Positives and Negatives in Dialectic in Safety I find it interesting how positives (in language and discourse) have now been attributed with a moral imperative in safety. Of course, negatives and … [Read more...] about Positives and Negatives in Dialectic in Safety
STEM
Understanding Safety Myths
Understanding Safety Myths The term ‘mythology’ is not understood well and is associated with the idea of legend/fairy tale but that’s not its meaning. It is certainly not how myth is defined in … [Read more...] about Understanding Safety Myths
Does Safety Have A Soul?
Does Safety Have A Soul? In Chapter 1 of my latest book Envisioning Risk, Seeing, Vision and Meaning in Risk , I discuss the linguistics of ‘soul’ in art, music and movies. In the top 500 songs of … [Read more...] about Does Safety Have A Soul?
Book Review: Critical Mass, How One thing Leads to Another
Book Review: Critical Mass, How One thing Leads to Another I don’t often read the work of chemists or physicists but Philip Ball is an exception. Ball applies what he knows from his Science, … [Read more...] about Book Review: Critical Mass, How One thing Leads to Another
The Quantitative and Qualitative Divide in Safety
The Quantitative and Qualitative Divide in Safety Risk and safety by their evolution through Engineering and Science have now become disciplines of quantity. Unfortunately, critical human skills … [Read more...] about The Quantitative and Qualitative Divide in Safety
Balance in Risk and Safety
Balance in Risk and Safety Safety in its short history has become a lopsided discipline dominated by STEM-only thinking exemplified in Behaviourism, Positivism and Engineering discourse. This has led … [Read more...] about Balance in Risk and Safety
SHEeple STEMspeak
Q. Have you ever wanted to impress at a virtual safety conference or zoom webinar event? A. Subscribe to SHEeple STEMspeak* Just select any three-digit number and the corresponding buzzwords from … [Read more...] about SHEeple STEMspeak
When Art Speaks to Harm
One of the fascinating ways we talk of concepts is to personify them. We talk about ‘the market’, ‘the economy’, ‘politics, ‘Canberra’, ‘society’, ‘Washington’ as if they are a person. We attribute … [Read more...] about When Art Speaks to Harm
The Power of Symbols in Safety
We saw the story recently of the Nazi flag being flown in Beulah Victoria. Interestingly, the etymology of the word ‘Beulah’ designates a mystical place tied to Jewish identity. The controversy over … [Read more...] about The Power of Symbols in Safety
The Poetics of Risk
The idea of poetics stems back to Aristotle and denotes (https://www.iep.utm.edu/aris-poe/) experiences and non-technique (Ellul) focused modes of knowing and thinking (namely STEM). Poetry is one … [Read more...] about The Poetics of Risk
