Cooperative Structure Research Articles

Analysis of Seismic Performance and Applicable Height of a Cooperative Modular Steel Building

As an innovative building system, the modular steel structure demonstrates a high degree of industrialization and assembly efficiency. However, no linkage exists between the components of modular units, leading to issues such as diminished load capacity and excessive steel usage in modular construction. In order to tackle these challenges, finite element numerical simulations are employed to examine the inter-column connectors and the cooperative modular steel buildings. This simulation calculates the initial stiffness across various degrees of freedom in these connectors. In addition, it analyzes the displacement response, changes in internal forces, and height of cooperative modular steel structures under varying seismic precautionary intensities. The results revealed that cooperative modular steel buildings substantially improve overall stiffness and lateral performance compared to their non-cooperative counterparts. There is a maximum reduction in the inter-story displacement angle of up to 36.1%, and the maximum reduction of the top displacement can reach 16.2%. This enhancement also increases structural stiffness, a shortened natural vibration period, and an augmented bottom shear force. Based on these findings, it is advised that the height of cooperative modular steel buildings should not exceed 21 m at 7 degrees (0.10 g), 21 m at 7 degrees (0.15 g), and 12 m at 8 degrees (0.20 g).

Analisis Struktur Modal Kaitannya dengan Manfaat Ekonomi Langsung Pada Koperasi X

In practice, cooperatives are institutions that are not only profit or profit oriented profit oriented but also on service or service oriented. One cooperative that is oriented towards these two aspects is Cooperative X, where this cooperative is a cooperative multipurpose which in carrying out its business activities has several business units to support or serve the needs of its members. With the existence of several business units to support members' needs, of course Cooperative X needs to serve its members well. One of them is by providing price benefits, both selling prices and purchasing prices, to members of the cooperative. Where the intended benefits are better known as direct economic benefits. The rise and fall of economic benefits is directly related to the management of the cooperative's capital structure which will later finance the cooperative's business activities. The aim of this research is to obtain an overview of the relationship between capital structure and direct economic benefits. The method used in this research is a case study and analyzed using descriptive analysis. The results of this research show that there is a negative relationship between capital structure and direct economic benefits, which means that when the capital structure of a cooperative decreases, direct economic benefits will increase. This can be seen from the development of the capital structure and direct economic benefits in 2022. Based on this, it can be concluded that in carrying out its business activities, Cooperative X has managed or used its loan capital well.

A central role for stressor appraisal in the social dimensions of health and aging in nonhuman primates

Being social is by no means the default in the animal kingdom; even most mammals meet only briefly to mate and otherwise lead happy solitary lives. Because conspecifics occupy the same ecological niche, seek the same ecological conditions and resources, they can be each other’s strongest competitors when resources are scarce. Yet, sociality, i.e. associating, communicating, coordinating, cooperating, and competing in structured ways, has evolved independently many times across the tree of life. The consequences of competition and conflict are often not shared equally among members of a society, resulting in status-associated health prospects. In response, affiliative strategies have evolved to navigate such structured societies and to partially compensate for certain costs of sociality. The importance of such affiliative strategies may change with age and neurodegenerative disease. Their shared longevity, physiological and anatomical similarity, including in brain areas affected by aging, and particularly the homologies in how social status, affiliation, and cooperation structure their societies, make nonhuman primates the preferred models for the social dimensions of health and aging in humans.

Rebel Governance Structures and Violence in Apartheid South Africa

ABSTRACT What role do rebel governance structures play in deterring rebel-on-rebel violence? I argue that variation in rebel governance is an important factor. In 1990s South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) and its armed wing, the MK, employed different governance strategies over pro-ANC militias. In the Sharpeville township, the MK imposed a hierarchical governance structure, which contributed to inter-factional ANC violence. In the Thokoza township, the ANC formed a cooperative governance structure between the ANC and the militias. As a result, Thokoza experienced less internecine conflict. Evidence for my argument comes from archival research and interviews with former pro-ANC militants.

SCENARIOS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES IN BULGARIA UNTIL 2027

After Bulgaria's integration into the European Union (EU) in 2007, restructuring processes in agricultural cooperatives continue. One of the main statistical categories, providing information on how cooperative structures are changing and what will be the future direction of development, is the production structure. Despite measures to support farmers' incomes under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU, the number of agricultural cooperatives is decreasing. The purpose of this article is to forecast the main trends in the development of agricultural cooperatives in Bulgaria until 2027. A linear scenario model is applied and the sensitivity of the selected indicators is identified under certain assumptions about changes in the independent variables. The selection of indicators is based on available statistical information. They are proposed with a view to finding the optimal opportunity provided by the data for their inclusion in the established econometric model and the calculation of forecasts (prospective forecasts of the change in cultivated land and the number of cooperatives). According to the model's estimate, agricultural cooperatives will continue to decline until 2027, despite expectations of an overall increase in the utilized agricultural area, arable land and permanent crops in general. When developing the realistic scenario, the experts assume that at the end of 2027, the land structure and the number of agricultural cooperatives existing until 2020 will be preserved. When constructing the pessimistic and optimistic scenario, it is noticeable that the index's range of variation is within 0.35 to 0.76 compared to the base period. The pessimistic scenario for the future of the vineyards has the highest rating. The average ratings of the three scenarios are average (moderate performance) as follows – pessimistic with 0.50, moderate – 0.46, and the highest rating is the optimistic scenario – 0.54. The forecast is to limit permanently grassed areas. With one of the highest ratings is the pessimistic scenario of the lands with vine plantations, which indicates an expectation to continue the existing trend of decreasing vines. Keywords: scenarios, agricultural cooperatives, Bulgaria JEL: Q13; Q18; R15

General structures of control area cooperation for variable renewable energy integration in electric power systems

To integrate large-scale variable renewable energy resources (RESs) in modern power grids, the coordinating control area (CA) operation is the most cost-effective method. This article reviews the technical aspects of CA cooperation. Firstly, a brief overview of the active balancing control within each CA is discussed. Secondly, three general control structures for CA cooperation are innovatively proposed, the corresponding implementation details are analyzed, and some representative technologies are also provided in the systematic analysis. Then, some future research directions such as large-scale power sharing by DC, active power control of RES bases, and the new structure for distributed energy resources in local power grids are prospected. Finally, the changes in power systems brought about by their evolution and importance for further promoting cooperation between CAs are summarized.

A Study on the Profitability and Financial Performance of District Central Cooperative Banks in Tamil Nadu

Agriculture has a crucial role in the Indian economy. Institutional and non-institutional sources of agricultural loans exist in India. Institutional credit cooperatives play a significant role in the provision of finance to the agricultural sector. The formation of these societies dates back to 1904 when the first Cooperative Credit Societies Act was passed. The objective was to provide cheap credit to the farmers to relieve them from the clutches of money lenders are thought to be the foundations of the overall cooperative structure. Cooperative societies not only mobilize deposits and provide agricultural and rural credit but also extend credit to priority sectors of the country. Banks' profitability and financial operations are always solid as they expand services to subsidiaries. The present analysis is based on secondary data from the years 2012-13 to 2021-22. The growth of different parameters is done by using Compound Average Growth Rate (CAGR) and profitability and financial performance by using ratio analysis and regression analysis of the data. The poor financial condition affects the growth of banks due to their reliability, liquidity, and profitability. The present analysis is based on secondary data from the years 2012-13 to 2021-2022. This paper deals with the profitability and financial performance of District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) in Tamil Nadu.

Entrepreneurial universities: Modelling the link between innovation producers and innovation users shows that team structures in the tech transfer function improves performance

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;">To investigate successful technology transfer, the potential path of innovations from the university research bench to the knowledge recipient is modelled. Universities exist in highly regulated environments and the initial path of decision-making is a hierarchical model and where decisions flow upward from manager to manager until a small number of candidate innovations for commercialization remain. These are then routed for further processing to the link connecting to the knowledge recipient, the Technology Transfer Office (TTO). In the TTO, a hierarchical decision-making model can be acceptable in terms of outcomes, but ambidextrous co-operative team structures are much superior in cases where staff have good insight and decision-making abilities. This report represents the first Structured Equation Model investigation of the management architecture of a TTO.</span></p>

Course Design for Leadership Learning in an Experiential Program

Background: Leadership development is commonly named as an outcome for experiential learning (EL) programs. Some programs have shown success at inculcating individual leadership traits. However, it is not clear whether there is a relationship between certain kinds of experiential pedagogy and specific leadership concepts or styles, such as industrial and postindustrial leadership and other concepts. Purpose: The researchers identify course-design factors associated with leadership-learning outcomes in an interdisciplinary EL program called Vertically Integrated Projects. Method: From five courses across disciplines, faculty were interviewed and syllabi and student reflections were analyzed for concepts of leadership and course designs. Findings: Students showed the most evidence of leadership learning when at least two of the three factors were present: (i) flexible and cooperative course structures; (ii) conceptual instruction; and (iii) faculty coaching. Leadership practice is distinguished from leadership learning. Implications: Leadership educators recommend conceptual instruction prior to experiential learning; the findings support supplementing that instruction with a flexible, cooperative course design to encourage leadership learning. More research is needed on the relationship between “vertical” experiences, in which advanced students mentor junior students in courses of any size, and leadership development.

Cooperation and the social brain hypothesis in primate social networks

The social brain hypothesis posits that species with larger brains tend to have greater social complexity. Various lines of empirical evidence have supported the social brain hypothesis, including evidence from the structure of social networks. Cooperation is a key component of group living, particularly among primates, and theoretical research has shown that particular structures of social networks foster cooperation more easily than others. Therefore, we hypothesized that species with a relatively large brain size tend to form social networks that better enable cooperation. In the present study, we combine data on brain size and social networks with theory on the evolution of cooperation on networks to test this hypothesis in non-human primates. We have found a positive effect of brain size on cooperation in social networks even after controlling for the effect of other structural properties of networks that are known to promote cooperation.

A distributed MPC approach — Local agents decide network convergence

In an earlier work, the Limited Communication-Distributed Model Predictive Control (LC-DMPC) scheme for controlling networks with dynamically coupled and locally constrained linear systems is presented. The scheme has an iterative and cooperative structure in which the systemwide optimum point is achieved by the distributed controllers requiring only coupled agents to cooperate. For assessing the network convergence, it is essential to possess complete information pertaining to all subsystems which has to be available to a central monitor. The current work endeavors to investigate this challenging point by distributing the network convergence within the local agents. With the new version of the algorithm, the convergence of the network is now guaranteed through the dissipativity of the local information exchange dynamics in the iteration domain. This is accomplished by introducing a set of free design variables into the distributed problems which are utilized by the agents to fulfill a simple local LMI problem employing local information only. Despite that the new approach is eliminating the necessity for a centralized observer, it may result in suboptimal local solutions. This is because the convergence of the information sharing loop between the coupled subsystems is insured by the small gain theorem. The new algorithm exhibits enhanced modularity due to the novel introduced convergence condition, implying that any updates to a subsystem physicals or design parameters do not require corresponding updates to neighboring subsystems or the network. The presented concepts are demonstrated by simulating a network of eight interconnected tanks.

The impact of global value chain restructuring on the product structure of China-EU exports

Using the Asian Development Bank Multi-Regional Input-Output Tables (ADB-MRIO) and the UIBE GVC Indicators Database, this paper selects the data of 14 manufacturing industries in China from 2007 to 2020, and empirically studies the impact of global value chain restructuring on the product structure of China-EU exports. Research shows that the restructuring of global value chain is conducive to the optimization of China-EU export product structure, and has a stronger effect on high-tech industries. Among them, the labor cost-driven global value chain restructuring is not conducive to the upgrading of China-EU export product structure, while the technological progress-driven global value chain restructuring is helpful to the upgrading of the product structure of China-EU exports. Further research finds that the global value chain restructuring driven by the US trade protection policy is conducive to the upgrading of China-EU export product structure. The research of this paper is helpful for China to strengthen China-EU cooperation and upgrade export trade structure in the new wave of global value chain restructuring. This paper can provide a possible path for China and other developing countries to explore high-quality economic development and provide relevant reference value for policy formulation related to the establishment of long-term trade cooperation with the EU.

Utvecklingsarbete som styrteknik

Development work as governance technique - an analysis of how development leaders experience power in Swedish regional support and cooperation structures. In this article, we study the experiences of power carried out by regional development leaders in Swedish regional support and cooperation structures (RSS) within the state’s governance of social services. The article answers two questions regarding: 1) the development leaders’ experiences of power in vertical and horizontal control rationalities in governmental knowledge management, and 2) the significance these experiences have for their understanding and comprehension of governance. The context is the national strategy on the knowledge management of social services. Knowledge management is exercised through interaction between the state, regional structures, government agencies, and RSS, implemented as a partnership. Our analysis is based on a series of recurring group interviews carried out as research circles with six regional development leaders. The analysis model in the article is primarily based on concepts such as control rationality, social technologies, and the relational exercise of power as a manifestation of normative power through subtle forms of control. The analysis reveals that the development leaders’ diverse experiences with power are shaped by the underlying governance rationalities in their operating context. In horizontal governance, they describe feeling a sense of participation and autonomy. In contrast, their experience of vertical governance is characterised by a feeling that someone else is in control. Their understanding of how power is constructed influences how they perform governance. They define governance as development, meaning a governance technique that allows for action and a sense of participation. We argue that development work should be considered a subtle social technology based on relational power, which organisations and professionals should recognise and put into concrete action.

Conceptional Thoughts on a Holistic Support Tool for Biointelligence-Related Strategic Decisions in Enterprises

Biological transformation represents one of the most promising optimization strategies for a sustainable economy. The rapid convergence of biotechnology, information technology and production technology provides a vast area of innovation. From an economic and innovation policy perspective, cooperation structures and value creation systems will change significantly in a biointelligent transformation process. In the future, many industries will produce personalized products in a much more decentralized manner based on locally provided, renewable resources using autonomous non-expert systems. Such a profound change affects not only products and processes but also the organization of companies and how innovations are evaluated and implemented. In this paper, we thus discuss the need for a reorientation of innovation management in companies in the context of biological transformation. This article focused the central question of how the innovation management can change in the context of biointelligence so that companies can be helped to invest strategically in biointelligent innovations. We then outline the basic elements of a framework and discuss key challenges for future research and development. In this paper, we present initial thoughts on a framework for the management of biointelligent innovation that aims to solve the complex requirements of BioIntelligence. Our approach is based on a holistic view of different methods and techniques to provide a comprehensive solution to the challenges. We discuss the basic concepts and goals of this framework as well as potential application areas and challenges. Furthermore, we present first approaches for implementation and evaluation.

Cross-border Paradiplomacy in the Irish Sea: A Socio-spatial Analysis

ABSTRACT: Bilateral relations between the UK devolved administrations and Ireland are a neglected aspect of the 'totality of relationships' among the people of these islands. This is especially true for relations between Ireland and Wales. This article fills this gap by focusing on the paradiplomatic role played by subnational authorities within Ireland and Wales in the construction of effective socio-spatial governance solutions pursuing cross-border cooperation across the Irish Sea. It describes the Ireland–Wales cross-border region as a loose, multi-level structure of economic and political cooperation, and as a product of the interaction between strategies and structures. The article demonstrates that paradiplomacy is not just empowered by cross-border cooperation, but actively shapes it as an opportunity structure through metagovernance. Specifically, the article argues for a better grasp of metagovernance to keep Irish Sea cooperation alive post-Brexit.

Building an agreement in a farming cooperative governance: A Sociology of conventions approach

This study examines how a board of directors and management team establish an agreement under an agricultural cooperative governance structure. We carried out a case study of an agricultural cooperative based in France, the board members and management team of which were interviewed and observed for over four years regarding their ability to create and maintain an agreement in the governance of the cooperative. Building on the theory of conventions, our findings indicate that board members' and managers' hybridity constitutes the basis for establishing a compromise and developing a trusting relationship between board members and managers. Furthermore, we highlighted the chairperson's crucial role in building, negotiating, and permanently repairing cohesion between these two bodies. Our study contributes to a more holistic understanding of the relationship between the board and management by explaining how previous experiences in different “worlds” (e.g., farming, cooperative, commercial) create hybrid individuals and how this facilitates agreement between actors with different dominant logics.

Claw lesion status in Brazilian commercial sow herds from 2013 to 2023.

Claw lesions significantly contribute to lameness, greatly affecting sow welfare. This study investigated different factors that would impact the severity of claw lesions in the sows of Brazilian commercial herds. A total of 129 herds (n = 12,364 sows) were included in the study. Herds were in the Midwest, Southeast, or South regions of Brazil. Inventory sizes were stratified into 250-810 sows, 811-1,300 sows, 1,301-3,000 sows, and 3,001-10,000 sows. Herds belonged to Cooperative (Coop), Integrator, or Independent structures. The herd management was conducted either maintaining breeds from stock on-site (internal), or through purchase of commercially available genetics (external). Herds adopted either individual crates or group housing during gestation. Within each farm, one randomly selected group of sows was scored by the same evaluator (two independent experts evaluated a total of 129 herds) from 0 (none) to 3 (severe) for heel overgrowth and erosion (HOE), heel-sole crack (HSC), separation along the white line (WL), horizontal (CHW) and vertical (CVW) wall cracks, and overgrown toes (T), or dewclaws (DC) in the hind legs after parturition. The study assessed differences and similarities between herds using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering (HAC) analysis. The effects of factors (i.e., production structure, management, housing during gestation, and region) were assessed using the partial least squares method (PLS). Heel overgrowth and erosion had the highest prevalence, followed by WL and CHW, while the lowest scores were observed for T, DC, and CVW. Herds were grouped in three clusters (i.e., C1, C2, and C3). Heel overgrowth and erosion, HSC, WL, CHW, CVW, and T were decreased by 17, 25, 11, 25, 21, and 17%, respectively, in C3 compared to C1 and 2 combined. Independent structure increased the L-Index in all three clusters. Furthermore, individual housing increased the L-Index regardless of the cluster. The results suggest that shifting toward larger, more technologically advanced herds could potentially benefit claw health. Additionally, adopting group gestation housing appears to mitigate the adverse effects on claw health, although further validation is necessary, as Brazil has only recently transitioned from individual housing practices.

Optimization of school-enterprise cooperation path for engineering majors based on robust optimization algorithm

Abstract This research delineates the unique attributes of the industry-university-research collaboration network, formulating an innovation network specifically designed for engineering disciplines predicated on university-industry partnerships. It introduces a set of measurement indices aimed at evaluating the structural properties of this network. To address the prevalent dissatisfaction within conventional collaborative network decision-making scenarios, this study proposes a theoretical framework comprised of “baseline,” “target,” and “status quo” strategies. This framework systematically standardizes attribute values and constructs a decision-maker satisfaction function. Utilizing this function, the study identifies the optimal solution by ranking the satisfaction levels associated with various alternatives within the cooperative innovation network. Further, this paper examines the characteristics and evolutionary trends of the regional network structure of industry-university-research cooperation in the context of 5G technology, encompassing engineering departments, educational institutions, and corporate entities. It also analyzes the optimization outcomes of six preferred linkage types within the engineering majors’ university-enterprise industry-university-research innovation network under a scenario of enhanced network relationships. By comparing the weighted degree distributions between the optimally optimized network and the actual network and employing the entropy value method along with the TOPSIS method, the study evaluates the disparities in network structures between the two scenarios and identifies the optimal connection paths. The comprehensive score of the optimization effect of university-enterprise-industry-university-research cooperation and innovation network structure of engineering majors in the context of network relationship strengthening is ranked as Q 3 > Q 5 > Q 6 > Q 2 > Q 4 > Q 1, and the comprehensive score of the strong-weak connection type is the highest at 0.6774. That is, maintaining the connecting edges between “strong enterprise” nodes and “weak enterprise” nodes in the industry-university-research cooperation and innovation network has the best effect on the optimization of university-enterprise industry-university-research cooperation and innovation network for engineering majors.

Co-operative Well-Being and Employee Resilience: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature

This study examines the intersection of co-operative well-being and employee resilience, addressing a notable gap in the existing literature concerning how cooperative models influence employee outcomes. The purpose of this research is to investigate the mechanisms by which co-operative structures foster resilience among employees while supporting overall well-being. A thorough literature review highlights that co-operative organizations emphasize democratic participation and collaborative practices, which can substantially improve employee engagement and job satisfaction. Previous research suggests that such environments contribute to stronger resilience, enabling employees to manage workplace challenges more effectively. The primary findings indicate that co-operatives not only support employee well-being through inclusive practices but also cultivate resilience by fostering a strong sense of community and shared purpose. Furthermore, the study identifies a lack of integrated strategies that utilize technology and policy frameworks to further strengthen these outcomes. The implications of this research indicate that increased collaboration between technology developers, policymakers, and social entrepreneurs is vital for developing innovative approaches that enhance co-operative well-being and resilience. By addressing these gaps, future initiatives may improve the sustainability of co-operative enterprises while fostering healthier workplaces and more resilient employees, ultimately benefiting both communities and the broader economy.

We Are: Giving citizens control over their data.

Summary: The We Are platform gives citizens control of their own health data and actively involves them in decisions about the platform that manages the data, thereby guaranteeing them that they can manage and share their data in a safe way as a leverage for personal wellbeing and the common good. 
 Challenge: Data about citizens, consumers and patients is collected by the government in order to make policies, by companies to develop new products and for marketing and sales, or by hospitals, universities and knowledge institutions for research and innovation. Smart use of data is leading to new insights, valuable innovative processes and even better medicines and health care. Big data will allow us to have a better understanding of who is at risk from specific diseases and who benefits from particular treatments. 
 This can only happen if the data does not continue to be gathered and stored in separate silos. Bringing together data from a wide variety of sources creates inconceivable opportunities for research and development, but it will also require the data to be handled with extreme care.
 Engaging citizens and technology to do something about it: To this end, a Flemish consortium is building a platform providing a personal digital data safe, based for each Flemish citizen. The SOLID technology, a new way of managing data on the web, provides citizens with their own data safe in which they can store their personal data. Citizens manage this safe themselves. They only must enter their data once and can then immediately reuse it for the applications they prefer. 
 All safes are maintained together by a legal entity like a cooperative society. The cooperative governance structure is socially engaged and, on behalf of citizens, ensures utilisation of personal data for innovations aimed at a sustainable health system. 
 What are the next steps, what is the impact: Hence, the combination of personal health data types of all citizens, ranging from lifestyle to wellbeing, curated by themselves, is an unprecedented resource for sustainable innovation & growth, provided the access is arranged, by design, in an ethical way and compliant with legislation. It provides a way to enrich personal health data in a natural way and to collect citizen generated data which is currently often lost or scattered. 
 The realisation of this system innovation requires various activities in which all possible stakeholders (government, companies, research community, civil society and citizens, cf. the quadruple helix) have an important role to play. Doing so, we believe citizen-centered data management will contribute to the empowerment of the patient as a pilot in integrated care