This research includes in-depth interviews and participant observation to examine the construction of narrative identity by the staff members and worker-members of a workers' rights organization in Northwest Arkansas. I seek to understand how the organization negotiates the broader cultural and institutional narrative identities with the personal narrative identities of the worker-members in a cultural context hostile toward undocumented immigrants. Further, I examine how the worker-members themselves both internalize and challenge the organizational, institutional, and cultural narratives about undocumented immigrant workers. Findings reveal that the staff members and the worker-members create different narratives for different purposes, though both are concerned with the uplift of the undocumented immigrant worker. Suggestions for future research are provided.
","abstract_html":"<p>This research includes in-depth interviews and participant observation to examine the construction of narrative identity by the staff members and worker-members of a workers' rights organization in Northwest Arkansas. I seek to understand how the organization negotiates the broader cultural and institutional narrative identities with the personal narrative identities of the worker-members in a cultural context hostile toward undocumented immigrants. Further, I examine how the worker-members themselves both internalize and challenge the organizational, institutional, and cultural narratives about undocumented immigrant workers. Findings reveal that the staff members and the worker-members create different narratives for different purposes, though both are concerned with the uplift of the undocumented immigrant worker. Suggestions for future research are provided.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hallgren, Emily Ann"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in Sociology (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Zajicek, Anna M.","Worden, Steven K."],"advisors":["Holyfield, Lori C."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:58:26Z","subjects":["Social sciences","Immigration","Labor","Narrative","Narrative Identity","Community-Based Research","International and Comparative Labor Relations","Work, Economy and Organizations"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/352","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Zajicek, Anna M.","Worden, Steven K."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Holyfield, Lori C."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hallgren, Emily Ann"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2012"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in Sociology (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Social sciences","Immigration","Labor","Narrative","Narrative Identity","Community-Based Research","International and Comparative Labor Relations","Work, Economy and Organizations"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/352"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This research includes in-depth interviews and participant observation to examine the construction of narrative identity by the staff members and worker-members of a workers' rights organization in Northwest Arkansas. I seek to understand how the organization negotiates the broader cultural and institutional narrative identities with the personal narrative identities of the worker-members in a cultural context hostile toward undocumented immigrants. Further, I examine how the worker-members themselves both internalize and challenge the organizational, institutional, and cultural narratives about undocumented immigrant workers. Findings reveal that the staff members and the worker-members create different narratives for different purposes, though both are concerned with the uplift of the undocumented immigrant worker. Suggestions for future research are provided.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Narrative Identity Within A Workers' Rights Organization"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Zajicek, Anna M.","Worden, Steven K."],"dc:contributor.advisor":["Holyfield, Lori C."],"dc:creator":["Hallgren, Emily Ann"],"dc:date":["2012"],"dc:date.available":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This research includes in-depth interviews and participant observation to examine the construction of narrative identity by the staff members and worker-members of a workers' rights organization in Northwest Arkansas. I seek to understand how the organization negotiates the broader cultural and institutional narrative identities with the personal narrative identities of the worker-members in a cultural context hostile toward undocumented immigrants. Further, I examine how the worker-members themselves both internalize and challenge the organizational, institutional, and cultural narratives about undocumented immigrant workers. Findings reveal that the staff members and the worker-members create different narratives for different purposes, though both are concerned with the uplift of the undocumented immigrant worker. Suggestions for future research are provided.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/352"],"dc:subject":["Social sciences","Immigration","Labor","Narrative","Narrative Identity","Community-Based Research","International and Comparative Labor Relations","Work, Economy and Organizations"],"dc:title":["Narrative Identity Within A Workers' Rights Organization"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in Sociology (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:58:26Z"}