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Creating is the highest level of intellectual functioning in the cognitive domain. As standardized testing has increased, U.S. K-12 education has shown a decline in creativity for students. Mindfulness meditation (MM) increases creativity and could serve as a solution to this dilemma. This study's purpose was to enrich findings regarding MM's role in enhanced creativity by conducting an exploration regarding lived experiences of creating for individuals who practice MM. A gap in the literature exploring the topics of MM and creativity together using qualitative methods was identified; therefore, research understanding lived experiences of creating within the experiential context of MM was necessary. The main research question, followed by 3 closely related questions, examined the subjective meaning of the experience of creating for MM practitioners. To provide lived experiences regarding creating, 3 participants colored in a mandala and were interviewed. Descriptive transcendental phenomenology was used to explore the act of creating from the perspectives of these 3 individuals. Participants' described experiences supported Sternberg's theory that creativity developed as a habit and suggested that MM actuated Csikszentmihályi's creative flow. Positive societal implications of bringing MM into U.S. K-12 schools as a conduit for creativity cannot be overrated. MM offers an integrated modality to increased creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking, or the 4 Cs. Future studies regarding MM and creativity's relationship are recommended to further enrich current literature and address the existing gap.

Cette thèse porte sur l’enseignement des langues, vue par la perspective de la théorie des intelligences multiples proposée par Gardner. J’adopte la position selon laquelle le niveau de réussite d’un étudiant n’est pas uniquement influencé par la manière dont l’enseignement est dispensé, mais également par un ensemble de corrélations qui font que chaque individu est influencé par un environnement immédiat et un environnement non immédiat. La capacité humaine de réagir de manière appropriée à un ensemble de corrélations est ce qui constitue la définition moderne d’intelligence (Barrington 2007 : 423) et plus précisément la théorie des intelligences multiples (intelligences multiples). J’émets l’hypothèse qu’une approche par les intelligences multiples a un effet positif sur l’apprentissage des langues.Afin de confirmer ou non cette hypothèse, j’ai évalué le retour d’information de divers acteurs suite à des activités basées sur les intelligences multiples. J’ai d’abord effectué une enquête auprès des enseignants en LANSAD (Langues pour spécialistes d’autres disciplines) au sujet des leurs pratiques. Puis, j’ai sollicité des enseignants en anglais des sciences pour mettre en place ces activités auprès de leurs étudiants, afin d’avoir une vision subjective. Enfin, j’effectue une enquête spécifique autour de la motivation parmi les étudiants en LANSAD.Cette thèse s’organise en trois parties principales. La première partie porte sur la corrélation entre la théorie des intelligences multiples et la réussite en cours d’anglais de spécialité. La deuxième partie est consacrée à la corrélation entre la théorie des intelligences multiples et la créativité. Enfin, la dernière partie propose une analyse de la relation entre la théorie des intelligences multiples et la motivation des étudiants. La conclusion propose quelques suggestions pour l’enseignement des langues de spécialité. / This thesis focuses on language teaching from the perspective of Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. The level of success of a student is not only influenced by the way in which instruction is delivered, but also by a set of correlations that influence each individual, be that by an immediate or a non-immediate environment. The human capacity to react appropriately to this set of correlations is what constitutes the modern definition of intelligence (Barrington 2007: 423), and more specifically, the theory of multiple intelligences. The thesis hypothesis questions whether a multiple intelligence approach has a positive effect on language learning.To confirm or not this hypothesis, we evaluated various sets of activities based on multiple intelligences. We first conducted a survey of LANSAD teachers on their class practices. Then, we asked teachers in Scientific English to set up these activities in their own classes in order to have a subjective view. Finally, we also carried out a specific investigation on motivation among ESP students.This thesis is divided into three main sections. The first section deals with the correlation between multiple intelligences and language sustainability in English. The second examines the correlation between multiple intelligences and creativity. The last section discusses the relationship between multiple intelligences and motivation in students. The conclusions offer some suggestions for teaching and learning English for specific purposes.

Alexandre Vialatte (1901-1971) se définissait de son vivant comme « notoirement méconnu ». Les ambiguïtés de l’écrivain-traducteur l’ont relégué en marge de la littérature française, mais elles suscitent de façon paradoxale une attention critique modeste aujourd’hui. Son premier roman Battling le ténébreux ou la mue périlleuse (1928) – roman d’apprentissage peu étudié et encore inédit en anglais – incarne parfaitement la qualité inclassable de l’auteur. Cette thèse se concentre sur le fait que Vialatte était traducteur ; elle avance l’hypothèse qu’une rencontre précaire entre les cultures française et allemande façonne Battling et, en parallèle, elle examine l’idée d’une identité « en traduction ». À ce titre, nous adoptons une « lecture traductionnelle » du texte où la pratique de la traduction (vers l’anglais) alimente une étude littéraire. En raison de la nature interdisciplinaire de la traduction, nous nous appuyons non seulement sur la traductologie, mais aussi sur la littérature comparée, la création littéraire et les études féministes, afin de donner corps à un espace polyphonique et créatif entre sujets et cultures. Notre analyse du texte porte sur la « mue périlleuse » du héros moderniste et s’organise autour de deux rencontres intersubjectives : tandis que le protagoniste du roman rencontre son objet de désir (une femme allemande) et se trouve déstabilisé, le traducteur rencontre l’écrivain pour problématiser le texte original. À travers ces deux affrontements, nous bouleversons les dichotomies de soi et autre, original et traduction, pour finalement imaginer une identité plurielle et éthique en traduction. / Alexandre Vialatte’s (1901-1971) self-proclaimed label – ‘notoirement méconnu’ – continues to define him today. The writer-translator’s incongruities have relegated him to the margins of the French literary canon yet paradoxically attract a modest academic following. His first novel Battling le ténébreux ou la mue périlleuse (1928) – a little-studied and currently untranslated coming of age tale – exemplifies the rich placelessness that defines the author. This thesis contextualises Battling in light of Vialatte’s position as translator. It suggests the text is informed by an uneasy encounter between French and German cultures and geographies and, in parallel, it investigates the very notion of an identity ‘in translation’. This thesis adopts a translational approach whereby my own process translating Battling into English frames a literary study of the text. Given the multifaceted nature of translation, such an approach is interdisciplinary: it draws not only from translation studies (both theory and practice), but also from comparative literature, creative writing, and feminist studies, to map a polyphonous and multifaceted space between subjects and cultures. The analysis centres on the modernist hero’s ‘mue périlleuse’, or coming of age, and structures itself around two intersubjective encounters; as Vialatte’s protagonist meets his foreign and feminine Other to find insecurity, translator meets writer to problematise the original text. Through these two encounters, this thesis works to unsettle the binaries of self and other, original and translation, to ultimately present a plural and ethical identity in translation.

This study is a very personal reflection. The purpose of the study is to illuminate how following the calling of my heart led to a deeper passion in my own work whereupon I realized my natural and limitless creative potential. It is a blending of my narrative with research conducted over a ten year time period on midlife women, work, and the search for passion within. The capacity and fostering of creativity became a focus in my writing because that is exactly where my spirit has led me. It has been my personal joy to put something in this world that was not there before. My personal story is my unique Scholarly Personal Narrative, but the story itself and the constructs embedded within on midlife women moving beyond the feminine mystique to fulfill their career dreams by embracing their passion and seeking creativity is universal to many women. I believe that my experiences are both generalizable and transferable and will serve as a beacon of light in guiding other midlife women in their own journey to follow their dreams and nurture their true self. Scholarly Personal Narrative was used to blend my experiences with research on women's identity, midlife, reinventing careers, opting-out, on-ramps for women returning to work and expressing creativity. My narrative speaks to how specific events in my life, as in many women's lives, have contributed to finding my own authentic voice, navigating a course of rediscovery, and ultimately realizing the personal power of knowing you are empowered. Throughout my writing I highlight that midlife is a unique period of time. I believe it can be claustrophobic and it can be ripe with opportunity and adventure. If you allow it, this time of life affords an opportunity for self-discovery and unanticipated growth. Midlife is a time to dig deep in examining our life experiences to extrapolate meaning. My meanings derived combined with my dreams within has led me in finding my true creative calling through my work. But, I believe that we each are the only ones who can find the meaning in and through our life experiences because they both form and inform our own truth. It became about harmonizing creative development, my identity, and work to fuel major change. Universal themes that emerge include recognizing one's creativity has worth, viewing future work life as an opportunity to incorporate that with which we are passionate, and embracing midlife as a time for positive personal growth and change. It is a complex narrative, but in finding the truth, I became open to building on the successes, experiences, and lessons of my past to pursue work that excites, enriches, and motivates me. Findings suggest that midlife is a crucial time of personal and professional growth. Findings also suggest many highly educated women have non-linear career paths which in turn deepen our self-understanding moving us toward authenticity and allowing ourselves to engage in work that matters to us. Embracing creativity in midlife, through our work. can fill us with both passion and purpose and ultimately lead us on a magical journey in discovering our own truth.

Research on high-performing nonprofit boards has indicated a positive relationship between a board's strength and an organization's effectiveness; however, how boards achieve success remains relatively unknown. The Kirton adaption-innovation (KAI) theory was used to examine board members' cognitive styles in relationship to facilitating problem solving and decision making. This nonexperimental, quantitative study included archived nonprofit board data from 2 American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) studies that had addressed the high performance of boards and factors associated with organizational success. A total of 102 randomly selected, high-performing nonprofit board members completed the KAI Inventory, which was used to measure cognitive style on a continuum; participants also answered questions from the second ASAE study to indicate board performance. Correlational and regression analyses were used to determine whether cognitive style on problem solving and decision making predicted high performance of boards. Results showed that cognitive style was not a significant predictor of problem solving; however, participants with an innovation cognitive style provided answers to the decision-making performance questions that were noticeably lower than participants who were classified as adaption. Findings might be used by nonprofit board members to enhance individual growth, increase organizational agility, and improve problem solving for effective decision making to ensure nonprofit board excellence.

Research in extracurricular activities and arts education demonstrate how experiences in those areas contribute to the well-being and ongoing development of students in higher education. Although practiced and performed across the United States, theatrical improvisation, as an art form or extracurricular activity, lacks investigation within the context of higher education. Without an understanding from the student perspective, higher educational stakeholders miss an opportunity to incorporate experiences that address the institutions' mission and learning goals or worse, inadvertently produce student disenfranchisement. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the experience of improvisational acting training, practice, and performance of 7 college students who participated in an improvisation group. Huizinga and Caillois's theories of play and Csikszentmihalyi's theory of flow served as the conceptual framework for the study. Data collection occurred at a community college in the mid-Atlantic region through 2 interviews with each participant and 1 focus group until reaching saturation of data. Data were analyzed through iterative coding of significant statements through which themes emerged. Themes included attraction to the activity, practice of the craft, applications of skills to life, and a continuance of improvisation in the participants' lives and at college. The findings lend credibility to other research supporting arts and extracurricular activities and provide educational stakeholders with insights from students on what they value in their educational experience. Positive social change can come from providing students with an education that includes fun, creativity, and socialization for a successful future.

This thesis addresses the need to claim creativity as an essential component to our technical communication curricula as we prepare students for what their managers want. While many technical communication programs at universities across the country have recognized a need to teach skills beyond 'writing technically,' few, if any, have addressed or 'claimed' a concept such as creativity that helps build these skills. I argue that creativity is what managers are looking for and what technical communication programs are already implementing. Claiming this concept will help us further define a discipline that is becoming much richer and help students develop an understanding of what they will be expected to do. Furthermore, this thesis examines a creative process whereby technical communicators can learn and practice creative abilities. Ultimately, the present study examines four pedagogical theories to consider for the implementation of creativity into the technical communication curricula.

In the wake of recent corporate accounting scandals, auditors are encouraged to improve their method of fraud detection. Although Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 99 does not change the responsibility of the auditor for detecting fraud, it does provide new procedural requirements for assessing fraud risk, such as brainstorming among key team members about the potential for fraud. Using audit interns and internal auditors, this study empirically examines two interventions hypothesized to improve the quality of ideas generated by audit interns and internal auditors. In the first intervention, auditors use a computer-based group support system to brainstorm either non-anonymously or anonymously. For the second intervention, auditors were either trained to use a paradigm-modifying creativity technique or not trained. Additionally, it is hypothesized that the creativity training will have the greatest impact on brainstorming effectiveness when auditors brainstorm anonymously. However, the results suggest that audit interns working non-anonymously generated the greatest number of fraud ideas and also the greatest number of original ideas. Audit interns who received training on a paradigm-modifying creativity training technique generated the greatest number of unique ideas and received, on average, the highest usefulness to the audit process score.

Em Paraíso perdido, de John Milton, Pandemonium é a capital do inferno, local onde todos os demônios se encontram em conselho para discutir seus planos. É também significado de confusão, caos e balbúrdia. Tal metáfora pode ser utilizada para descrever o processo criativo do designer gráfico, cuja mente funciona como um caldeirão fervilhante de informações interligadas em uma rede complexa. Ao contrário do que se imagina, as ideias não surgem de uma inspiração divina ou um pensamento ordenado e previsível. Nascem da prática repetitiva, do esforço e da experimentação, constituídos a partir do repertório particular de cada designer. O objetivo desta tese foi compreender o processo criativo em design gráfico no qual o acaso e a experimentação estão inseridos. A tese foi construída a partir de uma pesquisa prática e teórica e consiste de reflexões a partir da bibliografia sobre design e processos de criação, de entrevistas realizadas com designers gráficos e de experimentos que apresentam, na prática, o processo de criação em design, que é único para cada um, pois envolve inúmeros aspectos que determinarão o resultado final, e somente um envolvimento profundo faz com que oportunamente elementos não premeditados colaborem nesse processo. Por isso, Pandemonium foi montado como um caderno de experimentos e vivências que pode ser lido por inteiro ou folheado livremente. É uma pesquisa que leva em consideração as referências pessoais e os relatos do aprendizado teórico e prático de um estudante, designer e professor. Baseou-se nas oito fases do processo criativo descritos por Robert Keith Sawyer, que pesquisa a criatividade há mais de vinte anos. Essas fases constituem a estrutura da tese e visam a propiciar clareza e entendimento de todo o processo de criação, que não ocorre de maneira linear, e, portanto, as oito fases não acontecem necessariamente na ordem apresentada nesta tese. O processo criativo constitui-se conforme o projeto se desenvolve, havendo sempre desvios, erros, improvisações e surpresas que ajudam a construí-lo. / In John Milton\'s Paradise Lost, Pandemonium is the capital of hell, the place where demons have a board meeting in order to discuss their plans. It also means confusion, chaos, and commotion. Such a metaphor can be used to describe the creative process of a graphic designer, whose mind functions as an overflown cauldron filled with interconnected information in a complex network. Contrary to popular belief, ideas are not a result of divine inspiration or orderly and predictable thinking. They come to life due to repetitive practice, effort and experimentation, which are characteristics of the designer´s own repertoire. The purpose of this dissertation was to understand chance and experimentation inserted in the creative process of graphic design. This dissertation was based on the lines of a practical and theoretical research and consists of reflections from the bibliography on processes of design and creation, interviews with graphic designers and experiments that present, in practice, the design creation process, which is unique for each person, since it involves many aspects that will determine the final result. Thus, only deep involvement might eventually prove that unpremeditated elements collaborate in this process. Therefore, Pandemonium was organized as a notebook of experiments and experiences that can be read in full or leafed through freely. It is a research that takes the personal references and the reports of the theoretical and practical learning of a student, designer and professor into account. It was based on the eight stages of the creative process described by Robert Keith Sawyer, who has studied creativity for more than twenty years. These stages form the structure of the dissertation and aim to provide clarity and understanding of the whole creative process, which does not occur in a linear way; therefore, the eight stages do not necessarily happen in the order presented in this work. Creative process is formed along with project development as there are always deviations, mistakes, improvisations and surprises which promote its shape