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Book part
Publication date: 23 April 2013

Dominiek D. Coates

The current chapter outlines the process through which New Religious Movement (NRM) membership is conceptualized as facilitating the development of increased reflexivity, in…

Abstract

The current chapter outlines the process through which New Religious Movement (NRM) membership is conceptualized as facilitating the development of increased reflexivity, in particular the development of an increased ability to connect to others. Based on the narratives of a subsample of 11 former members of NRMs for whom membership signified a desire for an increased ability to emotionally connect to others, a number of factors that are understood as having facilitated or inhibited this type of change were identified and are discussed. The findings extend previous theorizing of NRM as facilitating changes in the behaviors and beliefs of their members, and conceptualizes NRMs as possible avenues through which self-change at an emotional level can occur.

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40th Anniversary of Studies in Symbolic Interaction
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-783-2

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Book part
Publication date: 2 July 2015

Viola Abermet

After Papua New Guinea’s contact with the western world several western scholars turned their attention toward the indigenous population and showed a special interest in the cults…

Abstract

After Papua New Guinea’s contact with the western world several western scholars turned their attention toward the indigenous population and showed a special interest in the cults that were formed afterward as well as the (following) conversions of almost all indigenous population to the Christian faith. While the majority of the literature focuses on this process either as an act of desperation or as one of calculation, this chapter focuses on the practices in the actual process of “becoming a Christian,” viewing them as expressions of self-change and thus offering a new perspective for understanding those changes. Drawing on and expanding interactionist ideas of dramatic self-change, this chapter identifies the practices used to portray that a change of identity has occurred. Data was gathered through the analysis of existing anthropological and ethnological work, which provides information about a broad range of tribes, yet is limited to the information provided by the respective researcher. The practices found are divided into practices which need not be secured, which demonstrate the acceptance of the new religion in a way that is usually not challenged (like public confessions, verbal denigration of the old tradition, integration into the new structure, adopting new symbols, and destroying the old) and practices that need to be secured, ones which might be regarded as odd (like dramatizing enlightenment) and thus need another way of accounting to secure them from being challenged.

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Contributions from European Symbolic Interactionists: Conflict and Cooperation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-856-4

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Abstract

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Ethnographies of Law and Social Control
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-128-6

Book part
Publication date: 15 July 2019

Robert E. Quinn and Kim S. Cameron

In this chapter, we assume the following: (1) the root cause of most organizational problems is culture and leadership, (2) executives seldom want to deal with these root causes…

Abstract

In this chapter, we assume the following: (1) the root cause of most organizational problems is culture and leadership, (2) executives seldom want to deal with these root causes, (3) because life is uncertain, organizational change is an emergent process, (4) most change processes unfold by reconstructing social reality, (5) the change process is inherently relational, (6) effective change efforts are enhanced by increasing the virtue of the actors, (7) change is embedded in the learning that flows from high-quality relationships, and (8) change agents may have to transcend conventional, economic exchange norms in order to demonstrate integrity and to build trust and openness. Drawing on the field of positive organizational scholarship, we focus on the change agent. We review the literature on self-change and offer several paths for becoming a positive leader.

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Research in Organizational Change and Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-554-3

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Book part
Publication date: 22 November 2012

Chihling Liu, Debbie Keeling and Margaret Hogg

Purpose – Whilst everyday consumption, such as of cosmetics, creates meanings for our being-in-the-world, these meanings appear to be easily over-looked and conceal untapped…

Abstract

Purpose – Whilst everyday consumption, such as of cosmetics, creates meanings for our being-in-the-world, these meanings appear to be easily over-looked and conceal untapped significance from the experiencing individuals. This study addresses this opportunity for exploring selves in daily transformation, studying cosmetics consumption across key developmental phases of everyday life.

Design/methodology/approach – Phenomenological interviews were employed to investigate individuals' feelings, perceptions and experiences of cosmetics consumption. An iterative process of hermeneutical interpretation was adopted to identify the constellation of past-present-future relations that have underscored the individuals' intentions, motives and purposes.

Findings – This chapter highlights the intricacies of how the self changes on a daily basis. We illustrate how consumers use cosmetic consumption, at a transformational level, to create, redefine and defend aspects of the self and, strategically, to manipulate and even attack others.

Research limitations/implications – Beyond cosmetics consumption, we provide ‘food for thought’ on this very complicated subject-how does mundane consumption potentially address issues of sense of self, and vice versa?

Originality/value – The study highlights an individual's challenges in defining the self and how cosmetics function as a coping mechanism, responding to changes occurring at varying stages of life.

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Research in Consumer Behavior
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-022-2

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Book part
Publication date: 2 July 2015

In this volume we will present nine articles from the third conference of the European SSSI which was held on July 4–6 in Rotterdam in 2012. They come from a diverse range of…

Abstract

In this volume we will present nine articles from the third conference of the European SSSI which was held on July 4–6 in Rotterdam in 2012. They come from a diverse range of countries such as Poland, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Germany. This collection shows a wide variety of qualitative methods and themes, such as sex-work in Poland, urban public places in the Netherlands, dancing during lunch break in Sweden, self-change in Papua New Guinea, immigration in Malta and the body online. When we look at the studies in this volume, it becomes clear that European scholars have been inspired by the SI tradition in various ways, which will be discussed briefly in this introduction.

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Contributions from European Symbolic Interactionists: Conflict and Cooperation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-856-4

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Book part
Publication date: 7 July 2004

Lonnie Athens and Randy Starr

In our paper, Randy Starr, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity for committing murder, tells his life story with my help. Our collaboration helps erase the fictitious…

Abstract

In our paper, Randy Starr, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity for committing murder, tells his life story with my help. Our collaboration helps erase the fictitious line traditionally drawn between subject and analyst in life stories. We cover the period from his early childhood to his late twenties when he committed the homicide that led to his involuntary commitment to a state’s mental health system. In telling his life story, we vividly describe his passage through the four stages of the violentization and later descent into “self disorganization,” which is seen as a normal part of the process of dramatic self change. It is made clear by us that the severe self disorganization into which he descended did not originate independently from his violentization, but instead was a direct by-product of it. We conclude that he should have been adjudged a “disorganized dangerous violent criminal” and found “guilty, but in need of and susceptible to treatment.” A plea is made to make this verdict available to judges and juries in such cases.

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Studies in Symbolic Interaction
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-261-0

Book part
Publication date: 28 December 2006

Phillip Vannini

This paper contributes to the symbolic interactionist literature on authenticity and the self by drawing from ethnographic research conducted with 46 faculty members at an…

Abstract

This paper contributes to the symbolic interactionist literature on authenticity and the self by drawing from ethnographic research conducted with 46 faculty members at an American public research university. I offer an analysis of the changing meanings of professors’ sense of self across careers, ranks, and hiring cohorts and I suggest the following: (a) professors’ experiences of authenticity and inauthenticity remain similarly frequent throughout their careers; (b) professors’ concept of true self changes considerably from the time they are hired to the time they retire; (c) younger professors need to face different demands and challenges than older professors, as they need to adapt to a different academic social world marked by new practices and conventions surrounding tenure, research, teaching, and service.

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Studies in Symbolic Interaction
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1325-9

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The Ambiguities of Desistance
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-786-0

Abstract

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The Ambiguities of Desistance
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-786-0

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