Understandings of national identity and outgroup attitudes in culturally diverse Mauritius

This study investigated understandings of national group belonging in relation to attitudes toward foreign and established outgroups in Mauritius. Representative data were collected among the three numerically largest ethno-cultural groups (Hindus, Muslims, and Creoles; N_total = 1770) and results confirmed a distinction between “being,” “doing,” and “feeling” Mauritian among all three groups, with some small differences for Creoles compared to Hindus and Muslims. Furthermore, “being” Mauritian was not significantly related to attitudes toward established and foreign outgroups. In contrast, the “doing” understanding was negatively associated with both attitudes, and the “feeling” understanding showed positive associations with both outgroup attitudes among all three participant groups. The findings make a novel contribution to the literature on how people understand national identity, how these understandings differ between ethno-cultural groups within a nation, and how these relate to attitudes toward foreign as well as established outgroups.     

What it means to be “one of us”: Discourses of national identity in the United States

In recent years, the transnational movement of people has resulted in increasing tension and debates about national identity. The present research utilized a discourse analytic approach to examine accounts of national identity in the U.S. among native-born U.S. residents, Mexicans living in Mexico, and Mexicans living in the U.S. Our analysis focused on two sets of diverging accounts of national identity. A first set involved participants' explanations of national identity as natural/essential, “felt”, or conditional, which served to either constrain how “American” immigrants could be or allowed for a more inclusive definition of national identity. A second set of accounts involved participants theorizing the national polity as a multicultural or monocultural space which functioned to construct national boundaries as permeable or reinforced (White) American dominance. These patterns of talk emerged across all interviews, although U.S. participants attended to more flexible and dilemmatic (e.g. inclusionary and exclusionary) accounts of national identity. We discuss the implications for the complexity of national identity.     

Social identification,exercise participation,and positive exercise experiences: Evidence from parkrun

Growing evidence suggests that social identities may have profound implications for physical activity participation. Real-world examinations of this relationship have, however, been lacking, with research predominantly examining intentions and hypothetical scenarios. To address this shortcoming and further advance understanding in this area, the present study tested relationships between group identification, participation, two exercise-specific outcomes (exercise-specific satisfaction and group cohesion), and a broad health indicator (life satisfaction) among individuals recruited from parkrun. Participants (N = 289) completed questionnaires measuring all variables except participants’ parkrun participation, which was objectively assessed. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that group identification was significantly associated with greater participation, exercise-specific satisfaction, group cohesion, and life satisfaction. Findings provide real-world evidence of the health-related benefits associated with forming strong social identities in exercise settings.     

‘Who is zooming who’? A study of young PE-students in their figurations

The article presents an analysis of 93 essays written in an upper secondary school context. The essays were collected in relation to a larger research project, which went on for 5 years in a Danish upper secondary school (2010–2015). The material represents both genders and the students are 15–17 years old. We deploy a theoretical framework taken from Norbert Elias’ notion on established-outsider relations [Elias, N., &; Scotson, J. L. (1994 [1965]). The established and the outsiders. London: SAGE] as well as his use of personal pronouns [Elias, N. (1978). What is sociology? London: Hutchinson, Elias, N. (2001). The society of individuals. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group] in illustrating how people negotiate, position and navigate within figurational contexts [Elias, N. (1994 [1939]). The civilizing proces. Oxford: Blackwell.]. We do this in an effort to interpret how young people negotiate ‘we-I-relations’ when it comes to their sporting identity. Elias’ processual framework provides a tool for a much needed analysis of how young people continually orientate and develop their sense of selves. The web of human interdependencies and processes of change are key words when it comes to understanding the social practices and doings of the students’ constructions of self-steering. What social scientists may see as laziness and drop-outs of sports [Seippel, Ø. (2016). Prek, vekker og kjedelig? Trening og mening blant ungdom: 1985–2013. In Ø. Seippel, M. K. Sisjord, &; Å Strandbu (Eds.), Ungdom og Idrett. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk] can in the essays of students be analysed as a struggle for group connectedness and social inclusion in the classroom. The results of our research show that identity is a multiple concept and an ongoing process of emotional work [Elias, N. (1987). On human beings and their emotions: A process-sociological essay. Theory Culture Society, 4, 339–361], but also a power balance of playing and presenting what is imagined as the right performance as not being shamed as outcasts.     

大学生职业生涯规划探讨

职业生涯规划,关系着一个人是否能在社会环境中找到自己的正确定位、充分发挥自己的潜能、走向成功.它是大学生迈入社会,实现自己人生抱负的关键一步.大学生当前面临职业生涯理念模糊,学校所提供的相应服务亦需要完善等问题,因此,大学生应提高对职业生涯规划重要性的认识,积极进行职业生涯规划;学校也应帮助学生制订切合实际的职业生涯规划.     

English Proficiency,Identity, Anxiety,and Intergroup Attitudes: US Americans’ Perceptions of Chinese

Guided by the Common Ingroup Identity Model and Berry’s acculturation framework, this study examined the roles that perceptions of language proficiency, cultural identity, and communication anxiety had on intergroup attitudes and stereotypes in the American–Chinese contact context. Serial mediation analyses with 10,000 bootstrap samples revealed that perceived English proficiency of a Chinese contact had significant indirect effects on affective and behavioral attitudes toward Chinese through American participants’ perceptions of their contact’s host and home culture identification and communication anxiety. Perceived English proficiency had an indirect effect only on positive stereotypes through the Chinese contact’s perceived identification with home culture.     

Negotiations of cultural identities by Indian women engineering students in US engineering programmes

The paper analyses the identities of Indian women engineers in the gendered organizational context of US engineering programmes. Participant narratives discuss the ways in which women are subjected to identity struggles in India due to gendered patrifocal norms that impose structural, societal, and familial pressures on women. Subsequently, when these women enter US engineering programmes, they encounter a highly masculine organizational and cultural space. Participants discuss identity dislocations, transformations, and assimilation as they seek to meld into the existing structures and find a career trajectory. I draw upon liminality theory to explore the cultural transitions, identity restructuring, and negotiations of Indian women engineers, navigating the intersections of competing and intersecting cultural norms of gender and engineering in India and the US, work, and family. The findings indicate the layers of gendered ideology that constitute engineering education in India and the US, the societal pressures of marriage and family rooted in patrifocal Indian norms, the barriers to finding an engineering job, the resources within the structures that support women, and the identification of patriarchy as the enactment of agency and as a site for change.     

National identity in a divided nation: South Koreans’ attitudes toward North Korean defectors and the reunification of two Koreas

This paper examines how national identity is associated with South Koreans’ attitudes toward North Korean defectors and their opinions on the relationship between two Koreas. Using a nationally representative survey, we find that individuals high on ethnic identity are more likely to harbor negative attitudes toward migrants from North Korea and less likely to believe that the reunification between two Koreas is necessary. The findings suggest that alleged common belief in “one nation, two countries” notwithstanding, political division has led South Koreans to regard North Korean citizens as an out-group, who are not clearly distinguishable from non-coethnic immigrants.     

Help that hurts? Perceptions of intergroup assistance

The current research, guided theoretically by the Intergroup Helping as Status Relations Model, explored how high and low status groups (Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs) perceive offers of help from the high to the low status group. Ninety-three Arab and Jewish participants were asked to imagine and evaluate offers of help from Jews to Arabs in Israel. Consistent with the hypothesis that members of high and low status groups would have different perspectives and goals in their relations, Israeli Arabs viewed help by Israeli Jews more as a way to reinforce existing hierarchy and as a way of asserting the higher groups’ domination. Recognizing the different orientations of members of high and low status groups to potentially conciliatory actions, such as helping behavior, can enhance understanding of the dynamics of intergroup relations and conflict and reveal factors that might fuel intergroup misunderstandings and tensions, which can represent a critical step to improving intergroup relations.     

《国家学生体质健康标准》与《学生体质健康标准(试行方案)》的对比——测试内容及标准的对比研究

2007年4月国家教育部、体育总局联合颁布实施了《国家学生体质标准》对《学生体质健康标准(试行方案)》并对其进行了相应的修改,为新时期促进学生体质健康起到更为积极的作用。文章将《国家学生体质健康标准》与《学生体质健康标准(试行方案)》进行对比,分析其优点与不足之处,以期为以后更好地实施新《标准》提供理论支持。