符号消费:现代社会身份建构的方式

伴随着人类进入现代社会,尤其是现代社会后期消费文化的兴起,消费之风在世界盛行。从传统的角度而言,身份的建构与消费几乎没有任何关联。但是到了现代社会,消费主义影响了人们建构身份的方式,人们身份的建构越来越依赖于人们的消费活动。消费行为不再仅仅是出于温饱生存的需求,更是为更高层次的、有关人生和价值等需求所驱使。消费社会是一个符号激增的社会,每一次符号消费都在无意间体现一个人的品味、个性、身份、地位。为了剖析消费在现代社会人们身份建构中的重要作用,本文将从符号消费的角度剖析现代社会中消费与身份的关系。     

身份焦虑视角下的炫耀性消费动因分析

随着我国社会经济的不断发展,炫耀性消费现象日益突出,成为一些人表达自我、建构身份的重要手段。而炫耀性消费与身份焦虑是密不可分的。消费者通过公开消费特定的奢侈品等炫耀性商品向周围目标群体传达自身的品味和诉求,增强群体疏离与归属感,化解身份焦虑。     

近代报纸广告语境中的女性身份认同与建构——以《大公报》广告为例

近代报纸广告大量出现,营造出一种广告语境,在这个语境中,女性身份认同得以体现。一方面广告语境中对女性的传统身份定位进行认同和肯定;另一方面,广告语境也为近代新女性的身份建构提供了参考和示范的样本,推进了女性身份的变迁。不可否认,近代的女性身份变迁是在封建男权中心话语权下进行的,变迁的进程和范围受到极大的限制,这也是时代的局限性决定的。     

张道藩多维文艺思想的身份内抗

后结构主义文艺将身份理论引入文学文本的意义探寻，从而开拓了文艺研究尤其是以作者为基点的文艺研究的新境界。具体到探寻兼具欧陆海归、文化精英的张道藩，与作为民国政府之文化官员、身体力行国民党之三民主义文艺路线的张道藩，其社会身份与其相应的文艺思想在个体成长的时间之轴上存在明显的差异。探析这些差异背后的身份内抗，似乎有助于我们深入理解作者的社会身份在文艺活动中的呈现、建构和演化规律，也有助于在宏观和微观的对接中，启示文艺创作者如何方向性地调适自身的社会身份以更好地适应社会本身的变迁。     

英语学习者文化身份认同的迷失与重构

中国语境下的英语学习者由于文化取向、价值观念、社会准则、思维方式等方面与英语本族语使用者之间存在着巨大的差异，从而导致学习者对自我的文化身份的认同出现迷失。帮助英语学习者了解本族语与外族语之间的文化差异，重新建构自我的文化身份是英语教学过程中的重中之重。     

中美国际身份:在互动中建构

冷战以来中美关系一直时好时坏。,随着中国的崛起,两国关系正在发生新的变化。根据建构主义,国家如果在互动中产生了相似的身份,就会形成一种集体身份和利益。对于中美而言,虽然两者之间还有很多的矛盾,但是两国的新身份正在互动中建构,这有利于中美间的合作以及良性互动。     

优势与困扰:民族社会工作中的“身份配对”问题研究

社会工作者是不是应该与当事人或者案主具有同一的民族身份即服务的提供者与服务使用者的身份配对,是民族社会工作研究的一个议题,也是民族社会工作实务面临的一个挑战。本文旨在探讨并回应现今我国民族社会工作面临的这一挑战,认为民族身份配对在民族社会工作实务的开展中优势与困扰并存,在对冲语言及文化差异所引起的风险的同时,也可能带来专业关系建构的困境,以及落入认为民族身份配对可以消除少数民族刻板印象与歧视的陷阱。     

新生代农民工“二元化”消费方式与身份认同研究——基于2010年上海市外来农民工的调查

利用“2010年上海市外来务工人员情况”问卷调查数据,建立多分类因变量Logistic模型,从消费社会学角度,对新生代农民工消费方式转型与身份认同困境进行了实证研究.研究表明,新生代农民工在消费行为和身份认同上具有自我的、个体化特征;他们试图讲上海话、和上海人交朋友、模仿上海市民的消费方式,不断加强和建构对自身“新上海人”身份的认同;由于受到经济、社会因素的影响,他们的消费方式呈现农村与城市特征并存的“二元化”状态,这种情况抑制了他们对自身的新市民身份认同.提出了对策建议.     

主体语境下的消费文化身份认同路径分析

从消费主体的角度出发,人们的消费首先源于欲望,而欲望的消费依赖一套文化象征和价值体系,通过从物到符号的过程从而建构起消费主体的身份认同。然而,消费文化中的身份认同是一个更为复杂的过程,对其分析需要重新回到马克思主义的物质起点,从而进行更为辩证的分析。     

故园渺何处:数字化生存下主体认同的危机与重构

将当代社会的认同危机置于新传播革命语境下进行考察,试图勾勒主体在数字化生存下的认同面貌,以此检视影响主体认同建构的技术因素以及个体的心理机制,进一步挖掘当代多元身份认同建构背后的深层逻辑。同时,通过对隐藏于媒介技术背后的消费文化逻辑的考察,探讨当代认同可能的建构途径。     

The end of silence? Qualitative findings on corporate auditory identity from the UK

Sensory dimensions of corporate identity such as auditory identity are nearly absent in academic literature so far. This paper addresses this shortage by presenting qualitative findings from interviews with brand consultants and managers on the nascent topic of auditory identity. Findings include, inter alia, strong support for the construct definition of auditory identity as proposed in this paper. Moreover, factors driving corporate auditory identity management at an organisation are examined. Furthermore, based on the conceptual similarity between visual and auditory identity consequences as perceived by managers are discussed. Moreover, findings addressing type of company, type of business and industry sector are presented. Finally, findings advocating corporate auditory identity as a valid ingredient of corporate identity management are presented and academic and managerial implications are given.     

Marketing management and marketing research

Abstract

A sample of marketing graduates was surveyed to identify the factors that caused some of them to feel that they had become ‘professional marketers’ consequent to their early experiences of work in graduate marketing positions. A model of the possible determinants of the form of ‘workplace identity’ that a marketing graduate would assume was developed and tested. The model hypothesised that: (i) a firm's approaches to training and management development, mentoring, appraisal and reward; (ii) the natures of the tasks allocated to graduate marketing recruits and the task culture prevailing within an enterprise; and (iii) specific characteristics of the individual employee affected the emergence of particular types of workplace identity. Levels of each category of professional identity observed among the sample members were then correlated with job and organisational satisfaction and commitment, self-assessed operational performance, and intention to remain with an enterprise.     

The role of perceived workplace development opportunities in enhancing individual employability

This paper explores the effects on workers’ employability of workplace development opportunities during employment as perceived by the workers themselves. Data was collected through a survey conducted in 2012 in Italy using a sample of 558 workers. The aim was to test the effects of participation in training courses, workplace learning opportunities and career development support on career development in 2013. Results show that the main predictors of subjective career success are related to the career development support provided by supervisors, including mentoring and career counselling, and workplace learning opportunities provided through processes of job enrichment, job enlargement and job rotation. By contrast, participation in training courses does not bring any significant effects. The study also reveals that employees’ opportunities for increasing their employability in the workplace depend on a number of personal and occupational characteristics. The study reaches the conclusion that firms can play a significant role in enhancing the career success of an individual and that employability can been encouraged by a mix of on‐the‐job workplace development opportunities.     

The role of corporate identity management in the higher education sector: an exploratory case study

This paper examines the corporate identity concept and presents an empirical test of a corporate identity model in the context of the higher education sector. The various components of corporate identity are investigated and the results are presented in diagrammatic form in the proposed and updated corporate identity taxonomy. A qualitative exploratory approach was taken, comprising in-depth interviews with key informants involved in the implementation of corporate identity at a major UK university. The taxonomy illustrates communication, design, culture, behaviour, structure, industry and strategy as the main components of corporate identity. The study also demonstrates how and where issues of corporate identity are discussed within an organisation and how the results of these discussions are fed into management structure. As with any such exploratory case study, there are limits to the generalisability of the findings. Further research is required to ascertain whether the findings of this study also apply in other settings. The results will be helpful to communication professionals who deal with an organisation’s corporate identity, branding and communication and who aim to enhance the consistency of messages both written and visual within their organisation.     

The Corporate Identity Management Process Revisited

This paper has two objectives. It attempts firstly to define a number of related concepts in the corporate identity management process and secondly, to update one of the earlier models of this process. Recent developments in the corporate identity management theory are discussed and models of this process are reviewed. An up-to-date model of the corporate identity management process is proposed.     

The battle for commercial hearts and minds and the internal brand within a charity shop network in Ireland

ABSTRACT

Charities are increasingly adopting commercial branding strategies to capture consumer hearts and minds for competitive gain, with little attention on the internal organisational battle for hearts and minds within a not-for-profit context. This paper explores the internal brand of a charity that currently operates 227 charity shops on the island of Ireland, using Hankinson’s 2004 framework that focuses on functional, symbolic, behavioural and experiential components. An exploratory case study was developed based on a survey of organisational members (n = 138), interviews with six regional shop managers, observation in retail stores and supplemented by organisation documentation. Findings indicate a clarity of perception on mission, purpose and core values for the charity, but more ambiguity around perception of the charity shop brand and identified issues relating to communication of policies and procedures, managerial practice and the workplace environment. The study also reveals a gap between the charity’s organisational identity and the brand identity for the charity store network, a clarity in the perception of core values that does not underwrite the store brand and resistance to the implementation of commercial practice within a volunteer-led charity. Trust may be the key in the internal battle for hearts and minds within the charity and may be crucial for the charity to realise its’ potential and successfully meet its’ mission for maximum societal gain.     

Criminal Identity Deception and Deception Detection in Law Enforcement

Criminals often falsify their identities intentionally in order to deter police investigations. In this paper we focus on uncovering patterns of criminal identity deception observed through a case study performed at a local law enforcement agency. We define criminal identity deception based on an understanding of the various theories of deception. We interview a police detective expert and discuss the characteristics of criminal identity deception. A taxonomy for criminal identity deception was built to represent the different patterns that were identified in the case study. We also discuss methods currently employed by law enforcement agencies to detect deception. Police database systems contain little information that can help reveal deceptive identities. Thus, in order to identify deception, police officers rely mainly on investigation. Current methods for detecting deceptive criminal identities are neither effective nor efficient. Therefore we propose an automated solution to help solve this problem.     

Considering Supply Chain Management's Professional Identity: The Beautiful Discipline (Or, “We Don't Cure Cancer,But We Do Make a Big Difference”)

In recent months, we have participated in various discussions on the future of logistics and supply chain management (SCM). As the newest business discipline, it is not surprising that SCM is going through growing pains and seeking to chart its future course and define a meaningful destiny. Considering professional identity—that is, who are we and what do we do—is a natural part of maturation. As JBL exists to help construct the discipline's identity, we address SCM's value‐creation competence as a source of identity construction. As we explain, SCM's economic and social contributions are not just noteworthy but remarkable. Modern SCM makes a difference to the people of the world, driving economic growth and raising living standards. Truly, it is a good time to be a supply chain professional. Much research, however, needs to be conducted if we are to fulfill SCM's value‐creation promise.     

Pet‐related consumption as a consumer identity constructor

The objective of this paper was to analyse how pet‐related consumption can be connected to consumer identity construction. This objective is based on the idea that consumers use symbolic meanings from possessions to construct and communicate their identities. Objects of attachment have especially been found to be closely connected to the formation of consumer identity. Furthermore, it is often assumed that consumers struggle to maintain a true sense of self or personal identity while retaining a feeling of belonging and social identity. This may be portrayed through layers of identity, which are composed of personal identity, social identity and other people. Empirical research was conducted using focus groups to create individual collages. The findings indicated that pet‐related consumption was used in the following six ways to construct consumer identity: ‘character developer’, ‘source of well‐being’, ‘means to connect’, ‘status communicator’, ‘object of devotion’ and ‘intermediary’, all of which found their places in the layers of identity. Each of these ways of using pet‐related consumption was paired with one other so that the extremes formulated three dimensions in a consumers' identity construction: the personal dimension, the social dimension and the dimension of emotional attachment. In conclusion, it was proposed that consumer identity construction illustrated via pet‐related consumption as created within both social interactions with meaningful others and those three dimensions is multi‐levelled and multifaceted. The paper invites future research to study both identity construction and emotional attachment, being such multifarious phenomena, and to explore the dynamic interactions that may exist.     

A Discovery of Early Labor Organizations and the Women who Advocated Work–Life Balance: An Ethical Perspective

The relevance of leader ethicality has motivated ethical leadership theory. In this paper, we emphasize the importance of moral identity for the concept of ethical leadership. We relate ethical leadership incorporating an internalized moral identity to productive deviant workplace behavior. Using qualitative empirical data we illustrate the relevance of critical situations, i.e., situations in which hypernorms and organizational norms diverge, for the distinction of ethical leaders with or without internalized moral identities. Our paper takes a multidisciplinary approach integrating insight from management as well as humanities and social sciences toward a comprehensive sense of ethical leadership.