Visual slant misperception and the Black-Hole landing situation

A theory which explains the tendency for dangerously low approaches during night landing situations is presented. The two dimensional information at the pilot's eye contains sufficient information for the visual system to extract the angle of slant of the runway relative to the approach path. The analysis is depends upon perspective information which is available at a certain distance out from the aimpoint, to either side of the runway edgelights. Under black hole landing conditions, however, this information is not available, and it is proposed that the visual system use instead the only available information, the perspective gradient of the runway edgelights. An equation is developed which predicts the perceived approach angle when this incorrect parameter is used. The predictions are in close agreement with existing experimental data

The perception of surface layout during low level flight

Although it is fairly well established that information about surface layout can be gained from motion cues, it is not so clear as to what information humans can use and what specific information they should be provided. Theoretical analyses tell us that the information is in the stimulus. It will take more experiments to verify that this information can be used by humans to extract surface layout from the 2D velocity flow field. The visual motion factors that can affect the pilot's ability to control an aircraft and to infer the layout of the terrain ahead are discussed

From adversity to resilience : the experience of living and working with panic attacks

Panic attacks are highly prevalent in Australia and the Western world, and the burden of illness associated with this condition is considerable. However, current scholarly research on panic is limited, and does not sufficiently reflect the magnitude of the problem. This study makes a contribution to this largely unexplored area by investigating the research questions: What are the lived experiences of employees who have panic attacks, and how do these experiences impact life, in and beyond the workplace? The panic experience was explored through a hermeneutic phenomenological lens, and the methodological guidelines outlined by van Manen were used to inform the data collection and analysis. Interviews were conducted with 18 Australians who had experienced panic attacks during a period of paid employment. A thematic analysis of their narratives led to the development of the phenomenological model, consisting of three overarching themes – ‘Facing Adversity: Living with Panic’, ‘Struggling with Organisational Life: Working with Panic’, and ‘Moving Beyond Adversity’. The study highlighted that despite the perception from others that panic attacks were a trivial and unimportant condition, people with panic experienced real suffering and disadvantage in and around the workplace. Stigma was a genuine concern for participants, and many felt that family members, health professionals, managers and work colleagues trivialised their problems with panic and, in effect, denied their sick role and illness experience. In spite of these challenges, living ‘well’ with panic was possible. Many participants developed resilience and reported that panic attacks were the catalyst that led to positive self-change in their lives. The study has illuminated the unique challenges and support needs of employees with panic, as well as the implications for these individuals, their families, organisations and the wider community. It is proposed that greater awareness of this lived experience has the potential to increase the visibility, acceptance and treatment of people with panic

On the Estimation of Euler Equations in the Presence of a Potential Regime Shift

The concept of a peso problem is formalized in terms of a linear Euler equation and a nonlinear marginal model describing the dynamics of the exogenous driving process. It is shown that, using a threshold autoregressive model as a marginal model, it is possible to produce time-varying peso premia. A Monte Carlo method and a method based on the numerical solution of integral equations are considered as tools for computing conditional future expectations in the marginal model. A Monte Carlo study illustrates the poor performance of the generalized method of moment (GMM) estimator in small and even relatively large samples. The poor performance is particularly acute in the presence of a peso problem but is also serious in the simple linear case.peso problem; Euler equations; GMM; threshold autoregressive models