An empirical investigation of the relationship of CAD use in designing and creativity through a creative behaviours framework

This thesis reports a study of the relationship of CAD use in designing and creativity through a Creative Behaviours Framework. This thesis provides a description of the establishment of a framework for gathering empirical evidence to support the analysis of links between CAD and creativity. The Creative Behaviours Framework consists of seven categories including novelty, appropriateness, motivation, fluency, flexibility, sensitivity, and insightfulness. The framework was developed from published literature largely relating to the area of cognitive psychology. The research reports findings concerning the use of this framework in analysing the use of CAD at Loughborough University and involved four postgraduates, two finalist undergraduates, and the researcher s own design project. Multiple data gathering methods including interviews, observations, protocol analysis, and design diaries have been used in this study to provide data reliability and validity. The results demonstrate the occurrence of creative behaviours in relation to the use of CAD when designing. Most of the categories had a significant number of occurrences observed and identified in the case studies using the data gathering methods (in particular protocol analysis and design diaries). However, novelty was only reported from the design diaries in Case studies 1 and 2. Some findings that linked the emergence of xvi creative characteristics of product outcomes with CAD usage were also established from data analysis of the design diaries. Hence, a key research output is the development of a framework which enabled researchers to observe and identify creative behaviours whilst CAD was used in designing. This framework has shown its reliability by also capturing creative behaviours in other than CAD activities such as 2D sketching and 3D sketch modelling. The findings from Case studies 1 and 2 indicated that creative behaviours were consistently identified during the observations of these design modelling activities. It shows that the Creative Behaviours Framework is not exclusively useful to observe creative behaviours during CAD use, but can also be applied in identifying these behaviours in other designing activities. An online questionnaire explored whether this framework could also be useful in wider application such as in supporting teachers in developing effective classroom and studio practice to encourage the emergence of creative behaviours by their students. The research study (using case studies and paper questionnaires) was undertaken with students of the Design and Technology Department, Loughborough University and the findings could be biased to this particular population. Hence, the online questionnaire was carried out with Malaysian CAD users to provide broader feedback. Although there was a small number of responses received from Malaysia, the data still provided a useful foundation to make the comparison between the UK and Malaysian CAD users perceptions about the relationship between creativity, in particular creative behaviours and the use of CAD in designing

Greening the Curricular of Building Construction Trade for Environmental Sustainability Through Fostering Waste Minimisation Skills

Waste minimisation skills became the subject of this research because construction industry generates lots of waste during and after construction. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study was to develop a conceptual model for integrating waste minimisation skills in Building Construction Trade (BCT) at technical colleges in Nigeria. This paper is aimed at exploring the negative effects of building construction wastes to environmental sustainability and identifying, using questionnaire through experts in building construction the important areas of waste minimisation skills suitable to be embedded into the curricular of building construction trade.  Analysis of the identified important areas via Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), Exploratory Factor analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to analyse the data which will immensely contribute to the body of knowledge. The findings for this study include ability to manage waste, including custom diversion plans tailored to the project opportunities; consider that the selection and use of recyclable materials and products to minimise waste; and recycle waste generated from the process of intentional dismantling all or portions of a building. Using the results of the analysis, the research formulates a waste minimisation skills integration model, while Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to validate the modified model and viable suggestions were made to the government for the adoption and practical implementation of the model by fostering the identified areas of the waste minimisation skills elements into the curriculum of building construction trade at technical colleges in Nigeria with the aimed for the  environmental sustainability

Integration Factors of Green Skills into Building Construction Trade Programme in Nigeria

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) remains a vital tool for skilling young individuals both in and out of school. However, it appears that there has been a lack of research especially in the building construction sector with respect to green buildings in Nigeria. The main purpose of this research paper is to identify factors should be included in the greening of building construction trade curriculum of technical colleges in north western Nigeria with a view to improving teaching and learning green skills for sustainable development. In this study, simple random sampling was used to select 15 building construction teachers in the north western Nigerian technical colleges. Data for this study were collected using qualitative approach (that is interview). Respondents were requested to answer the interview questions based on the topic under study. The factors (data) identified from the perception of the respondents were collected and analysed by qualitative means based on their level of  consideration with regards to improving teaching and learning green skills for sustainable development. In doing so, the data were analysed by transcription, coding, content analysis and thematic with the aid of Nvivo statistical software. Findings indicated that the three main factors that could be included in the integration of green skills into the curriculum of building construction trade include environmental, economic and social factors. Specifically, these factors were disintegrated into climate change, global warming, greenhouse gas emission, economic instability, health and safety issues related to buildings, waste and energy in buildings. This research forms the initial investigation of a more in-depth study of the green skills integration into the Nigerian education curriculum, which aims to achieving environmental, economic and social sustainability

Observing creative behaviours

Sketching and 3D modelling have been long recognised as creative designing tools, but the role that CAD should play remains contested. Research by Charlesworth (2007) has suggested that CAD does not support creativity whereas findings by Robertson and Radcliffe (2008) imply that CAD when used with other design tools does enable creativity to be fostered. Prior research by the authors has shown evidence of creative behaviours whilst designing with CAD (Musta’amal et al, 2008a and 2008b). Potentially useful by-products of this research have been literature reviews concerning creative behaviours that have been reported by cognitive psychologists (Musta’amal et al, 2009 in-press) and also behaviours that have been reported by design researchers as being observed when 2D and 3D sketch modelling have been used. The results of these literature reviews have been placed into categories. Seven categories of creative behaviours were adopted for the creative behaviours reported by cognitive psychologists. The 2D sketching behaviours have been placed in 8 categories and 3D sketch modelling reported into 3 categories. Data concerning these behaviours has been gathered using protocol analysis, interviews and diary methods on 4 design projects, including a project carried out by one of the authors. This paper will describe the outcomes of the literature reviews and provide examples from design projects of the categories of reported creative behaviours. The potential usefulness of these categories for the observation of creative behaviours in classrooms and studios is discussed

PARENTAL INFLUENCE ON CREATIVITY DEVELOPMENT AND VOCATIONAL INTEREST OF CHILDREN IN EKITI STATE NIGERIA

Creativity is a natural endowment which can easily be displayed by children athome. Children are often seen playing with objects and drawings because of their natural quest and inward disposition to explore and come out with creative ideas or products. It is therefore imperative for parents to encourage and develop children at home to achieve this to greater heights. The aim of this study, therefore was to determine the influence of parents in development andvocational interest of children in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study was carried outusing 400 Junior Secondary School students of age eleven to thirteen as samples. Specifically, the study sought to identify the types of creative activity the students normally engage in; their vocational interests and the influence their parents had in their creativity development and vocational interest. A Child-Creative Inventory Form (CCIF) was used as an instrument for quantitative data collection. Data collected was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study reveal that children in Ekiti State, Nigeria love to engage in creative activities mostly in technical and vocational skills, and that they are motivated by their parents to do so. The study also found that even though the students do engage in creative activities in vocational activities, yet their vocational interest is much more on other disciplines order than vocational subjects as influenced by their parents. It is therefore recommended that parents and teachers should encourage children whenever they are engaged in creative activities at home and in schools and help those to develop their career based on the children’s areas of interest

CAD as a ‘recording’ or ‘designing’ tool: evidence from user behaviours

Previously published research has explored the implications of using CAD for the quality of design development, and the quality of design outcomes (Fraser & Hodgson, 2007; Hodgson & Fraser, 2006; Hodgson & Fraser, 2005; Kimbell et al, 2002). Prior study has also revealed, that users’ perceptions affect how CAD is applied, and reflect the benefits received from such use (Robertson & Allen, 1991). In order to link creativity to the use of CAD, a literature review concerning behaviours associated with creativity was conducted. This was discussed in a PowerPoint presentation presented at the 2007 Design and Technology Association International Research Conference. A framework of seven groups of creative behaviour were identified, particularly ‘Novelty’, ‘Appropriateness’, ‘Motivation’, ‘Fluency’, ‘Flexibility’, ’Sensitivity’, and ‘Insightfulness’. Evidence for these behaviours when using CAD was sought by a number of research methods such as interviews, protocol analysis, observations, and design diaries. This paper is reporting part of an initial study undertaken to research the implications of using CAD for creativity in designing. A smallscale case study exploration based on the masters projects by four postgraduate students from the Design and Technology Department at Loughborough University has been carried out. The results from the current research showed that the use of CAD in designing was linked to design behaviours associated with creativity in the literature

An Action Research on The Effect of Using Real Modeled Object in Teaching Orthographic Drawing Concepts on Students’ Performance

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) has become a common tool used by educational institutions in teaching engineering drawing. Although more practical, learning that relies too heavily on CAD can lead to a decrease in students' ability to visualize and interpret technical drawing objects. This study will examine the integration of CAD in technical drawing education with the use of real model objects in the orthographic drawing and its impact on students’s performance. The study employed a three-step data collection approach, including a pre-test, intervention, and post-test, as well as a questionnaire to determine students' perceptions of the learning process. The study participants were fifteen fourth-grade high school students from SMA Seri Aman, Kota Tinggi. The students had previously been taught orthographic drawing and had prior knowledge of the subject matter. Based on the regression testing results, a p-value of 0.00 <0.05 was obtained, indicating a significant relationship between real modeled object learning and students' learning performance. Additionally, based on the average scores, there was an improvement in each phase, with pre-test scores of 4.46 and post-test scores of 8.40, indicating that the use of real modeled objects significantly improved learning outcomes compared to conventional learning models in orthographic drawing materials

Gathering Empirical Evidence Concerning Links Between Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Creativity

Discussion is often reported concerning potential links between computer-aided designing and creativity, but there is a lack of systematic enquiry to gather empirical evidence concerning such links. This paper reports an indication of findings from other research studies carried out in contexts beyond general education that have sought evidence relating CAD and creativity. It describes the establishment of a framework for gathering empirical evidence to support the analysis of links between CAD and creativity, via the observation of creative behaviours, which was developed from published literature largely relating to the area of cognitive psychology. It notes some initial research findings concerning the use of this framework in analysing the use of CAD in postgraduate design projects completed at Loughborough University. These results demonstrate the occurrence of creative behaviours in association with the use of CAD when designing. Finally the significance of these results is discussed within the wider context of design modelling

Transcribing with ATLAS.ti

Most qualitative studies engage interviews and/or observations in their data collection phase, which comprise of audio and/or video data. These data are usually transcribed into a written form for further analysis. Since transcribing takes considerable amount of time, an efficient tool is required to prepare for the transcription. In fact, there are many software available in the market to facilitate transcription including Inqscribe, Express Scribe and F4 Transkript. These transcription programs, however, were developed solely for transcribing purpose. ATLAS.ti, in addition to its superior tool set for the analysis of qualitative data, also can be used for transcription. In this paper, the authors emphasize the importance of the transcription process in qualitative studies, and share their experiences in using ATLAS.ti for transcribing audio and video data for a design study project