Designing for self-organisation in sociotechnical systems: resilience engineering,cognitive work analysis,and the diagram of work organisation possibilities

In designing sociotechnical systems, accounting for the phenomenon of self-organisation is critical. Empirical studies show that workers in these systems adapt not just their individual behaviours, but also their collective structures to deal with complex work environments. The concept of self-organisation can explain how such adaptations can be achieved spontaneously, continuously, and relatively seamlessly, and why this phenomenon is important for dealing with instability, uncertainty, and unpredictability in the task demands. However, existing design approaches such as resilience engineering and cognitive work analysis are limited in their capacity to design for self-organisation. This paper demonstrates that the diagram of work organisation possibilities, a recent addition to cognitive work analysis, provides a sound theoretical basis for designing for self-organisation. That is, it shows how essential components of the diagram are aligned with the concept of self-organisation and are well-grounded in empirical observations of adaptation in a variety of sociotechnical systems, specifically emergency management, military, and healthcare systems. Consequently, designs based on this diagram should have the potential to facilitate the emergence of new spatial, temporal, and functional organisational structures from the flexible actions of individual, interacting actors, thereby enhancing a system’s capacity for dealing with a dynamic, ambiguous work environment. Future research should focus on validating these ideas and demonstrating their value in industrial settings.

     

Ozonolysis of epoxidized natural rubber

The epoxidized natural rubber was fragmented by ozonolysis and the ozonolyzed mixture was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. The peak areas of the analyzed partial chromatograph were used to calculate the ratio of CC, CEC, and CEEC (dyad, triad, and tetrad) compared with the theoretical value calculated assuming random epoxidation of the latex. In this manner the epoxidation reaction was proved to be random.     

Comparative results of thrombolysis treatment with rt-PA and urokinase: a pilot study

AlphaT3-1 cells showed a slope resistance of 1.8 Gomega. The cell membrane surface was not smooth and a scanning electron micrograph showed a complex structure with blebs and microvilli like projections. The cells showed spontaneous fluctuations at zero current resting membrane potential and hyperpolarization increased the amplitude of membrane potential fluctuations. The amplitude of membrane potential fluctuations at hyperpolarized membrane potential was attenuated on application of TTX to the bath solution. The potential at which half steady state inactivation of isolated sodium current occurred, was at a very hyperpolarized potential (-95.4 mV). The study presented in this paper shows that the voltage gated sodium channels contribute to the increase in the amplitude of electrical noise with hyperpolarization in alphaT3-1 cells.     

A 13C NMR study of hydroxylated natural rubber

Two methods have been used to introduce hydroxyl groups into natural rubber. In the first method, epoxidized natural rubber was reduced with lithium aluminium hydride or aluminium hydride with the production of a tertiary alcohol. The ¹³C NMR spectrum of this product was assigned in terms of shift factors from model compounds and quantitative analysis of the spectra confirmed that the hydroxylation process of partially epoxidized rubber was a random process. At higher levels of epoxidation, evidence was obtained for the formation of larger rings from adjacent epoxy groups. The second method involved hydroboration of natural rubber followed by oxidation, which was expected to produce secondary alcohol groups, but gave a mixture of secondary and tertiary alcohol groups as shown by the ¹³C NMR spectrum. A reaction scheme was proposed to explain this result.