in different tools in unspecified ways. Our proposed pattern for a generalised exogenous connector helps in specifying exogenous connectors with enough details that can be used for the implementation of these connectors. Our model enables in-depth analysis of different kinds of exogenous connectors with respect to its static/dynamic behaviour in a system. In this paper, we model and simulate the static/dynamic behaviour of sample exogenous connectors based on our proposed model. Using our specifications of exogenous connector, we have developed exogenous composition framework (ECF) for system development.

At present, the society is being hit by a wave of changes that have led to the redefining of firm place and role in the modern economy. Globalization has brought about changes in managerial model, the manager in this context being forced to be acquainted with the innovations in the field occurring in the world, with the trends of market evolution and even with the developing perspectives of global competitors. The present paper aims to surprise the process of globalization, starting from an apparently simple question: what novelty has this process of economy globalization brought about? The paper presents the impact of the process of globalization on a global basis starting from the fact that the events occurring in a country have become strongly connected with what is happening in other countries of the world. Therefore, while markets are becoming independent and companies are coordinating their strategic activities abroad, competitiveness begins to play a more significant role. Due to this fact, the consequences of competitive success or failure on a national market will have an outstanding impact on the whole competitiveness of the company, being felt all over the world.

This paper examines the typological aspects of coordinated WH-Questions in Persian language. Coordination is one of the syntactic operations that makes a compound or complex phrase or sentence. It is widely assumed that two conjuncts have to be alike in their grammatical and semantic functions. Williams (1981) proposed the Law of Coordination of Likes; that is, the coordinated constituents must be the same in terms of their syntactic category; 1) a. John ate the apple and the orange. b.* John ate the apple and yesterday. In example (1b) the constituents the apple (NP) and yesterday (ADVP) differ in their syntactic categories. So, this violates the Law of Coordination of Likes. Despite the above description, the coordination of WH-words with different functions is possible in languages such as Hungarian: 2) a.Ki es mikor latta Marit? (pre verbal coordination in Hungarian) who-nom and when saw-3Sg Mary-acc “Who saw Mary and when?” b. Mikor es hol lattad Marit? when and where saw-2Sg Mary-Acc “When and where did you see Mary?” 3) a. Ki latta Marit es mikor? (post verbal coordination) who-Nom saw-3Sg Mary-Acc and when “Who saw Mary and when?” b. Mikor lattad Marit es hol? when saw-2Sg Mary-Acc and where “When and where did you see Mary?” (Lipták, 2003, p. 143) In these coordinated WHs (e.g. 2a & 3a), an argument WH-word and an adjunct WH-word are coordinated; where the Law of Coordination of Likes does not seem to be held and the sentences are, yet grammatical. She classified the strategies of WH-coordination into four types. Adjunct CMWQ, only adjuncts can be coordinated like Dutch; Free CMWQ, any type of constituents can be coordinated, like Hungarian; Mixed CMWQ, only optional materials can be coordinated, like German and NO CMWQ, the coordination of WH-words is not permitted, like Chinese (Lipták, 2011). These cases have not been afforded due to consideration in the previous studies in Persian language. Thus, this paper attempts to find out what types of WH-words can be coordinated; whether Persian type is mixed, free or adjunct type and finally, which coordinated WH-words are permitted in sluicing. In Persian, two adjunct-WH-words; one argument WH-word (obligatory or optional) and one adjunct WH-word are coordinated. However, the coordination of two argument WH-words has not been observed in the data gathered for this research. So, this language has its own properties which are different from the types (adjunct, mixed and free) proposed by Lipták (2011). Its properties are given in Table (1). Furthermore, the Persian coordinated WH-words are used in two types: sequential and split. 4) a. key va kojâ be donyâ âmadi? (sequential) When & where were born. Sg.3. “When and where were you born?” b. Če kasâni va čerâ dar Tehrân be xiâbân âmadand? Who & why in Tehran to street came. Pl. “ ??Who and why did they come to the street? ” c. * Ki va či xarid? Who & what buy. Sg.Past. “Who and what did she buy?” 5) a. key be donyâ âmadi va kojâ? (split) When were born. Sg.3. & where “When and where were you born?” b. Če kasâni dar Tehrân be xiâbân âmadand va čerâ? Who in Tehran to street came. Pl. & why “ ??Who and why did they come to the street? ” c. * Ki xarid va či? Who buy.Sg.Past. & what In this language, one WH-fronting is permitted; that is Persian does not have multiple WH-fronting like Bolgarian language. It was supposed if a language does not have wh-fronting, it cannot have CMWQ either. The movement of one WH-word is permitted in Persian, so it has the coordination of WH-questions in Persian. Each clause only has one focus constituent (Rizzi, 2004). Eventually, it has been hypothesized that the coordinated constructions are probably bi-clausal, because it was supposed that if a language does not have multiple WH-fronting, it can have bi-clausal CMWQs only. As mentioned above, Persian has two types of sequential and Split types of WH-coordination. In sluicing constructions, the sequential type of coordinated WH-words has just been observed. All these sentences showed the sluicing without any antecedent for WH-words. 6) Šenidim tasâdof karde amâ nemidunim bâ ki va key. (without antecedent) Heard accident but not- know with who & when “I heard she had an accident but I don’t know with whom and when.”

Human groups tend to be much larger than those of non-human primates. This is a puzzle. When ecological factors do not limit primate group size, the problem of coordination creates an upper threshold even when cooperation is guaranteed. This paper offers a model of group coordination towards behavioural synchrony to spell out the mechanics of group size limits, and thus shows why it is odd that humans live in large societies. The findings suggest that many of our species' evolved social behaviours and culturally maintained social technologies emerged as solutions to this problem.

The paper proposes theoretical and methodological principles, conceptual apparatus and substantiation of the prospects of empirical data analysis for the research of the political factors underlying urban development. Based on the theory of urban regimes (С. Stone) and the theory of interactive rituals (R. Collins), the author proposes to use a set of interrelated concepts of “arena”, “interactive ritual”, “mobilization agenda”, “emotional energy”, “urban regime”, “urban ideology” to explain high rates of urban well-being in some cities and its decline in other cities. It is shown that a set of factors influence the main characteristics of the regime and communicative practices both within the elite and between the elite and the citizens, based on different types of power relations (collective or distributive power), which subsequently in various degrees limits the number of participants and topics for discussion in a process of making decision. To test the hypothesis, the article proposes the empirical comparison on the ground of contrasting cases method, and provides the substantiation of choosing diametrically opposed cases of Siberian cities (Novosibirsk and Novokuznetsk). In the late 80s, cities had little chance for growth, development and viability of economy, politics and culture, but the political processes had led to different trajectories of power groups and regimes formation, according to the models of “coordination” and “control”.

It is no longer debatable that the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 caused a resurgence in the role of the state and propelled the need for novel responses reinforced by the structural component of the state. The structural component of the state refers to the administrative power, resources and capacity of the state to mitigate the impact of the pandemic in the context of COVID-19. This paper explores the relationship between the central and local states in coordinating efforts to attenuate and respond to the pandemic, and the meaning of state-led responses for South Africa’s developmental state ambition. The South African government demonstrated political willingness to utilize its structural component by distributing its administrative capacity, resources and power to all the spheres of government to fight the pandemic through its stimulus package. The country’s pandemic responses reveal good implications for strengthening institutional arrangements and consolidating a well-coordinated and capable developmental state.

This paper aims to extend a 'politicised' understanding of irrigation management using theoretical perspectives in political ecology and cultural political economy. The paper is based on a case study of the Kobo-Girana Valley Development Program in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Data was collected in the course of 20 in-depth interviews, 10 expert interviews, seven focus group discussions, and field observations. The findings of the study show that irrigation management in the Ethiopian context is a highly political enterprise involving heterogeneous state-sector offices, local irrigation users, and other actors. The state uses the hegemony of its developmental state political ideology and various governmentality mechanisms to contain the irrigation management process. Irrigation users react with a variety of counter-hegemonic strategies to resist the state’s containment measures. Such an understanding of irrigation management could help us to refocus our attention away from the conventional technologies and institutions that dominate irrigation management studies, and towards the dimensions of power and politics.

Admittedly, organized interests are a relevant element in shaping national industrial relations systems. This paper, however, focuses on the functions of the state as a factor limiting or enhancing the ability of social actors to participate in the design of these national systems. It compares the role of the state in Norway and Spain as far as regulation and coordination are concerned. The coordination function is compared at two different levels: bipartite cooperation and tripartite cooperation seeking to understand how coordination at the upper level might influence the lower level. Regulation is then compared in its effects on the interactions among the parties and their autonomy as the fundamental principle of industrial relations. Sin duda alguna, los intereses de clase son un elemento fundamental en la configuración de los sistemas nacionales de relaciones industriales. Este artículo, sin embargo, adopta la perspectiva de las funciones del estado como factor que limita o refuerza la capacidad de los actores sociales para participar en el diseño de los respectivos sistemas nacionales. El estudio compara el papel del estado en Noruega y en España en lo que se refiere a regulación y coordinación. La coordinación se compara a dos niveles diferentes: la coordinación bipartita y la coordinación tripartita con el fin de entender de que manera la coordinación en el nivel superior influye en el nivel inferior. A continuación, se comparan los efectos de la regulación sobre las relaciones entre las partes y su autonomía como principio fundamental de las relaciones laborales. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3210650

The task of organisation is based on breaking up complex systems into a number of less complex subsystems where the interfaces are well-determined leading inevitably to hierarchical structures. Therewith, the principle need of precisely predefined targets regarding quality and time frames becomes necessary, which in turn enforces establishing controlling procedures. Meanwhile, it is well accepted that controlling processes are demanding resources and therewith form the cost of organisation. Rarely quantitatively regarded is, however, the need of having further resources ready to repair for detected quality deviations. This paper points out where the system-theoretical limits of control lie, based on a mathematical approach of delayed control where a second-order approximation leads to the introduction of terms of perseverance as well as of dissipative terms. On this background, delayed integral controlling meets the characteristics of a harmonic control system and also suffers it's confines determining the fundamentally limited reaction time. The focus of the article presented here is on the development of realistic scenarios of limited quality deviation situations and their relevance in the light of a fundamental criterion of stability derived from the differential equation of the harmonic control. In this context, we find evidence that partly self-determining concepts, such as e.g. maintained in lean construction, SCRUM and similar others, become favourable, if not superior, to hierarchical approaches.

Abstract Background Bovine tuberculosis (bTB, caused by infection with Mycobacterium bovis) is endemic in the Irish cattle population, and the subject of a national eradication programme since the late 1950s. During 2014, a substantial area-level bTB outbreak developing in north County Sligo, necessitating the need for an enhanced response. This paper describes this outbreak, the response that was undertaken and some lessons learned. Results In the north Sligo area between 2014 and 2016, 23 (31.9%) of restricted herds had 4 or more reactors to the single intradermal comparative tuberculin test (SICTT)/animals with bTB lesions disclosed during the restriction, and the majority (55.5%) of test-positive animals were identified as standard reactors to the SICTT. The herds restricted during 2014–16 were typically larger than other herds in the study area and introduced more animals during 2013. M. bovis was also detected in local badgers, but not deer. Conclusion This paper describes a substantial outbreak in north County Sligo over a 3-year period. A coordinated area-based approach was a key feature of the outbreak, and substantial resources were applied to bring the outbreak under control. No definitive source was identified, nor reasons why a substantial number of herds were infected over a relatively short period. A coordinated regional approach was taken, and a number of lessons were learned including the need for urgency, for a team-based approach, for a consistent message when dealing with the public, for an area-based approach, for a degree of flexibility for the breakdown manager, and for molecular tools to assist in answering key questions relating to the source and spread of M. bovis to many herds during this bTB outbreak.

Brain research in Europe is a rapidly evolving field, and increasingly at the forefront of science. Although considerable amounts of knowledge and innovative approaches have been generated, the translation into new health interventions is hindered by excessive fragmentation. Effective and efficient collaboration and cooperation among the various initiatives are often identified as a key success factor to achieve brain research full impact. EBRA fully responds to these needs by bringing together the various stakeholders and major brain research initiatives, at European level and beyond. EBRA creates the conditions for real and effective cross fertilisation, dialogue, building consensus and exploiting research potential. On the operational level, EBRA facilitates the emergence of research projects in specific areas in active clusters. A cluster is understood as a research community that can be directed towards basic research, clinical research and/or methodological approaches under a common topic and disease area within brain research. EBRA support clusters to: 1. Consolidate or expand further the research community expand their community, 2. Engage with policy makers and other relevant stakeholders, 3. Build consensus on various issues (research priorities, research roadmap, data sharing, etc.), 4. Promote links with existing research infrastructures, 5. Increase the visibility of the research community through communication and dissemination activities, 6. Coordinate the development of position/consensus papers, white papers, guidelines, meeting reports and/or other cluster outcomes. EBRA currently has 6 existing clusters: EPICLUSTER, Prevention of Severe Mental Disorders (PSMD)-cluster, TRISOMY21-cluster, BRAINFOOD-cluster., PREMOS-cluster and ECIB-cluster.

Objectives: this paper aims to analyze boundary-crossing strategies, henceforth BCS, a complex and relatively new coordination trend in public administration. To do so, we investigated how three prioritized coordination policies from different sectors were designed and implemented in Brazil. Methods: following a literature review on BCS, the paper employs content analysis of the programs’ legislation and government white papers. To understand how the programs actually functioned, we interviewed key government stakeholders. Results: they suggest that two macro policies incorporated most of the boundary-crossing features in their formal design and, more importantly, implementation processes. However, the degree to which these characteristics are present varies according to the research focus or the interviewee’s position. Conclusions: main findings of BCS strategy are that policy effectiveness and continuity depend on the consensus of different stakeholders about policy goals; the empowerment of leaders; adoption of new coordination instruments; and continuing policy prioritization. Finally, by exploring the adaptation of an international trend to the Brazilian public administration context, the paper shows crucial insights for innovation in terms of policy coordination and implementation.

Value chains that generate an increased willingness to pay among consumers by offering enhanced levels of sustainability are widely discussed as an important strategy for creating new business opportunities and fostering food system transformation. Previous research has highlighted the importance of governance arrangements to secure the trust necessary for the establishment of sustainability-based value chains. However, how different coordination designs by private and public actors along the value chain affect trust formation is not well understood. To address this question, this paper combines the concepts of hybrid governance and multidimensional trust to guide a comparative analysis of five sustainability-based agri-food value chains in Germany as exemplary case studies. The findings show that different types of governance activities are necessary to build the capacity to address four different sources of trust: dispositional, affinitive, rational and procedural trust. Building trust capacities facilitates coordination of activities along the value chain and reliable delivery of sustainability-related value propositions. In all five cases, governance arrangements and building of trust capacities were geared towards increasing willingness to pay. Sustainability-based agri-food value chains have therefore limited potential to internalize the agri-food sector’s substantial negative externalities.

Transmission System Operators (TSO) deploy Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) for congestion management in order to meet technical and multilateral power supply transactions. These power commitments are however constrained by thermal, voltage and stability limitations. On the other hand, the campaign to de-carbonize the power supply framework as seen Distribution System Operators (DSO) accommodate an increased penetration of Distributed Generation (DG) within their distribution networks. However, prerogative of system operators for separate planning of FACTS and DG systems can worsen power system’s key performance indicators especially under huge load growth and severe contingencies. Therefore, this paper developed an approach for contingency constrained coordination of Thyristor Controlled Series Compensator (TCSC) and DG through a multi-level optimization, comprising of a hybrid real power flow index and particle swarm in the first level and a multi-objective variant of particle swarm optimization in the second level. The contingency constrained coordination aimed to improve Available Transfer Capability (ATC), power loss and voltage deviation. Two models of DG were coordinated with TCSC under normal and contingency cases. Results indicate that while ATC improvement for various transactions were achieved with TCSC, additional power losses incurred was further reduced with DG deployment in coordination with TCSC. Furthermore, the Pareto front, which establishes the correlation between objectives shows a diving parabola that is partly nonlinear. Also, the TCSC−DGPQ provide superior ATC and power losses compared with TCSC−DGPV. Again, under (N−1) contingencies, the TCSC−DGPQ provides improved ATC compared with other contingency cases under TCSC only.

With the penetration of distributed resources into power distribution networks, power distribution networks are transforming into active distribution networks with a high proportion of distributed generations and power electronic equipment. Efficient modeling and simulation methods are essential to perform dynamic response analysis. In order to satisfy the fast/steady/slow multiple time-scale simulation requirements of active distribution networks, a fast/medium/slow time partition model and a network decoupling method for short line characteristic lines is proposed in this paper. Through the decomposition coordination simulation method, the network is decomposed into multiple regions that can be simulated in parallel. Based on the interconnection of fiber optic network cards, a multi-rate parallel simulation and synchronization strategy is proposed, which significantly improves the simulation speed of active distribution networks while ensuring simulation accuracy. The numerical experiments have been conducted based on a modified IEEE 33-bus and a PG&E 69-bus, and simulation results show the feasibility of the proposed method. The verification results of the example show that using adaptive variable-step-size multi-rate parallel simulation technology can increase the subnet computation-time balance rate and simulation acceleration ratio to 119.90% and 121.31% in the same rate-parallel mode.

In this paper, we study cooperation and coordination in a threshold public goods game with asymmetric players where players have different endowments ei, productivities pi, and rewards ri. In general, this game has a defective Nash equilibrium (NE), in which no one contributes, and multiple cooperative NEs, in which the group’s collective contribution equals the threshold. We then study how multiple dimensions of inequality influence people’s cooperation and coordination. We show that heterogeneity in eipi can promote cooperation in the sense that the existence condition of the defective NE becomes stricter. Furthermore, players with higher eipi are likely to contribute more at a cooperative NE in terms of collective contribution (i.e., absolute contribution multiplied by productivity).