The aim of this research programme was to examine the 3P model of learning (Biggs, 1987a, 1999). The first stage necessarily involved an examination of the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) (Biggs, 1987a), an instrument developed to measure the process component of the model. The structure of the SPQ was examined utilising exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of undergraduate responses (n= 260). The results indicated the higher-order factor structure of deep-achieving and surface-achieving-motive provided the most reliability and a better model fit than either the subscales or scales of the SPQ. The construct validity of the two constructs deep and surface was assessed next using a multitrait-multimethod matrix (MTMM) constructed from the three measures of the self-report questionnaire, interview ratings and written assessments from first-year students (n = 50). The results indicated good convergent validity between the deep scale of the SPQ and the interview ratings on the deep scale, between the deep scale on the SPQ and the written assessment ratings, and between the interview ratings and written assessment ratings. The results indicated good convergent validity between the surface scale on the SPQ and the interview ratings on the surface scale, but not between the surface scale on the SPQ and the written assessment ratings, and between the interview ratings and written assessment ratings. The discriminant validity between deep and surface was good for the SPQ, but not for either the interview or the written assessment. The findings indicate the deep and surface scales of the SPQ adequately measure the underlying deep and surface constructs. The retest reliability of the SPQ was then examined utilising Spearman’s Rho to assess the rank-order correlations with a sample of third-year students (n=87). Over a period of three months there were significant correlations for the surface motive, surface strategy, deep strategy, achieving motive and achieving strategy subscales of the SPQ, suggesting good reliability for these subscales. The results at the scale level of the SPQ result in similar conclusions. There was a moderate significant correlation for the surface, deep and achieving scales of the SPQ, suggesting the scales have good reliability over a period of three months. There was also a moderate significant correlation for the surface-achieving-motive and deep-achieving scales over a period of three months. The stability of SPQ scores was also assessed utilising a series of one-way repeated measures MANOVA’s with a sample of third-year undergraduates (n = 64). The results suggest some change occurs in self-reported use of approaches to learning between the first and third-years of an undergraduate degree programme. The role of the teaching-learning environment was next examined. Utilising a within-subjects design, undergraduate students (n=48) concurrently enrolled in traditional (viz. lecture and tutorial) and non-traditional (viz. workshops and group projects) subjects completed the SPQ to describe their approaches to learning in each subject. A series of 2x2 repeated measures MANOVA’s were undertaken. The results indicated students were likely to change their approach to learning based on their perceptions of the learning environment (traditional or non-traditional subject). However, those students identified as predominantly surface learners significantly increased their deep scale scores in the non-traditional subject when compared to deep learners. The next study examined a range of personality (locus of control, sensing function, thinking function, intelligence) and demographic variables (age, gender, year of study) to assess which were good predictors of deep and surface approaches to learning. A series of regression analyses identified age, sensing function and locus of control as significant predictors of the surface, surface-achieving-motive, and deep approaches to learning. Locus of control was found to be a significant predictor of the deep-achieving approach to learning. The final study examined the 3P model of learning. Based on the results of earlier studies in the research programme the situational component of the presage factors was not included. The model was examined using structural equation modelling (n= 394). Two initial models were tested using both the three (deep, surface, achieving) and two (surface-achieving-motive and deep-achieving) process factor models. The three process factor model provided the better model fit. The results suggest deep and surface approaches to learning do not mediate between personal characteristics and learning outcomes (i.e. GPA). The results of this series of studies suggest the need for further research into the SPQ and the 3P model of learning. The implications of the research programme are also discussed.

The present study aimed to investigate the influences of socio-cultural context on content of delusions within schizophrenic patients among three different geographical areas in Saudi Arabia and to estimate the prevalence of schizotypal personality within the non-clinical Saudi population. Methods: 148 patients meeting DSM-IV criteria of schizophrenia were drawn from in-patient sections of mental health hospitals in three areas of study (Riyadh, Jeddah, and the Eastern Province), and 364 participants were recruited for comparison groups from Saudi universities and general medical practices in the same areas. The study utilized the following instruments: Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), the MacArthur-Maudsley Delusions Assessment Schedule (MMDAS), the World Health Organization (WHO) Life Events Schedule, the Aetiological Beliefs Questionnaire (ABQ), and the Schizotypal-Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Results: Firstly: there were significant main effects of residence and sex on the three dependent SPQ scales, and females and Riyadh area residents scored higher on all dependent SPQ scales especially on the cognitive scale. Secondly: persecutory delusions were the most common delusions among schizophrenic patients followed by delusions of being controlled, and the frequency of persecutory delusions was significantly higher in females and in the Riyadh area. Thirdly: only delusions of jealousy were specifically associated with violent behaviours among schizophrenic patients. Finally: ABQ showed that both supernatural and psychological explanations of illness were common among both control and clinical groups. Qualitative analysis of the content of delusions revealed socio-cultural and gender-related issues that were strongly reflected in the themes and content of delusions. Conclusion: Content analysis of delusions in a Saudi schizophrenic sample showed strong effects of the socio-cultural context and stress points such as racism and gender inequality, and gender and regional culture affected both the frequency with which persecutory delusions were observed, and the mean scores of schizotypal personality in a non-clinical sample.

The phenomenon of somatosensory attenuation describes the perception that self-generated touch feels weaker than externally generated touch of identical intensity. Previous studies have shown that besides intensity, self-generated touches feel less pleasant and less ticklish than identical externally generated touches. However, previous studies did not systematically assess attenuation across a range of stimuli that can elicit intensity, pleasantness, and ticklishness more efficiently. This thesis aims to replicate these previous observations across a range of tactile stimuli of different intensities and velocities and investigate whether people who attenuate their self-generated touches to a greater extent do so for all aforementioned qualities. Previous studies have shown that participants with lower levels of somatosensory attenuation have more schizotypal personality traits. Twelve volunteers participated in three perceptual tasks where they received touches on their sole generated either by a robot(External) or the participants(Self). Following the strokes, participants had to rate the sensation from 0(not at all) to 100(extremely). For the intensity task, we manipulated the intensity of the applied forces (1,2,3,4N). For the pleasantness and ticklishness tasks, we manipulated the velocity of the applied strokes (0.3,1,10,30cm/s). After the tasks, participants completed a Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Significant somatosensory attenuation was observed in all tasks, but for specific, not all, stimuli: forces of 4N in terms of intensity, strokes of 1cm/s in terms of pleasantness, and strokes of 10cm/s and 30cm/s in terms of ticklishness. These results suggest that the ability to suppress the tactile consequences of self-generated touch occurs in all three tactile qualities.

Rapid scientific and technological advances in health care mean that nurses need to keep learning and engage in professional education so that they can continue to provide safe and quality care. Education programs which prepare nurses for practice as a registered nurse have a vital role to play in ensuring that graduates are self-directed in responding to the need for ongoing learning throughout their professional career. In many countries, improving students’ readiness for self-directed learning has thus gained increasing recognition as being an important goal of nursing education programs. This level of interest in developing self-directedness in learning is evident in many policy documents and research in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to investigate factors influencing self-directed learning readiness amongst Taiwanese nursing students. A conceptual framework adopted from Biggs’s ‘3P model of teaching and learning’ was constructed to guide this study’s investigation. This study employed a two-staged mixed-method design to obtain a better understanding of Taiwanese students’ experience of SDL in undergraduate nursing programs. Stage one of the present study was a qualitative approach using semi-structured interview to explore students’ experiences with learning activities which they perceived to be self-directed in their undergraduate programs. Eight students were interviewed. Findings from this stage reveal that participants perceived a shift in teaching and learning styles between their previous nursing programs and the university. The more frequent use of student-directed learning activities, in which students were encouraged to be active and to take responsibility for their learning tasks, was one of the changes in teaching and learning approaches perceived by participants. Participants further suggested a number of factors that influenced the outcomes of these learning activities, including teacher-student interaction, facilitation process and learning resources. Stage two of this study used a quantitative approach consisting of two phases: instrument pilot testing and a cross-sectional survey. In the first phase, the instruments were translated into Chinese through a rigorous translation process and tested with a convenience sample of nursing students in Taiwan. Results indicated the translated instruments were reliable and stable. The second phase, a cross-sectional survey, was conducted to examine the conceptual framework of this study. A total of 369 undergraduate nursing students completed the questionnaire. Results of data analysis provides support for the conceptual framework proposed for this study, suggesting that students’ achievement goals and their perceptions of the learning environment significantly influence their adoption of learning approaches and the development of SDL readiness. Based on the results, this study provides practical implications that nurse educators may adopt to enhance students’ SDL readiness. This study also provides theoretical implications and recommendations for future research. It is envisaged that these recommendations may help future researchers focus their research design and further understandings of how to help students develop their ability to become self-directed learners.