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Abstract Background In most developing countries, addressing malnutrition involves a coalition of stakeholders that includes the government and international development partners. This study explores the evolution of the malnutrition actor coalition landscape before and after the emergence of the National Nutrition Policy in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) in 2008. Methods A qualitative study was conducted based on the theory of coalition structuring. Twenty semi-structured interviews were performed with representatives of national and international organisations involved in addressing malnutrition in Lao PDR. The information obtained from the interviews was complemented by an analysis of relevant documents dating back to 1990. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis was performed using NVivo 11 software and the diagrams of collaboration drawn by the participants were turned into a visual collaboration map using SocNetV software. We relied on various types of triangulation to increase the analysis's credibility, reliability, and confirmability. Results The results showed that before the emergence of the National Nutrition Policy, three coalitions representing the health, agriculture, and education sectors coexisted. These colalitions worked largely in silos, although with some interactions when deemed necessary mainly by United Nations agencies. The emergence of the National Nutrition Policy provided the government with an effective political tool for coalescing the three coalitions into a unique coalition involving all major stakeholders in the nutrition field. All three forces that incite actors to collaborate inside a coalition according to the theory of coalition structuring (transactions, control, intangible factors) were mobilised in the creation of the single coalition. Conclusions Combating malnutrition is a government priority in the Lao PDR. The current study showed that the National Nutrition Policy in Lao PDR has led to a significant evolution in the malnutrition coalition landscape, resulting in improved collaboration among stakeholders. This finding highlights the effectiveness of public policies in facilitating intersectoral activities to tackle complex problems, such as malnutrition.

Abstract Background There are meaningful gaps in equitable access to Primary Health Care (PHC), especially for vulnerable populations after widespread reforms in Western countries. The Innovative Models Promoting Access-to-Care Transformation (IMPACT) research program is a Canadian-Australian collaboration that aims to improve access to PHC for vulnerable populations. Relationships were developed with stakeholders in six regions across Canada and Australia where access-related needs could be identified. The most promising interventions would be implemented and tested to address the needs identified. This realist review was conducted to understand how community coalition and outreach (e.g., mobile or pop-up) services improve access for underserved vulnerable residents. Objective To inform the development and delivery of an innovative intervention to increase access to PHC for vulnerable populations. Methods A realist review was conducted in collaboration with the Local Innovative Partnership (LIP) research team and the IMPACT research members who conducted the review. We performed an initial comprehensive systematic search using MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library up to October 19, 2015, and updated it on August 8, 2020. Studies were included if they focused on interventions to improve access to PHC using community coalition, outreach services or mobile delivery methods. We included Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), and systematic reviews. Studies were screened by two independent reviewers and the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework was used for data extraction and framework analysis to obtain themes. The LIP research team was also allowed to suggest additional papers not included at screening. Results We included 43 records, comprising 31 RCTs, 11 systematic reviews, and 1 case control study that was added by the LIP research team. We identified three main themes of PHC interventions to promote access for vulnerable residents, including: 1) tailoring of materials and services decreases barriers to primary health care, 2) services offered where vulnerable populations gather increases the “reach” of the interventions, 3) partnerships and collaborations lead to positive health outcomes. In addition, implementation designs and reporting elements should be considered. Conclusion Realist reviews can help guide the development of locally adapted primary health care interventions.

The South African local government sphere has faced many challenges of a failed coalition between leading political parties. This is not a desirable situation in South Africa; hence, more citizens depend on local government for civic services, as the local government is the closest sphere to the local communities. The failure of the formed collation for the quest to govern local municipalities in South Africa undermines the urgency of effective and sustainable public service delivery throughout the country. The South African local government has witnessed many services delivery protests due to poor public service delivery, erupting political parties’ coalition is the last thing needed in this field. The eruption of coalition between the political parties symbolises the battle for dirty political games that does not have the interest of the public in the agenda of these political parties. Politicians are voted into power by the public with the hope that they will put the public needs as priority. Unfortunately, politicians are more concerned about staying in power and are willing to do whatever it takes to maintain power, even if it negatively affects public service provision. The article aims to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of coalition government in service delivery and to determine what coalition government holds for the future of South African public services. The qualitative method will be adopted, using secondary sources and literature to meet the objectives of this paper.

At this critical time of reckoning with histories and present legacies in Canada, we come together as an emergent collaborative research team to reflect on how education and wider systems in this country have shaped our individual and collective experiences. As we affirm our practice of visiting and sharing histories from embodied perspectives and commitments in order to build relations, we find echoes in the concepts and practices of Métis and Black/African-Caribbean diasporic communities that we are in relation to. The notion of e-race-sures helps us name the gaps that our communities have experienced in the cultural imaginaries and literal making of Canada where racialized notions of belonging have enabled colonization and entitled (largely white) settlement. Beyond remediating these gaps, the notion of reclamations allows us to move past deficiencies and affirm what has always been there. This move facilitates thinking and acting accountably in relations that exceed what is underwritten by a seemingly coherent history and present story of Canada. By sharing our individual stories in places in the text, the authors name how we each come to know e-race-sures and reclamations in our own lives. But in collectivizing our stories and finding common resonances, we insist on the power of coalitional possibilities and on the need to make room for other communities and stories beyond ours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As awareness of climate change increases, diverse initiatives such as subsidies for remanufactured products and take-back programs for end-of-life products have been taken to conserve energies and materials. This paper explores how the subsidy program affects manufacturer's take-back activity in a closed-loop supply chain and also analyzes how a coalition between a retailer and a remanufacturer affects the equilibrium decisions. Major findings of this paper reveal that (i) when a take-back program is implemented, the government imposes a high penalty on products that are not collected, thereby encouraging manufacturers to collect more used products, (ii) implementing a take-back program in conjunction with a subsidy program results in a greater reduction in environmentally negative impacts and an enhanced social welfare compared to implementing them separately, and (iii) a coalition between a retailer and a remanufacturer results in lowering the penalty imposed to a manufacturer, which leads to lowering the quantity of the collected and remanufactured products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safe-consensus task was introduced by Afek, Gafni and Lieber (DISC' 09) as a weakening of the classic consensus. When there is concurrency, the consensus output can be arbitrary, not even the input of any process. They showed that safe-consensus is equivalent to consensus, in a wait-free system. We study the solvability of consensus in three shared memory iterated models extended with the power of safe-consensus black boxes. In the first iterated model, for the i-th iteration, the processes write to memory, then they snapshot it and finally they invoke safe-consensus boxes. We prove that in this model, consensus cannot be implemented. In a second iterated model, processes first invoke safe-consensus, then they write to memory and finally they snapshot it. We show that this model is equivalent to the previous model and thus consensus cannot be implemented. In the last iterated model, processes write to the memory, invoke safe-consensus boxes and finally they snapshot the memory. We show that in this model, any wait-free implementation of consensus requires Ω (n 2) safe-consensus black-boxes and this bound is tight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A coalition in a graph G = (V;E) consists of two disjoint sets of vertices V1 and V2, neither of which is a dominating set of G but whose union V1 ∪ V2 is a dominating set of G. A coalition partition in a graph G of order n = |V | is a vertex partition π = {V1; V2, . . ., Vkg of V such that every set Vi either is a dominating set consisting of a single vertex of degree n - 1, or is not a dominating set but forms a coalition with another set Vj which is not a dominating set. Associated with every coalition partition &#960, of a graph G is a graph called the coalition graph of G with respect to &#960, denoted CG(G, &#960,), the vertices of which correspond one-to-one with the sets V1, V2, . . ., Vk of &#960, and two vertices are adjacent in CG(G, &#960,) if and only if their corresponding sets in &#960, form a coalition. In this paper we study coalition graphs, focusing on the coalition graphs of paths, cycles, and trees. We show that there are only finitely many coalition graphs of paths and finitely many coalition graphs of cycles and we identify precisely what they are. On the other hand, we show that there are infinitely many coalition graphs of trees and characterize this family of graphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This systematic literature review maps the landscape of higher education and student sexual violence survivors who become involved in sexual violence activism. It was undertaken to understand what drives student sexual violence survivors to become activists, the negative and positive impacts of this activism on the students, how higher education institutions might work with sexual violence activists to foster effective prevention and response, and how activism has been negotiated by and within practice, policy and research. Method: A qualitative evidence synthesis methodology was used to identify research which examines drivers to and consequences of sexual violence activism for student activists. Searches across seven databases were conducted using six keywords combined in various ways, with further inclusion criteria of published in English between 2010 and 2020. Searches of grey literature were also carried out. Results: 28 sources met the inclusion criteria. Thematic analysis, conducted in NVivo, resulted in identification of four themes: survival from harm, community, labour in the personal made public and power between activists and institutions. Conclusions/Recommendations/Limitations: Inadequate institutional response was a key driver of student sexual violence activism. Activism had positive and negative impacts on the activists. Recommendations are that activists, institutions, researchers and policy makers work as coalitions to bring about enduring cultural change. Review limitations were the small number of studies in this field; additionally, they were dominated by US and UK perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with alliances and coalitions that can be formed by agents or entities. It is assumed that alliance agents cooperate and form coalitions for performing the tasks or missions. It is considered that alliance agents are unselfish. That is, they are more interested in achieving the common goal(s) than in getting personal benefits. In the paper, the concept of fuzzy alliance was introduced. A fuzzy alliance is considered as generalization of traditional alliance allowing agents to decide on the capabilities that their agents can and wanted deliver to coalition. Coalitions that can be formed by fuzzy alliance agents were considered. The definition of the "best" coalition was explained. The method of how to find the "best" coalition among all possible coalitions was suggested and verified by computer simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, political scientists have gained greater understanding of how national parliamentary parties use their parliamentary tools: that is under what conditions they submit parliamentary questions or amendments to legislation. We know surprisingly little about how local councillors use the tools at their disposal: under what conditions do these local councillors submit questions to the local executive? When do they submit amendments to local ordinances? We examine to what extent the use of amendments and questions reflects differences between local party groups' ideologies in terms of anti-elitism and the left-right dimension, and differences between coalition and opposition parties. On the basis of an analysis 454 local council groups in 53 Dutch municipalities we find considerable evidence for differences in the use of council tools between coalition and opposition parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do power-sharing governing coalitions work in the context of politicized identities and external pressures? And how do they emerge, develop, and disintegrate when governing parties share power in the context of colliding agendas? Working on the premise that coalition governments may be messy constellations of power, rather than rational avenues for deliberation, this article explores the politics of coalitions in the Middle East as a case of adversarial power-sharing, or what we frame as 'forced marriages.' We focus on Yemen and Lebanon, two polities that have developed power-sharing arrangements in conflict-laden environments, albeit under different circumstances and logics of state-building. We argue that while both countries are different on a wide range of variables, they have broader lessons to convey on the ways coalition governments perform and the policy consequences they yield. Throughout both countries' political history, coalition governance patterns have led to political fragmentation and policy gridlock. However, the puzzle is that notwithstanding antagonistic policy agendas and despite popular disaffection with ruling arrangements, coalition governments have kept re-emerging. This requires an incisive look into the relational and complex dynamics that sustain their logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-level scenario-based model for optimal operational planning in order to form a coalition between multiple microgrids is presented. The proposed model is based on the cooperative game theory method. Then the basis of the coalition is to achieve optimal cumulative energy management of all coalition participants. In the proposed model, At first, a bi-level problem is designed to give the optimal exchanges that happen between independent elements (e.g. an energy storage system and a wind power plant) and microgrids. The proposed model uses a cooperative game theory method in which the players try to find a way to achieve the highest profits for the whole coalition. The bi-level model is represented as an MPEC problem. After solving this problem and determining the number of exchanges, each of the local microgrids is operated separately from the perspective of the local operator in the third level of the introduced model. In this way, the amounts of production of electrical and thermal generation units and also the energy status of the system of storing energy are determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence of coalition governance on public service delivery in the local government sphere. Literature search shows that the inception of coalition governments in the local government sphere was a moment when the political landscape of South Africa changed radically. To examine the impact of coalition governments in local government service delivery, the paper employed the Rational Choice Theory (RTC). This paper used secondary data sources, through a literature review to gather relevant information. It was revealed that amidst the political transformation and change from mostly one-party rule to coalition governments in local governments, service delivery in South Africa particularly in disadvantaged communities and rural areas has remained problematic, fragile, and unstable. Further, whilst it is believed that coalitions in the local government sphere can be used as a governance model to greatly improve leadership, share governance practices, and ultimately improve service delivery. South Africa has seen a rise in service delivery protests since its commencement. The paper concluded by arguing that coalition agreements must be strengthened with policies that seek to support service delivery for communities of the country and be made public to foster accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The destructive effects of corruption on the economic, social, and political development of countries have invigorated numerous studies to identify the determinants of corruption and to attempt to provide strategies to fight and control this issue. Accordingly, the present study attempts to estimate the impact of electoral cycles (including election year, government's ideology, coalition, and minority government) on corruption in two groups of selected democratic countries during the period 2003-2018 using panel data and the generalized moment models (GMM) method. The first group includes the countries with a positive average of the democracy index for the period under review, and the second group consists of countries with a negative average. The results showed that the effect of the election year on corruption in the second group countries was positive and significant, but in the first group, it was negative and significant. The effect of the government's ideology on corruption in the second group countries is positive and meaningful and in the first group countries, it has been meaningless. The influence of the coalition and the minority government on corruption in both groups is negative and meaningful. Also, the effect of control variables including per capita income, E-government, and democracy on corruption in both groups of selected countries has been positive and meaningful. However, the impact of natural resource rents on corruption in the second group countries has been positive and meaningful, whereas it was meaningless for the first group countries.

Abstract Background Cross-sector collaborations and coalitions are promising approaches for childhood obesity prevention, yet there is little empirical evidence about how they affect change. We hypothesized that changes in knowledge of, and engagement with, childhood obesity prevention among coalition members can diffuse through social networks to influence policies, systems, and environments. Methods We studied a community coalition (N = 16, Shape Up Under 5 “SUU5 Committee”) focused on early childhood obesity prevention in Somerville, MA from 2015–17. Knowledge, engagement, and social network data were collected from Committee members and their network contacts (n = 193) at five timepoints over two years. Policy, systems, and environment data were collected from the SUU5 Committee. Data were collected via the validated COMPACT Stakeholder-driven Community Diffusion survey and analyzed using regression models and social network analysis. Results Over 2 years, knowledge of (p = 0.0002), and engagement with (p = 0.03), childhood obesity prevention increased significantly among the SUU5 Committee. Knowledge increased among the Committee’s social network (p = 0.001). Significant changes in policies, systems, and environments that support childhood obesity prevention were seen from baseline to 24 months (p = 0.003). Conclusion SUU5 had positive effects on “upstream” drivers of early childhood obesity by increasing knowledge and engagement. These changes partially diffused through networks and may have changed “midstream” community policies, systems, and environments.

This article reads Percival Everett’s 2009 novel Wounded as a narrative of new regionalism that engages with coalitional politics and reimagines important figures in the Western genre, such as masculinity, the family, and the frontier. By engaging with the remediation of Matthew Shepard’s murder, Everett refutes the power of metronormative narratives and showcases the ways in which crossing social boundaries can create inclusive community in places considered hostile to queer individuals. While many binaries are displaced in the novel, ultimately those of backward/progressive and us/them are reasserted, which displays the frontier’s powerful conceptual hold on the Western genre. The novel, however, does imagine a new role regionalism can play in imagining an American identity—a role that eschews more traditional, individualistic depictions of cowboy masculinity and instead emphasizes collectivity and responsibility toward others that accepts difference in favor of a broader ethic of care.

Background: In most developing countries, addressing malnutrition involves a coalition of stakeholders that includes the government and international development partners. This study explores the evolution of the malnutrition actor coalition landscape before and after the emergence of the National Nutrition Policy in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) in 2008. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted based on the theory of coalition structuring. Twenty semi-structured interviews were performed with representatives of national and international organisations involved in addressing malnutrition in Lao PDR. The information obtained from the interviews was complemented by an analysis of relevant documents dating back to 1990. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis was performed using NVivo 11 software and the diagrams of collaboration drawn by the participants were turned into a visual collaboration map using SocNetV software. We relied on various types of triangulation to increase the analysis's credibility, reliability, and confirmability. Results: The results showed that before the emergence of the National Nutrition Policy, three coalitions representing the health, agriculture, and education sectors coexisted. These colalitions worked largely in silos, although with some interactions when deemed necessary mainly by United Nations agencies. The emergence of the National Nutrition Policy provided the government with an effective political tool for coalescing the three coalitions into a unique coalition involving all major stakeholders in the nutrition field. All three forces that incite actors to collaborate inside a coalition according to the theory of coalition structuring (transactions, control, intangible factors) were mobilised in the creation of the single coalition. Conclusions: Combating malnutrition is a government priority in the Lao PDR. The current study showed that the National Nutrition Policy in Lao PDR has led to a significant evolution in the malnutrition coalition landscape, resulting in improved collaboration among stakeholders. This finding highlights the effectiveness of public policies in facilitating intersectoral activities to tackle complex problems, such as malnutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Talocalcaneal coalition is the most common cause of rigid flat foot in adolescents. It presents with recurrent ankle sprains, foot and ankle pain, and foot deformity. Management is still controversial. Multiple options were utilized during the last 40 years, including coalition excision only or coalition excision with hind foot arthrodesis or corrective osteotomies. However, the effect of arthroereisis after coalition excision is still questionable. Thirty feet in 28 patients with rigid flat foot due to talocalcaneal coalition, who presented to our institution between September 2018 and April 2020, were prospectively analyzed. Randomization was performed by random allocation using a computer-based system into two groups: group A for coalition excision and arthroereisis, group B for coalition excision and osteotomies. Functional and radiological outcomes and complications were recorded and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software. Thirty feet in 28 patients were included in the final analysis (15 feet in each group). One patient in each group had bilateral affection. The mean age was 14.5 years, and the mean follow-up duration was 24 months. At final follow-up, the mean AOFAS was 78.8 ± 4.04 in group A and 76.73 ± 4.66 in group B, while the FAAM scores were 80 ± 5 and 79 ± 3 in groups A and B, respectively. The complication rate was higher in group A, however with no statistical significance. The combination of talocalcaneal coalition resection with either corrective osteotomies or arthroereisis had a significant improvement of functional and radiological outcomes in the management of rigid pes planovalgus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A coalition in a graph G=(V,E) consists of two disjoint sets V1 and V2 of vertices, such that neither V1 nor V2 is a dominating set, but the union V1∪V2 is a dominating set of G. A coalition partition in a graph G of order n=|V| is a vertex partition π=V1,V2,...,Vk such that every set Vi either is a dominating set consisting of a single vertex of degree n-1, or is not a dominating set but forms a coalition with another set Vj. Associated with every coalition partition π of a graph G is a graph called the coalition graph of G with respect to π, denoted CG(G,π), the vertices of which correspond one-to-one with the sets V1,V2,...,Vk of π and two vertices are adjacent in CG(G,π) if and only if their corresponding sets in π form a coalition. In this paper, we initiate the study of coalition graphs and we show that every graph is a coalition graph. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the role that travel and labor played in the coalitional activism of the Third World Women's Alliance, a pathbreaking organization formed by women of color in 1970 and active through 1980. In it, I attend to the alliance's feminist movements, how its members' activism and commitments were lived, performed, and embodied. Specifically, I focus on its members' travel to California to work with the United Farm Workers and to Cuba to work with the Venceremos Brigade. I explore the rhetorical capacity of movement and bodies in motion to transform feminist activism. This capacity--which I term rhetorical fluidity--names the always-ongoing processes of transforming what is possible that accompany that which moves. Understanding rhetorical fluidity and tracing its contours can demonstrate how activists and social movements can harness this latent power as a potential site of energy to sustain long-term struggles against oppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Th e purpose of the article is to trace the nature, main directions, and components of Ukrainian British cooperation in the context of Russia’s large-scale aggression. Th e research methodology is based on the scientific principles of historicism, objectivity, alternative and social approach, and scientific methods - historical-comparative and historical-systemic. The novelty of the work lies in the reproduction of current events, processes, and phenomena in relations between the states against the background of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Th e main results of the study: the article analyzes the evolutionary processes in Ukrainian-British relations, the main areas of cooperation between the countries and ways of its implementation in the context of large-scale Russian aggression; traces the immutability of the course of comprehensive support for Ukraine by representatives of the British authorities, which is confirmed by new initiatives every week; identifies the personal role of state and political leaders of the United Kingdom in the process of forming and implementing international support for Ukraine. Conclusions. A qualitatively new stage in the dialogue between Ukraine and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was marked by the events of 2013-2014, which demonstrated the readiness of official London to provide comprehensive consolidated assistance to the Ukrainian people in the diplomatic, financial, economic, military, and humanitarian sectors. Th e political philosophy followed by the UK in the current situation is based on the perception of Russia as a state that is trying to unbalance the world and thus strengthen their power in it. Under these circumstances, official London, having proclaimed the strategy of “global Britain”, which aims to remain an influential player in the international arena now outside the EU, sees Ukraine as a reliable partner in the implementation of a common security policy in the context of Brexit. Prospects for further research include a thorough analysis of strategic Ukrainian-British relations, specifically the formation of a trilateral alliance between Britain, Ukraine, and Poland, designed to unite the eff orts of the three countries to counter the Russian threat and work together for the future of European security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: There are meaningful gaps in equitable access to Primary Health Care (PHC), especially for vulnerable populations after widespread reforms in Western countries. The Innovative Models Promoting Access-to-Care Transformation (IMPACT) research program is a Canadian-Australian collaboration that aims to improve access to PHC for vulnerable populations. Relationships were developed with stakeholders in six regions across Canada and Australia where access-related needs could be identified. The most promising interventions would be implemented and tested to address the needs identified. This realist review was conducted to understand how community coalition and outreach (e.g., mobile or pop-up) services improve access for underserved vulnerable residents. Objective: To inform the development and delivery of an innovative intervention to increase access to PHC for vulnerable populations. Methods: A realist review was conducted in collaboration with the Local Innovative Partnership (LIP) research team and the IMPACT research members who conducted the review. We performed an initial comprehensive systematic search using MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library up to October 19, 2015, and updated it on August 8, 2020. Studies were included if they focused on interventions to improve access to PHC using community coalition, outreach services or mobile delivery methods. We included Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), and systematic reviews. Studies were screened by two independent reviewers and the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework was used for data extraction and framework analysis to obtain themes. The LIP research team was also allowed to suggest additional papers not included at screening. Results: We included 43 records, comprising 31 RCTs, 11 systematic reviews, and 1 case control study that was added by the LIP research team. We identified three main themes of PHC interventions to promote access for vulnerable residents, including: 1) tailoring of materials and services decreases barriers to primary health care, 2) services offered where vulnerable populations gather increases the "reach" of the interventions, 3) partnerships and collaborations lead to positive health outcomes. In addition, implementation designs and reporting elements should be considered. Conclusion: Realist reviews can help guide the development of locally adapted primary health care interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background From 2014 to 2019, the Centre for Research Excellence in Integrated Quality Improvement (CRE-IQI) was evaluated as an innovation platform focusing on continuous quality improvement in Indigenous Australian primary healthcare. Although social network analysis (SNA) is a recognized method for evaluating the functioning, collaboration and effectiveness of innovation platforms, applied research is limited. This study applies SNA to evaluate the CRE-IQI’s functioning as an innovation platform. Methods Two surveys (2017, 2019) were conducted using social survey and network methods. Survey items covered respondent characteristics, their perceptions of the CRE-IQI’s performance, and its impact and sociometric relationships. Members’ relationship information was captured for the CRE-IQI at three time points, namely start (retrospectively), midpoint and final year, on three network types (knew, shared information, collaborated). SNA software was used to compute standard network metrics including diameter, density and centrality, and to develop visualizations. Survey and network results were addressed in a workshop held by members to develop improvement strategies. Results The response rate was 80% in 2017 and 65% in 2019 (n = 49 and 47, respectively). Between 2017 and 2019, respondents’ mean ratings of the CRE-IQI’s functioning and achievements in meeting its goals were sustained. They perceived the CRE-IQI as multidisciplinary, having effective management and governance, and incorporating Indigenous research leadership, representation and ways of working. Respondents recognized high levels of trust amongst members, rated “good communication and coordination with participants” highly, and “facilitating collaboration” as the CRE’s most strongly recognized achievement. In collaboration and information-sharing networks, average path length remained low in 2017 and 2019, indicating good small-world network properties for relaying information. On average, respondents shared information and collaborated with more CRE members in 2017 than 2019. However, in both 2017 and 2019 there were new collaborations and information-sharing outside of direct collaborations. CRE-IQI outcomes included: evidence generation; knowledge transfer and skills development in quality improvement; research capacity-building, career development; mentoring; grant support; development of new projects; health service support; and policy impact. Conclusions This study shows the utility of network analysis in evaluating the functioning, and collaboration, at the individual, organizational and health system levels, of an innovation platform, and adds to our understanding of factors enabling successful innovation platforms.

To what extent do ministries dominate a particular policy domain? The policy dictator model and many principle‐agent models of governmental control that followed suit assume that governments create ministries with clear and exclusive policy responsibilities. We test this assertion using data from parliamentary bills from Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. For each bill, we observe its substantial policy content and the responsible ministry. The data show that bills on similar issues regularly are drafted by different ministries in parliamentary democracies. About 40 per cent of policy issues cannot be ascribed to one dominant ministry. The regularities elucidate that ministerial division of labour within governments is considerably more complex than commonly assumed. The variegated level of ministerial dominance across policy domains calls for a new research agenda on how governments assign responsibility for legislative action in parliamentary democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the third year of the center-right coalition government, led by President Lacalle Pou in Uruguay. After two years where the pandemic and a referendum against the Urgent Consideration Law (LUC) dominated the agenda, this year saw a return to political normalcy. The government aimed to accelerate the adoption of strategic reforms in education and social security. Although the government coalition remained relatively solid and managed to approve the primary bills sent to Parliament, it experienced some difficulties agreeing on other crucial issues. However, in the second half of the year, the government appeared to lose control of the public agenda due to the emergence of political scandals. Also President Lacalle Pou’s approval ratings began to decline, marking the end of the extended honeymoon period, although in comparative terms his popularity remains high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explains the historic change that took place in Colombia in 2022, with the election of the first left-wing president in the country’s history. The first section describes the electoral patterns and the reasons why Gustavo Petro won the presidential race, focusing on three: the organizational muscle of the candidate’s coalition, changes in the issues dominating public discussion (from war to redistribution), and the crisis brought by the global pandemic. The second section analyzes the initial months of the Petro’s governments and its challenges, including the clash between different redistributive demands and the difficulty of implementing an agenda focused on social justice amidst an economic crisis and persistent problems associated with the armed conflict. Finally, the article concludes with an analysis of Colombia in the context of Latin America and the new left turn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research demonstrates how public memorializing can enable practices of the undercommons. Using the Equal Justice Initiative's Soil Collection Community Remembrance Project as our case study, we demonstrate how coalition-building shapes memory in the creation, rather than viewing, of memorial artifacts. We argue that the Soil Collection CRP enables two practices of the undercommons, Black study and unsettling grounds, and we contribute to conversations in rhetoric, ecology, and memory by offering a geologic approach that emphasizes the erosive quality of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Michel Foucault was an energetic activist, yet his bleak depiction of totalizing power and his refusal to make normative claims have led many to judge that Discipline and Punish (1975) did not sustain a positive political project. This article offers a new, contextualist account of Foucault's political purposes by reading Discipline and Punish as a tool for coalition building through historical worldmaking. Addressing the division and marginalization of movements on France's "alternative left" like feminism and gay liberation, Foucault wove together their differentiated concerns into a shared historical world. His apparently demoralizing identification of the same forms of power everywhere in fact revealed new possibilities for alliance. Focusing on Foucault's unifying historical narratives reveals a positive project beyond the negative, denaturalizing "critique of power" we usually associate with his political thought. Foucault's coalitional work of worldmaking may offer a model for genealogical political theory today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there have been tremendous advancements in HIV prevention, treatment, research, and care, vast health disparities still exist across race and ethnicity, as Black and Latinx people continue to have disproportionate rates of new HIV cases. Despite this fact, funding toward and implementation of policies that meet the needs of most impacted communities are virtually non- existent. Moreover, meaningful and impactful discussions about HIV have always required analyzing interlocking systems of privilege and oppression. Thus, in 2017, a group of scholars and activists of color developed HIV Racial Justice Now!, a nationwide grassroots coalition dedicated to advancing a racially just framework for the domestic HIV epidemic. In addition to developing The Declaration, a framework that can be used to push for racial liberation, HRJN disrupts traditional notions of HIV rhetoric, racial justice, and public memory by decentering whiteness in the domestic HIV movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]