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The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life
... Nessa obra, o autor chamou atenção para o modo como esses movimentos colaboraram para ampliar a dúvida em relação à visão moderna de verdade objetiva e questionar as bases racionais do conhecimento e das narrativas de progresso por meio das práticas científicas. Gergen (1991) atentou-se para o desenvolvimento de um processo que ele denominou de saturação social, que ocorre devido ao aumento do número e da variedade de relacionamentos, a frequência potencial de contato entre as pessoas, e a intensidade e persistência dos relacionamentos possíveis, proporcionados pelo desenvolvimento e difusão das novas tecnologias. Segundo o autor, o processo de saturação social colaborou com a erosão das bases tradicionais da ciência, em pelo menos dois modos principais: ao expandir os pontos de vista possíveis dentro das áreas de estudo; e ao possibilitar que novas vozes pudessem ser ouvidas. ...
... Para Gergen (1991), a compreensão desse processo dentro dos contextos acadêmicos seria otimizada a partir da compreensão de seu desenvolvimento na cultura. Por isso o autor realiza uma análise das mudanças entre as visões do self e da identidade, em diferentes momentos históricos, enfatizando a visão romântica e moderna, para então se dedicar ao seu papel na pós-modernidade. ...
... Esse período também se caracterizou pela grande produção artística, consequência da exaltação dessa realidade interior marcada pela ausência e vazio. Segundo Gergen (1991), Freud teve um papel central no processo de transição entre as sensibilidades presentes nos períodos românticos e modernos, visto que a Psicanálise, além de legitimar o discurso romântico sobre o self, também possibilitou sua união com um discurso médico tomado como racional. Como resultado dessa união, foram constituídos diversos vocabulários ainda atuais sobre o eu e suas associações com as formas de vida (noções de família, de amor, de relacionamentos etc.). ...
Kenneth Gergen é um psicólogo americano que tem ocupado um lugar de destaque entre aqueles que, suspeitando das bases que historicamente sustentaram a Psico-logia como ciência, passaram a buscar por alternativas. Apesar de sua importância nesse cenário, existe certa escassez de estudos na literatura sobre suas propostas teóricas e o desenvolvimento de seu pensamento. Neste artigo, analisamos as prin-cipais características da construção de uma noção de ciência que tem sido descrita como performática em suas publicações mais recentes. Realizamos um estudo teó-rico conceitual, orientado pela epistemologia construcionista social e que se orga-nizou metodologicamente a partir da noção de crítica interna. Identificamos que o desenvolvimento da noção de uma ciência como performance na obra de Gergen acompanha importantes transformações no entendimento do próprio fazer científico, como o processo de erosão da noção de objetividade e racionalidade e o foco cada vez maior nos processos relacionais.
... When these influences on behavior are presented as minor and indirect, particularly for the discipline of psychology, they have substantial merit. However, it is common to read social constructionist commentaries where language or culture are treated as being the only significant players in human existence (Gergen, 1991). ...
... Strong social constructionists like Gergen (1991;2009b) deny an independent reality. Weak social constructionists indicate that people's representations of 2 Some readers might wonder if I am attacking a strawman given some writers have declared postmodernism dead. ...
... Social constructionism has a number of historical roots but there appear to be five major influences. First, books by sociologists Berger & Luckmann (1966), a number of French philosophers (e.g., Derrida, Latour), and American social psychologist Kenneth Gergen (1991;2001a;2001b;2009b) all figure prominently in the rise of social constructionism in the academy. Two other events thrust postmodernism into the academy and the public spotlight. ...
Sport and exercise psychology researchers produce research to help athletes, exercisers, coaches, and parents. This research, both qualitative and quantitative, is predicated on an implicit and at times explicit endorsement of a mind and an agentic self. For a discipline such as psychology, it cannot be over-stated that a belief in a mind, as well as all of the thoughts and feelings that are mind based, is critical. An agentic self is a person who has the ability to act independently, make choices, demonstrate free will, is conscious, and self-aware. Unfortunately, social constructionists often minimize the mind or outright disavow a mind and, by extension, an agentic self that can understand reality.
In the current paper I provide an historical and philosophical overview and critique of social constructionism to sport and exercise psychology researchers and its mind-minimizing/denying philosophy. I also highlight research that clearly demonstrates primacy of the mind (i.e., practical adequacy, conscious causation, the cognitive niche, and theory of mind). Researchers should consider if conducting research grounded in a philosophy of science that denies and/or minimizes an agentic self is a defensible position. I conclude with a brief review and recommendation of Critical Realism (CR) as it mostly avoids the extremes of positivism and strong social constructionism. CR clearly distinguishes between epistemology and ontology and is applicable to both quantitative and qualitative research.
... In social constructionism, there are no inherent truths but only malleable and communal constructions of knowledge and reality, and so there are no value-free beliefs, values, or assertions; all accounts of knowledge are subjective and can be critiqued, constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed. In this way, a person's understanding of themselves, others, culture, and existence is fluid, adaptive, relativistic, multiphrenic, and influenced by their social, cultural, political, and historical environment and socialization and within the ecological boundaries of context and language (Gergen, 1991;Raskin, 2002). ...
... Within social constructionism, an individual's understandings of self, others, culture, and existence are necessarily fluid, adaptive, relativistic, and multiphrenic and are influenced by current and changing social, cultural, political, and historical environments (Gergen, 1991;Raskin, 2002). Social constructionism is concerned with communalism, participation, creativity, and social action as social processes for constructing a shared meaning of human existence in practice, behavior, and meaningmaking (Burr & Dick, 2017;Gergen, 2015;McNamee & Hosking, 2012;Owen, 1995). ...
This article discusses the relationships among leadership, race and racism, and social constructionism within counseling leadership. Accordingly, we critically examine the dominant constructions of race and racism within leadership. Next, we propose seven social constructionist principles to inform leadership’s construction and praxis within counseling. Finally, we utilize social constructionism and leadership, further informed through race-cen- tered and anti-racism literature, to further this profession’s constructions of race and racism within leadership and future race-centered and anti-racism leadership actions.
... In the vast array of social-psychological literature, the self is hypothesised to be an individualistic, acultural, apolitical, free-thinking, free-acting entity who is specifiable, measurable, ordered, and rational. 18 Theories of self-identity in social psychology are founded on an individualistic ontology that supposes an individual minus his socio-cultural context. 19 This 'reductionist' approach delegitimises the historical, socio-cultural, economic, and political contexts that shape individuals. ...
Consumerism is a buzzword of the modern lingua-Franka. In the contemporary age, human beings are generally identified as consumers. It refers to the fundamental idea of consumption- tangible and intangible substances, to frame the reference point for modern man to identify himself in terms of what he consumes. In this context, the paper explores the phenomenon of consumerism as an indispensable column of the modern hegemonic order which is neo-liberal, capitalistic and globalized. The paper then highlights the issue of identity crisis vis-à-vis consumer behavior. The paper discusses the fundamentals of Islamic world view vis-à-vis the inter-relationship of the elements of the cosmos and its nature. It delves into the deeper meanings of the Quranic concepts like khilafah, ‘ubudiyyah etc. and their implications on the identity formation of a Muslim and hence the formation of specific behavior. It tries to critically evaluate the tectonic phenomenon of consumerism from the perspective of maqasid al-Shari‘ah (the higher intents of the Islamic law) and finally proposing Islamic viewpoint to ensure civilizational renewal of the humanity, which is more natural and helps to construct a positive relationship with the self and the outer cosmos, coupling the human interests with maqasid al-Shari‘ah. The paper finally offers some policy recommendations to suggest a way towards a reformed engagement with the cosmos as a whole in terms of justice and fairness.
... Jeg er også studerende«. At identitet skabes i relation til andre er samtidig det der gør kulturel identitet så politisk (Gergen 1991(Gergen , 1997. Når majoriteten fastholder minoriteten i at de er anderledes, har en anden religion og mangler danskkundskaber er der tale om den sociale proces 'othering' hvori majoriteten konstruerer, almindeliggør afstande til andre grupper (Kelly 1998, Razack 1998, Kitztinger & Wilkenson 1996. ...
I artiklen undersøges hvorvidt Bourdieus begreber om felt, kapital og habitus kan tænkes sammen med begrebet kulturel identitet med henblik på at forklare hvorfor faglig identitet får så stor indflydelse på professionelle interkulturelle samtaler.
... Giddens (1997) , Rasmussen (1996) og Schön (1983), har fremhaevet refleksivitetens betydning. 41 Svarer til Gergen (1991) ide om, at kerneidentiteten forsvinder til fordel for situationsidentitet i 'The saturated self . bliver i stand til at laere og udvikle sig i uoverskuelige situationer, i ukendte kulturer og netvaerk. ...
Når samfundets hovedfunktioner ændres, ændres kulturen. Og når kulturen ændres, ændres menneskenes muligheder og selvopfattelse også – og med den vore forestillinger om den menneskelige psyke og de psykologiske teorier. Krav til det enkelte menneskes arbejdsindsats og almindelige livsvilkår ændres i disse år hastigt. Vil det være nødvendigt at udvikle en ny personlighedsstruktur, hvis mennesket ikke skal løbes overende af en ny verdenskultur? Artiklen nærmer sig problematikken ved at sætte fokus på tre generationers personlighedsstruktur og samfundsmæssige baggrund: Mellemkrigsgenerationen, 68-generationen og unge i dag. Træk ved ungdommen peger på nye måder at opfatte og håndtere sig selv og omverdenen på, der kan varsle et paradigmeskift. Artiklen tegner omridset af en ny personlighedsstruktur i det socialt-autonome menneske, hvor skellet mellem system og individ svækkes, og den sociale relation i kontakt- og handlerum bliver betydningsfuld som formende kraft.
... Le transfert direct permet le transfert des connaissances tacites, des gestuelles, des savoir-faire via des interactions très denses. Le transfert direct se base sur les « connaissances en action » (knowing), c'est-à-dire les connaissances tacites, qui sont, dans le cadre d'une organisation, le résultat de ce que les individus font ensemble (Gergen, 1991 Le transfert direct des connaissances, c'est-à-dire d'individu à individu, présente des avantages et des inconvénients quant à la complétude de la connaissance transférée, au nombre de personnes de l'auditoire. En effet, les connaissances partagées par un transfert direct s'adressent à une cible réduite puisque l'enseignant, le possesseur de la connaissance, ne peut transmettre les éléments de connaissances tels que les informations significatives, les gestes pertinents à un grand nombre d'individus. ...
Les technologies issues du Web 2.0 de type réseaux sociaux d'entreprise (RSE) modifient en profondeur la gestion des connaissances au sein des entreprises en l'orientant vers plus de simplicité, de fluidité et de dynamisme. Les systèmes d'information utilisés pour la gestion des connaissances (SI-KM) évoluent avec les technologies qui les soutiennent. Aujourd'hui, ce sont les outils du Web 2.0 qui dominent, caractérisés par une participation accrue des individus. Plus particulièrement, les outils de type RSE développent « virtuellement » le réseau social des utilisateurs au sein de l'organisation. Pour certains, les SI-KM 2.0 mobilisant ces technologies plus collaboratives, appellent un mode de gestion décentralisé fondé sur la « sagesse de la foule ». Toutefois, certaines études empiriques montrent que les SI-KM 2.0 nécessitent la mise en place d'une gouvernance, mais ne précisent pas sa forme. De plus, ces outils offrent de nombreuses fonctionnalités qui favorisent les interactions et donc les échanges. Ils faciliteraient ainsi le partage et la création de connaissance. Néanmoins, des ambiguïtés demeurent sur les modalités de leur mise en œuvre pour obtenir les résultats souhaités : sur le rôle et les limites de sagesse de la foule pour résoudre les problèmes de surcharge informationnelle, de validation et de récupération des connaissances ; sur leur influence sur la création effective de connaissances, celle-ci étant déduite aujourd'hui de leur capacité à générer du capital social.Ce travail vise donc à répondre à la question suivante : comment concevoir et mettre en œuvre un SI-KM 2.0 utilisant un Réseau Social d'Entreprise afin de gérer efficacement les connaissances au sein d'une organisation ?Cette recherche intervention réalisée au sein d'un groupe international montre qu'une gouvernance fédérative à trois niveaux permet un déploiement efficace d'un SI-KM 2.0 utilisant un RSE (JIVE) tout en conservant sa dimension participative et interactive. Les résultats obtenus enrichissent la littérature sur la gouvernance KM et la compréhension des processus de partage et de création de connaissances sur les RSE.
... Selves are increasingly prone to multiphrenia, that is, multifaceted identity construction based on the connection of diverse social roles linked to specific personal, professional, and social contexts (Gergen, 2014). Our engagement with multiple identities is one aspect of the modern human experience that predates the internet. ...
The construction, performance, and regulation of identities in the online world have deep implications for individuals, organizations, and society, particularly as digital technologies become increasingly omnipresent in our daily lives. In the last decades, analyses of online identities' processes have moved from the exploration of identity play, through identity performance, towards a growing identity regulation through algorithmic management and the monetization of personal data. Despite a significant tradition of critical management and organization studies literature on identity, online identities have to date received only scant attention. This Special Issue explores what critical management and organization studies can contribute to research on online identities. Drawing on empirical analysis of virtual forums, social media, and platforms, the six papers included here highlight the struggles that accompany identity processes in the online environment and their implications for workers, activists, and other organized selves. In this introduction, we contextualize these contributions with reference to online identities studies and metaphors of the internet as a place, a tool, and a way of being. We comment on the contributions they make relating to the role of the body, and individual and collective dynamics in online identities processes. Following this, we propose critical ways forward concerning new forms of digital work, multiphrenic context collapse, and online references and sources of identity. We invite researchers to not only critically explore but also to engage with this new brave world that increasingly shapes our individual and collective selves.
... In other words, for Gergen it is not only normal for us to wear many masks but desirable for us to do so. He developed this prescriptive element further in his book, The Saturated Self (Gergen, 1991), arguing, in effect, that under conditions of postmodernity, in which everything is in flux, multiple identities are more adaptive than are fixed, coherent ones. ...
... As "morals become transported into stable, durable dispositions through ongoing, everyday practice" (Winchester, 2008(Winchester, , p. 1773, most people build and negotiate their identities and reputations based on how they should act in relation to others. This state of interdependency within social interaction makes it possible to understand moral negotiations as the outcome of dialogue among peers (Gergen, 1991;Hill, 1996). Moreover, this disciplinary power is associated with processes of social surveillance and operates best in a state of "conscious and permanent visibility" (Foucault, 1977, p. 201), in which young people are constantly careful of the visibility and morality of their self-presentations and thus become responsible for the disciplining of their own sexed bodies (Richardson, et al., 2013). ...
... One of its central motives is that of a diverse world, where different but equally legitimate forms of life coexist respectfully -an ideal that can be wholly or partially detected in several recent social changes. Take, for instance, the explosion of communities facilitated by the development of communication technologies, which have contributed to the multiplication of meaning-making contexts and intelligible identities (Gergen, 1991(Gergen, , 2009. Consider also the proliferation of cultural, religious, gender, and sex orientation claims for acknowledgement (the image of the rainbow is powerful: a colorful world with different communities claiming their equal share for participation in social life); or the inclusive movement in education, which includes the celebration of a diversity of diversities in a framework of equal rights and opportunities (Booth and Ainscow, 2002;Gaete and Luna, 2019). ...
... La sociedad posmoderna se caracterizaría, pues, por personas con identidades cada vez más híbridas, múltiples y/o virtuales y fluidas. Identidades complejas y cada vez más desvinculadas de conceptos ya totalmente fechados como: unicidad, autenticidad, estabilidad, rigidez u otras connotaciones que han estructurado la identidad occidental moderna (Gergen, 1991;Lash & Friedman, 1992). La identidad, sólida, única, duradera en el tiempo, propia de la modernidad, empieza a desestabilizarse y a ser sustituida por un nomadismo identitario, capaz de permanecer en una situación espaciotemporal fragmentada, dentro de una serie de identidades provisionales, cambiantes y flotantes (Bodei, 1987;Beck, 2000). ...
The concept of otherness involves that of identity, with which it carries on a dialogical and dialectical relationship. “Je est un autre”: I am another, we might say, recalling the words of the French poet Arthur Rimbaud. This formula, however, can be understood only if set in a context of permanent becoming identity is not a bit of information, a monolith, but rather a process that presupposes and needs otherness. “There is no given I which does not, inevitably, refer to a You, a contact, a relationship”. The theory of social representations takes as its starting point the diversity among subjects, and “its aim is to discover how individuals and groups can construct a stable, predictable world based on such diversity”. To understand these phenomena better and to advance our reasoning further, it is certainly useful to go back to the definition of social representation formulated by Jodelet – in the wake of Émile Durkheim – according to whom it appears as a system of values, notions, and practices with a dual vocation. On the one hand, the vocation of installing an order that orientates subjects in their social and material environment, managing to “dominate” it, and on the other, the vocation of ensuring communication between the members of a community, offering them an unambiguous code for denominating, and classifying the component parts of their individual stories and the history of the world in which they are immersed.
... discusses the idea of "absent presence, " claiming that it can lead to more social connections. Communication technologies promote social saturation, which can be further complicated by the temporal/spatial flexibility that the mobile provides (Gergen, 1991). Since mobile phones allow participants within face-to-face groups to keep connected, "relationships are re-enlivened, common opinions and values are shared, expressions of support and mutual understanding enhanced, and knowledge of the other deepened, " even if they are physically absent (Gergen, 2003: 105). ...
In this chapter we explore how these three elements are related to each other and how, from the interrelations between them, social forms have emanated that hold consequences for social cohesion. To examine these interrelations on the conceptual level we build on thenotion of sociality (Licoppe and Smoreda, 2005), a process consisting of networks of ties, forms of social interactions, and technological means of communication. Various authors have recently started to associate mobile phones with distinctive forms of network and mobile sociality (e.g., Mascheroni, 2007; Matsuda, 2005; Wittel, 2001), exploring changes in the structural features of social networks
... Društvene promene od modernog doba ka odmaklom modernom (Bauman, 2000;Bauman & Donskis, 2013) ili postmodernom (Gergen, 2015;Lyotard, 1984) menjaju zadatke življenja sa "kako se uklopiti" u "šta odabrati" ili "šta je ispravno" (Dunn, 1998;Gergen, 1991;W. J. Mitchell, 2003;Svrakic & Divac-Jovanovic, 2018). ...
Personality and environment interact to influence attitudes formation. Group processes, reasoning, traits, and brain activity have been used to explain political attitudes and behavior. Social phenomena have been associated with clinical indicators, albeit with inconclusive results. Psychobiological model of personality measures temperament dispositions in interaction with character, i.e., with mental health and success of social adaptation. They overcome a need for separate measurements of adaptive and maladaptive trait correlates. Such an efficient approach integrates traits measurement along the dimension of normalcy-pathology. We set out to investigate associations between the model and Right-Wing Authoritarianism, Conspiracy Mentality, and Manichean Worldview in a non-representative community sample. The model accounted for 24% of variance in RWA and negligible percentages in the rest. The strongest predictor was found to be Self-Transcendence, followed by Impulsiveness and Persistence, with Exploratory Excitability and Reward Dependence as negative predictors. There were no correlations between mental health and socio-political constructs. Implications are discussed.
... Over the last century, the self has been described as contextually produced and performed (Goffman 1956); situationally mobilised (Milgram 1974;Zimbardo 2007); 'saturated' (Gergen 1991); reflexive (Giddens 1991); related to biographies of choice (Beck 1992). The self is no longer an ontological 'given'rather it could be described as a 'task' (Bauman 2001: 144), or 'ongoing project' (Jopling 2000: 83). ...
... A dazzling work around self-narrative construction was developed by Kenneth Gergen (1991), to whom we are far from the illusion that "words take the place of things". He proposes a more poststructuralist understanding, where language is said to be a "system for itself" in consonance with central names in the study of semiology, such as Saussure and Peirce. ...
Having Gilles Deleuze’s “Logique du sens” as a reference, we propose a deep appreciation of
the concepts of signification, meaning and sense that may affect the understanding of some
key constructs of Vocational Psychology with implications for career guidance. The purpose
is to grasp the concept of sense from a certain indistinctness that seems to pervade the
theoretical corpus of Psychology in general, and Vocational Psychology in particular. First, we
emphasize the tradition of research and practice in vocational psychological guidance and dive
into the vocational characterisation of those constructs. Then, we propose a way of looking at
these concepts as a phenomenon and event for vocational development. Our intention was to
put the phenomenological questioning at the centre of the psychological practices and lead a
reflection around language that goes beyond a purely symptomatic and empirical
understanding, a reflection that grasps its collapse from the casuistry of narratives.
... Окремі зарубіжні дослідники теорії брендингу під особистим брендом розуміють самопрезентацію та самомаркетинг (10,11,12,13,14). Інші під особистим брендом розуміють кар'єру, якою потрібно керувати у віртуальну епоху через спрощення спілкування в Інтернеті та численних платформах [15]. ...
... It is so fundamental to our way of living that we find talking about it difficult Sampson, 2003). Gergen (1991Gergen ( , 2000Gergen ( , 2001Gergen ( , 2015b explains that thinking about myself as 'my own person' with my own needs, ideas, aspirations, plans for the future and so on, inevitably leads to getting caught up in the 'me first' pattern of thinking and all the divisions and separations characterising our society today. ...
Relational processes in the context of interprofessional collaboration are understood mainly in terms of individual action. This study argues that focusing on individual action limits our understanding of some of the most successful relationship-based collaborative practices. To shift the focus from individual action to co-action, this study investigated co-action oriented practices in multi-agency teams working with children and young people identified as living with High and Complex Needs (HCN). The methodology used in this study combined a relational research orientation with the principles of narrative theory, in order to engage HCN practitioners in dynamic conversations. Through dialogue, the HCN practitioners investigated their valued collaborative practices. These practices were then further explored in terms of how collaboration could shift from individual to co-action. The outcomes of the study highlighted a number of successful relationship-based collaborative practices that are often overlooked. These range from simply having small talk, being personal and flexible, to addressing more complex situations that might otherwise be avoided. Appreciative exploration was identified as a way to step outside of one's own beliefs and become curious about how contradictory views might be valid within a community of understanding. Finding a respectful way to approach what we want to avoid holds arguably most potential for positive change. The study concluded that three aspects were critical to the engagement of practitioners in collaborative co-active practice: (1) paying attention to the process of relating; (2) acknowledging values, interests and concerns of practitioners in their daily practice, and (3) respecting current practices. Engaging with co-active practices in this way energised practitioners and fostered an innovation-seeking attitude and collective learning. As the practitioners in this study demonstrated, relational orientation opens up possibilities to shape co-action, and offers a unique tool for transforming collaborative practices. Put simply, the relational shift shows what we achieve together, we cannot do alone. ii
... The self in dynamic relation with culture The concept of the self that is being used in this analysis is a socially constructed one. Identity is created in the interaction between self and society (Bruner, 1990, Gergen, 1991. Bruner (1990:108) suggests: ...
p>All British universities have undergone rapid expansion and change in the period 1988 - 2008. There are a range of studies of how such expansion and change has affected universities and academic lives in general. However, there are few that have looked at individual academic identities in this context. This study looks at one post-1992 University in terms of at least 20 years of lived experience in that university. The sample is of five male academics in different roles and discipline areas. The focus is on the ways in which their academic identities have been constructed and reconstructed in the process of change. The research design is a qualitative case study. It employs a phenomenological approach, exploring the meaning five academics placed on their experiences. Auto/biographical methods were used to gather data. The five academic life stories were recorded in a series of interviews. The resultant narratives were then analysed by constructing a plot portraying the academic life. Themes emerged from each individual academic life and these were used to make sense of that life in its university context. Despite reactive, sometimes contradictory, standardising and controlling pressures inherent within U.K. higher education polices over the past 25 years, and continuing lack of clarity about the purpose of U.K higher education, the five academics illustrated lives and identities that were distinct and diverse, illustrating the power of human agency. The individual academics were able to construct and reconstruct unique identities in a variety of ways within their communities of practice, making meaning out of their lived experience. However, they have inhabited a border country; living through the transformation of British higher education from elite to mass that is not yet complete. The study therefore contributes to the historical record of living through, and making sense of, changing forms of academic work in the shift from elite to mass higher education.</p
... In the discourse of modernism, identity was perceived as a term used to describe an essential, fixed, consistent, and stable self [1]. However, this study on EFL teachers' professional identity is basically focused on the social nature of identity; it therefore aligns with Gergen's [17] postmodern approach, which understands identity as being multiple, dynamically evolving, continuously constructed, negotiated, and fragmented along with the multiple social contexts that people engage in [1]. For postmodernists, identities are "always under construction in contexts that are characterized by indeterminacy, partiality, and complexity" [18] (p.28). ...
It is crucial for teachers to become aware of and understand their professional identity as this has implications for their day-to-day professional practices. Teachers who are more aware of their professional identities are more willing to endure thwarting contextual conditions by adjusting their identities. However, presently most teachers seem to overlook their professional identity while they often tend to associate the poor quality education with a lack of external resources alone. The aim of this study was thus to create this awareness in teachers by unveiling how the perceived personal and contextual conditions constitute the professional identities of experienced EFL teachers working in secondary schools. In this study, teacher professional identity is conceptualized and understood within the theory of symbolic interactionism. Data were generated through a one-on-one semi-structured in-depth interview with two EFL teachers (Fazi and Tare). Thematic analysis was used across participants within a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological frame. The findings revealed that the participating teachers’ professional identity is a multidimensional and dynamic reality shaped by personal agency and daunting contextual conditions that were represented through two pertinent themes: challenges and teacher emotions. Challenges and emotions that the participating teachers have experienced are found to be the constituents that come into play in the formation of their professional identity. The findings also revealed that the experienced teachers’ professional identity is both a coconstructed and negotiated process, which unveils itself not only by compliance to external pressures (e.g., tolerating student misbehaviors) but also by repelling and adapting the external demands that are made available to them (e.g., politics-oriented assignment of school principals, inappropriate curriculum contents). This article thus suggests that more attention should be paid to the implicit messages (revealed through challenges) that all stakeholders convey to the teaching personnel.
... Therefore, an acceptance of customer and consumer decentredness intends that segmentation, targeting and positioning have moved, changed. Moreover, in this new formation subject is inconstant not authentic and is no longer centred (Gergen, 1991). Thus, subject in the formation of postmodern consumption has ability to be represented by different images, objects and person. ...
Çalışmada Siyahi dergisinin Türkiye’deki anarşist yayıncılık tarihinde nasıl bir yerde konumlandığını ve getirdiği yeni bakış açısı incelenmektedir. Bu nedenle ilk önce Türkiye’de anarşizmin ve anarşist yayıncılığın kısa geçmişinden bahsederek, ilk düzenli anarşist dergi Kara ile başlayan ve Siyahi’nin yayınlanmasına kadar gelen süreçteki anar- şist örgütlerin ve yayınların oluşumu üzerinde durulacaktır. Ardından Siyahi’nin içeriği, derginin 2007 yılının yazı- na kadar yayınlanan 9 sayıdaki konu başlıkları göz önünde bulundurularak, üç başlık altında incelenecektir: Toplumsal Anarşizm ve Pan-Anarşizm; Üçüncü Dünya Anarşizmi ve Sol Kimlik.
... While Giddens (1991) and Beck (1992) portrayed the self as decoupled from culture and tradition, many scholars argue that such perspectives ignore critical aspects of the experiences of the self, which are embedded in sociocultural traditions and contexts, entangled in emotions, and ambiguous, complex, and even contradictory (Adams, 2007;Cooley, 1964;Gergen, 1991). As such, creating, revising, and maintaining identity must be viewed as an ongoing and dynamic process (Caza et al., 2018) at the intersection between the individual and the external environment (Adams, 2007;Burkitt, 2008;Lucas, 2011). ...
Diversification into tourism is often suggested as a potential solution for the increasing concerns over globally declining fishing opportunities, particularly for small-scale fishers. Through the lens of psychosocial identity, qualitative data analysis from interviews with current and previous fishers in Cornwall shows how people are deconstructing and reconstructing their identities in the transition from fishing to tourism work, and that experiences of marine tourism diversification are dynamic, multifaceted, and embedded in social encounters. This article expands current discussions on work transitions by giving insight into the lived experiences of marine tourism operators from a psychosocial perspective, to go beyond the dominant economic narrative of diversification and social change, which has implications on how transitions into tourism work are facilitated.
... According to Gergen (1997) the identity refers to the social etiquette in which he takes part, but in the context of social media where such etiquettes do not exist, identity is formed by each user through activating their fantasy. Caroline Humphrey's view (2009, p.46) that "internet chat rooms are spheres where the user's daily identity is erased, thus provoking the imagination of the participants" is interesting. ...
In the present study, we implement the theory of Hermeneutics in order to understand the element of reality in the virtual world experience. We attempted to formulate cases on the user experiences and interpret them, as described in existing research and reflected on social media. Our focus topic consists of the use of imagination and its contribution to the construction of identity, behavior and relationships in the virtual environment of social media. We also make references to the elements of irrationality and time, two variables that are likely to affect the way users perceive reality. The online methodological tools and programs Concept-mapping and Social Network Visualiser were used in order to collect and capture the mentioned and further related concepts as well. The results of the study include possible conceptual correlations in social media, for which we argue that their virtuality depends on the actions of the user, and individual conclusions about the function of the imagination, which we consider to be an integral part of conception, implementation and quality of reality.
... Influencers who exhibit stability and steadfast in their words, behaviours, principles, and their mental as well as physical characteristics are more likely to be perceived as authentic. People think that their true self is static and epitomizes their fundamental characteristics (Gergen 1991). Therefore, they make important inferences about the perceived authenticity based on the observed consistency of influencers' actions. ...
The objective of this study was to analyse the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the home. An exploratory study integrating technology adoption models and domestication theory was designed. The data was collected in Spain and Colombia and 405 online surveys were obtained. For the creation of the measurement and analysis tool, the statistical program Smart PLS was used. The results found that for the adoption of the Internet of Things in the home, the degree of importance of the Internet in people’s lives is decisive, as well as the degree of perception of future benefit from its use and perceived enjoyment. The process of Internet domestication generates the intention and, therefore, the use of the Internet of Things technologies in the home.KeywordsInternet of ThingsAdoptionHomesTechnologyHuman computer interactionDisruptive technology
... Influencers who exhibit stability and steadfast in their words, behaviours, principles, and their mental as well as physical characteristics are more likely to be perceived as authentic. People think that their true self is static and epitomizes their fundamental characteristics (Gergen 1991). Therefore, they make important inferences about the perceived authenticity based on the observed consistency of influencers' actions. ...
The objective of this study was to analyse how consumers adopt webrooming and showrooming purchasing processes for different products (textile-fashion, home appliances and groceries). A crossover study was carried out in two countries, Spain and Colombia, applying an exploratory model through the analysis of PLS structural equations. The results showed differences in the adoption of this type of purchase depending on the type of product. The contributions of this study allow companies to choose and manage omnichannel processes depending on the type of products they sell.
... Influencers who exhibit stability and steadfast in their words, behaviours, principles, and their mental as well as physical characteristics are more likely to be perceived as authentic. People think that their true self is static and epitomizes their fundamental characteristics (Gergen 1991). Therefore, they make important inferences about the perceived authenticity based on the observed consistency of influencers' actions. ...
This study explicates customers’ experience in the context of omnichannel integration strategy by synthesizing a disparate body of research in the topic areas of omnichannel marketing, customer engagement, and loyalty loop. The research model was built on a strategic set of managerial factors and their influences on customer engagement behaviors in the initial stage of omnichannel integration. Analysis results found that web usability and customer characteristics, such as share of store visits, social media use, and email receptivity, were associated with customer engagement behaviors. Customers’ email receptivity moderated the impact of channel characteristics, including web usability and store proximity.KeywordsOmnichannel marketingCustomer engagementLoyalty loopCustomer experience managementCustomer journey
... Novel positions can be reinforced via positive feedback loops to replace obsolete positions over time. Some researchers show this constant mixing and moving of positions in the light of the postmodern era, which intensifies our active positioning by an unprecedented degree, wondering if sudden and volatile changes lead to a saturated self (Gergen, 1991), an empty self (Cushman, 1990) or a reorganization of the self (Hermans, 2001). ...
This paper adopts a psychological perspective to analyze the self-presentation of a populist leader in times of a national crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, examining the narrative he presents to his audience. Using a constructivist approach of the Dialogical Self Theory (DST), we analyze I-positions emergent in speeches by Czech Prime Minister Babis released on his Facebook profile during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings are consistent with existing literature on populist self-presentation, highlighting that the leader constructs himself as being responsive and prototypical, as expected by the Social Identity Approach, and employs a hyper-personal model of online communication. Furthermore, we suggest, based on our results, that it might be useful to extend the DST to analyze how populist politicians relate to the people. In these positions, the politician relates to the out-group as if they were an in-group member or vice versa. This positioning might reflect the underlying worldview of public figures that try to relate to the common people. Overall, our research shows that the DST serves as a useful framework for further research in the area of political populism.
... Narrative allows individuals to place themselves "in time," so they can see their development as the logical evolution of their experiences, a socially situated, shifting process of constant construction (Gee, 1990;Gergen, 1991). Viewing identity formation from this perspective "allows us to describe how people develop themselves through time and position themselves differently in various situations and differently towards other persons" (Akkerman & Meijer, 2011, p. 310). ...
For college instructors who have moved from industry to teaching in adult education, developing a professional identity is a continuing process. This study examines the experience of nine instructors who transitioned from industry to teaching adults in a technical and vocational (TVET) Canadian college in the Middle East. The purpose of the research was to explore the way instructors form a sense of professional identity. The study also explored how education and experience in industry contributes to and/or influences instructors' formation of professional identities. Lastly, it examined how participation in professional development activities forms instructors' professional identity. To form a professional identity, instructors must reflect on their attitudes, behaviour, and motivation. This reflection is necessary for instructors to understand their decision-making and
In diesem Kapitel werde ich die 2 Grundpfeiler der narrativen Psychologie darstellen, nämlich die beiden systemischen Ansätze der sozialkonstruktivistischen Kulturpsychologie von Bruner (1990) sowie des sozialen Konstruktionismus (Gergen, 1985). Als an der Introspektion interessierter Psychologe wollte Bruner (1997b) die Position des Objektivismus der positivistisch ausgerichteten „naturwissenschaftlichen Psychologie“ aufgeben. In seiner Kulturpsychologie betrachtet er den Menschen nicht mehr als Blackbox, sondern als intentional handelndes Individuum mit Emotionen, Motiven und Werthaltungen. Dabei wird das einzelne Individuum als primäre Quelle von Wissen und Bedeutung betrachtet. Im sozialen Konstruktionismus (Gergen, 1985) werden Erkenntnisprozesse primär als Ausdruck von Beziehung und Bezogenheit im Sinne von zwischenmenschlichen und gesellschaftlichen Prozessen innerhalb einer Kultur verstanden. Der soziale Konstruktionismus stellt also die soziale Beziehung als primären Ort der Konstruktion und Quelle von Wissen und Bedeutung in den Vordergrund. Die verschiedenen narrativen Ansätze in Beratung und Coaching sind sowohl zeitlich und inhaltlich als auch bezogen auf die Anwendungsfelder im Kontext der systemischen Ansätze, insbesondere des sozialen Konstruktionismus, entstanden.
In this paper we challenge an assumption about caregivers of chronic patients that we've repeatedly encountered in our ethnographic fieldwork: that of the inherently and permanently resilient caregiver, or a person that, driven by feelings of affection for the chronic patient, will remain strong regardless of the challenges posed by the healthcare system or the disease itself. We describe three deeply rooted beliefs that explain why this assumption is still widespread within healthcare systems: the belief in caregiving as female calling, or the fact that women are assumed to have not just a biological advantage, but an interest in caregiving, the belief in individuality, or the fact that individuals are thought to have a preexisting and inalterable identity, and the belief in the pathological origin of mental illness, or the fact that we tend to ignore structural causes and social determinants of mental and emotional distress. We provide theoretical and practical evidence to support each belief and suggest tangible ways in which ethnographers and research teams working in healthcare can start to challenge said beliefs—and, as a result, transcend the assumption of the inherently resilient caregiver.
Artiklen argumenterer for nødvendigheden af at acceptere nye forståelsesformer ved overgangen fra industrisamfund til kommunikationssamfund. Gamle dogmer, som bygger på en re lativt overskuelig, stabil og kontrollerbar verden, kommer til kort i globaliseringens hyperkomplekse verdensbillede. Mennesker, der er opvokset med realitetstestning i forhold til dualismens opsplittede opfattelser, må arbejde sig igennem dilemmaet mellem det gamle og det nye for at kunne acceptere og integrere nye tænke- og handlemåder. Artiklen søger efter tegn på det nye – og anderledes. Der er tegn på, at psykologistuderende bruger teori på en anden måde, tegn på at de store psykologiske teorier mister betydning, og tegn på, at erfarne psykologer interesserer sig for overskridende tænkning. Der er også mange tegn på, at unge har ganske andre mål, fremgangsmåder og selvforståelse end deres forældre. Viden, tro og overtro ses nu som ressourcer, der ikke mere er klart adskilte. Det spirituelle er ved at blive stuerent. Mit projekt drejer sig om at undersøge muligheder for at inddrage spirituelle arbejdsformer i den etablerede psykologi. Det kræver, at jeg som undersøger forholder mig åben og udogmatisk og gennem deltagerobservation søger at lære den fremmede verden at kende. Gennem induktive kvalitative undersøgelsesmetoder og grounded theory tilstræber jeg at opstille hypoteser og nye alternativer. Det sker blandt andet gennem interview, egen deltagelse i clairvoyance, gennemgang af teori om ‘den åndelige verdener’ og deltagelse på kursus. Ved at være åben og opmærksom på tegnene undervejs mener jeg at kunne konstatere, at der findes andre professionelle, der har alternative indgange til det menneskelige følelsesliv, der kan bryde gængse psykologiske forforståelser, give psykologien nye ressourcer og forbedre mulighederne for at virke i interkulturelle situationer. DET ER VÆSENTLIGT AT KUNNE VÆRE TIL STEDE OG KUNNE ARBEJDE PÅ LAVERE BEVIDSTHEDSNIVEAUER PÅ EN IKKE-KOGNITIV MÅDE er min konklusion. I artiklen søger jeg at beskrive min rejse mod det ukendte med sympatiserende besøg hos mennesker, der beskæftiger sig med transcendente oplevelser og metafysiske konstruktioner. Artiklen beskriver således de første skridt i en tilegnelse af en mere rummelig forståelse af mennesker, samt udvikling af nye kompetencer og arbejdsformer, som bygger på fællesmenneskelige opfattelser, som kan benyttes ved tilpasning til globalisering og transkulturelle forståelser.
Med udgangspunkt i bl.a. Jerome Franks klassiske behandling af de psykoterapeutiske virkningsfaktorer argumenteres for, at effekten af psykoterapi i nogen grad er bundet til den kulturelle kontekst som psykoterapien er en del af – og hvor psykoterapien til dels henter sin legitimitet som effektfuld metode til behandling af psykiske forstyrrelser. Når kulturen – som i disse år – forandres væsentligt og med en hidtil uset hastighed, må man overveje, hvorledes dette influerer på, hvilke psykoterapeutiske behandlingsformer, der er fremherskende og har de bedste muligheder for at opnå gode resultater. En beskrivelse af centrale tendenser i den senmoderne vestlige kultur, de heraf følgende udfordringer til og belastninger af det enkelte menneske, og ændringer i den dominerende socialkarakter, leder frem til en skitsering af, hvorledes observerbare kulturelle forandringer påvirker den terapeutiske relation, og hvordan man forstår psykopatologi og dens behandling. Roy Schafers narrative psykoanalyse, Kohuts selvpsykologi og den interpersonelle psykoanalyse fremdrages som eksempler på nyere psykodynamiske teoridannelser, der på forskellig vis afspejler – og har formået at skabe behandlingskoncepter til håndtering af problemer knyttet til – fremherskende tendenser i senmoderniteten. Endelig peges på, hvorledes den voldsomme vækst i markedet for psykoterapi antageligt hænger sammen med, at psykoterapien som behandlingsform er i overensstemmelse med markante træk ved senmoderniteten.
This study critically analyzes the problems of acceleration and alienation in contemporary society through Rosa’s theory and suggests the direction of resonant education to overcome them. Late modern society has brought about the acceleration of technology, acceleration of life change, and acceleration of life. Acceleration causes alienation that neutralizes criticism and distorts relations with the whole world, including oneself, others, and things. Contemporary society dynamically stabilizes and reproduces social structures by mechanisms of continuous growth, acceleration, and innovation. School is a space of resonance that allows reflection on the problems of the world, forms one’s own values in relation to the world, and adaptively changes the world. Schools open or close the axis of resonance to form a quality of relationships. The key to its success or failure is whether it shows silence, indifference, and hostility between teachers and students and their educational content or whether it approaches each other, impresses, and makes a voice come out. A successful education of resonance will allow learners to approach new objects and the world they face in the future with an intrinsic interest and self-efficacy. Resonant education makes students open their minds to the world’s objects, evokes confidence in successful exchanges, and develops attitudes and abilities to be inspired by exchanges with the world and express with their own voices. As a result, this will be an important opportunity to lead a good life by opening up a true relationship beyond a distorted relationship in contemporary accelerated society.
This article reports on the relationship between becoming information literate and the body in the Kente-weaving landscape. A mixed approach of incorporative ethnographic participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 24 participants through their roles as either master weaver, junior weaver or novice weaver at the Bonwire Kente Centre. Thematic analysis through an embodied-practice approach to information literacy (IL) frames the analysis of this study. The findings show that the body facilitates IL or knowing by understanding and making meaning of the cues afforded it from interaction and participation in the Kente-weaving practices. The body facilitates or enables IL through identifying and understanding cues in an information landscape.
This paper discusses transformative research in a community of practice, it is written in the form of a metalogue on our progress to date This iterative dialogue based on face to face meetings and regular virtual meetings. Together we illustrate and map the journey of developing the pathways to wellbeing software into story pathways to support a green circular economy. The metalogue enables weaving together the experiences and diverse ways of knowing whilst we explore the environment of a problem together we builds on the work of Gregory Bateson and his daughter Nora Bateson as well as the wisdom of Indigenous sages and scholars who emphasise the importance of strengthening relationships (in our fields of influence) as the route to human and more than human wellbeing. The research paper is one of several papers which will explore ways to enable participatory design and decision making through an online community of practice. Our “boundary” that we are setting in the paper focused around the building of relationships in which we are involved and which we are expanding (through a myriad of connections and networks) to build circular economic practices in Venda, specifically in relation to protecting sacred sites and being responsive to Mupo. The first author has a website https://www.wirasoftfoundtion.org/en_GB/web/biac-sig/home on which some ideas on circular economies are expressed. Our hope is that the small pilot can be used to demonstrate a way in which community education can be linked with social enterprises that support earning and learning together in ways that foster social and environmental justice.
In this chapter we explore the components and structure of human consciousness, including cognitive mechanisms of rationality and processing patterns on the one hand, and the subjective experience of sensations, feelings, and emotions (i.e. lived experience), on the other. The chapter considers the components of the subjective experience from the perspective of hermeneutic phenomenology, according to which, each subjective (or lived) experience is constructed from the four lifeworld existentials of temporality (lived time), corporeality/embodiment (lived body), relationality (lived human relations), and spatiality (lived space). It introduces the concept of Dasein, which is the mediating factor between one’s cognitive conceptualization of experience and the manner in which those experiences are subjectively lived through.KeywordsSubjective experienceLived experienceHeideggerDaseinHermeneutic phenomenologyLifeworld existentialsTemporalityCorporality/embodimentRelationalitySpatiality
The chapter addresses how imported mainstream management practices have impacted curriculum design and content in Brazil’s higher education sector. The potential “Americanization” of Brazilian business schools, represented by the adoption of practices and models from the Global North, prompted concerns that a universalist view of management could exclude other realities and forms of knowledge. Discussions around themes such as progress and modernity as defined by those in developed nations led to a series of overdue debates on colonialism and Latin America. Various authors have addressed these concerns and proposed ways to integrate different perspectives into teaching—without compromising the richness of the local context and local voices—and grounded on debates of decolonization. We echo these sentiments and suggest a move away from the transfer of practices to a focus on the transformation of management knowledge through knowledge co-creation, where dominant narratives and practices contemplate local practices and realities. We believe academics are at the core of these dynamics as their roles go beyond teaching and into negotiating tensions in complex contexts. Through a combination of knowledge and experience with local realities, continuous learning and reflection, academics are instrumental to the process of social transformation in Brazil.KeywordsAmericanizationBrazilBusiness and management educationDecolonization
Dramatic shifts in infrastructure occurred in England between the years 1930–1939. These transformations not only generated changes in occupation possibilities and wider work opportunities for both men and women, but also produced a surge in employment for the young demographic and, in turn, the rapid germination of youth culture. As Selina Todd considers, “paid work was a distinguishing characteristic of youth for many women […] ‘[it] dominated their daily lives and shaped their social and domestic responsibilities and relationships’” (2005, p. 1). Judy Giles reflecting on young working-class lives in mid-twentieth-century England stressed that historians “have sought to rescue young working-class English women from invisibility and, at the same time […] assert the significance of this group as agents of change in early- twentieth century England” (Giles 2005). Young, employed, working-class women in the 1930s were, as will be revealed in the following chapters, a driving force for the modernity found in both design and the new methods of mass manufacture of lightweight garments, the development of manmade fibres and consumption. This chapter argues and confirms that young working-class women were not passive receptors of constructed identities, such as the cinema, women’s magazines and retail marketing practices, they were innovators and clear “agents of change” embodied in, and the embodiment of, modernity.
Drawing from interviews about lives that did not go as expected, the author argues that people reproduce inequality in friendship relationships by leaning into aspects of white supremacy culture and the American achievement ideology—namely, the desire for control, perfectionism, and individualism—when comparing the pace of their lives to those of their friends. Until participants could feel secure about where they were in life, these comparisons simmered competition, self-blame, resentment of peers, and isolation. Striving for these ideals also covertly protects the ideologies of dominant groups without having to name any systems of oppression or their beneficiaries. In the end, interview participants often reproduced (as much as they challenged) cultural understandings of a well-lived life, but one way to combat inequality is to transform expectations for compulsory progress.
ספר זה הוא כרך ראשון מתוך שניים, אשר אמורים למלא חלל בשדה המקצועי של חינוך וטיפול בילדים ובמתבגרים במצבי סיכון בישראל. מטרתנו לספק לאנשי המקצוע בישראל, הן בשדה והן באקדמיה, כמו גם לסטודנטים המכשירים את עצמם לקראת השתלבות בעבודה עם נוער במצבי סיכון, לקט נבחר של חומר עדכני שברובו מתבסס על מחקר שיטתי ואמפירי.
Diversity ist als Begriff und Konzept allgegenwärtig. Während es zunächst darum ging, die Interessen sozial benachteiligter Gruppen zu berücksichtigen, sollte Diversity Management auch dazu beitragen, die vielfältigen Leistungen und Erfahrungen unterschiedlicher Menschen als Potenzial zu begreifen und zu nutzen. Doch kann die alltägliche Praxis des Diversity Managements diese originären Ziele noch halten – und konnte sie es je? Johanna Degen analysiert aus kritisch-sozialpsychologischer Perspektive die gelebte Praxis in der deutschen Wirtschaft anhand von Expert:inneninterviews.
Durch die Auswertung subjektiver Erfahrungen von Vorständ:innen, CEOs, Manager:innen, Arbeitnehmer:innen und Arbeitssuchenden wird deutlich, dass das ausgeübte Diversity Management nurmehr – wenig überraschend – organisationale und kapitalistische Interessen schützt. Die Autorin zeigt darüber hinaus auf, wie Gruppendynamiken entstehen, in denen letzten Endes die Subjekte auf sich selbst zurückgeworfen werden und gezwungen sind, sich von den eigenen Werten und vom Problemgegenstand der sozialen Ungleichheit zu entfremden. Durch die Fokussierung auf die Frage, warum Diversity Management so nicht funktionieren kann, werden zugleich auch Lösungsrichtungen verdeutlicht.
p> This thesis examines the process of nascent entrepreneurship from a learning perspective. The overall aim of this research is to generate insights into nascent entrepreneurs’ learning and managing experiences by exploring their perspectives in relation to the enterprise culture and education discourses in the UK . Embedded in a social constructionist paradigm, a process-relational stance is taken to entrepreneurship, which recognises the dynamic and emergent processes through which business opportunities are realized and constructed in the context of social interactions with numerous stakeholders. The social constructionist position, in which this research is grounded, calls for the need to understand human experiences in their socio-cultural context, with an acknowledgement of human agency and active perceptual constructions of people in a society. Nascent entrepreneurs’ biographies, motivations and capitals that they hold are examined at the micro-individual level, combined with meso-level considerations including social processes of business venturing. The research also analyses how these micro-individual and meso-relational processes relate to macro-field forces of enterprise culture, moving beyond an individual or team understanding of nascent entrepreneurship.
This research is premised on an empirical investigation of three cases of the business venturing process. The first case pertains to the formation of a creative venture (i.e. brand communications agency, which uniquely includes in-house production of advertising vehicles with marketing strategy business) by a team of five nascent entrepreneurs, who set up the company outside the local university’s incubator centre while they were students in different areas of Arts, Design and Technology at the local university. The second case account is about a solo entrepreneur’s business venturing story, which is characterised by a venturing process supported by the local university’s incubator centre. The final venturing case represents a slightly different account in the sense that it is about a business venturing process led by a nascent corporate entrepreneur in collaboration with and support from the parent company, which acted as an incubator. </p
Narration is a tool to organize experience into a coherent vision that explains our identity. According to Paul Ricoeur, fictional characters and real people’s identities are made out of the use of discourse. The tradition of narrative therapy states the importance of the use of letters, notes, and certificates to strengthen the alternative stories that are co-built with the person in the sessions. The digital format makes it easy not only to send but also to share such documents with a wider community. The so-called counter-documents are those writings that do not focus on problems but on the actions performed by people despite the problem and that contribute to the construction of so-called alternative stories. This article reflects on the use of these writings with literary merit for psychotherapy and also claims the need for psychotherapy to be updated and adapted to the current digital cultural context.
Social media influencers are increasingly approached by marketers to advocate brands and products. This practice is commonly called ‘influencer marketing’. Influencers can take advantage of their reach and importance for consumers’ decision making by obtaining rewards from marketers. Consumers are increasingly aware of this practice and hence, both perceived influencer credibility and authenticity are key when it comes to influencers’ ability to persuade others. Yet only an insignificant body of literature has investigated the concept of influencer authenticity. In this research, we shed light on the nature of this construct, its boundaries as well as its relationships with other variables responsible for consumers’ buying decisions. Our literature research not only identifies influencer authenticity’s components, but also the concept’s importance for the impact of influencers’ recommendations.KeywordsInfluencerAuthenticityCredibilitySocial media marketing