Evaluating Intensity as a Controller Function for NextGen Scenarios with Increased Capacity

Automated separation assurance is the most mature concept to handle increasing airspace traffic and capacity needs, yet the system lacks a way to pre-emptively identify aircraft separation problems. The intensity control measure looks to find situations where if an aircraft pair makes an unplanned change in heading or altitude at the wrong moment, an unrecoverable situation arises. This research analyzes static, open loop air traffic data in an en-route sector to determine how many high intensity aircraft pairs (HIP) exist per minute, and if the intensity measure is a safely manageable function for air traffic controllers. It is found that at current, 1.5x, and 2x traffic levels, it is possible for the number of HIP to reach a manageable level of 18 pairs per minute or less. At 3x traffic, this manageable level does not occur. It is also observed that the amount of variance in HIP per minute increases as the traffic level and number of aircraft per minute increases. Adjustments to the intensity control measure and specific characteristics of air traffic at the times when 18 or less HIP are present in current, 1.5x, and 2x traffic levels may provide insight into achieving a manageable number of HIP at increased traffic levels

Visually Analyzing the Impacts of Essential Air Service Funding Decisions

Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government subsidy program which ensures maintenance of commercial airline services in small deregulated communities. The program’s budget currently is around $250 million annually, which is used as subsidy for airlines to maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service in relatively smaller airports. It is evident that 2% of the FAA budget is being spent to maintain air service in smaller communities, but there is not enough evidence to prove that all the current decisions made by Congress about EAS are advantageous. To understand these decisions, 15 years of data produced by the US Department of Transportation and Bureau of Transportation Statistics needs to be analyzed using an exploratory approach. The goal of our paper is to collect the EAS subsidy data produced by the US Department of Transportation and Bureau of Transportation Statistics and develop a multi-year and multi-location visual analytics tool which uses graphs and user-interaction to make it easier for decision makers to understand and analyze the data. We want to use this visual analytics tool to analyze the EAS funding decisions and determine its impact upon the funded airports, based on changes in factors like per passenger subsidy trends, total number of arriving and departing flights and total amount of freight being transported

Detecting Periods of Flight with High Task Load

Tools that predict dangerous working conditions empirically in the cockpit could greatly improve aviation safety. In an effort to lay the groundwork for such tools, this study will investigate whether a link exists between task load and pilots’ control strategies, their biometric data, and their planes’ position data. Using X Plane simulation software, an experiment will be run in which licensed pilots will fly a 3-nautical-mile approach into Mineta San Jose International Airport 4 times, under different task load conditions. During the flight, participants’ pupil diameters will be recorded along with the simulated aircraft position data and cognitive control modes. Future work will focus on applying these relationships to novel systems that will help pilots facing high task loads perform critical tasks without hindering the safety of those onboard the aircraft

Cross-referencing social media and public surveillance camera data for disaster response

Physical media (like surveillance cameras) and social media (like Instagram and Twitter) may both be useful in attaining on-the-ground information during an emergency or disaster situation. However, the intersection and reliability of both surveillance cameras and social media during a natural disaster are not fully understood. To address this gap, we tested whether social media is of utility when physical surveillance cameras went off-line during Hurricane Irma in 2017. Specifically, we collected and compared geo-tagged Instagram and Twitter posts in the state of Florida during times and in areas where public surveillance cameras went off-line. We report social media content and frequency and content to determine the utility for emergency managers or first responders during a natural disaster

Social support and help-seeking in adolescent pregnancy

This study was a description of pregnant female adolescents' perception of social support and help-seeking during pregnancy, including how social support relates to entry into prenatal care, perceived barriers, and ease of getting help. Secondary data analysis was conducted on data from an original study that used a cross-sectional, descriptive design. Data were collected via a questionnaire, using the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire (NSSQ), demographic questions, and a help-seeking semi-structured interview. The sample consisted of 31 unmarried pregnant adolescents. Content analysis was used to quantify adolescents' perceptions of barriers and ease of getting help during pregnancy. There was a statistically significant relationship between perceived social support and perceived barriers to getting help, with subjects with high social support perceiving more barriers than the low social support group. There was no relationship between perceived social support and entry into prenatal care and perceived ease of getting help.Digitized from a paper copy provided by the Arizona Health Sciences Library

The efficient separation of platinum group metals using centrifugal partition chromatography.

Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC) is a multistage liquid-liquid countercurrent distribution technique which utilizes rotating teflon cartridges to hold a liquid phase stationary while the other liquid phase is pumped at a constant flow rate. It has been demonstrated to be a valuable technique for the base line separations of families of metal ions such as the platinum group metals (PGM)--Pt, Pd, Rh and Ir. The separations of these metals as their anionic chloro complexes were achieved using the heptane-water phase pair with a stable and relatively inexpensive extractant trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) functioning as a ligand in its neutral form and as a cation in its protonated form. A striking feature of the chromatograms of the complexes and ion pairs were their much poorer efficiencies compared to the efficiency of an organic analyte like 3-picoline under identical distribution rations. The inefficiencies of the PGM separations were also a function of the concentrations of the aqueous and organic phase components. These inefficiencies could be attributed to slow kinetics of the back extraction of the complexes and ion pairs and could be used to derive the mechanisms of these slow chemical kinetic steps. A correlation was established for the Pd(II) system between the CPC inefficiencies and the half lives of the slow reactions measured independently by stopped flow in micelles. This correlation was utilized to derive the rate constants for the back extraction of the TOPO complexes and ion pairs of Pt and Ir. The mechanisms of the extraction reactions were derived using the principle of microscopic reversibility based on the mechanisms of the back extraction reactions. This was then used to obtain estimates for the rate constants for the extraction reactions as well. The PGM were thus separated and their equilibrium and kinetics (extraction and back extraction) completely characterized using CPC. This is a significant development with CPC because such complete equilibrium and kinetic characterizations are hard to achieve with conventional liquid chromatographic techniques

A methodology to engineer government incentive design for subsidized air transportation

This work attempts to quantify the benefits and guide future policy decisions for subsidized air transportation programs. This is accomplished through applying new analytical methodologies to the Essential Air Service (EAS) subsidy in the United States. This work begins by enumerating the benefits of EAS stated in previous research and government publications. Transportation data from the FAA and US DOT, as well as economic data from the US Census is then collected for a selection of the benefits. First, geospatial analysis techniques are applied to select and compare counties with and without EAS service to determine if differences in benefits can be found in the data. Economic factors (per capita income) as well as social factors (racial diversity and crime rate) are compared between the communities with and without EAS. It is found that the proposed methodology does not provide supporting evidence that counties with EAS have a measurable benefit for the tested factors than counties without EAS. Second, a multi-criteria decision model is developed to first gauge an airport’s reliance on EAS and then make system-wide decisions on which airports to continue funding if the program is faced with budgetary cutbacks. This multi-criteria decision model is tested against a single criterion decision model from previous research using a cost-benefit analysis to quantify the effects of a 20% reduction in EAS budget. It is found that the use of the multi-criteria decision model can result in continued service to an additional 47,000 current EAS passengers while spending $2.5 million less than the previously introduced decision model. Third, an electronic questionnaire was sent out to EAS airport managers and directors in an attempt to validate the decision criteria in the multi-criteria decision model as well as gauge if any metrics for economic and social benefits of EAS currently exist. It is found that the decision criteria cannot be easily validated through stakeholder feedback due to discrepancies between the collected data and stakeholder accounting. Additionally, no system-wide metrics exists for economic and social benefits

Analyzing Critical Pair Identification as a Human Controlled Function in Air Traffic Control

Automated separation assurance appears to be a necessary component in NextGen air traffic control (ATC) system efforts. However, no human-managed, safety-critical function has been identified in order to maintain prescribed levels of system safety. Critical pair identification (CPI) is a possible solution that allows human controls to manage risk mitigation amongst aircraft pairs while automation handles routine separation. This work has evaluated if controllers manage critical pairs in their current operations, as well as what characteristics of air traffic motivate controllers to apply control, even with a loss of separation (LOS) is not predicted or eminent. Additionally, this work has evaluated safety and risk culture differences amongst air traffic controllers of three different country origins (Australia, Thailand, United States) to determine if any differences exist, and to determine if different countries use or manage risk mitigation differently. These efforts were evaluated with real air traffic controllers (n=43) participating in air traffic control simulations where they indicated when and how traffic would be controlled. Safety and risk culture was measured using a safety culture questionnaire designed by EUROCONTROL to determine a safety culture score. This research found that controllers do control critical pairs with consistency (64.44% of all controls applied were on critical pairs). However, it was found that 99.58% of those critical pairs controlled had at least one other characteristic (converging paths, passing, closest approach less than eight nautical miles, vertical separation less than 1000 feet). It was also found that the most controlled aircraft pairs were those that had a closet approach of less than eight nautical miles and a vertical separation of less than 1000 feet, but no critical pair property and no LOS. This indicates that controllers may be controlling aircraft pairs that do not need control, as no near-mid-air collision or LOS is feasible. However, pairs with these properties and the critical pair property could be given to controllers in an automated environment to manage for risk mitigation. It was also found that controllers have no meaningful difference in their safety and risk cultures, regardless of country of origin. Their management of critical pairs and risk mitigation also does not differ amongst countries of origin. This indicates that controllers have a similar professional culture and perform their duties in a similar manner. When designing future ATC systems, this culture can be accounted for to produce highly functional and accepted new technologies

Workload evaluation of sectorized air traffic control and stream management

Stream management is a novel air traffic control operational concept in which controllers control streams of aircraft that are functionally equivalent, rather than being responsible for “aircraft in airspace.” One of the potential benefits of stream management is workload reduction for the same amount of aircraft handled. An adaptation of the dynamic density workload measure was used to evaluate stream management operations against current sector based control. This evaluation is completed using FACET software and ASDI data. Stream visualizations and data analysis demonstrate the advantages of stream operations