Process Of Identity Construction Research Articles

Vocational Choice: A Narrative Identity Approach Conceived from Cultural Psychology

Vocation has been studied from perspectives such as trait-factor, differential psychology, and psychometrics. These perspectives have assumed it to be the precursor of a unique and definitive career choice, resulting from matching personal characteristics with the requirements of a job. Vocation has also been conceptualized as the product of evolutionary stages, dependent on maturational processes. However, the changing conditions of the contemporary world of work make it necessary to reconsider vocationality from a dynamic perspective that transcends the exclusively psychometric view. This article proposes an alternative approach to vocation, based on the processes of identity construction propose by cultural psychology. Thus, vocation is assumed as a process of a narrative nature, in constant formation, based on the symbolic resources with which people interact. Vocationality emerges as a historical, situated, and distributed phenomenon, marked by occupational and educational experiences, as well as by interactive experiences with significant others.

Constructing inclusive teacher identity in a Finnish international teacher education programme: Indonesian teachers' learning and post-graduation experiences

This article explores how Indonesian teachers continuously reconstruct their identity as inclusive teachers during learning and after graduating from a Finnish master's degree Programme. Taking a narrative and dialogical perspective on identity construction, we analyse the teachers' narratives about their experiences during learning and after graduation when they returned to their respective schools. The findings illustrate the process of teacher identity construction to be inclusive teachers as a repositioning loop. Furthermore, the dynamics of self and others' repositioning provide insights into challenges and contradictions in implementing inclusive education in the post-conflict and post disaster context. The study may provide insights into how teacher identity construction influences inclusive education implementation and its potential to describe the dynamics of this process.

Disinformation a problem for democracy: profiling and risks of consensus manipulation.

The aims of this article is to analyze in the post-pandemic era of technological wars how platformisation and the opacity that characterizes it can generate manipulative effects on the dynamics of consensus building. We are now in the era of the self-informative program; the hierarchical dimension of sources has vanished in parallel to the collapse of the authority, credibility, and trustworthiness of classical sources. Now, the user creates his own informative program, which gives rise to a new relationship between digital individuals. With this framework in mind, I intend to analyze the narrative of this post-pandemic phase proposed by mainstream media, using the tool of the fake news hexagon, to verify the impact and spread of fake news through social networks where emotionalism, hate speech, and polarization are accentuated. In fact, the definition of the fake news hexagon was the starting point to study through a predefined method the dynamics of proliferation of fake news to activate correct identification and blocking tools, in line with what is defined in the Digital Transformation Institute's manifesto. Platforms drive the process of identity construction within containers that adapt to the demands of individuals, leading toward a flattening out of results from web searches as these follow the principle of confirmation bias. We assist to an increasing lack of recognition of the other, the individual moves away from commitment, sacrifice, and achieving a higher collective good. It becomes quite evident how, in the face of the collapse of authority, as this new dimension takes hold, the understanding of reality and the construction of public identity can no longer be the result of the ability to decipher messages alone. Media and social multidimensionality necessitate developing new interpretive processes.

‘No more secrets, it’s over!’: small stories about late adoption disclosure of Chilean adults

ABSTRACT Today there is broad consensus that adoptive parents should initiate open communication early and continue talking about adoption throughout their children’s lives. However, a significant group of adopted adults do not know their adoptive origin and learn about it late in their lives, especially in Latin American countries where closed adoption systems dominate. Within a broader narrative study carried out in Chile, in this article we analyse a subset of 14 narrative interviews of people adopted domestically who underwent processes of late adoption disclosure. We draw from a small stories approach (Georgakopoulou, 2015) and identify a narrative structure for accidental and late disclosure experiences. We focus on three dimensions of the communicative experience narrated by participants: (1) the spatio-temporal situatedness of disclosure, (2) the construction of family emotions, and (3) the issue of the ‘right age for disclosure’. Focusing on these dimensions is particularly relevant because the narratives of adult Chilean adoptees seem to depart significantly from current master narratives on how families should talk about adoption. Finally, we discuss our findings in relation to adoptive identity construction processes, current debates regarding communication in adoptive families and origin search processes, and the implications for specialized professional interventions in this area.

Developing sustainable career paths as teacher-researchers in a changing academic landscape: A tale of two EFL teachers in China.

The study aimed to investigate how two English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers integrated their teacher and researcher identities to achieve sustainable professional growth in the context of a changing academic landscape. Using purposive sampling, two EFL teachers from a non-elite public university in China were selected as participants for this qualitative study. Data were collected and triangulated from multiple sources, including semi-structured interviews, narrative frames, document analysis, and the academic profiles of the participants. A qualitative, inductive thematic approach was employed in the data analysis. Adopting "identity" as an analytical lens, this study examined how the two participants underwent different identity trajectories to develop into teacher-researchers under the influence of their personal values and beliefs, as well as contextual factors such as institutional research policy. Throughout their identity construction process, the two participants encountered identity deficits and tensions between multiple professional roles, leading to their struggles with identity and complex identity (re)construction. While the participants underwent interactions between various forms of identity throughout their careers, they enacted agency to take actions and draw on available resources to address their identity deficits and conflicts, ultimately resolving them by pursuing a sustainable career path as teacher-researchers in their situated socio-institutional environment. Despite their different identity trajectories, the construction of the participants' teacher-researcher identity facilitated their continuing professional development. This study contributes to our understanding of the complexities of EFL teachers' identity (re)construction when seeking to establish sustainable career paths in a changing academic context. This study also has implications for both EFL academics and university management on how to assist EFL teachers in integrating teacher and researcher identities to achieve sustainable professional development in higher education.

Making, unmaking and remaking of context in entrepreneurial identity construction and experiences: a comparative analysis between Türkiye and the Netherlands

This study analyses how women entrepreneurs of Turkish origin do context in constructing their entrepreneurial identities and experiencing their entrepreneurship in two national contexts, namely Türkiye and the Netherlands. In order to study context, we use the term opportunity structures and analyse how these entrepreneurs interpret and perceive opportunity structures, and construct their entrepreneurial identities in relation to their interpretations. Relying on the life story narratives of 21 women entrepreneurs, we analyse social, political and institutional opportunity structures and the relationship between these and the processes of entrepreneurial experiences and identity construction. We propose that Turkish women entrepreneurs make, unmake and remake context during these processes. In the Netherlands, these entrepreneurs challenge existing opportunity structures either by providing alternative images of a Turkish migrant woman or questioning culturalist perspectives behind these opportunity structures. In Türkiye, they are compelled to be more hesitant in challenging the opportunity structures. They either have to step down from their enterprises or downgrade their entrepreneurial affiliations to fulfil the requirements of opportunity structures. This study contributes to the field of entrepreneurship in its contextualisation by providing an extended understanding of the ways in which entrepreneurs do context.

Identity construction among deaf adolescents and young adults: A literature review.

Identity construction is an integral developmental task for adolescents and young adults (AYA). The intersection of deaf identity and disabling hearing loss (DHL) adds a layer to the complex process of identity construction. This literature review highlights the self-ascribed deaf identities of AYA and seeks to understand how AYA with DHL forge these identities. Knowledge areas for prospective research and practice are uncovered. A traditional literature review of qualitative empirical evidence on AYA's accounts of their deaf identity construction was conducted on seminal literature and peer-reviewed journals in psychology, disability studies and deaf studies. The emerging self-ascribed deaf identities of AYA are diverse. The identities include Deaf, hearing, hard-of-hearing (HOH), bicultural HOH, identities that detach from disability, bicultural DeaF, unresolved and fluid identities. Complex trade-offs exist where the construction of certain identities forgoes certain reasonable accommodations, interventions or relations that are critical for personal development and wellbeing. Current literature orients deaf identity formation around hearing status and Deaf-hearing communal dynamics. In-depth research comprising facets of AYA's personal, enacted and relational identities is required to conscientise rehabilitation professionals about the nuances of deaf identity issues and how to develop interventions that are supportive and responsive to the clinical and psychosocial challenges of AYA with DHL. This paper deviates from the d/Deaf identity dichotomy, revealing a spectrum of deaf identities that AYA forge. The rationales of AYA's deaf identities, underlying processes and possible vulnerable identities are unpacked. Recommendations for prospective research pertaining to identity construction among deaf AYA are made.

Enjoying the Betwixt and Between: Liminoid identity construction on Twitter

Prior research predominantly portrays states of ‘betwixt and between’ in identity construction as unsettling, given the ambiguity and uncertainty they raise. However, our study suggests that in-betweenness can be experienced with comfort. To characterize such process of identity construction, we appeal to Turner’s concept of liminoid, involving optionality, in contrast to the concept of liminal, involving obligation. Using an extensive dataset of interviews and observations on Twitter, we show how journalists comfortably construct online identities ‘betwixt and between’ as they exert autonomy in this process and learn to skilfully balance the freedom they enjoy with the constraints they still face. By reintroducing the underexplored concept of liminoid and extending it through the notion of autonomy, we clarify prior research conflating different identity construction processes with the concept of liminality. Furthermore, we provide a nuanced picture that takes into account structural constraints by showing that to ensure the comfort of their experience individuals must develop a liminoid competence.

Narrative and Subversion: A Reading of Chris Abani's The Virgin of Flames

This paper examines the subversive nature of Chris Abani’s narrative in the novel The Virgin of Flames. The process of storytelling is often narrative constructions of identity that involves tensions and contradictions in its attempt to represent the subject in relation to the larger human society. Narrativizing produces gaps, fissures, and boundary trouble and the subject’s position is never fixed or stable. The act of narrativizing is a process of identity construction because there is no single unified self that is capable of representing past experiences in its totality. This paper attempts a close reading of the selected text and locates the multiple ways in which Abani’s narrative subverts dominant identities concerning gender, race, sexuality, and religion. In the light of relevant critical theories, it explores the myriad ways in which the narrative in The Virgin of Flames subverts and delegitimizes societal norms and dominant narratives without resorting to blatant didacticism.

Jeu de rôle et fiction interactive : l’interactivité au service de la subjectivation

ContextTabletop role-playing games (TTRPG) have shown their relevance in play and narrative therapy. However, they have been little studied in the psychodynamic field although their characteristics make them a particularly interesting mediation in adolescents’ psychotherapy. ObjectivesThe aim of this article is to specify the characteristics of role-playing games, and to define how they revive symbolization and the identity construction process. MethodWe will rely on the notions of interactivity and intercreativity to define the characteristics of TTRPG, and their interactions with some of the fundamental therapeutic processes. We will draw on a psychoanalytical approach as well as a ludological and narratological one to define this mediation. ResultsInteractivity and intercreativity directly influence the processes of immersion in game and fiction. They also influence identification with the character embodied by the player. The interaction between these different ingredients supports processes of psychic transformation. ConclusionInteractivity is a fundamental element in the emergence of agentivity. It is therefore a particularly interesting ingredient in adolescent therapy. Moreover, recourse to other theoretical fields appears necessary when envisioning a TTRPG psychotherapeutic mediation.

Expression of Identity in Tattoos of Symbols of Different Cultures

The construction and expression of identity in the context of globalization and digitalisation is a problematic task in the modern world, where the processes of identity self-creation allow oneself to choose from many different options. The problem of this work is the communication of identity of tattooed people through tattoos of symbols of different cultures. The aim of the work is to examine the aspects of the identity communication of tattooed persons. Semi-structured interview and qualitative analysis methods are used to implement the aim and objectives of the work.
 The obtained results reveal that the processes of identity construction and expression use the methods of creation and interpretation of semantic connections, reflexive individualization, multi-layered coding of symbols, incorporating elements of different cultures into the identity project, which include symbolic, philosophical, spiritual, aesthetic and mythological assimilation prisms. The intervention of the Other in projecting personal identity becomes the identity insertion, and tactile senses, sight and hearing help to assimilate different cultures through different existing life articulations. In the context of social interaction, virtual identity is transferred into material forms of expression of identity and, with the help of the body as a media, extends identity beyond technology and deletes boundaries between it.

Towards a Richer Understanding of Language and Identity in the MNC: Constructing Cosmopolitan Identities Through “English”

Bringing in insights from sociolinguistics, this conceptual paper advances the theorizing on language and identity in the MNC, viewed as socially constructed by individuals in interaction when they cross fluid linguistic and geographical boundaries. We posit that the identities of global business professionals in the MNC are not intrinsically tied to nationality and native language, they are rather cosmopolitan and constructed in interactions in English as the working language (BELF: English as a Business Lingua Franca). We further conceptualize the multilingual MNC as a social constellation – providing the context for processes of identity construction but also shaped by them. We outline three propositions that capture the ways in which BELF contributes to the construction of a cosmopolitan identity on three dimensions (individual, interactional and contextual) in multilingual professional MNC settings. The first one concerns the identification of individuals as participants in BELF interactions drawing from their different linguistic resources, national origins and professions, and previous experiences. The focus in the second one is on BELF interactions that manifest an orientation to both sharedness and difference in skills, knowledge and social relations. The third proposition concerns the MNC context in terms of enabling BELF interactions and being (re)constructed as a social constellation with fluid linguistic and geographical boundaries. We further elaborate on the methodological implications of sociolinguistic and cosmopolitan approaches to IM research on identity in general, and how our propositions could guide future research on language and identity in the MNC in particular.

How Distributed Leadership Fosters Individual Leadership Emergence: The Mediating Role of Empowerment Role Identity and Enacted Leader Identity

Departing from past research on managers’ influence on employees’ informal leadership emergence, we explore the mechanism of how distributed leadership enhances individual leadership emergence from a cognitive perspective. Drawing upon the leadership identity construction theory and role identity theory, we theoretically developed and empirically tested a serial mediation model. It examines how distributed leadership promotes employees’ leadership emergence via individual empowerment role identity and enacted leader identity. Using a three-wave field survey from 496 subordinate–supervisor dyads (82 supervisors and 496 employees) in China, we found that empowerment role identity and enacted leader identity serially mediate the association between distributed leadership and employees’ leadership emergence. The results demonstrate the leadership identity construction process of employees’ leadership emergence under distributed leadership. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are then discussed.

POST-APOCALYPTIC IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION IN AYN RAND’S ANTHEM WITH REFERENCE TO CULTURE/NATURE DUALITY

The present article endeavors to explicate the process of identity construction in Ayn Rand's post-apocalyptic dystopian novel, Anthem. The utilisation of language and the dissemination of symbolic meanings are significant factors that contribute to the formation of identity, which enchains individuals, transforming them into obedient subjects. Fiske's perspective on identity construction elucidates the interplay between power and resistance, which appears to be absent in this post-apocalyptic work. The imperialising power is predominantly responsible for the mechanism of identity formation in the subjectivity of the characters, as there is no discernible systematic resistance to the dominant representations of power throughout the novel. Despite the absence of the duality of power and resistance, the duality of nature and culture is at play, significantly impacting the way identity is constructed. The imperialising power aims to eradicate or limit representations of nature, as the semantic burden that nature carries poses a threat to its existence. We aim to clarify how the imperialising power responds to the representations and meanings that nature embodies. Lastly, we posit that the imperialising power's reaction towards nature is stronger in post-apocalyptic contexts, where representations of nature are highly restricted, confined only to the "Uncharted Forest."

The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Women in Criminal Courts: Beyond the Victim-Survivor Dichotomy

ABSTRACT The experience of violence directly impacts abused women’s sense of self. This study explores the identity construction processes of women who have experienced intimate partner violence. It mainly focuses on analyzing how being involved in violent relationships and going through the criminal justice system has impacted women’s self-perception. The participants were twenty-three women residing in Spain (aged 23–65) whose cases had been reported and prosecuted. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect their experiences based on a phenomenological qualitative research methodology. Results showed that the victim-survivor dichotomy does not enable us to capture the diversity and complexity of women’s experiences. The construction of their identity is, to a large extent, influenced by the psychological impact of the criminal process. The expectations derived from the stereotyped conception of the ideal victim and the ambivalent messages they receive from various social agents also play a crucial role. The findings’ clinical, societal, research, and policy implications are discussed.

Hero, adventurer and advocate volunteers: A visual analysis of volunteer tourists’ identities on Instagram

ABSTRACT When the hybrid business of volunteer tourism (volunteer service coupled with leisure touristic activities) meets the self-referential language of Instagram, travel photography intertwines with the identity construction process. Accordingly, this article examines the visual and textual narratives used to build voluntourists’ identities in their posts from their experiences abroad. Authors highlight the recurrence of a political/apolitical spectrum across which users perform the identities of hero, adventurer, and advocate volunteers. We argue that each identity corresponds to a different approach to the interaction with the local “other.”

De Malba Tahan a Mello e Souza: a construção de uma identidade (1923-1938)

Abstract This article aims to establish the parallels between the changes that occurred at the end of the 1920s concerning teaching mathematics in Brazil and the fictional production of Júlio Cézar de Mello e Souza (Malba Tahan). The period chosen for analysis is circumscribed between the beginning of the 1920s and the publication of O homem que calculava in 1938. It is assumed that Malba Tahan appears before the writer Mello e Souza, which means an “Arab” writer. The process of identification with the pseudonym was gradual. There were doubts about the authorship at the time of the publication of the first short stories. In 1938, it was already known to everyone that Malba Tahan was the pseudonym of Mello e Souza. Therefore, we intend to work with two aspects. One focuses on how Mello e Souza has positioned himself as a fiction writer. The other consists of his activity as an educator and the reflections in his fictional production, especially in the work O homem que calculava. Both start from the assumption that there was a process of identity construction before the public.

Конструирование новых идентичностей в современном Казахстане: тенденции и ориентиры

The authors consider identity as the most important source of legitimization of the Kazakhstani statehood. The repertoire of new identities, the construction process of which continues in the Republic of Kazakhstan, includes national identity (that balances between civil and ethno-cultural elements), Turkic pan-identity, Central Asian geopolitical identity, Eurasian civilizational identity and macro-regional Caspian identity. The authors attempt to substantiate the contradiction between the goals and reference points outlined in state documents on identity policy and real trends and landmarks in the continuing process of identity construction in the modern Kazakhstan. The multivector foreign policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan underpins the shaping of competing identities, with the Turkic identity developing most intensively. The growth of socio-political divisions (ethnic, confessional, settlement, etc.) produces a cumulative effect that makes Kazakhstan a “divided society”. The article examines the priorities of memory and language policies and reveals personalistic identifiers reflected in mass consciousness. The authors also focus on the contradictory nature of the ongoing identity policy as a challenge to societal security, considering that “split” social spaces may produce explosive conflict situations.

Identity in the making: The influence of context on mobile teachers’ construction of a professional identity

Teacher mobility has been increasing. We sought to document professional identity construction processes by mobile teachers, who experience many challenges – both as migrants, and as foreign teachers – while abroad, challenges which are reflected in how they construct a professional identity. We conducted a comparative analysis of two groups of teachers who were engaged in teaching programs through national or organizational initiatives in two different continents. Finding suggest that context was crucial to teachers’ expectations and perceptions of their role, and clearly impacted on the strategies they chose to construct their professional identity. A thorough understanding of how mobile teachers construct their professional identity demands recognition of varying contexts, as well as teachers’ initial work environment.

Construction of the Ukrainian identity in a neighbourhood: the role of the host society. Example of the Parc de l’Ukraine in Rosemont, Montreal.

The Parc de l’Ukraine (Ukraine Park) located in the neighbourhood of Rosemont, Montreal, acquired its Ukrainian toponym in 1981 and began its replanning in 2017 which consisted of the upgrading of equipment and of the addition of Ukrainian symbols. These symbols were chosen to bring out the Ukrainian identity of the park and of the neighbourhood. During the replanning, relations were established between the Ukrainian community of Montreal and municipal governing bodies who each enunciated discourses in this context. Based on discourse analysis and using the Ukrainian community of Montreal as an example, this article will focus on the role of the host society at a municipal scale, meaning municipal governing bodies, in immigrant identity construction processes. It will look at the interrelationships between ethnic associations and the representatives and professionals of a city, during the replanning of an urban park. This article will demonstrate that the host society (municipal governing bodies) can instrumentalize immigrant communities to promote a specific identity of the city that varies according to various spatiotemporal contexts and more specifically that the neighbourhood of Rosemont has been at the centre of construction processes through which it has acquired a symbolic value as the Ukrainian neighbourhood of Montreal. Such processes have relied on the one hand, on Ukrainian associations, and on the other hand, on Montreal’s governing bodies.