Organisations are born from and grow through creative ideas and innovative endeavours. For much of the twentieth century efficiency within organisations tended to be emphasized as the most important business focus with innovation as second choice. However, recently innovation has been cited as the primary way in which organisations can create and ensure long-term stability, shareholder satisfaction and industry leadership with a sustainable position. Subsequently, organisations realised that if they harnessed creativity and innovation correctly, it could lead to competitive advantage. Hence the question, what constitutes innovation? This research study endeavoured to determine the building blocks of innovation in a state-owned enterprise within the transport industry to facilitate the consistent adoption of innovation and its practices, by presenting the findings in a conceptual framework. As innovation is a multi-faceted and complex topic to study, a qualitative approach was chosen to identify concepts depicting the building blocks of innovation and the relationships between those concepts to enhance corporate functioning. Therefore, the method chosen had to support a qualitative and inductive research approach. Grounded Theory, as a qualitative method, ensured that innovation would be understood from the perspective of the participant. This in turn would ensure that the final result, the conceptual framework of building blocks of innovation, would be suitable to the environment from which it was generated. Through the empirical research, the state-owned enterprise’s approach towards innovation, that would influence the adoption of innovative practices, has been identified. Furthermore, barriers to innovation have been identified that might hinder the adoption of innovative practices. Finally, the enablers of innovation within a state-owned enterprise were identified and captured into a conceptual framework that depicts the building blocks of innovation. / Prof. Gert Roodt

D.Com. / Innovation mostly happens tacitly. Organisations do not usually explicate innovative thinking and behaviour in business processes and models. The thesis stresses the importance of seeing learning and innovation as dynamically linked processes consisting of different episodes. Innovators and innovation managers should be able to identify the unintended and intended messages in the different episodes of the learning and innovation process and decide upon the usefulness by further eliciting, sharing and shaping tacit knowing and being for innovation...

A criatividade no design envolve um processo, que inclui tanto o processo cognitivo do indivíduo, quanto os processos de criação, de projeto e de comunicação. O pensamento criativo do indivíduo, com suas operações cognitivas e conhecimentos armazenados, permite a criação de novas conexões entre ideias. Entretanto, considerando uma perspectiva contextual e sistêmica, os pensamentos individuais serão também estimulados e influenciados por contextos sociais e trabalhos em grupos, nos quais as ideias são desenvolvidas também a partir da expressão e comunicação do pensamento do outro. Neste processo, o pensamento por analogias mostrou-se como um procedimento cognitivo fundamental para a formação de combinações e novas relações que são percebidas e então reorganizadas em uma ideia nova. Contudo, há lacunas a respeito do assunto, sobre como auxiliar esse tipo de pensamento nos indivíduos e que estratégias, métodos e estímulos podem ser utilizados em processo criativos em grupo. Nesse sentido, o objetivo desta tese é desenvolver um framework para auxiliar o processo criativo em design, centrando-se no pensamento por analogias, que identifique estratégias e mecanismos que apoiem esse processo em indivíduos e grupos de projeto. Para tanto, foi realizada uma revisão de literatura sobre criatividade, processo e pensamento criativo, bem como a respeito do pensamento por analogias e a sua ocorrência enquanto no pensamento criativo em design. A seguir, a fim de compreender o entendimento dos designers sobre o processo criativo e os facilitadores do pensamento por analogias na prática e no ensino do design, realizou-se a coleta de dados da investigação. A coleta foi realizada através de questionários virtuais para estudantes e docentes de design e de entrevistas semiestruturadas em escritórios de design. O grupo de sujeitos da pesquisa compreendeu designers brasileiros e portugueses, com diferentes níveis de experiência. Os dados obtidos foram analisados e triangulados com a análise da literatura, o que possibilitou o desenho de um modelo contendo os fatores críticos que influenciam a criatividade em grupos e indivíduos, um modelo do processo e pensamento criativo, a identificação de estratégias e mecanismos que podem auxiliar esse tipo de pensamento e, por fim, diretrizes para o desenho do framework conceitual. Com isso, foi desenvolvida uma primeira versão do framework, que foi avaliada com a realização de workshops com três grupos distintos de participantes, incluindo docentes, estudantes e profissionais de design. A partir das avaliações, aprimorou-se o framework conceitual, organizado em cinco etapas e contendo estratégias, ações, mecanismos, recomendações e sugestões de métodos, técnicas e ferramentas para auxiliar o processo criativo e o pensamento por analogias para a criação de conceitos em grupos de design. Dentre as ferramentas sugeridas, foi também desenvolvido um mapa visual, denominado canvas, a exemplo de ferramentas similares, contendo recomendações e questões-chave geradas a partir das estratégias do framework, a fim de auxiliar a sua aplicação na prática projetual. / Creativity in design involves a process that includes both the individual cognitive process as the creative, design and communication processes. The individual creative thinking, with their cognitive operations and knowledge stored, allows the creation of new connections between ideas. However, considering a contextual and systemic perspective, individual thoughts will also be stimulated and influenced by social context and work in groups in which ideas are also developed from the expression and communication of thought the other. In this process, the analogical thinking proved to be a key cognitive procedure for the formation of combinations and new relationships that are perceived and then reorganized into a new idea. However, there are gaps on the subject, how about helping this kind of thinking in individuals and strategies, methods and stimuli can be used in creative group process. In this sense, the objective of this thesis is to develop a framework to assist the creative process in design, focusing on thinking by analogies, identifying strategies and mechanisms to support this process in individuals and project groups. Therefore, there was a review of literature on creativity, process and creative thinking as well as about the thinking by analogies and their occurrence as cognitive process of design creative thinking. Next, in order to identify the understanding of the designers on the creative process and the facilitators of thinking by analogies in practice and design education, held the collection of research data. Data collection was conducted through virtual questionnaires for students and teachers design and semi-structured interviews in design offices. The sample consisted of Brazilian and Portuguese designers with different levels of experience. The data were analyzed and triangulated with the analysis of the literature, which enabled the design of a model containing the critical factors that influence creativity in individuals and groups, a model of the process and creative thinking, the identification of strategies and mechanisms that can assist this kind of thinking, and finally, guidelines for the design of the conceptual framework. Thus, a first version of the framework was developed, which was evaluated by conducting workshops with three different participating groups, including teachers, students and design professionals. From the assessments, improved the conceptual framework, organized into five steps and containing strategies, actions, mechanisms, recommendations and suggestions of methods, techniques and tools to assist the creative process and the thinking analogies to create concepts in groups of design. Among the suggested tools was also developed a visual map, called the canvas, like similar tools, containing recommendations and key issues generated from the framework of the strategies in order to assist their application in design practice.

Fifty-one American and 54 Japanese college students in education were tested to investigate whether there were any cross-cultural differences in creative thinking. No gender differences were found in both cultures, but the American college students had higher scores on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) figural test than the Japanese college students. The difference was statistically significant and the effect size was large. Very low correlations were found between the TTCT and the American 111 College Testing (ACT) for the American college students and between the TTCT and the Center Test for the Japanese college students.

This study aimed to discover ways of designing children's programs using creativity and imagination that are unique and relevant to young children. It examined whether the degree to which the early childhood professional's own sense of enchantment, creativeness and imagination is or is not inextricably linked to the creative and imaginative output of young children in childcare contexts. It evaluated the link between an educator?s own sense of enchantment, imagination and creativeness and the quality of the program offered to young children in childcare centres. The study also identified ways of enriching the care of children in childcare centres through programs that would enhance the children?s imagination and creativeness, utilising the individuality of the teacher/carer?s own ideas on creativity and program design. A case-study methodology was chosen to determine the answers to the posed questions. Three case studies in Hobart and one in Brisbane, using a variety of research tools, including interviews, the application of a creativity assessment sheet, observations and photography, were used to answer the research questions. The results in this small-scale study showed that the early childhood educator's own sense of enchantment and use of imagination and creativity did correlate with the children's imagination and creativity and also with the quality of the program. A conclusion is that an educator's creative disposition is a vital factor in the enrichment of the care of children in childcare contexts. / thesis (PhDEducation)--University of South Australia, 2002.

För att organisationer ska klara av att möta nutidens stora omställningar samt den ökandeglobala konkurrensen bör de eftersträva en kontinuerlig utveckling och ett systematisktarbete med innovation. Idag talas det om att den kreativa kapaciteten hos individen ochorganisationen utgör grunden för innovation och att organisationer idag är mer beroende avsina kreativa förmågor än sina materiella tillgångar. För att utveckla individens kreativitetkrävs stimulering av expertis, kreativ förmåga och motivation.Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på hur Volvo CE industriarbetare kanstimuleras för att uppnå en ihållande kreativ idégenerering. Vi har försökt besvara fyraforskningsfrågor för att kunna uppfylla syftet. För att kunna besvara dessa har vi gjortdatainsamlingar genom enkät och gruppintervju. Vi fann att industriarbetarna med fördelkan stimuleras genom inre motivation, att de bör erbjudas utbildning för att utveckla denkreativa förmågan samt att erbjuda ett större utrymme för explorativt arbete.Industriarbetarna bör även tillåtas generera kreativa idéer som har ett högre nyhetsvärde.

This research addressed two major questions: (1) whether students in an English 104 class in which synectics was used as an aid to invention would develop the ability to think analogically by using an analogy invented in the synectics process and to think divergently by using the oxymoron invented in the synectics process and (2) whether these students would develop a more positive attitude towards writing.The subjects of the study were two English 104 composition classes with fifty students, including eight case studies. The research was conducted during Winter Quarter 1982-83 at Ball State University.The study followed these steps: (1) a diagnostic theme, (2) questionnaires, (3) three synectics sessions and the resulting essays, accompanied by journal responses and logs, (4) interviews as necessary to complete data, (5) a final theme without a synectics session, accompanied by a journal response and log, and (6) instructor's logs.Analyses of the data led to the following findings:(1) that all of the case studies and the majority of the group used analogical thinking on all of the themes.(2) that although four of the case studies and the majority of the group used divergent thinking on at least one theme, only one of the case studies and a minority of the group used this type of thinking on the final theme.(3) that all of the case studies and the majority of the group evaluated synectics as being helpful.(4) that of the four case studies responding to the questionnaires, two indicated more positive attitudes towards English 104 than they had indicated towards previous writing experiences, as did the majority of the group as a whole.These findings led to the following conclusions:that students learned to think analogically. that few students learned to think divergently. that students developed a more positive attitude towards their writing.

Abstract The main purpose of this paper was to explore the effects of reading motivation and reading self-efficacy on Creative Thinking Instruction of picture storybooks for third grade students in elementary schools. The researcher adopted the ¡§Equivalent Control Group Pretest-posttest Design¡¨ of Quasi-experiments Research Method and used the third grade students of two classes in the Kaohsiung elementary school as samples. One class was assigned to the experimental group for the purpose of carrying out Creative Thinking Instruction of picture storybooks. Another class was the control group for the intention of proceeding Common Reading Instruction of picture storybooks. The research instrument of this paper included Elementary Reading Motivation Scale (Su-Zu Li, 1999) and Elementary Reading Self-efficacy Scale (Chih-Hsien Tu, 1998). In addition, the data was analyzed and tested by descriptive statistic, t-test, independent sample one-way ANCOVA, and product-moment correlation. The findings of the study were as follows: I.The influences of Creative Thinking Instruction of picture storybooks on students¡¦ reading motivation A.In the aspect of reading motivation, there was no significant difference between the experimental group and the control group before accepting Creative Thinking Instruction of picture storybooks. B.There was a significant difference in reading motivation between the students who accepted Creative Thinking Instruction of picture storybooks and the students who didn¡¦t. II.The influences of Creative Thinking Instruction of picture storybooks on students¡¦ reading self-efficacy A.In the aspect of reading efficacy, there was no significant difference between the experimental group and the control group before accepting Creative Thinking Instruction of picture storybooks. B.There was a significant difference in reading efficacy between the students who accepted Creative Thinking Instruction of picture storybooks and the students who didn¡¦t. III.There was a significant positive correlation between reading motivation and reading self-efficacy. According to the study results of above, the researcher offered the suggestions for the reference in educational applications and prospective studies as follows: I.If quantification and action research was operated together, the research benefit would be higher. II.Creative Thinking Instruction was subsumed in school-based curriculum. III.The research subject could be extensively discussed.

The main purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between life experiences, creative personality and creative thinking of college students in Taiwan. Investigation method was employed in the study. The employed instruments included College Student Life Experiences Questionnaire, Creativity Test (Verbal-bamboo chopsticks, figure-¤H), and Creative Personality Scale developed by H. G. Gough (1978). The participants were college students in Taiwan. 2443 college students were sampled to finish College Student Life Experiences Questionnaire, and 456 students of them also had to finish Creativity Test and Creative Personality Scale at the same time. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, one-way MANOVA , and canonical correlation. The main findings of this study were as following¡G 1. Life experiences of college students in Taiwan could been classified eight kind of styles which including ¡uexploring experiences¡v, ¡uadventure experiences¡v , ¡uteam works¡v,¡uculture experiences¡v,¡ufashion life¡v ,¡umaking money¡v, ¡uinformation getting¡vand¡urisk seeking ¡v. The study present team works was the most students ever tried. 2. There were significant differences of life experiences and creative thinking in different gender, grade, college (Art College, Science College, Social Science College) and school type (University, The Normal University, Technical and Vocational College) students in Taiwan. 3. There were significant canonical correlation among the college students¡¦ background, creative personality and life experiences. The study finding revealed the junior and senior of The Normal University have more different kind experiences, than any others, especially in¡uadventure experiences¡v, ¡uteam works¡v, ¡uculture experiences¡v and ¡urisk seeking ¡v. They also had more creative personalities and didn¡¦t think they were interest narrow and commonplace. 4. There were significant canonical correlation among eight life experiences styles and creative thinking. The result present¡uexploring experiences¡v, ¡uteam works¡v, ¡uculture experiences¡v, ¡ufashion life¡vand ¡uinformation getting¡vhad positive effects on the verbal and figure creative thinking, especially on verbal creative thinking. 5. There were significant canonical correlation among the college students¡¦ background, creative personality and creative thinking. The finding revealed the junior or senior, art college and the normal university female students present better in creative thinking than any others. They also had more positive creative personalities for example, confident, resourceful and original.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education