Social Representations Of Violence Research Articles

Social Representations of Violence among Brazilian Older People with Functional Dependence

Elder abuse is a multifactorial public health issue deeply affected by silence and discrimination. This paper aims to analyze the social representations of violence among older people with functional dependence based on the theory of social representations. A qualitative exploratory–descriptive study was conducted with a sample of 21 older people enrolled in a home-based program in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil. A sociodemographic survey and an interview script were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using the content analysis technique and QSR NVivo® software. Concerning the social representations of violence, older people’s narratives revealed a broad perception of the phenomenon through the following categories: multivariate phenomenon, ageism, neglect, and denial. The identification of the subtle forms of violence against older people and the exploration of this issue from the perspective of these vulnerable people can contribute to the production of new knowledge and the creation of mechanisms by which to raise awareness of and prevent this issue, as well as to break the silence surrounding it through reporting.

Representações sociais dos/as professores/as acerca da violência contra mulher: uma análise estrutural

O presente estudo se propõe a identificar as representações sociais da violência contra as mulheres entre professores/as da rede pública em cidades no sertão de Pernambuco. Participaram da pesquisa 60 profissionais dos três níveis da educação básica: educação infantil, ensino fundamental e médio. Para coleta de dados, foi aplicado um questionário de evocação livre e hierarquização de palavras, e as informações foram posteriormente organizadas em um quadro de quatro casas, que permite inferir o núcleo central e o sistema periférico de uma representação social. Os resultados mostraram que entre as palavras que compõem o núcleo central estão crime, crueldade, machismo e medo, que evidenciam o caráter normativo da representação, baseada na ideia da violência como uma construção sociocultural. O termo educação presente na segunda periferia aponta a importância da escola como agente de socialização na formação dos/as alunos/as. Conclui-se que os/as professores/as devem ser capacitados/as para fazer parte da rede de enfrentamento, compreendendo que a violência contra as mulheres é uma questão pertinente para o currículo escolar.

Press Ideology as an Epistemological Connector between Framing Theory and Social Representations Theory: An Analysis of Violence and Drug Trafficking in the Mexican Press.

The present paper explores the advantages of using framing theory, social representations theory and differences in ideology to analyze polarized issues in the press. Framing uncovers the structure/format of news articles and social representations explores their meanings. These two theoretical positions are connected through the concept of ideology - a set of beliefs that shape position taking regarding social issues. Using this integrated framework, we will analyze the highly polarized topic of violence and drug trafficking in two ideologically different newspapers in Sinaloa, Mexico - Noroeste (journalistic ideology) and El Debate (elite ideology) (total N = 547 articles). This will be accomplished using three steps - a descriptive analysis, application of the framing scale and submitting the articles to ALCESTE software. The results show differences in framing and social representations of violence and drug trafficking according to ideology. Each newspaper presented different news frames (journalistic - attribution of responsibility and conflict frames; elite - human-interest and morality frames). However, at the level of representations (content) there were ideological differences in the representation of violence but not of drug trafficking, suggesting a common element in these representations, beyond ideological differences. These findings contribute to (1) the clarification of the concept used and (2) towards an analytical framework of press analysis - analyzing format and content and considering differences in press ideology.

Representações sociais de violência e estratégias de ensino utilizadas por docentes de graduação em enfermagem

Estudo descritivo exploratório, qualitativo, cujo objetivo foi descrever as representações sociais da abordagem do tema da violência e das estratégias de ensino utilizadas por docentes de graduação em enfermagem de duas instituições de ensino superior públicas. Para a coleta dos dados foram utilizadas pesquisa documental, observação sistemática e entrevista semiestruturada. Os dados foram submetidos à análise por meio da técnica do Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo. Os docentes reconhecem a importância de a violência ser trabalhada na graduação descrevendo que, apesar de nem sempre aparecer no currículo formal, o assunto surge informalmente na formação acadêmica. As representações sociais de violência nos discursos docentes aparecem como manejo de pacientes agressivos e violência institucional no ambiente acadêmico. As estratégias pedagógicas descritas são ativas e emancipadoras. Para que haja formação de enfermeiros capacitados para lidar com a violência, o ensino deve ir além das questões biológicas, contemplando discussões sobre as vivências dos alunos.

Social Representations of Violence against the Elderly

Social Representations of Violence against the Elderly

Social representations of violence among young Chileans involved in violence

This paper presents the results of a qualitative study on the social representation of violence among young Chileans who have been involved in violence. Starting from interview-data that show their subjective perspective, a conceptual model of their social representation is constructed that identifies elements that favor or inhibit the violent actions. Results show two types of factors involved in the transgression of the "limit of violence": personal characteristics and contextual elements, making the distinction between the temporal context (the moment of violence) and the spatial context (the place of violence). In addition, the young participants of this study establish a relationship between their violent actions and the perception of threat, especially regarding their social identity. In this relationship, the function of violent actions is the neutralization of this threat. This understanding constitutes the nucleus of their social representation of violence. Implications for preventive strategies and community interventions are discussed. This work presents the results of a qualitative study on the social representation of violence among young Chileans who have been involved in violence. Starting from interview-data that show their subjective perspective, a conceptual model of their social representation is constructed that identifies elements that favor or inhibit the violent actions. Results show that these young people’s social representations of violence include two types of factors involved in the transgression of the “limit of violence”: personal characteristics and contextual elements, making the distinction between the temporal context (the moment of violence) and the spatial context (the place of violence). With regard to these contextual elements, the subjective meaning is more important than the moments or places by themselves. In addition, the young participants of this study establish a relationship between their violent actions and the perception of threat, especially regarding their social identity. In this relationship, the function of violent actions is the neutralization of this threat. This understanding constitutes the nucleus of their social representation of violence. Implications for community interventions are discussed. [1] This research received financial support from Fundación Paz Ciudadana, Chile.

Representações sociais da violência na velhice: estudo comparativo entre profissionais de saúde e agentes comunitários de saúde

Objetivou-se identificar e comparar as Representações Sociais (RS) da violência na velhice entre Agentes Comunitários de Saúde (ACS) e os Profissionais de Saúde inseridos na Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF). A amostra foi constituída por 100 participantes (50 ACS e 50 profissionais de saúde) de ambos os sexo (sendo 59% do sexo feminino e 41% do sexo masculino). Utilizou-se como instrumento um questionário sociodemografico e uma Entrevista Estruturada com quatro questões norteadoras acerca da violência contra o idoso, realizadas de forma individual. Utilizou-se na análise dos dados o software ALCESTE - Análise Lexical por Contexto um Conjunto de Segmentos de Texto (Reinert, 1990). Verificou-se nos dados obtidos tanto nos profissionais de saúde quanto nos ACS a visualização de casos de violência na velhice em sua pratica profissional. Estes atores sociais construíram suas RS da violência contra idosos ancoradas na presença de negligência, abuso e maus-tratos.

Children’s representations of violence: impacts of cognitive stimulation of a philosophical nature

The ultimate goal of peace education is ‘to minimise and eventually eliminate various forms of violence through consciousness raising, vision, and action’ (Brantmeier, E. (2003) Peace Pedagogy: exposing and integrating peace education in teacher education. Paper presented at the Association for Teacher Educators meeting, p. 6). Our position is that we should invest in peace education and prevention of violence by helping preschool children develop cognitive competencies. One of the aspects of cognitive development explored in this text regards children’s social representations (SR) of violence. Indeed, a number of psychologists have demonstrated that SR serve to regulate behaviors in relation to social norms, and that a change in a person’s SR influences her or his judgments and actions. This study consists of descriptions of children’s SR of violence, verifying whether these SR are stable or dynamic at the ages of five and six years, and whether children are or are not stimulated by the Philosophy for Children approach used throughout one school year. Firstly, the results indicate that children’s SR of violence can be grouped into four hierarchical perspectives. Secondly, the results indicate that the SR of children in the control groups hardly changed during the year, whereas those of children in the experimental groups showed a more marked reorganization.