The aim of this research was to study the relationship between lived experiences and critical thinking of college students in Taiwan. Investigation method was employed in the study. The employed instruments included College Student Lived Experiences Questionnaire, Critical Thinking Dispositions Scale, and the Critical Thinking Scale. The subjects were college students in Taiwan. 505 questionnaires were sent and 310 were valid. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, one-way MANOVA , canonical correlation, and stepwise multiple regression. According to the statistic result, the conclusions were¡G 1. Lived experiences of college students were rich and diversity in which team works were the highest and adventure experiences were the lowest. 2. College students¡¦ critical thinking in which deductive was the highest and inference was the lowest. As a whole, college students¡¦ critical thinking abilities in 2005 were better than those 1996, but interval was small¡FMoreover, college students¡¦ critical thinking dispositions were better. 3. There were no significant gender differences in critical thinking dispositions and abilities. There were significant differences of critical thinking dispositions and abilities between technology and social science college. There were significant differences of critical thinking dispositions and abilities between junior ¡B senior and freshman ¡Bsophomore college students. 4. There were significant differences of critical thinking dispositions between high and low father¡¦s education. There were significant differences of critical thinking dispositions and abilities between have and no relevant curriculum experiences. Moreover, the students¡¦ critical thinking abilities in experimental curriculum were better than those in nothing. There were significant differences of critical thinking abilities between educational university and science technology university. 5. Lived experiences of college students have canonical correlation with critical thinking. Two canonical factors of college students lived experiences efficacy explains 37% of all the critical thinking. 6. Father¡¦s education of college students¡Bschool styles¡Bteam work¡Bart¡Bpopular and information experiences could efficacy predict students¡¦ critical thinking .

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between lived experiences and thinking styles for college students in Taiwan.Investigation method is employed in the study.There are 2443 college students are served as the standardization sample in order to develop their percentile norm in Taiwan.In addition,there are 346 college students to write Thinking Style Inventory with Lived Experience Inventory of the norm sample. The data is analyzed through descriptive statistics,t-test,One-Way ANOVA and canonical correlation. The results indicate that: 1.College students¡¦lived experiences styles tend to be group activities style, and then thinking styles tend to be monarchic style.There are no significant differences in the mean scores of all kinds of lived experiences and thinking styles. 2.Gender has significant differents in the college students¡¦lived experiences and thinking styles.Birth order has no significant differents in the college students¡¦lived experiences and thinking styles.Then education level of parents has significant differents in the college students¡¦lived experiences,but in the thinking styles is not. 3.The shool background have no significant differents in the college students¡¦lived experiences and thinking styles. 4.College students¡¦lived experiences have canonical correlation with college students¡¦thinking styles.The first canonical factor of college students¡¦lived experiences efficacy explains 4¢H of all the college students¡¦thinking styles.

The use of prescription opioids for chronic non-cancer pain is complex. Opioids have the potential to alleviate discomfort and increase ones overall ability to function but, long term use also has potential physical and psychological impacts. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of adults who use prescription opioids to manage chronic non-cancer pain. Nine participants were recruited and interviewed. Participants were asked to describe how using prescription opioids had affected their lives. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed thematically using Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Eight themes emerged from the data: the process of decision making, physical effects of using opioids, social consequences of using opioids, Guilt, fears, ambivalence, self-protection, and acceptance. Using opioids made pain more manageable and improved function for most of the participants. Nevertheless, using opioids was also associated with stigma, guilt, fears and ambivalence about their future as persons with chronic pain.

This study examined the lived experience of diabetes as told by four young women with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Assuming a qualitative approach, I asked participants to describe their medical, academic, social, and psychological experiences during a single, guided open-ended interview. Analysis of the data revealed the subjective and unique nature of the illness experience, and the variety of ways in which diabetes had influenced Abbey’s, Olivia’s, Hannah’s, and Melinda’s life choices and existence. Despite differing in the ways in which they experienced their illness, there were some similarities that existed across cases. These women all faced a variety of challenges throughout their lives, ranging from difficulties with the treatment regimen, with the lack of diabetes awareness in the school setting, and in coming to terms with their illness. Applying the Shifting Perspectives Model of Illness (Paterson, 2001) to the stories told by these four women provided an in-depth view of how these four individuals with diabetes made meaning of their experiences. Because these women viewed their lives primarily from a wellness in the foreground perspective, they were able to identify the many positive ways in which diabetes had transformed their lives. This study contributes to the understanding of the lived experience of diabetes in the literature, and is one of the few studies to explore the diabetes experience using a theoretical framework. Recommendations for teachers are made based on the participants’ interpretations of the needs of diabetic students in the classroom, and based on suggestions offered by these four women. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2008-07-30 11:24:06.407

The purpose of this qualitative thesis is to describe the common elements of sense of place in the lived experiences of volunteer trail managers. Through a triangulation of data gathered from secondary research, interviews with trail managers, and participation observation of hikers, I sought to draw out the essence of the trail manager???s sense of place towards their trail experience and connect this back to ongoing management challenges in the organization. Some of these challenges include declining membership, limited lines of communication, and problematic landowner relations. Themes around this common sense of place are situated within meanings, relationship/ attachments, emotions, and behaviors towards the trail experience. Interrelationships between sense of place, phenomenology, and trail management are also highlighted.

With little research documenting elderly medication users’ beliefs and attitudes towards medication, the purpose of this study is to document how seniors experience medication use within the context of their daily lives. The study population was comprised of female and male seniors aged 65 and over who were recruited from the Parksville – Qualicum Beach and Nanaimo communities of eastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The findings of this research suggest that for seniors, medication use is a complex and emotionally charged experience. It is an experience filled with contradictions, in which seniors are forced to negotiate between diverse realms of information concerning medications, from the directives they receive from health care professionals, to the signals they receive from their bodies. It is an experience in which powerful conceptions of medications as prolongers of life often trump an individual’s overwhelming desire to stop taking those medications. This research is intended to expand our understandings of the perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs that inform Canadian seniors’ medication use practices. Furthermore, findings from this thesis will contribute to a collaborative investigation of seniors’ experiences with medication designed to address the increasing number of adverse drug reactions experienced by the elderly. / Graduate

<p>Recent work has shown that hyperpolarized magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HP-MRS) can trace in vivo metabolism of biomolecules and is therefore extremely promising for diagnostic imaging. The most severe challenge this technique faces is the short signal lifetime for hyperpolarization, which is dictated by the spin-lattice (T1) relaxation. In this thesis we show with theory, simulation and experiment that the long-lived nuclear spin states in chemically equivalent or near equivalent spin systems offer a solution to this problem. Spin polarization that has lifetime much longer than T1 (up to 70-fold) has been demonstrated with pulse sequence techniques that are compatible with clinical imaging settings. Multiple classes of molecules have been demonstrated to sustain such long-lived hyperpolarization.</p> / Dissertation

This qualitative study sought to understand better the experiences of women leaders in México, a predominantly male-dominated culture. Seven women leaders were interviewed. They shared personal experiences, reflections, feelings, ideas, and actions related to their leadership positions in different arenas, such as corporate, political, academic, and non-profit organizations. Phenomenology was the most appropriate tye of inquiry for this study because its objective was to develop a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of women in leadership positions in México, a predominantly male-dominated culture. I conducted a thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews to discover commonalities among the experiences of the participants. A list of preliminary themes emerged. I made follow-up contacts with the participants to verify the findings, and themes were revised and accepted. The analysis revealed insights into six themes: preparation, innate characteristics, move under principles and ethical values, the job itself is very important, to find a balance between personal and professional time as a goal, and benefits that the leadership position give to them. A total of five subthemes emerged under four of the six themes: academic, the women leaders want to have an impact in social responsibility activities, they like challenges and being competitive, independence, and recognition.

This dissertation presents results of ethnographic study at a non-religious summer camp called Camp Quest Montana in the summer of 2011 and the numerous insights gained into the lived experiences of non-religious Americans. These particular Americans, because of their non-religion, have experienced unique pressures while navigating through life in a country that is and has been dominated by religious identification and belief. The ethnographic accounts gathered over the course of a week at Camp Quest Montana show how these non-religious people were using a language of belief, informed by a spirituality derived from science, as part of an effort to fit themselves into this wider and religiously steeped American culture. This dissertation argues that the Camp Questers express themselves through a language of “belief” because of the current and historical pressures to be religious, along with Americans’ tendency to distrust non-religious people. Using “belief” language allows them to talk about themselves in a way that makes sense to religious Americans, while also maintaining a non-religious identification. Moreover, this study found differences between how first and second-generation non-religious Americans (the parents and children at Camp Quest Montana) interact with religious Americans. These variations are important because they point to different experiences of the social and cultural landscape of the United States, differences that are reflected in each generation’s non-religious expression. This data also presents a challenge to current arguments regarding the benefits of religion to the socialization and overall well-being of youth.

Experiencing a patient death can directly affect the well-being of health care professionals; however, this phenomenon and the effects of patients' deaths are not well understood in the transport setting. Transport nurses work in unique settings with complex patients and significant autonomy in determining the plan of care; therefore, the experiences of other health care professionals may not be applicable in this environment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of transport nurses who have experienced patient death using Husserl's life-world and phenomenological philosophies as a theoretical framework. Semistructured interviews were completed with 8 transport nurses who had experienced a patient death in their care using video-conferencing and verbatim transcription of the interviews. Data analysis was manually coded and categorized into themes based on Moustaka's modification of the Van Kaam methods of analysis of phenomenological data. Key findings included 5 themes. Findings from this study indicate that patient death, particularly unexpected death, takes an emotional toll on transport nurses. Most transport nurses indicated that they did not have formal debriefing or support from the transport program following patient death. Transport nurses relied on their partners for feedback and support following patient death. Recommendations based on this research include promoting education regarding the psychosocial effects of death in the transport environment and formal debriefing following an unexpected death. Results from this study can be used to promote positive social change by improving the experiences of transport providers following a patient death, which may lead to improved retention and nurse satisfaction.