Assessing a maritime service website prototype in a ship bridge simulator: navigators’ experiences and perceptions of novel e-Navigation solutions

The aim of this study was to assess proof of concept and usability of a maritime service website prototype in a full-mission ship bridge simulator through Swedish mariners’ experiences and perceptions. This test was part of the European Commission’s EfficienSea2 project for e-navigation. The prototype was intended as an aid to existing standard systems and methodologies for planning, executing and monitoring voyages. The study began with 5 days of simulator trials focused on today’s standard practices. This served as a baseline to compare to subsequent 4 days of simulator trials testing the prototype. For data collection, observations, video footage, interviews, and eye tracking were used. Data analysis included breaking apart the qualitative data to capture the perceptions of the participants, and a preliminary analysis of eye-tracking data as a complement. The results suggested that the prototype could be more suitable for a route planning stage, that the participants were familiar with similar existing solutions from other manufacturers, and that the contents of the tool would be most beneficial if integrated within the Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS). There is a pressing need for the novel solutions to be user needs-driven, integrated with the existing technologies, and standardized across the domain, and these processes must go hand-in-hand with accounting for all involved stakeholders, procedures, regulations, and training, as this will alter the course of shipping.     

Marine Stingers: Review of an Under-Recognized Global Coastal Management Issue

Dangerous marine stingers (jellyfish) are an emotive issue in tropical Australia, where they are widely regarded as the number one marine health threat. However, numerous severe and fatal stings have been reported throughout the tropical and temperate seas of the world, indicating that marine stingers are a global health problem. Further, life-threatening jellyfish stings are more frequently reported globally now compared to earlier decades, possibly as a result of improved recognition and reporting, or increased spatial and/or temporal distribution or densities. As stinging incidents may also have significant financial implications (lost tourism revenues and liability settlements), and the treatment of envenomed patients comes at high cost to the taxpayer, this issue is also a management challenge. This article outlines suggested approaches, based largely on Australian experience, for dealing with this under-recognized global coastal management issue.     

Validating the results of a route choice simulator

This paper describes the validation of a route choice simulator known as VLADIMIR (Variable Legend Assessment Device for Interactive Measurement of Individual Route choice). VLADIMIR is an interactive computer-based tool designed to study drivers’ route choice behaviour. It has been extensively used to obtain data on route choice in the presence of information sources such as Variable Message Signs or In-Car Navigation devices. The simulator uses a sequence of digitized photographs to portray a real network with junctions, links, landmarks and road signs. Subject drivers are invited to make journeys between specified origins and destinations under a range of travel scenarios, during which the simulator automatically records their route choices. This paper describes validation experiments carried out during the period Summer 1994 to Autumn 1995 and reports on the results obtained. Each experiment involved a comparison of routes selected in real life with those driven under simulated conditions in VLADIMIR. The analysis included investigation of the subjects’ own assessment of the realism of the VLADIMIR routes they had chosen, a comparison of models based on the real life routes with models based on VLADIMIR routes, and a statistical comparison of the two sets of routes. After an extensive series of data collection exercises and analyses, we have concluded that a well designed simulator is able to replicate real life route choices with a very high degree of detail and accuracy. Not only was VLADIMIR able to precisely replicate the route choices of drivers who were familiar with the network but it also appears capable of representing the kind of errors made and route choice strategies adopted by less familiar drivers. Furthermore, evidence is presented to suggest that it can accurately replicate route choice responses to roadside VMS information.     

Ship sense—striving for harmony in ship manoeuvring

Ship manoeuvring is something that many seafarers perform, although little attention has been devoted to this in research literature. The topic has generally been explained by members of the trade as gaining knowledge through experience. The purpose of this study was to identify which factors contribute to the perceived state of a ship’s physical condition during manoeuvring. Eight master mariners were interviewed. The data resulted in a division of a sea voyage into three different phases, each requiring varying levels of effort from the bridge crew. The results further describe how the shiphandler strives for harmony between his ship and the environment. This is accomplished by personal factors such as spatial awareness, knowledge and experience to handle environmental factors of context, situation and vessel specific factors of inertia and the use of navigational instruments.     

Developing MPA Effectiveness Indicators: Comparison Within and Across Stakeholder Groups and Communities

Shared expectations about marine protected areas (MPAs) might be expected to enhance their effectiveness. This study determined whether members of local communities had common or divergent views about the objectives and indicators of MPA effectiveness. In the central Philippines we used unconstrained and constrained methods to interview people in five stakeholder groups (elders, fishers, leaders, women, and youth) associated with each of 10 community-based no-take MPAs that had been protected between 0 and 21 years. Respondents identified multiple MPA objectives, the most frequently mentioned of which was restoring and sustaining fish populations. The results suggest that MPA age accounts for the greatest level of variation across communities. When unconstrained, progress in enforcement was identified as a key indicator among respondents from younger MPAs while respondents from older MPAs identified increased fish abundance and catch. Although consensus can be reached more easily under constrained conditions, the results derived from unconstrained methods are more revealing of the needs and aspirations of communities. These are likely to contribute more to the search for appropriate management interventions, particularly given that MPAs evolve over time. Hence, the development of MPA effectiveness indicators must be an iterative community-informed process to ensure timely and relevant management interventions.     

Impacts of the urban parking system on cruising traffic and policy development: the case of Zurich downtown area,Switzerland

Transportation - Cruising-for-parking is a common phenomenon in many urban areas worldwide. Properly understanding and mitigating cruising can reduce travel times, alleviate traffic congestion, and...     

御路以风

倘若华特·奥文·宾利活到今天,他一定会对有幸目睹自己一手创立的汽车品牌可以在全世界特别是在中国受欢迎的程度而大呼惊叹。中国,这块华特·奥文·宾利生前从未踏足过的神奇国度,如今承载着宾利的梦想,把传奇一路驰骋下去。事实上,它从未让宾利先生和世界上所有喜爱它的人们失望过,无论是在阴霾弥漫的"二战"时期,还是经济萧条的困难局面里,宾利汽车的身影总可以像御风而行的使者一样,带着最终的荣誉,出现在人们期待激励的希望里。     

加速电气化:实现电动汽车大规模推广的关键步骤

正鼓励电动汽车的大规模推广需要哪些条件?L.E.K(.艾意凯)咨询最新研究显示,要改变消费者的购买行为,不仅需要在公共充电基础设施上进行大量投资,还需要从根本上增强电动汽车相比于内燃发动机汽车在总体拥有成本方面的竞争力。近几年,针对电动汽车的投资日益增加。如表1所示,越来越多的政府正积极鼓励大众使用电动汽车。同时,越来越多的汽车制造商也正在计划生产开发更多不同型号的电动汽车。据分析人士估计,     

Managing unruly technologies in the engine control room: from problem patching to an architectural thinking and standardization

In recent years, the work in engine control rooms (ECRs) onboard ships is becoming increasingly demanding and complex due to growing presence of modern information technology (IT) applications introduced in a problem-patching fashion. Previous studies about ECRs discussed the design issues associated with physical and cognitive ergonomics and lack of regulatory support. This paper has re-examined a design case in an ECR on a merchant ship and discussed the potential of a service-oriented architectural approach to manage emerging unruly technologies and integrate distributed resources in the maritime human-technology system. An EU project was introduced to illustrate the value of this design approach. Confronted with the complexity issues residing in a sociotechnical system like the ECR, this conceptual paper suggests a shift of focus from patching individual problems locally to a holistic systems perspective on the maritime eco-system development, which would likely require more collaborative efforts of various maritime stakeholders in practice. Certain extent of mandatory standardization for deploying and managing information systems is considered to be critical in these collaborative endeavors.     

Evacuation in practice — Observations from five full scale exercises

Evacuating a ship is a difficult task which normally is performed under severe and demanding conditions, exposing both crew members and passengers on board to an extreme and demanding situation. To be prepared for an incident happening on board and shouldering this responsibility is part of the everyday reality of the crew members’ work situation. This study reports the results from observations made on board five passenger ships performing full scale exercises with participants acting as passengers. The results pointed out four problem areas; the safety organization, the ability to perform tasks, the handling of life vests and communication. These areas represented an uncertainty in the requirements associated with the crew members’ role in the safety organization implied. There was also evidence of difficulties in the crews’ performing of different tasks, problems with donning life vests and insufficient communication. The crew member groups on board differ in their skills and knowledge to handle an evacuation situation. These groups need to be studied separately and systematically in order to determine how they comprehend their work situation and what their needs of preparation and training are in order to feel content with meeting the demands of their role in the safety organization.