ASSOCIATIVE EXPERIENCES IN THE MEXICO-TEXAS BORDER: A SOCIAL COACHING EXPERIENCE EXPERIÊNCIAS ASSIOCIATIVAS NA FRONTEIRA MÉXICO-TEXAS: UMA EXPERIÊNCIA COACHING SOCIAL

Social capital is concerned with the resources that individuals, community groups, institutions and organizations derive from their participation in networks and associations for social change. In this context, this article is aiming to explore dimensions of social capital activated through Social Coaching initiatives. This intense associative experience is relevant as it includes the emotional dimensions of social networking and relational capital experiences for social change. It aims to advance a more conscious and responsible knowledge-based citizenship, with a new set of collective values, agreements, and profile. These social coaching initiatives actually inquire how a different social construction of a nation can be triggered. Following those perspectives, this article has been built around a recent experience of ontological social coaching in youth groups in the Northern Mexico city-region of Monterrey. These youngster are seemingly aiming to play a leading role as knowledge citizens in their communities by telling a different story in this intensely challenged borderland.

Practice-based knowers and knowledge revolutionaries able to manage social conflict and change.

Focal Root Users
Social networks such as Communities of Practice (Wenger's CoPs) engaged in problem-solving activities. This includes emerging virtual CoPs Every member of an interconnected city/society, generating value through the intensive use of innovation and knowledge Every member of a globalised city/society, generating continuous contacts and interactions in meaningful "conversations" and/or Knowledge moments Technology Emphasis Importance of technology systems that play a role in building and sustaining the relational base of social capital. Importance of a system of systems that interconnect capitals to add value to human activity for knowledge-based development.
Importance of communication systems that facilitate access to the largest number of people possible at a given time.

Aim
Developing Social Capital in communities Developing Value-driven Capital systems in cities Developing parallel systems of meaning in societies Hence, value capital accounts and connectivity are key elements within complex knowledge-based development (KBD) models, which incorporate a context-centered value alignment as does the third generation of KM (Carrillo, 2006:47 (Carrillo, 2006:47). By seeking for a sustainable balance of capitals, the emerging KM generation aims to find the value blueprint or "soul" of the target city. (Carrillo, 2006:57).
Moreover, some research advances indicate that in third generation KM models (Table 1), social change analysis will be predominant, as Ilkka Toumi affirms: "in the next years, knowledge management theorists and practitioners will find themselves asking how revolutions can be managed". Clearly, the KC conveys a creative, generic and systemic view of cities and societies as living organisms in a constant, perennial process of change. Indeed, dramatic changes in the orientation of KM as a discipline respond to the parallel changes in knowledge-based societies, where "in social spheres, knowledge sharing and KM models will emphasize the aspects of knowledge as power, redefining the goals of education as lifelong learning and the role of educational systems in a world where creative destruction dominates" (Tuomi, 2004).
Such context positions the third KM generation at the crossroads of development and change, not only in organizations but in society as well, as foreseen by some KM scholars (Carrillo, 2004, Tuomi, 2004. From our point of view, it is in this realm that learning and conversations regain their due place in the discipline.

Conversations, Meanings and Knowledge.
It might be common sense these days that "learning is the key factor that distinguishes the knowledge society from the information society" (Tuomi, 2004). But if we believe that knowledge acquisition clearly entails a social learning process, we are conveying a powerful underlying assumption that learning is collective, constructive and conversational (Scott, 2005).
This can become a complex task when research is targeting city-regions as units of study. From our perspective, only complex frameworks for the analysis of cities such as the Knowledge City model facilitate such task. As it defines a KC as a city whose citizenship "undertakes a deliberate, systematic attempt to identify and develop its capital system, with a balanced and sustainable approach" (Carrillo, 2004:34) the KC model involves as many city levels as needed to turn the city into a comprehensive unit of analysis for research. From this perspective, the value generated by each citizen's (working and learning) participation, incorporated into the city's system is critical to the city's construction of its value capitals. However, from an outsider eye, the Monterrey city-region of 4 million people and 140 miles from the Texan border has suddenly gone from being a "model for developing economies to a symbol of Mexico's drug war chaos, sucked down into a dark spiral of gangland killings, violent crime and growing lawlessness" (Emmott, 2011 -Kochi, et.al., 2004) and the relentless processes of marginalization and deleriction that accompany the post-industrial urban phenomena.
On the surface the Monterrey city-region, which generates eight percent (8%) of gross domestic product with only 4% of the whole country's population, is still a model city.
Businessmen walk into marble and glass airport terminals, housewives drive first class vans  (Emmott, 2011).
However, over 600 people have already died in drug war killings in and around Monterrey by 2011. Innocent victims range from local mayors to students, young professionals to housewives and even small children caught in cross-fire, some in Monterrey's busiest streets and avenues. To that respect, some city leaders have declared: "If we can't deal with the problem in Monterrey, with all the resources and the people we have here, then that is a serious concern for the rest of Mexico," (Javier Astaburuaga, CFO of FEMSA-Cocacola, a key industry player). Also Lorenzo Zambrano, CEO of Cement global emporium Cemex, expressed his concern: "the trend is worrying, but we won't let Monterrey fall". This is a leader whose family is rooted in the network ties, tradition and history of the city, in terms of entrepreneurship, social capital and wealth creation (Emmott, 2011).
The valuable debate around the idea that social capital can be expressed and leveraged could be revealing and informative for challenged contexts such as Monterrey. However for those of us used to trying to operationalize such fuzzy concepts as community and social ties (Pascal, 2011), some methodologies fit the kind of context Monterrey seems to be demanding.

Methodology: Social Coaching
The idea of social ties as a resource is a constructive one, which appeals to many academics and policy makers alike. However, social capital has its dark side. People can use their networks to promote anti-social behaviour, pursue criminal goals and to reinforce ideas and behaviour that clash against desirable policy goals (PASCAL, 2011). This is not a side of social capital explored by many academics or policy practitioners, but it is increasingly demanded in multiple urban contexts, such as the above one described for Monterrey. From these perspectives, leveraging ideas, networks and resources to assist in the building of communities can be done from their current areas of strength, through social capital strategies that trigger models of regeneration and innovation. Social capital models point to people owning and controlling their network assets. It also allows policy decisionmakers to engage with communities, developing and building upon these community assets, in order to revert violence and other anti-social processes. This paper thus advances that social capital construction perspectives can be bought about through Social Coaching in challenged communities, also bringing a link to emerging knowledge-based development (KBD) initiatives with social capital significance in the regional arena (Carrillo, 2006). Indeed, Social Coaching puts an emphasis on social change. It's thought as a unique and powerful tool, able to trigger social transformation. Indeed, Humberto Maturana, one of the leading Social Coaching practitioners highlighted the transformative power of Social Coaching (Maturana, 2010), because it uses a systemic approach. According to Maturana, culture transformation finds its essence in the Relational Biology that is maintained in its system of origin. Although Social Coaching aims to keep the essence of such original system, it brings a different perspective to the culture changes achieved through coaching interventions, and leads people to assume responsibility for the changes they would like to see reflected in their system. At the heart of Social Coaching frameworks, lies a principle of respecting all others, who are not necessarily as I would like them/need them to be. This is one of the bases for relationships that aim to build social/relational capital in these models.

Social Con-versing
Clearly, Social Coaching is about "coaching a way of being, as a means of producing major shifts in perception and behaviour through all aspects of communication" (Sieler & Loho, 2011). It advances a dynamic interplay between three spheres of human existence: a) language, b) emotions and c) physiology (body posture).
A basic assumption in Social Coaching is that people's performance and effectiveness is shaped by their way of being (Sieler, 2010). Hence, the Cambio yo Cambia Mexico (CyCM)©® Social Coaching program's ultimate aim, as for any other program of its kind, is to empower its participants. If participants learn how to use their inner potential and are "willing to do it", they will be able to attain their aims. However, participants' attitude is  (Revans, 1998) it is indeed in the workplace where participants clearly engage their social dimension. Social coaching applies a humanistic approach to project-based learning and simultaneously vindicates workplace learning as a fundamental space for personal and social growth (Maturana, 2010). Clearly, Social Coaching also relies on a great deal of emotional intelligence and emotional capital. For instance, from Norberto Levy's perspective, "love and hatred are only two apparent opposites. They can also be revealed as equal components of a larger, more comprehensive unit". Levy identifies such unit as Love (with capital L) as a general and universal intelligence that integrates, connects and transcends all created beings, including citizens willing to change their vision of the future (Levy, 1999).
Following such perspectives, a core concept for Social Coaching is that liberating conversations arise as a "reflective-relational oriented framework that is realized through dancing together -this is what we usually call conversing…". Hence, liberating conversations occur as a sensorial-relational-operational reflexive opportunity of "amplification of our conscious doings and reflexive autonomy in our cultural-biological living and living together" (Maturana, 2010). In fact, con-versing from its latin roots means changing together, which actually translates directly into what social coaching is intending to do (Garcia, R. 2011).
As for the Cambio Yo Cambia Mexico ( Northeast borderland are boldly attempting to provide the nation with some of these answers.

The Iniciative: Cambio Yo, Cambia México
Cambio yo, Cambia Mexico (CyCM) targeted youth with leadership skills who were willing to one by one, transform the whole (country) as their emblematic anthem says (http://cambioyocambiamexico.com/himno.html). The program leaders were willingly declaring: "we love Mexico and we want to plant seeds to turn it into a better country" (CyCM, 2011 (CyCM, 2011). In fact, one of their long-term goals is to create a brand and a public identity through a certification program, in which young professionals can earn a citizen profile according to such values, socially recognized in organizations and institutions.  At the personal level, participants: a) Became more responsible. An 18 year old lady shares her experience on how her mother would drive her occasionally to the school. The mother seemed unable too take enough margin to arrive on time, and to avoid her daughter being late, she would occasionally fly-pass some red lights on the way to school. The young lady recalls: "I had a serious talk with my mother. I made it very clear that I will not tolerate her lateness or her breaking the law on red lights". I did not want to be the cause of an accident!". b) Became more conscientious and aware. "I barely believe what my son has been experiencing, a mother recalls. What a change the program has triggered! He has stopped smoking! He used to give me a hard time with that! Now he is really taking care of his health! At the group level, participants: a) Became more sensitive. They were aware they were the pilot group who was creating the CyCM brand. So they were willing to behave socially. They would wear the t-

Discussion
In the particular case of Monterrey's context, for the CyCM initiative a wide variety of social ties was observed. This social-relational dimension refers to the strength of ties (Granovetter, 1985 in Huysman andWulf, 2005): strong ties are important for the exchange of tacit knowledge while weak ties are important for the sharing of explicit knowledge.
According to some scholars (Wallis, 2004, Portes, 1998, Grattnovetter, 1985, social ties can be classified in at least three types of social capital: bonding, bridging and linking social capital, which seem to need a different methodological perspective, as detailed for Monterrey's residents and some CyCM program-related participants in the next paragraphs. Bonding social capital refers to the intra-community ties that members can depend on in situations of need (Wallis, et. al., 2004). In this opportunity, the instrument allowed to observe a simultaneous appreciation for the ethical values of the city-region, translated into emotional support and the cognitive ability to share. The bonding social capital observed was that of long-term self interest and reciprocity towards leaders and citizens; as well as a fairly high degree of fellowship and goodwill through participation in different aspects of regional life. Sample respondents showed a high degree of identification with the community, but not all of them used the same language to share knowledge.
Bridging social capital refers to the inter-community ties with cross social divides, like ethnicity, gender and socio-economic status. In this opportunity, the sharing of explicit knowledge was higher than the exchange of tacit knowledge, as each respondent seemed to have a different degree of identification with the group and institution, often relative to the years spent and the level of hierarchy enjoyed in the institution. However, in order to further identify the density of ties, an in-depth series of interviews are deemed necessary.
Linking social capital refers to the nature and extent of the ties connecting the civil and political sphere (also embeddedness). Of all three forms of relational capital, participants seemed to have a high degree of linking social capital. Survey results showed that most staff (and students) are aware of the benefits they receive as members of their community to a great extend, and in most cases they have a high degree of identification with their community. This is probably shown through the high incidence of external collaborations that participants display.
The correspondence between the strategic elements within the individual, his/her behaviour, performance and development seem to strongly highlight the direct relationship between personal development and societal development .

From the individual realm to the social realm
Indeed, one of the Social Coaching major emphases is on developing individuals' skills to trigger change in their surroundings and workplace spaces. This approach to social capital increase provided a conceptual framework that is useful to explore social change from a qualitative perspective. Theoretically, it allows us to distinguish social capital from other types of capital and similar concepts such as emotional capital, social capacity and cohesion.
At the same time, allows us to focus on the ties developed within institutions and groups that are the most visible manifestations of particular types of ties and social relations.
The Social coaching framework also highlights the dynamic nature of social associative experiences. It is a characteristic based in social relations, but these relations are always changing and they may be used for a variety of objectives. As a result, an organization, group, or network might at one point be used for learning and pleasure, while at another point it may serve as a basis for a business venture. This venture might in turn, contribute to an increase in social cohesion that augments the social capital that generated it in the first place.
Finally, the Social Coaching framework identifies how social capital can be reproduced and cascaded down into a greater number of trainees, enabling researchers to closely observe its impacts and contributions. Furthermore, Social Coaching has been identified as a tool for Knowledge-based Development given its powerful conversationalbased tools. It seems to greatly support KBD schemes at individual, organizational and societal levels. Although this analysis is preliminary and in some ways only suggestive, the long-term, comparative, participatory approach to this research could provide us with a strong basis for exploring some of the more dynamic features of the Social Coaching model. Using this general analysis, we will be able to focus on particular developments and transformations in a comparative wayproviding further opportunities to test the model and at the same time explore the strategic implications of social capital for culture transformation.