INFLUENCE OF SYSTEM ERRORS IN METEOROLOGICAL SUPPORT ON FLIGHTS SAFETY

There are many different systems of interaction in practical aviation activities. In particular, in a system consisting of an operator and a machine there are quite often failures due to errors of designers, operators, manufacturers, maintenance, etc. Errors are usually unintentional: a person performs erroneous actions, considering them as correct or most suitable due to insufficient information, neglect of rules and standards and even due to lack of such. The specialists of the American corporation Boeing calculated the share of aviation accidents related to incorrect decision-making. It turned out that of all aviation accidents, such incidents account for 75%. Back in 1990, Professor Reason developed a model describing the causation of an air accident. One of the main elements of this manufacturing system consists of decision-makers, another key element is decision-executors. For top-level decisions and line management actions to be implemented into effective and productive activities carried out directly by pilots and instructors, certain preconditions must be met. The Rison model explains how people contribute to the disruption of complex, interacting and well-protected systems (such as aviation), resulting in an aviation incident. This model reveals to us causal relationships that do not directly lead to an accident, but shows that, although there are lots of protection levels between risks and accidents, there are drawbacks in each layer of protection that, in the case of systemic “flaring-out”, can trigger an accident [3]. The drawbacks of one level of protection do not allow realizing the risk, since there are other protections to prevent a single point of failure, but with systemic accumulation of risks, catastrophic consequences are inevitable. This effect is sometimes called the "aggregate action effect." In our work, we tried to investigate the system of unprotected risks that led to disaster.

LASTING IMPACTS OF 1990S ON INTERNET GOVERNANCE

Over the past few years, Facebook has found itself mired in out controversy after the next. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the company received criticism when it was revealed that Russian groups had created fraudulent social media accounts on their site in order to interfere with the elections – creating anti-Hillary groups, groups stoking fears of minority populations, and materials accusing the Democratic Party of voter fraud in an attempt to discourage voter turn-out. The question is, how did we get to this point; the point where foreign entities are affecting political outcomes in other countries through a website created by a private American corporation on a media platform wherein the lines between the cultures and legal systems of different countries is sometimes difficult to draw? To answer this, I look to the policies written by the U.S. Government in the 1990s on the issue of internet governance. I argue that the focus on including commercial interests in these early governance structures has had a lasting impact on the ways in which the internet operates to this day. In considering recent controversies that stem from the blurring lines of online sovereignty, wherein commercial and governmental interests become interwoven without a clear sense of who bears the responsibility when the system operates against the interests of its users, it becomes essential to consider the historical foundations which may have led to this moment.

How to communicate large-scale social challenges: The problem of the disappearing American corporation

Social science has distinct advantages and challenges when it comes to communicating its findings to the public. Its topics are often highly accessible to the general public, yet its findings may be counterintuitive and politically contentious. Conveying recent changes in the organization of the American economy provides an illustration of the difficulties and opportunities for engaging the public. The declining number of public corporations in the United States is associated with a shrinking middle class, lower opportunities for upward mobility, and a fraying social safety net, with important implications for individuals and public policy. Attempting to convey this set of findings to a broad public has demonstrated that some strategies and communication channels work better than others, and that some online media are particularly effective.