Identity Work Research Articles

Teaching (multi)literacies, supporting multilingual identities

The EFL classroom can be a place in which students develop target language skills and overarching plurilingual competencies, but also their multilingual identities. Digital games – including interactive fiction (IF) – may play a role in this context, as participation in digital games and gaming practices has been claimed to afford identity work. This paper is based on a follow-up study for the “FanTALES” Erasmus+ project. Drawing on IF stories created in a pedagogic intervention and on follow-up focus group interviews, it finds that multilingual storytelling in an interactive fiction context was challenging for students, even though they self-assessed their productive plurilingual competencies as fairly high, and that the writing task itself was only partially successful in creating a ‘translanguaging space’ in which all linguistic resources could be used and valued.

“Really being yourself”? Racial minority entrepreneurs navigating othering and authenticity through identity work

PurposeDrawing on an intersectional perspective on racial, migrant and entrepreneurial identities, this paper investigates the identity work of racial minority entrepreneurs with native-born and migrant backgrounds, confronted to experiences of othering in a White entrepreneurial ecosystem.Design/methodology/approachThe study takes a qualitative-interpretivist approach and builds on six cases of racial minority entrepreneurs in nascent stages of venture development within the Dutch technology sector. The dataset comprises 24 in-depth interviews conducted over the course of one and a half year, extensive case descriptions and online sources. The data is thematically and inductively analysed.FindingsDespite strongly self-identifying as entrepreneurs, the research participants feel marginalised and excluded from the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which results in ongoing threats to their existential authenticity as they build a legitimate entrepreneurial identity. Minority entrepreneurs navigate these threats by either downplaying or embracing their marginalised racial and/or migrant identities.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature on the identity work of minority entrepreneurs. The paper reveals that, rather than “strategising away” the discrimination and exclusion resulting from othering, racial minority entrepreneurs seek to preserve their sense of existential authenticity and self-worth, irrespective of entrepreneurial outcomes. In so doing, the study challenges the dominant perspective of entrepreneurial identity work among minority entrepreneurs as overly instrumental and market-driven. Moreover, the study also contributes to the literature on authenticity in entrepreneurship by highlighting how racial minority entrepreneurs navigate authenticity threats while building legitimacy in a White ecosystem.

Study on the structural stability of the rail pad and its influence on the dynamic response of the vehicle-track coupled system

This paper investigates the structural stability difference between Grooved Rail Pads (GRP) and Mesh-Type Rail Pad with Damping Blocks (MTRPDB), along with their impact on vehicle-track coupled systems. Firstly, the different loading tests reveal that both Rail Pad (RP) types exhibit increased static/dynamic stiffness when with higher loading. The MTRPDB maintains superior structural stability and vibration absorption under large loading, and the fatigue tests confirm its better fatigue resistance. Then, finite element analysis demonstrates that MTRPDB outperforms GRP with a higher bearing capacity and lower stress level under large loading. Moreover, MTRPDB can better maintain a linear stiffness under identical working conditions. Finally, the dynamic analysis reveals that an increasing number of RP failures negatively impact train safety, and the car body acceleration significantly rises with more RP failures. Furthermore, the MTRPDB exhibits lower dynamic responses compared to GRP across different speed conditions, indicating its superior vibration absorption capacity.

When old and new selves collide: Identity conflict and entrepreneurial nostalgia among ex‐entrepreneurs

AbstractPeople undergoing career transitions often bring aspects of old roles into their new work contexts, and this interface can create conflict between lingering aspects of one's work self and the newer aspects of one's work self. Yet, we know little about how this conflict between old and new selves shapes employee outcomes. We examine this issue among ex‐entrepreneurs—individuals who have transitioned from a business owner to a wage employee. Drawing from role identity theory, we develop a model of the consequences of conflict between a lingering entrepreneur identity and a current work role identity. We propose that ex‐entrepreneurs who experience higher levels of identity conflict will be more likely to experience burnout and less likely to engage in boosterism of their employer, and that these relationships are explained by lower levels of perceived professional identity growth (i.e., progressive identity). We further suggest that the negative effect of conflict on progressive identity is exacerbated by nostalgia for one's entrepreneurial past. In a three‐stage field survey of ex‐entrepreneurs and their romantic partners, we found support for these hypotheses using both partner‐rated outcomes and self‐rated outcomes. We discuss implications for the literature on entrepreneurship careers and work identity in organizations.

To understand yourself and the other: Metamorphosis and the search of the lost identity in the literary works of Kawakami Hiromi

To understand yourself and the other: Metamorphosis and the search of the lost identity in the literary works of Kawakami Hiromi

Spirituality and Narrative Identity: Three Case Studies

Since the narrative turn in the social sciences from the 1980s onward, there has been an increasing interest in the concept of narrative identity. The concept of narrative identity, however, is open to multiple interpretations. Here, we take a narrative hermeneutic approach and apply one particular model of narrative identity—to three case studies, exploring how each of these was shaped by the storyworlds of the participants. The case studies have been selected as examples of different forms of identity: received, bricolage, and guided. Following this exploration, we reflect on the potential of this approach in other areas of identity work and the implications for narrative understanding in the promotion of social justice.

Reflexive professionalisation in social work practice development, research, and education: the vital challenge of democratic citizen participation

ABSTRACT This paper examines how the renewed critical emphasis on reflexive professionalisation in the field of social work can take into account the challenges regarding the politics of democratic participation of service users as citizens while working towards social justice. Our contribution is based on the findings of a collaborative European research project involving researchers, students, public service organisations, service user organisations, and educators from various European countries. The aim of the project was to gain a differentiated and in-depth understanding of how reflexive professionalisation in social work may function as a concept and practice that stimulates social care that integrates a commitment to democratic citizen participation. Based on a qualitative content analysis of 21 transnational empirical case studies, we identify four vital dimensions of developing reflexive and democratic participatory approaches in social service contexts: (1) cultivating a historical awareness of how the professional identity and mandate of social workers has been and is currently (nationally) defined; (2) articulating the professional positions and normative value orientations that underpin (participatory) practice development; (3) reflecting on the constructions of problems, service user identities and related actions; and (4) creating space for ambiguity, risks and mistakes.

Placement experiences as identity work: crafting fit with professional possibilities

ABSTRACT Placement as a form of work-integrated learning is a valued element of undergraduate education. Prior work explores how placement provides a site for developing professional values, skills and competences as well as identifying how students build awareness of professional requirements. Greater focus on how such processes of awareness are realised, negotiated and enacted is still required. This study frames student placement experiences as enabling processes of recursive negotiation between the self and the setting. The empirical contribution is to document and track this with 40 students on accounting placements, interviewed at three points in time (pre-, during, post-placement) exploring their subjective experiences. Findings evidence various trajectories of experience emerging from which a model capturing four distinct forms of fit (personal, reflected, projected, absence of fit) with professional identity is developed. This suggests student placement experiences in all their variations lead to and constitute more than merely technical or academic outcomes. Conceptually framing placement experiences as recursive negotiations between the self and the setting in the professionalisation journey uncovers how professional identity formation processes are constructed and (re)negotiated. As well as providing students with terminology to understand and articulate the multiplicity of possible placement experiences, educators, employers and professional bodies can benefit from the more nuanced possibilities for work-integrated learning that are suggested.

The changing landscape of heritage language learners abroad

Abstract This special issue highlights current research on topics related to linguistic and identity development of heritage language learners (HLLs) who participate in study abroad programs. With the steady increase of study abroad, it is becoming more common for HLLs to study in the country of their heritage or in one where the heritage language is spoken. The issues and challenges faced by HLLs often differ from their second language counterparts. While research on the linguistic development of HLLs abroad is increasing, much work remains. This introduction will highlight the importance of researching HLLs abroad, the growing amount of research conducted on HLLs, and identity work on HLLs abroad. In addition to these topics, several ideas are provided for future research on HLLs abroad. Following this, the articles in the special issue are presented, emphasizing how they contribute to the topics presented in this introductory section.

The Place of Knowledge in Constructing Social Work Identity: Validating Vagueness

Abstract Social work, globally, has struggled persistently to justify itself as an academic or professional discipline. Its terrain is not the academic high ground, where principles and concomitant courses of action seem clear, but the domain of practice, where knowledge and actions are plural, ambiguous, situated and contested. A consequence of the diffuse nature of social work knowledge and practice is that workers can struggle to articulate what it is they do by comparison to other professions where knowledge can appear more bounded. In this article, we explore the impact of this on the profession’s identity. The article is structured into three main sections: the first sets out some of social work's struggles with knowledge. We then introduce data from a Scottish study on the challenges social workers face to account for what they do. In the final section, we consider what this insecurity about a coherent knowledge base might mean for workers’ professional identity.

Stuck between the ideal worker and the bread winner: experiences of motherhood and work during the COVID-19 pandemic in India

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the experiences of middle-class working mothers from the ITES (Information Technology Enabled Service) sector in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their experiences of work from home are studied in the backdrop of the ideal worker model at work and the adult worker model at home. Further, the study aims to identify the need for sustainable, inclusive practices for working mothers in Indian organizations to break the male breadwinner model in middle-class households.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach to collect data from 39 middle-class mothers working in MNCs in four metro cities in India. The semi-structured, in-depth interviews focused on their experiences of motherhood, care and work before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.FindingsThe pandemic made it evident that the ideal worker model in organizations and the adult worker model at home were illusions for working mothers. The results indicate a continued obligation of the “ideal worker culture” at organizations, even during the health crisis. It made the working mothers realize that they were chasing both the (ideal worker and adult worker) norms but could never achieve them. Subsequently, the male breadwinner model was reinforced at home due to the matrix of motherhood, care and work during the pandemic. The study concludes by arguing the reconstruction of the ideal worker image to make workplaces more inclusive for working mothers.Originality/valueThe study is placed in the context of Indian middle-class motherhood during the pandemic, a demography less explored in the literature. The paper puts forth various myths constituting the gendered realities of Indian middle-class motherhood. It also discusses sustainable, inclusive workplace practices for mothers from their future workplaces' standpoint, especially in post-pandemic times.

Music as Magic

Music as Magic

Librarian and Social Work Identity in an Online Interprofessional Community of Practice for Responsive Librarianship Training

ABSTRACT This qualitative case study explored librarians’ and social workers’ experiences in an online scenario-game-based training program for Responsive Librarianship, a model for the delivery of personalised library services in response to a health or wellness concern. Analysis was conducted using the Community of Asynchronous Interprofessional Learning Model to determine how participants’ responses to course design and activities related to community of practice characteristics. Findings from this study explain how an online training program influences the development of professional identity among librarians and social workers in an interprofessional community of practice learning to provide Responsive Librarianship.

It is all about social quality: how social work researchers can contribute to social innovation

Over recent decades, ‘social innovation’ has become a buzzword. The term breathes progress and promising improvements but often stays rather theoretical instead of bringing real social change. In this article, the meaning of social innovation in the context of social work and social work research is explored, as well as how social work research can contribute to social innovation. It is argued that if social innovation is defined properly and connected with the values expressed in the international definition of social work, it can strengthen the identity and impact of social work and social work research. Social quality is presented as a theoretical framework that fits well for positioning social work research aimed at innovation. Enhancing social quality can be done in many ways, such as revealing the causes and mechanisms of social exclusion, supporting change processes by monitoring and evaluation, or co-creating better solutions by using action and design research methods.

Biographical Narratives in Teaching: a Study of Professors on Postgraduate Courses

Abstract Literature and research have shown that professional development constitutes an essential dimension in constructing both work and professional identity. An important aspect in such development is training. In the field of adult education, different authors (Pratt, 1993; Mezirow, 1985; Schön, 1996; Silva, 2007) emphasize the importance of placing trainees at the center of the learning and cognitive processes and within their corresponding social and historical contexts. Training is supported by a comprehensive adult learning theory. Therefore, the acquired knowledge is not only the result of an external and objective reality but also of a complex construction in which the appropriation of experience plays a relevant role. This paper reveals the findings obtained through biographical narratives in a five-year work program with teachers at different levels (from pre-school to higher education) on postgraduate courses. The core issue is the importance of biographical narratives, as an identification strategy for personal experience, knowledge construction and professional identity. This strategy provided the opportunity for recognition of practical experience, as a provider of learning, as well as his/her own authorship, which are important conditions in the understanding of professional identity.

Broadband noise characteristics of fans with different blades under identical working conditions

Small axis-flow fans are widely used for air cooling and ventilation systems. A common small axis-flow fan has an unshrouded rotor, structs or stator vanes and a round casing. The fans used in this work are designed based on isolated-airfoil blade design mode and simple radial equilibrium theory supplemented by three-dimensional flow simulations with steady flow. The noise radiated from the fan can be decomposed to discrete tones and broadband noise, which is mainly due to interaction between blades and structs or stators vanes and turbulence, respectively. Under the working conditions of the same pressure rise and volume flow rate, the noise spectra from different fans are analyzed. It is found that with the addition of the fan blade number, the concentration of the broadband sound energy gradually shifts from low frequency to high frequency. And the fewer the number of blades, the less the corresponding total broadband energy. Besides, the calculation results also show the fan with more blades can be absorbed more sound by the same sound absorption materials with the same volume. The findings are useful for improving the acoustic design of small axis-flow fans.

Upping the anti: antiracist identity work and its obfuscations

ABSTRACT This article aims to synthesize the extant literature that brings sociological analysis to the context, production and perpetuation of the antiracist identity. Our aim is to distinguish this analysis from the huge body of literature written from inside antiracism. Antiracism began in the latter half of the twentieth century. This examination reveals antiracism as an identity and a project of organizational production maintained through discursive and symbolic formations and institutionalized forms of governance. Its members espouse easily digestible ‘common sense’ ideologies of racism and anti-racism premised on a belief in the ‘absolute nature’ of categories of ethnicity and race. It then builds on this discursive framing with commensurate solutions at these levels. It does this through discursive projects and codification of institutional self governance. However, this racializing identity work may perpetuate racism through its classifications and its obfuscation of class privilege and economic inequalities. Its ever-expanding codified extension into organizations, businesses and global grassroots movements calls for a critical lens to direct historical, economic and political analysis onto the obfuscating work of this identity.

Carving a Professional Identity for Chinese Social Work Shaped by Universalisation, Indigenisation, and Culturalism

Abstract China provides an extremely interesting contemporary case study for the international social work research community, given its questioning of the pertinence of the international definition of social work and stance in relation to the debates surrounding universalisation, internationalisation and indigenisation. This article begins by examining the evolving identity of Chinese social work, grounded as it is in China’s political ideology and socio-cultural values. It then extends the debate on the paradoxical processes of universalisation, internationalisation and indigenisation within the international and Chinese social work discourse in light of the ascendance of Chinese culturalism. Finally, it addresses the impact of these interrelated processes on Chinese social work, as it struggled to adapt to the central government’s political control of the developing profession and social project to train 1.45 million social workers by 2020. It argues that, to avoid the Scylla of escaping into tradition (culturalism) and Charybdis of absorption into the West (universalisation), Chinese social work has become a blend of Western and indigenised knowledge still in search of a unique identity.

Making Sense of New Disease Categories: Naming, Spatialising, and Serialising in Genomic Medicine

Intrigued by geneticists’ framing of new gene names as somehow devoid of meaning, I set out to explore how patients and families make sense of naming practices in the field of genomic medicine. The aim for ever-more precise disease categorisation has resulted in names for medical conditions that are more akin to car-licence plates, such as DPF2 and G246A. Conducting fieldwork in Denmark, I followed the introduction of personalised medicine—that is the aim to tailor prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to the individual based on genomic and other data—in the field of rare diseases and diabetes. Engaging with theories of naming, spatialisation and serialisation, I suggest that it is exactly because of their unsettled meaning and presupposed lack of history that new gene names provide patients extra room for creative identity work. I argue that some patients and families use the new genetic disease labels to escape unwanted moral regimes, relocating disease aetiology from a moralised landscape to a ‘molecularised’ genetic one. I discuss how practices of serialisation enable patients to feel recognised as unique persons. In conclusion, I suggest that while the new genetic names may not stigmatise, they do change the patients’ idea of who they are in surprising ways, some of which the geneticists had not anticipated.

One writing group’s story: using an ethnographic case study to investigate the writing practices of academics

ABSTRACT Persuasive arguments attribute academics’ persistent struggles in making time for writing to the increasing demands of a marketised sector on the academic role (Dickson-Swift et al. 2009; Macleod, Steckley, and Murray 2012). Whilst a significant body of literature promotes different writing interventions as potential solutions, the challenge of building and sustaining a culture in which their positive outcomes are maintained remains. In this paper, I explore the practices of academics writing for publication purposes. Drawing on the concept of academic writing as ‘identity work (French 2020), I demonstrate that writing practices are entwined with wider academic and institutional identities, which either work for or against building sustainable writing cultures. I argue for a methodological shift in how writing initiatives are researched, drawing a distinction between my ethnographic case study of one writing group and others that focus either on retrospective accounts or analysing correlations between writing groups and productivity. Specifically, I argue for a focus on the ongoing process of becoming a writer rather than on its production. The study builds on existing literature to explain why writing groups are experienced as valuable to participants. It argues that they offer more than simply protected space for writing; they reframe participants’ understandings of themselves and their academic identities and reintegrate research writing with other aspects of their role. This identity work occurs within visible, protected spaces for writing, where participants work both individually and in community, and reflection and dialogue are central.