Collective Action Research Articles

Musculoskeletal triage physiotherapists' perspectives on their role, the patient journey and implementation of interface triage clinics in primary care in Ireland.

Musculoskeletal triage physiotherapists' perspectives on their role, the patient journey and implementation of interface triage clinics in primary care in Ireland.

Power asymmetry destabilizes reciprocal cooperation in social dilemmas.

Power asymmetry destabilizes reciprocal cooperation in social dilemmas.

Characterization and quantification of atmospheric emissions of dioxins, dl-PCBs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from municipal solid waste open burning in Southeast Asia.

Characterization and quantification of atmospheric emissions of dioxins, dl-PCBs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from municipal solid waste open burning in Southeast Asia.

The social foundations of collective climate action

The social foundations of collective climate action

Shaping collective action in financial markets through popular expertise: An analysis of Due Diligence posts on WallStreetBets

Shaping collective action in financial markets through popular expertise: An analysis of Due Diligence posts on WallStreetBets

Collective action impacts on climate change mitigation

Collective action impacts on climate change mitigation

Challenges of using PAR to promote collective action with denotified tribes in India: Surfacing intersections and tensions between religious and other inequalities

Challenges of using PAR to promote collective action with denotified tribes in India: Surfacing intersections and tensions between religious and other inequalities

Politics, Protest, and Police: Assessing Religious Leaders’ Responses to Racism and the June 2020 Black Lives Matter Protests

ABSTRACT Religious organizations have long histories of advocating for particular political causes and supporting social movements, providing organizational and ideological resources to mobilize religious people into action. This mobilization is not guaranteed, however, and instead relies on religious leaders to frame social and political issues as important and requiring collective action. To investigate how a sample of predominantly White Protestant clergy framed activism and the Black Lives Matter protests of June 2020, we analyzed sermon responses from congregations in one city during the weeks immediately following the murder of George Floyd. Using qualitative coding analysis, we found that clergy drew on religious stories and texts to frame support for the protests and opposition to the protests. When discussing the police, they took what we assessed as a cautious approach, separating the actions of specific officers from the broader institution. To better understand these discussions of protests, we offer an analysis of the misalignment between the individual-level framing of racism and the solution of collective action. While clergy engage with social and political issues related to race, racism, and policing in their sermons, we conclude that their framing of these issues likely has a limited effect on mobilization.

The Invisible Dimensions of Systems Transformation

In response to the growing complexity of sustainability challenges, field catalyst organizations are emerging across sectors such as health, education, finance, and law. These organizations seek to foster systemic transformation by bringing together diverse institutional actors. While much attention is given to strategy and structural collaboration, many such initiatives fall short by neglecting the invisible, relational, and awareness-based dimensions of collective action—referred to as the social field or social soil in the Presencing and Theory U framework. This article presents an action research inquiry into how Agami India, a field catalyst network, is cultivating the social field to enable systems transformation in the law and justice sector. Grounded in the application of Social Presencing Theater (SPT)—a methodology that offers both a framework and embodied practices for cultivating the social field—the study draws on seven years of fieldwork, practitioner reflection, and fourteen deep-dialogue interviews with participants of the Agami Shala (immersive leadership journeys). It illustrates how cultivating interiority, presence, and relationship supports a shift from ego-stuckness to ecosystem consciousness. The article culminates in a grounded, practice-based practitioner framework for cultivating the social field, rooted in the principles of natural ecosystems and Indian spiritual wisdom on universal consciousness.

Energy Transition Knowledge and Perceived Benefits among Households in Kpone-Katamanso Municipality, Ghana.

Purpose: This research was conducted to find out people’s satisfaction with the current energy situation in Kpone Katamanso Municipality and asses their willingness to transition to a more sustainable source of energy. Design/Methodology/Approach: Stratified sampling was employed to categorise the entire municipality into strata, facilitating data collection. A sample size of (100) respondents answered questionnaires administered to them. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was administered to individual respondents during the data collection. Exploratory Factor analysis was done using both descriptive and bivariate analysis (the Pearson correlation method with a confidence level of 95% and a two-sided significance level of 5%). Research Limitation: The sampled survey covered only a section of the study population in Ghana. As such, the results cannot be generalised for the entire population of Ghana. Findings: It showed that awareness and knowledge, perceived benefits and costs, attitude, and motivation have a strong positive relationship with people’s willingness to shift to sustainable energy. Additionally, Kpone Katamanso Municipality is dissatisfied with the current energy situation and looks forward to transitioning to more sustainable energy sources, provided they are cost-effective. Practical Implication: This study on readiness for energy transition shows the willingness of the sampled population to accept energy transition. As such, if energy transition is implemented, it will enable Ghana to achieve a Net-Zero carbon economy by 2070. Social Implication: The demonstrated willingness for energy transition reveals emerging social consensus around environmental priorities, potentially strengthening community cohesion around sustainability goals and creating foundations for collective action on climate issues. Originality/ Value: The research identifies and categorises previously unexplored benefit perceptions unique to household contexts, including family security, domestic comfort, social status, and intergenerational considerations that influence energy transition decisions.

Degrowth and Public Choice: Navigating Private Interests and Power Dynamics for a Sustainable Future

This article examines degrowth through the lens of public choice theory. Since degrowth is both a political and economic concept, public choice provides a useful framework for analyzing its various dimensions. Degrowth challenges the dominant ideology of constant economic expansion, promoting a deliberate reduction in resource consumption to restore ecological balance, reduce inequality, and improve collective well-being. However, the article emphasizes the difficulties of implementing degrowth policies, pointing to the self-interested motivations of key social actors: voters, politicians, and bureaucrats. Voters often prioritize their own utility when choosing a party or policy, while politicians focus on reelection and bureaucrats aim to expand their department’s budget. These individual interests often conflict with the broader goals of degrowth, making the transition to a more sustainable and equitable society difficult. The article critically analyzes degrowth from a public choice perspective, underscoring the systemic obstacles posed by inherent self-interest. It also argues that since government outcomes are often the result of the collective actions of self-interested individuals, the public choice perspective has the potential to provide useful insights for degrowthers.

Sovereignty as magnanimous agency

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to explore the notion of collective agency entailed by the theory of popular sovereignty. After examining criticisms of its classical formulation and critiquing Habermas’s interpretation, the article argues that modern conceptions of agency restrict our ability to recognise a form of collective action capable of sustaining the theory. Responsibility is often limited to individual attitudes, leading to alienation from our actions and weakening the collective dimension essential to sovereignty. To address this, the article draws on Robert Brandom’s proposal of a postmodern, magnanimous form of agency, where the intelligibility of actions depends on shared responsibility, extending beyond individual purposes to socially and retrospectively determined governing intentions. This approach introduces a norm-instituting, law-authorising form of collective agency that preserves the radically democratic essence of classical sovereignty theory and defends against the criticisms directed at it.

Role of Women in Agriculture with Special Reference to WSHGs

Women's Self-Help Groups have significantly transformed the agricultural landscape and emerged as an influential platform for empowering women by providing them with financial independence, skill development, and improved access to agricultural inputs. Through collective action, women engaged in diverse activities, including sustainable farming, organic production, dairy farming, and agri-based entrepreneurship. The present study focuses on Sarlanji, a rural village in Lanjigarh Tehsil in the Kalahandi District of Odisha state using the data were collected by means of focused group discussions, and descriptive approaches were employed for interpretation. The results demonstrated a substantial transformation within the women's community particularly in involvement in agricultural practices, increased in finance, education, capacity building, empowerment, and entrepreneurship, decision-making, and support males in income generation, reduced in distressed male migration and increased in child education. This underscores the central role of women in rural agricultural transformation and the achievement of five sustainable development goals: eradicating hunger, promoting gender equality and women's empowerment, fostering inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and ensuring sustainable consumption and production.

Fluid Volume Assessment in Acute Haemodialysis by Dialysis Nurses Using Clinical Signs, Symptoms and Bio-Electrical Impedance-A Pilot Implementation Study.

To evaluate the acceptability and safety of a fluid volume assessment tool integrating clinical signs, patient-reported symptoms and bioimpedance analysis as a clinical decision aid in haemodialysis. Single-centre, 6-month clinical implementation feasibility pilot study. A convenience sample of 50 healthcare staff and 50 hospitalised haemodialysis patients was recruited. The intervention involved a fluid volume assessment tool combining clinical signs, patient-reported symptoms and bioimpedance analysis. We utilised the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist to describe the intervention. Nurses used a decision algorithm to guide them in setting the ultrafiltration target. Staff acceptability was assessed using the NoMAD survey, and safety outcomes, including intradialytic hypotension, intradialytic events and fluid overload, were monitored. Trends between Charlson Comorbidity Index scores and safety risks were explored. The tool achieved high acceptability among staff, with cognitive participation (100%) and collective action (92%) being the strongest domains. Safety analysis indicated minimal adverse events (intradialytic hypotension: 10%, intradialytic events: 12%). Participants with higher Charlson Comorbidity Index scores (> 6) were more likely to experience intradialytic hypotension or intradialytic events, highlighting the need for tailored approaches for these populations. The tool was acceptable, safe and feasible, empowering dialysis nurses to deliver real-time, individualised fluid management, reducing dependency on nephrologists and addressing operational challenges in the acute setting. The tool promotes nursing autonomy, enhances care efficiency and ensures safe, patient-centred fluid management in resource-limited settings. Addresses fluid management challenges in haemodialysis care through introduction of an evidence-based fluid assessment tool. Support a scalable nurse-led protocol for ultrafiltration management, promoting patient safety and workflow efficiency in acute dialysis settings. No patient or public contribution was required for this work.

How Do Psychosocial Support Groups in North India Support Collective Action for Mental Health? A Qualitative Study Using a Caring Methodology

ABSTRACTIn resource‐poor settings in South Asia, there are many informal assets in communities that support mental health. Using participatory approaches and a ‘caring methodology’ we aimed to examine whether women's psychosocial support groups improved mental health knowledge, safe social spaces, and collective action. We also hoped to act collectively for mental health through the project and to reflexively consider how this methodology cared for participants and researchers. We conducted this community‐based qualitative study in 2016, across three sites in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand, Northern India. Data were collected through focus group discussions with women involved in support groups (N = 10, representing 59 women) and key informant interviews (N = 8), as well as field notes, journals, and reflexive discussions. We analysed data using thematic analysis. This research both researched care and provided mental health care. We found that support groups as well as caring methodologies led to increased mental health knowledge, safer social spaces, improved mental health and more equal gender relations. This methodology also supported women to act collectively to support each other and share their mental health knowledge with others. The caring methodology was constrained by stark asymmetries in literacy and educational status between researchers and participants.

Peace and justice themes as presented within select works of children’s literature

ABSTRACT Children’s literature serves as a powerful tool for imparting moral lessons, generating dialogue, and fostering critical consciousness. Given its role in promoting social values, this research study investigates how peace and justice themes are reflected in the narrative elements and symbolic representations of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Notable Children’s Books for younger readers for the years 1994, 2009, and 2024. Rooted in constructivist theory, this study draws from critical theories, critical pedagogy, and peacebuilding theory, exploring how these themes and concepts are woven into children’s literature. Through a comprehensive content analysis of 46 texts, this study finds a predominance of individualistic narratives focused on personal transformation and psychological peace, with minimal depictions of collective action or systemic change. Common conflict resolution tools, such as dialogue, negotiation, and mediation, are notably absent. These findings emphasize the need for more diverse and holistic representations of peace and justice themes in children’s literature, as well as a deeper cross-disciplinary appreciation for how children’s literature can serve as a meaningful vehicle for developing young readers’ values and behaviors towards conflict resolution and social justice.

Complementarity in alliances: How strategic compatibility and hierarchy promote efficient cooperation in international security

AbstractHow can defense alliances reap the efficiency gains of working together when coordination and opportunism costs are high? Although specializing as part of a collective comes with economic and functional benefits, states must bargain over the distribution of those gains and ensure the costs of collective action are minimized. I argue that states can overcome these problems by forming alliances with high strategic compatibility and hierarchy. This approach minimizes opportunism and coordination costs by efficiently distributing defense capabilities, encouraging complementarity rather than redundancy. I demonstrate this by developing a novel network‐level measure of division of labor and applying it to data on national military capabilities from 1970 to 2014. This research not only enhances understanding of the modern international system but also underscores the importance of these considerations for intra‐alliance bargaining more broadly.

The Cumulative Multiplier Effect on the Strategic Emergence and Expansion of Collective Action: A Case of Medellín

This study examines strategic collective action fostering social-environmental justice through the cumulative multiplier effect, using Medellín as a case study. It analyzes three principles of strategic action planning—reinforcing synergies, expanding room for manoeuvre, and periodic consensus—to highlight urban governance transitioning from distributive to institutional justice through iterative processes. Results indicate collaborative governance, institutional flexibility, and civic engagement drive long-term urban equity. Medellín’s transformation, exemplified by the Metrocables system and Integrated Urban Projects (PUI), demonstrates strategic interventions creating self-reinforcing cycles of social inclusion and participatory governance. As collective action progresses, the multiplier effect amplifies strategic initiatives, ensuring resource distribution and institutional justice continuously reinforce one another. This research underscores that achieving social-environmental justice requires an adaptive and inclusive urban planning approach. The Medellín model provides valuable insights for cities in the Global South, emphasizing the importance of synergistic collaboration, sustained political participation, and iterative governance reforms in fostering sustainable and equitable development.

Process evaluation of a person-centred outcome measures-based quality improvement program in a hospital-based palliative care in mainland China.

This study aimed to understand Chinese palliative care clinicians' experience in integrating the Palliative Care Outcome Collaboration (PCOC) model into their clinical practice and to learn lessons for sustainability. An explanatory mixed-methods study was conducted. Combing semi-structured in-depth interviews with palliative care clinicians guided by Normalization Process Theory (NPT) with analysis of clinical documents to examine implementation outcomes. Qualitative data were analysed using a combination of inductive and deductive content analysis, quantitative data were presented using frequencies and percentages. Twelve out of 16 clinicians participated in this study. Six months post-implementation, over half reported successful integration of the model into their unit. Implementation outcomes indicated strong clinician adherence, with all inpatients assessed and 75% of clinicians participating. Eleven sub-themes were identified within the NPT constructs, explaining the mechanisms contributing to its success and failure. These included clinicians' perception of the model's value and effectiveness (Coherence), accurate assessment and effective use of results and quality reports (Collective Action), and a supportive network that fully incorporated clinicians' views (Cognitive Participation), and aligning the PCOC model with existing workflows, reducing redundant tools, and streamlining documentation (Reflexive Monitoring). To effectively implement a PCOMs-based quality improvement program into routine clinical practice, a "top-down" followed by a "bottom-up" implementation approach is recommended. Effectively utilizing the program to achieve its value and fit into existing workflows without adding unnecessary workload could ensure its sustainability. Furthermore, in countries and regions where palliative care is emerging, priorities should focus on enhancing clinicians' knowledge, self-efficacy, and supporting multidisciplinary collaboration.

Building community resilience and calling for collective actions: how corporations and publics communicate disaster aid on social media

Understanding how corporations communicate their disaster aid efforts, an emerging form of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and how publics respond provides insight into how public relations can better serve communities’ needs. Guided by fully functioning society theory, this study examines corporations’ disaster aid messages and the Chinese publics’ responses to these messages on Weibo. The computational analysis of 761 disaster aid posts and 51,124 comments reveals that corporations contribute to community resilience through messages emphasising shared responsibility and collective action. These messages resonate with and garner active public support, ultimately fostering communitas and shared narratives essential for disaster recovery. This study validates and extends fully functioning society theory by (1) computationally confirming its core premises in non-Western contexts, (2) revealing how CSR, particularly social media disaster aid communication, serves as a vital pathway for organisations to contribute to a fully functioning society, and (3) identifying unique Chinese cultural-political factors influencing collaborative resilience building. Moreover, this study computationally analysed large-scale social media comments to move beyond traditional engagement metrics, revealing complex public responses that included active support and alignment with corporate narratives and significant divergence and unrelated critiques.