scholarly journals Online collaboration and identity work in a brony fandom: Constructing a dialogic space in a fan translation project

2021 ◽  
pp. 204275302098892
Author(s):  
Liudmila Shafirova ◽  
Kristiina Kumpulainen
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
Collaborative Writing ◽  
Online Collaboration ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Affinity Groups ◽  
My Little Pony ◽  
Dialogic Space

Online collaboration has become a regular practice for many Internet users, reflecting the emergence of new participatory cultures in the virtual world. However, little is yet known about the processes and conditions for online collaboration in informally formed writing spaces and how these create opportunities for participants’ identity work. This ethnographic case study explores how four young adults, fans of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (bronies), negotiated a dialogic space for their online collaboration on a fan translation project and how this created opportunities for their identity work. After a year of participant observation, we collected interviews, ethnographic diaries and participants’ chats, which were analysed with qualitative content and discourse analysis methods. The findings showed how the Etherpad online writing platform used by the participants facilitated the construction of dialogic space through the visualization of a shared artefact and adjustable features. It was in this dialogic space where the participants negotiated their expert identities which furthered their discussions about writing, translating and technological innovations. The study advances present-day knowledge about online collaboration in affinity groups, engendering the construction of a dialogic space for collaborative writing and participants’ identity work.

“I’m supposed to feel like this is my home”

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 519-532
Author(s):  
Roozbeh Shirazi
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Administrative Authority ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Affinity Group ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Muslim Student ◽  
Educational Decision Making

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how the exercise of administrative authority to suspend the Muslim Student Association (MSA), an affinity group at a suburban Midwestern high school, was experienced and perceived by affected students. Notably, it traces the mobilization of the MSA students to challenge the principal’s authority through formal channels within the district to reopen the affinity group. In doing so, the students’ activism represents an example of dissensus, or mode of political engagement that challenges top-down models of fostering equity and diversity in schools. Design/methodology/approach The data are drawn from a nine-month ethnographic case study at an inner-ring suburban school in a large Midwestern metropolitan area. Data include participant observation of classrooms and affinity group meetings, semi-structured individual and group interviews, informal conversation and analytical memos synthesizing ethnographic fieldnotes. Findings Though the school and district have made different investments in strengthening equity and diversity at the school, transnational and minoritized Muslim students report a school climate that is characterized by exclusion and racialized surveillance. The principal’s decision to suspend the MSA was characterized by a narrow understanding of the purpose of the group and the identities of the student members. The decision to suspend the MSA, however, produced conditions centering the agentive potential of marginalized and minoritized students. Originality/value This paper opens up the tensions challenges of incorporating student voice into educational decision making. Notably, it highlights important possibilities for political action students when their voices cannot or will not be heard by those who make decisions on their behalf.

scholarly journals Constructing environmentalist identities through green neoliberal identity work

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Autumn Thoyre
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
Fluorescent Light ◽  
Subject Formation ◽  
Symbolic Interactionist ◽  
Theory Analysis ◽  
Micro Level

To advance understandings of how neoliberal ideologies are linked to peoples' everyday environmentalist practices, this article examines processes through which green neoliberal subjects are made. Bringing together critical perspectives on green neoliberalism and symbolic interactionist perspectives on identities, I develop the concept of green neoliberal identity work, a mechanism through which neoliberal environmentalist subjects are produced. I use environmentalists' promotions and uses of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) as a case study, and employ mixed qualitative methods and grounded theory analysis. Data were collected in North Carolina through interviews, participant observation, and texts. The data reveal four generic patterns of green neoliberal identity work: celebrations and renunciations of particular technologies, inclusive-talk, performing moral math, and technological progress-talk. These patterns show that framing green neoliberal subject formation through the lens of identity work illuminates how these subjects form themselves through micro-level social processes, and opens up different ways of thinking about resistance.Keywords: environmentalism, neoliberalism, identity work, subjectivities, identities

Intergenerational Dynamics in Teenage Alcohol use

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Hulvej Jørgensen ◽  
Tine Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Friendship Groups ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
N 93 ◽  
And Control

Aim The paper examines teenage alcohol use from an intergenerational perspective through an ethnographic case study of interaction between teenagers and adults. Methods Two periods of ethnographic fieldwork were conducted in a rural Danish community of approximately 6000 inhabitants. The fieldwork included 50 days of participant observation among 13–16-year-olds (n=93) as well as semi-structured interviews with small self-selected friendship groups. The present paper presents an analysis of field notes from a night of participant observation that is used as an emblematic example of informants' alcohol use and their interaction with adults. Theoretically, the paper adopts French philosopher Michel de Certeau's conceptual framework for understanding the practice of everyday life, in particular his distinction between strategic and tactical action. Results Two scenarios are described and taken to represent two different adult approaches to teenage drinking. In Scenario I, adults accept a group of teenagers' drinking in the home, and in Scenario II adults create an alcohol-free space which they guard against the intrusion of intoxicated teenagers. In both cases, however, adults use their intergenerational position in order to strategically contain teenage drinking. Meanwhile, teenagers act tactically by adjusting their alcohol use in time and space. Further, the use of alcohol marks a shift in the interaction between adults and teenagers in so far as it enables teenagers to create and control a place of their own and hence signal their independence from adults. Conclusion The paper points to the creative, tactical agency of teenagers in response to adult strategies. It is illustrated how teenage alcohol use becomes a transformative factor for adult–teenager relationships, and in particular how teenagers rework intergenerational power differences by taking on drinking.

scholarly journals Experience of the spouse of a woman with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy: a qualitative case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhyquelle Rhibna Neris ◽  
Márcia Maria Fontão Zago ◽  
Maria Ângela Ribeiro ◽  
Juliana Pena Porto ◽  
Anna Cláudia Yokoyama dos Anjos
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Cultural Systems ◽  
Observation Results

Abstract Objective: To identify the meaning attributed to the experience of a spouse of a woman with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Methods: Descriptive study, with a theoretical-methodological orientation based on medical anthropology and utilizing an ethnographic case study strategy. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and participant observation. Results: The meanings revealed that the diagnosis cause suffering. Chemotherapy was seen as giving hope of healing the wife's cancer. During this process, the spouse had to deal with the strong adverse effects of the treatment and subordinate to his wife to reduce the conflict experienced by the couple, which violated the rules of his masculinity. Religion and family were important support networks on this path. Final considerations and implications for practice: The results showed the importance of considering cultural aspects of spouses when they are faced with disease in their wives. The way spouses deal with breast cancer will depend on their cultural systems. Nursing care must be comprehensive and extend to spouses whose wives have breast cancer.

scholarly journals Alternatives to the face-to-face consultation in general practice: focused ethnographic case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (669) ◽  
pp. e293-e300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Atherton ◽  
Heather Brant ◽  
Sue Ziebland ◽  
Annemieke Bikker ◽  
John Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Face ◽  
General Practices ◽  
The One

BackgroundNHS policy encourages general practices to introduce alternatives to the face-to-face consultation, such as telephone, email, e-consultation systems, or internet video. Most have been slow to adopt these, citing concerns about workload. This project builds on previous research by focusing on the experiences of patients and practitioners who have used one or more of these alternatives.AimTo understand how, under what conditions, for which patients, and in what ways, alternatives to face-to-face consultations present benefits and challenges to patients and practitioners in general practice.Design and settingFocused ethnographic case studies took place in eight UK general practices between June 2015 and March 2016.MethodNon-participant observation, informal conversations with staff, and semi-structured interviews with staff and patients were conducted. Practice documents and protocols were reviewed. Data were analysed through charting and the ‘one sheet of paper’ mind-map method to identify the line of argument in each thematic report.ResultsCase study practices had different rationales for offering alternatives to the face-to-face consultation. Beliefs varied about which patients and health issues were suitable. Co-workers were often unaware of each other’s practice; for example, practice policies for use of e-consultations systems with patients were not known about or followed. Patients reported benefits including convenience and access. Staff and some patients regarded the face-to-face consultation as the ideal.ConclusionExperience of implementing alternatives to the face-to-face consultation suggests that changes in patient access and staff workload may be both modest and gradual. Practices planning to implement them should consider carefully their reasons for doing so and involve the whole practice team.

scholarly journals Mas' Making and Pedagogy: Imagined Possibilities

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice Fournillier
Keyword(s):  
Performance Art ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Education For All ◽  
Country Of Birth ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Componential Analysis ◽  
Art Pedagogy

In this article I draw on an ethnographic case study that examined mas makers perceptions of the learning/teaching practices at work in the production of costumes for Trinidad and Tobagos annual Carnival celebrations. During the 2005 Carnival season I spent four months in the field, my country of birth, and collected data through participant observation, still photographs, and informal and semi-formal autobiographical interviews. I used Spradleys (1979, 1980) domain and componential analysis and Goodenoughs (1971) propriospect in my description, analysis, and interpretation of the data resources. In this article, I apply the notion of performance art pedagogy to these findings. In so doing, I explore imagined possibilities and implications for the institutionalized educational system that Caribbean scholars claim are in an era of re-conceptualization. I challenge fellow educators to reconsider what counts as learning and what learning counts (Green & Luke, 2006), in our efforts to provide education for all.

scholarly journals Making Sense of Resistance: How Adult Immigrant Students Pursue Agency Through Identity Work in Higher Educational Contexts

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily K Suh ◽  
Shawna Shapiro
Keyword(s):  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Academic Culture ◽  
Symbolic Capital ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
College Courses ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
College Personnel

Student resistance in the language/literacy classroom has been an important focus of research in TESOL and applied linguistics. This article examines resistance by two adult-arrival immigrant students in a developmental literacy classroom, drawing from a larger ethnographic case study focused on students’ transition into community college. The students’ behaviours seemed puzzling or self-defeating to some college personnel, but when viewed through the theoretical framework of identity work, they can be read as attempts to counteract institutional marginalization. Findings from this analysis illustrate how an understanding of the histories, identities, and investments of adult immigrant learners can help educators respond to “difficult” moments in the classroom and beyond. This study has several implications for higher education practitioners: First, we must question our initial assumptions about student behaviours, so that we interpret those behaviours accurately. Second, we must be explicit about the norms of the academic culture, so that students can more effectively enact their desired identities and display symbolic capital in college courses. Finally, we must build curricula, policies, and pedagogies that are more inclusive and relevant for adult immigrant learners. These findings add to scholarly conversations about immigrant students’ funds of knowledge and agency enactment within postsecondary education.  La résistance des étudiants dans la salle de classe de langue ou de littératie est devenue un point focal de la recherche en TESOL et en linguistique appliquée. Cet article examine la résistance de deux étudiants immigrants adultes récemment arrivés dans une classe de développement de la littératie, en s’appuyant sur une étude de cas ethnographique plus large qui se concentre sur la transition des étudiants vers un collège communautaire.  Aux yeux de certains membres du personnel du collège, le comportement des étudiants semblait déroutant ou semblait nuire à leur réussite; cependant, quand on utilisait la perspective du cadre de travail identitaire, le comportement peut se comprendre comme des tentatives de contrecarrer la marginalisation institutionnelle. Les résultats de cette analyse illustrent comment la compréhension des histoires, des identités et des investissements des étudiants immigrants adultes peut aider les éducateurs à répondre aux moments « difficiles » dans la salle de classe et au-delà. Cette étude a plusieurs implications pour les praticiens de l’enseignement supérieur. Premièrement, nous devons remettre en question nos suppositions premières à propos du comportement des étudiants de façon à l’interpréter correctement. Deuxièmement, nous devons expliquer clairement les normes de la culture universitaire, afin que les étudiants puissent entrer plus efficacement dans leur identité recherchée et montrer leur capital symbolique dans les cours collégiaux. Pour conclure, nous devons créer des programmes, des politiques et des pédagogies qui soient plus inclusives et plus pertinentes pour les apprenants immigrants adultes. Ces résultats s’ajoutent aux conversations universitaires sur le fonds de connaissances des étudiants immigrants et leur capacité d’agir au sein de l’enseignement postsecondaire.

scholarly journals The Ambiguity of Work: Work Practice Stories of Meaningful and Demanding Consultancy Work

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Didde Maria Humle
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Identity ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Knowledge Work ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Primary Input ◽  
The One ◽  
Empirical Material

This article contributes to the current debate among organizational and work-life researchers on the double-sided nature of knowledge work, which offers great freedom and satisfaction on the one hand and the potential to be overly demanding and stressful on the other. This contribution involves drawing on the results of an ethnographic case study of a consultancy house; more specifically, it comprises an exploration of the narrative identity work of consultants as they perform work practice stories of self, work, and the organization negotiating why the work they do is both challenging and rewarding. The type of knowledge work explored is characterized by its immaterial nature in the sense that the primary input is the competences, knowledge, and commitment of the consultants and the output is the joy, success, and satisfaction of candidates, clients, and collaborators. The article contributes by showing that some of the elements perceived to make the work meaningful and rewarding are the same ones also described as potentially demanding and challenging. Furthermore, the article contributes by arguing that studying work practice stories as (ante)narrative identity work provides a rich source of empirical material in the examination of how we create meaning in relationship to the work we do and the organizations by which we are employed.

scholarly journals Occupational stress among law enforcement rangers: insights from Uganda

Oryx ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 646-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Moreto
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Occupational Stress ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Wildlife Species ◽  
Occupational Task

AbstractIn many countries law enforcement rangers are frontline guardians responsible for the management, monitoring and protection of protected areas and wildlife species. To date, little research has been conducted on law enforcement rangers and their perceptions of stress. This exploratory study contributes to both the criminological and conservation literature by exploring an important human dimension often neglected in conservation science research: law enforcement rangers. Similar to previous research on police occupational stress, it is expected that law enforcement rangers experience stressors unique to their profession. Utilizing an ethnographic case study approach based on interviews and participant observation, this research examines ranger perceptions of occupational stress in a protected area in Uganda. Findings indicate that law enforcement rangers are exposed to various occupational/task-related, external, internal, and occupation-related personal strains. Results from the study have implications in understanding, reducing and preventing occupational stress in rangers, as well as in capacity building for park management.

Our Stage, Our Streets

2018 ◽  
pp. 453-470
Author(s):  
Jessa Lingel
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Queer Identity ◽  
Group Interviews

Forming a convergence of digital media, urban life, and queer identity, Brooklyn’s drag community provides a case study for thinking about different means of theorizing space. Space not only matters for the content of communication, but also shapes practices of and different needs for communication. Drawing on participant observation and focus group interviews with drag queens in Brooklyn, New York, the chapter describes the narratives and practices of representation that emerge in accounts of how their community came to be and what their collective identity work means in a larger context of queerness, media, and the urban. The discussion focuses particularly on the ways that authenticity and visibility are bound up in practices of mediated representation and identifies the different scales (neighborhood, city, and countercultural imaginary) that emerge in practices of queer identity work as tied to space.

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