Migration, Language, Identity: The Journey of Meixian Hakkas from Calcutta to Vienna

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf Vollmann ◽  
◽  
Wooi Soon Tek ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Mutual Support ◽  
Minority Culture ◽  
Language Identity ◽  
Closed Group ◽  
Group Life ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Close Friendship ◽  
Younger Generation

Hakkas from Meizhou who migrated to Calcutta established suc¬cessful businesses, and then, in the 1970s to the 1990s, moved on to settle in Vienna (and Toronto). Prac¬ticing a closed-group life both in Vienna and across continents, the Hakkas preserved their lan¬gua¬ge and culture while adapting both to India and Austria in various ways. In a series of open interviews with Vienna-based Hakkas, questions of identity and the preservation of a minority culture are raised. In dependence to age, the consultants have very different personal identities behind a shared social identity of being ‘Indian Hak¬ka¬s,’ which is, however, mostly borne out of practical considerations of mutual support and certain cultural practices. As mi¬grants, they can profit from close friendship and loyalty between group members, sharing the same pro¬fes¬sions, marrying inside the group, and speaking their own language. Questions of identity are most¬ly relevant for the younger generation which has to deal with a confusingly layered familial iden¬tity.

Low-status group members in the intergroup paradigm: Social identity and derogation of the ingroup

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Munhall ◽  
Mark Alicke ◽  
G. Daniel Lassiter ◽  
Amy Rosenblatt ◽  
Leah Collins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Status Group ◽  
Group Members

Dream-Sharing and Human Self-Domestication

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Blagrove ◽  
Julia Lockheart
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
The Social ◽  
Primary Driver ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Human Social Evolution ◽  
Dream Sharing ◽  
Experimental Findings

There are many theories of the function of dreams, such as memory consolidation, emotion processing, threat simulation and social simulation. In general, such theories hold that the function of dreams occurs within sleep; occurs for unrecalled dreams as well as for dream that are recalled on awakening; and that conscious recall of dreams is not necessary for their function to occur. In contrast, we propose that dreams have an effect of enhancing empathy and group bonding when dreams are shared and discussed with others. We propose also that this effect would have occurred in history and pre-history and, as it would have enhanced the cohesiveness and mutual understanding of group members, the fictional and engaging characteristics of dream content would have been selected for during human social evolution, interacting with cultural practices of dream-sharing. Such dream-sharing may have taken advantage of the long REM periods that occur for biological reasons near the end of the night. Dream-production and dream-sharing may have developed alongside story-telling, utilising common neural mechanisms. Dream-sharing hence would have contributed to Human Self-Domestication, held by many researchers to be the primary driver of the evolution of human prosociality, tolerance and reduced intragroup emotional reactivity. We note that within-sleep theories of dream function rely on correlational rather than experimental findings, and have as yet untested and speculative mechanisms, whereas post-sleep effects of dream-sharing are easily testable and have mechanisms congruent with the social processes proposed by the theory of Human Self-Domestication.

Turning Points in Group Life: Using High-Tension Moments to Promote Group Purpose and Mutual Aid

2003 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Gitterman ◽  
Julianne Wayne
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Group Composition ◽  
Turning Points ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Group Life ◽  
High Tension ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Professional Interventions

The interactions among and between group members and a social worker often generate natural interpersonal tensions in group life. If handled with skill, these difficult moments have the potential to become significant turning points in members' ability to feel safe in the group and in their motivation to achieve the group's purpose through a mutual aid process. In this article the authors examine five areas of group life that are often sources of tension-filled situations. These areas are group composition, group purpose and the working agreement, the worker's authority, members' interpersonal relationships, painful material, and environmental factors. The authors recommend professional interventions aimed at converting high-tension moments into incidents that promote trust, caring, and mutual aid.

scholarly journals In Praise of Irrationality: Self, "East" and "West" in Greek Teachers' Speeches on National Day Commemorations

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucianna Benincasa
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
The West ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Social Creativity ◽  
East And West

In this qualitative study of school discourse on national day commemorations, focus is on the "social creativity strategies" through which group members can improve their social identity. Discourse analysis was carried out on thirty-nine teachers' speeches delivered in Greek schools between 1998 and 2004. The speakers scorn rationality and logic, stereotypically attributed to "the West" (a "West" which is perceived not to include Greece), as cold and not human. The Greeks' successful national struggles are presented instead as the result of irrationality. They claim irrationality to be the most human and thus the most valuable quality, which places Greece first in the world hierarchy. The results are further discussed in terms of their implications for learning and teaching in the classroom, as well as for policy and research.

scholarly journals The Role of social Identity in James Joyce`s Dubliners within the Light of Cultural Materialism

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-99
Author(s):  
Mojgan Gaeini ◽  
Fatemeh Sadat Basirizadeh ◽  
Mahnaz Soqandi MA
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
James Joyce ◽  
Short Story ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Cultural Materialism ◽  
Material Life ◽  
Raymond Williams

Language, Social identity and Religion are three major concerns of cultural studies. Language in literary texts plays a major role in constructing meaning and reflecting the author`s intention. Likewise religion as a cultural politics is a dominant factor in shaping mind as well in affecting the framework of literary text. Religion is one of the emerging issues in the modern era and forms the backbone of most literary works. Religion as a theme is seen to influence the operation of those who believe in it. It forms the functional framework that predetermines ones actions and behavior. Furthermore, social identity decides on the status of the social class and their material life situation.  Social identity relates to how we identify ourselves in relation to others according to what we have in common. All these issues are interrelated since they all cooperate and construct a social and cultural materiality. James Joyce could be placed among the most dominant cultural authors whose concern is the material life, social class, social identity and cultural crisis. As an outstanding author, Joyce is well known for his typical depiction, musical decoration as well as his sticking to proper cultural and social materials and issues such as religious matters. His major short story collection, Dubliners, revolves around the lifestyle of the Irish middle-class in Dublin around the late 1800s and early 1900s. This collection is decorated with violated norms and ritualistic behavior that are part of social constructs. Addressing social, religious and cultural issues, cultural materialists believe that “literature can serve as an agent of change”, since a culture`s hegemony is unstable. Raymond Williams views culture as a “productive process” that is, part of the means of production, and cultural materialism often identifies what he called “residual”, “emergent” and “oppositional” cultural elements. Seemingly, James Joyce`s Dubliners pertains to the notion of language, social identity and religion as cultural practices within the framework of cultural materialism. This study aims to clarify how James Joyce`s Dubliners reflects the notions of language, social identity and religion as cultural practices and how they construct social and cultural products within the framework of cultural materialism to show how James Joyce criticizes Irish culture at the beginning of the Twentieth century.

scholarly journals Leaders Enhance Group Members' Work Engagement and Reduce Their Burnout by Crafting Social Identity

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 173-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. K. Steffens ◽  
S. A. Haslam ◽  
R. Kerschreiter ◽  
S. C. Schuh ◽  
R. van Dick
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Group Members

Which Bad News to Choose? The Influence of Race and Social Identity on Story Selections Within Negative News Contexts

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 644-662
Author(s):  
Lanier Frush Holt ◽  
Dustin Carnahan
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Racial Group ◽  
Bad News ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
The Past ◽  
Negative News ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Media Choices

This study provides a clearer understanding of how audience members’ race influences their media choices. It finds that in today’s overwhelmingly negative media environment, people prefer reading negative stories about persons in their own racial group over stories about racial out-group members. This suggests social movements seeking to change the attitudes of people of different races using media (e.g., Black Lives Matter) might not be as successful as those in the past (e.g., Civil Rights Movement). Today, people tend to ignore such news when there is other bad news that affects people in their own racial group.

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