This research was undertaken to investigate the effects of solid modeling and visualization on technical problem solving. The participants were 47 students enrolled in solid modeling classes at Southeast Missouri State University. The control and experimental groups consisted of 23 and 24 randomly assigned students respectively. This study was a posttest only design that used logistic regression to analyze the results. Both groups were required to take the Purdue Spatial-Visualization Test/Visualization of Rotations (PSVT/TR). Participants in the control group used only sketching to design their solutions while participants in the experimental group used parametric solid modeling software to design their solutions. All participants then constructed prototypes of their designs. The prototype was evaluated to determine if it successfully met the design specifications. The findings revealed that visualization was a significant predictor of technical problem solving as defined by successful prototype construction (p=.021). There was no significant difference between the sketching and solid modeling design methods used for technical problem solving (p=.752). The interaction between the method of design, solid modeling or sketching, was analyzed to determine if using solid modeling would offset low visualization scores It was found that the interaction was not significant (p=.393). / Ph. D.

This study investigated the usefulness of providing successful and unsuccessful example solutions in enhancing students' technological problem-solving efficiency. Prior research exploring worked example solutions indicated improved problem-solving efficiency when solutions were structured in a fashion that decreased the amount of extraneous cognitive load and increased the amount of germane cognitive load as specified by cognitive load theory. Fifty-one 7th and 8th grade students enrolled in technology education courses were selected from one school in the southwest region of Virginia. Participants completed three technological problem-solving tasks that included elevated load, cantilevered weight, and energy absorption using supply kits containing simple modeling materials. Problem-solving efficiency was determined by combining the amount of elapsed time across all three tasks. A 3 x 3 mixed factorial ANOVA was used to analyze the data. Data analysis revealed trends similar to worked example research in mathematics and science, but no significant difference among the three groups was found in this study. / Ph. D.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the mediating role of social problem solving skills in explaining the relationship between early aggression and later behavior problems. Additionally, the moderational role of social problem solving skills was also examined. The criteria proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) and Holmbeck (1997) were followed to test the mediational and the moderational models. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between early aggression and social problem solving skills, social problem solving skills and later behavior problems, and early aggression and later behavior problems. Results indicated that social problem solving skills do not mediate the relationship between early aggression and later behavior problems. However, social problem solving skills do moderate this relationship. Further, it was the number of categories generated as opposed to the number of solutions that was the better predictor. The clinical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. / Master of Science

Diversity in the workplace remains a priority for leaders and managers as the dynamic nature of the global marketplace necessitates that organizations develop and maintain a competitive advantage in their field. Learning has long been touted as the key to leveraging limited resources to gain a corner in the market. However, organizations continue to struggle with the management of diversity, as well as systems and processes that promote learning at an organizational level. This study sought to explore a theorized relationship between individual problem-solving style, an aspect of cognitive diversity, and organizational learning capability. Two Midwestern companies participated in this sequential explanatory mixed methods study that aimed to: (a) examine the influence of cognitive style on organizational learning; (b) explore the differences between more adaptive and more innovative individuals, with respect to their organization's cognitive climate, in terms of their development and modification of learning frameworks and shared mental models; (c) determine what role more adaptive and more innovative individuals play in catalyzing organizational learning, namely double-loop and deutero-learning; and (d) identify inhibitors of double-loop and deutero-learning, distinguishing differences for more adaptive and more innovative problem solvers. Findings indicate that there was no relationship between problem-solving style, measured by KAI total scores, and organizational learning capability total scores in one organization and a small correlation between the scales of a second organization. This finding supports Kirton's (2011) assertions that problem-solving style is independent of learning, but some organizations may have small relationships between individual's problem-solving style and organizational learning based on various organizational dynamics. Five themes emerged as cultural mediators of cognitive diversity in the context of catalyzing organizational learning: 1) corporate expectations that create a clear, concise shared mental model for employee behavior and decision making (produced and promoted via an organizational guidebook); 2) the use of agreed-upon structures and methodologies for solving problems; 3) the employment of former military officers (due to the specific skills and experiences needed to successfully fulfill specific roles); 4) the development and nurturing of healthy teams; and, 5) an expectation of boundary-less collaboration. These themes, collectively, assert the importance of a culture that puts culture first. In practice, leaders and managers may find that a clearly defined culture that supports and promotes the use of systems and procedures to collaboratively solve problems and extend learning from individual to organizational is essential to mitigating the challenges that may result from exploiting cognitive diversity in the workplace. / Ph. D. / Change is a constant for organizations as they strive to compete for resources in a global marketplace. In order to gain and maintain a competitive advantage, organizations are challenged to manage change, as well as diversity and differences among employees, effectively. An understanding of how these differences, namely cognitive diversity, impact problem solving and learning is central to this study, as diversity in the workplace continues to increase and the need to problem solve and learn together necessitates management of this particular aspect of diversity. Furthermore, the relationship between these two processes, specifically at the individual level, has not been clearly explicated. This study sought to explore a central question: Does the manner and style by which an individual prefers to engage in the problem-solving process catalyze organizational learning in the form of revised policies and procedures (single-loop), amended norms, values, or core focus (double-loop), or changes to the frameworks and mental models that produce learning outcomes (deutero-learning)? Two Midwestern companies participated in this study and provided the first empirical data to suggest that problem-solving style is unrelated to one’s organizational learning capability. Through a series of interviews, five practices appear to mediate aspects of an organization’s culture and reduce the challenges associated with the management of cognitive diversity that often limit the success of problem solving and learning efforts. These mediating cultural factors are: 1) corporate expectations that create a clear, concise shared mental model for employee behavior and decision making (produced and promoted via an organizational guidebook); 2) the use of agreed-upon structures and methodologies for solving problems; 3) the employment of former military officers (due to the specific skills and experiences needed to successfully fulfill specific roles); 4) the development and nurturing of healthy teams; and, 5) an expectation of boundary-less collaboration. While these findings are not novel, they do underscore the importance of culture in developing the systems and structures that promote effective problem solving and learning at an organizational level. These results suggest that leaders and managers must continue to advocate for and manage cognitive diversity as the problems faced by organizations today are more complex and intractable. By employing mediating cultural factors and investing resources in a “culture first” environment, the benefits of cognitive diversity can be exploited for organizational gain and managed to minimize coping. Championing a strategic learning environment provides a context in which individual learning and social structures permit powerful higher-order learning that engages, challenges, clarifies, and optimizes the shared resources available for problem solving and organizational success.

This thesis describes user interface and visualization components in the problem solving environment "Site-Specific System Simulator for Wireless System Design" (S4W) developed by CS and ECE faculty and students at Virginia Tech. S4W integrates visualization and computational tools with a high level user interface. The objective of this PSE is to improve the ability of wireless design engineers to design an indoor wireless system through the aid of various simulation and visualization components. S4W provides engineers with the facility of thinking in terms of the overall task of designing the system for optimal performance. They need not to worry about computation, data-management and connectivity issues. The choice of method for interaction between service logic within a PSE and its user is always a challenging issue. The selection of user interaction channel is mostly dictated by the characteristics of the problem domain. For S4W, we chose to build a graphical user interface as human interaction interface, which was connected to other components via a high speed Local Area Network (LAN). The other key form of user interaction in a PSE is the visual representations of the abstract data results of simulations, perceived as user interface for data. The Complex nature of data sets in the domain of wireless simulations calls for a customized set of visualization tools. To address the specific needs of visualizations for S4W, ad hoc visualization tools were developed and integrated into the graphical user interface. A comparison of the integrated PSE and an earlier collection of unintegrated tools and scripts is presented. / Master of Science

It is our purpose here to investigate the method of solving equations for real roots by Newton's Method and to indicate a generalization arising from this method.

No description available.

Based on the notion that instructional design is a goal-directed problem-solving activity, this study seeks to describe and compare the ways that instructional designers organize and utilize problem information in making design decisions. Research in areas such as architectural, computer software and engineering design suggests that the design process involves identification and selection of a variety of elements from a large number of possible configurations. Designers tend to decompose design problems into smaller sub-problems which can be solved separately. Little is known about how problem information is used by instructional designers, but it is likely that the instructional design process is similar to design in other domains. Participants who had a minimum of five years of instructional design experience in a variety of settings accessed information contained on individual note cards in order to develop a tentative solution to a problem involving training for librarians. The data provided by videotapes of the think-aloud sessions was analyzed to determine which information was selected, the sequence in which the information was accessed, and the i strategies used to acquire the information and use it in designing a solution. Results indicated that certain categories of information, particularly information about the learner, l skills to be trained, time for training and available resources, were accessed more than others. Designers also tended to access the information in similar sequences. The descriptions provided by this research may help to achieve a better understanding of the instructional design process. Once we know how designers organize the process, it will be possible to track the development of instructional design expertise. / Ed. D.

This qualitative case study addressed the question, “What strategies and tactics do people use to access intuition in solving complex, ill-structured problems?” Such problems are not routine, well-defined, or solved by immediate application of well-known procedures or decision rules. A comprehensive literature review revealed a paucity of empirical data on accessing intuition during problem solving. Additionally, while some posited a relationship between ill-structured problems and intuitions, no studies existed linking the two. This study explored people’s specific actions at the moment when an overall solution becomes apparent to the problem solver. It focused on both the conscious actions people take to access their intuition (strategies) and on the conscious or unconscious skills, clusters of related skills, or procedures (tactics) they use (Gerber, 1983), as well as underlying tacit processes (Fischbein, 1987). Participants were 11 human resource managers. This group was chosen because its members frequently encounter complex, ill-structured problems or help others focus on how to solve such problems. Specific individuals were recommended by colleagues who considered them to be articulate and interested in intuition. They completed journals to document the moment of solution and participated in follow-up, in-depth interviews. To ensure internal validity, participants acted in the role of “co-researchers.” They reviewed manuscripts, journals, and interviews for accuracy and reviewed written narratives to ensure that their statements had been understood. Two corraborated the process of category construction. A qualitative content analysis of journal results indicated that in seven instances intuitions occurred when participants were with others and that these seven were listening in some fashion at the moment of solution. Further analysis, which incorporated the interviews, indicated that actions most frequently taken at the moment of intuition included immersion, searching, thinking—working on task, undirected thinking, making connections, and listening. Whether a given action was a Strategy, tactic, or tacit process depended on how deliberately people acted and how aware they were of their actions. Results also showed that problems were ill-structured and that intuitions had characteristics consistent with those identified by Fischbein (1987). Finally, the study found that, for the participants in this case study, the dynamics of intuition can be summed up with the following proposition: A propelling concern to solve a complex problem leads to continuous search and spontaneous combustion. Implications for future research suggest the need for a conceptual framework for studying intuition; extended research in the workplace and other settings, examining especially instances when people are with others at the moment of solution; a more in-depth investigation of actions to access intuition, focusing on specific actions such as listening as well as the sequencing of all actions; and inquiry into how people’s values and beliefs affect their actions. It is recommended that practitioners join in research efforts as well as engage learners in an exploration of their own actions to access intuition during problem solving. / Ed. D.

Thriving youth have the capacity to contribute to greater society and develop independence, mastery, generosity, and a sense of belonging. This development is frequently enhanced through youth programming as ability expansion rather than capacity for authority and community engagement. In Virginia 4-H teen-leadership initiatives infused with positive youth development provide opportunities to bolster active and engaged citizenship (AEC). The purpose of this study was to explain AEC through the examination of ethical factors, demographics, and problem-solving disposition of youth participating in leadership-development programs. This study utilized both person- and variable-centered analyses to develop youth profiles and determine the impact of ethical factors, demographics, and problem-solving disposition on AEC for participants in long-term 4-H teen-leadership programs and short-term 4-H leadership trainings. An ex post facto survey design was used to develop clusters of youth and explain the relationship between problem-solving disposition, demographics, ethical factors, and AEC. The findings indicated that both ethical factors and problem-solving disposition significantly explained AEC for both treatments. Additionally, findings indicated significant differences between clusters for AEC, civic duty, and civic skills. These differences were predominately observed through membership in long-term or short-term leadership programs as well as enrollment in honors/AP courses, gender, ethical views, and problem-solving disposition. Findings informed the incorporation of community problem-solving in the youth's AEC model. A conceptual model for Youth in Community Problem Solving (YCPS) was developed based on theory and findings. Sociocultural theory and reasoned actioned approach, situated within relational developmental systems metatheory, provided a foundation for the YCPS model. Additional literature on positive youth development, youth-leadership development, self-consciousness, sense of community, and problem-solving disposition was utilized in support of the model. Evidence for the inclusion of problem-solving disposition in the model was found through a recent study with youth in leadership programs. If youth are to engage in YCPS partnerships, both youth and adults should be equipped with the necessary tools and resources for equal partnership, so they can overcome power dynamics and inner team conflicts. Additionally, Youth leadership practitioners should consider avenues for infusing character and problem-solving development in gender inclusive program curriculum to increase likelihood for contribution. / Ph. D. / Youth are often not viewed as resources for community development. However, when equipped with the right skills, youth are able to contribute meaningfully as citizens. In Virginia 4-H, there are a variety of programs, clubs, and trainings that focus on citizenship and leadership development. Youth leadership programs are often used to prepare youth as future, rather than current, leaders. Character and problem-solving skills are pathways for increasing citizenship and civic participation. This study sought to examine how character, problem-solving views, and demographics relate to civic engagement of youth. I surveyed 4-H youth participating in year-round teen-leadership programs and camp-counselor or weekend-long leadership trainings. I found that positive views related to character and problem solving influenced youth citizenship regardless of participation in a year-round or weekend-long leadership program. I also found females in year-round programs and youth enrolled in honors/AP courses were more likely to contribute and engage in their communities. These findings led to the development of a model for engaging youth in community problem solving. This model includes relationships, personal development, leadership development, character, and problem-solving views as important elements for preparing youth to engage with community leaders on community issues. Youth leadership practitioners and Extension agents should consider ways to include character and problem-solving education in teen-leadership programs in order to prepare youth for community engagement. Further, youth must be provided opportunities for reflection and mentorship in civic engagement and community problem solving. By equipping youth with the tools necessary to participate in their communities, we can increase the diversity of ideas and solutions to community-based problems