Question 148-1 : What is meant by the term 'complacency' ? [ Certification weather ]

Mode error refers to the omission of a required action or intervention with automation actions mode errors lead to automation surprises* when the pilot notices that the automation is engaged in activities that were not commanded or fails to engage in activitiesthat were thought to be commanded both mode errors and automation surprises have played a role in recent incidents and accidents and can lead to poor or slow compliance with atc clearances eg deviations from assigned altitudes *an automation surprise is an action that is performed by an automation system and is unexpected by the user a mode error can be a common cause of an automation surprise automation surprise can be dangerous when it upsets the situational awareness of a control operator

Disadvantage of low cohesion or a 'weak cohesion' is an increase in difficulty to accomplish a tasktherefore cohesion is a major advantage in times of difficulty

Physiological stress factors this category can be broken down into two parts external physiological factors noise temperature vibrations etc sometimes known as environmental stressinternal physiological factors hunger fatigue lack of sleep etc

Quite a lot of communication is carried on below the level of consciousness you don't have to think about this sort of communication it just happens automatically this certainly saves some effort but it does not always have the effect you might have chosen if you had had the opportunity to consult yourself about the matter even when you think you are not sending any messages that absence of messages is quite evident to any observer and can itself constitute quite a significant message not only that but we usually transmit quite a few non verbal messages unconsciously even when we think we are not sending any messages at allthis means that unless you are a hermit you cannot really avoid communicating you can of course very easily get your communication scrambled often in both directions but that is not much consolation in other words you cannot not communicate but you can not communicate accurately austrian born psychologistphilosopher paul watzlawick explained his interactional communication theories through five axioms axiom 1 cannot not 'one cannot not communicate' because every behaviour is a kind of communication people who are aware of each other are constantly communicating any perceivable behaviour including the absence of action has the potential to be interpreted by other people as having some meaningaxiom 2 content & relationship 'every communication has a content and relationship aspect such that the latter classifies the former and is therefore a meta communication' each person responds to the content of communication in the context of the relationship between the communicators the word meta communication is used in various ways and therefore not at all by me but watzlawick uses it to mean the exchange of information about how to interpret other informationjust as the interpretation of the words 'what an idiot you are' could be influenced by the following words 'just kidding' it could also be influenced by the relationship between the communicators in the example given the word 'idiot' might be accepted quite happily from a close friend but convey an entirely different meaning in other circumstancesaxiom 3 punctuation 'the nature of a relationship is dependent on the punctuation of the partners' communication procedures' in many cases communication involves a veritable maelstrom of messages flying in all directions this applies especially to the non verbal messages the 'punctuation' referred to is the process of organising groups of messages into meanings this is analogous to the punctuation of written language in either case the punctuation can sometimes alter the meaning considerablyfor example consider the occurrence of an angry response after an interruption the latter having followed a suggested course of action this might be interpreted as anger at the suggested course of action if the interruption was 'punctuated out' of the sequence so that the suggestion and the anger were effectively grouped together as a tight sequence however if the receiver punctuated the information so that the interruption and the anger formed a tight sequence it might be interpreted as anger at the interruptionaxiom 4 digital & analogic 'human communication involves both digital and analogic modalities' this one needs a bit of translating the term 'digital' which today usually refers either to numbers computers or fingers is used in this axiom to refer to discrete defined elements of communication these are usually words but very specific gestures with generally agreed meanings would also qualifythe term 'analogic' also needs some translation it is a variant of analogical the adjective derived from analogy it therefore refers to a correspondence in certain respects between things which are otherwise different in this case it describes a type of communication in which the representation to some extent evokes the thing to which it refers for example shaking a fist in front of a person's face would evoke the idea of violencewhat else needs translating oh yes 'modalities' as mentioned in appendix 1 the word 'modality' is used in very many different ways in this case i think watzlawick is using modalities in the sense of types or sorts of information transferaxiom 5 symmetric or complementary 'inter human communication procedures are either symmetric or complementary depending on whether the relationship of the partners is based on differences or parity' a 'symmetric' relationship here means one in which the parties involved behave as equals from a power perspective the chance of airing all the relevant issues should be greater but it certainly does not guarantee that the communication will be optimal the parties could simply be equally submissive or equally domineering however communication between equals often does work wella 'complementary' relationship here means one of unequal power such as parent child boss employee or leader follower this is much more efficient in some situations for example the unequal complementary relationship between soldiers and their officers means that soldiers are very likely to obey a surprising order such as 'get out of the truck and jump in the river ' without delay rather than debating it perhaps with great interest but quite possibly at fatal length

Sweating dry mouth breathing difficulties increased heart rate and fatigue are physiological responses to stressapprehension anxiety and fear are psychological responses to stress

Since the pilot has successfully completed this difficult landing he gains self confidence and the next time he will be better prepared to face dangers this will lead to a lower level of stress

Situational awareness is a term used to describe a persons awareness of their surroundings the meaning of these surroundings a prediction of what these surroundings will mean in the future and then using this information to actsituational awareness is a key part of the decision making process it is important for a pilot to have a full idea about what is going on to make the best decision possible each time