The complexity of failure: Implications of complexity theory for safety investigations

Complexity theory suggests that we see performance as an emergent property, the result of complex interactions and relationships. This can clash, however, with what stakeholders see as legitimate and normal in accident investigations. When systems fail, it is still common to blame components (e.g. human errors) and when they succeed spectacularly, to think in terms of individual heroism (e.g. the A320 Hudson River landing). In this paper, we lay out the contrast between a Newtonian analysis of failure that can be recognized in many efforts at safety analysis and improvement. It makes particular assumptions about the relationship between cause and effect, foreseeability of harm, time-reversibility and the ability to produce the “true story” of an accident. With inspiration from complexity theory, failures are seen as an emergent property of complexity. We explore what that means for safety science and work towards a post-Newtonian analysis of failure in complex systems.     

Biochemical and energy changes during embryogenesis in the rock scallopCrassadoma gigantea

The biochemical composition of eggs spawned from rock scallopsCrassadoma gigantea (Gray) collected from Clayoquot Sound, Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada) in the winter of 1987 and the summer of 1988, differed significantly only in lipid and soluble-ash contents. Major macronutrients were catabolized simultaneously and linearly with time of embryogenesis. Total egg energy expended during development was 11.8 kJ g^–1 derived 46.7, 9.8 and 43.5%, from lipid, carbohydrate, and protein, respectively. Glucose in the egg was the dominant source of carbohydrate energy. Deposition of shell was linear with time of embryogenesis and the formation of 44.8% dry wt of shell in the early larval stage, referred to as the D-larva, consumed 64.4% of the total energy expended. Energy required for shell formation was 17.55 kJ g^–1. The RNA:DNA ratio declined exponentially from 18.6 in the egg to 2.21 in the D-larva, which was consistent with that of adult bivalves. Many changes in fatty acid composition were linear with time of embryogenesis, and the percentage ofn3- andn6-higher unsaturated fatty acids to total polyethylenic acids exhibited significant declining and increasing trends, respectively. The linear rate of catabolism of eicosapentaenoic acid, 20:5n3, and the constant level of docosahexaenoic acid, 22:6n3, illustrated an energy and a structural role, respectively, for these dominant acids in the embryonic development of the rock scallop.     

NUTRIENT LOADS TO WISCONSIN LAKES: PART II. RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF NUTRIENT SOURCES1

ABSTRACT: A comparison of municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and nonpoint source nutrient loads to Wisconsin's 14,927 inland lakes was performed. Only 65 of the 2,925 Wisconsin lakes having surface areas of at least eight ha and a maximum depth of at least 2.4 m had one or more WWTP's located within 40 km upstream; 99 of Wisconsin's 477 WWTP's were identified to be upstream of these 65 lakes. WWTP total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads to these 65 lakes were estimated using per capita influent loads and removal efficiencies based on wastewater treatment types. Nonpoint source nutrient loads were calculated utilizing nutrient export coefficients derived specifically for Wisconsin. Total nitrogen inputs to the lakes were dominated by nonpoint sources. The effectiveness of various phosphorus control programs to produce water quality improvements visible to the public was estimated to be as follows (going from most to least effective): municipal phosphorus removal and agricultural reductions, municipal phosphorus removal alone, agricultural reduction plus phosphate detergent ban, agricultural reductions alone, and phosphate detergent ban alone. The last option would not be expected to produce water quality improvement visible to the public in any Wisconsin lakes. The differences between the distributions in Wisconsin of population and inland lakes highlights the need to consider regional characteristics in any statewide water quality management plan.     

Metabolic microspheres

A systematic review of catalytic activities in thermal proteinoids and microspheres aggregated therefrom yields some new inferences on the origins and evolution of metabolism. Experiments suggest that, instead of being inert, protocells were already biochemically and cytophysically competent. The emergence and refinement of metabolism ab initio is thus partly traced conceptually. When the principle of molecular self-instruction, as of amino acids in peptide synthesis, is taken into account as a concomitant of natural selection, an expanded theory of organismic evolution, including saltations, emerges.     

Preservation of organophosphorous pesticides in water samples

Abstract

Four techniques were studied for capacity to preserve sixteen organophosphorous pesticides in distilled water and in creek water. A technique using chloroform effectively preserved all sixteen pesticides for the three weeks of the study and refrigeration was effective for fourteen of the pesticides, but buffers of pH A and pH 7 appeared undependable as preservatives.     

Biological activities of the essential oil from the leaves of Lantana montevidensis (Spreng) Briq. in mice

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This work aimed to analyze the chemical composition and evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive properties of the essential oil obtained...     

The Law of Federal Air Pollution Control

The Clean Air Act, while recognizing the primary responsibility of states and local governments for the prevention and control of air pollution, provides authority for federal initiative and action to prevent and to abate air pollution which “endangers the health or welfare of any persons.” The applicable statutory procedures and the scope of federal authority are analyzed and discussed.