UAS Public Perception Towards Privacy and Multimedia Configuration

The purpose of this study was to reveal public perception on the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) configurations of multimedia and provide a greater understanding of specific UAS configuration with respect to privacy. The participants were presented with four scenarios: audio multimedia, video multimedia, audio/video multimedia, and no multimedia. The data suggests that citizens are most concerned about privacy when the UAS was equipped with either video or audio/video capabilities. Privacy concerns were close to neutral when the UAS had no equipment on-board. In general, females were more concerned over privacy than males, except in the no equipment scenario. These findings may be of interest to UAS operators or those in government to help understand citizen privacy concerns when UAS are operated and based on the type of equipment that may be on-board

A Practical Guide for Using Electronic Surveys in Aviation Research: Best Practices Explained

The purpose of this article is to provide aviation researchers who are interested in using Internet-based surveys with a justification and guide, along with best practices. A brief review of research methods, research design, and research methodologies precedes information on the types of research questions that can best be answered using survey research. The interaction of survey instruments and research design is discussed, such as using a survey instrument in an experimental design. Advantages and disadvantages of paper and electronic distribution are presented to help guide researchers into the best approach given their proposed goals. Guidance is also offered on how to gather participants, with a specific focus on using Internet-based samples, such as Amazon’s ® Mechanical Turk ® (MTurk). Basic demographic factors from these populations are highlighted, along with some useful techniques to help researchers have the most success using these platforms for data collection. These best practices are discussed to provide researchers with the necessary information to successfully use online populations to effectively complete their studies and answer their research questions

Public Privacy Concerns of Operating Entities Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems

This study examined one-hundred and sixty five U.S. participants’ privacy levels of concerns towards eight different entities operating unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The participants were presented with an individual scenario that was interchanged with the eight operating entities. With each interchanged scenario the participants were asked to assess overall privacy concern based on the operating entity utilizing the UAS. The operating entities used in the scenario were Amazon, the Government, the Military, Law Enforcement, Consulting, Construction, Hobbyist, and Real Estate. The results demonstrate that there is a difference between operating entity and genders; however both genders trend toward the same level of concern based on the operating entity. The results and conclusions from this study can be used by Federal and State governments, as well as public and private entities for determination of regulations, policies, and uses of a UAS. Implications of these results are further discussed within the poster

To Drive or Fly: Will Driverless Cars Significantly Disrupt Commercial Airline Travel?

In the past, commercial airlines and automobiles have shared a symbiotic relationship and rarely compete directly with each other except for very short flights. However, with driverless vehicles on the horizon, many of which will be made available to the average American consumer within a few years, the airline industry may find that they are now facing a competitor that is unlike anything they have seen in the past. In the current paper, we analyze some of the issues that the airline industry will encounter, and provide consumer survey data that shows that at least 10% of the flying public will switch to driverless vehicles once they realize the advantages that driverless cars offer over commercial flight. These numbers may snowball as the airline industry contracts, particularly for airlines that use the hub and spoke model. We discuss the implications of these potential changes

A Trust in Air Traffic Controllers (T-ATC) Scale

Trust is a concept that cannot be easily measured. Further, trust is domain-specific. Trust is a foundational aspect of safe flight operations in the National Airspace System, and while there has been much attention to trust in teams and trust in automation, there appears to be a gap in knowledge of a pilot’s trust in air traffic controllers. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Trust in Air Traffic Controllers (T-ATC) scale, a summative scale to measure a pilot’s trust in air traffic controllers. This study followed a three-step methodology. In steps one and two, words were generated using an online Delphi process. In step three, the proposed instrument was set in a scenario-based test using over 200 pilots as participants. The data were subjected to Principal Components Analysis (PCA) which indicated a single component explaining 69.06% of the total variance. A Cronbach’s alpha of 0.90 showed the scale to have high internal consistency, and a Guttman split-half test result of 0.91 indicated the scale had high reliability. Safety within the National Airspace System requires a high degree of cooperation between system actors facilitated through trust in system components. In a system reliant upon trust, there is little knowledge of trust between pilots and controllers and therefore, no foundation for understanding and addressing trust dynamics. The T-ATC scale can now be used by aviation researchers to close the gap in knowledge regarding a pilot’s trust in controllers

Cultural Differences in Trust of Space Tourism Travel

Science fiction or not, commercial space travel is on the horizon. One of the most unknown concepts to public perception is the idea of traveling by spacecraft. The next frontier for mankind is space travel; however, there are many challenges that need to be met before space tourism travel becomes a reality. There are numerous companies on the cusp of making space travel a reasonable and affordable mode of transportation. Since the idea of traveling through space is so new, there is not a lot of data available about public perception. The purpose of this research, however, is to gather public input as to their personal levels of trust in space tourism travel. This data could be invaluable to an emerging company as strategic marketing techniques can be utilized with this information to increase their customer acquisition and spread the concept. This research was able to acquire input from both American and Indian participants through the use of Amazon’s ® Mechanical Turk ® program. Using an experimental design, the research analyzed the levels of trust between individuals from different cultural backgrounds as well as gender differences. After analyzing the collected data, it was determined that there was a significant interaction in the trust levels between country and gender, F(1, 392) = 6.379, p = 0.012, np2 = .016. The American female population was less trusting of space travel than the Indian female population. Practical implications and limitations to the study are also discussed

How Trust in Commercial Airline Pilots is Affected by Their Perceived Sociability: A Mediation Analysis

Sociability relates to one’s preference to interact with others or remain alone. The current study sought to determine how a pilot’s perceived sociability would relate to consumers’ trust ratings in their pilot using participants from India and the United States. Consumers were presented with one of two scenarios. In the control condition, the pilot was described as sociable, while in the other, the pilot was presented as unsociable. Participants were then asked to rate their trust in the pilot based off of these cues. In general, participants indicated that the pilot who was perceived as unsociable was less trusting compared to the pilot that was perceived as sociable. Americans tended to be more extreme in their trust ratings of the pilots than those participants from India. Finally, affect measures were also collected, and it was found that affect completely mediated the relationship between the sociable/unsociable conditions and trust ratings

Controlled Rest in Position (CRIP): Consumer Perceptions in the United States

Controlled rest in position (CRIP) has been suggested as a viable countermeasure to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the ongoing efforts to combat in-flight pilot fatigue. It is already in use in other parts of the world; however, it is not currently permitted in the United States. While expert opinion suggested it poses little threat to flight safety, with valuable returns in terms of improved crew alertness and performance, there is some doubt about the level of consumer buy-in. This study completed a preliminary investigation into overall consumer willingness to fly, in the use of CRIP procedures in the United States. Two studies were completed to examine consumer perceptions toward the use of CRIP. It was found in both studies that male and female participants were less willing to fly when CRIP was used. Additionally, female participants were less willing than their male counterparts in both the control and experimental condition. In the second study, affect measures were collected and found to completely mediate the relationship between the use of CRIP and consumers’ willingness to fly. Findings may provide both regulators and airlines data that could aid in their decision-making processes as it relates to implementing such practices in the United States

Aviation Consumers’ Trust in Pilots: A Cognitive or Emotional Function

Previous research has shown that stigmas play an important role in trust. While previous research has focused on trust in individuals with stigmas in various settings, no research that we know of has specifically looked at trust in pilots as a function of their stigmas, and what might mediate those effects. In two studies, we asked Indian participants to rate their trust in pilots as a function of gender, age, weight and ethnicity. The results of the first study indicated that Indians trusted female pilots less than male pilots, older pilots less than younger pilots, obese pilots less than slim pilots, and Arab pilots less than Indian pilots. The second study replicated these findings and revealed that Affect plays a dominant mediating role between each condition and trust

Validation of an Operationalized Model of Iso-Ahola’s Theory of Tourism Motivation: A Case in Point-to-Point Suborbital Space Travel

The purpose of the study was to validate Snepenger, King, Marshall, and Uysal’s (2006) model of Iso-Ahola’s (1982) theory of tourism motivation for use in point-to-point suborbital space tourism research. No previous research was discovered, which assessed point-to-point suborbital space flight within the theoretical foundation of the theory of tourism motivation. Snepenger et al.’s (2006) model was assessed as published, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) failed to produce data fitting the four dimensions. The researchers modified the item descriptions based on research. Using a second sample, the modified model was assessed. EFA produced four factors with adequate convergent and discriminant validity. Confirmatory factor analysis produced good model fit with adequate construct validity. The study validated the operationalized model of the theory of tourism motivation in United States participants providing a valid and reliable scale for use in future suborbital space travel research