Tag Archives: Identity

The Self Illusion: How the Social Brain Creates Identity

September 24, 2012 – 3:48 pm

Most of us believe that we are an independent, coherent self–an individual inside our head who thinks, watches, wonders, dreams, and makes plans for the future. This sense of our self may seem incredibly real but a wealth of recent scientific evidence reveals that it is not what it seems–it is all an illusion.

In The Self Illusion, Bruce Hood reveals how the self emerges during childhood and how the architecture of the developing brain enables us to become social animals dependent on each other. Humans spend proportionally the greatest amount of time in childhood compared to any other animal. It’s not only to learn from others, Hood notes, but also to learn to become like others. We learn to become our self. Even as adults we are continually developing and elaborating this story, learning to become different selves in different situations–the work self, the home self, the parent self. Moreover, Hood shows that this already fluid process–the construction of self–has dramatically changed in recent years. Social networking activities–such as blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter–are fast becoming socialization on steroids. The speed and ease at which we can form alliances and relationships are outstripping the same selection processes that shaped our self prior to the internet era. Things will never be the same again in the online social world. Hood offers our first glimpse into this unchartered territory.

Who we are is, in short, a story of our self–a narrative that our brain creates. Like the science fiction movie, we are living in a matrix that is our mind. But Hood concludes that though the self is an illusion, it is an illusion we must continue to embrace to live happily in human society.

The Self Illusion: How the Social Brain Creates Identity

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Tags Brain, Creates, Identity, Illusion, Self, Social | Permalink | Comment (0)

Humanities

The Politics of American Religious Identity: The Seating of Senator Reed Smoot, Mormon Apostle

March 18, 2012 – 12:11 am

Between 1901 and 1907, a broad coalition of Protestant churches sought to expel newly elected Reed Smoot from the Senate, arguing that as an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Smoot was a lawbreaker and therefore unfit to be a lawmaker. The resulting Senate investigative hearing featured testimony on every peculiarity of Mormonism, especially its polygamous family structure. The Smoot hearing ultimately mediated a compromise between Progressive Era Protestantism and Mormonism and resolved the nation’s long-standing “Mormon Problem.” On a broader scale, Kathleen Flake shows how this landmark hearing provided the occasion for the country–through its elected representatives, the daily press, citizen petitions, and social reform activism–to reconsider the scope of religious free exercise in the new century.

Flake contends that the Smoot hearing was the forge in which the Latter-day Saints, the Protestants, and the Senate hammered out a model for church-state relations, shaping for a new generation of non-Protestant and non-Christian Americans what it meant to be free and religious. In addition, she discusses the Latter-day Saints’ use of narrative and collective memory to retain their religious identity even as they changed to meet the nation’s demands.

The Politics of American Religious Identity: The Seating of Senator Reed Smoot, Mormon Apostle

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Tags American, Apostle, Identity, Mormon, Politics, Reed, Religious, Seating, Senator, Smoot | Permalink | Comment (0)

Business & Finance

Privacy Crisis Banking: Bank Secrecy Plan & Resource Guide to Protect Identity, Money, and Property

March 8, 2012 – 1:47 am

Can you really have bank secrecy? Modern privacy resources and non-traditional banking principles are requirements today to protect identity, money, and property. Bank secrecy havens have breached their banking privacy contracts with corporations and individual investors, rolling over to pressures applied to them by fascist-like United States of America government agencies. Police state-style tactics used by government to seize assets and garnish bank accounts of businesses and individuals place your money, property, and business at risk. White collar criminals, greedy lawyers, identity thieves, and private investigators create financial chaos for those whose money and property can be discovered through data searches. Who can achieve financial privacy amidst the greatest privacy invasion period in the history of the world? Those who insist on business and personal identity protection and use financial institutions and privacy resources proven to offer freedom lovers bank secrecy and property protection. Choose a bank secrecy and property protection plan that meets your needs. Bank online and cash checks without a Social Security number. Store currency and gold anonymously. Create an invisible mortgage. The financial institutions’ websites, addresses, and telephone numbers used by privacy advocates to achieve banking secrecy and store money privately in the U.S.A. and abroad are inside this book. Privacy seekers will use these resources over and over again. Take back your right to financial privacy. This book is your guide.

Privacy Crisis Banking: Bank Secrecy Plan & Resource Guide to Protect Identity, Money, and Property

Price: $ 21.86 See update price on Amazon.com

Tags Bank, Banking, Crisis, Guide, Identity, Money, Plan, Privacy, Property, Protect, Resource, Secrecy | Permalink | Comment (0)

Current Concepts in Transgender Identity (Garland Gay and Lesbian Studies)

March 5, 2012 – 7:22 pm

This collection will present works that offer illuminating perspectives on the remarkably diverse Asian American populations of the United States. As a population that is neither black nor white, the range of experiences of these groups, many of whom arrived as refugees, presents other perspectives on the cultural mosaic that constitutes the United States. Studies of Asian Americans sheds light on issues related to immigration, refugee policy, transnationalism, return migration, cultural citizenship, ethnic communities, community building, identity and group formation, panethnicity, race relations, gender and class, entrepreneurship, employment, representation, politics, adaptation, and acculturation. The writings in this collection are drawn from a wide variety of disciplines to provide a broad and informative array of insights on these fascinating and diverse populations.

Articles written by physicians, health professionals, psychotherapists, clinical psychologists, and others survey new developments in the field of gender identity. All the articles, except four are published here for the first time. This is the first volume dedicated to the new ways in which gender identity issues and transsexualism can inform clinical practice.
This collection will present works that offer illuminating perspectives on the remarkably diverse Asian American populations of the United States. As a population that is neither black nor white, the range of experiences of these groups, many of whom arrived as refugees, presents other perspectives on the cultural mosaic that constitutes the United States. Studies of Asian Americans sheds light on issues related to immigration, refugee policy, transnationalism, return migration, cultural citizenship, ethnic communities, community building, identity and group formation, panethnicity, race relations, gender and class, entrepreneurship, employment, representation, politics, adaptation, and acculturation. The writings in this collection are drawn from a wide variety of disciplines to provide a broad and informative array of insights on these fascinating and diverse populations.

Current Concepts in Transgender Identity (Garland Gay and Lesbian Studies)

Price: $ 142.11 See update price on Amazon.com

Tags Concepts, Current, Garland, Identity, Lesbian, Studies, Transgender | Permalink | Comment (0)

Pederasts and Others: Urban Culture and Sexual Identity in Nineteenth-Century Paris (Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies)

March 5, 2012 – 7:23 am

Examine how a community of support in Nineteenth-Century Paris became a blueprint for modern sexual identity!

A unique social history, Pederasts and Others: Urban Culture and Sexual Identity in Nineteenth-Century Paris is a valuable addition to the growing field of gay and lesbian studies. The book examines the interaction between the city’s male homosexual subculture and Parisian authority figures who attempted to maintain political and social order during the early years of the French Third Republic by using laws against public indecency and sexual assault to treat same-sex sexuality as a crime. Faced with a constant cycle of surveillance, harassment, and arrest, the city’s gay men survived the hostile urban environment by forming a community of support that had a widespread and lasting influence on the development of modern sexual identities.

Pederasts and Others: Urban Culture and Sexual Identity in Nineteenth-Century Paris is based on a statistical analysis of more than 800 working-class and middle-class men who were arrested or investigated by Parisian police between 1873 and 1879. Their stories, presented through long and short case studies, represent nearly 2,000 names recorded by police in “Pederasts and Others,” a ledger detailing the arrests of male homosexuals for public offenses against decency and other minor offenses. (The term “pederast” identified those suspected of same-sex sexual activity, not the modern definition that indicates homosexual relations with a minor.) The ledger entries reveal specific habits, attitudes, values, and characteristics about these men that set them apart—the same traits that identified them as part of a community based on their behavior and relationships.

Pederasts and Others: Urban Culture and Sexual Identity in Nineteenth-Century Paris examines:

the forces of authority
the laws regarding same-sex sexual behavior
the role of the police
the role of the magistrates
the role of the doctors
the common characteristics of the city’s male homosexual subculture
the sexual behaviors of the Paris underground
the geography of the subculture

and takes an expanded look at three case studies:

“A Decadent Aristocrat and A Delinquent Boy”
“Pederasts, Prostitutes, and Pickpockets”
“Love and Death in Gay Paris”

Pederasts and Others: Urban Culture and Sexual Identity in Nineteenth-Century Paris also includes tables, appendices, and maps linked to statistical data. The book is an essential resource for historians, sociologists, sexologists, criminologists, and other scholars working in the fields of gay and lesbian studies, urban studies, social and cultural history, and French history.
Examine how a community of support in Nineteenth-Century Paris became a blueprint for modern sexual identity!

Pederasts and Others: Urban Culture and Sexual Identity in Nineteenth-Century Paris examines:

the forces of authority
the laws regarding same-sex sexual behavior
the role of the police
the role of the magistrates
the role of the doctors
the common characteristics of the city’s male homosexual subculture
the sexual behaviors of the Paris underground
the geography of the subculture

and takes an expanded look at three case studies:

“A Decadent Aristocrat and A Delinquent Boy”
“Pederasts, Prostitutes, and Pickpockets”
“Love and Death in Gay Paris”

Pederasts and Others: Urban Culture and Sexual Identity in Nineteenth-Century Paris (Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies)

Price: $ 125.00 See update price on Amazon.com

Tags Culture, Haworth, Identity, Lesbian, NineteenthCentury, Others, Paris, Pederasts, Sexual, Studies, Urban | Permalink | Comment (0)

Business & Finance

World Banking World Fraud: Using Your Identity

March 4, 2012 – 8:48 pm

From life as a young orphan to the American dream to a corporate nightmare of fraud and money laundering. John Cruz is a survivor. In his new book, World Banking World Fraud, Cruz describes his extraordinary rise from poverty to inside a world bank where he uncovered and documented the systemic fraud and money laundering that eventually led to his termination. Cruz first became aware of the fraud in 2009 when he was named vice president; senior business relationship manager (SBRM) over some of HSBC’s highest producing branches on Long Island. There he learned that managers at HSBC were so effective because they were establishing fraudulent accounts. He discovered and documented multiple phantom businesses with active accounts but was explicitly told by management to forget what he saw. Cruz recently said of the fraud, : What I realized quickly was that this wasn’t a one-time thing, or the activities of a few people. What I found at HSBC was systemic and international, I wrote my book, World Banking World Fraud, because no company should be above the law, no matter how big it is or how much money it has.
From life as a young orphan to the American dream to a corporate nightmare of fraud and money laundering. John Cruz is a survivor. In his new book, World Banking World Fraud, Cruz describes his extraordinary rise from poverty to inside a world bank where he uncovered and documented the systemic fraud and money laundering that eventually led to his termination. Cruz first became aware of the fraud in 2009 when he was named vice president; senior business relationship manager (SBRM) over some of HSBC’s highest producing branches on Long Island. There he learned that managers at HSBC were so effective because they were establishing fraudulent accounts. He discovered and documented multiple phantom businesses with active accounts but was explicitly told by management to forget what he saw. Cruz recently said of the fraud, : What I realized quickly was that this wasn’t a one-time thing, or the activities of a few people. What I found at HSBC was systemic and international, I wrote my book, World Banking World Fraud, because no company should be above the law, no matter how big it is or how much money it has.

World Banking World Fraud: Using Your Identity

Price: $ 11.51 See update price on Amazon.com

Tags Banking, Fraud, Identity, Using, World | Permalink | Comment (0)

Gender, Race and National Identity: Nations of Flesh and Blood (Routledge Research in Gender and Society)

March 3, 2012 – 5:23 am

All nations construct stories of national belonging, stories of the nation’s character, its accomplishments, its defining traits, its historical trajectory. These stories, or discourses of national identity, carry powerful messages about gender and race, messages that reflect, reproduce and occasionally challenge social hierarchies. Gender, Race and National Identity examines links between gender, race and national identity in the US, UK, Australia and Japan. The book takes an innovative approach to national identity by analyzing a range of ephemeral and pop cultural texts, from Olympic opening ceremonies, to television advertisements, letters to the editor, broadsheet war coverage, travel brochures, museums and living history tourist venues. Its rich empirical detail and systematic cross-national comparisons allow for a fuller theorization of national identity.
All nations construct stories of national belonging, stories of the nation’s character, its accomplishments, its defining traits, its historical trajectory. These stories, or discourses of national identity, carry powerful messages about gender and race, messages that reflect, reproduce and occasionally challenge social hierarchies. Gender, Race and National Identity examines links between gender, race and national identity in the US, UK, Australia and Japan. The book takes an innovative approach to national identity by analyzing a range of ephemeral and pop cultural texts, from Olympic opening ceremonies, to television advertisements, letters to the editor, broadsheet war coverage, travel brochures, museums and living history tourist venues. Its rich empirical detail and systematic cross-national comparisons allow for a fuller theorization of national identity.

Gender, Race and National Identity: Nations of Flesh and Blood (Routledge Research in Gender and Society)

Price: $ 38.24 See update price on Amazon.com

Tags blood, Flesh, Gender, Identity, National, Nations, Race, Research, Routledge, Society | Permalink | Comment (0)

Humanities

Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team

February 28, 2012 – 9:11 pm

Praise for previous editions of Designing Brand Identity:

An inspiring and powerful toolkit.

The Marketer

Alina Wheeler provides a practical structure for the brand building process.

Al Ries, coauthor, Positioning

Wheeler’s book offers a cogent description of how strategy and design meet in the real world among world-class companies.

Marty Neumeier, author, The Brand Gap

A valued reference book for all members of the branding team.

Communication Arts

Product Description

Who are you?

Who needs to know?

Why should they care?

How will they find out?

In a densely crowded marketplace, corporations, organizations, and even individuals look for ways to differentiate themselves. That is the job of branding.

Whether your goal is to express a new brand or to revitalize an existing one, here is a proven, universal five-phase process for creating and implementing effective brand identity. From research and analysis through brand strategy, design development through application design, and identity standards through launch and governance, Designing Brand Identity is an essential reference for the entire process.

Enriched by new case studies showcasing successful world-class brands from Herman Miller and General Electric to the Obama ’08 election campaign, this Third Edition offers new insights into emerging trends such as sustainability and social networks.

Alina Wheeler applies her strategic imagination and process management skills to revitalize brands for Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurial ventures, and nonprofits.

Twelve Traits of the Best Brand Identity Firms

The choice for any client can be daunting. More than ever, there is a panoply of highly capable firms that specialize in brand identity. Which ones should companies trust to revitalize their brand? Whether the firms are global brand consultancies, multidisciplinary design offices, design boutiques, or specialists in areas such as packaging or interactivity, these core competencies hold true.

1. Strategic imagination. An ability to understand and align business goals with creative strategy and expression is critical.

2. Process focus. A disciplined process is used to foster collaboration, build trust, and ensure responsible decision-making and results.

3. Design excellence. Reducing a complex, meaningful idea to its visual essence requires skill, patience, and unending discipline, whether the endpoint is a symbol, a look and feel, or an integrated brand identity system.

4. Irrefutable logic. Creating a new system or brand architecture requires an ability to communicate a compelling case for change to any decision-maker, from the CEO to the director of marketing to a division head.

5. Alchemy. An ability to synthesize vast amounts of information and reduce it to a big idea. Also, an ability to cut through the clutter and see the “gold” in a marketing audit.

6. Empathy and insight. An ability to be collaborative and understand the perspectives of all stakeholders, to suspend judgment and transcend politics.

7. Flexibility and humor. An ability to keep an eye on the big picture despite constraints and challenges. A sense of humor always helps.

8. Mindfulness and curiosity. An awareness of what is going on in the wider world and insight into best practices and the branding landscape.

9. Tenacity. Boundless energy and the perseverance of a marathon runner are required to develop and refine key messages, new names, taglines, and branding guidelines.

10. Organization. Phase by phase, email by email, presentation by presentation, file by file, tracking and documentation are key.

11. Focus. First and foremost, the process must stay focused on the customer and their experience.

12. Passion. Passion fuels excellence and inspires brand engagement.