Public Narrative underlying the We The People Michigan Pedagogy, and its use in the Drive Michigan Forward Coalition

Public narrative is a leadership practice being learned and practiced across different contexts worldwide. Specific cases shed light on how public narrative is being practiced at the grassroots level in situations that are often more conducive to developing agency. In this study we explore how public narrative can be used for team formation in the framework of leadership and community organizing. We deepen in how We the People Michigan, an organization engaged in community organizing, has used public narrative in its leading role convening the Drive Michigan Forward coalition. Findings point at the role of public narrative in enhancing two aspects that were of utmost importance for team formation and effective group working. First, sharing personal stories as a way to get to know and discover each other, and find a common base. Second, moving from each organization specific needs to focus on the urgency of tackling their constituencies needs, that of the undocumented migrants in Michigan

Narratives4Change Research Brief 1

The Narratives4Change project is a 36-month research investigation consisting in two main phases: data collection and analysis in an outgoing phase (outside of Europe), and implementation of results in a return phase (in Europe). The first 24 months of the project (outgoing phase) were carried out at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), and the last 12 months (return phase) took place in Europe, at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, Barcelona, Spain). The main goal of the Narratives4Change project is to study how the public narrative framework is being used for the development of individual and collective leadership in different areas of action (e.g.: advocacy/organizing in education, health, politics, etc.) and cultural and geographical contexts, to better understand how it enables individuals' agentic action and their capacity to develop agency in others, enhancing organizational capacity. Doing this could in turn inform a twofold objective. First, to better understand how the use of public narrative impacts on individuals' interpersonal relationships by means of enabling agency. And second, to explore how it impacts on creating new social realities

Social Creation. A New Concept for Social Sciences and Humanities

Social impact assessment in Social Sciences builds a base of knowledge transparency and direct involvement in social inequality, creating an alternative to the stagnation of scientific results and allowing them to become a real impact through society improvements. Four parameters inform and measure the degree of researchers' involvement in a scientific project and the improvements that this generates in society. These parameters are: Dissemination, Transfer, Impact and Social Creation. Social improvement does not come until impact is achieved, since dissemination does not ensure knowledge application, and transfer does not ensure that its application generates improvement as even sometimes its generates deterioration. However, we can achieve social impact by writing scientific publications about successful social realities that others have done. The new concept of social creation is a step beyond, and defines the process when from social research itself new successful social realities that improve society in ways that hitherto had not existed emerge

Analyzing male attractiveness models from a communicative approach: socialization, attraction, and gender-based violence

Although the analysis of male attractiveness models is key to shed light into the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV), it is not always easy to access crucial information about these models. Research shows that inadequate data collection techniques can lead to reproducing superficial arguments confirming existing stereotypes instead of tackling with the real connections. Using communicative daily life stories and communicative focus groups, we take on the challenge of accessing the existing models of male attractiveness' foundations. These techniques are used to collect data about the specific attractiveness models into which adolescents are socialized and their potential link to violence. We argue that the communicative orientation furthers the scientific understanding of the dominant traditional model of masculinity that socializes into GBV and the new alternative model of masculinity that socializes into its overcoming. The use of communicative techniques is showed to empower participants to question their attractive preferences

Our Right to the Pleasure of Falling in Love

The social impact of psychology on the field of human sexuality is extensively wide. From Freud to Masters and Johnson, many are the research which have broken barriers and provided citizens with new knowledge to improve their lives. One of the lines of research which are now contributing to this social impact from psychology is that of the dominant coercive discourse (Gómez, 2015), which portrays power relationships as exciting and egalitarian relationships as convenient. Drawing from this theory, the aim of this research is to shed light on the influence of the coercive discourse on women's pleasure in their intimate relationships. In an exploratory study, women between 20 and 29 years old were interviewed under the communicative methodology (...

Grassroots community actors leading the way in the prevention of youth violent radicalization.

Violence-free family ties, non-violent peers or attachment to society have been pointed out as protective factors against different types of extremism and violent radicalization by international literature. However, more detail needs to be provided about which specific aspects within these realms (friendship/family/community) are effective in challenging violence and how they operate in practice. Recent research conducted under the framework of the PROTON project (Horizon 2020) has analyzed the social and ethical impacts of counter-terrorism and organized crime policies in six European countries. In this article we discuss some identified common features among practices that, developed by organized actors operating at the local level (e.g.: grassroots-based associations, educational institutions, other type of organized networks for prevention, NGOs), are contributing to preventing youth violent radicalization, a phenomenon of growing concern in Europe and beyond. Standing on a solid rejection to violence, these shared features are the following: a bottom-up approach in setting allies with key stakeholders from the community or/and family members to intervene; the promotion of trustworthy and healthy friendship relationships; debunking the lure surrounding violent subjects ("false heroes") and violence in the different contexts, especially in the socioeducational one

Reconstruction of Autobiographical Memories of Violent Sexual-Affective Relationships Through Scientific Reading on Love: A Psycho-Educational Intervention to Prevent Gender Violence

iolence in sexual-affective relationships among teens and young people is recognized as a social, educational, and health problem that has increased worldwide in recent years. Educational institutions, as central developmental contexts in adolescence, are key in preventing and responding to gender violence through implementing successful actions. In order to scientifically support that task, the research reported in this article presents and discusses a psycho-educational intervention focused on autobiographical memory reconstruction that proved to be successful in raising young women's critical consciousness about the force of the coercive discourse upon sexual-affective experiences and memories. We examined among a sample of young women (n = 32, age range 17-30) whether reading a scholarly text about love, the Radical Love book, modified autobiographical memories of violent sexual-affective relationships in line with preventing future victimization. This group was compared with a control group (n = 31, age range 17-30). Memory reports were collected before and after the reading and coded to analyze their content, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Memory quality features were assessed with the Memory Quality Questionnaire (MMQ). A focus group was also conducted to examine the personal impact of the intervention on participants. Compared with controls, the experimental group had stronger critical memories (of episodes involving violence), an average decrease in positive emotions induced by recall, and an average increase in negative emotions. The results show the effectiveness of the reading intervention designed in relation to gender violence prevention, as they indicate the ability of the psycho-educational action to debilitate the force of the coercive discourse in young women's memories. The findings both advance knowledge on the reconstructive nature of autobiographical memories of violent sexual-affective relationships in female youth and indicate the potential of memory-based interventions as an instrument to prevent and reduce gender violence in school contexts. Teachers and teaching staff, and educational psychologists, among others, can benefit from these results by expanding the tools they have to address gender violence among female adolescents and youth

Connecting Roma Communities in COVID-19 Times: The First Roma Women Students' Gathering Held Online

COVID-19 has exacerbated the vulnerability of the Roma communities in Europe. However, these communities have a strong sense of resilience, and the role of Roma women must be highlighted since they have historically nurtured solidarity networks even in the most challenging situations. Aim: A particular action organized by a Roma Association of Women is analyzed: the Roma Women Students' Gathering (RWSG, or gathering). In its 19th edition, this democratic space aimed at tackling the challenges the pandemic has raised and its impact on the Roma communities. Method: The 19th RWSG, which was the first one held online, was inductively analyzed to gain a deeper understanding of the key aspects that the Roma women highlight when they organize themselves. Results: RWSG generates optimal conditions where Roma women identify the challenges affecting their community and, drawing on the dialogues shared, agree on strategies to contest them. RWSG also enhanced solidarity interactions that enabled the conquering of the virtual space, transforming it into an additional space where the Roma could help each other and thus better navigate the uncertainties unleashed by COVID-19. Key features of the Roma culture emerged in these spaces of solidarity, such as protecting the elderly and prioritizing community wellbeing rather than only the individual's preferences. Conclusions: Roma women play a key role in weaving an organized response to the uncertainty derived from COVID-19, and connecting them to the public sphere, potentially achieving social and political impacts