Multiple Interdependencies Research Articles

Applying the water-energy-food nexus to farm profitability in the Middle Breede Catchment, South Africa

The water-energy-food nexus has emerged as a useful concept to understand the multiple interdependencies that exist between the water, energy and food sectors. The nexus is an ambitious attempt to work across disciplines and scales to understand the workings of these complex systems. It is, however, criticised for being more of a general framework than a practical methodology because of the vast amount of data it would need to make real-life contributions to sustainable development. We show how the nexus approach, when used within a farm budget model, can transform the problem focus in water governance. By changing the relationship among water, energy and food production of a farm, profitability is significantly changed. The water-energy-food nexus debate is discussed within the context of the South African water sector, particularly the Breede River Catchment. Working from within the farm budget model, we demonstrate the impact of moving from an irrigation canal system that requires electricity for pumping, to a gravity-fed piped irrigation system in the Middle Breede River. The finding is that the water-energy-food nexus has the potential to unlock groundbreaking solutions to complex problems in agricultural water management when used in appropriate modelling systems.Significance:
 
 The water-energy-food nexus approach can lead to an entirely new framing of water governance problems and therefore solutions to these problems.
 The water-energy-food nexus when used in farm budget models can identify ways of altering farm profitability.
 By addressing the energy cost of farming through an irrigation pipeline system in parts of the Breede Catchment Area, farm profitability could significantly increase.
 A gravity-fed closed pipeline system in parts of the Breede River can improve water availability and reduce farm and management costs.

Sovereignty, a Swinging Concept Between International Law and Political Reality

Abstract The State, as the fundamental unit of the international system, appeals to ultimate power and authority in order to control its own domestic affairs and claims equality as a legal basis regarding its relation with other legal political units. But the existence of the sovereign state in the current international context, where the multiple interdependencies generate divergence and cooperation in the same, is subject to permanent challenges. And the issue is not easy approachable in theory, nor in practice. Like other concepts, as security or democracy, the concept of sovereignty needs to be updated according to the new rules revealed by the process of globalization, rules that are defined not by the equal states, but by the powerful ones.

The mental demands of leadership in complex adaptive systems.

After a decade of calls for healthcare transformation, there is a convergence of themes in our general orienting models. The core metaphor of health system as machine (with closed boundaries, linear functions, and controlled predictable outputs) has given way to health as ecosystem (with open boundaries, non-linear functions, multiple interdependencies, and no single locus of control over outcomes). Current developmental psychology theory suggests that people construct their reality, and interact with their world, based on the epistemology (or "action-logic" or "mindset") of their stage of development. Through this lens, the skills for leading large-scale change in our increasingly complex world require significant cognitive and interpersonal development. The concept of vertical development may be an underemphasized aspect of system change. This article will discuss a new set of leadership skills and frameworks that emerge in the nexus of complex adaptive systems and adult development theory.

Human-centered modeling framework of multiple interdependency in urban systems for simulation of post-disaster recovery processes

This paper presents a human-centered modeling framework of urban systems to capture various types of interdependency underlying urban sociotechnical and socioeconomic systems. The proposed framework consists of three major subsystems: civil life, manufacturing/service industry, and lifeline infrastructure. This framework classifies nine different types of interdependencies existing within and between these three subsystems. This paper also presents a computer simulation of the post-disaster recovery process of urban systems considering various interdependencies captured by the modeling framework. We adopt an agent-based model incorporating a network model for implementing the three subsystems as well as the various types of interdependencies. A sensitivity analysis was conducted based on the R4 framework of disaster resilience to verify and validate the simulation model. The simulation results were generally consistent with the predictions made by the R4 framework, suggesting that the model was implemented properly and can capture the multiple interdependencies behind the urban systems.

Spatial correlation and segregation of multimodal MRI abnormalities in multiple system atrophy.

The variability of the severity and regional distribution of pathological process in basal ganglia (BG) and brainstem-cerebellar systems results in clinical heterogeneity and represents the motor subtype of multiple system atrophy (MSA). This study aimed to quantify spatial patterns of multimodal MRI abnormalities in BG and stem-CB regions and define structural MRI findings that correlate with clinical characteristics. We simultaneously measured R2*, mean diffusivity (MD), and volume in the subcortical structures (BG, thalamus, brainstem-cerebellar regions) of 39 probable MSA and 22 control subjects. Principal component analysis (PCA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were performed to show a model consisting of multiple inter-dependencies. Structural MRI alterations were found to be significantly interrelated within BG as well as brainstem-cerebellar regions in MSA patients. PCA extracted four factors: three factors reflected alterations in R2*, MD and volume of the BG region including the caudate nucleus, putamen, and pallidum, and the remaining one factor represented degenerative changes in MD and volume of stem-CB region. In SEM, a latent variable reflecting brainstem-cerebellar degeneration did not show a significant correlation with the other latent variables associated with BG degeneration. Putaminal MD values and a PCA-driven factor reflecting MD values in the BG showed a significant correlation with UPDRS and UMSARS scores. Multimodal structural MRI abnormalities in MSA appear to be segregated into BG and stem-CB-related factors that can be associated with the clinical phenotype and motor severity.

Introducing multivariate Markov modeling within QFD to anticipate future customer preferences in product design

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an enhanced version of quality function deployment (QFD) that captures customers’ present and future preferences, accurately prioritizes product specifications and eventually translates them into desirable quality products. Under rapidly changing environments, customer requirements and preferences are constantly changing and evolving, rendering essential the realization of the dynamic role of the “Voice of the Customer (VoC)” in the design and development of products.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed methodological framework incorporates a Multivariate Markov Chain (MMC) model to describe the pattern of changes in customer preferences over time, the Fuzzy AHP method to accommodate the uncertainty and subjectivity of the “VoC” and the LP-GW-AHP to discover the most important product specifications in order to structure a robust QFD method. This enhanced QFD framework (MMC-QFD-LP-GW-Fuzzy AHP) takes into consideration the dynamic nature of the “VoC” captures the actual customers’ preferences (WHATs) and interprets them into design decisions (HOWs).FindingsThe integration of MMC models into the QFD helps to handle the sequences of customers’ preferences as categorical data sequences and to consider the multiple interdependencies among them.Originality/valueIn this study, a MMC model is introduced for the first time within QFD, in an effort to extend the concept of listening to further anticipating to customer wants. Gaining a deeper understanding of current and future customers’ preferences could help organizations to design products and plan strategies that more effectively and efficiently satisfy them.

Cascading Failure Analysis of Cyber Physical Power System With Multiple Interdependency and Control Threshold

The traditional infrastructure in power system is undergoing a transition to the Smart Grid, in which the communication network and power grid will be integrated into a cyber-physical power system (CPPS). Although the traditional topological analysis reveals the mechanism of cascading failure between two networks, it ignores the control redundancy and standby lines from communication network to power grid. The robustness analysis in CPPS requires a more comprehensive model to analyze failure behavior in reality. Here, we propose a cascading failure model with one-to-multiple interdependency and a relevant theoretical framework to analyze CPPS cascading failure. In consideration of real CPPS, in the proposed model we introduce two robustness factors, the number of dependent links and control threshold, which can better describe the control function from communication nodes to power nodes. The remaining fraction under different initial attacking on high voltage transmission network, small world network, double star network, and the different topological combination of CPPS are analyzed. The results show that the proposed model and robustness factors can better reveal the robustness and the mechanism of two networks in cascading failure.

Group-analytic network process for balancing stakeholder views on fire protection of steel-framed buildings

To select appropriate fire protection options for buildings during their design stage, economic, safety, environmental, and societal criteria need to be accounted for. The divergent and sometimes conflictual desires from different fire design stakeholders involved in the process present a multicriteria decision problem. Design decision criteria and fire protection options can be interdependent, and so there is a need to manage these desires with an advanced decision analysis technique, thereby reducing uncertainties in the complex decision-making process. The aim of this paper is to use the weighted/geometric mean method-analytic network process (W/GMM-ANP) to balance the opinions of fire design stakeholders extracted from 42 structured stakeholder interviews on selecting the most suitable fire protection option for buildings constructed of steel frames. Different categories of interdependent decision elements were developed from 22 design decision criteria and 5 proposed fire protection options to produce a network of decision clusters for multicriteria decision analysis. In the synthesis and ranking of fire protection options, the W/GMM-ANP accounted for the multiple interdependencies of weighted and unweighted stakeholder desires and managed the complexity of the decision-making problem. The technique is proposed for approaching suitable group decisions in structural fire design of steel-framed buildings as well as other performance-based engineering decision making that may involve multidisciplinary stakeholders.

Critically Interrogating Eco‐Homes

AbstractEco‐homes have only been researched in fragmented and partial ways, which fail to adequately examine their complexities and possibilities. Numerous myths about eco‐homes persist in the public imagination and policy support has been mixed with, in practice, little change to the construction of contemporary homes. The ecological and social potential of eco‐homes are being undermined by a technocratic focus, the capacity and behaviour of occupants, and a weakening of design as developments are scaled up. This intervention identifies five ways in which eco‐homes need to be more robustly interrogated to strengthen their potential, through their breadth and diversity, dynamic nature, socio‐material interdependencies, place, and understanding of their political economies. Crucially these interrogations need to be researched simultaneously to ensure that the full diversity of eco‐homes is understood through their multiple interdependencies, multi‐scalar practices and materialities.

Integrated research on land-use changes in the face of urban transformations – An analytic framework for further studies

We state that land use is under constant pressure, no matter if land-use changes take place in growing or shrinking cities. Land-use changes witness multiple interdependencies between environmental, social and economic factors. In urban areas land is highly exposed to accelerating consumption which makes it a scarce and precious resource. Therefore we need transformative processes to deal with land use in a more sensible and responsible way. We define urban transformations as fundamental, multi-dimensional changes in urban land-use patterns, population developments, infrastructures, governance regimes as well as established values, norms and behaviours. A central focus is on land use and its changes to supply ecosystem services as key driver for quality of life. Most important for us is that transformative processes are highly dynamic and non-linear, thus affecting functions of urban land uses in different ways and with varying consequences. In this sense, governance research is a decisive component to implement our research in practice. With this viewpoint we want to contribute to a debate on land-use changes in alternating growing and shrinking cities to foster appropriate development responses for urban transformations towards sustainability.

Reconfigure

Background. Organization design is a subject that is covered in business school courses such as strategy implementation, organizational theory, and organizational behaviour. However, students sometimes perceive organization design concepts as abstract. Aim. To develop and pilot a simulation that may improve participants’ understanding of two key organization design concepts - work process interdependency and coordination cost. In addition, to develop an approach that may contribute to better operationalization of these concepts in future research. Method. Participants are divided into groups representing departments and are then asked to reconfigure the groups while considering both benefits (reduced coordination costs) and costs (of reconfiguration). The exercise is supported by a MicrosoftExcelTM tool, quantifying the concepts of interdependency and coordination cost. Results. The pilot application of the simulation achieved its pedagogical aims. The participants performed somewhat better than anticipated (some possible causes are discussed). Conclusions. Experiential simulations can be used to convey complex organization design principles to students and managers. They may also be used to study the capacity of individuals and groups to take into account multiple interdependencies in optimizing a design at the individual, group and system level. Recommendation. Simulations should be used to enhance the pedagogical value of organization design lectures (or seminars for employees in organizations).

The Political Economy of Constitution

The distinction between constitution, as the set of fundamental normative premises ensuring the cohesion of any given polity, and contract, as the formal covenant agreed upon by the relevant stakeholders in that polity, is central to political economy. This paper outlines a conceptual framework for the political economy of constitution based on the above distinction. Our argument is that constitution in the material sense, that is, as a relatively stable configuration of interests prior to formal arrangements, determines the way in which formal rules and procedures operate within a specific historical context. The paper develops the constitutionalist tradition towards a ‘constitutional heuristic’ that helps to detect feasible organisations of political-economic interests in society. Stratified social systems are rooted in multi-layered connectivity and provide a structure for organising partially overlapping interests beyond purely contractual covenants. This conception of constitution has far-reaching implications for economic policy because it charts a course beyond the dichotomy between consensus and conflict. The political economy of constitution focuses on the multiple interdependencies within the social domain, which give rise to substantive arrangements among stakeholders. This approach enables the identification of policy domains, thresholds and measures congruent with the material constitution of any given society.

Support for Restorative Justice in a Sample of U.S. University Students.

Theories of restorative justice suggest that the practice works best when offenders are enmeshed in multiple interdependencies or attachments to others and belong to a culture that facilitates communitarianism instead of individualism. Restorative justice principles and practices are thus believed to be incongruent with the individualistic culture and legal system of the United States, especially compared with that of nations like Australia and Japan. Using a nonprobability convenience sample of students enrolled in a large public university in the United States, our study examines attitudes toward restorative justice as a fair and just process for reintegrating offenders and meeting the needs of victims. Results indicate that our sample holds less punitive attitudes than citizens in either Australia or Japan. Our findings are discussed in light of recent policy shifts in the United States that suggest a concerted move toward decarceration following the 2008 recession.

Hired to be fired? Being a coach in Danish professional football

From a European perspective, the number of coach dismissals in professional football seems to be increasing. However, besides this apparent ‘hire and fire’ mentality in football, few studies have aimed at examining what being a football coach entails. By combining Norbert Elias’s game models and the concept of trust in organisations, this study shows how today’s coach functions in a complex figuration and is engaged in multiple interdependencies. In times of sporting failure, this figuration tends to become more complex, as the coach is typically put under pressure internally and externally. By focusing on the relationship between a coach and his director and on how this relationship changes when performance is low, this study contributes with new insights into what it involves to be a top coach and at the same time offers potential explanations for why the frequency of dismissals seems to be increasing.

Conflict Management, a New Challenge

Abstract “The art of communication is the language of leadership” James Humes. In a world of multiple interdependencies, the relationship between individuals and between the individual and his environment proves that life occupies a central role. One of the important aspects of social life takes into account all kinds of interactions between individuals. Besides establishing and maintaining functional human relationships, life within a group leads to situations of conflict. Given that the main group component in an average daily life is manifested most strongly on the job, this paper aims to examine issues related to the management of conflict in the work environment. The management of conflicts are multiple, depending on the nature of the causes that led to the conflict, this paper focuses on highlighting the role of communication in the conflict management process, specifically, the role of communication which is regarded as the common denominator of all organizational arrangements for managing conflicts. Conflicts are endemic to society as a whole. They are directly related to the scarcity of resources, division of functions and tasks, power of relations, differentiation and organization roles in society. Any organization, regardless of its type (public institution, state-owned commercial organization or private non-profit organization, etc.), face daily conflicts that are based on different causes of internal and external organization. Organizations are living systems, which consist of units that interact, each having their own defined roles, interdependent and are expected to operate in a structured environment with clearly defined resources, if the context is such, conflict becomes inevitable.

Tracing the Water–Energy–Food Nexus: Description, Theory and Practice

AbstractThe ‘nexus’ between water, energy and food (WEF) has gained increasing attention globally in research, business and policy spheres. We review the premise of recent initiatives framed around the nexus, examine the challenge of achieving the type of disciplinary boundary crossing promoted by the nexus agenda and consider how to operationalise what has to date been a largely paper exercise. The WEF nexus has been promoted through international meetings and calls for new research agendas. It is clear from the literature that many aims of nexus approaches pre‐date the recent nexus agenda; these have encountered significant barriers to progress, including challenges to cross‐disciplinary collaboration, complexity, political economy (often perceived to be under‐represented in nexus research) and incompatibility of current institutional structures. Indeed, the ambitious aims of the nexus—the desire to capture multiple interdependencies across three major sectors, across disciplines and across scales—could become its downfall. However, greater recognition of interdependencies across state and non‐state actors, more sophisticated modelling systems to assess and quantify WEF linkages and the sheer scale of WEF resource use globally, could create enough momentum to overcome historical barriers and establish nexus approaches as part of a wider repertoire of responses to global environmental change.

Can we predict urinary stress incontinence by using demographic, clinical, imaging and urodynamic data?

ObjectiveIt has been claimed that urethral hypermobility and resting urethral pressure can largely explain stress incontinence in women. In this study we tried to replicate these findings in an unselected cohort of women seen for urodynamic testing, including as many potential confounders as possible. Study designThis study is a retrospective analysis of data obtained from 341 women. They attended for urodynamic testing due to symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction. We excluded from the analysis women with a history of previous anti-incontinence and prolapse surgery. All patients had a standardised clinical assessment, 4D transperineal pelvic floor ultrasound and multichannel urodynamic testing. Urodynamic stress incontinence (USI) was diagnosed by multichannel urodynamic testing. Its severity was subjectively graded as mild, moderate and severe. Candidate variables were: age, BMI, symptoms of prolapse, vaginal parity, significant prolapse (compartment-specific), levator avulsion, levator hiatal area, Oxford grading, midurethral mobility, maximum urethral pressure (MUP), maximum cough pressure and maximum Valsalva pressure reached. ResultsOn binary logistic regression, the following parameters were statistically significant in predicting urodynamic stress incontinence: age (P=0.03), significant rectocele (P=0.02), max. abdominal pressure reached (negatively, P<0.0001), midurethral mobility (P=0.0004) and MUP (negatively, P<0.0001). On multivariate analysis, accounting for multiple interdependencies, the following predictors remained significant: max. abdominal pressure reached (negatively, P<0.0001), cough pressure (P=0.006), midurethral mobility (P=0.003) and MUP (negatively, P<0.0001), giving an R2 of 0.24. ConclusionsMid-urethral mobility and MUP are the main predictors of USI. Demographic and clinical data are at best weak predictors. Our results suggest the presence of major unrecognised confounders.

From thrifts to universal banks: the sources of organisational change in French savings banks, 1945–2000

This article aims to analyse the processes by which French savings banks have transformed themselves in the past 70 years. Although much is known about how banking has changed in industrialised countries since the late 1970s, in particular through higher competition, regulatory changes and restructuring, we know relatively little about how non-profit banks have been affected. In addition, although the key factors of change highlighted in the literature all reveal an implicit emphasis on exogenous sources of change (i.e. banks respond to changes in their external environment by adjusting their strategy), not much research has been dedicated to investigate the potential endogenous factors of change and, by extension, more complex interactions between banks and their environment have been ignored. This article aims to respond to these two challenges, by drawing on the framework proposed by Haveman and Rao suggesting that organisational change occurs as the outcome of co-evolution between organisations and institutions. Given the key role played by the state in banking, the article proposes an amendment to this framework by taking into account the multiple interdependencies between state and banking actors, and how these interdependencies evolve over time.

Gender Studies in English, Turkish and Georgian Languages in Terms of Grammatical, Semantic and Pragmatic Levels

The research work deals with the study of Gender and Linguistics. In the present study, gender in English, Georgian and Turkish Languages are being investigated. Our aim is to study gender similarities and differences in different types of languages English, Georgian and Turkish. That's why we observed different levels of the language. These are grammatical level, semantic level and pragmatic level. The materials we use is colloquial language and some literal units are used as well. Gender Studies focuses on both genders and their relations to each other. At the same time, it takes into account how gender intersects with social, ethnic and cultural differences. These multiple interdependencies allow Gender Studies to produce more precise knowledge. In linguistics, semantics is the subfield that is devoted to the study of meaning, as inherent at the levels of words, phrases, sentences, and larger units of discourse (referred to as texts). The basic area of study is the meaning of signs, and the study of relations between different linguistic units. A key concern is how meaning attaches to larger chunks of text, possibly as a result of the composition from smaller units of meaning. Pragmatics is the branch of linguistics concerned with language use, and is different from syntax and semantics, which deal with the form and meaning of sentences respectively.

Monte-Carlo modeling of the central carbon metabolism of Lactococcus lactis: insights into metabolic regulation.

Metabolic pathways are complex dynamic systems whose response to perturbations and environmental challenges are governed by multiple interdependencies between enzyme properties, reactions rates, and substrate levels. Understanding the dynamics arising from such a network can be greatly enhanced by the construction of a computational model that embodies the properties of the respective system. Such models aim to incorporate mechanistic details of cellular interactions to mimic the temporal behavior of the biochemical reaction system and usually require substantial knowledge of kinetic parameters to allow meaningful conclusions. Several approaches have been suggested to overcome the severe data requirements of kinetic modeling, including the use of approximative kinetics and Monte-Carlo sampling of reaction parameters. In this work, we employ a probabilistic approach to study the response of a complex metabolic system, the central metabolism of the lactic acid bacterium Lactococcus lactis, subject to perturbations and brief periods of starvation. Supplementing existing methodologies, we show that it is possible to acquire a detailed understanding of the control properties of a corresponding metabolic pathway model that is directly based on experimental observations. In particular, we delineate the role of enzymatic regulation to maintain metabolic stability and metabolic recovery after periods of starvation. It is shown that the feedforward activation of the pyruvate kinase by fructose-1,6-bisphosphate qualitatively alters the bifurcation structure of the corresponding pathway model, indicating a crucial role of enzymatic regulation to prevent metabolic collapse for low external concentrations of glucose. We argue that similar probabilistic methodologies will help our understanding of dynamic properties of small-, medium- and large-scale metabolic networks models.