Celebrity identification

Forms of identification are central to the experience of celebrity. Through an investigation of the meaning of identification and how that translates into our para-social relations with celebrity, this essay situates the work in this area of the study of celebrity - from fan relations to the emulatory structure of identity that celebrity provides for a culture.

An exploration of sense of community, part 3: dimensions and predictors of psychological sense of community in geographical communities

Within the discipline of community psychology there remains considerable debate as to the latent structure of psychological sense of community (PSOC). One of the few theoretical discussions is that of McMillan and Chavis (1986), who hypothesized four dimensions: Belonging; Fulfillment of Needs; Influence; and Shared Connections. Discussion has also emerged in the literature regarding the role of identification within PSOC. However few studies have empirically investigated the role of identification in PSOC. The current study explored PSOC in a sample of residents of rural, regional and urban geographical communities (N = 669). In an endeavor to clarify the underlying dimensions of PSOC, a test battery included several measures of PSOC as well as measures of identification with the community. The study also examined the role of demographic factors in predicting PSOC. Results provided support for McMillan and Chavis' (1986) four dimensions of PSOC. Further, a fifth dimension emerged, that of Conscious Identification, suggesting that identification is separate to existing dimensions of PSOC. The demographic factors significantly associated with PSOC were type of region, with rural participants displaying higher PSOC than their urban counterparts; participation in local organizations; having children; and a vision of one’s neighborhood as broader than just a street or block. These results, and the implications for PSOC research, are discussed.

上海方言音变中社会认同的作用

This paper explores, through reporting a study on a sound change in the Shanghai dialect, the issue of social identity promoting language change. It will show that social identification by young people with a formerly undesirable variant sound in the Shanghai dialect was pivotal in pushing this sound variation into a sound change.

Who is `us`? Students negotiating discourses of racism and national identification in Australia

This article explores the political beliefs and the forms of reasoning about racism, national identity and Other developed by young Australian women and men from different ethnic and class backgrounds. The interviews on which the discussion is based are drawn from a larger longitudinal study of Australian secondary school students which examines how young people develop their sense of self and social values over time. The present article has two overall purposes: to add to understandings of how the cultural logic of racism functions in one national setting, and to consider political reasoning about race and ethnicity in relation to processes of young people's identity positioning. Three main lines of argument are developed. The first concerns students' positioning of themselves vis-a `-vis the current 'race debate' in Australia, and in relation to us as researchers, including their negotiation of the protocols for speaking about 'race' and racism. This includes consider ation of the methodological and political effects of white Anglo women asking questions about racism and ethnicity to ethnic minority students who are routinely constituted as 'Other': what blindnesses and silences continue to operate when posing questions about racism directly? A second and related focus is the range of emotional responses evoked by asking questions about racism and about an Australian politician (Pauline Hanson), who has been prominent in race debates. Third, the authors examine young people's construction of 'us and them' binaries and hierarchies of Otherness and whiteness. They argue throughout that reasoning about race, national identity and Others, and the taking up of 'political positions', is intimately linked to identity formation and to how we imagine ourselves in the present, the past and the future.

Knowledge enhancement in the change process : social marketing and attitude change leading to improved environmental behaviour

The complexity of relationships between social change and natural resource management has generated interest in the identification of indicators that might provide more streamlined means of monitoring and planning control programmes. This case study highlights the marketing paradigms of benchmarking and social marketing in a not-for-profit governmental environment. Publicly funded programs that require individual and community participation need to be marketed with a view to optimising involvement and commitment of the various stakeholders. A mail survey with a representative sample of 608 respondents was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a social marketing program. This study highlights the use of social marketing in a program to overcome an environmental issue by a governmental agency. Changing attitudes and beliefs takes time and often the target audience may not even know they have a problem that needs fixing. This process influences the focus of the social marketing effort which might be organised into three phases: • Raise awareness and knowledge.   •Change attitudes.  • Encourage action. The research conducted in this study illustrates how the various stages in the social marketing process were achieved through knowledge enhancement in an environmental management case study.

'Dig in' to social capital : community gardens as mechanisms for growing urban social connectedness

This article reports on research undertaken with members of a Melbourne urban community garden to explore the extent to which such a natural amenity provides opportunities for enhancing social capital. It is apparent even from this small qualitative study that membership of 'Dig In' community garden offers many benefits to its members. These benefits include increased social cohesion (the sharing of values enabling identification of common aims and the sharing of codes of behaviour governing relationships), social support (having people to turn to in times of crisis) and social connections (the development of social bonds and networks). However, the study indicates that, at least in the early stages of development, such benefits do not necessarily extend beyond the garden setting. This raises a question about the time required to develop high levels of social capital, and points to the need for further research into 'time' and 'space' aspects of community gardens.

Gambling and corporate social responsibility (CSR) : re-defining industry and state roles on duty of care, host responsibility and risk management

During the 1990s, states embraced legalised gambling as a means of supplementing state revenue. But gaming machines (EGMs, pokies, VLTs, Slots) have become increasingly controversial in countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand, which experienced unprecedented roll-out of gaming machines in casino and community settings; alongside revenue windfalls for both governments and the gambling industry. Governments have recognised that gambling results in a range of social and economic harms and, similar to tobacco and alcohol, have introduced public policies predicated on harm minimisation. Yet despite these, gaming losses have continued to climb in most jurisdictions, along with concerns about gambling-related harms. The first part of this article discusses an emerging debate in Ontario Canada, that draws parallels between host responsibility in alcohol and gambling venues. In Canada, where government owns and operates the gaming industry, this debate prompts important questions on the role of the state, duty of care and regulation ‘in the public interest’ and on CSR, host responsibility and consumer protection. This prompts the question: Do governments owe a duty of care to gamblers?

The article then discusses three domains of accumulating research evidence to inform questions raised in the Ontario debate: evidence that visible behavioural indicators can be used with high confidence to identify problem gamblers on-site in venues as they gamble; new systems using player tracking and loyalty data that can provide management with high precision identification of problem gamblers and associated risk (for protective interventions); and research on technological design features of new generation gaming products in interaction with players, that shows how EGM machines can be the site for monitoring/protecting players. We then canvass some leading international jurisdictions on gambling policy CSR and consumer protection.

In light of this new research, we ask whether the risk of legal liability poses a tipping point for more interventionist public policy responses by both the state and industry. This includes a proactive role for the state in re-regulating the gambling industry/products; instituting new forms of gaming machine product control/protection; and reinforcing corporate social responsibility (CSR) and host responsibility obligations on gambling providers – beyond self-regulatory codes. We argue the ground is shifting, there is new evidence to inform public policy and government regulation and there are new pressures on gambling providers and regulators to avail themselves of the new technology – or risk litigation

The role of nostalgia in determining consumers' sport team identification

With the many benefits related to high levels of sport team identification, sport marketers, team management and communities at large desire fans to be highly identified with sport teams. Moreover, research has identified that key to developing high levels of team identification within fans are social-psychological mechanisms such as nostalgia (Fink et al., 2002; Funk & James, 2006; Gladden & Funk, 2002). Sport managers need to recognise the importance of nostalgia in the sport setting and its influence on identification (Gladden & Funk, 2002). The purpose of this study is twofold. First, a review of the literature pertaining to team identification, nostalgia and the relationship between these two concepts is presented. Second, a conceptual model together with propositions that will be investigated are provided in order to understand what is the role of nostalgia is in determining consumers’ identification with a sport team.

Consideration of corporate social orientation in managing sport organisations' internal stakeholders

Increasing pressure from the public has raised the expectations on corporations to be better citizens of their communities and society as a whole (Bennet 2002; Carroll 1999; Epstein 1989; Van Marrewijk 2003; Wood 1991). As a result, corporations have engaged in corporate social responsibility efforts with most of the subsequent research focused on its impact on consumer response (e.g., attitudes, behaviours, etc.) (Bhattacharya & Sen 2001, 2004; Porter & Kramer 2002). Similarly, research interest on corporate social responsibility in the sport industry has risen, yet no research studies have explored the influence and perceptions about corporate social responsibility of important internal constituents (employees and volunteers) of sport organisations. Particular interest would be in uncovering what employees and volunteers specifically believe are important among CSR elements (ethical, discretionary, legal, economic) and what impact a sense of 'shared CSR values' with the respective sport organisation would have on employee and volunteer response. Will understanding how shared social values influence organisational commitment provide insight on recruitment, retention and/or development strategies of employees and volunteers? Further, assessing any difference in sensemaking between these two groups would be of additional value to this line of enquiry, as the perceptions of the organisation are understood as "tantamount to reality, since organisations are social constructions made up of and acting in accordance with shared perceptions," (Brickson 2007, p. 865) particularly those of employees and volunteers of sport organisations. With increasing academic and industry interest of corporate social responsibility in sport and to address the obvious gap on CSR and employees and volunteers in the literature, the present study will explore how CSR impacts internal constituents (employees and volunteers) of sport organisations. Specifically, the main purpose of the present study is to assess the level of perceived shared values as they related to CSR (measured as corporate social orientation) between employees- organisation and volunteers- organisation. Further, the influence of the level of perceived shared corporate social orientation (CSO) on organisational identification will be evaluated in the context of a proposed model, which includes the relationship of perceived shared corporate social orientation>organisational identification> attitudinal and behavioural outcomes (i.e., commitment, satisfaction, and organisational behaviour). Using a sample of employees and volunteers of a sport organisation, the respondents will be asked to complete an online survey composed of demographic items, the corporate social orientation scale, and items that measure organisational identification, value commitment, job/ volunteer satisfaction, and organisational citizenship behaviours. Discussion of how other stakeholder (e.g., sponsors, consumers, etc.) perceptions on CSR potentially impacts the model and outcomes (e.g., corporate reputation, consumer behaviour) will be addressed. Analyses and results will support discussion and conclusions made to provide evidence for practitioner and researcher implications.

Are rural health professionals also social entrepreneurs?

Social entrepreneurs formally or informally generate community associations and networking that produces social outcomes. Social entrepreneurship is a relatively new and poorly understood concept. Policy promotes generating community activity, particularly in rural areas, for health and social benefits and ‘community resilience’. Rural health professionals might be well placed to generate community activity due to their status and networks. This exploratory study, conducted in rural Tasmania and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland considered whether rural health professionals act as social entrepreneurs. We investigated activities generated and processes of production. Thirty-eight interviews were conducted with general practitioners, community nurses, primary healthcare managers and allied health professionals living and working rurally. Interviewees were self-selecting responders to an invitation for rural health professionals who were ‘formally or informally generating community associations or networking that produced social outcomes’. We found that rural health professionals initiated many community activities with social outcomes, most related to health. Their identification of opportunities related to knowledge of health needs and examples of initiatives seen elsewhere. Health professionals described ready access to useful people and financial resources. In building activities, health professionals could simultaneously utilise skills and knowledge from professional, community member and personal dimensions. Outcomes included social and health benefits, personal ‘buzz’ and community capacity. Health professionals' actions could be described as social entrepreneurship: identifying opportunities, utilising resources and making ‘deals’. They also align with community development. Health professionals use contextual knowledge to envisage and grow activities, indicating that, as social entrepreneurs, they do not explicitly choose a social mission, rather they act within their known world-view. Policymakers could consider ways to engage rural health professionals as social entrepreneurs, in helping to produce resilient communities.

Financial crisis, Social pathologies and 'generalised perversion' : questioning Zizek's diagnosis of the times

Slavoj Zizek's work has been highly influential in the formulation of an emerging consensus among Lacanian social researchers, that we live in a society of generalised perversion whose initial fruits are the corrosion of democracy and the recent financial crisis. This position rests upon a notion of modern subjectivity that connects ‘commodity fetishism’ with clinical perversion in a pathological configuration, so that social theoretical identification of crisis tendencies, evaluative language about moral problems and diagnostic categories from the Lacanian clinic can be combined in a single figure. In this article, we question the series of conceptual links that constitute this position, tracing them from Zizek’s critique in his short work on the global financial crisis and his broader restatement of this analysis in the recent Living in the End Times, through the moment of his announcement of the notion of ‘generalised perversion’ in The Ticklish Subject, all the way back to fundamental propositions outlined in his earliest work. Our argument progresses through three claims. First, we show in the evolution of this position that it leads Zizek to equivocate in his diagnosis of contemporary society between two mutually exclusive categories (‘psychosis’ and ‘perversion’), indicating an antinomy in his work that is resolved in favour of ‘generalised perversion’ on empirical, not logical, grounds. Secondly, we offer a critical resolution of the antinomy through a critique of what we argue is Zizek’s mistaken over-extension of psychoanalytic reason beyond its legitimate scope of application. Finally, we point to some of the political implications of the way that Zizek speculatively resolves his logical difficulties, by analysing the consequences of his claim that generalised social perversion - the problem to be solved - involves a dethroning of the communal ego ideal. A communitarian streak, implicit in the potential conflation of moral denunciation with psychoanalytic diagnosis that the rhetoric of ‘perversion’ invokes, runs through Zizek’s work on capitalism, we propose in conclusion.

Zebra fingerprints : towards a computer-aided identification system for individual zebra

Information regarding wildlife behavioural patterns provides researchers with clearer understanding of species. Social interactions, breeding habits, feeding and migration trends are key factors influencing decisions in game management and ecological impact assessment. In order to obtain such information researchers must be able to track individual animals over a period of time. One of the commonest methods of identifying individual animals is to tag them with radio, satellite, or GPS transmitters (Mech & Barber, 2002). While these systems are very effective, they are often costly and can be traumatic for tagged animals.

Stakeholder analysis in urban development : the application of stakeholder circle methodology and social network analysis

The increasing research interest on stakeholder analysis in urban planning reflects a growing recognition that stakeholders can and should influence the decision-making. This paper concentrates on exploring the techniques for analysing stakeholders, especially the application of the Stakeholder Circle tool and Social Network Analysis. An urban renewal project and an infrastructure project in Australia are presented as case studies to verify the use of these two techniques. The stakeholders are identified and prioritized from two different points of view, namely, the attribute evaluations in the Stakeholder Circle tool, and the relationship network analysis. The paper ends with a discussion on the strengths and limitations of the techniques for stakeholder analysis. No method for stakeholder identification and prioritization is perfect. The selection of the approaches is an art with extensive considerations of ‘when, what, and how’ to choose methods to achieve the project objectives. Each method has its own strengths and limitations. Combining several methods when necessary is the best way to analyse stakeholders.