Sikh millennials engaging the earth: Sikhi,environmental activism,and eco-enchantment

ABSTRACT

Diaspora Sikhs of and at the millennium are involved in a broad range of causes. This paper examines two Sikh environmental organizations: KarmaGrow and EcoSikh. Drawing from three previously unrelated strands of the Sikh and Punjabi studies literature (millennial Sikh identities in diaspora; engagements with land and landscape among Punjabis; and the influence of Sikh ethics), I explore the millennial diaspora environmentalisms of these cases. I argue that they challenge Weber's proposition that modern society is disenchanted, as well as Western notions of development, by re-engaging Punjabi ecological traditions, recuperating sacred geography and landscape, and uniting householding and stewardship.     

Out of the ashes: Sikh American institution building and the promise of equality for Sikh women

This paper examines Sikh American institution building in the post-9/11 period, and the impact of these institutions on Sikh women’s status and empowerment within the community. I examine the social and historical context of Sikh American politics and activism. I present the views of Sikh Americans who are directly involved with institution building and I describe their perspectives on women’s empowerment within the new institutions and in the broader Sikh American community. My discussion is based on ethnographic research, including open-ended interviews, participant-observation at conferences and community events, and analyses of public discourses about faith, ethics, politics, gender, and women on Sikh American websites and blogs.     

Trauma,cultural survival and identity politics in a post-9/11 era: Reflections by Sikh youth

This article presents findings from an ethnographic study of Sikh immigrant communities after 9/11. Notions of ‘belonging’ and ‘home’ are deeply fragmented for the Sikh families, especially the youth, and these complex social processes are explored. The post 9/11 backlash was pivotal in this community as it created more barriers for the youth in their schools as they became victims of racist slurs, threats and physical assault that were treated with apathy from teachers and administrators. Students stopped going to school, changed their physical appearances, displayed ‘patriotic’ American sentiment to promote an appearance of belonging, became depressed and were even suicidal as a result of the 9/11 backlash. The sense of persecution and of being labeled ‘suspect’ in the eyes of the public was detrimental to the families and the ensuing ‘fear’ for their safety in public spaces provoked many violent memories from India that these families experienced during the Hindu–Sikh riots from 1984 to the mid-1990s. The role of memory and the diasporic imaginary of Khalistan in the Sikh diaspora are understood throughout the article, as well. The findings of the study reveal immeasurable hardships for the Sikh youth in their schools and challenge assumptions about immigrant rigor and the resilience of immigrant youth in the face of hostile experiences and interactions. These hardships that stemmed from the trauma of migration and downward social mobility, the 9/11 backlash and their struggle to find a place led to challenges in identity formation and preservation.     

Offline: The possible effects of Internet-related behavior on work values,expectations, & behavior among Ultra-Orthodox millennials

ABSTRACT

This work examines differences in the work-related values, expectations, and behaviors between millennials who are significant users of technology and social media, and those who are not. We delineate the development of millennial behavior using a unique group of millennials, those in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish (known as “Haredi”) community in Israel. Due to religious and community norms, many Haredi millennials were shielded from digital technology, and particularly the Internet and the various technologies associated with it, such as text messaging and social media. Those who were raised and remained in Haredi communities did not encounter the Internet with any regularity as children. Many as adults are still unfamiliar with social media. Thus, this community presents a unique natural experiment, comparing Haredi millennials who are immersed in social media with those who are not.     

Navigating activism within the academy: Consciousness building and social justice identity formation

The academy can provide rich opportunities for the scholar activist through critical discourse within the classroom, consciousness building via community engagement, and leveraging diverse connections. However, the academy often upholds systemic roadblocks, at times enacting policies that further perpetuate inequities. This qualitative study takes a narrative approach to exploring the life course histories of 15 activists occupying diverse yet intersecting dimensions in the spectrum of privilege and oppression. Interviewees are uniquely connected to the academy engaging in a variety of roles and anti‐racist social justice efforts within the northwestern United States. Applying a critical consciousness framework, results highlight key functions of critical reflection and critical action as interviewees engage in critical consciousness raising (i.e., systemic root cause analysis), social justice identity formation (i.e., the politicization of one's identity), and adapting individual theories of social change. Barriers within the institution are also identified concerning the mainstreaming of service learning and university‐required diversity courses, limited structural supports for activists of color, and the institutionalized co‐opting of social change efforts. Lastly, implications for activism, scholarship, and critical pedagogy within the academy are discussed.     

Going Rural and Urban at Once: Reflections from the Roman Sikh Context

This article highlights some considerations emerging from an ongoing ethnographic research I am carrying out at the local gurdwara of Fiumicino, in the outer edges of Rome, and in two ashrams owned by Italian converted Sikhs, which are also hosting some Sikh migrants. These sites seem to question the separation of urban from rural contexts, since they both act as community centres for Sikhs living in the town and neighbouring villages and as places of residence from where people commute for professional purposes. In this perspective, the ‘Sikh case’ is a good example to further reflect on the changing urban shape of Rome, which appears to have been constantly transforming itself over the last decades with the increasing expansion of the suburban areas; such restructuring has also influenced the way migrants choose where to work and live.     

Boredom at work: towards a dynamic spillover model of need satisfaction,work motivation,and work-related boredom

Boredom occurs regularly at work and can have negative consequences. This study aimed to increase insight in the antecedents and processes underlying the development of work-related boredom by (a) examining whether work-related need satisfaction and the quality-of-work motivation mediate the associations between the work characteristics defined in the Job Characteristics Model and work-related boredom, (b) investigating if this motivational process operates both on an “enduring,” between-person level and a daily within-person level, and (c) examining if and how daily experiences of work-related boredom spill over to the next day. Data among employees were collected in a cross-sectional study (N = 115) and a 5-day daily diary study (N = 90). Study 1 results showed that need satisfaction and quality-of-work motivation mediated the association between work characteristics and work-related boredom. This motivational process was also found on a day-to-day basis in Study 2. This study further revealed that work-related boredom spills over to the next day through its associations with increased negative work attitudes and decreased intrinsic motivation. These findings provide insight in the process by which momentary experiences of boredom at work may develop into a more enduring experience of work-related boredom.     

Recovery,work engagement,and proactive behavior: a new look at the interface between nonwork and work

This study examined work-related outcomes of recovery during leisure time. A total of 147 employees completed a questionnaire and a daily survey over a period of 5 consecutive work days. Multilevel analyses showed that day-level recovery was positively related to day-level work engagement and day-level proactive behavior (personal initiative, pursuit of learning) during the subsequent work day. The data suggest considerable daily fluctuations in behavior and attitudes at work, with evidence that these are related to prior experience and opportunity for recovery in the nonwork domain.     

Credit and blame among American and Japanese children: normative, cultural, and individual differences

Japanese and American 5th graders (N = 593 children, 198 American and 395 Japanese) assigned credit and blame to good and bad classroom deeds and performances. Theoretically, a morality of aspiration involves assigning more credit for a good deed than blame for a corresponding bad deed; a morality of duty involves assigning more blame than credit. In both countries academic achievement norms were most consistent with aspiration, moral norms were judged as duties, and procedural norms were intermediate. Japanese children's responses were more consistent with aspiration than those of Americans. Analyses also explored cultural versus individual differences in sanctioning. The conclusion addresses the relevance of the concept of aspiration to the study of achievement and other norms.     

Sociocultural theories,academic achievement,and African American adolescents in a multicultural context: a review of the cultural incompatibility perspective

Some theories have posited that African American youth are academic underachievers because of sociocultural factors. We label this point of view the cultural incompatibility perspective. Ogbu’s oppositional culture theory and Steele’s stereotype threat theory are selected as popular examples of this viewpoint. A critical review of the literature on these particular theories was conducted. It was concluded that there is limited empirical support for the cultural incompatibility perspective on African American academic achievement. This raises questions about the focus on academic underachievement among African Americans versus high achievement among other ethnic/racial groups. Implications of the empirical findings on the incompatibility perspective for the role of African American culture in Black student achievement are discussed.     

Integrating psychological research on girls with feminist activism: a model for building a liberation psychology in the United States

A liberation psychology is needed to bridge the gap between psychology's focus on individual distress and broad social forces that foster such distress. We offer a model for bridging this gap by focusing on a specific area of psychology (psychological research on girls) and a specific social movement (feminist activism). Psychological research on girls and feminist activism share the common goal of improving the lives of girls and women. However, both have fallen short of this goal. This is due, in part, to the weaknesses associated with each endeavor and to the fact that the complementary strengths of each have remained isolated from the other. In this paper, we propose a common language and shared framework to integrate psychological research with feminist activism. First, we review the basic strengths and weaknesses associated with psychological research and feminist activism, with a particular focus on how they are distinct from one another. Second, we provide a taxonomic framework for integrating these two areas on the basis of the stress paradigm, with specific examples provided from our recent reviews of the literature and our own empirical work with adolescent girls. Finally, we conclude with recommendations for future work needed to integrate psychological research on girls with feminist activism toward the goal of building a liberation psychology in the United States.     

Self-monitoring at work: a motive-based perspective

It is argued that the recent study of personality in industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology is characterized by two limitations: (a) almost complete reliance on the Big Five to the exclusion of other personality variables (most notably, self-monitoring) and (b) insufficient theoretical attention paid to the criteria in work-related personality research. In an attempt to overcome both of these limitations, we review theoretical and empirical evidence for the relevance of self-monitoring in organizational life, with particular attention paid to the criteria grounded in socioanalytic theory of getting along, getting ahead, and making sense. Extant research indicates that high self-monitors are particularly good at getting along (e.g., meeting others' social expectations) and getting ahead (e.g., job performance and leadership emergence), but the evidence is more mixed with regard to making sense. We conclude with a discussion of practical concerns in considering the use of self-monitoring for managerial selection and a research agenda for the future to further elaborate a theory of self-monitoring at work.     

工作中的能量:基于多层面表现形态的对流转化

工作中能量的研究经历了个体-交互-集体的发展历程。基于权变视角,本文对工作中能量的表现形态进行内涵解读与构念辨析,依托互动仪式理论,构建并解读能量表现形态的对流转化模型,为组织中工作能量的维持和补充提供思考。未来研究应重视关系能量与集体能量在组织中产生的双重效应,开展工作中能量构念的跨层面本土化实证研究。     

Diasporic sublime: Sikh martyrs,Internet mediations,and the question of the unimaginable

How are the Internet and the World Wide Web productive of new forms of cultural life? I analyse how the confluence of martyrdom, terror, and computer-mediated-communications has contributed to the emergence of a Sikh diasporic cultural politics. I argue that the centrality and force of both the Internet and the figure of the martyr for many Khalistanis prompt a rethinking of the privilege scholars often accord to the “imagination” and “experience” in explaining the creation of diasporic communities. In outlining what I call the diasporic sublime, I mine the works of Walter Benjamin and Immanuel Kant to develop a more precise way for talking about community formation in terms of the inexperiencable and the unimaginable.     

Stressors, resources, and strain at work: a longitudinal test of the triple-match principle

Two longitudinal studies investigated the issue of match between job stressors and job resources in the prediction of job-related strain. On the basis of the triple-match principle (TMP), it was hypothesized that resources are most likely to moderate the relation between stressors and strains if resources, stressors, and strains all match. Resources are less likely to moderate the relation between stressors and strains if (a) only resources and stressors match, (b) only resources and strains match, or (c) only stressors and strains match. Resources are least likely to moderate the relation between stressors and strains if there is no match among stressors, resources, and strains. The TMP was tested among 280 and 267 health care workers in 2 longitudinal surveys. The likelihood of finding moderating effects was linearly related to the degree of match, with 33.3% of all tested interactions becoming significant when there was a triple match, 16.7% when there was a double match, and 0.0% when there was no match. Findings were most consistent if there was an emotional match or a physical match.