Online Creativity Research Articles

Exploring critical drivers of global innovation: A Bayesian Network perspective

This study adopts a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) methodology to explore relationships among innovation indicators within the Global Innovation Index (GII) framework using 2023 data. The analysis identifies 'research and development’, 'online creativity’, and 'knowledge creation' as pivotal factors influencing innovation outcomes. The BBN model demonstrates a predictive accuracy of 90.9%. For high-performing countries, 'information and communication technologies’, 'regulatory environment’, and 'education' are critical, whereas 'investment' shows a low performance in driving innovation excellence. In low-performing countries, 'innovation linkages' and 'research and development' are strongly associated with the low innovation performance of these countries. Sensitivity analysis highlights 'knowledge workers’, 'online creativity’, and 'institutional environment' as significant drivers, illustrating the complex nature of innovation dynamics. This study enhances our understanding of innovation within the GII framework and offers actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders. Existing methods often rely on simplistic linear models that fail to capture the complex interdependencies among innovation indicators. This study addresses this limitation by leveraging the BBN approach to provide a better understanding of innovation dynamics.

Is digital development a factor of university-industry R&D collaboration and vice versa?

Abstract The purpose of the article is to determine and characterize relationships and their causality between indicators of digitalization of social relations and level of university-industry R&D collaboration. To conduct the research, a sample was formed for 20 countries of the world leaders in University-Industry R&D Collaboration indicator (as a part of Global Innovation Index) in 2022, which covers the following indices for period from 2011 to 2020: indicators of university-industry R&D collaboration, access to ICT, government online services, online creativity (as assessed by WIPO Global Innovation Index), and export of ICT goods (according to the World Bank). The methodological basis of the study was methods of correlation analysis (Pearson or Spearman, depending on data distribution, for which Shapiro-Wilk test for normal data distribution was previously applied) taking into account possible lags in time, VAR modelling, Granger test, and corresponding toolkit of STATA 18 software. As a result of the research, it was confirmed that the level of university-industry R&D collaboration is affected by such indicators of digitalization of social relations as online creativity (in 16 from 20 sample countries), access to ICT (in 12 countries) and the share of ICT goods exports in total exports (in 11 countries). At the same time, university-industry R&D collaboration is a cause of changes in the level of online creativity (in 15 from 20 sample countries), access to ICT (in 11 countries), public online services (in 10 from 19 sample countries) and the share of ICT goods exports (in 10 from 20 sample countries). The obtained results can be useful for stakeholders in R&D, innovative activities, development of state policy in the innovation and information sphere for making the most effective decisions in the context of stimulating the role of cooperation.

The moderating effect of the DMN connectivity on the correlation between online creativity performances in single- and paired-player modes

This study examined how brain structure influences creative performance during cooperation with others. This study employed graph theory to analyze the moderating effect of connectivity efficiency of a default mode network (DMN) on individuals' creative performance in interactive situations. The results showed that the global efficiencies of the DMN moderated the relationship between individuals' divergent thinking performance in the single- and paired-player modes. When the global efficiency in the DMN is high, an individual's originality performance in the single-player mode has high predictive power for performance in the paired-player mode. In addition, the global efficiency of the DMN can moderate the relationship between the flexibility scores in the single- and paired-player modes. In the case of high global efficiency, the flexibility performance in single-player mode has a higher predictive power in interactive situations. Furthermore, the nodal efficiency of the parahippocampal cortex can moderate the correlation between fluency (an index of divergent thinking) scores in the single- and paired-player modes, whereas the nodal efficiency of the anterior medial prefrontal cortex can moderate the relationship between the Chinese Radical Remote Associates Test performance in the single- and paired-player modes.

Videoconference-based Creativity Workshops for mental health staff during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT Background COVID-19 presented significant challenges to psychiatric staff, while social distancing and remote working necessitated digital communications. NHS England prioritised staff wellbeing. Arts-based creativity interventions appear to improve psychological wellbeing, so this study evaluated online Creativity Workshops as a staff support response for COVID-19-related stress. Methods Participants were staff from a South London NHS psychiatric hospital. Group Creativity Workshops were facilitated via Microsoft Teams. Acceptability data on pre- and post-workshop mood and attitudes were self-reported by participants. Feasibility data were gathered from adherence to number of workshop components delivered. Results Eight workshops were delivered in May-September 2020 (N = 55) with high adherence to components. Participants reported significantly increased positive mood and attitudes towards themselves and others; and decreased stress and anxiety. Conclusions Online Creativity Workshops appear feasible and acceptable in reducing stress in psychiatric staff. Integrating a programme of Creativity Workshops within healthcare staff support may benefit staff wellbeing.

Student Intrinsic Motivation for Online Creative Idea Generation: Mediating Effects of Student Online Learning Engagement and Moderating Effects of Teacher Emotional Support.

The online creativity generation research is a new field of creativity research. However, very little is known about the specific psychological processes of online idea generation. Against this background, this study explored the correlation between student intrinsic motivation and online creativity and possible mechanisms that may lie within this relationship. A sample of 423 Chinese students from three public universities participated in this study by completing measurements of intrinsic motivation, online learning engagement, creativity, and perceived teacher emotional support. The results indicated that student online learning engagement partially mediates the positive association between student intrinsic motivation and their online creativity. Teacher emotional support moderates the positive relationship between student intrinsic motivation and online learning engagement. Our findings suggested that student online creativity benefited from their intrinsic motivation in an online environment. The limitations of this study were also discussed.

‘The Birth of the Virtual Choir’: Exploring the multimodal realisation of the Covid-19 liminal space in a YouTube virtual choir performance

As countries around the world went into lockdown in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, people looked for virtual ways of reducing social isolation. Amongst these online interactions, a relatively new phenomenon – the virtual choir – grew in popularity. As part of a wider study on virtual choirs, this study analyses the multimodal performance of, and textual audience responses to, ‘The Birth of the Virtual Choir’, posted on YouTube in June 2020. The study uses a combination of Mediated Discourse Analysis (Norris and Jones, 2005) and the theoretical concept of liminality (Turner, 1974; van Gennep, 1960) as a means of understanding how one performance in this new genre was used to reflect personal crises during the pandemic and enforced lockdowns. It argues that the song mirrors a process of separation, transition and reaggregation in both time and space, consistent with rites of passages and liminal experiences, whereby social actors are isolated, use creative ways to find order to the chaos, then reintegrate into society as changed subjects. It also demonstrates how online creativity and illusion highlighted one choir’s experience on life and lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic, many of which appeared to ring true for their wider audience and other virtual choirs being born into the Covid era.

Differences in online creative performance of single and paired players in cooperative and competitive task situations

Co-creativity has recently received increasing attention. However, few empirical studies explore individuals’ creative performance in a group, and fewer have approached creative ideation in different task situations. This study recruited 156 participants to complete creativity tests on an online creativity task platform. Participants were randomly assigned to either cooperative or competitive task situations. Their performance was analyzed using two creativity tests: the Alternative Uses Test (AUT) and Chinese Radical Remote Associates Test (CRRAT). Participants completed tasks alone (i.e., in single player mode) and in a cooperative or competitive situation (i.e., in paired-player mode). The results revealed that participants in the competitive task situation showed higher levels of competitive anxiety. Moreover, their AUT and CRRAT performances in paired-player mode were better than those in single player mode. In the cooperative task situation, participants’ CRRAT performance was significantly better than in the competitive task situation. This study had two main findings. First, it strengthens the understanding of how group work enhances individual online creative performance. Second, it distinguishes the influences of cooperative or competitive task situations on different creative performance. This study revealed the differences in creative performance in distinct task situations.

Active versus Passive Strategy in Online Creativity Training: How to Best Promote Creativity of Students with Different Cognitive Styles?

While online education has become a new trend for knowledge acquisition and skill development, empirical studies on the effectiveness of online creativity training are scarce and the findings are inconclusive. In the current study, we investigated whether individual differences in cognitive style (i.e., FD-field dependence, FI-field independence) influence learners’ performance in online creativity training. The literature suggests that when processing information, FD learners tend to prefer inductive learning and rely on external references while the FI learners are more likely to prefer deductive learning and rely on internal reference. A three-day online training was developed and delivered to participants via either the active or the passive training strategy. This study was a pre-posttest between-subjects design, and three creativity tasks (AUT-alternative uses task, visual imagination task, and the design problem) were used to measure participants’ creative performance. The MANOVA results showed a significant interaction effects that FD participants greatly improved on performance of the AUT and the design problem after exposing to the active training compared to the passive training, whereas the FI participants did not show improvement. Besides, the FD participants reported positive training experiences (preference and motivation) on the active training strategy while the FI participants didn't seem to differ in their experiences of different training strategies. The current findings implicate that instructor and teachers should be aware of the individual differences while designing creativity training materials/courses in digital as well as real-life contexts.

COVID-19: A catalyst for online creativity for individuals with a life-limiting illness

The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for the programme explored in this article. Developed to fill a gap in face-to-face support programmes for those with a life-limiting illness, the Live Well, Die Well programme offered participants the opportunity to experiment with various art-forms in online workshops. This article reveals the content and practice of three workshops facilitated by the author who uses this experience to begin an exploration of the connection between artmaking, illness, identity and agency. Critiquing the relevance of the art therapy literature to this programme, the author explores the key role online artmaking can play in ameliorating the ‘total pain’ often experienced at the end of life.

Exploring Educator Leadership Practices in Gifted Education to Facilitate Online Learning Experiences for (Re)Engaging Gifted Students

This article draws on case study findings of educator leadership in an online gifted education school, which emerged from a larger study exploring online engagement practices used by specialist gifted education teachers to (re)engage gifted learners. The gifted education teachers and their team leader were interviewed about leadership practices for supporting online engagement of gifted primary and high school students. Semi-structured interview data were transcribed, coded, and thematically analysed. Findings related to teachers voicing the importance of a passionate and committed team leader who understood giftedness and who acted as a facilitator in both the continuous development of teaching team skills and facilitation of online engagement practices for gifted students. Findings indicated five key themes related to transformational leadership practices: (1) understanding requirements of online practices for teaching gifted students; (2) supporting digital and online innovation and creativity for engaging gifted students; (3) leveraging the unique skills of the specialist teaching team for teaching gifted students in the online space; (4) actively facilitating and encouraging (re)engagement of gifted students through online participation; (5) follow-through to meet the needs and concerns of the specialist teaching team, gifted students, and their parents and/or carers. These leadership practices are of importance for actively supporting gifted education teachers and their students in online learning environments in order to achieve positive student engagement and learning outcomes commensurate with student potential.

Algorithms’ Influence on Human Artistic Creativity

In this doctoral research programme, I propose a set of three thematic research projects to investigate the influence of algorithmic curation on artists’ creative processes and viewers’ subsequent creative perception. In the context of the burgeoning “creator economy,” I first review evidence of algorithmic impact on creator’s outputs. Considering the role of process in creative output evaluation, I bring an embodied, situated perspective to online creativity. Based on these discussions, I propose three research streams: first, I tease apart the consid-eration of process from the consideration of embodiment, asking how each (process & embodiment) influence creative perception in the context of algo-rithm-made versus human-made art. In this workstream, I also consider the im-pact of the art viewer’s embodiment (physical versus digital). Next, I construct an algorithmically-curated website of visual images which controls information about the artist, their process, and their output, using the website as an experi-mental sandbox to interrogate the role of these variables in online creative per-ception. Finally, I supplement these findings through ethnography with artists and curators, examining the role of algorithmic considerations in their process. Simultaneously, I prompt artists to imagine the possibility of a co-designed algo-rithm that prioritizes creativity over existing metrics for engagement.

The dynamics of innovation in the ex-communist countries in Europe in the context of globalization

Research background: Even if they share a similar background, the ex-communist European countries have started since the ‘90s to differentiate one from another in terms of development. Nowadays, the gaps between them are significant in many aspects of the socio-economic environment, including innovation. Measurements done by Cornell University, INSEAD, and WIPO through the Global Innovation Index give us the opportunity to compare the achievements from the last 30 years of the ex-communist countries. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this paper is to point out the major gaps between the European ex-communist countries in terms of innovation – both innovation inputs and innovation outputs – in the context of globalization, and the way the globalization fostered or suppressed the innovation. Methods: We will do a comparative analysis of the indicators that the input and output indexes are based on – regulatory environment, education, general infrastructure, credit, investment, knowledge workers, knowledge creation, knowledge impact, online creativity, intangible assets. Findings & Value added: This paper may add value to the economic and educational policies in the ex-communist countries by identifying the policies that proved their effectiveness in increasing innovation rates, policies that can be adapted and then adopted by the ex-communist countries that are less innovative.

Dynamics of innovation and taxation in 8 EU ex-communist countries

Research background: Even if they have a similar background, the ex-communist countries in Europe have started since the ‘90s to differentiate socially and economically one from another. Nowadays, the differences between them are significant in many aspects of the socio-economic environment, including innovation. Measurements done by Cornell University, INSEAD, and WIPO through the Global Innovation Index and some researchers compared the achievements from the last 30 years of the ex-communist countries in terms of innovation. Although innovation may be under the influence of multiple factors, some authors suggest that taxation has a major role. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the article is identifying a potential link between the dynamics of innovation and the dynamics of taxation in 8 ex-communist EU countries in the context of globalization, and to describe the way the globalization and taxation together fostered or suppressed the innovation. Methods: We will do a comparative analysis, comparing the taxation and the innovation input and output indicators - regulatory environment, education, general infrastructure, credit, investment, knowledge workers, knowledge creation, knowledge impact, online creativity, intangible assets. Findings & Value added: This paper may add value to the economic and taxation policies in the ex-communist countries by identifying the policies that proved their effectiveness in increasing innovation rates, policies that can be adapted and then adopted by the ex-communist countries that are less innovative.

Investment in Human Capital Within the Creative Economy Formation: Case of the Eastern and Central Europe Countries

The purpose of the article is to determine the link between investing in human capital and the formation of the creative economy. Given that human capital is considered both a factor in the socio‑economic development of countries and a prerequisite for the formation of the creative economy and consequently, for the modernization changes in today’s economy, there is a need to study the areas of investment in human capital.
 The study is based on an analysis of a number of indicators in Eastern Europe (Ukraine and Moldova) and Central Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, and Lithuania): total expenditure on education, the analysis of which made it possible to determine the level of education funding in each country; the average cost per pupil/student, which allowed us to identify trends in spending by funding organizations; the share of total expenditure on education in GDP, depending on the level of education, which made it possible to determine the priority and sufficiency of education system funding; the cost allocation indicator by funding organizations; and the human development index, which measures living standards, literacy, education, and longevity. The study also focuses on analyzing data that determine the global innovation index, since its calculation is based on the assessment indicators of human capital and research (education, tertiary education, research, and development) and creative outputs (intangible assets, creative goods, and services, online creativity).
 Based on the results of the research, it was concluded that human capital is the main factor that boosts the creative economy, and enhancing human capital depends on the level of education and scientific progress in a country. Empirical evidence shows that directing investment in human capital contributes to the formation of the creative economy, improving the competitiveness of countries, and at the same time, ensuring the appropriate rates of their socio‑economic development.

Adaptability, online creativity can connect students to university community, no matter where they are

“We want students to have the experiences they expected to have here at the University of Arizona, even if they're having those experiences from afar,” said Kasey Urquidez, Vice President for Enrollment Management at the University of Arizona, describing how incoming students this school year attended virtual days at the university.

Adaptability, online creativity can connect students to university community, no matter where they are

“We want students to have the experiences they expected to have here at the University of Arizona, even if they're having those experiences from afar,” said Kasey Urquidez, Vice President for Enrollment Management at the University of Arizona, describing how incoming students this school year attended virtual days at the university. With a click, students signed up for virtual campus tours, academic information sessions with department faculty, conversations with student ambassadors, admissions counseling, and financial aid sessions. Although COVID‐19 halted the university's robust campus tour program, Urquidez said it was a priority to find ways for students to feel connected to the school community and campus culture.

Adaptability, online creativity can connect students to university community, no matter where they are

“We want students to have the experiences they expected to have here at the University of Arizona, even if they're having those experiences from afar,” said Kasey Urquidez, Vice President for Enrollment Management at the University of Arizona, describing how incoming students this school year attended virtual days at the university. With a click, students signed up for virtual campus tours, academic information sessions with department faculty, conversations with student ambassadors, admissions counseling, and financial aid sessions. Although COVID‐19 halted the university's robust campus tour program, Urquidez said it was a priority to find ways for students to feel connected to the school community and campus culture.

Соціально-економічний механізм підвищення конкурентоспроможності людських ресурсів: напрями вдосконалення в умовах формування інформаційно-мережевої економіки

The paper examines the international comparators of the formation of competitive advantages of human resources under the conditions of information and network economy. This allowed to establish that in comparison with the developed countries of the world Ukraine ranks are quite low in terms of the level of development of information and communication technologies, employment in the field of knowledge, knowledge generation, knowledge diffusion and online creativity. The conceptual scheme of the socio-economic mechanism of human resources competitiveness increasing was suggested. The main components of this mechanism include influencing factors, principles, functions, methods, policies and tools. The ways of improvement of the socio-economic mechanism of the human resources competitiveness increasing in the information-network economy were marked out. They include the formation of digital competencies and information culture, minimizing the "digital divide", mastering the means of applying modern information and communication technologies in practice, improving communication skills and interactive interaction, social skills, stimulating the ability to find creative ideas and innovations etc. It was stated out that a significant improvement of the socio-economic mechanism of the human resources competitiveness increasing in the digitalization process is possible by overcoming a number of risks and threats that lie in the plane of economic, social, organizational, legal, demographic-migration, educational-professional, business, information interaction. The scheme of diagnostics of the level of human resources competitiveness under the conditions of information and network economy in the form of interconnected stages (formation of information base, choice of methods, compilation of blocks of indicators, identification of users of diagnostic results, diagnostics itself, identification of weaknesses, development of directions of improvement, feedback and adjustment) was worked out.

Detecting who is going to innovate

An important factor for workplace innovation is having creative employees in the workplace. Most tests for assessing creativity are paper-and-pencil-based and require a trained evaluator for scoring. This, in turn, renders scoring time-consuming, expensive, and not entirely objective. The aim of the three studies presented here was to develop an online creativity test that uses a fully automated scoring algorithm, that is optimised for unsupervised settings, and that can be applied internationally by being language-independent. As such, it can be used as a quick and cost-efficient instrument for selection as well as individual and team development purposes.

Make, share, review, remix: Unpacking the impact of the internet on contemporary creativity

This article advances a holistic framework that aims to facilitate a better understanding of the nuanced impact of the internet on contemporary creative participation. Functioning simultaneously as the context, locus, and medium for creative activity, the internet affects each stage in the life cycle of a creative product – creation, distribution, interpretation, and remix. In addition, this influence is felt in a wide range of creative products: off-line and online, professional and vernacular. Previous research has not examined these different processes and types of creative output in conversation with each other; by advancing an integrative analytical approach and synthesizing research from multiple domains, this work attempts to address this gap. As a way to illuminate this impact and demonstrate the value of the proposed framework, the article applies this framework to three case studies: a work of off-line art ( The Artist Is Present), online art ( Moon), and online nonart or vernacular online creativity (Pepe the Frog memes). This analysis facilitates a deeper understanding of these interrelated processes, attends to the complex ways in which new media blurs the borders between those categorizations, and discusses the potential implications of these complex contemporary dynamics.