The Reflective Mariner An Approach for ECDIS Training and Operational Usage

Date of Award

Summer 2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering

Program/Concentration

Modeling and Simulation

Committee Director

Ryland C. Gaskins III

Committee Member

Amy B. Adcock

Committee Member

James R. Comstock

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.E53 M85 2006

Abstract

The emergence of the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) on the bridge of modem vessels offers the possibility of improving the safety and efficiency of maritime operations. Despite its benefits, improper use of ECDIS relegates the watch officer to passive monitoring, which in tum places the mariner "out of the control loop" in the assessment of vessel control functions and equipment malfunctions. It is therefore vital to train mariners to be active in their ECDIS monitoring. This thesis presents a training strategy aimed at developing the "Reflective Mariner": an approach to help mariners maintain their active use of ECDIS. The training strategy developed here incorporates the use of marine simulation and After Event Reviews (AERs), a reflective process of learning from past events. To demonstrate the feasibility of the Reflective Mariner training strategy, an experiment was conducted using Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy deck cadets operating an integrated bridge simulator to examine the effect of AERs on learners' navigational performance and causal attributions under conditions of (a) ECDIS failure and (b) past performance. Due to the small sample size (five participants) and the limited amount and precision of the data, the results did not ' substantiate the experimental hypotheses. However, the results of the study provided the following insights on AERs and ECDIS use in general: (1) AERs reorganized the causal attributional statements, (2) participants with higher ECDIS familiarity attributed failed performance to higher levels of ECDIS over-reliance, and (3) reflection on past performance bolstered epistemic cognition, regardless of the particular type of reflective process used. This thesis concludes with implications and recommendations for further research in marine safety through developing the notion of the Reflective Mariner.

Rights

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DOI

10.25777/4jxc-0t21

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