Identity Strategies Research Articles

Sense of community coherence, perceptions of collective narratives, and identity strategies in intra- and interreligious group conflicts.

Sense of community coherence, perceptions of collective narratives, and identity strategies in intra- and interreligious group conflicts.

Change, Crisis, Perspective, and Identity in Two Novels by Rózsa Ignácz

Abstract For Hungarians who remained stuck beyond the borders after WWI, finding themselves in a foreign country from one day to the next, the historical trauma of the Trianon Treaty occasioned intercultural tribulations never experienced before. What the resulting Transylvanian literature discussed here is concerned with, however, is not what Jeffrey C. Alexander’s cultural trauma theory calls “the trauma process”, “the spiral of signification” (Alexander 2004, 11). Rather, it is concerned with “the indelible marks” “the horrendous event” left “upon group consciousness […] changing their future identity in fundamental and irrevocable ways” (Alexander 2004, 1). This literature displays a rich array of the management strategies of minority identity. Earlier I devoted a book to the identity types that ensued from those strategies (Dani 2016a). The present work is based on that monograph and moves on. This time I wish to focus on the key figures of two Rózsa Ignácz novels (Anyanyelve magyar and Született Moldovában) to demonstrate the complex identity patterns that an erosion of minority native language and culture, so destructive to identity, yields. The road that the Hungarian minority travels leads through a succession of active and reactive changes, crises, and modifications of perspective in the maze of minority versus hegemonic intercultural relations.1

The Developmental Factors of Identity Strategies Variation among Schooled Central African Adolescent Refugees in the East-Region of Cameroon

The present study poses the problem of the variations observed in the construction of identity strategies among schooled adolescent refugees. It starts from the observation that the latter express serious difficulties to be integrated into their host socio-cultural environments. Yet proximity to their original culture should guarantee continuity in the emergence of developmental skills initiated in their basic anthropomorphic universe. Paradoxically, they become dysfunctional in face of the demands of the host environment, and require the construction of identity strategies to adapt. Data collected from one hundred and eighty-four (184) central African refugee adolescents in the Lom-and-Djérem Division (Cameroon’s East-Region), show that in a situation of socio-emotional adaptation, age and sex are among the main factors of variation in the construction of these identity strategies.

The art of attracting attention: a process model of chinese toubu vloggers’ strategies to create online identities and self-brands

ABSTRACT Since 2018, toubu vloggers – a term that refers to the vloggers who earn the majority of traffic and attention through vlogging their daily lives on Chinese social media – remain a limited quantity in the emerging and rapidly growing Chinese vlogging market. This article aims to explore the performative identity strategies developed by Chinese toubu vloggers to attract attention and stand out from the multitude of vloggers on social media platforms. A case study was conducted with a qualitative content analysis of 73 vlog posts published on the user-generated video platform Bilibili from May 2017 to August 2019, by four Chinese toubu vloggers: Nihaozhuzi, Jyhachi, Cbvivi and Mashasha. This study revealed four personae constructing strategies applied by toubu vloggers to grow and retain their online audience, including anti-standardised originality, negative affect authenticity, ungraspable intimacy and frank commodification. Further, the study offers an explanation of how these strategies contributed to their success by defying the highly standardised and institutionalised Chinese wanghong industry that is characterised by perfection of self-presentation and blurred commodification. These strategies illustrate the agentic and subversive potential that vlogging practices can hold in a highly hermetic cultural environment.

The Relationship Between (sub)national Identity, Citizenship Conceptions, and Perceived Ethnic Threat in Flanders and Wallonia for the Period 1995–2020: A Measurement Invariance Testing Strategy

This article examines the relationship between (sub)national identity and attitudes towards immigrants in the multinational context of Belgium. We extend our previous studies by analysing a longer time period (1995–2020) and by making a strong case for the idea that measurement invariance testing and theoretical meaningfulness are closely intertwined. To examine whether and how the relationship between (sub)national identity and perceived ethnic threat has changed over time and between regions, we first test for metric invariance of the latent concepts. Using data from the Belgian National Election Studies, we illustrate that evaluating invariance of measurements is a necessary condition for comparative research, but also that measurement equivalence testing should be considered as an empirical guide showing researchers where substantial conclusions should potentially be revisited and theoretical validity rethought. Next, we verify whether the relationship between (sub)national identity and perceptions of ethnic threat across subnational units can be attributed to different conceptions of community membership -in terms of ethnic and/or civic citizenship conceptions- in Flanders and Wallonia. While we expected that a strong identification with Flanders would primarily be related to an ethnic citizenship representation, and as a result, stronger feelings of threat towards immigrants; we expected that a strong identification with Wallonia would primarily be related to a civic representation of the nation and therefore lower feelings of threat. Thanks to our thorough invariance testing strategy, the conceptualisation and measurement of (sub)national identity had to be adjusted in Wallonia, and the hypotheses had to be qualified.

“Trans Enough”: Examining the Boundaries of Transgender-Identity Membership

Abstract The term “transgender” (trans) has no singular or fixed meaning; instead, it represents a broad umbrella of non-traditional gender identities. Although the term is useful in the sense of inclusion, outsider recognition, and social activism, individuals and groups under the trans umbrella are not without internal ideological differences and contention about the boundaries of their collective identity. Taking a cyber-ethnographic approach with a transgender forum on the popular website Reddit, I offer insights into the complex membership debates that occur under this broad umbrella. In doing so, I present three distinct identity membership strategies, entitled “unbounded,” “socio-biological,” and “medically-based.” Each identity strategy showcases a mix of social and biological considerations that underlie trans-identity formations while highlighting differences in authenticity claims used within and between each group. My findings show a unique interplay between cultural definitions of trans-identities, lived experiences, and the explicit expulsion of some members in developing and maintaining internal symbolic boundaries of what constitutes a “trans enough” identity. More broadly, I generate new theoretical insights into the intracommunity “policing” strategies, shifting identity politics, and power dynamics that shape and inform interactions within the evolving category of transgender.

Ghana’s Readiness to Combat Terrorism: Strategies of Security Institutions

ABSTRACT Despite Ghana’s non-experience of terrorism amid the internal and external threats, scholars are yet to push this subject into the realm of discourse. Canvasing exclusive knowledge from institutional practices, we investigated the counter-terrorism strategies employed by Ghana’s security institutions to safeguard the country. Applying thematic textual analysis via interviews from twelve security personnel availed to us, we unmasked that although the diverse institutions deployed identical strategies for the same purpose, divergencies appeared in their modus operandi and the rationale for deploying such strategies. We uncovered some institutions engaged communities for de-radicalization whereas others employed the same method for the purposes of disarmament. To garner covert intelligence, personnel disguised in civilian appearances take up temporal accommodation in the communities, surreptitiously move around in plain clothes or acted on information from civilians. At border control points, security softwares are deployed for efficient identification of suspected terrorists and for ferreting out concealed goods. To combat new and varying forms of terrorism, inter- and cross-institutional training programs are held intermittently at the domestic and international level to renew knowledge of personnel and machinated at unearthing new trends in terrorism. Institutions have also partnered media houses in an attempt to educate the public, or the media are mildly cautioned on terrorism reportage.

Right now. For tomorrow: Launching a purpose-driven sustainability brand

Although corporate sustainability campaigns are common, rarely do brands begin with ecological concerns, rooting their identity in a pre-existing commitment to protecting our planet. ENGIE, a multinational energy and services company, sets such a project in motion in 2019, establishing a one-of-its-kind company that combined existing data and execution capabilities with consulting and analytics in order to facilitate a quicker transition to a carbon-neutral economy. Translating this driving purpose into a full brand positioning, messaging, company name, visual identity, website and launch strategy, the resulting brand, ENGIE Impact, quickly established the business as a thought leader and trusted partner in a new and vital space. As such, a comprehensive ENGIE Impact case study provides marketers and strategists with a blueprint for launching purpose-driven business-to-business (B2B) brands.

Identity Dynamics in Crisis Contexts

Organizations now face more crises, from global pandemics and economic depressions to business catastrophes – all of which can strain operational processes and performance (Wright et al., 2020; Williams et al., 2017). Research has shown that crises can engender organizational growth, learning, and identity (Fink et al., 1971), and such dynamics can trickle down to the individual and group levels. Scholars describe organizational identification as an alignment between individual and collective identities, resulting in a sense of unity between the person and their organization (e.g., Ashforth et al., 2008; Gutierrez et al., 2010) – even amidst “a backdrop of change and ‘outside’ elements” (Cheney and Thompkins, 1987: 5). The ways in which a group identity can shape and be shaped by individual and organizational effects in crisis contexts, however, remain largely underexplored. This symposium brings together four field-based investigations of the interplay of individual, group, and organizational identity dynamics. First, Creary examines different identity strategies that organizational members used to prevent the organizational death of a community hospital. Second, Creary and colleagues unpack independent workers’ experiences during the pandemic, and how they created a greater sense of resilience during this time of crisis. Third, Mudiyanselage and Vough consider the effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on teachers’ identities, centering on identity instability. Finally, Eun and Wrzesniewski focus on identity dynamics for those caring for the most ill patients across two units in a major academic medical hospital during the COVID-19 crisis, and how this process affected identity transitions and outcomes. Michael Pratt, a distinguished scholar with influential research on identity, identification, and meaning, will serve as the discussant to provide both theoretical and practical implications as well as future research directions. IDENTITY DYNAMICS IN CRISIS CONTEXTS Presenter: Eunice Eun; Yale School of Management Presenter: Amy Wrzesniewski; Yale U.

The Co-Evolutionary Process Model of Organizational Identity and Firm Strategy

In our longitudinal study, we investigated organizational identity and strategy related processes that ConsultingCo went through to become a reputable player in Finland in the management consulting market. We investigated the company for seventeen years from its establishment to the first leadership succession. We build an evolutionary process model that illustrates the three-stage -process: (1) emerging, (2) formalizing, and (3) institutionalizing. These stages show how organizational identity emerged and co-evolved together with firm strategy work. Organizational identity work evolved from anti-identity to social identity, and finally to strengths-based identity work. Simultaneously strategy work evolved from visionary to comparative, and finally, as strengths-based strategy work. Our study contributes to the strategy-identity nexus -literature by illustrating the continuous co-evolution of the firm strategy and organizational identity.

Intercultural Attitudes as Predictors of Student’s Prejudices Towards Refugees

One of the major challenges for modern western societies is the reduction of prejudice in order to achieve a sufficient level of integration of immigrants and especially refugees. The current literature thus presents a multitude of approaches to understand and reduce prejudices. Therefore, the following paper investigates the relationships between ethnic identity, acculturation attitudes, intercultural competence, and prejudice and how contact experiences shape these relationships for students in Germany with and without migration background. The results show that there is a significant relationship between prejudice and the social identity, cultural intelligence, and acculturation strategies. Furthermore, the results indicate that the experienced contact quality and quantity to refugees moderate the effect of acculturation strategies on overt prejudice and xenophobia. However, the relationship between acculturation strategies and covert prejudice is only moderated by contact quantity. Because of the relatively weak manifestations of the dependent variables in the study at hand, alternative instruments should be used for investigation. Based on the obtained results, this paper finally tries to give some guidance for the facilitation of diversity and reduction of prejudice at higher education institutions.

Unified Genetic Algorithm Approach for Solving Flexible Job-Shop Scheduling Problem

This paper proposes a novel genetic algorithm (GA) approach that utilizes a multichromosome to solve the flexible job-shop scheduling problem (FJSP), which involves two kinds of decisions: machine selection and operation sequencing. Typically, the former is represented by a string of categorical values, whereas the latter forms a sequence of operations. Consequently, the chromosome of conventional GAs for solving FJSP consists of a categorical part and a sequential part. Since these two parts are different from each other, different kinds of genetic operators are required to solve the FJSP using conventional GAs. In contrast, this paper proposes a unified GA approach that enables the application of an identical crossover strategy in both the categorical and sequential parts. In order to implement the unified approach, the sequential part is evolved by applying a candidate order-based GA (COGA), which can use traditional crossover strategies such as one-point or two-point crossovers. Such crossover strategies can also be used to evolve the categorical part. Thus, we can handle the categorical and sequential parts in an identical manner if identical crossover points are used for both. In this study, the unified approach was used to extend the existing COGA to a unified COGA (u-COGA), which can be used to solve FJSPs. Numerical experiments reveal that the u-COGA is useful for solving FJSPs with complex structures.

Place Identity Strategies at University Constructed by Minority Arab-Israeli Student Groups.

The study examines the place identity of minority group Arab-Israeli students studying at a campus affiliated with the Israeli hegemonic majority, against the backdrop of the enduring Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The study analyzes place identity construction strategies utilized by these students, and the formation patterns of the new place identity reflected in everyday campus life. Subjective experiences of students were revealed through the ethnographic and qualitative phenomenological methodology and in-depth interviews. From the findings, it became apparent that life under conditions of ongoing ethnic–political conflict forces minority groups to develop strategies regarding their place identity. These strategies are fluidly employed depending on the specific context of time and place. Four place identity strategies were identified: overt, borrowed, avoidant, and ideological. Key factors contributing to the construction of each strategy were discovered: rooted place identity; gender expectations, and proactive or passive attitude to place. Implementation tactics such as individual versus collective approaches, distancing from other groups, and the flow between multiple identities were also uncovered. The study asserts that the strategies, tactics, and key factors revealed in the research contribute to place identity theory and will enrich other place identity studies of minority groups and communities in fluid contexts. Expanding theoretical discourse with respect to the strategies and tactics of place identity could promote the opportunity for integration and coexistence.

The implication of organizational culture for building organizational identity strategy (Case study of PPID Ministry of Finance)

This article was made based on the changing needs of the community for information in the era of information and communication technology. To be able to communicate policies in the field of public information disclosure, the government must be able to realize transparently, effectively, efficiently and accountably. The communication process must be supported by a good and reliable organizational identity. This research was conducted to see the implications of how organizational culture changes in the digital era in the Ministry of Finance's public information service process since 2018. The organizational communication process is used as a liaison for the creation of good relations between organizations and the public. This study uses descriptive analytic research methods with results that explain that organizational culture is important in supporting changes in PPID Ministry of Finance's (PPID MoF) public information service activities in the digital age. The implication can be seen that changes in the PPID MoF organizational identity through the use of social media will depend on the organization's strategy and organizational cultural activities. Furthermore, it is expected that the use of social media can be used as a way to educate and increase public participation in the field of public information services

The Role of Food Web Interactions in Multispecies Fisheries Management: Bio-economic Analysis of Salmon, Herring and Grey Seal in the Northern Baltic Sea

Multispecies bio-economic models are useful tools to give insights into ecosystem thinking and ecosystem-based management. This paper developed an age-structured multispecies bio-economic model that includes the food web relations of the grey seal, salmon, and herring, along with salmon and herring fisheries in the Baltic Sea. The results show that the increasing seal population influences salmon fisheries and stock, but the impacts on the harvest are stronger than on the stock if the targeted management policies are obeyed. If seal population growth and a low herring stock occur simultaneously, the salmon harvest could face a serious threat. In addition, scenarios of the multispecies management approach in this paper reveal a benefit that our model can evaluate the performance of different fisheries with identical or different management strategies simultaneously. The results show the most profitable scenario is that both fisheries pursuit aggregated profits and reveal a trade-off between herring fisheries and salmon fisheries. Our model indicates that the herring harvest level and the approaches to managing herring fisheries can influence the performance of salmon fisheries. The study also demonstrates a way to develop a multispecies bio-economic model that includes both migratory fish and mammalian predators.

Post acquisition brand identity: acquisition of Flipkart group by Walmart Inc.

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: factors to be considered in devising the best post-acquisition brand identity and outline market research techniques, which can be used to identify the best-suited post-acquisition brand identity strategy. Case overview/synopsis The case study discusses the brand strategy, which Walmart Inc needs to adopt post its acquisition of Flipkart Pvt. Ltd (Flipkart) Group in India. Flipkart had acquired Myntra Designs Pvt. Ltd (Myntra) and Novarris Fashion Trading Private Limited (Jabong), but had kept their brand identity intact; Walmart Inc was faced with the decision on moving ahead with the brand strategy of keeping individual brand identities or merging all of these into a single brand identity. The study aims to provide valuable insights into the decision-making process adopted by Walmart Inc. It includes also the role of cause-related marketing in the positioning of Myntra as a socially responsible brand. The case study opted for an exploratory research design study using the qualitative research method of in-depth interviews. In total, 10 experts in the area of marketing, market research and marketing communication were interviewed. The qualitative data were analyzed using a template approach, which analyzes the text using a codebook or an analysis guide. The analysis guide already has clearly defined themes or categories. As the qualitative interviews progress, these themes get revised. These themes are analyzed qualitatively rather than statistically. The case study suggests to the management of Walmart Inc that they need to merge Myntra and Jabong based on the degree of similarity of consumer demographics, income/social class of buyers, brand identity and buying behavior. Myntra needs to retain as opposed to Jabong, as Myntra is perceived to be a socially responsible brand that creates a purchase disposition in the minds of the consumers. A more extensive quantitative study would offer better generalizability. It was not feasible to conduct a quantitative study due to time constraints. This research would have used advanced brand imagery assessment techniques such as multi-dimensional scaling to suggest if an overlap exists between consumer segments of Myntra and Jabong. The case study provides a decision-making framework to firms and individuals who are part of organizational teams to create a post-acquisition brand strategy in the e-commerce market. The case study fulfills a need for many academicians and practitioners to understand the decision-making process followed in devising a post-acquisition brand strategy in India. Complexity academic level Senior undergraduates; Master of Business Administration; Executive Master of Business Administration. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing.

Energy management strategy on a parallel mild hybrid electric vehicle based on breadth first search algorithm

Global optimization plays an important role in the energy management strategies (EMS) of the hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). The fuel consumption of HEV could be reduced significantly with an acceleration of global optimization and application of global result in real-time control. In this paper, a new algorithm called breadth first search (BFS) was first used to realize the global optimization in a parallel mild HEV, which transforms the energy management problem of HEV into optimal path searching. Through simulation and calculation, it was found that the totally identical control strategies and fuel consumption could be obtained with BFS and dynamic programming (DP) respectively, while the calculation time for BFS was just about 50%-60% of that. With BFS results as reference, particle swarm optimization was used to adjust the equivalent factor in real-time and an adaptive equivalent consumption minimization strategy (A-ECMS) based on BFS was proposed. The fuel consumption could be decreased with the proposed A-ECMS by 8–15% in different driving cycles compared with that using rule-based strategies. It is believed that BFS has great potential in the future research on EMS of the HEVs.

The role of social identity strategies in the cultural transitions of international students: social creativity, social mobility and place identity

The role of social identity strategies in the cultural transitions of international students: social creativity, social mobility and place identity

Generation of islet antigen-specific engineered Tregs for use in T1D therapy via homology-directed gene editing of conventional CD4+ T cells

Abstract Adoptive transfer of regulatory T cells (Tregs) is therapeutic in T1D mouse models. Notably, Tregs specific for pancreatic islets were shown more potent than polyclonal Tregs in blocking disease. However, the frequency of antigen-specific Tregs is extremely low and ex vivo expansion has the potential risk to destabilize Tregs leading to an effector phenotype. Here, we developed methods to generate durable, antigen-specific engineered Tregs (EngTregs) from primary human CD4+ T cells using a combination of lentiviral TCR transduction and FOXP3 homology-directed repair (HDR)-editing. Using TCRs derived from clonally expanded islet-reactive CD4+ T cells in T1D, we generated islet-specific EngTregs that exhibit a Treg-like phenotype. Islet-specific EngTregs effectively suppress proliferation and cytokine production by islet-specific effector T cells (Teff). Notably, EngTregs suppress Teff recognizing the identical peptide as well as bystander Teff recognizing alternative islet antigens. Importantly, islet-specific EngTregs suppress polyclonal endogenous islet-specific T cells derived from PBMC of individuals with T1D. To directly assess the capacity of EngTregs to modulate diabetes in vivo, we established an identical HDR-editing strategy in islet-specific murine cells. Following adoptive transfer, islet-specific mu-EngTregs homed to the pancreas and blocked diabetes triggered by islet-specific Teff in recipient mice. Collectively, our approach enables the production of EngTregs specific to pancreatic islets with the capacity to efficiently suppress islet specific responses. This approach has the capacity to deliver targeted islet specific therapy to treat or prevent T1D.

Timing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis exposure explains variation in BCG effectiveness: a systematic review and meta-analysis

RationaleThe heterogeneity in efficacy observed in studies of BCG vaccination is not fully explained by currently accepted hypotheses, such as latitudinal gradient in non-tuberculous mycobacteria exposure.MethodsWe updated previous systematic reviews...