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Fuzzy multi criteria decision making approach for technology selection for emissions reduction from seaborne transportation under uncertainty and vagueness
Get PDFSource, sea and sink—A holistic approach to understanding plastic pollution in the Southern Caribbean
No full textMarine plastics are considered to be a major threat to the sustainable use of marine and coastal resources of the Caribbean, on which the region relies heavily for tourism and fishing. To date, little work has quantified plastics within the Caribbean marine environment or examined their potential sources. This study aimed to address this by holistically integrating marine (surface water, subsurface water and sediment) and terrestrial sampling and Lagrangian particle tracking to examine the potential origins, flows and quantities of plastics within the Southern Caribbean. Terrestrial litter and the microplastics identified in marine samples may arise from the maritime and tourism industries, both of which are major contributors to the economies of the Caribbean region. The San Blas islands, Panama had the highest abundance of microplastics at a depth of 25 m, and significantly greater quantities in surface water than recorded in the other countries. Modelling indicated the microplastics likely arose from mainland Panama, which has some of the highest levels of mismanaged waste. Antigua had among the lowest quantities of terrestrial and marine plastics, yet the greatest diversity of polymers. Modelling indicated the majority of the microplastics in Antiguan coastal surface were likely to have originated from the wider North Atlantic Ocean. Ocean currents influence the movements of plastics and thus the relative contributions arising from local and distant sources which become distributed within a country\u27s territorial water. These transboundary movements can undermine local or national legislation aimed at reducing plastic pollution. While this study presents a snapshot of plastic pollution, it contributes towards the void of knowledge regarding marine plastic pollution in the Caribbean Sea and highlights the need for international and interdisciplinary collaborative research and solutions to plastic pollution
Kyoto Protocol and global value chains: Trade effects of an international environmental policy
No full textDeepening globalization and international fragmentation of production (IFP) have provided an appropriate foundation for offshore production processes to exploit comparative advantage wherever possible. Unilateral environmental regulations can increase the outsourcing probability of polluting production processes in regions with looser environmental regulations and can consequently alter trade patterns by changing comparative advantage. The Kyoto Protocol (KP) is considered as one of the international but unilateral environmental regulations for coping with climate changes. This protocol was implemented to mitigate emissions in industrial economies, and its potential side effects such as production relocation have always been controversial. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the impacts of the KP on trade patterns of the ratifying countries within the context of global value chains (GVCs). For this purpose, the difference-in-differences (DiD) regression and the generalized synthetic control method (GSCM) were used to model the panel data during 1990–2017. The estimation results indicated that the KP ratification decreased the forward participation of the committed countries, while increased their backward participation. As a result, it deepened their relative downstream positions in the GVCs. Accordingly, the KP reduced the share of intermediate goods and services exports in committed countries that ratified KP but increased the share of foreign intermediate goods and services in their exports. In addition, some environmental implications and outcomes of these results, especially for the Paris Agreement, were discussed
Development of online education and its applicationin Shanghai Maritime University
Get PDFOnline teaching is becoming an important alternative approach to maritime education, which traditionally relies on face-to-face instruction, particularly during the period when the COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the educational system worldwide. On the base of the conceptualization of online education through a literature review, this study demonstrates the case of an innovative online teaching system developed and implemented by Shanghai Maritime University (SMU) that successfully allowed some 20,000 students to resume learning despite the COVID-19 disruption. To realize large-scale online teaching, four phases of development the SMU underwent are introduced. The whole process of planning, preparation, implementation as well as evaluation is elaborated. In addition to class teaching, other major activities delivered remotely are also introduced, including short-term training programs, graduation ceremony, online career fairs, online interviews for postgraduate admission. Difficulties and challenges in shifting to the new teaching method and how SMU developed effective strategies to solve these issues are addressed. This study provides a valuable example of an online teaching system realized in a maritime institution. Furthermore, it may serve as an inspirational reference to peer maritime institutions to adopt or improve their competence of online learning systems
The critical role of government and key industry players for sustainable development of maritime education and training institutions: the case of institutional development in Kenya
Get PDFMaritime Education and Training (MET) in Kenya has developed over the years at the university in addition to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) levels. However, despite the apparent growth, funding of MET is still a challenge. This is clear through lack of defined stakeholder engagement of key industry players and the government to guarantee sustainable training needs collaboration between the industry and the institutions is still a challenge. The paper investigates the challenges of funding for MET through a descriptive and analytical approach to address sustainability of MET in Kenya. Data was collected through the statistics for disbursements of Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and institutional funding for public instructions of post-secondary training. A meta-analysis of fees paid by MET students to selected Maritime Training Institutions (MTIs) and Universities was used to determine the median for comparative analysis. The study revealed comparative challenges in funding of MET in Kenya in addition to lack of enabling policies to ensure funding. Study also revealed a lack of structures that define government and industry stakeholder roles in MET. In conclusion the paper recommends a scenario based approach to determining funding and development of enabling policies in MET in harmonising training
A key component of continuing professional development in the maritime context
Get PDFThe maritime industry, one of the world’s most influential industries, is developing with a rapid speed. There is, therefore, a special need to find new approaches to prepare students to be ready for the changing realities of modern life. Taking into account generational peculiarities of information perception, new approaches were developed with the aim of building a number of competencies for future marine specialists in order to manage ships safely and efficiently. Ukrainian sailors are said to reflect a high level of training and professional skills, which is considered to be a distinguishing feature. Nevertheless, nowadays Ukrainian seafarers are facing new realities trying to be competitive in the world labour market. Using the approaches created by the authors for the delivery of special courses during navigator training, the key component of continuous professional development was implemented effectively. The authors have evaluated the effectiveness of the approaches by processing the learning outcomes of a focus group. It was found that the tested approaches developed the ability of the students to analyse, evaluate and create, which are crucial in the lifelong learning process to continuously improve professional knowledge, skills and competencies
