Certain new realities, such as the liberalisation of the skies and increased air traffic in South Africa are bound to test the existing safety strategies, regulations and maintenance of standards. In order to obtain a picture of the future architecture and the standard of aviation safety in South Africa, the mental models of stakeholders in the industry were investigated in a qualitative, study. A qualitative interpretive research design was followed. The research question was: What are the mental models of key stakeholders in the aviation safety environment and how does this need to be accounted for in the development of an aviation safety strategy, in a Southern African context? In order to obtain a broad spectrum of the social constructs of key stakeholders with regard to aviation safety and to enhance the trustworthiness of the information, three research interventions or information gathering processes were applied. These were the individual interviews through Kelly’s Repertory Grid (Rep Grid) technique, outcomes analysis of the job of a safety manager through a focus group process and a scenario development process (in this sequence). Data was then considered in relation to certain theoretical perspectives, as well as realities in the aviation safety environment in Southern Africa. The study identified pertinent gaps between the mental models elicited from research participants during individual interventions and those elicited during group interventions, as well as a disparity between their mental models and the demands of the aviation safety environment in Southern Africa and the international community. The participants’ individual mental models (or theories in use) focused more on micro systems and symptoms of “unsafety” than the broader systemic relationships and problems. Tendencies towards silo-thinking and single loop learning were indicated. In contrast with the individual mental models, the collective or shared mental models of the participants, elicited during group interventions, represented a more systemic view and a more effective or desired model with regard to aviation safety. The broader system together with its interrelated elements, entropy and unpredictability, as well as critical elements that need to be accounted for in an aviation strategy, were identified. These were, amongst others, effective coordinated regulation and safety oversight on national and regional level; risk management; international recognition; legitimacy; authorisation and market access for airlines; maintenance of standards; international cooperation; and training. It also became clear that safety cannot be understood and managed by focussing on Newtonian laws without a proper appreciation of human factors. Other important perspectives that were identified are the need for the establishment of a study-field for aviation psychology and effective human factors training; as well as the need for a regional regulatory function in Southern Africa. / Prof.J.S Uys
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:10575 |
| Date | 22 October 2007 |
| Creators | de Beer, Johan |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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