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Community coalitions depend on their members to synergistically pool diverse resources, including knowledge and expertise, community connections and varied perspectives, to identify and implement strategies and make progress toward community health improvement. Several coalition theories suggest synergy is the key mechanism driving coalition effectiveness. The Community Coalition Action Theory (CCAT) asserts that synergy depends on how well coalitions engage their members and leverage their resources, which is influenced by coalition processes, member participation and satisfaction and benefits outweighing costs. The current study used mixed methods, including coalition member surveys (n  = 83) and semi-structured interviews with leaders and members (n  = 42), to examine the process of creating collaborative synergy in 14 community coalitions for smoke-free environments in Armenia and Georgia. Members, typically seven per coalition representing education, public health, health care and municipal administration sectors, spent an average of 16 hr/month on coalition-related work. Common benefits included making the community a better place to live and learning more about tobacco control. The greatest cost was attending meetings or events at inconvenient times. Members contributed various resources, including their connections and influence, skills and expertise and access to population groups and settings. Strong coalition processes, greater benefits and fewer costs of participation and satisfaction were correlated with leveraging of member resources, which in turn, was highly correlated with collaborative synergy. Consistent with CCAT, effective coalition processes created a positive climate where membership benefits outweighed costs, and members contributed their resources in a way that created collaborative synergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans operate in groups that are oftentimes nested in multilayered collectives such as work units within departments and companies, neighborhoods within cities, and regions within nation states. With psychological science mostly focusing on proximate reasons for individuals to join existing groups and how existing groups function, we still poorly understand why groups form ex nihilo, how groups evolve into complex multilayered social structures, and what explains fission–fusion dynamics. Here we address group formation and the evolution of social organization at both the proximate and ultimate level of analysis. Building on models of fitness interdependence and cooperation, we propose that socioecologies can create positive interdependencies among strangers and pave the way for the formation of stable coalitions and groups through reciprocity and reputation-based partner selection. Such groups are marked by in-group bounded, parochial cooperation together with an array of social institutions for managing the commons, allowing groups to scale in size and complexity while avoiding the breakdown of cooperation. Our analysis reveals how distinct group cultures can endogenously emerge from reciprocal cooperation, shows that social identification and group commitment are likely consequences rather than causes of group cooperation, and explains when intergroup relations gravitate toward peaceful coexistence, integration, or conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Nearly every state has adopted Employment First as a set of guiding principles and practices that target employment in typical work settings as the priority for state-funded services and supports for individuals with disabilities. However, naming employment as the state's first priority is only one step to ensuring that every individual who wants a job has a job. OBJECTIVE: Stakeholders in Florida have worked towards improving employment opportunities for all Floridians with disabilities. Using the High-Performing States Model to structure systems change actions, state agencies and organizations developed and implemented a state-level interagency coalition, interagency cooperative agreement, and interagency plan to ensure the long-term commitment to employment across key state agencies. CONCLUSION: Working together to identify challenges and gaps in both disability employment services and between available workers and labor market needs, Florida built upon its existing disability and employment infrastructure to develop joint plans of action that address both inter-and intra-agency goals to ensure that any Floridian with a disability who wants a job is able to become economically self-sufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intra- and intergroup conflict are likely to have been recurrent features of human evolutionary history; however, little research has investigated the factors that affect men’s combat alliance decisions. The current study investigated whether features of previous one-on-one combat with an opponent affect men’s interest in allying with that opponent for future group combat. Fifty-eight undergraduate men recruited from a psychology department subject pool participated in a one-on-one laboratory fight simulation. We manipulated fight outcome (between-subjects), perceived fighter health asymmetry (within-subjects), and the presence of a witness (within-subjects) over six sets of five rounds of fighting. Following each set, we asked men how interested they would be in allying with their opponent for future group combat. We found that men were more interested in allying with their opponent for future group combat if their opponent won the fight or if a witness was present, but perceived fighter-health asymmetry did not affect men’s decision to ally with their opponent. Exploratory analyses revealed a two-way interaction between fight outcome and the presence of a witness, such that winners without a witness present expressed less interest in allying with their opponent for future group combat. Our findings suggest that men attend to the benefits of allying with a man who has demonstrated relatively superior fighting ability. Alliance with a previous opponent for group combat may vary with the relationship value of the opponent and the utility of demonstrating cooperativeness to third-party observers. These findings inform our understanding of coalition formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore how an Australian rural food policy coalition acts to influence a local food environment, focusing specifically on its composition, functions and processes as well as its food-related strategies and policy outputs.Design: A qualitative case study approach was undertaken. Three sources were used to triangulate data: eleven semi-structured in-depth interviews with coalition members, analysis of thirty-seven documents relating to the coalition and observation at one coalition meeting. Data were analysed using a thematic and constant comparison approach. Community Coalition Action Theory provided a theoretical framework from which to interpret findings.Setting: Two rural local government areas on the south-eastern coast of Victoria, Australia.Subjects: Eleven members of the food policy coalition.Results: Five themes emerged from the data analysis. The themes described the coalition's leadership processes, membership structure, function to pool resources for food system advocacy, focus on collaborative cross-jurisdictional strategies and ability to influence policy change.Conclusions: This Australian case study demonstrates that with strong leadership, a small-sized core membership and focus on collaborative strategies, food policy coalitions may be a mechanism to positively influence local food environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread adoption of science-based prevention requires local infrastructures for prevention service delivery. Communities That Care (CTC) is a tested prevention service delivery system that enables a local coalition of community stakeholders to use a science-based approach to prevention and improve the behavioral health of young people. This paper uses data from the Community Youth Development Study (CYDS), a community-randomized trial of CTC, to examine the extent to which better internal team functioning of CTC coalitions increases the community-wide adoption of science-based prevention within 12 communities, relative to 12 matched comparison communities. Specifically, this paper examines the potential of both a direct relationship between coalition functioning and the community-wide adoption of science-based prevention and a direct relationship between functioning and the coalition capacities that ultimately enable the adoption of science-based prevention. Findings indicate no evidence of a direct relationship between four dimensions of coalition functioning and the community-wide adoption of a science-based approach to prevention, but suggest a relationship between coalition functioning and coalition capacities (building new member skills and establishing external linkages with existing community organizations) that enable science-based prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of Health Alliances in Colorado that deals with the activities at the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved (CCMU). The article focuses on the importance of collaboration in strategic planning. It is noted that Health alliances have a profound impact on public health systems in the area. Some of the stages of collaborative efforts include networking, cooperation, and coordination. The article also discusses the Blue Spruce Health Alliance.

Male Colobus vellerosus compete intensely for access to females, which sometimes leads to mortal wounding. Yet, males often form cooperative relationships to overtake prime-aged males and immigrate into bisexual groups. We investigated the factors that predicted the presence of coalitions and affiliative relationships among males in this species. Interactions among males in 292 dyads from six groups were examined from 2004 to 2010 at Boabeng-Fiema, Ghana. Affiliation rates among males were higher and aggression rates lower when one or both males in the dyad were subadult, compared to adult male dyads. Affiliation rates tended to be higher among males that were kin but no other aspect of male relationships predicted affiliation. Coalitions among males were rarely observed and primarily occurred in the context of joint defense against extra-group males (93.5% of events). Adult males were more likely to provide coalitionary support than subadults and coalitions occurred significantly more often when both males were high ranking, since these males probably benefited most in terms of reproductive success from excluding extra-group males. Rank-changing and leveling coalitions among low-ranking males appear to be quite rare or absent in C. vellerosus. The costs of these types of coalitions may be too high or male group size too small on average for these types of coalitions to have been selected for. The overall low rates of affiliation and coalitions among male C. vellerosus are likely influenced by male-biased dispersal and the high level of male-male competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In group living animals, there is pronounced variation in the formation and function of cooperation between males via coalitionary aggression. Pandit, van Schaik and colleagues developed a mathematical model to predict the evolution of different coalition types in group-living male primates, the PvS model. Coalitions are classified into five types dependent on the ranks of the participants and the function of the aggression. The main factor determining the coalition types expected to evolve is contest potential, an estimate of female monopolisability by individual males. We examined the model using groups of Assamese (Macaca assamensis) and Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) to gain a full range of contest potentials. We observed, across groups, 393 coalitions during 3645 h of data collection. We measured contest potential on a species-specific basis dependent on the information males can infer about female reproductive state. By examining coalition formation in different populations and species, but also in the same groups over time, we showed the strengths and weaknesses of the PvS model. We discuss why our results do not fully fit the model's predictions, including differing costs/benefits of coalition formation, such as delayed benefits via increased status, making rank-changing coalitions viable at mid-low contest potential. Alternative factors not considered by the model include the effect of male social bonds on coalition partner choice and the effect of female mate-choice on coalition target selection. Finally, we suggest possible improvements to the model and provide information on how best to test the current predictions of the PvS model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper introduces a certain graphical coalitional game where the internal topology of the coalition depends on a prescribed communication graph structure among the agents. The game Value Function is required to satisfy four Axioms of Value. These axioms make it possible to provide a refined study of coalition structures on graphs by defining a formal graphical game and by assigning a Positional Advantage, based on the Shapley value, to each agent in a coalition based on its connectivity properties within the graph. Using the Axioms of Value the graphical coalitional game can be shown to satisfy properties such as convexity, fairness, cohesiveness, and full cooperativeness. Three measures of the contributions of agents to a coalition are introduced: marginal contribution, competitive contribution, and altruistic contribution. The mathematical framework given here is used to establish results regarding the dependence of these three types of contributions on the graph topology, and changes in these contributions due to changes in graph topology. Based on these different contributions, three online sequential decision games are defined on top of the graphical coalitional game, and the stable graphs under each of these sequential decision games are studied. It is shown that the stable graphs under the objective of maximizing the marginal contribution are any connected graph. The stable graphs under the objective of maximizing the competitive contribution are the complete graph. The stable graphs under the objective of maximizing the altruistic contribution are any tree. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: To discuss the character of relationships between operational and research staff and the necessary conditions for successful experiments. Methods: A review of research and experience in the conduct of experiments, especially randomized controlled trials, examining the foundations for success, issues in maintaining cooperation with operational staff, implementation and leadership issues. Results: The fundamental issue in successful experiments is the relationship between the operational and research entities, which most often resemble a coalition of temporary common interests rather than a partnership between parties with long-term common goals. Conclusion: Experiments require close cooperation between the parties because of the need for maintenance and monitoring. Researchers who use field trials have solved many of the common problems faced by those embarking on experiments and those who do so will be rewarded by the quality of their findings. Relationships which may be characterised as temporary coalitions for a common purpose may, under the right conditions, ultimately mature into true research partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper studies cooperative games with restricted cooperation among players. We define situations in which a priori unions and hypergraphs coexist simultaneously and mutually depend on each other. We call such structures two-layered hypergraphs. Using a two-step approach, we define a value of the games with two-layered hypergraphs. The value is characterized by Owen’s coalitional value of hypergraph-restricted games and in terms of weighted Myerson value. Further, our value is axiomatically characterized by component efficiency and a coalition size normalized balanced contributions property. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examines the performance of stable cooperative coalitions that form to provide a public good when coalition members have the opportunity to violate their commitments. A stable coalition is one in which no member wishes to leave and no non-member wishes to join. To counteract the incentive to violate their commitments, coalition members fund a third-party enforcer. This leads to the theoretical conclusion that stable coalitions are larger, and provide more of a public good, when their members are responsible for financing enforcement. However, our experiments reveal that member-financed enforcement of compliance reduces the provision of the public good. The decrease is attributed to an increase in the participation threshold for a stable coalition to form and to significant levels of noncompliance. Provision of the public good increases significantly when we abandon the strict stability conditions and require all subjects to join a coalition for it to form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to increasing demands for greater coordination and collaboration among community institutions, interorganizational collaboratives (i.e., coalitions, partnerships, coordinating councils) have emerged as a popular mechanism for strengthening the capacity of a community system to respond to public and social issues. This study adopts a network approach to explore the relative importance of dense networks of cooperative relationships among members of interorganizational collaboratives for two outcomes of effectiveness: improving interorganizational coordination and fostering systems change. Based on survey and social network data collected from 48 different collaboratives, findings indicate that, relative to other key characteristics of collaboratives identified in previous literature, cooperative stakeholder relationships were the strongest predictor of systems change outcomes. However, for coordination outcomes, stakeholder relationships were overshadowed in importance by the leadership and decision making capacity of the collaborative. Collectively, findings suggest key differences in the requisite capacity profiles for coordination and systems change outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes coalition formation in a livestock-pasture system where livestock are privately owned and the pasture is a common property. While standard models predict rather low prospects of cooperation, this paper introduces a cost advantage of cooperation based on Saami reindeer herding that may explain higher coalition participation. In contrast to the existing fishery literature on coalition formation, all players are assumed ex ante homogenous but may differ ex post due to the cost advantage. A stable equilibrium with cooperation can be reached and a moderate exploitation level can be sustained compared to the "tragedy of the commons" outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the aspects of the launch of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, a coalition of health institution in Great Britain which aim to raise awareness on the health risk caused by climate change in the country.