In many Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, occupational health and safety (OHS) media and digital technologies frequently overlook the rich diversity of people working in the region’s highly diverse construction sector (Ford et al., 2017). Communication discrepancies in the workplace are subsumed under the categories of language discrepancies, translation inconsistencies, and insubstantial signage. Moreover, local and contextual factors such as the extreme temperatures of desert climate are also critical areas of concern for safety communication. However, participatory communication strategies traditionally employed to address concerns such as these do not necessarily align with the sociopolitical constraints of the region—wherein public dialogue and active participation remain limited.
In an effort to understand opportunities to develop inclusive OHS media in GCC countries, this research applied a case study approach to the Qatar context, adopting a theoretical orientation at the intersection of critical social theory, communication rights, and design for social change (DfSC). Specifically, the study employed a three-pronged research methodology to analyze OHS media in the construction industry through visual analysis, semi-structured interviews, and action research. Interviews with safety experts reveal that positive social change can occur through an increase in legislative oversight, contextual legislation, safety culture, and equitable communication practices in the construction sector. However, interviews with community organizers reveal that the mediascape, glocal factors, power-culture, and language barriers remain significant boundaries to development efforts.
Taken together, the findings suggest an alternative approach to social change—drawing on research in ethical communication values (Anderson & Tompkins, 2015), stakeholder theory (Freeman et al., 2010), boundary objects (Star & Griesemer, 1989), value creation (Wenger et al., 2011), and social change evaluation (Lennie & Tacchi, 2013). By employing these five core concepts as a framework for DfSC in Qatar, the findings offer practical and actionable areas to improve OHS media and digital technologies, such as campaigns focused on the moral and religious aspects of safety, permanent expositions of safety techniques, and edutainment experiences to engage viewers in safety topics. The goal of presenting these recommendations is to encourage researchers to pick up the mantle to address communication inequities through novel and culturally attuned approaches to social change in closed contexts.
References
Anderson, K. E., & Tompkins, P. S. (2015). Practicing Communication Ethics : Development, Discernment, and Decision-Making. New York, NY: Routledge.
Ford, R., Khoja, S., Higham, E., Smith, R., & Ellaby, S. (2017). Managing workplace injuries and fatalities in Qatar and the UAE: What do employers need to know? Clyde&Co.
Retrieved from https://www.clydeco.com/insight/article/managing-workplace-injuries-and-...
Freeman, R.E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Boston, MA: Pitman Ballinger.
Lennie, J. & Tacchi, J. (2013). Evaluating Communication for Development: A Framework for Social Change. New York, NY: Routledge.
Star, S.L., & Griesemer, J.R. (1989). Institutional ecology, ‘translations’ and boundary objects: amateurs and professionals in Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907–39. Social Studies of Science, 19(3), 387–420.
Wenger, E., Trayner, B., & de Laat, M. (2011). Promoting and assessing value creation in communities and networks: A conceptual framework. Rapport 18. Ruud de Moor Centrum: Open University of the Netherlands.