Cultures and Traditions of Wordplay and Wordplay Research

This volume focuses on realisations of wordplay in different cultures and social and historical contexts, and brings together various research traditions of approaching wordplay. Together with the volume DWP 7, it assembles selected papers presented at the interdisciplinary conference The Dynamics of Wordplay / La dynamique du jeu de mots (Trier, 2016) and stresses the inherent dynamicity of wordplay and wordplay research

Cultures and Traditions of Wordplay and Wordplay Research

This volume focuses on realisations of wordplay in different cultures and social and historical contexts, and brings together various research traditions of approaching wordplay. Together with the volume DWP 7, it assembles selected papers presented at the interdisciplinary conference The Dynamics of Wordplay / La dynamique du jeu de mots (Trier, 2016) and stresses the inherent dynamicity of wordplay and wordplay research

Great minds think alike: Sociocultural perspective on human creativity in the age of big data

Human creativity is in high demand in the 21st century, and it has been acknowledged that unlocking the creative capacity of the whole population would have major effects. However, while several surveys demonstrate that many people consider creativity a personal and an economic asset associated with individual and societal wellbeing, simultaneously many of them doubt their own creative abilities. Even though findings from the field of cognitive neuroscience have shown that the phenomenon is intrinsic and we all possess creative potential, it is claimed that an average person holds stereotypical or dated ideas about creativity, which may explain why the discourse on creativity has suffered from so many misconceptions. This study presents the hypothesis that current understandings of creativity are the result of numerous variables, such as general perceptions of the social status and the role of age. Some of these variables are then selected for in-depth investigation by using critical discourse analysis. The results of this analysis suggest that a multitude of conceptions on creativity will remain until the science of creativity is established. Moreover, creativity is an ambiguous, socioculturally dependent and evolving phenomenon. Furthermore, miscommunication between different social groups can influence the public’s views more than the myths or misconceptions about the phenomenon per se. The implications of the results and future research directions are presented here within. Alongside of the research, an experimental concept of Metacognitive Process in Creative Self-Confidence was developed to explore the possible causalities of ambiguous creativity complex, current sociocultural environment, and individualistic perception on one’s own creative self.Luovuudelle on suuri kysyntä nykyaikana. On käsitetty kuinka suuri vaikutus sillä olisi, jos koko väestön luova kapasiteetti voitaisiin valjastaa. Tutkimukset osoittavat, että vaikka valtaosa ihmisistä kokee luovuuden henkilökohtaisena ja taloudellisena etuna, ja assosioivat ilmiön sekä yksilölliseen että yhteiskunnalliseen hyvinvointiin, niin silti he itse samanaikaisesti epäilevät omaa luovaa potentiaaliaan. Vaikka kognitiivisen neurotieteen alan havainnot ovat jo osoittaneet, että ilmiö on luontainen ja kaikki omaavat luovan potentiaalin, on väitetty, että silti valtaosan käsitys on stereotyyppinen tai tiedot luovuudesta ovat vanhentuneita. Tämä saattaa selittää, miksi luovuuden diskurssi on kärsinyt useista tyypillisistä väärinkäsityksistä ilmiöön liittyen. Tämä tutkielma teorisoi, että yleinen nykykäsitys luovuudesta on seurausta lukuisista muuttujista kuten esimerkiksi eri näkemyksistä sosiaalisen aseman ja iän roolista luovuudessa. Tätä tutkielmaa varten vain osa monista muuttujista on valittu tarkasteltaviksi lähemmin, ja niitä on tutkittu kriittisen diskurssianalyysin avulla. Tulokset viittaavat siihen, että erilaiset ideat ihmisluovuudesta pysyvät lukuisina kunnes vakaa tieteellinen perusta luovuudelle on luotu. Tutkielmassa todetaan, että luovuus on moniselitteinen ja alati kehittyvä ilmiö sekä se on riippuvainen sosiokulttuurisesta ympäristöstä. Sen lisäksi tutkimuksessa esitetään, että ihmisten yleisnäkemykseen luovuudesta on saattanut vaikuttaa luovuusmyyttejä ja yleisiä väärinkäsityksiäkin enemmän eri yhteiskunnallisten ryhmien välinen kommunikointi. Tulokset ja ehdotukset tutkimuksen tulevalle suuntaukselle esitetään tässä työssä. Tutkimuksen rinnalle kehitetty kokeellinen konsepti; luovan itsevarmuuden metakognitiivinen prosessi, seuloo mahdollisia kausaliteetteja vaikeasti tulkittavan luovuuden ilmiön, nykyisen sosiokulttuurisen ympäristön ja yksilön luovan minäkäsityksen välillä

From something old to something new: Functionalist lessons for the cognitive science of scientific creativity

An intuitive view is that creativity involves bringing together what is already known and familiar in a way that produces something new. In cognitive science, this intuition is typically formalized in terms of computational processes that combine or associate internally represented information. From this computationalist perspective, it is hard to imagine how non-representational approaches in embodied cognitive science could shed light on creativity, especially when it comes to abstract conceptual reasoning of the kind scientists so often engage in. The present article offers an entry point to addressing this challenge. The scientific project of embodied cognitive science is a continuation of work in the functionalist tradition in psychology developed over a century ago by William James and John Dewey, among others. The focus here is on how functionalist views on the nature of mind, thought, and experience offer an alternative starting point for cognitive science in general, and for the cognitive science of scientific creativity in particular. The result may seem paradoxical. On the one hand, the article claims that the functionalist conceptual framework motivates rejecting mainstream cognitive views of creativity as the combination or association of ideas. On the other hand, however, the strategy adopted here—namely, revisiting ideas from functionalist psychology to inform current scientific theorizing—can itself be described as a process of arriving at new, creative ideas from combinations of old ones. As is shown here, a proper understanding of cognition in light of the functionalist tradition resolves the seeming tension between these two claims.DFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2021 - 2022 / Technische Universität Berli

TOWARDS A MODEL FOR ARTIFICIAL AESTHETICS - Contributions to the Study of Creative Practices in Procedural and Computational Systems

Este trabalho propõe o desenvolvimento de um modelo analítico e da terminologia a ele associada para o estudo de artefactos estéticos computacionais. Reconhecendo a presença e uso crescentes dos media computacionais, começamos por estudar como através da remediação eles transformam quantitativamente os media precedentes, e como as suas propriedades procedimentais e computacionais os afectam qualitativamente. Para perceber o potencial criativo e a especificidade dos media computacionais, desenvolvemos um modelo para a sua prática, crítica e análise. Como ponto de partida recorremos à tipologia desenvolvida por Espen Aarseth para o estudo de cibertextos, avaliando a sua adequação à análise de peças ergódicas visuais e audiovisuais, adaptando-a e expandindo-a com novas variáveis e respectivos valores. O modelo é testado através da análise de um conjunto de peças que representam diversas abordagens à criação procedimental e diversas áreas de actividade criativa contemporânea. É posteriormente desenvolvida uma análise de controlo para avaliar a usabilidade e utilidade do modelo, a sua capacidade para a elaboração de classificações objectivas e o rigor da análise. Demonstramos a adequação parcial do modelo de Aarseth para o estudo de artefactos não textuais e expandimo-lo para melhor descrever as peças estudadas. Concluímos que o modelo apresentado produz boas descrições das peças, agrupando-as logicamente, reflectindo afinidades estilísticas e procedimentais entre sistemas que, se estudados com base nas suas propriedades sensoriais ou nas suas estruturas de superfície provavelmente não revelariam muitas semelhanças. As afinidades reveladas pelo modelo são estruturais e procedimentais, e atestam a importância das características computacionais para a apreciação estética das obras. Verificamos a nossa conjectura inicial sobre a importância da procedimentalidade não só nas fases de desenvolvimento e implementação das obras mas também como base conceptual e estética na criação e apreciação artísticas, como um prazer estético

Multidisciplinary Aspects of Design. Objects, Processes, Experiences and Narratives

The book addresses the contemporary perspectives of design on a multidisciplinary through 4 key words: objects, processes, experiences, narratives. It aims at further investigating the role of the archive for the design culture reflecting on “Memory and Future” and “The Tools of Design and the Language of Representation”, and also themes that are yet at the center of the multidisciplinary debate on design. The tenets of the conference (OPEN: objects, processes, experiences and narratives) will hence also correspond to the book sections: -Objects. Design as focused on the object, on its functional and symbolic dimension, and at the same time on the object as a tool for representing cultures; -Processes. The designer’s self-reflective moment which is focused on the analysis and on the definition of processes in various contexts, spanning innovation, social engagement, reflection on emergencies or forecasting. -Experiences. Design as a theoretical and practical strategy aimed at facilitating experiential interactions among people, people and objects or environments. -Narratives. Making history, representing through different media, archiving, narrating, and exhibiting design

Introducing Computational Thinking in K-12 Education: Historical, Epistemological, Pedagogical, Cognitive, and Affective Aspects

Introduction of scientific and cultural aspects of Computer Science (CS) (called "Computational Thinking" - CT) in K-12 education is fundamental. We focus on three crucial areas. 1. Historical, philosophical, and pedagogical aspects. What are the big ideas of CS we must teach? What are the historical and pedagogical contexts in which CT emerged, and why are relevant? What is the relationship between learning theories (e.g., constructivism) and teaching approaches (e.g., plugged and unplugged)? 2. Cognitive aspects. What is the sentiment of generalist teachers not trained to teach CS? What misconceptions do they hold about concepts like CT and "coding"? 3. Affective and motivational aspects. What is the impact of personal beliefs about intelligence (mindset) and about CS ability? What the role of teaching approaches? This research has been conducted both through historical and philosophical argumentation, and through quantitative and qualitative studies (both on nationwide samples and small significant ones), in particular through the lens of (often exaggerated) claims about transfer from CS to other skills. Four important claims are substantiated. 1. CS should be introduced in K-12 as a tool to understand and act in our digital world, and to use the power of computation for meaningful learning. CT is the conceptual sediment of that learning. We designed a curriculum proposal in this direction. 2. The expressions CT (useful to distantiate from digital literacy) and "coding" can cause misconceptions among teachers, who focus mainly on transfer to general thinking skills. Both disciplinary and pedagogical teacher training is hence needed. 3. Some plugged and unplugged teaching tools have intrinsic constructivist characteristics that can facilitate CS learning, as shown with proposed activities. 4. Growth mindset is not automatically fostered by CS, while not studying CS can foster fixed beliefs. Growth mindset can be fostered by creative computing, leveraging on its constructivist aspects

An outline theory of art on cybernetic principles

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The object of this study is to draw art into the common net of organization, along with those other enterprizes more commonly associated with the exercise of intelligence. The method chosen for this is based upon the idea of effective procedures, namely by setting out to construct a (notional) 'art machine'. The argument falls into two parts, the first dealing with the general concept of authorship and the second with its products. Part I offers a definition of an abstract, rudimentary productive process and describes its observers. There is an examination of the relation between structure and purpose, which moves towards a general definition of authorship made in terms of extracting order from a surrounding. Principles of order extraction are examined, with particular reference to the Law of Requisite Variety. Examination of extracted order, as structure, heuristics and the like, leads to discussion of the transmission of purposes between purposeful systems, as well as general problems of constraint, and of regulation and control. Part I ends with a proposal for a paradigm for a rudimentary mechanical author. Part II concentrates on the products of authorship, seeking characterizing features of those that may be classified as art. There is discussion of objective knowledge and its value and of the characteristics of experience as a form of objective knowledge. It is suggested that art is concerned with experience and that this dictates its method, which is to produce simulation procedures based on a language constituted by the synthetic structures discussed in Part I. Lines are suggested for realizing an 'art machine' and there is a review of prospects. A section of notes consisting of speculative ideas and empirical applications connected with the conclusions of the text follows Part II

The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Education

This open access handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the growing field of positive education, featuring a broad range of theoretical, applied, and practice-focused chapters from leading international experts. It demonstrates how positive education offers an approach to understanding learning that blends academic study with life skills such as self-awareness, emotion regulation, healthy mindsets, mindfulness, and positive habits, grounded in the science of wellbeing, to promote character development, optimal functioning, engagement in learning, and resilience. The handbook offers an in-depth understanding and critical consideration of the relevance of positive psychology to education, which encompasses its theoretical foundations, the empirical findings, and the existing educational applications and interventions. The contributors situate wellbeing science within the broader framework of education, considering its implications for teacher training, education and developmental psychology, school administration, policy making, pedagogy and curriculum studies. This landmark collection will appeal to researchers and practitioners working in positive psychology, educational and school psychology, developmental psychology, education, counselling, social work and public policy