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Biometric Security - Ethnographer's Dilemma

Laurie Taylor explores the history of biometrics and discusses the moral dilemmas of modern medical sociology.

Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works.

There is a revolution happening in security and the human body is at the centre of new ways of monitoring and controlling the way we live. From fingerprinting to retinal scans. Laurie Taylor explores the way that the history of biometrics has changed the relationship between the citizen and the state. What are the new measures that are due to be introduced? How are new technological developments likely to change the way we live? Laurie talks to anthropologist Mark Maguire about changes which mean that the body becomes our passport and asks whether the so-called 'securitization of identity' will change the way we think of ourselves.

Plus, is it possible for a social scientist to always remain uninvolved in the world he is studying? When does it become impossible to keep your mouth shut? Laurie talks to two medical sociologists, Charles Bosk and Clare Williams, about the ethical questions they have had to face.

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30 minutes

Last on

Mon 20 Apr 2009 00:15

Broadcasts

  • Wed 15 Apr 2009 16:00
  • Mon 20 Apr 2009 00:15

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