Creativity in events: the untold story

This paper reports upon untold stories that illustrate the creativity but also complexity of working in outdoor events. There has been global interest in the Creative Industries and the Creative Economy more generally. Events have not been identified or categorised as part of this. Experiences have been identified as part of the creative sectors (NESTA, 2006) and events are seen as experiences (Jackson, 2006; Berridge 2007). There has been little research undertaken about the creative nature of event experiences, especially in how they are created. A theoretical framework was created from literature on creativity more generally to inform the Creativity in Events research project. Interviews with those working in the outdoor events sector were the basis of the qualitative stage of the research project investigating the phenomenon of creativity in events. This paper identifies the core facets of creativity in the management of outdoor events. These were fluency, originality, imagination, elaboration, environment and complexity. A vignette is used to illustrate the intricacy of the nature of creativity in the production of outdoor event experiences. The overall findings were that event management was both creative and pragmatic and that both are necessary. There was a need for a creative environment with processes and familiarity that aided inspiration and originality. The background and findings are relevant to recognising events as part of the wider creative economy. A greater understanding of the nature of creativity in events informs both education and practice

Is executive impairment associated with schizophrenic syndromes? A meta-analysis

Original article can be found at: http://journals.cambridge.org/ Copyright Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291708003887A key neuropsychological proposal in schizophrenia is that negative and disorganization symptoms are associated with different patterns of impairment on executive tasks. Reporting correlations between positive, negative or disorganization symptoms and any type of executive test were meta-analysed. The influence of moderating factors was also examined, including age, treatment and stage of illness and whether symptoms were relapsing or persistent. The magnitudes of the correlations were compared with those for general intellectual impairment. Pooled correlations between executive impairment and both negative symptoms and disorganization were significant in the small-to-moderate range. That for positive symptoms (‘reality distortion’), however, was close to zero. The pattern of correlations among different executive tests differed significantly for negative symptoms and disorganization. Patients with stable clinical pictures showed significantly higher correlations with executive impairment than those with relapsing and remitting illnesses. Both negative symptoms and disorganization also correlated significantly with general intellectual function as indexed by current IQ. Meta-analysis supports the view that negative symptoms and disorganization are associated with partially dissociable patterns of executive impairment. However, co-existent general intellectual impairment has been an important confounding factor in the studies to date.Peer reviewe

Is the events industry a creative industry?

This paper outlines a project that is being conducted by the University of Westminster and Bournemouth University on behalf of the Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP) to measure the amount of creative intensity involved in events management work, with a view to lobbying government via DCMS to provide representation for the events industry on the Creative Industries Council (CIC), a national advisory body for policy-making on the creative industries. BVEP sees the event sector as a stand-alone industry in its own right and has already lobbied DCMS with the objectives of having the events industry recognised as a stand-alone sector – not part of the tourism sector – and an industry that is creative (OECD, 2014, Richards, 2011). The first objective has now been achieved through the appointment of an Events Industry Council to offer advice on event-related policy. However, this does not go far enough in terms of dovetailing the event’s sectors aims and complementarities with other creative sectors. Therefore the BVEP are still pursuing recognition as a creative industry: on advice from DCMS, the events sector must now research its ‘creative intensity’ and the purpose of this research project is to take that objective forward. Through CIC representation the creative sectors, such as film and TV, music, advertising and marketing, museums, arts and crafts have direct influence on policy-making at the DCMS, UKTI, Visit Britain and Visit England and at the Prime Minister’s Office (DCMS, 2015). Each sector is considered as creative according to the ‘creative intensity’ of the job roles within those sectors: currently, the events industry is not considered as a creative sector, largely because its ‘creative intensity’ has not yet been measured. The research team will adopt the model established by Freeman (2008) and used by the DCMS to measure the UK creative industries in order to review samples of recognised occupation codes (SOCs) within businesses indicated by their industrial codes (SICs). The DCMS looks for sectors to have a 20% or above creative intensity to be considered as a creative industry (Knight, 2014). The research team consider that exploring the creative intensity within event management education is a necessary and related task, as a signifier of the developing professional skills-base on which future events management practitioners will draw. Therefore, as AEME enters its second decade it is fitting to reflect on the development of events management education and to consider the role of creativity within UK degree programmes as the subject and profession continues to mature. As Bladen and Kennell (2014) highlight the prominence of business school perspectives within early educational offers may have privileged analytical approaches over the more lateral thinking required in creative practice and it is timely to review whether this remains the case. This year’s forum at Falmouth University provides a sympathetic setting in which to consider the re-framing of events management as a creative endeavour and to explore the risks and rewards that a shift towards status as a creative industry may bring for educators and practitioners alike

Facial emotion processing in schizophrenia : a non-specific neuropsychological deficit?

Original article can be found at : http://journals.cambridge.org/ Copyright Cambridge University PressBackground: Identification of facial emotions has been found to be impaired in schizophrenia but there are uncertainties about the neuropsychological specificity of the finding. Method: Twenty-two patients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls were given tests requiring identification of facial emotion, judgement of the intensity of emotional expressions without identification, familiar face recognition and the Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT). The schizophrenia patients were selected to be relatively intellectually preserved. Results: The patients with schizophrenia showed no deficit in identifying facial emotion, although they were slower than the controls. They were, however, impaired on judging the intensity of emotional expression without identification. They showed impairment in recognizing familiar faces but not on the BFRT. Conclusions: When steps are taken to reduce the effects of general intellectual impairment, there is no deficit in identifying facial emotions in schizophrenia. There may, however, be a deficit in judging emotional intensity. The impairment found in naming familiar faces is consistent with other evidence of semantic memory impairment in the disorder.Peer reviewe

The untold story, the creativity of events

Whether academically or professionally, events are emerging as a distinct area of study, research and practice. Like anything that grows, it is difficult for events not to be the result of its roots. The courses that have been developed have their roots in, for example, leisure, tourism, hospitality and performing arts. Some sit in Management Schools and Faculties and others in stage and theatres or stand alone departments. The academic base is just as broad and has chartered a similar course to tourism where there has been a positive tension between management and critical theories. One area that has had limited attention is the nature of creativity in events and this article will take an applied focus to this interest. The pos itioning of the events industry is something that is important for its identity but more importantly, it will shape event education, research and professional practice in the future. Events have been identified as experiences (Getz 2005; Berridge 2007) and studied as such (Jackson 2006, 2015). However there has been little research undertaken about the creative nature of this experience, especially in how they are created. Models of the Creative Sectors depict a relatively blank circle that is titled 'Experiences' (NESTA 2006; British Council 2010). Events could be positioned within the creative industries because of this. This article is formed of different stories that illustrate the nature of creativity in the production of outdoor event experiences. These stories are narrated to add insight into the elements that are important for creativity, that of fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration, risk-taking, complexity, curiosity and imagination (Guilford 1956, 1965, 1988; Sternberg 2012). This research is also novel in that it focuses more on the process (Stuhlfaut and Windels 2012; Tsoukas 2005) and environment of creativity (Amabile 2006) in the production of an event experience and less on the personal characteristics required for creativity or on the effectiveness of the creative experience itself. It aims to aid our understanding of creativity not just in outdoor events but in the creative industries as a whole (de Propis 2013; Freeman 2008

The gestalt of event creativity

Purpose This paper identifies the gestalt characteristics of creativity within outdoor events. It focuses on the creation and production of events and not on the event itself or the way that it is experienced. It is therefore interested in the processes and attributes of working in outdoor events, within various roles and responsibilities. The concept of gestalt helps to identify the defining features of a phenomenon that unfolds over a period of time. Design/methodology/approach The Creativity in Events research project included a mixed-methods approach that identified the nature and understanding of outdoor events through interviewing 10 providers of different types of outdoor events. These were identified as cultural festivals, music festivals, outdoor sporting events, outdoor trade shows and outdoor corporate events. From these the salient characteristics of creativity were identified and transformed into a survey of people undertaking different job roles from Director to volunteer across the sector. Overall 233 useable questionnaires provided the data that was analysed to identify whether the outdoor event sector was creative and in what ways, across the different roles. Findings This paper is an overall summary of the main characteristics identified through both the qualitative and quantitative stages of the research project. It approaches the results of these from an overarching meta-analysis based on gestalt principles. Six facets of event creativity were identified. These were: fluency, originality, imagination, elaboration, environment and complexity. The characteristics of divergent and convergent practices, alongside cognitive and affective features offered a complex but gestalt understanding of creativity in outdoor events. These featured collaboration across the creative event process; the creative familiarity offered by the necessity of compliance, and the necessity to be both pragmatic and creative. Research limitations/implications The gestalt concept itself recognizes that not all characteristics of a phenomenon, such as creativity, are constant and that there are highs and lows and potentially conflicting attributes. In attempting to identify and research the creativity of events results in a reduction and shaping of something quite messy and complex. Only in this way though can certain characteristics be recognised and further explored. Otherwise we just leave events as something that is only learnt through practice and experience. Practical implications A better understanding of creativity in events is important for improving practice, education and research. The processes and practices developed and taught need to recognise both the divergent and convergent approaches. The work environment and collaborations are necessary to support the success of outdoor events. Originality/value Whilst the importance of creativity in the production of events has been recognized, there has been little research undertaken as to its characteristics. Creativity itself has predominantly been researched within the individual, with some emphasis on the organisation but very little on a whole sector

A Novel Stochastic Multi-Scale Model of Francisella tularensis Infection to Predict Risk of Infection in a Laboratory

We present a multi-scale model of the within-phagocyte, within-host and population-level infection dynamics of Francisella tularensis, which extends the mechanistic one proposed by Wood et al. (2014). Our multi-scale model incorporates key aspects of the interaction between host phagocytes and extracellular bacteria, accounts for inter-phagocyte variability in the number of bacteria released upon phagocyte rupture, and allows one to compute the probability of response, and mean time until response, of an infected individual as a function of the initial infection dose. A Bayesian approach is applied to parameterize both the within-phagocyte and within-host models using infection data. Finally, we show how dose response probabilities at the individual level can be used to estimate the airborne propagation of Francisella tularensis in indoor settings (such as a microbiology laboratory) at the population level, by means of a deterministic zonal ventilation model

Stochastic dynamics of Francisella tularensis infection and replication

We study the pathogenesis of Francisella tularensis infection with an experimental mouse model, agent-based computation and mathematical analysis. Following inhalational exposure to Francisella tularensis SCHU S4, a small initial number of bacteria enter lung host cells and proliferate inside them, eventually destroying the host cell and releasing numerous copies that infect other cells. Our analysis of disease progression is based on a stochastic model of a population of infectious agents inside one host cell, extending the birth-and-death process by the occurrence of catastrophes: cell rupture events that affect all bacteria in a cell simultaneously. Closed expressions are obtained for the survival function of an infected cell, the number of bacteria released as a function of time after infection, and the total bacterial load. We compare our mathematical analysis with the results of agent-based computation and, making use of approximate Bayesian statistical inference, with experimental measurements carried out after murine aerosol infection with the virulent SCHU S4 strain of the bacterium Francisella tularensis, that infects alveolar macrophages. The posterior distribution of the rate of replication of intracellular bacteria is consistent with the estimate that the time between rounds of bacterial division is less than 6 hours in vivo