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Remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), commonly referred to as Drones, have evolved rapidly and provide new opportunities for transportation and goods delivery in urban and suburban areas.  This new transportation source will lead to a  new environmental noise source experience by all those within and outside buildings. 

The technology and range of uses for drones are developing rapidly  but the noise control policies and strategies for managing the noise are struggling to keep up with the pace.  In part this is due to the lack of knowledge of the effects of this new type of noise on people and in part on the knowledge of how this noise should be considered within the context of the mix of transportation  in the environment.

Studies in these areas need to be multidisciplinary with collaboration between supervisors from the School of Aviation and from the School of Built  Environment.  Those undertaking studies in these areas for a PhD, may also consider to apply for the Anita B Lawrence Scholarship  (/arts-design-architecture/study-with-us/scholarships-and-prizes)

Category: Human Response  and Aviation Management

Supervisor: Prof Brett Molesworth (Aviation), Scientia Prof Deo Prasad (Built Environment) and Hon Assoc Prof Marion Burges 

Level: MPhil or PhD

Status: Current

Category: Human factors

Researcher: Dr Hang Zhou

Supervisor: Dr Brett Molesworth

Level:Ìý±Ê³ó¶ÙÌý

Status:Ìý°ä´Ç³¾±è±ô±ð³Ù±ð»å

Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) is a system-based method used to understand the interactions between humans, the organisation and technology in complex systems.  

By finding out the discrepancies between how work is supposed to be done (work as imagined, WAI) and how work is carried out (work as done, WAD), FRAM can help identify the variability in systems. FRAM has been used in a wide range of domains, such as aviation, healthcare and construction.  

Current users of FRAM have typically employed qualitative methods (such as interviews), which can be difficult to implement and interpret the results and can’t easily be used with large groups of system users. The few research studies which have employed quantitative methods to use FRAM have focused on data from simulation rather than from real working scenarios. 

This project proposes the development and testing of a questionnaire methodology to help to develop the FRAM net and understand the interactions between functions in real working scenarios. Results from the study may provide a new and simple methodology for system users and other relevant stakeholders to understand and monitor the system working procedure. 

Category: Human factors 

Researcher: Wulin Tian 

Supervisor: Dr Carlo Caponecchia 

Level: ±Ê³ó¶ÙÌý

Status: °ä³Ü°ù°ù±ð²Ô³ÙÌý

Remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) have evolved rapidly over the past two decades, largely as a result of the manned military and commercial aviation technologies advanced over the past century.  

The removal of the human pilot from the physical aircraft cockpit has allowed new missions to be flown eg. high-risk environments, inaccessible locations, emergency response or long duration search and rescue. However, humans have not been removed from the system.  

Accident rates have been suggested as being up to 10 times higher when compared with traditionally piloted aircrafts. Reduced or unavailable sensory cueing presented to remote pilots operating the RPAS, such as real-time visual and auditory feedback from the aircraft, is thought to be a contributing factor.  

This study will measure the performance of remote pilots under different levels of available sensory cueing and seek to better understand how these factors influence the ability of human operators within the RPA system.

Category: Human factors 

Researcher: Dr Matthew Dunn 

Supervisor: Dr Brett Molesworth 

Level: ±Ê³ó¶ÙÌý

Status: °ä´Ç³¾±è±ô±ð³Ù±ð»åÌý

Category: Human factors 

Researcher: Curtis Calabrese 

Supervisor: Dr Brett Molesworth

Level: ±Ê³ó¶ÙÌý

Status: °ä³Ü°ù°ù±ð²Ô³ÙÌý

The aim of this research is to develop an alternative, sociologically based approach, largely drawn from Erving Goffman's (1974) Frame Analysis and assess whether it can be used to effectively describe, analyse and discuss SA. 

This work establishes that Goffman's (1974) frame analysis theoretically supports the major underlying concepts of the SA construct. SA is shown to be a meaningful and observable social phenomenon. Additionally, a method derived from frame analysis is used to examine and analyse the observed intersubjective SA processes. Lastly, practitioner-based notions of SA are shown to be equivalent to that of ‘frame’.

Category: Human factors

Researcher: Dr Simon Henderson

Supervisor: Emeritus Professor Jason Middleton

Level: PhD

Status: Completed

Commercial aviation in Australia has an enviable safety record, however, the General Aviation (GA) industry’s record is less impressive. Commercial pilots in Australia will by-and-large be trained in the GA industry, it is a critical link in the training of pilots, influencing them in the formative period of their careers.  

This research investigates the attitude and behaviour of pilots in this stage of their career to determine whether their attitude and behaviour are inappropriate or if there are any unexpected attitudes prevalent.  

Additionally, the correlation between attitudes, risk perception, risk tolerance and behaviour in pilots is poorly represented in the literature. Therefore, this research investigates the attitude towards risk, the perception and tolerance of risk and the risk behaviours of Australian commercial pilot candidates. 

Category: Human factors 

Researcher: Dr Justin Drinkwater 

Supervisor: Dr Brett Molesworth 

Level: ±Ê³ó¶ÙÌý

Status: °ä´Ç³¾±è±ô±ð³Ù±ð»åÌý

Various medical error taxonomies have been proposed in the literature. It is possible that because different medical error taxonomies utilise different categories, such taxonomies classify different information.  

This thesis reviewed published medical error taxonomies using a human factors perspective. It was found that two-thirds of the taxonomies classified systemic factors and only a third utilised theoretical error concepts.  

Additionally, medical error taxonomies utilising different terminologies may not share information effectively, most probably because some information may be lost during the integration process. This thesis then examined the difference between generic and domain-specific medical error taxonomies.

Category: Human factors 

Researcher: Dr Ibrahim Taib 

Supervisor: Dr Carlo Caponecchia 

Level: ±Ê³ó¶ÙÌý

Status: °ä´Ç³¾±è±ô±ð³Ù±ð»åÌý

Human factors and ergonomics (HFE) are an applied scientific discipline with a strong emphasis on evidence-based practice. However, there is often a 'research-practice gap'. This is characterised by ongoing tension between researchers and practitioners and low research utilisation in practice. 

A series of studies were conducted to examine the nature and extent of this issue. 

Study one 

Study one was an international survey of 587 HFE professionals to examine the nature of the research-practice gap. Results showed that practitioners are more likely to perceive access and applicability of research to be barriers to applying research findings in practice compared to researchers.  

Study two and three 

Study two and study three then examined the extent of the research-practice gap in an international survey of 309 HFE professionals. Study two investigated HFE professionals and evaluations of journal article attributes. 

Study three investigated their selection of journal articles in an online setting. Results of study two and study three showed that both researchers and practitioners in HFE perceive journal article attributes relating to practical significance to be much more important than attributes relating to theoretical significance, and researchers and practitioners make similar selections of journal articles to read.  

These results suggest that the research-practice gap may not be as large as previously thought. More importantly, these results suggest the possibility of a theory-research gap in HFE.  

Study four 

Study four examined trends in the research published in HFE peer-reviewed academic journals. A content analysis of 425 journal articles published in HFE and applied ergonomics from 1960 to 2010 was conducted.  

Despite increased contribution from researchers, the published research had a stronger focus on practical applications compared to theoretical implications. Publication practices in HFE could be improved to enhance both the use of theory and specification of the practical application of findings.  

These results suggest that the heavy emphasis on the link between research and practice may have been misguided and more attention should be given to the link between theory and research to ensure that HFE practice rests on firm scientific foundations. 

Category: Human factors 

Researcher: Dr Amy Chung 

Supervisor: Professor Ann Williamson 

Level: ±Ê³ó¶ÙÌý

Status: °ä´Ç³¾±è±ô±ð³Ù±ð»åÌý

In this research, a MSc or PhD candidate will investigate the influence of panic on effective decision-making on the flight deck. Research will include both a literature review and primary data collection using the school's flight simulator. 

Category: Human factors 

Researcher: ±·/´¡Ìý

Supervisor: Dr Brett Molesworth 

Level:  PhD, MSc

Status: ¹ó³Ü³Ù³Ü°ù±ðÌý

This project will explore if people operating in high consequence environments such as aviation withhold from reporting safety-related information, or selectively report safety matters due to a lack of trust in ‘no-blame’ reporting systems.  

This will explore if safety information databases and safety management systems truly reflect all the hazards that are known by personnel in the operational environment due to the possibility of non-reporting. 

The outcomes of this study aim to reveal the underlying attitudes and behaviours of individuals working on the ‘frontline’. This will enable people responsible for safety in private enterprises or government to determine the level of trust personnel hold in their safety systems and reporting policies. This will provide some measure on the success of these systems in mitigating risk in the operational environment. 

Category: Human factors 

Researcher: Dr Kevin McMurtrie 

Supervisor: Dr Brett Molesworth 

Level: ±Ê³ó¶ÙÌý

Status: °ä´Ç³¾±è±ô±ð³Ù±ð»åÌý