Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 99 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 53-60).

No description available.

No description available.

Background Nurses complete tasks during patient care to promote the recovery, or to maintain the health, of patients. These tasks can be routine or non-routine to the nurse. Non-routine tasks are characterized by unfamiliarity, requiring nurses to seek additional information from a variety of sources to effectively complete the tasks. Nurses’ perception of their problem-solving skills, as characterized by the attributes of personal control, problem-solving confidence, and avoidance-approach style, influences how information is sought. Objectives/Research Questions Guided by the information-seeking behaviour model, this study was designed to: (1) examine how the non-routineness of the task affects nurses’ information-seeking behaviour and the use of accumulated knowledge; and, (2) explore nurses’ perception of their problem-solving abilities. Methods An exploratory cross-sectional survey design was used. A random sample of critical care nurses who worked in a hospital setting were selected from the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) research participant database. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the proposed relationships. Results Avoidance-approach style and, problem-solving confidence did not have a significant relationship with nurses’ information-seeking behaviour. None of the variables explained use of accumulated knowledge (F = 0.902, p > 0.05). Previous training (p = 0.008), Non-routineness of the task (p = 0.018), and Personal control (p = 0.040) had a positive relationship with information-seeking behaviour (Adjusted R2 = 0.136). Implications The study results provide evidence that problem-solving ability, and in particular the attribute of personal control, influences nurses’ information-seeking behaviour during the completion of nursing tasks. They reveal how information is sought from resources, and what specific information resources are necessary to promote access to, and use of, evidence-based information. The results also help direct efforts towards training nurses in issues related to problem-solving and information-seeking by targeting the development of personal control and retrieving evidence-based information.

Teaching mathematics is now gaining more importance, as the new elementary mathematics school curriculum has been adapted to Turkish Educational System. One of the main goals of the curriculum reform is to increase elementary school students&rsquo / problem solving abilities in mathematics (Ko&ccedil / , ISiksal &amp / Bulut / 2007). In this study, the aim is to investigate the change in sixth grade students&rsquo / problem solving abilities, attitude towards problem solving and attitude toward mathematics after mathematics instruction based on Polya&rsquo / s problem solving steps. The sample of this study consisted of 53 sixth grade students from an elementary school in Istanbul. The participants consist of a class selected conveniently among all the sixth grade classes in the school. In these selected classes, mathematical problems are solved according to the Polya&rsquo / s problem solving steps by following different problem solution techniques during the semester.At the end of this study, the three main results were found: 1) Instruction based on Polya&rsquo / s step has significantly affected students&rsquo / problem solving abilities in a positive way, 2) students&rsquo / attitudes towards problem solving has changed in a positive way, 3) students&rsquo / attitudes towards mathematics is enhanced by the instruction based on Polya&rsquo / s problem solving steps.

This study aimed to explore the relationship among self-esteem, problem solving ability, ways of coping, social support and suicidal ideation of patients with schizophrenia and the differences between these variables according to the existence of suicide attempt of the patients with schizophrenia. In order to analyse the relationship and find out the differences among patients who did and did not attempt suicide, Rosenberg&#039 / s Self Esteem Scale, Problem Solving Inventory, Turkish Ways of Coping Inventory, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Suicidal Ideation Scale were conducted to 90 patients with schizophrenia. The results of the study indicated that there was not a significant main effect for suicide attempt on self-esteem, problem solving,problem focused coping, emotion focused coping, indirect coping, social support and suicidal ideation of patients with schizophrenia. The only variable that significantly predict suicidal ideation found to be self-esteem. The results of the study evaluated and implications of the study were discussed. Finally, limitations of the study and recommendations for future research were explained.

The purpose of this study was to compare Student Teams Achievement Division (STAD) with Traditional Pedagogy for the effects on third-grade students with respect to math achievement, problem solving ability, math learning motivation, learning satisfaction, and interest in math learning. The quasi-experimental design was utilized for this study. The study data were collected through questionnaire survey and interviews. The subjects of the study were 61 third-grade students from two classes of an elementary school in the Kaohsiung City. One class was chosen as the experimental group in which STAD was employed in the experimental instruction and the other was chosen as the control group in which traditional pedagogy was adopted. Data were collected during the period of experimental instruction and were analyzed afterwards. The main results are presented as follows: 1. The math achievement of students who received STAD method was significantly higher after the experimental instruction than before. As for the improvement at posttest from pretest in math achievement, students in STAD group performed better than students in traditional pedagogy group did, but the difference did not reach the significant level. 2. The problem solving ability of students who received STAD method were significantly higher after the experimental instruction than before. As for the improvement at posttest from pretest in problem solving ability, students in STAD group performed significantly better than students in traditional pedagogy group did, which meant the STAD group made much more improvement than the traditional pedagogy group did after the experimental instruction. 3. After the experimental instruction, students who received STAD method performed better in math problem solving interview than those who received traditional pedagogy did. Students who received STAD method were more capable of understanding the questions without interviewer¡¦s explanations. Compared with the control group, the STAD group gave correct solutions more frequently, and was able to provide more reasonable explanations to their solutions. Besides, the STAD group was willing to try various ways to solve the same problem. 4. After the experimental instruction, students who received STAD method had significantly higher math learning motivation than did before; as for the improvement at posttest from pretest in math learning motivation, students in STAD group also performed better than students in traditional pedagogy group. 5. After the experimental instruction, students who received STAD method had significantly higher math learning interests than did before; as for the improvement at posttest from pretest in math learning interests, students in STAD group also performed better than students in traditional pedagogy group. Finally, the researcher proposed several suggestions for the ducational application in classroom teaching and future studies.

The process of social problem-solving appears to consist of several general stages including problem orientation, problem definition, generation of alternatives, and decision making. A significant number of studies have found that depressed individuals have a more negative orientation towards their problems and generate a smaller number of less effective solutions on pencil-and-paper measures. Rumination in response to a dysphoric mood has been found to exacerbate feelings of sadness and social problem-solving deficits, while efforts at distraction have been found to reduce or eliminate these effects. To date, nearly all of the research on social problem-solving has utilized pencil-and-paper measures of how individuals feel they would respond to hypothetical problems. The current investigation was designed to evaluate the social problem-solving ability of dysphoric and non-dysphoric participants while talking with a counselor in an analogue counseling interview.More specifically, this study examined the effects of dysphoria and the use of temporary distraction techniques on the social problem-solving ability of 84 female undergraduate students. A structured problem-solving interview and corresponding coding system was designed to measure D'Zurilla and Goldfried's (1971) stages of problem-solving. The coding system yielded high levels of internal consistency, content validity, and construct validity. Forty-one dysphoric females and 43 non-dysphoric females were randomly assigned to either a rumination or distraction task. Dysphoric participants in the rumination condition reported increased levels of sadness, whereas dysphoric participants in the distraction condition reported decreased levels of sadness. After engaging in the rumination or distraction task, each participant was asked to talk with a female counselor during a structured problem-solving interview. Results of a 2 (dysphoric/non-dysphoric) X 2 (rumination/distraction) MANOVA yielded a non-significant interaction effect and a significant difference for the main effect of dysphoria on participants' ratings of problem severity and confidence in solving the problem. Dysphoric participants, whether given a rumination or distraction task, reported a more negative orientation towards their problems, but did not display any deficits in their ability to describe the problem, generate effective solutions, or choose an effective solution. The current findings underscore the need for more naturalistic, behavioral measurements of problem-solving ability and call into question the assumption that depressed individuals exhibit social problem-solving deficits. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Background Nurses complete tasks during patient care to promote the recovery, or to maintain the health, of patients. These tasks can be routine or non-routine to the nurse. Non-routine tasks are characterized by unfamiliarity, requiring nurses to seek additional information from a variety of sources to effectively complete the tasks. Nurses’ perception of their problem-solving skills, as characterized by the attributes of personal control, problem-solving confidence, and avoidance-approach style, influences how information is sought. Objectives/Research Questions Guided by the information-seeking behaviour model, this study was designed to: (1) examine how the non-routineness of the task affects nurses’ information-seeking behaviour and the use of accumulated knowledge; and, (2) explore nurses’ perception of their problem-solving abilities. Methods An exploratory cross-sectional survey design was used. A random sample of critical care nurses who worked in a hospital setting were selected from the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) research participant database. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the proposed relationships. Results Avoidance-approach style and, problem-solving confidence did not have a significant relationship with nurses’ information-seeking behaviour. None of the variables explained use of accumulated knowledge (F = 0.902, p > 0.05). Previous training (p = 0.008), Non-routineness of the task (p = 0.018), and Personal control (p = 0.040) had a positive relationship with information-seeking behaviour (Adjusted R2 = 0.136). Implications The study results provide evidence that problem-solving ability, and in particular the attribute of personal control, influences nurses’ information-seeking behaviour during the completion of nursing tasks. They reveal how information is sought from resources, and what specific information resources are necessary to promote access to, and use of, evidence-based information. The results also help direct efforts towards training nurses in issues related to problem-solving and information-seeking by targeting the development of personal control and retrieving evidence-based information.

The nature and function of Task Complexity, in the context of senior secondary mathematics, has been identified through: a search of the research literature; interviews with experts that focused on the nature of task complexity; expert use of the Williams/Clarke Framework of Complexity (1997) as a tool to categorise the complexity of a task, and observation and analysis of the responses of senior secondary mathematics students as they worked in collaborative groups to solve an unfamiliar challenging problem. Although frequently used in the literature to describe tasks, ‘complexity’ has often lacked definition. Expert opinion about the nature of mathematical complexity was ascertained by seeking the opinions of experts in the areas of mathematics, mathematics education, and gifted education. Expert opinion about task complexity was stimulated by questions about the relative complexity of two tasks. The experts then categorised the complexities within each of these tasks using the Williams/Clarke Framework of Complexity. This framework identifies the dimensions of task complexity and was found by experts to be both useful and adequate for this purpose. A theoretical framework was developed to assess student ability to solve challenging problems. This theoretical framework was used to design a test to assess student ability to solve challenging problems. The information this test provided about the problem solving ability of the students in this study informed my analysis of student response to complexity.