BOOK REVIEWS

Rethinking the Fifth Discipline: Learning Within the Unknowable by Robert Louis Flood. Sami Potatoes: Living with Reindeer and Perestroika by Michael Robinson and Karim-Aly Kassam. The Self Managing Organization: How Leading Companies Are Transforming the Work of Teams for Real Impact by Ronald E. Purser and Steven Cabana.     

An introduction to autopoiesis—Implications and applications

Maturana and Varela have developed a theory to explain the particular character of living systems. Such systems, they claim, have an “autopoietic,” or self-producing, organization. This term is now used widely, although often without a proper understanding of the detail of the theory. Moreover, the concept has been applied to other systems, such as societies and institutions, in a rather naïve manner. It is a very important theory, with far-reaching consequences both for science and for social intervention, but it must be correctly appreciated and applied. The aim of this paper is to aid that process by, first, elucidating the theoretical ideas and, second, critically evaluating its implications and applications.     

Wound-induced alterations in survival of 60Co irradiated mice: importance of wound timing

Wounding mice shortly before or shortly after lethal 60Co irradiation enhances survival. Survival of wounded-irradiated mice may be due to enhanced hematopoietic recovery as measured by endogenous spleen colony (E-CFU-s) formation.     

The Children's Planning Initiative: Researching Decision-Making for Children

This paper recounts the story of how a number of workers involved in the care of children decided that they needed to do more than improve their skills and began instead to question some of the assumptions on which child care planning processes are built. The paper records a growing consciousness about the value of action research in developing alternative models of decision-making. It leads us from early questioning, through model creation, and on into testing the model in a new and complex organizational setting. While other voices are quoted, the paper recounts the story from the viewpoint of two actors, practitioner/manager and consultant.     

Reproductive cycle of the Belding ground squirrel ( Spermophilus beldingi beldingi ): seasonal and age differences

The reproductive cycle in Belding ground squirrels was studied in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at two locations, one at 2,100 m elevation, the other at 3,000 m. Adults emerged from hibernation completely prepared physiologically for reproduction. Males tended to emerge slightly ahead of females and yearlings tended to emerge later than adults. Yearling females were fertile but produced smaller litters than adults, 4.48 vs. 6.31. Yearling males were infertile. They exhibited a slight seasonal cycle in testicular growth but did not reach sexual maturity. Testicular growth and spermatogenesis were incipient in many adults and in yearlings prior to hibernation.       

Effects of rangefire on soil algal crusts in semiarid shrub-steppe of the Lower Columbia Basin and their subsequent recovery

Effects of rangefire on soil algae in sagebrush steppe in the Lower Columbia Basin were studied. Dynamics of recovery of the soil algal community in the first two years following the fire were also documented. The study site was on the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve managed by Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory. Fire decreased the numbers of algae by more than an order of magnitude. Species composition in burned plots was similar to that in unburned plots, although some cyanophyte algae, particularly Nostoc commune , were decimated by the fire. Algal recovery took place in the winter months of the second year. Ninety taxa of algae were identified during the course of the study, over half of which were chlorophytes. Seasonal changes in the algal flora were also noted.