Grassroots Research Articles

Beyond Collaboration: A Network Analysis of Local Stances and Global Frameworks in the Collective Design of the City

The research observes practices of collective city-making beyond the participatory framework of institutional urban governance. In particular, it looks at how grassroots organizations in Bologna are able to produce a dual movement between the local and the global, mutually informing global movements and local practices oriented toward the sustainable growth of cities. The first section introduces the theoretical framework, based on participatory governance, urban commons and grassroots networks; it presents the methodology in the second section, introducing the criteria for the dataset and the network analysis consisting of local and global nodes within the city of Bologna; it then presents the results of the analysis, discusses them and draws the conclusions in the final section.

How Elites Mobilize the Vernacular: A Case Study of Australian Prime Ministers' Use of ‘Fair Go’ Rhetoric

Abstract Prime ministers often use vernacularisms in their political rhetoric, but we know little about how they deploy these forms of speech and the consequences for politics and policy. This article extends work on the ‘rhetorical PM’ by focusing on how leaders deploy idiomatic expressions in their oratory. The article presents a thematic analysis of four successive Australian prime ministers' use of the country's distinctive ‘fair go’ expression in speeches and media interviews between 1972 and 1996. Australian PMs increasingly invoked the ‘fair go’ expression throughout this period for multiple rhetorical purposes, including to make national identity claims, engage in partisan competition and justify policy reforms with strong neoliberal elements. While prevailing scholarship sees ‘vernacular politics’ as a tool of grassroots actors opposing discourses of globalization and elite-driven reform, this research shows the vernacular is a versatile rhetorical tool mobilized by elites for multiple purposes, including to justify radical policy change.

A study protocol of assessing grass root level health care service delivery system in Wardha District, Maharashtra

Background One of the six elements that constitute the framework of the World Health Organization System is the delivery of health care. To tracks the development of healthcare service delivery, it is vital to focus on its dimensions. The objective of the current learning is to evaluate the quality of healthcare provided at the lowest level in the Wardha District. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study will be conducted in the rural area around all the sub-centers of Wardha District. A semi-structured questionnaire will be used to assess the sociodemographic profile and associated factors, namely, service delivery, service provision, and facility assessment. Study implications This study will help formulate policies that will inculcate grass-root-level health care services to gain insight into how much services need to be improved and its implications for everyone in the community. Its significance in public health will pave the way for service screening and testing of healthcare delivery systems. Additionally, it will show that the system for delivering healthcare performs better. Future research should concentrate on identifying localized deficiencies and developing console indicators to estimate healthcare delivery systems objectively.

Humanitarian activist citizens: the emergence of a ‘victim’ political subjectivity in Colombia

ABSTRACT This article develops the concept of ‘humanitarian activist citizenship’ to analyse the political work of grassroots organisations representing groups and individuals displaced during Colombia’s civil conflict. In Colombia, the armed conflict has led to the forced migration of around 8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). In response, self-identified IDPs and other victims of violence have formed organisations and staged protests to claim collective rights. This article emerges out of a narrative analysis of interviews conducted with members of IDP grassroots organisations in Bogotá between 2017 and 2018. Building on insights from the ‘acts of citizenship’ literature, it argues that the political work of these organisations must be understood as a form of ‘humanitarian activist citizenship’, through which groups and individuals victimised by violence in Colombia mobilise humanitarian policies and discourses to redefine the relations that exist between them and the state.

Glutathione S-transferase activity facilitates rice tolerance to the barnyard grass root exudate DIMBOA

BackgroundIn paddy fields, the noxious weed barnyard grass secretes 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one (DIMBOA) to interfere with rice growth. Rice is unable to synthesize DIMBOA. Rice cultivars with high or low levels of allelopathy may respond differently to DIMBOA.ResultsIn this study, we found that low concentrations of DIMBOA (≤ 0.06 mM) promoted seedling growth in allelopathic rice PI312777, while DIMBOA (≤ 0.08 mM) had no significant influence on the nonallelopathic rice Lemont. DIMBOA treatment caused changes in the expression of a large number of glutathione S-transferase (GST) proteins, which resulting in enrichment of the glutathione metabolic pathway. This pathway facilitates plant detoxification of heterologous substances. The basal levels of GST activity in Lemont were significantly higher than those in PI312777, while GST activity in PI312777 was slightly induced by increasing DIMBOA concentrations. Overexpression of GST genes (Os09g0367700 and Os01g0949800) in these two cultivars enhanced rice resistance to DIMBOA.ConclusionsTaken together, our results indicated that different rice accessions with different levels of allelopathy have variable tolerance to DIMBOA. Lemont had higher GST activity, which helped it tolerate DIMBOA, while PI312777 had lower GST activity that was more inducible. The enhancement of GST expression facilitates rice tolerance to DIMBOA toxins from barnyard grass root exudates.

CONSTRAINTS TO THE ADOPTION OF ERGONOMIC PRINCIPLES NEEDED BY GARMENT WORKERS IN GARMENT INDUSTRY IN SOUTH-EASTERN NIGERIA

The study focused on Constraints to the Adoption of Ergonomic Principles Needed by Garment Workers in their Garment Industry in South-eastern Nigeria. Two research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population consist of 267 garment workers drawn from the 19 registered garment companies in South-eastern Nigeria. Structured and validated questionnaire on Constraint to the Adoption of Ergonomic Principles Needed by Garment Workers in their Garment Industry in South-eastern Nigeria was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and t- test. The findings showed that major factors mitigating against the adoption of ergonomic principles by garment workers include ignorance about the long-term effect of occupational injury, lack of training skill and experience on ergonomics, nonchalant attitude towards one’s health among others. Strategies for enhancing the adoption of the needed ergonomic principles include public enlightenment through radio, television, talk show, billboards etc., organizing seminar and workshops for grass root awareness on ergonomic principles among others. Based on the finding of the study, it was recommended that the identified strategies for enhancing the adoption of the needed ergonomic principles should be utilized to ensure grassroots awareness and sensitization on the obvious benefits of this proactive healthcare measures for a deep and far-reaching result.

Assessment of happiness among ASHAs, the grass root level health workers in post-COVID era in Eastern India: a cross-sectional study

Background: The happiness of healthcare professionals is said to be positively affecting the quality of health care and the services provided by them. Presently, our country and its health care has been recovering from the brunt of COVID pandemic. Amid these changing circumstances, this study intends to assess the happiness among the key grassroot level workers, ASHAs in the post-COVID era and the factors affecting their happiness, as happiness is often put forward as one of the driving forces to peoples’ choices and actions. Methods: A modified short version of Oxford happiness questionnaire was used to assess the happiness among the ASHAs selected through multistage sampling and interviewed to assess the facilitators and barriers to their happiness. Results: Of the 112 ASHAs interviewed, 61.6% were happy, while 38.4% were unhappy. The variables like having commitment to work, mental alertness and ability to find beauty in many natural things had universal agreement, while not feeling healthy, or whether they find time for everything wanted have disagreement. Almost 87.5% felt they were not especially control of their lives and 41% were not being well satisfied with everything in life. The factors facilitating happiness were professional pride, altruism, quality of life, and major barriers identified were inadequate rest, imbalance in work-life, family issues, etc. Conclusions: Positive reinforcement in terms of better workplace environment, time management skill enhancement, to strike a better work-life balance to ensure a happier version of themselves.

From the American Jewish Conference to the Establishment of Israel: The First Jewish Zionist Grassroots Movement and President Truman

Abstract During the period from 1943 to 1948, the American Jewish grassroots movement organized to pressure Congress and President Truman in support of the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This effort was led by Jewish leaders such as Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, who worked to promote the Zionist vision of a Jewish state as proclaimed in the Balfour Declaration and endorsed by the San Remo Conference. The activities of the Jewish lobby during this period were numerous and varied. They worked to establish the American Jewish Conference, which operated in the U.S. and abroad to promote the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. Additionally, members used their influence in Congress and the media to push for support of the Zionist cause. Through these efforts, the Jewish lobby was able to exert significant pressure on Truman and other decision makers, ultimately leading to the creation of the State of Israel. President Truman found himself caught between the hammer and the anvil of the competing interests of Arabs and Jews, as well as conflicting views within his own administration. Despite these challenges, Truman ultimately played a crucial role in the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

Language revitalization through a social movement lens: grassroots Galician language activism

In this article, a social movement lens is applied to examine the dynamics of an urbanbased language revitalization movement in the Autonomous Community of Galicia (North-western Spain). The potential of Resource Management Theory is explored as a way of systematically analysing the dynamics of urban-based language revitalization movements. It does this by identifying factors which both helped fuel the emergence and growth of this Galician grassroots movement as well as those constraining its potential development. Drawing on in-depth interviews and observations collected over six months of ethnographic fieldwork in one of Galicia’s main cities, social movement theory is used to analyse the role of Galician social movement activists as social agents in shaping the success of their language revitalization initiative. We argue that a social movement lens provides a useful analytical toolkit to focus on the grassroots efforts of social agents involved in peripheral ethnolinguistic mobilization in minority language contexts such as Galicia. Ultimately, we aim to show that these social movement revitalization initiatives go beyond language as an object and are centred around language-based struggles which not only address strategy dilemmas but also scaffold social relations and ties among speakers as they mobilize within particular institutional fields.

An Organized Management Information System :A Descriptive Study from the Dash Board of NREGAsoft

All public funded programmes need to ensure transparency and thoroughness in its implementation. If it cannot follow the characteristics, may lead to failure in its execution. For ensuring good governance with the help of technology and innovation it is mandatory to follow the basic rule and regulations implied in the programme. Now it became the standard operating procedure in the present scenario. The largest public funded programme in the world, MGNREGA, is fit up with technology and point of order. The study tries to see that the employment guarantee programme is not only meant for the rural, unskilled marginalised community’s livelihood enhancement, but to empower them in the digital world. Here in this study, tries to describe and relate the high-end technology with a grass root level employment guarantee programme. It is, then deemed to be the best model for all forthcoming government funded programmes.

To save a cultural heritage: Lessons from a volunteer network’s support to Ukrainian cultural heritage institutions

This paper is a short summary of the experiences from the first one and a half years of support to the Ukrainian cultural heritage sector from the international volunteer network SUCHO (Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online). The paper first outlines the current situation in Ukraine in the shadow of the full-scale Russian invasion and then focuses on the role of grassroots movements and the different forms of support provided by SUCHO. Finally, the paper discusses some key experiences from these efforts and addresses ideas for further support.

ROLE OF MEDIA AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN SHAPING PUBLIC POLICY

Public policy is an ever-evolving process influenced by a multitude of actors, with media and civil society playing pivotal roles. This research scrutinizes the intricate interplay between media, civil society, and public policy, emphasizing the hurdles posed by sensationalism, manipulation, and the rampant dissemination of unverified information in todays media environment. Through meticulous examination of case studies, this paper illuminates numerous instances where media outlets and civil society organizations have wielded substantial influence over the formulation and execution of public policies. These case studies serve as compelling illustrations of how media narratives and grassroots movements can shape policy agendas, foster societal change, and drive legislative reforms. By scrutinizing these examples, this paper aims to deepen our understanding of the complex dynamics at play in contemporary governance. Moreover, it underscores the imperative of addressing the challenges posed by media manipulation and disinformation while harnessing the transformative potential of civil society engagement in shaping more transparent, inclusive, and responsive policymaking processes.

Capres ‘Gemoy’: a Personal Branding Analysis on Prabowo Subianto for the 2024 Presidential Election

The purpose of this study is to analyze the personal branding of the presidential candidate, Prabowo Subianto, for the 2024 presidential election that has been closely associated with the word ‘gemoy’. Gaining massive interest from Gen-Zs due to this label, this study would look further into Prabowo’s ’gemoy’ personal branding through a qualitative study with content analysis method using three aspects of personal branding: self-identification, political product, and positioning in Gerindra political party’s TikTok account. In this research it is found that Prabowo is branded to be more approachable, looking out for the younger generations also through his program, and gathering the votes of the supporter of the grass roots, and supporter of the current president of Indonesia.

LGBTQ + Grassroots Activists’ Perspectives on Banning Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts

LGBTQ + Grassroots Activists’ Perspectives on Banning Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts

Model Pengembangan Kurikulum di MI Masalikil Huda 01 Tahunan Jepara

The importance of maintaining the relevance of education to the dynamics of current developments requires real efforts in curriculum development. Apart from that, the application of curriculum development models is key in the process of developing the curriculum. The use of a curriculum development model is necessary to systematically and purposefully design an educational plan. This research aims to determine the curriculum development model implemented at MI Masalikil Huda 01 Annually Jepara. The research method used is descriptive qualitative-case study. The subject of this research is MI Masalikil Huda 01 Tahunan Jepara with the source informant being Mrs. Rujiah, SE as the principal of MI Masalikil Huda 01 Tahunan Jepara. The selection of research subjects was carried out through purposive sampling and snowball sampling techniques. The data analysis technique in this research involves several steps, namely data collection accompanied by analysis during the collection process, data reduction, data segmentation to group the reduction results into smaller units, forming categorization, and drawing conclusions. The results of this research show that MI Masalikil Huda 01 Tahunan Jepara uses a combination curriculum development model between the administrative curriculum development model and the Grass Roots curriculum development model.

The Role of External Actors in the Arab Spring

This study critically analyzes the multifaceted roles played by foreign entities in the Arab Spring, illuminating the intricate interplay between external actors and historic political upheavals. The investigation meticulously examines the engagement of foreign actors, revealing the complexities and contradictions inherent in their involvement. While the Arab Spring initially emerged as a grassroots movement, it became intertwined with geopolitical motives, laying bare inconsistencies in external support. The intervention in the Libyan case serves as a poignant example of the repercussions of unchecked involvement, highlighting the importance of adhering to international norms and comprehensive post-conflict planning. Russia's role in the Syrian war illustrates the prevalence of power politics over human rights considerations. The post-Arab Spring period in Egypt and Tunisia exposes the vulnerability of democratic transitions, emphasizing the imperative of sustained institution-building. Recommendations for future engagements advocate for the prioritization of self-determination, multilateral collaboration, and long-term strategies. The Arab Spring experience underscores the compelling need for principled foreign interventions.

Welcoming More Participation in Open Data Science for the Oceans.

Open science is a global movement happening across all research fields. Enabled by technology and the open web, it builds on years of efforts by individuals, grassroots organizations, institutions, and agencies. The goal is to share knowledge and broaden participation in science, from early ideation to making research outputs openly accessible to all (open access). With an emphasis on transparency and collaboration, the open science movement dovetails with efforts to increase diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in science and society. The US Biden-Harris Administration and many other US government agencies have declared 2023 the Year of Open Science, providing a great opportunity to boost participation in open science for the oceans. For researchers day-to-day, open science is a critical piece of modern analytical workflows with increasing amounts of data. Therefore, we focus this article on open data science-the tooling and people enabling reproducible, transparent, inclusive practices for data-intensive research-and its intersection with the marine sciences. We discuss the state of various dimensions of open science and argue that technical advancements have outpaced our field's culture change to incorporate them. Increasing inclusivity and technical skill building are interlinked and must be prioritized within the marine science community to find collaborative solutions for responding to climate change and other threats to marine biodiversity and society.

AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE PERFORMANCE OF PANCHAYATS IN TRIPURA: MAJOR INITIATIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

The introduction of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment to the Constitution of India brought a new beginning and positive changes to Indian democracy. It has strengthened the concept of democracy by ensuring the decentralization of power at the grass roots level. The creation of the Three Tier Panchayat System was a land mark step giving voice to the rural people in the process of governance and democratic development planning. In conformity with this Act, in 1993, the Government of Tripura brought forward the Tripura Panchayats Act. The present paper aims to analyse the performance of the Panchayats of Tripura and the contribution of PRIs in developing the rural areas of Tripura.

Theorising new potentials for teacher activism: union and grassroots activist responses to COVID-19 school reopening plans in Canada

ABSTRACT Using post-structural theories, this paper explores the public discourses of several Canadian teacher unions and grassroots teacher activist groups around the issue of school reopening plans in Canada amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper aims to highlight the ways in which these two forces of teacher activism can influence and impress upon each other to create a different possible future for collective resistance to neoliberalism in education – an assemblage of union and grassroots activism intra-acting, shaping, and impressing upon one another.

“Going Back to the Basement” A Roundtable on Creativity, Critique, and the Stewarding of Asian American Literary Arts

ABSTRACT This roundtable features writers, scholars, editors, and organizers who are invested in Asian American literature. The conversation touched on literary history, the convergence of creative writing and critique, and the importance of grass roots programs and organizing.