When even the ‘best‐laid’ plans go wrong

When Things Go Wrong: Interrupting Conversations

This paper presents a true-concurrent approach to formalising integration of Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with Web services. Our approach formalises common notions in service-oriented computing such as conversations (interactions between clients and web services), multi-party conversations (interactions between multiple web services) and coordination protocols, which are central in a tran...

Periodic paralyses: when channels go wrong.

In 1865, Claude Bernard wrote that ‘the constancy of the internal milieu is the essential condition to a free and independent life’ [1]. It would be hard to find a more illustrative paradigm for that statement than for the case of hyperkalaemic periodic paralysis (HyperPP) reported by Grgic et al. in this issue [2]. A 14-year-old male was admitted for a sudden ascending paralysis involving the ...

Getting it right when things go wrong.

When things go wrong: correcting the scientific record.

A reliable scientific literature is crucial for an efficient research process. Peer review remains a highly successful quality assurance mechanism, but it does not always prevent data and image aberrations and the publication of flawed data. Journals need to be in a position to detect such problems and take proportionate action. Publishers should apply consistent policies to correcting the publ...

The Nut Island effect. When good teams go wrong.

The team that operated the Nut Island sewage treatment plant in Quincy, Massachusetts, was every manager's dream. Members of the group performed difficult, dangerous work without complaint. They needed little supervision. They improvised their way around operational difficulties and budgetary constraints. They were dedicated to the organization's mission. But their hard work led to catastrophic...