The Mask of Aging: Doing Cultural Research for a ‘Social Problem’

Kit-Ling Luk

doi:10.5130/csr.v12i2.2340

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5130/csr.v12i2.2340

Keywords:

Cultural research, cultural studies, research, social problems, aging, policy makers, activists, social research, statistics

Kit-Ling Luk

Lingnan University

Abstract

Debates about ‘social problems’ routinely raise questions: is the problem widespread?; how many people, and which people, does it affect?; is it getting worse?; what does it cost society?; what will it cost to deal with it? Convincing answers to such questions demand evidence, and that usually means numbers, measurements, statistics. However, the same group of statistics can be ‘manipulated’ by different sectors, including activists as well as policy makers. In this article the author explores was the way in which the impact of statistical dominance in social research was relayed by media coverage and also by social activists and policy makers.

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2006): Engagements

Section

Cultural Research (Peer Reviewed)

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Author Biography

Kit-Ling Luk, Lingnan University

KIT-LING LUK is a PhD student in the Department of Cultural Studies at Lingnan University. Her research interests include: social movement, feminist gerontology, housing and community development. She is currently doing research and teaching in the Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies (APIAS), Lingnan University.

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Kit-Ling Luk, Lingnan University