Abstract This survey can be seen as quite multidisciplinary research. The basis for this study has been inapplicability of different CAD user interfaces in architectural design. The objective of this research is to improve architectural design from the creative problem-solving viewpoint, where the main goal is to intensify architectural design by using information technology. The research is linked to theory of methods, where an internal approach to design process means studying the actions and thinking of architects in the design process. The research approach has been inspired by hermeneutics. The human thinking process is divided into subconscious and conscious thinking. The subconscious plays a crucial role in creative work. The opposite of creative work is systematic work, which attempts to find solutions by means of logical inference. Both creative and systematic problem solving have had periods of predominance in the history of Finnish architecture. The perceptions in the present study indicate that neither method alone can produce optimal results. Logic is one of the tools of creativity, since the analysis and implementation of creative solutions require logical thinking. The creative process cannot be controlled directly, but by creating favourable work conditions for creativity, it can be enhanced. Present user interfaces can make draughting and the creation of alternatives quicker and more effective in the final stages of designing. Only two thirds of the architects use computers in working design, even the CAD system is being acquired in greater number of offices. User interfaces are at present inflexible in sketching. Draughting and sketching are the basic methods of creative work for architects. When working with the mouse, keyboard and screen the natural communication channel is impaired, since there is only a weak connection between the hand and the line being drawn on the screen. There is no direct correspondence between hand movements and the lines that appear on the screen, and the important items cannot be emphasized by, for example, pressing the pencil more heavily than normally. In traditional sketching the pen is a natural extension of the hand, as sketching can sometimes be controlled entirely by the unconscious. Conscious efforts in using the computer shift the attention away from the actual design process. However, some architects have reached a sufficiently high level of skill in the use of computer applications in order to be able to use them effectively in designing without any harmful effect on the creative process. There are several possibilities in developing CAD systems aimed at architectural design, but the practical creative design process has developed during a long period of time, in which case changing it in a short period of time would be very difficult. Although CAD has had, and will have, some evolutionary influences on the design process of architects as an entity, the future CAD user interface should adopt its features from the architect's practical and creative design process, and not vice versa.

Against the background of reports such as the Global entrepreneurship monitor (Foxcroft, Wood, Kew, Herrington&Segal 2002) and the World competitiveness report (2003), indicating that South African small businesses lag behind their counterparts worldwide with entrepreneurship, the research questions driving this study were: · What is unique about creativity in the entrepreneurship domain i.e., can creativity as a concept be uniquely delimited in order to contribute towards the development of the concept of entrepreneurial skills? · What are the perceptions among South African small business owners of their own creativity and their application of it? · What are the implications of the above for the development of entrepreneurs? A literature study of the entrepreneurship theory pointed to a number of unique concepts considered as crucial to venture growth, namely, sustained opportunity exploitation and maximisation which could be regarded as the “creative” activities of the entrepreneur. The entrepreneurial process was investigated to establish the entrepreneurial tasks and processes underlying opportunity exploitation and venture growth maximisation. Apart from depicting activities such as opportunity identification, development and refinement of the business concept, assessment and acquiring of the necessary resources and implementation, the literature seemed vague and referred more often to skills required for the above tasks, such as entrepreneurial skills and management skills. It was established that entrepreneurial skills include, inter alia, creativity, visioning, risk taking and role modelling. The creative process activities were linked with those of the entrepreneurial process to establish whether there are unique entrepreneurial applications of creativity. The following “creative acts” were identified as critical in the entrepreneurship domain: · “creation of a business/opportunity”, · “synthesis” i.e., the putting together of systems/resources and even opportunities, and · “modification” i.e., the adapting, changing of processes, etc., to realise growth. The current situation pertaining to entrepreneurship training and development was investigated to establish whether the above was addressed in the existing training models and learning contents of the domain. It was concluded that despite great advancement having been made in the training and development of creativity and innovation in the entrepreneurship domain, the experiential element of applying the activities of creation, synthesis and modification in order to obtain sustained venture growth is difficult to address in formal learning programmes. Against the background of research (Jung, Ehrlich, Noble&Baik 2001:42) that found that there were positive relationships between an individual’s level of self-efficacy and performance, South African small business owners’ perceptions of their own creativity, their businesses’ innovativeness and their implementation orientation was tested empirically. It was found that South African small business owners perceived themselves to be creative and their businesses to be reasonably innovative but that there was a negative relationship between these two perceptions and the implementation orientation. The high esteem of own creativity and innovation versus a lower implementation orientation is indicative of a need to develop experiential training programmes focused on the implementation of creative activities i.e., commercialisation of products and application of innovation in businesses. In view of the high esteem South African small business owners have of their own creativity, the question is posed as to whether they would be willing to undergo training because they might think they do not need training in this field. In view of the difficulties of incorporating experiential learning content in formal training programmes it is proposed that the possibility of integrated learning be investigated and developed to include business information centres, networking, linkages, mentoring and tutoring. Copyright / Thesis (PhD (Entrepreneurship))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Business Management / unrestricted

The present study is somewhat exploratory in nature in that it is interested in determining some of the factors which correlate with creativity. The study will limit itself to investigating the factors measured by Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire as they relate to creativity among high and low Creative art majors and non-art majors. To this end, it is hypothesized that a difference will be found among the mean scores of the three groups for at least thirteen of the sixteen factors.

The purposes of this study are as follows: 1) to investigate the similarities and differences in the temperaments of a higher creative group and a lower creative group and 2) to investigate the effectiveness of the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey in identifying higher creative individuals and lower creative individuals, as measured by the AC Test of Creative Ability.

archives@tulane.edu / The “creative city” is a cross-disciplinary concept with competing and contradictory meanings and applications. This dissertation responds to scholarly calls for situated analyses of creative city making and contributes to collective understanding of how multiple conceptualizations of the creative city manifest, collide, and intertwine in practice within a specific place and time: New Orleans in the decade following Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures (2005-2015). In the wake of disaster, every resident was called upon to “be creative” in rebuilding the city, yet stakeholders understood and operationalized creativity in different ways. The primary research question asks: what happens in the transmutation of the creative city as it morphs between theoretical concept, rhetorical ideal, and practical strategy? The study design is a multi-method qualitative analysis using document analysis and interviews. I first describe the role of creativity in rebuilding efforts as understood and expressed by elected officials, artists, cultural producers, activists, and rebuilding professionals. Findings from this part of the analysis demonstrate significant differences between stakeholder groups, but also surprising moments of coalescence. Within this broader inquiry, I then focus on an embedded case study of the 2012-2014 Lots of Progress pitch competitions, a program spearheaded by New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) in partnership with the nonprofit incubator Propeller, in which vacant lots were offered as the prize for the most creative concepts for their reuse. Here, I answer the research question: when the offer to remake the city through creativity is left open to all, what ideas and values are brought forth? The case study is an example of the powerful and contradictory discourse of creativity. Program organizers and participants were generally aligned in their dual understanding of creativity both as resistance to an unsatisfactory status quo, and as the ability to transform social problems into development opportunities to be solved through entrepreneurship. In the concluding chapter, insights take the form of recommendations and some thoughts on future praxis in the field: (1) rethinking the pitch competition format and purpose, (2) planning and policy to support New Orleans’ cultural ecosystem, and (3) implications for the evolving field of creative placemaking. / 1 / Heidi Schmalbach

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / The purpose of this study is (1) to explore the theological significance of Berdyaev's idea of human creativity and to determine its relation to a Christian doctrine of salvation, and (2) to identify the major theological presuppositions which undergird this idea, compare them with the thought of Paul Tillich and L. Harold DeWolf, and evaluate them. The study engages the thought of Berdyaev at its most inclusive and determinative point--his dualism of spirit and nature. It then narrows to an investigation of the content and meaning which is given to the idea of "spirit." On the basis of theological meanings which appear, the preliminary conclusion is drawn that the main theological concern of Berdyaev's teaching on human creativity involves the problem of a particular understanding of man's relationship to God Following a study of Berdyaev's doctrines of God and man, and an identification of the marks of the creative experience of God and its cosmic consequences, the conclusion is dram that Berdyaev, in his teaching on human creativity, seeks to give an interpretation of the meaning of Christian salvation. [TRUNCATED]

Music making is generally considered a creative activity; however, in performance ensembles, it is the conductor who makes most of the creative decisions. Many believe that creative thinking is strongest in music during composition. Leaders in the field of music education have continually articulated a vision for music education that includes a variety of ways to experience music including composition. Despite this broad vision of what music education should be in theory, in practice, American band programs have traditionally focused almost exclusively on the performance of the music of others. The purpose of this study was to examine an exemplary high school performance-based band program in which composition was taught as part of the curriculum and to determine the impact that composition had on stakeholders, including the teacher, students, and alumni. Data were collected from direct observation of ten composition lessons taught over the 2016–2017 school year, supporting documents, and interviews. Interview data came from guided conversations with various stakeholders including the band director, seven current students, and two alumni. Several themes for discussion were delineated from the data including the importance of early creative experiences, the practical application of composition, a lack of continuity between lessons, and the apparent benefits of composition in a band setting. Participants in this case reported enjoyment during composition activities, did not perceive that time spent composing compromised the band’s ability to perform, and also reported growth in their overall musical understanding, particularly in the role of listener. These themes highlight how composition and performance activities can be used in tandem to reinforce musical concepts and develop creative thinking in all music students.

The problem of this thesis is the question of whether appreciation of humor is characteristic of adult creatives. Also, can the humor factor be a significant factor in the prediction of creative individuals? As a consequence of the theory and experimental evidence associated with the relationship between humor and creativity, the following hypothesis is formulated for further study: there is a significantly positive relationship between humor appreciation and creative ability.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a correlation between spatial skills and creativity in interior design students. Participants were subjects who took a visualization assessment and created the 33 projects used in the study, and 11 judges, professional design experts who rated the projects. The sample of subjects was comprised of interior design students at a FIDER-accredited institution in southwest Virginia. The judges included interior design educators and interior design graduate students having previous practice experience. Subjects completed a pencil-and-paper Visualization Assessment consisting of 36 questions using two-dimensional and three-dimensional drawings (Isham, 1997). A percentage score for spatial skills was calculated for each subject based on the number of correct answers. Design projects created by the students were assessed by subjective ratings on three Dimensions of Judgment taken from the Consensual Technique for Creativity Assessment (Barnard, 1992; Amabile, 1982). The three dimensions used in this study included Appropriateness, Creativity, and Novelty. Ratings were collected in two judging sessions at a local site. Interjudge reliabilities exceeded the established criterion level (.70 or greater) on all three dimensions, with coefficients ranging from .729 to .866. Interjudge reliability for the Creativity dimension was .866, indicating a high level of agreement among judges on creativity. Intercorrelations among the dimensions indicated a high degree of association between the variables with Appropriateness and Novelty both significantly correlated with the Creativity dimension. Pearson product-moment correlation was used to determine if there was a significant correlation between visualization and creativity in interior design students. No significant correlation was found. / Master of Science

This thesis attempts to answer a central question in the field of creativity: what creativity looks like in various domains of activities ? Finding a satisfying answer to this question involves answering what 'creativity' is. Therefore, the first chapter is dedicated to establishing a shared understanding of the term creativity. Following this, determining what creativity looks like in various domains is answered in that same chapter with a new theory of cognition, called the Cognitive Space Theory. This theory organizes the content of domains according to ten fundamental cognitive spaces. These cognitive spaces cover a broad range of human creative expressions. In the second chapter, a questionnaire based on the theory is developed and validated. This questionnaire assesses the exploration and mastery of the ten cognitive spaces postulated in the theory. The results of two studies are reported to demonstrate the psychometric properties of the questionnaire. The third chapter uses the latter questionnaire to predict the creative activities and creative achievements of university students in eight different domains ranging from sport to science. Finally, the fourth chapter discusses the implications of the theory applied to education. The chapter concludes with future avenues of research in neuroscience, cognition, and artificial intelligence.