The Social Impact of 'New Surveillance' Technologies: An Ethnographic Study of the Surveilled
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Hull
Department Name: Social Sciences
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Michael McCahill (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Leman-Langlois, Stephane
(2012)
Technocrime: Policing and Surveillance
McCahill M
(2015)
Theorizing Surveillance in the UK Crime Control Field
in Media and Communication
McCahill M
(2013)
The surveillance of 'prolific' offenders: Beyond 'docile bodies'
in Punishment & Society
Michael McCahill (author)
(1900)
Representing the surveilled : media representation and political discourse in three UK newspapers
Michael McCahill (author)
(1900)
The social impact of surveillance : subjective impacts and behavioural responses
Michael McCahill (author)
(2010)
The social impact of surveillance in three UK schools : 'angels', 'devils' and 'teen mums'
in Surveillance and society
| Description | The central aim of this project was to find out how people experience and respond to being monitored by 'new surveillance' technologies such as CCTV cameras and computers. Our methods included a 'media analysis' of three UK newspapers and interviews and observations with six different groups: 'school children', 'political protesters', 'offenders', 'unemployed people', 'migrants', and 'police officers'. We asked these people a) Do they think they are 'watched' or have 'personal information' collected about them? b) Does this have any impact on their lives? c) How do they 'feel' about being 'surveyed'? d) How do they respond to being 'surveyed'? Our findings are as follows. First, all groups were aware of the existence of a range of 'new surveillance' technologies and reported examples of being 'surveyed'. Second, in 'public spaces' ('streets' and 'shopping malls') 'marginalised' groups (e.g. 'working class school children', 'persistent offenders') reported more examples of being 'surveyed' than relatively 'privileged' groups (e.g. 'middle class protesters' and 'private school children'). Third, the experience of surveillance was expressed in 'negative' terms (e.g. 'privacy concerns', 'worry', 'intimidation', and 'paranoia') and 'positive' terms (e.g. 'protection', 'identity affirming' and 'excitement'), although 'marginalised' groups were more likely to experience surveillance systems as 'discriminatory' and 'stigmatising'. Fourth, the 'social impacts' of surveillance included restricted access to employment, spaces and services. Finally, the ability to 'negotiate', 'avoid' or 'resist' surveillance was highly dependent upon the social connections, financial resources, and skills possessed by those on the receiving end of surveillance. Overall, we found that the experience and response to surveillance was shaped by, and to some extent reinforced, existing 'social positions' and 'identities'. |
| Exploitation Route | Firstly, the research raises a number of issues in relation to the privatization of public space and the use of new surveillance technologies and practices for 'exclusionary' purposes. Secondly, by showing how the experience and response to surveillance is shaped by, and to some extent reinforces, existing 'social positions' and 'identities', it lends support to those (Information Commissioner's Report, 2006) who have called for policy makers to consider the wider 'social' and 'collective' dimensions of surveillance as opposed to the dominant concern with 'privacy' which frames the debate in 'narrow' and 'individualistic' terms by viewing surveillance as 'an intrusion of individual space'. Thirdly, many of these issues are currently being discussed in workshop-style seminars held in the community where participants are provided beforehand with a user-friendly four-page summary of the key findings to inform discussion and to receive informed feedback. The first of our 'Social Impact of New Surveillance Technologies' Workshops was held with 'global migrants' at the University of Hull, 27 June 2011. |
| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Security and Diplomacy |
| Description | The scientific impact of the project can be summarised as follows. Firstly, the project adds to our empirical understanding of a neglected area by utilising a range of novel methodological techniques to provide a detailed 'micro-sociological' account of the experience and response to surveillance. These techniques include: a) a media analysis of 16,972 articles published in three UK newspapers between January 1 2000 and January 1 2010 to examine media representations of 'data subjects'; b) 90 interviews with six different groups to explore subjective experiences and responses to surveillance; and c) observational research of 'surveillance encounters' in a variety of settings, including political demonstrations, shopping malls, probation centres, private homes, and public streets. Secondly, the research makes some important connections between a wide range of disciplinary areas including 'surveillance studies', 'childhood studies', 'media studies', 'criminal justice' and 'migration' studies. Thirdly, the research makes a contribution to theoretical debates by interweaving surveillance theory, interactionist perspectives on the 'politics of everyday resistance' and the work of Pierre Bourdieu to show how the rise of 'new surveillance' technologies is bound up with the reproduction of privilege and disadvantage in modern society. Fourthly, the project has created new research capacity in a number of areas, including potential collaborative research on a number of surveillance-related topics with internationally recognised scholars in Europe and Hong Kong. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2008 |
| Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Security and Diplomacy |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | CCTV turning schools into 'prisons' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Schools are being turned into "prisons" as children are subjected to increasingly sophisticated surveillance and security measures, according to a report. Daily Telegraph |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| URL | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7874818/CCTV-turning-schools-into-prisons.html |
| Description | ESRC Festival of Social Science: '21st Century Lives: Local and Global Stories' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was part of a showcase of social science research from the University of Hull held at the Ferens Art Gallery, Victoria Square, Hull on Saturday 10 November 2012. College teachers that attended the event requested a university visit for pupils |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Global Migrants Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | A workshop held with 'global migrants' at the University of Hull, 27 June 2011. Global migrants shared experiences of surveillance |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | The social impact of surveillance in schools |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | This interview in the University of Hull Magazine led to further interviews with the national press |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www2.hull.ac.uk/news_and_events-1/news_archive/2010_news_archive/jul/socialimpactschoolsurvei... |