From short-term goals to organizational objectives : managing security control using goal setting

This PhD thesis features the first three studies on the application of goal setting at an airport's security control. Goal setting is one of the most studied areas in work and organizational psychology. The first study analyzed if goal setting by supervisors can easily and effectively be used to guide work performance of Security Officers at a security control. The results of this field study demonstrate that the use of short-term goals is practicable even without prior investments such as training of supervisors. Furthermore, an effect of goal setting on objective team-level measures of productivity could be demonstrated. The second study is a laboratory study that contrasted a dual goal for speed and accuracy with a single goal for speed on the same task. As performance tasks, the Sternberg paradigm and the d2 test were used. Speed measures and errors demonstrated that both dual and single goals increase performance by enhancing memory scanning. The single goal triggered a speed- accuracy trade-off, favoring speed over accuracy, whereas this was not the case with the dual goal. In difficult trials, dual goals slowed down scanning processes again so that errors could be prevented. The third study analyzed goals on the highest hierarchical level, namely organizational level. Using the Productivity Measurement and Enhancement System, the relevant organizational objectives, goal domains, as well as the key performance indicators of a security control could be identified. The operationalizations of the key performance indicators allow for insights into measurement practices at a security control. The contingency functions of the system allow managers to judge in which domain investments are most promising. iii Abstract (Deutsch) Diese Doktorarbeit beinhaltet die ersten drei Studien, die die Anwendung von Zielsetzungen in einer Sicherheitskontrolle an einem Flughafen thematisieren. Zielsetzungen sind eines der am meisten untersuchten Gebiete innerhalb der Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie. Die erste Studie untersuchte, ob Zielsetzungen durch Vorgesetzte einfach und effektiv verwendet werden können, um die Arbeitsleistung von Sicherheitsbeauftragten einer Sicherheitskontrolle zu lenken. Die Resultate dieser Feldstudie zeigen, dass Ziele, die eine kurze Zeitspanne betreffen, sogar ohne vorgängige Investitionen wie zum Beispiel Schulung der Vorgesetzten praktikabel sind. Darüber hinaus konnte ein Effekt der Zielsetzungen auf objektive Produktivitätsmasse auf Teamebene gezeigt werden. Die zweite Studie ist eine Laborstudie, welche ein Doppelziel für Geschwindigkeit und Genauigkeit mit einem Einfachziel für Geschwindigkeit bezüglich derselben Aufgabe verglich. Als Leistungsaufgaben wurden das Sternberg-Paradigma und der d2 Test verwendet. Geschwindigkeitsmasse und Fehler zeigten auf, dass sowohl Doppel- als auch Einfachziele die Leistung durch Verbesserung des Scannings im Gedächtnis erhöhen. Das Einfachziel löste einen Geschwindigkeits-Genauigkeits-Austausch aus, wobei Geschwindigkeit gegenüber Genauigkeit begünstigt wurde. Mit dem Doppelziel war dies nicht der Fall. In schwierigen Experimentaldurchgängen verlangsamten Doppelziele die Scanningprozesse wiederum, was die Vermeidung von Fehlern ermöglichte. Die dritte Studie analysierte Ziele auf der höchsten Hierarchiestufe, nämlich auf Organisationsebene. Durch die Anwendung des Productivity Measurement and Enhancement System konnten die relevanten Organisationsziele, Zielbereiche, sowie die Leistungsindikatoren einer Sicherheitskontrolle identifiziert werden. Die Operationalisierungen der Leistungsindikatoren ermöglichen Einblicke in die Leistungsmessung einer Sicherheitskontrolle. Die Kontingenzfunktionen des Systems ermöglichen es Managern abzuschätzen, in welchem Bereich Investitionen am lohnenswertesten erscheinen

Adaptive Computer-Based Training Increases on the Job Performance of X-Ray Screeners

Due to severe terrorist attacks in recent years, aviation security issues have moved into the focus of politicians as well as the general public. Effective screening of passenger bags using state-of-the-art X-ray screening systems is essential to prevent terrorist attacks. The performance of the screening process depends critically on the security personnel, because they decide whether bags are OK or whether they might contain a prohibited item. Screening X-ray images of passenger bags for dangerous and prohibited items effectively and efficiently is a demanding object recognition task. Effectiveness of computer-based training (CBT) on X-ray detection performance was assessed using computer-based tests and on the job performance measures using threat image projection (TIP). It was found that adaptive CBT is a powerful tool to increase detection performance and efficiency of screeners in X-ray image interpretation. Moreover, the results of training could be generalized to the real life situation as shown in the increased detection performance in TIP not only for trained items, but also for new (untrained) items. These results illustrate that CBT is a very useful tool to increase airport security from a human factors perspective

External and internal influences on the security control process at airports

In past years, a lot of research has been done in the field of airport security control. Mostly, researchers that focused on human factor issues looked very closely at the x-ray screening process or at covert testing. However, it has to be taken into account that security control is typically integrated in a competitive, market-oriented environment. Thus, facilitation aspects, such as the maximal capacity (also known as throughput) of a security control line, clearly reflect one important key performance index. In a series of studies, the impact of external factors, for instance seasonal variability of temperature or number of manual baggage inspections, as well as the impact of internal factors, such as the allocation of tasks within security control crew members, were measured. The scenarios with varied internal factors consisted of different manipulations in the work process without changing given security rules, protocols or changes in infrastructure. For example, the Security Officer helping passengers preparing their bags at the roller table has been taken away from this position and assigned as second person for baggage inspection. Implications of these scenarios on measures of efficiency, such as throughput, as well as on subjective measures, such as ratings of workload and stress, have been assessed. Results show that external factors correlate with throughput remarkably and that even slight changes in the process can have a significant impact on the mentioned domains. Experiences made are discussed in order to provide suggestions of useful and feasible optimizations of the security control process

A comparison between two leadership models for security checkpoints

The impact of leadership structure and behavior on team or crew performance is well known and has been demonstrated in various studies (see e.g. Guzzo & Dickson, 1996; Zaccaro, Rittmann, & Marks, 2001). However, as far as we know, there is no empirical study available on leadership structures and crew performance in the applied setting of airport security control. This study compares the structure and impact of two different leadership models for security control. The first (older) model consists of one supervisor per sector. In the supervisor's sector, there are three to eight crews at work, each consisting of five security officers (SOs). Each crew independently manages and operates one line of the checkpoint. One of the five SOs in a crew is the crew leader (CL), who works together with the crew as a normal crew member but has a few additional tasks to fulfill. The second (newer) model, which focuses more on integrated crew resource management (CRM) criteria, consists of one supervisor, assisted by two CLs per sector. Together, they form a cohesive leading team. The CLs do not work in the crews anymore but manage two to three lines from behind. The crews still consist of five SOs. It is the new CLs' task to quickly isolate and manage problematic cases so that those do not block the line anymore. Like this, the workload of each team member is reduced. Another task is to keep an eye on the working quality and to communicate with the crews in such a way that working quality is enhanced. The impact of this reinforced leadership on indicators of working quality such as compliance with rules and regulations, as well as its impact on passenger flow (throughput) are analyzed using different statistical procedures such as T-tests, U-tests and Chi-square tests. Moreover, the job models of the new leadership structure are presented in detail and SOs' ratings of their acceptance and liking of both systems are presented. In sum, this study offers another, differe- nt approach to the human factors perspective in airport security focusing on leadership structures, crew resource management, and their effects

Does musical training improve school performance?

In a retrospective study, we compared school performance of 53 children practicing music (group1) with 67 controls not practicing music (group2). Overall average marks as well as average marks of all school subjects except sports were significantly higher in children who do (group1) than in those who do not practice music (group2). In a multiple regression analysis, musical training, parent's income, and educational level (grades) correlated significantly with overall average marks. A slight decrease of overall average marks over 4years from grades3 to 6 was found in the control group only. Musical training evidently correlates with children's better performance at school, but is obviously part of a multifactorial dependence. Continuous musical training appears to help achieve and maintain school performance at a high level over tim

Covert testing at airports: Exploring methodology and results

Large efforts are made in order to enhance human factors in airport security, but one very important area, namely covert or infiltration tests, are often neglected. Covert tests are most important not only for quality control and risk analysis, but also for training purposes, such as for example the training of appropriate reactions in dangerous situations. Therefore, conducting covert tests at airports is a very useful approach for assessing the effectiveness of the security control and offers a possibility to uncover weaknesses in the security process by simulating the case of emergency. Its main benefit is the high ecological validity almost unparalleled by other methods. The present scientific exploratory applied study is one of the first of its kind worldwide, which analyses the results of covert tests collected at a large European airport over a period of fourteen calendar months. Statistical analyses were performed using Mann-Whitney u-tests, chi-square tests and binary logistic regression analysis. Results will focus on differences in detection performance between different test objects and different places of concealment. Additional factors included in the analyses will be time taken for pat-down search, sex, age, work experience, as well as the security officerpsilas reaction to weapon detection. Methodological problems will be discussed and suggestions made for further research in this area

What is suspicious when trying to be inconspicuous? Criminal intentions inferred from nonverbal behavioral cues

The present study investigates whether nonverbal behavioral cues to hidden criminal intentions during the build-up phase of a criminal act can be measured. To this end, we created recordings of actors once in a search situation and once committing a mock crime (theft or bomb placing) in a public crowded area. For ecological validation, we used authentic CCTV footage of real crimes in Experiment I. In this experiment, the two behavioral clusters pattern of movement in space and nonverbal communication behavior were analyzed. The results showed a deviance in pattern of movement in space for offenders' compared with the nonoffenders' condition as well as a bystanders' baseline. There was no significant difference between nonverbal communication behavior in the offenders' and nonoffenders' conditions. Experiment 2 was conducted to examine the two behavior clusters use of object- and self-adaptors while controlling for interpersonal differences. The results showed an increased use of object- and decreased use of self-adaptors during the build-up phase of a mock crime compared with a control condition (search). Thus, nonverbal behavior of offenders seems to differ from nonverbal behavior of nonoffenders. However, this holds only under the conditions of a valid baseline and of judging not only a single, typical behavioral cue but a whole cluster of nonverbal behaviors, such as pattern of movement in space or use of object-adaptors in general

Bringing adversaries together: The importance of a common management-level approach in complex work domains

Ensuring smooth operation of an airport is a complex task with many stakeholders involved that have to work together closely in order to achieve optimal results. In particular, the field of security control harbors diverging interests of different entities that share responsibility for secure and timely flights. These entities usually comprise governmental organizations (e.g., legislative authorities, police) and private companies (e.g., airport operators, private security companies). Due to conflicting interests between these entities, managers might perceive each other as adversaries rather than as partners for collaboration. To our knowledge, the present report is the first one to relate procedure and results of a fruitful collaboration on management level between representatives of these different entities at an airport, including a governmental organization as the executive, i.e., carrying out the security control, and a private company (the airport operator). In the setting of the security control at a large European airport, the Productivity Measurement and Enhancement System (ProMES) methodology [1] was chosen to identify stakeholders in the security control process as a first step in order to be able to define their interests, demands, and needs in a second step. Subsequently, justified demands were grouped and categorized into six goal domains. For each goal domain, key performance indicators were developed. Last but not least, the indicators were prioritized by weighing their relevance against each other in order to resolve conflicting interests. This process can be rather quick and efficient provided it is well prepared and monitored. It is further suggested to have an independent facilitator supervise and moderate the process. This study highlights the importance of bringing together high level managers of different organizational entities with a systematical approach in order to pave the way for good cooperation in complex work domains. As a result, s- akeholders and demands can be identified, conflicting demands can be discussed, and priorities set. Subsequently, those guidelines can be handed over to the next lower level in the organizational hierarchy. Supervisors on this next level can then define goals for their respective domains using the guidelines provided by the management

Improving the effectiveness of nondisclosure agreements by strengthening concept learning

Intellectual property infringements rank among the top economic crimes, even though there are mechanisms in place to prevent their occurrence. One such mechanism are non-disclosure agreements, which, however, have been reported to fail in practice. This article argues that this may be overcome by strengthening employees’ concept learning. In an experiment, we investigated whether extended nondisclosure agreements, which provide the employee with detailed explanations and examples, lead to better recognition of trade secrets as compared to a standard nondisclosure agreement or no agreement at all. It was found that the extended nondisclosure agreement indeed increased participants’ ability to judge what falls under the trade secret law, whereas the standard nondisclosure agreement showed no such effect. Furthermore, the effects of the factors ‘Involvement’, ‘Specificity’, ‘Publicity’, and ‘Purpose’ on the identification of trade secrets could be proven experimentally. Employees’ judgments of whether an information represents a trade secret seem to rely on general cognitive processes. From this follows that concept learning could be integrated into systematic approaches for protecting intellectual property