Ideational Originality Research Articles

Origins

Abstract Scientific origins are information sources that transmit encoded information signals to receivers. Originary sciences identify information preserving receivers and decode the signals to infer their origins. Paradigmatic cases of scientific origination such as the Big Bang, the origins of species, horizontal gene transfer, the origin of the Polynesian potato, and ideational origins in the history of ideas are analyzed to discover what is common to them ontologically and epistemically. Some causes are not origins. Origination supervenes on causation, but has different properties. The unique properties of origins that causes do not share shield theories of origination from the kind of counterexamples and counterintuitive results that challenge comparable theories of causation. The epistemology of origination may serve as a basis for founding a novel epistemic and methodological division of the sciences into originary historical sciences and causal theoretical sciences.

Morphogenetic Régulation in action: understanding inclusive governance, neoliberalizing processes in Palestine, and the political economy of the contemporary internet

ABSTRACT The Morphogenetic Régulation approach (MR) contributes to the Morphogenetic Approach by explaining the material and ideational origins of change and stasis in agency, structure, and culture. In this paper, we focus on the expressive quality of ideas and systemic persistence in three research projects. The first demystifies inclusive governance and its adverse impacts. It shows how, contrary to institutions of governance, inclusiveness is not simply a norm but actually the explication of corporate agents’ ideas about rational choice institutionalism which leads to adverse impacts on vulnerable groups and ecologies known as adverse inclusion. The second investigates the role of ideas as adequacy and self-explication in guiding Palestinian actors’ actions towards the deepening of neoliberalization in Palestine. The third explains the relevance of the systemic persistence problematique for understanding how three juxtaposed themes – Web2, Web3, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) – are shaping the political economy and infrastructure of the Internet.

Divergent Thinking Promotes Deductive Reasoning in Preschoolers.

This study explored the hypothesis that preschoolers' deductive reasoning would be improved by encouraging use of divergent thinking (DT). Children of 4-5years of age (n=120) were randomly given DT or neutral control exercises before deductive reasoning problems. To allow a stronger test of the hypothesis, half of the children receiving the DT exercises were given explicit examples, which have been shown to reduce ideational originality. Results indicate that, as predicted, DT exercises without examples significantly improved rates of deductive responding, compared to exercises with examples and the control condition. These findings indicate that DT is a key component in the early beginnings of deductive reasoning. Some educational implications are discussed.

The ideational origins of European democratization: the “French connection” and the case of Belgian liberals

Why, in some cases, did old elites promote democratization without the partisan capacity to embrace mass politics and without guarantees about their future participation in the new regime? This article investigates the case of the Liberals in Belgium who were eager, in the years between 1893–1921, to launch democratization while founding their actions and choices on a selfless approach to politics. In seeking to identify the source of this democratic preference, one factor, largely ignored in the studies on the first wave of democratization, emerges: the diffusion of democratic ideas and practices from France. Constructing and analyzing two original data sets including, respectively, the personal characteristics of Belgian Liberal MPs who were active during the democratic transition period and the speeches of those who addressed topics related to France, this article shows that the democratic ideas as well as the choices expressed by Liberal MPs in the parliament are significantly related to their prior socialization into French democratic norms. This result has broad implications for understanding ideational transfer and diffusion in the first wave of European democratization, opening new avenues for future research.

Fostering learner creativity in the English L2 classroom: Application of the creative problem-solving model

This study explores the application of the Creative Problem-Solving (CPS) model to infuse creativity training into English L2 classes. It involved 64 students enrolled in two Year-2 classes at a public high school in Taiwan. The participants completed two Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking aimed at evaluating their creative thinking skills at the beginning and the end of the study respectively. Over a period of four months, they took part in four creative writing tasks that were implemented based on the CPS model. Every time the participants finished a task, they also filled out a survey to report their opinions about it. By analyzing the students’ responses to a task evaluation survey and their test results, this study shows that the students generally indicated a positive feeling about the effects of the CPS tasks on facilitating their English skills, creative thinking, classroom participation, and interaction. They also demonstrated better ideational originality after participating in the four CPS tasks. Moreover, a pedagogical framework is proposed in this study to delineate a pedagogical procedure for designing and implementing CPS activities in English classes.

The political economy of homeownership: a comparative analysis of homeownership ideology through party manifestos

Abstract America’s ‘infatuation with homeownership’ has been identified as one cause of the latest financial crisis. Based on codings of 1809 party manifestos in 19 countries since 1945, this article addresses the question of where the political ideal to democratize homeownership came from. While conservative parties have defended homeownership across countries and time, centre-left parties have oscillated between a pro-homeownership and a pro-rental position. The former occurs in Anglo-Saxon, Northern and Southern European countries, while the latter prevails among German-speaking countries. Beyond partisan effects, once a country has a majority of homeowners and parties defending homeownership, larger parties are more likely to support it. The extent of centre-left parties’ support for homeownership is further associated with higher homeownership rates, more encouraging mortgage regimes and a bigger housing bubble burst after 2007. The ideational origins of the financialization of housing and private Keynesianism are, after all, not only conservative and market-liberal.

Withering regulation? An interim review of Modi government’s labour reforms

ABSTRACTLabour reforms seem to be one of the arenas where the Modi government has brought about marked policy interventions in a relatively shorter span of 1 year. Behind this sense of urgency, it is plausible to decipher a new rational calculation where labour question hold vector to other larger goals of the present leadership. This paper aims to survey the labour reforms initiated by the Modi government since May 2014 and presents an interim review. I examine two draft legislations at the bill stage, the labour code on industrial relations and the Factories Act amendment bill, to explain how the reforms obliquely wither the statutory regulations and also why the government approach is premised on the view that the regulation is patently flawed The paper tries to elaborate how the ideational origins as well as the institutional inclination of the BJP government tend to subordinate labour question to the larger economic agenda.

The Evolution of Norms of Protection: Major Powers Debate the Responsibility to Protect

Global expectations for protecting populations from mass atrocities have significantly expanded. This special issue analyses the debates about a “responsibility to protect” (R2P) that resulted from this normative change. At specific events throughout the past decade (the 2005 World Summit and the 2011 proposal for “responsibility while protecting” as well as crises in Darfur, Kenya, Myanmar, Georgia, Sri Lanka and Libya), the norms of protection have been contested and (re-)shaped. This introduction outlines the ideational origins of R2P, presents conceptual commonalities and summarises the cases' contributions to a non-linear process of norm evolution. We find that despite expectations that the increased weight of “non-Western” powers would lead to the demise of humanitarian norms, the concern for atrocity prevention has become universal. However, that consensus is tied to a supportive relationship with sovereignty and thus privileges action against non-state actors, not repressive regimes. Effective and responsible means of implementation remain contested.

Gray matter correlates of creative potential: A latent variable voxel-based morphometry study

There is increasing research interest in the structural and functional brain correlates underlying creative potential. Recent investigations found that interindividual differences in creative potential relate to volumetric differences in brain regions belonging to the default mode network, such as the precuneus. Yet, the complex interplay between creative potential, intelligence, and personality traits and their respective neural bases is still under debate. We investigated regional gray matter volume (rGMV) differences that can be associated with creative potential in a heterogeneous sample of N=135 individuals using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). By means of latent variable modeling and consideration of recent psychometric advancements in creativity research, we sought to disentangle the effects of ideational originality and fluency as two independent indicators of creative potential. Intelligence and openness to experience were considered as common covariates of creative potential. The results confirmed and extended previous research: rGMV in the precuneus was associated with ideational originality, but not with ideational fluency. In addition, we found ideational originality to be correlated with rGMV in the caudate nucleus. The results indicate that the ability to produce original ideas is tied to default-mode as well as dopaminergic structures. These structural brain correlates of ideational originality were apparent throughout the whole range of intellectual ability and thus not moderated by intelligence. In contrast, structural correlates of ideational fluency, a quantitative marker of creative potential, were observed only in lower intelligent individuals in the cuneus/lingual gyrus.

Assessing Associative Distance Among Ideas Elicited by Tests of Divergent Thinking

Tests of divergent thinking represent the most commonly used assessment of creative potential. Typically they are scored for total ideational output (fluency), ideational originality, and, sometimes, ideational flexibility. That scoring system provides little information about the underlying process and about the associations among ideas. It also does not really capture the key principle of divergent thinking, namely that ideas may be found when cognition explores new (divergent) directions. The investigation reported here used 3 independent semantic networks, each computerized and previously validated, to quantify the distance between responses (ideas) to several tests of divergent thinking. These sources were WordNet (WN), Word Associations Network (WAN), and IdeaFisher (IF). Statistical analyses indicated that remote and close associations can be reliably measured when different sources of associative strength are used. Inter-item reliability (alpha coefficients) of what these networks had identified as remote associations were higher than those from close associations. Inter-item reliability values were higher in the WAN and IF, which provided shorter lists than the WN. Therefore, longer associative lists did not necessarily produce better indices of remote and close associations. Also, scores from a measure of creative attitudes and values were significantly correlated with remote, but not with close, associations across all 3 networks. This finding is very important because it shows that people with a higher tendency of creative attitudes and values, as measured by divergent thinking tests, are more likely to make remote associations rather than close associations. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

The road to creative achievement: A latent variable model of ability and personality predictors

This study investigated the significance of different well-established psychometric indicators of creativity for real-life creative outcomes. Specifically, we tested the effects of creative potential, intelligence, and openness to experiences on everyday creative activities and actual creative achievement. Based on a sample of 297 participants, we performed latent multiple regression analyses by means of structural equation modeling (SEM). We found openness to experiences and two independent indicators of creative potential, ideational originality and ideational fluency, to predict everyday creative activities. Creative activities, in turn, predicted actual creative achievement. Intelligence was found to predict creative achievement, but not creative activities. Moreover, intelligence moderated the effect of creative activities on creative achievement suggesting that the ability to transform creative activities into achievements depends upon the level of intelligence. This study supports the view of creativity as a multifaceted construct and provides an integrative model illustrating the potential interplay between its different facets.

The Road to Creative Achievement: A Latent Variable Model of Ability and Personality Predictors.

This study investigated the significance of different well-established psychometric indicators of creativity for real-life creative outcomes. Specifically, we tested the effects of creative potential, intelligence, and openness to experiences on everyday creative activities and actual creative achievement. Using a heterogeneous sample of 297 adults, we performed latent multiple regression analyses by means of structural equation modelling. We found openness to experiences and two independent indicators of creative potential, ideational originality and ideational fluency, to predict everyday creative activities. Creative activities, in turn, predicted actual creative achievement. Intelligence was found to predict creative achievement, but not creative activities. Moreover, intelligence moderated the effect of creative activities on creative achievement, suggesting that intelligence may play an important role in transforming creative activities into publically acknowledged creative achievements. This study supports the view of creativity as a multifaceted construct and provides an integrative model illustrating the potential interplay between its different facets.

Assessment of Divergent Thinking by means of the Subjective Top-Scoring Method: Effects of the Number of Top-Ideas and Time-on-Task on Reliability and Validity.

Divergent thinking tasks are commonly used as indicators of creative potential, but traditional scoring methods of ideational originality face persistent problems such as low reliability and lack of convergent and discriminant validity. Silvia et al. (2008) have proposed a subjective top-2 scoring method, where participants are asked to select their two most creative ideas, which then are evaluated for creativity. This method was found to avoid problems with discriminant validity, and to outperform other scoring methods in terms of convergent validity. These findings motivate a more general, systematic analysis of the subjective top-scoring method. Therefore, this study examined how reliability and validity of the originality and fluency scores depend on the number of top-ideas and on time-on-task. The findings confirm that subjective top-scoring avoids the confounding of originality with fluency. The originality score showed good internal consistency, and evidence of reliability was found to increase as a function of the number of top-ideas and of time-on-task. Convergent validity evidence, however, was highest for a time-on-task of about 2 to 3 minutes and when using a medium number of about three top-ideas. Reasons for these findings are discussed together possible limitations of this study and future directions. The article also presents some general recommendations for the assessment of divergent thinking with the subjective top-scoring method.

The relationship between intelligence and creativity: New support for the threshold hypothesis by means of empirical breakpoint detection

The relationship between intelligence and creativity has been subject to empirical research for decades. Nevertheless, there is yet no consensus on how these constructs are related. One of the most prominent notions concerning the interplay between intelligence and creativity is the threshold hypothesis, which assumes that above-average intelligence represents a necessary condition for high-level creativity. While earlier research mostly supported the threshold hypothesis, it has come under fire in recent investigations. The threshold hypothesis is commonly investigated by splitting a sample at a given threshold (e.g., at 120 IQ points) and estimating separate correlations for lower and upper IQ ranges. However, there is no compelling reason why the threshold should be fixed at an IQ of 120, and to date, no attempts have been made to detect the threshold empirically. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between intelligence and different indicators of creative potential and of creative achievement by means of segmented regression analysis in a sample of 297 participants. Segmented regression allows for the detection of a threshold in continuous data by means of iterative computational algorithms. We found thresholds only for measures of creative potential but not for creative achievement. For the former the thresholds varied as a function of criteria: When investigating a liberal criterion of ideational originality (i.e., two original ideas), a threshold was detected at around 100 IQ points. In contrast, a threshold of 120 IQ points emerged when the criterion was more demanding (i.e., many original ideas). Moreover, an IQ of around 85 IQ points was found to form the threshold for a purely quantitative measure of creative potential (i.e., ideational fluency). These results confirm the threshold hypothesis for qualitative indicators of creative potential and may explain some of the observed discrepancies in previous research. In addition, we obtained evidence that once the intelligence threshold is met, personality factors become more predictive for creativity. On the contrary, no threshold was found for creative achievement, i.e. creative achievement benefits from higher intelligence even at fairly high levels of intellectual ability.

What can sociology teach us about the ideational origins of modernity? Comments on McCloskey's Bourgeois Dignity

► Bourgeois Dignity offers compelling history of the rise of the modern world. ► Sociological work on markets and morals provides theoretical springboard. ► Economists should start paying attention to discourse in markets.

The Profits of Power: Commercial <I>Realpolitik</I> in Europe and Eurasia

Old-style realpolitik – bilateral, sentiment-free, and organized by great powers – has returned to Europe, thereby wreaking havoc on traditions of solidarism and multilateralism in the European Union. The renaissance of the Russian state and the rise of Gazprom, Russia’s natural gas monopoly, have produced patterns of international politics that seemed almost inconceivable just a few years ago. Three of Europe’s major powers – France, Germany, and Italy – have cultivated bilateral energy relations with Russia at the expense of a common stance on the continent’s dependence on Russian gas, and much to dismay of other EU members.This pattern of international relations carries profound implications for theory and practice. I argue that the obvious theoretical conclusion and conventional practical understanding of these politics are both wrong. The roots of this realpolitik cannot be found in realist theory. Europe’s realpolitik has, instead, fundamentally commercial and ideational origins. Firms have literally conducted this realpolitik. The empirical puzzles presented in this paper imply a theoretical challenge for international political economy, which has, as a field, failed to understand deeply how firms work and what kinds of roles they have come to play in contemporary international relations. In this paper I propose some theoretical foundations for a better understanding of commercial realpolitik: great-power politics based on the profit motives and shared ideas of firms.

Ideational Origins of Progressive Judicial Activism: The Colombian Constitutional Court and the Right to Health

Abstract Why do some constitutional transitions trigger the emergence of progressive judicial activism? This article addresses this question through an analysis of the creation of the Colombian Constitutional Court and its subsequent activism toward rights in general and the right to health in particular. This research suggests that ideational variables are crucial to explain this outcome. On the one hand, the Constitutional Court's behavior reflects the dominance of the institutional conception that it is the judiciary's role to help fulfill the promises of the constitutional text. On the other, programmatic beliefs about the relationship between the rule of law and market-driven economic growth led powerholders to create the court and appoint judges with this orientation. The emergence of progressive judicial activism in Colombia, this analysis suggests, was the unexpected outcome of purposeful political choices made by proponents of neoliberal economics.

Ideational Origins of Progressive Judicial Activism: The Colombian Constitutional Court and the Right to Health

Why are some newly empowered courts more likely than others to engage in progressive judicial activism? This paper addresses this question through an analysis of the origins and subsequent activism of the Colombian Constitutional Court towards rights in general, and the right to health in particular. My research suggests that ideational variables are the most effective in explaining this outcome. On the one hand, I argue that the Constitutional Court’s behavior reflects the dominance within it of a particular set of ideas about the judicial role. On the other, I provide evidence that programmatic beliefs about the relationship between rule of law and market-driven economic growth led power holders to create the Court and to appoint judges of this orientation. The emergence of progressive judicial activism in Colombia, my analysis suggests, was the unexpected outcome of purposeful political choices made by proponents of neoliberal economics. NOTE: THIS PAPER HAS BEEN PUBLISHED Nunes, Rodrigo. 2010. Ideational Origins of Progressive Judicial Activism: The Colombian Constitutional Court and the Right to Health. Latin American Politics and Society 52(3).

National Politics and Charitable Choice as Urban Policy for Community Development

The Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI) constitutes a critical substitution of social policy as new urban policy. The faith-based initiative envisions a formalized role for local religious congregations in social services provision and the corresponding role of policy implementation. Both of these rather novel policy ideas raise a host of questions. This article seeks to provide an understanding of this policy initiative, its ideational origins, its real potential, and some of its limitations as an instrument of urban policy and community development. This article encompasses four objectives. First, it provides an overview discussion of the evolution of the U.S. urban policy context and the emergence of “stealth urban policies.” Second, it focuses on the philosophical and scholarly formulations that conceived of local congregations as alternative mechanisms for the provision of social welfare state services. Third, the discussion turns to some of the findings to date regarding the FBCI that point up its limitation as effective public policy for supporting community development in black neighborhoods. Finally, the discussion explores how the FBCI might be expanded to support a more effective role for religious organizations in urban community development. While this initiative includes temples, mosques, churches, and other religious organizations, this article focuses on churches.

The Reliability and Validity of Ideational Originality in the Divergent Thinking of Academically Gifted and Nongifted Children

Divergent thinking tests are probably the most commonly employed measures of creative potential and have demonstrated adequate psychometric properties with many populations. Recently, however, a partial correlation evaluation revealed that the indices drawn from divergent thinking tests are highly redundant. That is, in the nongifted population, ideational “originality” and “flexibility” were seriously confounded by ideational “fluency,” and hence were not reliable indices of divergent thinking. Because the ideation of gifted individuals is qualitatively and quantitatively different from that of nongifted individuals, the present investigation utilized partial correlation procedures in order to compare the reliability of ideational originality in academically gifted and nongifted intermediate school children ( N = 225). The results indicated that the divergent thinking interitem and intertest correlations of the gifted children were significantly larger than those of the nongifted children. Still, ideational originality was adequately reliable after fluency was controlled only in the figural (nonverbal) divergent thinking tests.