Teaching
Objectives
-
To introduce students to the concept of “Social Responsibility”.
-
To highlight the crucial role of SR in Science and Technology.
-
To describe SR in Analytical Chemistry and define SR in (bio)chemical information.
-
To apply the traceability concept to various facets of Analytical Chemistry and their integration.
-
To distinguish the internal and external connotations of SR in Analytical Chemistry using a variety of real-life examples.
9.1 Explanation of the Slides
Slide 9.1
This slide places Social Responsibility
(SR) in Analytical Chemistry in the context of Part III
(“Socio–economic Projection of Analytical Chemistry”) and depicts
the other two parts, which, as shown in Slide 7.4, are mutually
related. This is the third, last chapter in the part and completes
the description of the relationships of Analytical Chemistry to
society, industry and the economy, for which information continues
to be a key element.
Slide 9.2
9.2.1. The contents of this chapter are
organized in four sections including an Introduction and three
others describing the general meaning of SR and its particular
meaning in connection to Science and Technology. The chapter then
focuses on SR in Analytical Chemistry, which is defined in
equivalent terms, and on its internal and external
connotations.
9.2.2. The slide also shows the teaching
objectives of the chapter as regards SR in general and SR in
Analytical Chemistry in particular.
9.1.1 Introduction (2 Slides)
Slide 9.3
9.3.1. This slide introduces the contents
of the chapter, which is essentially concerned with Social
Responsibility and its adaptation to Analytical Chemistry.
The SR concept arose with great
strength as a complement to “quality”—a vogue word in the last
quarter of the XX century—early in the next. The concept is
transversal in nature and is currently applied not only to
organizations and businesses, but also to industrial, scientific
and technical areas, for example.
9.3.2. This chapter deals with SR in a
modern manner that connects to, and integrates, the other chapters
dealing with the socio–economic projection of Analytical
Chemistry.
Slide 9.4
9.4.1. Social Responsibility in
Analytical Chemistry is fully consistent with SR (bio)chemical
information. In fact, the (bio)chemical information required by
clients and delivered by analytical chemical laboratories should be
communicated honestly and ethically between the two parties.
Information constitutes a major social power today (see Slides 1.15
and 1.16).
9.4.2. Social Responsibility is a fairly
new concept which, however, has always underlain Analytical
Chemistry. Some of the great developments in Corporate SR from the
50s can be easily extrapolated or adapted to scientific and
technical areas such as Analytical Chemistry.
9.4.3. The nature and impact of SR in
Analytical Chemistry are best understood by considering its
internal and external connotations as done in this chapter.
9.1.2 The Concept of “Social Responsibility (9 Slides)
Slide 9.5
Social Responsibility has been defined
in a number of ways in the corporate realm. Each definition
emphasizes some specific aspect. Thus, the most frequently
underscored notions in forty definitions found in the literature
are as follows:
-
stakeholders (88% of definitions) (see Slide 9.8),
-
social impact (88%),
-
economic impact (86%),
-
voluntariness (80%), and
-
environmental impact and sustainability (59%).
This slide shows one of the “official”
definitions: that in the written standard ISO 26000:2010 for SR in
human organizations and activities (see Slide 1.14). Interestingly,
the definitions in ISO standards contain the defined term
(“responsibility”) when an alternative word such as “awareness”
would probably be more appropriate.
The terms impact (social and environmental),
ethics and transparency and compliance with laws and
norms are essential to fulfil SR. Although these notions are
described in detail in discussing the SR principles contained in
the standard (see Slide 9.12), some relatively unusual terms in it
merit clarification in the following slides.
Slide 9.6
This slide illustrates the basic
meaning of SR, namely: the impact on society (with provision for
the present) and on the environment (looking into the future).
However, dissociating the impact on society and the environment is
completely unwarranted (as can be seen, the two are clearly
overlapped).
Slide 9.7
This slide summarizes the meaning of
“responsibility”, which is an ethical value of individuals or
groups allowing them to reflect on, manage, guide and judge the
consequences of their actions.
Awareness and acceptance of the direct
and indirect consequences of such actions on stakeholders are key
elements of responsibility (see Slide 9.8).
The word “responsibility” can have
other meanings depending on the particular context. The slide shows
some.
Slide 9.8
9.8.1. Stakeholders are individuals or
groups receiving outputs (e.g., products, environmental pollution)
from some organization (e.g., a company, a scientific or technical
area). Also, they can influence the organization in some way (e.g.,
by compelling it to improve its products, lower its prices and/or
reduce pollution).
Therefore, the activities of an
individual, an organization, or a scientific or technical area have
an impact on stakeholders, and stakeholders can cause such
activities to be remodelled. Closing this cycle is a key to
practicing Social Responsibility.
9.8.2. There are two main types of
corporate stakeholders, namely:
- (a)
classic (clients, shareholders, investors, employees, financial institutions, subcontractors); and
- (b)
new (think-tanks, social communities, partnerships, NGOs).
Slide 9.9
The environmental impact of SR is
closely related to “sustainability”, the concept illustrated in
this slide.
Broadly speaking, a process is deemed
sustainable if it can continue to develop by itself.
ISO standards on SR establish a direct
link between sustainability and the environment.
Slide 9.10
The concept cycle defining SR in an
integral manner is a succession of complementary facets.
First, SR entails an explicit, written
commitment to adopt a new strategy leading to substantial
managerial changes in organizations or activity areas that will
materialize in a new code of conduct.
Because the target activities should
respond to social and environmental concerns, classic stakeholders
usually need to be expanded with new stakeholders.
For an organization or activity area
to be responsible and sustainable, Social Responsibility should be
the link and balancing factor for its main goals, and its social
and environmental concerns. This obviously requires a strong
commitment that closes the SR cycle.
Slide 9.11
Social Responsibility has been the
subject of a myriad of documents issued by local or regional
councils, countries and international institutions since the turn
of the century. As shown in this slide, they feed back in the
opposite direction. The most widely accepted and used SR documents
include ISO Guide 26000:2014 on the establishment of Social
Responsibility in organizations. These documents can be considered
a written standard (see Slide 1.15).
Such a vast amount of documents has no
doubt facilitated adoption of SR and its practical
development.
Slide 9.12
Item 4 in ISO Guide 26000:2010 lists
the seven cornerstones or principles underlying Social
Responsibility, which are essential in order to understand and
assume the concept.
The first three principles are
accountability,
transparency and
ethical conduct. Social
Responsibility thus includes ethical conduct despite the reluctance
of classic stakeholders to admit it. These principles are essential
and go beyond the bounds of quality.
The other four principles can be
merged into a single one. In fact, all share the notions respect
and compliance with specific values; three such values (human
rights, international standards of conduct and law) are general in
scope whereas the fourth (stakeholders’ interests) is
specific.
Especially
prominent among the seven principles is stakeholders’ integral satisfaction,
where all others converge.
Slide 9.13
9.13.1. Social Responsibility emerged
momentously early in this century. Since then, advocates and
critics have deemed SR a short-lived fashion;
9.13.2. a genuine strategy for
improvement;
9.13.3. self-interested window-dressing;
and
9.13.4. a commitment to society and the
environment.
9.13.5. The current scenario may be
distorted in the wrong direction (e.g., window-dressing and a
prevalence of self-interest).
9.13.6. This situation should evolve to a
prevalence of the genuine facets of SR (strategy and commitment) at
the expense of “marketing” (fashion, window-dressing)—which can be
a legitimate additional aim provided priority is given to strategy
and commitment.
9.1.3 Social Responsibility in Science and Technology (2 Slides)
Slide 9.14
Like any human activity, scientific
and technological progress through research, development and
transfer (R&D&T) should not evade its Social
Responsibility.
This slide shows several pieces of
scientific literature showing that each step in the Science and
Technology–Chemistry–Analytical Chemistry hierarchy is amenable to
application of the SR concept.
Slide 9.15
The notions of slide in 9.14 are
depicted schematically here. As can be seen,
9.15.1. Social Responsibility in Science
and Technology…
9.15.2. …comprises SR in Chemistry,
Biology, Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, and many other scientific
and technical areas.
9.15.3. In turn, Social Responsibility in
Chemistry encompasses its various disciplines including Analytical
Chemistry, where SR reaches (bio)chemical information.
9.1.4 Social Responsibility in (Bio)Chemical Information (36 Slides)
9.1.4.1 Definition and Contextualization (8 Slides)
Slide 9.16
The fourth, last section of this
chapter describes Social Responsibility in (bio)chemical
information, which is the main output of Analytical Chemistry.
Consequently, SR in (bio)chemical information is equivalent to SR
in Analytical Chemistry.
The definition of (bio)chemical
information and its Social Responsibility in
Sect. 9.1.4 is followed by a description of its
internal and external connotations (Sects. 9.1.4.1 and 9.1.4.2, respectively),
which are indispensable with a view to approaching SR in Analytical
Chemistry in an integral manner.
Slide 9.17
9.17.1. The concept of (bio)chemical
information is explained broadly in Chap. 1. This is the third basic component
of Chemistry and the “output” of (bio)chemical measurement
processes (that is, of the “Analysis” of objects and
systems).
9.17.2. (Bio)chemical information
constitutes the chemical or biochemical description of natural or
artificial objects or systems for two general purposes, namely:
-
acquiring a better understanding of the processes and mechanisms, whether chemical or otherwise, involved in research, development and transfer activities; or
-
making well-grounded, timely decisions in the social, technical, economic or scientific realm.
This definition is enriched with
enlightening nuances in the following two slides.
Slide 9.18
“(Bio)chemical
information” and “analytical information” are two equivalent terms.
In this book, (bio)chemical
information is used for simplicity to refer to both chemical
information (e.g., the concentration of a banned adulterant in a
soft drink) and biochemical information (e.g., the total protein
content of blood serum).
The difference between “chemical
analysis” and “biochemical analysis” is not categorical either.
Thus, the designation of choice in each case depends on the nature
of the samples (e.g., waste water, spinal marrow), analytes (e.g.,
iron, an enzyme) and analytical tools (e.g., inorganic reagents,
immobilized enzymes).
Slide 9.19
9.19.1. Dealing with “information” in
isolation in this hierarchy, which is also shown in Slide 1.20,
makes no sense. In fact, information (a description of reality) is
obtained by compiling raw (primary) data (that is, information
components of reality).
Processing and interpreting
information produces “knowledge” (an understanding and
interpretation of reality that facilitates decision-making).
According to Einstein, in critical
times where knowledge does not suffice, humans must create new
paradigms and cross boundaries between scientific and technical
areas (interdisciplinarity) to reach “imagination” (or its
etymological equivalent, “innovation”).
9.19.2. This ranking is easily adapted to
the (bio)chemical context. Thus,
-
“signals” from measuring instruments are “primary data”;
-
“results” of measurement processes, expressed as required by the clients, constitute “information”; and
-
“reports”, equivalent to “knowledge”, help to contextualize information, make decisions, formulate hypotheses and elucidate mechanisms.
Analytical Chemistry is not impervious
to crises arising from a variety of situations such as new
information requirements in unusual settings. One case in point is
information from the Nanoworld, extraction of which poses a great
challenge that can only be met by leaving traditional
physico–chemical concepts behind and approaching problems in a
multidisciplinary manner.
Slide 9.20
9.20.1. Social Responsibility (SR) in
(bio)chemical information, which is equivalent to SR in Analytical
Chemistry, is defined here as the social and environmental impact
of (bio)chemical knowledge derived from the information (output)
provided by analytical processes applied to natural or artificial
objects and systems.
One should bear in mind here the
differences between “information” (results) and “knowledge”
(reports) established in the previous slide.
9.20.2. The Social Responsibility of
Analytical Chemistry comprises
-
internal connotations (the reliable, sustainable production of knowledge); and
-
external connotations (ensuring that delivered knowledge is fully consistent with reality).
Slide 9.21
9.21.1. Social Responsibility in
(bio)chemical information is at the crossroads of three converging
concepts, namely:
9.21.2. SR in Science and
Technology;
9.21.3. SR in Chemistry; and
9.21.4. SR in the transfer of scientific
and technological outputs to society.
Slide 9.22
Social Responsibility in
(bio)chemical information rests on the following five cornerstones:
-
a contemporary view of Analytical Chemistry and its new paradigms that has inspired the contents of this book;
-
sustainable (green) methods of (bio)chemical analysis (see Slide 9.26);
-
the data–information–knowledge–imagination hierarchy explained in Slide 9.19;
-
written standards such as the ISO Guide to Social Responsibility and Knowledge Management, among others; and
-
professional ethics in the information producer and receiver.
Slide 9.23
9.23.1. This slide illustrates the
twofold connotation of Social Responsibility in (bio)chemical
information with the data–information–knowledge hierarchy (see
Slide 9.19).
9.23.2. Social Responsibility in
Analytical Chemistry, and hence SR in (bio)chemical information,
has internal and external connotations.
9.23.3. The internal connotations
materialize in the production of data and information, which, as
shown below, can be correctly or incorrectly transferred to
society.
9.23.4. The external connotations revolve
around the transfer of knowledge in the form of reports
contextualizing and interpreting the information produced by a
laboratory to be delivered to society.
Slide 9.24
The following five slides discuss the
internal connotations of Social Responsibility in (bio)chemical
information derived by compiling data produced by a laboratory
(e.g., instrument measurements) or processing data obtained on-site
(e.g., by monitoring water in a river with a remote pH sensor
continuously sending readings to the laboratory).
9.1.4.2 Internal Connotations (6 Slides)
Slide 9.25
9.25.1. The internal connotations of
Social Responsibility in (bio)chemical information are related to
its production and materialize in reaching two different
goals.
9.25.2. One goal (Facet 1) is the
sustainable production of (bio)chemical information, which entails
avoiding personnel hazards and environmental pollution (e.g., from
laboratory waste).
9.25.3. The other goal (Facet 2) is to
ensure quality in the (bio)chemical information produced, which
requires ensuring that it is consistent with the (bio)chemical
reality to be described and fulfilling the client’s needs (e.g.,
expeditious delivery).
Slide 9.26
Sustainability
in the production of (bio)chemical information has been sought by
developing so-called green
analytical methods, which have been the result of much
analytical chemical research.
Green methods are intended to reduce
air, water, soil and animal pollution by effect of analytical
processes.
The following are obvious poor
laboratory practices:
-
Directly releasing organic or inorganic volatiles formed during an analytical process to the atmosphere or simply not avoiding exposure of laboratory staff to their vapours as a result of not complying with occupational risk prevention regulations.
-
Disposing of organic or inorganic solvents or reagents such as sulphuric, nitric or hydrochloric acid through laboratory sinks, thus severely contaminating urban waste water. The applicable Good Laboratory Practice in developed countries compels that hazardous waste should be properly stored in the laboratory for periodic collection by waste handling companies.
Green methods can be implemented in
various ways with a view to minimizing the negative impact of
analytical processes on staff health and the environment the most
salient of which are as follows:
-
Simplifying the analytical process by using direct analyses involving no intermediate operations in order to considerably reduce or even completely dispense with the use of potentially polluting solvents and reagents.
-
Replacing traditional toxic reagents (e.g., mercury-based compounds) with safer alternatives.
-
Downscaling (miniaturizing) the analytical process to minimize use of potentially hazardous solvents and reagents.
-
Partially or completely automating the analytical process in order to decrease staff risks by reducing human involvement.
-
Developing effective laboratory decontamination procedures to be performed on-line (as part of the analytical process) or off.
Slide 9.27
The second internal facet of SR in
(bio)analytical information has to do with analytical quality
(Chap. 8).
One should bear in mind the
contradictory relationship between the two main goals of Analytical
Chemistry (see Chap. 1, Slides 1.8 and 1.9), namely:
- (1)
to maximize the accuracy and minimize the specific uncertainty of results; and
- (2)
to fulfil information requirements (that is, to solve analytical problems) (Chap. 7).
Both goals are discussed in Slide
1.9.
In some cases, information
requirements must be met within a short time or at a low cost and
hence in contradiction with the first goal. As a result, analytical
chemists are permanently confronted with the need to adopt “quality
trade-offs”.
(Bio)chemical information can be
classified in the two ways explained in Slides 9.28 and 9.29.
Slide 9.28
There are three different types of
(bio)chemical information according to quality, namely: ideal,
referential and practical, which correspond to true (intrinsic)
information, information held as true and routine information. This
scheme is also present in Slide 1.17.
The ideal notion of trueness
corresponds to true or intrinsic information about objects or
systems. On the other hand, information held as true is associated
to a certified reference material (CRM) and routine information is
laboratory-produced information.
In this hierarchy, accuracy decreases
with decreasing quality from intrinsic information (absolute
accuracy). Conversely, uncertainty increases with decreasing
information quality and is lowest in intrinsic information (zero
uncertainty).
Slide 9.29
This quality ranking of analytical
information supplements that in the previous slide and introduces
two additional quality-related concepts. One can therefore define
five different quality concepts (1–5), namely:
- (1)
True (ideal) information about analysed objects and systems, which is purely theoretical because it is inaccessible to humans.
- (2)
Referential information, which is that usable in practice. This is the type of information extracted from CRMs. Unfortunately, referential information is not easy to obtain owing to the high cost of CRMs and their scarcity (only about 5% of current needs in this respect are estimated to be fulfilled).
- (3)
Information derived from laboratory (e.g., instrument signals) or on-site acquired data.
These three notions of quality in
(bio)chemical information can be placed at the vertices of the
triangle shown in the previous slide.
- (4)
The information to be delivered so that clients can obtain the knowledge needed to meet their information requirements is another quality concept. Although it falls outside the scope of the laboratory, analytical chemists remain responsible for cooperating with clients in order to properly understand what they need from the laboratory.
- (5)
Finally, the client’s perceived quality in the information received is very important but rarely considered. Although the relationship of perceived information to required information is especially important, it is beyond the scope of this book.
The tetrahedron outlines the
contradictory and complementary binary and ternary relationships
between the four basic types of (bio)chemical information. A
detailed discussion of such relationships is also beyond the scope
of this book, however.
Slide 9.30
Slides 9.31 to 9.44 describe the
relevant external connotations of Social Responsibility in
(bio)chemical information.
9.1.4.3 External Connotations (15 Slides)
Slide 9.31
The external connotations of SR in
(bio)chemical information materialize in its correct transfer to
society in order to facilitate well-grounded, timely,
cost-effective decisions. Unfortunately, the transfer can fail for
a number of reasons. Seven of the most common are depicted in this
slide and described in detail in the next few.
Slide 9.32
The most common sources of failure in
the transfer of (bio)chemical information from the laboratory to
society include the following:
- (1)
poor communication with the client;
- (2)
an inordinate interest in achieving analytical quality, which is incompatible with laziness or carelessness in either party; and
- (3)
adhering to a strict protocol which does not cater for the specific needs of the client.
As shown in Slide 1.12, integral
analytical quality rests on unconditional acceptance of the basic
standard (information requirements) in addition to classic tangible
(e.g., potassium hydrogen phthalate) and intangible standards
(e.g., official methods, ISO norms).
In summary, the analytical process
should be designed in such a way as to ensure obtainment of the
(bio)chemical information required, albeit with provision for
additional but also important factors (see Slide 4.6).
This slide uses three examples to
illustrate how the choice of the analytical process is dictated by
the characteristics of the particular (bio)chemical information to
be derived (e.g., the gold content of a batch, the quality of
packaged milk and the glucose concentration of blood from a
diabetic patient).
Example 1 requires maximizing
accuracy, whereas Examples 2 and 3 require favouring the
productivity-related analytical property expeditiousness at the
expense of accuracy (see Slide 2.57 in Chap. 2).
Slide 9.33
The second major source of error in
transferring (bio)chemical information to society arises from what
the laboratory actually delivers (2A). In fact, supplying signals
(data), results (information) or reports containing contextualized
information (knowledge) is not the same. As shown here and in Slide
9.19, reliability increases from data to knowledge.
Slide 9.34
9.34.1. One additional, consequential
source of distortion in the transfer of (bio)chemical information
(2B) is where the information is contextualized and interpreted:
society, or a scientific and/or technical area.
9.34.2. It is utterly wrong to directly
deliver uninterpreted data (instrument signals) to society because
most individuals lack the knowledge and training required to
interpret them in a correct manner.
9.34.3. (Bio)chemical information should
therefore be interpreted and knowledge in the analytical chemical
realm produced by cooperating with other scientific and technical
stakeholders.
Ideally, information should be
contextualized and interpreted by scientists in collaboration with
society.
9.34.4. The next slide illustrates the
significance of who or where (bio)chemical information is converted
into knowledge with the paradigmatic case of the alleged doping by
cyclist Alberto Contador during the Tour de France in 2010.
Slide 9.35
9.35.1. While taking part in the Tour de
France 2010, Alberto Contador was charged with drug abuse because
his blood was found to contain a very small amount of clembuterol
as determined with sophisticated equipment only affordable by a few
elite laboratories in the world at the time.
Directly transferring the result
(information) to society led to the following unanimous
interpretation outside Spain: Contador took drugs on a resting day
during the race. The media published abusive headlines that
inflicted serious moral damage on the cyclist and “compelled” the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), based in Switzerland and also
known as the “Tribunal Arbitral du Sport” (TAS) in French, to
declare him guilty of doping. Directly delivering analytical
information to society can thus have disastrous consequences (see
Slide 9.23); in fact, the interpretation of an analytical result
cannot be left to society at large or the media.
9.35.2. Had the analytical information
been properly contextualized and interpreted in a report—which is
what society should in fact have been delivered—society would have
known that the clembuterol concentration found in Contador’s blood
was below the International Cycling Union’s tolerated limit, that
very low concentrations are typically subject to very large errors,
that the analysis was not replicated and that Contador tested
negative for drugs on the previous and subsequent days. Most
probably, the presence of clembuterol was the result of the cyclist
eating meat contaminated with this anabolic steroid (the analyte).
Previously, French tennis player Richard Gasquet was exonerated of
doping charges because he pleaded that the cocaine found in his
blood was due to his kissing her partner, who was an addict at the
time.
Slide 9.36
9.36.1. The third major source of failure
in transferring information to society has to do with the type of
result (information) transferred, which may be a quantitative datum
with its associated specific uncertainty (Chap. 2), a YES/NO qualitative response
(Chap. 6) or a special form of information
not dealt with in this book such as a global index for the total
amount of members of an analyte family (e.g., total polyphenols in
wine, total dioxins in ash) or a parameter (result) associated to
the particular method used (e.g., soil extraction, where the
specific ions extracted will depend critically on the leaching
solution used).
There follow three different frequent
situations that can be easily avoided.
9.36.2. The first (3.A) occurs when the
information delivered is either excessive or deficient.
Delivering too much information
(e.g., individual hydrocarbon concentrations when a total index
would have sufficed) makes the process unduly costly and
time-consuming; also, it can lead to the actual question (e.g.,
whether the total concentration sought complies with applicable
legal limits) remaining unanswered. Similarly, delivering
inadequate information (e.g., the total concentration of mercury in
polluted water) may also leave the primary question (e.g., whether
a river has been contaminated by mercury spillage) unanswered as a
result of the actually required information (the presence and
concentration of various mercury species differing markedly in
toxicity such as Hg2+, methyl-mercury and
phenyl-mercury, for example) not being supplied.
Slide 9.37
The second situation (3.B) occurs
when the information delivered possesses unnecessary negative
connotations that may lead a receiver with inadequate scientific
and technical knowledge to spurious conclusions (see Slider
9.39).
Thus, the specific uncertainty that should
accompany a quantitative result can be taken to be the laboratory’s
degree of distrust in the information it is delivering. In the
realm of Chemical Metrology, specific uncertainty can be replaced
with a confidence interval;
technically, the interval has the same meaning but is much easier
to interpret by non-experts.
This is also the case with
Qualitative Analysis (Chap. 6), where expressing reliability (a
combination of accuracy and precision) in the form of false
positives and false negatives can leave a bad impression on the
information receiver. Why not replace them with the “proportion of
hits” in the YES/NO binary response, which is one other way of
defining reliability? Providing they retain some scientific and
technical rigour, the results should be expressed in forms bearing
positive connotations in order to boost the client’s confidence in
the delivering laboratory.
Slide 9.38
9.38.1. In the third situation (3.C), the
information transferred is inadequate and should be
completed.
Such is the case with uncertainty in
the YES/NO binary response in Qualitative Analysis. How can an
interval around a YES/NO response be expressed in familiar terms?
This obviously entails replacing established knowledge with
imagination (see Slide 9.9) to conceive new concepts such as the
concentration range around a limiting concentration at which an
acceptable proportion of errors in terms of a statistical
probability level can be expected.
9.38.2. This example illustrates the need
to break with tradition in Classical Metrology whenever required to
solve a specific analytical problem (see Slide 7.12,
Sect. 7.4).
Slide 9.39
The nature of the receiver is crucial
for correct transfer and interpretation of (bio)chemical
information from a laboratory. The greater the receiver’s
experience is the more likely will be correctly understanding the
information delivered.
The difficulty increases from a
receiver being a scientist (e.g., an analytical chemist) with
experience in the type of problem addressed to a judge, politician
or corporate executive with no scientific or technical background.
The slide shows various situations in between these two
extremes.
As the difficulty grows, the results
(information) should be converted into increasingly well documented
reports.
Slide 9.40
9.40.1. The fifth source of distortion in
the transfer of (bio)chemical information is its direct or indirect
nature.
In direct transfers, the laboratory’s
parent body—or the laboratory itself if entitled—issues not only
results, but also reports for the media to be conveyed to society.
Obviously, the media should disseminate the information they
receive with Social Responsibility (for example, with alarming or
appealing rather than factual headlines).
9.40.2. Indirect transfer can be done
through the communication office of the laboratory’s parent body,
which should obviously act socially responsibly in order to avoid
distortion of the (bio)chemical knowledge it transfers.
9.40.3. Proper transfer rests on ethical
conduct in both the organs conveying the information (that is,
information producers) and those receiving it (information
receivers and disseminators). Also, scientific dissemination should
be strongly boosted through appropriate training and
recognition.
Slide 9.41
9.41.1. The potential importance and
impact of (bio)chemical information transfer should always be
considered.
9.41.2. Thus, the analytical process
should be suited to the strength of the predicted impact. This
slide exemplifies three different situations.
- (1)
One case where (bio)chemical information can have a strong impact is the determination of alcohol in blood from individuals involved in a road or work accident. A few tenths in a result can lead to several years in prison. Also strong can be the impact of the results of a screening (qualitative) analysis of a batch of imported dried fruits potentially containing aflatoxins. A false negative (Slide 6.22) may lead to carcinogenic effects on consumers. In this situation, it is crucial to analyse the fruits with a proven, validated method.
- (2)
A lesser impact of (bio)chemical information is to be expected from inaccurate measurements of feed moisture; in fact, a positive or negative error can lead to the feed being under- or overpriced, respectively, but not to deleterious effects on cattle. Therefore, direct, non-destructive analysis with, for example, a near-infrared (NIR) probe can suffice to set a fair price despite the likely errors in the measurements.
- (3)
Finally, using an analytical method with a limit of detection well below the critical concentration (e.g., toxic level) of an analyte in a given type of sample can have little unfavourable impact on the (bio)chemical information derived.
Slide 9.42
The last source of failure in
transferring (bio)chemical information is fraudulent manipulation
of the target sample or system under study by the receiver prior to
submission to the laboratory.
The source of error in this case is
the deliberate addition of one or more substances to alter the
original sample for spurious purposes—usually increasing the value
of a commercial product. Obviously, the information received from
the laboratory will be erroneous.
The target analyte can be added to
the sample for two different purposes, namely:
- 1.
To have its concentration exceed legally tolerated limits and the sample be incorrectly deemed toxic (e.g., deliberately adding hydrocarbons to spring water to have it discarded for spurious reasons).
- 2.
To have an added substance interact with the analyte or its moiety in order to reduce its concentration to undetectable levels (a fraud). The slide shows a typical example of drug abuse in sports. Some bodies such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Cycling Union (ICU) have their own lists of banned susbstances that they are not drugs.
The next slide elaborates on the
second example.
Slide 9.43
As can be seen, spuriously added
substances (second example in Slide 9.42) can act in two different
ways, namely:
- (a)
By facilitating the fast release of drugs (for example, with diuretics), as in the case of doping in the Tour de France.
- (b)
By introducing a negative interference with the analytical process to, for example, facilitate retention of a drug (the analyte) on a sorbent in order to avoid its detection—and potential consequences—as a result.
Slide 9.44
This is a brief summary of the three
commonest errors in transferring (bio)chemical information.
9.44.1. Delivering incomplete information
that will lead to a wrong decision.
9.44.2. Misinterpreting results—and
extrapolating them wrongly, for example.
9.44.3. Using no appropriate references
to contextualize information in reports. It is knowledge rather
than information or results that should be transferred.
Slide 9.45
This slide shows sensationalistic
headlines published by various Spanish media that misinterpreted
anecdotal results of drug determinations in air and water.
The most serious problem with the
resulting alarmism was that it was caused by the communication
offices of public or private bodies seeking popularity. Such
offices were directly responsible for the analyses and hence for
avoiding these relatively common errors in transferring
(bio)chemical information given the—presumed—scientific and
technical background of their members.
9.2 Annotated Suggested Readings
PAPERS
Scientific social responsibility: A call to
arms
P. Krogsgaard-Larsen, P. Thostrup and
F. Besenbacher
Angewandte Chemie Int., 2011, 50,
2–4.
This is a short, brave, somewhat
provocative but realistic paper written by three highly renowned
European scientists that emphasizes the significance of Social
Responsibility in Science and Technology in the XXI century.
Social responsibility in Analytical
Chemistry
M. Valcárcel and R. Lucena
Trends Anal. Chem., 2012, 31,
1–7.
This paper constitutes the backbone
for the present chapter and deals with virtually all of its
contents.
Teaching social responsibility in Analytical
Chemistry
M. Valcárcel, G.D. Christian and R.
Lucena
Analytical Chemistry, 2013, 85,
6152–6161.
This paper describes strategies for
teaching Social Responsibility in Analytical Chemistry. Its
contents overlap with those of this chapter.
BOOKS
Handbook of Green Analytical
Chemistry
M. Guardia and S. Garrigues
(Eds)
Wiley, New York, 2012.
This book discusses the first facet
of the internal connotations of SR in Analytical Chemistry and
available choices for making analytical laboratories
sustainable.
9.3 Questions on the Topic (Answered in Annex 2)
9.1. Relate SR in Analytical Chemistry to
9.2. What are the keywords defining
Social Responsibility? Which are especially significant because
they are shared by many definitions of SR?
9.3. Define “stakeholders” in the context
of SR, and of ISO guides and norms.
9.4. Describe the cycle of concepts that
provides an integral definition of SR in an individual, an
organization and a scientific or technical area.
9.5. Highlight four of the five
principles governing SR. Which is the most important? Why?
9.6. Can marketing SR be
- (a)
positive?
- (b)
negative?
- (c)
neither positive nor negative?
Justify your answer.
9.7. What is the most important link in
the cyclic succession of SR concepts? Why is it more important than
the others?
9.8. Are the following statements true or
false?
- (a)
Ethical principles encompass SR.
- (b)
Implementing SR in a scientific or technical area encompasses quality systems.
- (c)
For many organizations and businesses, SR is merely a window-dressing opportunity.
Justify your answers.
9.9. Why are SR in Analytical Chemistry
and SR in (bio)chemical information equivalent?
9.10. What are the internal and external
connotations of SR in (bio)chemical information? Are they related
in any way? How?
9.11. Explain the differences between the
transfer of data (signals), results (information) and reports
(knowledge) to society.
9.12. Which of the three sources of
distortion in the transfer of (bio)chemical information is the most
important? Rank them according to significance.
9.13. Are the two internal connotations
of SR in Analytical Chemistry related? Which is the more important?
Why?
9.14. What is the difference between the
two models of quality in (bio)chemical information (the second
facet of external connotations of SR in Analytical
Chemistry)?
9.15. Why can the type of information
delivered be important with a view to facilitating effective
communication between analytical laboratories and clients requiring
information?
9.16. Can using a communication office to
deliver information from a laboratory have a positive effect on the
parent body? Why?
9.17. How is the choice of an analytical
process dictated by the potential impact of the (bio)chemical
information to be delivered?
9.18. Explain the sentence “quality in
information transfer depends on both the producer and the receiver
of the information”. Discuss the significance of the information
required by the receiver.
9.19. How important can experience in the
dissemination of science be to transfer (bio)chemical information?
Why?
9.20. How can SR in Analytical Chemistry
be assured?
9.21. Explain the “transparency
principle” supporting SR in Analytical Chemistry.
9.22. Describe the two main ways in which
a sample can be tampered with in order to have it give spurious
results for fraudulent purposes.
9.4 An Abridged Version of the Chapter
The contents of this chapter can be
shortened by about one-half for teaching Analytical Chemistry to
students not majoring in Chemistry. The slides to be omitted for
this purpose are as follows: