Monthly Archives: December 2010

Research Methods

Joseph Rowntree Foundation – Monitoring Poverty and Social Exlusion Annual Report 2010

1 Comment
Or Modern Britain: What a mess
 
Fresh out today – the latest annual report from the JRF

OK, so you may accuse me of biased interpretation of the stats (see below) but I get the following impression – there are more people (13 million!) living in poverty this year compared to last – despite the fact that the wealth of the richest thousand people grew by £77 billion last year.

On the plus side, the number of children leaving school without qualifications has fallen, so our kids are better educated – however, the unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds is the highest in nearly two decades, so those qualifications won’t get them jobs, so aren’t that much use in lifting them out of poverty.Finally, the number of workless families who are in poverty has fallen in the last year, while the number of children in working families in poverty has risen – suggesting that combining work and having a family is economically irrational.

Maybe now that children from poorer families are better educated, they are in an even better position to figure out that work doesn’t pay compared to staying of benefits!

This is what I love about the JRF ‘monitoring poverty’ report – it’s a no nonsense guide to how messed up our country is!

In a summary in the Guardian Julia Unwin says –

‘Over the last decade we have seen poverty rates fall, before rising back up to their highest levels for years, with many of the gains lost years before the recession reared its head. In terms of income poverty, on the most-used measure, we are back to where we started at the beginning of the millennium, with rates now at the same level as 2000; having risen every year since 2004/05. The advances made during Labour’s first term did not hold.’

Some of the key stats from the summary

  • By 2008/09, 13m people were in poverty. Of these, 5.8m (44% of the total) were in ‘deep poverty’ (household income at least one-third below the poverty line), the highest proportion on record.
  • Despite the recession, the number of children in poverty in workless families fell in 2008/09, to 1.6m, the lowest since 1984, but those in working families rose slightly to 2.1m, the highest on record.
  • The numbers of 16-year-olds lacking five GCSEs at any level and of 19-year-olds lacking a level 2 qualification fell in 2009, and are lower than any time in the previous decade.
  • By mid-2010, the unemployment rate among those aged16–24 was, at 20%, the highest in 18 years, and three times that for other adults. After the last recession (1993), the rate was 16%, twice as high as for the rest of the population.
Essay Plans

A2 Crime and Deviance – Methods in context essay plan

Examine the strengths and limitations of using Covert Participant Observation to research the extent to which Racism exists in the Police Force (15)

Research is needed on this topic is because it would help us to answer the question of whether ethnic minorities are over represented in the prison population due to their having higher underlying rates of offending or whether this is because the police over-policing minority groups.

As things stand at the moment – we cannot be sure of the extent to which police racism exists – the police themselves claim they are not racist, and direct observations such as those carried out by Waddington et al (2004) suggest that police stop and searches are proportionate to the visibility of ethnic minorities. However, self-report studies suggest that underlying rates of offending are very similar across ethnic groups and the idea that black people are seven times more criminal than white people doesn’t seem right at an intuitive level, so there is still a very big question mark over whether the police actually are Racist. Given that official statistics and previous research tell us different things, there is urgent need for further, valid research on this topic, and covert PO is typically regarded as yielding data that is high in validity.  

Covert Participant observation is one of the few methods, if not the only method, whereby we would get a valid insight into the extent of police racism because the police should act naturally because they do not know they are being observed. If you were to use any kind of overt method – be it overt observation, questionnaires or interviews, to investigate Racism, you would not get valid data because not only are Racist practices socially undesirable, any policeman found to be discriminatory would be dismissed, so even if they were racist, they would not act racist when researched. 

One problem of using this method for this topic is gaining access to the police force in the first place – this would either involve gaining permission from the police authorities to pose as a police officer for the duration of the research or to apply to the police force and go through the training process as one documentary maker did for the BBC in 2004. The problem with the former route is that you would probably not be allowed access by the police because they might argue that this could harm the public; the police may also be worried about your findings – in the wake of Stephen Lawrence and the McPherson enquiry the police are very sensitive about their public image over Race Relations and would probably not invite any research that might undermine this. A problem with the second methods, of covertly accessing the police is that it is both unethical in that you are deceiving everyone, and posing a as police officer is illegal.

Whatever way you did this research it would also be time consuming – in the case of the BBC documentary the researcher spent more than a year gaining access and his cover was blown after only a few months ‘on the beat’. A second limitation is that you can only do this method with a very limited sample of police officers would negatively affect the representativeness of the research – even over the course of a year you are only likely to become intimate enough with a handful of officers for them to ‘come out’ as Racists. One could thus in no way generalise one’s findings to the whole of the police force across the country, or even to the police force one conducts one’s research within.

Furthermore, while one may find evidence of racist attitudes, or hear tales of racist practices, you would have little or no control over the sample of police officers who you came into direct contact with are only ever likely to be ‘on the beat’ with one other officer at a time, and you would have no choice in who that officer was, so you would not be able to verify any reports of racism first hand. This would be a problem as racist officers may exaggerate their racist behaviour to others they think are racist to gain status, meaning that the data gained here is no more valid than that gained through interviews or questionnaires.

Covert Observation is also unreliable – given that one could not record data easily we are totally dependent on the researcher’s own definitions and interpretations of what constitutes racist attitudes and practises and these interpretations would, practically speaking, be unverifiable.

Finally, because racism is such an emotive issue, and this type of research is extremely draining, one would assume that any individual doing this research would have strong feelings about it, thus there would be a danger of researcher bias exaggerating any slight act that could be interpreted as racist. This fact, combined with the extreme unrepresentativeness of this method means that any evidence of Racism uncovered should be treated with extreme caution.  Given the problems of researching this topic it would appear that one may not gain a valid picture of the nature and extent of police racism by using this method after all!

This is just one possible essay!

Research Methods, What is Sociology?

Web site of the week – the British Sociological Association

It may be aimed at post-grads and beyond, but The British Sociological Association is useful to the average A level student in five ways –

  1. The ‘what is Sociology’ section of the site is readily understandable – and of direct relevance to the ‘should sociology be a science’ debate
  2. The press releases section offers some nice summaries of recent research – (Interestingly for staff at the college who read this – one recent finding is that subcontractors on building sites maintain their contracts through offering kick backs to the company that runs the building project – which might help explain the poor build quality of just about everything that’s gone up since I arrived at the college 8 years ago. )
  3. The section on ‘what do Sociologists do’ might be useful to any student considering a degree in the subject – although I imagine such numbers will diminish following the Tory cuts.
  4. The ethics section – useful for research methods
  5. Finally, and a bit cynical this last point, reading around the site gives you an insight into how academics make quite simple sociological ideas sound more complex than they have to!

Enjoy!

Social Policy, Things I like, What is Sociology?

Ed Miliband – Influenced by Zygmunt Bauman?

Much to my delight I just stumbled across this article in the Guardian. Turns out that the new labour leader Ed Miliband is good friends with Bauman! I feel like I should have known this before somehow… Some good news on which to end the week!

All I’ve done below is cut and paste a few highlights – it’s late sorry!

Bauman and Milliband – the relationship

Bauman says he was “encouraged by Miliband’s first speech as leader to the Labour party conference, saying that it offered a chance to “resurrect” the left on a moral basis.

“Particularly promising for me was Ed’s vision of community. His sensitivity to the plight of the underdog, his awareness that the quality of society and the cohesion of community need to be measured not by totals and averages but by the wellbeing of the weakest sections,” says Bauman. “There seems to be a chance that under his leadership Labour will rediscover its own ground and recover its own feet.”

Bauman and the Milibands have history. Ed’s father, Ralph, and Bauman became close friends in the 1950s when both spent time at the London School of Economics (LSE). Both were leftwing sociologists of Polish-Jewish descent.

Ralph Miliband’s decision in 1972 to join the politics department at Leeds university, where Bauman taught sociology, that proved pivotal to their relationship. Bauman’s house in Leeds became a regular stop for the Miliband boys. Ed and David grew up watching the two academics discuss the future of the left.

A useful, very brief summary of Bauman’s basic world view –

Underlying his theory is the idea that systems make individuals, not the other way round. He says it does not matter whether one is dealing with Communism or consumerism, states want to control their public and reproduce their elites. But in place of totalitarian rule, western society looks to scare and entice by manufacturing public panics and seducing people with shopping. Bauman’s work today focuses on this transition to a nation of consumers, unconsciously disciplined to work endlessly. Those who do not conform, says Bauman, become labelled “human waste” and written off as flawed members of society.

And what is Sociology according to Bauman?

“The task for sociology is to come to the help of the individual. We have to be in service of freedom. It is something we have lost sight of,” he says.

While I’m on the Bauman theme – here a couple of good posts from the Global Sociology Blog on Bauman – one on the economic crisis – a nice short summary, and the other on ‘liquid fear’

Uncategorized

Kellog’s bran flakes – they’re very tasty

And so they should be given the 2000% mark up!

Below is a brief summary of some Sociology on TV – The Foods that make billions – aired BBC2 November 2010

Nice series in conjunction with the OU covering three products – bottled water, yoghurt and breakfast cereal – all three of which were not popular at all 50- years ago. Now they are – thanks to the clever marketing tactics of food industry giants such as Kellogs who have successfully managed to brand themselves into our everyday lives.

I have only watched the second – on cereals – and a number of sociological themes stand out

– Firstly the sheer extent of marketing that lies behind breakfast cereals – these really aren’t nice little products that we freely choose to buy – the programme follows the launch of a new Kellog’s brand – pointing out that £3 million has been earmarked just for advertising that one product.

– Secondly – this demonstrates the power of advertisers to shape, if not create, demand – remember ‘go to breakfast on an egg’? – probably not – because so all pervasive are the cereal brands that cereal is practically synonomous with breakfast today. Apparantly the sale of branflakes went up by 40% in a year after the following jingle –

 

Thirdly, I’m reminded of that old ‘colonisation of the lifeworld’ chestnut (Habermas) – cereals have branded themselves so effectively into our lives that most of us can’t live without them – they may even be changing the way we actually understand foods – food should now be convenient – we think of ‘grains’ or ‘cereal bars’ as healthy – when they are not necessarily.

Fourthly – The economics behind the scenes is interesting – the difference between a Kilo of grain and a kilo of Kellogs corn flakes represents a 2000% mark up.

Fifth – this serves as a good reminder of the industrial base that lies behind our consumer culture.

Sixth – – I am so glad I don’t work in marketing – what an utter waste of a life – promoting this brand of cereal over that very similar competitor – I wonder if there’s a higher suicide rate amongst people in jobs that are so utterly utterly pointless.

Seventh – for similar reasons – I may as well just point out how utterly uninteresting I find post-modern sociology that revels in describing the different uses that individuals make of the range of products available -I would not actually call this lack-of-analysis sociological.

Uncategorized

Tory cuts – encouraging a return to the traditional family?

Tory cuts are unfairly disadvantaging women, according to this article in the Guardian, which is akin to encouraging a return to the traditional family with the male breadwinner role.

The article draws on research from the Fawcett Society, who are making a legal challenge against the government’s cuts on grounds of sex inequality.

I’d recommend listening to this excellent recent debate on women’s hour between Ceri Goddard, Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society and Professor Len Shackleton, Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs and Dean of Business School at the University of East London which shows you that it isn’t particularly helpful talking about how the budet cuts will affect ‘women’ as a homogenous group.

Sociology and Science, Uncategorized

Sociology on TV – Genius of Britain and the Story of Science

In Genius of Britain, famous media-scientists provide their insights into the lives of the people who made some of Britain’s most significant scientific discoveries. The first episode covers the work of Christopher Wren and Isaac Newton, which is useful context for the ‘Enlightenment’; the second and third episodes focus on the industrial revolution – useful to illustrate how ideas of progress manifested themselves in the heyday of modernity – and the final episode looks at more contemporary science.  All in all, used selectively, this series gives us a useful overview of ‘what science is’ – obviously of relevance to the ‘is sociology a science’ debates.  The whole thing is available on 4OD – aired orginally in spring 2010.

Episode three is especially worth watching in its entirety- as it demonstrates the cumulative nature of scientific discovery – and how theory builds on the previous empirical findings.  Starts with Brunel…

The downsides are that the programme  is somewhat drawn out and some of the presenters are irritating – including Richard Dawkins – the smugest man alive; Robert Winston, who despite being an expert only in the field of genetics, the BBC seems to think is an expert in everything; and Robert ‘stuff the workers in wales I’m moving my production to China’ Dyson.   

I wonder if science will ever be able to tell us why scientific media personalities are so irritating?

The Story of Science – aired on BBC2 around the same time as the above shows how scientific discoveries are influenced by power and chance – suggesting that the process of scientific discovery is not as rational, uniform and planned as the scientific method might have us believe.

The only downside is that the later isn’t freely available – obviously because its a BBC documentary that is public property – so I’m not allowed to watch it after the 30 day iplayer window – how does that work? Fortunately, for any of my students – it’s on estream.

Uncategorized

Object – challenging the sexualisation of women in popular culture

3 Comments

A summary of a 2009 report by Object – Joining up the Dots – challenging the sexualisation of women in popular culture.  Obviously of direct interest to anyone studying the ‘continued relevance of Feminist Theory’ today – this document contains over 100 sources, many of which are research based. The main points include –

  • The sexualisation of women and girls in the media and popular culture is increasingly prevalent across many forms of media, from television, video games, the internet, film, advertising and clothing to products, animated cartoons, magazines and news. It is linked to the continued mainstreaming of the sex industry and the ‘pornification of culture’.
  • A growing body of research has firmly linked the sexual objectification of women and girls to a negative effect on individual health and well-being, with increased sexualisation leading to severe dissatisfaction over body image and self-esteem; high rates of eating disorders among women and girls; rising levels of women turning to plastic surgery; increased incidences of sexual bullying and damaging sexual relations between young people.
  • The sexual objectification of women is also linked to the promotion and reinforcement of sexist attitudes – via exposure to media which overwhelmingly contains gender stereotyping and affects perceptions of all women. This has significant overlap with racism via the objectification of women according to their ethnicity. Finally, a large body of evidence demonstrates the connection between the sexualisation of women in the media and popular culture with violence against women.
  • Popular arguments against taking action on this issue are centred around the human right of individuals to freedom of expression. However, such a right must be weighed against the need and importance of taking effective steps to protect the human right of women and girls to live their lives free of gender-based violence and discrimination.

Just a selection of some of the evidence they cite – all evidence is available via the link at the top!

On the sexualized representation of women in popular culture –

44%–81% of music videos contain sexual imagery19. Women are far more likely than men to be presented in provocative or revealing clothing20 and sexually objectified – often through imagery linked to the sex industry, such as pole/ lap dancing. Women are frequently portrayed as decorative objects that dance and pose and do not play any instruments.

Contrary to popular belief this is not restricted to hip hop or pop. In one analysis of country music videos, 42% of female artists were coded as wearing “alluring clothing”. Analysis of MTV music videos has found objectification in 44.4% of the 30- second clips analysed.

Comparison of both men’s (Playboy) and women’s (Cosmopolitan) magazines concluded that both types of magazines portray female sexuality in similar ways despite appealing to different audiences. Men’s and women’s magazines both depict women as sexualised objects whose desire is best fulfilled by making themselves into commodities that are sexually available to men. The primary difference was that women’s magazines are not as crude, aggressive as men’s magazines

 Objectification and Harm to women

The sexualisation of women and girls is linked to a range of harms – ranging from body and self esteem issues to violence, sexist attitudes and racism. The links between these issues and a culture in which women and girls are overwhelmingly sexualised is all too often neglected in preventative policy-making decisions.

 

The mainstreaming process has also served to normalise prostitution, lap dancing and other related activities60 – making the harm of commercial sexual exploitation invisible. Yet many women in prostitution and lap dancing experience violence and abuse – whether physical or psychological. Studies consistently find high correlation between routes into prostitution and a background of time in care61 and sexual or physical abuse62.

 Many women cite poverty and the need to pay household expenses as a primary reason for entering prostitution63 and report problematic drug use64. More than half of UK women in prostitution have been raped and/or seriously sexually assaulted65 and many survivors of prostitution meet the criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the same range as torture victims and combat veterans undergoing treatment66.

 Working practices in many lap dancing clubs implicitly encourage men to seek sexual services from performers and women routinely report sexual harassment and violence within the industry.

 Emerging evidence suggests the sexualisation of women and girls has negative effects on the ability to develop healthy sexuality 80. Studies have shown that self-objectification on the part of young women often leads to weakened sexual assertiveness81. At the same time young people increasingly learn about sexual relationships through the media and from pornography, as shown in a 2003 study carried out by Institute of Education which found that 66% of young people reported the media as their primary source of information on sex and relationships. Researchers argue this is “reinforcing the views of many young men that women are always available for sex”.

 A 2005 study of 2,081 young people in Rochdale also found that pornography influences young men’s expectations of sexual relationships, “lead[ing] to pressure on young women to comply” and grooming young men and boys to expect sexual acts normalised in pornography

The report goes on to provide a number of counter arguments to those who would defend women’s right to ‘freely express themselves in a sexualized manner’, argues that current government policies are not adequate to ensuring gender equality and preventing harm to women and suggests a number of things the media and government could do to combat the sexualisation of women and related harms.

Uncategorized

Sexist Ageism in the media

Question – what have these TV presenters got in common?

Arlene Phillips
Arlene Phillips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anna Ford
Anna Ford
Moira Stuart
Moira Stuart
Miriam O'Reily (from country file)
Miriam O'Reily (from country file)

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer – they have all been axed from television shows amidst allegations of both ageism and sexism.

This is actually part of a wider trend of older female presenters disappearing from our screens, while older male presenters are much more visible – John Craven (70), Jeremy Paxman (60) and Bruce Forsyth (137) are all still very much in the public eye, heading mainstream, primetime shows for example.

So what’s going on here – why are older women getting sacked against their wishes, while older men are allowed to continue in their roles as leading television presenters?

The Feminist take is that this very clear gender imbalance demonstrates that the mainstream media is both giving into social stereotypes about gender and perpetuating them – giving into the ideal of what Naomi Wolfe would call the beauty myth. By sacking older women – the media helps to perpetuate the idea that what is ‘normal’ for women is to be young and beautiful. As a woman, your utility derives from your looks, and once your beauty fades, you have no useful social function, and you hide yourself away, making room for the next generation of dark haired beauties – which of course, is what men want to see! While for male presenters, traditionally associated with authority, knowledge and power, ageing is not such an issue, hence it is older male presenters who are typically used to give ‘serious’ programmes an authoritative edge.

Of course there are those academics that will have spent years analysing representations of gender and age who will tell you that there are a complex array of portrayals of age and sex in our contemporary post-modern media, and indeed there are (John Snow springs to mind – authority figure or mad professor?)  – but, bottom line, the trend in age representation is women with sagging skin get the sack, men with flabby jowls don’t.

Miriam O’Reilly, the ex-presenter of country file is currently involved in a tribunal with BBC, is essentially claiming that she and other older, female presenters, were unfairly dropped from country file because of their age and looks. 

Of course in order to verify her accusations on a more global level, and find out how overt this ageist sexism is, we would need to have access to the backroom discussions (I don’t think they would be so stupid as to memo any of this) of the editors of the programmes in question, and we are never likely to get this, which is a shame, as it would be fascinating to see how sexist ageism actually works its way through micro-level decision making in the media.

It distrsses me that Fiona Bruce (46), who I have never liked, has the following to say about being a news presenter

‘It is a great job. The best. And a bit of sniping and stereotyping here and there is a small price to pay’

This kind of individualised ‘I’m alright’ so a ‘ bit of sexism doesn’t matter’ response  is something I despise – still  if sexist ageism remains on trend – Bruce’s days are numbered  – I give her 7 years max.