Amping it Up in Safety In a recent blog I asked why are we afraid, and explored fear and how it may impact on our feelings, and decisions about risk. I also shared a story of how after the 911 terror attacks in 2001, American’s turned en mass to driving instead of flying. One result of this was an … [Read more...] about Amping it Up in Safety
Social Psychology of Risk
What Can Safety Learn from Barbie
What Can Safety Learn from Barbie We learn today that after many years Barbie is getting a ‘make over’. The iconic doll of the ‘perfect’ female form is about to become ordinary, diverse and not perfect. This is the end of a 56 year tradition that has had more harmful by-products than any other … [Read more...] about What Can Safety Learn from Barbie
Why are we Afraid?
Why are we Afraid? We’ve all been afraid of something at one time or another. The classic situation that I remember as a kid was being afraid of the dark; it haunted me for years and stopped me doing a lot of things. In more recent times, I recall being afraid of two guys who ‘looked like … [Read more...] about Why are we Afraid?
Why Would You Talk That Way?
Why Would You Talk That Way? Postman’s classic book ‘Crazy talk, Stupid Talk’ (1976) discusses the power of semantic environments. That is, the context in which we talk. For example, the words ‘sorry I have sinned’ may make sense in a confessional but don’t make much sense in a court room. … [Read more...] about Why Would You Talk That Way?
Making Sense of Semiotics and Safety
Making Sense of Semiotics and Safety Semiotics is about symbol (sign, significance, signified and signifyer) as language and text as symbol and, the discourse (power-trajectory) of both (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics ). Semiotic influence is tertiary and non-conscious. Semiotics is … [Read more...] about Making Sense of Semiotics and Safety
3 Things I learned about Safety from Buddhism
A recent article by Susan Zivcec, first published HERE and republished with permission: 3 Things I learned about Safety from Buddhism What if I told you we will never be safe? If you are a fan of Hudson's maturity model, you will recognise this as "chronic unease'' which is a prerequisite … [Read more...] about 3 Things I learned about Safety from Buddhism
Adversarialism and the Politicisation of Safety
Adversarialism and the Politicisation of Safety One of the by-products of binary thinking is adversarialism that is, the framing of being by oppositionalism. Adversarialism shapes its sense of being by what it is not. It doesn’t know what it believes but rather what it doesn’t believe. It defines … [Read more...] about Adversarialism and the Politicisation of Safety
Please Don’t Try to Fix Me – I’m Not a Machine
Please Don’t Try to Fix Me - I’m Not a Machine My good friend Brian is a ‘tinkerer’, a very good one. If there’s work to be done on a machine Brian is your ‘go to man’. He can analyse, adjust, maintain or fix most things mechanical. For example, I recently bought a second hand lawnmower that wasn’t … [Read more...] about Please Don’t Try to Fix Me – I’m Not a Machine
Say Something that Makes Sense
This is definitely one for Safety People who like to think! Say Something that Makes Sense When Francis Fukuyama was asked what he thought was the most dangerous idea in the world he responded, ‘transhumanism’. Transhumanism is the quest to liberate humans from their biological constraints (eg. … [Read more...] about Say Something that Makes Sense
The Village Effect
The Village Effect There are many different approaches adopted by organisations to support people injured at work. These include consultant doctors, on-site Physiotherapy, free and confidential psychologists (EAP), ‘case-conferencing’ and specialized rehabilitation providers. All of which can be … [Read more...] about The Village Effect