Suggested Safety Reading for 2018
The best way to broaden your body of knowledge in safety is to read beyond the safety/risk genre even moreso from beyond the STEM-only approach to knowledge common to the SIA BoK and other Bodies of Knowledge like the SRMBoK. These days if a text has the words ‘safety’ or ‘science’ in the title I tend to look elsewhere. The risk industry doesn’t need anymore STEM knowledge indeed, it needs less STEM and a greater focus on transdisciplinarity (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transdisciplinarity) if it is going to better tackle the multiple realities of risk as a wicked problem.
In this regard here are my top 25 books I read in 2017 that I found very helpful in understanding risk, in alphabetical order (I have included a few old classics I re-read like Illich and Jung, FYI):
- Bauer, J., and Harteis, C., (eds.) (2012) Human Fallibility, The Ambiguity of Errors for Work and Learning. Springer. London.
- Becker, E., (1973) The Denial of Death. Freebooks Press. New York.
- Benner, D., (2016) Human Being and Becoming, Living the Adventure of Life and Love. BrazosPress, Michigan.
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Brueggemann, W., (1993) Texts Under Negotiation, The Bible and Postmodern Imagination. Fortress Press. Minneapolis.
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Carita, P., (2013) Binary Opposition: A Spacial Configuration of Comparison of Opposite Properties Along a Meaning Dimension. Lund University. Verona Italy.
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Coeckelberg, M., (2013) Human Being @ Risk. Enhancement, Technology and the Evaluation of Vulnerability Transformations. Springer. London.
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Douglas, M., (1992) Risk and Blame. Essays in Cultural Theory. Routledge. London.
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Gibbs, P., (ed.) (2015) Transdisciplinary Professional Learning and Practice. Springer. London.
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Hallinan, J., (2009) Why We Make Mistakes. Broadway Books. New York.
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Hand, D., (2014) The Improbability Principle. Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day. Scientifc American. New York.
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Hassin, R., Uleman, J., and Bargh, J., (2005) The New Unconscious. Oxford University Press, London.
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Illich, Ivan et al., (1977) Disabling Professions. London: Marion Boyars. (http://debate.uvm.edu/asnider/Ivan_Illich/Ivan_Illich_Disabling_Professions.pdf)
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Jung, C. G., (1968) The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious. Bolligen, Princeton.
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Madsbjerg, C., (2017) Sensemaking, What Makes Human Intelligence Essential in the Age of the Algorithm. Little Brown. London.
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Martin, J., Sugarman, J., and Hickinbottom, S., (eds.,) (2010) Persons, Understanding Psychological Selfhood and Agency. Springer. Bumaby Canada.
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Mate, G., (2010) In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. North Atlantic Books. Berkley California.
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Michael, D., (1997) Learning to Plan and Planning to Learn. Miles River Press. New York.
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Norretranders, T., (1991) The User Illusion, Cutting Consciousness Down to Size. Penguin, New York.
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Paley, C., (2014) Unthink. Coronet. London.
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Raynor, M., (2007) The Strategy Paradox. Why Committing to Success Leads to Failure (and What to Do About It). Doubleday. New York.
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Schwartz, B., (2004) The Paradox of Choice. Harper. New York.
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Sloan, J., (2006) Learning to Think Strategically. Elsevier, New York.
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Sternberg, R., (ed.,) (1990) Wisdom, Its Nature, Origins and Development. Cambridge University Press, London.
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Watts, D., (2011) Everything is Obvious, How Common Sense Fails Us. Atlantic Books. London.
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Yelle, R., (2013) Semiotics of Religion, Signs of the Sacred in History. Bloomsbury, London.
There you go.
Some of the titles may seem to have no connection to understanding risk but I couldn’t recommend them more highly as being relevant. I have listed some books in blue to designate those easiest to purchase and read. I have included the web address of Illich which is free to download. Enjoy!
Dr Rob Long
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