Integrating Intercultural Communication Competence into Entrepreneurially-Minded Online Discussions

Abstract: The continued rise of the global economy, especially during COVID-19, has required stakeholders, including higher education, to think more strategically about preparing future university graduates with intercultural skill development. This study contributes to the literature by showing one approach whereby faculty can integrate intercultural communication competence into the STEM classroom via entrepreneurially-minded online discussions (a form of information literacy). This semester-long study applied a mixed methods approach. First, students participated in five online discussions, which were analyzed qualitatively to identify themes and patterns. Second, at the end of the semester, after completing the online discussions, students responded to a survey assessing their perceptions related to student learning and student satisfaction. The findings show that student perceptions of information literacy were high. Moreover, themes identified within the online discussions align well with the traditional communication process. Integrating intercultural competence into entrepreneurially-minded online discussions within the STEM classroom can be seen as “low hanging fruit” in that the return on investment for faculty is very high (i.e., requires minimal lecture time and promotes optimal connections to the real world)

Ultra-Long-Haul Commercial Operations: An Assessment of Current Health and Safety Standards

The international and national authorities, manufacturers, and commercial airlines have invested extensively in-flight crew operational research and aircraft system development in preparation for ULH flights. Conversely, the progress on health and safety and its impact and standards has received limited attention in the industry. Though stringent medical certification requirements by international and national regulatory bodies ensure no deviance in operational safety, less emphasis has been put on other occupational factors that can impact the aircrew while operating these ULH routes. The current studies on the topic are sparse and have only focused on factors such as fatigue, sleep loss, circadian rhythm, and alertness for pilots operating these routes. Concurrently, limited and inconsistent studies have focused on flight attendants\u27 experiences of these factors while operating ULH flights. This thesis research will help determine various regulatory health and safety standards and best practices for aircrew operating ULH routes. The study also reviews the current state of health culture and investigates if it is practiced in the current aviation operational dynamic. Correspondingly, this study also intends to identify and address gaps in the current health and safety regulatory structure that can help form a well-controlled baseline knowledge. Based on the literature on health and safety in aviation, an online survey was developed, which consisted of a mix of open-ended qualitative and close-ended quantitative questions. The sample for this research was drawn from a population of aircrew who currently operate ULH operations. The analysis of the survey data presented significantly different response experiences between pilots and flight attendants. Pilots reported a higher prevalence of cabin air quality and humidity, noise, and vibration concerning the cabin environment. In contrast, the flight attendant reported that in-flight rest facilities significantly affect their health while operating these routes. For in-flight job related, the pilot reported dehydration, improper diet, and lower back pain as the top three health-related factors. Conversely, the flight attendant reported dehydration, deep vein thrombosis, and neck pain as the top three health-related in-flight factors experienced on the ULH flight. Further analysis of this study suggested that the regulatory authorities established very few specific regulations and advisory guidance concerning aircrew health and safety regulations for ULH operations. Most current regulations are prescribed for fatigue and its management, and only limited regulations have been established for other in-flight effects experienced by aircrew. Notably, most of these regulations are pilot-centric, and only a few specific regulations have been established for flight attendants. Due to the small sample size of this study, presenting any conclusion on health culture was challenging. This study has identified that aviation regulators and operators should undertake additional research on a large scale to identify health and safety impact factors for aircrew operating these ULH routes. Lastly, aviation regulators must revise, address and improve many health and safety regulation areas pertaining to flight attendants

Extended Reality in Flight Attendant Training: Perception and Acceptance

This study aimed to understand the perception of extended reality (XR) technology in flight attendant training. Comparing and contrasting current approaches to flight attendant training in the United States and XR technology yields similarities and many differences. Two common methods require flight attendants to demonstrate proficiency in several areas, such as aircraft familiarization, emergency procedures, and security procedures, to qualify as a working crew member of commercial aircraft. This study examines the views of flight attendants. The data analysis compares demographic information, technology use, and understanding of the technology. Results of the study indicated no significant effects or relationships between age or gaming experience and the influence of those variables on positive or negative perceptions and acceptance of XR in flight attendant training. Many of the participants in this study have experienced some form of XR and many have a moderate view of its implementation in flight attendant training. This moderate view could indicate some openness to try XR in flight attendant training to better understand any benefits or value it might contribute

Lentokoneen matkustamon suunnittelun edistäminen Aasiaan käyttäjien näkemyksien pohjalta.

Airbus has predicted that by 2034, there will be a demand for 32,600 new airplanes. Asian markets will cover most of this demand - over one third of the total demand over the course of the next 20 years. This forecasted high demand naturally interests many actors in the industry, especially airplane manufacturers. The number of Asian passengers is increasing all the time and their culture significantly deviates from Western culture. The cabin crew, more specifically, cabin crew who fly to Asia, was identified as an important reference group for this study. The cultural differences of Japanese and Chinese passengers and their habits were studied through interviews conducted with cabin crew. The interviewees were Finnish, Chinese and Japanese. The study consisted of eight one-on-one semi-structured interviews and one observation of a flight to Seoul, South-Korea. In addition, during the flight four shorter questionnaires were completed by the cabin crew. The interviews were based on various aspects of the FUCAM –project (Future Cabin for Asian Markets), such as groups of passengers, cultural differences, food and in-flight entertainment. The aim of this study was to identify the special features among Asian passengers and how these features should be taken into consideration for the construction of future airplane cabins. The interviewees contributed their own observations of the Asian passengers and gave their insights into how the passengers’ needs could be accommodated in a future cabin. The themes that stood out strongest and occurred most often were, for example, the increasing amount of Asian female passengers and their special needs, the etiquette of reclining the seat and the absence of a common language which caused communication problems. It was also surveyed whether the cabin crew had encountered any so-called lead users, i.e. those who have a special need for something and solve it by themselves before there is any commercial solution for it. These kinds of lead users were not identified which could have been because the cabin crew did not pay special attention to these people while they were working.Airbus on ennustanut, että vuoteen 2034 mennessä kysyntä uusille lentokoneille maailmanlaajuisesti on 32,600. Aasian markkinat kattavat tästä suurimman osan, yli kolmanneksen kokonaiskysynnästä seuraavan kahdenkymmenen vuoden aikana. Tämä suuri kysyntä kiinnostaa luonnollisesti monia toimijoita, erityisesti lentokonevalmistajia. Aasialaisten matkustajien osuus kasvaa jatkuvasti ja heidän kulttuuri poikkeaa merkittävästi länsimaisesta. Työssä identifioitiin tärkeäksi referenssiryhmäksi matkustamohenkilökunta; purserit, lentoemännät ja stuertit, joiden tyypillinen reitti suuntautui Aasiaan. Haastateltavat olivat suomalaisia, kiinalaisia ja japanilaisia. Japanilaisten ja kiinalaisten matkustajien tapoja ja kulttuurieroja kartoitettiin matkustamohenkilökunnalle tehtyjen haastatteluiden perusteella. Aineisto koostui kahdeksasta kahdenkeskisistä teemahaastattelusta sekä yhdestä havainnointimatkasta Etelä-Korean Souliin. Matkan aikana tehtiin lisäksi neljä pienempää lomakehaastattelua matkustamohenkilökunnalle. Haastattelujen aiheet pohjautuivat FUCAM-projektin aiheisiin, kuten matkustajaryhmiin, kulttuurieroihin, ruokaan ja matkan aikana tarjolla oleviin viihdepalveluihin. Työn tavoitteena oli tunnistaa erityispiirteitä aasialaisissa matkustajissa sekä miten nämä piirteet tulisi huomioida matkustamoissa tulevaisuudessa. Haastateltavat kertoivat omista havainnoistaan aasialaisista matkustajista sekä antoivat näkemyksiä tulevaisuuden tarpeista lentokoneessa. Useimmin ja vahvimmin toistuvina teemoina nousivat esille mm. aasialaisten naismatkustajien kasvava määrä sekä heidän erityistarpeiden huomioiminen, penkin selkänojan laskua koskevat etiketit sekä kielitaidon puuttumisesta johtuvat kommunikaatio-ongelmat. Samalla kartoitettiin, mikäli matkustamohenkilökunta on tavannut matkustajien joukossa niin kutsuttuja edelläkäyttäjiä, eli matkustajia, jotka ovat ratkaisseet omat erityistarpeensa itse, ilman että siihen olisi vielä kaupallista ratkaisua. Tällaisia ei havaittu mikä voi johtua siitä, ettei matkustamohenkilökunta työnsä ohella ole erityisemmin kiinnittänyt huomiota kyseisiin henkilöihin

Effectiveness of Advanced Collaboration Tools on Crew Communication in Reduced Crew Operations

The present research examines operational performance and verbal communication in airline flight crews under reduced crew operations (RCO). Eighteen two-pilot crews flew six scenarios under three conditions; one condition involved current-day operations while two involved RCO. In RCO flights, the Captain initially operated the simulated aircraft alone but could request remote crewmember support as off-nominal events occurred and workload was expected to increase. In one of the two RCO conditions, crewmembers were provided with advanced prototype collaboration tools designed to alleviate difficulties in crew coordination. Crews successfully solved all challenging events without accident and analyses of operational performance did not reveal any differences among the three conditions. In RCO flights, crew communication increased when tools were available relative to flights in which they were not; specifically, there were more acknowledgements and decision-making communications. These results suggest the collaboration tools enable higher degrees of crewmember awareness andor coordination during distributed operations

Do passengers perceive flying first class as a luxury experience?

The definition of a single luxury experience has remained elusive to the airline industry, experts, scholars, and even luxury consumers. The duality of luxury suggests that experiences must provide a sense of prestige and hedonic well-being to be perceived as luxurious by consumers. This study proposed that consumers’ feeling of prestige influences their hedonic well-being, as suggested by self-determination theory. Passengers derive a sense of prestige from their sensory and behavioural experiences. Meanwhile, they derive hedonic well-being from their sense of prestige and their sensory and intellectual experiences. Thus, the first-class cabin experience was confirmed as luxurious. The airline industry should enhance sensory, intellectual, and behavioural experiences in their first-class cabins to increase the luxuriousness of the first-class experience. Keywords: airlines, consumer behaviour, duality of luxury, experience, luxur

Text Analysis: Sentence Initial Adverbials in a Second Grade Language Arts Book

The research questions addressed in this text analysis are: What are the forms and functions of sentence initial adverbials?, What is the frequency of each?, and What is their relationship in the second grade Mondo language arts curriculum book Up and Away! Taking a Flight? This study investigates, classifies, quantifies, describes, and analyzes sentence initial adverbials with the goal of increasing linguistic understanding of the forms and functions of this language structure. The guiding principles of Schleppergrall’s functional language analysis discussed in The Language of Schooling: A Functional Linguistics Perspective and Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics were employed to analyze the text in this capstone. The author presents the statistical data, discusses the major findings, and suggests a variety of teaching implications for appropriate language objectives indicated by the linguistic features found in the book

Enhancing Learners’ Interaction through Self-reflection in an ESP Context

82 Páginas.Este estudio cualitativo de investigación-acción explora la interacción once jóvenes estudiantes en un contexto ESP mientras llevan a cabo una estrategia de auto-reflexión sobre su proceso de aprendizaje en el centro de entrenamiento de Avianca en Bogotá, Colombia. Un análisis de las necesidades evidenció la carencia de competencia comunicativa e interacción, escaso conocimiento técnico de Inglés, y carencia de estrategias de auto-reflexión y fijación de metas en los alumnos. A través de la auto-reflexión, los estudiantes se prepararon para pensar en su aprendizaje y auto-establecer sus metas. Una intervención pedagógica fue diseñada e implementada, incluyendo y vinculando tareas comunicativas con Inglés para fines específicos (Inglés para la aviación), y una estrategia de auto-reflexión llevada a cabo al comienzo y al final de cada tarea comunicativa. El objetivo es mejorar la interacción y competencias técnicas en inglés de los estudiantes para que puedan comunicarse con los pasajeros no hispanohablantes.. Los instrumentos y procedimientos de recolección de datos (cuestionarios, notas de campo, hojas de auto-reflexión y grabaciones de voz) pasaron por fase de pilotaje y tres etapas de recolección. El análisis de los datos se llevó a cabo en el primer semestre de 2014, utilizando un enfoque de teoría fundamentada (Corbin y Strauss, 2008). Los resultados sugieren que las metas auto-fijadas y reflexión permitieron a los estudiantes mantener el enfoque en las funciones específicas del lenguaje y el vocabulario necesario para que ellos completaran las tareas comunicativas (juegos de rol) con éxito y, a su vez, condujo a un aumento en la conciencia de aprendizaje, creación de confianza y autoconcepto positivo. Además, el desarrollo del lenguaje del alumno en cuanto a ESP, Funciones específicas del idioma y vocabulario técnico se vio favorecido

Can you trust someone you have never met? Swift trust and self-disclosure in temporary teams

In this thesis I ask the question “can you trust someone you have never met”. The background for this is the temporary nature of cabin crew teams which implies that it is not possible to rely on conventional trust, and to better understand how it still is possible to trust someone you have never met I have focused on factors that contribute to initial trust (or categorization) and swift trust. An important aspect is communication between team members, and especially self-disclosure. My main hypothesis is that self-disclosure serves as an accelerator in building trust swiftly, and by taking a closer look at self-disclosure and swift trust in temporary teams I have aimed to increase the understanding of the mechanisms behind the substantial degree of openness that seem to exist within cabin crew and its effect on trust development. All my informants have highlighted the swiftness of self-disclosure, i.e., that self-disclosure takes place very early in the relationship. Furthermore, I have identified reciprocation of such self-disclosure as crucial in building trust among cabin crew members, and that self-disclosure seem to accelerate swift trust