CERES :: Browsing by Author "Muir, Helen"

Browsing by Author "Muir, Helen"

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Open Access
Aviation maintenance in multicultural settings : the challenges of cultural tolerance and of employees' maintenance resource management/human factors (MRM/HF) awareness
(Cranfield University, 2001-10) Al-Harabi, Ali; Snow, John; Muir, Helen
This thesis deals with two major issues, the first is the multicultural nature of many Aircraft Maintenance Technicians (AMTs) teams and the way in which cross-cultural communication and/or barriers to communication might affect teams' performance; and the second is the practice of Maintenance Resource Management/Human Factors (MRM/HF) in developing countries. Using the questionnaire method, this research examines the opinions of AMTs and maintenance supervisors from eight maintenance organisations regarding their attitudes to colleagues from other nations and cultures, and how this might affect their performance in the workplace. It also seeks to probe the respondents' attitudes to, for example, stress, responsibility, attitude to authority and handling conflict, considering these opinions alongside the national and cultural backgrounds of the participants. In order to do this, the respondents themselves were organised into different "culture groups" with the national characteristics of the groups being defined according to Hofstede's ideas of individualistic and collectivistic societies. The thesis begins from the premise that most AMTs demonstrate greater individualistic tendencies than airline pilots, and while their individualism may be partly traceable to the signatory authority of A&P, other factors, such as education, training and working/ socialising with Westerners, are also important influences. This study aims to show that a large contingent of AMTs and maintenance supervisors from collectivistic cultures share many of the attitudes and work goals of individualists. For example, this study will show that AMTs and maintenance supervisors from most collectivistic cultures lean towards a preference for a command style that is closer to the egalitarian pole than to the hierarchical one; tend to reject the idea of blind obedience to supervisors; tend to believe that technical merit, not social status or good connections, makes for successful managers; lean towards the acceptance of only a modicum of rules to deal with the issue of uncertainty in the workplace; tend to favour work goals that pertain to their personal needs and career aspirations, etc. The study also sheds light on AMTs and maintenance supervisors' belief systems, inter-ethnic stereotypes and feuds in the workplace, and on that basis, constructs profiles of the eight aviation maintenance organisations previously mentioned. This also addresses the question of whether these companies have met the cultural diversity and MRMawareness challenges. The analysis specifically provides answers to the fundamental questions of this study, such as whether AMTs and maintenance supervisors from some collectivistic cultural groups do, in fact, have attitudes and work goals that are similar to those of AMTs and maintenance supervisors from individualistic cultural groups; whether ANITs, as a professional group, are actually more individualistic than are airline pilots from the same countries in attitudes and work goals; to what extent ANITs' work-related attitudes and values are universal, or are influenced by their national cultures; whether placing AMTs from different national cultures in the same work teams has deleterious effects on the functioning of an aviation organisation; whether multicultural teams face insurmountable problems as functioning units because of stereotypes, discrimination, and other ills; whether the management of aviation maintenance organisations has been meeting the challenges of cultural diversity effectively, i. e. whether management has minimised cultural diversity as a potential performance barrier, and has, instead, begun to mine value-added potential of cultural diversity; and whether aviation maintenance organisations have met the NIRM-awareness challenge.
Open Access
Cabin Air Sampling Study Functionality Test.
(Cranfield University School of Engineering, 2008-01) Muir, Helen; Walton, Christopher; McKeown, Rebecca
The Department for Transport (DFT), on behalf of the Government’s Aviation Health Working Group (AHWG), commissioned Cranfield University to organise, manage and deliver a functionality test of a variety of air sampling devices capable of detecting a wide range of compounds in a cabin air environment. The functionality test was to be the preliminary stage of a major monitoring study of the cabin air environment, which the Department intends to conduct.
Open Access
The contribution of ethical concepts to the development of professional applied psychology
(Cranfield University, 2009) Kwiatkowski, Richard; Turnbull James, Kim; Muir, Helen
In this PhD by publication, the author’s work concerning what it is to be a psychologist operating - sometimes simultaneously - within different ethical domains will be examined using conference papers, journal publications and book chapters. This material, which spans a period of 20 years, demonstrates a fundamental concern with the normative ethical question of “what we ought to do” as psychologists in complex situations; it will be argued that this work has contributed to the academic debate and influenced policy and thus practice. In order to position the body of work, and to introduce Codes of Ethics (which seek to operationalise ethics within prescribed domains), the thesis begins by introducing normative ethics. It is argued that psychology’s stance is essentially deontological, whilst organisations are utilitarian in orientation. This implicit tension is addressed in the author’s contributions, which are examined within their (historic) academic context using a comparison of the British Psychological Society’s 1985 and the significantly revised 2006 Code of Ethics. These codes, rather than the more usual positioning within one specific literature, are used to provide a coherent narrative concerning the development of the author’s thinking in this domain, though, necessarily, different overlapping academic literatures are accessed depending on context. The cumulative academic contribution of the published work has been to advance ethical ideas in some areas of professional applied psychology. For example, in the 1985 code, the complexity of operating within organisational contexts was barely acknowledged; this has now significantly changed. The body of work examined here has emphasised how psychologists must consciously and deliberately coexist and act The contribution of ethical concepts to the development of professional applied psychology within overlapping, and sometimes competing, professional and organisational ethical contexts, domains and philosophical positions. In this synoptic piece, after the presentation, positioning, and examination of the contribution of extant published material, possible future directions for research and practice are indicated. For instance, preliminary material will be presented suggesting that, in occupational psychology, where complex differing ethical perspectives are present, public ethical debate appears to be relatively neglected; some hypothesis are presented. More theoretically, areas for development include the extension of recent philosophical ethical ideas to these particular domains of applied psychology, including thinking that suggests that ethical considerations precede other kinds of social obligation. Finally, and linking the academic more firmly to practice and policy, a brief theoretical examination of the possible impact of statutory registration on different branches of psychology is briefly attempted, and potential practical and philosophical ethical consequences for UK psychologists and psychology are briefly outlined.
Open Access
Factors influencing participation in screening and clinical trials
(Cranfield University, 1988-11) Asch, Rachel E.; Muir, Helen; Muir, John
The reported research was an investigation of attitudes and beliefs associated with participation in screening programmes and clinical trials, carried out by general practitioners. Particular focus was given to cardiovascular risk-reduction. The work comprised two main studies. The preliminary study was entirely exploratory, designed to guage public attitudes towards GP involvement with preventive screening programmes and clinical research; and to identify the range of variables associated with participation in such projects. The subsequent study utilised a more formal approach in which the Behavioural Intention Model was utilised to evaluate the power of influencing factors. Both studies employed self-completion questionnaires, developed from preliminary in-depth interview data. For the first study instrument distribution was effected by personal approach, for the second study postal distribution was employed. In all, 1,037 respondents contributed to the surveys - 442 to the preliminary exploration and 695 to the follow-on study. These represented response rates of approximately 65% and 36% respectively. The main findings were that attitudes towards screening were generally favourable, though there was less conformity in attitudes expressed towards clinical trials. These findings were reflected in reported participatory intentions. No evidence was found of any factors which might pose widespread barr i ers to screen ing part ic i pa t ion, though some potent ia 1 deterren ts were identified for older women. It was also noted that other potential deterrents may have been masked by the 'middle class' bias of the sample. Major deterrents to trial entry were identified as worries about: sideeffects, acquired resistance, discontinuation of current effective medications and lack of adequate information. These all interacted with the 'guinea pig' factor. Response rates and responses associated with medical and non-medical sampling sources were also discussed; and consideration was made of the general utility of the Behavioural Intention Model for research of this kind.
Open Access
Factors influencing passenger evacuation from smaller transport aircraft including the operation of the Type-III exit
(Cranfield University, 2008) Wilson, Rebecca; Muir, Helen
Accident reports and experimental research have documented difficulties when operating and evacuating through overwing emergency exits. The factors influencing exit operation and evacuation from smaller regional transport aircraft are less understood as previous studies have focussed solely on large single aisle aircraft. Experiment One examined the influence of a smaller interior configuration and the seating configuration close to the exit on evacuation rates. The results indicated no effect for interior configuration or vertical projection. Experiment Two investigated the influence of interior configuration, a modification to the exit operating handle and the exit operator’s briefing on exit operation time. The results showed the exit was operated significantly faster when an in-depth briefing was delivered. No significant differences were attributable to the operating handle mechanism or the interior configuration. Experiment Three investigated a major modification to the overwing exit mechanism on exit operation time. The results showed the exit was operated faster when an automatically opening hatch was installed compared to the traditional plug exit. Experiment Four examined the effect of the placement of the disposed traditional exit hatch on evacuation. The results showed the evacuation rate was significantly slower when the hatch was placed inside the cabin. The experiments have contributed to knowledge regarding exit operation and evacuation from smaller transport aircraft. The benefits of an automatically disposed hatch exit mechanism on a smaller transport aircraft and an in-depth exit operator’s briefing in both large and small aircraft interior configurations have been shown. The work has highlighted that the interior configuration of the smaller transport aircraft, in particular the restricted headroom, is perceived as a hindrance. Finally the work has quantified the negative impact of an inappropriately placed exit hatch inside a smaller transport aircraft cabin. Recommendations for further research in evacuation and exit operation from smaller transport aircraft are suggested.
Open Access
Factors influencing performance of aircraft safety procedures and perceptions of accident survivability
(Cranfield University, 1992-05) Fennel, P. J.; Muir, Helen
The primary objectives of the research programme described in this thesis ( and commissioned by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority) were to evaluate the effectiveness of safety cards for communicating safety information to passengers and to assess the influence of possible alternative styles of safety briefing on passenger attention. These objectives were investigated in two separate simulated pre-warned ditching situations on board a stationary aircraft. Participants' knowledge of the less complicated aspects of safety information, such as the location of oxygen masks or how to inflate the lifejacket, was generally high but comprehension of more complex procedures, such as the correct method of donning the lifejacket, was more limited. A visual demonstration was shown to significantly increase the likelihood that participants would know the correct method of donning the lifejacket, operating the oxygen mask and adopting the brace position correctly. A number of human factors problems, most frequently due to lack of specific information, were also identified as adversely affecting participants' ability to carry out safety procedures. Passengers' motivation to pay attention to safety information would be likely to be enhanced if briefings were more meaningful to them, for example, personalised and less repetitive, or if they were given the opportunity to practise safety procedures in a low stress situation. Participants' opinions indicated that emphasis on the importance of passengers knowing how to operate i terns of safety equipment would not put the majority of passengers off flying and would be likely to encourage attention to safety briefings and cards. The evaluation of the safety cards and briefings indicated that no one card or briefing was more effective overall. Some general principles for the design of safety cards have been suggested, such as the consultation with non-aviation personnel when designing safety cards and the inclusion of brief statements to explain complex procedures. The lack of major differences between the safety briefings may be attributable to the conventional manner in which they were presented suggesting that a different type of presentation style, for example one which personalises or makes the information more meaningful to passengers, would be more likely to encourage attention. A secondary objective of the thesis was to explore the influence of perceived locus of control on passenger comprehension of safety information and on their perceptions of aircraft accident survivability. This was investigated in a survey of airline passengers in addition to the two simulated ditchings. Analysis of a specifically designed locus of control questionnaire indicated that locus of control had only a slight influence on participants' knowledge of safety information and on their perceptions of aircraft accident survivability. The dominant cultural image of aircraft accidents as being non-survivable would appear to obscure any possible influence of locus of control as a predictor of passenger emergency behaviour. Locus of control would appear to be more effectively utilised in situations where cultural definitions are less dominant and perceptions of chance and skill influences are more equally balanced. Air travel was considered to be the safest form of transport but aircraft accidents were perceived to be less survivable than accidents involving other forms of transport. Participants also tended to underestimate their chances of survival in a range of potential aircraft accident situations. In order to improve the accuracy of passengers' perceptions of aircraft accident survivability a more realistic image of aircraft safety is needed. The stability of perceptions of locus of control and the survivability of aircraft accidents observed in the participant groups indicates that attitudes and beliefs are firmly entrenched in the general population and that major efforts will be required to influence attitudes and beliefs. Any attempt to change attitudes towards aircraft accident survivability would need to begin with improving the media image as the media are the most influential information source in forming public opinion regarding accident survivability.
Open Access
Flood Disaster - The Role of Resources and Appraisal in Loss and Coping
(Cranfield University, 2004-02) Quinn, Sarah L.; Muir, Helen
Using the Conservation of Resources model by Hobfoll (1989,1998) and the Cognitive- Appraisal theory by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) this research sought to understand what role resources and appraisal had in a participant's experience of loss and coping in Northamptonshire or Yorkshire due to being flood affected. Samples from two UK floods, the Easter 1998 and Autumn 2000 events, were selected and twenty-four in-depth interviews, one case study and two focus groups were conducted using a qualitative methodological approach and one semi-qualitative questionnaire was developed and distributed to 250 properties. The research aimed to establish which authors work was more appropriate towards understanding an individual's experience of flooding and any subsequent loss or was it better to combine the two. Then to understand if a single resource could contain both an objective and a subjective component that could be lost as a result of a flood. If this last aim was supported, then two further objectives were to be investigated; If a single resource contained dual components, did the objective or subjective element of the loss have the greater impact upon the individual. Finally, if a single resource contained dual components, how did the individual cope with loss of the objective element compared to loss of the subjective element? This research concluded that it was more appropriate to combine both theories to provide a comprehensive understanding of flooding. The five resources categories, object, condition, personal characteristic, energy and social support all demonstrated to varying degrees a duality of loss, in that one resource could have both an objective and subjective element that could be lost. Both types of loss had an impact but subjective losses appeared to affect participants longer. Participants used problem-solving, emotion-focused and disengagement-focused coping activities but there was a weak pattern of loss to coping employed.
Open Access
An investigation of the factors influencing passengers' ability to operate exits on civil aircraft
(Cranfield University, 1999) Mills, Ann Martine; Muir, Helen
Type III exits are a useful means of escape and they exist on a large proportion of the airline fleet. Evidence from aircraft accidents and previous research indicates that many passengers experience great difficulty in operating and evacuating through an overwing exit. There are two different approaches to improving passenger operating performance; these being improvement and simplification of the task itself or provision of clear instruction or practice for the passenger seated next to the exit. The first experiment investigated the impact of improvement to the Type III exit mechanism and practice on participant operation speed and accuracy. The results of a four-way Analysis of Variance indicated that both speed and accuracy of operation improved as a result of the exit redesign. A Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance also showed that the provision of practice led to a significant reduction in operation times. However, practising the operation of the current design of the Type III exit failed to improve participant speed of operation to the level achieved by participants when operating the modified exit for the first time. The results from the second study which investigated the impact of variations in safety briefings on participants' speed and accuracy of operation of the traditional Type III exit clearly indicated the benefits of providing some form of instruction. Allowing participants to watch a `fellow passenger' on a video performing the task led to quicker and more accurate exit operation. Variations in pre-flight briefing card design were also shown to improve operation accuracy. The implications of these results for the future development of self help exits, provision of training and design of briefing material are discussed.
Open Access
Managerial perceptions of the personal and career transitions of redundant executives and suvivors of redundancy
(Cranfield University, 2000-08) Doherty, Noeleen; Tyson, Shaun; Muir, Helen
Although redundancy became widespread in the late 2Wh century, research was lacking on the perceived impact of redundancy and redundancy management policies on the individual. During the 1980s redundancy became more prevalent for managerial populations and outplacement was used increasingly for redundant executives. Survey data gathered in 1990 indicated that, the practical nature of outplacement, and the help in overcoming personal and career transitions, were valued by redundant executives. Redundant executives were dissatisfied with the fact that outplacement did not always secure them a job. Another survey in 1992 identified the corporate rationale for outplacement policies. Perceived benefits included professional, objective help to facilitate the transition for redundant individuals and a potentially ameliorating effect on the survivors of redundancy. However, a survey in 1994 indicated that companies were more focussed on managing organisational needs than the personal or career transition issues of survivors. The research suggested that outplacement had become a normative HR policy response which may have been instrumental in setting new parameters for the psychological contracts of redundant executives, such as re-balancing work and non-work life, and reviewing commitment and attachment to a corporate entity. For the survivors of redundancy, a psychological contract based on a looser association appeared to be the corporate offer. As highlighted by the study of the employment deal for graduates in the mid 1990s, against the backdrop of large scale redundancy, companies were quite ekplicitly offering developmental opportunities rather than a career, even to those destined for senior management levels. These combined data signalled shifts in the employment relationship. This thesis describes and analyses some of the apparent ambiguities between theory and practice relating to redundancy management, and outcomes at the individual level. It seeks clarification through the development of a model of redundancy management.
Open Access
Sequential traumatisation in the police
(Cranfield University, 2000-01) Peters-Bean, Kyron M.; Muir, Helen; Guppy, Andrew
There is a paucity of research into traumatic incidents concerning police workers (Hart et al. 1995). There are also few studies relating the prolonged and repetitive exposure to traumatic stressors, or 'sequential trauma' (Gersons and earlier 1990; 1992). Whilst it was acknowledged that organisational stress contributes to adaptive or maladaptive well being, dependent on transactional variables between the person and their environment, it was also argued that further along the stress continuum, there exists gross stress reactions similar to Post Traumatic stress Disorders (PTSD; DSM-IIIR; American Psychiatric Association 1989) and newly revised PTSD criterion (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association 1994). However PTSD exclusively relates to a single event of overwhelming magnitude (Davidson and Foa 1991), whilst sequential trauma relates to mUltiple event exposure (Peters-Bean 1990b; 1996). It was argued that the magnitude of stimuli in trauma is not as important as the management of the trauma. Rather trauma is an artefact of person-environment transactions and the operation of 'traumatic signatures' which can be used adaptively or maladaptively in certain scenarios. Models of sequential trauma were proposed and tested. These notions are discussed in relation to three studies: an interview booklet survey (N=89); a Metropolitan Police Survey (N=134) and a Main U.K. Forces Survey (N=528) Results and implications for police workers and further research was discussed. It was found that trauma signatures may possibly assist in the processes involved with encountering trauma, primary and secondary appraisal mechanisms, coping post-event and physiological and psychological well-being with reference to individual and organisational outcomes.

Browsing by Author "Muir, Helen"

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