Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. Glen H. Doran, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of American and Florida Studies. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Mar. 2, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Amelia Earhart opened the skies for many female pilots in the 1930s. It was because of her that many young women followed their reverie to becoming a pilot. This dream led many to answer the call when the United States Army Air force needed ferrying pilots when World War II began. Female aviators were contracted as civil service personnel and placed in different units to ferry planes across the country and to tow targets during live ammunition practice by combat soldiers. These units were later combined to form the Women Air force Service Pilots (WASPs). The anomaly of the WASPs was that they were the only women’s unit who joined a men’s only division of the Army, though they were not considered to be full military personnel. Never before had the United States government allowed female pilots to participate in the military. While providing aerial support services for the United States Air Force, the WASPs were not granted military benefits, nor were they considered part of the military, despite being required to follow all military protocols. In 1977, after Congressional hearings, the WASPs were finally granted full military honors. This dissertation examines the experiences of those women within the context of the institutions of higher education where they were trained and in terms of the varied forms of discrimination that they faced, highlighting the ways in which they navigated those challenges.

For decades, elite athletes have used mental skills training to enhance their performance. The effectiveness of these skills and strategies have been measured, documented and supported in research (e.g., Feltz & Landers, 1983; Vealey, 1994). As the remarkable benefits of mental skills continue to reach an ever-growing community of performers, it is surprising that many military organizations, known for their high standards for performance and little tolerance for error, have yet to take full advantage of this type of training. Canada’s Air Force (CAF), home to a world-renowned pilot training program, now finds itself seeking additional tools to empower pilots to achieve consistent, high quality performance under demanding, high stress conditions. The purpose of this research was to explore the psychological skills used by elite Canadian military pilots to perform successfully in this highly demanding occupation. Sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted with elite Canadian pilots at a CAF base in Saskatchewan. Results indicated that pilots utilized all seven elements of Orlick’s (2008) Wheel of Excellence over three phases of flight: pre-flight preparation, mission execution, and post-flight debriefs. Pilots also drew on elements of the Wheel of Excellence during deployments to combat zones. Effective stress management played an especially important role in this context. Recommendations for future research include mental skills usage and preparation specific to deployment contexts as well as the implementation of a specific, relevant mental skills training program within the existing CAF pilot training program

The focus of this thesis is fatigue in aviation. It presents a detailed analysis of subjective fatigue and sleep patterns in short-haul operations. This operation was chosen because short-haul rosters encompass a range of scheduling factors that have been identified in the shiftwork literature as having a negative impact on alertness and performance. It is contended that studies examining these factors in the commercial aviation industry are scarce, and of those available, limited to investigations conducted outside of Australia. In addition, this thesis addresses a methodological limitation that has, to date, restricted the ability to measure fatigue during flight. It is contended that the scarcity of in-flight studies stems from the lack of a suitable performance test for measuring fatigue in time-constrained operating environments, such as aviation. The studies presented in this thesis are divided into two sections. The first section comprises three aviation studies conducted in Qantas airlines. The first two aviation studies examined the effects of scheduling factors on the subjective fatigue of flight crew employed by Qantas airlines. Two different populations were examined: B767 and B737 flight crew. Participants rated their fatigue and recorded information about their flying patterns for a minimum of 15 days. The results indicated that flight crew experienced mild to moderate fatigue in relation to their work. Importantly, different scheduling factors contributed to fatigue, including length of the flight duty period, number of flying hours, and duty start times. The third aviation study examined the sleep of B737 flight crew across a 3-day schedule. Sleep quantity and quality were determined from a sleep diary and wrist actigraphy data. The results indicated that sleep offset time, sleep duration, and sleep quality significantly varied across the schedule. In addition, early morning start times and late evening end times were key factors contributing to reduced sleep. The second section of this thesis comprises two laboratory studies that assessed the sensitivity of a brief (i.e. less than 10 minutes) psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) to the effects of sleep loss. A preliminary study compared performance during the 10-minute PVT with performance during the first half of the PVT during a night of wakefulness (23:00 ? 07:00 hours). A subsequent study compared performance during a 10-minute PVT with performance during a 90-second PVT and a 5-minute PVT during 28 hours of sustained wakefulness. The findings of the latter study indicated that performance during the 5-minute PVT and the 90-second PVT deteriorated in a manner similar to that observed during the standard 10-minute PVT. However, in line with the findings reported in the preliminary study, the shorter the task sampling time, the less sensitive the test to response slowing and performance variability. Based on these findings, it was surmised that a 5-minute PVT is likely to provide a more accurate measure of performance impairment than a test of shorter duration. Moreover, it was proposed that a 5-minute PVT may provide researchers with a reliable test for assessing changes in performance. In summary, the results of the aviation studies indicate that a number of scheduling factors contribute to fatigue and disturbed sleep in Australian domestic operations. The findings of this thesis are of particular concern, given that current aviation regulations do not fully consider the extent to which scheduling demands affect flight crew. It is apparent that flight crew would benefit from the incorporation of such findings into duty and rest limitations and scheduling procedures. Evidence demonstrating that (1) fatigue accumulates across the flight duty period, and (2) flight crew are at particular risk of higher fatigue when they are rostered to work an early morning duty suggests that the length of the flight duty period, the number of sectors worked and the timing of the duty period warrant particular attention. Finally, the results of the laboratory studies hold particular promise for future research, since they suggest that the 5-minute PVT may provide researchers with an alternative tool for investigating fatigue in the flying environment. / thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2004.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-135). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Sammanfattning: Det svenska flygvapnet har lång erfarenhet av simulatorer och de används för pilotutbildning och träning inom många av de flygsystem som flygvapnet opererar. Dock visar statistik på att nyttjandegraden av dessa anläggningar inte är fullständig. Det tillsammans med att det i vissa fall saknas en tydlig och tillräcklig inriktning för verksamheten, väcker frågor kring hur effektivt simulatorerna egentligen används. Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka om piloter som tjänstgör på en insatsdivision i det svenska flygvapnet upplever att deras träning i simulatorer tillför något till deras kunnande och utveckling, samt hur deras upplägg och genomförande av träningen i själva verket ser ut. Undersökningen genomfördes som kvalitativa intervjuer med insatspiloter under en träningsperiod i Flygvapnets Luftstridssimuleringscenter (FLSC). Deras svar analyserades sedan med hjälp av operationella indikatorer härledda ur såväl allmänna träningsteorier som mer specifika forskningsresultat kopplade till simulatorers egenskaper i sig. Resultatet visar att piloterna anser att simulatorer är ett värdefullt komplement till deras flygträning och om flygvapnets simulatorer nyttjas på ett ineffektivt sätt, beror det med stor sannolikhet inte på insatspiloternas inställning till simulatorträning eller bristande kunskaper hos dessa kring hur simulatorer bör användas. / Abstract: The Swedish Air Force (SwAF) has a long experience of using simulators for pilot training and they are in use within many of the aircraft-systems the SwAF currently operates. However, statistics show that the simulators are not used to their full extent. In combination with the lack of clear and adequate objectives in some cases, questions concerning the effectiveness of the use of simulators arise. The aim of this essay was to investigate if pilots working at a operational squadron in the Swedish Air Force believe that their training in simulators contributes to their knowledge and progress and also what the planning for and realization of the training itself looks like. The research was conducted as qualitative interviews of operational pilots during a period of training at Swedish Air Force Combat Simulation Centre (FLSC). The answers from the interviews was analyzed using operational indicators deduced from general training theories as well as from more specific results from studies of simulator characteristics. The result shows that the pilots believe that simulators are a valuable supplement to their flight training and if the use of simulators in the Swedish Air Force is ineffective, it most likely is not due to the attitude of the operational pilots concerning simulator training or them having an inadequate knowledge of how simulators should be used.

Orientador: Amilton Jose Moretto / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Economia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-15T02:04:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Garcia_AltairdaSilva_M.pdf: 2118469 bytes, checksum: 6afb07925172ef7682ea713004bf050a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Esta dissertação analisa as transformações ocorridas no transporte aéreo regular no Brasil entre os anos 1990 e 2006 e os principais impactos nas relações de trabalho no setor. Para dar conta dessas alterações procuramos, num primeiro momento, analisar o setor aéreo desde a criação das primeiras empresas, da constituição do seu marco regulatório, como também através dos movimentos de expansão e retração do setor. No período mais recente, buscamos traçar um paralelo entre os determinantes macroeconômicos, regulatórios, bem como das estratégias de gestão adotadas pela empresas aéreas. Com efeito, num segundo momento estabelecemos uma breve caracterização do emprego no setor, com ênfase na categoria aeronauta. Analisamos também a representação de classe da categoria e as negociações coletivas ocorridas nas entre 1990 e 2006. Foi possível constatar que tais mudanças afetaram o setor de forma decisiva. O desempenho, inferido pelo tráfego aéreo indicou taxas de crescimento superiores ao crescimento do PIB. Esse bom resultado foi puxado pela demanda no mercado doméstico (ass-km utilizados), que cresceu 174% no período. Essa expansão garantiu ao segmento doméstico maior participação em relação ao segmento internacional. Por outro lado, grandes empresas aéreas que atuavam no mercado doméstico na década de 1990, como Transbrasil, Vasp e Varig desapareceram. A Varig, após uma longa agonia, acabou sendo absorvida pelo Grupo GOL. Contudo, essa mudança radical não afetou a forte concentração do setor, que continuou com pelo menos duas grandes empresas aéreas, abocanhando aproximadamente 90% do mercado doméstico. Porém, é preciso destacar que esse período trouxe à baila uma profunda mudança, caracterizada pela redução generalizada de custos nas aéreas, lançamentos de novos produtos/serviços, segmentação de clientes, incrementos tecnológicos e aumento expressivo da produtividade. Os ajustes descritos acima atingiram os trabalhadores, precarizando as relações de trabalho. Nesse sentido foi possível verificar uma contração dos rendimentos reais, além da intensificação do trabalho e da alteração do perfil dos aeronautas, sobretudo na redução dos vínculos de trabalho de longa duração. Observamos que dentre os aeronautas, os comissários de bordo absorveram os maiores impactos, tanto pela elevação da rotatividade, como pela contração dos rendimentos reais e pelo aumento dos vínculos de trabalho de curta duração. Diante desse cenário, de forte instabilidade e de pesada ofensiva das empresas aéreas, buscando flexibilizar as relações de trabalho e reduzir custos, os trabalhadores conseguiram resistir, o Sindicato dos Aeronautas-SNA conseguiu preservar a regulamentação da categoria, bem como o padrão das negociações coletivas, ainda que esse período tenha-se notabilizado pela fragilidade sindical (baixa sindicalização e descolamento da base) e pela fragmentação da representação dos trabalhadores do setor. / Abstract: In this thesis we analyze the changes in the air transport sector in Brazil between 1990 and 2006 as well as the main impacts on labor relations in the sector. To understand these changes, we initially analyze the airline industry since the creation of the first companies, the formation of its regulatory framework, until the period of intense movements of expansion and contraction of the sector. In a more recent period, we seek to draw a parallel among three aspects: macroeconomic, regulatory, and those associated to management strategies adopted by airlines. Considering this scenario, we established a brief description of employment in the sector, with emphasis on the category (Flight Deck Crew and Cabin Crew member), analyzing also the representation of the class and collective bargaining occurred in between 1990 and 2006. It was possible to observe that these changes had affected the air traffic sector in a decisive way. The business performance, as inferred by air traffic, had presented higher growth rates than the GDPgrowth. This good result was driven by demand in the domestic market (ass-km used), which grew 174% in the period. This expansion assured the domestic segment greater participation in relation to the international segment. Nevertheless major airline companies that have operated in the domestic market in the 1990s, as Transbrasil, Varig and Vasp, have disappeared. Varig, after a long agony, was finally absorbed by the group GOL. This radical change did not affect the strong concentration of the sector, which continued with at least two major airlines, snapping up about 90% of the domestic market. We must emphasize also that this period brought to fore a profound change, characterized by the general reduction of total operating costs, launching of new products/services, customer segmentation, technological advances and significant increase in productivity. Never the less the adjustments described above affected workers, causing a precarization of work relations. In this sense, it could be seen a contraction in real incomes, besides na intensification of the working journey. Changes on the employees profile were experienced, especially because of the reduction of working ties of long duration. We noticed that among the category, flight attendants category absorbed the greatest impact, by the increase in turnover, by the contraction in real incomes and also by the increase of short-term employment bonds. Facing this scenario, of strong instability and of heavy offensive by the airlines companies, seeking more flexible employment relationships and reduced costs, the workers were able to resist. The union of category (Flight Deck Crew and Cabin Crew member) -SNA has managed to preserve the rules of the class, as well as the pattern of collective negotiations, although this period has became notorious by a weak union (low unionization and detachment of the base), the fragmentation of worker representation in the sector. / Mestrado / Economia Social e do Trabalho / Mestre em Desenvolvimento Econômico

M.Cur. (Psychiatric Nursing) / In an airways community, an external factor is the fact that the men are absent from home for long periods, especially the international pilots. The result is that the wives have to take charge of the household. There is an interaction between the wives' internal and external environments. Internal factors that can influence the wives' quest for wholeness and which stern from the above-mentioned statement, are : *The wife becomes isolated due to the fact that she has to rely on herself. * She has more responsibility, has a variety of roles to play, and is the central person in the family. * She experiences high stress levels and great demands are made on her, so that she has to resort to defence mechanisms such as aggression, isolation, rationalization, displacement and denial. An external factor that specifically influences the wife and family's quest for wholeness, is the limited resources that are available to them, especially in terms of her husband, friends and family because the airways community is a subculture on its own. While I was participating in an interpersonal skills course for the wives of international pilots presented at the Rand Afrikaans University, I noticed that the women showed suppressed aggression and that they used denial and rationalization as defence mechanisms. Labile emotions were also experienced by them. The fact that the husband as a help and source of support is not at home causes the wife to experience internal discomfort, and interferes with her quest for wholeness. The research question that originated from the above mentioned data was : "'What in the experiential world of wives of pilots can on the one hand cause them to be vulnerable to mental illness and thus interfere with their quest for wholeness, and on the other hand what 'can facilitate their quest for wholeness! The aim of this study is to explore and to describe the experiences of wives of pilots who undertake international flights, and to compile guidelines for enriching the mental health of couples of whom the husband is regularly absent.

In South Africa, the issue of lack of black pilot skills is a most talked about topic in commercial airlines. Airlines need to find the right set of skills and attitude to operate safely and successfully. Airline safety remains a topic of discussion, therefore airlines need ensure robustness of their selection processes. There are many requirements that a person has to meet before s/he can be offered a first officer job at an airline. The majority of the pilots in South Africa are white males. The study aimed to determine if there are statistically significant differences in cognitive ability test results between Black and White applicants for pilot positions with a South Africa airline. The test battery included a verbal reasoning test, numerical reasoning test, visual thinking, abstract reasoning test, spatial reasoning test, short term memory test, monitoring ability test, hand-eye coordination, sense of orientation test, reactivity test, and a multi-tasking test. The data were extracted with permission from a database maintained on behalf of the airline by an online test provider and subjected to a statistical analysis using measures of central tendency, and spread, in order to report on the significance of the differences between the groups. There is strong evidence that the White group performed better than the Black group on the majority of the tests. It is recommended that further research is done in order to determine the causes of these differences. A comparative study of results on other airlines’ recruitment selection tests and an exploratory study of the impact of socio-economic factors, education quality and language on cognitive ability tests are recommended.

M.A. (Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract