Las ideologías políticas en Estados Unidos

Qualitative research has explored the VTS as a service (Buller and Jurzinski 1986; Goss 1986;

Babu and Ketkar 1996; van-Westrenen and Praetoris 2014; Praetorius et al. 2015) and has also looked at the work of VTSOs, albeit in a limited manner. The impact of the introduction of new technology in the VTS has been studied with respect to the consequences by measuring the situational awareness of VTS operators (Wiersma and Mastenbroek 1998; Wiersma 2010).

Such studies have used simulation to elicit responses and have not considered the in situ real-time dynamics of VTS work.

Brödje et al. (2010) approach research in the VTS from the perspective of human factors, complex socio technical systems and simulation theory. Brödje et al. (2010) explore how VTS operators build their situational awareness and use the method of Applied Cognitive Task Analysis (ACTA) in interviewing VTS operators. Simulation exercises are a part of the interview process to explore how the VTS operators use the available sensors to build their situational awareness of the dynamic environment. The study revealed that the VTS operators considered the radar and the VHF as their preferred main sensors, while the information received from the AIS was considered supplementary. The study found that the VTS operators build their situational awareness holistically by combining the information from the sensors with their knowledge of the local area and nautical experience. Brödje et al. (2011) have found Applied Cognitive Task Analysis combined with mid-fidelity simulation to be a useful knowledge eliciting interview tool in the context of the VTS which helps them to explore the work of the VTS operators.

Nuutinen et al. (2007) regard the VTS as a highly complex socio-technical system, and approach it from within the field of ergonomics. The results of their study showed that there were differences in the ‘outcome, practices and conception of core task’ across the different experts of the four Finnish VTS centres studied. The authors argue for continuous development in the VTS while recognising the need for working towards a new VTS system. The authors argue that one way of evolving, is the creation of reflective practices within the VTS, supported

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by annual simulator exercises aimed at the development of procedures. The authors argue that all of the pressures on the complex socio-technical system should be taken into account (social, political and technological pressures) and system development should take place together with a dynamic and open vision of the target future. The authors do not mention economic pressure and I believe that the same should be acknowledged, given the importance of revenue generation in port operations and the attractiveness of a fast port turnaround for lower port dues. Their finding that there are differences between the different VTS centres is similar to Praetorius (2012) who states that different services may be provided under the label of the VTS, which makes it difficult for seafarers to know what to expect from the VTS.

Brödje et al. (2013) explored (mis) communication in VTS operations utilizing interactive mid-fidelity simulation. The study revealed that even though VTS operators are aware of the developing traffic situation in the VTS area, at times the operators on purpose, chose not to inform the Officer of the Watch (OOW) of ships or pilots undertaking pilotage, of the safety concerns, except when they are bound by protocol. They found that when VTS operators felt comfortable with the unfolding traffic situation and believed that all listeners on the VHF would be aware of the traffic and possess a similar understanding of the unfolding situation, the VTS operators need not explicitly communicate the information. The VTS operators do not inform if they consider the information to be superfluous as they do not wish to come across as talking down or appearing supercilious. They also found that behind purposeful miscommunication lay the negative attitudes between the working groups (pilots and VTS operators) and the lack of regulation concerning the VTS regarding the roles and responsibilities. The VTS operators’ anticipation of sour attitudes from the pilots affects communication between the two groups according to this study. Noteworthy is that this study took place in a simulated environment and did not utilise naturally occurring data on interaction.

The system design of the VTS was modelled utilising the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) by Praetorius et al. (2015) who utilised the developed models to contribute to our understanding of resilience in everyday VTS operations. The performance variability in the VTS socio-technical system enables it to adjust its performance in routine and non-routine situations to carry out and sustain required operations (also see Hollnagel 2011). The study utilised focus groups, interviews and observations to develop the FRAM models which highlight the pertinent functions and their dependencies that can help to understand the

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functional resonances that may accrue in unexpected ways ultimately leading to an accident.

The FRAM focuses on the functional level while an ethnomethodological approach as employed in my study can help to understand the accomplishment of the functions themselves.

Praetorius et al. (2010) studied maritime safety in the VTS utilising interviews, a focus group and observations. The study explored maritime safety within the frame of Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) in which operators are faced with ill-structured problems in a dynamic environment. Multiple players and conflicting goals are a feature of this uncertain environment and in this situation it becomes difficult for the VTS operator to safely decide whether or not to interact with the traffic and/or to react to the developing situation. The study found that the decisions of VTS operators are highly context dependent. The research further concluded that maritime safety depends upon the experience and expertise of the VTS operator together with situational factors at play. Thus maritime safety for the VTS operators is embedded in the context rather than the international regulatory framework provided by the IMO (1974).

Praetorius et al. (2012) sought to define maritime safety in VTS drawing upon diverse stakeholders – the IMO, IALA, Lloyd’s register, European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) etc. The study found that there was no standard, uniform definition of safety and each stakeholder had a different understanding of it, and two of the stakeholders, including the IMO had no definition of maritime safety. The authors found a gap in the understanding of safety from the point of view of the actors in the maritime sector. For the VTS operator, safety was the absence of accidents when, “nothing happens” similar to the “accident zero” campaign of the IMO Secretary General (Sekimizu 2012) while four of the seven actors had no definitions and/or they were not stated explicitly. The authors suggest that a common definition of safety should be provided that captures the dynamic component and in the case of the VTS operators, highlights their context dependent enactment of reliability.

Praetorius and Lützhöft (2012) summarise three studies conducted under the EfficienSea research project. Their study utilised observations, semi structured interviews and a focus group to explore the user needs of VTS operators pertaining to dynamic risk management in the VTS environment. The researchers identified that non-technical support is a big part of the daily work of VTS operators and equal attention should be paid, both to the technological development in the VTS as well as to the provision of non-technical support like improved procedures, checklists and guidelines. The participants in their study reported that the available

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non-technical support increased the paperwork thereby increasing the overall workload of the VTS operators. With respect to the technological developments, the researchers recommend presentation of the right information at the right time which is highly context dependent. They recommend the clarification of the overall scope and goal of the VTS. The research identified a key concern about the VTS service which is regulated at the international level, but implemented through national legislation at the local level. The VTS service does not have a common training course and the service is interpreted differently in each country which makes it difficult for international ships using the VTS to know what to expect from the different VTSs they encounter across the world. Seafarers aboard international ships might experience differences in the VTS services provided under the label of the VTS.

Froholdt (2011) has researched Land Based Traffic (LBT)²¹ from the perspective of human factors. She studied the practical realisation of institutional practices in technologically mediated routine and non-routine interaction in the maritime industry utilising ethnomethodologically informed conversation analysis and discursive psychology. She builds upon the micro-analytic study in shipping by Bailey et al. (2006) and explores the displays of the confirmatory form. While the study by Bailey et al. (2006) analysed talk between co-located participants on the ship’s bridge, Froholdt (2011) analysed the interaction between the spatially distributed LBT operator and shipboard seafarers. Bailey et al. (2006) identify the confirmatory form as an important feature of the bridge team talk which Froholdt (2011) notes is the practical realisation of the IMO identified (2002b) pre-script called the read back. Her research shows that the confirmatory form identified by Bailey et al. (2006) is a practice which enables the speakers to sequentially organise a version of a pre-script. The read back is akin to closed loop communication in which the information is repeated to the speaker which is then acknowledged and confirmed. Froholdt’s (2011) research shows that absence of the read back is sanctioned, it is not enough to supply the first part of the read back and it provides an opportunity for correction. She also finds that the read back is not necessarily the repetition of identical information, it is reformulated and/or personalised depending upon the context. She explores rule following in pre-scripted Maritime user device interaction. She combines ethnomethodology, conversation analysis and ethnographic observations along the lines of

21 Land Based Traffic; the interaction contained in the research is between ships and the shore based land-based traffic operator(s), however the author does not state that the field work was carried out in a VTS office.

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Suchman (1987) to explore the sense-making that accompanies rule following in context in the LBT centre. The research finds that making a VHF call (see Pritchard and Kalogjera 2000) has a unique prosody, a “calling outness” feature, a special kind of hailing that the speakers orient towards and respond to.

Froholdt (2011) also finds truncated actions in VHF utterances in which several pieces of information are presented in a single turn at talk (Schegloff 2007). This telegram-like compressed, condensed and abbreviated form has been identified as a design feature of radio talk (Hutchins 1995; MARCOM 1999; Pritchard and Kalogjera 2000). Froholdt (2011) also discusses the role of ‘over’ as a discursive resource in elongated turns. She finds that ‘over’ is not used according to the prescribed rules given in the SMCP (IMO 2002b) to signal the end of each turn at talk, but rather is used in a context specific manner. She found that ‘over’ was usually used with truncated actions after an elongated turn.

My research on the management and coordination of harbour and fairway traffic locates the VTS operators at the centre of my research efforts. The study is not conducted from the point of view of harbour pilots, however they are an important social group interacting on the VHF radio and my study contributes to the limited research available on pilots and piloting (Hutchins 1996; Hadley 1999; Lutzhoft and Nyce 2006; Bruno and Lutzhoft 2009; Said et al. 2013;

Lappalainen et al. 2014).

Bruno and Lützhöft (2010) explored the human aspect of shore based ship assistance and in addition to conducting ethnographic observations, carried out interviews with VTS operators and pilots. The research found communication and trust to be linked in the VTS. Linking of communication to context, helps create trust. Empathy from VTS operators, to comprehend where the mariner was coming from, was considered important for the creation and maintenance of trust. Darbra e al., (2007) utilised standardised questionnaires to elicit responses from pilots in Australia and New Zealand to gauge safety culture and hazard perception of pilots. A question on onshore services elicited several complaints about the VTS operators and their training, a finding that is further taken up in my research.

In the following sub-section (2.5.3), I provide an overview of milestone research projects on the VTS, including those that take into account the e-Navigation initiative of the IMO (2009).

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I also highlight some of the future developments in this area. Sub-section 2.5.3 helps to contextualise my research and its contribution to the maritime sector.