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This paper examines the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike of 1981 and assesses its impact on labor relations in the federal sector. The author finds the root causes of the stoppage in the history of PATCO's relations with the Federal Aviation Administration, the equivocal manner in which the federal government had dealt with previous PATCO strikes, and the ineptness of PATCO's leaders. He argues that PATCO's basic goal was to gain the right to bargain under private sector rules, and that the union would have made considerable progress toward that goal if it had accepted the government's last offer in 1981. The author also describes the international aspects of the strike, including the strong steps taken by the Reagan administration to maintain transoceanic service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses mental health issues that afflict air traffic control operators. The author states that medical officers of a major United States Air Force base have been alarmed by the number of air traffic control operators who exhibited symptoms of free anxiety or psycho-physiologic complaints. He explains that these complaints included the variety of illnesses usually thought of as psychosomatic, such as dizzy spells, a sense of nervousness, and insomnia. He states that this medical problem is a concern for students of administrative science because medical officers found these complaints occurring unbalanced among persons assigned to a specific occupational specialty&mash;air traffic control—as compared with personnel on flying assignments or performing office services.

The article presents an interview with Sara Nelson, flight attendant and president of the U.S. Association of Flight Attendants. Topics discussed include flight attendants, teachers, and nurses as the leaders of the labor movement, the impact of the government shutdown on air trafficcontrollers, and the power of airport workers.

Purpose: There is currently minimal information on the impact of dysphonia secondary to phonotrauma on listeners. Considering the high incidence of voice disorders with professional voice users, it is important to understand the impact of a dysphonic voice on their audiences. Methods: Ninety-one healthy listeners (39 men, 52 women; mean age = 23.62 years) were presented with speech stimuli from 5 healthy speakers and 5 speakers diagnosed with dysphonia secondary to phonotrauma. Dependent variables included processing speed (reaction time [RT] ratio), speech intelligibility, and listener comprehension. Voice quality ratings were also obtained for all speakers by 3 expert listeners. Results: Statistical results showed significant differences between RT ratio and number of speech intelligibility errors between healthy and dysphonic voices. There was not a significant difference in listener comprehension errors. Multiple regression analyses showed that voice quality ratings from the Consensus Assessment Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (Kempster, Gerratt, Verdolini Abbott, Barkmeier-Kraemer, & Hillman, 2009) were able to predict RT ratio and speech intelligibility but not listener comprehension. Conclusions: Results of the study suggest that although listeners require more time to process and have more intelligibility errors when presented with speech stimuli from speakers with dysphonia secondary to phonotrauma, listener comprehension may not be affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper extends research on miscommunication between air traffic controllers and pilots by developing statistical models that predict the outcome of communications within the scope of controller-pilot data communications in the Next Generation Air Transportation environment. A database of controller-pilot voice messages from high and super-high altitude en-route sectors of US airspace is investigated. Emphasis is given to parameters that can be utilized in the voice-only communication, as well as in the mixed media, environment. This allows formulation of reasonable assumptions about the impact of data communications on controller and pilot behavior. The models indicate that the most important factors affecting communications are length and context of the message, entering of an aircraft into a sector, transfer of communication, and radio frequency congestion. The results also suggest that the transmission of non-time critical routine messages via data communications could reduce the number of communication errors and alleviate radio frequency congestion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) will revolutionize the air traffic management system in the United States. NextGen will involve human operators interacting with new technologies in a complex system, making human factors and human–computer interaction considerations a major concern. The present study reports data from a human-in-the-loop simulation that evaluated pilot performance, workload, and situation awareness under one of three plausible NextGen concepts of operation. The concepts of operation differed with respect to the allocation of separation responsibility across human pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCs), and automation. Pilots were asked to employ trajectory-based operations to perform weather avoidance maneuvers, an interval management task, and a continuous descent approach. Depending on the concept being tested, they were also given the responsibility of separation assurance (Concept 1) or received conflict resolutions from an ATC (Concept 2) or automated system (Concept 3). Overall, pilot performance on the various flight tasks was worse in Concept 3 than in Concepts 1 and 2. Although pilot workload did not differ across the three concepts, pilot situation awareness was highest in Concept 1, in which the pilots were given the most responsibilities. These findings suggest that keeping pilots engaged in separation assurance tasks may be preferable to having them rely on automation alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been investigating early warning accident prevention systems in an effort to prevent runway collisions. One system in place is the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS), developed under contract for the FAA. AMASS internal logic is based on computing separation distances among airplanes, and it utilizes prediction models to foresee potential accidents. Research described in this paper shows that neural network models have the capability to accurately predict future separation distances and aircraft positions. Accurate prediction algorithms integrated in safety systems such as AMASS can potentially deliver earlier warnings to air traffic controllers, hence reducing the risk of runway accidents even further. Additionally, more accurate predictions will lower the incidence of false alarms, increasing confidence in the detection system. In this paper, different incipient detection approaches are presented, and several prediction techniques are evaluated using data from one large and busy airport. The main conclusion is that no single approach is good for every possible scenario, but the optimal performance is attained by a combination of the techniques presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed the influence of task and team shared mental models (SMMs) on team effectiveness, as mediated by collective efficacy. Using a sample of 422 air traffic controllers representing 43 Navy teams from land-based towers, task SMMs exhibited a significant linear relationship with team effectiveness, whereas team SMMs did not. Moreover, the interaction of team and task SMMs was positively related to team effectiveness. Collective efficacy was found to mediate the relationship between task SMMs (but not team SMMs or their interaction) and team effectiveness. Results are discussed in terms of the complex nature of SMMs and team outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the use of systems engineering in a collaborative research project to rapidly prototype designs for the friendly marking device (FMD) of joint terminal attack controllers (JTAC) in the U.S. Air Force. The key stakeholders identified during the process of defining the project are cited. Also discussed is the development of the concept of operation for the solution. A decision tool capable of using the limited candidate attribute information is said to be important in the FMD rapid development environment.

The article examines the role of strikes in industrial relations and discusses the 1981 strike of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO). Details are provided about the outcome of the strike and about the hiring of replacement workers by the U.S. government. The author describes the growing number of labor strikes in the U.S. and explores dissatisfaction among American workers. Information is also presented about the effect of the PATCO strike on industrial relations and trade unionism in the U.S.

The Tactical Separation-Assisted Flight Environment (TSAFE) is designed to alert air traffic controllers to imminent conflicts (predicted loss of separation within approximately 3 minutes). It generates constant-velocity ("dead-reckoning") trajectory predictions similar to those generated by Conflict Alert, the legacy system that currently performs the tactical alerting function in the United States. Unlike Conflict Alert, however, it also generates predictions based on pilot intent as specified in the latest flight-plan route and assigned altitude. The intended route is not always known, however, because controllers sometimes neglect to enter route amendments into the host computer. Hence, both the constant-velocity predictions and the flight-plan-based predictions are checked for conflicts. To reduce false alerts, the time horizons of the two predicted routes are a function of the degree of conformance to the current flight-plan route. Alerting performance was tested using archived tracking data for 100 actual operational errors, and TSAFE was found to provide timely warnings significantly more consistently than Conflict Alert. When tested on a sample of general traffic data, TSAFE was found to produce substantially fewer false alerts than Conflict Alert. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

U.S. federal law requires that air traffic control specialists (ATCSs) hired after May 16, 1972 retire at age 56 on the premise that the risk of adverse events such as operational errors (OEs) increases with age (U.S. House of Representatives, 1971). OE count was modeled as a function of en route ATCS age and exposure to test that premise using Poisson regression. The odds of OE involvement for older (age 56 and older) and younger (age 55 or less) ATCSs were equal. These results suggest that the rationale for mandatory retirement of controllers might need to be reexamined through continued research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the unsuccessful 1981 strike of federal air traffic controllers was the most significant single event in accelerating the decline of organized labor in the United States in the late 20th century. Like the failed Homestead steel strike of 1892, the PATCO strike cast a long shadow over US labor relations for many years after the event itself. Among the effects of the strike was the role it played in legitimizing the use of permanent replacement workers during strikes. This article draws lessons from the PATCO debacle that are worth considering 25 years later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Adverse weather conditions have a major impact on National Airspace System (NAS) operations. They create safety hazards for pilots, constrain the usable airspace for air traffic control (ATC), and reduce the overall capacity of the NAS. A system-wide dissemination of weather information to controllers could theoretically improve safety and efficiency. Problem: However, it is currently unclear what weather information would be beneficial for tactical operations. Furthermore, no previous research has empirically evaluated optimal presentation designs for ATC weather displays. Ill-designed weather displays can cause safety hazards by presenting redundant information (i.e., by increasing the cognitive load) and display clutter (e.g., by interfering with the visual extraction of traffic data). Method: In the present paper, we outline our use of cognitive work analysis (CWA) techniques for the assessment of weather information needs for terminal controllers. Results: Specifically, we describe how the CWA modeling tools helped us reveal instances in the terminal domain where weather information is lacking or insufficiently disseminated. We used our CWA results to drive the development of weather display concepts and to set up a high-fidelity simulation capability. Impact on Industry: By means of high-fidelity simulations, we can empirically evaluate controller weather information needs in order to propose weather displays for increased aircraft safety and efficiency of terminal operations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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In this article we describe production compilation, a mechanism for modeling skill acquisition. Production compilation has been developed within the ACT-Rational (ACT-R; J. R. Anderson, D. Bothell, M. D. Byrne, & C. Lebiere, 2002) cognitive architecture and consists of combining and specializing task-independent procedures into task-specific procedures. The benefit of production compilation for researchers in human factors is that it enables them to test the strengths and weaknesses of their task analyses and user models by allowing them to model the learning trajectory from the main task level and the unit task level down to the key-stroke level. We provide an example of this process by developing and describing a model learning a simulated air traffic controller task. Actual or potential applications of this research include the evaluation of user interfaces, the design of systems that support learning, and the building of user models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the en route operational errors to determine the situation awareness of the controllers in the U.S. Comparison between aware and unaware controllers; Involvement of unaware controllers in severe operational errors; Frequency of technical and cognitive errors.

Investigates the duration time of the ground-to-air communications engaged by an en route controller in the U.S. Determination of duration as a valid measure of controller workload; Correlation between communication duration and real-time subjective workload ratings; Use of automated monitoring of duration time as warning to controller stress.

The article focuses on the air traffic controllers' strike of 1981 in the U.S. The union concerned was the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), which, under the abrasive leadership of Robert Poli, had endorsed U.S. President Ronald Reagan candidacy, offended the AFL-CIO leadership, waged its strike with little union help, and was crushed, to judge by the opinion polls, amidst considerable popular acclaim. Reagan's aggressive attitude towards illegal strikes among public employees gave the AFL hard evidence of his intentions towards public sector UrnOris. Such unions were the AFL's most promising recruits, but as PATCO was to find, the ones most hampered by legal restrictions and public hostility when members struck.

This paper expands the empirical literature by examining the signaling incentives within a disability compensation program in the U.S. In particular, it focuses on the incentives of air traffic controllers to alter their work performance when applying for disability compensation. Our theory offers an explanation for the observed association between controller burnout and air safety incidents as an alternative to the one popularized by the controllers' union in the 1980s.

Analyzes the parallels and differences between the United States federal government's actions against air traffic controllers and the British government's assault upon striking coalminers. Paradoxical role of strike in maintaining industrial peace; Relationship between British and American labor law; Histories and proclivities of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Union and National Union of Mineworkers.

Human resource shortages require effective human resource management (HRM). Findings from research about ongoing labor shortages in air traffic control (ATC) are used to build a preliminary theory of appropriate HRM responses. Our international sample of major ATC agencies generally developed a set of best HRM practices to attract, motivate, and retain human assets. Key factors included (1) cultural and institutional norms, (2) technological change, (3) union responses, and (4) organizational form and structure (e.g., civil service versus commercial firms). While ATC's rare human aptitudes, lengthy training to develop firm-specific human capital, and lifelong employment may limit the preliminary theory's general applicability, crucial lessons emerge about human resource planning.

The program of selecting anti training air traffic controllers in the FAA has evolved over many years. It reflects the need to assure standards of performance and safety under such influences as increasing flight operations, varying training loads, union pressures, the need for realistic experience, and frequently changing rules, regulations and procedures. Recent changes in system technology and procedures with associated manpower problems prompted the FAA to reexamine the whole training program. The resulting study by IDA distinguishes operational problems from management ones, determines measures of effectiveness, assesses proper program costs, and compares costs of alternative training schedules. The study addresses selection and training methods, controller performance measurement, standardization and quality control in training, simulator requirements and capabilities, centralized vs. decentralized training, future training requirements, research on training, hiring practices, the training load, and costs. Alternative training programs are evaluated. In four months, as a result of IDA's findings, the FAA designed a new controller training program that emphasizes better personnel selection criteria to reduce attrition; objective measures of controller performance; compression of the elapsed time for formal training from four years to five months; a restructured. standard training curriculum; greater use of simulators in training and evaluation; centralized control of hiring; research into controller selection, performance measurements, and training techniques; and control of budgeting and allocation of training funds. The new program is expected to turn out qualified controllers with more relevant and uniform training, provide greater assurance of continuing... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares self-reported reasons given by male and female trainees for leaving air traffic control (ATC) work. This comparison is of particular current interest since the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), like other organizations throughout the country, has been actively seeking to increase the number of women in all of its occupations and particularly in those where grades and pay levels are high. Of 119 women who entered initial ATC training at the FAA Academy from December 1968 to November 1970, 56 had left work by June 1972; all of these female attributions were included in the study. Each female was matched with a male with respect to age, pay, previous experience, whether attributes at the Academy or in subsequent training, and other variables. The present study indicates that the reasons, which an employee specifies for leaving a job at the time of job exit may not be the same as reasons presented later. Moreover, men report a greater variety of primary reasons for changing jobs and leave one position expressly for another position in greater frequencies than do women.

The article focuses the general conditions of employment of ground staff in the aviation sector in the U.S. It analyzes the occupational content of the air traffic controller's functions. Various national practices are compared with regard to some aspects of the conditions of work of the staff concerned. Air traffic control service plays an important role in the provision of safety in air navigation. There has been a heavier workload for the air traffic control units that has led to the expansion of facilities.