Validation Methodology for Assessment of New ENavServices

The international maritime industry is on a current wave of digitalization and there is a dire need to enable an effective prediction of the different digital solutions, especially in terms of international implementation as well as regulatory requirements related to the same. When assessing new e-navigation (e-nav) solutions, these are not yet implemented, i.e., there is no possibility to validate technology on basis of lagging indicators - indicators which express actual performance within quality of the service to which the solution is targeted. One must instead turn to leading indicators - indicators which, based on a hypothesis, express expected performance within quality of the service to which the solution is targeted. The more valid the hypothesis, the more valid the leading indicators will be to express the new solutions' effectiveness. In this paper, we have validated KPIs from the Baltic and International Maritime Council's Shipping KPI Standard in light of their suitability in expressing actual performance, hereby validating the quality and suitability of a set of leading indicators from the port call scenario from the Research Council of Norway supported SESAME Solutions 2 project.acceptedVersio

Exploring the Use of Stakeholder Analysis Methodology in the Establishment of a Living Lab

This article explores how to conduct a cost-effective stakeholder analysis to investigate opportunities and interest in establishing a living lab for an autonomous ferry connection. Using an action research approach, we share our experiences with the process and results, and we reflect openly on the strengths and weaknesses of both the stakeholder methodology generally as well as our own implementation specifically. According to the cyclic nature of action research and experiential learning, the research was conducted in two iterations, with the second iteration drawing upon input from the first. We compare and discuss these two approaches in terms of costs and benefits from a practitioner’s perspective. The article provides a contribution to stakeholder analysis methodology for complex, multi-stakeholder innovation initiatives, such as living labs

A randomized trial analyzing the effect of a diet rich in SFA or PUFA on the lipid profile of subjects with normal-weight and subjects with obesity and elevated LDL-cholesterol

Summary Background: People with elevated cholesterol have an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lipid modifying diets, which reduces the intake of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and increases the intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) reduces the cholesterol and affects the risk for developing CVD. There are gaps in research about whether subjects with normal-weight (NW) and subjects with obesity (OB) respond differently to lipid-modifying diets. Objective: To investigate if there are differences in the changes in the lipid profile between weight stable, non-statin treated NW (BMI < 25 kg/m2) and subjects with OB (BMI 30-45 kg/m2) with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) eating a diet enriched with either SFA from butter or PUFA from soft margarine for six weeks. Method: A total of 71 men and women aged 18-70 years were randomized to one of the two diets. 23 NW and 14 OB were randomized to the SFA diet and 20 NW and 14 OB were randomized to the PUFA diet group. Butter and soft margarine was handed out to the participants, enough to supply them with a minimum portion of 24 grams butter and 25 grams soft margarine each day. The dietary intake was registered with a weighed seven days food registration at baseline and at the end of the study period. Measurements of the lipid profile, total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG) and Apolipoprotein B (Apo B) were measured at the screening, randomization visit and after four and six weeks. Results: The baseline values for TC and LDL-C for all the participants in the study were 6.5 mmol/L and 4.4 mmol/L. There was a significant between group difference in the mean change in TC after six weeks between NW and OB subjects in the SFA diet group (TC NW 7.1 mmol/l (SD 1.0) and TC OB 6.4 mmol/L (SD 1.3)), with a greater increase in TC for the NW (difference 0.4 mmol/L, 95 % CI 0.0,0.8, p= 0.04). In an adjusted linear regression analysis there was a significant effect for the variable “diet group” (all p≤0.001) and a trend for an effect of the interaction variable between BMI and diet group on the change in TC, LDL-C and Apo B. For the NW in the SFA diet group there were significant within group changes with an increase in TC, LDL-C, HDL-C and Apo B. For the OB subjects in the SFA diet group there were no significant changes. For both the NW and OB subjects in the PUFA diet group there were significant within group changes with a reduction in TC, LDL-C and Apo B. Significant changes in the diet after six weeks were attained according to the planned dietary intervention, with a different in 9.1 E% from SFA and 4.2 E% from PUFA between the NW and 10.2 E% from SFA and 5.4 E% from PUFA between the OB subjects in the two diet groups. Conclusions: For the subjects that increased their intake of SFA it was a difference in the response in TC between NW and OB. For NW subjects with elevated LDL-C increasing their intake of SFA (19.6 E%) lead to a significant increase in TC, LDL-C, HDL-C and Apo B while increasing the intake of PUFA (9.9 E%) gave beneficial changes in TC, LDL-C, Apo B and TG. For the OB subjects with elevated LDL-C, an increased intake of SFA (20.4 E%) did not significant change the lipid profile, while increasing the intake of PUFA (10.1 E% lead to a reduction in TC, LDL-C and Apo B. A failure to include enough participants with obesity reduced the strength of these conclusions

"Our task in Africa" : Margery Perham og britisk kolonistyre i Afrika

Denne oppgaven søker å redegjøre for historikeren Margery Freda Perhams syn på det indirekte styret, den styreformen Storbritannia brukte i de fleste koloniene i Afrika fra begynnelsen av 1900-tallet til etter andre verdenskrig. Prinsippet som lå til grunn for styreordningen, var at man skulle integrere lokale myndigheter i kolonistyrets struktur. Rent praktisk ble dette gjennomført ved at man knyttet lokale høvdinger opp mot koloniadministrasjonen, slik at disse kunne tjene som bindeledd mellom kolonimakten og befolkningen i koloniene. Dette hadde den åpenbare fordelen at kolonimakten kunne klare seg med færre ansatte i administrasjonsapparatet i hver enkelt koloni; samtidig kunne man på denne måten ivareta en kontinuitet med fortiden i de afrikanske lokalsamfunn og dermed redusere de forstyrrende konsekvenser av koloniherredømmet. I utgangspunktet var denne ordningen et resultat av økonomiske og praktiske hensyn. Men etter første verdenskrig ble den offisielle begrunnelsen for britisk kolonistyre i stadig større grad legitimert ut fra humanitære motiver. Det er innenfor en slik tankegang Perham opererer. Perham har sterk tiltro til styreformens potensial til å skape en utvikling i de afrikanske samfunn som både ivaretar deres kulturelle egenart, og samtidig bidrar til en utvikling mot mer moderne samfunnsformer. Perhams syn på nødvendigheten av en utvikling av de afrikanske samfunn, sprang ut av en filantropisk grunninnstilling overfor afrikanerne. Men hennes optimistiske syn på indirekte styre var også farget av at hun hadde en nær tilknytning til det britiske kolonistyret. Noe av hensikten med oppgaven er å finne ut av hva slags idéstrømninger og ideologier hennes syn på britisk koloniherredømme hviler på. Jeg argumenterer i så måte for at hennes syn på utviklingen av de afrikanske samfunn i stor grad fulgte endringer i den britiske kolonipolitikken. Slik fremstår hun gjennom hele sin karriere som en ideolog for det britiske imperiet. I siste instans handler det om spredning av demokrati – et tema som neppe har blitt mindre aktuelt med tiden

Assessing the "Leading Indicators" of Safety Climate within the Shipping Industry

Safety climate is generally acknowledged to be an important concept in order to reveal the level of safety within an organization. However, there is a lack of consensus regarding the underlying dimensions of safety climate. Moreover, there is an overall lack of agreement concerning the stability of safety climate dimensions over different industrial sectors. Interview data from 30 employees within a shipping company was compared with the dimensions of a generic safety climate model (SCM) to assess the sensitivity of interviews in capturing safety climate relevant information. Additionally, the safety focus in the company was assessed. About 80% of the descriptive information in the interviews was found to be in accordance with the dimensions identified in the SCM. Among the remaining 20 % residual it was possible to identify four dimensions of relevance to safety, beyond the scope of the SCM. Accordingly, interviews were found to be a sensitive method in capturing theoretically sound information regarding the safety climate concept. The topics reflected upon in the interviews indicated that the safety focus in the company was mature. However, the evaluations connected to these topics indicated a clear tendency to attribute negative and person- focused safety issues at the organizational sharp- end. Methodological, theoretical and practical implications of the results were discussed

Shared Mental Models of Challenging Maritime Situations: Comparisons of Ship and Shore Personnel in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore

Shared mental models, measured as similar perceptions and understandings of the components of a work task or an operative environment, is a key characteristic for high performing teams. Identifying and addressing differences in mental models may help enhance teamwork, and can serve as a frame for the improvement of human‐centered information and communication systems. This paper has been written as part of the SESAME Straits project, a testbed within the e‐Navigation framework. It examines similarities and differences in mental models between Deck Officers working aboard ships and Vessel Traffic Service Officers working ashore. Data was compared the participants´ perception of 12 challenging traffic situations in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. A total of 189 respondents participated by means of an electronic survey. Findings show that Deck and Vessel Traffic Officers do have a large degree of shared mental models, but that there also are significant differences. In particular, there are large ship‐shore differences in perceptions of the impact on local ship traffic on safety and efficiency. The second and third situation of large difference was delayed or reduced availability of port services, and challenging weather conditions. Implications are that future development of ship‐shore collaborative systems should specifically explore and address the issue of local ship traffic, and to find ways to integrate information about availability and timing of port services and of difficult weather situations

Exploring the Use of Stakeholder Analysis Methodology in the Establishment of a Living Lab

This article explores how to conduct a cost-effective stakeholder analysis to investigate opportunities and interest in establishing a living lab for an autonomous ferry connection. Using an action research approach, we share our experiences with the process and results, and we reflect openly on the strengths and weaknesses of both the stakeholder methodology generally as well as our own implementation specifically. According to the cyclic nature of action research and experiential learning, the research was conducted in two iterations, with the second iteration drawing upon input from the first. We compare and discuss these two approaches in terms of costs and benefits from a practitioner’s perspective. The article provides a contribution to stakeholder analysis methodology for complex, multi-stakeholder innovation initiatives, such as living labs

Shared mental models of challenging Maritime Situations: comparisons of ship and shore personnel in the Straits of Malacca and Singapo

Shared mental models, measured as similar perceptions and understandings of the components of a work task or an operative environment, is a key characteristic for high performing teams. Identifying and addressing differences in mental models may help enhance teamwork, and can serve as a frame for the improvement of human-centered information and communication systems. This paper has been written as part of the SESAME Straits project, a testbed within the e-Navigation framework. It examines similarities and differences in mental models between Deck Officers working aboard ships and Vessel Traffic Service Officers working ashore. Data was compared the participants´ perception of 12 challenging traffic situations in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. A total of 189 respondents participated by means of an electronic survey. Findings show that Deck and Vessel Traffic Officers do have a large degree of shared mental models, but that there also are significant differences. In particular, there are large ship-shore differences in perceptions of the impact on local ship traffic on safety and efficiency. The second and third situation of large difference was delayed or reduced availability of port services, and challenging weather conditions. Implications are that future development of ship-shore collaborative systems should specifically explore and address the issue of local ship traffic, and to find ways to integrate information about availability and timing of port services and of difficult weather situations

Shared Mental Models of Challenging Maritime Situations: Comparisons of Ship and Shore Personnel in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore

Shared mental models, measured as similar perceptions and understandings of the components of a work task or an operative environment, is a key characteristic for high performing teams. Identifying and addressing differences in mental models may help enhance teamwork, and can serve as a frame for the improvement of human-centered information and communication systems. This paper has been written as part of the SESAME Straits project, a testbed within the e-Navigation framework. It examines similarities and differences in mental models between Deck Officers working aboard ships and Vessel Traffic Service Officers working ashore. Data was compared the participants´ perception of 12 challenging traffic situations in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. A total of 189 respondents participated by means of an electronic survey. Findings show that Deck and Vessel Traffic Officers do have a large degree of shared mental models, but that there also are significant differences. In particular, there are large ship-shore differences in perceptions of the impact on local ship traffic on safety and efficiency. The second and third situation of large difference was delayed or reduced availability of port services, and challenging weather conditions. Implications are that future development of ship-shore collaborative systems should specifically explore and address the issue of local ship traffic, and to find ways to integrate information about availability and timing of port services and of difficult weather situations