Digitising Creative Psychological Therapy

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a need to adapt and develop psychological interventions that address the mental health of those in need. As a result, Arts for the Blues (A4B), an evidence-based creative group psychotherapy model, originally developed for in-person delivery to address the needs of clients with depression, was transformed into a remote therapy option. This chapter presents an overview of plans and steps so far and offers activities used online during a public workshop with 24 participants and training sessions with 70 psychotherapists (qualified and trainee). Concerns around safety, group sizes, time, and guidance/support are discussed, while the value of online work for clients with depression (adults and children) are explored. It is concluded that even when in-person delivery is possible, online versions will be useful since they encourage a wider reach and make interventions more accessible.

Factors Affecting the Culture of Innovation in the Activities of Innovative and Creative (KIK) / Innovation Group at Pahang State Secretary Office, Kuantan

The aim of this study is to identify the factors that influence the culture of innovation in Pahang State Secretary Office, Kuantan through the activities of the Innovative and Creative Group (KIK) /Innovation. This study also intends to find the relationship between involvement and cultural factors of creativity and innovation in the Pahang State Secretary Office. Based on the study and knowledge gained from relevant literature, a conceptual framework is gradually built. The sample technique used to fulfil the study's goal was stratified random sampling. The sample size of respondents from the Pahang State Secretary's Office, Kuantan selected is 103 out of 140 total population of the Pahang State Secretary's Office consists of KIK / Innovation group. Descriptive analysis of the data collection found that the framework is dependable and delivers what it was designed for, with significant item-to-total correlations and regression analysis for the dimensions studied and a high Cronbach's alpha value. This methodology is used in this study since it is a convenient way to gather information from respondents. The information was collected using a questionnaire provided. Cronbach Alpha coefficients were used to assess reliability. There were four independent variables and one dependent variable in this study. Studies have found that change management and learning greatly influence and influence engagement and innovation culture. Research in the future should look at how a culture of innovation can be used as a driver to develop creativity and innovation in organisations. Keywords: Creative and Innovative Group, Innovation Culture, Creativity

Does Creativity Influence Visual Perception? - An Event-Related Potential Study With Younger and Older Adults

We do not know enough about the cognitive background of creativity despite its significance. Using an active oddball paradigm with unambiguous and ambiguous portrait paintings as the standard stimuli, our aim was to examine whether: creativity in the figural domain influences the perception of visual stimuli; any stages of visual processing; or if healthy aging has an effect on these processes. We investigated event related potentials (ERPs) and applied ERP decoding analyses in four groups: younger less creative; younger creative; older less creative; and older creative adults. The early visual processing did not differ between creativity groups. In the later ERP stages the amplitude for the creative compared with the less creative groups was larger between 300 and 500 ms. The stimuli types were clearly distinguishable: within the 300–500 ms range the amplitude was larger for ambiguous rather than unambiguous paintings, but this difference in the traditional ERP analysis was only observable in the younger, not elderly groups, who also had this difference when using decoding analysis. Our results could not prove that visual creativity influences the early stage of perception, but showed creativity had an effect on stimulus processing in the 300–500 ms range, in indexing differences in top-down control, and having more flexible cognitive control in the younger creative group.

Team building technology use during the organization of innovative activities of preschool education teachers

The article purpose is to present the methodical experience of team building technology usingб based on the theory of U in the organization of innovative activities of preschool education teachers. A theoretical analysis of the problem of organizing teamwork in order to design and test innovative educational projects implemented at the preschool education level is given. A highly effective tool that can be used to create innovative solutions in team building is the U Theory, founded by Otto Sharmer and Peter Senge. The U theory is based on three principles: an open mind, an open heart and an open will. The study of the possibilities of using team building technology in the organization of innovative activities of preschool education teachers (on the example of the municipal state preschool educational institution No. 362 in Novosibirsk) was conducted during several stages: organizational, diagnostic, approbation and reflexive-evaluative. A comprehensive assessment model was created, including motivational, cognitive, activity and personal criteria, to diagnose the level of teachers’ readiness for innovative activities. A team of kindergarten teachers presented an innovative long-term project “Touch the heart”. The project was focused on the interaction of the family with the kindergarten through the pupils’ socio-cultural development and the revival of the spiritual and moral traditions of our country. During the three years of the project implementation, the creative group work was rested on the team building technology use based on the theory of U, and took place in several stages: adaptation; grouping and cooperation; activities regulation; functioning. The results allowed to make it possible to develop a managing the innovative activities model of a creative group of a preschool educational organization and formulate psychological and pedagogical conditions for the team building technology use in the organization of innovative activities of preschool education teachers.

At the Turn of the Century: Professional Secrets of Lviv Designers

The purpose of the work is to investigate the conditions of the designers’ creative work at the Lviv Art and Production Plant in the socially critical period of the late 1980s and the early 1990s, to identify the features of technological processes in design and layout in the absence of basic professional materials, raw materials and tools. The research methodology lies in studying the scientific literature on the socio-cultural environment features of the Soviet period of the second half of the twentieth century and gathering information by interviewing a former design team member. The scientific novelty of the research is the introduction of the design activity experience of the artists and designers’ creative group and the cooperative “Artes” during 1988-1991 into scientific circulation; its coverage from the inside of the work process. Conclusions. The results of the study capture the unique experience of a group of Lviv designers at the art plant, who, in difficult ideological and material constraints, were able to implement a large number of projects, ranging from the development of machine housings for industrial production and ending with small printing products. An important factor is the compliance of their unique design products with world parameters from a technical and aesthetic point of view, and the use of certain methods and technologies indicates the process of comparison with world achievements in the field of design.

On Collective and Devised Creation in Slovenian Theatre

In the first part of the article, the author analyses the appearance of the director and the changes in his position in Slovenian theatre from the second half of the 19th century to the present day. In this context, he is particularly interested in the changes in theatre directing that took place in the second half of the 20th century with the emergence of collective theatre. The author methodologically combines historical and comparative analysis, as these processes still take place today, when devised theatre and other forms of theatrical creation are increasingly spoken and written about, moving away from the conventional process by which a playwright writes a dramatic text as a literary work of art and the director then transforms it into a theatrical work of art. There are more and more performances in contemporary Slovenian theatre in which a pre-written dramatic text is not crucial for the final product of the creative process. The two most commonly used terms for this type of performance are po motivih (based on the motifs) and avtorski projekt (auteur performance). Although the terms are not synonymous, both terms imply a devised type of theatre. The author compares group creation with the devised way of creating and points out that although these are practices that can take place in parallel, they cannot be equated. The author concludes that for collective theatre, the specific relationship between the creative group and the director’s position is constitutive. In contrast, for devised theatre, the relationship between the creative group and the playwright’s position is crucial. Finally, the author also touches on the connections between postdramatic and post-directors’ theatre and the emergence of the creative group as a collective subjectivity.

FORMATION OF STUDENTS ‘ LEADERSHIP SKILLS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES AT A NON-LINGUISTIC UNIVERSITY

The article makes an attempt to justify the need for the formation of leadership qualities in students of various fields of training within a non-linguistic university. The author divides the factors contributing to the solution of this problem into two categories: the personal and professional qualities of the teacher, as well as the actual set of educational activities. The author pays special attention to the usefulness of creative group types of students’ activities and the use of global game technology. In conclusion, the author expresses the hope that future generations of specialists in various professional fields, being taught to be leaders, will significantly improve the world community.

ТВОРЧЕСКАЯ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТЬ КАК ФОРМА СОЦИАЛЬНОЙ ИНТЕГРАЦИИ ДЕТЕЙ И ПОДРОСТКОВ С ОГРАНИЧЕННЫМИ ВОЗМОЖНОСТЯМИ

This article considers creative activity as a form of social integration of children and adolescents with disabilities. Creative activity is considered in the context of innovative humane activity with people with disabilities, in the process of which it is proposed to use art therapy as a method of personal self-regulation and for the purpose of interaction between participants. In an empirical study, A. Kalinicheva identified the possibilities of equal partnership in the process of creative theatrical activity between actors with different abilities in a heterogeneous group. The research methods were: the case study method, the method of included observation, conversation, semistructured interviews with parents of participants with intellectual disabilities and interviews with 26 actors of the group. It wasrevealed that a mixed creative group is a model of social integration of people with disabilities, which becomes a prerequisite for destigmatizing a person with intellectual disabilities.

Digital storytelling in the world economy classroom

This study aims to share the digital storytelling experience of higher education teachers including those using English as a Medium of Instruction. The methodology consists of giving a task to 130 students of bachelor course divided into 29 creative groups. Students created video stories on prearranged topics concerning the world economy agenda. We focused on analyzing the stages of project creation and the role of a teacher in the process, drivers of successful implementation of the digital storytelling, and compared the effectiveness of different types of classwork with digital storytelling. Thus, we conclude that such factors as the cohesion of the creative groups, ability to use video editing instruments and distribution of the tasks between members in the initial stages play the least important role in the successful implementation of the task, but at the same time can be most easily influenced and course-corrected by a teacher. The research also demonstrated that the potential to connect the topic with the own interests of the creative group, ability to present the result of work publicly and interest in the topic were the main drivers for success and involvement. Those are the characteristics of the generation Z, and we strongly believe that the teachers of higher education should consider the findings we present in the results section. It is also revealed that digital storytelling, despite being time-consuming, has a more emotional influence on students and gives them more satisfaction after a presentation.