MEASURING THE VALUE OF

INFORMATION IN SEAFARERS’S EDUCATION

Authors: Ph.D. student , Nela Jadrijević Ph. D. Marko Tomašević Ph. D. Radovan Antonić

 1. INTRODUCTION

The main issue of this research paper is analyzing and developing measurement system for modelling and evaluating information in the educational process of the traditional and modern education system.

The entire process can be understood as a process of interpersonal communication focusing on education and a seafarer’s personality development

Given that the basic goal of communication among seafarers is acquiring knowledge and personality development, it is imperative that all communication methods are based on the seafarers’ possibilities to accept, interpret and adopt a communication message.

2. THEORETICAL BASIS OF THE INFORMATION EVALUATION. PURPOSEFUL STATE.

By definition, an individual or a group of seafarers are in the purposeful state if:

There is at least one possible outcome O1 of his or her behavior, which has a relative value for him or her in that situation, and

There are at least two alternative courses of action, C1 and C2, with unequal and positive efficiencies for O1.

Thus, an individual or a group of seafarers is in a purposeful state if he (they) wants something and has unequally effective and different ways to achieve it.

The purposeful state is determined by the following elements:

I an individual (a group of students)

C1, C2, . . . , Ci, . . . , Cm alternative courses of action of all groups of seamen; m≥2

O1, O2, . . . , Oj, . . . , On possible action outcomes

State variables are: Pi probability that an individual (a group

of seafarers) I will choose Ci; P (Ci/I) Eij probability that Ci will result in

outcome Oj; i.e. efficiency Ci for Oj; P (Oj/I, Ci)Vj relative value of the j-th outcome for an individual (a group of seafarers) I.

The purposeful state value for an individual (a group of seafarers) V(S) can be defined simply as mathematical expectation of the purposeful state, i.e.

1 1

( )m n

i ij ji j

V S PE V

3. COMMUNICATION DURING TRAINING

The officer of the ship I2 communicates with the seafarer (seafarers) I1, if the message sent by I2 changes characteristics of the purposeful state I1 and thus affecting cognition, i.e. if it changes his (their) changeable states Pi or Eij or Vj.

If the message affects the probability of choice of Pi, it informs; if it changes Eij, it directs and instructs; and if it changes Vj then it motivates.

Hence it is considered that the message has three possible types of impacts and, therefore, three types of content: it includes not only the transmission of information

Each message can inform, instruct (direct), motivate

The information indicates what an individual does, the instruction shows how he or she does it and finally, motivation shows why he or she does it

4. COMMUNICATION VALUE

Communication value can be defined as the value of end-state, less the value of the initial state:

2 1( ) ( )cV V S V S

1 1 1 1

m n m n

i i i j i j j j i i j ji j i j

P P E E V V PE V

where ΔPi , ΔEij and ΔVj represent the changes of changeable states between S1 and S2.

The research has been associated with comparing two ways of learning new contents: • Traditional learning; • Individual learning.

there are two groups of 5 cadets (one group was control one, and the other group was experimental), where each cadet was being interrogated on 10 topics, and each topic was scored 10 points.

Drill response Leadership skills Technical maintenance Watch keeping in different conditions

(response) Performing the engineering watch Watch keeping in port Taking over the watch Fitness for duty Protection of marine enviorment Konwledge of English language

In addition, in Table 2, the scores of experimental and control groups were given at the beginning of the experiment and the control group at the end of the experiment, i.e. after the classes were held in the (old) traditional method and the experimental group at the end of the experiment, to be more precise, after each topic delivered in a new way (the material was revised several times and after each assignment the results together with the instructions and explanations of concepts that cadets didn’t understood were communicated).

The cadet has mastered the material if he or she answered to 5 or more thematic issues, i.e. achieved 50 or more points. (Prior to boarding the ship all cadets did the training in the training center where they were taught the above topics).

Table 2 The scores of experimental and control groups at the beginning of the experiment, the control group scores at the end of the experiment, and scores of the experimental group at the end of the experiment, according to the topics from 1-10

Topics

Scores of experimental and control group at the

beginning of the experiment

Scores of the control group at the end of the

experiment

Scores of the experimental group at

the end of the experiment 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 10 10 10 30 30 30 40 50 50 2 0 0 0 10 10 10 10 20 30 30 40 40 50 50 50 3 0 10 0 10 10 10 20 30 30 40 50 50 50 50 50 4 0 10 10 20 20 20 20 30 40 50 50 50 60 60 70 5 10 20 20 30 30 20 30 40 40 50 60 70 60 70 80 6 10 30 30 40 40 30 40 50 50 60 60 70 80 80 90 7 30 40 30 40 50 40 50 50 60 60 70 80 80 80 90 8 40 50 60 60 70 50 60 70 80 80 80 90 90 90 90 9 50 70 70 80 80 60 80 90 90 90 90 90 90 100 100

10 80 90 80 90 100 90 100 100 100 90 100 100 100 100 100

∑ 220 320 300 380 410 340 420 490 530 580 630 670 700 730 770

Table 3. Number of topics carried out of the control and the experimental group

At the beginning of the

experiment

At the end of the experiment

Control group

At the end of the experiment

Experimental group

Cadets Passed out of 10 topics Passed out of 10 topics Passed out of 10 topics

I 2 3 8

II 3 4 8

III 3 5 9

IV 3 5 10

V 4 7 10

Total number 15 24 45

The control group at the end of the experiment passed by an average of 48%, while the experimental group at the end of the experiment passed by an average of 90%.

If the control and the experimental group are compared at the end of the experiment it is then obvious that the experimental group has improved by 1.875 times.

The average amount of information is given as a function of

which is called entropy of final distribution of probabilities

p = ( p1, p2 ,..., pn ).

1 21 1

( , ,..., ) ( ) logn n

n i i i b ii i

H p p p p I p p p

while the amount of the instruction carried by the message is:

Hence is the amount of the instruction at the beginning of the experiment, a stands for the amount of instruction at the end of the experiment

The amount of instructions carried by the message is Hunit.

2 1B S B S B S

1B S

2B S

The cadets belonging to the control group received significantly smaller amount of instructions with the amount of information of 1.8269 HUnits compared to the cadets who were part of the experimental group whose information amount is 1.9401 HUnits.

5. CONCLUSION

In finding answers to the objectives of this paper, the very start derived from the theoretical process of methods and model of managing the classes of the training center, and then using the experiment there was a test of ability to manage the teaching process by using entropy analysis to measure the information in the training of seafarers.

These calculations brought final results by means of entropy and purposeful states of control and experimental groups at the beginning and end of the experiment.

When calculating entropy the scores obtained for each topic were taken, and the probability of correctly solved issues was calculated from the scores.

Modern teaching methodology provides different options for solving the problem of introducing seafarers into independent and research work as well as development of their creative thinking and creative abilities

Solving each problem has somewhat discovering and creative.

Therefore, it is necessary that the teachers (officers) encourage seafarers to develop the spirit of curiosity, affinity for independent intellectual work and finally, they should show them different ways and paths to new discoveries