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System Transition: Dynamics of Change in the US Air Transportation System

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dc.contributor.author Mozdzanowska, Aleksandra
dc.contributor.author Hansman, R. John
dc.date.accessioned 2008-06-04T15:07:57Z
dc.date.available 2008-06-04T15:07:57Z
dc.date.issued 2008-06-04T15:07:57Z
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/41855
dc.description.abstract The US Air Transportation System is currently facing a number of challenges including an increasing demand for travel and growing environmental requirements. In order to successfully meet future needs, the system will need to transition from its current state using a combination of technology, infrastructure, procedure, and policy changes. However, the complexities of the air transportation system make implementing changes a challenge. In particular, the multi-stakeholder nature of the system poses a significant barrier to transition. Historically, many changes in the air transportation system were driven by safety concerns and implemented following accidents which provided the momentum to overcome transition barriers. As a result of past changes, the system has become increasingly safe resulting in the emergence of new drivers for change. Security has emerged as a driver following the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001 in the US and a number of system changes have since been implemented. Currently, capacity is one of the largest drivers of change. Addressing capacity issues requires solutions that can be accepted by stakeholders, and pass the necessary certification and approval requirements for implementation. The contribution of aviation to global greenhouse gas emissions is also becoming a significant driver for change in the system. The goal of this work is to understand how the air transportation system changes in response to safety, security, capacity, and environmental drivers for transition. In order to understand the dynamics of transition, historical cases of system change were studied. Twenty seven such cases have been analyzed to construct a feedback process model of transition and to explore specific change dynamics observed. These dynamics include: understanding the role of crisis events as catalyst for change; the effect that timing of solution development has on the overall time constant for change; the role that stakeholder objectives play in the transition process, and the use of approval and certification processes to stall or block change. Understanding the process of change in the US Air Transportation System can inform future changes in aviation as well as in other systems with similar properties. en
dc.description.provenance Submitted by sallyc@mit.edu (sallyc@mit.edu) on 2008-06-04T15:07:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 alexm-thesis-ICAT.pdf: 4302287 bytes, checksum: 1d7adf1040c107181f7f92a4d56adbe2 (MD5) en
dc.description.provenance Made available in DSpace on 2008-06-04T15:07:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 alexm-thesis-ICAT.pdf: 4302287 bytes, checksum: 1d7adf1040c107181f7f92a4d56adbe2 (MD5) en
dc.description.sponsorship This work was supported by the FAA under the Joint University Program (JUP) [FAA95-G- 017] and the National Center of Excellence for Aviation Operations Research (NEXTOR) [DTFA01-C-00030]. en
dc.language.iso en_US en
dc.relation.ispartofseries ICAT-2008-3 en
dc.subject Air Transportation en
dc.subject infrastructure en
dc.subject system changes en
dc.subject avaition en
dc.title System Transition: Dynamics of Change in the US Air Transportation System en
dc.type Technical Report en

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