Thesis. 1975. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Arye R. Ephrath. / Ph.D.

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.

General aviation pilots continue to be over represented in aircraft accidents in comparison to their commercial counterparts. Of those general aviation aircraft accidents that occur, a large proportion has been attributed to poor aeronautical decision-making. Previous research suggests that a leading factor that precipitates poor decision-making is an unrealistic assessment of the risks. Contemporary aviation training programmes do not necessarily target risk management as a distinct skill. Rather, it is assumed that risk management skills are acquired through pilots’ interaction with the environment and through the acquisition of factual information relating to the statistical frequency of accidents and/or incidents. The primary aim of this thesis was to examine the utility of various training strategies to improve pilots’ risk management behaviour. Throughout this thesis, it was assumed that pilots’ risk management behaviour would be reflected in their performance during a variety of low-flying activities. Three experiments were conducted, the first of which examined the utility of three different training approaches, where pilots were either cognitively active (i.e., flying a simulated flight and receiving feedback in relation to performance) or cognitively inactive (i.e., reading a newsletter or watching a video) during training. The second experiment examined the impact of cognitive involvement and feedback on individual’s risk management behaviour, while the third examined the extent to which information acquired during a low-flying training flight would generalise to other tasks which differed in terms of cognitive load. The results provided support for a training programme that engaged the pilots cognitively during training. However, the extent to which the information acquired during training will generalise to other tasks appears to be contingent on a number of factors (i.e., memory, experience, and cognitive involvement). The results of this study are discussed in terms of both a theoretical and an applied perspective. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Jonathan A. Grant, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary Program in Russian and East European Studies. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 16, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

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.)--Baylor University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 152-155).

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

Between 1905 and 1915 the aeroplane was tested at exhibitions and became a practical machine. Some observers, however, greeted this technological marvel with ambivalence. Skeptics felt that if the aeroplane could alter common perceptions about natural laws, it might also challenge time honored ideals and attitudes about the nature of man. In response, newspapers and magazines fashioned the aviator's image. The aviator was daring yet responsible, romantic yet reasonable. Some writers and reporters believed that an aviator's self-confidence and high moral character contributed to control in the air. By controlling the aeroplane with mastery and grace, an aviator remained master of the machine and an example of a proper way to adjust to technological changes. Oregonians witnessed significant aviation events between 1905 and 1915. Oregon's newspapers and magazines analyzed the aviator's struggle for control at exhibitions in a manner consistent with coverage in national publications. The aviator was a birdman, a new type of man, triumphant over technology and natural forces, in part because he possessed the noblest human qualities. After 1912 the aviator's image changed. Technological advance made spirals and loops anachronistic. The idea that an aviator was in complete control had been shattered at exhibitions where many had been killed. These deaths did not lessen the aviator's daring appeal, but they did lead to questions about their sanity. With the advent of world War I people could no longer believe that an aviator was a responsible steward for the aeroplane. Governments and businesses took greater interest in the aeroplane, and the aviator's appeal as an individual in a personal struggle for control diminished. Most bibliographical sources consulted were primary. Newspapers, magazines and manuscripts were studied extensively because contemporary accounts focused on cultural responses to the aeroplane. Modern secondary sources often detail technological advances but pay little attention to the aviator's image. This study presents a look at the cultural changes that came with the aeroplane and asserts that the building of the aviator's image was one response to fears about change.