This problem means that the approach is of little use to governments or leisure providers who wish to predict demand for services. If this approach is limited to Western Europe since the Middle Ages then research into development of the civilising effect in other countries and prior to the Middle Ages would be useful. This could give additional evidence and shows other areas for further research which may be useful to understanding. She also accuses the civilising process of glossing over contradictory forces and fragmented patterns of social development. Contemporary artwork is an area which could cause dispute as to whether or not it proves or disproves the civilising process.
Many modern artists push the boundaries of acceptable media in their artwork.
Artists such as Danien Hurst, Antony-Noel Kelly and Marc Quinn who use bodily waste, fluids, human or animal parts in their work could be seen as contradicting or proving Elias s theory. The fact that artists are using such media for paintings or sculptures could be seen as uncivilised and no different to more historical practices such as the impaling of the heads of executed victims in public places. Those sympathetic to the figurational approach may say that our tolerance, or our intolerance, of these practices proves that there has been a change in attitude towards what is acceptable in art. The influence of the figurational approach to the sociology of sport and leisure varies according to the perspective of the commentator. Critics of figurationalism, seek to minimise its importance depending on their own sociological perspective.