Tools for Innovation: The Science Behind the Practical Methods That Drive New Ideas

by Arthur B. Markman (Editor), Kristin L. Wood (Editor)

Overview

It is widely known that innovation is crucial to sustain success in business, government, and engineering. But capturing the effective means of fostering innovation remains elusive. How can organizations actively promote innovation, which arises from a complex combination of cognition and domain expertise? Researchers across an array of fields are studying innovation, with exciting new findings suggesting that science is beginning to understand how it can be cultivated. It is now more important than ever for seemingly distant fields to share conclusions and, in concert, translate them into viable applications. In this unique and exciting collaboration, engineers, cognitive scientists, psychologists, computer scientists, and marketers explore the practical methods that support innovation and creative design, from different ways of thinking and conceptualizing to computer-based tools. The authors present research on processes as well as on the evaluation of existing methods. Their lessons drawn are at the forefront of the interdisciplinary movement to use science to help organizations thrive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190452353
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/13/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Arthur B. Markman is the Annabel Irion Worsham Centennial Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin. Kristin L. Wood is the Cullen Trust Endowed Professor in Engineering and University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

Table of Contents

1. The Cognitive Science of Innovation Tools, iArthur B. Markman and Kristin L. Wood/i2. On "Out-of-the-Box" Thinking in Creativity, iRobert W. Weisberg/i3. "Putting Blinkers on a Blind Man": Providing Cognitive Support for Creative Processes with Environmental Cues, iBo T. Christensen and Christian D. Schunn/i4. Thinking with Sketches, iBarbara Tversky and Masaki Suwa/i5. Supporting Innovation by Promoting Analogical Reasoning, iArthur B. Markman, Kristin L. Wood, Julie S. Linsey, Jeremy T. Murphy, and Jeffrey P. Laux/i6. Constraints and Consumer Creativity, iC. Page Moreau and Darren W. Dahl/i7. The Development and Evaluation of Tools for Creativity, iSteven M. Smith, Andruid Kerne, Eunyee Koh, and Jami Shah/i8. Concept Nets for Flexible Access to Knowledge, iThomas B. Ward/i9. Innovation through Transformational Design, iVikramjit Singh, Brandon Walther, Kristin Wood, and Dan Jensen/i10. Introduction of Design Enabling Tools: Development, Validation, and Lessons Learned, iJoshua D. Summers, Srinivasan Anandan, and Sudhakar Teegavarapu/i11. Supporting Innovative Construction of Explanatory Scientific Models, iWill Bridewell, Stuart R. Borrett, and Pat Langley/iIndex

Editorial Reviews

"...the specific technological and conceptual findings of this text could help generate innovative and productive approaches to social organization, and education in particular. Tools for Innovation has particular value for those in business and industry, but also for practitioners in organization development and training. I would also strongly recommend this book for education administrators and policy makers."—As reviewed by Mike Bonner in PsycCRITIQUES

From the Publisher