Focus group discussions of literacy assessment and world wide web-based reading intervention

Focus groups provide a means for participants in research to take on a greater role in the evaluation of the research and planning of its various stages. The role and outcomes of focus groups conducted with participants in a World Wide Web Project in literacy assessment and intervention are reported. Thirteen individuals with severe communication impairments participated in one of three focus groups. The groups were held after an assesment of reading skills and a trial period of intervention as part of the Web Project. The aim of the focus groups was to obtain feedback from participants about their involvement in the project and to discuss strategies for the next stage of the intervention. The focus groups offered a forum for participants to talk about what they did and did not like about the assessment and trial intervention. The discussions provided information about issues of both a practical and emotional nature that might have otherwise been unavailable to the researchers. Brainstorming of strategies provided valuable input for the next stage of the project and involved both the researchers and participants in a form of participatory action research.

A collaborative group method of inclusive research

Funding bodies in Australia and the United Kingdom require research on issues that affect the lives of people with intellectual disability to be inclusive. Debate continues about the nature and benefits of inclusive research, which has become an umbrella term encompassing a broad spectrum of approaches.

Conceptualizing inclusive research with people with intellectual disability

The inclusion of people with intellectual disability in research is a common requirement of research funding. Little conceptual clarity is available to guide the conduct of inclusive research or judge its fidelity, there is minimal evidence of its impact, and questions remain about its feasibility and rigour.

Involving people with diabetes and the wider community in diabetes research: a realist review protocol

BACKGROUND: Patient and public involvement in diabetes research is now actively encouraged in different countries because it is believed that involving people with experience of the condition will improve the quality and relevance of the research. However, reviews of patient involvement have noted that inadequate resources, patients' and communities' lack of research knowledge, and researchers' lack of skills to involve patients and communities in research may present significant contextual barriers. Little is known about the extent of patient/community involvement in designing or delivering interventions for people with diabetes. A realist review of involvement will contribute to assessing when, how and why involvement works, or does not work, to produce better diabetes interventions.

METHODS/DESIGN: This protocol outlines the process for conducting a realist review to map how patients and the public have been involved in diabetes research to date. The review questions ask the following: How have people with diabetes and the wider community been involved in diabetes research? What are the characteristics of the process that appear to explain the relative success or failure of involvement? How has involvement (or lack of involvement) in diabetes research influenced the development and conduct of diabetes research? The degree of support in the surrounding context will be assessed alongside the ways in which people interact in different settings to identify patterns of interaction between context, mechanisms and outcomes in different research projects. The level and extent of the involvement will be described for each stage of the research project. The descriptions will be critically reviewed by the people with diabetes on our review team. In addition, researchers and patients in diabetes research will be asked to comment. Information from researcher-patient experiences and documents will be compared to theories of involvement across a range of disciplines to create a mid-range theory describing how involvement (or lack of involvement) in diabetes research influences the development and conduct of diabetes research.

Desenvolvimento de um modelo de intervenção baseado no sistema toyota de produção e na teoria das restrições : autilização da pesquisa-ação em uma indústria de cerâmica vermelha de pequeno porte da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre

As teorias de gestão da produção, como o Sistema Toyota de Produção e a Teoria das Restrições, têm apresentado resultados positivos, em realidades organizacionais muito diferenciadas. Contudo, é preciso garantir a efetividade das ações em provocar as mudanças desejadas. Neste sentido, métodos de pesquisa participativa, como a pesquisaação, promovem a participação e o comprometimento das pessoas implicadas no processo de mudança. Esta dissertação propõe a construção de um modelo de intervenção visando aumentar a competitividade de uma realidade organizacional específica. Foram utilizados a pesquisa-ação, como método de trabalho e a Teoria das Restrições (TOC) e o Sistema Toyota de Produção (STP), como embasamento teórico. Cabe ressaltar que este modelo foi construído a partir de uma intervenção realizada em uma indústria de cerâmica vermelha da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre. Assim, a presente dissertação foi organizada da seguinte maneira: revisão bibliográfica do método de condução da pesquisa e adaptação do mesmo para o presente trabalho, fundamentação teórica, composta pelos princípios básicos de sustentação do STP e da TOC, análise do contexto do segmento industrial em questão, descrição da intervenção realizada e apresentação do modelo construído, análise dos resultados finais, conclusões e recomendações para futuras pesquisas. A análise dos resultados obtidos e as conclusões do estudo revelam a possibilidade de generalização parcial do modelo proposto, desde que observadas as características específicas da realidade industrial em questão.

Cartografia de uma intervenção comunitária para prevenção de DST/HIV/AIDS

Community-based interventions have been presented as a proposal of operationalization of the concept of vulnerability to STD/Aids prevention. This study aimed to analyze the Community intervention developed through the project Strengthening of Community action networks for STD/Aids prevention: know and intervenein, at Mãe Luiza neighborhood, in the city of Natal, State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The study was conducted in the same location where intervention occurs and took as time reference the first 30 months of construction and deployment process, from April 2010 until December 2012. This is research with qualitative approach, participatory character, developed from the immersion of the researcher in the field, being this community intervention itself. In this perspective, the study approximates to the Cartographic method in which the researcher-researched is engendered in the acts and effects research. The data-generating sources were the memories of the researcher from the field notes, written narratives of subjects involved in the intervention and documents pertaining to the project. In the methodological path of cartography, the image of the rhizome by Deleuze and Guattari (1995) has accompanied the immersion in the field given the nature of research-intervention which approach to the concept of object-Rhizome. The presentation of results was composed for the attempted rhizomatic and a hypertext representation, based on the descriptive narrative taken from the documentary analysis and the multi-faceted narratives with the voices, the looks and the affections narrated by the subject involved, respectively. On the path taken, three lanes were drawn as synthesis of learning produced by experience-that can contribute to understanding the process under study, in his singular character, and reflections on other experiences of community intervention: track 1- Community intervention as active-reflective space and a cause; track 2 Inclusion as power and challenge of community involvement; track 3 Sustainability as A challenge of Community intervention. The study indicates that community intervention is presented as a potential producer of health as also produces practical and creative skills, subjects and inventive in the daily life of the community with a view to reinventing knowledge and practices for the prevention of STD/HIV/Aids

A constituição de associações livres e o trabalho com as questões sociocientíficas na formação de professores

Pós-graduação em Educação para a Ciência - FC

Valorização dos percursos negros no Brasil: perspectivas de educação nos territórios afro-rioclarenses

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

O papel da comunicação no processo de transferência de tecnologia da Embrapa para a comunidade indígena Campo Alegre de Boa Vista, RR

Pós-graduação em Comunicação - FAAC

Fortaleciéndo la soberanía alimentaria mediante la revalorización de saberes ecológicos locales: experiencia en los Andes bolivianos

Ethnobiology research contributes significantly to initiatives that aim to enhance food sovereignty among indigenous and/or traditional people. In Bolivia, one of the Latin-American countries that shows the highest poverty and undernourishment levels, the purpose of this research-action project was to enhance food sovereignty through the revitalization of the local ecological knowledge and to promote local technological innovation processes in the Andean community of Tallija-Confital. During a first step the endogenous knowledge and strategies related to food security and sovereignty were investigated, based on the principles and tools of the Revitalizing Participatory Research (RPR). In a second step local technical innovation processes were supported through a “knowledge dialogue” between exogenous and endogenous knowledge systems, focusing on the processing of the cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen) gluten. The research results demonstrate that Andean people have developed complex endogenous knowledge and strategies to adapt to socio-environmental changes that show a great potential to contribute to the enhancement of food sovereignty. Nevertheless, in the current globalized context that translates into new challenges for local communities, beyond the revitalization of local ecological knowledge, a dialogue between different knowledge systems can lead to important local technological innovation for the improvement of their well-being. Key words: food sovereignty, knowledge dialogue, endogenous development, technological innovation

Linking Applied Ethnobotany to Social Learning: A Participatory Tool for the Promotion of Indigenous Plants Use in Matutuíne, Southern Mozambique

In its search for pathways towards a more sustainable management of natural resources, development oriented research increasingly faces the challenge to develop new concepts and tools based on transdisciplinarity. Transdisciplinarity can, in terms of an idealized goal, be defined as a research approach that identifies and solves problems not only independently of disciplinary boundaries, but also including the knowledge and perceptions of non-scientific actors in a participatory process. In Mozambique, the Centre for Development and Environment (Berne, Switzerland), in partnership with Impacto and Helvetas (Maputo, Mozambique), has elaborated a new transdisciplinary tool to identify indigenous plants with a potential for commercialization. The tool combines methods from applied ethnobotany with participatory research in a social learning process. This approach was devised to support a development project aimed at creating alternative sources of income for rural communities of Matutuíne district, Southern Mozambique, while reducing the pressure on the natural environment. The methodology, which has been applied and tested, is innovative in that it combines important data collection through participatory research with a social learning process involving both local and external actors. This mutual learning process provides a space for complementary forms of knowledge to meet, eventually leading to the adoption of an integrated approach to natural resource management with an understanding of its ecological, socio-economic and cultural aspects; local stakeholders are included in the identification of potentials for sustainable development. Sustainable development itself, as a normative concept, can only be defined through social learning and consensus building between the local and external stakeholders.

The Comal County Needs Assessment Youth Survey

A crucial link in preserving and protecting the future of our communities resides in maintaining the health and well being of our youth. While every member of the community owns an opinion regarding where to best utilize monies for prevention and intervention, the data to support such opinion is often scarce. In an effort to generate data-driven indices for community planning and action, the United Way of Comal County, Texas partnered with the University Of Texas - Houston Health Science Center, School Of Public Health to accomplish a county-specific needs assessment. A community-based participatory research emphasis utilizing the Mobilization for Action through Planning and Partnership (MAPP) format developed by the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) was implemented to engage community members in identifying and addressing community priorities. The single greatest area of consensus and concern identified by community members was the health and well being of the youth population. Thus, a youth survey, targeting these specific areas of community concern, was designed, coordinated and administered to all 9-11th grade students in the county. 20% of the 3,698 completed surveys (72% response rate) were randomly selected for analysis. These 740 surveys were coded and scanned into an electronic survey database. Statistical analysis provided youth-reported data on the status of the multiple issues affecting the health and well being of the community's youth. These data will be reported back to the community stakeholders, as part of the larger Comal County Needs Assessment, for the purposes of community planning and action. Survey data will provide community planners with an awareness of the high risk behaviors and habit patterns amongst their youth. This knowledge will permit more effective targeting of the means for encouraging healthy behaviors and preventing the spread of disease. Further, the community-oriented, population-based nature of this effort will provide answers to questions raised by the community and will provide an effective launching pad for the development and implementation of targeted, preventive health strategies. ^

Análisis de las prácticas de promoción social del Mayor de Bolívar : hacia la construcción de saberes desde la investigación activa participativa

A partir de la siguiente pregunta: ¿cómo retroalimentar las prácticas del programa de tecnología en promoción social del colegio mayor de bolívar, para la construcción de saberes desde el conocimiento de lo cotidiano?, Surge el objetivo central del presente artículo que consiste en: analizar las prácticas profesionales del programa de promoción social del colegio mayor de bolívar, para la consolidación de la investigación acción participativa, en aras de enriquecer el currículo y las prácticas pedagógicas, permitiendo recrear y fortalecer procesos instituidos, y detectar vacíos o limitaciones. Ello indica que se fundamentará con postulados teóricos de autores como orlando fals borda, para la comprensión de la iap y ezequiel ander egg para la interpretación del concepto de asistencialismo entre otros. El itinerario metodológico, se acoge al paradigma interpretativo-fenomenológico, en torno a la estrategia cualitativa: inductiva-deductiva. Tendrá inicialmente actividades de análisis de documentación, específicamente referente a los documentos institucionales, además de la implementación de entrevistas y la revisión de la bibliografía con la cual se fundamentará teóricamente la investigación. Se trata de generar dudas y reflexiones acerca la importancia del fortalecimiento de la actividad investigativa en programas tecnológicos, en contra de lo que podría convertirse en procesos asistencialistas.

Interview forms for integrating education for conservation in marine protected areas management in Colombia

Environmental Education (EE) is a key component in any marine protected area management. However, its visibility and action plans are still poorly developed and structured as a clear element in management procedures. The objective of this study is to contribute with a methodological route that integrates EE to the existing model of management planning and strategies, taking the Colombian National Natural Parks System as a case study. The creation of the route is proposed as a participatory research with different stakeholders in order to respond to the specific conservation needs and goals for the National Parks System. The EE national diagnosis has shown that its integration within the parks management structure is a first priority need, being a converging result on the two case studies on National Parks from the Pacific Coast of Colombia. The diagnosis also demonstrates that communication, participation, training and evaluation have to be reinforced, linking the community and stakeholders involved in the park management to the whole EE process. The proposed methodology route has been agreed upon by the National Parks staff and incorporates advice and recommendations from different stakeholders, in order to better include the park users. This step will help us to advance toward sustainable management in marine and coastal protected areas elsewhere, taking into account not only the biological but also the social-cultural prism. The main challenges in the management and conservation of coastal and marine ecosystems today are discussed.

La participación ciudadana como instrumento para la planificación e investigación social en turismo

Este trabajo profundiza en el potencial de la participación ciudadana como herramienta para el diagnóstico y planificación turística, así como fuente de conocimiento para el científico social. Se expone la metodología y principales resultados de un proceso participativo en un municipio turístico-residencial dirigido al diseño colaborado de propuestas de actuación a escala local. Este proceso ofreció un espacio para la reflexión ciudadana sobre las implicaciones del modelo turístico-urbanístico y sus posibilidades de futuro, y proporcionó un mecanismo para el acercamiento de las necesidades y opiniones ciudadanas a los procesos de planificación y toma de decisiones municipales. Además, a partir de un análisis de contenido de los documentos elaborados por los participantes, se demuestra la utilidad de la participación ciudadana como recurso de alta riqueza informativa para la investigación social en el ámbito del turismo.