Community Action

r e s u M e n Para analizar la noción de fortalecimiento y los factores que dificultan su logro, en el ámbito psicosocial comunitario, se llevó a cabo una indagación crítica, mediante un análisis de contenido de carácter cualitativo, sobre diversos tipos de materiales de investigación de trabajos comunitarios realizados en Caracas, Venezuela, entre 1999 y 2002. El análisis contrastó categorías tomadas de la literatura con aquellas provenientes de experiencias fortalecedoras de carácter en las comunidades. Los resultados obtenidos indican que entre los factores internos hay disparidades entre los agentes externos e internos (AE y AI), en cuanto a criterios, concepciones de aspectos básicos relativos a la comunidad, y en el trabajo comunitario mismo. Igualmente, las formas de ejercicio del poder y las tendencias excluyentes dentro de la comunidad, pueden generar tensiones y conflictos. La acción de las influencias internas y externas se discute y se señalan algunas vías posibles para contrarrestarlas con ellas.

Résumé

Le propos de cet article est de faire ressortir deux phénomènes qui sont à la base de la profonde méconnaissance de la construction européenne dans le domaine du social. La construction communautaire dans le domaine social est par essence même complexe et elle reflète la complication générale résultant des compromis qui sont à la base de l’Union européenne. La production de règles de droit en matière de protection sociale est de surcroît depuis une vingtaine d’années marquée par un vaste mouvement de désengagement de l’État national au profit d’entités subétatiques — régions, États fédérés, provinces — avec plus ou moins de compétences dans le domaine de la protection sociale. Les niveaux de création de normes de droit se trouvent ainsi multipliés.

Abstract

Federalism and the European Union: The specificities of Europe

The article identifies two phenomena that underlie current profound misunderstanding about the European dimension of the social policy domain. Community action in this area is of necessity complicated and it also reflects the general complexity that results from the compromises that underpin the European Union. For the last two decades, the development of legal regulation in the area of social protection has been shaped by a major trend toward the disengagement of the national state and downloading to sub-national units – regions, states or provinces – which have greater or lesser powers in this policy domain. The result has been a multiplication of levels at which norms are created.

Purpose – Urban areas are administratively complex, and bureaucrats are often overburdened, which means they are often working at what Herbert Simon called the bounds of their rationality. Thus, responsible bureaucrats may have little genuine knowledge of issues within their briefs that impact community members. Groups concerned with such issues may emerge in the community. Given their focus, members of such groups will have issue-related local knowledge; and probably also the time and effort to share and assemble such personal knowledge into practical and informative group proposals. This paper reviews this situation and demonstrates how simple to use and freely available socio-technical tools can be applied to support knowledge based community action.
  Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a theoretical framework for community action, discusses some of the revolutionary cognitive technologies that provide tools for implementing the framework, and presents a template based on two of Google’s cloud computing applications: Google Sites and Google Docs to demonstrate how the technology can be used (see “Template for Knowledge-Based Community Organizations” - https://sites.google.com/site/organizingcommunityaction/)
  Originality/value – The theoretical framework is new, and we are unaware that such an approach towards the support of community action groups has been previously documented.
Practical implications – The generic tools demonstrated are free and may be used by anyone with an internet connection and a Web browser. They provide action and other social groups with simple yet sophisticated tools to collect, and assemble personal knowledge; and to transform it into community knowledge. Properly used, the tools can provide bureaucrats with the necessary background knowledge to make rational decisions about allocation of resources, etc. to deal with various kinds of situations. The template developed for this project demonstrates capabilities of the cloud computing tools.

Keywords – Social technology; Community knowledge management, Cloud computing; Organization theory; Bounded rationality

This paper seeks to expand our focus to understand how communities can assemble and manage knowledge to support more rational decisions regarding government services and actions in the community environment. We focus on the knowledge transfer interface between communities and urban councils, with a view to extending theoretical understanding of such transfers, and the socio-technical knowledge support systems interfacing between action groups and councils.

This paper seeks to expand our focus to understand how communities can assemble and manage knowledge to support more rational decisions regarding government services and actions in the community environment. We focus on the knowledge transfer interface between communities and urban councils, with a view to extending theoretical understanding of such transfers, and the socio-technical knowledge support systems interfacing between action groups and councils.

Our planet faces many impending crises as a consequence of growing populations and rising affluence. Governmental bodies at any level seem unable to provide the leadership to mitigate these. It seems to be up to those in the community who are most directly affected to take the leadership. Yet, without access to knowledge and understanding, individuals and communities are powerless against administrative juggernauts that are all too often beholden to a few powerful individuals rather than the communities they are supposed to represent and support. However, the Internet and newly invented social and cloud computing technologies provide individuals with fingertip access to humanity's knowledge base; tools for extracting, evaluating, and sharing knowledge that is relevant to local needs; as well as tools for socially coordinating that action to promote and guide action. This paper reviews some of these tools and discusses how they can be applied for good or ill.

This paper seeks to expand our focus to understand how communities can assemble and manage knowledge to support more rational decisions regarding government services and actions in the community environment. We focus on the knowledge transfer interface between communities and urban councils, with a view to extending theoretical understanding of such transfers, and the socio-technical knowledge support systems interfacing between action groups and councils.

This paper seeks to expand our focus to understand how communities can assemble and manage knowledge to support more rational decisions regarding government services and actions in the community environment. We focus on the knowledge transfer interface between communities and urban councils, with a view to extending theoretical understanding of such transfers, and the socio-technical knowledge support systems interfacing between action groups and councils.

This text identifies, through the Institutional Development Analysis (IDA) tool, the relationship between formal and informal rules in the management of organizational conflicts, specifically in contexts of communal action such as the case of the El Amparo village in the municipality of Ituango. This research is carried out in the framework of a professional practice process with intensive work with social leaders, communities and agents that make up organized expressions of civil society represented in the Juntas de Acción Comunal (JAC) of this municipalityEl presente texto identifica, mediante la herramienta de Análisis de Desarrollo Institucional (ADI), la relación existente entre reglas formales e informales en la gestión de conflictos organizativos, específicamente en contextos de acción comunal como el del caso de la vereda El Amparo del municipio de Ituango. Esta investigación se realiza en el marco de un proceso de práctica profesional con un trabajo intensivo con líderes so...

Supported by a growing body of research, the idea that schools have an essential role to play in local community cohesion and development has gained currency among urban and rural school advocates alike. Yet moving theory into action often grinds to a halt in the face of a recalcitrant bureaucracy. To understand why, it is important to step back and examine the theoretical framework of progress that has driven school consolidation and bureaucratization over the past century. Knowing these underlying power dynamics will help community advocates understand where their power is weakest, and where it is strongest, leading to more effective community action in defence of local schools.

Keywords: school consolidation; community action; community school

Resumen:
en un esfuerzo importante por fortalecer las capacidades para gestionar recursos por parte de los organismos comunales, en particular, de las juntas de acción comunal del Municipio de Rionegro (Antioquia, Colombia), se lleva a cabo un convenio entre la Universidad de Antioquia y este Municipio para desarrollar inicialmente una metodología de categorización de 82 de estas entidades según su desarrollo de capacidades organizacionales. Se establecieron cuatro componentes para evaluar que fueron jurídico, organizacional, técnico  y administrativo contable y cuatro niveles en los cuales podían estar estas organizaciones como son frágil, en desarrollo, en consolidación y maduras. En este resultado preliminar se evidencia que 30 entidades están en etapa de desarrollo mientras que las demás evaluadas son frágiles. Ante esta situación se plantean acciones en  planes de mejoramiento y se plantea la gran necesidad del Municipio de establecer una línea de trabajo para  fortalecer mucho más a estas importantes organizaciones.

Abstract:
Having as a purpose to strengthen abilities to management resources by the community action groups,  particularly, community action board of the municipality of Rionegro (Antioquia, Colombia), and an agreement is made between Universidad de Antioquia and this municipality to develop initially a categorization methodology of these 82 entities according their organizational abilities development. Four components were established to evaluate: legal, organizational, technical and administrative accounting; as well four levels in which these organizations could be labelled: in process; fragile, and when consolidated, mature. This preliminary result demonstrates that 30 entities are in the process stage, while the other ones are evaluated as fragile. Due to these results, actions to improve and the necessity of the municipality to establish a work plan to highly strengthen these important organizations are considered.