35 research outputs found
Increased risk of multi-crew operations: examining the effect of group polarisation on perceived invulnerability in general aviation pilots
According to the theory of group polarisation, perceived invulnerability could
be greater in multi-crew operations than for single pilots. The purpose of this study was to
measure the level of perceived invulnerability among general aviation pilots in New
Zealand and to examine whether the level of perceived invulnerability was influenced by
the presence of other pilots. Whilst it is of some concern that the majority of the pilots
exhibited perceived invulnerability, no evidence was found to suggest that the level of
perceived invulnerability is affected by a group polarisation effect, although further
replication of this study is recommended
A convenient regression formula for predicting Skytrax’s Official World Airport Star ratings
Skytrax audits and ranks airports internationally in its yearly
‘Official World Airport Star Ranking’. Unfortunately, its activity is severely
restricted, at most covering just 3% of those airports listed by Skytrax as
open to review by passengers in its website in 2010. This research article
explored the possibility of using a readily available variable as predictor, as
an alternative way of ranking the remaining 97% of airports in a simpler
and more straightforward manner. The regression formula retained
correlated highly with the criterion variable, accounting for 45% of its
variance, thus supporting the viability of using customer reviews as a
possible way of predicting ranking scores for airport not officially audited
by Skytrax
Two pilots may be safer than one: The effect of group discussion on perceived invulnerability
Although most general aviation (GA) pilots have received training in aviation
decision making, one of the most common causes of GA accidents remains a pilot’s
decision to press-on with a flight, when the safe decision was to turn back or divert
(Federal Aviation Authority, 2002). Presumably, pilots press-on because they assume it
is safe to do so, rather than because they are foolhardy. One reason pilots press-on may
be because they underestimate the inherent risks. Indeed, research into the area of
perceived invulnerability (PI) suggests that many pilots perceive themselves to be
invulnerable to negative outcomes and that this predicts the kinds of behaviour likely to
increase the chance of accident or incident (Isenberg, 1986).
For more than 40 years, psychologists have been aware that decisions made by
groups of people tend to polarise the views of individuals (O’Hare & Smitheram, 1995).
Thus, if individuals make decisions that are risky, the decisions made in groups will
tend to be more risky than those made by individuals. In aviation, this has potentially
serious implications for flights where there are two pilots rather than one, because if
individual pilots’ are susceptible to PI, then when there are two pilots PI may increase.
Data collected earlier (Lee & Gilbey, 2010), which in a preliminary analysis found
no effect of group polarisation on PI, was reanalysed to investigate whether an effect of
group polarisation would be observed when both members of a pair of pilots exhibit PI.
(Previously, all pilots had been included, regardless of whether they exhibited PI.)
The sample were seventy-eight GA pilots, recruited from seven different flight
training organisations in the North Island of New Zealand (14 female, 64 male; ages 18
to 59 years (M = 25.94, SD = 7.86) flight experience ranged from 30 minutes to 5,000
hours (Mean = 662.38 hours, SD = 895.13 hours). A within-subjects design was used, in
which participants completed two equivalent measures of PI; once alone, and once in
pairs, following discussion.
Significant evidence of PI was found for all pilots when measured alone, t(77) =
8.54, p < 0.001 and also when measured in pairs, following discussion, t(77) = 8.92, p <
0.001. Next, unlike in our previous analysis (Lee & Gilbey, 2010), the nine pairs of
participants in which one pilot did not demonstrate PI were excluded from all further
analyses. (In hindsight, it was considered illogical to expect PI to be polarised following
group discussion if it was not evident in individuals at the outset.) Remaining
participants were allocated into two groups based upon a median split of their PI scores
when measured alone (>5.8 = high PI and ≤5.8 = low PI). A 2x2 ANOVA indicated a
main effect of group polarisation on PI, F(1, 58) = 5.24, p = .026 (Malone = 6.24, SD =
1.03; Mgroup = 6.01, SD = .96) and an interaction between manipulation (alone vs.
group) and PI score in the control condition (low vs. high) F(1, 58) = 7.42, p = .009.
Contrary to predictions, pilots with the higher levels of PI when alone showed a
reduction in PI when measured in groups.The implications of the current study, suggest that perceived invulnerability in GA
may be less of a problem when two (or more) pilots fly together, than when they fly
alone. Future research could thus investigate accident reports to investigate whether
lone pilots are more likely than two pilots to be involved in accidents or incidents where
PI was a contributing factor. The findings of this study are reassuring regarding
commercial flight operations, where normally there will be two pilots
Predicting Skytrax’s Official World Airline Star ratings from customer reviews
Skytrax audits and ranks airlines internationally in its yearly
‘Official World Airline Star Ranking’. Unfortunately, its activity is severely
restricted, at most covering just 30% of those airlines listed as open for
review by passengers in its website in 2010. This research article explored
the possibility of using a readily available variable as predictor, as an
alternative way of ranking the remaining 70% of airlines in a simpler and
more straightforward manner. The regression formula retained correlated
highly with the criterion variable, accounting for 47% of its variance, thus
supporting the viability of using customer reviews as a possible way of
predicting ranking scores for airlines not officially audited by Skytrax
Airline passengers’ rights to information and the strange case of the right to be informed about destinations
This research explored whether airline passengers wanted more rights to know
about the safety and economic conditions of their flights, as well as the right to be
reimbursed if they decided not to flight because of perceived risks. Overall, passengers
agreed somehow on having more safety rights, but not so regarding financial rights.
Surprisingly, they also wanted to have the right to be informed about their destinations
(hotels, attractions, etc), something that is foreign to the purpose and duties of air
transport
The effect of propaganda about climate change on people’s desire to fly
The theory of Psychological Reactance suggests that in response to regulations or
impositions that impinge upon real or perceived freedoms and autonomy, people may
find the restricted behaviour or product appeared more desirable. This reaction is
especially common when individuals feel obliged to adopt a particular opinion or
engage in a specific behaviour (Brehm & Brehm, 1981). Many sources suggest that
aviation has a significant effect on global warming (e.g., Greenpeace). This pilot study
explored whether, via the phenomenon of Psychological Reactance, people’s desire for
air travel increases following exposure to propaganda about climate change and global
warming
New technologies in general aviation
This research explored the technological needs of GA pilots at international
levels. Overall, single pilot operators tend to value costs as the most important feature of
any technology, followed by technology that helps with pre-flight tasks as well as during
flight. Remote monitoring, post-flight analysis and 3-D displays are technological
features of lesser importance
PC-based aviation training devices (PCATDs): research, development and certification
This paper examines the development of two PCATD’s (one
helicopter, one fixed-wing) and their eventual certification by CAA.
Certification has demonstrated the potential these devices have for aviation
training in New Zealand. Traditionally FTD‘s and PCATD’s have been
sourced from foreign companies, and they represent a considerable financial
investment for large flying training organisations. The procurement of these
simulator types is generally beyond the financial resources of most small to
medium sized flying schools. Aviation training in NZ is facing significant
financial constraints as well as an increasing demand to simulate complex
glass cockpit systems that are now installed in most new General Aviation
(GA) aircraft. The development, utilisation and certification of this type of
PCATD technology could solve these difficult challenges
Testing the theory that pets can help to alleviate loneliness
Loneliness is extremely common, highly unpleasant, and the health consequences
have been reported to rival those of smoking and obesity (House et aI., 1988). It is
widely believed that pets can help to alleviate loneliness. This belief is consistent with
research that suggests pets can provide companionship similar to that provided by
humans.
Having first reviewed the literature on loneliness and the role of pets in providing
companionship and alleviation of loneliness, a theory was articulated that pets should
help to alleviate loneliness. The remainder of this thesis sought to test this theory.
Three hypotheses were derived from the theory that pets can help alleviate loneliness:
pet owners will be less lonely than non-pet owners; pet separation will be associated
or will lead to increased loneliness; and, pet acquisition will lead to decreased levels
of loneliness.
Seven empirical studies were conducted, of which six directly tested one or more of
the three hypotheses. Each hypothesis was tested at least twice. Amongst samples
recruited from the general population, no quantitative evidence was found to reject
any of the three null hypotheses: pet owners were no less lonely than non-pet owners;
pet separation was neither associated with higher loneliness nor led to increased levels
of loneliness; and pet acquisition did not lead to reduced levels of loneliness. There
was some qualitative evidence that if people acquired a pet to help with loneliness
they believed it was helpful.
These findings did not appear to be affected by whether or not the person-pet
relationship was described as 'close' or the species of pet.
Amongst a sample of deaf people who were at high risk of loneliness, no evidence
was found of that pet owners or hearing dog owners were less lonely than non-owners.
Nor was there significant evidence that hearing dog acquisition led to lower levels of
loneliness.
It was concluded that insofar as none of the three hypotheses were supported by the
data, the theory that pets help to alleviate loneliness was not supported amongst the
general population. It was proposed that the belief that pets alleviate loneliness might
endure simply because it is a pleasing and agreeable belief. Alternatively, people may
see what they want to see. However, it is also possible that the quantitative methods
Used in psychology simply fail to reflect the qualitative benefits of pet ownership, or
that there are people for whom pets alleviate loneliness, but they are specific subgroups
of the population
A pilot test of the effect of mild-hypoxia on unrealistically optimistic risk judgements
Although hypoxia is believed to occur above altitudes of 10,000 ft, some have
suggested that effects may occur at lower altitudes. This pilot study explored risk
judgments under conditions of mild hypoxia (simulated altitude of 8,000 ft). Some
evidence of an increased optimism was found at this level, suggesting the need for a
larger scale study with more experimental power