National nostalgia: A group-based emotion that benefits the in-group but hampers intergroup relations

Social psychological research on nostalgia has mainly considered this emotion at the individual level rather than the group level. The current paper proposes that group-based nostalgia for the nation (i.e., national nostalgia) is likely to be related to a positive in-group orientation and a negative out-group orientation, because it fosters an exclusionary and essentialist sense of national identity that is based on ancestry and common descent (i.e., ethnic national identity). This prediction was tested in three survey studies. Study 1 was conducted among a broad sample of the native Dutch population, and demonstrated that national (and not personal) nostalgia is positively related to national in-group identification and out-group prejudice. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 among a nationally representative sample of the native Dutch population, and provided support for the mediation by ethnic national identity. Study 3 replicated the findings of Study 2 and additionally demonstrated that national nostalgia positively predicts tendencies to protect national in-group identity, via a stronger sense of ethnic national identity. These findings demonstrate the potential of group-based nostalgia to have positive and negative consequences for group dynamics at the same time.     

Ideal selves as identity management strategies

This research addresses the relationship between ideal selves and social context from a social identity perspective. Based on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1979, Tajfel and Turner, 1986) and related research, it is argued that ideal selves stand in a functional relationship with identity management strategies and that, consequently, shared beliefs about relevant intergroup relations influence the preferences for ideal selves. Three studies conducted with black and white adolescent and adult South Africans tested the assumption. The overall results of the studies confirmed that whether ideal selves corresponding to social change, social mobility or social creativity were preferred depended on whether the intergroup relations between black and white South Africans were perceived as secure or insecure.     

我国校园足球可持续发展的若干问题研究

发展校园足球是推进我国校园体育活动的重要力量,亦是提升我国足球运动水平的必然选择。虽然在相关政策的支持下,我国校园足球发展迅速,但依然面临经费短缺、师资不足、发展不均衡、学训矛盾突出、体制机制不完善、社会认可度不高、医疗保障体系不健全等问题。指出,学校应密切联系俱乐部、企业,多渠道获取发展资源;从内部培养与外部引进两方面充实师资力量;坚持全面发展原则,妥善解决学训矛盾,提升学生综合素质;加强足球文化建设,营造良好氛围,提升足球参与者的荣誉感;强化校园足球风险防范意识,加强风险管理。旨在促进我国校园足球健康可持续发展。     

足球德比文化研究

运用文献资料法和专家访谈法,对足球德比文化的现象与内涵、形成因素及其特征、形成的理论解释进行了研究。指出,德比现象与内涵都随社会变化得到延展,现象上从最初的地理对抗向文化领域甚至更大范围扩展,内涵上对德比的概念界定从客观条件向主观条件延伸。认为,群体间的冲突、同侪、偏见对德比的形成和延续有显著作用,显示出德比的形成因素具有竞争性、相似性、差异性三方面的特征。“争议密度”和“竞争对手威胁论”是用来解释德比形成原因的两大理论,经过比较分析,认为竞争对手威胁论可以更为清晰地解释德比的形成与延续的内涵,克服了以往研究的局限性。对于我国足球而言,探究足球德比文化具有重要现实意义,通过借鉴西方的成熟经验培育具有中国特色的足球文化,亦有助于我国足球“三步走”战略目标的实现。     

‘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.     

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.     

Identity and Otherness: Maghribi Images in the Historiography about Alfonso XI of Castile (1311–1350)

This work studies the information that the historiography on King Alfonso XI of Castile offers on the Marīnid dynasty of Fes. In spite of the confrontation between the two states in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries for the control of the Strait of Gibraltar and the southern part of Andalusia, the Alfonsine texts (the Crónica del Rey don Alfonso el Onceno, the Gran Crónica de Alfonso XI and, to a lesser extent, the Poema of Alfonso Onceno) attempt to reconstruct the history of the rival sultanate through a verifiable and rigorous approach comparing with Arab sources from that period. In this regard, their ideological conception moves away from the usual stereotypes, which are generally negative in the way they portray the other, i.e. the Maghribi opponent. In contrast, Alfonsine historiography assumes the empathetic portrayal of the identity values of the rival as part of the task of the historian, and uses the history and deeds of the adversaries to highlight the victory of the Castilian monarch over them.     

Shared future – shared values? Taking stock of the peace process in Northern Ireland: teenagers’ perspectives

ABSTRACT

Although preceded by years of political and policy developments, the signing of the Good Friday Agreement (or Belfast Agreement) in 1998 is generally regarded as marking the end of conflict and the beginning of the transition to peace. However, this transition has been neither linear nor straightforward. Divisions, both physical and symbolic, reflecting collective identities and ‘otherness’, remain resistant to change and continue to foster sectarianism, mistrust and outbreaks of violence. Despite some positive change, not least of which is the absence of sustained violence, the majority of neighbourhoods and schools remain either Protestant or Catholic. Drawing on data from the Young Life and Times (YLT) survey, an annual attitudinal survey of 16-year-olds in Northern Ireland that has been running since 2003, this article explores what young people's perspectives reveal about the complexities and the challenges involved in transitioning to a more shared society. Where relevant and possible, their attitudes are compared with those expressed by adults in the annual Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey. A primary focus on tracking teenagers' attitudes is important for a number of reasons. While often regarded as a ‘post-conflict’ generation, segregation and polarisation remain features of teenagers' everyday lives and the political landscape. Children and young people are one of the four key strategic priorities in the latest government strategies to build united communities and achieve change and are embedded in the Programme for Government 2016–2021. If these government commitments are to be realised, the voices of young people must become central rather than peripheral. It is important, therefore, that their opinions are not only sought, but also interrogated and fed into policy.     

‘Facing’ Identity in a ‘Faceless’ Society: Physiognomy,Facial Appearance and Identity Perception in Eighteenth-Century London

English men and women confronted many new questions about the relationship between identity and appearance during the eighteenth century. How did the face reveal information about a person’s character, morality, health, class, gender, nationality and race? How should faces be perceived in forms of social interaction? Could appearances be trusted? Through analysis of physiognomic texts, urban literature, aesthetic treatises, conduct books and cosmetic manuals, this article examines the changing social and cultural meanings attached to the face, and developments in the ways contemporary authors advised it should be ‘read’ as a signifier of character, identity and social difference in eighteenth-century London.     

Lost and Found: Making Sense of Foreign Spaces and the Self with Public Transport

How does public transport both enable and restrict one’s negotiation and interaction with cultural, social and material landscapes? The understanding of social space and self is guided by one’s journey through those spaces, by witnessing events and public conduct. This article presents autoethnographic accounts of two communication studies researchers placed in Cape Town, South Africa, and Helsinki, Finland, for more than three months. In both situations, researchers relied on public transport with which they were unfamiliar. This study considers how those experiences were perceived, and how the researchers encountered and experienced the new social environments, local population and themselves.