Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 1

412 OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE

DOI: 10.1093/occmed/kqg081 DOI: 10.1093/occmed/kqg098

Regulating Health and Safety Scientific Papers and Presentations. By


Management in the European Union. Martha Davis. Published by Academic
A Study of the Dynamics of Change. Press. ISBN 0-12-206370-8.
Edited by David Walters. Published by The author is not a doctor and is not a medical scientist,
Presses Interuniversitaires Europenes, but rather is an academic who teaches in a college of
agriculture, food and life sciences. Despite the title, the
2002. ISBN 90-5201-998-3. Price: 19.00.
book is far more wide ranging than it might at first
This is a heavyweight paperback, comprising 343 pages, appear. The author emphasizes that good communication
140 000 words and a bibliography of 300 references, is as important in the process of developing science as the
being no. 35 in the Series Work & Society by SALTSA actual content of the scientific data, the theories and any
the Joint Programme for Working Life Research in case reports that you may wish to share with your
Europe. It will be of interest to those occupational health colleagues.
and safety practitioners with a pan-European role. I expected a heavy book, but was surprised at the
The authors have studied the transposition of the lightness of style that made the content more digestible.
European Union (EU) Health and Safety Framework The author claims to provide practical instruction on
Directive and the daughter directives into the national writing first drafts, reviewing and revising work, present-
legislation of the member states. Separate chapters detail ing data in tables and figures, and above all discusses how
the strategies and themes of transposition in Denmark, to relate to your audience and how to adhere to principles
France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and of style and communication.
the UK. These seven countries represent a variety of The author is American, and without question the
regulatory models that have influenced the degree and book has an American feel to it. Sometimes in works of
sequence of transposition of the directives. this kind this can be a drawback, but I found that
The EU shift from prescriptive to process regulation in the principles of communication were so clearly and
the 1990s sought the compliance of duty holders to succinctly put, and the style of writing so good, that this
achieve the target health and safety outcomes. The was irrelevant.
stimulus of the Framework Directive has prompted some The book is well laid out. First, the author provokes
convergence in national provisions. However, health and thought about what should be done before starting a
safety regulation systems continue to retain many features piece of scientific work. She then covers how to plan and
reflecting their intrinsic national concerns. Complex conduct a review of scientific literature, and how to work
national social and economic policy issues have caused through a proposal. She then goes on to discuss how to
wide differences in implementation and operational produce a graduate thesis and to discuss publishing in
outcomes. Thus, there has been limited success in scientific journals. She spends a good deal of the book
achieving European harmonization in health and safety discussing communication method and style. Once a
management. piece of work has been completed, there may need to be a
As a consequence of balancing of the tensions between presentation, and this too is discussed comprehensively,
social protection and economic liberalization, health and and with good advice and information. Other forms of
safety management has been subsumed into measures to communication are discussed, including group work with
protect workers rights as EU economic integration has lay as well as scientific audiences, and there is also an
developed. The authors consider that further robust interesting section on ethics.
evaluation and caution is warranted in extending this Overall, I found this book to be thought provoking and
approach to prevent erosion of the quality of the working informative, and was pleasantly surprised at how useful it
environment. was. Although it is aimed primarily at students, I believe
The book is a hard read, but provides a wealth of this book would not only be useful for specialist registrars
reference material and understanding for those working in occupational medicine, but may be of interest to a
in the EU. much wider cross-section including trainers, and senior
practitioners.
Rating
Rating
(Borrow from the library)
(Buy, read and keep)

Steve Deacon Kevin Holland-Elliot

Вам также может понравиться