Principle 4 – foster complex adaptive systems thinking

The social–ecological systems that provide ecosystem services to society can be viewed as complex adaptive systems (CAS), characterized by a high level of interconnectedness, potential for non-linear change, and inherent uncertainty and surprise. This chapter focuses on whether resilience of ecosystem services is enhanced by management based on what we refer to as ‘CAS thinking’, meaning a mental model for interpreting the world that recognizes these CAS properties. We present evidence that CAS thinking has contributed to change in management approaches in the Kruger National Park, Great Barrier Reef, Tisza river basin and Chile among other places. However, attempts to introduce CAS thinking may compromise resilience when complexity is not effectively communicated, when uncomfortable institutional change is required or when CAS thinking is not able to evolve with changing contexts or is not equitably shared. We suggest that CAS thinking can be fostered by the following: adopting a systems framework; tolerating and embracing uncertainty; investigating critical thresholds and non-linearities; acknowledging epistemological pluralism; matching institutions to CAS processes; and recognizing barriers to cognitive change. Key questions for future research on this principle relate to communicating CAS thinking, the role of power, the importance of an organizational level of CAS thinking, and institutional barriers

Perspectives on fatigue in short-haul flight operations from US pilots: A focus group study

There are few studies investigating the impact of fatigue in short-haul flight operations conducted under United States (US) 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 117 flight and duty limitations and rest requirements. In order to understand the fatigue factors unique to short-haul operations, we conducted a series of focus groups across four major commercial passenger airlines in the US. Ninety short-haul pilots were recruited through emails distributed by airline safety teams and labor representatives. Fourteen focus groups were conducted via an online conferencing platform in which participants were asked to identify short-haul schedules and operations that they felt: a) elevated fatigue, b) were not fatiguing, and c) were important to study. Data were collected anonymously and coded using conventional qualitative content analysis, with axial coding and summative analysis used to identify main themes and over-arching categories. The six fatigue factor categories identified were: circadian disruption, high workload, inadequate rest opportunity, schedule changes, regulation implementation and policy issues, and long sits. It appears that additional mitigation strategies may be needed to manage fatigue in short-haul operations beyond the current regulations. Future field studies of short-haul operations in the US should investigate the prevalence and impact of these factors

A dual-center cohort study on the association between early deep sedation and clinical outcomes in mechanically ventilated patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: The COVID-SED study

BACKGROUND: Mechanically ventilated patients have experienced greater periods of prolonged deep sedation during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Multiple studies from the pre-COVID era demonstrate that early deep sedation is associated with worse outcome. Despite this, there is a lack of data on sedation depth and its impact on outcome for mechanically ventilated patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to characterize the emergency department (ED) and intensive care unit (ICU) sedation practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to determine if early deep sedation was associated with worse clinical outcomes. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Dual-center, retrospective cohort study conducted over 6 months (March-August, 2020), involving consecutive, mechanically ventilated adults. All sedation-related data during the first 48 h were collected. Deep sedation was defined as Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale of - 3 to - 5 or Riker Sedation-Agitation Scale of 1-3. To examine impact of early sedation depth on hospital mortality (primary outcome), we used a multivariable logistic regression model. Secondary outcomes included ventilator-, ICU-, and hospital-free days. RESULTS: 391 patients were studied, and 283 (72.4%) experienced early deep sedation. Deeply sedated patients received higher cumulative doses of fentanyl, propofol, midazolam, and ketamine when compared to light sedation. Deep sedation patients experienced fewer ventilator-, ICU-, and hospital-free days, and greater mortality (30.4% versus 11.1%) when compared to light sedation (p \u3c 0.01 for all). After adjusting for confounders, early deep sedation remained significantly associated with higher mortality (adjusted OR 3.44; 95% CI 1.65-7.17; p \u3c 0.01). These results were stable in the subgroup of patients with COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: The management of sedation for mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU has changed during the COVID pandemic. Early deep sedation is common and independently associated with worse clinical outcomes. A protocol-driven approach to sedation, targeting light sedation as early as possible, should continue to remain the default approach

Theta and high-frequency activity mark spontaneous recall of episodic memories.

Humans possess the remarkable ability to search their memory, allowing specific past episodes to be re-experienced spontaneously. Here, we administered a free recall test to 114 neurosurgical patients and used intracranial theta and high-frequency activity (HFA) to identify the spatiotemporal pattern of neural activity underlying spontaneous episodic retrieval. We found that retrieval evolved in three electrophysiological stages composed of: (1) early theta oscillations in the right temporal cortex, (2) increased HFA in the left hemisphere including the medial temporal lobe (MTL), left inferior frontal gyrus, as well as the ventrolateral temporal cortex, and (3) motor/language activation during vocalization of the retrieved item. Of these responses, increased HFA in the left MTL predicted recall performance. These results suggest that spontaneous recall of verbal episodic memories involves a spatiotemporal pattern of spectral changes across the brain; however, high-frequency activity in the left MTL represents a final common pathway of episodic retrieval

Inter-Individual Differences in Neurobehavioural Impairment following Sleep Restriction Are Associated with Circadian Rhythm Phase

Although sleep restriction is associated with decrements in daytime alertness and neurobehavioural performance, there are considerable inter-individual differences in the degree of impairment. This study examined the effects of short-term sleep restriction on neurobehavioural performance and sleepiness, and the associations between individual differences in impairments and circadian rhythm phase. Healthy adults (n = 43; 22 M) aged 22.5 ± 3.1 (mean ± SD) years maintained a regular 8:16 h sleep:wake routine for at least three weeks prior to laboratory admission. Sleep opportunity was restricted to 5 hours time-in-bed at home the night before admission and 3 hours time-in-bed in the laboratory, aligned by wake time. Hourly saliva samples were collected from 5.5 h before until 5 h after the pre-laboratory scheduled bedtime to assess dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) as a marker of circadian phase. Participants completed a 10-min auditory Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT), the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) and had slow eye movements (SEM) measured by electrooculography two hours after waking. We observed substantial inter-individual variability in neurobehavioural performance, particularly in the number of PVT lapses. Increased PVT lapses (r = -0.468, p < 0.01), greater sleepiness (r = 0.510, p < 0.0001), and more slow eye movements (r = 0.375, p = 0.022) were significantly associated with later DLMO, consistent with participants waking at an earlier circadian phase. When the difference between DLMO and sleep onset was less than 2 hours, individuals were significantly more likely to have at least three attentional lapses the following morning. This study demonstrates that the phase of an individual’s circadian system is an important variable in predicting the degree of neurobehavioural performance impairment in the hours after waking following sleep restriction, and confirms that other factors influencing performance decrements require further investigation

Child and Parent Physical Activity, Sleep, and Screen Time During COVID-19 and Associations With Mental Health:Implications for Future Psycho-Cardiological Disease?

The COVID-19 pandemic has afforded the opportunity for some to improve lifestyle behaviours, while for others it has presented key challenges. Adverse changes in global lifestyle behaviours, including physical activity, sleep, and screen time can affect proximal mental health and in turn distal cardiovascular outcomes. We investigated differences in physical activity, sleep, and screen time in parents and children during early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia compared to pre-COVID-19 national data; and estimated associations between these movement behaviours with parent and child mental health. Cross-sectional baseline data from the COVID-19 Pandemic Adjustment Study (CPAS; N = 2,365) were compared to nationally representative pre-pandemic data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC; N = 9,438). Participants were parents of children aged ≤ 18 years, residing in Australia. Parents provided self-report measures of mental health, physical activity and sleep quality, and reported on child mental health, physical activity and screen time. Children in CPAS had significantly more sleep problems and more weekend screen time. Their parents had significantly poorer sleep quality, despite increased weekly physical activity. Children's sleep problems were significantly associated with increased mental health problems, after accounting for socioeconomic status, physical activity, and screen time. Poorer parent sleep quality and lower levels of physical activity were significantly associated with poorer mental health. Monitoring this cohort over time will be important to examine whether changes in movement behaviour are enduring or naturally improve with the easing of restrictions; and whether these changes have lasting effects on either parent or child mental health, and in turn, future risk for CVD

Roads to Nowhere in Four States: State and Local Governments in the Atlantic Southeast Facing Sea-Level Rise

Coastal communities are becoming increasingly aware of the risks to local infrastructure from more frequent and severe flooding, more extreme storm surges, and sea-level rise. As local governments are responsible for the lion’s share of land use decision-making and infrastructure development in coastal communities in the United States, local governments in the coastal zone will play a key role in adapting to the changing climate. Local decision-makers are facing hard questions about whether to build new infrastructure, adapt existing infrastructure to new standards, continue maintaining existing infrastructure as is, or abandon infrastructure altogether. Monroe County, Florida, for example, has begun to factor sea-level rise considerations into decisions related to road improvement projects, creating specific design standards addressing elevation and working to weigh the benefits and costs of different adaptation options such as elevating roads. Local governments are making these decisions in the context of increasingly unreliable and aging road systems, all while meeting current stormwater criteria which may require drainage improvements. Local decision-makers also are recognizing that crucial infrastructure decisions that directly affect their adaptation success are sometimes out of their control. In the case of the City of Tybee Island, Georgia, for example, tidal flooding restricts access to U.S. Highway 80 on an ever-increasing basis—yet the highway, the only road leading to the island, is not under the city’s jurisdiction but that of the Georgia Department of Transportation. To further complicate matters for local governments, both taking action and failing to act could result in either tort or “takings” liability in cases where a poorly maintained road results in harm to life or loss of property value from diminished access. Using the duty of state and local governments to maintain roads as a focus, this Article explores the complexity of adaptation at the local level as the impacts of climate change become more pronounced. Specifically, this Article presents an analysis of coastal communities in four South Atlantic states—Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina—that are currently facing questions about how to protect property and infrastructure as sea levels rise and flooding increases. This Article distills the findings of an interdisciplinary research project funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”), Florida Sea Grant, Georgia Sea Grant, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, and North Carolina Sea Grant. It also consists of a regional analysis comparing how tort and local government law can both further and hinder climate change resilience planning and climate adaptation efforts across these four states. Given that the federal government has offered little in terms of legislation, policy, or funding to direct or support climate adaptation activities, local efforts—and the litigation that inevitably results—are on the forefront of establishing the framework for defining adaptation policy more broadly and influencing the contours of tort and land use law. This Article, therefore, fills an important research gap in existing climate change literature, as it discusses how increased flooding at the local level is putting pressure on traditional conceptions of government duties, immunities, and authorities. This Article also uses roads as a case study to explore how sea-level rise is altering planning, maintenance, and funding for public infrastructure. This discussion focuses on local duties and responsibilities to build, rebuild, modify, or maintain existing roads for two primary reasons: (1) it is a widely shared function among jurisdictions and is the most obvious and visible type of infrastructure to the public, and (2) roads and highways, which are crucial to trade, defense, and nation-building, have long been under the purview of government regulation and funding in the United States.  Recently, roads have also become a focal point in local government efforts to address rising sea levels and increased flooding.  While sea-level rise may seem like a distant threat, many of its effects are being felt now, as low-lying coastal areas such as Norfolk, Virginia; Brunswick, Georgia; and Monroe County, Florida are experiencing increased nuisance or “sunny day” flooding occurring during seasonal or average high tides. Such flooding typically affects roads, temporarily closing them and increasing maintenance and repair costs. Residents who rely on these roads, often find themselves cut off from their homes, businesses, workplaces, schools, and local hospitals. In this way, sea-level rise and the flooding associated with it have become increasingly familiar and imminent, making roads the “climate change canary in the coal mine” for local governments. Part I of this Article briefly discusses recent sea-level rise issues and coastal science most relevant to the South Atlantic states—North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Part II analyzes and compares each state’s road ownership and maintenance duties, first by addressing the threshold question of ownership and jurisdiction, and then by explaining the multi-step analysis that governments must take to evaluate their duties to maintain roads in order to avoid liability. Part II also outlines the wide differences among the four states in our study area and observes a common thread, namely, that in almost each instance, local governments are faced with conflicting pressures that are likely to reward inaction over action and favor short-term political compromises over strategic investments in adaptation. This Part then details how counties and municipalities can discontinue their duties to maintain roads through the process of abandonment and how abandonment can lead to takings liability. Part III offers three proposals for encouraging coordinated adaptation action and protecting local governments that take action to address climate impacts: (1) redefining the scope of the duties that define reasonable conduct for governments in making decisions about public infrastructure in an era of rising sea levels; (2) defining the scope of sovereign immunity protections in a way that encourages innovative and creative decision-making in an era of climate uncertainty; and (3) calling for consistent adaptation duties and authorities at the state level as a crucial first step in mending the regulatory patchwork that currently exists at the state, county, and city levels in our four-state study area. Part IV concludes with a summary of observations and recommended next steps

The Vehicle, Spring 1999

Vol. 40, No. 2 Table of Contents Poetry Eve\u27s DaughterSylvia Whippopage 1 When We Wore Canoes On Our ShouldersMandy Watsonpage 2 This Is Not A Poem About GrandpaJake Tolbertpage 3 Old relationshipsBrandi Kinneypage 5 UntitledErin Winnerpage 6 BraverySylvia Whippopage 6 deep dark closetNicole Smithpage 7 Belly EarthTara Coburnpage 9 The River and FireJake Tolbertpage 10 UntitledAutumn Williamspage 12 Action PotentialKim Evanspage 13 Chimerical (a song for children)D.M. Attrapepage 14 UntitledAutumn Williamspage 16 UntitledMatthew Armstrongpage 18 Building YouSylvia Whippopage 19 RunningKim Evanspage 20 Walking Jenn to WorkJake Tolbertpage 22 Looking InKim Hunterpage 23 Void Between Me and WisconsinMandy Watsonpage 24 Artwork UntitledWendy Finchpage 4 MeditationJennifer Lundpage 8 UntitledSteve Drakepage 15 MemoriesJennifer Lundpage 21 UntitledKathryn Kolasinskipage 25 Prose FoundKim Hunterpage 26 A Day in the Life of William Baxter, DriverDaniel Fitzgeraldpage 32https://thekeep.eiu.edu/vehicle/1072/thumbnail.jp