Tolerance for ambiguity, creativity, and personality

Ambiguity tolerance describes individual behaviour in ambiguous situations where one has to act with lack of clarity or lack of information. This workshop will discuss individual differences in tolerance – intolerance of ambiguity, their measurement, and their relation to creativity and personality. Empirical results that were obtained in Bulgaria in 14 concurrent, cross-sectional, cross-cultural, correlational and experimental studies with adolescents and adults will be brought together with findings reported elsewhere in order to outline the role ambiguity tolerance plays in individuals’ behaviour and development (Stoycheva, 1998; 2003; 2005; 2008). Our work will be organised in three parts. The first part will explore the notion of ambiguity tolerance and its application to the study of human development and individual and group behavioural outcomes in different areas of life. The second part will discuss the relation of ambiguity tolerance to other personality traits and processes in a way that differentiates between individual premises for tolerance - intolerance of ambiguity and its consequences for personality and individual behaviour. The third part will examine the place of ambiguity tolerance in creativity research, and empirical data on the relation of ambiguity tolerance to creative motivation and creative performance will be presented and analysed

Haptic laterality and memory for verbal and non-verbal shapes

Functional hemispheric asymmetry or laterality refers to the distinctive contribution of the two cerebral hemispheres during several cognitive processes. The left hemisphere is often found to display superiority in processing verbal material while the right hemisphere has an advantage in processing non-verbal material. In the somatosensory system, haptic laterality is reflected in differences in performance between hands in terms of accuracy and speed in various perceptual and cognitive tasks. Due to contralateral innervation, a left hemisphere advantage is manifested as superior performance in the right hand, and vice versa. In the present thesis, haptic laterality was studied behaviourally by having participants perform haptic memory tasks using the right and left hand separately, with verbal (upper and lower-case letters) and non-verbal (nonsense) 2-dimensional shapes as stimuli. In Study 1, the effect of retention intervals on laterality was studied in haptic discrimination by investigating hand/hemisphere advantage for upper-case letters, geometrical shapes and nonsense shapes at 5, 15 and 30 s retention intervals. In Study 2, laterality in haptic discrimination was further addressed by introducing two levels of stimulus complexity within the verbal stimuli, that is, less complex upper-case letters and more complex lower-case letters. Study 3 examined haptic recognition memory and laterality for upper and lower-case letters and nonsense shapes. The results showed that laterality effects were influenced by the verbal/non-verbal type of stimuli (Studies 2 and 3), and also by hand order of performance (Study 3) and retention time (Study 1). In Study 2, a clear left hand/right hemisphere advantage was found for nonsense shapes, while the right hand/left hemisphere advantage only approached significance for upper-case letters. In Study 3, more advanced memory performance of right hand/left hemisphere was found with upper-case letters, but only when the right hand performed the task after the left hand. The lower-case letters did not show any laterality effects. Across stimulus types, left hand/right hemisphere sustained haptic discrimination for up to 15 s, while the right hand/left hemisphere declined progressively in performance throughout all retention intervals (Study 1). Altogether, the findings in this thesis showed that laterality effects in haptics existed but they were rather weak. This may be due to the predominantly spatial and sequential nature of the processing of the haptic sense. In addition, letters are haptically unfamiliar stimuli. Thus, verbal stimuli might be processed primarily as spatial objects, which can result in diminished verbal coding and hence the lack of clear verbal laterality effect in haptics. Overall, upper-case letters showed better performance than lower-case letters (Study 3) and nonsense shapes (Studies 1 and 3). Such superior memory of letters with less complex shapes (capital letters) may perhaps be due to their more effective dual (spatial and verbal) coding.Aivopuoliskojen toiminnallinen epäsymmetria eli lateralisaatio tarkoittaa sitä, että aivopuoliskot osallistuvat eri lailla moniin kognitiivisiin toimintoihin. Vasen aivopuolisko on usein hallitseva verbaalisissa prosesseissa ja oikea ei-verbaalisissa. Tuntojärjestelmässä haptinen lateralisaatio näkyy käsien välisinä eroina kognitiivisten tehtävien suoritustarkkuudessa ja -nopeudessa. Vasemman aivopuoliskon hallitsevuus ilmenee oikean käden parempana suorituksena ja päinvastoin, koska hermotus risteää aivoista kehon vastakkaiselle puolelle. Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkittiin haptista lateralisaatiota muistitehtävien avulla. Koehenkilöt suorittivat tehtävän erikseen oikealla tai vasemmalla kädellä. Osatyössä 1 tutkittiin eri muistiviiveiden (5, 15 and 30 s) vaikutusta kirjainten sekä geometristen ja merkityksettömien muotojen erotuskykyyn. Osatyössä 2 käytettiin isoja ja pieniä kirjaimia verbaalisten ärsykkeiden monimutkaisuuden tutkimiseen. Osatyössä 3 tutkittiin haptista tunnistusmuistia. Tulokset osoittivat, että lateralisaatioon vaikutti ärsykkeiden verbaalisuus (2 ja 3), käsien suoritusjärjestys (3) ja muistiviive (1). Osatyössä 2 oikea aivopuolisko oli hallitseva merkityksettömien muotojen tuntoerottelussa ja vasen marginaalisesti isoille kirjaimille. Vasen aivopuolisko oli hallitseva isoille kirjaimille myös osatyössä 3, mutta vain kun oikea käsi suoritti muistitehtävän vasemman jälkeen. Pienille kirjaimille ei esiintynyt lateralisaatiota. Kaikille ärsykkeille oikea aivopuoliskon suoritus pysyi yllä 15 sekuntiin asti, kun taas vasemman laski muistiviiveen pidentyessä (1). Kokonaisuudessaan väitöskirja osoittaa, että haptinen lateralisaatio on melko heikkoa. Syynä voi olla se, että tuntoaisti rekisteröi muodon vähitellen pala palalta aikasarjana, eivätkä kirjaimet ole kovin tuttuja tunnustelemalla. Voi siis olla, että verbaaliset ärsykkeet prosessoidaan ensisijaisesti spatiaalisesti eikä verbaalisesti, jolloin verbaalista haptista lateralisaatiota ei juurikaan esiinny. Isot kirjaimet muistettiin ja eroteltiin paremmin kuin pienet kirjaimet (3) ja merkityksettömät muodot (1 ja 3). Niistä ehkä pystyttiin prosessoimaan sekä spatiaaliset että verbaaliset piirteet, ja tämä kaksoiskoodaus paransi suoritusta

Fabrication and gas sensing properties of pure and au-functionalised W03 nanoneedle-like structures, synthesised via aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition method

En esta tesis doctoral, se ha investigado y desarrollado un nuevo método de CVD asistido por aerosol (AACVD), que permite el crecimiento de nanoestructuras de WO3 intrínsecas y funcionalizadas con Au. Así mismo se han depositado capas policristalinas de SnO2 para aplicaciones de detección de gases. La síntesis de materiales nanoestructurados, la fabricación de dispositivos y sus propiedades de detección de gases, han sido estudiadas. El método AACVD fue utilizado para la síntesis y la deposición directa de capas activas encima de sustratos de alúmina y también sobre substratos micromecanizados (microhotplates), lo que demuestra la compatibilidad entre la tecnología de silicio y la deposición de la capas activas nanoestructuradas. En la tesis se ha demostrado que las capas nanoestructuradas de WO3 funcionalizadas con oro tienen una sensibilidad mejor que las intrínsecas frente a algunos gases relevantes y al mismo tiempo se ha producido un cambio de selectividad.In this doctoral thesis, it has been investigated and developed the Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition (AACVD) method for direct in-situ growth of intrinsic and Au-functionalised nanostructured WO3, as well as SnO2-based devices for gas sensing applications. The nanostructured material synthesis, device fabrication and their gas sensing properties have been studied. AACVD method was used for synthesis and direct deposition of sensing films onto classical alumina and microhotplate gas sensor substrates, demonstrating the compatibility between the microhotplate fabrication process and the sensing nanostructured layer deposition. The effect of Au nanoparticles on the gas sensor’s response was measured and presented in this thesis. The test results revealed that the addition of Au nanoparticles to the WO3 nanoneedles has increased the sensor’s response towards the tested gases (i.e. EtOH). It was therefore demonstrated that the Au-functionalisation has an enhancing effect on the gas sensing properties of WO3 nanoneedle

The school: A place for children’s creativity?

This paper will discuss children's creativity as a special kind of giftedness and as a prerequisite for full development of children's potentialities. It will especially focus on school effects on children's creative development. It is assumed that one of the most powerful ways in which a culture encourages or discourages creativity is the way by which teachers and the school reward or punish certain personality characteristics as they develop in children and manifest themselves in children's behaviour. This presentation summarises the experience the author has in studying children's creative thinking abilities and teachers' attitudes towards children's creativity in the Bulgarian educational and cultural context. The empirical data to be examined come from research concerned with 1) self-concept, motivation and values of secondary students with outstanding achievements in the arts and sciences; 2) development and evaluation of children's creative abilities as they are measured by Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking; 3) teachers' perception of the Ideal Pupil and its relation to creative personality traits. Conclusions will be drawn with respect to the following questions: What aspects of children's creativity are supported and what is neglected in the regular classroom setting? What kind of creative abilities are to be most easily misidentified? How teachers' lay conceptions of creativity influence children's creative behaviour

Group creativity

My main focus is the influence of social psychological factors on creativity. Educational institutions and industrial organisations have become increasingly dependent on the individuals and groups of people who work in a complex social environment to create useful and novel products, processes, procedures, and services. Empirical data and theory indicate that both individual and group creativity are highly dependent on social factors in the environment. I will first consider the impact of the social context on individual creativity, and then I will discuss some of the factors that facilitate or inhibit creativity in groups and teams

Analysis of the relationship between religion and forgiveness

Forgiveness has been found important for human social functioning within and across cultures. Empirical findings from the last four decades pointed to the role of forgiveness in improving physical, mental, and spiritual health. As a result, forgiveness practices have been extended into the fields of counseling psychology, education, and peace-making. Other studies suggest that religious commitment increases a person’s likelihood to forgive and that practicing forgiveness mediates the effect of religion on health. Schema Theory was used to interpret religious background or lack of religion as factors shaping specific mental structures. These mental structures could lead to different forgiveness schemata, which reflect in different perceptions, encoding, comprehension, and practice of forgiveness. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship among forgiveness, religiosity, and lack of religion. The study compared forgiveness aspects between and within groups: the affect, cognition, and behavior related to forgiveness towards a specific offender, the forgiveness likelihood based on religious background, and the effects of intrinsic versus extrinsic belief orientation on forgiveness likelihood in hypothetical situations. The research design was causal-comparative with cross-sectional survey methodology and included three measures (i.e., Enright’s Forgiveness Inventory, Forgiveness Likelihood Scale, and Religious Orientation Scale) with a number of scales. The survey was distributed to 334 participants (Muslim, N = 116; Christian, N = 106; Atheist, N = 112). The analyses consisted of descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVAs, one-way MANOVA, multiple regressions, and structural equation modelling. Some of the results suggested that Christian participants reported greater commitment to their beliefs, more advances towards completed forgiveness process, more positive feelings, thoughts, and actions towards a specific offender, and greater forgiveness likelihood. All participants, regardless of religion, who possessed intrinsic belief orientation, were more likely to forgive in presented hypothetical situations. The findings from this study may help better understand the effect of individuals’ forgiveness schema. Also, the findings have practical implications for counseling interventions and education programs. The study advocates for increased sensitivity to religious plurality, including Atheism, in order for successful advances to be made towards improved well-being of diverse populations

Research methodology for ethnostatistics in organization studies: towards a historical ethnostatistics

Purpose: While quantification and performance measurement have proliferated widely in academia and the business world, management and organization scholars increasingly agree on the need for a more in-depth focus on the complex dynamics embedded in the construction, use and effects of quantitative measures (pertaining to the thread of research called ethnostatistics). This paper develops a pluralistic method for conducting ethnostatistical research in organizational settings. Whilst presenting practical techniques for conducting research in live settings, it also discusses how historical approaches which focus on source criticism and contextual reconstruction could overcome the limitations of ethnostatistics. Design/methodology/approach: The methodological approach of this paper encompasses an in-depth discussion of the ethnostatistical method, its underlying assumptions and its methodological limitations. Based on this analysis, the authors propose a pluralistic method (model) for conducting ethnostatistical research in organizational settings based on the integration of 1) research practices employed by one of the authors conducting ethnostatistical research in a large multinational organization and 2) best practices from ethnographic and historical research. Findings: This paper suggests how historical approaches can successfully join ethnostatistical enquiries in an attempt to overcome some limitations in existing conventional methods. The developed framework explores four levels of analysis (ethnography, statistics at work, rhetoric of statistics and history of statistics) and suggests practical approaches for each level that can contribute to strengthening the research output and overcoming limitations when using ethnostatistics. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the ethnostatistical field by discussing the intersection between history and ethnography and the ways for their complementary use in organizational and management research on quantification processes. As such it offers unique insights and hands-on experience from conducting ethnostatistical enquiries in live organizational settings

Electron acceleration at localized wave structures in the solar corona

Our dynamic Sun manifests its activity by different phenomena: from the 11-year cyclic sunspot pattern to the unpredictable and violent explosions in the case of solar flares. During flares, a huge amount of the stored magnetic energy is suddenly released and a substantial part of this energy is carried by the energetic electrons, considered to be the source of the nonthermal radio and X-ray radiation. One of the most important and still open question in solar physics is how the electrons are accelerated up to high energies within (the observed in the radio emission) short time scales. Because the acceleration site is extremely small in spatial extent as well (compared to the solar radius), the electron acceleration is regarded as a local process. The search for localized wave structures in the solar corona that are able to accelerate electrons together with the theoretical and numerical description of the conditions and requirements for this process, is the aim of the dissertation...thesi

VISUAL PERCEPTIONS PRECONDITIONS ALONG WALKING TRAILS IN FOREST LANDSCAPES

Visual perceptions constitute the majority of the human perception of the surrounding area. Therefore, they have the greatest significance in shaping the composition of forest landscapes. This is particularly important along the walking trails where the tourists have full contact with surrounding natural environment. Although there is a large subjective factor in visual perceptions of landscapes within the article is made attempt to find some objective landscape characteristics which have a decisive influence on these perceptions. Existing topography and vegetation are seen as key factors for perceptions of environmental features determining the place of observation and limits of direct visibility. The panoramic views and attractive landscape fragments and landscape paintings are often the main focus in the construction of trails for hiking, cycling, mountain biking and horse riding. Most of them use the existing pedestrian routes that do not always provide the tourist demand landscape attractiveness. It is a serious study and application of compositional principles for the formation of spaces along the tourist trails to increase the mental- emotional impact of forest landscapes on tourists. The article discusses the application of the principles of landscape architecture for environmental friendliness, logical paths, optimal visual quality and landscape impacts on the tourists. Particular attention was given to the role of eco-trails as a prerequisite for contemplation of unique landscapes, enhance cognitive nature of outdoor recreation and suggesting respect for nature by tourists.Visual perceptions constitute the majority of the human perception of the surrounding area. Therefore, they have the greatest significance in shaping the composition of forest landscapes. This is particularly important along the walking trails where the tourists have full contact with surrounding natural environment. Although there is a large subjective factor in visual perceptions of landscapes within the article is made attempt to find some objective landscape characteristics which have a decisive influence on these perceptions. Existing topography and vegetation are seen as key factors for perceptions of environmental features determining the place of observation and limits of direct visibility. The panoramic views and attractive landscape fragments and landscape paintings are often the main focus in the construction of trails for hiking, cycling, mountain biking and horse riding. Most of them use the existing pedestrian routes that do not always provide the tourist demand landscape attractiveness. It is a serious study and application of compositional principles for the formation of spaces along the tourist trails to increase the mental- emotional impact of forest landscapes on tourists. The article discusses the application of the principles of landscape architecture for environmental friendliness, logical paths, optimal visual quality and landscape impacts on the tourists. Particular attention was given to the role of eco-trails as a prerequisite for contemplation of unique landscapes, enhance cognitive nature of outdoor recreation and suggesting respect for nature by tourists

Exploring laterality and memory effects in the haptic discrimination of verbal and non-verbal shapes

The brain's left hemisphere often displays advantages in processing verbal information, while the right hemisphere favours processing non-verbal information. In the haptic domain due to contra-lateral innervations, this functional lateralization is reflected in a hand advantage during certain functions. Findings regarding the hand-hemisphere advantage for haptic information remain contradictory, however. This study addressed these laterality effects and their interaction with memory retention times in the haptic modality. Participants performed haptic discrimination of letters, geometric shapes and nonsense shapes at memory retention times of 5, 15 and 30 s with the left and right hand separately, and we measured the discriminability index d '. The d ' values were significantly higher for letters and geometric shapes than for nonsense shapes. This might result from dual coding (naming + spatial) or/and from a low stimulus complexity. There was no stimulus-specific laterality effect. However, we found a time-dependent laterality effect, which revealed that the performance of the left hand-right hemisphere was sustained up to 15 s, while the performance of the right-hand-left hemisphere decreased progressively throughout all retention times. This suggests that haptic memory traces are more robust to decay when they are processed by the left hand-right hemisphere.Peer reviewe