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Ships as ‘Total Institutions’. Acculturating Seafarers for a Global Political Economy

100%

Simons S. A.

Roczniki Socjologii Morskiej

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2013

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vol. 22

62-68

EN

Seafarers working in the 21st century global shipping industry are multi-national crew of migrant contract labourers, recruited by crewing agencies to work on a variety of ships for specific periods of time. Types of ships found today may include bulk carriers, container ships, tankers, gas carriers, heavy lift vessels, car carriers, ferries and passenger ships such as luxury cruise liners, among others. The voyages undertaken on board ships cover an expansive global maritime environment depending on where the goods are sourced, the destination, goods being transported, the type of ship, and if there are any designated ports of call for loading and offloading goods as well as boarding and disembarking passengers on the way. Typically, the greater proportion of the seafarers’ contract period is spent at sea, working in a maritime work environment on board different ships where he is assigned by his employer. During this time, crew interact with colleagues from a variety of nationalities, performing role-specific tasks in the same built environment and within a maritime mobile workspace. While conducting an empirical research on ship crew in the international fleet to harness their views on how maritime piracy in Eastern Africa may be affecting their health and wellbeing, the author observed that the ripple effects of structural changes in the shipping industry in the last few decades could be adversely influencing the seafarer work environment and social interactions, in ways that justify the description by Lane and Smith (2011) of ‘ships as jails’. The author has analysed the social adjustments that seafarers constantly make in order to fit into their evolving mobile workplaces. This discussion has been done using ideas espoused form Goffman’s ‘Total Institutions’ conceptual framework. This article therefore seeks to discuss the acculturation process that crew undergo within their mobile work built environment, as being comparable to some extent, to the social adjustments that Goffman’s subjects underwent in their institutions. Through ‘mortification processes’, the residents in Goffman’s studies were impacted psychologically by the regimented social life in the enclosed institution spaces interacting within limited social circles. Although a number of aspects have been identified that have the potential to adversely affect seafaring occupational health and safety regime (Walters, Bailey, 2013), this article will concentrate on highlighting some factors within the seafarers work place that in the author’s opinion, have directly influenced some psychological adjustments that seafarers make, in order to adapt the seafaring culture befitting their workplace. Three noteworthy influential factors discussed in this article include(a) the cumulative effect of living and working in an enclosed built environment (b) the seafarers’ limited social circle while onboard ships (c) the physical and social isolation of seafarers from colleagues while on-board ships, and from their families and land-based communities by the ship structure and the geographical maritime nature of their workplace. These features were selected as they could be discussed from Goffman’s theoretical framework as possible influences on the seafarers’ workplace socialization process. They are just a few comparable factors between the situation of modern seafarers and Goffman’s subjects. The scope of this paper will explore the potential for these three key factors to impact on psychological adjustments that seafarers make during their career working on ships. The author has based the discussion of ‘Ships as Total Institutions’ on the fact that there exists evidence of the cumulative effect of each of these three factors over time in the career of seafarers. The empirical studies provide the evidence upon which the author concludes that the ship is a ‘Total Institution’. This article has been written as the drafting of the author’s thesis is at an advanced stage. The intention of this paper is not prescriptive, rather as a catalyst for discussion of seafarers’ work environment and occupational health and safety from an additional social theoretical perspectives.

2

Social responsibility in educational projects of the National Maritime Museum in Gdansk

88%

Domżał R.

Muzealnictwo

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2022

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vol. 63

134-143

EN

Social responsibility in museums is not an entirely new domain. For many years now activities locating museums among the institutions contributing to creating better social reality have been observed. This new paradigm overcomes the stereotypical perception of cultural institutions as organizations taking care only of tangible and intangible testimony to the past of mankind, at the same time imposing on them the responsibility versus society and the community. The National Maritime Museum (NMM) in Gdansk tries to face these challenges not only by implementing educational and conservation projects, but also by supporting the development of the very Museum and its branches, at the same time directing its activities towards engaging in important social issues, such as eradicating accessibility barriers to heritage facilities, care for the environment, and sustainable development. Among the most recent accomplishments described in the paper let us mention the projects implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the new visiting format presented on the ‘Dar Pomorza’ Museum Ship. On 11 May 2021, NMM shared with the public the so-called Interactive Spherical Video integrated with modern Oculus goggles, introducing the spectator into interactive augmented reality allowing to become acquainted with the sailing ship from a new perspective, accessible to visitors with impaired mobility. A similar solution, though amidst a different landscape, was proposed in the lobby of the Museum’s main building on Ołowianka Island in Gdansk. Without getting aboard the ‘Sołdek’ Museum Ship, we can peep into its cargo hold and engine room. Furthermore, the paper describes many interesting educational or advertising undertakings which attempt at facing contemporary social challenges.

3

Telemedical Maritime Assistance Service at the University Center of Maritime and Tropical Medicine in Gdynia. The analysis of 6 years of activity

75%

Szafran-Dobrowolska J., Renke M., Wołyniec W.

Medycyna Pracy

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2020

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vol. 71

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issue 2

121-125

EN

BackgroundIn the 1960s, the International Labour Organization passed a convention under which all countries with national shipping were obliged to create a 24-h telemedicine center for ships. In accordance with the convention, Telemedical Assistance Service centers were to provide permanent access to medical advice given by qualified doctors and to create an international platform for the exchange of information and experience. In Poland, the Telemedical Maritime Assistance Service (TMAS) was established in 2012, and its duties in a 24-h system are carried out by doctors from the University Center of Maritime and Tropical Medicine (UCMTM) in Gdynia. The aim of this work was to determine the reasons for medical officers reporting for help from the TMAS doctor on duty and to create a database of the most common diagnoses and actions undertaken, and in particular evacuation.Material and MethodsIn the presented work, the authors analyzed TMAS telephony and e-mail advice provided by doctors of the UCMTM in Gdynia, in the period from October 2012 to the end of 2018.ResultsIn the 6-year period, UCMTM doctors provided TMAS advice 225 times, recommending evacuation in over 20% of these cases. Infectious diseases were the most common cause of contact in the entire period under analysis – 61 cases were recorded, accounting for as many as 27% of all applications. Injuries were the second most frequent reason for seeking help from TMAS, and 20% of TMAS applications (44 cases) were related to trauma.ConclusionsThe obtained data show that TMAS doctors face various medical problems; therefore, providing proper medical assistance to patients requires a close multidisciplinary cooperation between medical officers, TMAS doctors and emergency services.

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Ships as ‘Total Institutions’. Acculturating Seafarers for a Global Political Economy

Social responsibility in educational projects of the National Maritime Museum in Gdansk

Telemedical Maritime Assistance Service at the University Center of Maritime and Tropical Medicine in Gdynia. The analysis of 6 years of activity