Bringing the Reality to Policymakers

Often, researchers assume that disseminating findings to policymakers is straightforward and that policymakers have the best interests of the researched communities at heart. However, this is not necessarily the case in reality. It is useful to remember that while an organisation's principles and objectives can influence attitudes and commitments, policymakers are individuals with multidimensional identities, which are shaped by their social contexts. They are not immune to societies' prejudices. Policymakers can replicate and entrench values that are inimical to those their organisations formally endorse. ‘Bringing the reality to policymakers’ is rarely a facile and predictable enterprise; instead, it requires that researchers seek to understand policymakers' social contexts and perspectives, the power dynamics within organisations, and among policymakers and the individuals and communities they are meant to serve

Researching with ‘Violent Actors’: Dangers, Responsibilities and Ethics

It is difficult to understand people's stories if researchers do not go beyond the labelling and categorisation that is common in all contexts. Those who live outside inner?city communities in Jamaica often do not understand the loyalty that is shown by inner?city residents to actors whom outsiders dismiss as cruel and violent perpetrators. This briefing note reinforces the importance of delving beyond society's labels in order to effectively research why people think and act the way they do. Choosing to engage with violent offenders raises serious ethical issues, which researchers in Jamaica contemplated and responded to in diverse ways

Making and unmaking the young 'shotta' [shooter] : boundaries and (counter) -actions in the 'garrisons'

This paper comprises a patchwork of conversations and life-stories from two of Jamaica’s reputedly violent ‘garrison’ communities. The stories come from a variety of sources, grandparents to the very young; however, the principal focus is on the children and, specifically, on how some among them – those labelled as ‘young shottas’ [shooters] are cultivated. Our storytellers expose the effects of deeprooted economic and social inequalities; the perception that gun violence is a means to personal liberation and ‘power’, particularly among males; and the concentration of conflict within and across like neighborhoods. There are stories about social conditioning and manhood, the role of families and peers and of how children are forced to grow in contexts where there are little or no opportunities for exit and restricted spaces for change. There are also accounts of how some actual and potential ‘shottas’ are attempting to contest the physical, material and socio-psychological boundaries within and outside of their immediate communities, through what Hayward (2000) describes as ‘action upon boundaries to action’. Notably, contestation does not always comprise those productive social actions that are considered crucial for participation and vibrant citizenship; it is often much more complex, combining non violent and violent actions, ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ measures. It is important to dissect how perceptions, such as of legality and illegality, legitimacy and illegitimacy are framed for the stories indicate that in these communities such concepts can have different meanings and that what is considered indefensible in some areas may be both justified and regarded as normal practice in others. Through these forthright and compelling accounts, readers will be exposed to the routes to and experiences of different citizenships as well as the substantial challenges to transformational change, particularly for the children who were born and cultivated in these particular violent environments. Keywords: inequality, children, power relations, violence, garrisons, social conditionings, boundaries, psychology, spaces, transformation

Intergenerational Transmissions and Race Inequalities: Why the Subjective and Relational Matter

In this article, I highlight some of the ways in which racial perceptions and inequalities can become ingrained; how these inequalities are transmitted across generations; the factors and conditions that can disrupt intergenerational transmissions (IGTs) of race and class inequalities; and the importance and urgency of stemming such IGTs from childhood. The article stresses the importance of analysing and responding to how ‘agency’ is being cultivated among different categories of children – because of the structural conditions, the quality of policy interventions and the actions and inactions of people within and external to their contexts

Negotiating Children's Social Contexts in Jamaica: Ethics, Practicalities and Research Methodologies

Conducting research in contexts of violence requires sensitivity and prudence, particularly when the study involves children. This article outlines some of the ethical and practical issues that influenced ‘how’ researchers worked with children in selected inner?city Jamaican communities. It demonstrates the importance of self?reflection, recognising that researcher's social backgrounds may have much more weight than they acknowledge on the research process and product