Elvis Mazzoni

The creative link

We analyzed creativity, flow and social network structure of teams in blended setting.We examined relationships between social network indices, flow and creativity performance.Density and decentralization were positively related with both creativity and flow.No relationship was found between social presence and flow.Social network indices can be used to investigate group creativity and flow. We present findings of an exploratory study, which investigated the relationship among the indices of social network structure, flow, and creative performance in students collaborating in a blended setting. Thirty undergraduate students enrolled in a Media Psychology course were assigned to five groups tasked with designing a new technology-based psychological application. Team members collaborated over a twelve-week period using two main modalities: face-to-face meeting sessions in the classroom (once a week) and virtual meetings using a groupware tool. Social network indicators of group interaction and presence indices were extracted from communication logs, whereas flow and product creativity were assessed through survey measures. The findings showed that specific social network indices (in particular those measuring decentralization and neighbor interaction) were positively related to flow experience. More broadly, the results indicated that selected social network indicators could offer useful insight into the creative collaboration process. Theoretical and methodological implications of these results are drawn.

The Cliques Participation Index (CPI) as an Indicator of Creativity in Online Collaborative Groups

After introducing the networked flow as a collective creativity process, this article analyzes whether certain social network analysis (SNA) indices could be possible predictors of the social structures’ collective creativity. An empirical study was conducted in which online collaborative groups of adults on a postgraduate course interacted by a web platform to achieve a shared objective. The groups’ final products were evaluated on their originality and transferability, and these were then compared to the groups’ collective activity parameters. Final results show that the Cliques Participation Index (CPI), purposely created for this study, is a potential predictor in the groups’ collective creativity.

Children, Multimedia Content and Technological Artefacts: An Exploratory Study Using Text Analysis Tools.

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the user experience of young people with video content accessed through different technological artefacts. Design/methodology/approach – To this purpose, an essay has been assigned to the pupils of two lower secondary school classes (mean age 12 years) to know their diverse types of usage of multimedia content in their everyday lives. These compositions have been analysed using a plurality of text analysis tools to find out both the preferred artefacts and their mutual relationships. Findings – The results are here presented giving emphasis to qualitative and methodological aspects. Practical implications – The analysis is to be intended as a preliminary field research study mainly oriented to testing the visualization power of the selected technical tools, primarily network text analysis, in the context of children exposure to video content made available by today’s information and communication technologies. Originality/value – The originality of the paper is cha...

Bridging Minds: A Mixed Methodology to Assess Networked Flow.

The main goal of this contribution is to present a methodological framework to study Networked Flow, a bio-psycho-social theory of collective creativity applying it on creative processes occurring via a computer network. First, we draw on the definition of Networked Flow to identify the key methodological requirements of this model. Next, we present the rationale of a mixed methodology, which aims at combining qualitative, quantitative and structural analysis of group dynamics to obtain a rich longitudinal dataset. We argue that this integrated strategy holds potential for describing the complex dynamics of creative collaboration, by linking the experiential features of collaborative experience (flow, social presence), with the structural features of collaboration dynamics (network indexes) and the collaboration outcome (the creative product). Finally, we report on our experience with using this methodology in blended collaboration settings (including both face-to-face and virtual meetings), to identify open issues and provide future research directions.

The use of SNSs among Adults and Emerging Adults

Social Networks Sites (SNSs) are becoming more and more prominent in everyday life. Their portability and ease of use grant them a wide diffusion, both vertically (among all social classes) and horizontally (in number), throughout the population, especially in western countries. This is not just a trend; the way in which SNSs are being used can be considered part of a pervasive attitude in our daily lives where everything is becoming more social. With a specific focus on emerging adults, in this paper we will argue and demonstrate how they use SNSs in their transitions between activity systems, by comparing them with the use of SNSs in adults. There are age-based differences in the use of SNSs, and in the way in which subjects maintain and expand their social capital through the use of these sites.