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H C Foushee

Publications and source records attributed to H C Foushee.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

How effective is cockpit resource management training? Exploring issues in evaluating the impact of programs to enhance crew coordination.

The question "Is cockpit resource management effective?" has been asked frequently in the years since 1979 when a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Industry workshop addressed the concepts of crew coordination and effective utilization of all available resources in flight operations (Cooper, White, & Lauber, 1980). If one looks at the proliferation of cockpit resource management (CRM) training programs in domestic and foreign, civil and military aviation, and the enormous investment in time and money that they entail, it would appear that the question has been answered in the affirmative. It is our position, however, that the question remains open and that empirical evidence is just beginning to accumulate.

Accidents, Aviation↗

Communication as group process media of aircrew performance.

This study of group process was motivated by a high-fidelity flight simulator project in which aircrew performance was found to be better when the crew had recently flown together. Considering recent operating experience as a group-level input factor, aspects of the communication process between crewmembers (Captain and First Officer), were explored as a possible mediator to performance. Communication patterns were defined by a speech act typology adapted for the flightdeck setting and distinguished crews that had previously flown together (FT) from those that had not flown together (NFT). A more open communication channel with respect to information exchange and validation and greater First Officer participation in task-related topics was shown by FT crews while NFT crews engaged in more non-task discourse, a speech mode less structured by roles and probably serving a more interpersonal function. Relationships between the speech categories themselves, representing linguistic, and role-related interdependencies provide guidelines for interpreting the primary findings.

Aviation↗

Communication indices of crew coordination.

The relationship between communication patterns and performance in 10 two-person flightcrews is explored with the aim of identifying speech variations which differentiate low- and high-error full mission simulator flights. Verbal data, transcribed from the videotaped performances, are treated as interactive sequences of speech events in which statements spoken by one crewmember are considered within the context of the other crewmember's prior and subsequent speech. Specific speech patterns characterized each crew, but the overriding findings included: a) marked homogeneity of patterns characterizing low-error crews, interpreted as the adoption of a standard form of communicating, and b) heterogeneity of patterns characterizing high-error crews, interpreted as the relative absence of a conventionalized form. Because conventions are regularities which confirm the expectations of those involved, predictability of crewmember behavior should be greater when standard conventions are followed. We conclude that such a practice can facilitate the coordination process and enhance crew performance.

Aerospace Medicine↗

Assessing fatigue.

Despite impressive advances in aircraft technology over the past several decades and an overall decline in the airline accident rate since the introduction of turbine-powered aircraft, flight crew performance problems continue to dominate air transport accident statistics. Researchers have offered many hypotheses to explain this finding, and interest in pilot fatigue has stimulated a large volume of laboratory research. Much of this work, however, is difficult to generalize and to apply to the real world of flight operations, and researchers disagree about the extent and operational significance of fatigue-related reductions in pilot performance. As a result, in 1980 Congress asked the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to undertake a comprehensive research program to assess whether fatigue-related problems are prevalent in long- and short-haul flying. The two major goals of this project are: (1) to assess the psychophysiological effects on pilot performance of flying various types of flight and duty cycles, and (2) to determine the operational significance to flight safety and efficiency of flying these flight and duty cycles.

Aerospace Medicine↗

Cockpit resource management: exploring the attitude-performance linkage.

Measured attitudes regarding cockpit management were contrasted for pilots whose line flying performance was independently evaluated by Check Airmen as above or below average. A highly significant discriminant function was obtained indicating that these attitudes are significant predictors of behavior. The performance of 95.7% of the pilots was correctly classified by the analysis. Implications of the results for cockpit resource management training and pilot selection are discussed.

Aerospace Medicine↗

The effects of cognitive and behavioral control on post-stress performance.

A study was designed to investigate the effects of behavioral and cognitive control on post-stress performance. Half of the subjects exposed to loud unpredictable noise bursts were given "behavioral" control (a button which would terminate the noise), while the other half had no behavioral control. In addition, subjects were provided with one of three levels of feedback (success, failure, or no feedback) regarding their performance during the noise. It was expected that information about performance would provide subjects with an increased sense of "cognitive" control which would affect their appraisal of stressful events and their later performance. The results indicated that subjected that subjects given feedback performed better on subsequent tasks than those given no feedback. Perceived behavioral control had little effect on performance. The causal attributions made by subjects were used to interpret these effects. These findings were viewed as supportive of Averill's notion than various types of control are related to stress in a complex fashion. The data may also support Abramson, Seligman, and Teasdale's reformulation of learned helplessness theory.

Adult↗

Organization, selection, and training of crews for extended spaceflight: findings from analogs and implications.

Ample research evidence from space analogs points to the crucial role that teamwork plays in the performance of small groups in isolation and confinement. This paper surveys findings about the impacts of group behavior and social interaction on crew morale, coordination, and productivity. Implications for the organization, selection, and training of crews for extended spaceflight are discussed.

Astronauts↗