Critical Review of a Social Policy Journal - Janet Fink - Essay Example

? Critical review of a social policy journal Introduction Janet Fink is the of the article, Walking the neighbourhood, seeing the small details of community life: Reflections from a photography walking tour. The article was published on 6 December 2011, but the publication was online. The author of the article is a leading researcher in the field of social history and sociology. Janet has taught sociology and other social history courses many universities and colleges. She holds a degree in the bachelor of literature and sociology, masters in sociology and PhD in sociology and social history. Janet attained all these academic qualifications in the University of Essex (The Open University, 2012). The article explains visual research, a form of research that uses photography to study a certain community. The article explains how photography can help in the collection of visual data, which helps in studying the aspects of a given community. The article is a guide on how visual data can help policy makers in obtaining information about the resources and the values that the community values. Janet’s article explains how the data collected using photographs to explain the differences among various communities in the contemporary England. In any society, there are clear issues that affect different communities that interact. There is that group of the society that does not enjoy benefits that other groups enjoy. For example, in Britain some communities are disadvantaged and marginalized in all aspects of life. A study of the experiences of community members and the areas that the communities views as problematic shows the actual gap between different communities in Britain. Visual research using photographs reveals the areas that account for the practices and problems that face the community. In addition, the research also shows the areas that the community members deem as good. These areas show that progress is possible in such communities. For instance, the community members of the street that the article uses are happy and in content with various telecommunication facilities that connect them to the outside world. Age, gender and race are among the factors that account for the differences between different communities. Visual research is probably the best approach for decision-making about the welfare of a certain disadvantaged community. Critique of the article The article raises a number of issues concerning understanding the society. For instance, many marginalized communities face the problem of vandalism and destruction of property. This is due to the crash of ideas between different members of the society. Therefore, the communities are responsible for their problems in many instances. For instance, young people wanted the field for their own personal issues while other members of the community concerned themselves with protecting the field. The community divided itself along age and gender basis, but it is clear that the community has strong moral and social standards. The article brings to light how photography reveals some aspects that other people assume to be normal. For instance, the photographs on infrastructure indicate the local council's negligence in maintaining infrastructural facilities. Understanding the problems of disadvantaged members of the society needs complete masterly of all factors within their environment. Most of these factors, however, appear normal to many individuals, which hinders policy makers from making sense as well as interpreting the factors. The article stresses on the importance of visual data in analysing such information that may appear as irrelevant in the given communities (Fink, 2011). I agree with certain propositions of the article. The article stresses on the contributions of photography in studying various practices and experiences that influence the actions of marginalized communities. Visual research identifies aspects that affect the community and that appear normal in the eyes of many individuals. Policy makers need to understand various issues that affect the marginalized or disadvantaged members of the society. The article uses different parties to understand the community under scrutiny. Individuals living in the society will give their problems while those living outside the community will give their accounts based on what they observe in the community under investigation. Visual data captures events and experiences that writing cannot capture. For instance, photographs are able to isolate places or incidences that are of interest to a researcher. It also eliminates the problem of confidentiality and anonymity of data because the one who takes a photograph owns it. Knoblauch and Baer (2008) argue that visual research is becoming an integral part in research activities for the disciplines of social sciences and sociology. This is due to the ability of visual data to capture various cultural diversities of communities. Simpson (2012) presents the limitations of using face perception in observing different aspects of a community. He argues that the best way of studying the community is using visual aids like photographs because it eliminates the possibility of discrimination. Use of visual research is successful in the article. However, I disagree with the research methodology that the article uses to obtain information. The article neglects one of the requirements of a research that concerns diversity. The article uses two women only who are of the same age. The women probably gave their accounts on problems facing them as women and not the problems facing the community at large. The research could have different individuals of different age and gender. It is obvious that young people will have different views with the older members of the community. It is also unwise for researchers to let the participants chose the areas that they would like to capture. Individuals will disclose what they think is good for the public and leave out other pertinent issues. The researchers could have suggested the areas that they needed to address instead of letting the participants do it for them. Visual data have their own limitations related to the ability of individuals to interpret and discern what the data purports. Bresciane and Eppler (2012) present various issues that compromise the effective application of visualization in research. The article argues that the research method is prone to discrimination and manipulation, where participants and researchers capture what they think will relate to the research. The process of deciding on what to capture and what to leave out leads to loss of valuable information that may help in policymaking. The article also argues that lack of research diversity usually affects results and reliability. It is common for photographs, videos and other forms of visual research to target some aspects in the community and leave out others. A large amount of data is lost in the process, which compromises the quality of the research. Gilhespy (2009) outlines the complications that are evident in the process of visual research. According to his article, the limitations of visual research in making decisions arise due to different ways and methods of interpretation. The research method depends on how a researcher interprets the visual data. Interpretation depends on the skills and expertise of an individual, which questions the viability of conclusions made in a research. Conclusion Janet Fink concludes that use of photography helped in studying the practices of the given community, as well as factors influencing the community’s behaviours and practices. According to the author of the article, age, gender and race are the basic elements that explain the behaviours and practices in the community. Jane also presents the advantages of using visual research in analysing the community. The photography walk in the article helped to strengthen the relationship between participants and researchers. The relationship facilitated the openness of the participants in addressing various issues in the community. The research facilitated expression of emotions and ideas of the participants, through photographs, which helped the researchers to collect information. Policy makers should use such feelings by individuals to guide them in making decisions about a marginalized or a disadvantaged community. The article explains the emerging trends of attending to the needs of the society by applying technology. The social media present an avenue for community development. Local leaders can use the images in the social media to come up with issues that require to be addressed in their respective communities. Understanding of the needs of the disadvantaged members of the society is beyond the provision of infrastructure and other forms of aid. It is necessary to understand the variables that play a part in the communities before implementing any strategy in such areas. This understanding is possible through involvement of the members of the community. Videos, images and photographs are forms of visual research that researchers do not apply. Sociology and social sciences are ideal disciplines that have witnessed the contributions of visual research in studying different aspects of the community. Anthropologists began using this research method in their studies to help them in capturing images that define the evolution and existence of people. Use of photographs helps to capture issues and ideas that may appear irrelevant to a researcher. However, analysis of these issues helps in studying various aspects of behaviours and practices of a community. The concern of visual research goes beyond explaining the basic factors that are clearly identifiable by a researcher. Policy makers should use this research method to implement strategies of addressing issues in disadvantaged communities. However, there is a need to understand the limitations of the research method as the essay has outlined. References   Bresciani, S. 2012. The Risks of Visualization: A Classification of Disadvantages Associated with Graphic Representations of Information. Academia.edu, p. 53-65. Fink, J. 2011. Walking the neighbourhood, seeing the small details of community life: Reflections from a photography walking tour. Critical Social Policy, 32 (1). Available at: http://childhooddiscourses.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/walking-the-neighbourhood-seeing-the-small-details-of-community-life-reflections-from-a-photography-walking-tour.pdf [Accessed on 27 November 2012]. Ian Gilhespy, I. 2009. The Status of Visual Data in Research Methods Textbooks. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 5 (2), p. 71-76 Knoblauch, H., and Baer, A. 2008. Visual Analysis. New Developments in the Interpretative Analysis of Video and Photography. Qualitative Social Research. Available at: http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1170/2587 [Accessed on 27 November 2012]. Simpson, W. 2012. Cross-correlation in face discrimination. Vision Research, 76, p. 60-67 The Open University. 2012. Dr Janet Fink. Available at: http://www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/staff/people-profile.php?name=Janet_Fink [Accessed on 27 December 2012]. Read More