tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332706231179330796.post2730391809705157185..comments2024-03-11T14:32:24.872-07:00Comments on Labour & Employment in Alberta: Deaths of farm children are mostly preventableBob Barnetsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12164225489620639641noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332706231179330796.post-88172041617319555132015-10-21T14:55:21.439-07:002015-10-21T14:55:21.439-07:00Oh there was no offence taken, just a thought abou...Oh there was no offence taken, just a thought about all of our discussions regarding this incident seem to come off as more disciplinarian than true concern for the control of possible future hazards. Please don't take my response as angry, I'm just a person that enjoys the devil's advocate position.<br /><br />In the last assignment for IDRL 308 we are asked to report on the Babine fires, and part of my paper discusses safety culture. Most authors of journals I've researched agree that safety culture is a difficult concept to establish because our nature, in discussing the reform of the safety environment, is to place blame (workers, organizations, government, etc), and make it seem more like disciplinary action rather than a where-do-we-go-from-here attitude. No farm family is going to sit down with officials to discuss events for fear of retribution legally ("am I going to be charged with neglect of my child"), nor will they accept official decrees to change knowing they possibly have no basis in the realities of farm life & its deeply ingrained culture.<br />Discussion is fantastic, and obviously necessary, but how do we begin, and who is in on this discussion and where will it lead us? Discussion without the ability for action is just useless and quite honestly useless babble. I do hope for change, but I prefer it not come at the exploitation of a family's tragedy.shmodehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01814066885105444132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332706231179330796.post-61266604118398204072015-10-21T13:16:07.028-07:002015-10-21T13:16:07.028-07:00If we can't have an honest discussion about th...If we can't have an honest discussion about the contributing factors to farm deaths (some practical, some cultural, some uncontrollable), we're basically accepting that they will continue. <br /><br />One (and only one) of the challenges here has been an unwillingness in rural communities to inquire as to the causes of farm incidents. The causes are likely manifold and we might start with the lack of child care options (meaning kids are around what is also a workplace, sometimes without supervision). <br /><br />I apologize for any offence the post has caused (I spent quite a lot of time rewriting to soften the edged). That said, there needs to be a real discussion about these issues.Bob Barnetsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12164225489620639641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332706231179330796.post-13993460609598599462015-10-21T12:50:16.353-07:002015-10-21T12:50:16.353-07:00I was really, really hoping this incident wouldn&#...I was really, really hoping this incident wouldn't be another horrific event used as a teaching moment. I am a student of your courses (many of them) and am just finishing up IDRL 308. While a large part of me knows the need for safety measures and agrees for the most part, I can't help but get mad at myself (and at my professors as well) for sitting back in our comfy desks, eating the grains (and use of the oils) produced by these hard working families and judging loftily about their inability to keep their families safe and the oh-so-obvious-to-us mistakes they have made. This is far more complicated than can possibly be analyzed by us bureaucrats reading reports and studying safely in our chairs. I think it's part of my anthro/sociology courses shining through that realizes an entire culture cannot be changed just because we judge from the outside about how wrong they are, nor can we realistically regulate that which we do not contribute to or truly understand. Could this have been prevented? Oh very likely. Will this change family farms for the future? Yes, I believe it will encourage others to truly watch where people (not just children) are in respect to the hazards around them. Can all hazards be regulated away? No.shmodehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01814066885105444132noreply@blogger.com