Field theory of Lewin was used to analyze the experience of insight problem solving. It was proposed that insight is characterized by the intensity of the experience at the moment of solution. It was argued that the intensity of the insight experience depends on the experienced degree of difficulty of the problem for an individual. The experienced degree of difficulty was conceptualized as a two-fold notion: It was defined by the interdependence of the degree of restructuring involved in the problem and the dynamics of the solution process, which causes the change in the state of tension experienced by the problem solver. Two hypotheses were formulated outlining the relationship between the intensity of the insight experience and both the degree of restructuring required to solve the problem and the amount of tension released in the system with the solution. The developed theoretical framework was investigated in the domain of matchstick arithmetic problems. A measure of the degree of restructuring for this domain was developed, and a preliminary test of the measure was carried out. Four experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of the degree of restructuring and the amount of tension on the intensity of the insight experience. The results showed that the solution of a problem that required higher degree of restructuring resulted in a more intense experience of insight. Moreover, when the same problem was solved with higher level of tension, it led to a more intense experience of insight. Thus, it was empirically shown that the intensity of the insight experience was affected by both structural and dynamic properties of the solution process. The theoretical framework, the design of the experiments, and the results are discussed.

Vi har använt oss av semistrukturerade intervjuer med jurister, poliser och kvinnojoursaktiva för att utreda och analysera fenomenet olaga förföljelse. Det åsikter som framkom i intervjuerna har tolkats och analyserats utifrån den symboliska interaktionismen samt från Beckers (1997) begrepp outsiders och moraliska entrepenörer. Olaga förföljelse innehåller flera brottsrubriceringar, definitionen av olaga förföljelse är när en gärningsperson begår systematiska och upprepade handlingar mot en ett offer. Offret i sin tur upplever kontakten som oönskad, negativ och kränkande. Lagen är nystiftad och ger begränsad uppfattning om huruvida det är ett socialt problem. Åsikterna gällande detta är delad. Dels ses det som ett problem på individnivå medan andra anser att det ska klassas som ett socialt problem. Kriminaliseringen har enligt respondenterna skett till följd av att det fanns krav, från rättsväsendet, polis och kvinnojoursaktiva, på högre straffskala och ökat stöd för offren. Den definitionsprocess som konstruerar ett socialt problem anses, av två av respondenterna, många gånger startas i medier.

Omkring 10 % av alla elever känner sig mobbade i skolan, det här en siffra som är på tok för hög. Vi vill genom det här arbetet synliggöra kunskap om mobbning och öka förståelsen för de som arbetar kring barn och elever. Vi vill även se eventuella skillnader och likheter mellan åldrarna inom ämnet mobbning. Vi har använt oss av elev- enkätundersökning och intervjuat verksamma lärare och pedagoger. Vårt resultat visar att 10 % känner sig mobbade på den skolan där vi genomförde enkätundersökningen. Våra intervjuer har visat att mobbning är ett viktigt ämne som beror och påverkar många.

This thesis investigates the effect of problem structure on performance and behavioural variety in group problem solving. In addition, it examines the effects of problem solving strategy in group problem solving. <br /><br /> Previous researchers have focused their efforts on individual problem solving with minimal reference to groups. This is due to difficulties such as the presence of distributed information, the coordination of people and the large scale of work that typified group problems. Specifically, the effect of problem structure in group problems has been rarely studied due to the absence of an encompassing theory. <br /><br /> In this thesis, the effect of problem structure on group performance is studied using the fundamental characteristics of structure such as detour, redundancy, abstraction and degree of homogeneity. These characteristics were used in conjunction with existing problem solving theories (such as Information processing system, Gestalt approach and Lewin's lifespace approach) and Heider's balance theory to understand the effects of task structure on group performance and behavioural output. <br /><br /> Balance theory is introduced as a conceptual framework in which the problem solving process is viewed as a dynamic progression from cognitive imbalance towards a state of structural balance corresponding with the solution. This theoretical approach captures both incremental search processes and insight associated with cognitive restructuring, typical of existing problem solving approaches in the literature. It also allowed the development of unique measures for studying the effect of structure in group problem solving. <br /><br /> A Laboratory experiment was conducted using 153 undergraduate and 3 graduate students in groups of 4 subjects. The experiment examined the effect of task structure on groups' performance and behavioural variety. The stimulus used for the experiment was a categorization problem consisting of sixteen cards with two objects each shared equally among four participants. The objective was to form four groups of items with no cards left unused. The groups' performance data was collected and analyzed to verify the postulated hypotheses. <br /><br /> The results indicate that both increased problem structure complexity and the introduction of a restructuring dimension in the problem structure were associated with reduced performance and increased behavioural variety. With respect to problem solving strategy, early discussion in problem solving was associated with better performance and less behavioural variety. Finally, the results support the premise that group problem solving processes tend to be in the direction of attaining higher states of balance.

Field theory of Lewin was used to analyze the experience of insight problem solving. It was proposed that insight is characterized by the intensity of the experience at the moment of solution. It was argued that the intensity of the insight experience depends on the experienced degree of difficulty of the problem for an individual. The experienced degree of difficulty was conceptualized as a two-fold notion: It was defined by the interdependence of the degree of restructuring involved in the problem and the dynamics of the solution process, which causes the change in the state of tension experienced by the problem solver. Two hypotheses were formulated outlining the relationship between the intensity of the insight experience and both the degree of restructuring required to solve the problem and the amount of tension released in the system with the solution. The developed theoretical framework was investigated in the domain of matchstick arithmetic problems. A measure of the degree of restructuring for this domain was developed, and a preliminary test of the measure was carried out. Four experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of the degree of restructuring and the amount of tension on the intensity of the insight experience. The results showed that the solution of a problem that required higher degree of restructuring resulted in a more intense experience of insight. Moreover, when the same problem was solved with higher level of tension, it led to a more intense experience of insight. Thus, it was empirically shown that the intensity of the insight experience was affected by both structural and dynamic properties of the solution process. The theoretical framework, the design of the experiments, and the results are discussed.

In this thesis, we discuss a new kind of polygon, which we call one-sided polygons. The shortest path between any pair of vertices of a one-sided polygon makes only left turns or right turns. We prove that the set of one-sided polygons is a superset of the star-shaped polygons and the spiral polygons. We also show that the set of one-sided polygons is a subset of the set of LR-visibility polygons. We present a linear time recognition algorithm for one-sided rectilinear polygons. We then discuss the searching of monotone and one-sided rectilinear polygons. We show that all one-sided polygons can be 1-searched and a search schedule can be given in linear time.

In the study, young adolescents’ hypothesis development in a computer-supported and problem-based learning environment was examined in terms of two empirical studies. The first study examined the effect of metacognitive scaffolds to strengthening hypothesis development as well as the influence of hypothesis development in the promotion of young adolescents’ problem solving performance in an ill-structured problem solving environment, Animal Investigator. Data was collected from sixth grade students (N = 172). The findings of the study indicated that participants using metacognitive scaffolds attained significantly higher hypothesis-development performance. Results also revealed that the hypothesis-development performance showed the predictive power of the solution development performance. In the second study, the researcher examined three factors, motivation, metacognition, and prior domain knowledge, as a predictor for children’s hypothesisdevelopment performance in the problem-based learning environment. A hypothesized model was evaluated using structural equation modeling, which is a statistical method of causal relationships. Data were collected from sixth grade students (N = 101) in treatment groups. Two significant factors toward children’s hypothesis-development performance in an ill-structured problem solving environment were determined: Prior domain knowledge and metacognition. Implications and limitations of the present study and issues including the experimental design are discussed.

This mixed methods dissertation explores the impact of metacognitive support (reflective journal entries and a think-aloud exercise) in a PBL (problem-based learning) unit. While students are developing a solution for a PBL unit they may become occupied solely in solving the problem or task and not take time to fully consider what and how they have learned. This study examined how a metacognitive reflective component in a problem-based learning curriculum aids the learning process. The problem explored in this dissertation is that though problem-based learning may engage students, it is not known to what extent reflection adds to learners? development and application of critical thinking skills such as problem solving. The participant observer taught a problem-based learning unit concurrently with a poetry unit in three secondary senior-level English/language arts classrooms over a six weeks period. Four data sources were analyzed quantitatively: a pre-test and post-test on poetry terms, students? essay scores, and a survey. To determine differences between groups ANCOVA (Analysis of Covariance) was used to analyze the results of the poetry terms pre-test and post-test of the two experimental groups and the control group. MANCOVA (Multivariate Analysis of Covariance) was used to compare the results of the two experimental groups and the control group on the criteria of the essay. MANCOVA was also conducted to compare survey results between the experimental groups and the control group. The ANCOVA and MANCOVA tests used SPSS software. Additionally, qualitative analysis used a constant comparison method to analyze students? journal entries and a think-aloud exercise to provide insights concerning the research questions. The overall findings of this study fail to lend support for the intervention that was examined. The quantitative analysis results were not statistically significant between the two experimental groups and the control group. While the qualitative data sources provided some insights regarding how students learn, the data did not indicate that this type of metacognitive support greatly impacted student learning over the course of this study.

This dissertation consists of three more or less independent projects. In the first project, we find the microstates free entropy dimension of a large class of L1[0; 1]{ circular operators, in the presence of a generator of the diagonal subalgebra. In the second one, for each sequence {cn}n in l1(N), we de fine an operator A in the hyper finite II1-factor R. We prove that these operators are quasinilpotent and they generate the whole hyper finite II1-factor. We show that they have non-trivial, closed, invariant subspaces affiliated to the von Neumann algebra, and we provide enough evidence to suggest that these operators are interesting for the hyperinvariant subspace problem. We also present some of their properties. In particular, we show that the real and imaginary part of A are equally distributed, and we find a combinatorial formula as well as an analytical way to compute their moments. We present a combinatorial way of computing the moments of A*A. Finally, let fTkg1k =1 be a family of *-free identically distributed operators in a finite von Neumann algebra. In this paper, we prove a multiplicative version of the Free Central Limit Theorem. More precisely, let Bn = T*1T*2...T*nTn...T2T1 then Bn is a positive operator and B1=2n n converges in distribution to an operator A. We completely determine the probability distribution v of A from the distribution u of jTj2. This gives us a natural map G : M M with u G(u) = v. We study how this map behaves with respect to additive and multiplicative free convolution. As an interesting consequence of our results, we illustrate the relation between the probability distribution v and the distribution of the Lyapunov exponents for the sequence fTkg1k=1 introduced by Vladismir Kargin.

The purpose of this research is to investigate group problem-solving processes , interactions , and also, the factors that influence the operation on performance assessment. The main points for this study are: 1.What kind of situation does the model of group problem-solving form? 2.What situation does the group participate in each process of problem-solving? 3.What changes do the group participate in each stage of problem-solving after performance assessment? 4.What influences do manipulatives make on the operation of problem-solving processes? 5.What do the members think about the method of assessment? The method of this research is as follow. The investigators referred to the mathematics textbook (Volume 11) to develop five units of performance assessment. The participants were a group of four 6th grade elementary school children in Kaohsiung. The investigator collected the think-aloud protocols of the group and observed the behaviors from video and recordings. Finally, in order to understand children¡¦s feelings of assessment, the investigator arranged semi-structured interviews. The data was used to prepare chart according to Schoenfeld¡¦s model, also its distribution table, and the ratio of participation. The main conclusions of this research are: 1.The process of group problem-solving is affected by discussions among peers. 2.The model of process of problem-solving is affected by actually performing and acting out. 3.The group may or may not be engaged in all stages of problem-solving. 4.The changes of problem-solving stage for each member were different. 5.The use of manipulatives affects each problem-solving stage. 6.Children expressed that they enjoyed group performance assessments. Based on results of this study, the investigator highly recommended performance assessment to take place in elementary mathematics classroom.