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Due to the complexity and dynamics of underground construction projects, safety risk management has experienced significant challenges restricting the sustainable development of underground space. The research on risk causal chains and risk coupling has yet to reveal the dynamic interactive characteristics of these risk factors and their temporal relationships over time. This study utilized a complex system view for safety risk analysis, using 37 accident investigation reports of underground construction projects. Combined with two novel and emerging analytical methods, temporal qualitative comparative analysis and crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis, this study discusses the temporal relationship of risk factors to the cause of accidents and explores the multi-actor coupling characteristics of management risk. The findings indicate that (1) compared with general construction projects, underground construction should pay more attention to management safety risks because they have an obvious time lag effect expressed in all accident causation paths, namely, preceding management risk, management risk, and machine/material risk cross-concurrently, and management risk initiation and (2) underground construction project management risks have three key main paths, namely, single-actor-dominated management deficiency (supervisors, owners, and subcontractors that cause management risks as a single-core actor) and dual-actor-dominated management deficiency (owner and subcontractor as dual core actors of management risk). Multi-actor-dominated management deficiency (owners, subcontractors, and supervisors are the multiple core actors of management risk). This study thus developed a temporal governance framework of underground construction safety risks based on the synergy of multi-actors and proposed risk governance strategies, such as synergistic multi-actor governance, to consider the temporal relationship of safety risk. This study further reveals the temporal and coupling characteristics of safety risks to enrich the risk casual chain theory and risk coupling theory and establish a systematic risk analysis framework for new guidance for safety and risk management for underground construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly interconnected contemporary societies face complex problems that impact people's lives and demand collaborative innovative solutions. In the public sector, managers have shown a growing interest in collaboration to stimulate the development and implementation of innovative solutions. Despite this, the field of research on the role of leadership in this process is still incipient. This work aims to build a synthesis of the literature on the role of leaders in collaborative innovation processes in the public sector. The generation of a thematic map reveals two macro themes -- roles and actions of leaders -- associated with six themes: meta-governance, three-dimensional performance, observing basic requirements, restructuring the organization, overcoming obstacles, and exploring the drivers. This framework outlines how public leaders can act to engage in the development of more effective collaborative innovations for society. To review the evidence, it is also recommended that the profile of public leaders indicated to stimulate collaborative innovation processes to be more proactive and less attached to formalisms, should act as a meta-governor to convene, orchestrate, facilitate, regulate, mediate, and catalyze the processes of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regionalization approaches—where utilities in close geographic proximity cooperate to manage drought risks and co‐invest in new infrastructure—are increasingly necessary strategies for leveraging economies of scale to meet growing demands and navigate financial risks. However, regionalization also brings new challenges to water supply planning. Successful regionalization policies must equitably balance the interests of multiple partners while navigating power relationships between regional actors. In long‐term infrastructure planning contexts, this challenge is heightened by the evolving system‐state dynamics, which may be fundamentally reshaped by infrastructure investment. This work introduces Equitable, Robust, Adaptive, and Stable Deeply Uncertain Pathways (DU PathwaysERAS), an exploratory modeling framework for developing regional water supply management and infrastructure investment pathways. DU PathwaysERAS provides an integrated framework for stakeholders to evaluate the equity of policy outcomes across cooperating partners and explore regional power relationships within cooperative infrastructure policies. To capture the time‐evolving dynamics of infrastructure pathways, DU PathwaysERAS features new tools to measure the adaptive capacity of pathway policies and evaluate time‐evolving vulnerability. We demonstrate our framework on a six‐utility water supply partnership seeking to develop cooperative infrastructure investment pathways in the Research Triangle, North Carolina. Our results indicate that commonly employed framings of robustness can have large and unintended adverse consequences for regional partnerships. Results further illustrate that regional and individual vulnerabilities are highly interdependent and emphasize the need to limit counterparty risks through carefully designed cooperative agreements. Beyond the Research Triangle, these results are broadly applicable to cooperative water supply infrastructure investment and management globally. Key Points: We present new tools to develop equitable & robust regional water supply investment pathways & clarify their time‐evolving vulnerabilitiesWe demonstrate how commonly used framings of water supply robustness can have unintended adverse impacts on regional equityCooperative investments can help water utilities maintain regional supply reliability but can also expose utilities to new financial risks [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yönetişim kavramı günümüzde kamu yönetimi açısından yeni bir dünya gibi görülmekte bunun yanı sıra yerindelik ve katılımcılığın vurgusuyla her derde deva olduğu düşünülmektedir. Hem özel sektör yönetim teknikleri aktarımı, hem yönetim içinde etken ve edilgen olarak nitelenebilecek farklı grupların aynı potada buluşmasını öngören, çözümsel bir model olarak sunulmaktadır. Modern dünyanın en önemli örgüt modeli sayılan Weberyen bürokrasi ve türev modeller, eksik kalan kısımlarıyla eleştirilmektedir. Dönüşüm/devinim/gelişim devam ettikçe yeni modellere ve yönetimsel formülasyonlara ihtiyaç duyulması kaçınılmaz görünmektedir. Günümüzde, kamu yönetimi anlamında, Yeni Kamu Yönetimi (YKY) ve Yeni Kamu İşletmeciliği gibi modellemeler ve bu hibrit modellerin ortak lokomotif öznesi yönetişim kavramıdır. İdari yapılanma modellerindeki değişim, paydaş sayısını ve idari yapılanmanın temelini oluşturan mevzuatı da dönüştürmüştür. Çalışmada nitel yöntem benimsenmiş olup lüteratür incelemesi tekniği uygulanmıştır. Çalışmada; bazen bir sonuç, bazen de ise yönetsel/örgütsel değişimin önceli olarak ortaya çıkan idare hukuku alanındaki değişimin; idare-yönetim kavramları arasında teknik bir inceleme yapılmaksızın, yönetişim kavramı üzerinden anlatılması amaçlanmıştır. Bu anlamda, yönetişim kavramı, kavramı önceleyen/temellendiren kavram ve kuramlardan olan klasik bürokrasi anlayışı eleştirisi ile yeni kamu yönetimi üzerinden anlatılmaya çalışılacaktır. Sonuç olarak; bahse konu kuram ve kavramların yönetimsel teknik değişimleri ile örgütsel yeniden yapılandırmalar sonucu ile, idare hukuku alanının özel hukuk lehine daraldığı aktarılmaya çalışılacaktır.

• First generic multi-level multi-actor framework for the water-energy-food nexus. • Combines integrated operational multi-agent based simulations with strategic multi-criteria decision-making methods. • Three strategic multi-criteria decision-making methods are compared (one local vs two regional). This study presents an innovative water-energy-food nexus (WEFN) generic multi-actor multi-level framework that simulates dynamic nexus systems and generates optimal resource management schemes and land-use allocation scenarios. The framework combines operational integrated multi-agent based simulations, dynamic agro-hydrological and renewable energy generation units (solar and wind) models and multi-criteria decision-making methods. It has been applied to a case study area of 800 km2 located downstream the Aveyron watershed, in Southwestern France. Local and regional strategic multi-criteria decision-making settings are compared. Under the local decision-making setting land-use allocation decisions are taken at agricultural parcel level whereas under the regional decision-making settings a single land allocation decision is taken for the whole territory. Possible land allocations are either crop rotations allocations, renewable energy generation units allocations or a mix of both. The framework is useful to generate scenarios of spatial allocations of renewable energy production units in an agricultural watershed facing water scarcity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precision livestock farming (PLF) is increasingly being suggested as a promising tool for contributing to the sustainable transition of livestock farming as a market system innovation for farm-animal value chains. The innovations of PLF systems are over and above applications aimed at achieving on-farm goals (e.g. improving efficiency and monitoring farm animals), which are well recognised in the existing literature. This paper specifies the new dimensions of PLF systems, including data-sharing with retailers in the chain, with certifiers/control organisations, with other farmers and with market innovators, as well as data governance. Because farmers approach PLF applications that extend beyond on-farm use with reluctance, it is crucial to take farmer preferences into account when designing multi-actor PLF-system innovations. Proceeding from a mixed-method design, this study begins with a literature review and expert interviews, followed by an examination of farmer preferences regarding the architectural-design attributes of a PLF-system innovation. The latter takes the form of a conjoint study based on data obtained from 367 pig and dairy farmers in Finland, the Netherlands and Spain. Results indicate that farmers attach the greatest importance to the governing structure that manages their data, followed by the opportunity to use an on-farm early-warning system to monitor farm animals, and the possibility of sharing the collected data with value-chain actors mainly for purposes of optimising business innovation and certification. A cluster analysis further highlights the importance of finding customised solutions, considering the heterogenous preferences of farmers for PLF-system innovations beyond European borders. These preferences should be considered in the design of multi-actor PLF-system innovations. • PLF opens new opportunities for the sustainable transition of agricultural system through PLF-system innovations. • PLF-system innovations add dimensions of value chain (market innovation, data-sharing with retailers, certifiers, farmers) and data governance. • PLF-system innovations are hindered by the reluctance of farmers to share PLF data in their business ecosystems. • PLF-system innovations should benefit farmers with better governance, livestock tracking and data sharing for business innovation and certification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making investment decisions is usually considered a challenging task for investors because it is a process based on risky, complex, and consequential choices (Shanmuganathan, 2020). When it comes to Investments in human capital (IHC), such as startups fundings, the aspect of decision-making (DM) becomes even more critical since the outcome of the DM process is not completely predictable. Indeed, it has to take into consideration the will, goals, and motivations of each human actor involved: those who invest as well as those who seek investments. We define this specific DM process as multiactor DM (MADM) since not a group is making decisions but different actors, or groups of different actors, who - starting from non-coinciding objectives - need to reach a mutual agreement and converge toward a common goal for the success of the investment. This review aims to give insights on psychological contributions to the study of complex DM processes that deal with IHC to provide scholars and practitioners with a theoretical framework and a tool for describing the complex socio-ecological systems involved in the DM processes. For this purpose, we discuss in the paper how the third generation of activity theory (Leont'ev, 1974, 1978; Engeström, 1987, 2001) could be used as an appropriate model to explain the specificities of MADM construct, focusing on the particular case of startup funding. Design thinking techniques will be proposed as a methodology to create a bridge between different activity systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making investment decisions is usually considered a challenging task for investors because it is a process based on risky, complex, and consequential choices (Shanmuganathan, 2020). When it comes to Investments in human capital (IHC), such as startups fundings, the aspect of decision-making (DM) becomes even more critical since the outcome of the DM process is not completely predictable. Indeed, it has to take into consideration the will, goals, and motivations of each human actor involved: those who invest as well as those who seek investments. We define this specific DM process as multi-actor DM (MADM) since not a group is making decisions but different actors, or groups of different actors, who – starting from non-coinciding objectives – need to reach a mutual agreement and converge toward a common goal for the success of the investment. This review aims to give insights on psychological contributions to the study of complex DM processes that deal with IHC to provide scholars and practitioners with a theoretical framework and a tool for describing the complex socio-ecological systems involved in the DM processes. For this purpose, we discuss in the paper how the third generation of activity theory (Leont’ev, 1974, 1978;Engeström, 1987, 2001) could be used as an appropriate model to explain the specificities of MADM construct, focusing on the particular case of startup funding. Design thinking techniques will be proposed as a methodology to create a bridge between different activity systems.

The IPM WORKS IPM Resource Toolbox (Toolbox) has been developed as an interactive, online repository of integrated pest management (IPM) resources. Populated with high priority resources for farmers and their advisors during the project, its structure enables additional resources added over time. The repository is a public interactive website, available to anyone looking to access, understand, and implement IPM. Built on an open-source content management system, the toolbox is designed to require minimal post-production site maintenance and support, while being easily expanded to integrate resources from future initiatives. To ensure an efficient but comprehensive website design, population, maintenance, a survey of target user needs was conducted. Different type of IPM stakeholders, both internal and external to the IPMworks project, ranked the key requirements for the Toolbox, such as practical information about diseases and pests’ management and economic thresholds: 343 feedbacks and answers from a survey of 10 questions, carried out across Europe in four languages, provided the key elements and foundation for the IPM Resource Toolbox website development and specification. The Toolbox resources are explained in different languages, with images, divided by topics, with the possibility to find additional details and accessible by smartphone.

Sustainability is a complex, multi-dimensional issue that requires contributions from diverse disciplines, perspectives, and actors. Research and innovation are recognised as having the potential to help address some of the trade-offs and synergies associated with sustainability, and interactive innovation in particular offers many advantages. The beef sector has faced significant sustainability challenges in recent times, with criticisms relating to greenhouse gas (GHG) production, biodiversity, water quality, human health, and animal welfare, along with economic challenges to the viability of the sector. Furthermore, the low level of adoption of solutions proposed by research to address these challenges indicates the need for a pan-European multi-actor network to produce actionable and usable information to support European beef farmers. Drawing on practice-based research, the purpose of this exploratory paper was to examine how interactive innovation can be supported in a sector that, to date, has been the focus of limited interactive innovation efforts. It concluded that a "rainbow" of actors and diverse knowledges, along with different types of innovation intermediaries, can enhance the sustainability of the beef sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the greatest challenges of contemporary planning lies in expanding the strategies and mechanisms of citizen participation in the different scales involved in urban-territorial transformation. In this context, this fieldnote explores the programme "26 Local Strategies: A Metropolitan Plan", developed in the Rosario Metropolitan Area (AMR), Argentina, by the Rosario Metropolitan Coordination Entity (ECOMR), between 2016 and 2020. This case study is a significant contribution on the topic of participatory strategies in multilevel planning. During the formulation of 24 local urban plans and an interjurisdictional plan, which together constitute the metropolitan plan, it was possible to implement a multiscalar approach, with the wide participation of various social groups, entities, organisations and citizens involved, through which the urban and territorial policies of the AMR were co-designed for the following 10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the diversity of thinking among the scholars on building information modelling (BIM) collaboration, there is a paucity of studies that capture the dimension of social collaboration in BIM projects. This study attempts to develop a comprehensive understanding on the key attributes of multi-actor social collaboration in BIM projects through the experience of practitioners in BIM-Level 2 construction project. The success of multi-actor social collaboration has been investigated through structured interviews with 22 BIM practitioners in a BIM-Level 2 project based on an established theoretical framework of social collaboration. The findings indicted that relationship-oriented attributes; relational contracts BIM execution plan; guideline, standard and work process manual approaches; employer information requirement (EIR); understanding roles and leadership; commitment from top management; resources; training, team building workshop and awareness program; coordination; and understanding on the theoretical knowledge of BIM are of importance towards multi-actor social BIM collaboration. This study acknowledges that the success of multi-actor social collaboration was influenced by the consolidation of many attributes, and it extends the dominant relationship between related attributes for multi-actor social collaboration based on the "best practice approach", which includes dominant-centric attributes (i.e., behaviour formation, procurement model and support principles). This research contributes to the body of BIM knowledge in the construction domain by focusing on what it takes to achieve greater social collaboration in BIM Level 2 projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reinforcement learning algorithms have made huge progress in recent years by leveraging the power of deep neural networks. Despite the success, deep reinforcement learning algorithms' performance is largely dependent on the approach of exploration. Some of them engage in exploratory behavior by injecting external noise into the action space or adopting a gaussian policy. This paper presents a deep reinforcement learning algorithm without external noise called self-guided deep deterministic policy gradient with multi-actor (SDDPGM), which is the combination of deep deterministic policy gradient and generative adversarial networks (GANs). It employs the generator of GANs which trained from excellent experiences to guide the learning of the agent and makes discriminator constitute a subjective reward. Moreover, to make the learning more stable, SDDPGM applies a multi-actor mechanism that stands as a serially distinct actor based on the temporal phase of an episode. Finally, experiments show that SDDPGM is a promising deep reinforcement learning method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First review that examines multi-actor approaches for WEFN systems. • Multi-actor approaches have been classified into four categories. • Only multi-agent based models enable operational decision making simulations. • Stakeholders must choose multi-actor approaches according to their needs. Water, energy and food are essential resources for human life; however, their security is increasingly threatened worldwide by climate change, urbanization, and population growth. The Nexus approach, conceptualized in 2011 by the Bonn Nexus Conference, addresses the interconnections and trade-offs of water-energy-food systems and analyzes the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary dimensions of these systems with a systemic approach. This bibliographic review aims at showing how multi-actor perspectives and objectives on water-energy-food nexus systems are modeled together with socio-ecological considerations. It sheds light on the major techniques found in the literature to do so; mathematical modeling, participative approaches and multi-criteria decision-making. This paper identifies commonalities between models developed at similar spatio-temporal scales and decision levels. It also highlights literature gaps and outlines research challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Retirement is not only an important later-life transition for the retiring individual, but also for his or her life partner. This study aims to improve our understanding of the partner's adjustment to the retirement of the older worker, by paying attention to the multidimensional nature of adjustment, and by examining to what extent preretirement expectations are predictive of postretirement experiences. Well-established adjustment predictors – i.e. preretirement resources and characteristics of the work and retirement context – are also taken into account. Method: Analyses are based on Dutch three-wave multi-actor panel data, collected between 2001 and 2011 among 724 partners of older workers who transitioned into retirement during the course of the study. Results: Only a minority of the partners reported adjustment difficulties to the retirement of the employee. About 20 percent reported at least some financial problems, 8 percent reported relationship problems, and 10 percent reported problems with shared leisure time. Expected problems in all three domains were predictive of experienced problems in the same domain. For expected financial problems, a cross-over effect was observed: expected financial problems were also predictive of experienced adjustment difficulties with regards to shared leisure activities. Conclusion: Not only the older worker, but also the partner develops expectations on different dimensions about the shared postretirement future, and these expectations are related to postretirement experiences. Retirement counseling may therefore not only be relevant for older workers, but also for their partners, and needs to take the multidimensional character of retirement processes into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper demystifies the processes, methodologies and outputs of three co-design projects, identifying how and to what extent are aims and principles of the multi-actor approach realised and upheld in the field. Implications from the cases for participatory principles are discussed. Design/Methodology/approach: A detailed ethnographic account is presented of three multi-actor co-design cases, supporting diverse readers' interpretations and learnings. Findings: Three paradoxes were identifiable from the multi-actor processes: (1) outputs can be orphaned when they lack strong identifiers and affiliations with discrete professional communities outside of the co-design team; (2) combining diverse knowledges co-design can generate outputs that are new and strange (rather than familiar and acceptable) to end-users; (3) for Responsible Research and Innovation, co-creating interventions that are challenging (rather than popular) to society may be required. Practical implications: Awareness of dynamics and paradoxes arising in the implementation of multi-actor co-design supports enhanced facilitation of processes and impacts of outcomes. Together, the paradoxes highlight the critical importance of communications and engagement initiatives across diverse communities in the aftermath of co-design efforts. Theoretical implications: Although co-design processes are case-dependent, reflexive accounts of how they play out contribute to the body of knowledge of how co-design may be better understood. The cases in this paper identify paradoxes with implications for principles and theory of multi-actor co-design. Originality/Value: This paper presents a detailed account of three unique co-design processes. Practical and theoretical implications of the cases are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Sustainability concerns emphasise the importance of identifying eco-efficient supply chain configurations which balance economic and environmental chain objectives. The applied modelling approaches for this purpose often assume the availability of raw materials and full coordination within the supply chain studied. Some or all actors in the chain can however pursue individual objectives, making the obtained solutions unfeasible in practice. Economic incentives support aligning the objectives of the different supply chain actors. This paper explores the design of eco-efficient biomass supply chains and economic gain allocation between the supply chain partners. A case study is developed for the sugar beet processing chain in the Netherlands, in which farmers can also choose to produce other competing crops. We observe that higher yields often lead to lower carbon emissions per ton of produce. Hence, eco-efficient solutions are found to have production and processing locations in the most productive regions. Additionally, margin sharing above the minimum sugar beet price is necessary to ensure the production of the desired quantity of sugar beet. Realistic sugar beet prices are determined using a Shapley-value approach, leading to a fair distribution of margin among the farmers and processor in the supply chain. Highlights • We design eco-efficient biomass supply chains using multi-actor optimisation models. • Competing crops, production dependent prices, and regional features are considered. • We use the sugar beet processing chain in the Netherlands as an example. • Fair distribution of benefits is needed to make optimal designs attractive. • Locating refineries in regions with productive soils leads to eco-efficient chain designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition to sustainable agriculture is in many cases hindered by a web of interconnected barriers across agricultural system levels (cropping, farming and agrifood systems), involving a diverse range of stakeholders (e.g., farmers, marketing companies, input providers, R&D). This calls for the coordinated design of innovations across levels to bring about major changes towards agroecological practices. In this study, we devised and tested a method for the design of coupled innovations on soil health management in sheltered vegetable cropping systems, in south-eastern France. We developed a workshop-based approach grounded on 4 principles: (1) innovation design relying on generativity, combination of independent knowledge sources, and creation of open social spaces; (2) participatory design with researchers-facilitators and stakeholder-experts; (3) progressive exploration of the problem complexity; and (4) use of intermediary objects to facilitate linkages across levels and stakeholders, and the evaluation of the innovations. Following a 3-steps approach, we explored innovations at increasing levels of complexity and diversity in participants, with each step's outcomes feeding the next one. With the participation of 34 stakeholders, we progressively designed three final coupled innovation prototypes targeting three key areas for innovation in our case study: (1) crop diversification; (2) application of biologically active amendments; and (3) integration of agroecological techniques and its optimization. We asked the participants to evaluate these three prototypes based on stakeholder criteria that we had previously characterized. We also produced complementary resources to move from the refined innovation concepts to their implementation: (a) 16 'simple' innovations and 37 complementary 'coupled' innovations, both original and adapted to the context of our case studyand (b) knowledge gaps to be filled. Examples of designed coupled innovations are: (i) organic mulching cropping system combined with on-farm organic mulch production (farm coupled innovation); (ii) crop diversification combined with plot exchange with neighboring farmer (farmer-farmer coupled innovation); and (iii) making soil health status explicitly transparent in field transactions combined with agroecological soil health management (agrifood system coupled innovations). This workshop-based method is the last component of an original approach to support the agroecological transition of agrifood systems, initiated by a sociotechnical analysis and a tracking for coupled innovation. It enables the coordination of the innovation design across system levels and the agrifood system's stakeholders. [Display omitted] • Transition to agroecology is hindered by a lack of coordination between agrifood system stakeholders • We tested a method to coordinate the design of agroecological innovation across stakeholders, on vegetable production • Our method is based on innovative design, participatory approach, progressive exploration, and object-based intermediation • With the participation of 34 stakeholders, we designed 40 coupled innovations both original and adapted to our context [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the current application of transport appraisal in the UK, in particular exploring the partiality of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) within the wider multi-criteria analysis (MCA) process. It argues that applying a quantitative assessment of the varied impacts of complex transport projects can only be partial within the CBA. Analysis can overlook social, human life, environmental and built environment impacts, and projects can be inconsistent with the planning strategy for an area. The application of CBA is critically reviewed using two case studies: the proposed upgrade of the South Fylde railway line and the Heysham-M6 Link Road, both from North West England. A participatory MCA process is suggested to help improve the process of transport appraisal, as part of an improved public debate on transport investment priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]