“Immersed in World of Warcraft”: A Discursive Study of Identity Management Talk About Excessive Online Gaming

Online excessive gaming has been associated with negative player identity constructions depicting an abnormal life-style. Up-to-date, there is limited insight into player identity management talk about excessive online gaming. To address this gap, drawing from discursive and rhetorical psychology, we investigated naturally occurring talk of 134 players of World of Warcraft (WoW) -a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG)- from three publicly available websites and of five players from one focus group. The analysis illuminated participants’ dilemmatic and contradictory ways of constructing the player identity, while displaying immersion in the game. Participants invoke identity constructions like ‘nolifer’, ‘hardcore’ or ‘clean’ player, which they disavow or assign to themselves and to each other depending on the conversational context, while attending to concerns about (ab)normalcy. The study’s findings highlight a dynamic process of player identity construction in talk, occasioned by and exemplifying the contingencies of the discursive context.

Yau̯nā and Sakā: Identity Constructions at the Margins of the Achaemenid Empire

The Achaemenid Empire can be reasonably considered an “empire of peoples” from both an ideological and structural perspective. It included all the lands of the peoples of the world and all people helped to maintain imperial order and prosperity. In reality, the empire had boundaries and there were peoples who lived near and beyond them. Under King Darius I, groups of people were annexed at the northeastern and northwestern margins of the imperial territory, thus entering the imperial space and consequently also the Achaemenid documents. The border peoples of the Yau̯nā and Sakā were the only peoples of the empire to be differentiated through epithets, which were added to their collective names in the texts. This shows a unique process of group identity constructions by the authorities on the edges of the imperial space. The analysis of the system of epithets used to indicate the Yau̯nā and Sakā conducted in this paper allows us to draw some conclusions on the mechanisms and reasons behind these specific forms of identity constructions at the margins. Moreover, it shows how this process reflected the main directions of imperial expansion under the first Achaemenids.

Moral wrongs, indigeneity and the enactment of farmer-herder conflicts violence in South-Eastern Nigeria

Existing studies of the farmer-herder conflicts (FHCs) in Nigeria have not explored the political ecology of the conflict in South-Eastern Nigeria (SEN). Using the political ecology framework (PEF), the paper examines the nature of the FHCs in Nimbo and Awgu areas in SEN. Data were collected through field observations and in-depth interviews. The paper shows that resource scarcity or reduced farming and grazing spaces did not engender violent FHCs in the study area. Instead, actions of the actors that are perceived to be morally wrong are critical. Allegations of moral transgression such as rape, kidnapping by herders and claims that a herder was used as a sacrifice by villagers triggered the violent episode. The pastoralists are discriminated against on the ground of indigenous belonging only after being alleged to have morally transgressed by kidnapping and raping women. However, on the ground that a herder was allegedly used as a sacrifice, they felt also wronged. While the herders are discriminated against based on their non-belonging in the community because they are not indigenous, they have mount resistance by emphasising their citizenship rights and using force to maintain access to grazing spaces, thereby amplifying the farmer-herder tensions. Thus, while identity has contributed to the FHCs violence, moral wrongs enacted and amplified it. The paper contributes to the literature by arguing that while what triggers FHCs may be moral wrongs, moral transgressions can heighten identity constructions that get implicated in practices of exclusion.

Identity through foreign policy: Russia and China in the Middle East

<p>Understanding national identity through foreign policy provides a strong means of ascertaining the prevailing social constructions within a great power nation state. There is a growing need to understand the national identities of Russia and China without pre-theorising or depending on asymmetric comparative studies with regional states. China and Russia are frequently compared to their regional neighbours which undermines understanding their unique identities. There are also frequent misunderstandings of contemporary Chinese and Russian national motives, often likening the modern Russian state to the Soviet Union, or attempting to understand China as a challenger to US unipolarity. Both great powers exhibit common characteristics of authoritarianism, both have recently endured massive social and national changes, and both have global interests that manifest in the Middle East such as securing vital geostrategic resources, both states are conscious of their native Muslim populations and to be recognised as a great power identity both must demonstrate influence in the Middle East. Yet, there have been significant differences in agendas and outcomes of their foreign policy decisions. This thesis seeks to use a constructivist framework to discern Russian and Chinese identity through comparison of their respective foreign policy. Contrary to “neo-realist” and “neo-liberal” arguments that accept state interests as rational, determined by the international system, and not determined by identity, this thesis seeks not to pre-theorise but to identify how their respective actions towards three key case studies in the Middle East; the Syrian Civil Conflict, the Iranian Nuclear Framework, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, indicate their prevailing social constructions. This thesis compares Russian and Chinese attitudes and actions towards these cases. Despite their similar disposition and principles towards international relations these two nations had significant points of difference. Drawing upon foreign policy analysis and a comparative model this thesis finds that despite the commonalities between the Russian and Chinese nations, Russian identity as great power, unique Eurasian power, and an alternative to the West, ensures a defiance of its relatively weak economic position to engage in positions of leadership in the Middle East, whilst China’s identity constructions that are common with Russia, its great power, civilisational, and alternative to the West constructions manifest despite an increasingly influential and material position in the world order, has provided little incentive to engage in meaningful ways throughout the Middle East’s recent conflicts.</p>

Identity through foreign policy: Russia and China in the Middle East

<p>Understanding national identity through foreign policy provides a strong means of ascertaining the prevailing social constructions within a great power nation state. There is a growing need to understand the national identities of Russia and China without pre-theorising or depending on asymmetric comparative studies with regional states. China and Russia are frequently compared to their regional neighbours which undermines understanding their unique identities. There are also frequent misunderstandings of contemporary Chinese and Russian national motives, often likening the modern Russian state to the Soviet Union, or attempting to understand China as a challenger to US unipolarity. Both great powers exhibit common characteristics of authoritarianism, both have recently endured massive social and national changes, and both have global interests that manifest in the Middle East such as securing vital geostrategic resources, both states are conscious of their native Muslim populations and to be recognised as a great power identity both must demonstrate influence in the Middle East. Yet, there have been significant differences in agendas and outcomes of their foreign policy decisions. This thesis seeks to use a constructivist framework to discern Russian and Chinese identity through comparison of their respective foreign policy. Contrary to “neo-realist” and “neo-liberal” arguments that accept state interests as rational, determined by the international system, and not determined by identity, this thesis seeks not to pre-theorise but to identify how their respective actions towards three key case studies in the Middle East; the Syrian Civil Conflict, the Iranian Nuclear Framework, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, indicate their prevailing social constructions. This thesis compares Russian and Chinese attitudes and actions towards these cases. Despite their similar disposition and principles towards international relations these two nations had significant points of difference. Drawing upon foreign policy analysis and a comparative model this thesis finds that despite the commonalities between the Russian and Chinese nations, Russian identity as great power, unique Eurasian power, and an alternative to the West, ensures a defiance of its relatively weak economic position to engage in positions of leadership in the Middle East, whilst China’s identity constructions that are common with Russia, its great power, civilisational, and alternative to the West constructions manifest despite an increasingly influential and material position in the world order, has provided little incentive to engage in meaningful ways throughout the Middle East’s recent conflicts.</p>

'Youth': Victim, Troublemaker or Peacebuilder? Constructions of Youth-in-Conflict in United Nations and World Bank Youth Policies

<p>Examination of how the United Nations ('UN') and World Bank construct youth affected by armed conflict and political instability (referred to as 'youth-in-conflict') in their respective youth policies reveals that the UN constructs youth-in-conflict as 'victims' requiring protection. This results in humanitarian/rights-based approaches to youth development. In contrast, the World Bank constructs youth-in-conflict as 'capital' that has potential to bring about economic growth, resulting in economics-driven policies. Such divergent identity constructions are because 'youth' and 'youth identity' are fluid concepts used in various ways by different people in different contexts. In peace and conflict studies, the dominant discourses in relation to youth-in-conflict are that youth are either 'victims' of war or 'troublemakers'. Both discourses are contested by an emerging third discourse of youth as peacebuilders, which challenges the representation of youth-in-conflict as passive victims or as negative threats. While the UN and World Bank’s respective humanitarian/development and neo-liberal economic approaches shape these divergent youth-in-conflict constructions, both institutions are also influenced by the global trends in youth-in-conflict discourses. This 'discursive' relationship means that as the UN and World Bank engage in the global youth debate and are shaped by more complete understandings of youth-in-conflict, they will also have an influential role in perpetuating or challenging dominant discourses.</p>

'Youth': Victim, Troublemaker or Peacebuilder? Constructions of Youth-in-Conflict in United Nations and World Bank Youth Policies

<p>Examination of how the United Nations ('UN') and World Bank construct youth affected by armed conflict and political instability (referred to as 'youth-in-conflict') in their respective youth policies reveals that the UN constructs youth-in-conflict as 'victims' requiring protection. This results in humanitarian/rights-based approaches to youth development. In contrast, the World Bank constructs youth-in-conflict as 'capital' that has potential to bring about economic growth, resulting in economics-driven policies. Such divergent identity constructions are because 'youth' and 'youth identity' are fluid concepts used in various ways by different people in different contexts. In peace and conflict studies, the dominant discourses in relation to youth-in-conflict are that youth are either 'victims' of war or 'troublemakers'. Both discourses are contested by an emerging third discourse of youth as peacebuilders, which challenges the representation of youth-in-conflict as passive victims or as negative threats. While the UN and World Bank’s respective humanitarian/development and neo-liberal economic approaches shape these divergent youth-in-conflict constructions, both institutions are also influenced by the global trends in youth-in-conflict discourses. This 'discursive' relationship means that as the UN and World Bank engage in the global youth debate and are shaped by more complete understandings of youth-in-conflict, they will also have an influential role in perpetuating or challenging dominant discourses.</p>

The Making of Cosmopolitan Selves: the Construction of Identity of Russian-Speaking Immigrants in New Zealand

<p>According to the 2006 Census (Statistics New Zealand, 2007), more than one-fifth of the New Zealand population is born overseas. Immigrants play an active role in New Zealand economic and demographic growth, with more new arrivals choosing to settle in New Zealand every year. While research into migrant issues is on the rise, the impact of growing cultural diversity on national identity requires further investigation, especially in relation to many ethnic groups underrepresented in social sciences. This thesis presents the research into the issues of identity construction among Russian-speaking immigrants, a group never investigated before in New Zealand and only infrequently elsewhere. The objective of this work is to fill the knowledge gap in this area by providing information on the socio-cultural context of immigration experiences of Russians in New Zealand and investigating the way their identity is constructed through mainstream discourses and in the personal accounts of 21 participants from Wellington. The nature of this thesis is qualitative and interdisciplinary. The theoretical foundation draws on social constructionism (Burr, 1995; Gergen, 1991) and discourse theory (Foucault, 1972; Howarth, 2000). Socio-historically, this scholarship may be located within the broader frames of the postmodern critique of globalization and transnationalism (Bauman, 1998; el-Ojeili & Hayden, 2006). One of the objectives of this research was to apply and evaluate different qualitative frameworks and paradigms in order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the issue under investigation. The combination of different analytical methods and techniques included: thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 1989; Wodak, 1996), positioning theory (Harre & Van Langenhove, 1999), ethnography and narrative analysis (Merriam, 2002). The first study presents a critical discourse analysis of identity constructions of Russian-speaking immigrants articulated by New Zealand mainstream print media. Consistent with international and New Zealand research on media portrayals of immigrants, the overall representation of this migrant group in New Zealand media follows the general trends of criminalization, homogenization and commodification of immigrants, with the dominant construction of them as a 'problem' to New Zealand society. Two other studies use in-depth ethnographic interviews as the data collection method. The first interview presents a narrative analysis of a case study of a Russian Jewish woman who has experienced double migration from Russia to Israel and then to New Zealand. Lara's story vividly illustrates the process of social construction in relation to her sense of self in three different cultures. It reveals the interaction between the power of social forces in dictating rules for identity formation and the role of agency in an individual's striving for a coherent sense of self. The analysis of 20 in-depth interviews with Russian-speaking immigrants in Wellington identifies the most common and salient patterns of identity construction in this group. Many participants report the feelings of identity loss and exclusion, based on their understanding of negative attitudes and wide-spread stereotypes among the host population. While some participants try to negotiate inferior identity constructions assigned to them on the basis of their 'outsider' status, others strive for constructing a new type of identity - cosmopolitan identity - which they locate within the global, rather than any local, context. These findings contribute to the recent developments in social science research in such areas as identity studies, discourse, globalisation, transnationalism and cosmopolitanism.</p>

The Making of Cosmopolitan Selves: the Construction of Identity of Russian-Speaking Immigrants in New Zealand

<p>According to the 2006 Census (Statistics New Zealand, 2007), more than one-fifth of the New Zealand population is born overseas. Immigrants play an active role in New Zealand economic and demographic growth, with more new arrivals choosing to settle in New Zealand every year. While research into migrant issues is on the rise, the impact of growing cultural diversity on national identity requires further investigation, especially in relation to many ethnic groups underrepresented in social sciences. This thesis presents the research into the issues of identity construction among Russian-speaking immigrants, a group never investigated before in New Zealand and only infrequently elsewhere. The objective of this work is to fill the knowledge gap in this area by providing information on the socio-cultural context of immigration experiences of Russians in New Zealand and investigating the way their identity is constructed through mainstream discourses and in the personal accounts of 21 participants from Wellington. The nature of this thesis is qualitative and interdisciplinary. The theoretical foundation draws on social constructionism (Burr, 1995; Gergen, 1991) and discourse theory (Foucault, 1972; Howarth, 2000). Socio-historically, this scholarship may be located within the broader frames of the postmodern critique of globalization and transnationalism (Bauman, 1998; el-Ojeili & Hayden, 2006). One of the objectives of this research was to apply and evaluate different qualitative frameworks and paradigms in order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the issue under investigation. The combination of different analytical methods and techniques included: thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 1989; Wodak, 1996), positioning theory (Harre & Van Langenhove, 1999), ethnography and narrative analysis (Merriam, 2002). The first study presents a critical discourse analysis of identity constructions of Russian-speaking immigrants articulated by New Zealand mainstream print media. Consistent with international and New Zealand research on media portrayals of immigrants, the overall representation of this migrant group in New Zealand media follows the general trends of criminalization, homogenization and commodification of immigrants, with the dominant construction of them as a 'problem' to New Zealand society. Two other studies use in-depth ethnographic interviews as the data collection method. The first interview presents a narrative analysis of a case study of a Russian Jewish woman who has experienced double migration from Russia to Israel and then to New Zealand. Lara's story vividly illustrates the process of social construction in relation to her sense of self in three different cultures. It reveals the interaction between the power of social forces in dictating rules for identity formation and the role of agency in an individual's striving for a coherent sense of self. The analysis of 20 in-depth interviews with Russian-speaking immigrants in Wellington identifies the most common and salient patterns of identity construction in this group. Many participants report the feelings of identity loss and exclusion, based on their understanding of negative attitudes and wide-spread stereotypes among the host population. While some participants try to negotiate inferior identity constructions assigned to them on the basis of their 'outsider' status, others strive for constructing a new type of identity - cosmopolitan identity - which they locate within the global, rather than any local, context. These findings contribute to the recent developments in social science research in such areas as identity studies, discourse, globalisation, transnationalism and cosmopolitanism.</p>

'I Would Say I Am Austrian but …' - Multiple Spatial Belongings and Hybrid Identities among Young People in Vienna, Austria

Young people who live in or attend school in Vienna grow up in multicultural environments, as immigration has shaped the Austrian society over the last decades. In public debates, migrants and their descendants are repeatedly called on to “integrate”, while their feelings of belonging to Austria are questioned. Drawing from discussions on hybrid and multiple identities, this study explores the spatial dimension of identity constructions of students in Vienna aged between 14 and 19 years. Quantitative data from a comprehensive online survey and qualitative data from group discussions reveal that multiple spatial belongings on different scales are the rule and not the exception among young Viennese. Furthermore, on a national level, participants identify with Austria to a much larger extent than with any other country. Findings emphasise the need for a mixed-methods approach when researching questions of identity constructions. Fieldwork experiences furthermore show that young people are highly interested in discussing the topic, as they are confronted with these issues on a daily basis.