Interdisciplinary research for occupational safety and health knowledge

Abstract

In this article we argue for an interdisciplinary and pluralistic account of how occupational safety and health (OSH) is enacted in practice, informed by a critical understanding of OSH management and flow knowledge in organisations. We compare how in human factors and ergonomics, organisation studies, and safety science this question is approached through different theoretical 'lenses', and with different analytical consequences. These approaches work with different concepts (systems, practices and behaviours) that situate human agency, and possibilities for practical intervention differently. To demonstrate this we draw on interdisciplinary research in to 'Management of OSH in Networked Systems', showing how mobilising the concept of knowledge through different disciplinary frameworks can have implications for understanding safe working in networked organisations

Temporary safety. Regulating working conditions in temporary agency work

“…Between-case comparisons follow the "most similar" case design (George & Bennett, 2005), with similarity in organizational and occupational elements and divergence in regulatory regimes of TAW. The study takes advantage of both qualitative and quantitative methods to capture different dimensions of organizational complexity, adding complementary insights for theory development (Lewis & Kelemen, 2002, Pink et al, 2016, Seawright, 2016.…”

Analysis of the disciplines of postgraduate rehabilitation programs in Brazil

“…Each discipline has a unique perspective, and this outlook produces a sense of certainty around its understanding of reality and its problems. Therefore, each one has its own "lens", with which it assesses a specific dimension of the human being [11]. Most of the time on professional practice, the fragmentation and reduction of perspective remains undone [10].…”