A Regulationist Approach To The Occupational Status Of Navigation Officers In The U.S. Merchant Marine
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Date
2001
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Publisher
Disaster Research Center
Abstract
Regulation theorists are concerned with the economic manifestations of social factors such
as attitudes and norms that at first appear to be unrelated to economic activity. These forces
interact to influence the fortunes of industries and regions. While typically the regulationist
approach is applied to place-specific processes of change, the perspective can also
profitably be applied to industries that are not place-specific. Using merchant shipping as
an illustrative case, the paper begins with a broad overview of regulationist principles and
then applies them specifically to technological and organizational changes that are
occurring in the marine workplace. It then discusses the role of merchant officers in that
industry and the effects of technological change on the organization and character of their
work. The paper will show how the regulationist approach evokes a richer theoretical
understanding of change in the workplace and, in so doing, will expand understanding of
the mode of social regulation.
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Keywords
regulation theory, Merchant Officers, professionalism, governance