Coordination Mechanisms

Modifications of neuronal circuits allow the brain to adapt and change with experience. This plasticity manifests during development and throughout life, and can be remarkably long lasting. Evidence has linked activity-regulated gene expression to the long-term structural and electrophysiological adaptations that take place during developmental critical periods, learning and memory, and alterations to sensory map representations in the adult. In all these cases, the cellular response to neuronal activity integrates multiple tightly coordinated mechanisms to precisely orchestrate long-lasting, functional and structural changes in brain circuits. Experience-dependent plasticity is triggered when neuronal excitation activates cellular signaling pathways from the synapse to the nucleus that initiate new programs of gene expression. The protein products of activity-regulated genes then work via a diverse array of cellular mechanisms to modify neuronal functional properties. Synaptic stre...

Mainstream economics employs a rather simplified picture of economic systems. Economic actors are grouped into three categories, namely individuals/households, firms, and the state. Among these actors only monetized transactions are considered. The ultimate goal of the economy is defined as maximization of individual income or financial wealth. 

In the reality of the 21st century the working of the economy is far more complex. Economic actors represent diverse types and the monetized transactions are only one form of the interactions among them. The paper suggests that we should minimally consider the following types of economic actors: individuals, organizations, communities, networks, and robots (or algorithms).

Among economic actors at least four basic types of interactions can be identified: market exchange, bureaucratic coordination, ethical transaction, and aggressive action. Different types of interactions may be combined but “crowding in” and “crowding out” effects may happen among them. For example, market exchange may crowd out ethical transaction or bureaucratic coordination may crowd out market exchange.

The ultimate goal of the economic system is not to produce material gains but to provide livelihood for those who are involved. Just and sustainable prosperity can be considered as the ultimate goal of the economy against which the performance of any economic system should be measured.

Aggregate planning and master scheduling are two important levels of a hierarchical production planning process. They serve as the front end of production and operations planning and control systems. It is imperative to have the front end well planned and coordinated. In this study, we demonstrate that a rolling horizon feedback procedure can be an effective coordination mechanism for interfacing

The most effective approach to agricultural technology promotion and innovation is still a source of considerable debate, and nowhere more so than in the context of agricultural engineering hardware. Contemporary perspective on agricultural innovation stress the importance of institutional change and give emphasis to the need to develop innovation capacity in systems terms rather address limitations of technology transfer mechanisms. This paper illustrates using the case of manual irrigation technology - treadle pumps -- in Bangladesh and India. It identifies 5 elements of this capacity: (i) A sector coordination mechanism; (ii) a developmental rather than technical organising principle for sector development; (iii) habits and practices (institutions) of key organisations; (iv) Interaction as a learning and knowledge transmission mechanism (v) Market demand as key an incentive for innovation; and (vi) Policies and institutional innovations to ensure adequate stakeholder participatio...

Typically, supply chain members are dependent on each other to manage various resources and information. The conflicting objectives and lack of coordination between supply chain members may often cause uncertainties in supply and demand. The basic elements of coordination theory like interdependency, coherency and mutuality may help in effective flow of information and material between the dependent supply chain members. Supply chain contract can be an effective coordination mechanism to motivate all the members to be a part of the entire supply chain. There are different types of supply chain contracts such as buy back and quantity flexibility contracts. Supply chain performance may be substantially improved by properly designing the contracts to share risks and rewards. The objective of this paper is to explore the applicability of coordination elements through an analytical model in three-level (Manufacturer-distributor-retailer) serial supply chains using contracts. The model evaluates the impact of supply chain contracts on various performance measures. The impact of some contract may be on some specific performance measure only, which helps managers to choose the type of contract if there is an objective of improving certain performance measure before hand. In three-level supply chains, the contracts are designed at two distinct interfaces: Manufacturer-distributor and distributor-retailer. The model demonstrates the complexity in evaluating the decision variables of three level supply chains. The proposed model is a novel approach to apply coordination theory at various levels of supply chain. The model also presents how the coordination elements are related to each other in various coordination cases.

In this paper we use a case study of a project to create a Web 2.0-based, Virtual Research Environment (VRE) for researchers to share digital resources in order to reflect on the principles and practices for embedding eResearch applications within user communities. In particular, we focus on the software development methodologies and project management techniques adopted by the project team in order to ensure that the project remained responsive to changing user requirements without compromising their capacity to keep the project ‘on track’, i.e. meeting the goals declared in the project proposal within budget and on time. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, we describe how the project team, whose members are distributed across multiple sites (and often mobile), exploit a repertoire of coordination mechanisms, communication modes and tools, artefacts and structuring devices as they seek to establish the orderly running of the project while following an agile, user-centred development approach.

The avian wing possesses the ability to synchronize flexion or extension of the elbow and wrist joints automatically. Skeletal and muscular mechanisms are involved in generating this phenomenon. The “drawing-parallels” action of the radius and ulna coordinates the movements of the forearm with the carpus. Movement of the radius along the length of the forearm isnot dependent on the shape disparity between the dorsal and ventral condyles of the humerus, nor is it generated by the shape of the dorsal condyle itself. Instead, shifting of the radius toward the wrist occurs during humeroulnar flexion when the radius, being pushed by muscles toward the ulna, is deflected off theIncisura radialis toward the wrist. Movement of the radius toward the elbow occurs during the latter stages of humeroulnar extension when, as the dorsal condyle of the humerus and the articular surface of the ulna's dorsal cup roll apart, the radius gets pulled by the humerus and its ligaments away from the wrist. Synchronization of the forearm with the manus is accomplished by twojoint muscles and tendons.M. extensor metacarpi radialis and the propatagial tendons act to extend the manus in unison with the forearm, whileM. extensor metacarpi ulnaris helps these limb segments flex simultaneously.M. flexor carpi ulnaris, in collaboration with the “drawing-parallels” mechanisms, flexes the carpus automatically when the elbow is flexed, thereby circumducting the manus from the plane of the wing toward the body. In a living bird, these skeletal and muscular coordinating mechanisms may function to automate the internal kinematics of the wing during flapping flight. A mechanized wing may also greatly facilitate the initial flight of fledgling birds. The coordinating mechanisms of the wing can be detected in a bird's osteology, thereby providing researchers with a new avenue by which to gauge the flight capabilities of avian fossil taxa.

... project work is actually done, emphasizing the meaningful and practical human activity involved in ... concepts made possible by Web 2.0, and popularised by sites such as Facebook and ... Derived over several years experience of developing e-Research applications and further ...

In this paper, we review the contributions to date for analyzing the newsvendor problem. Our focus is on examining the specific extensions for analyzing this problem in the context of modeling customer demand, supplier costs, and the buyer risk profile. More specifically, we analyze the impact of market price, marketing effort, and stocking quantity on customer demand; how supplier prices can serve as a coordination mechanism in a supply chain setting; integrating alternative supplier pricing policies within the newsvendor framework; and how the buyer’s risk profile moderates the newsvendor order quantity decision. For each of these areas, we summarize the current literature and develop extensions. Finally, we also propose directions for future research.