Activists of themselves: Liminality of Instagram and its role in the ethnic identity construction processes of third generation British Sikhs to their imagined identities

As a result of the rapid evolution of computer culture, social media and networking websites now provide the primary socialisation platforms for individuals across the world. With characteristics such as transcending time, space, and even cultures, these platforms impact individuals through increased interactions. Although past research shows how social media impacts on individuals’ cultural affiliations and identity construction processes, research neglects to understand the role and impact of the characteristics of social media and networking environments as individuals engage in these virtual spaces. This paper uses Instagram as a case study, to demonstrate the liminal nature of social media spaces and looks at how this virtual space and its characteristics evoke a sense of reflexivity with regards to identity construction amongst young British Sikhs in the U.K. We highlight how the empowering characteristics of this virtual space impact their identity and just how the communities that are formed by individuals through Instagram, act as a further acculturative agent, as they attempt to deal with the tensions that they experience as a result of being both British and Sikh. Findings implicate how brands can engage with and support the individuals going through this reflective identity re/construction process.     

中国冬青属苦丁茶名实辩证

通过对冬青科饮料植物苦丁茶的考证,将苦丁茶Ilex kudingcha C．J.Tseng并入扣树I．kaushue S．Y．Hu中,对新种五棱苦丁茶I．pentagona S．K . Chen,Y．X．Feng et C．F.Liang作了描述,并提供了4个相近种的检索表。     

“一带一路”倡议下中国体育文化国际传播研究--以伯克认同理论为视角

基于"一带一路"倡议,以伯克认同理论为视角,分析中国体育文化国际传播现存问题与应选路径。研究发现,目前,中国体育文化国际传播力、话语权、影响力不强,其表现和原因在于地区差异与冲突、传播乏力与失语、文化自戕与误读。其路径在于,以"一带一路"倡议为机遇,建构立体化的体育文化传播内容体系,创新多元化的体育文化传播方式方法,培育现代化的体育文化传播品牌。     

Together we stand? Belonging motive moderates the effect of national ingroup salience on attitudes towards ethnic minorities

Common ingroup categorization reduces outgroup prejudice. This link is moderated by distinctiveness motives (i.e., individuals perceiving this identity as too inclusive). Yet, Optimal Distinctiveness Theory states that both distinctiveness and belonging motives shape intergroup attitudes. For the first time we tested the hypothesis that belonging and distinctiveness motives jointly moderate common ingroup categorization effects. Using a flag-priming paradigm, two studies showed that, when national ingroup identity was salient, only belonging motives predicted positive attitudes towards outgroups (Study1: Syrians in Turkey, N = 184; Study 2: Maghrebis in France N = 151). This was corroborated by sensitivity analyses on aggregated data (N = 335). These results suggest that national identification may lead to positive outgroup attitudes for individuals who derive belonging from it.     

Heterogeneity in national identity construct: Example of Singapore using network analysis

Singapore has been undergoing a negotiation of its national identity as it celebrated its fifty years of independence. The seemingly lack of consensus on the nation’s identity has brought about much heated debates about Singapore’s governance. However, the construction of one’s definition of national identity is often shaped not by the political discourse but by what one has experienced in his or her formative years. Citizens who experienced different stages of nationhood are hence likely to develop different interpretations of what it means to be a citizen of the nation. In this study, using network analysis, we sought to examine how the definition of national identity differed between citizens who were born before Singapore’s independence, and hence experienced the early nation-building phase of the country, vis-à-vis citizens who were born after the country’s independence. 1000 native Singaporeans indicated which of the 27 identity markers were important for an immigrant to have to be accepted as a Singaporean. The analysis revealed that there were differences in the number of clusters within the identity networks of individuals born before versus after Singapore’s independence. The strength of the identity network of individuals born before independence was also stronger. Using simulated networks, we also showed how a change in endorsement of more influential markers had stronger effect on the overall identity network than a change in endorsement of less influential markers among individuals born before independence.     

The academic achievement of American Indians

The academic achievement of American Indians has not been extensively studied. Using NAEP supplements, we find that the average achievement relative to white students resembles other disadvantaged groups. However, there are several differences. Family characteristics explain two times as much of the raw gap as for blacks. School factors also account for a larger portion of the gap than for blacks or Hispanics. The distribution is also strikingly different: low performing American Indian students have a substantially larger gap than high performing students. Finally, racial self-identification is more strongly related to achievement, especially as American Indian students age.     

Advances in research on classroom dialogue: learning outcomes and assessments

The goal of this special issue is to examine how certain modes of classroom dialogue might contribute to students' learning outcomes. The articles in this special issue share the idea of classroom talk as a problem-oriented dialogue. In other words, an interactional configuration based on exchanges among students and teachers that go beyond the predominantly monologic approaches of classroom talk. In each of the contributions to this special issue, different types of learning outcomes were studied as a result of specific ways of orchestrating classroom dialogue. All in all, the studies in this special issue yield a picture of the field as a productive research area: they provide evidence for the plausibility of the assumption that dialogic orchestrations of classroom talk may produce various desired learning and developmental outcomes in students, depending on what outcomes we want to articulate, and how they are assessed. Although the studies in this special issue yield promising results for future improvements of classroom practice more (preferably longitudinal) research is required.     

海派清口——城市文化的表演与想象

本文运用奇观/表演理论范式,对海派清口受热捧的原因进行了全面分析。本文认为,海派清口举起的海派文化大旗和中产阶级的定位,在一定程度上满足了受众自我身份建构的需要,获得了市场的认可。但从本质上来说,海派清口仍然立足于固有的城市文化,没有表现出将上海文化和其它地方文化有机结合的能力,无法更新受众对城市文化和生活方式的理解,难以形成新型的都市文化。     

Social media,academics’ identity work and the good teacher

Focussing on academics’ professional identity, this paper analyses the challenges academics experience when adopting new technologies in their pedagogical practices. Notions of ‘economies of performance’ and ‘ecologies of practice’ as well as the concept of liminality are employed to understand this identity work. The paper illustrates how academics welcomed the potential of the web, despite the possible challenge to their authority. The paper argues that the process of changing pedagogical practices is experienced as risky and uncertain by some academics, and that it is a commitment to being a ‘good teacher’ that helped these academics to overcome these feelings.     

宋玉《舞赋》真伪问题的研究方法与历程

长久以来,学者们运用历史考证、文献学、图像学、文化学、音韵学等种种方法,从不同角度深入研究《舞赋》的问题。本文主要针对这一学术现象,在方法论层面加以思考,更明晰《舞赋》研究的现状,进而思考未来的《舞赋》研究之路。