The Third Epidemic: Finding our Voice in the Culture of Silence that Surrounds HIV and AIDS

<p>The third epidemic: that of the social reprecussions and the fear of AIDS, continues to generate the myths, prejudice and stigma, so inaccurately associated with HIV and AIDS, often silencing those trying to live so positively with the virus and syndrome. This paper looks to the development of HIV/ AIDS education praxis, from London, New York and Aotearoa/New Zealand perspectives; emphasising the need for all of us to question the culture of silence that surrounds the epidemic[s], while acknowledging the fact that we are all affected by the present pandemic, whether we are living with the virus, educating as to the realities of the virus, or simply choosing to believe that it does not exist. It is in developing our own critical-reflection praxis, (whether we be parents, students or teachers), that we will begin to develop more appropriate and culturally sensitive HIV health education praxis within our schools; along with the voice and infused ability to lobby for policy development that will determine its long-term effectiveness.</p>

Conversations from the Coalface: Positive Asymmetry and the Culture of Silence that Surrounds the Pike River Mine Tragedy

<p>Charles Perrow (1999) once famously noted ‘Where body counting replaces social and cultural values and excludes us from participating in decisions about the risks that a few have decided the many cannot do without, the issue is not risk, but power.’ This dissertation explores positive asymmetry (Cerulo 2006) and the culture of silence that surrounds Pike River Mine disaster that killed 29 men on the West Coast of Aotearoa/New Zealand on 19 November 2010. This asymmetry involves habitual ways of thinking and behaving which increase the propensity to ignore an approaching worst case scenario in order to meet intended outcomes. Increasingly lauded in ‘get rich quick’ cultures, positive asymmetry can be lethal in mining and other hazardous workplaces where there is pressure to meet demands of the market that override pre-existing flaws in systems and culture, and it is often accompanied by practices of eclipsing (acts of banishing, physical seclusion, shunning) clouding (impressionism, shadowing) and recasting (rhetorical, prescriptive behaviours). There is a culture of silence that accompanies this cognitive symmetry in relation to the case of Pike River Mine which existed from its early development and continues years after the fatalities in a culture of socially organised denial; which is one in which there is a collective distancing among individuals due to norms of emotion, conversation and attention (Norgaard 2011). What happened at Pike River Mine was not the result of an attention deficit model. There was plenty of information. The mine had some good safety systems. They were not utilised. So what was going on? In this thesis, I look to the James Reason Model of Accident Causation used before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the disaster and argue that although this does well to describe risk and to illustrate accident causation as a failure of organizational systems, it cannot as a structural model possibly describe the cultural logic and power dynamics which lay beneath the competition driving decision-makers within these systems. Pike River Mine was a case of deliberate risk and hibernating beneath that risk was (and still can be) a base of unchecked power. It follows that any ‘errortolerant’ systems we design for safer workplaces will only work insofar as there is an ‘error-intolerant culture’ inside the industry. Pike River Mine was not an isolated incident and if we fail to look to the power that lay behind that deliberate risk taking, there will be more ‘Pikes’ to come. There exists a triple helix to this tragedy consisting of power, risk and asymmetry. In practising vigilance, we need to look to the junction of these three, for therein lies the perfect storm of conditions for future human tragedy and financial disaster in whichever industry chooses to practice it.</p>

Conversations from the Coalface: Positive Asymmetry and the Culture of Silence that Surrounds the Pike River Mine Tragedy

<p>Charles Perrow (1999) once famously noted ‘Where body counting replaces social and cultural values and excludes us from participating in decisions about the risks that a few have decided the many cannot do without, the issue is not risk, but power.’ This dissertation explores positive asymmetry (Cerulo 2006) and the culture of silence that surrounds Pike River Mine disaster that killed 29 men on the West Coast of Aotearoa/New Zealand on 19 November 2010. This asymmetry involves habitual ways of thinking and behaving which increase the propensity to ignore an approaching worst case scenario in order to meet intended outcomes. Increasingly lauded in ‘get rich quick’ cultures, positive asymmetry can be lethal in mining and other hazardous workplaces where there is pressure to meet demands of the market that override pre-existing flaws in systems and culture, and it is often accompanied by practices of eclipsing (acts of banishing, physical seclusion, shunning) clouding (impressionism, shadowing) and recasting (rhetorical, prescriptive behaviours). There is a culture of silence that accompanies this cognitive symmetry in relation to the case of Pike River Mine which existed from its early development and continues years after the fatalities in a culture of socially organised denial; which is one in which there is a collective distancing among individuals due to norms of emotion, conversation and attention (Norgaard 2011). What happened at Pike River Mine was not the result of an attention deficit model. There was plenty of information. The mine had some good safety systems. They were not utilised. So what was going on? In this thesis, I look to the James Reason Model of Accident Causation used before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the disaster and argue that although this does well to describe risk and to illustrate accident causation as a failure of organizational systems, it cannot as a structural model possibly describe the cultural logic and power dynamics which lay beneath the competition driving decision-makers within these systems. Pike River Mine was a case of deliberate risk and hibernating beneath that risk was (and still can be) a base of unchecked power. It follows that any ‘errortolerant’ systems we design for safer workplaces will only work insofar as there is an ‘error-intolerant culture’ inside the industry. Pike River Mine was not an isolated incident and if we fail to look to the power that lay behind that deliberate risk taking, there will be more ‘Pikes’ to come. There exists a triple helix to this tragedy consisting of power, risk and asymmetry. In practising vigilance, we need to look to the junction of these three, for therein lies the perfect storm of conditions for future human tragedy and financial disaster in whichever industry chooses to practice it.</p>

The Third Epidemic: Finding our Voice in the Culture of Silence that Surrounds HIV and AIDS

<p>The third epidemic: that of the social reprecussions and the fear of AIDS, continues to generate the myths, prejudice and stigma, so inaccurately associated with HIV and AIDS, often silencing those trying to live so positively with the virus and syndrome. This paper looks to the development of HIV/ AIDS education praxis, from London, New York and Aotearoa/New Zealand perspectives; emphasising the need for all of us to question the culture of silence that surrounds the epidemic[s], while acknowledging the fact that we are all affected by the present pandemic, whether we are living with the virus, educating as to the realities of the virus, or simply choosing to believe that it does not exist. It is in developing our own critical-reflection praxis, (whether we be parents, students or teachers), that we will begin to develop more appropriate and culturally sensitive HIV health education praxis within our schools; along with the voice and infused ability to lobby for policy development that will determine its long-term effectiveness.</p>

Mobilization against Sexual Harassment in the European Parliament: The MeTooEP campaign

The international #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment constitutes the most prominent contemporary campaign against sexual harassment worldwide. It exposed the issue by undermining the ‘culture of silence’ prevailing in several contexts, including political institutions. This article analyses one specific variant of #MeToo, the campaign MeTooEP that emerged in the European Parliament (EP). MeTooEP is unique in many ways: it was the first collective action against sexual harassment in parliaments emerging in the #MeToo aftermath and it was the first collective action within the EP led by members of the staff, which eventually drove some internal policy changes. Using a unique, large interview dataset, the analysis shows how the actors behind MeTooEP were crucial in shaping the campaign. Their knowledge of institutional rules, practices and daily presence in the EP facilitated their advocacy and transformed the Parliament into an enabling platform for their actions. With the help of Feminist Institutionalism, the analysis demonstrates how the formal and informal institutional EP bodies with their rules and regulations shaped MeTooEP in ways that constrained and empowered it.

Digital Technologies and Interventions Against Gender-Based Violence in Rural Areas

This study reports experiences of combining digital technologies and facilitated interventions to address gender-based violence in rural areas. The methodology was based on the Safecity platform with a combination of communicative methods, digital technologies, and participant-led interventions to address gender-based violence in the State of Bihar and the Satara district in rural India. The findings indicate that the most common barriers to creating change in rural communities include patriarchal mindsets that foster a culture of silence around women's rights, lack of education, digital illiteracy, and lack of access to digital tools and services. Notwithstanding these obstacles, rural Indian women and girls participated in an intervention to create a new narrative informed by technological solutions that addressed gender violence in their communities.

QUEERING CYC PRAXIS: WHAT I LEARNED FROM LGBTQI+ NEWCOMER, REFUGEE, AND IMMIGRANT STUDENT EXPERIENCES IN CANADA

This exploratory autoethnographic study, undertaken by a White straight cisgender child and youth care practitioner, seeks to understand the experiences of LGBTQI+ newcomer, refugee, and immigrant students in Canada. It highlights the nuances of creating safe spaces for young people who experience harm due to the intersections of systemic racism, xenophobia, transphobia, and homophobia. The overarching finding of this study reveals a culture of silence. Queer newcomer, refugee, and immigrant youth in Canada are often reluctant to disclose or explore their queerness due to their fears of discrimination and violence. This fear exists notwithstanding the pride Canada takes in its efforts to protect LGBTQI+ rights. Inspired by findings from interviews with two women, one who supports LGBTQI+ newcomers, refugees, and immigrants to Canada, and one who researches policy affecting all Canadian refugee experiences, I utilized a self-reflexive deep-dive approach to learn about the events and policies that have shaped LGBTQI+ newcomer, refugee, and immigrant students’ access to postsecondary education in Canada. Central findings in this study point to barriers emerging from homonationalism, colonization, religion, culture, race, White-centred gay–straight alliances in schools, and immigration policies pertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity expression (SOGIE). These findings problematize the White, Westernized, liberal, out-and-proud policies that child and youth care practitioners are accustomed to.

Forgotten but not gone: A heuristic literature review of sibling suicide bereavement

INTRODUCTION: It is often said that Aotearoa New Zealand suffers from a “culture of silence” around suicide. The sibling experience, it seems, forms a silence within that silence. Suicide- bereaved siblings face what has been termed a “double loss.” Their sibling is gone, and sois their family as they knew it. Typically, they mourn both losses in isolation, the “forgotten bereaved.” Although Aotearoa New Zealand’s suicide rates are amongst the highest inthe developed world, there are currently no academic papers dedicated exclusively to the sibling experience of suicide loss. This has serious implications, as suicide-bereaved siblings experience significantly higher rates of mental illness compared to control groups even when pre-existing psychopathology, health problems, and social disadvantages are taken into consideration. In addition, their own risk of suicide has been found to double.METHOD: This heuristic literature review aims to clarify and summarise what research focused on the sibling experience of suicide bereavement has highlighted so far, drawing on the author’s lived experience to examine key themes of guilt, “unacceptable” anger, social stigmatisation, self-judgement, isolation, and the shattering of relational trust.FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS: Siblings cannot be expected to “seek” help, it needs to be offered—strongly and repeatedly. With this in mind, potential implications for mental health practice with suicide-bereaved siblings will be discussed, as well as broader social initiatives and areas in need of future research.

SPECIFICITY OF THE ACTION OF SILENCE IN JAPANESE COMMUNICATION CULTURE

The Japanese are always wary of what they say, fearing of hurting the feelings of others, and often even use silent gestures to get along with their interlocutors. Therefore, in Japanese discourse, communication is determined not only by words, but also by the actions of silence. This article describes the peculiarities of the operation of silence in the Japanese language culture. In this regard, first of all, the features, role and tasks of silence in Japanese discourse are considered. It is also supposed to consider silence as an action and take into account the ambiguity of its interpretation. On the other hand, studying the classification of the action of silence helps to understand the behavior of silence that occurs in discourse. The article examines the culture of silence in terms of dynamic and spiritual interaction and finds that the interpretation of the action of silence can be understood on several levels, given the perspective of interaction between speaker and listener. That is, it is assumed that the meaning of the action of silence can be classified as an action that allows for multilevel interpretation.