Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

A Methodology And Tools For The Prospective Identification Of Nextgen Human Factors Issues, Ken Funk

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2009

The Human-Machine Systems Engineering Methodology (HMSEM) is a systematic method to prospectively identify relevant human fallibilities, potential errors, and general human factors issues in a complex, high-risk system, then develop design recommendations for remediations to counteract the fallibilities, avoid or mitigate the errors, and resolve the issues. HMSEM uses IDEF0 functional modeling, task analysis, human fallibilities analysis, and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, organizing the information for and from the analyses in a workbook. The results of its application to several tasks on the NextGen flight deck suggest that it can be a valuable complement to other means to anticipate …

Determining Job Requirements For The Next Aviator Generation, Hans-Juergen Hoermann, Dirk Schulze-Kissing, Oliver Zierke

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2009

The aviation industry is envisioning a tremendous growth of air traffic within the next two decades. New technologies and operational concepts will be the key enablers to accommodate the increasing amount of movements in a safe, efficient and environment friendly manner. Current working concepts reach from improved interoperability of national ATM systems, via satellite based navigation, collaborative decision making, and self separation of aircraft up to fully automated air-ground-space systems. It can be expected that the introduction of such concepts will have a significant impact on the working conditions and job requirements of future air traffic controllers and pilots, who …

Runway Incursion Prevention Using An Audio Intervention, Nathan Maertens, Christopher Desalvo, Jessie Chin, J. Michelle Moon

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2009

From 2004 through 2007 runway incursions (RI), an FAA high priority safety item, have continuously increased (FAA, 2008). The FAA has sought mitigation proposals; here we suggest one such solution. Byrne, Kirlik and their students (2005, 2006, 2007) suggested one possible cause of RIs to be pilots making errors when given counterintuitive taxi instructions (i.e., turns away, as opposed to towards, their ultimate destination). Using this work as a foundation, we identified counterintuitive taxi geometries at Willard Airport (CMI), conducted an experiment with 14 certified flight instructors working at CMI in a simulation of landing and taxiing, and tested potential …

The Role Of Common Methods In Personnel Selection, Thomas R. Carretta

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2009

Cognitive ability is the most widely researched psychological construct in studies of determinants of occupational performance. Results of meta-analyses of common selection methods in personnel psychology indicate that general mental ability (g) is the best predictor of training and job performance involving core technical proficiency. For training, the predictiveness of g is incremented by measures of personality and specialized job knowledge. For job incumbents, the predictiveness of g is incremented by personality, job knowledge, and work sample performance. In addition to the predictive validity of g, personality, and prior job knowledge, their role in the acquisition of additional job knowledge …

Selection For Aviation Related Careers: Air Traffic Control In The Air Force And The Faa, M. Kathryn Bleckley Ph.D., Jerry Crutchfield Ph.D., Raymond E. King Psy.D., Carol A. Manning Ph.D., Thomas R. Carretta Ph.D.

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2009

This paper discusses selection research and practice, with a focus on air traffic control specialists (ATCSs). In the USAF and FAA, accurate selection of air traffic control (ATC) trainees is essential because of the cost in time and money to train people for this high-consequence occupation. The FAA continues longitudinal validation research for the Air Traffic Selection and Training (AT-SAT) battery. Additionally, validation of the AT-SAT for placement by option would allow the FAA to develop a process for assessing applicants’ potential to certify at facilities, providing useful information when determining where placement should occur. Frequently, psychiatric conditions are delineated …

How Effective Is Item Bank Testing Of Pilot Training Applicants In Reducing Test Preparation Effects?, Oliver Zierke

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2009

In the selection of aviation personnel, special test preparation has become an emerging problem. Specific test preparation aims at raising the probability to master a certain test rather than developing the underlying ability. Knowledge tests are particularly susceptible to the problem of test preparation. One strategy to counter this problem is the use of comprehensive item banks for testing in knowledge domains. In 2005 over 770 student pilot applicants participated in an evaluation study of two item bank tests, an English language test and a test of physical knowledge. A conventional test form as well as an item bank test …

Human Factors In The Ground-Support Of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Alan Hobbs Ph.D., Stanley R. Herwitz Ph.D., Glen R. Gallaway M.S.

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2009

A growing body of research has been directed at the human factors of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) flight operations, yet up to now, virtually no attention has been given to the human factors of UAS maintenance. The aim of the current research program was to identify the challenges facing the maintainers of small unmanned aircraft systems. Unlike their counterparts in conventional aviation, UAS maintenance technicians are responsible for the functioning of an entire system, comprising airborne and ground-based components. Challenges include absent or poor maintenance documentation, the need to make frequent decisions about salvaging components, difficulties in troubleshooting software problems, …

2009- 2010 Unlv Mcnair Journal, Kathleen Bell, Danetta Bradley, Vacheral M. Carter, Nydia Diaz, Kathryn E. English, Sarah Harrison, Michelle Israel, Christina Macke, Erica Orozco, Pilar Palos, Sandra Ramos, Soraya A. Silverman, Susan Taylor, Sajar Camara, William Mccurdy, Yvonne C. Morris, Maxym V. Myroshnychenko, Ricardo Rios, Monique Sulls, Bremen Vance, Barbara Wallen

McNair Journal

Journal articles based on research conducted by undergraduate students in the McNair Scholars Program

Table of Contents

Biography of Dr. Ronald E. McNair

Statements:

Dr. Neal J. Smatresk, UNLV President

Dr. Juanita P. Fain, Vice President of Student Affairs

Dr. William W. Sullivan, Associate Vice President for Retention and Outreach

Mr. Keith Rogers, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach

McNair Scholars Institute Staff

Educating Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisors: A Grounded Theory Study Of Supervisory Wisdom, Judith R. Ragsdale

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is an 80 year old education modality that provides professional education for students of pastoral care. Supervision is central to the CPE process. Pastoral supervisors in the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) have done little writing about their work educating Students in Supervisory Education (SSEs). The purpose of this dissertation is to identify and interview those practitioners in ACPE who have been identified by their peers as excellent in practice, and to cull their wisdom by listening to and categorizing their experience of supervising SSEs. The research question to the supervisors was: What is your …

Values, Ethnicity, And Ses : The Case Of Latino And Anglo American Women, Claudia Venessa Argueta

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Past research on values has typically employed a quantitative and top-down approach in determining the universality of values across gender, religion and nation categories (Schwartz & Huismans, 1995; Schwartz & Bardi, 2001). However, studies have often failed to identify specific values that are related to particular ethnic and socioeconomic communities within a culturally diverse society (Lee, Whitehead & Balchin, 2000; McCulloguh, Wilson, Teasdale, Kolpakch, & Skelly, 1993). The aim of this study was to use a bottom up, qualitative approach to identify core values among Latino and Anglo women in Southern California. The research was guided by a model for …

Posttraumatic And Parent Stress In Parents Of Infant Heart Transplant Recipients, Jessie Rose Stevens

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Heart transplantation during infancy is a life-threatening event, and when successful, the treatment is a life-long process and the potential for life-threatening consequences never ceases. As a result, parents can be impacted in many ways by this traumatic and demanding experience that begins with the initial diagnosis of their infant and continues into the long-term life course of these children. This life-long process has the potential to cause symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder as well as elevated levels of stress in parents. This study examined parental self-reported post-traumatic stress symptoms and parental stress in parents of children who received a …

Smoking During Pregnancy Affects Speech-Processing Ability In Newborn Infants, Alexandra P.F. Key, Melissa Ferguson, Dennis L. Molfese, Kelley Peach, Victoria J. Molfese

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoking during pregnancy is known to adversely affect development of the central nervous system in babies of smoking mothers by restricting utero–placental blood flow and the amount of oxygen available to the fetus. Behavioral data associate maternal smoking with lower verbal scores and poorer performance on specific language/auditory tests.

OBJECTIVES: In the current study we examined the effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on newborns’ speech processing ability as measured by event-related potentials (ERPs).

METHOD: High-density ERPs were recorded within 48 hr of birth in healthy newborn infants of smoking (n = 8) and nonsmoking …

Practice Effects On Test-Takers’ Performance And Quality Of Cognitive Domains Should Be Part Of Every Pilot Assessment. Investigation Of The Mechanisms Of Practice Effects Ability Tests In Pilot Selection: A Spatial Ability Test As An Example, Frank Albers, Stefan Hoeft

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

This study deals with the problem of retaking identical or parallel mental ability tests. This can lead to difficulties in the assessment for prestigious jobs like pilot or ab initio pilot candidate positions, where test preparation is common and a large training industry has been established. We investigated practice effects on test-takers’ performance and reliability as well as validity of a spatial ability task. The task was administered ten times, five minutes each, in a sample of 156 ab initio pilot applicants. A performance plateau was reached after the fifth trial, reliability and validity were not affected negatively, they even …

Using Likelihood Alert Technology In Cockpit Displays Of Traffic Information To Support Free Flight, Ernesto A. Bustamante

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

The future of air traffic control imposes two major challenges. On the one hand, the increase in air traffic flow will dramatically augment the already existing high levels of workload for air traffic controllers. As a result, this increase in traffic density may jeopardize flight safety. On the other hand, standard aircraft separation tactics commanded by air traffic controllers are neither optimally efficient nor cost effective. Consequently, this makes it difficult for airlines to maintain an economic advantage. A potential solution to these problems is the introduction of free flight. The main goal of free flight is to reduce the …

Decision Support For Airport Surface Management And Control, Charles E. Billings, Philip J. Smith, Amy Spencer

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

Continual increases in air traffic have threatened to produce gridlock in parts of the national aviation system (NAS). Efforts to improve NAS efficiency and throughput by incorporating decision support tools (DSTs) and other automation have been difficult because of NAS complexity and unpredictability. We describe some of the more important recent studies of airport surface management and offer suggestions for further improvement.

Learner Centered Debriefing In General Aviation Training: Questions From The Field And Answers From Research, Elizabeth L. Blickensderfer

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

Recently, the “Learner Centered Grading” (LCG) debriefing strategy has been introduced to general aviation flight training. LCG includes two parts: learner self assessment and a detailed debrief led by the instructor. The purpose of the self assessment is to stimulate growth in the learner’s thought processes and, in turn, behaviors. Implementing a training strategy in the field, however, is different from laboratory tests. In an effort to see how the learner centered grading debrief was being used in the field, in-depth interviews with 10 certified flight instructors (CFIs) were conducted. Overall, the CFIs reported that the in-depth discussions were an …

Modeling The Human Operator, Part Ii: Emulating Controller Intervention, Scott Bolland, Andrew Neal, Selina Fothergill, Michael Humphreys, Peter Lindsay

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

Air traffic control workload prediction algorithms require a trajectory modeler to assess the flow of traffic through the sector. An accurate model of controller intervention is required to predict these trajectories. This paper overviews such a project aimed at emulating important controller actions in the Australian airspace.

Very Light Jets In The National Airspace System, Barbara K. Burian Ph.D.

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

Problems that potential very light jet (VLJ) pilots of the future are having in the aircraft they currently fly, as evidenced in incident and accident reports, were analyzed. Significant problems identified include poor crew/single pilot resource management, low currency, inadequate preflight planning, avionics use difficulties, and cognitive performance issues, among others. Implications for training future VLJ pilots are discussed.

An Ecological Approach To Pilot Terrain Awareness, Clark Borst, Max Mulder, M.M. Van Paassen

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

Supporting pilot situation awareness is considered essential in safeguarding safety. There is much disagreement, however, regarding a formal definition of situation awareness. On the one hand, the most commonly cited definition, from a cognitive perspective, describes it in terms of human information processing stages involving the three levels of perception, comprehension and projection. On the other hand, an ecological approach exists that focuses on defining the ‘situation’ instead of the ‘awareness’, using Rasmussen’s abstraction hierarchy. This paper investigates the usefulness of the ecological approach in defining pilot terrain awareness. An abstraction hierarchy is defined that captures the characteristics of situations …

Linguistic Factors In The Overall Aviation Safety Framework, S. Bourgeois-Bougrine, V. Normier, R. Mollard, O. Ferrante, Y. Pouliquen

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

Feedback on occurrences and some safety studies prompted ICAO to recommend new language proficiency requirements. This paper focuses on the type of data that influenced this effort to reduce accidents involving the “language barrier”. It also proposes to better define and record the linguistic factors in databases. A literature review on the main linguistic contributory factors to air-ground miscommunications breaks them down into sub-categories. Subsequently, the paper discusses the “language barrier” as a potential “safety barrier”. It seems essential to better track and record these successful safety barriers (or nets) related to human behaviors. They should be expanded through a …

Position Transfers In En Route Air Traffic Control: Assessing Flawed Mental Representations Of The Traffic Situation, Larry Bailey, Alfretia Scarborough

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

To address air traffic control (ATC) operational errors (OEs) that occur early on position, past OE reduction efforts focused on developing improved position relief briefing checklists and analyzing the content of the recorded verbal briefings. However, the verbal briefing, by itself, does not ensure that either the incoming or outgoing controller had an accurate mental representation of the traffic situation. If there are inaccuracies in either of their mental representations, then the position relief process is flawed. We examined an archival OE database to determine whether en route OEs that occur as the result of a problematic position transfer were …

Operating An Unmanned Aerial System From A Moving Platform, Cadet Guennadi S. Antonov, Cadet Mark C. Domogala, Lt Col Wesley A. Olson

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

While the Spatial Disorientation (SD) has long been recognized as an important causal factor in aviation incidents and accidents, it is only beginning to be recognized as a factor in Uninhabited Aerial Systems (UASs). Self, Ercoline, Olson and Tvaryanas (2006) predicted SD to be most likely for a manually controlled UAV when operated from a mobile platform. As a first step towards better understanding the effects of control platform motion on manual UAV control Olson, DeLauer and Fale (2006) had 10 rated Air Force pilots fly a simulated UAV task (MS Flight Simulator) from a motion capable control platform (aircraft …

A Latent Growth Model Of Pilots’ Decision Making While Facing Potential Weather Threats, Ernesto A. Bustamante, Elizabeth T. Newlin, James P. Bliss

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

It is critical that pilots make appropriate flight path deviation decisions when faced with threats of inclement weather. This research demonstrates a latent growth model of pilots’ confidence in flight path deviation decisions when faced with potential weather threats. Twenty-four commercial airline pilots encountered 6 weather threats during a simulated flight from New York, NY to Miami, FL. Pilots made deviation decisions at 4 distance points from each potential weather threat. Results from the latent growth model (LGM) of pilots’ distance confidence as a function of the distance to the potential weather threat showed a statistically significant growth in confidence …

Examining The Content Validity Of The Faa Private Pilot And Commercial Pilot Practical Test Standards, Elizabeth L. Blickensderfer, Peter Schumacher, Michele Summers

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

The Practical Test Standards (PTS) were devised by the FAA to provide a standard format to evaluate the skills necessary for pilot certification. Both the private pilot and commercial PTS were generated years ago and, on a regular basis, are modified slightly. Despite these efforts, some aviators in the industry consider the PTS to be out of date. The purpose of this research was to examine the content validity of the private pilot and commercial pilot PTS items in order to assess the applicability to current general aviation practice. To accomplish this, a job-analysis style survey was developed and distributed …

Network Airline Production Problem, R. Michael Baiada

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

For over 30 years, in spite of their best efforts, the financial health of the network airlines has continued south. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the fundamental problem pushing so many airlines towards the brink is not the hub schedule, weather, fuel costs, ATC/FAA, congestion, delays, nor even unit wage rates. These are just the visible symptoms of the real problem. The underlying cause of 80% of the airline industry's financial problems is production variance. Production variance within the daily operation, especially at the hub airports, represents the fundamental flaw within the current airline production process (over 35% of the customers …

Developing Observer-Based Measures For Assessing The Effects Of Advanced Technologies On Crew Resource Management, Amy L. Alexander, Jamie L. Estock, Jeff Beaubien, Jon Holbrook

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

Previous research has shown that up to 80 percent of all commercial aviation accidents are the result of human error, including inadequate decision making, ineffective communication, inadequate leadership, and poor task or resource management. Currently, a number of “smart” flight deck technologies – such as Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) and Enhanced Vision Systems (EVS) – are being developed to prevent, intervene, and/or mitigate pilot error. In some instances, these technologies are essentially acting as an additional crewmember, thus changing the dynamics of crew interaction on the flight deck. The specific effects of these advanced technologies – both positive and negative …

Flight-Control-Force-Exertion Limits And Comparisons With Pilot And Nonpilot Populations, Dennis B. Beringer, Jerry D. Ball, Loran A. Haworth

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

This study was conducted to update data on the force that pilots (and nonpilots) can apply to flight controls so that current performance data could be compared with values for maximum allowable control forces found in sections of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR 23.143 and 25.143). We compared these tabular values with several later samples of human performance to determine what proportion of the potential and actual pilot populations might be able to exert those levels of force. We then obtained data for 12 female general aviation pilots and 12 female nonpilots as well as data for 32 …

The Incidence Of Psychological Aspect In Brazilian Aircraft Accidents From 1997 To 2002, Márcia Regina Molinari Barreto, Cintia Saba Fonseca

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

The research on the incidence of psychological aspects of human factors in aircraft accidents, was developed by the Aeronautical Institute of Psychology, aimed the identification of critical areas and the proposition of controlling actions. The proposed actions approach ways to favour the development of attitudes and behaviours, aiming the consolidation of a safety culture in the organizations. This work fills a great gap by making it possible to base the preventive activities on data that reflect the Brazilian reality. The ergonomic approach, wich considers the accident as a breakdown on the balance between individual, psychosocial and organizational conditionings of the …

Memory For Form And Color In Virtual And Real Environments, Matthew Brown Ph.D., Chris M. Herdman Ph.D., Jonathan Wade

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

Three experiments that differed in terms of environment type (two virtual and one real) required participants to remember the location of 12 unique geometric objects that varied in terms of form (cone, cube, and sphere) and color (blue, green, red, and yellow). The results showed that regardless of environment type (virtual or real), participants showed significantly better encoding/memory for an object’s form than for its color. This highlights the importance of emphasizing object shape to assist learning and memory in virtual environments.

A Comparison Of Scenario Based With Maneuvers Based Taa Instrument Flight Training, Jon French, Michele Summers, Frank Ayers, Elizabeth Blickensderfer

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

A laboratory-controlled comparison of traditional maneuvers based training (MBT) and scenario based training (SBT) is described during the acquisition of technically advanced aircraft (TAA) instrument flight skills in a simulator. The study was conducted as part of the FAA Industry Training Standards (FITS) evaluation of SBT. All 27 participants were instrument rated pilots with less than 500 total flight hours and virtually no experience with TAA. All were randomly assigned to the MBT or SBT condition. All received 8 hours of MBT or SBT before the final posttest evaluation. The TAA simulator was a Cirrus SR20 with a Chelton primary …