Identity Traits Research Articles

Weaving identities and stories about the boarding school of the Copiapó mining school and the student residence of the University of Atacama

The purpose of this study is to construct a historical-discursive description of the experiences of key individuals who lived in student homes, boarding schools located in the third region of Atacama. These institutions are operated and sponsored by the University of Atacama, the region's sole state and regional university. This tour shows a retrospective look at the boarding schools that existed from 1900 and 2019 in order to understand the discourse and the configuration of subjectivity, the identity traits of individuals who lived part of their lives in student homes, boarding schools in a non-linear way. This research analyzes narrative discourse, with evidence of the prevalence and stratification, to answer two main questions: How does living in a student residence shape present identity? And how do individuals view themselves in relation to the identity traits formed during their time in the residence? To achieve this, we use the Goffmanian category of total institution and Foucauldian categories of knowledge, symbolic technology, control and domination technology – signs that are stratified-and technologies of self-care. By examining open narrative character, which allows for the creation and freedom of subjectivities, we can gain insight into the features of present identity that may be influenced by past experiences in student residences.

Language as a means of communication and social construction: Regarding the formation of our identity and shared culture

The purpose of this paper is to explore the cultural dimension of language that turns into an issue of identity. The paper analyses the relationship between communication/language and culture. The deductive method, analysis, synthesis, and modelling, combined with a literature search in several databases, including Google Scholar, Scopus search and Web of Science, made possible the revelation of the issue of language as a means of communication, social construction, and the formation of our identity and common culture. The presented research was developed by describing various approaches and models of the concept of culture that have influenced and continue to influence intercultural communication, and by describing linguistic theories related to the relationship between language and culture. The results of the work have shown the connections between language, discourse, individual, and culture. The concept of individual identity has been established. The phenomenon of the social and/or cultural identity of a group and their differences was revealed. In the article a philosophical judgment about intercultural dialog was conducted. In addition, the question of what the identity and behaviour of individuals in their collective life was revealed. The revelation of these issues has shown that dealing with the cultural nature of language is not an easy task, especially in terms of the hypothesis that language is a distinctive feature of individuals. The results of the work have shown that it is a discourse in the intercultural dialogue that represents ways of speaking that are specific to both individuals and shared cultures. In the era of interference, intercultural communication is opportune and appropriate. The importance of the results lies in the development of four competencies in the context of “plurality of languages” that show how cultural identity traits can enable the intercultural dialogue.

Behavioral Identity of Top Executives in Higher Education Institutions: the Coexistence Theory

Purpose: This study paper's primary goal is to develop a theory that may be used to describe the behavioral identity that Higher Education Institutions' top management faces when switching between various university contexts. Theoretical framework: Cheek et al. (1994) defined identity orientation as the relative weight people give to different identity features or characteristics when defining who they are. Identity traits fall into three broadly distinct categories: personal, social, and collective. Design/methodology/approach: The study utilized a quantitative approach with a survey questionnaire distributed to 16 top executives in Public and Private Higher Education Institutions in Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines. Factor Analysis of maximum likelihood was the statistical tool used in this study. Findings: Results revealed that three co-existence theory factors were established: socio-cultural, intra-personal, and socio-collective factors. Research, Practical & Social implications: This study explains the implications of the behavioral identity of top executives and offers suggestions for further study. Originality/value: The author proposes a new theory that will add to the body of knowledge in the study of behavioral identity and guide further investigation of the three identified factors of the co-existence theory.

Anti-Fat Bias in the Singing Voice Studio, Part One: Culture and Context

Singing voice teachers are working hard to be inclusive and progressive in the 21st century. We are aware of our power to create inclusive learning spaces that embrace our students’ identity traits, including race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, neurodivergence, and more. However, body size is almost always left out of the discussion of inclusive actions in the voice studio. Fatness is a social justice issue and singing voice teachers can either affirm or further marginalize fat students in the 1:1 training setting of the voice studio. In part one, the authors offer background information on the prevalence of fatness, the history of anti-fat bias, and the experiences of fat persons in healthcare, employment, and educational settings. This context encourages voice teachers to examine implicit anti-fat bias, one of the few remaining yet still widely tolerated cultural biases. Many believe that anti-fat bias can be justified by medical facts, but this belief requires an examination of the influence of money and the media. The authors utilize a fat liberationist framework, rejecting the long-held idea that fat bodies are problematic in the performing arts, and affirming that the performing arts industry must provide opportunities for talented and well-trained performers of every body size to work and tell stories that reflect our diverse world. In part two, the authors explore tangible pedagogical modifications to foster a sense of belonging for all voice students, including fat students. Micro-activism in the voice studio is a huge step toward systemic change, and it can have a profoundly positive impact on our students.

Identity management in the face of HIV and intersecting stigmas: A metasynthesis of qualitative reports from sub-Saharan Africa.

While stigma experienced by people living with HIV (PLWH) is well documented, intersectional stigma and additional stigmatized identities have not received similar attention. The purpose of this metasynthesis is to identify salient stigmatized intersections and their impact on health outcomes in PLWH in sub-Saharan Africa. Using Sandelowski and Barroso's metasynthesis method, we searched four databases for peer-reviewed qualitative literature. Included studies (1) explored personal experiences with intersecting stigmas, (2) included ≥1 element of infectious disease stigma, and (3) were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. Our multinational team extracted, aggregated, interpreted, and synthesized the findings. From 454 screened abstracts, the 34 studies included in this metasynthesis reported perspectives of at least 1258 participants (282 men, 557 women, and 109 unspecified gender) and key informants. From these studies, gender and HIV was the most salient stigmatized intersection, with HIV testing avoidance and HIV-status denial seemingly more common among men to preserve traditional masculine identity. HIV did not threaten female identity in the same way with women more willing to test for HIV, but at the risk of abandonment and withdrawal of financial support. To guard against status loss, men and women used performative behaviors to highlight positive qualities or minimize perceived negative attributes. These identity management practices ultimately shaped health behaviors and outcomes. From this metasynthesis, the Stigma Identity Framework was devised for framing identity and stigma management, focusing on role expectation and fulfillment. This framework illustrates how PLWH create, minimize, or emphasize other identity traits to safeguard against status loss and discrimination. Providers must acknowledge how stigmatization disrupts PLWH's ability to fit into social schemas and tailor care to individuals' unique intersecting identities. Economic security and safety should be considered in women's HIV care, while highlighting antiretrovirals' role in preserving strength and virility may improve care engagement among men.

Woke culture and the history of America: From colonisation to depersonalisation

The recent racial attacks that took the lives of several African-Americans in the USA have unleashed a whole social movement in defence of the rights of minorities who face discrimination. What began as a plea in favour of the black population has become a convulsive current throughout America, seeking to cleanse its history by disassociating it from its founding sins, which include slavery, but above all, colonization as a whole. This amalgam of revisionist and vindictive currents has awakened a new culture. The Woke movement has initiated the battle for the narrative: they cancel any tendency contrary to their principles, silence freedom of expression and tear down any statue that represents any symbol of oppression or authority, Christopher Columbus at the head. These are the premises of post-modern society: wounded by the culture of victimisation, it promotes ideological tribalism that destroys the truth. We are witnessing a phenomenon that seeks to deconstruct history, resignify the present and depersonalise the future. The black legend resurfaces with new force and America runs the risk of blurring its identity traits. Listening to the voices of experts is essential in order to interpret the shadows of a legacy in the light of truth, which shows us the deep richness of a common culture.

Don’t You Be My Neighbor! Perceptions of Homosexuality in Global Cross-Cultural Perspective, 1990 to 2019

The Authors draw on cognitive sociology and attribution theory to infer whether people classify homosexuality as an identity or a behavior. Using six waves of World Values Survey data covering 85 countries, the authors conduct factor and multilevel regression analyses to examine patterns of intolerance toward gay people alongside racialized groups, immigrants, and users of alcohol or illicit substances, in the context of who constitutes an undesirable neighbor. The authors examine changes in these patterns over time and variation across broad cultural zones. Evaluations of homosexuality tend to cluster with alcohol and substance use in non-Western societies, albeit less strongly over time, but with race and nativity among Western and Latin American publics. The authors suggest that homosexuality is widely perceived as an identity in Western and “West-adjacent” countries, whereas elsewhere it is more often understood in behavioral terms. Over time, homosexuality is increasingly interpreted as an identity trait rather than a deviant behavior.

Parliamentary names as a strategy for social positioning and manifesting identity traits

Drawing on the theoretical presuppositions of socio-onomastics, the present study provides an analysis of the parliamentary names adopted by state and district legislators elected in Brazil. A Brazilian parliamentary name is an anthroponym chosen by individuals elected for a legislative position to be used in official acts and documents of their respective legislative houses. The corpus is comprised of 1,157 names of representatives from the 27 federative units elected for the 2019–2023 term. When observing the relationship between the parliamentary names and the rules of the house for their composition, the analysis shows that, among the legislative houses that have norms on the issue, the chosen anthroponyms abide by the rules in only half of them. When the parliamentary names are compared to their respective civil names and ballot names, the results show that, although most of the politicians retain parliamentary names linked to elements from their civil name, a considerable number of them employ creative resources in order to hold variant forms, enabling them to have identity features of group membership or associated with the political realm.

Senescence atlas reveals an aged-like inflamed niche that blunts muscle regeneration

Tissue regeneration requires coordination between resident stem cells and local niche cells1,2. Here we identify that senescent cells are integral components of the skeletal muscle regenerative niche that repress regeneration at all stages of life. The technical limitation of senescent-cell scarcity3 was overcome by combining single-cell transcriptomics and a senescent-cell enrichment sorting protocol. We identified and isolated different senescent cell types from damaged muscles of young and old mice. Deeper transcriptome, chromatin and pathway analyses revealed conservation of cell identity traits as well as two universal senescence hallmarks (inflammation and fibrosis) across cell type, regeneration time and ageing. Senescent cells create an aged-like inflamed niche that mirrors inflammation associated with ageing (inflammageing4) and arrests stem cell proliferation and regeneration. Reducing the burden of senescent cells, or reducing their inflammatory secretome through CD36 neutralization, accelerates regeneration in young and old mice. By contrast, transplantation of senescent cells delays regeneration. Our results provide a technique for isolating in vivo senescent cells, define a senescence blueprint for muscle, and uncover unproductive functional interactions between senescent cells and stem cells in regenerative niches that can be overcome. As senescent cells also accumulate in human muscles, our findings open potential paths for improving muscle repair throughout life.

Nanomaterials in the future biotextile industry: A new cosmovision to obtain smart biotextiles

For centuries, man has dominated the development of fibers and textiles to make clothing that protects them against environmental adversities, and gradually dissimilar cultural and ethnic identity traits have been created. Our garments are composed of natural elements such as animal leather, vegetable fibers, and synthetic textiles that result in ultra-resistant and durable materials. However, the textile industry has a non-sustainable character mainly because population growth will limit the use of natural resources, such as land and water, exclusively for food. At the same time, petrochemical-derived materials will gradually be replaced by more biodegradable alternatives due to their toxic accumulation in the local environment and their contribution to global climate change. The vast inventiveness of human-being is opening the possibility of replacing our clothes by mimicking, reproducing, and scaling up nature’s biosynthetic machinery through cutting-edge biotechnological approaches. Nevertheless, the new cosmovision of biotextiles must meet two requirements: 1) the appearance and performance of the clothes should be preserved to join the current textile market demand, and at the same time, 2) new functionalities should be incorporated into our clothes to embrace the impressive technological advances occurring day to day. In this regard, nanotechnological developments will be able to provide the desired properties so that the textile industry can provide bio-based materials enhanced with nanotechnology-based intelligent functionalities. This perspective article discloses nano-biotechnological approaches to address the challenge of dressing up future societies and new material consciousness.

Design of framework for cognitive styles in formulating individualistic approach

These times of pandemic influence remote working and understanding of the new normal. This new normal helps in reaching out the importance of an individualistic approach with the psychological contribution in procuring sustainable thinking. The benefaction of the individual and community helps in understanding these difficult times by accessing some psychological variables such as individual potential, stimulant drivers, identity traits and emotional health. These variables show their involvement in forming an individualistic approach. An individualistic approach will help in developing sustainable thinking which contributes to using the limited resources to the fullest in Covid-19 times. It can be concluded that individuals with high individual potential and stimulant drivers will promote an individualistic approach which promotes sustainable thinking. Emotional health and identity traits help in a flourishing individualistic approach which promotes sustainable thinking. The futuristic approach of the study throws light on the execution of cognitive styles in the individualistic approach which can be altered by individual potential, stimulant drivers, identity traits and emotional health accentuating the approach to stimulating sustainable thinking.

Those We Love to Hate: An Anthropological Analysis of "Succesion" as a Critique of Late-Stage Capitalism

The paper tackles interpretations of late-stage capitalism and characters as incomplete antiheroes in the Succession tv-series (HBO 2018-). The characters in Succesion are the members of the wealthy American Roy family, in possesion of their own, family-run media conglomerate-empire, named Waystar RoyCo. Family businesses figure as symbols and pillars of success and are thought to preserve "good family values" in the official everyday and western political discourse. But Succession breaks down this myth and glorification of family-run businesses and treats it as a model of corrupted relationships that mirror themselves onto the smaller scales – specially onto family structure as a basic societal denominator. Following this premise is the second compontent – emotional reactions generated through morally ambiguous actions undertaken by every single character in the series. The lack of protagonist in the series and the portrayal of every character as an incomplete antihero leads us to the second important premise of the paper: the tropologization of characters, where every character embodies certain broader system flaw(s). Portrayed in this manner, characters are bearers of identity traits of late-stage capitalism hegemony. By exploiting their flaws, internal conflicts and morally ambiguous acts, the flaws of the system itself are revealed to the viewers. The dynamics of corrupted and broken relationships within the Roy family lead to perceiving it as an anti-family, which mirrors the insanity and downfall of the same system. The sardonic humor and brutalistic portrayal of the lack of ethics and morals generate strong emotional reactions among audiences that result in "liking the unlikeable". This controversial "loving to hate" is rooted in the cognitive and moral distance that builds up during the course of the series, which enables the viewers to take the standpoint of moral superiority.

Alterated Identities in Brazil: From the Samba Culture to the Sertanejo Culture

Cultural references regarding Brazilianness have generally been associated with samba, carnival, colors, and an aesthetic compendium typical of a pre-modernity recreated in cities like Rio de Janeiro or Salvador. A foreign observer would like to see in these lands references that would transport him to Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “The Girl from Ipanema” song or to identity traits that would indicate a ‘tropical Brazil’ related to people dancing in the rhythm of samba and bossa nova , and Copacabana beach. However, many socio-cultural changes progressively impacted the consumption of musical and aesthetic styles among Brazilians. Changes concerning musical styles’ preferences led to significant cultural changes that would modify the notion of Brazilianness imaginary in the first decades of the 21 st century. The present paper addresses this eventual cultural and aesthetic references change, showing with decisive force what has been called ‘ sertanejo culture’ in Brazil. Keywords: Brazilian culture; Cultural identity; Samba culture; Sertanejo culture; Musical styles. DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/12-18-04 Publication date: September 30 th 2022

#Mixedcouples on TikTok: Performative Hybridization and Identity in the Face of Discrimination

Spanish-Moroccan mixed couples exemplify a case of cultural hybridization that reflects the colonial past between these two countries. In this context, social media is a space of opportunity and risk to face discrimination and othering. In this article, we draw upon postcolonial theory and Internet studies to consider TikTok affordances as tools that are relevant to understand how cultural, national, and religious identities are shaped and presented in digital spaces. In this sense, this study constitutes the first exploratory analysis of Moroccan-Spanish mixed couples’ (self)representations and identity construction as reflected by their TikTok content. The memetic and intersectional aspects of the mixed-couple identity emerge as central in the convergent nature of the platform and their lived experiences. Through an initial analysis of 8,653 TikTok videos, we identified 6 creator accounts with more than 10K followers to conduct a deeper multimodal content and discourse analysis of 146 videos. This enabled us to explore how these creators portray their hybrid identity through short, vertical videos harnessing TikTok’s vernaculars and affordances. The results enable us to propose the concept of performative hybridization, which involves discursive markers within these couples’ TikTok content that reflect a fluid integration of two cultures, while the pervading visual and narrative components reflect the dominance of one set of identity traits over the other. In this case, Moroccan culture is more prevalent.

Phyllosphere bacterial and fungal communities vary with host species identity, plant traits and seasonality in a subtropical forest

BackgroundPhyllosphere microbes play important roles in host plant performance and fitness. Recent studies have suggested that tropical and temperate forests harbor diverse phyllosphere bacterial and fungal communities and their assembly is driven by host species identity and plant traits. However, no study has yet examined how seasonality (e.g. dry vs. wet seasons) influences phyllosphere microbial community assembly in natural forests. In addition, in subtropical forests characterized as the transitional zonal vegetation type from tropical to temperate forests, how tree phyllosphere microbial communities are assembled remains unknown. In this study, we quantified bacterial and fungal community structure and diversity on the leaves of 45 tree species with varying phylogenetic identities and importance values within a 20-ha lower subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest plot in dry and wet seasons. We explored if and how the microbial community assembly varies with host species identity, plant traits and seasonality.ResultsPhyllosphere microbial communities in the subtropical forest are more abundant and diverse than those in tropical and temperate forests, and the tree species share a “core microbiome” in either bacteria or fungi. Variations in phyllosphere bacterial and fungal community assembly are explained more by host species identity than by seasonality. There is a strong clustering of the phyllosphere microbial assemblage amongst trees by seasonality, and the seasonality effects are more pronounced on bacterial than fungal community assembly. Host traits have different effects on community compositions and diversities of both bacteria and fungi, and among them calcium concentration and importance value are the most powerful explaining variables for bacteria and fungi, respectively. There are significant evolutionary associations between host species and phyllosphere microbiome.ConclusionsOur results suggest that subtropical tree phyllosphere microbial communities vary with host species identity, plant traits and seasonality. Host species identity, compared to seasonality, has greater effects on phyllosphere microbial community assembly, and such effects differ between bacterial and fungal communities. These findings advance our understanding of the patterns and drivers of phyllosphere microbial community assembly in zonal forests at a global scale.

The Brand–Land Identity of Etna Volcano Valley Wines: A Policy Delphi Study

This is the first study on the brand–land link for quality wines with a strong identity produced in extreme territories using the Policy Delphi methodology. The objective of this study is to assess the existence of a relationship between the wine brand and the territory of origin for wines produced in the Etna valley in Sicily (southern Italy). Awareness among producers and stakeholders of the recognizability of local wines by the market was investigated. Moreover, the forecasts/reliability, issues/importance, options/feasibility, and goals/desirability of development factors for wines with a brand–land link in the Etna valley were analyzed. The results were used to design a model of the value chain for wines with a brand–land identity which is generalizable to other wine regions. In this study, the policy Delphi method was adapted, consolidated, and improved for marketing studies in the agri-food sector. This adapted method can be replicated in other studies focusing on similar contexts. The findings provide insights into the characteristics (type and category) of development factors that add value to Etna Rosso DOC wine and provide interesting food for thought for wine-producing companies in other wine-growing areas with unique pedoclimatic characteristics that determine a strong brand–land link between wine and its territory or origin. Practical implications encompass new elements for winemakers, as well as for local decision-makers and stakeholders, for the formulation of more effective communication strategies and territorial revitalization strategies to enhance the competitiveness and appreciation of wines with strong geographical identity traits. To highlight these elements, a new theoretical model was designed that includes the experience of the territory and the product in the value chain of iconic wines.

Anti-Fat Bias in the Singing Voice Studio, Part Two: How to Make a Size Inclusive Voice Studio

Singing voice teachers are working hard to be inclusive and progressive in the 21st century. We are aware of our power to create inclusive learning spaces that embrace our students’ identity traits including race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, neurodivergence, and more. However, body size is almost always left out of the discussion of inclusive actions in the voice studio. Fatness is a social justice issue and singing voice teachers can either affirm or further marginalize fat students in the 1:1 training setting of the voice studio. In part one, the authors offer background information on the prevalence of fatness, the history of anti-fat bias, and the experiences of fat persons in healthcare, employment, and educational settings. This context encourages voice teachers to examine implicit anti-fat bias, one of the few remaining yet still widely tolerated cultural biases. Many believe that anti-fat bias can be justified by medical facts, but this belief requires an examination of the influence of money and the media. The authors utilize a fat liberationist framework, rejecting the long-held idea that fat bodies are problematic in the performing arts, and affirming that the performing arts industry must provide opportunities for talented and well-trained performers in bodies of every size to work and tell stories that reflect our diverse world. In part two, the authors explore tangible pedagogical modifications to foster a sense of belonging for all voice students, including fat students. Micro-activism in the voice studio is a huge step toward systemic change, and it can have a profoundly positive impact on our students.

Generation of human islet cell type-specific identity genesets

Generation of surrogate cells with stable functional identities is crucial for developing cell-based therapies. Efforts to produce insulin-secreting replacement cells to treat diabetes require reliable tools to assess islet cellular identity. Here, we conduct a thorough single-cell transcriptomics meta-analysis to identify robustly expressed markers used to build genesets describing the identity of human α-, β-, γ- and δ-cells. These genesets define islet cellular identities better than previously published genesets. We show their efficacy to outline cell identity changes and unravel some of their underlying genetic mechanisms, whether during embryonic pancreas development or in experimental setups aiming at developing glucose-responsive insulin-secreting cells, such as pluripotent stem-cell differentiation or in adult islet cell reprogramming protocols. These islet cell type-specific genesets represent valuable tools that accurately benchmark gain and loss in islet cell identity traits.

IDENTITY NEGOTIATIONS: AMERICAN WAR CORRESPONDENT LEIGH WHITE AND THE PARTITION OF TRANSYLVANIA (1939–1940)

The present study applies the concept of identity negotiations, used in the field of psychology to describe the processes of self-representations and social interactions, in the sphere of cultural and historical studies, applied in the research of the American war correspondent Leigh White’s reports about Romania between 1939–1940, more exactly about the partition of North-West Transylvania. The attention will be focused on the negotiations between the identity representations of this correspondent about Romanians and minorities in this space and how social interactions satisfy or contradict self-representations and the objective goals of these interactions. The historical contexts in which these identity negotiations take place between the self and the other (the others, in the multi-ethnic and multicultural space of Transylvania) will be those with an extreme identity charge, proving how negotiations and communication can be suppressed in conditions of war. The study focuses on the dramatic event represented by the cession of North-West Transylvania in favor of Hungary as a result of the Vienna Award in August 1940, with references to the Bucharest Pogrom of January 21–23, 1941, with the crimes and atrocities committed against the Jews, a subject that will be treated in a separate study. Journalists such as Leigh White and his colleagues Cyrus L. Sulzberger, Robert Parker, Robert St. John, Leland Stowe, Countess Rosa Goldschmidt Waldeck, or Ray Brock will try to understand the identity traits of the others, knowing their historical and cultural context and, at the same time, trying to negotiate with their own baggage of stereotypes, or with the propagandistic directions of the official American or Romanian discourses, or, in extreme cases, with local censorship. American war correspondents proved to be not only over-qualified and over-professional, but also cosmopolitan, tolerant, experienced professionals or young novices, full of energy and enthusiasm, struggling to get at any valuable information, regardless of distance and dangers in war zones. They were sharp observers, checking the news and comparing it with other sources before sending their reports to American publications. In this way, Romanian-American identity and cultural negotiations took place above local human interactions.

Altérité lexicale dans les parlers francophones : figure de l’étranger

Relationships with others raise issues of identity and characterize individuals in their behavior with others. These identity issues, which are specific to each society, are sources of the discourse of otherness. In the French-speaking space which, by its essence and in the light of historical facts, reflects otherness, this discourse is reflected in the terms and lexies of topolectal varieties of French. Based on an onomasiological approach, going from definition to words to discover how otherness is presented, this research aims to identify and present the lexical aspect of the discourse of others in a lexicographical corpus from all over the French-speaking world. In other words, this article studies the topolectal speaking of French to find terms used to evoke otherness. Terms such as “French”, “European”, “foreign”, “white” were the object of a first observation given that they constitute the reverses of a discourse of domination in the dichotomy colonizer-colonized against with “aboriginal” “negro” and “black”. Through illustrated examples, we demonstrate that different aspects such as physical, geographic, and identity traits are vehicles of this discourse which, axiologically, mainly present the pejorative values attributed to the other. Also, it would seem that colonial memory helps to nourish this vision of the other who stands out from the speakers, whose speech is studied, by his foreign origin.