Abilities and Competences of Students and Seafarers for Education Supported by Modem ICT

The purpose of this paper was to find out whether the higher education has met the necessary requirements for the implementation of the ICT system, in particular the e-learning system in higher education of seafarers. The goal was to explore to what extent the technical and organisational prerequisites for introducing the system have been fulfilled at the very institution--E-learning system provider, and to what extent the full-time maritime students and part-time students-seafarers are ready and trained to adopt such a system. In order to gather insights and make conclusions, the analytical method and the survey of students were used. A total of 930 full-time and part-time students （seafarers） were surveyed. The goal of these surveys was to find out the educational needs of both student groups, as well as their technical preconditions （e.g., having a PC at work or at home, access to the intemet, and the like） and competencies （e.g., computer literacy） that are necessary for active involvement in the e-learning system. A particularly interesting part of the research tackled the psychological predisposition of students, i.e., whether they were willing to use the system at all. A special part of the research was focused on issues regarding the costs and the available time that the students/seafarers have for using the e-learning system. The research has revealed that there are neither obstacles nor initial constraints for the implementation of the e-learning system in education of maritime students and seafarers at the University of Split. Moreover, the students have a positive attitude towards the e-learning system, and most of them are very enthusiastic about its implementation. The scientific contribution of this paper is provided by an analytical model exploring and defining the necessary prerequisites for introducing the e-learning system. The advantage of the model lies in its wide and multi-disciplinary approach to all these prerequisites, ranging from psychological to purely technical, financial, time, organisational and other aspects. An interesting issue is the question of＂good will＂ for launching such systems at the institutions which obviously meet all necessary prerequisites for their introduction, including the enthusiasm of their students and teachers. The case study shows that, apparently, the university management and the wider community have not recognised many a benefit of the e-learning system. This sounds paradoxical as it is precisely the very academic community that should act as the designer and the initiator of social changes, in social systems in general and in education systems in particular.

Seafarers＇ Current Awareness, Knowledge, Motivation and Ideas towards Low Carbon-Energy Efficient Operations

International and national concern about detrimental climate change has generated pressure for the shipping industry to play its＇ role in reducing the 3.3% of global carbon emission it emits. On the 1st January, 2013, the IMO （International Maritime Organisation） enforced regulations to support the reduction of shipping carbon emissions by improving energy efficiency. These measures directly and indirectly affect the daily operations of seafarers and onshore performance and managerial personnel. Whilst the industry has made efforts to raise the awareness of many stakeholders and research has been undertaken to investigate energy efficiency barriers, little has been done to capture the opinions, needs and knowledge of seafarers. A questionnaire was distributed in the last quarter of 2011 to investigate seafarers＇ awareness, knowledge and motivation towards carbon emissions in general and towards shipping carbon emissions. It also investigated opinions as to which personnel have the most influence over carbon reductions and what are the most important operational improvements that can be made. The authors have collected 317 questionnaire responses. The primary benefit of this study is to support the identification of an operational strategy to improve energy efficiency, including the development of LC-EE （low carbon-energy efficiency） MET （maritime education and training）, which is shown to be needed.

Studies on the Weight Algorithm on Seafarers＇ Competence Assessment Index

The purpose for seafarers＇ competence assessment is to evaluate the practical operational ability of the applicants and the weight of the index directly influences the accuracy of the assessment results. This paper takes the assessment of route making as an example, makes use of the analytic hierarchy process in determining the weight of the indexes to provide theoretical reference for the perfection of seafarers＇ competence assessment.

Globalization's Effect on Today's Seafarers

The Role of Manning AgenciesThe decline of the era where the people that owned the ships, managed the ships and hired their own crews saw the development of ship management firms and manning agencies. As the supply of seafarers moved from the traditional maritime nations to India, the Far East and Asia, the services of the manning agencies were gradually built into the system.

The Cradle of China's First Class Seafarers:Qingdao Ocean Shipping Mariners College——by Lin Jinhe,President of Qingdao Ocean Shipping Mariners College

Qingdao Ocean Shipping Mariners College is a College subordinate to China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company under the Ministry of Communications. In our college there are the Department of Marine Navigation,Department of Marine Engineering, Department of Shipping Management and Department of Foreign Languages, offering speciahies of Marine Navigation, Marine Engine Control, Marine Electrical Equipment Control, Marine Radio Communication, International Shipping Management and International Finance and Accounting. We have 3 types of education: the education of formal college schooling, the training for implementation of the 95 revised STCW Convention and the continuation education. Meanwhile we undertake different training of COSCO’s contracted seafarers overseas and other managerial per-

Occupational,physical,sexual and mental health and violence among migrant and trafficked commercial fishers and seafarers from the Greater Mekong Subregion(GMS):systematic review

Background:Little is known about the health of GMS commercial fishers and seafarers,many of whom are migrants and some trafficked.This systematic review summarizes evidence on occupational,physical,sexual and mental health and violence among GMS commercial fishers/seafarers.Methods:We searched 5 electronic databases and purposively searched grey literature.Quantitative or qualitative studies reporting prevalence or risk of relevant outcomes were included.Two reviewers independently screened articles.Data were extracted on nationality and long/short-haul fishing where available.Results:We identified 33 eligible papers from 27 studies.Trafficked fishers/seafarers were included in n=12/13 grey literature and n=1/20 peer-reviewed papers.Among peer-reviewed papers:11 focused on HIV/AIDS/sexual health;nine on occupational/physical health;one study included mental health of trafficked fishers.Violence was quantitatively measured in eight papers with prevalence of:11-26%in port convenience samples;68-100%in post-trafficking service samples.Commercial fishers/seafarers whether trafficked or not worked extremely long hours;trafficked long-haul fishers had very limited access to care following injuries or illness.Lesser-known risks reported among fishers included penile oil injections and beriberi.We found just one work safety intervention study and inconclusive evidence for differences in the outcomes by nationality.Findings are limited by methodological weaknesses of primary studies.Conclusion:Results show an absence of high-quality epidemiological studies beyond sexual health.Formative and pilot intervention research on occupational,physical and mental health among GMS commercial fishers and seafarers is needed.Future studies should include questions about violence and exploitation.Ethical and reporting standards of grey literature should be improved.

Views from Maritime Education and Training on the Full Implementation of 2010 STCW Amendments

The full review of The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers （the STCW Convention） has been accomplished by International Maritime Organization （IMO） and the new amendment, which is also named as Manila amendment, has been effective since 2012, with a transitional period of 2012-2017. Based on the system engineering context consisting of ＂Human, Machine and Environment＂, human factors at sea, i.e., those factors relevant to the seafarers, are consistently underlined. STCW convention is the unique but systematic international maritime legislation looking after the ＂professional competency standards＂ of seafarers. The amendment thereto is of great significance for the Maritime Education and Training （MET） systems, which should be fully understood so as to respond to it effectively. The paper analyzes major impacts brought by the amendment, with purposes to raise recommendations for MET systems to implement the amendment effectively.

Development, Dependency and HIV Risk in Kiribati

A study was undertaken in Kiribati, a small Pacific island nation, that has a low-level HIV epidemic but a high incidence of STIs among seafarers, their spouses (and children), and those involved in sex work. There are connections between development and dependency and HIV risk in Kiribati. Kiribati is a peripheral and dependent small island state underwritten by conditional aid and financial assistance and advice from donor countries, entwined in, and subject to, external globalising processes. We found two major factors related to Kiribati’s dependency engendered HIV risk. The first is Kiribati’s reliance on transnational seafaring. Long periods away from home, shipboard and port mateship cultures, and infrequent condom use in casual and paid sexual relations while in overseas ports, exacerbated by heavy alcohol use, have rendered i-Kiribati seafarers vulnerable to HIV. The second factor is related to the labour force participation of young women, which is extremely limited. In this context, some young i-Kiribati women choose to work on board, foreign fishing vessels selling sex. They stay with one client while on board a boat—for up to three months—and sex work is not only an economic transaction, but also emotional and affective labour. It is a pattern that makes consistent condom use problematic. Having multiple sequential seafarer partners may in fact generate considerable HIV vulnerability.

Experiences of Fatigue at Sea—A Comparative Study in European and Chinese Shipping Industry

Fatigue has negative impacts on the general working population as well as on seafarers. In order to study seafarers’ fatigue, a questionnaire-base survey was conducted to gain information about potential risk factors for fatigue and construct indexes indicating fatigue. The study applies T-test to compare strata of seafarers to analyse work and sleep patterns in global seafaring. Qualitative analysis are also employed to explore the impacts of fatigue on seafarer’s occupational health and safety.

The Application of E-learning and Distance Learning Technologies to Crew Education and Training in the Russian Federation

The article examines the world experience of e-learning as well as distance education technologies within the education process organization on higher and post-higher education programs.There have been listed the results of the most popular e-learning platforms analysis.Furthermore,there have been looked through the core legislative background of the development of the mentioned technologies in Russia and worldwide among the universities,specialized in seafarers training.There have been also drawn up the points of the Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping(Admiral Makarov SUMIS)design of the distance education system LMS"FARWATER"in compliance with the International Convention on Standards of Training,Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers(STCW Convention).The practical application of distance education system to the advanced professional training has been discussed in the article.

A review of the physiological and psychological health and wellbeing of naval service personnel and the modalities used for monitoring

Naval cohorts rely heavily on personnel to ensure the efficient running of naval organisations. As such, the wellbeing of personnel is essential. In an occupational setting, naval service personnel experience a variety of physiological and psychological stressors. Most naval services arrange annual physical fitness and body composition tests to ensure the physical readiness of personnel. However, these tests only evaluate a small amount of physiological capabilities. Components such as aerobic and strength capabilities are assessed, however, other components of physical fitness such as speed, agility, anaerobic capacity and flexibility are not. In addition to the physical capabilities, personnel are impacted by fatigue, nutrition and psychological stressors such as copping in stressful situations or dealing with time away from family and friends. This review will discuss the physiological and psychological factors that affect personnel's wellbeing. In addition to this, it will also evaluate the methods that are used to assess both physiological and psychological wellbeing.

Maritime Command-Language: Understanding Its Role in the Global Seafaring Profession among Maritime Youth in the Philippines

In this study, the researchers categorized the different maritime command-language (words and expressions) used on-board by young Filipino officers and seafarers employed at the different foreign shipping companies in the country and abroad. The paper also ascertained the importance of maritime language in the global seafaring profession of maritime youth in the Philippines. The respondents of the present study were the young officers and seafarers of the maritime university, specifically, John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines. Quantitative and qualitative mode of data collection was employed by the researchers. A researcher-made data gathering instrument was used to capture the necessary data in understanding the role of maritime language in the global seafaring profession. Sample utterances were gathered from the respondents and were subject to corresponding statistical interpretation. Qualitative information, comments, and remarks were utilized in this study to showcase the importance of maritime language in the profession of young officers and seafarers as graduates of leading global supplier in the international maritime industry.

The Success Story of Capt. Angelex A. Panes on Board the M/V SKS Tiete

Few studies have been conducted on success stories of JBLFMU-Arevalo alumni. Thus, this study aimed to determine the success story of Capt. Angelex Arevalo Panes, an alumnus of the then, John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation （Arevalo）, Inc. of Batch 1995 now, John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Arevalo. The story of Capt. Panes tells his family and educational background, career paths, driving force to work efficiently, hardwork, coping strategies, job encounters, edged as first Filipino captain of M/V SKS Tiete, skills as effective team leader, managerial techniques in resolving conflicts under watch, problems and solutions encountered on board, preparations for his sunset life, and his message to all aspiring seafarers. This paper gives glimpse to the life of Philippine＇s modem hero-a seafarer like Capt. Angelex A. Panes and lessons to those who would become seafarers.

Rethinking the Concept of Seafaring Labor

In the maritime industry, seafaring labor is the most important part of the process of shipping production, just as much as the factory worker on land. However, due to seafaring is, in its most part, not possible to compare with occupations on land, the seafaring labor also very much differs from that of shore based workers. On the one hand, the seafarer＇s profession is still one of the most complex and dangerous work with unmatched rates of intrinsic hazards. On the other hand, the ship is not only the special instrument of seafaring labor, but also the residence where the seafarer is working, living, sleeping and socializing. All these characteristics determine that the policies and practices in respect of the seafarer differ from that in shore based industry. From the perspective of mode of production and labor process, a number of characteristics of seafaring labor are discussed in this article.