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1 – 10 of over 22000
Article
Publication date: 14 September 2015

Prabash Aminda Edirisingha, Shelagh Ferguson and Rob Aitken

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework which deepens our understanding of identity negotiation and formation in a collectivistic Asian context. Drawing…

1798

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework which deepens our understanding of identity negotiation and formation in a collectivistic Asian context. Drawing from a three-year, multi-method ethnographic research process, the authors explore how contemporary Asian consumers construct, negotiate and enact family identity through meal consumption. The authors particularly focus on the ways in which Asian consumers negotiate values, norms and practices associated with filial piety during new family formation. Building on the influential framework of layered family identity proposed by Epp and Price (2008), the authors seek to develop a framework which enables us to better understand how Asian consumers construct and enact their family identity through mundane consumption.

Design/methodology/approach

As most of the identity negotiation in the domestic sphere takes place within the mundanity of everyday life, such as during the routines, rituals and conventions of “ordinary” family meals, the authors adopted an interpretive, hermeneutic and longitudinal ethnographic research approach, which drew from a purposive sample of nine Sri Lankan couples.

Findings

The authors present the finding in three vivid narrative exemplars of new family identity negotiation and discuss three processes which informants negotiated the layered family identity. First, Asian families negotiate family identity by re-formulating aspects of their relational identity bundles. Second, re-negotiating facets of individual identity facilitates construction of family identity. Finally, re-configuring aspects of collective family identity, especially in relation to the extended family is important to family identity in this research context. The authors also propose filial piety as a fundamental construct of Asian family identity and highlight the importance of collective layer over individual and relational family identity layers.

Research limitations/implications

The aim of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework which deepens our understanding of identity negotiation and formation in a collectivistic Asian context. Even though exploring Sinhalese, Sri Lankan culture sheds light on understanding identity and consumption in other similar Asian cultures, such as Indian, Chinese and Korean; this paper does not suggest generalisability of findings to similar research contexts. On the contrary, the findings aim to present an in-depth discussion of how identities are challenged, negotiated and re-formulated during new family formation around specific consumption behaviours associated with filial piety in a collectivistic extended family.

Social implications

As this research explores tightly knit relationships in extended families and how these families negotiate values, norms and practices associated with filial piety, it enables us to understand the complex ways in which Asian families negotiate identity. The proposed framework could be useful to explore how changing social dynamics challenge the traditional sense of family in these collectivistic cultures and how they affect family happiness and well-being. Such insight is useful for public policymakers and social marketers when addressing family dissatisfaction–based social issues in Asia, such as increasing rates of suicide, divorce, child abuse, prostitution and sexually transmitted disease.

Originality/value

Little is known about the complex ways in which Asian family identities are negotiated in contrast to Western theoretical models on this topic. Particularly, we need to understand how fundamental aspects of Asian family identity, such as filial piety, are continuously re-negotiated, manifested and perpetuated during everyday life and how formulations of Asian family identity may be different from its predominantly Western conceptualisations. Therefore, the paper provides an adaptation to the current layered family identity model and proposes filial piety as a fundamental construct driving Asian family identity.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 March 2023

Saheeh Shafi

This paper aims to interpret the multidimensional Asian American identity of immigrant Indians in terms of pan-ethnicity, gender and religion.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to interpret the multidimensional Asian American identity of immigrant Indians in terms of pan-ethnicity, gender and religion.

Design/methodology/approach

The social construction and experience of race in the US and the intersection of multiethnic Asian American identity with race, gender and religion will be used in critically commenting on the interview of primary ethnic identity of Indian Americans including the pan-ethnic identity of Indians in the US as Asian Americans, the Mar Thoma Church community, the second-generation Patel family's union formation in terms of gender identity.

Findings

The future directives include Asian American Movement (AAM) which is trying to incorporate Indians as pan-ethnic identity assimilation and the process of holding American identity as primary identification of Indians.

Practical implications

Policy recommendations are that the US Census Bureau should include Indian Americans as separate ethnic identity for Indian immigrants like the Chinese Americans. USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) should reform policies to include the wives of H-4 visa holders. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should provide secure living environment for Indian immigrants. The US Department of Labor should provide equal opportunities for women in their immigration policies.

Originality/value

This paper will critically analyze the interview results of primary ethnic identity and justify the hypotheses of Asian American identity of Indians, whether (1) they merge with the American identity as part of cultural assimilation or (2) retain their Asian identity beyond Americanized identity or (3) go beyond both American and Asian identity to restate their Indian ethnicity.

Details

Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2632-279X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 June 2017

Jing Gao

This study aims to explore Asian American students’ identities and their perceptions about who they are within the Midwestern American high school setting.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore Asian American students’ identities and their perceptions about who they are within the Midwestern American high school setting.

Design/methodology/approach

A naturalistic inquiry (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) is employed in this qualitative study. Naturalistic inquiry assumes that reality is constructed by individuals, and there exist multiple realities as diverse people experience teaching and learning (Glesne, 1999). It is characterized by natural settings (the schools), natural language (language actually used by students and teachers), responsiveness to concerns and issues of stakeholders (what is important to students and teachers) and collaborative checks on trustworthiness.

Findings

The study finds that the participants all identify themselves as students, while they perceive differently on their racial/ethnic and cultural identity. They have employed a variety of strategies to negotiate with their dynamic, multiple and sometimes contradictory identities when confronted with challenges and opportunities within different social contexts.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of my study lie first in a small number of participants. Eight Asian American students do not represent the heterogeneous Asian American groups in the USA. More students would provide different perspectives and experiences in the study. The time for conducting this study is another limitation. Longer period on the research sites would provide thicker descriptions.

Practical implications

There are implications for educational practice and future research to help understand the diversity among Asian American students and to find ways to integrate accurate and comprehensive information related to Asian Americans into the curricular with critical reflection upon the issues of race, ethnicity, culture and identity.

Originality/value

This study will enrich the current literature on Asian American education because there is currently limited research in this area. It will give voices to Asian American students and contribute to a better understanding of how both students and teachers are responding to the challenges faced in many schools as demographics change. It will also have implications for teacher education and encourage awareness in this field that might affect future educational practices and policies.

Details

Journal for Multicultural Education, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-535X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 12 September 2017

Mary Yee

This chapter examined the lived experiences of first generation Asian immigrant student activists, who waged a powerful struggle against school violence in a large urban high…

Abstract

This chapter examined the lived experiences of first generation Asian immigrant student activists, who waged a powerful struggle against school violence in a large urban high school. Their struggle resisted the hegemonic practices of the district bureaucracy around racial harassment, bullying, and treatment of immigrant students, especially English Language Learners (ELLs). Mobilizing both inside and outside of school, the student activists initiated legal action, organized among their high school peers and in the Asian community, and disrupted dominant discourses about the Asian community and the abilities of first generation immigrant youth.

Using ethnographic methods such as interviews, focus groups, and analysis of archival data, the author focused on four student leaders from working class backgrounds, examining the identities and literacies they developed in the process of understanding the power dynamics between dominant institutions and racialized communities. Moreover, using the lenses of Bourdieusian and Freirean social theory, this qualitative study looked at the roles that culture and ideology, broadly construed, played in the young people’s political development and their post-secondary trajectories. This work also built on the work of Shawn Ginwright, Julio Cammarota, and Michelle Fine on youth activism and community change. The significance of this chapter lies in its contribution to the research about the intersectionality of race/ethnicity, class, immigration status, and youth activism, in particular for first generation immigrant youth.

Article
Publication date: 27 April 2023

Chadrhyn A.A. Pedraza and Rene O. Guillaume

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into Asian Americans’ experiences with racism during elementary, middle and high school and how those experiences shape the ways they…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into Asian Americans’ experiences with racism during elementary, middle and high school and how those experiences shape the ways they describe their racial identity.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a qualitative research design and narrative inquiry strategy. The authors used Chang’s (1993) Asian Critical Race Theory framework to examine participant’s descriptions of experiences with racism during elementary, middle and high school and how these experiences shape how they describe their Asian American racial identity.

Findings

Participants’ narratives revealed a common theme of silencing through two major processes: acceptance of the Asian American identity as an “other” and measuring the Asian American self against the barometers of physical appearance and the model minority stereotype.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on Asian Americans by examining how experiences as a child shape how they have come to perceive their racial identity in relation to their overall self-concept. The authors argue that Asian American experiences have been excluded from discourse on race in education as the model minority and perpetual foreigner stereotypes have allowed for this marginalization.

Details

Journal for Multicultural Education, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-535X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2014

Jae-Pil Ha, Mary A Hums and Chris T Greenwell

This study examines the effect of four acculturation strategies (integration, assimilation, separation and marginalisation) on identification with andconsumption of American…

Abstract

This study examines the effect of four acculturation strategies (integration, assimilation, separation and marginalisation) on identification with and consumption of American football for the Asian population in the United States. Using Berry's (1990, 1997) bi-dimensional model of acculturation as a theoretical framework, significant differences (based on the four acculturation strategies) between football identification and consumption were found. In addition, this study examines the relationships between acculturation, ethnic identity, identification with, and consumption of, the sport among the Asian population. The results indicate that acculturation plays a significant role in explaining participants' identification with, and consumption of, the sport, whereas ethnic identity does not.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 April 2016

Jae-Pil Ha, Mary Hums and T. Christopher Greenwell

Despite the remarkable economic power and rapid growth of the Asian population in the USA, relatively little attention has been paid to this group in the sport management…

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Abstract

Purpose

Despite the remarkable economic power and rapid growth of the Asian population in the USA, relatively little attention has been paid to this group in the sport management literature compared to African-Americans and Hispanics. In addition, sport management scholars have paid limited attention to two important cultural factors: ethnic identity and acculturation. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

This study attempted to examine a comprehensive sport consumption model for Asians by testing theoretical relationships between these two cultural factors (ethnic identity and acculturation), fan identification, and sport consumption behavior.

Findings

The structural equation modeling results indicated that ethnic identity indirectly affected consumption of sport products reflecting attributes of a native country, e.g. ethnic player popular sports in a native country through identification with the sport products. In contrast acculturation indirectly affected consumption of sport products reflecting attributes of a host country, e.g. popular sports in a host country.

Originality/value

The results of this study provide implications on how sport marketers should effectively design sport products based on the Asians’ levels of acculturation and ethnic identity.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 3 April 2018

Bidit Lal Dey, John M.T. Balmer, Ameet Pandit and Mike Saren

The purpose of this paper is to examine how young British South Asian adults’ dual cultural identity is exhibited and reaffirmed through the appropriation of selfies.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how young British South Asian adults’ dual cultural identity is exhibited and reaffirmed through the appropriation of selfies.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopts a qualitative perspective and utilises a combination of in-depth interviews and netnographic data.

Findings

The appropriation of the selfie phenomenon by young British South Asian adults reifies, endorses and reinforces their dual cultural identity. As such, their dual cultural identity is influenced by four factors: consonance between host and ancestral cultures, situational constraints, contextual requirements and convenience.

Research limitations/implications

In terms of the selfie phenomenon, the study makes two major contributions: first, it analyses young British South Asian adults’ cultural dualism. Second, it explicates how their acculturation and their dual cultural identity are expressed through the appropriation of the selfie phenomenon.

Practical implications

Since young British South Asians represent a significant, and distinct, market, organisations serving this market can marshal insights from this research. As such, managers who apprise themselves of the selfie phenomenon of this group are better placed to meet their consumer needs. Account, therefore, should be taken of their twofold cultural identity and dual British/Asian identification. In particular, consideration should be given to their distinct and demonstrable traits apropos religiosity and social, communal, and familial bonding. The characteristics were clearly evident via their interactions within social media. Consequently, senior marketing managers can utilise the aforementioned in positioning their organisations, their brands and their products and services.

Originality/value

The study details a new quadripartite framework for analysing young British South Asian adults’ acculturation that leads to the formation of their dual cultural identity and presents a dynamic model that explicates how cultural identity is expressed through the use and appropriation of technology.

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2017

Mark Christopher McPherson

This paper, which is part of a larger study, aims to discuss from an ethno-cultural perspective, the notion of self-identification and difference pertaining to first and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper, which is part of a larger study, aims to discuss from an ethno-cultural perspective, the notion of self-identification and difference pertaining to first and second-generation South Asian male entrepreneurs. In essence, previous studies have not explored this dimension to any sufficient depth. Therefore, evidence is unclear as to how ethno-culture has informed entrepreneurial identity and difference.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting a phenomenological research paradigm, 42 semi-structured interviews were conducted with first- and second-generation Sikh and Pakistani Muslim male entrepreneurs in Greater London. A typology of second-generation entrepreneurs is developed and a research agenda proposed.

Findings

First-generation respondents regard the UK as home and do not suffer from shifts in identity. These particular respondents identify themselves as Sikh or Pakistani Muslim or a Businessman. However, the second-generation identify themselves via three distinct labels. Here respondents stress their ethnicity by using Hyphenated British identities or hide their ethnicity behind the term a Normal Businessman, or appear opportunists by using ethnicity as a resource to espouse a true entrepreneurial identity.

Research limitations/implications

The research environment within the Greater London area where the respondents are located may not be as generalisable when compared with other parts of the UK.

Originality/value

This paper offers a unique insight into self-prescribed identity and difference noted among London’s ethnic entrepreneurs.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 11 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2019

Elaine Chiao Ling Yang, Mona Ji Hyun Yang and Catheryn Khoo-Lattimore

This study aims to explore the meanings of solo travel for Asian women, focussing on how Asian women construct and negotiate their identities in the heteronormalised, gendered and…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the meanings of solo travel for Asian women, focussing on how Asian women construct and negotiate their identities in the heteronormalised, gendered and Western-centric tourism space.

Design/methodology/approach

In-depth interviews were conducted with 35 Asian solo female travellers from ten Asian countries/societies and analysed using constructivist grounded theory. The interpretation was guided by a critical stance and intersectionality lens.

Findings

The findings show that solo travel provides a means for self-discovery but the path was different for Asian women, for whom the self is constructed by challenging the social expectations of Asian women. Western-centric discourse was identified in the participants’ interactions with other (Western) travellers and tourism service providers, as well as in the ways these Asian women perceive themselves in relation to Western travellers. In addition to gendered constraints and risks, the findings also reveal the positive meaning of being Asian women in the gendered tourism space.

Research limitations/implications

By labelling Asian women, the study risks adopting an essentialised view and overlooking the differences within the group. However, this strategic essentialism is necessary to draw attention to the inequalities that persist in contemporary tourism spaces and practices.

Originality/value

This study investigated Asian solo female travellers, an emerging but under-researched segment. It provides a critical examination of the intersectional effect of gender and race on identity construction for Asian solo female travellers. This study shows the need for a more inclusive tourism space.

Details

Tourism Review, vol. 74 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1660-5373

Keywords

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