How to measure dynamic social phenomenon, in what measurement unit and what is the way forward?

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When it comes to people, household and community; a varying level of granularity, and a range and gradation can be witnessed from micro, to macro, to global scale.

Looking at smallest groups to global community scale - for instance there are special family traditions, unique folklore of natives, healing traditions of remote communities, unique festivities of distant settlements, peculiar rituals within ethnic subgroups; unique cultural expression, attire and language within different ethnicity; peculiar climatic affiliation, characteristic cultural tradition and signature culinary flavour of region; unique habits, preferences and identity of nations; shared transnational image and layers of collective subconsciousness of world.

Above is a glimpse of spectrum of diverse socio-spatial phenomenon that exists at different scales, sometimes characterised by subtle non tangible traits, mutually exclusive elements, binding ethos, spatio-temporal mutation and often are amorphous and shapeshifting; hence many a times difficult to capture, classify and analyse, at city, regional, national and sub-regional scale.

How profound is this social dynamics, and how difficult it is to capture the essence, still essentially a measure of individual, household and community. Possibly the vastness and complexity of social dynamics is the reason that different specialisation and segmented approach emerged over time for measuring social phenomenon across scale from ethnographic to anthropological to scientific to political.

Also how limited and fragmented are the tools and measurement units available today to capture the dynamic social phenomenon in its completeness, as obvious from the fact that even after centuries there has been lack of comprehensive composite indices which measure, reflect and encapsulate the above social dynamics manifested at different scale, yet made up of same elements people, household and community.

While census, unique statistical identity of individuals and households, and socio-economic research in this area serves their own niche purpose, there is also a need for multidisciplinary empirical approach to come up with composite indices for measurement of social dynamics as a whole, within inescapable diversity of society, for better understanding of social phenomenon, sympathetic acknowledgement of community needs in its interaction and interconnectedness; which may in turn help urban, rural and community planners, as well as administrators to plan, prepare and deliver solutions in a better way.

Author: Anoop Jha

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