Human Factors

Human Factors

Air travel
today is known to be one of the safest forms of transportation; although it is
known for its safety there are many potential dangers associated with air
travel, from the failure of aircraft materials to the effects of weather
circumstances on the flight. Many potential hazards are accompanied with air
travel; these hazards are to be taken into account in order to keep the
aircraft functional in the air as well as on the ground. One of the largest
potential dangers to air travel today is human error. Human errors were
recognized as a potential hazard to safe flight operations as early as the
Second World War.
(Meister, David.
"Human Factors, 1999)
As a result the Human
Factors science was produced, which is the scientific study of the performance
and behavior of the individual, as well as the effect of the surroundings on
him/her. Human factors involve mainly
four aspects and they are the study of the physiological and psychological
aspects of individuals, the way people interact with each other, the way people
interact with the equipment used, for example how an engineer interacts with
his/her tools and the interaction with the working environment. The study of
human factors in aviation started during the Second World War. As the war
progressed, the United States military were losing as many aircraft from pilot
error as they were from enemy fire. As a result the United States government
responded by building better aircraft, as well as developing new techniques and
strategies for the selection and the training of their pilots. During the 1970s
and the early 1980s the commercial airlines started to suffer from human error.
An analysis performed on pilots’ behavior shows that there was a large lack of
teamwork between the aircrew, especially in the cockpit (between 1st
officer and Captain). Captains with domineering personalities tended to create
a negative atmosphere among the aircrew which then eventually led them into
committing errors. During the 1990s, the airline industries began to recognize
that an airplane is a complex system that involves more than just the aircrew. With
maintenance errors on the rise, aircraft maintenance technicians began to
receive the same attention in training as the aircrew. The study of human
factors is now a must to all people involved with the industry.
Today the need for the study of human factors in aviation
maintenance has risen and a subject that needs to be focused on. There are many
factors that contributed to the focus of human factors in aviation maintenance
and they are that human beings interact with their environment by acquiring information,
processing it, and then taking action. Humans use various senses to gather the
information they need. There are five basic senses and they are vision,
hearing, touch, smell and taste. In addition certain environmental
characteristics can influence the way you can acquire and process information.
Physical and psychological stress, attention demands, heavy workloads, and
other conditions common to the aviation maintenance environment contribute in
weakening the human ability to properly process information. This reduction
will affect the action they choose to take, and potentially lead to human
error. These errors can cause damage to the aircraft and the equipment and can
result in the increase of maintenance time and time is money in the aviation industry
and more importantly these errors can cause fatal injuries and death. Therefore an individual must recognize these
characteristics and how they affect them and others around them; they will be
able to find methods to counteract and reduce the chances of committing errors.
As the technology gets better, aircraft become more complex and expensive to
run, and as the population grows, so does the number of flights and
requirements for the aircraft. However, due to the current circumstances the
numbers of maintenance technicians are not increasing to meet the current
requirements. As a result technicians are learning to do more with what less
they have. (License by post, Human factors 1, 2010)
A large part of the foundation of science of human factors involves
a certain person and a certain experience. That person is Captain Edward A.
Murphy; he is the person behind Murphy’s Law. Murphy’s Law states that “if
anything can go wrong, it will.” Murphy’s Law was introduced in 1949 in the
United States in an air force base located in California. The law was named
after the captain who was at the time an engineer working on a certain air
force project; the project was related to safety and aircraft brakes and
acceleration. One day, after finding an electrical component wired wrong, Capt.
Murphy cursed the technician saying, "If there is any way to do it wrong,
he'll find it." The project manager changed this statement to match the
old, unnamed law, "If anything can go wrong, it will," and named it
Murphy's Law. At the end of the project there was a press conference; Murphy’s
Law took the credit due to the project being a successful hit in relation with
safety. Aerospace manufacturers picked up the saying and started using it
widely in their advertising, and soon it was being quoted in newspapers and
magazines. (The Origin and Laws of Murphy in One Place, 2010)
The Human Factors science derived their ORM (Operational Risk
Management) from Murphy’s Law and enforced its application in the industry.
Applying Murphy’s Law means that every situation has possible dangers, from
eating a burger to maintaining an aircraft. In order to prevent these dangers
from happening, you first need to evaluate the situation and identify the
potential dangers. You can use Murphy's Law, "If anything can go wrong, it
will," to think of every possible risk associated with the given
situation, including driving your car. There are many potential dangers that
accompany driving a vehicle, and every action has a risk attached to it
(reaction) so considering Murphy’s Law in Human Factors can help reduce these
risks, where an individual can provide solutions and develop strategies to
counter these risks as an example in its simplest form: running out of gas. To
prevent this risk an individual can fill up the gas tank before the low fuel
light glows on or he/she can carry an extra fuel tank, these are simple
solutions that are used to counter the risks associated with actions.
Now we can understand and comprehend why aircraft maintenance
technicians need to take human factors into account, and also what Human
Factors are and what are the elements involved in its studies, including
Murphy’s Law and how it is applied in our daily lives, and the history of the
science and how was it introduced.








Bibliography

·
Meister,
David. "Human Factors."
Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_factors.1999.web.

·
"Murphy
Laws Site - Origin." Murphy Laws
Site - The Origin and Laws of Murphy in One Place.2010. Web. 11 Jan. 2012.
.

·
License
by Post. Human Factors 1. Aylesbury,
2010. Print. Ser. 17.

The Mass Media

The mass media in my opinion, which includes television,
radio and newspapers do have a great influence on shaping people’s ideas, may positively
or negatively. Today the media is considered one of the most powerful weapons ,
it has a great influence on people , for example with the rebellions which are
happening today the media acted as a catalyst for change as it projected what
happens in the country which led another to follow. The media plays a large
role in politics. The media helps educate people on occasions and may provide
them with information and updates on what is happening in the world today, like
newspapers. In addition the media may have a bad impact on people especially
younger generations, as their ideas are easily shaped and molded and many of
what the media displays on movies and television is violence, drugs and even
smoking; these things can encourage people to act negatively; of course it
depends on the individual’s nature but it has a stronger impact on children. Another
issue is that what the media say is not necessarily true; it could be lies and
things that fog ones belief and vision; for example in the new and what’s
happening today. The media plays a large role and also provides us with
information, knowledge, and also recognition of different cultures and
different events that are happening in the world although people of older ages
think before they see; the younger generations are the people who we should protect
and filter from the media.

Portfolio Task 6

In my opinion I think these developments are positive. Coming from a growing country like the UAE, continuing education after school is highly encouraged and is of great benefit to our community. Strengthening the peoples education and qualifications results in strengthen our country so we can depend on the nationals to achieve and prosper. With to increase in people receiving education comes the increase in things of courses available at the educational institutes. This provides a balance and proper distribution of students depending on their likes or ambitions. As we all know we are in the age of technology were computers having a large impact on our lives.
Nowadays people can receive online education which is of great benefit for people who work and study at the same time. I think any development related to education it’s always a benefit, so improving our education is improving our society. Although education is positive there are some negative factors. Education a few years ago was considered as a privilege. Today education is considered as a right. So the value of being educated or receiving education has now decreased, so people tend to take it lightly. In addition people started to specialize in courses which have no impact or affect on our community. The means of education started to diversify leading to different forms of being educated. Different forms lead to different standards; for example in engineering if someone were to attend a college or university they will be able to practice the work and learn faster; on the other hand if someone studies engineering he/she will not be involved in any practical work online. The standard of education also differs. That doesn’t change the fact that education is a great benefit. All people should seek the goal to be educated, but also it should be considered a privilege and people should value it, respect it and be grateful for what they have.

Airline Survey

The pie charts display a survey undergone in 2002, which
represented the rating of a particular feature as most popular in flight rated
by males and females in business and economy class. Starting with economy, the
female’s highest percentage in most popular flight features are the service
which is at 45 percent and movies at the lowest with 9 percent. For males the
most popular flight features is space with a percentage of 49 and the least is
movies at 7 percent. As the ratings show men prefer space over service and
women vice versa. In the business class the ratings between men and women are
approximately the same with a few differences; the only real difference between
them is the movie ratings which is at 9 percent for women and 3 percent for
men; other than that the rest have only very slight differences .

Tables and bar charts (2)

The graph presents the number of fisherman in millions for multiple regions in 1970, 1980 and 2000. These regions include Asia, Africa, South America, North America and Europe. During the 1970s Europe and Africa were leading in the numbers of fishermen. The least number of fishermen in all the regions in the 1970s was in South America. In the 1980s North America was leading and Europe on the other hand had the least amount. In the year 2000 Asia’s numbers skyrocketed and Africa was the least in numbers.
In the other statistic, it displays the world’s top ten exporters of fish in the year of 2000. The majority of the top ten are the nations from Asia and leading them and the world is Thailand and the last is South Korea. The top ten exporters include Norway the USA, China, Denmark, Canada, Taiwan, Russia and Indonesia. Today the Asian region is leading the world in the fish industry regarding numbers and exports. South America’s numbers remained constant throughout the years, Africa remaining the lowest and their rates have declined and no African nation is in the top ten exporters.

Table and charts

The information technology is now advanced; everyone in the world today uses information technology judging from the number of PCs, internet users and hosts and even mobile phones. The statistics concerning these matters are to be discussed.
In the table the USA is the pioneer around the world in the information society and the lowest of the leading countries in the table is Japan. In the bar graph the people who use personal computers is shown, as the bar chart displays Sweden as the leader and Greece trailing far behind. On the third statistic it represents the amount of people who use the internet. Both of the bar charts are taken from the year 1999. Sweden in the chart earlier is the leading country in people using the internet and Greece also is trailing behind. These statistics taken from the bar chart concern all European Union nations. As a conclusion Sweden is leading in the people who use the internet, and people who own personal computers. The USA is the leading country internationally excluding mobile phone use which is higher in the EU-15.

People today from all around the world are all over the world. The people who move around and travel are either tourists, or people looking for job opportunities. These people are known as expatriates. During their time abroad these people face some difficulties regarding lifestyle, adapting to the people who are the locals in the country and how to deal with them. How do they deal with the challenges experienced? What are the strategies needed to meet these challenges?
Firstly, the difference in culture is something a foreigner should be aware of. These differences may lead to the misunderstanding between the local people and foreigners. To improve the lifestyle, one person should adapt to these changes and learn how to deal with these differences in culture. In addition there are differences in laws and regulations from one country to another. For example in the UAE drinking publicly is prohibited and against the law; also appropriate clothing should be worn in the malls and the shopping centers. One person should recognize the laws of the country to prevent him/her from breaking the law. Also learning the language of that country is a great benefit, it helps the person to communicate with the local people. Also the changes in the weather play a role in one's performance in the workplace, his/her attitude and many other things. Being abroad for a long time away from family and friends is depressing and makes one person home sick which is a problem. One strategy needed to cope easily in a foreign country is a person should research the information of that country regarding laws, customs and language. With time the people will eventually adapt and cope with these differences and it may lead if fortunate, to a better lifestyle.