Purpose

This study aims to examine the textual performance of the Ocean Ranger Disaster inquiry, thus responding to recent calls to “practice context” in historical writing. This study goes beyond the epistemological assumptions about the grounds for knowing about the past as the authors explore how history is produced in the context of power relations.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper imagines history-making as a storytelling performance. The authors combine critical historiography and critical sensemaking because these qualitative perspectives help us to understand the composition of the Ocean Ranger Royal Commission Report.

Findings

This case study makes a contribution within the genre of disaster inquiry reporting. The study explains how a formal historical record (the public inquiry report) may be created and how the report is related to aspects of power embedded in a writer’s sense of reality.

Social implications

The Ocean Ranger Disaster continues to be of tremendous importance to the people of Newfoundland, Canada. There have been numerous studies of the disaster, but these have been overwhelmingly focused on technical matters. To authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to consider the inquiry from an historical context perspective.

Originality/value

The study site enables reflection on a question not often asked in the management history literature: How can we critically understand the composition of an official disaster inquiry report in the context of its power relations?

中文翻译：

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灾害探究报道中历史语境生产中的权力关系

目的

本研究旨在检查海洋护林员灾难调查的文本表现，从而回应最近在历史写作中对“实践背景”的呼吁。这项研究超越了关于了解过去的基础的认识论假设，因为作者探索了历史是如何在权力关系的背景下产生的。

设计/方法/方法

本文将历史创作想象为一个讲故事的表演。作者将批判的史学和批判的理性相结合，因为这些定性的观点有助于我们理解《海洋巡游者皇家委员会报告》的组成。

发现

本案例研究在灾害调查报告类型中做出了贡献。该研究解释了如何创建正式的历史记录（公共调查报告）以及该报告如何与作家现实感中的权力方面相关联。

社会影响

海洋护林员灾难对加拿大纽芬兰的人民来说仍然非常重要。对这场灾难进行了大量研究，但这些研究绝大多数都集中在技术问题上。据作者所知，这项研究是第一个从历史背景的角度考虑调查的研究。

原创性/价值

该研究网站可以反思管理史文献中不常问到的一个问题：我们如何在权力关系的背景下批判性地理解官方灾难调查报告的构成？