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Humanistic Systems

Understanding and Improving Work & Life

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Reflections on the Autistic Spectrum: A Critical Response to Uta Frith’s Views

  • safety

People in Control: A Conversation With Captain James Burnell

  • Humanistic Psychology

Seeing the People In Control

  • safety

The Wrong Kidney

  • safety

“Why Are We Having More Incidents?” Causal Loops in Reactions to Unwanted Events

  • Systems Thinking

“Why Aren’t They Reporting Incidents?” Influences on Reporting Behaviour

  • Human Factors/Ergonomics

Human Performance in the Spotlight: ‘Human Error’ and ‘Honest Mistakes’

  • Systems Thinking

Diversity of Thought: Surviving and Thriving in a Changing World

  • Human Factors/Ergonomics

A Desk Is a Dangerous Place From Which to Watch the World

  • Human Factors/Ergonomics

Work-As-Imagined Solutioneering: Ten Traps Along the Yellow Brick Road

  • Human Factors/Ergonomics

Twenty Five Years: Reflections on the Practice of Improving Work

  • safety

We Need to Talk About Engineering

  • Culture
  • Featured

Humanistic Systems Collections: The Albums & EPs

  • by Steven Shorrock
  • Posted on 12/10/202330/10/2025

Since I starting blogging, I have written posts on a range of topics concerning work…

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"I felt quite good most of yesterday" "That's always the danger zone"
  • Health and Wellbeing

I Crash: Texts from M.E.

  • by Steven Shorrock
  • Posted on 17/05/202617/05/2026

Low-energy summary For the last two years, my messaging apps have contained a record that…

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  • Health and Wellbeing

Reflections on the Autistic Spectrum: A Critical Response to Uta Frith’s Views

  • by Steven Shorrock
  • Posted on 13/03/202614/03/2026

Professor Uta Frith’s recent TES interview has prompted intense debate about autism, diagnosis, and the meaning of the spectrum. This response considers some of her central claims in light of current research, lived experience, and the possible consequences of public commentary by influential figures.

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  • safety

People in Control: A Conversation With Captain James Burnell

  • by Steven Shorrock
  • Posted on 30/10/202530/10/2025

Aviation is heavily reliant on procedures, but procedures can never replace human adaptivity in all…

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  • Human Factors/Ergonomics

Human Performance in the Spotlight: Mental Practice

  • by Steven Shorrock
  • Posted on 15/10/2025

This article is a slightly edited reproduction of an article published in HindSight magazine issue 36 (Autumn 2024) (all issues…

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  • Humanistic Psychology

Seeing the People In Control

  • by Steven Shorrock
  • Posted on 14/10/202503/05/2026

This article is a slightly edited reproduction of the Editorial published in HindSight magazine issue 36 (Autumn 2024)…

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  • safety

Seven Threats to New Safety Movements: 4) Dogmatism

  • by Steven Shorrock
  • Posted on 01/11/202421/12/2024

Dogmatism is characterised by the expression of opinion as fact, or the tendency to assert…

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  • safety

Seven Threats to New Safety Movements: 3) Simplism and Populism

  • by Steven Shorrock
  • Posted on 20/06/202421/12/2024

Movements of many kinds have encountered a tension between the need for detailed understanding and…

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  • safety

Seven Threats to New Safety Movements: 2) Egotism and Leaderism

  • by Steven Shorrock
  • Posted on 04/06/202421/12/2024

Movements throughout the ages have suffered from egotism, especially those aligned with pseudopsychology, self help,…

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  • safety

Seven Threats to New Safety Movements: 1) Over-commercialism

  • by Steven Shorrock
  • Posted on 03/06/202421/12/2024

Over-commercialism has been a hallmark of many previous movements. Some started out with a distinct…

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  • safety

Seven Threats to New Safety Movements

  • by Steven Shorrock
  • Posted on 03/06/202421/12/2024

Many of us find ourselves in several communities when it comes to our professional work.…

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About the Author

Steven Shorrock is an interdisciplinary humanistic, systems and design practitioner interested in understanding and improving work and life.

Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) | Chartered Ergonomist and Human Factors Specialist (CErgHF) | BSc (Hons) MSc (Eng) PhD

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Categories

  • safety (122)
  • Human Factors/Ergonomics (95)
  • Systems Thinking (84)
  • Culture (30)
  • Humanistic Psychology (21)

Tags

  • safety (75)
  • human factors (64)
  • Systems Thinking (59)
  • safety-II (51)
  • work-as-done (51)

Year

  • 2026 (139)
  • 2025 (30)
  • 2024 (36)
  • 2023 (107)
  • 2022 (52)

Human Factors & Ergonomics in Practice

'Human Factors & Ergonomics in Practice' concerns the real practice of human factors and ergonomics (HF/E), conveying the perspectives and experiences of practitioners and other stakeholders in a variety of industrial sectors, organisational settings and working contexts. Buy direct from Routledge.

Tags

ABCD accidents album1 album2 album3 album4 album5 album6 album7 album8 album9 album10 album11 album12 art ATC aviation blame change communication community competency context culture decision making deformation professionelle design empathy ep4 ergonomics expertise fatigue featured healthcare human error human factors Humanistic psychology human performance just culture justice language learning local rationality management mental health methods multiple perspectives normal work organisational culture organisations practice profession professionalism psychology research safety safety-I safety-II safety culture safety management systems safety Systems Thinking targets teams teamwork technology theatre training wellbeing work work-as-disclosed work-as-done work-as-imagined work-as-judged work-as-prescribed

Top Posts

  • Reflections on the Autistic Spectrum: A Critical Response to Uta Frith's Views
  • I Crash: Texts from M.E.
  • Four Kinds of Human Factors: 3. Factors Affecting Humans
  • Twelve Properties of Effective Classification Schemes
  • Four Kinds Of Thinking: 1. Humanistic Thinking
  • Four Kinds of Human Factors: 4. Socio-Technical System Interaction
  • Proxies for Work-as-Done: 9. Work-as-Judged
  • The Varieties of Human Work
  • Four Kinds of Thinking: 2. Systems Thinking
  • Human Performance in the Spotlight: Mental Practice

Archives

    Work-as-judged is the judgement, evaluation or appraisal of work, via other proxies for work-as-done. Work-as-simulated is the work that is imitated or recreated in some way for the purposes of learning, testing, design, research, assessment, or exploration. Work-as-instructed is the explanation and demonstration describing how work is to be conducted or performed; the work that people are taught to do. Work-as-analysed is the process and product of examination, decomposition, categorisation, modelling and representation of work. Work-as-measured is the quantification of aspects of work: the work that is represented through numbers, metrics, indicators, scores, targets, dashboards, and other forms of quantification. Work-as-observed is the observation of the work of others, formally or informally - directly, remotely, live, or recorded - and the interpretation of what is observed by the observer. Work-as-disclosed is the work that people say that they (or others) do or did, either in formal or informal accounts. Work-as-prescribed is the formalisation, specification and design of work. It is the work that people ‘should do’, especially according to policies, procedures, rules, and so on. Work-as-imagined is, at a basic level, the work that we imagine takes place. Often, the term is used to describe imagination of the work that others do (now or in the past or future). It may also, however, refer to the work that we imagine that we do (or did, or will do).

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