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Copyright of Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Ciencias Sociales (13159518) is the property of Revista de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad del Zulia Venezuela and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Estudios Políticos is the property of Centro de Estudios Politicos y Constitucionales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Jezikoslovlje is the property of University of Osijek, Faculty of Philosophy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Jezikoslovlje is the property of University of Osijek, Faculty of Philosophy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Return to Work (RTW) programmes have become imperative in manpower scarce countries. This paper describes a RTW programme in a Singapore tertiary hospital, reports patient outcomes and discusses the practicality and effectiveness of the programme. Seventy-three workers participated in the programme over a two-year period. A statistically significant increase in work ability and self-perceived overall health status from first contact with worker (baseline) to discharge was observed. Continued programme participation till first RTW was associated with higher work ability and self-perceived overall health status at baseline. The RTW Coordinator-anchored multidisciplinary model which provided holistic support to the worker and addressed stakeholder interests were central to the programme’s success. Greater awareness of RTW programme benefits will improve sustained participation. Our RTW programme features, implementation experiences and participant reported effectiveness may inform the development of improved return to work models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose the strategy-following distributed attentional actor architecture after conditional attention (sfDA6-X) for multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (MADRL). The architecture is designed to provide controllability of coordinated behaviors in MADRL through the use of a saliency vector that captures conditions from the environment and rough, high-level instructions given by external experts such as the system designers or users. We introduce destination channels, which enable agents to be instructed to change their behaviors only by specifying the regions where individual agents should work. To validate the effectiveness of sfDA6-X, we conducted experiments in the object collection game and analyzed how agents change their coordinated and cooperative behaviors based on the given instructions. Our findings suggest that our approach provides a preliminary but promising solution for controlling coordinated behaviors in MADRL via arbitrary instructions represented in destination channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been recognised that the identification of organizational members with their organization could mitigate collective action problems. One domain in economics and management addressing these fundamental problems is organizational control, as it focuses on aligning individuals’ behavior with their organization’s objectives. This paper studies organizational identification in interaction with major traits of the organizational context, including the principal means of organizational control. The study uses an agent-based simulation based on the framework NK fitness landscapes. In the model, individuals’ organizational identification emerges endogenously and causes certain effects in the organizations, which in turn induce feedback on identification. The model controls for different activation mechanisms for individuals’ organizational identity and for different organizational contexts in terms of task complexity and the prevailing coordination mechanism. The results suggest that the activation mechanisms subtly interfere with task complexity and organizational controls. Organizational identification was robustly beneficial across a wide range of task environments when the activation mode corresponds to organizational mission orientation and results controls. Moreover, organizational identification appears particularly relevant when the action controls grant some autonomy to subordinate decision-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the search for solutions for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), decision-makers frequently face governance-related challenges such as the fragmentation of institutions, the interconnection with other essential services and overlapping competences. In many cases, solutions to these challenges involve strengthening coordination between different actors and sectors. Today different digital tools and resources are available to support related decision-making processes. These tools can (1) offer a context-specific assessment of the water governance system ("Diagnosis") and (2) provide, in some cases, context-specific recommendations to tackle identified deficits ("Therapy"). In this paper, we aim to advance the understanding of the potential of digital tools for water governance and management assessments. After reviewing relevant tools, we introduce the Diagnostic Water Governance Tool (DWGT) that builds on a clear diagnosis-therapy-logic. After presenting the empirical basis and functional logic of the DWGT, we test the DWGT in two case studies: the Guadalquivir river basin in Spain and the Emscher river basin in Germany. We find that the DWGT provides context-specific, evidence-based instrument recommendations that can enhance water governance and management, albeit accompanying suitability evaluations by governance experts remain critical. We conclude by discussing the limitations of digital tools for water governance and management assessments and sketch out fields of future research. • Most water governance online tools do not allow for case-specific assessments. • Diagnostic Water Governance Tool identifies context-specific coordination deficits. • The Tool gives case-sensitive recommendations for governance instruments. • Fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis provides sound methodological framework. • The Tool's analysis can supplement but not replace expert evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 FROM AUTHOR]

Coordination in the public sector among interdependent policies is considered crucial for their effectiveness. However, while coordination has been studied for decades, conceptual approaches to understand the functional and temporal dimensions of policy coordination are lacking. This paper attempts to address these gaps by integrating governance functions and action situations into the analysis of the policy cycle, thereby introducing the notion of holistic coordination. We argue that this approach is useful to get a more differentiated understanding of where and why coordination across the policy cycle breaks down, and to capture the political economy of policy-making. Empirically, we undertake an illustrative case study of the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD) implementation in the Guadalquivir river basin, Spain, focusing on measures to reduce agricultural water consumption. We find that the failure to reach agreed policy objectives of reduction of water consumption can be traced back to the way governance functions were addressed and coordinated within action situations and across the overall policy cycle. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the lack of holistic coordination can be seen as an outcome of deliberate decisions by public actors involved in the policy, taken already at the beginning of the policy cycle. Thereby, expected benefits that agricultural water users associated with the policy have been deliberately increased, while their related expected costs have been decreased. Ultimately, this made the policy objective to reduce agricultural water consumption less credible and the policy more acceptable to water users and a powerful agricultural lobby. • Analysis of coordination of governance functions across the policy cycle. • Exploring holistic coordination to understand temporal and functional dimensions of policy coordination. • Approach uncovers coordination failures and the political economy of policy-making. • Illustrative case study of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) implementation in the Guadalquivir river basin, Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many manufacturers and retailers have already opened online stores to sell their products. Thus, manufacturers are competing as sellers, and retailers are transforming into dual-channel retailers (DCRs). Such an expansion in business scope and the wide spread of lenient return policies trigger tremendous return volume that requires great deal of logistical efforts. The service levels offered within online stores greatly affect channels' demand. However, they also influence the channel choice of return for online customers, if applicable, when their purchases are unsatisfactory. Therefore, this paper studies the optimal service level for a centralized DCR. In addition, it examines the optimal levels for a decentralized two-echelon system through the implementation of Nash and Stackelberg theoretical frameworks. Important properties of optimal solutions and vital managerial insights have been devised through analytical and sensitivity analysis. It is found that a DCR may have the following tradeoff: decrease service level to increase the reward from the physical store or increase service level to enhance competitiveness of the online store. The optimal decision depends greatly on how sensitive the customers' return behavior is to service level. In addition, as the exogenous price increases, the change in the retailer's offered level depends significantly on the different rates of return. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of big data targeted advertising in the green supply chain makes the green marketing of products more accurate and effective. This paper applies game theory to study the decisions and coordination issues of a green supply chain in which the online retailer conducts big data targeted advertising. A centralized model and two Stackelberg game models (an online-retailer-led decentralized model and a manufacturer-led decentralized model) were constructed and solved. The zero wholesale price-side-payment contract and greedy wholesale price-side-payment contract were introduced into the green supply chain for coordination. The study found that: (1) the increase in demand attenuation coefficient, green sensitivity coefficient, and big data targeted advertising sensitivity coefficient will be beneficial to the growth of total consumer demand, supply chain profit, and environmental benefit; (2) supply chain coordination is necessary because greenness, demand, supply chain profit, and environmental benefit under the centralized model are higher than those under two decentralized models; (3) two contracts can achieve the coordination of the green supply chain, and the profits of the manufacturer and online retailer under the contract are greater than those under the decentralized model. The results can provide insights for promoting green supply chain operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate how to coordinate a dual-channel supply chain composing of a manufacturer and a retailer when customers utilize the retailer's service to conduct free-riding behavior. Specially, we consider the crucial role of service in affecting customers' valuation for a kind of experience product and establish a channel choice model by employing utility theory. Then, we analyze the optimal pricing and service decisions under decentralized and centralized scenarios. To achieve overall optimization, we propose three contract mechanisms, namely price hike (Mechanism 1), price hike with service cost sharing (Mechanism 2) and price hike with service cost sharing and surplus compensation (Mechanism 3). We reveal the way of price difference and service provision in affecting customer free-riding behavior. Besides, we find that the three mechanisms can reduce free-riding behavior to some extent. However, the extent varies under different mechanisms and is related to the cost-sharing fraction and the degree by which the manufacturer increases his online price. Further, we find that Mechanism 3 can realize overall optimization and members' win–win situations. Finally, we conduct numerical examples to explore how different mechanisms affect supply chain efficiency. The results also provide managerial insights for dual-channel firms in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shrinking product life cycles and increasing R&D costs force companies to launch new products to markets in ever shorter periods of time. Yet, this critically depends on a fast production ramp-up of the new products, which requires interdepartmental coordination of the R&D and manufacturing interface. Here, international manufacturing networks (IMN) cause new coordination challenges in global ramp-up management as it is also necessary to coordinate ramp-up time, costs, product quality, and quantity between the internationally dispersed and interdependent plants. This managerial problem is, however, mostly ignored by scientific literature. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore network-specific coordination challenges in global ramp-ups. Drawing on a multiple case study design, we use expert interviews and online-questionnaires to explore the importance of 16 challenges in regard to ramp-up success. Based on the in-depth analysis of three companies, we also show that the importance of these challenges can vary depending on the network configuration. Thereby, this study can help practitioners to develop a better understanding of their global ramp-up processes and improve future coordination activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Jezikoslovlje is the property of University of Osijek, Faculty of Philosophy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Jezikoslovlje is the property of University of Osijek, Faculty of Philosophy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Jezikoslovlje is the property of University of Osijek, Faculty of Philosophy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Jezikoslovlje is the property of University of Osijek, Faculty of Philosophy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Verba: Anuario Galego de Filoloxia is the property of Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Servicio de Publicaciones and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista FAMECOS - Mídia, Cultura e Tecnologia is the property of EDIPUCRS - Editora Universitaria da PUCRS and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Based on the theory of ecological economy, the theory of global tourism, and the theory of industrial integration, this paper constructs a global ecotourism LS system (ecosystem and tourism economic system) index system, and uses the principal component analysis method and the coupling coordination degree model to measure the comprehensive development index of the LS system, coupling degree and coupling coordination degree. The research results show that: The period from 2011 to 2015 is the transformation stage of the highly coordinated development of LS in Xinyang City. This is inseparable from Xinyang's efforts to create a national eco-tourism city. From 2016 to 2019, Xinyang City has achieved an extremely coordinated and coordinated development stage of LS. Finally, three paths for the coordinated and integrated development of global ecotourism are proposed: strict protection of resources, consolidation of the foundation for coordination and integration; enhancement of the tourism economic subsystem (L) and ecological subsystem in the entire region from an integrated perspective (S) Coordination level; multiple channels to promote the integrated development of tourism economic subsystem and ecological subsystem in the whole region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Direito, Estado e Sociedade is the property of Direito, Estado e Sociedade and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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 Programme 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-risk pregnancy, or one with escalating complexities, requires the inclusion of numerous health professions in care provision. A strategy of midwife navigators to facilitate the smooth transition across models of care and service providers has now been in place in Queensland, Australia, for over twelve months, and a formal review process will soon begin. Navigators are experienced nurses or midwives who have the expertise and authority to support childbearing women with chronic or complex problems through the health system so that it is co-ordinated and they can transition to self-care. This includes ensuring a logical sequence in tests and procedures, providing education, or facilitating access to specialist care. The navigator evaluation included a review of existing models of care that support women with chronic and complex needs during their pregnancy. This paper describes the integrative literature review that explored the transitioning of care models. The review followed formal Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines, utilised the Critical Appraisal Skills Program tools and analysed a final 33 papers, published from 2000 onwards in professional, peer-reviewed journals and databases. Four key themes of communication, context, visibility and frames were identified, discussed in depth, and considered in the current body of knowledge. The outcomes refer clearly to 'property rights' or turf protected by invisible fences and gatekeeping by midwives and other health professionals. This review may inform development of future frameworks and practice review to better address the needs of pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper aims to shed light on the challenges and opportunities of promoting farmers' participation in agro-environmental programs at reasonable monetary cost in intensively used agricultural landscapes. On the one hand, the study assesses the costs of coordinating farmers for the implementation of the programs, as a complement or alternative to increasing the amount of land set aside for said programs. On the other hand, the paper responds to recent calls about the need to identify incentives other than monetary payments to promote farmers participation. Methodologically, the study consists of a choice experiment exploring the willingness of farmers in Germany, Switzerland, and Spain to participate in a tree planting measure. According to our findings, the resistance of farmers to participate in coordinated programs is not insurmountable and has to do with transaction costs as well as beliefs about other farmers' behavior. Similarly, having conservation programs recommended by farmers can encourage other farmers to participate. Finally, different conservation framings can affect the resistance of farmers to participate depending on the emphasis put on the environmental benefits that farmers obtain from the programs. Overall, the findings illustrate the interest of further integrating farmers in the design of agro-environmental schemes and, further testing the feasibility of coordinated schemes in light of the influence of both monetary and social incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In martial arts, all movements from the standing position, as well as circular strikes require maintaining postural balance. A high level of postural control is a necessary condition for improving athletic performance. Motorcoordination abilities play a significant role in maintaining postural balance. The aim of the paper was to establish the conditions for maintaining postural balance in different situations depending on coordination abilities in martial arts athletes. The sample included male and female athletes involved in judo, combat sambo, Greco-Roman wrestling, kickboxing, sports karate, taekwondo with athletic experience of 4 to 15 years (n=221). The results of the experiment were processed with the Student's t-test for independent samples, which determines the level of significance between the variables of two groups of athletes with different coordination abilities. The significance of differences between two groups of martial arts athletes reveals that athletes have differences in the following indicators: general and special coordination abilities, dynamic orientation in space, consistency of movements, accuracy of dynamic and spatial characteristics, response quickness, timeliness of movements, and improvisation. Therefore, maintaining postural balance requires developing the above-mentioned coordination abilities. It can be assumed that symmetrical leg performance is also facilitated by a high level of coordination abilities, which is one of the conditions for maintaining postural balance. The level of athletic performance is significantly higher in the group of athletes with a high level of postural balance. The revealed differences indicate that maintaining postural balance in martial arts athletes depends on coordination abilities, which affect both athletic performance and symmetrical leg performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to further understand the relationship between economic development and ecological environment protection along the Yangtze River, and to seek the future development direction of the region, this paper proposes a study on the coordination degree of regional economic-ecological environment coupling in the Yangtze River Economic Zone. Through the survey and statistics of 11 provinces (municipalities directly under the Central Government) in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the mechanism of economic-ecological environment coupling coordination degree is defined, and the evaluation index system is constructed based on the scientific and typical characteristics of the Yangtze River region through comprehensive expert suggestions. To ensure the objectivity and accuracy of the evaluation results, based on the scores of ecological environment and economic development, we construct the Yangtze River Economic Belt regional economy-ecological environment coupling coordination model, use the indicators to calculate the economic-ecological environment coupling degree, and analyze the Yangtze River Economic Belt Economic-ecological coupling and coordination degree. The results of the study show that due to the influence of regions and comprehensive economic capabilities, the eastern provinces and cities in the coastal cities of the Yangtze River Economic Belt have the highest degree of coupling and coordination, and the western provinces and cities have the lowest degree of coupling and coordination. After comprehensive analysis, it is found that only sustainable development of ecological environment protection and long-term economic development can continuously optimize the Yangtze River Economic Belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to report the results of a qualitative research on heterarchical coordination within an interorganizational network in the tourism sector. Design/Methodology/Approach - The study follows the qualitative approach and case study research design. The main data collection techniques were semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Data triangulation was used to collect and analyze qualitative research data and narrative form supported the presentation of the results. Findings - The study has shown the nature, strengths and weaknesses of heterarchical coordination within the distributed inter-firm network. Based on the study, heterarchy is an appropriate form of coordination for distributed inter-firm networks with a high proportion of SMEs operating in the tourism sector. Heterarchy supports a high level of engagement of focal firms in joint activities and emergent growth of the whole community. Originality of the research - The study brings a new overview of coordination mechanisms in interfirm networks and identifies the characteristics and conditions of heterarchical coordination in a distributed cooperative network. The results of the study are useful for scholars studying business networks as well as for managers and local authorities responsible for managing and supporting inter-firm networks in tourism destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this review was to synthesize the current understanding relating to the risks of lower body functional asymmetry with injury in athletic populations. An iterative data mining and sampling approach was used to construct a search phrase from key words, which were used to identify studies within SPORTdiscus, Medline and Academic Search Complete databases. Additional references were sourced from the reference lists of these articles. After screening, 31 papers were reviewed, from an initial search identifying 302 possible studies. A total of 6228 participants were involved in the studies, of which soccer players were the most observed sporting demographic (n = 2171). Of the 31 studies reviewed eight found no statistical association between lower limb asymmetry and injury risk, 10 studies provided partial statistically significant evidence and a further 10 provided statistically significant statistical links. Overall moderate to lower quality evidence for functional asymmetry as a risk factor for injury in sport was observed. While the possibility of a relationship between lower limb functional asymmetry and injury risk cannot be ruled out, further higher quality investigations, adopting standardised methodologies, is required. • Research evidence suggests there is low to moderate level evidence for association between asymmetry and injury. • Methodological approaches are inconsistent, specifically to the way in which asymmetry data is collected and analyzed. • Methods of injury aetiology analysis require a more contemporary, multivariate statistical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the dynamic nature of Urban Freight Transport (UFT) processes, the involved transport and logistics operators face with internal and external issues that should tackle to improve last-mile levels of service and decrease total costs while performing delivery operations. Customers (i.e., freight receivers) perceive the level of service through the acceptance of their requests, while total operational costs are mainly determined by the total travel costs (i.e., distance and/or time) required to accomplish the customers' request. In addition, the vehicle-kilometres travelled are related to the externalities produced. Given that the actors involved in the process operate in a stochastic environment (with changes that can occur both in terms of demand – receivers' requests, and in supply – travel times), collaboration and coordination among the operators could play a key role in meeting the customers' requests as well as in reducing both internal and external delivery costs. Therefore, the paper proposes an UFT modelling framework that integrates collaboration and coordination processes among the different involved actors, and allows the benefits to be assessed. The model has a multi-agent architecture based on microsimulation. In particular, the multi-agent architecture allows us to point out the different actors' responses to various internal (e.g., delivery requests) and external (e.g., delivery times) changes occurring in the daily delivery operations. It consists of three layers. The first one simulates the interactions among actors operating collaboratively. The second layer microsimulates the collaborative processes of information management. Finally, a third layer integrates the two previous layers, facilitating a decision-making process in such a dynamic context. The whole modelling framework is tested in a real case study in which it is possible to validate pros and cons of working in a collaborative and coordinative environment. The results show significant benefits from actors/operators involved in the process and subsequently can address the policy/measure implementation towards a more sustainable and liveable city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper synthesizes evidence from Workshop 4 'Criteria for successful collaboration' of the 15th International Conference on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport. This workshop focused on collaboration between public and private organisations as a key dimension of public transport governance. Collaborative arrangements can in some cases be a complementary approach to owner-instruction relationships (when allowed within the legal framework), overcoming or at least addressing some of the "critical interfaces" and problems that "fall between the cracks" in formal institutional structures. Collaboration between organisations with different resources and aims is often crucial for the ability to identify, develop and implement efficient solutions to problems that exceed traditional divisions of responsibility. It can foster trust (trusting partnerships) and joint capacity for innovation; and it can take place in formalized partnerships or more informal networks. Papers at the workshop addressed both positive and negative experiences of collaboration in Scandinavia, Brasil, Chile, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Australia from an empirical perspective, but several more theoretical papers considered the place of collaboration within wider governance frameworks. The workshop discussions led to a clearer definition of collaboration, and the formulation of key lessons on collaboration as a critical dimension in the interaction between the organisations that drive the development of current public transport operations and management, and future public transport improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Each day, airlines face disturbances that disrupt their carefully planned operations. Events like adverse weather conditions, sick crew members, or damaged aircraft often result in delays in the airline's schedule. An airline recovers from such disruptions through the role played by its Airline Operations Control (AOC). A Multi-Agent System (MAS) approach to airline disruption management was recently proposed under the acronym MASDIMA (Multi-Agent System for Disruption Management in AOC). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate this MAS supported AOC approach on its performance and its practical introduction. This is done using a scenario-based analysis to compare the MAS supported policy to human-team based AOC policies. A task-based analysis identifies how well AOC is able to cover a set of tasks using the MAS supported policy. The scenario-based analysis shows that the MAS supported AOC is able to find the optimal solution, and to do this significantly faster. The task-based analysis identified two main challenges for implementing the MAS supported AOC policy: i) to overcome the loss of experience that is caused by significantly automating humans roles in AOC, and ii) to reduce the workload for people that remain in AOC after its introduction. The paper concludes that implementing the MAS supported AOC policy leads to both better and faster resolutions, though the replacement of human roles also poses novel challenges that remain to be resolved: a potential increase in workload for the remaining human role and loss of experience in handling exceptional situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When simulating individuals’ daily plan, lots of unexpected events need to be considered, like traffic jam and weather changes. Therefore, there will be a mismatch between the original plan and the executed one. Faced with this situation, individuals need to adjust the rest of the activities to make a new schedule. This paper analyzes the causes of rescheduling, and establishes a new rescheduling model, combining strengths of existing rescheduling models. The model in this paper considers the rescheduling possibilities and choices as much as possible. It takes time pressure and schedule similarity into consideration when updating a schedule. Furthermore, this paper analyzes joint trip/activity execution by studying the cooperation between agents during the rescheduling process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the emergence of task formation under conditions of limited knowledge about the complexity of the problem to be solved by an organization. Task formation is a key issue in organizational theory and the emergence of task formation is of particular interest when the complexity of the overall problem to be solved is not known in advance, since, for example, an organization is newly founded or has gone through an external shock. The paper employs an agent-based simulation based on the framework of NK fitness landscapes and controls for different levels of task complexity and for different coordination modes. In the simulations, artificial organizations are observed while searching for higher levels of organizational performance by two intertwined adaptive processes: short-termed search for superior solutions to the organizations' task and, in mid term, learning-based adaptation of task formation. The results suggest that the emerging task formations vary with the complexity of the underlying problem and, thereby, the balance between units' scope of competence and the organizational capacity for problem-solving is affected. For decomposable problems, task formations emerge which reflect the nature of the underlying problem; for non-decomposable structures, task formations with a broader scope of units' competence emerge. Furthermore, results indicate that, particularly for non-decomposable problems, the coordination mode employed in an organization subtly interferes with the emergence of task formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal Européen des Systèmes Automatisés is the property of International Information & Engineering Technology Association (IIETA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With people's pursuit of quality of life, people have more and more demands for leisure and fitness. Sports tourism has become a new favorite of people in their leisure time. At the same time, in the rapid development of sports tourism in recent years, its The negative effects caused by the natural environment have gradually become more prominent. This paper studies the construction of sports tourism ecology and introduces a coordination model. The results of the study indicate that the sports tourism industry index has grown rapidly from 2007 to 2017, from 0.054 to 0.668, and the tourism industry has achieved high-quality development. The ecological environment index increased from 0.624 in 2007 to 0.857 in 2017, and the overall development level has been improved. The coupling and coordination degree of the sports tourism industry and the eco-environment system has gradually changed from moderate coupling and coordination to extreme coupling and coordination. The two elements have a good level of correlation and promote each other and coordinate development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a sociomaterial perspective on digital coordination. It extends Pickering’s mangle of practice by using a trichordal approach to temporal emergence. We provide new understanding as to how the nonhuman and human agencies involved in coordination are embedded in the past, present, and future. We draw on an in-depth field study conducted between 2006 and 2010 of the development, introduction, and use of a computing grid infrastructure by the CERN particle physics community. Three coordination tensions are identified at different temporal dimensions, namelyobtaining adequate transparency in the present, modeling a future infrastructure, and the historical disciplining of social and material inertias. We propose and develop the concept of digital coordination, and contribute a trichordal temporal approach to understanding the development and use of digital infrastructure as being orientated to the past and future while emerging in the present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Coordinating the constituent systems of a system of systems (SoS) in operations is an important task for functionalizing the SoS. The choice of a coordinating strategy needs to consider the autonomy, belonging, and connectivity levels of constituent systems. The diversity and emergence characteristics of SoS are outcomes of coordination. This paper analyzes different strategies for coordinating constituent systems from the perspective of SoS characteristics and, therefore, derives the mechanism for choosing a coordinating strategy. Challenges are found in implementing the coordinating strategies for SoS. The paper summarizes representative challenges facing system engineers. Methods for addressing these are proposed, including the multi-stage multi-scale coordination and smart coordination of operating mode switches. An island energy system composed of both diesel engine generators and microgrids with renewable energy sources is presented in this paper as an example of SoS network. Various aspects of coordinating constituent systems in this SoS network are presented to illustrate how the choice and execution of coordinating strategies functionalize SoS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of Cyber Physical Production Systems (CPPS) is currently the dominant research topic in production and automation engineering. Therefore the underlying objective of this paper is to upgrade an existing centralized production laboratory to a CPPS learning factory. Key aspects of CPPS are interconnection on system level and with superordinate structures. This implementation, the comparison with state of the art production control systems and the utilization in university seminars are subjects of the paper. For example the enhancement enables the realization of manufacturing various products at the same time, mass customization aspects and automatic production of new products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the research for chaotic dynamics in the social science has been interested by many researchers. This paper proposes a fuzzy controlling method for dynamic confliction model between certain group A and group B based upon love affairs model. In order to control the confliction between group A and group B, we apply control input with the symmetry triangular fuzzy numbers, which are special fuzzy numbers into each group A and group B. We show the result of fuzzy control for chaotic confliction model by using time series and phase portrait while we apply control input with specific time domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organization of the agri-food sector is dominated by hybrid forms of interaction among independent firms. To explain the participation in this form of arrangements, the bulk of the literature has focused on firm-level characteristics. In this paper, we assess the role that the territorial dimension, in terms of social capital and geographical remoteness, plays in the explaining Italian firms' participation to Network Contracts (NC). NC have been institutionalized in Italy in 2009 to provide a legal framework for the formation of a wide range of hybrids, encompassing both vertical and horizontal coordination. Data on the population of NCs are aggregated at the municipality level and analyzed through a zero-hurdle model, that properly addresses skewed data with many zeros and admits different underlying processes to explain the zero values. Results show that the territorial dimension plays a major role in explaining the participation to NCs. Proxied through a synthetic indicator, the social capital is strongly significant and negatively related to the number of NC members at the municipality level. However, such a relation proves to be more complicated when different dimensions of social capital are taken into account and when trying to disentangle its effect on horizontal and vertical NC. With respect to geography, remoteness seems to hinder the formation of NCs, as the more peripheral a given municipality, the lower the number of participants. NCs seems to be a legal framework that is able to overcome the constraint to coordination set by the lack of social capital, but it does not show to overcome the problem related to remoteness. • We analyse the territorial determinants of joining a Network Contracts in Italy. • Network Contracts provide a legal basis for the creation of horizontal and vertical hybrids. • The relationship between Network Contracts and social capital endowment is complex. • Remoteness of areas is negatively related to participation to Network Contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper takes 2006-2018 as the investigation period, constructs the tourism industry and ecological environment evaluation index system, and the entropy weight method determines the index weight, evaluates the comprehensive level of tourism industry and ecological environment in Jiangsu area and each city; introduces the coupling coordination degree model The quantitative development of the coordinated development degree in Jiangsu Province was carried out, and the evolution trajectory of its coordination relationship was analyzed based on the calculation results. The results show that the coupling coordination degree has an upward trend in the long run, and the coupling level is in the antagonistic stage for a long time. The coupling coordination degree is highly coordinated from low to intermediate. However, the speed and development trajectory of the two are not consistent, indicating that the two have not yet reached a high degree of coordination. Based on the local coordinated development trend and the environmental economic basis, the counter-measures and suggestions for coordinating the coordinated development of Jiangsu tourism industry and ecological environment are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argumentation is usually used to achieve a state in which one participant of a dialogue brings another participant to accept a belief the former presents. This idea is acceptable when it comes to disputes about (objective) facts. In the case of disputes about subjective tastes, however, the participants usually achieve a different kind of result; it often happens that they end their dialogue in a state in which they take their dispute to be resolved and, yet, retain their initial standpoints. If the disputes about tastes that end up in this state contain arguments, one may wonder what the proper use of argumentation in such disputes is. The present paper addresses this issue. The main idea consists in that the participants coordinate their positions by bringing their opponents to tolerate their respective subjective attitudes toward the items under discussion. This kind of response is framed by a contextualist semantics of predicates of personal taste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the problem of overcurrent relays (OCRs) coordination in the presence of DGs. OCRs are optimally set to work in a coordinated manner to isolate faults with minimal impacts on customers. The penetration of DGs into the power system changes the fault current levels seen by the OCRs. This can deteriorate the coordinated operation of OCRs. Operation time difference between backup and main relays can be below the standard limit or even the backup OCR can incorrectly work before the main OCR. Though resetting of OCRs is tedious especially in large systems, it cannot alone restore the original coordinated operation in the presence of DGs. The paper investigates the optimal utilization of fault current limiters (FCLs) to maintain the directional OCRs coordinated operation without any need to OCRs resetting irrespective of DGs status. It is required to maintain the OCRs coordination at minimum cost of prospective FCLs. Hence, the FCLs location and sizing problem is formulated as a constrained multi-objective optimization problem. Multi-objective particle swarm optimization is adopted for solving the optimization problem to determine the optimal locations and sizes of FCLs. The proposed algorithm is applied to meshed and radial power systems at different DGs arrangements using different types of FCLs. Moreover, the OCRs coordination problem is studied when the system includes both directional and non-directional OCRs. Comparative analysis of results is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Incoherent resource regimes are drivers for polycentric governance. • Polycentric governance can compensate for regime incoherence. • Polycentric governance can improve the coordination of resource uses. • Combining IRR and polycentric governance allows to analyze co-evolving resource regimes and governance processes. Incoherent institutional regimes are among the most critical barriers to adapt water governance under climate change. However, it remains unclear how different governance processes can coordinate competing resource uses despite incoherence of institutional resource regimes. This paper examines how institutional resource regimes and polycentric governance processes are co-evolving and to what extent these processes coordinate competing resource uses in incoherent resource regimes. Empirically, we performed an embedded case study of the institutional resource regime and governance processes of three water reservoir projects with contrasting outcomes in the region of Oberhasli in the canton of Berne, Switzerland, covering a timeframe starting from the early 20th century. Data were collected through 21 semi-structured interviews, document analysis, participatory observation, and transect walks. Analytically, we demonstrate how the combination of the Institutional Resource Regime and polycentric governance frameworks provides an opportunity to analyze co-evolving resource regimes and governance processes. The results show that the institutional resource regime has become increasingly incoherent over the past decades, but the evolution of polycentric processes to govern competing water uses compensated for regime incoherence. Polycentric governance improved the coordination of water uses, if mutual adjustment, trust and activation of overarching rules between actors with similar and opposing interests were present. We conclude that institutional regime incoherence may constitute a critical barrier to climate change adaptation, but polycentric governance processes may alleviate critical challenges arising from regime incoherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]