Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 1999. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-92). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users. Address: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p9955915.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-105).

The present dissertation explores the collective identity of the Anonymous movement. This movement is characterised by the heterogeneity of its activities, from meme-crafting to pranks to activist actions, with a wide range of goals and tactics. Such heterogeneity raises the question as to why such a diverse group of people makes the decision to act under the same name. To answer this question, the concept of collective identity is applied, which describes how participants collectively construct the definition of their group. This dissertation is based on a three-year ethnography. The main findings show that the collective identity of Anonymous rests on five sets of self-defining concepts related to: 1) Anonymous’ counterculture of offense and parrhesia, 2) its personification into two personae (the ‘trickster’ and the ‘hero’) that have differing goals, means, and relationships with the environment, 3) a horizontal organisation and a democratic decision-making process, 4) practices of anonymity and an ethics of self-effacement, and 5) its self-definition as a universal entity, inclusive, and unbounded. The collective identity construction process is marked by tensions due to the incompatibility of some of these concepts, but also due to differences between these collective identity definitions and actual practices. As a consequence, they have to be constantly reaffirmed through social actions and discourses. Not all individuals who reclaim themselves as Anonymous recognise the totality of these collective identity definitions, but they all accept a number of them that are sufficient to legitimate their own belonging to the movement, and most of the time to be recognised by others as such. The different groups constituting Anonymous are therefore symbolically linked through a web of collective identity definitions rather than an encompassing and unified collective identity. This ‘connective identity’ gives the movement a heterogeneous composition while at the same time permitting it to retain a sense of identity that explains the use of a collective name.

The Chinese community is the fastest growing non-European ethnic group in the UK, with 11.2% annual growth between 2001 and 2007. According to the National Statistics office (2005), there are over a quarter of a million Chinese in Britain. Compared to other ethnic minority groups, the Chinese group is socio-economically widespread, characterized by high academic achievements and high household income. It is estimated that there are about 30,000 Chinese immigrant children studying in British schools, 75% of who were born in the UK. These children face a complex process of establishing their social identity, maintaining their own cultural roots whilst adapting to the British cultural contexts. The predominant psychological interpretation of social identity formation is founded on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 1978). Social identity creates and defines an individual’s place in society. One of the key features in social identity theory is ingroup favouritism and out-group derogation (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). The function and motivation for in-group and out-group attitude construction is to promoting a positive self-concept and related self-esteem. Theoretical approaches to understanding social identity that take a developmental perspective are Cognitive Development Theory (CDT) (Aboud, 1988, 2008) and Social Identity Developmental Theory (SIDT) (Nesdale, 2004, 2008). These theories attempt to explain the age related development in children’s inter- and intra-group attitudes. There are different types of social identities, and ethnic identity as well as national identity are the central focus of the current research. Some researchers have pointed out that ethnic identity is relevant to self-esteem and it is particularly important to children from ethnic minority backgrounds (Phinney, 1992). However, the research on social identity is predominantly conducted in Western contexts and there is lack of evidence supporting the generalization of developmental models of social identity in children to all ethnic groups and particularly those growing up in different cultures and national contexts. The research reported in this thesis is a cross cultural and developmental study which compares social identity in relation to self-esteem among British born Chinese (BBC), white British, Hong Kong Chinese and Mainland Chinese children. The overarching aim is to explore the influence of social context and ethnic culture on social identity development and self-esteem. Three research studies were conducted in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Scotland with 464 children across three age groups, age 8, 11 and 14 years (148 children from Mainland China, 155 Hong Kong Chinese children, 70 British born Chinese children, and 91 Scottish children). In addition, 46 parents of BBC children were surveyed to investigate their cultural orientation. The first study was designed to explore cultural similarities and differences in social identity and its relation to self-esteem across four groups of children in three age groups. Social identity (self-description questionnaire) and self-esteem (Harter’s Self-esteem questionnaire) were measured with all four groups of children. The result revealed significant differences of social identity across the groups. Four cultural groups of children think individual self was the most common form of identity. All the Chinese groups emphasized show more collective self than white Scottish children whereas the white Scottish sample of children placed more focused on individual identity. All four groups of children had high self-esteem, and no correlation was evident between social identity and self-esteem. Furthermore, analysis found no significant developmental change in social identity or self-esteem with age. The second study focused on BBC and white Scottish children: these share national context, but differ in ethnic identity. The study was designed to explore children’s national self-categorisation, the degree of national/ethnic identification (Chinese, Scottish, or both), and their perception of the positive and negative traits of Chinese and Scottish people across the age (using a Trait Attribution Task). BBC children’s sense of national identity varied in different national contexts, whereas white Scottish children were more fixed in their sense of national identity. Furthermore, BBC children attributed more positive traits to Chinese than to Scottish people, and white Scottish children attributed more positive traits to Scottish than to Chinese. BBC and white Scottish children evaluated both Chinese and Scottish groups positively, but they both attributed more positive traits to in-groups than out-groups. Some age-related differences were identified for degree of national identification. The third study introduced a novel social identity vignettes task to examine BBC and white Scottish children’s perceptions of ethnic identity of a Chinese character within two contrasting socio-cultural contexts (Scottish versus Chinese). This study addresses the question of whether children’s social identifications are adaptive and sensitive to social context, and how this contextual sensitivity might change with age. It also explored the link between parents’ attitudes towards their children’s cultural orientation and children’s national/ethnic identity in identity vignettes. The study revealed that both BBC and Scottish children judged the vignette characters as having a stronger Chinese identity or Scottish identity according to whether they were described in a Chinese or Scottish vignette. This cultural sensitivity increased with age. Both groups had a positive evaluation of the vignette characters’ self-esteem in both Chinese and Scottish cultural situations. Parental cultural orientation attitudes (using General Ethnicity Questionnaire) towards their children were also examined and differences of language proficiency among BBC children were identified. There is no connection between children’s strength of Chinese and Scottish identification and parents’ strength of cultural orientation towards Chinese or Scottish. Together, the findings presented in this thesis extend our understanding of social identity development, ethnic and national attitudes and the developmental intergroup attitudes among children from different national and ethnic groups. Furthermore, findings indicate that social identity is a complex and dynamic process in children’s development that cannot be understood without considering national and specific socio-cultural contexts as frames of reference. The findings of this research have important implications for child-related policy and practice and for future research on social identity development.

Though only a small island, Cyprus experiences particularly high rates of mixed marriages, and has one of the highest per capita ratios of immigrants in Europe. Consequently, there are a growing number of bilingual and bicultural children now entering the state elementary school system. The aim of this study is to examine the school experiences, language and identity of a select group of Greek English speaking children who have one Cypriot and one non-Cypriot parent. The sub-questions of the study focus on how the children manage languages at school, their perceptions of their peers and teachers and their opinions about the responsiveness of the school and teachers to their bilingualism. Additionally, while recognizing the fluidity and multiplicity of identity, questions about the expressions of the children’s dual national identities within school are considered. Finally, concerns over integration at school are also explored. The study claims social justice for this group, and develops a qualitative case study to engage with the manner in which the children employ their Greek and English language abilities at school, accompanied by their perceptions of the representations of their dual national identities. Multiple, individual, in-depth interviews were conducted with eight children, aged ten to twelve. Interviews with parents were also conducted as a means of strengthening the depth of the data. Additional artifacts such as language use charts, sentence completion exercises and brochures were also collected and analyzed. Using a thematic approach data was examined with the aim of understanding how the children experience their bilingualism and biculturalism within the school. The study constitutes the first of its kind in the Cypriot context and its findings are valuable for researchers, practitioners and policy makers alike. The results suggest that languages are ‘kept separate’ at school, there is a lack of recognition of this group’s bilingualism and there are possible issues of some children’s Cognitive-Academic Language proficiency (Cummins, 1979). Additionally, teachers and schools presented as ill prepared and nonresponsive to the linguistic needs of this group of children. Further findings indicate that the children experience incidents of teasing and exclusion influenced by the highly hellenocentric ethos of Cypriot schools. The study concludes that the limited definition of a bilingual student used by the Ministry of Education and Culture in Cyprus, combined with an ineffectual multiculturalism, result in this group being overlooked. The thesis suggests a broadening of the current definition of a bilingual student and a further exploration of children’s linguistic profiles. The study concludes that the children’s school experience is characterized by difference blindness to their dual cultural backgrounds and linguistic blindness to their bilingualism, broken only by regulated incidents of performance. Importantly the study also reveals that though impacted by a weak policy and difference blindness, these children engage in active agency in constructing social roles and understandings of language and identity at school. They demonstrate resilience and flexibility and are aware of the nuances of the school, the global value of their bilingualism, the access and opportunities provided by their knowledge of English and the prospects and experiences available to them through their dual cultural identities.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis explores the construction and experience of racial identity among eight grade eleven learners at a desegregated school in Chatsworth. The possible challenges and threats faced by these learners in terms of racial identity were also examined. Semi-structured interviews were utilized as qualitative method to interrogate the ways in which the eight grade eleven learners construct their racial identities. There were many contradictions which emerged from my study. This points to the fact that research is never clear-cut; results do not always fall neatly into place. Nonetheless, the primary findings of the interviews reflect that learners are comfortable with the idea of racial integration and expressed positive views about interacting with learners from different race groups. However, the participants made reference to pockets of racism and threads of interracial conflict evident at the school. The data in my study also shows that the Indian learners, forming the majority in the school, enjoy a more advantaged position as the school adopts an assimilation policy. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-78).

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-85).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 249-256).