It doesn’t seem to matter, if it’s a mine collapse Safety is all of a sudden, a mining expert. If it’s a firestorm Safety is suddenly a fire expert. And, when a ship hits a bridge, Safety is a seafarer, first engineer, Captain and messiah of all. No wonder Safety believes it ‘saves lives’. I know … [Read more...] about Three Cheers for the Safety Saviours
Shame and Blame as Social Semiosis
Popular discourse on shame and blame tend to place emphasis on the individual. Shame often emerges out of blame but this most often occurs in a social context. If someone does know about an action or event anchored to you, then I guess any sense of shame is only private or historical. Blame and … [Read more...] about Shame and Blame as Social Semiosis
The Metaphysics of Safety
The language of salvation (soteriology) is metaphysical language. Any talk about ‘saving lives’ is metaphysical language. The question has to be asked: saved from what? And, saved to what? The language of salvation already deems that it knows best about your future. ‘Believe in X and thou shalt … [Read more...] about The Metaphysics of Safety
Human Dymensions Newsletter–Feb 14
Book Launch - Real Risk, Human Discerning and Risk The launch of Dr Long's third book Real Risk, Human Discerning and Risk on 12 February 2014 was a great success. A gathering of 70 people at the Australian Catholic University North Sydney heard a number of speakers present on the latest book and … [Read more...] about Human Dymensions Newsletter–Feb 14
The Problem of Blame for Fallible People
The foundation for understanding the psychology of blame is not with the action of blaming but rather the nature of fallibility (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/fallibility-risk-living-uncertainty/). The real challenge is not to focus on the action of blame but rather Everyday Social … [Read more...] about The Problem of Blame for Fallible People
The Theology of Blame from Safety Science
Listening to two theological amateurs and ‘safety science’ people talk about: atonement (I’m not a Jew), ritual, repentance, ‘spiritual need’, ‘spiritual resilience’, confession (I’m not a Catholic), learning and forgiveness is not something I would recommend to anyone. This was recommended to me, … [Read more...] about The Theology of Blame from Safety Science
Everyday Social Resilience, The Semiotic Wave
Download your free copy of Everyday Social Resilience Being In Risk Download the whole article here: Everyday Social Resilience Wave Introduction If we remember that Everyday Social Resilience is a process, disposition and orientation then, this chapter will provide skills, models and methods to … [Read more...] about Everyday Social Resilience, The Semiotic Wave
Zero, The Recipe for Anxiety, Fear, Shame and Blame
When one’s language and ideology is zero, no one can ever be good enough. When anything is anchored to perfection (https://www.nicabm.com/program/fb-perfectionism-15/) the by-products are: shame, blame, anxiety, fear and harm. Perfectionism is a mental health disorder and one that Safety … [Read more...] about Zero, The Recipe for Anxiety, Fear, Shame and Blame
Ditch the Swiss-Cheese if You Want to Understand Causality
The swiss-cheese metaphor and semiotic is NOT a scientific or logical model of representative connection to reality. The swiss-cheese is a concoction of James Reason to try and explain his linear worldview of accidents and prevention. We saw this recently with Cooper’s identical model … [Read more...] about Ditch the Swiss-Cheese if You Want to Understand Causality
No ‘Taming’ or ‘Fixing’ Wicked Problems
I see with amusement a recent discussion in safety about complexity complete with the mythical swiss-cheese, that some rule can ‘tame’ complexity. All such discussion ignores research on ‘wicked-problems’ that has been about since the 1960s. The idea of a ‘wicked problem’ first emerged from … [Read more...] about No ‘Taming’ or ‘Fixing’ Wicked Problems
