Yes / Effective and efficient healthcare not only depends on good interpersonal communication but also on the ability of organisations to communicate successfully and professionally. Yet organisations can become entrenched in rules, regulations and expected behaviours that stifle creative responses to work situations. Deep-seated bureaucracy can alienate the personal, and is made even more challenging if the organisation has multi-sites. This chapter will examine the many varied structures of organisation, and how communication flow within organisations can limit or expand inclusion of staff members within its boundaries. This chapter offers several barriers to good organisational communication and suggests ways these hurdles can be overcome. The ethics of healthcare practice is discussed in relation to the effect on the individual and the organisation, highlighting how both parties could respond to avoid conflict, clash and threats to professionalism. Above all, this chapter emphasises how open and honest personcentred communication in an organisation can lead to healthy outcomes for staff and patients alike.

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.

What can we learn from comparing similar technologies that were designed and built in different countries or cultures? Technical products depend upon both technical and non-technical goals as socio-cultural factors determine which projects get funded and how they are conceived, designed, and built. These qualitative socio-cultural factors mean that there is almost always more than one possible design solution for a particular problem. By comparing how two major space projects were conceptualized and designed in the United States and Soviet Union, this case study aims to illuminate more broadly how political and cultural factors can influence the selection of technical designs, as well as the general conduct of engineering and science, in the space sector. / Master of Science

This thesis measured the mental workload associated with operating a voice activated software application run on wearable computer under five different communication styles (buttons, command line, icon buttons, icon text menus, and text menus). The goal of this thesis was to determine which communication style would be best allow wearable computer users to simultaneously perform other non-computer tasks. Thirty subjects were randomly assigned to using one of five software versions (n = 6), each of which utilized a unique communication style. The mental workload associated with operating each version was assessed by monitoring the performance of secondary tasks. Secondary tasks consisted of completing a block assembly, digit subtraction, and walking along a marked pathway. Each secondary task was performed twice by itself and once while operating one of the software versions, creating a total of nine trials per subject. Block assembly task performance measures included average assembly time, percentage correct blocks, and percentage correct blocks attempted. Digit subtraction measures included percentage of correct digits. And path walking measures included average walking speed. Subjective estimates of mental workload were also collected for those trials in which subjects operated the wearable computer and performed physical tasks using the NASA Task Load Index (TLX). Finally, usability information was collected for each software version via a questionnaire form. Each of the five versions of the experimental software application was operationally identical to the others, but utilized a separate communication style. The button version displayed available functions via sets of labeled buttons in the control screen. The icon button version replaced the appearance of these buttons with labeled icons. The text menu version displayed available functions textually via a pull down main menu. The icon text version displayed appended icons to the left of each main menu item. Finally, the command line version displayed no labels, buttons, menus, or icons for any functions. The experimental software was designed as a day planner/scheduling application used to set reminder dates on a calendar, edit task lists, and edit phone listings. Under the multiple resource view of mental workload, it was hypothesized that the different versions and secondary tasks would demand distinct types of mental resource and, consequently, that mental workload would be observed as lowest when the version and secondary task demanded different types of mental resources. In contrast, it was also hypothesized that mental workload would be observed as highest when the version and secondary task demanded the same type of mental resources. Although separate one way ANOVAs performed on all secondary task measures failed to indicate statistically significant differences in mental workload across the versions, secondary task performance was consistently observed as best for subjects using the icon button version. Analysis of NASA TLX subscale data indicated that the block assembly task was rated as requiring less effort and the digit task rated as requiring less mental demand when the icon button version was used. These results generally support using an icon button communication style for wearable computer software applications. Results of this study are applicable to the design of the user interface of wearable computers. These results not only report subjective and objective measures for assessing the amount of mental effort associated with operating a wearable computer and performing various physical tasks simultaneously, but also provide estimates for determining the amount of physical task performance decrement to expect when wearable computer are also operated. Such data may be used to determine human factors guidelines for matching wearable computer interfaces to physical tasks so that interference between the two is minimal. / Master of Science

Recent efforts to understand and predict the onset and maintenance of aggression have considered the heterogeneity of this behavior. Dodge (1980) and others, have suggested a distinction in aggression based on two primary subtypes: reactive and proactive aggression. The form, severity and persistence of these aggressive subtypes may depend on an on-going interaction between individual characteristics and environmental characteristics that elicit varying antecedents and consequences (Frick, 1998; Lahey et al., 1999). In particular, there exists some empirical support for the existence of relations among social likeability, attributional style, and particular subtypes of aggression symptomology. However, the exact nature of this relation is unclear. The current study examined two competing models, the mediator and moderator models, to assess the nature of the relations among social likeability, attributional style, and aggression subtypes in a sample of 419 youth in a non-clinical community setting. Results suggest that the external, stable, global attributional style serves to mediate the relation between social likeability and reactive, but not proactive aggression. Implications for assessment and treatment of aggression in adolescents are discussed. / Master of Science

International students in U.S. academic settings are facing barriers in the path of their academic accomplishments. In higher educational institutions, students work very closely with their academic advisors to solve a definite problem. Dependence on the academic advisor is much more when the advisee is international. Keeping these points in mind, one of the factors that might impact academic environment for an international student is the bonding that they share with their advisor. This research study determines the factors that encourage or discourage the relationship between the advisor and international advisee. More specifically, what factors, cultural or cognitive are more salient in defining the advising relationship, and how are coping behaviors being employed and by whom when differences between the working pair exists? Full-time international graduate students having at least one year of graduate school experience in U.S. academic settings and faculty advisors who had experience in advising international graduate students participated in this study. A total of 20 international students participated. All the participants completed the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) as a measure of problem-solving style. Of the 20 that completed the inventory, 14 participants from 10 different countries agreed to participate in a semi-structure interview. Additionally, five faculty advisors completed the KAI inventory and three faculty advisors participated in an interview. Findings of the study are: 1) a link exists between participants' problem-solving styles and their expectations for the advising relationship; 2) cultural difference outside academia had no impact on academic progress of international students; 3) acculturation into American academic culture seemed essential for academic success of international students in U.S academic settings; 4) international students wanted their home country culture to be acknowledged in a multicultural settings; 5) success of advising relationship seemed to be dependent upon how much the advisor and the advisee exhibited coping behavior; 6) acknowledging the differences and accepting a person in a holistic manner as a separate identity worked best in a multicultural settings; and 7) developing a human connect between the advisor and advisee seemed to be vital for a successful and academically productive advising relationship. / Master of Science in Life Sciences / International students in U.S. academic settings are facing barriers in the path of their academic accomplishments. In higher educational institutions, students work very closely with their academic advisors to solve a definite problem. Dependence on the academic advisor is much more when the advisee is international. Keeping these points in mind, one of the factors that might impact academic environment for an international student is the bonding that they share with their advisor. This research study determines the factors that encourage or discourage the relationship between the advisor and international advisee. More specifically, what factors, cultural or cognitive are more salient in defining the advising relationship, and how are coping behaviors being employed and by whom when differences between the working pair exists? Fulltime international graduate students having at least one year of graduate school experience in U.S. academic settings and faculty advisors who had experience in advising international graduate students participated in this study. A total of 20 international students participated. All the participants completed the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) as a measure of problem-solving style. Of the 20 that completed the inventory, 14 participants from 10 different countries agreed to participate in a semi-structure interview. Additionally, five faculty advisors completed the KAI inventory and three faculty advisors participated in an interview. Findings of the study are: 1) a link exists between participants’ problem-solving styles and their expectations for the advising relationship; 2) cultural difference outside academia had no impact on academic progress of international students; 3) acculturation into American academic culture seemed essential for academic success of international students in U.S academic settings; 4) international students wanted their home country culture to be acknowledged in a multicultural settings; 5) success of advising relationship seemed to be dependent upon how much the advisor and the advisee exhibited coping behavior; 6) acknowledging the differences and accepting a person in a holistic manner as a separate identity worked best in a multicultural settings; and 7) developing a human connect between the advisor and advisee seemed to be vital for a successful and academically productive advising relationship.

Thesis (M.A.)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores the application of various approaches to teaching communicative writing skills in senior phases of learning. The main aim is to investigate how these approaches are adopted to instil competence in the communicative writing skills of grade 12learners ofisiZulu first language. Various approaches to writing skills are discussed and explored in order to make suggestions to educators' effective ways of teaching and learning communicative writing skills. Assessment criteria for written work are also presented to guide educators on how the written work is assessed. In order to ensure that the communicative writing skills are taught and learned effectively up to norms required by the Department of Education; the approaches to teaching communicative writing skills are discussed in relation to both the critical outcomes and the specific outcomes for the learning field Languages, Literacy and Communication as specified in the Curriculum 2005 (1997). The idealized writing curriculum proposed by Grade and Kaplan (1996) is also presented in relation to the specific outcomes that need to be achieved in the Languages, Literacy and Communication learning field. The aim of presenting this writing curriculum is to enable the educators to teach communicative writing skills effectively and to be able to compete in the urban, technological, international world that requires competent writers. In order to investigate the needs and problems that appear to constitute obstacles in teaching and learning communicative writing skills effectively, survey interviews were conducted with the respective educators; and written reports were requested from the educators who were participating in facilitating the process of writing the IsiZulu essays of Grade 12 learners for analysis. In this study, these essays are analysed and assessed. The findings based on this research are presented explicitly to identify the obstacles that educators and learners experience during the writing practices. Recommendations are made as regards positive and constructive changes in the teaching and learning of the communication writing skills in the senior phases of learning in South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die toepassing van verskeie benaderings tot die onderrig van kommunikatiewe skryfvaardighede in die senior fase van leer. Die hoofdoelstelling van die studie is om In ondersoek te doen na hoe benaderings wat aanvaar word aanleiding kan gee tot die verwerwmg van taalvaardigheid, m die besonder, kommunikatiewe skryfvaardighede deur graad 12 eerstetaalleerders van isiZulu. Verskillende benaderings tot skryfvaardighede salondersoek word ten einde aanbevelings te maak oor doeltreffende wyses waarop onderwysers kommunikatiewe onderrig en leer kan bewerkstellig. Assesseringskriteria VIr skriftelike werk sal aangebied word ten einde taalonderrigpraktisyns riglyne te gee aangaande die assossering van kommunikatiewe skryfvaardighede. Ten einde te verseker dat kommunikatiewe skryfvaardighede doeltreffend onderrig en aangeleer word tot op die peil vereis deur die Departement van Onderwys, sal die benaderings tot die onderrig van kommunikatiewe skryfvaardighede bespreek word met betrekking tot sowel die kritieke uitkomste as die spesifieke uitkomste van die leerveld Tale, Geletterdheid en Kommunikasie, soos gespesifiseer in Kurrikulum 2005 (1997). Die voorgestelde skryfkurrikulum van Grabe en Kaplan (1976) salook bespreek word met betrekking tot die spesifieke uitkomste wat bereik moet word in die leerveld Tale, Geletterdheid en Kommunikasie. Die doelstelling van die bespreking van hierdie skrytkurrikulum is om onderwysers in staat te stelom kommunikatiewe skryfvaardighede doeltreffend te onderrig ten einde leerders in staat te stelom mededingend te wees in die huidige stedelike, tegnologiese, internasionale wêreld wat vaardige skrywers vereis. Ten einde die behoeftes en probleme te ondersoek wat hindernisse is in die doeltreffende onderrig en leer van kommunikatiewe taalvaardigheid, is onderhoude gereël met verskillende onderwysers, en skriftelike rapporte is aangevra van onderwysers wat deelgeneem het in die fasiliteringsproses van die skryf van isiZulu opstelle deur graad 12 leerders vir die doeleindes van die analises gedoen in hierdie studie. Die bevindinge gebaseer op die navorsing gedoen in hierdie studie word eksplisiet aangebied ten einde die hindernisse te identifiseer wat onderwys ervaar tydens die praktyk van skryfonderrig. Aanbevelings word gemaak rakende positiewe en konstruktiewe vernaderinge in die onderrig en leer van kommunikatiewe skryfvaardighede in die senior fase van leer in Suid- Afrika.

According to such functional stylistic features as social preserves, content and the prevailing function Lithuanian essays can be ascribed to three variations: publicistic, scientific and literary style. The major part of essays is dominated by the features of expressive and analytical sub-style of the publicistic style. Essays are also written in the field of liberal arts and natural sciences. In the analysed period the Lithuanian essay surpassed the dividing line between the publicistic and creative literature – texts of fictional content may be called essays. / Pagal tokius funkcinius stilistinius požymius kaip visuomenės veiklos sritis, turinys ir vyraujanti funkcija lietuvių esė galima priskirti trims atmainoms: publicistiniam, moksliniam ir meniniam stiliui. Didžiojoje jų dalyje vyrauja publicistinio stiliaus ekspresyviojo bei analitinio postilio požymiai. Rašoma esė ir humanitarinių bei gamtos mokslų srityje Tiriamuoju laikotarpiu lietuvių esė peržengė ribą, skiriančią publicistiką ir meninę literatūrą – esė pavadinami fikcinio turinio tekstai.

The thesis aim was to increase understanding of interpersonal antecedents and consequences of rumination, defined as ‘repetitive and passive thinking about one’s symptoms of depression and the possible causes and consequences of those symptoms’ (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2004, p.107). As a proof-of-principle study, rumination predicted diminished relationship satisfaction, three months later, in a sample of remitted depressed adults (N = 57). In the next study, rumination was associated with a maladaptive submissive interpersonal style and rejection sensitivity, controlling for depressive symptoms, other interpersonal styles and gender, in a different sample (N = 103 currently depressed, previously depressed and never depressed adults). Subsequent chapters incorporated a second assessment point of data from this same sample. Longitudinal analyses were undertaken to investigate; a) do rumination and depressogenic interpersonal factors predict future depression?; b) does rumination prospectively predict increased rejection sensitivity and submissive interpersonal behaviours, and, vice-versa, do these interpersonal factors predict increased rumination?; c) does rumination prospectively predict poor social adjustment and interpersonal stress? Consistent with previous findings, Time 1 rumination predicted increased depression six months later. Unexpectedly, the effect of rumination on future depression was mediated by its relationship with the submissive interpersonal style. Partially consistent with the stated predictions, Time 1 rejection sensitivity (but not the submissive interpersonal style) prospectively predicted increased rumination, but rumination did not predict rejection sensitivity or the submissive interpersonal style. As predicted, rumination prospectively predicted increased chronic interpersonal stress and poor social adjustment (but not acute interpersonal stress). In a final study, rumination was manipulated via an applied intervention (concreteness training, CT), within the context of a randomized controlled trial (N = 79 clinically depressed adults). Analyses compared the change in social adjustment and submissive interpersonal behaviour reported in the CT condition compared to a treatment as usual (TAU) condition. There was a significantly greater reduction in rumination in the CT compared to TAU condition, p < .05. Moreover, the reduction in submissive interpersonal behaviours was significantly greater in the CT compared to TAU condition, p < .05. The change in social adjustment was not greater in the CT compared to TAU condition. Thus, a psychological intervention which reduces rumination decreased maladaptive submissive interpersonal behaviour. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to theory of rumination and interpersonal theories of depression.

The problem of this study was to describe and compare the relationship of learning style and leadership style upon the selection of instructional strategies by nursing educators in associate and baccalaureate degree nursing programs. Data were collected using Kolb's Learning Style Inventory, Hersey and Blanchard's Leader Effectiveness and Adaptability Description, a researcher-developed Instructional Strategies Inventory, and the Personal Data Form. It was found that leadership style was highly correlated between the associate degree and baccalaureate degree faculty groups. More of the associate degree faculty members had basic leadership styles of Low Relationship/Low Task and High Task/Low Relationship. Most of the baccalaureate faculty members had Low Relationship/Low Task leadership styles. The following conclusions were developed: (a) Nursing faculty in associate and baccalaureate degree programs have similar learning and leadership styles; (b) nursing faculty tend to use the traditional instructional strategies such as lecture, discussion, and case studies at the same frequency of use? and (c) the selection of instructional strategies in nursing education may be affected by variables other than the instructor's learning and leadership styles. In view of the findings of this study, the following recommendations for further study appear to be warranted, (a) Further research should be conducted to determine the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of identified instructional strategies in nursing education, and (b) more research should be done to identify creativity in the selection of instructional strategies in nursing education. The following implications are suggested from an analysis of the data: (a) Although faculty characteristics are rarely a determining factor in the design of a nursing curriculum, they must be taken into account when selecting instructional strategies, and (b) the apparent lack of diversity in instructional strategies utilized in the classroom setting emphasizes the need for faculty to expand their knowledge base in this area.