scholarly journals A Bridge Too Far: Conceptual Distance and Creative Ideation

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Hocking ◽  
David Vernon

Abstract Previous research has shown changing perspectives to be important in problem finding, with viewpoint-based techniques like the 'six thinking hats' and the 'six honest serving men' improving performance (e.g. Vernon & Hocking, 2014). To date, however, evidence for similar techniques based on conceptually 'near' and 'far' cues, where conceptual distance is defined topologically in a semantic space, has shown mixed results. In a sample of 171 participants, we used two standard verbal problem scenarios together with a novel technique comprising six concepts that were either conceptually near or far from the problem scenario. Participants in the experimental group used the concepts when generating solutions; controls were given empty placeholders instead of concepts. Performance was measured for fluency, quality, originality and flexibility. Apart from flexibility, participants did worse when using concepts of either type in comparison to controls. For flexibility, a borderline boost for far concepts was observed (η2 = .03, p = .06). We conclude that the cognitive load overhead introduced by our concept-cueing technique, or any other similar technique that attempts to shape the creative process, needs to be minimised through a variety of methods before we can better determine its usefulness and, thus, the role of conceptual distance in creative problem solving.

Author(s):  
Ellen Gorsevski ◽  
Kate Magsamen-Conrad ◽  
Lisa Hanasono

This chapter emphasizes creativity as an important, but often forgotten, methodological aspect of grant writing as a rhetorical genre. Sharing knowledge of three experienced grant writers in communication, the co-authors reflect on the role of creativity in developing and sustaining fundable grants, and on larger research prospects and implications of inspiration, which span careers in knowledge-based sectors. The authors provide helpful context and proven strategies to support the grant writing process. Literature on grant writing in the humanities and social sciences points to innovative grant writing as a productive approach or method of doing public scholarship. Creativity often sets apart winnable, funded grant projects from projects that are less impressive to funders in real-world settings. Counterintuitively to higher education’s increasing bureaucratization, lofty, aspirational artistry is central to successful grants development, particularly writing persuasive grant narratives. Grants entail creative problem solving to address pressing issues and remediate urgent challenges across multidisciplinary fields.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lifang Cheng ◽  
Weiping Hu ◽  
Xiaojuan Jia ◽  
Mark A. Runco

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelsey E. Medeiros ◽  
Logan M. Steele ◽  
Logan L. Watts ◽  
Michael D. Mumford
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-336
Author(s):  
Zosia Kuczyńska

The Brian Friel Papers at the NLI reveal a long and relatively unexplored history of major and minor influences on Friel's plays. As the archive attests, these influences manifest themselves in ways that range from the superficial to the deeply structural. In this article, I draw on original archival research into the composition process of Friel's genre-defining play Faith Healer (1979) to bring to light a model of influence that operates at the level of artistic practice. Specifically, I examine the extent to which Friel's officially unacknowledged encounter with a book of interviews with painter Francis Bacon influenced the play in terms of character, language, and form. I suggest that Bacon's creative process – incorporating his ideas on the role of the artist, the workings of chance, and the extent to which art does violence to fact – may have had a major influence on both the play's development and on Friel's development as an artist.


Author(s):  
М. В. Дзисюк

Definitions of concept and sphere of the concept are widely used in different aspects of modern linguistics. There is no single understanding of these notions and universal methodology of research has not been invented by linguists yet. This predetermines topicality of the article. The aim of our research is analysis, generalization, and systematization of different approaches to the interpretation of the notion ‘concept’ that exist in modern linguistics. It results in the following tasks: analysis of existing definitions of concept and its division into certain ranges and defining classification features. Modern linguists raise the questions of the conceptual and linguistic image of the world, the role of a human factor in its formation and interaction as in a linguistic process more frequently and it is defined as a fact in today’s linguistic scientific literature. The problem of individual language formation, poetic one in particular gains important meaning in this context. Ukrainian linguists use the notion of ‘concept’ for a long time now although they adhere to different views on its definition. Researches of the question define two major approaches in the analysis of the notion ‘concept’ that is linguistic-cognitive and linguistic-cultural. We can claim that words-concepts are agents between material reality and the ideal world that is synthesized in poetry, carriers of sense since with their help the versatility of the real world correlates with eternal spiritual values. Therefore, main features of the notion ‘concept’ in which objectively-cognitive and subjectively-creative features are combines are as follow sensual authenticity, time-spatial features, mediation between material and spiritual, semantic filling, ability to polysemy. A word with a generally symbolic meaning that is implemented in a language process through literary techniques typical for poet’s idiotype is the main core of the concept. The concept in poetic language formation by modern Uman poets is semantically integral, fulfilled, able to penetrate into other concepts and absorb semantically narrower images saving unity and semantic independence, varying numerous interpretations that project it in a certain semantic space, saving potential of real reflection.


2021 ◽  
pp. 037957212110254
Author(s):  
Harleen Kaur ◽  
Neerja Singla ◽  
Rohini Jain

Objective: India is the second country after China having the highest population prevalence of diabetes. Several research studies investigating diabetes have been done, but not much work has been done on prediabetes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of nutrition and lifestyle modification on prediabetic females. Methods: A total of 120 prediabetic females from Ludhiana city were divided into 2 matched groups: control group (n = 60) and experimental group (n = 60). Impact of nutrition intervention for dietary and lifestyle modification (for 3 months) was assessed on the anthropometric, dietary, biochemical parameters, and diabetes risk score of the experimental group and control group (no intervention). Results: All the selected 120 subjects completed the study (experimental group = 60; control group = 60). There was significant difference in the changes between the 2 groups throughout the study. The fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin A1c levels of the experimental group subjects reduced significantly ( P ≤ .01). However, no change was observed among the control group subjects. The lipid profile of the experimental group showed a significant improvement ( P ≤ .01). Conclusion: Nutrition counselling of the prediabetics regarding dietary and lifestyle modification is recommended so as to improve their metabolic control, thus preventing them from being diabetics.


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