scholarly journals Making clear what is fuzzy about community membership: A prototypic approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Reed ◽  
Ariel Jordan-Zamora ◽  
Crystal Nicole Steltenpohl ◽  
Christopher Keys

Aims: The critical task of positively identifying membership of the communities with which we work prior to initiating programs of research purporting to represent said communities is often forgone and treated as self-evident. This study demonstrates undertaking this task at the outset of a program of research by gathering member self-definitions of a relational, online and face-to-face community- the Fighting Game Community.Methods: Borrowing from social identity theory in social psychology, this study uses a prototypic approach and thematic content analysis with 319 open-ended descriptions of “good players” and “bad player” deviants.Results: In general, having a growth mindset and winning games were the most crucial amongst divergent themes. Of equal interest, definitions were not consensual across the community; some directly conflicted with one another. These definitions represented a community with fuzzy boundaries, that exists more as a multi-layered tapestry than a black-and-white unit with sharply delineated boundaries.

Author(s):  
Rogers Matama ◽  
Kezia H. Mkwizu

The purpose of this study was to explore the antecedents of family conflict in Uganda. A qualitative approach was used in this study. A sample size of 139 participants provided data which was subjected to content analysis. Results revealed that the core themes associated with family conflict are finances and priority of resources. Further findings show that differences in tastes and interests, selfishness and lack of communication played a key role as causes of family conflicts. The implication of this study is that finances and priority of resources are antecedents of family conflict in the context of Uganda. Therefore, the antecedents of family conflict that emerged from this study can be understood, defined and analyzed through the lens of social identity theory. Future research may include conducting quantitative studies with a particular demographic using the themes that have emerged from this study.


Author(s):  
Timo Harrikari ◽  
Marjo Romakkaniemi ◽  
Laura Tiitinen ◽  
Sanna Ovaskainen

Abstract This article addresses the experiences of Finnish frontline social workers during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. Two questions are addressed. First, ‘what types of challenges social work professionals faced’ in their everyday, ‘glocal’ pandemic setting and, second, what types of solutions they developed to meet these challenges. The data consist of 33 personal diaries that social work professionals created from mid-March to the end of May 2020. The diaries are analysed by a thematic content analysis and placed within the framework of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis. The results suggest that the pandemic challenged social work at all levels, from face-to-face interactions to its global relations. The pandemic revealed not only the number of existing problems of social work, but also created new types of challenges. It demanded ultimate resilience from social workers and a new type of adaptive governance from social welfare institutions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Eisen

This Element explores the potential in Judaism to incite Jews to engage in violence against non-Jews. The analysis proceeds in historical fashion, with sections devoted to the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic Judaism, medieval and early modern Judaism, and modern Zionism. The last topic is given special attention because of its relevance to the current Middle East conflict. This Element also draws on insights from social psychology to explain Jewish violence - particularly Social Identity Theory.


2010 ◽  
pp. 1433-1444
Author(s):  
Scott L. Crabill

According to social identity theory, individuals create and maintain their social identity through group membership. During face-to-face interactions within a group, people assess various verbal and nonverbal cues to influence the perceptions of themselves by others. However, in the context of online communication these cues are not as readily available. A screen name can be viewed as part of an individual’s “social identity creation”: a message that members of online discussion boards interpret and react to while trying to situate themselves within the group. This chapter explores how language convergence can function as a cue that facilitates situating social identity within online in-groups. Results of a content analysis of 400 screen names suggest that the screen names of discussion board members serve as an organizing variable for participants to situate themselves socially within the context of online interaction.


2021 ◽  
pp. 197-220
Author(s):  
Nils Holtug

Chapter 7, on nationalism, addresses the so-called ‘national identity argument’, according to which a shared national identity fosters social cohesion and is required for, or at least facilitates, egalitarian redistribution. First, it is argued that the prospect for nation-building policies, built on the idea of a shared national culture, is severely restricted by the liberal egalitarian requirements of justice defended in Chapter 4. Then the causal mechanism through which a national culture is supposed to promote trust and solidarity is scrutinized, and it is argued that it is not really supported by, for example, social identity theory and evidence from social psychology. Finally, empirical studies of the effect of national identity on trust and solidarity are considered, and it is argued that these do not support the national identity argument either.


Author(s):  
Rogers Matama ◽  
Kezia H. Mkwizu

The purpose of this study was to explore the antecedents of family conflict in Uganda. A qualitative approach was used in this study. A sample size of 139 participants provided data which was subjected to content analysis. Results revealed that the core themes associated with family conflict are finances and priority of resources. Further findings show that differences in tastes and interests, selfishness and lack of communication played a key role as causes of family conflicts. The implication of this study is that finances and priority of resources are antecedents of family conflict in the context of Uganda. Therefore, the antecedents of family conflict that emerged from this study can be understood, defined and analyzed through the lens of social identity theory. Future research may include conducting quantitative studies with a particular demographic using the themes that have emerged from this study.


2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bee L Wee ◽  
PG Coleman ◽  
R Hillier ◽  
SH Holgate

Background: Death rattle is the noisy, rattling breathing that occurs in many dying patients. Health professionals intervene because the sound is said to distress attendant relatives. We found no formal study to confirm or refute relatives’ distress, so we decided to ask the relatives. Method: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 27 bereaved relatives to investigate their experience of terminal care and what their response had been to the sound of death rattle if this had occurred. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic content analysis. Results: We found that almost half of the 12 relatives who had heard the sound of death rattle had been distressed by it. The others were either neutral about the sound or found it a helpful signal of impending death. Conclusion: We confirmed that some relatives do find it distressing to hear the sound of death rattle. However, our expectation that relatives are universally disturbed by this sound was unfounded. There is no justification for a ‘blanket’ approach to therapeutic intervention when death rattle occurs. A better understanding is required of how relatives make sense of the sound of death rattle.


1991 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 225-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian Finchilescu ◽  
Cheryl de la Rey

Social Identity Theory predicts that the pattern of intergroup behaviour is a function of the relative status of the groups involved, and the perceived security of this hierarchy. Insecurity of social identity arises if the intergroup situation is seen as unstable and/or illegitimate. In this paper the authors suggest that these factors may also contribute to intra-group variations in outgroup discrimination and hostility. This was empirically investigated using black and white students from a South African university, at a time when social change appeared imminent. A measure of perceptions of status, stability and legitimacy was developed, and the effect of these perceptions on attitudes and various measures of discrimination tested. A consistent finding was that of the white subjects, those who perceived the intergroup situation as illegitimate, gave significantly less discriminatory responses than did those who perceived it as legitimate. The results provide support for some of the theoretical predictions.


Author(s):  
Rogers Matama ◽  
Kezia H. Mkwizu

The purpose of this study was to explore the antecedents of family conflict in Uganda. A qualitative approach was used in this study. A sample size of 139 participants provided data which was subjected to content analysis. Results revealed that the core themes associated with family conflict are finances and priority of resources. Further findings show that differences in tastes and interests, selfishness and lack of communication played a key role as causes of family conflicts. The implication of this study is that finances and priority of resources are antecedents of family conflict in the context of Uganda. Therefore, the antecedents of family conflict that emerged from this study can be understood, defined and analyzed through the lens of social identity theory. Future research may include conducting quantitative studies with a particular demographic using the themes that have emerged from this study.  


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