Precarious decision making context 2: India
Technology for creative decision support enabling alternative pathways to social inclusion.
Author: Mayeda Jamal (Email mayedajamal@yahoo.com )
Abstract
This case study investigates the hypothesis that initiatives for providing support to marginalized communities in precarious contexts where there is high risk of social exclusion may be more effective when combined with Creative Decision Support Systems-based therapeutic intervention workshops. The study was carried out in a State Home in India, where the inhabitants, young girls in care, were living in extreme poverty and at high risk of exclusion after leaving care. In the decision support technology employed here, a creative communication methodology called Spritivity1, developed to overcome language and sociocultural barriers amongst diverse groups, was combined with the basics of the Problem-Solving Process Model for personal decision support (PSPM-DS2), to design workshops that facilitate setting up a truly participatory and collaborative communication platform for therapeutic intervention for social inclusion. The workshops involved both mentors from Mentor Together (see mentortogether.org) and the girls as mentees. Spritivity was employed as a creative technology to address the issues of (non) participation in social inclusion initiatives in the very precarious context faced by the participants.
Participation in the workshops had to be as effective as possible for both, mentors and mentees, for it to be deemed a success. This case study shows how Spritivity workshops helped identify what they wanted to do and then, together, construct a workable plan. Here, in contrast to previous programmes run by Mentor Together, the girls were proactive, expressive of their emotions and needs, and took complete ownership of their decision-making project. The creative decision support technology employed in the workshops enabled the better-prepared and critically-conscious mentors to make therapeutic interventions a creative reality. They were able to understand the needs of their mentees, without taking charge of the process themselves. Meaningful and empowering interactions became possible with even the most reticent of participants, where sprites and narratives created by that participant could be used instead of speech. Each interaction was thus tempered and driven by the participants’ needs and preferred pace/method of communication rather than enforced upon them. As a result, the Spritivity workshops were greatly appreciated by both the mentors and mentees.
