While sociological studies of 'Jewish identity' have proliferated over the last several decades, these works often ignore the internal diversity found within Jewish populations. Because of the particularities of the gay Jewish case, there is a need to devote more scholarly attention to the 'Jewish identities' of this subpopulation. This study contributes to this under-studied area. Using qualitative methods (in-depth interviews and participant observation), this study explores the processes of Jewish identity construction among gay Jewish men. Despite the fact that Jews have historically held more liberal attitudes on social issues than non-Jews, the study found that Jewish families and communities often demonstrate a resistance to homosexuality and Jewish same-sex relationships. While most North American Jews, whether heterosexual or gay, partake in some form of negotiation between their Jewish identity and the non-Jewish world around them, because of the perceived stigmatization felt by gay Jewish men within the Jewish community, this group has added obstacles to overcome in constructing a personally meaningful Jewish identity. Due to the emphasis on 'traditional' gender roles, the 'nuclear family,' procreation and conservative religious values, the gay Jewish experience bears many similarities to the experiences of gay men in Black, Latin American, Asian, Greek and Italian communities. There are some distinctive features to the Jewish case, however. These include a particular aversion to same-sex relations due to the Jewish preoccupation with ethnic survival and continuity, especially in light of the Holocaust, and increased difficulty for the gay Jewish man to maintain privacy about his sexual orientation due to high levels of friendship and social networks within the Jewish community. Building upon theoretical models that attempt to acknowledge the complexities of multiple layers of stigmatized identities, the study develops a more nuanced analytical framework in which to understand the various strategies ethnic minority gay men implement as a means of negotiating their ethnoreligious and gay identities. The study illustrates, for example, that the variable of 'level of religiosity' serves as a key factor in this process. The study concludes with reflections on the implications of the findings for Jewish communities and recommends similar studies of other ethno-religious communities.

Our everyday lives can be complex and fast paced. Places, people, sounds and memories all make lasting impressions. "Identity" is the title and basis for my creative project. My identity has been created though a series of memories or impressions. Songs, stories, the media, location and other people have had a great impact on my personal development.I have taken all these influences into account while creating my thesis works. I questioned myself in different ways. "Whom do I relate to? What songs describe me? Through these question, I found icons and images that formed my personal identity. The difference between what is and what appears to be.Is identity created or do we create identity? The question may seem philosophical, but I do not consider myself a philosopher. My series "Identity", documents my investigation of self, a deconstruction of society that has and has not formed my artistic identity. / Department of Art

No description available.

Thesis (B.A.)--Haverford College, Dept. of Spanish, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007 / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 30, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 245-251).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 238-265).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, August 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-114).

International test results posed concerns about the future of science education in Canada, the UK, and the USA. Stakeholders such as Let's Talk Science and AMGEN Canada and The Royal Society, UK observed that fewer students were pursuing post-secondary studies and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related fields in their countries, compared to their counterparts in China, India and Singapore. These stakeholders contended that science teachers required the agency to enhance their classroom efficacy and to challenge their students to pursue post-secondary studies and careers in STEM related fields. Reform initiatives, including professional development programmes, have been established across western countries to support science teachers' agency to act as change agents. This study was based on two assumptions; first, science teachers need professional development, experiences to shape their professional identity to act as change agents in science education reform, and secondly, science teachers' professional identity may be influenced and reshaped through experiences during professional development. This research explored the influence on secondary school science teachers' professional identity by their experiences of professional development programmes. A methodological approach of hermeneutic phenomenology facilitated the understanding of science teachers' experiences, while a sociocultural theoretical framework based on Wenger's community of practice, underpinned the research. Narrative interviews, semi-structured interviews, and a questionnaire provided evidence from thirteen purposefully selected science teachers in one school board in Canada for this study. Interpretive phenomenological analysis of interviews and qualitative survey analysis of the questionnaire, identified cognitive development, social interactions, emotional changes, and change in beliefs and classroom practice as the science teacher's experiences of their professional development programme. Such experiences are regarded as indicators of influence on professional identity. The cognitive development, social interactions, and emotional changes experienced by the science teachers, are considered as their dimensions of experiences during learning. Although nine science teachers experienced change in their practice, two of the reported change sin their professional beliefs. It is significant that eleven science teachers did not experience a change in their beliefs, despite changes in their classroom practice. The science teachers who did not experience a change in their beliefs were confident of their existing professional identities that influenced their learning and their views regarding changes in their beliefs and practice. It appears that science teachers' prior professional identity was a determining factor in influencing and reshaping their professional identities. Nevertheless, findings from this study imply that, to some extent, science teachers' professional identity was influenced, perhaps not reshaped, by their experiences of their professional development programme. Findings fro my research have implications for science education reform-minded stakeholders and providers of in-service professional development programmes. They would be informed of research on the role of professional identity in professional learning and classroom practice in a climate of science education reform, as well as the role of prior professional identity in such initiatives.

The purpose of this study was to investigate constructions of choir identity among high school choir students in the United States public school classroom setting. The research questions were (a) what are the processes involved in construction of choir identity and (b) how are the processes related to the group identity of the choir. The data were collected through participant observations in one selected choir classroom and semi-structured interviews with students from the choir class. The results included six processes of identity construction as well as identification of the ways in which each process was related to the choir group’s identity. The processes and their links to the overall choir group identity provided further insight into the ways in which high school choir students construct their identities, and they also supported methods of teaching commonly used in high school choir settings.