“Any ideas?” How often have you heard or said something like that? Most of the problems that we face force us to think about new ways of solving problems. Be it complicated design solutions, or simple riddles that we encounter in our free time, the world requires us to use our creativity. It is what has taken us so far. But creativity is very often not well understood. People often talk about it with an aura of mysticism; as if it were some sort of magical property; as if ideas “came from” somewhere; as if you would not be able to understand it, but that by applying some almost superstitious practices, you would gain access to it. Some say that magic is the explanation we use when we do not understand something. Instead of that, we want to make you understand creativity. By knowing a bit more about how your brain works, you will be able to enhance your creativity, and that of those around you. Not because you will be applying some trick, but because you will be understanding what is happening. We take pride in basing this book on scientific evidence. The authors have carried out research in this area, but have also read extensively the works of other authors. We will be sharing with you the most modern theories - and the older ones that have stood the test of time. In some books, you will find authors that shared what has worked for them, without understanding why. We will make sure you know what is behind the curtain all the time. In other words: we will not be talking about magic remedies, we will not give you any unexplained tricks, and we will not ask you to just take our word for it. We want to make sure you understand creativity.

From authors used to operating between the commercial, public and independent sectors of the mixed cultural economy, Understanding Creative Business bridges the gap between creative practice and mainstream business organisation, entrepreneurship and management. Using stories, case studies and exercises it discusses the positioning of creative practice within professional and business development, cultural policy-making and the wider cultural economy, and suggests what the broader field of business and management studies can learn from the informal structure and working practices of creative industries networks. Consideration is given to how ethical and moral value orientations animate creative practice and how they play into the wider debate about social responsibilities within business and public policy. The authors also explore the way creative business practices often coalesce around emergent and self-organized networks and how this signals alternative approaches to management, entrepreneurship, business organisation and collaboration. Above all else this book is about relationships; the practical examples expose the ways creative business can professionalise research, develop and sustain routes to growth through 'open' collaborative innovation and the lessons this holds for more general business innovation and policy engagements with the public domain. Written in accessible language, this book will be useful to researchers, students, educators and practitioners within the creative industries; to those working within cultural policy, arts and cultural management; and to all with an interest in management and leadership.

The disjuncture between the design intent of the developers of ICTs and the needs of the users has often led to surprising use of new technologies, as users have refused to become mere agents of the designers. Individual users have adopted their own uses of ICTs based on the complex webs of relations and meanings in which they function as social actors. Instead of adjusting these webs to new ICTs, they have fit the ICTs into their pre-existing social webs, often resulting in imaginative and creative uses of new technologies, not envisaged by the original designers. The contributions in this volume provide studies of such integrations of ICTs into the lives of human users, and demonstrate that such uses should not be regarded as 'faulty' or 'mistaken', merely because they 'fail' to meet the expectations of the original designers of the ICTs. Instead, human users should be given precedence over ICTs, and the creative uses of 'universal' technologies by individual users should be emphasised and studied, so as to move towards a better understanding and appreciation of the integration of ICTs into human lives. This book was originally published as special issue of The Information Society.

Do you want to understand young children′s development in greater depth? Would you like to see how they view the world around them, and what they think the future might look like? Creativity in early childhood is an area of fascination for all those working with young children, and this book investigates why children create, and what their creations mean. Chapters describe the processes and depict the outcomes of meaning-making, and of making room for children′s voices through the open-ended activity of drawing. Issues examined include: - the increasingly popular use of multi-modal texts; - links between creativity and literacy; - the importance of art in early childhood; - concrete examples of children′s meaning-making, from the author′s research. We see how non-verbal and verbal communication is used to convey meaning, and how children′s voices emerge; the important role imagination and narrative play in the early and continuing development of children is emphasized throughout the book. Ideal for students of early childhood, and for anyone working with young children, this book is a revelatory guide to the mind of the young child.

JOHANN GOTSCHL Over the last decades, social philosophers, economists. sociologists, utility and game theorists, biologists, mathematicians, moral philosophers and philosophers have created totally new concepts and methods of understanding the function and role of humans in their modern societies. The years between 1953 and 1990 brought drastic changes in the scientific foundations and dynamic of today's society. A burst of entirely new, revolutionary ideas, similar to those which heralded the beginning of the twentieth century in physics, dominates the picture. This book also discusses the ongoing refutation of old concepts in the social sciences. Some of them are: the traditional concepts ofrationality, for example, based on maximization of interests, the linearity of axiomatic methods, methodological individualism, and the concept of a static society. Today the revolutionary change from a static view of our society to an evolutionary one reverberates through all social sciences and will dominate the twenty-first century. In an uncertain and risky world where cooperation and teamwork is getting more and more important, one cannot any longer call the maximization of one's own expectations of utility or interests "rational" .

Handbook of Organizational Creativity: Individual and Group Level Influences, Second Edition covers creativity from many perspectives in two unique volumes, including artificial Intelligence work, creativity within specific applied domains (e.g., engineering, science, therapy), and coverage of leadership. The book includes individual, team and organizational level factors and includes organizational interventions to facilitate creativity (such as training). Chapters focus on creative abilities and creative problem-solving processes, along with individual differences such as motivation, affect and personality. New chapters include the neuroscience of creativity, creativity and meaning, morality/ethicality and creativity, and creative self-beliefs. Sections on group level phenomena examine team cognition, team social processes, team diversity, social networks, and multi-team systems and creativity. Final coverages includes different types and approaches to leadership, such as transformational leadership, ambidextrous leadership leader-follower relations, and more. - Focuses on the key need to increase creativity and innovation in organizations - Identifies the factors influencing organizational creativity - Includes individual, group and organizational influences - Identifies personality traits and beliefs affecting creativity - Discusses problem-solving processes, idea evaluation, and diverent thinking - Contains new coverage of virtual teams, creative meetings, and multiteam systems - This expanded second edition is divided into two volumes. For further information on Leadership, Interventions, and Macro Level Issues visit https://shop.elsevier.com/books/handbook-of-organizational-creativity/reiter-palmon/978-0-323-91841-1

Based on over fifteen years of groundbreaking research, Developing Creative Thinking Skills helps learners demonstrably increase their own creative thinking skills. Focusing on divergent thinking, twelve inventive chapters build one’s capacity to generate a wide range of ideas, both as an individual and as a collaborator. This innovative textbook outlines a semester-long structure for the development of creative thinking skills and can easily be utilized as a self-directed format for those learning outside of a classroom. Readers are stimulated to maximize their own creativity through active exercises, challenges to personal limits and assumptions, and ideas that can help create powerful habits of variance.

The first edition of the successful Encyclopedia of Creativity served to establish the study of creativity is a field in itself. Now completely updated and revised in its second edition, coverage encompasses the definition of creativity, the development and expression of creativity across the lifespan, the environmental conditions that encourage or discourage creativity, creativity within specific disciplines like music, dance, film, art, literature, etc., the relationship of creativity and mental health, intelligence, and learning styles, and the process of being creative. This reference also appeals to a lay audience with articles specifically on the application of creativity to business settings. Available online via ScienceDirect and in limited print release. Named a 2012 Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association's Choice publication Serves as a compendium of reviews of a number of domain-specific areas, such as acting, dance, expressive arts, film, food, music, religion, science, sports, theater, and writing. Creativity and education are examined in articles about thought processes, such as developmental trends in creative abilities and potentials, the enhancement of creativity, intelligence, knowledge, play, prodigies, programs and courses, talent and teaching creativity. Cognitive aspects of creativity can be investigated in articles about altered and transitional states, analogies, attention, cognitive style, divergent thinking, flow and optimal experience, metacognition, metaphors, problem-finding, problem-solving, and remote associates. Covers business and organizational creativity in articles about advertising with art, creative visuals, business/management, creativity coaching, creativity exercises, entrepreneurship, group dynamics, innovation, leadership, organizational culture, organizational development, teams, and training, among others. Explicitly examines the complex interrelationship between society and creativity in articles about awards, conformity and conventionality, the creative sector and class of society, cultural diversity, the dark side of creativity, East vs. West, networking, social psychology, war, zeitgeist, and others. Personal and interpersonal creativity is discussed in articles relating to collaboration, family, life stages, mentors, networking, personal creativity and self-actualization. Focuses on scientific information about creativity, there are also articles that discuss brain and neuropsychology, concepts of creativity, definitions of creativity, expertise, longitudinal studies, researching art, artists and art audiences, research methods, phenomenology research and qualitative research. Online version contains an additional 26 biographies of famously creative people

What is ‘design creativity’? It is impossible to answer this question without considering why human beings can – and do – ‘design’. Design creativity is instrumental in not only addressing social problems faced across the world, but also evoking an innate appreciation for beauty and a sense of personal contentment. Design Creativity 2010 comprises advanced research findings on design creativity and perspectives on future directions of design creativity research. The papers included were presented and discussed at the first ICDC (International Conference on Design Creativity), which was held at Kobe, Japan, in 2010. Design Creativity 2010 encourages readers to enhance and expand their activities in the field of design creativity.

Creativity can be taught and nurtured, and we can build classrooms in which creativity thrives. This philosophy acts as a central thesis in a new book, Organic Creativity in the Classroom, edited by award-winning author Jane Piirto, Ph.D. This innovative collection of essays explores approaches to teaching creativity from the perspective of experienced educators and artists. The 23 authors have taught for more than 500 years combined, and in this book they share teaching stories and helpful strategies that can be used to encourage students to become more creative within specific domains. The authors include master teachers, curriculum theorists, holistic educators, and award-winning practitioners of writing, mathematics, science, social science, literature, foreign language, theater, songwriting, dance, music, and arts education, among other domains, who incorporate creativity and intuition into their classrooms. In this readable and lively book, they share their personal stories and practical advice for infusing creativity into the lives of students.