Glocalizing identities : grounded theory of networked scholar

Abstract

Grounded theory explaineduniversity professor and researcher identity construction in social media. Interviews were conducted with full and associate professors and researchers from universities in Lithuaniaand Italy. Professors and researchers were engaged in social sciences, humanities and technologies. They wer eactive social media users. A core category Glocalizing identities showed the process of professional self-presentation of university teachersin social media environments. Two opposite paths of identity construction were researched.The first showed direction to a person’s self-regulated learning in social media. The second path pointed to social media skepticism. The first Glocalizing identities direction was constructed from subcategory Accepting with dimensions Flowing and Learning.The second direction was constructed from subcategory Hiding with dimensions Disassociating and Ignoring. These findings contributedto understanding how active networked university professors and researchers in non-English speaking European countries –Lithuania (post-Soviet country facing rapid university transitions) and Italy (having old scholar traditions, transforming scientific knowledge for productive purposes) –constructed their professional identities in social media.