Cyclic alternating pattern in sleep and its relationship to creativity

Background/Objectives: Sleep has been shown to enhance creativity, but the reason for this enhancement is not entirely known. There are several different physiological states associated with sleep. In addition to rapid (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, NREM sleep can be broken down into Stages (1-4) that are characterized by the degree of EEG slow wave activity. In addition, during NREM sleep there are transient but cyclic alternating patterns (CAP) of EEG activity and these CAPs can also be divided into three subtypes (A1-A3) according to speed of the EEG waves. Differences in CAP ratios have been previously linked to cognitive performances. The purpose of this study was to learn the relationship CAP activity during sleep and creativity. Methods: The participants were 8 healthy young adults (4 women), who underwent 3 consecutive nights of polysomnographic recording and took the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA) on the 2 and 3rd mornings after the recordings. Results: There were positive correlations between Stage 1 of NREM sleep and some measures of creativity such as fluency (R= .797; p=.029) and flexibility ( R=.43; p=.002), between Stage 4 of Non-REM sleep and originality (R= .779; p=.034) and a global measure of figural creativity (R= .758; p=.040). There was also a negative correlation between REM sleep and originality (R= -.827; p= .042) . During NREM sleep the CAP rate, which in young people is primarily the A1 subtype, also correlated with originality (R= .765; p =.038). Conclusions: NREM sleep is associated with low levels of cortical arousal and low cortical arousal may enhance the ability of people to access to the remote associations that are critical for creative innovations. In addition, A1 CAP activity reflects frontal activity and the frontal lobes are important for divergent thinking, also a critical aspect of creativity.

Computational creativity: an interdisciplinary approach to sequential learning and creative generations

Creativity seems mysterious; when we experience a creative spark, it is difficult to explain how we got that idea, and we often recall notions like ``inspiration" and ``intuition" when we try to explain the phenomenon. The fact that we are clueless about how a creative idea manifests itself does not necessarily imply that a scientific explanation cannot exist. We are unaware of how we perform certain tasks, such as biking or language understanding, but we have more and more computational techniques that can replicate and hopefully explain such activities. We should understand that every creative act is a fruit of experience, society, and culture. Nothing comes from nothing. Novel ideas are never utterly new; they stem from representations that are already in mind. Creativity involves establishing new relations between pieces of information we had already: then, the greater the knowledge, the greater the possibility of finding uncommon connections, and the more the potential to be creative. In this vein, a beneficial approach to a better understanding of creativity must include computational or mechanistic accounts of such inner procedures and the formation of the knowledge that enables such connections. That is the aim of Computational Creativity: to develop computational systems for emulating and studying creativity. Hence, this dissertation focuses on these two related research areas: discussing computational mechanisms to generate creative artifacts and describing some implicit cognitive processes that can form the basis for creative thoughts.

Supramolecular hybrid organic-inorganic multicomponent architectures in solution and on surface

Supramolecular architectures can be built-up from a single molecular component (building block) to obtain a complex of organic or inorganic interactions creating a new emergent condensed phase of matter, such as gels, liquid crystals and solid crystal. Further the generation of multicomponent supramolecular hybrid architecture, a mix of organic and inorganic components, increases the complexity of the condensed aggregate with functional properties useful for important areas of research, like material science, medicine and nanotechnology. One may design a molecule storing a recognition pattern and programming a informed self-organization process enables to grow-up into a hierarchical architecture. From a molecular level to a supramolecular level, in a bottom-up fashion, it is possible to create a new emergent structure-function, where the system, as a whole, is open to its own environment to exchange energy, matter and information. ���The emergent property of the whole assembly is superior to the sum of a singles parts���. In this thesis I present new architectures and functional materials built through the selfassembly of guanosine, in the absence or in the presence of a cation, in solution and on the surface. By appropriate manipulation of intermolecular non-covalent interactions the spatial (structural) and temporal (dynamic) features of these supramolecular architectures are controlled. Guanosine G7 (5',3'-di-decanoil-deoxi-guanosine) is able to interconvert reversibly between a supramolecular polymer and a discrete octameric species by dynamic cation binding and release. Guanosine G16 (2',3'-O-Isopropylidene-5'-O-decylguanosine) shows selectivity binding from a mix of different cation's nature. Remarkably, reversibility, selectivity, adaptability and serendipity are mutual features to appreciate the creativity of a molecular self-organization complex system into a multilevelscale hierarchical growth. The creativity - in general sense, the creation of a new thing, a new thinking, a new functionality or a new structure - emerges from a contamination process of different disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics, architecture, design, philosophy and science of complexity.

Una danza di parti interagenti. Gregory Bateson pensiero ecologico e educazione

The thesis focuses on the ecological thought of Gregory Bateson and the contributions that such epistemology can offer nowadays to the educational scene, connecting in particular to the problematicistic perspective of Giovanni Maria Bertin with the aim of rethinking and updating it. The writing explicates the meaning of education to an ecological knowledge, that privileges connections, creativity and solidarity with the living world. The work analyzes, moreover, the cultural and epistemological value of relations focusing on ethic commitment as an instrument of promotion of the right to difference. A final part of the work is dedicated to some ecological aspects such as environmental safeguard and development, fundamental topics especially for the educational context.

Creative process in globally distributed teams: a study of new product development in Volvo

With the business environments no longer confined to geographical borders, the new wave of digital technologies has given organizations an enormous opportunity to bring together their distributed workforce and develop the ability to work together despite being apart (Prasad & Akhilesh, 2002). resupposing creativity to be a social process, the way that this phenomenon occurs when the configuration of the team is substantially modified will be questioned. Very little is known about the impact of interpersonal relationships in the creativity (Kurtzberg & Amabile, 2001). In order to analyse the ways in which the creative process may be developed, we ought to be taken into consideration the fact that participants are dealing with a quite an atypical situation. Firstly, in these cases socialization takes place amongst individuals belonging to a geographically dispersed workplace, where interpersonal relationships are mediated by the computer, and where trust must be developed among persons who have never met one another. Participants not only have multiple addresses and locations, but above all different nationalities, and different cultures, attitudes, thoughts, and working patterns, and languages. Therefore, the central research question of this thesis is as follows: ���How does the creative process unfold in globally distributed teams?��� With a qualitative approach, we used the case study of the Business Unit of Volvo 3P, an arm of Volvo Group. Throughout this research, we interviewed seven teams engaged in the development of a new product in the chassis and cab areas, for the brands Volvo and Renault Trucks, teams that were geographically distributed in Brazil, Sweden, France and India. Our research suggests that corporate values, alongside with intrinsic motivation and task which lay down the necessary foundations for the development of the creative process in GDT.

Lexis paidike. L'infanzia in Origene

La tesi considera la trattazione del tema dell���infanzia nell���opera di Origene di Alessandria attraverso l���analisi dei testi trasmessi nell���originale greco e delle traduzioni latine di Rufino e Gerolamo. Il motivo dell���infanzia �� considerato nei suoi molteplici significati, a pi�� livelli: esegetico, antropologico, filosofico, teologico. La ricerca non si limita dunque ad un���analisi di taglio storico, ma ambisce a definire la concezione e la considerazione della prima et�� dal punto di vista di Origene e nel contesto pi�� ampio della letteratura coeva. Attraverso una lettura estensiva del corpus dell���Alessandrino sono stati isolati tutti i passi che si riferiscono all���infanzia a livello letterale e metaforico. Ne emerge una trattazione complessa del tema: il bambino �� per Origene, in linea con le contemporanee dottrine filosofiche, un essere eminentemente irrazionale. Il pieno sviluppo della facolt�� razionale si colloca al termine di questa prima fase dell���esistenza. L���irrazionalit�� infantile previene nei pi�� piccoli l���insorgere delle passioni. A questa dottrina, di matrice stoica, si ricollegano alcuni sviluppi di grande rilievo: la non-imputabilit�� dei minori ed il legame tra razionalit�� e responsabilit�� individuale; la riflessione sulla sofferenza dei bambini e la ricerca di una sua causa, che non intacchi il principio della giustizia divina; l���ipotesi della preesistenza delle anime. Sul piano teologico la ricerca si focalizza sulle nozioni di paternit�� e filiazione e sul tema, centrale nell���orizzonte origeniano, della pedagogia. Origene concepisce la pedagogia umana, sul modello di quella divina, come una rete dinamica di relazioni che ricalca i rapporti parentali. A fianco di questi ambiti d���interesse principali l���analisi considera aspetti ulteriori: risalto �� concesso, in particolare, all���elemento biografico ed all���aspetto linguistico e letterario della prosa origeniana, quest'ultimo spesso trascurato dalla critica. Lo studio mostra inoltre la vitalit�� di alcuni modelli esegetici origeniani nella tradizione successiva.

Poverty and Mental Health. Tangible and Intangible Aspects of Microcredit

Microcredit, a small lending system, invests on an individual's creativity by stimulating the development of their own potential. This process leads to the attainment of various objectives which in turn allow individuals to develop their skill awareness. Consequently, this process also increases an individual���s self-esteem and self-confidence. These factors play an important role in the aetiology of a number of mental disorders. Namely, those characterized by a series of psychological conditions which impede the full development of a person���s personal, relational and social sphere. Furthermore, since Microcredit is thought to produce tangible goods, such as income, and intangible goods, such as self-esteem and mutual trust, it could also represent an innovative socio-economic tool. We therefore also hypothesize that, Microcredit would be valuable in maximizing abilities/skills in those subjects who are financially excluded and rarely perceived as a ���resource��� for the Community The longitudinal study set the impact of the Grameen Bank microcredit program on new borrowers women from Noakhali District at the south Bangladesh. The impact evaluation assessment has been structured to detect individual, family and social changes. Manova Analysis allowed distinguishing from women with positive or negative outcomes related to the loan performance. Data revealed consistent differences in terms of economical outcomes and psychological well being amongst the groups of subject analyzed. The data gathered in relation to the changes arisen in the individuals should be looked into through future, continuous and systematic, monitoring.

Markov Constraints for Generating Texts with Style

This thesis addresses the issue of generating texts in the style of an existing author, that also satisfy structural constraints imposed by the genre of the text. Although Markov processes are known to be suitable for representing style, they are difficult to control in order to satisfy non-local properties, such as structural constraints, that require long distance modeling. The framework of Constrained Markov Processes allows to precisely generate texts that are consistent with a corpus, while being controllable in terms of rhymes and meter. Controlled Markov processes consist in reformulating Markov processes in the context of constraint satisfaction. The thesis describes how to represent stylistic and structural properties in terms of constraints in this framework and how this approach can be used for the generation of lyrics in the style of 60 differents authors An evaluation of the desctibed method is provided by comparing it to both pure Markov and pure constraint-based approaches. Finally the thesis describes the implementation of an augmented text editor, called Perec. Perec is intended to improve creativity, by helping the user to write lyrics and poetry, exploiting the techniques presented so far.

L���Orientalismo tra vocazione imperialista, suggestioni esotiche e omoerotiche. Le rappresentazioni storiche del passaggio tra l���epoca omayyade e abbaside.

Lo studio si tratta di mettere in evidenza il cambiamento che ha subito il termine Oriente nel secolo XX in alcuni testi della letteratura italiana contemporanea. L���opera di Edward Said, L���Orientalismo �� un testo di riferimento per i nostri studi. Nel quale abbiamo focalizzato l���attenzione su alcuni aspetti salienti: il concetto di orientalismo; l���interesse nei confronti dell���Oriente sul piano politico, scientifico, letterario; l���impossibilit�� di separare lo studioso dalle circostanze biografiche e sociali. Siamo riusciti, quindi, a stabilire che il cambiamento dell���immagine orientale dipende da tre fattori: lo scrittore (emittente), il soggetto (la fonte) ed il lettore (destinatario), dai quali si origina l���oggetto (il testo). Basandoci su questi tre elementi abbiamo cercato di inquadrare l���interesse letterario per l���Oriente vista da una triplice prospettiva: imperialismo, fascino ed erotismo. Per studiare le prime due prospettive, abbiamo scelto due opere. La prima presenta l���immagine dell���imperialismo, si tratta di Sanya, La moglie egiziana e il Romanzo dell���Oriente Moderno (1927) di Bruno Corra. La seconda prospettiva dove troviamo l���immagine dell���Oriente fascinoso �� nello scritto di Annie Vivanti, La terra di Cleopatra (1925). Il punto centrale della tesi si tratta di studiare Annie Messina (1910-1996), �� una scrittrice che ha uno stile peculiare ed un approccio tutto suo al tema dell���Oriente. I testi studiati sono : "Il mirto e la rosa" (1982), "Il banchetto dell'emiro" (1997) e "La principessa e il w��l��" (1996), tutti pubblicati dalla casa editrice Sellerio.L���unico pubblicato da Mondadori �� "La palma di Rusafa" (1989). L���ultima parte del lavoro abbiamo esposto un profilo storico e socio-religioso della letteratura erotica araba. In cui abbiamo rintracciato le origini dell���immagine erotico dell���Oriente e il tema dell���omosessualit��, mettendo a confronto il testo omosessuale di Messina con la letteratura italiana contemporanea.