Collaborative Creativity

This chapter is based on the author’s research on group creativity and educational initiatives in the private and public sectors as well as in higher education courses at an advanced level. The contribution is derived from both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches to present in-depth knowledge of creative collaboration and competence as well as training of the necessary skills needed to activate both the prerequisites and predictors for creativity. Research shows correlations between experiences of flow in idea-generating group activities and group members’ integrative social behavior. In addition, it is shown that training for increased divergent thinking also develops broadened attention, openness, and flexibility for perspective shifts. A conceptual framework is presented to construct a model of research design on collaborative creativity with the purpose of enabling comparisons between study’s methodology and findings to continue developing this field of research with joint efforts. The chapter advances the view that the impact of activities training group-based creativity should be elevated in importance beyond individual brilliant ideas because creative collaboration develops abilities to take initiative, make decisions and interact constructively together

Det dubbla uppdraget: relationen mellan INGO och staten i Vietnam

Due to the political system in Vietnam, all organizations in Vietnam need a permit to operate in the country and consequently, have to balance their mission, their main purpose of being in the country, with the fact that they are dependant on the government to give them the permit they need to stay in the country. With this as our basis, the main focus of this essay has been to identify different types of relations that exist between the Vietnamese state and International Non Governmental Organisations (INGOs) in Vietnam. Since we have interviewed people representing INGOs, our result is based on their experience of this relationship. By using Najam's Four-C's Model, we established that the more traditional INGOs which principally provide services, predominantly have a cooperative relationship with the state, whereas radical INGOs which are committed to policy change, mostly have a relationship which is characterised by conflict

Multifunctional biomaterials from the sea: Assessing the effects of chitosan incorporation into collagen scaffolds on mechanical and biological functionality

Natural biomaterials such as collagen show promise in tissue engineering applications due to their inherent bioactivity. The main limitation of collagen is its low mechanical strength and somewhat unpredictable and rapid degradation rate; however, combining collagen with another material, such as chitosan, can reinforce the scaffold mechanically and may improve the rate of degradation. Additionally, the high cost and the risk of prion transmission associated with mammal-derived collagen has prompted research into alternative sources such as marine-origin collagen. In this context, the overall goal of this study was to determine if the incorporation of chitosan into collagen scaffolds could improve the mechanical and biological properties of the scaffold. In addition the study assessed if collagen, derived from salmon skin (marine), can provide an alternative to collagen derived from bovine tendon (mammal) for tissue engineering applications. Scaffold architecture and mechanical properties were assessed as well as their ability to support mesenchymal stem cell growth and differentiation. Overall, the addition of chitosan to bovine and salmon skin-derived collagen scaffolds improved the mechanical properties, increasing the compressive strength, swelling ratio and prolonged the degradation rate. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) attachment and proliferation was most improved on the bovine-derived collagen scaffold containing a 75:25 ratio of collagen:chitosan, and when MSC osteogenic and chondrogenic potential on the scaffold was assessed, a significant increase in calcium production (p < 0.001) and sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) production (p < 0.001) was observed respectively. Regardless of chitosan content, the bovine-derived collagen scaffolds out-performed the salmon skin-derived collagen scaffolds, displaying a larger pore size and higher percentage porosity, more regular architecture, higher compressive modulus, a greater capacity for water uptake and allowed for more MSC proliferation and differentiation. This versatile scaffold incorporating the marine biomaterial chitosan show great potential as appropriate platforms for promoting orthopaedic tissue repair while the use of salmon skin-derived collagen may be more suitable in the repair of soft tissues such as skin.This work was funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) through the Research Frontiers Programme (Grant No. 11/RFP/ENM/3063) and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through INTERREG 2007-2013 Program (POCTEP project 0687_NOVOMAR_1_P). Bovine collagen materials were provided by Integra Life Sciences, Inc. through a Material Transfer Agreement. Salmon skins were kindly offered by Pingo Doce, Braga (Portugal)

Chitosan and its derivatives as nanocarriers for siRNA delivery

The ability to specifically silence genes using siRNA has enormous potential for treating genetic diseases. However, siRNA instability and biodistribution issues still need to be overcome, and adequate delivery vehicles have proven indispensable in conveying siRNA to its target. Chitosan is a promising biopolymer for siRNA delivery, its interest stemming from its safety, biodegradability, mucoadhesivity, permeation enhancing effect and cationic charge, as well as amenability to undergo chemical modifications. Chitosan and its derivatives can be readily arranged into complexes or nanoparticles able to entrap and carry siRNA. Specific strategies have been adopted to improve chitosan-based vectors with regard to transfectability. However, further efforts are required to verify their value and adapt them to enhance therapeutic output prior to clinical application. This review emphasizes the potential of chitosan and its derivatives to develop nanocarriers for siRNA delivery. The properties of chitosan that are significant for transfectability and the most relevant findings are assessed

Dancing a strategy to maintain schoolchildren’s openness for idea generation

Peter Österberg, Ph.D. in Psychology from Lund University, especially Work and Organizational Psychology. With a background with emotion/sport psychology and Organizational development, he is currently assigned to explore the future of agriculture, and lectures on Leadership, creativity/innovation, decision making, at the University of Helsinki. Bengt Köping Olsson, Ph.D. in Innovation and Design has a background as an engineer and a degree in Psychology. He has also a Master of Fine Arts in piano and has worked as a musician on a freelance basis. He is currently working as a lecturer and researcher in Innovation management at the Academy for Innovation, Design, and Engineering, Mälardalen University, Eskilstuna, Sweden. Köping Olsson’s research deals with creative activity in an intense group effort and social thinking, its significance for creative and innovative processes. His research is focused on collective ideation processes through coordination that enables openness, diversity and group flow. He has been involved in multi-disciplinary development projects involving the public sector, industry, and academia. Disclosure statement: No ethical considerations.Schools are institutions responsible for teaching children new skills and knowledge, the ability to think about future targets, and, when problems become complex, how to apply explorative thinking and inborn creativity to solve them. Even so, scholars point to the fact that school curriculums do not support ways to facilitate explorative learning or creativity for problem-solving. To successfully devise solutions never considered before, children need support with programs enabling them to facilitate openness for experience intellectually. This study suggests that dance activities should become regular in the curriculum as a strategy for maintaining schoolchildren’s cognitive flexibility.Peer reviewe

Komparatiivinen analyysi tempusten käytöstä suomen ja ruotsin kielissä

The study deals with the usage of tenses in Finnish and Swedish. The analysis focuses on the tenses of finite verb-forms and the aim is to compare differences in tense usage in order to notice where if at all the tense usage differs. The material used comprises one Finnish novel, one Swedish novel and their translations. The Finnish novel chosen is written by Arto Paasilinna and is called Aatami ja Eeva. The Swedish novel is called Ingen mans land and it is written by Jan Guillou. These novels were chosen because they are both contemporary and the texts were comparable with regard to how much narrative and dialogue they contain. One problem with generalizing is, that authors as well as translators all have their own idiolect; a variety of a language unique to an individual. A translator may also use a different tense as a stylistic device, for example to enliven the text or to add some drama into it. My hypothesis was, that due to the semantic similarities between the two languages the tense usage is very similar in Finnish and Swedish. Clear differences were not expected. The findings of the study verified my hypothesis. However, the study showed that Finnish past perfect was often translated as imperfect tense in the Swedish text and vice versa. The tenses concerned are a "temporal couple", both of them indicating "the past of the past". It might be due to this that it has been possible to change the tense in the translation without affecting the meaning of the sentence. My conclusion is, that in addition to this altering the tense was in many cases a stylistic choice. Keywords: tenses, tense usage, Finnish, Swedish, translatio

Creativity and maturity in team-based innovation - a model for assessment of interaction quality in relation to task characteristics

This paper deals with group creativity, i.e. production of originality through combination of differences, and suggests a model for assessment of innovation maturity, i.e. group maturity, in relation to work task characteristics vis-a-vi a shared content, i.e. group ideas. The process of generating original ideas and develop that kind of ideas in work group is defined as a complex activity, i.e. the co-operation of several mutually deviant factors such as combination of different knowledge areas, intensity of idea exchange and critical evaluation. This research is conducted from the perspective of a team paradigm which means that group creativity and group dynamics are studied in the team's day-to-day work setting in order to develop an understanding of the competence and abilities at group level in relation to the tasks characteristic. In line with that perspective we propose that the team’s innovation quality should be understood and described in relation to the shared content evolving from team member’s interaction, i.e. the group idea. Furthermore, by taking a complex systems perspective, the team can be understood as an entity that can develop certain traits as well as inter-subjective competences. Results from a questionnaire study, conducted in the framework of an ongoing evaluation and research project in the public sector in Sweden, with 80 respondents form the initial basis for the development and evaluation of a model for the assessment of maturity for team-based innovation. The analysis of questionnaire data confirms the positive relationship between group performance, i.e. the production and development of creative ideas on the one hand and the quest for originality combined with critical analysis and evaluation on the other hand. Analysis of data from two of the four working groups also show that encouraging climate and extrinsic motivation, often considered to have major importance for creative performance, do not necessarily have that effect on idea generation and idea development

Covarying effects of creativity studies on academic performance in innovation processes

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of the relationships between personal characteristics, thinking preferences and learning activities on academic achievements in creativity studies for innovation management. Development of theory related reflexivity on creative experiences and competence as well as training of required skills in innovation processes needs to activate both the pre-requisites and predictors of creativity (OECD, 2019). Statistical analysis of quantitative data and qualitative data collected within the framework of a course aiming to develop competence and skills for creativity in innovation processes’ is presented. The results are related in the model for covarying creativity constructs based on the statistical correlation and regression analyzes. Based on this developed understanding consequences for developing creativity competence

Creativity – The Angel Or Devil In The Innovation Eden

The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize the implementing an innovation work model in workplaces in regard to creativity. The main contribution is to discuss how creativity is understood in a commonplace innovation context today and to develop a deepened understanding of creativity and its constituents. In our case, it is the element of criticism that is underlined concerning the creative process. In order to enable sustainable and fruitful participatory innovation, in an everyday struggle for innovations, creativity needs to be practiced as the revitalizing potential and diversity-affirming force – sometimes not so pleasant – that is to be expected based on what definitions and descriptions suggests. With the support of examples from previous research and with reference to creative destruction that has been present in regard to change, in philosophy and national economics, since the nineteenth century, we argue that this rarely happens because of the way implementing participatory innovation processes is described, motivated and conducted. In short: In this presentation, we want to underline the importance of a critical element in creative processes aiming for innovations. We do this with support from voices withing contemporary projects and philosophy