(Court members seated) from l to r: Dr. Dolores del Mar Sanchez González (UNED, Madrid); Dr. José Soengas (University of Santiago de Compostela, President of the Court), Dr. Mercedes Roman Portas (University of Vigo, Secretary of the Court). Standing (the man with beard), Dr. Fernando Ramos Fernandez (University of Vigo, Thesis Director), and Horacio Vasquez
We are pleased to advise our viewers that our friend, supporter and contributor Captain Horacio-Guillermo Vazquez Rivarola, become the first ever Argentinean Merchant Marine officer to obtain a PhD. The ceremony took place last January at the University of Vigo in Spain.
The title of his PhD dissertation was: “Merchant Marine in human history as a communication phenomenon: The Argentinean model as a paradigm”. It´s a research focused on the question that Merchant Marine is one of the most important, essential, vital and strategical commercial activity, yet, as he stresses “…nobody knows what the Merchant Marine is; what Merchant Marine does, and what are the Merchant Marine activities’ impact in our everyday life.” He continues by saying that “…If this is a problem, it generates two inconveniencies: Shortage of candidates for the maritime careers and consequently shortage of Merchant Marine officers. But is this a cause or an effect of other unknown problems?”
And a standing photograph with the Court members and his wife
He proposes that the real/initial reason is the absence of Corporate Communication Strategies. In other words he emphasises that “…nobody knows anything about Merchant Marine, because, Merchant Marine never makes its presence felt. Then, if Merchant Marine develops as a battery, so to speak, of communicational strategies, it could generate a virtuous circle of knowledge and recognition.” The “key” he says “…is IN the Merchant Marine” “Our most unique features, ” he says, “are very attractive to people: anchors, knots, sea, ships, international code flags, the steering wheel, uniforms, the adventure.. and we can use it as a “Communication Hook”. (examples: the book “Women in the Argentine Merchant Marine”; “The TRITON” project..)
