Exploring the effect of group polarisation on perceived invulnerability in general aviation pilots : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Aviation at Massey University

Although both perceived invulnerability and group polarisation are well known psychological phenomena, there has not been any research conducted to examine the effect of group polarisation on the level of perceived invulnerability amongst general aviation pilots. Two studies were conducted to measure the level of perceived invulnerability amongst general aviation pilots and to test whether the level of perceived invulnerability was affected due to group polarisation. The first study tested 34 pilots. Although the majority of the pilots exhibited perceived invulnerability, there was no evidence suggesting that low level group interaction induced group polarisation leading to an increase in individual's level of perceived invulnerability. The second study examined 78 pilots. Although the majority of the participants displayed perceived invulnerability, there was no evidence suggesting that high level group interaction resulted in group polarisation leading to an increase in individual's level of perceived invulnerability. There was no evidence that the two experimental manipulations (low group interaction and high group interaction) differed in effectiveness, as the effect size between studies I and II did not significantly differ. Although it is of some concern to general aviation safety that the majority of the pilots in both studies exhibited perceived invulnerability, the level of perceived invulnerability does not appear to be increased by a group polarisation effect. The latter finding is consistent with safe operations, having found no evidence that multi-crew operations lead to increased levels of perceived invulnerability. In addition to the implication of the current findings, limitations of the present study, possible areas for further research and recommendations are presented

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

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

Balance between information gain and reversibility in weak measurement

We derive a tight bound between the quality of estimating a quantum state by measurement and the success probability of undoing the measurement in arbitrary dimensional systems, which completely describes the tradeoff relation between the information gain and reversibility. In this formulation, it is clearly shown that the information extracted from a weak measurement is erased through the reversing process. Our result broadens the information-theoretic perspective on quantum measurement as well as provides a standard tool to characterize weak measurements and reversals.Comment: 5 pages, final versio

The influence of institutional investors on firm value

Thesis (M. Fin.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Master of Finance Program, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-45).The impact of corporate governance on firm value has been extensively debated by academics and business practitioners. Some studies show that companies that allow minority shareholders to have more control are likely to create greater shareholder value than those firms with concentrated control, while other studies suggest that the impact of having democratic governance is either negligible or even negative. In developed countries institutional investors have a significant stake in most of the companies. Active engagement by institutional investors is expected to decrease agency costs by strengthening monitoring mechanisms of operations and performance evaluations of the management, resulting in an increase in firm value. However, some academics and business practitioners argue that such minority shareholders' active engagement could be detrimental to firm value. In this thesis, I study the influence of institutional investors' active shareholder engagement on firm value and the relationship between the characteristics of corporate governance and firm value of target companies. I review previous studies that have evaluated both the effect of corporate governance and of institutional investors' activism on firm value. I conduct empirical analyses to examine the relationship between the institutions' shareholder engagement and firm value.by Yong Seung Lee.M.Fin

Multiculturalism and Anti-multiculturalism Phenomena in South Korea

Multicultural policies in South Korea are currently showing some signs of backlash. The declaration that multiculturalism has failed has been successively announced around the world, and it is often observed that the extreme rightwing parties that support anti-multiculturalism and anti-immigration secure a significant number of votes. It is not certain how closely the phenomenon of backlash against multicultural policies in South Korea is related to global trends, yet this tendency undoubtedly appears in South Korea as well. Why has this phenomenon occurred? This article will discuss the rise of anti-multiculturalism as the major driver of retreating multicultural policies in South Korea and examine its causes. The article aims to explore the causes of this phenomenon from two angles: the limitations of the government’s policy and negative reports through the mass media. Lastly, this article recommends a “new” politics that can be called a politics of multiculturalism or politics of immigration that has not yet appeared in South Korea

ASSEMBLY OF SILVER NANOCUBE CLUSTERS AND TUNING OF SURFACE PLASMON RESONANCES FOR SURFACE-ENHANCED RAMAN SCATTERING

To prepare surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate with metal nanoparticle clusters, various deposition methods were used: (1) vertical deposition (VertD), (2) electrophoretic deposition (EPD), and (3) block-copolymer templated deposition (BCPTD). The EPD is a high throughput process. Substrates for VertD can be reused. The BCPTD does not require the use of any lithography technique. By means of these three deposition methods, metal nanoparticles, including silver nanocubes and gold nanospheres, were positioned at pre-determined substrate sites. Various parameters, such as angle between cluster axis and laser polarization, gap size, number of cubes in clusters and cluster configurations, were investigated for their effect on SERS. Hexagonal arrays of gold nanoparticles with precisely controlled gap were investigated. The proximity of the plasmon resonance to the laser wavelength was correlated to the SERS enhancement. A database of SERS enhancement of silver nanocube clusters from monomers to tetramers was generated. The analysis of the structures and enhancements in this database reveals that clusters should be aligned with the laser polarization to achieve high SERS enhancement. Increasing cluster size from dimers to tetramers improves the reproducibility of enhancement factor values. Non face-to-face clusters are better in SERS enhancement than face-to-face clusters. Sharp corners at the junctions are essential for high SERS enhancement