Human-centred design for maritime technology and organizational change

Context: The shipping industry is undergoing a transitional phase at different levels, including IMO’s e-Navigation initiative, and with this comes the need to use a human-centred design (HCD) approach to avoid accidents linked to automation issues, and to cater for the maintenance of safety and efficiency within this global transport system.Aims: The aim of this thesis is to investigate the value and challenges in HCD practice and how ergonomics/human factors (E/HF) principles can be introduced, as well as what gaps and opportunities exist in current standard operations and technologies in navigation that can potentially be followed upon by future e-Navigation developments, not only from a technological perspective but also regulatory, operational etc.Methods: This thesis derives from the work of six appended articles that mainly utilized a qualitative approach to data collections, including focus groups, interviews and observations, and to data analyses, such as narratives and a grounded theory approach. In total, two design teams and four separate sets of onboard and shore-based operators were consulted for data collection.Results: The results from the appended papers suggest that user involvement in design as well as in rule making and purchasing of new ship equipment was perceived as important for a good work environment, and efficient and safe operations onboard in this safety-critical industry. The results show that design projects are situated experiences that involve complex tasks and resource management, and that require re-iterative adaptations throughout the process. In involving the users and implementing E/HF methods, support from the management is needed and professional E/HF expertise should be a part of the team to help interpret E/HF methods and guide the process to foster continuous knowledge sharing within the team, the organization and with the users from an early stage. When investigating current operations and technologies in navigation, it was evident that gaps exist that can be improved by the redesign of current technologies or the implementation of novel e-Navigation solutions. For example, there is a large number of unintegrated systems and information sources today, and everyday routines and information across geographical areas and communication channels are not unified. Technology concepts and developments towards the e-Navigation principles have been considerably debated, yet there are still gaps that can be filled, and despite e-Navigation’s principle for HCD, the holistic – macro – perspective of the development of these new technologies seems to be under-exploited.Conclusions: Filling the existing gaps with available novel technologies is not enough to guarantee efficiency and safety in the domain, nor to guarantee acceptance. A more systemic perspective is needed, of how the different people and processes in the sea transport system can be affected by the introduction of new technology in terms of how work is performed, of regulations, new training and re-skilling, as well as of preparation for new issues that may arise with increased automation such as workload and cyber-security. This work points at the value and practice of E/HF and systems-driven design, and directs it at change makers and opinion leaders: designers, managers, rule-makers, educators, to consider the human element for safety and efficiency. In this transitional stage, one of the great values of E/HF is to more proactively prepare the shipping industry for the ongoing e-Navigation changes rather than having the industry adapt operations, regulations, training and plan the sustainability of the transport system ad hoc after technology implementation

Priorização e (in)satisfação dos valores relativos ao trabalho conforme o género: estudo transcultural entre Portugal e o Brasil

A presente dissertação envolve um estudo transcultural entre Portugal e o Brasil, com o objetivo de verificar a existência de diferenças de género significativas na priorização e na (in)satisfação dos valores relativos ao trabalho. A amostra brasileira inclui 178 estudantes universitários com uma média de 5 anos de experiência profissional em empresas públicas/privadas. A amostra portuguesa compõe-se de 129 trabalhadores de uma grande empresa nacional privada, com média de 8,5 anos de antiguidade na empresa atual. Todos os participantes responderam individualmente à escala adaptada dos Valores Relativos ao Trabalho [EVT] de Porto e Tamayo (2003). Este instrumento consistiu de duas escalas de valores relativos ao trabalho: uma acerca da prioridade atribuída a metas motivacionais (alfas entre 0,76 e 0,90 no Brasil e entre 0,78 e 0,93 em Portugal) e a outra sobre a satisfação das mesmas no local de trabalho (alfas entre 0,84 e 0,95 no Brasil e entre 0,85 e 0,96 em Portugal). Os resultados obtidos através de ANOVAS Univariadas e Testes t de Student comprovaram que não existem diferenças de género na priorização dos valores laborais, mas a sua satisfação é mais percecionada pelos homens do que pelas mulheres, essencialmente no que toca a estabilidade financeira, tanto no Brasil como em Portugal. Na comparação entre brasileiros e portugueses, foram também encontradas algumas diferenças. As conclusões deste estudo enfatizam a importância da (in)satisfação dos valores laborais e das particularidades da cultura.This thesis embraces a cross-cultural study between Portugal and Brazil, aiming to verify the existence of significant gender differences in the prioritization and the (dis)satisfaction of work values. The Brazilian sample includes 178 students with an average of 5 years of professional experience in public or private enterprises. The Portuguese sample consists of 129 workers from a large national private company, with an average of 8.5 years of seniority. All participants responded individually to the adapted Work Values Scale [EVT] of Porto and Tamayo (2003). This instrument consisted of two scales of work values: the first being the priority assigned to motivational goals (alphas between 0.76 and 0.90 in Brazil and between 0.78 and 0.93 in Portugal) and the second the satisfaction level of the same goals in the workplace (alphas between 0.84 and 0.95 in Brazil and between 0.85 and 0.96 in Portugal). The results obtained through Univariate ANOVA and Student's t tests showed that there were no gender differences in the prioritization of work values, but there is a higher perception of satisfaction in men, in comparison to women, mainly with regard to financial stability, both in Brazil and in Portugal. In the comparison between the Brazilians and the Portuguese, there were also some differences. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of (dis)satisfaction of work values and cultural particularities

Non‑technical communication factors at the Vessel Traffic Services

This study done at the Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) explored how the VTS operators (VTSOs) communicated with ships and other actors in the maritime sociotechnical system and how decisions were made with regard to assisting traffic in maintaining safe passage in port areas, where most vessel movements are seen and accidents occur. The fieldwork was done during four independent visits to a VTS centre under the Swedish Maritime Authority, with a total sample of six VTSOs and one VTS instructor. The qualitative data were sorted and coded using a grounded theory approach. The data pointed at non-technical information processing and communication factors that play a role in decision-making and ultimately in safety. During protocol operations at the VTS, these factors influenced how VTSOs judged the skills of the vessels’ bridge teams, and how they approached them. This is a time where much effort is being put into upgrading technological systems, and these will have the power to change the ways in which the maritime network obtains and processes information, as well as how they can communicate with each other. The further development of technological systems, work protocols and training programmes can benefit from taking the soft aspects of communication and the needs of the operators and their tasks into account for the enhancement of safety

Testing Proof of Concept of a Web-Based Ship Manoeuvring Training Tool in the Classroom

Currently, real-time ship manoeuvring simulations are confined to static environments e.g., desktop/full-mission bridge simulators. Seaman Online™ is a novel web-based ship manoeuvring training tool allowing students and professional mariners to practice manoeuvres in ports and confined waters from their personal computers. This paper describes the tool’s first-time implementation in a Master Mariner university programme. The students were asked to complete a post-questionnaire regarding their use experience and the results were discussed between the course instructors and the toolproviding organization at two debriefings. The aim was to obtain feedback about (a) the usefulness of the tool in manoeuvring training; (b) further design improvements and usability; and (c) how to bestincorporate it into the programme curriculum in coming academic years for improved user experience. Results revealed usability and maturity issues and the need for further guidance on simulation-based training objectives and limitations. Overall, the tool’s usefulness and potential in individual manoeuvring training were demonstrated

Dissolvable Carboxymethylcellulose Microneedles for Noninvasive and Rapid Administration of Diclofenac Sodium

The aim of this study is to prepare dissolvable biopolymeric microneedle (MN) patches composed solely of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), a water-soluble cellulose derivative with good film-forming ability, by micromolding technology for the transdermal delivery of diclofenac sodium salt (DCF). The MNs with ≈456 µm in height displayed adequate morphology, thermal stability up to 200 °C, and the required mechanical strength for skin insertion (>0.15 N needle−1). Experiments in ex vivo abdominal human skin demonstrate the insertion capability of the CMC_DCF MNs up to 401 µm in depth. The dissolution of the patches in saline buffer results in a maximum cumulative release of 98% of diclofenac after 40 min, and insertion in a skin simulant reveals that all MNs completely dissolve within 10 min. Moreover, the MN patches are noncytotoxic toward human keratinocytes. These results suggest that the MN patches produced with CMC are promising biopolymeric systems for the rapid administration of DCF in a minimally invasive manner.publishe

Patient-physician discordance in assessment of adherence to inhaled controller medication: a cross-sectional analysis of two cohorts

We aimed to compare patient's and physician's ratings of inhaled medication adherence and to identify predictors of patient-physician discordance.(SFRH/BPD/115169/2016) funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT); ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029130 ('mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases—generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies') cofunded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median z=0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z=2.32), and 90,897 new stellar spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009 December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in temperature estimates for stars with T_eff<5000 K and in metallicity estimates for stars with [Fe/H]>-0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed as part of the SDSS-III Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration-2 (SEGUE-2). The astrometry error introduced in the DR8 imaging catalogs has been corrected in the DR9 data products. The next data release for SDSS-III will be in Summer 2013, which will present the first data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) along with another year of data from BOSS, followed by the final SDSS-III data release in December 2014.Comment: 9 figures; 2 tables. Submitted to ApJS. DR9 is available at http://www.sdss3.org/dr

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected