University of New South Wales - UNSW - Brett Molesworth unsw aviation

BAv (Hons), PhD (UWS) - Psychologist (NSW)

Lecturer

Room Number:	OMB 205C
Office:	UNSW Aviation, The University of NSW, Sydney NSW 2052
Phone:	9385-6757
Fax:	9386-6637
Email:	b.molesworth(at)unsw.du.au

Dr Brett Molesworth is a Human Factors and Aviation Safety lecturer with the Department. Brett’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Aviation (Hons) and a PhD (UWS) where he examined individual’s propensity towards risk-taking. Brett is also a registered Psychologist with the NSW Psychologist Registration Board and holds a Commercial Pilots Licence, as well as an advanced aerobatics rating.

Brett’s research interests involve human performance in complex socio-technical environments with a passion for understanding the factors that influence individual’s ‘at-risk’ behaviour (risk management). Brett’s application of his knowledge and expertise extends beyond the aviation industry and includes other modes of transportation, as well as other high hazard and risk industries.

One such example Brett is currently working on involves investigating different training methods to reduce speeding on our roads. This project is funded by the NRMA - ACT Road Safety Trust. Brett, along with Professor Ann Williamson and Dr Rebecca Mitchell are also designing a Human Error Identification tool for application in the medical profession. The Australian Government, through an ARC Linkage Grant funds this project with the Clinical Excellence Commission and NSW Health as key partners.

Brett has also conducted a number of research projects for leading national and international organisations, such as Airservices Australia. Information relating to the results of Brett’s research can be found in a number of his publications within journals, conference proceedings and industry reports.

Professional Activities

Brett consults to industry in the area of human factors and safety. One of his notable achievements was the development of an incident investigation tool that was specifically designed to uncover the systemic nature or underlying causes of incidents. This tool is currently in use within the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA). Another notable achievement was the development of a decision tool titled ‘Managing Risk – Enhancing Safety’ designed to enhance road workers’ situation awareness. Brett has also assisted the RTA in improving the safety culture of their organsiation, where prior to joining the Aviation Department at the University of New South Wales, he was employed with the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority in the position of Manager, Safety Culture and Performance Reporting.

Professional Affiliations

Registered Psychologist (NSW)
Member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
Member of the SAFE association

Brett’s most recent publications include:

2008

Molesworth, B., & Young, R. (2008). Caffeine: Mitigating the effect of fatigue on the flight deck? Paper accepted at Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 52nd Annual Meeting. New York: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

2007

Drinkwater, J., & Molesworth, B. (2007). Risk Management of Australian General Aviation Pilots. Intermodal Conference on Safety Management and Human Factors. Sydney, AUS.
O’Hare, D., Mullen, N. Wiggins, M., & Molesworth, B. (2007). Finding the right case: The role of predictive features in memory for aviation accidents. Applied Cognitive Psychology. Published online in Wiley InterScience. DOI: 10.1002/acp.1428.
Molesworth, B., & Wiggins, M. (2007). Improving the Retention of Skills during Training. Proceedings of the 45th Annual SAFE Symposium. Reno, NV: SAFE Association.
Caska, T. J., & Molesworth, B. R. C. (2007). The effects of low dose caffeine on pilot performance. International Journal of Applied Aviation Studies, 7, (2), 244-255.

2006

Molesworth, B., & Wiggins, M. (2006). Limitation of Skill Generalisation Beyond Training. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 50th Annual Meeting (pp. 2620-2623). San Francisco, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. ISBN 978-0-945289-29-6.
Molesworth, B., Wiggins, M., & O’Hare. D. (2006). Improving Pilots’ Risk Assessment Skills in Low-Flying Operations: The Role of Feedback and Experience. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 38, 954-960.

2004

Molesworth, B., & Wiggins, M. (2004). Improving pilots risk management behaviour through active involvement. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 48th Annual Meeting (pp. 2553-2556). New Orleans, LA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. ISBN 0-945289-24-3.
Molesworth, B., & Wiggins, M. (2004). Personalising the experience to improve the risk management behaviour of pilots. In M. Katsikitis (Ed.). Proceeding of the 39th APS Annual Conference. Psychological Science in Action (pp. 201-205). Melbourne, AUS: The Australian Psychological Society.
Molesworth, B., & Wiggins, M. (2004). Representing airspace boundaries in a redesigned en-route aeronautical chart. Ergonomics in Design, 12, (1), 18-23.

2003

Molesworth, B. (2003). The impact of experience on risk management behaviour amongst pilots. In W. Noble (Ed.), Australian Journal of Psychology: Vol. 55. The Abstracts of the 30th Conference of the Australasian Experimental Psychology Society (p. 86). Bowen Hills, AUS: Australian Academic Press.
Molesworth, B., & Wiggins, M. (2003). An evaluation of aeronautical chart design: Implications for pilot education. In R. S. Jensen (Ed.), Proceedings of the Twelfth International Symposium on Aviation Psychology (pp. 821-825). Dayton, OH: Ohio State University.
Molesworth, B., Wiggins, M., & O’Hare, D. (2003). Personalising risk and training to improve the risk management behaviour of pilots. In B. J. Hayward & M. Nendick (Eds.), Proceedings of the Sixth International Australian Aviation Psychology Symposium. Sydney, AUS: Australian Aviation Psychology Association. ISBN 0-9751731-0-3.

Reports to Industry and Government

Molesworth, B., & Wiggins, M. (2001). An evaluation of aspects of low-level enroute map design for aeronautical charts. Canberra, AUS: Airservices Australia.

Teaching Responsibilities

AVIA1410 – Introduction to Human Factors - Course Coordinator
AVIA3710 - Aviation Research Methods - Course Coordinator