Multilevel Coordination Research Articles

Telepsychiatry Enables Better Mental Health Care Access in a Southern Philippines Hospital: a Mixed Methods Outcome Evaluation

The Philippines faces a significant unmet need for mental health care services, especially in remote and underserved areas with limited access to traditional in-person psychiatric services. Telepsychiatry offers a potential solution for bridging this gap and improving access to care. This study aimed to evaluate the telepsychiatry service in a Level 1 government hospital in southern Philippines and assess its feasibility for improving mental healthcare access. This evaluation study used a mixed-methods approach, including quantitative analysis of patient demographic data and psychiatric diagnoses retrieved from medical records (2018–2021), as well as qualitative in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with patients, guardians, and hospital staff. A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis was also conducted to assess areas for improvement. The majority of patients were between 18–35 yr old, male, and single. The most common diagnoses were schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, followed by depressive and anxiety disorders. Key issues included medicine shortage, lack of communication, and poor Internet connectivity. However, stakeholders cited advantages such as access to free consultations, timely diagnosis, and potential for service scale- up. This study features telepsychiatry's potential for enabling better mental health care access in resource-constrained areas of the Philippines. It is the first to demonstrate telepsychiatry service provision from a specialist hospital to a Level 1 government hospital in the country. However, sustained multi-sector and multi-level coordination is crucial for long-term viability. Recommendations for enhancement and future research directions are provided.

The Pattern of Multilevel Coordination National Border Management Agency (Nbma) in Border Management Effectively in Indonesia

The Pattern of Multilevel Coordination National Border Management Agency (Nbma) in Border Management Effectively in Indonesia

The Four Coordination Roles of Clients When Designing Megaproject Organizations

Organizational design is composed of structure, the artifact, and coordination, the action. Existing organizational design literature lacks coherence, resulting in models that overlook the importance of coordination as an organizational design issue, which intensifies in megaprojects. We explore the roles of clients when designing megaproject organizations, identifying four coordination roles: (1) meta-organizer, (2) gatekeeper, (3) interface manager, and (4) mediator. These roles align with management levels (strategic, tactical, operational), corresponding to megaproject phases and organizational design development. The conceptual framework contributes to the organizational design literature by providing a systems-wide view and enriching the understanding of the multilevel coordination roles of clients.

Unraveling Key Factors for Hypoxia Tolerance in Contrasting Varieties of Cotton Rose by Comparative Morpho-physiological and Transcriptome Analysis.

The cotton rose (Hibiscus mutabilis) is a plant species commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions. It is remarkably resilient to waterlogging stress; however, the underlying mechanism behind this trait is yet unknown. This study used hypoxia-tolerant "Danbanhong" (DBH) and more hypoxia-sensitive "Yurui" (YR) genotypes and compared their morpho-physiological and transcriptional responses to hypoxic conditions. Notably, DBH had a higher number of adventitious roots (20.3) compared to YR (10.0), with longer adventitious roots in DBH (18.3 cm) than in YR (11.2 cm). Furthermore, the formation of aerenchyma was 3-fold greater in DBH compared to YR. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that DBH had more rapid transcriptional responses to hypoxia than YR. Identification of a greater number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for aerenchyma, adventitious root formation and development, and energy metabolism in DBH supported that DBH had better morphological and transcriptional adaptation than YR. DEG functional enrichment analysis indicated the involvement of variety-specific biological processes in adaption to hypoxia. Plant hormone signaling transduction, MAPK signaling pathway and carbon metabolism played more pronounced roles in DBH, whereas the ribosome genes were specifically induced in YR. These results show that effective multilevel coordination of adventitious root development and aerenchyma, in conjunction with plant hormone signaling and carbon metabolism, is required for increased hypoxia tolerance. This study provides new insights into the characterization of morpho-physiological and transcriptional responses to hypoxia in H. mutabilis, shedding light on the molecular mechanisms of its adaptation to hypoxic environments.

Evaluation in the EU: An Insight Into the Ecosystem, Practices, and Challenges

This article provides an in-depth analysis of the program evaluation ecosystem within the European Union (EU), focusing on the methodologies, practices, and the lessons learned from various evaluation processes, especially those regarding the 2014–2020 programming period. It aims to offer a comprehensive understanding of how evaluation practices within the EU contribute to policy development, program effectiveness, and overall sustainable growth. The discussion extends to the lessons learned from past and ongoing evaluations. This includes insights into the challenges faced, such as aligning diverse program objectives with overarching EU policies, managing multi-level coordination, ensuring data quality, and addressing the dynamic nature of program environments. The present study also aims to provide a thorough understanding of the evaluation ecosystem in the EU, offering insights into its complexities, the sophistication of its methodologies and its significant role in steering the EU towards effective policy-making and sustainable growth. Through this analysis, the article contributes to the broader conversation on the importance and impact of program evaluation in the context of EU governance and policy implementation.

Multi-source and Multi-level Coordination of Energy Internet under V2G based on Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

In order to effectively improve the excessive load of microgrid during peak hours of urban electricity consumption, a multi-source and multi-level coordination method of energy Internet under V2G based on particle swarm optimization algorithm was proposed. First, a mathematical model for V2G energy integration in microgrids was developed and a scheduling concept based on a particle-by-particle optimization algorithm was used. Second, an improved PSO algorithm is proposed and experimentally validated, and the experimental results are compared with previous particle swarm optimization algorithms. Experiments have shown that as the number of iterations increases, the value of the objective function decreases and the optimal solution can be obtained until the maximum number of iterations is reached. The iteration speed and power processing cost of the improved PSO algorithm are better than before.The original load curve is the load trough period from 23:00 to 6:00, and two load peaks occur from 12:00 to 14:00 and 19:00 to 22:00. The V2G technology basically realizes the coordinated control of microgrid electric energy and achieves the effect of peaking and valley filling. The improved algorithm has obvious improvement compared with the original power grid state. Conclusion: The application of EV V2G technology can smooth the daily load curve of power grid and coordinate the electric energy of micro-grid to achieve ``peak cutting and valley filling'', and the effect of this algorithm is more outstanding than the previous algorithm. Finally, the future development direction and suggestions of V2G technology are put forward.The power grid with V2G discharge depth limit has the ability to basically reduce and eliminate the daily peak load, so the technology has broad research space and development prospects.

Players or Pawns? University Response to the Introduction of Plan S

The European Plan S initiative intending to transform the field of academic publishing towards open access has been received with both enthusiasm and criticism. This article reflects on this case as an example of how policymaking in ‘the Europe of Knowledge’ – characterized by increasing complexity caused by problems of multi-level coordination, combined with multi-actor divergence of norms, ideas, and interests − affects and triggers university responses. The analysis of response to this initiative for reform of scientific publishing takes the concept of normative match and mismatch as its theoretical point of departure, and the article provides an overview of how Plan S has been implemented in Norwegian higher education, where the challenge for universities has been to find a balance between responding to political expectations and expectations from societal and academic stakeholders. Our findings suggest a normative mismatch related to the Plan S initiative. The article argues that the university level was left with the task of defending the academic freedom of the individual scholar, while also being delegated the responsibility of controlling the rising costs of publishing services. As a result, issues relating to academic publishing are currently of strategic interest to universities.

Світовий досвід покращення багаторівневої координації управління державними інвестиціями для забезпечення їхньої ефективності

The issue of improving the multi-level coordination of the management of public investments to ensure their efficiency is especially relevant for Ukraine, as its effective mechanisms maximize the return on investment for regional development. Ukraine will need significant public investment to recover from the destruction caused during the Russian-Ukrainian war, and these investments are (and will be) the driving force behind the recovery of the domestic economy. In conditions when investment opportunities and investment funds are limited, the question arises of their rational use and direction to achieve prioritized tasks. Taking into account the fact that the implementation of public investments is a long process with a wide range of persons involved, the issue of the efficiency of multi-level coordination of public investment management becomes especially acute. The experience of different countries, and especially the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the field of establishing effective multi-level coordination of authorities at different levels, needs to be highlighted and taken into account in domestic practice. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is a number of OECD materials, as well as scientific works of foreign and Ukrainian scholars. The article summarizes the experience of OECD member countries (both positive and negative) in the field of multilevel management. Emphasis is placed on the first pillar of the OECD Recommendation and the three principles it incorporates, in particular, the use of an integrated strategy adapted to local characteristics, the introduction of effective coordination instruments and horizontal coordination. Among the best implementation practices are the examples of the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Luxembourg and Switzerland. A number of steps towards improving the multi-level coordination of the management of public investments in Ukraine to ensure their efficiency have been proposed.

Identifying untapped legal capacity to promote multi-level and cross-sectoral coordination of natural resource governance.

Natural resource governance in the face of climate change represents one of the seminal challenges of the Anthropocene. A number of innovative approaches have been developed in, among others, the fields of ecology, governance, and sustainability sciences for managing uncertainty and scarcity through a coordinated approach to natural resource governance. However, the absence of an enabling legal and regulatory framework has been identified in the literature as one of the primary barriers constraining the formal operationalization of these governance approaches. In this paper, we show how these approaches provide tools for analyzing procedural mandates across governmental levels and sectors in the natural resource governance space. We also find that there has been inadequate consideration of the potential in existing laws and regulations for cross-sectoral and multi-level coordination of natural resource governance. On this basis, we develop and apply a protocol that draws on the traditional legal method of doctrinal analysis to demonstrate how to identify existing, untapped legal capacity to promote coordinated governance of natural resources through an in-depth case study of water resources in South Africa. We then show how these untapped capacities within existing legal structures may be operationalized to improve natural resource governance. Further, this protocol is portable to other countries, provinces (states), and localities around the world.

Integrating renewable energy sources for optimal demand-side management using decentralized multi-agent control

Demand-side management has garnered significant attention recently as a viable solution for electricity demand management. However, existing control approaches have encountered stability and energy efficiency issues that limit their effectiveness. To address these concerns, this work proposes a multi-agent control technique for optimal Demand-Side Management (DSM) in grid-connected mode. The proposed technique presents a novel multi-level nonlinear heterogeneous consensus control scheme to optimize the utilization of distributed energy sources and renewable energy resources under both fixed and dynamic communication scenarios. It validates the proposed model through extensive simulations and case studies conducted in MATLAB and JADE. Moreover, this work compares the performance of the proposed approach with state-of-the-art classical method, stochastic programming, model predictive control, and mixed linear programming techniques. The results of these techniques are evaluated and observe the superiority of the proposed approach. Decentralized coordination control results in energy savings of 21.4% through coordinated demand response schemes. Additionally, the proposed scheme surpasses other approaches in terms of active power sharing and delivering 14.2% more energy savings by effectively integrating energy storage sources and electric vehicles. Notably, the proposed approach achieve an impressive energy efficiency of 98.2% compared to 2% of other approaches. This remarkable efficiency translates to a 19% increase in energy storage capacity through multi-level coordination. This work further validates the practicality and feasibility of our proposed scheme to integrate distributed energy sources and renewable energy resources for sustainable and scalable energy models.

Hammer: Multi-level coordination of reinforcement learning agents via learned messaging

hammer: Multi-level coordination of reinforcement learning agents via learned messaging

Governing the nexus: Water-energy-food nexus governance strategies in Ghana and Uganda

The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus has emerged as a promising approach to achieving water, energy, and food security in an integrated manner in pursuit of sustainable development. Its governance is however a multisectoral, multistakeholder, and multilevel coordination challenge that is still elusive. Little agreement on what constitutes ‘successful’ WEF governance compound the challenge. This paper synthesizes normative, institutional, and procedural potential success factors or indicators from the WEF and other integrative environmental governance (IEG) literature and applies them to analyze the WEF nexus governance strategies of Ghana and Uganda. Literature review, key informant interviews, and stakeholder workshops were used to collect data. The results indicate that constitutional provisions and political commitment provide impetus for integrative WEF policies and legislations, yet long-term development plans rarely reflect the envisaged WEF integration. While WEF nexus thinking is still relatively poor in sectoral documents, the water sector is much ahead due to its dalliance with integrated water resources management (IWRM). Coordinating mechanisms such as intersectoral agencies, joint planning, enhanced communication, participation, and use of ex-ante assessments such as strategic environmental assessment (SEA) emerge as important success factors. However, political will and tradition is sometimes more effective than command and control policy tools. Ultimately, what works best depends on specific contexts, histories, and political economy. For broader adoption and application, introduction of integrative concepts in energy and food sectors, deliberate and active pursuit of WEF nexus integration across government, and involvement of all key WEF stakeholders is crucial. Such efforts can benefit greatly from the WEF nexus governance assessment indicators synthesized and applied in this study. Assessment of the participation and influence of key stakeholder groups, effectiveness of specific policy tools, and WEF nexus capacity needs are areas for future research.

The multilevel coordinated optimal control method of a photovoltaic distribution network based on an improved FPA algorithm

The control method of the photovoltaic distribution network has problems of low control accuracy and high line loss of the photovoltaic distribution network. Therefore, this paper proposes a multilevel coordinated optimization control method of a photovoltaic distribution network based on an improved FPA algorithm. First, we analyze the FCM algorithm, use the Euclidean distance to calculate the number of clusters, analyze the basic principle of the flower pollination algorithm, build the coordinated optimization control model of the photovoltaic distribution network, calculate the power flow result of the photovoltaic distribution network by improving the FPA algorithm, determine the global pollination behavior according to the flower pollination algorithm, and use the greedy strategy to obtain the optimal candidate solution. At this time, the obtained solution is the multi-level coordinated optimization control result of the photovoltaic distribution network. The experimental results show that this method can effectively improve the multi-level coordination and optimization control effect of the photovoltaic distribution network and reduce the line loss of the photovoltaic distribution network.

Transformational governance framework for institutions of cultural diplomacy: the case of the Chinese Confucius Institute

ABSTRACT The conceptualisation and popularisation of soft power have spurred nation-states to establish and operate international institutions of cultural diplomacy (ICD) to exert global influence through cultural activities. The uniqueness of ICD lies in its many multiplicities: multi-national operation, multi-level coordination, and multi-actor participation. Such multiplicities challenge the understanding, policy design, and assessment of ICD. In response to this compounding challenge, this article constructs a transformational governance framework with a focus on the dynamic relationship between governing decisions (measured by the dimensions of structure and process) and institutional capacities including legitimacy, efficiency, flexibility, and sustainability. The utilities, benefits, and limitations of the framework as a policy and research tool are discussed through the case of the Chinese Confucius Institute (the CI). We argue that the CI’s top-down decisions are shaped by international political discourse and target legitimacy as the institutional capacity, whereas the CI’s street-level governance is largely driven by the considerations of efficiency and sustainability as the institutional capacities.

One Health in Turkana County, Kenya: Applications and Lessons Learned

Abstract Pastoralists contribute to social, environmental, and economic well-being in the drylands of Northern Kenya. Pastoralism is also their way of life and how they manage their livelihoods. However, the marginalization of these communities, including the lack of basic infrastructure and services, compounded by the increasing threat of infectious disease and climate change, has led to the loss of livelihoods and poor health. One Health service delivery can improve pastoralists’ health and livelihoods. This case examines the development of the One Health policy in Turkana County, Kenya. The Turkana One Health Strategy (TOHS) is undergoing final approval. We discuss the contributions of the One Health Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of Zoonotic Diseases in Kenya, the One Health framework for integrated service delivery, and the Kimormor outreach model to this plan. We also describe recent One Health activities in Turkana and identify the benefits and limitations of each. One Health service delivery improved access to human health, animal health, and administrative services in rural, hard-to-reach areas in Turkana. Empowering communities to lead and take ownership of One Health activities is critical for implementation. One Health service delivery has some limitations, such as being resource and time intensive and being a relatively new concept in healthcare. Turkana County provides a valuable example of how One Health policy turns into practice through multilevel coordination structures, the support of public and private partners, and transdisciplinary research. It can act as a model for implementing One Health activities in Northern Kenya and other countries. Information © The Authors 2023

The Return of Decentralization Greek Local Government Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the greatest crisis faced by humanity. It had a significant negative impact that affected public health, the society, the economy, and the performance of public administration. Although national administrative system's response to COVID-19 pandemic was set up, the performance and the resilience of strategic management patterns at national and local level was also initiated. This paper focuses on identifying and evaluating the strategies and models adopted by Greek local government to build resilience during the COVID-19 crisis. The results of the research are based on an empirical survey conducted in 27 municipal authorities in Greece, which showed that despite the various government policy initiatives and funding provided during the last decade and the formal introduction of crisis management and resilience focused planning models, urban resilience is downgrading due to the continuation of important implementation and compliance gaps in strategic planning and performance measurement adoption from the municipal authorities and the lack of an effective model of multi-level coordination among policy’s stakeholders.

Morphophysiological, proteomic and metabolomic analyses reveal cadmium tolerance mechanism in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Soil cadmium (Cd) contamination can reduce wheat yield and quality, thus threatening food security and human health. Herein, morphological physiology, Cd accumulation and distribution, proteomic and metabolomic analyses were performed (using wheat cultivars 'Luomai23' (LM, Cd-sensitive) and 'Zhongyu10' (ZY, Cd-tolerant) at the seedling stage with sand culture) to reveal Cd tolerance mechanism. Cd inhibited wheat growth, caused oxidative stress, hindered carbon and nitrogen metabolism, and altered the quantity and composition of root exudates. The root Cd concentration was lower in ZY than in LM by about 35% under 15μMCd treatments. ZY reduced Cd uptake through root exudation of amino acids and alkaloids. ZY also reduced Cd accumulation through specific up-regulation (twice) of major facilitator superfamily (MFS) proteins. Furthermore, ZY enhanced Cd cell wall fixation and vacuolar compartmentalization by increasing pectin contents, hemicellulose1 contents, and adenosine triphosphate binding cassette subfamily C member 1 (ABCC1) transporter expression, thus reducing the Cd organelle fraction of ZY by about 12% and 44% in root and shoot, respectively, compared with LM. Additionally, ZY had enhanced resilience to Cd due to increased antioxidant capacity, plasma membrane stability, nitrogen metabolism, and endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis, indicating that the increased Cd tolerance could be because of multi-level coordination. These findings provide a reference for exploring the molecular mechanism of Cd tolerance and accumulation, providing a basis for safe utilization of Cd-contaminated soil by breeding Cd-tolerant and low Cd-accumulating wheat varieties.

Preprint Highlight: A synthetic signaling network imitating the action of immune cells in response to bacterial metabolism

Synthetic cells, built using approaches from bottom-up synthetic biology, aim to mimic biological functions of their natural counterparts. However, engineering multilevel coordination of signaling networks remains challenging. This study demonstrates a minimalist synthetic signaling network mimicking netosis, an innate immune system response that traps and elicits an antimicrobial response against pathogens. Modular DNA particles were activated by the pH shift induced by E. coli metabolism, generating a sticky DNA-cholesterol network that evolved over time to trap the bacteria. Then, giant unilamellar vesicles containing an antibiotic were permeabilized by the DNA particles, reducing the growth of E. coli. The development of this synthetic signaling cascade has implications for artificial cells in therapeutics, biofilm research, biomaterials, and bioremediation. This preprint has been assigned the following badges: New Materials, New Methods. Read the preprint on bioRxiv ( Walczak et al., 2023 ): https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.02.526524 .

Optimization Model of Electric Vehicles Charging and Discharging Strategy Considering the Safe Operation of Distribution Network

Against the background of carbon neutrality, the power dispatching operation mode has undergone great changes. It not only gradually realizes the coordinated control of source–grid–load–storage, but also strives to realize the multi-level coordination of the transmission network, distribution network and microgrid. Disorderly charging and discharging of large-scale electric vehicles (EVs) will have a great negative impact on the distribution network, but aggregating EVs and guiding them to charge and discharge in an orderly manner will play a positive role in delaying investment in the distribution network. Therefore, it is urgent to adopt an effective scheduling control strategy for electric vehicle charging and discharging. First, a variety of indexes were set to analyze the influence of EVs access on distribution network and the correlation between the indexes. Then, by defining the EVs penetration rate and the load simultaneous rate, the charging load planning of EVs was calculated. Based on the simultaneous load rate, the regional electricity load plan was calculated, and a configuration model of distribution capacity suitable for charging loads in different regions was constructed. Finally, an optimal dispatch model for electric vehicles considering the safety of distribution network was proposed and the distribution transformer capacity allocation model was used as the optimization target constraint. Compared with most optimized dispatch models used to maximize aggregator revenues and reduce peak-to-valley differences and load fluctuations in distribution networks, this model could effectively reduce unnecessary investment while meeting regional distribution transformer needs and maintaining distribution network security. Taking the improved IEEE 34-bus systems as an example, the simulation analysis was carried out and the investment demand of distribution network under the condition of disordered and orderly charge and discharge was compared. The results show that the proposed optimal scheduling method can effectively reduce the load fluctuation of distribution network, keep the voltage offset within the allowable voltage deviation range, and can effectively delay the investment of distribution network.

Community-Based Violence Against Women (VAW) Desks in the Philippines: A Multi-Level Assessment

This study is a multi-level assessment of community-based Violence Against Women (VAW) desks status: (1) VAW system (policies and legislation); (2) entity (VAW desk setup), and (3) individual (VAW desk officers) levels’ capacities in Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines. Data were gathered through a survey of 105 VAW desk officers and key informant interviews of five local officials. In addition, document reviews of national and local policies and reports on VAW were also employed in this study. Findings suggested that policies on establishing barangay-level VAW desks were properly enforced in Calamba City. However, the research results also showed a lack of equipment and resources to address VAW cases properly. In addition, VAW desk officers’ age and educational background limit their capacity to implement their responsibilities effectively, for there are no clear qualifications needed to be a desk officer. There is also no clear local system on the orientation of roles and responsibilities of the desk officers. Thus, the following recommendations: (1) national or local policy amendment to include the basic qualifications of desk officers; (2) maximize the role of the local group of desk officers in capacity-building and advocacy while partnering with civil society; (3) proper fund allocation of the city to ensure full functionality of VAW desks; and (4) strengthen feedback system and enforcement of rewards and penalties to motivate proper functioning of the desk offices. The paper contributes to local governance perspectives, specifically on multi-level coordination, to effectively address VAW and provide gender and development (GAD) support services.