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Mental Models (mental + models)
Selected AbstractsAn Experimental Investigation of Approaches to Audit Decision Making: An Evaluation Using Systems-Mediated Mental Models,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 2 2005AMY K. CHOY Abstract The objective of this research is to articulate a decision-making foundation for the systems audit approach. Under this audit approach, the auditor first gains an understanding of the auditee's economic environment, strategy, and business processes and then forms expectations about its performance and financial reporting. Proponents of this audit approach argue that decision making is enhanced because the knowledge of the system allows the auditor to focus on the most important risks. However, there has not been an explicit framework to explain how systems knowledge can enhance decision making. To provide such a framework, we combine mental model theory with general systems theory to produce a hypothesis we refer to as a systems-mediated mental model hypothesis. We test this hypothesis using experimental economics methods. We find that (1) subjects make systematic errors under the setting without an organizing framework provided by the systems information, and (2) the presence of an organizing framework results in lower reporting errors. Importantly, the organizing framework significantly enhances decision making in the settings where the environment changed. Establishing a decision-making foundation for systems audits can provide an important building block that, in part, can contribute to the development of a more effective and efficient audit technology - an important objective now when audits are facing a credibility crisis. [source] Developing and Sharing Team Mental Models in a Profession-driven and Value-laden OrganizationPERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2006Jeng-Yi Tzeng While team mental models have been shown to be effective in facilitating team operations in ordinary transactive organizations, their impact on loosely coupled yet value-laden organizations is relatively under studied. Using qualitative inquiry methodology, this study investigates the three referential frameworks (i.e., theoretical knowledge, practical experiences, and team consciousness) of the team mental models employed in a nonprofit organization which provides therapy for hearing-impaired children in Taiwan. The results indicate that fostering a strong team mental model may be an effective way to ensure that the performance of value-laden practice meets a certain expectation. Moreover, I present arguments that because various cognitive properties of team mental models are formed, shared, and represented in different ways, they should be investigated and understood from a holistic perspective; and that it should also be cultivated by an integrative approach that utilizes theoretical, practical, and organizational knowledge. [source] The ecosystem approach in corporate environmental management , expert mental models and environmental drivers in the Finnish forest industryCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2009Petteri Vihervaara Abstract The ecosystem approach has been adopted as the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and is recommended to be used widely in the integrated management of land, water and living resources, to promote conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way, also in corporations. The forest industry is a resource-intensive branch with various impacts on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Our aims in this study were to examine (i) how the ecosystem approach is implemented in the Finnish forest industry; and (ii) to outline the mental models of environmental experts of corporations, and their conceptualization of some key terms of ecosystem thinking. We interviewed 12 experts about their opinions on the main future challenges, the risks, the mistakes of the past, the possibilities and the successes confronting the forest industry. The results were analyzed using the DPSIR (Driving forces-Pressures-State-Impacts-Responses) framework model. Finally, we give several recommendations as to how the ecosystem approach can be integrated into corporate environmental management. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] A change process imbued with an Eastern ethos revitalizes an Indian businessGLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 3 2005Edwina Pio In the rush to outsource to developing countries, global corporations would do well to understand,and leverage,the cultural differences they are likely to encounter in their offshore alliances. In a story of East meets West, the author describes how the marriage of progressive management concepts with uniquely Eastern values and mental models enabled an Indian firm to improve its processes, quality, and productivity in a quest to assure its own long-term viability and provide better value to its global partners. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Changing mental models: HR's most important taskHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2005Jeffrey Pfeffer In the "managerial knowledge" marketplace, there is little evidence of much diffusion of ideas, innovative business models, or management practices. In organizations not implementing what they know they should be doing based on experience and insight, and in companies not acting on the basis of the best available evidence, one main factor explains the difficulties,the mental models or mind-sets of senior leaders. How they are formed, what they are about, and a multitude of examples that show how those mind-sets can be improved are presented here. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] What's politics got to do with it?: Why donors find it so hard to come to terms with politics, and why this mattersJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2009Sue Unsworth Abstract Donors are paying more attention to politics, and some are applying political analysis to specific aspects of development practice. But this is having little influence on mainstream debates about aid, and donors are not questioning their implicit assumptions about how development happens. There are powerful intellectual and institutional barriers to recognising that politics is central to the whole development process. This matters because, without a change in their mental models, donors will not invest in understanding local political dynamics, or give priority to strategically important but difficult issues. If they did so they would discover some very practical opportunities for progress. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Scaling the quality of teammates' mental models: equifinality and normative comparisonsJOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 1 2005John E. Mathieu We tested the impact of teammates' team and task mental model sharedness on team processes and performance using 70 undergraduate teams that completed a series of missions on a PC-based flight simulator. Moreover, we considered how the quality of mental models might moderate such relationships. Team processes were found to partially mediate the relationship between task mental model sharedness and team performance. Although team mental model sharedness failed to exhibit a significant linear relationship with team processes or performance, it did evidence a multiplicative relationship as moderated by the quality of those models. Team processes and performance were better among teams sharing higher-quality team mental models than among teams evidencing less sharedness or who had lower-quality models. Again, team processes partially mediated these relationships. Results are discussed in terms of the equifinality of mental model quality and applications to various team environments. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Exploring the use of multiple analogical models when teaching and learning chemical equilibriumJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 10 2005Allan G. Harrison This study describes the multiple analogical models used to introduce and teach Grade 12 chemical equilibrium. We examine the teacher's reasons for using models, explain each model's development during the lessons, and analyze the understandings students derived from the models. A case study approach was used and the data were drawn from the observation of three consecutive Grade 12 lessons on chemical equilibrium, pre- and post-lesson interviews, and delayed student interviews. The key analogical models used in teaching were: the "school dance"; the "sugar in a teacup"; the "pot of curry"; and the "busy highway." The lesson and interview data were subject to multiple, independent analyses and yielded the following outcomes: The teacher planned to use the students' prior knowledge wherever possible and he responded to student questions with stories and extended and enriched analogies. He planned to discuss where each analogy broke down but did not. The students enjoyed the teaching but built variable mental models of equilibrium and some of their analogical mappings were unreliable. A female student disliked masculine analogies, other students tended to see elements of the multiple models in isolation, and some did not recognize all the analogical mappings embedded in the teaching plan. Most students learned that equilibrium reactions are dynamic, occur in closed systems, and the forward and reverse reactions are balanced. We recommend the use of multiple analogies like these and insist that teachers always show where the analogy breaks down and carefully negotiate the conceptual outcomes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 1135,1159, 2005 [source] Undergraduate students' understanding of falling bodies in idealized and real-world situationsJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 6 2004M. Veronica Cahyadi This study investigates the understanding of 18 first-year undergraduate students when simultaneously presented with two contrasting dynamical situations: the idealized (without air resistance) and real-world cases of balls being dropped or thrown. Previous work has shown that getting students to recognize flaws in their mental models helps them develop their understanding. Our students were better able to answer correctly the problems in idealized cases than the problems in real-world cases. For the real-world cases, the students understood the impact of air resistance on the object's size better than the impact of air resistance on objects of the same size but different mass. In follow-up interviews, the students reported that using the two different situations in the same test did indeed encourage them to think more carefully. By recognizing the need to include air resistance, they activated their appropriate mental "resources" to deal with the situations. We conclude that using contrasting situations (i.e., with and without an idealization) is a useful teaching tool. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 569,583, 2004 [source] Dynamic processes of conceptual change: Analysis of constructing mental models of chemical equilibriumJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 8 2002Mei-Hung Chiu The purpose of this study was to investigate students' mental models of chemical equilibrium using dynamic science assessments. Research in chemical education has shown that students at various levels have misconceptions about chemical equilibrium. According to Chi's theory of conceptual change, the concept of chemical equilibrium has constraint-based features (e.g., random, simultaneous, uniform activities) that might prevent students from deeply understanding the nature of the concept of chemical equilibrium. In this study, we examined how students learned and constructed their mental models of chemical equilibrium in a cognitive apprenticeship context. Thirty 10th-grade students participated in the study: 10 in a control group and 20 in a treatment group. Both groups were presented with a series of hands-on chemical experiments. The students in the treatment group were instructed based on the main features of cognitive apprenticeship (CA), such as coaching, modeling, scaffolding, articulation, reflection, and exploration. However, the students in the control group (non-CA group) learned from the tutor without explicit CA support. The results revealed that the CA group significantly outperformed the non-CA group. The students in the CA group were capable of constructing the mental models of chemical equilibrium,including dynamic, random activities of molecules and interactions between molecules in the microworld,whereas the students in the non-CA group failed to construct similar correct mental models of chemical equilibrium. The study focuses on the process of constructing mental models, on dynamic changes, and on the actions of students (such as self-monitoring/self-correction) who are learning the concept of chemical equilibrium. Also, we discuss the implications for science education. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 688,712, 2002 [source] Dimensions and elements of people's mental models of an information-rich Web spaceJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 11 2010Yan Zhang Although considered proxies for people to interact with a system, mental models have produced limited practical implications for system design. This might be due to the lack of exploration of the elements of mental models resulting from the methodological challenge of measuring mental models. This study employed a new method, concept listing, to elicit people's mental models of an information-rich space, MedlinePlus, after they interacted with the system for 5 minutes. Thirty-eight undergraduate students participated in the study. The results showed that, in this short period of time, participants perceived MedlinePlus from many different aspects in relation to four components: the system as a whole, its content, information organization, and interface. Meanwhile, participants expressed evaluations of or emotions about the four components. In terms of the procedural knowledge, an integral part of people's mental models, only one participant identified a strategy more aligned to the capabilities of MedlinePlus to solve a hypothetical task; the rest planned to use general search and browse strategies. The composition of participants' mental models of MedlinePlus was consistent with that of their models of information-rich Web spaces in general. [source] A classification of mental models of undergraduates seeking information for a course essay in history and psychology: Preliminary investigations into aligning their mental models with online thesauriJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 13 2007Charles Cole The article reports a field study which examined the mental models of 80 undergraduates seeking information for either a history or psychology course essay when they were in an early, exploration stage of researching their essay. This group is presently at a disadvantage when using thesaurus-type schemes in indexes and online search engines because there is a disconnect between how domain novice users of IR systems represent a topic space and how this space is represented in the standard IR system thesaurus. The study attempted to (a) ascertain the coding language used by the 80 undergraduates in the study to mentally represent their topic and then (b) align the mental models with the hierarchical structure found in many thesauri. The intervention focused the undergraduates' thinking about their topic from a topic statement to a thesis statement. The undergraduates were asked to produce three mental model diagrams for their real-life course essay at the beginning, middle, and end of the interview, for a total of 240 mental model diagrams, from which we created a 12-category mental model classification scheme. Findings indicate that at the end of the intervention, (a) the percentage of vertical mental models increased from 24 to 35% of all mental models; but that (b) 3rd-year students had fewer vertical mental models than did 1st-year undergraduates in the study, which is counterintuitive. The results indicate that there is justification for pursuing our research based on the hypothesis that rotating a domain novice's mental model into a vertical position would make it easier for him or her to cognitively connect with the thesaurus's hierarchical representation of the topic area. [source] Stimulated recall and mental models: Tools for teaching and learning computer information literacyJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2007Darrell Cook [source] Rally racing: knowledge and learning requirements for a winning teamKNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 2 2001Rafael Andreu In this paper we discuss how a winning rally racing team was developed from scratch in Seat Sport, the racing division within Seat, one of Volkswagen's divisions, which decided to enter the World Rally Cup in 1995. The discussion focuses on how different types of knowledge were literally ,grown up' from practically nothing to a winning team. We start by describing the knowledge requirements stemming from the goal of developing a World Rally Cup winning team. Defining them in the form of success factors, we classify them from different standpoints (explicit versus implicit, individual versus collective, mental models, coordination schemes, etc.). Next, we show how these different knowledge requirements were acquired and developed at Seat Sport. Finally, we derive the actual learning processes that were present at Seat Sport and relate them to the different kinds of needs and requirements. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Conceptual Models for Creating Useful Decision SupportNEW DIRECTIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 112 2001Richard D. Howard Using Senge's rationale for the creation of mental models, this chapter presents a series of conceptual models that provide guidance for the creation of effective decision support. [source] Shared mental models enhance team performanceNURSING IN CRITICAL CARE, Issue 5 2009Brigid Gillespie Research Member [source] Developing and Sharing Team Mental Models in a Profession-driven and Value-laden OrganizationPERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2006Jeng-Yi Tzeng While team mental models have been shown to be effective in facilitating team operations in ordinary transactive organizations, their impact on loosely coupled yet value-laden organizations is relatively under studied. Using qualitative inquiry methodology, this study investigates the three referential frameworks (i.e., theoretical knowledge, practical experiences, and team consciousness) of the team mental models employed in a nonprofit organization which provides therapy for hearing-impaired children in Taiwan. The results indicate that fostering a strong team mental model may be an effective way to ensure that the performance of value-laden practice meets a certain expectation. Moreover, I present arguments that because various cognitive properties of team mental models are formed, shared, and represented in different ways, they should be investigated and understood from a holistic perspective; and that it should also be cultivated by an integrative approach that utilizes theoretical, practical, and organizational knowledge. [source] Mapping consumers' mental models with ZMETPSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 6 2002Glenn L. Christensen In the quest to understand the customer, consumer researchers, whether practitioner or academic, must understand the perceived personal relevance of a product, service, or brand from the consumers' perspective. Fundamentally, what must be understood are the cognitive structures or mental models that underlie consumers' feelings of involvement. This article demonstrates the power of the Zaltman metaphor-elicitation technique (ZMET) (Zaltman, 1997) to gain such consumer insight by first eliciting and then mapping consumers' knowledge structures. The article provides illustrations of how ZMET can be used to create a collective cognitive map for a group of consumers, and how ZMET data can be mapped in different ways to give greater insight into consumers' product knowledge structures. Also provided is a description of how the knowledge structures of consumers are subdivided and grouped around important meaning themes that frame and motivate a person's involvement with an activity. Ultimately, it is demonstrated that consumers' mental models are made up of both cognitive (beliefs) and emotional (feelings) components, and that these structures of meaning are activated by the current consumption situation. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Consistency of magnitude estimations with conceptual data dimensions used for sonificationAPPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2007Bruce N. Walker In two experiments listeners assessed how sounds represented data, as might be used in sonification. In Experiment 1, 209 undergraduates used magnitude estimation to define the relationship between three sound attributes (frequency, tempo, modulation index) and 10 data dimensions (size, temperature, pressure, velocity, number of dollars, urgency, proximity, attractiveness, danger, mass). Polarities and slopes (i.e. power function exponents) are reported and compared to predictions from the literature. In Experiment 2, 226 new participants demonstrated polarities and slopes are stable across a direct replication. Results show that listener expectations depend on both sound and data dimensions in use. While there are some unanimous expectations across listeners, there are also differences due to different mental models formed by participants, which may relate to listening experience. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effects of advance organizers, mental models and abilities on task and recall performance using a mobile phone networkAPPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 9 2006Janice Langan-Fox Mobile phone usage is now at saturation point in most Western countries. The current research investigated the usability of services provided by a mobile phone network, specifically whether two different forms (text, graphic) of an advance organizer (AO) assisted novice users in applying information supplied in a manual. It was hypothesized that a graphic AO would facilitate the development of coherent mental models of the network to enhance task performance, and that lower ability groups in particular would benefit from AOs. Contrary to prediction, the text AO group outperformed both the graphic AO and control groups. Lower ability groups also benefited more from a text AO than a graphic AO. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Modifying the metaphor in order to improve understanding of control languages,the little-person becomes a cast of actorsBRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 4 2007Peter Whalley The instructional metaphor is an important bridge to understanding, particularly when students are undertaking tasks that are conceptually difficult and outside their previous experience. It is suggested that the limitations of the implicit metaphor of the procedural control languages are the main cause of the problems experienced with delivering the control topic within the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) curriculum. These continue to dominate classroom practice despite Papert warning more than 25 years ago of the conceptual restrictions that they place on children's thinking. It is also claimed that the procedural control languages do not provide an adequate representation of the underlying input,process,output model of control, and that this contributes to a systematic pattern of misunderstanding. Classroom trials of a graphic object-orientated language are related to a prior study made with the procedural control language Control Logo. The relatively more sophisticated mental models developed by students working with actor-lab are discussed in terms of the different underlying metaphors and the problem representation provided. [source] Strategies in sentential reasoningCOGNITIVE SCIENCE - A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, Issue 4 2002Jean-Baptiste Van der Henst Abstract Four experiments examined the strategies that individuals develop in sentential reasoning. They led to the discovery of five different strategies. According to the theory proposed in the paper, each of the strategies depends on component tactics, which all normal adults possess, and which are based on mental models. Reasoners vary their use of tactics in ways that have no deterministic account. This variation leads different individuals to assemble different strategies, which include the construction of incremental diagrams corresponding to mental models, and the pursuit of the consequences of a single model step by step. Moreover, the difficulty of a problem (i.e., the number of mental models required by the premises) predisposes reasoners towards certain strategies. Likewise, the sentential connectives in the premises also bias reasoners towards certain strategies, e.g., conditional premises tend to elicit reasoning step by step whereas disjunctive premises tend to elicit incremental diagrams. [source] Mind, Brain, and Education: Building a Scientific Groundwork for Learning and Teaching1MIND, BRAIN, AND EDUCATION, Issue 1 2009Kurt W. Fischer ABSTRACT, The primary goal of the emerging field of Mind, Brain, and Education is to join biology, cognitive science, development, and education in order to create a sound grounding of education in research. The growing, worldwide movement needs to avoid the myths and distortions of popular conceptions of brain and genetics and build on the best integration of research with practice, creating a strong infrastructure that joins scientists with educators to study effective learning and teaching in educational settings. Science and practice together provide many potentially powerful tools to improve education. Neuroscience and genetics make possible analysis of the "black box" of biological processes that underpin learning. Understanding the biology of abilities and disabilities helps educators and parents to facilitate individual students' learning and development. Cognitive science provides analyses of the mental models/metaphors that pervade meaning making in human cultures, creating tools for avoiding unconscious distortions and crafting effective educational tools. Developmental and learning science produce tools to analyze learning pathways, including both shared patterns and learning differences. To reach the potential of grounding education effectively in research requires improving the infrastructure by creating (a) research schools where practice and science jointly shape educational research, (b) shared databases on learning and development, and (c) a new profession of educational engineers or translators to facilitate connecting research with practice and policy. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||