Socio-organisational interface design between airport residents and airport management
Creators: name: Maziul, Maren
Publisher: name: Technische Universität Dortmund
Year: 2006
Subjects: subject: aircraft noise
subject: coping behaviour
subject: noise line
subject: personality
subject: work and organizational psychology
subject: 150

description: The thesis at hand originates from German and Australian research projects supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Erich-Becker-Foundation. It deals with the design of the socio-organisational interface between airport residents and airport managements. The “point of contact” that defines this interface is the issue of noise. Noise and its abatement are assessed differently in the view of the residents and the airport management. The thesis points out why it is important and beneficial for both to improve the interface, especially the issue of noise by diminishing residents’ noise annoyance. At the same time as annoyance is meant to be decreased, the residents’ contentment with noise management is meant to be increased. As noise annoyance is not only generated by acoustical factors such as noise level, an approach is chosen that also takes non-acoustic factors into account. Two of the most important non-acoustic factors are the accessibility and transparency of information and the possibility of participation. The intervention tool, the NoiseCall, facilitates and promotes these aspects. In a quasi-experimental field study at the airports Augsburg and Kassel-Calden, the NoiseCall has been installed as a complaint and information service to facilitate a moderated information flow between airport management and residents. The perceived control and the coping strategies of residents were meant to be enhanced, and consequently, annoyance to be reduced and contentment with the management increased. As a main result, the annoyance of Kassel residents, who used the NoiseCall, declined significantly. The contentment of this group increased, however below statistical significance. In Augsburg, no significant changes after the installation of the NoiseCall were detected. Annoyance correlated to a high degree with the fear of a loss in the value of the homes. Likewise, the contentment with the airport management is closely related to annoyance. In a second step, data from Dortmund and Sydney Airport were analysed to investigate possible personality differences that might explain why some annoyed residents call a noise line, whereas others do not. However, the results on anger expression of users and non-users are not totally consistent. Still, German users can be characterised by less suppression of anger. The NoiseCall as a tool to design the socio-organisational interface of residents and airport management is effective, if it is put into practice at an early point in time. According to the data at hand, it is effective at small-sized airports. The described correlations of annoyance with the different non-acoustic aspects once again stress the importance of their consideration. The results of the regression analyis support their influence on annoyance as well. Moreover, trust building measures to design and improve the interface of e.g. the system “airport” and “residents” have to match and meet the specific demands of the relationship between these. Concluding from the study results the NoiseCall seems to be just one possibility (e.g. for small airports with a good relation to its residents) of a design measure. Apparently, partly due to the different personalities of residents, a manifold approach should be followed: an internet platform, for example, to lodge a complaint might be more attractive for residents who prefer more anonymity, while public meetings might attracts those who prefer face-to-face communication.