A frame or a framework is a bound space that encloses or enables activity. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

T he word “frame” immediately evokes the image of either a supportive or a limiting structure. Let it be a picture or spectacle frame, a research design, framing someone with false accusations, framing questions for a quiz or a data collection frame, a frame creates a reference around or within which a person can think, act and function.

A frame or a framework is a bound space that encloses or enables activity. It could be mental, conceptual, social, physical or economic. Our everyday life is bound by the framework of our daily routine. It constitutes the things we must do to survive and the little things which we may or may not do, to pepper our lives with spontaneity. Virginia Woolf says, “Rigid, the skeleton of habit alone upholds the human frame.”

Spectacle frames have become as much a part of the accessories that make up a person’s overall appearance, as pictures and frames are to the décor of a room. The varieties in both cases are bewildering! Spectacle frames — rimless, thick, thin, metal, plastic, coloured or studded — create a “look” and generate stereotypes! We have the Gandhi chashma, the rimless MBA variety, thick scholarly glasses, funky colourful frames for teenagers, branded ones for the fashion conscious and online spectacle melas for you and me!

Picture frames can be single, double, thick, thin, traditional and modernistic. They either accentuate the picture or ruin the impact altogether. Unlike the olden days, when a frame was an imperative to exhibit the picture, hanging up a picture is now possible with just two sheets of glass and a strong cord. Be that as it may, the frame enables us to focus on the artwork, appreciate the colours and the depth within the bound space.

A person’s mental framework is perhaps the most important tool in his or her arsenal. Alesha Dixon advises us that if you have a positive frame of mind, you can manifest positive things in your life. As we navigate the “snakes and ladders” framework of life, a hearty laugh may tame the snake and make the ladder easy to climb. Victor Hugo recommends that, “Each man should frame life so that at some future hour, fact and his dreaming meet.”

Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle and Alfred Hitchcock were masters of mystery within a well-defined frame and the latter would appear in a frame on the wall in many of his movies! If Mr. X in Hitchcock’s story decided to frame Mr. Y and settle scores, the word frame used as a verb, once again put someone in a spot — bound by his circumstances!

Photographers, cinematographers and even painters have used the framing technique to create depth and draw the interest of the audience towards a three-dimensional picture in a two-dimensional frame. This is called the “frame in a frame” technique to create a more interesting composition for the shot.

Thinking, planning and working within a pre-defined framework is an integral part of current-day project management. The timeframe of a project is designed to promote efficiency and effectiveness. Communication technology inter alia has added enormously to the pace of change in our lives. American historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, however, feels that while science and technology may revolutionise our lives, it is our memory, tradition and myth that frame our response.

A research design is a framework for thought and inquiry, within which research is planned and executed efficiently. Sample frames enable relevant data collection. Carl von Clausewitz says that principles and rules are intended to provide a thinking man with a frame of reference. We start with a conceptual framework which we validate with findings and results, and derive a conclusion which enables decision making. A framework enables us to write a structured essay or answer an interview question lucidly. “Even when you are talking to someone,” says Deyth Banger in his book How To Talk To Anyone, “control the frame of your discussion”. A frame of reference will enable you to speak more cogently, logically and effectively. The process of framing questions for a quiz or examination or for research is also designed to test the level of absorption of knowledge and relevance of research.

The social support system is a framework which provides physical, financial and emotional support for all of us. Quite like the scaffolding of a building are support groups, family and friends alike, who reassure us that in the ups and downs of life, you are not alone. It is this framework which makes life and its uncertainties less scary. Thomas S. Monson says, “Choose your friends with caution; plan your future with purpose, and frame your life with faith.”

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Printable version | Oct 9, 2022 12:03:33 am | https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/frames-of-reference/article65967512.ece