Date of Award

Summer 8-2024

Access Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Aviation

Department

College of Aviation

Committee Chair

Steven Hampton

First Committee Member

Jennifer Thropp

Second Committee Member

Daniel Friedenzohn

Third Committee Member

Rachelle Strong

College Dean

Alan J. Stolzer, Ph.D.

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate Virtual Reality (VR) technology acceptance for aircraft maintenance training by student mechanics. The study employed a survey methodology using the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as the theoretical framework. Participants were student mechanics from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved aircraft maintenance schools within the United States. The study attempted to address how the variables of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) influence the students' behavioral intention (BI) to use VR technology for aircraft maintenance training, and how external variables of self-efficacy (SE), perceived enjoyment (PE), perceived health risk (PHR), performance expectancy (PEXP), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) influence perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) of VR technology.

Variables were measured through a survey instrument, utilizing a five-point Likert scale to collect quantitative data. The survey was administered digitally. First, a pilot study was conducted for the purposes of improving the survey instrument and the hypothesized model, followed by the main study. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was applied to the pilot study data to investigate relationships between construct variables and their observed variables and to confirm the theoretical model. A good model fit was not achieved with a small sample size of N=55. To encourage student participation, the final study scope was reduced to only include the TAM variables of PU, PEU, and BI. The final study produced 65 additional responses, for a total of 120 (including the pilot study data), which was deemed inadequate for confirmatory analysis. Instead, the responses were analyzed through the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) technique to explore the data and extract a factor structure based on the measurement items (survey questions), and to address the research question,: What are the underlying factors of the student aircraft mechanic survey? The Principal Axis Factoring (PAX) with oblique rotation was selected for an extraction method. The EFA results produced two viable factors. Factor 1 included all measurement items that were thought to represent the constructs of BI and PU. It also included one measurement item from PEU. Factor 2 only included measurement items from PEU. The EFA results suggested that participants may have answered the questions on behavioral intention to use VR based on how useful they perceived VR to be. Therefore, Factor 1 was considered to be more representative of the perceived usefulness (PU) construct and Factor 2 perceived ease of use (PEU). The findings contribute to aviation literature with recommendations for the target population, research methodology, and future research. The study identified factors that could be considered in future confirmatory research to gain more insight on aircraft mechanic students' opinions on VR to make predictions on actual use of the technology for aircraft maintenance training. From a practical perspective, the findings suggest that schools and regulatory agencies should consider implementing VR for aircraft maintenance training in such a way that will make VR useful to students for gaining specific knowledge/skills without compromising its ease of use, and by taking steps to make VR an enjoyable experience for students.

Additional Files
Carlsson_GS9_Acceptance.pdf (566 kB)
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