Thesis (Sc.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 1979. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE / Bibliography: p. 424-432. / Sc.D.

While mathematical problem solving and problem posing are central to good mathematics teaching and mathematical learning, no criteria exist for what makes a good mathematics problem. This grounded theory study focused on defining attributes of good mathematics problems as determined by students, teachers, and mathematicians. The research questions explored the similarities and differences of the responses of these three populations. The data were analyzed using the grounded theory approach of the constant comparative method. Fifty eight students from an urban private school, 15 teachers of mathematics, and 7 mathematicians were given two sets of problems, one with 10 algebra problems and one with 10 number theory problems, and were asked choose which problems they felt were the “best” and the “least best”. Once their choices were made, they were asked to list the attributes of the problems that lead to their choices. Responses were coded and the results were compared within each population between the two different problem sets and between populations. The results of the study show that while teachers and mathematicians agree, for the most part, about what attributes make a good mathematics problem, neither of those populations agreed with the students. The results from this study may be useful for teachers as they write or evaluate problems to use in their classes.

After a negative consumption experience, consumers often like to muse about how their consumption might have turned out better. For example, a traveler who missed a flight may imagine that "if I had taken another transport to the airport, I might have caught the flight," or "I would have been enjoying my vacation if I had caught the flight." These imaginations, called counterfactual thoughts, have been documented to pose two effects on responses to negative consumptions. On one hand, they are functional because they provide corrective information that helps consumers solve problems associated with the consumption (Markman et al. 1993; Roese 1994). On the other hand, they are painful because they accentuate negative feelings about the consumption when they highlight the possibility that the consumption might have turned out better (Gleicher et al. 1990; Markman et al. 1993). Existing understanding on these two effects suggests that while people may learn a good lesson from their counterfactual thoughts, they have to contain the negative feelings induced by these thoughts. / In addition, this research also identifies the situational factors that promote the generation of process- and outcome-focused counterfactuals. Consumers are more likely to generate process-focused (versus outcome-focused) counterfactuals when they expect that the consumption is more likely to repeat. They are more likely to generate outcome-focused (versus process-focused) counterfactuals the closer they had missed a better-off consumption outcome. / In summary, this research contributes to the counterfactual literature by proposing thought focus as a new dimension to classify counterfactuals into process- and outcome-focused counterfactuals. It also advances existing understanding on the two effects of counterfactual generation and demonstrates that consumers may enjoy the problem-solving function of counterfactual generation without paying a psychological cost. Finally, this research provides managers insights into when promoting counterfactual generation is beneficial and when it is undesirable. / This research is motivated to tease out the problem-solving and affect accentuation effects of counterfactual generation, such that people may learn a lesson from counterfactual generation without paying incremental psychological cost. To start with, this research proposes thought focus as a new dimension to classify counterfactual thoughts into process- and outcome-focused counterfactuals. This classification is then used as a means to tease out the two effects of counterfactual generation. Specifically, it is argued that process- and outcome-focused counterfactuals pose differential consequences to consumers who experienced negative consumptions. Process-focused counterfactuals, which focus on the process leading to a better-off imagined outcome (e.g., taking another transport to airport), promote corrective behaviors in subsequent consumptions and reduce the chance of having negative experiences in the future. Outcome-focused counterfactuals, which focus on the benefits brought by a better-off outcome (e.g., enjoying the vacation), intensify the negative feelings (such as disappointment and unhappiness) about the current consumption. / Ho, Ka Yan. / Adviser: Jessica Y. Y. Kwong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-11, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-73). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

Since 2012, hundreds of companies have poured thousands of dollars into hackathons – finite events where creatives come together in small teams to design, build, and demo a new product of feature. The spectacle of the hackathon engages participants in a number of things: a transgressive ethos, disciplined play, and hacker’s literacies (Santo 2011). Based on my dissertation fieldwork at seven hackathons in three industries (journalism, healthcare, and e-government), I explore various types of play labor (Terranova 2000) based on the performances of eight teams. I show how teams creatively manage their peers’ affective and intellectual labor, and negotiate what appear to be industry-specific preferences for different technologies. In the process of competing for status and recognition, they engender distinct forms of play labor and making do. Hackathon participants directly embed resistance in their designs; some learn how to learn (Bateson 1972), giving them a strategic advantage over other classes of workers. They embody the characteristics of the new worker-subject required in the digital economy, as mutable, playful, and rapid.

The aim of this thesis is to adress the problem of capability brokering. A capability-brokering agent recieves capability advertisements from problem-solving agents and problem descriptions from problem-holding agents. The amin task for the broker is to find problem-solving agents that have the capabilities to address problems described to the broker by a problem-holding agent. Capability brokering poses two problems: for advertisements, and matching problems and capabilities, to find capable problem-solvers. For the representation part of the problem, there have been a number of representations in AI that address similar issues. We review various logical representations, action representations, and representations for models of problem solving and conclude that, while all of these areas have some positive features for the representation of capabilities, they also all have serious drawbacks. We describe a new capability description language, CDL, which shares the positive features of previous languages while avoiding their drawbacks. CDL is a decoupled action representation into which arbitrary state representations can be plugged, resulting in the expressiveness and flexibility needed for capability brokering. Reasoning over capability descriptions takes place on two levels. The outer level deals with agent communication and we have devloped the Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language (KQML) here. At the inner level the main task is to decide whether a capability description subsumes a problem description. In CDL thee subsumtion relation for achievable objectives is defined in terms of the logical entailment relation betwenn sentences in the state language used within CDL. The definition of subsumption for performable tasks in turn is based on this definition for achievable objectives. We describe algoritms in this thesis which have all been implemented and incorporated into he Java Agent Template where they proved sufficient to operationalise anumber of example scenarios. The two most important featues of CDL are its expressiveness and its flexibility. By expressiveness we mean the ability to express more than is possible in other representations. By flexibility we mean the possibility to delay decisions regarding the compromises that have to be made to knowledge representation time. The scenarions we ahve implemted illustrate the importance of the features and we have shown in this thesis that CDL indeed possess thease features. Thus, CDL is an expressive and flexible capability description language that can be used to address the problem of capability brokering.

This study examined parent engagement, child engagement, and quality of problem solving in a sample of families engaged in a trial of parent management training intervention. Data were collected for treatment and control groups at preintervention and 2, 4, and 6 months after the initial assessment. Variables in this study were measured utilizing a global coding scheme used to categorize parent-child behavioral observations. The coding scheme was developed by Forgatch, Knutson, and Mayne. Preliminary analyses led to scale changes due to lack of variance in observations. Results show that treatment group showed a gain in problem solving skills at T2; however those gains were not retained at T3. There was a gain between T3 and T4. The control group showed an increase at T4 from baseline in problem solving skills. Both parent and child engagement decreased for both groups, with the lowest time point occurring at T3.

No description available.

Aims. Problem-solving approaches to teaching mathematics have been recommended in curriculum documents for some time but there is evidence to suggest that there has been limited classroom implementation both in Australia as well as overseas. This investigation explored the level of implementation of mathematical problem solving in primary classrooms in NSW. Teachers' beliefs about the role of problem solving in learning mathematics as well as their classroom practices were also investigated. To explore what teachers believe and what they do in relation to problem solving, this investigation examined primary school teachers' reported beliefs about the role of problem solving in learning mathematics and their reported practices in classrooms. It aimed to discover how beliefs about mathematical problem solving influenced decision making in teachers' classrooms and what factors promoted and hindered the implementation of problem-solving approaches. The results of this investigation could provide benefits to several different groups involved in mathematics education. Preservice teacher educators and presenters of inservice education courses could benefit from increased knowledge about the role of beliefs in determining practices as well as potential constraints on desirable practices. Associated with this may be the need to challenge teachers' beliefs that might not support the development of practices that promote problem-solving approaches. For practising teachers, professional development could focus on examining their beliefs and providing the necessary support for teachers to realise the aim of assisting their pupils to achieve problem-solving competence. Curriculum developers may benefit from an increased awareness of the difficulties associated with implementing recommended approaches. Finally, participating teachers may benefit from their involvement in the investigation through opportunities to reflect on their practice while completing the survey instrument as well as during interview discussions with the researcher. Scope. Data collection focused on teachers' beliefs about mathematics, teaching mathematics and learning mathematics, as well as on their reported practices since all of these factors impact on what occurs in teachers' classrooms. A combination of methods was used to collect data so that there was increased confidence in the research findings. In this way, the results of one method could be tested against another for consistency, thus enhancing trustworthiness and dependability. The data collection for this investigation was divided into two phases. The first phase involved the use of a questionnaire to seek data on teachers' reported problem solving beliefs and practices as little is known overall in this area, particularly within the context of Australian teachers. Responses were received from 162 primary school teachers currently teaching in NSW. The instrument was designed with reference to similar instruments that had been used by other researchers in the field and incorporated a combination of closed and open questions. The second phase of data collection incorporated interviews and observations that were conducted in the field. These methods were used to explore the problem-solving teaching approaches used by a small number of teachers in particular school settings. To collect data about teachers' planning for instruction, and opportunities that support or constrain innovative practices, it was more appropriate to explore particular contexts that would provide a rich set of data. Conclusions. Analyses of data confirmed the spread of teachers' beliefs, the diversity of their practice, and revealed issues that could hinder their problem-solving efforts in classrooms. A small group of surveyed teachers reported holding very traditional views that were quite distinct from another group who reported support for very contemporary views. These differences were also apparent in relation to reported classroom practices and appeared to be linked to the current teaching grade level of the respondents. This was confirmed during the interviews and observations as it seems easier for teachers of the lower primary grades to implement practices identified as supporting problem-solving approaches. For teachers of upper primary grades, parents' and school expectations impinge on teachers' practices and potentially constrain their problem-solving efforts. For the two teachers who participated in the classroom observations, considerable energy was required to resist constraints and implement problem-solving approaches. Recommendations for practice and future research include the need for an examination of constraints on practice, the role of reflective practice in implementing innovative practices, the viability of teaching through problem solving as a necessary and important teaching approach, and the use of a variety of problem types in preparing students to be successful problem solvers. In addition, teachers may need to be encouraged to continually reflect on practice and teacher educators may need to raise the awareness of preservice and inservice teachers to the issues involved in implementing problem-solving approaches in their classrooms.

Schotte and Clum (1982,1987) proposed a model of suicide ideation in which cognitive rigidity (in the presenc eof negative life stress) causes a reduction in problem solving capacity and subsequently leads to hopelessness, which in turn increases the risk for suicide ideation. The aim of the current study was to attempt to improve the model by the addition of a coping variable. The model was tested using a sample 05 85 undergraduate psychology students. the subjects were requested to complete a total of five questionnaires on a once only basis. A new model was developed in which a low level of problem solving confidence and a failure to express emotions combines with the presence of negative life stress to lead to a state of hopelessness, which in turn increases the risk of suicideideation. Results of the study are discussed in terms of the need for a more complex model of suicide ideation which more fully accounts for the effects of different coping strategies on the development of feelings of hopelessness. / Masters Thesis

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: James Hiebert, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.