This study examined the effects of training and sequence of nominal and interactive groups on idea generation. Participants in groups of three or four were either trained in idea generation skills or were simply engaged in an equivalent amount of practice. They subsequently were asked to brainstorm in either an alone-to-group or a group-to-alone sequence. Training had a significant positive effect on the total number of ideas generated and average originality of ideas generated. The participants in the alone-to-group sequence generated a larger number of ideas than those in the group-to-alone sequence. These results indicate that training can increase both the quality and quantity of ideas generated in groups and that solitary idea generation prior to group brainstorming can be beneficial. These findings may be helpful to practitioners in enhancing the creativity of individuals in group work.

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Background-There have been limited trend studies examining variations on the patterns of alcohol consumption among Whites, Blacks and Hispanics in the United States. The current paper reports national trends in drinking patterns, volume of drinking (number of drinks per month), binge drinking and drinking to intoxication among Blacks, Whites and Hispanics over a period of 10 years and identifies sociodemographic predictors of these behaviors across the 3 ethnic groups.

This study tested creativity of small electronic brainstorming (EBS) groups as a function of the homogeneity and heterogeneity of assigned sub-topics (categories) of a broader problem over time. A total of 168 participants were exposed to categories of high or low degree of relatedness, and their performance was tracked over time in group and e-nominal paradigm. Findings revealed that the EBS groups became more creative and exhibited slower productivity loss compared with the e-nominal groups over time. The assignment of homogeneous categories enhanced the average originality of ideas, over time especially for the EBS groups. The findings have implications for theoretical as well as practical perspectives for creative processes in small virtual brainstorming groups.

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Background The objective of this paper is to examine 10-year trends (1992–2002) in the number and type of indicators of DSM-IV abuse and dependence among Whites, Blacks and Hispanics in the U.S. Methods Data are from the 1991–1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey (NLAES; n = 42,862) and the 2001–2002 National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC; n = 43,093). Both surveys used multistage cluster sample procedures to select respondents 18 years of age and older from the U.S. household population. Results Increases in the prevalence of alcohol abuse between 1992 and 2002seem associated to a rise in the prevalence of the indicator for “hazardous use”, which usually means reports of driving after drinking. The decrease in dependence was not associated with changes in a particular indicator. In addition, both in 1992 and 2002, 12.3% to 15.4% of the men and 5.2% to 7.9% of the women were diagnostic “orphans”. These respondents reported 1 or 2 indicators of alcohol dependence as present. Conclusion The observed trends in number and types of indicators of DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence were probably triggered by a complex interplay between individuals’ volume and pattern of drinking and reactions from the drinkers’ social environment. The close association between hazardous use of alcohol and the prevalence of abuse deserves further discussion. A medical diagnostic category should not be so dependent on a criterion that may be influenced by social situations. It is necessary to understand more about diagnostic “orphans” to better design interventions to address their problems.

Extensive research and theory has focused on organizational innovation and the organizational factors that influence that innovation. Research on teams has highlighted a similar set of factors as important for team innovation. However, these literatures have not provided a clear picture of the key factors that influence the collaborative idea exchange processes that occur in teams and organizations. The literature on collaborative ideation has provides a useful theoretical and empirical basis for understanding these processes and the conditions required for optimizing creativity in group interactions. We provide the theoretical and empirical basis for a pragmatic approach to enhancing collaborative innovation processes in various organizational settings and highlight additional research needs and future directions.

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