What Factors Predict a Consumer\u27s Willingness to Purchase a Subscription-Based Airline Program?

Introduction: Many services offer subscription-based sales models. The aviation industry has not widely attempted to market a subscription-based service through their airline for ticketing purposes. This study developed a regression equation to determine predictive factors for the type of individual who would purchase a subscription-based airline ticket. Method: A two-stage approach was used where the participants (N = 521) answered demographic information, flight habits, and the same scenario with a perceived value scale and willingness to purchase scale. Results: Stage 1 found perceived value, employment status, and early boarding preference all to be significant factors, accounting for 77.6% of the variance. Stage 2 validated the regression equation through a t­-test, correlation, and cross-validated R2. Conclusion: The suggested regression equation showed a strong model fit and predicted the scores from Stage 2 with a mean difference of -.034. These factors will aid the aviation industry’s marketing departments in developing a subscription-based ticket using findings from this study

Utilizing the Alarm Taxonomy and Classification System (ATACS) to Redesign Landing Gear Warnings

Alarms have been in use for many decades, yet there still needs to be more clarity about what makes a good alarm. Vendors and government agencies have developed several useful handbooks describing the Do’s and Don’ts of effective alarm design; however, to date, we cannot find a comprehensive quantitative taxonomy or classification system that allows researchers to easily score and rank various alarm designs in any field—while using a common language that users, engineers, designers, and human factors professionals can understand. The Alarm Taxonomy and Classification System (ATACS) fills this gap in the literature by breaking alarms down into categorical characteristics, providing a quantitative methodology for scoring each characteristic, and outlining a process by which users, vendors, and human factors professionals can agree on the efficacy of the alarm in question. We discuss this process in detail and show how this system was used to improve landing gear warnings

Usability of Urban Air Mobility: Quantitative and Qualitative Assessments of Usage in Emergency Situations

The purpose of these four studies was to determine participants’ willingness to support the use of urban air mobility (UAM) in response to natural disasters, along with the preferred locations to establish vertiports. Study 1 assessed the willingness to support using a mixed factorial design. The findings demonstrated strong, robust support for the use of UAM when responding to natural disasters. Study 2 worked to create and validate a scale that could assess vertiports\u27 current and proposed locations. The Vertiport Usability Scale was developed and shown to have strong psychometric properties to validly assess vertiport locations through a multi-stage process. Study 3 used the Vertiport Usability Scale to understand the most highly preferred locations for vertiports in three conditions from a multi-stage process: temporary disaster locations, permanent disaster locations, and permanent consumer locations. Study 4 was conducted using qualitative methods to complement the earlier quantitative approaches. Through an initial survey and follow-on interview, three themes emerged related to UAM in response to natural disasters and vertiports: 1) human involvement in UAM operations, 2) scenarios for usage, and 3) setup and deployment of vehicles

What Type of Person Would Be Willing to Fly with Children? A Multi-Model Analysis

The purpose of this study was to assess the type of person who would be willing to fly with children in various scenarios. A quantitative methodology and a non-experimental research approach were used in this study. A two-stage approach created a regression equation then assessed model fit. Six hundred and twenty participants were recruited for the study. The dataset was split randomly into two groups to facilitate the two-stage approach, resulting in 310 participants per stage. The study used 14 possible predictors to determine willingness to fly in five different scenarios. Five models were created and found between two and four predictors of passengers who were willing to fly with children in various scenarios. We were able to explain between 14.3% and 18.6% of the variance. All five equations were assessed for model fit and found to support a good model fit. Many aviation studies have examined willingness to fly in various scenarios; however, no research specific to the type of person who would be willing to fly with children has been explored. This study aims to fill that gap by exploring the type of person who would fly with children in five different scenarios

Significant Predictors of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Texas Firefighters

Risk factors for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) include obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. Not only are these prevalent in the general US population, but they are also present at high rates in a specific subset responsible for public safety – firefighters. PURPOSE: The aim of the present study is to use logistic regression to predict the likelihood of occurrence of NAFLD in firefighters using a subset of health-related factors associated with common cardiometabolic risk factors. METHODS: Data were collected on 136 firefighters (128 males, 8 females; 36.3 ± 9.0 yrs; 95.7 ± 17.0 kg; 178.9 ± 7.4 cm; 29.8 ± 4.2 kg/m2) participating in FITLIFE, a university-based fitness program at Texas A&M University. Nominal logistic regression with stepwise removal was used to estimate the best model to predict fatty liver disease. Stepwise removal identified resting systolic blood pressure (RSBP, mm HG), Body Mass Index (BMI, kg/m2), visceral adipose tissue (VAT, cm2), whether or not has hypertension or is on medication (HTNMED; 0=No,1=Yes), and plasma triglyceride concentrations (TG, mg/dL) as independent predictors (p\u3c0.05). Odds ratios (OR) were calculated to determine the change in the odds of NAFLD per unit increase in each predictor. RESULTS: Logistic regression yielded the following equation to predict the probability of developing NAFLD: Logit = -22.5176 + 0.0918(RSBP) + 0.2154(BMI) + 0.0065(TG) + 0.0161(VAT) + 1.830(HTNMED) (R2 = 0.4655, p \u3c 0.001). Of the predictors, the ORs from largest to smallest were 6.235, 1.240, 1.096, 1.016, and 1.002 for HTNMED, BMI, RSBP, VAT, and TG, respectively. CONCLUSION: Using RSBP, BMI, VAT, TG, and HTNMED as predictors, this study demonstrates that the probability of developing NAFLD in Texas firefighters can be reasonably predicted. This regression model and individual predictors may be used by health practitioners as a cost-effective screening tool to identify those at higher risk for NAFLD

Wearable Positive End-Expiratory Pressure Valve Improves Exercise Performance

Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) provides benefits to pulmonary patients, yet effects in healthy, exercising adults are unknown. PURPOSE: We designed two experiments (EXP) to test a novel PEEP (4.2 cmH2O PEEP) mouthpiece (PMP) on maximal cycling performance of physically active volunteers. METHODS: EXP-1 PMP vs. control (CON) mouthpiece (N=9, Age=30±2 yr, Weight=72.2±3.7 kg, BMI=24.4±1.2, 5♂); and EXP-2 PMP vs. no mouthpiece (NMP) (N=10, Age=27±1 yr, Weight=76.7±3.6 kg, BMI=23.9±0.8, ♂). Exercise test procedures for both experiments were identical. On Day 1, under the first mouthpiece condition assigned at random subjects performed graded exercise cycling testing (GXT) (Corival®) for VO2peak (ml*kg*min-1), oxygen pulse (mlO2*bt) (O2pulse), GXT endurance time (s) (GXT-T), and VO2(ml*kg*min-1)-at-ventilatory-threshold (VO2 @VT). Subjects returned 72 h later (Day 2), to complete an endurance ride timed (s)to exhaustion (VTER) at an intensity equivalent to their VO2 @VT power (W). One week later, subjects repeated exercise testing protocols (Days 3 & 4, time-of-day controlled) under the alternate mouthpiece condition. RESULTS: Selected outcomes were as follows (paired T-test, *PMP vs. CON, respectively: VO2peak=45.2±2.4* vs. 42.4±2.3; VO2@VT=33.7±2.0 vs. 32.3±1.6; GXT-T=521.7±73.4* vs. 495.3±72.8; VTER=846.2±166.0 vs. 743.1±124.7; O2pulse=24.5±1.4* vs. 23.1±1.3. PMP vs. NMP, respectively: VO2peak=43.3±1.6* vs. 41.7±1.6; VO2@AT=31.1±1.2* vs. 29.1±1.3; GXT-T=511.7*±49.6 vs. 486.4±49.6; VTER 872.4±134.0 vs. 792.9 ± 122.4; O2pulse=24.1±0.9* vs. 23.4±0.9. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that the novel PEEP mouthpiece we tested confers a significant performance benefit to cyclists completing high intensity exercise. By extension, it is likely to be an advantage in any physical activity having an aerobic component

High Fat Relative to Low Fat Ground Beef Consumption Lowers Blood Pressure and Does Not Negatively Alter Arterial Stiffness

Beef consumption has been stigmatized as an unhealthy dietary choice. However, randomized control trials to support this claim are lacking. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of low-fat (5%) and high-fat (25%) ground beef consumption on blood pressure (BP) and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV).METHODS: Twenty-three male subjects (age 40±11 yrs, height 177.4±6.7 cm, weight 97.3±25.0 kg, lean mass 64.5±9.5 kg, fat mass 30.6±19.1 kg) volunteered to participate in this cross-over design study. Each participant completed two, 5-week ground beef interventions in a randomized order with a 4-week washout period in-between. All participants visited the lab four times after an overnight fast. Each visit to the lab consisted of supine BP, dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan to assess body composition, and PWV analysis. The PWV recording was assessed on the right carotid and femoral arteries. The distance used for the PWV calculation was 80% of the actual distance between carotid and femoral sites. All PWV measures were completed according to previously published procedures (Van Bortel, 2011). BP and PWV results were analyzed separately via 2x2 repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Our results indicate there was a significant decrease in systolic BP (p=0.01) following the high-fat ground beef intervention compared to the low-fat. The BP values for low-fat beef and high-fat beef are 120/74 and 116/73 mmHg, respectively. Further, there were no significant differences between the PWV measures. CONCLUSION: Based on our results, high fat ground beef favorably alters systolic BP and does not negatively affect PWV measures

Utilizing the Alarm Taxonomy and Classification System (ATACS) to Redesign Landing Gear Warnings

Alarms have been in use for many decades, yet there still needs to be more clarity about what makes a good alarm. Vendors and government agencies have developed several useful handbooks describing the Do’s and Don’ts of effective alarm design; however, to date, we cannot find a comprehensive quantitative taxonomy or classification system that allows researchers to easily score and rank various alarm designs in any field—while using a common language that users, engineers, designers, and human factors professionals can understand. The Alarm Taxonomy and Classification System (ATACS) fills this gap in the literature by breaking alarms down into categorical characteristics, providing a quantitative methodology for scoring each characteristic, and outlining a process by which users, vendors, and human factors professionals can agree on the efficacy of the alarm in question. We discuss this process in detail and show how this system was used to improve landing gear warnings