Prelude to the Separation of Powers

THIS article examines the doctrine of separation of powers, and attempts to defend the validity of a diversity of different conceptions of the doctrine. It also links separation of powers to efficiency, arguing that at the core of every manifestation of the doctrine is the efficient allocation of function to form. The structure of the courts and legislature are examined, and it is argued that that a link can be drawn between these institutions and the legislative and judicial task. The relationship between political theory and constitutional theory is also discussed.

Allocation of Function, Adaptive Automation, and Fault Management

Sheridan's “Levels of Automation” were explored in an experiment on fault management of a continuous process control task which included situation adaptive automation. Levels of automation with more or less automation autonomy, and different levels of advice to the operator were compared, with automatic diagnosis whose reliability varied. The efficiency of process control and of fault management were explored under human control and automation in fault management, and aspects of the task in which human or automation were the more efficient defined. The results are related to earlier work on trust and self confidence in allocation of function by Lee, Moray, and Muir.