Ahmedabad, December 01, 2016

The “Research Committee” of MICA hosted another edition of Research Colloquium today where distinguished scholar Dr. Jyotika Ramaprasad gave a presentationin the area of Communication for Social Change. The presentation revolved around her academic work where she mostly through participatory research methods attempts to understand and explore the lifeworld of the communities. In one such study, she has attempted to study the situation of the Roma, a nomadic group that migrated to Europe several centuries back from India. They are discriminated against in many parts of the world but particularly in Europe. The prejudice against them has translated into poor treatment in medical settings. Professor Ramaprasad has conducted formative research, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, in a community in Macedonia, formerly part of Yugoslavia, to fully understand the situation on the ground with the aim to develop one or more interventions to address this issue. Further to understand the lifeworld of the people from the group, she focused on formative research, a research framework which is inclusive of the societal norms and structures created by the groups. Being inclusive here means how good listener one is? To understand the local and cultural attributes becomes pertinent enough to be a part of the enunciation of the lifeworld experience. Subsequently it is the study of a community’s interest, characteristic and needs.

To explain the nitty-gritty of the presentation, she initiated by historicizing the field of communication for social change. This field now which looks very appreciative and accommodating different epistemologies began with a cliché understanding of development through information and education. It further developed into behavioral communication change and subsequently developed into communication for social change, where it dealt with the constructs of power and agency. Importance was given on agency and on the complexity of theories rather than only understanding and exploring a social construction of reality through a top-down approach. There is a constant dialogue with different stakeholders. This further dialogue and deliberation constructs a holistic approach to social reality, which is quite subjective in its nature. It narrows down a myopic or reductionist point of view. The idea of the study was to facilitate the medical resources from the medical practitioners to the community Roma. To facilitate the process one required an effective communication campaign which would further develop through stages like

• research – understanding the social, political and economic milieu of the Roma community,

• intervention – intervention wherever required through consideration of different voices

• evaluation – a constant evaluation process for the betterment of the framework

One of the important takeaways from this presentation was the normative framework of a Formative Research which is a mix and match of secondary and primary data collection. Understanding the life world of the Romas were done through a mix and match of qualitative and quantitative research methods. This study becomes an important pedestal to further emphasize on cross cultural research in the future. There are enough possibilities around academicians and practitioners to pursue this kind of study appreciating different epistemic standpoints of different actors in the community for a better lived experience. Lastly it enables one to further create an ecosystem through dialogues and raising critical consciousness based on the theories of great Brazilian educationist Paulo Freire.

About MICA

Established in 1991, MICA is the first residential institute in the country and perhaps in the Asia-Pacific region, dedicated to creating Leadership in Strategic Marketing and Communication.

Its spirit lies in its grasping of contemporariness, addressing the needs of an ever-changing environment. The MICA brand assures effective delivery of Strategic Marketing and Communication solutions to the industry, government and community.

Today, it is the alma mater of professionals serving in leadership positions in some of the best known companies in India and the world, in marketing, brand management, research & analytics, advertising, media, digital and other strategic marketing and communication-driven businesses.