Rogue5
Adult Swim junkie
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2002
- Posts
- 882
The following has been making the rounds (forwarded as per the author's request):
Help needed — Dr Simon Bennett asks for pilots’ help in his research.
Commercial aviation is a dynamic and innovative industry. The rate at which the industry is changing can leave one breathless. Since 9/11, for example, there have been some 40 new entrants in the low-cost sector. Commercial aviation’s dynamism creates wealth and opportunity. Commercial aviation drives innovation, facilitates business and provides (affordable) opportunities for leisure and cultural exchange. It also generates challenges for employees, managements and regulators — like the need to maintain an up-to-date picture of what is happening at the ‘sharp end’. Failure to understand the ‘lived experience’ of the modern pilot may have serious consequences for the economic and safety performance of the industry.
Flight crew constitute the heart of commercial aviation. Their dedication makes commercial aviation what it is — the largest, most dynamic and impactful enterprise the world has ever seen. If the industry is to continue to prosper and grow it must understand its most vital asset — the pilot. This is the purpose of my research. I have secured a contract with the technical publisher Ashgate (UK) to write an account of the modern pilot. The book will give pilots a voice ... and a large audience. It will describe pilots’ ambitions and concerns. It will give pilots the opportunity to reflect upon the industry, its prospects and their role within it. It will examine lifestyles, family and other support structures. It will look at commuting and lodging. It will discuss rostering and other pressures. It will review patterns of education and employment. It will, in short, draw a sociological picture of the industry’s key asset — the pilot. This kind of comprehensive sociological review has not been attempted before. The industry has told me it is long-overdue.
The required information is gathered via a questionnaire. The questionnaire has 50 short questions. Some require ‘yes/no’ answers. Others give respondents the opportunity to express opinions and develop ideas. The survey is anonymous. Pilots cannot be identified from the questionnaire. Airlines will not be named. This is generic research intended to benefit the industry as a whole. Information supplied in this way will be used only for the purpose of writing the book. The book will be written in an open and accessible style. It will be reasonably priced. The objective is to reach and influence as wide an audience as possible, from educators/trainers to employers to national and international regulators. Understanding pilots as social beings with family and financial commitments, hopes, concerns, insights and ideas will (in theory, at least) provide for the more sensitive management of the industry’s key resource. By developing a textured understanding of pilots it will provide an opportunity to improve management-worker relations. All those involved in the industry, from flight crew to operations staff to passengers will benefit.
If you are, or have been a Captain or First Officer (for any type of airline, from flag carrier to LCC, in any country) and would like to help you can obtain a questionnaire by e-mailing me at [email protected]. A questionnaire will be e-mailed to you by return (as a simple Word document). Completed questionnaires can either be e-mailed to me at [email protected] or posted back to me at The University of Leicester, 154 Upper New Walk, Leicester, England, LE1 7QA. The book will be published by Ashgate in 2005.
Help needed — Dr Simon Bennett asks for pilots’ help in his research.
Commercial aviation is a dynamic and innovative industry. The rate at which the industry is changing can leave one breathless. Since 9/11, for example, there have been some 40 new entrants in the low-cost sector. Commercial aviation’s dynamism creates wealth and opportunity. Commercial aviation drives innovation, facilitates business and provides (affordable) opportunities for leisure and cultural exchange. It also generates challenges for employees, managements and regulators — like the need to maintain an up-to-date picture of what is happening at the ‘sharp end’. Failure to understand the ‘lived experience’ of the modern pilot may have serious consequences for the economic and safety performance of the industry.
Flight crew constitute the heart of commercial aviation. Their dedication makes commercial aviation what it is — the largest, most dynamic and impactful enterprise the world has ever seen. If the industry is to continue to prosper and grow it must understand its most vital asset — the pilot. This is the purpose of my research. I have secured a contract with the technical publisher Ashgate (UK) to write an account of the modern pilot. The book will give pilots a voice ... and a large audience. It will describe pilots’ ambitions and concerns. It will give pilots the opportunity to reflect upon the industry, its prospects and their role within it. It will examine lifestyles, family and other support structures. It will look at commuting and lodging. It will discuss rostering and other pressures. It will review patterns of education and employment. It will, in short, draw a sociological picture of the industry’s key asset — the pilot. This kind of comprehensive sociological review has not been attempted before. The industry has told me it is long-overdue.
The required information is gathered via a questionnaire. The questionnaire has 50 short questions. Some require ‘yes/no’ answers. Others give respondents the opportunity to express opinions and develop ideas. The survey is anonymous. Pilots cannot be identified from the questionnaire. Airlines will not be named. This is generic research intended to benefit the industry as a whole. Information supplied in this way will be used only for the purpose of writing the book. The book will be written in an open and accessible style. It will be reasonably priced. The objective is to reach and influence as wide an audience as possible, from educators/trainers to employers to national and international regulators. Understanding pilots as social beings with family and financial commitments, hopes, concerns, insights and ideas will (in theory, at least) provide for the more sensitive management of the industry’s key resource. By developing a textured understanding of pilots it will provide an opportunity to improve management-worker relations. All those involved in the industry, from flight crew to operations staff to passengers will benefit.
If you are, or have been a Captain or First Officer (for any type of airline, from flag carrier to LCC, in any country) and would like to help you can obtain a questionnaire by e-mailing me at [email protected]. A questionnaire will be e-mailed to you by return (as a simple Word document). Completed questionnaires can either be e-mailed to me at [email protected] or posted back to me at The University of Leicester, 154 Upper New Walk, Leicester, England, LE1 7QA. The book will be published by Ashgate in 2005.
