UMD Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.
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Item A Longitudinal Study of Person-Culture Fit: Convergence of Mental Models(2012) Zhu, Lin; Liu, Meina; Comparative Literature; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The person-environment fit hypothesis argues that the match or fit between an individual and the environment predicts positive adaptation outcomes for the person. Unfortunately, the person-environment fit hypothesis has not received consistent empirical support in the context of cross-cultural adaptation due to lack of a clear conceptualization of fit and an appropriate measure of fit. This dissertation proposes to use the convergence of mental models, a dynamic constructivist approach, to conceptualize person-culture fit, and to use it as a viable mechanism for understanding cross-cultural adaptation processes. A cross-lagged structural equation model was developed to examine how cultural adaptability and host language proficiency lead to positive adaptation outcomes through the mediating roles of mental model convergence and mental model change. Participants were 126 sojourning Chinese students studying in the U.S. and 30 American students and professors who were friends of the Chinese participants. Data were collected from the Chinese participants at two points in time: shortly after they arrived in the U.S. and three months after the first round of data collection. Based on results from a pilot study, participants were asked to rate the dissimilarities between 10 concepts relevant to cross-cultural adaptation. An index of person-culture fit was generated by comparing each Chinese sojourner's mental space with the aggregated mental space of domestic American participants. In addition, the Chinese participants reported their level of cultural adaptability, English proficiency, amount of intercultural communication with host nationals, and psychological wellbeing. Results from the study showed that Chinese sojourners' psychological wellbeing declined about three months after their arrival, which is consistent with the U-curve model of culture shock. Results indicated that cultural adaptability affected cultural adjustment. Specifically, cultural adaptability affected the development of host identification and was positively related to the degree of mental model change. English proficiency affected cultural adjustment through its direct positive effect on the amount of intercultural communication and psychological wellbeing. Finally, person-culture cognitive fit had a positive influence on host identification and psychological wellbeing. The interpretations and implications of the results, the contributions and limitations of the study, and directions for future research, were discussed.Item Sixth grade students' mental models of physical education concepts: A Framework Theory perspective(2008-11-19) Bonello, Marina; Ennis, Dr. Catherine; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Framework Theory of Conceptual Change (FTCC) is the prevailing theoretical approach guiding current thought and research into the contextualized development of students' mental models. In FTTC Vosniadou (1994) theorized the role academic beliefs and social and contextual variables play in model development. Physical education scholars have not yet applied FTCC to an examination of students' fitness conceptions and little is known about the role academic beliefs play in knowledge development. The purpose of this dissertation was to apply FTCC to an examination of students' mental models of fitness concepts. I conducted a descriptive study using an ethnographic research design to examine the contextualized development of students' mental models. Participants included one class of sixth-grade students and their teachers at two middle schools. Student data (n=18) were collected using written questionnaires and interviews. Additionally, I collected contextual data through document collection, physical education (n=2) and science teacher (n=1) interviews, and field observations of the physical education lessons conducted at the respective schools. In the first analysis, I identified five generic mental models based upon diverse configurations in students' naive theories to explain exercise induced physical changes. Findings suggested students' diverse explanations reflected the inherent complexity of the concept. The emerging coherence of students' perspectives towards scientific views is gradual. Developing sophisticated conceptions entails developmental, applicational, and integrated processes that evolve into complex relational conceptions. In the second analysis, I identified three mental models students used to explain the concept of intensity and it's relation to other elements in the FITT principle. In contrast to previous research, all 18 students within this study were familiar with the concept of intensity and the FITT principle. Students' explanations were diverse and reflected variations in their conceptual transitions from a holistic elementary school level conception of FITT and intensity. The diverse models reflected students' purposeful and creative attempts to seek coherence and make interdisciplinary and multi-sensory connections. A myriad of variables appeared to interact to facilitate and sometimes limit students' mental models, including school support, language and tool support, and teachers' values and beliefs about teaching, fitness, and student learning.