Identity Projects Research Articles

The ‘belief styles’ of Irish primary school teachers

This research investigates the varied approaches of teachers in Catholic primary schools of the Archdiocese of Armagh (Ireland), towards religious belief – their ‘belief styles’ – and explores how this might impact on religious school ethos in the changing socio-cultural context of Ireland today. It uses a quantitative approach in the form of a research instrument developed by the Enhancing Catholic School Identity project based at KU Leuven – the Post-Critical Belief Scale. This study reveals an overall picture of the primary school teachers sampled in the diocese who are engaged Christians with strong faith and an appreciation of diversity and plurality. Unsurprisingly however, given the socio-cultural context, a relativist approach to religious belief is evident among teachers and has the potential to become culturally dominant in Catholic schools into the future, possibly undermining their faith-based identity and ethos.

Ethnic-Racial Identity and Attitude Change: Assessments of Outgroup and Diversity Attitudes among Adolescents in Sweden

Outgroup and diversity attitudes are important components of intercultural understanding and well-being. Despite the potential of ethnic-racial identity development as a means to foster positive outgroup and diversity attitudes, little is known about its effectiveness in rapidly diversifying contexts such as Sweden. This pre-registered study filled this gap by examining if adolescents taking part in an intervention focused on ethnic-racial identity exploration, the Identity Project, also reported change in outgroup and diversity attitudes, and whether migration background, education type, and ethnic-racial identity development predicted such change. Twenty-three tenth-grade classes in Sweden (N = 509; Mage = 16.28; SDage = 0.80; 66% female; 51% migration background) participated in the intervention and were assessed in four waves over a period of 26 weeks. Whereas ethnic-racial identity exploration and resolution increased for the intervention group, the adolescents reported no change in outgroup and diversity attitudes when compared to a control group. Increases in ethnic-racial identity exploration and resolution co-varied with increases in attitudes, but only at Time 3. The results do not provide support for the link between ethnic-racial identity development and positive outgroup and diversity attitudes, and challenge the notion of attitude change as a cascading effect of the Identity Project intervention in non-US sociocultural contexts. All aspects of the study were pre-registered on the Open Science Framework platform (https://osf.io/f5896).

Fake Profile Detection in Instagram

Abstract: In today's society, online communities have become an integral part of daily life, with individuals actively engaging in social media interactions regardless of their location or schedule. However, the prevalence of pseudo personas has contributed to sophisticated persistent attacks and other malicious activities, raising concerns about the privacy of personal data among online community members. This research seeks to identify and address the pressing issue of fraudulent identity projection on social media platforms, particularly focusing on Instagram. By employing automated techniques such as predictive modeling and image identification combined with text analysis, the study aims to enhance the detection of fake profiles. The research utilizes the chi-square method for feature selection and applies learner-centered algorithms like Random Forest (RF) and logistic regression for categorization. The evaluation of outcomes will be based on metrics including relevance, specificity, recall, f1- value efficiency, and accuracy. The exponential growth and influence of social media globally have underscored the urgency of mitigating the proliferation of fraudulent identities, which pose challenges ranging from propaganda to racial profiling. The findings of this research are expected to contribute to the development of effective strategies for identifying and addressing fake profiles, thus safeguarding the integrity and security of online communities

Longitudinal Profiles of Cultural Identity Processes and Associations with Psychosocial Outcomes Among Adolescents Participating in the Identity Project in Italy

Cultural identity formation is a complex developmental task that influences adolescents’ adjustment. However, less is known about individual variations in trajectories of cultural identity processes and how they relate to youth psychosocial outcomes. Using a person-centered approach, this study investigated patterns of change over a year in cultural identity exploration and resolution, respectively, among ethnically diverse adolescents in Italy. The sample included 173 high school students (Mage = 15 yrs, SD = 0.62, range = 14–17; 58.4% female; 26% immigrant background) who had participated in the Identity Project, a school-based intervention targeting ethnic-racial identity development. Longitudinal latent profile analysis revealed only one profile of change for exploration, whereas four unique profiles for resolution emerged (“stable low,” “stable average,” “increase low-to-average,” “increase high-to-higher”). Overall, youth in the resolution-increase profiles reported the best outcomes. The findings highlight the heterogeneity of adolescents’ resolution trajectories and the benefits of an increased sense of clarity concerning one’s cultural identity for positive psychosocial functioning.

An identity project: a case study of two inservice elementary stem teachers’ experiences with a comprehensive professional development

This paper describes the experiences of two teachers, Ms. Santiago and Mr. Jelenik, who participated in a comprehensive National Science Foundation-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional learning experience. This comparative case study describes how Ms. Santiago and Mr. Jelenik leveraged the justice-oriented curriculum of a STEM professional learning opportunity to transform their identities as educators while influencing their instructional practices. The professional learning experience included access to a justice-oriented curriculum introduced through monthly content-focused experiences, regular faculty learning communities, and support from an expert onsite coach. Evidence of transformed identities and instructional practices is derived from semi-structured in-depth interviews and video recordings of classroom teaching and learning. Analysis of the interview data suggests that Ms. Santiago and Mr. Jelenik found the professional learning experience transformative and that the experience served as a pedagogical identity project. Evidence from the classroom videos suggests that Ms. Santiago and Mr. Jelenik’s instructional practices shifted, becoming more justice-oriented and student-centered. Moreover, Ms. Santiago’s practices shifted in a manner more aligned with an engaged teaching approach. We conclude that the comprehensive STEM professional learning experience served as a pedagogical identity project while positively influencing the instructional practices of Ms. Santiago and Mr. Jelenik. Implications for preservice and in-service teacher education are discussed.

Losing Their Religion: Organizational Identity Hybridization of British Political Parties 1950–2015

Our research addresses how organizations manage a shift from a single to a hybrid identity, a question that the identity literature still is grappling with. We address this question by reflecting on how organizations develop hybrid identities in response to institutional decline. Identity hybridization, we predict, takes place in stages via strategies that gradually hybridize the identity. We study how British political parties hybridized their identities in response to the decline of social-class politics over the period 1950–2015. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the identity projections of three political parties in their election manifestos provide support for our hypotheses.

Personal Branding through Perfume in the Middle East: Investigating the Role of Fragrance in Self-Presentation, Impression Management, and Cultural Identity

This study investigates the significance of perfume as a medium for self-expression and identity reflection. The research employs a qualitative approach, gathering narratives from twenty Middle Eastern participants who willingly participated in response to the researcher’s request. The findings illuminate the multifaceted role of perfume in the projection of diverse identities. Individuals employ perfume as a means to reveal different aspects of their personalities contingent upon the social context in which they find themselves. Furthermore, perfumes are utilized to convey specific images and convey particular meanings to the public. Beyond surface-level effects, perfumes hold profound implications for individuals’ psychological well-being, enhancing mood and fostering positive emotions. This research highlights the significance of cultural identity in the realm of perfume usage, demonstrating how scents can be employed as tools for cultural expression and preservation, ultimately contributing to the complex process of self-expression. The findings of this research offer valuable insights for perfume companies and marketing managers, empowering them to enhance their online communication with consumers and refine marketing strategies specifically tailored to Middle Eastern markets.

Promoting Awareness and Self-Efficacy for Culturally Responsive Teaching of Pre-Service Teachers Through the Identity Project – a Mixed Methods Study

ABSTRACT Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) provides a framework for teachers to include students’ ethnic-cultural identities in class, aiming to tackle issues of educational and societal inequity. This quasi-experimental mixed methods intervention study tested whether pre-service teachers attending a seminar based on an ethnic-cultural identity school intervention, the Identity Project, would show greater CRT self-efficacy and more positive beliefs about teaching in ethnic-culturally diverse classes, compared to a control group. Repeated measures ANCOVAs of survey data from 606 pre-service teachers in Germany indicated a stronger T1-T2 increase in confidence for interacting with ethnic-culturally diverse students and engaging in culture- and ethnic-related conversations in the intervention group. No significant time-by-group interactions emerged for other CRT facets. A content analysis of brief texts of pre-service teachers in the intervention group revealed they became more self-reflective about their own beliefs, learned about CRT practices for their own teaching, and gained confidence for including issues of ethnicity and culture in class. Yet, the complexity of ethnic-cultural diversity-related topics left some pre-service teachers feeling overwhelmed about how to adequately address ethnic-cultural diversity in the classroom. Overall, the Identity Project seminar raised pre-service teachers’ awareness and self-efficacy for engaging in CRT in the future.

Photovoice: Methodological Insights From a Multi-site Online Design

Photovoice involves respondents taking photographs of their environment to promote critical discussions and reflect on their experiences. Photovoice empowers marginalized communities and serves to reach policymakers. The Arizona Youth Identity Project (AZYIP) used photovoice with an innovative approach in a multisite research design with a large sample size and completely online research implementation using video conferencing, mobile phones, and video messages. We outline our process for other researchers interested in utilizing this dynamic method. We also reflect on the challenges and opportunities of engaging in this research design for future projects.

Food City: Ahmedabad as a Globalised Vegetarian Space

Existing studies, highlighting that dining out forms an important part of public cultures in India, have focused on the growing influence of consumer cultures on India’s middle classes and their identity formation. However, insufficient scholarly attention has been paid to the distinctly different ways in which middle-class experiences with modernity and cosmopolitanism unfold across different cities in India and in the worldwide South Asian diaspora. This article argues that in the major Gujarati city of Ahmedabad, middle-class engagement with new and global culinary practices is couched within dominant, regionally coloured vegetarian cultures, redefining vegetarianism as integral to the project of modern middle-class identity among certain upwardly mobile social groups. This ethnographic study of popular pizzerias sheds light on the transformative capacity and significance of vegetarian food. From being a symbol of exclusionary bourgeois hegemonic cultures, it has turned into a consumer item regarded as accessible and desirable for supporting middle-class aspirations to experience ‘global’ forms of consumption. The concluding analysis suggests that, since there are many diverse, cosmopolitan urban spaces like Ahmedabad, more research is needed especially on how global Gujarati food culture has been developing.

The ethics of care and the professional identity of teachers: implications for professionalization processes

ABSTRACT This work reviews the approach of the ethics of care in education and analyzes how the foundations of this ethicality contribute to the dialogical construction of teachers’ professional identity (attribution, projection, development and transformation). Professional identity is questioned when care is considered an epistemological and ethical approach to educational relationships, thereby encouraging reflection on the interactive components of identity (projection, disposition, worldview and action plans) and on the meaning of professional competence. This reflection produces transversal implications for teacher professionalization processes, which in turn results in the identification of training devices such as narratives, conversations and reflective and operational practices that help to turn the identity and the moral work of teaching into the central topic.

BASEBALL TEAM CORPORATE IDENTITY DESIGN: ARTISTIC AND TRADITIONAL CULTURE ASPECTS

The purpose of the article is to analyze the design of baseball team logos and create an original baseball club logo based on the identified trends. The analysis of the logos of baseball teams in the United States, China and Ukraine showed that the logos mainly depict elements related to baseball; elements of national cultural heritage; the name or monogram of the team. At the same time, the logos of baseball teams in the United States and China have pronounced features of shape, icon and color scheme. Baseball team logos in the USA often use a round shape. Blue and red are popular colors. The logos of Chinese baseball clubs mainly have a combined structure of the emblem, which accommodates the mascot of the club (zoomorphic or anthropomorphic), a baseball tool and the name of the club. The logo colors of Chinese baseball teams are black, white and warm colors: red, orange and yellow. Blue is also used. Based on the results of the analysis, elements of the corporate identity of a baseball club were developed: logo, branded colors, branded font. The main components of the corporate identity project are sports equipment, printing and souvenir products.

Queer and Ethnicity in Minsk, 1952: Belarusian Reading of Kaspars Irbe’s Diary

This article proposes an intersectional approach to studying non-Russian queer experiences in the Soviet empire. While earlier applications of intersectionality focused on race, gender, and class, other regional perspectives may highlight ethnicity, citizenship, and language. The text approaches non-Russian queer subjects in the USSR as a heterogeneous multiplicity via a contextualised reading of a diary fragment written by the Latvian Kaspars Irbe in Minsk in 1952. It highlights the prominence of communication between queers and people from the “centre” but also notes the hindrance of immediate contact between ethnicised subalterns due to Soviet social engineering. Tracing contingencies of Belarusian history, the article reveals how national identity and queer emancipation projects can evolve together.

Teachers' Implementation of the Identity Project Is Associated With Increases in U.S. High School Students' Ethnic-Racial Identity Exploration.

Ethnic-racial identity formation has significant consequences for positive youth development. Existing findings support the efficacy of the Identity Project, a school-based ethnic-racial identity intervention, when delivered by researchers; however, effectiveness of the program when delivered by teachers is unknown. This study examined changes in adolescents' (N = 180; 42.2% male, 50.6% female, 6.7% another gender identity; Mage = 14.11, SD = 0.33; 38.3% Latinx, 33.9% White, 15.0% Black, 9.4% Asian American, 3.3% another ethnoracial background) ethnic-racial identity exploration as a function of their teachers' implementation of the Identity Project. Findings indicated that ethnic-racial identity exploration significantly increased from pretest to posttest, and this did not vary based on familial ethnic-racial socialization, student-teacher ethnoracial match/mismatch, gender, immigrant status, or ethnoracial background. This study provides preliminary evidence that U.S. educators can be trained to efficaciously implement the Identity Project with high school students and, furthermore, that this approach to program dissemination may not only facilitate scale-up but also result in greater gains for adolescents relative to research-led implementations.

Promoting adolescents' cultural identity development: A pilot study of the identity project intervention in Italy.

This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the Italian adaptation of the Identity Project (IP), a school-based intervention promoting cultural identity formation in adolescence. Participants were 138 adolescents (Mage = 15.66 years, SD = 0.84, 63% female, 37% of immigrant descent) from nine classrooms that were assigned to the intervention or control condition based on teachers' indications to ensure sustainability. The curriculum was delivered online due to COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions in spring 2021. Youth self-reported on their cultural identity exploration and resolution 1 week before and 1 week after the intervention. Feedback on the cultural appropriateness and salience of the program was gathered from students and teachers via online focus groups. The analysis of qualitative data supported the feasibility and acceptability of the culturally adapted IP, with students expressing appreciation for its interactive approach and the possibility to learn about their classmates' cultural origins. Analysis of quantitative data indicated that the program led to increases in cultural identity resolution, but not exploration. This pilot implementation confirms the importance of intervening in cultural identity development in multiethnic classrooms in Italy, although further work is necessary to better understand if nonsignificant findings for exploration were due to measurement issues introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic or if program modifications are necessary to stimulate adolescents' engagement in exploration processes. Delivering the activities in person and without social distancing measures may be crucial to increase its efficacy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Data management plan and REDCap mobile data capture for a multi-country Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial.

Household air pollution (HAP) is a leading environmental risk factor accounting for about 1.6 million premature deaths mainly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, no multicounty randomized controlled trials have assessed the effect of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove intervention on HAP and maternal and child health outcomes. The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) was the first to assess this by implementing a common protocol in four LMICs. This manuscript describes the implementation of the HAPIN data management protocol via Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) used to collect over 50 million data points in more than 4000 variables from 80 case report forms (CRFs). We recruited 800 pregnant women in each study country (Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda) who used biomass fuels in their households. Households were randomly assigned to receive LPG stoves and 18 months of free LPG supply (intervention) or to continue using biomass fuels (control). Households were followed for 18 months and assessed for primary health outcomes: low birth weight, severe pneumonia, and stunting. The HAPIN Data Management Core (DMC) implemented identical REDCap projects for each study site using shared variable names and timelines in local languages. Field staff collected data offline using tablets on the REDCap Mobile Application. Utilizing the REDCap application allowed the HAPIN DMC to collect and store data securely, access data (near real-time), create reports, perform quality control, update questionnaires, and provide timely feedback to local data management teams. Additional REDCap functionalities (e.g. scheduling, data validation, and barcode scanning) supported the study. While the HAPIN trial experienced some challenges, REDCap effectively met HAPIN study goals, including quality data collection and timely reporting and analysis on this important global health trial, and supported more than 40 peer-reviewed scientific publications to date.

CROWDSOURCING AS A TOOL FOR CHANGING THE TRADITIONAL MODEL OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BRANDS, RETAIL TRADE AND CONSUMERS

The article examines in detail the essence of consumer crowdsourcing and describes the relationships that arise in this case. Based on the analysis of the scientific literature, a matrix of the ratio of the intensity of consumer crowdsourcing and consumer crowd-sending was built. There are four different states that the relationship between the consumer and the platform can have due to the construction of the matrix: special relationship, thorough partnership, stimulating relationship, natural partnership. The main indicators of consumer crowdsourcing platforms are characterized: main focus, key blocks, activity. Emphasized, that the primary focus of special relationships is on the brand's core product, and the relationships that emerge are characterized by cold loyalty as consumers focus on the utilitarian benefits of the platform, such as convenience or cost savings. While the main focus of natural partnership is on the identity project, the key blocks are the public, enthusiasm, benchmarking, and the activity is aimed at self-expansion plus self-enhancement. Examples of successful use of crowdsourcing in foreign practice are described. The areas of application of crowdsourcing in retail trade are determined: financing, marketplaces, design, technologies, delivery of goods. Detailed features of the application of crowdsourcing in such a direction as the delivery of goods. It was concluded that currently crowdsourcing cannot become an alternative to traditional trade, but it can provide additional opportunities, become an effective means of strengthening relations between brands, retail trade and consumers.

Political Enlightenment in the Context of the Soviet Identity Project Based on Materials of Altai Krai (1945–1955)

This article examines the communicative strategies of the formation of civic identity by the system of political education institutions in Altai in the ideological space of 1945–1955 based on regional materials. The authors employ the concept of constructing the phenomenon of Soviet society relevant to the modern neoclassical model of science. The source base consists of normative documents of the Central Committee and the Altai Krai Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, office materials of the propaganda and agitation bodies of the region from the funds of the State Archive of Altai Krai. The authors compare the reports of party committees with the information and analytical data of inspections of political and educational work in Altai. Materials of the All-Union and regional educational and instructional and methodical literature, and regional press were used to analyse discursive propaganda practices. Based on the theoretical and methodological approaches of social design and intellectual history, the article identifies the goals of creation, ideological and semantic motifs, symbolic components, and examples of normative behaviour spread among citizens. It is demonstrated that the production of standards of collective identification of the inhabitants of the region was based on the national-state narrative that rehabilitated the “Homeland” chronotope. The implementation of the all-Union project of social consolidation and support of the Soviet government in Altai Krai focused on the consistent inclusion of the official version of the past in the individual life experience by teaching political literacy, oral, and visual propaganda in schools and school clubs. A feature of the rear region was the construction, first of all, of identification samples of labour heroism. An important technology for involving the population in large-scale activities to restore the economic and socio-cultural potential of the USSR after the Great Patriotic War was the motivation of the feat as a mechanism for personal perpetuation in the memory of descendants.

Postmigracyjny background i co z niego wynika. Rewolty tożsamościowe dzieci późnych przesiedleńców w prozie faktograficznej Emilii Smechowski, "My, super imigranci"

The Post-migrant Background and What it Entails: Identity Shifts in the Children of Late Repatriates in the Factual Prose of Emilia Smechowski, My, super imigranci The article analyzes an extensive nonfiction book by Emilia Smechowski, a Polish-born author who relocated to Germany as a child. The purpose of the examination is to determine how the migrant and post-migrant experience influenced the author and her characters. The paper looks at the consequences of the tensions resulting from the migrant background as regards genre choices (reportage/self-reportage/autobiography), thematic interests (the text grew between cultures and languages), and identity definitions. The book is approached as an identity and emancipation project of the speaking subject. It is an account of coping with difficult post-migrant experiences on a micro- and macro-scale (a Polish intelligentsia family vs. German public discourse).

EXPLORING HYBRID MASCULINITIES OF THE MALE CHARACTERS IN OKPEWHO’S THE LAST DUTY

Abstract
 This paper explores the concept of failed hegemonic masculinity to exact its full benefit from the assumed patriarchal privileges that African men ascribe to with intent of subjugating femininity. The failure of both patriarchy and masculinity to accentuate their hold unto these privileges results in a cataclysmic disfigured form of subordinated masculinities that manifest in a hybridism of masculinities. Utilizing Okpewho’s novel, The Last Duty, this paper examines how the novelist’s portraiture of the male characters in the novel reveals a bastardized patriarchy strangled to the point of suffocation; its relevance to society is seen in the infirmary of hopelessness and nothingness. The salvaging element, the paper argues, is to view the male characters through the lenses of hybrid masculinities which interpret the diverse identity projects of patriarchy in gender studies as ephemeral.