• Canada
• 2014 close
• 2015 close

This research will create a truly innovative, international research network that will stretch far and wide in the area of "Cultures of Creativity and Innovation in Design". The international research network coordinating body comprises Professors Paul Rodgers and Paul Jones from Northumbria University, Professor Amaresh Chakrabarti, a world-leading researcher in Design Creativity, from the Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Professor Lorenzo Imbesi, an internationally-acclaimed researcher in Design Culture, from the School of Industrial Design at Carleton University, Canada. The importance of creativity in the cultural, creative and other industries and the significant contributions that creativity adds to a nation's overall GDP and the subsequent health and wellbeing of its people cannot be overstated. In Europe, the value of the cultural and creative industries is estimated at well over 700 billion Euros each year, twice that of Europe's car manufacturing industry. The value of creativity and innovation, to any nation, is therefore huge. Creativity and innovation adds real value, which enables a number of benefits such as economic growth and social wellbeing. In many societies creativity epitomises success, excitement and value. Whether driven by individuals, companies, enterprises or regions creativity and innovation establishes immediate empathy, and conveys an image of dynamism. Creativity is thus a positive word in societies constantly aspiring to innovation and progress. In short, creativity in all of its manifestations enriches society. This network seeks to gain an understanding of this dynamic ecology that creativity and innovation bring to society. Creativity is a vital ingredient in the production of products, services and systems, both in the cultural industries and across the economy as a whole. Yet despite its importance and the ubiquitous use of creativity as a term there are issues regarding its definitional clarity. A better understanding and articulation of creativity as a concept and a process would support enhanced future innovation. Socio-cultural approaches to creativity explain that creative ideas or products do not happen inside people's heads, but in the interaction between a person's thoughts and a socio-cultural context. It is acknowledged that creativity cannot be taught, but that it can be cultivated and this has significant implications for a nation's design and innovation culture. It is known that creativity flourishes in congenial environments and in creative climates. This research will examine how creativity is valued, exploited, and facilitated across different national and cultural settings as all can have a major impact on a nation's creative potential. The key aim of this network is to investigate attitudes about creativity and how it is best cultivated and exploited across three different geographical locations (UK, India, and Canada), different environments, and cultures from both an individual designer's perspective and design groups' perspectives. The network seeks to investigate cultures of creativity and innovation in design and question its nature. For instance, can creativity be adequately conceptualised in a design context? What role do cultural organisations and national bodies play in harnessing creativity? Where do the "edges" lie between creativity and innovation? Do richer environments and approaches for facilitating creativity exist? What design skills, knowledge, and expertise are required for creativity? Moreover, what are the key drivers that motivate the creativity and innovation of designers and other stakeholders? Are they economical, cultural, social, or political? This research network will host 3 workshops, each one facilitating inquiry amongst invited design practitioners, researchers, educators and other stakeholders involved in design practice.

The Peru-Chile subduction zone hosts many large earthquakes. A M8.8 earthquake occurred in northern Chile in 1877, and since then, no major event had re-ruptured the area prior to April 2014. The 500 km-long zone has therefore become known as the "North Chile seismic gap". In late March 2014, many small to moderate earthquakes occurred within this gap. Activity generally migrated slightly northwards. On 2 April 2014, a M8.2 earthquake occurred in the northern part of the preceding cluster, followed by many aftershocks, including a M7.6 event. Aftershock activity continues and, since the rest of the area has not experienced a major earthquake for well over a century, another large event in the area in the near future or medium term cannot be ruled out. In order to measure aftershock activity in the area of the seismic gap that ruptured recently, in addition to any other events that may occur nearby, we propose to install seismometers in the Peruvian coastal region and also offshore Chile. There are two main reasons for doing this. Firstly, the extra networks will dramatically improve station coverage around the seismic gap area, enabling us to generate detailed models of the subduction zone. This will be of great benefit for future analyses of seismic activity in this earthquake-prone area. Secondly, our records of the ongoing seismic activity will enable us to locate aftershocks accurately and infer what type of faulting occurred. This will enable us to build up a very detailed picture of how post-earthquake processes relate to preceding large seismic events. We will also use satellite radar images to construct maps of how the surface of the Earth has moved as a result of the recent seismic activity. These deformation maps can be used in computer models to estimate the location and magnitude of slip that occurred on faults beneath the surface - for instance, on the subduction zone interface, where the mainshock occurred. Essentially we are using surface measurements to infer sub-surface processes. Results from the seismological and satellite components of our project will be integrated to give us an in-depth understanding of the properties and processes occurring in the North Chile seismic gap. For instance, we will look at the spatial relationship between the area that ruptures in major earthquakes and the location of foreshock/aftershock sequences. Another important issue is to identify areas on the subduction zone interface that have not yet slipped, and that could therefore rupture in major earthquakes in the future.