=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-1854/Paper8
|storemode=property
|title=Using a Socio-Technical Approach to Explore Perceptions of the Graffiti Culture
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1854/Paper8.pdf
|volume=Vol-1854
|authors=Sharon Cox,Sandi Kirkham,Emma Love,Mohammad Mayouf
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/caise/CoxKLM17
}}
==Using a Socio-Technical Approach to Explore Perceptions of the Graffiti Culture==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1854/Paper8.pdf
Proceedings of STPIS'17
Using a Socio-Technical Approach to Explore
Perceptions of the Graffiti Culture
Sharon Cox, Sandi Kirkham, Emma Love, Mohammad Mayouf
Birmingham City University, UK
Sharon.Cox@bcu.ac.uk, Sandi.Kirkham@bcu.ac.uk,
Emma.Love@bcu.ac.uk, Mohammad.Mayouf@bcu.ac.uk
Abstract.The effectiveness of socio-technical approaches, such as the Soft Sys-
tems Methodology (SSM), to structure problematic situations is dependent on
the candid communication of participants. This paper reports a pilot study using
SSM to explore the challenges of establishing the Ideal Speech Situation in or-
der to gain an understanding of the contradictory perceptions of graffiti.
Through exploring this social phenomenon from the views of both graffiti writ-
ers and the general public, power and ego were identified as challenges to es-
tablishing an Ideal Speech Situation. Analysing these challenges in the context
of graffiti provides insight into how these barriers may hinder the effective ap-
plication of socio-technical approaches.
Keywords: Soft Systems Methodology, Ideal Speech Situation, Socio-technical
Approach, Graffiti
1 Introduction
Graffiti is the illegal act of inscribing writings or drawings [1]. There are four main
genres of graffiti: tag, (master)piece, throw-up and character [2]. Taggers sign their
name usually in one colour; graffiti writers create the more complex pieces (compris-
ing text and pictures), throw-ups (a bubble-letter design) or character piece that in-
cludes a cartoon-style character figure. Graffiti writers are a sub-cultural group who
are under represented in academic literature [3]. Graffiti is a cultural phenomenon that
is subject to a perplexity of conflicting perceptions, described as a sign of urban de-
cline [4] and as a serious art [5]. The presence of graffiti impacts perceptions of safety
by local residents [6] resulting in the UK spending £1bn removing graffiti [7] yet the
removal of an illegal painting in North London outraged the local community [8].
Graffiti has growing commercial appeal [9] and can be considered as representations
of social history [1] which need to be preserved. The removal of graffiti is therefore
based on the premise of either restoring value to a community, or by recognizing val-
ue and the need for preservation and profit [8]. Graffiti is a situated act occurring
within a community of practice; an urban text [10] with its own codes [9] forming a
cultural artefact [1] that is a part of social heritage. Open communication is needed
Edited by S. Kowalski, P. Bednar and I. Bider 75
Proceedings of STPIS'17
within a systems approach to explore the conflicting cultural perceptions of graffiti
situated in a social context.
Socio-technical approaches are based on an appreciation of the social norms and
participation of people in a socially situated context [11]. Problem structuring meth-
ods help participants to engage in a more balanced conversation that approaches the
Ideal Speech Situation [12]. Candid participation in Soft Systems Methodology
(SSM) [13] can be hindered by the prevailing political culture of a context [14, 15].
This position paper reports a pilot study exploring the contradictory perceptions of the
social phenomenon of graffiti with the aim of assessing the extent to which open
communication of the Ideal Speech Situation [16] can be addressed using SSM. The
results of the pilot study will be used to inform the design of a wider study exploring
perceptions of graffiti culture. Section 2 outlines the methodology used to gain an
understanding of the conflicting views of graffiti that form the problematic situation
in SSM. The initial results of applying SSM to enable an understanding of perceptions
of graffiti are presented in section 3. Section 4 discusses the challenges of gaining a
true appreciation of a situation within the context of socio-cultural barriers, reflecting
on the extent to which an Ideal Speech Situation can be achieved. Limitations of the
study are noted and the paper concludes by considering further work needed to ac-
commodate challenges of socio-cultural barriers within socio-technical applications.
2 Methodology
SSM offers a systemic framework to surface and explore different perceptions in a
problematic situation. It advocates systemic interpretation of social and cultural fac-
tors that are important in interpreting a situation [17]. The process of SSM involves
the collection of each stakeholder’s worldview, which is then used to model a human
activity system. This study focuses on piloting a means to gather the views of graffiti
writers and the general public in order to express the problem situation and then to
develop root definitions of relevant human activity systems.
The design of the pilot study focused on addressing three main challenges. The
first challenge was how to gain access to graffiti writers due to the illegal nature of
graffiti. Access to graffiti writers was facilitated by a graffiti photographer, trusted by
the writers, using the photography sharing application Instagram. The second chal-
lenge was how to quickly collect data to identify the issues arising with data collec-
tion before embarking on a wider study in such a way as to minimize the risk of influ-
encing the results in the later study. Graffiti writers were asked via Instagram for one
word to describe graffiti. This task reflected the simplicity of Instagram as a means of
communication and tested the willingness of writers to participate in research. Re-
spondents could see the words submitted by previous respondents. This may have
influenced both their decision to participate and the nature of their response as graffiti
is about being seen by peers. As graffiti is viewed in the physical world, commuters at
a railway station in a UK city were asked for one word to describe graffiti. The com-
muters could not see the words given by other commuters. The commuters were not
asked whether they engaged in graffiti themselves as graffiti writers often do not dis-
©Copyright held by the author(s) 76
Proceedings of STPIS'17
close their engagement with graffiti such that colleagues and close friends are often
unaware of their involvement in the graffiti culture. As this is a pilot study exploring
the suitability of SSM as a means to study perceptions of graffiti, it is considered that
this does not affect the validity of the results for this study.
The third challenge in the pilot study was how to mitigate the potential for the re-
searchers to influence the collection and analysis of the data. Due to the nature of the
subject, all researchers will have seen graffiti and have their own opinions about it.
Researchers were each assigned specific roles to reduce the potential for their percep-
tions to influence the research and to mitigate the risk, as far as possible, of respond-
ents providing the response that they think the researcher is seeking. The graffiti pho-
tographer gathered and presented the data from graffiti writers to leverage their rela-
tionships with the writers. A researcher unfamiliar with the practice or research of
graffiti gathered and presented data from the commuters to minimize the potential for
influencing respondents. The Instagram data and the survey of commuters resulted in
two lists of words. Treating the words as objective data stripped the words of the con-
text that had given them meaning and value, adopting a neopositivist stance [18]. The
first stage of SSM is to gain a rich picture of the situation. Stripping the words of the
context that had given them meaning reduced the richness of the information cap-
tured. In analysing the results, the words were represented in a form that was sensitive
to the context they had come from, adopting a localist stance of the information col-
lected as “situated accounts” [18]. By changing the presentation of the data, the objec-
tivity of the data was reduced but the potential information value increased forming a
rich picture of the situation in SSM. A research/practitioner of SSM with no prior
involvement in the practice or research of graffiti derived worldviews from the rich
picture. The fourth researcher, familiar with research relating to both graffiti and
SSM, documented the research but had no involvement with the data collection and
analysis, focusing on the suitability of SSM as a means to study perceptions of graffiti
and how the practice further informs understanding of SSM.
3 Results
Fig. 1 shows responses received from graffiti writers across the world and Fig. 2
shows responses from commuters in the UK. The free expression of the wall of words
from graffiti writers deliberately contrasts with the ordered words from the public
forming a rich picture of the situation. The responses from the graffiti writers reflect
the nature of the act of graffiti (naughty, risky, addictive), a sense of community (fam-
ily, childhood) and a deep rooted relationship with graffiti (release, triumph, misun-
derstood). A few writers referred to the graffiti artefact (letters, art, skill) which was
reflected by the commuters (artistic, colourful, mural). The responses from commut-
ers reflected contradictory perceptions; negative connotations of disgust and vandal-
ism set against more positive connotations such as creative, fascinating and inspiring.
Analysis of the word lists were used by the SSM practitioner and researcher to derive
the potential worldviews shown in Table 1. More work is needed to explore these
views further to develop root definitions of human activity systems.
Edited by S. Kowalski, P. Bednar and I. Bider 77
Proceedings of STPIS'17
Fig. 1. Wall of Words Perceptions of Graffiti from Graffiti Writers
Fig. 2. Wall of Words Perceptions of Graffiti from Commuters
©Copyright held by the author(s) 78
Proceedings of STPIS'17
Table 1. Potential Worldviews of Graffiti
Worldviews of Graffiti Writers on the Worldviews of the Viewing Public on
Act of Graffiti the Writing of Graffiti
Graffiti is: Graffiti:
A secret society which enables an Defaces the built environment;
anonymous expression of alter ego; Undermines social order;
Anti-establishment; Is an imposition of ego;
An expression of alter-ego in a public Confirms the irrepressible free
domain; spirit of human beings;
An expression of rebellion against the Is anti-establishment;
established social order; Is an intriguing insight into an-
A foil against a safe, professional, other dimension;
respectable existence; Expresses creativity.
About creating public art;
An expression of power.
4 Discussion
The results shown in Fig. 2 reflect the contradictory perceptions of graffiti docu-
mented in the literature [e.g. 5, 4]. Through the worldviews in Table 1, the application
of SSM has started to offer an insight into the culture of graffiti as a perceived secret
society which fascinates as well as disgusts commuters.
The validity of the results is dependent on the extent to which open communication
was achieved, therefore needs to be considered. There are four aspects of dialogue to
form the Ideal Speech Situation [16]: inclusiveness, equal rights, no deception and
absence of coercion. This pilot study limited inclusion to a sample of two groups of
participants, the graffiti writers and the commuters (who potentially could also have
included graffiti writers); however, there are other stakeholders in the graffiti culture,
such as the local councils who remove the graffiti, the transport police, spray paint
manufactures, anti-graffiti coating manufacturers, promoters of graffiti. Although a
wide selection of stakeholders is important [19] this can hinder the openness of the
communication such that participants fail to raise issues that they might raise if spe-
cific stakeholders were not present [15]. The secret illegal nature of the subculture
limits access to those embedded in the culture and prevents researchers from facilitat-
ing a meeting of stakeholders, thereby limiting a key benefit of SSM in enabling
stakeholders to understand different views held [15].
Graffiti writers seek recognition from their peers and use their work to create an
“ego-footprint” [3]. The influence of ego on the responses from writers therefore
needs to be considered, particularly as in this pilot study all responses could be seen
by the writers, which may have influenced both their decision to participate and their
response. Ego and power are not restricted to writers, studies such as [15] refer to the
difficulty of using SSM in situations where power restricted participation and influ-
enced the communication. Contextual factors such as status, expertise and responsi-
bility can hinder the ability for equal and open speech [20]. Dialogue is therefore
Edited by S. Kowalski, P. Bednar and I. Bider 79
Proceedings of STPIS'17
always constrained by personal, cultural and political barriers (such as not wanting to
cause offence; maintain status or fear of repercussions).
Graffiti is described as being candid [21] supporting the principle of no deception,
but this omits the inherent nature of the culture to be seen and the desire to provoke
reactions. This is further complicated as graffiti writers adopt multiple identities [22].
Individuals change their behaviour in response to a situation; the use of tactics such as
deception will depend on the context in order to maintain images and achieve goals
[23]. Reponses only reflect the world view of an individual at a specific time in a
specific context [18]. The sincerity of speech will depend on the intentions of the
participants which will be influenced by levels of trust [12]. In the Instagram survey,
respondents were communicating with a trusted source, though ego and the desire for
recognition and inclusion may be considered as a form of coercion. In the public sur-
vey, trust was not pre-established and respondents may have been cautious; however,
the lack of prior (or potential future) relationships between the commuters and the
researcher may have facilitated a more honest response.
5 Limitations and Future Work
This pilot study to explore the challenges of establishing the Ideal Speech Situation
using SSM to gain an understanding of perceptions of graffiti has a number of limita-
tions. First, social media provided a means to gain access to graffiti writers, though
this approach can reduce the commitment of respondents to engage in a meaningful
way [24]. Future work will involve interviews with writers to further explore their
cultural perceptions of graffiti. Second, perceptions of graffiti differ depending on the
type of graffiti [6] but no differentiation of types of graffiti was made in this study.
The commuters were asked about graffiti without a predefined context and their re-
sponses are therefore based on their prior experience of graffiti, which may have been
influenced by the graffiti they had seen most recently in the area. In the next phase of
work, members of the public will be shown examples of graffiti to provide a context
for exploring their perceptions and the factors influencing the perceptions.
Third, respondents were asked for one word to describe their view of graffiti.
Words are an integral element of culture [25] providing initial insight into the differ-
ent cultures of those who write graffiti and those who view it. As words have different
meanings in different cultures [18], trying to understand language from another cul-
ture is problematic as both the cultural context and structure of thinking differs [26].
An appreciation of the lebenswelt (life-world), the lived experience of different cul-
tures, is needed to inform understanding of different perceptions and the root of those
perceptions [26]. Further research to explore the cultural context that informs the
perceptions of graffiti expressed in this research by graffiti writers and the public is
therefore needed.
©Copyright held by the author(s) 80
Proceedings of STPIS'17
6 Conclusions
The results of this pilot study support claims in the current literature that conflicting
perceptions of graffiti are held by the general public. Through the application of SSM
potential world views held by the public and graffiti writers have been derived,
providing insight into the culture of graffiti. A view of graffiti emerges as a ‘secret
society’ that simultaneously fuels intrigue and dismay in the viewing public whilst
fulfilling the needs of belonging and identity of graffiti writers. The application of
SSM has started to facilitate greater understanding of graffiti culture, suggesting that
SSM is a suitable method for exploring perceptions of graffiti.
In turn, exploring graffiti through the lens of SSM has surfaced issues about the ex-
tent to which open and candid communication can be facilitated. Applications of SSM
have the potential to surface different perceptions but are dependent on a rich picture
being developed that is a true and meaningful representation of the situation to those
in the situation. The ability to explore perceptions and the values on which they are
built is challenged as communication is driven and constrained by strong cultural
structures. The ego of graffiti writers striving for recognition from peers influences
the extent to which an Ideal Speech Situation could be attained. Similar constraints of
powerful cultures affecting the application of SSM have been reported [15]. Further
work is needed to develop a means to accommodate the challenges of power to open
conversation, which is at the core of social-technical approaches, by surfacing and
acknowledging the inherent existence of power in socially situated contexts.
7 References
1. Forster AM, Vettese‐Forster S, Borland J (2012) Evaluating the cultural significance of
historic graffiti. Struct Surv 30(1):43-64.
2. Novak D (2015) Photography and classification of information: proposed framework for
graffiti rt. Street Art & Urban Creat J 1(1):13-25.
3. Taylor MF (2012) Addicted to the risk, recognition and respect that the graffiti lifestyle
provides: towards an understanding of the reasons for graffiti engagement. Int J Ment
Health Addict 10(1):54-68.
4. Nigro HC, Císaro SEG (2014) Prediction of citizen satisfaction with local government
based on perceptions of physical disorder. J Place Mgt and Dev 7(2):153-175.
5. Eyck TAT (2016) Justifying graffiti: (re)defining societal codes through orders of worth.
Soc Sci J 53(2):218-225.
6. Austin DM, Sanders C (2007) Graffiti and perceptions of safety: a pilot study using photo-
graphs and survey data. J Crim Justice Pop Cult 14(4):292-316.
7. Cathcart-Keays A (2015) Is urban graffiti a force for good or evil? The Guardian 7 January
2015. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jan/07/urban-graffiti-force-good-evil
8. Hansen S, John FD (2015) ‘This is not a Banksy!’: street art as aesthetic protest. J of Me-
dia & Cult Stud 29(6):898-912.
9. Ferrell J (2009) Hiding in the light: graffiti and the visual. Crim Jus Mat 78(1):23-25.
10. Carrington V (2009) I write, therefore I am: texts in the city. Vis Comm 8(4):409-425.
11. Sawyer S, Jarrahi M (2014) The sociotechnical perspective. In: Tucker A, Topi H (ed) crc
Handbook of computing, 3rd edn. vol 2. Chapman and Hall, New York.
Edited by S. Kowalski, P. Bednar and I. Bider 81
Proceedings of STPIS'17
12. Franco LA (2006) Forms of conversation and problem structuring methods: a conceptual
development. J Oper Res Soc 57(7):813-821.
13. Checkland P (1981) Systems thinking, Systems practice. John Wiley, Chichester.
14. Kirkham S, Cox S (2017) Understanding the contribution and challenges of using soft sys-
tems methodology to facilitate cultural change: a case study in the public sector. Working
Paper¸ Birmingham City University, UK.
15. Proches CNG, Bodhanya S (2015) An application of soft systems methodology in the sug-
ar industry. Int J Qual Meth 14:1-14.
16. Habermas J (2008) Between naturalism and religion: philosophical essays. Polity, Cam-
bridge.
17. Checkland P, Scholes J (1999) Soft systems methodology in action. Wiley, Chichester.
18. Qu SQ & Dumay J (2011) The qualitative research interview. Qual Res Acc & Mgt 15(3):
238-264.
19. Shaw D, Edwards JS & Collier PM (2006) Quid pro quo: reflections on the value of prob-
lem structuring group workshops. J Oper Res Soc 57:939-949.
20. Gillespie A, Reader TW, Cornish F, Campbell C (2014) Beyond ideal speech situations:
adapting to communication asymmetries in healthcare. J Health Psychol 19(1):72-78.
21. Tracy SK (2005) The graffiti method. Austral Midwifery 18(3):22-26.
22. Valle I, Weiss E (2010) Participation in the figured world of graffiti. Teacher Teaching
Educ 26(1):128-135.
23. Mtshelwane D, Nel JA, Brink L (2016) Impression management with Zulu culture: explor-
ing tactics in the work context. SA J Ind Psych 42(1):1-13.
24. Heng MSH, de Moor A (2003) From Habermas’s communicative theory to practice on the
internet. Inf Sys J 13(4):331-352.
25. Dingley S, Shah H, Golder P (2000) Tribes of users and systems developers. Austral J Info
Sys 7(2):20-31.
26. Weber B (2008) J. Habermas and the art of dialogue: the predictability of the ideal speech
situation. Anal Teach 28(1):1-8.
©Copyright held by the author(s) 82