Perceptions Of Identity Research Articles

‘It’s in my blood, in my food and in my soul’: current understandings of Puerto Ricanness within the Puerto Rican nation

ABSTRACT Although the United Nations no longer classifies Puerto Rico as a colony, Puerto Rico poses theoretical and empirical challenges to inquiries about national identity within (post-)colonial situations. Gazing through a sociohistorical lens, the present study explores how beliefs about legitimate membership criteria relate to self-identified Puerto Ricans’ understanding of their and in-group others’ national identity. By contextualizing current perceptions of national identity as linked to an emergent Puerto Rican nationalism throughout the nineteenth- and twentieth-century, this paper relates individual-level conceptions of membership criteria to institutional and discursive interventions, thereby contributing to studies of national identity in colonially (un)settled times.

The Role of Brand Commitment and Open Innovation in the Retail Sector

The establishment and maintenance of effective businesses are predicated on solid employee-client interactions. Because of the typical intricacy of the service component in retail environments, it may be particularly challenging for retailers to build such partnerships. Companies should make sure their employees act in a way that aligns with the corporate brand promise so they can have more invested brand advocates. Having a presence in international markets makes this problem even more challenging for organizations. This study aims to determine how committed front-line employees (FLEs) are to the company brand and how often they engage in branding while on the job. The study also delves into how FLEs' perceptions of the corporate brand identity and their roles within the business affect commitment. The research participants were workers at Bata Pakistan retailer with a sizable foothold in the Pakistani market. According to the results, brand commitment significantly and positively affects FLE brand-oriented conduct in the examined retail context. To be more precise, brand commitment influences in a positive way the congruence between brand identity and role clarity, FLE brand behavior, and job satisfaction. This research sheds light on how employee brand behavior is created in a retail setting in an emerging country, which is essential information for academics and professionals.

Divided Village, Divided Identity? Exploring the Professional Identity of Teachers Amid the Geopolitical Configuration in Al-Ghajar.

This quantitative research is based on a validated research questionnaire. It presents a preliminary exploratory study examining perspectives of professional identity as reflected in self-reports of the teachers of Al-Ghajar, a village on Israel's northern border, given its unique geographical and geopolitical configuration. The current study is the first of its kind, clarifying the teachers' perception of their professional identity in the unique space in which they live and work via a questionnaire completed by 61 teachers of both genders from kindergarten through high school. The findings show that there are strong positive correlations: "love for the profession" and "self-fulfillment" have a very strong positive correlation (0.831). There is also a positive correlation (0.430) between the indicators of "professional skills" and "professional unity" suggesting that the teachers' perceptions of professional identity are holistic in all examined dimensions. These perceptions are motivated by a strong sense of mission that influences their profession and their sense of satisfaction. Al-Ghajar, as a unique enclave, has created a geopolitical configuration that contributes to the construction of the professional identity of teachers in the village. The research conclusion indicates that the ability to legitimize one's role has important implications for the quality of teaching, as it can help teachers form familiar, affiliated, and secure identities. These are key traits since a positive sense of professional self is a prerequisite for job satisfaction and resilience.

Who do they think they are? Professional identity of Chinese university-based teacher educators

ABSTRACT University-based teacher educators (UBTEs) are critical to teacher education quality. Studies have mainly explored the professional identity of UBTEs who were previously schoolteachers, whereas less is known about those who followed academic pathways. This study examines how UBTEs perceive their identities in the Chinese context, where academic pathways are common. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 34 purposively sampled participants from two university types: first-class normal universities, and provincial normal universities. Five identities aligned with previous research: teacher in a higher education institution; researcher; teacher of teachers; collaborator; and coach. Three new identities emerged from the data: teacher of tradition; questioner; and doctoral student. Similarities and differences in identity perception were also discovered between university types. This study suggests the complexity of being a UBTE is shaped by institutional context, national and cultural milieu, and the nature of teacher education work, and concludes with recommendations for teacher education programmes.

Lane Moore’s How to Be Alone: Deconstruction of Contemporary Identity

This study explores contemporary concepts of identity as a post-postmodernist perception in Lane Moore’s (2018) Memoir, How to Be Alone. The significance of this study is that it examines the impact of cyberculture on human connections and the role of technology in shaping human perception of identity and personhood. It also sheds light on the effects of the internet in creating new social phenomena like ghosting and allowing individuals to transgress social boundaries. The study assesses the representation of the self in the memoir and its effect on the reinforcement of the author’s voice. It reveals that How to Be Alone is a text that adheres to the post-trauma paradigm that integrates a narration based on resilience and humor. The study further concludes that Moore’s memoir endorses twenty-first-century generic conventions and signifies the importance of the memoir, as a genre, in forming individuals’ social and cultural features. The study employs cyber-criticism, post-trauma theory, and post-postmodernism to evaluate the text’s generic conventions and narrative techniques. It offers fundamental inquiries: It questions the integration of technological conventions into post-postmodernist societies and examines the effect of this incorporation. It also inquires about the evolution of trauma. Finally, it has queries concerning post-postmodernist ideals and their development in the 21st century.

‘May our hearts rise up in prayer’: responses of Russian-speaking immigrant Israeli reform congregations to the Russo-Ukrainian war

ABSTRACT Russia's invasion of Ukraine in March 2022 stunned the world and recalled levels of aggression unseen since World War II. Along with political, military and diplomatic discussions, this anthropological study contributes a sociological-cultural perspective through the examination of Israeli Reform Jewish congregation responses, which include Russian-speaking immigrants, to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. I analyze how the crisis pushed congregants into an internal dialog with their Jewish identity and Reform communal affiliation. Furthermore, this exceptional situation is reshaping rabbinical positions and creative liturgical responses. As such, Reform Jewish congregations are sites to identify tendencies and changes in the perception of Jewish identity, values and sense of belonging among Russian-speaking immigrants in Israeli society. Therefore, this research sheds light on the intersection between a time of crisis, such as war, and the intensification of religious views, liturgical flexibility and reflexive inquiry of religious leaders.

Higher Education Accommodation Decision-Making and Positionality: A Survey of Disability Resource Professionals

In higher education settings, the central function of a disability resource professional (DRP) is determining accommodations in collaboration with disabled college students, making their role in the outcomes of students with disabilities paramount. Despite this importance, research on the process of determining accommodations is minimal, and professional guidance on the matter can be interpreted in varied ways, leading DRPs to rely on their professional judgment to reach final decisions. What subtly informs this professional judgment, particularly concerning DRPs’ positionalities and student identities, is largely unexplored. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of U.S. DRPs related to their accommodation decision-making processes, experiences, and perceptions. Based on the results of this exploratory national survey of DRPs, accommodation decision-making processes described by participants can be divided into four components: (a) forming initial opinions, (b) engaging with students, (c) consulting with others, and (d) making final decisions. Notably, participants’ perceptions of positionality and identities in the accommodations process situated those of students to be more heavily considered than their own. Following a presentation of findings, the authors conclude with implications for the field and recommendations for future research.

Impact of 3D-printed laboratory equipment in vibrations and controls courses on student engineering identity, motivation, and mindset

This paper describes the implementation of innovative 3D-printed laboratory equipment linked to inquiry-based learning activities designed to improve learning, increase engineering identity and motivation, and foster a growth mindset in students taking undergraduate level mechanical vibrations courses, control theory courses, and associated laboratories. These innovative designs create new opportunities for hands-on learning, are low-cost, portable, and can be adapted for use in multiple science and engineering disciplines. The learning activities are based on the POGIL model, which has been used across a variety of disciplines including engineering. We describe the features of three separate devices (spring-connected sliding carts, compliant parallel arms with fixed-free ends and a slider mass, and a pendulum with variable tip load) implemented using a quasi-experimental approach with 510 duplicated students across three semesters during the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple lecture courses and laboratory sections. We also present an assessment of impact based on descriptive statistical analyses of survey data for student-reported learning gains and pre-post paired comparison tests on validated instruments measuring perceptions of engineering identity, engineering motivation, and growth mindset. Further, we conducted a student focus group and include salient instructor observations. Results show most students participating in the learning activities using these devices report that it supported their learning “a lot” or “a great deal.” In addition, on six of seven surveyed learning outcomes, most students reported feeling confident enough to complete them on their own or even teach them to someone else. Our data did not show a measurable impact on engineering identity, engineering motivation, or growth mindset, though it does suggest further investigation is merited.

The instrumentalization of identity in the Lebanese Conflict

This research tries to shed light on the case of Lebanese conflict, an example of identitarian conflict that has been alive for centuries, and given its location in the Middle East, an area of international interests, the country has been exposed to many external interventions. Said interventions have taken advantage of the political inexperience of local communities to sow division as part of a master plan to redesign the area according to occidental interests. The objective is to rethink a Peace Process based on the urgent need for a change of mentality among the human mosaic that integrates and defines Lebanese society. For this purpose, a qualitative methodology was used, through an analytical study of works by major authors who masterfully deal with the theme of identity and multiculturalism as well as an inclusive humanism, where people resemble rather than differ by sharing common basic values. As a result, it is observed that the identity of the Lebanese people has been instrumentalized to guarantee the sustainability of the local conflict, dissecting it into small characteristics such as confession. It concludes with a peace process based on a change of mentality on the perception of identity and specifically religious characteristic, in order to move forward with a better inclusive identity.

Understanding Students’ Perceptions of Identity in Digital Connectivism Learning Environments

Connectivist learning theory has been widely discussed with higher-order thinking skills and critical reflection in online learning environments. Yet it is unclear how students negotiate their own identity within an academic collective learning context. To gain insights into the interrelations of learner identity, i.e. construction of learner position in one's own learning community, this study examines the manner in which the identity of a writer is negotiated intra-community of writer (how do they represent themselves while learning from others in writing tasks). A qualitative case study, involving interviews and observations in Oman higher education, was conducted with 56 Omani college students after engaging in online and face-to-face research course. Analysis of results of this study indicates a degree of success in terms of students navigating their digital, individual and group academic learner identities. However, some tensions are seen in terms of balance of participation in group work and difficulties of harnessing the benefits in mixed-ability groups of writers. More research which builds on the successes and looks for ways to address the challenges from a range of perspectives is recommended.

North African immigration in France: The aftermath of the Algerian War in graphic narratives Les Mohamed and Une Famille Nombreuse

The Algerian War (1954–62) has had a lasting impact on Arabs living in France since the First World War, whether they are Algerians or not. This article focuses on North African immigrants and ethnic minority lived experiences using Les Mohamed by Jérôme and Une Famille nombreuse by Chadia Chaibi , two graphic narratives that depict the North African immigrants’ contribution to a more diverse French history and the family/communities’ memories. Throughout this article, I analyse the various framing strategies used in Les Mohamed and Une Famille nombreuse that seek to change French readers’ perception of the North African identity and ultimately speak against the myth of cultural assimilation. By telling personal stories, Ruillier and Loueslati succeed at creating a collective memory that promotes a discourse in favour of integration. By designing his characters in a minimalist fashion, Ruillier combats existing stereotypes and invites his readers from diverse backgrounds to identify with the characters. By using humour and metatextual comments from her siblings, Loueslati emphasizes the diversity of immigrant and second-generation experiences. Using those framing strategies, both authors expose the normalcy of mistreatments and discrimination towards immigrants and their descendants in France.

Investigating the Relationship between Teachers’ Organizational Identity Perceptions and Accountability Levels in School Climate and School Development Dimensions

This study aimed to unravel the complex dynamics among accountability, school climate, and teachers’ organizational identity perceptions in three different types of schools: elementary, middle, and high schools. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the relationships among accountability, school climate, and teachers’ perceptions of organizational identity. The analysis was conducted using the lavaan package in R. The proposed model included direct paths from accountability and school climate to organizational identity, with school climate also being influenced by accountability. Additionally, indirect effects of accountability on organizational identity through school climate were evaluated. The findings revealed that accountability has a differential impact on organizational identity across these school levels, with the strongest direct effect observed among elementary school teachers. School climate plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between accountability and organizational identity, with middle school teachers experiencing the strongest indirect effect.

Serial dependence in facial identity perception and visual working memory.

Serial dependence (SD) refers to the effect in which a person's current perceptual judgment is attracted toward recent stimulus history. Perceptual and memory processes, as well as response and decisional biases, are thought to contribute to SD effects. The current study examined the processing stages of SD facial identity effects in the context of task-related decision processes and how such effects may differ from visual working memory (VWM) interactions. In two experiments, participants were shown a series of two sequentially presented face images. In Experiment 1, the two faces were separated by an interstimulus interval (ISI) of 1, 3, 6, or 10 s, and participants were instructed to reproduce the second face after a varying response delay of 0, 1, 3, 6, or 10 s. Results showed that SD effects occurred most consistently at ISI of 1 s and response delays of 1 and 6 s consistent with early and late stages of processing. In Experiment 2, the ISI was held constant at 1 s, and to separate SD from VWM interactions participants were post-cued to reproduce either the first or the second face. When the second face was the target, SD effects again occurred at response delays of 1 and 6 s, but not when the first face was the target. Together, the results demonstrates that SD facial identity effects occur independently of task-related processes in a distinct temporal fashion and suggest that SD and VWM interactions may rely on separate underlying mechanisms.

Perception of Identity and Religious Life in Youth: The Case of Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Faculty of Theology

Kimlik, bireyin kim olduğu hakkında kendisine sorduğu soruların cevabıdır. Bu cevabın süreklilik, bütünlük ve tutarlılık içeren bir yapıda olması kimlik inşasının temel niteliğidir. Kimlik edinmek, önemli psikolojik ihtiyaçlardan birisidir. Bu terimi psikolojiye kazandıran kişi olarak Erik Ericson pek çok kimlik teorisine temel teşkil etmiştir. Ergenlik döneminde kendisini ciddi şekilde hissettiren kimlik arayışı, yetişkinlikte dengeli ve sürdürülebilir bir kimlik duygusunun temelini oluşturur. Kimlik duygusu, bireyin şahsi gerçeklik içinde kendisini tanımlamasına imkân sağlamaktadır. Öznel ve doğal bir kimlik algısı oluşturmakla birey hayat amacı ile ilgili sağlam bir bilgiye sahip olmuş olmaktadır. Bireysel kimliğin yanında kişi içinde yaşadığı toplumun milli, siyasi, dini, ekonomik değer yargılarını da içselleştirmeye dönük bir yönelim içine girer. Bu yönelim, kazanılmış kimlikleri ortaya çıkarır. Kazanılmış kimliklerin oluşturduğu koşullar, bir takım kalıp ve kategoriler meydana getirir. Kimlik psikoloji, sosyoloji ve sosyal psikolojide çalışılan önemli konulardan birisidir. Birey ve gruplar için kimlik inşası üzerine sosyal bilimsel zeminde pek çok araştırma yapılmasına rağmen kimlik algısında dinin rolü üzerine az sayıda araştırma bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, gençlerde kimlik algısı ve dini hayat arası ilişkinin ele alınması amaçlanmaktadır. Bu bağlamda gençlerin kendileri için geliştirdiği şahsi gerçeklik olarak kimliğin inşası, dini kimliğin gençlerin yaşamına etkileri ve kimlik algısının dinden ne kadar etkilendiği karşılıklı ilişki yaklaşımı içinde incelenmektedir. Nitel araştırma yöntemi takip edilerek gerçekleştirilmiş olan bu çalışmada, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi İslami İlimler Fakültesi’nde lisans seviyesinde eğitim alan 10 kız ve 10 erkek öğrenciden mülakat tekniği ile veri toplanmıştır. Görüşme sırasında 2 katılımcı görüşmeden çekilmek istediğini belirttiği için 18 katılımcının verdiği cevaplar değerlendirmeye alınmıştır. Katılımcıların verdiği cevaplar içerik analizi ile incelenmiş ve bulgular bilimsel açıdan yorumlanmıştır. Katılımcıların bireysel ve durumsal kimlik algılarına bakıldığında, gençlerin daha önce kendileriyle ilgili bir farkındalıklarının olmadığı göze çarpan ilk unsurdur. Katılımcılardan sadece dördü kendilerini milli ve manevi kimlik üzerinden tanımlarken bir katılımcı da kendisini dini bir grup üzerinden tanımlamaktadır. Din sadece bir rahatlama, kendilerini bütün bu olumsuzluklara rağmen güvende hissetme aracı olarak görülmektedir.

From humor to political dispositions: effect of disparagement humor on perceptions of political identity

Abstract An experiment (n = 202; 136 women; 66 men) demonstrated that people use implicit theories about liberals and conservatives to guide their impression of another person based on their humor, specifically, the degree to which their humor violates the individualizing and binding moral foundations described by Moral Foundations Theory (e.g., Graham, Haidt and Nosek 2009. Liberals and conservatives rely on different sets of moral foundations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 96(5). 1029–1046). Supporting Hypothesis 1, participants perceived a target person as more conservative when he posted to social media an immigrant-disparaging meme. They perceived him as more liberal when he posted a religion-disparaging meme. Supporting Hypotheses 2, liberals liked the target person more and conservatives less when he posted the religion-disparaging meme. Similarly, in keeping with Hypothesis 3, liberals liked the target person less and conservatives more after he posted the immigrant-disparaging meme.

Cooperative organizational identity: the declaration in the perspective of organizational identity theory

There are specific organizations such as cooperative societies whose particular characteristics mean they need to be studied closely. This study focuses on determining which characteristics of cooperatives societies can be considered part of their identity based on the organizational identity theory. The unit of analysis is the Statement on Cooperative Identity, and the categories which were applied emerged from the Organizational Identity Theory. The main finding is the concept of a specific organizational identity. Theoretically, this study contributes in elaborating a new construct for cooperative theory. On the practical side, cooperative organizations may have a better understanding of the values they need to maintain in order to be considered cooperatives. Therefore, this model can be used by other specific organizations. In the second phase of the study, a survey was issued to 344 employees, and an interview was conducted with 3 managers of three distinct cooperatives in the southern region of Brazil, so as to investigate their perception of the cooperative identity. Data analysis identified that the responses gathered from managers were well aligned with the responses of the employees.

Identity, migration, and social media: Generation Z in USMCA

Abstract Purpose This research analyzes national identity representations held by Generation Z youth living in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) countries. In addition, it aims to identify the information on these issues that they are exposed to through social media. Methods A qualitative approach carried out through in-depth interviews was selected for the study. The objective is to reconstruct social meaning and the social representation system. The constant comparative method was used for the information analysis, backed by the NVivo program. Findings National identity perceptions of the adolescents interviewed are positive in terms of their own groups, very favorable regarding Canadians, and unfavorable vis-à-vis Americans. Furthermore, the interviewees agreed that social media have influenced their desire to travel or migrate, and if considering migrating, they have also provided advice as to which country they might go to. On another point, Mexicans are quite familiar with the Treaty; Americans are split between those who know something about it and those who have no information whatsoever; whereas Canadians know nothing about it. This reflects a possible way to improve information generated and spread by social media. Practical implications The results could improve our understanding of how young people interpret the information circulating in social media and what representations are constructed about national identities. We believe this research can be replicated in other countries. Social implications We might consider that the representations Generation Z has about the national identities of these three countries and what it means to migrate could have an impact on the democratic life of each nation and, in turn, on the relationship among the three USMCA partners. Originality/value As one of the few studies carried out on USMCA national identities and by qualitatively exploring the representations that Generation Zers have about them, it may provide information that could contribute to expanding understanding among the citizens of the region.

The Parental Role in Child Sexuality: A Phenomenological Study

Child sexuality is an important but often overlooked topic. This phenomenological study explored Portuguese parents’ perceptions and approaches related to addressing sexuality with their young children. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine parents of children aged 6-10 years. Content analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that parents generally felt at ease discussing sexuality with their children in an open, honest dialogue, using books and analogies to explain concepts. However, some parents expressed discomfort or ambivalence. Children’s questions centered around biological, psychosocial, and affective aspects of sexuality. Parents’ perceptions of gender identity aligned with traditional gender norms. Overall, parents prioritized themselves over schools and churches for providing sex education to their children. While findings highlight parental openness in addressing child sexuality, they also reveal a strong reliance on conventional gender norms. Further research is recommended to expand knowledge in this important but overlooked area, to inform anticipatory health education and promotion efforts.

An Exploration of the Effects of Gene-Editing Technology on Human Identity

An Exploration of the Effects of Gene-Editing Technology on Human Identity

Narrative re/defining of the cultural identity of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the literature of the Bosnia and Herzegovina diaspora

Starting from the hypothesis that spatial-cultural displacement necessarily conditions the deconstruction of cultural identity, the work, based on the theoretical assumptions of imagology and intercultural hermeneutics, considers (inter)cultural aspects of the narrative de/construction of the cultural identity of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the literature of the Bosnian diaspora. Finding examples in the novels "The Book of My Lives" and "My Parents: An Introduction" by Aleksandar Hemon, the novel "Nowhere, out of nowhere" by Bekim Sejranović and the collection of stories "Well, to start over" by Cecilija Toskić, the work tries to point out the spatial-cultural displacement and intercultural processes not only as factors of crosscultural adaptation, acculturation and assimilation, but also as factors that enable objective perception and narrative representation of Bosnian cultural identity. The paper concludes that the experience of spatialcultural displacement, represented in the above-mentioned works, results in the narrative construction of hybrid identities squeezed between two (or more) cultures, and that precisely this position of (non)belonging will enable a narrative re/definition of the cultural identity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.