DOCSLIB.ORG

Is Surveillance Really That Bad Tegan Steane, Sociology

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Is Surveillance Really That Bad Tegan Steane, Sociology Is Surveillance Really That Bad Tegan Steane, Sociology According to Jeremy Bentham “Surveillance is a disciplinary power involves regulation through new mode of obtaining power of mind over visibility (Koskela, 2003). In summary within mind in a quantity hitherto without example” the panopticon, the few watch the many. (Mattelart 2010: 7). By looking at the surveillance of celebrities, this critical Mathieson offered a parallel concept, the reflection will look at to what extent synopticon, where he takes into account surveillance is desired and if so, why celebrities electronic media within the development of want to be watched. Additionally within this new technologies alongside surveillance. critical reflection I will be discussing the Mathieson suggests that we live in a ‘viewer concepts of the panopticon, synopticon, society’, which is not a society where only the celebrity surveillance and the development of few watch the many, but it is simultaneously a new technologies to examine how power is mass media society where the many watch the inverted within the synopticon in comparison few (Lyon, 2007). As the watched are being so to the panopticon. Bentham formed the within a mediated society, the watched tend to concept of the panopticon, which to describe is be celebrities, media users keep famous people an architectural device including a of the global central point, the tower. This gives media the prison wardens a full view of under the entire circle of the building in order to watch over prisoners and surveillance. as a consequence discipline them (Mattelart, With the growth of new communication 2010). The panopticon imposes increased technologies, in particular the Internet and the control through the normalisation of the gaze, use of social networks, both the watched and which produces self‐control and disciplines the watchers become addicted to it (Koese et people to fit into a capitalist society al., 2010). Growing technologies has allowed us (Mathiesen, 1997). The accelerating to watch celebrities every move, from what development of the mass media coincides with they wear, places they go to, what they eat for the growth of the panopticon; the panopticon dinner. Gary T. Marx rightly reminds us and the media structure are parallel in that however, that just because a surveillance they are potential means of power. Power is system has been installed, do not mean people represented in individuals and groups who are cannot resist or challenge it (Lyon, 2007). represented in the mass media (Mathiesen, 1997). The most recognised panoptic principle Celebrities voluntarily put themselves under is the meaning of visibility; the basic nature of surveillance when they make a twitter profile. 15 The most followed twitter accounts are those 2014). In simple terms, celebrities are of pop stars, including Katy Perry, Lady Gaga commodities who are bought and sold by their and Justin Bieber all with more than 30 million fans. Either the celebrity is consumed directly followers each (Phua, 2014). A ‘follower’ and via concert tickets, sometimes they create the the nature of fandom is much more complex object to be consumed e.g. album, or they are than what it seems from the outset, the an endorser for an item of consumption e.g. relationship between the celebrity and their clothing lines (Piazza, 2011). fan is an active and productive association. The prominence of new technologies has enhanced In a postmodern society, focus has shifted fan culture even further; it has also enhanced towards controlling consumption and to visibility of the fans and their ability to express achieve this, controlling the thoughts and their devotion to their icon, through sending actions of consumers. Consequently, the focus them a tweet (Barron, 2014). Fans can be seen of capitalism has gone from exploiting workers as passive and easy to manipulate as they to exploiting consumers (Ritzer, 1997). When a consume various texts and products derived celebrity mentions a product or brand in a from popular culture. There are however fans tweet, their endorsement is potentially who are arguably actively and knowingly broadcasted to millions of people. Fans are bestowing upon popular cultures, they consumers of celebrities and celebrities can consume objects of popular culture and use exploit their fans by selling them more them to express a sense of products, not only their lives/identity (Barron, making them richer 2014). Research has however but also giving them argued that social a status. The tactic to networking sites like twitter, use celebrity which is unique in the sense endorsers is that it that it is from the perspective helps to achieve of the celebrity, means that what Baudrillard they still hold control and (1993, cited in Dant, power. For example, the 1996) called sign celebrity can choose who they follow back, who value onto they send tweets to, etc. When we analyse the commodities. If meanings are attached to a way twitter works in this context, the concept product, they are more likely to be consumed, if of the panopticon is inverted in the synopticon somebody’s favourite celebrity is using a so that it is the ones being watched who product then that product then has an attached maintain the power (Barron, 2014). value to that person (Gabriel, 1995). Part of Furthermore, celebrities have a superior social successful branding is determining what status, however this status could be seen as a followers admire about a celebrity and then the direct result of the capitalist economic system, brand will match products to that attribute. An as being watched can result in wealth through example that demonstrates this is L’Oreal’s use advertising and consumption. The more of Cheryl Fernandez‐Versini; she became the followers a celebrity has, the more companies endorser for their hair products in 2009. will want them to endorse their products, as a During September 2009, sales rose from wider audience will see it. Meaning the position 10,000 to 250,000 by the end of November of a celebrity is being a product of the culture (Mortimer, 2010). Research on celebrity industry, and being conveyed through endorsers and their followers concluded that technologies of mass communication (Barron, the more followers a celebrity had the more attractive and trustworthy they were perceived 16 to be. This leads us to question what this means surveillance can be alarmist however within for the society we live in if popularity and popular culture we see people deliberately attractiveness are the dominating traits to putting themselves under surveillance (Lyon, maintain (Phua, 2014). 2007). In recent years a new species of celebrities has evolved, people are increasingly It has been suggested that consumption is our becoming famous for the sake of being famous new religion; George Ritzer coined the term for example the Kardashian family (Piazza, cathedral of consumption in relation to 2011). The Kardashian’s malls/shopping centres. Ritzer actually have their own (2011) argues we have moved from TV programme where purchasing for necessity to they perform the labour worshipping the availability to of having their lives purchase. Consumption then gives recorded for money, us enchantment in a disenchanted similar to when the society. Similarly just like we Osbourne family did this consume from the influences of the leads me to think do people we worship‐ celebrities, so people want to be does a celebrity culture give us watched? On the something to believe in? By Kardashian programme, consuming celebrity culture, it gives Kim was flaunting the a way of connecting to other people fact she was the number in the fan base, or as they may see it one Google search that their religion. If this is how we really week, her sister then think, that the ‘best’ people to tell us asked her if she knew what to buy, and who we should be, then what she was also second on dumbest people list for does this really say about us? A celebrity New York post and her response was “as long culture may give people something to believe as they are talking about me honey” (McClain, in, but how realistic and attainable are these 2014). beliefs particularly when they cause pressure on young girls to look a certain way. For We seem to be in a society where people want example, celebrity culture in partnership with to become famous so they can fulfil their desire advertising has influenced an increase in to be watched by the many. In this context, it is radical body transformations, a recent example the watched who are the powerful and who being buttock implants popularised by Nicki gain control by being watched thus power is Minaj (Barron, 2014). With these ‘role models’ inverted in the synopticon, in comparison to portraying the body as a ‘plastic’ instrument in the panopticon. The more someone is watched, a consumer market through new technologies, the higher the status they gain and therefore there is no surprise the demands for cosmetic the richer they become through being surgery have risen. If we take Cher as another consumed by those doing the watching. example, cosmetic surgeries have enabled her Surveillance within celebrity culture is to look younger; this only reinforces the belief therefore important for them to gain power. In that the ageing female body is not sexy (Barron, today’s consumer society, aesthetic 2014). appreciation is a key factor in influencing what people consume. Thus, it is usually attractive, It would be naïve to think of surveillance and high status celebrities used for advertising popular culture as purely undesirable with commodities. So in conclusion, celebrity anxious and paranoid response. We know culture reflects a growing desire to be 17 surveyed, which opposes the panoptic Electronic Word Of Mouth On Consumers understanding that sees surveillance as Source Credibility Perception, Buying Intention imposed on us and where the watched are And Social Identification With Celebrities.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • I Facebook and Panopticism: Healthy Curiosity Or Stalking?
    Facebook and Panopticism: Healthy Curiosity or Stalking? A thesis presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Mary Catherine Kennedy November 2009 © 2009. Mary Catherine Kennedy. All Rights Reserved. i This thesis titled Facebook and Panopticism: Healthy Curiosity or Stalking? by MARY CATHERINE KENNEDY has been approved for the School of Media Arts and Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Karen E. Riggs Professor of Media Arts and Studies Gregory J. Shepherd Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii ABSTRACT KENNEDY, MARY C., M.A., November 2009, Telecommunications Facebook and Panopticism: Healthy Curiosity or Stalking? (108 pp.) Director of Thesis: Karen E. Riggs This study deepens existing knowledge concerning social networking sites, with specific interest in the social networking site Facebook and the phenomenon, “Facebook stalking”. By providing insights into lesser-known studies concerning user curiosity and surveillance online, the present research reveals that the terms ‘monitoring’ and ‘keeping up with’ or ‘keeping in touch with’ are most commonly used when referring to social searches within social networks; only when asked to think about surveillance in terms of stalking did interview participants refer to it as such. The present study aims to discover Facebook users’ perception of their friends’ disclosure while delving into the idea of “Facebook stalking”, specifically with regard to how users define it. Facebook’s evolution and prominence in the public sphere is dependent upon user satisfaction with and general understanding of the functionality of social networking websites. A discussion of these issues is beneficial to understanding how Facebook is used as a modern-day panopticon.
    [Show full text]
  • The End of Forgetting: Strategic Agency Beyond the Panopticon
    1 Running Head: THE END OF FORGETTING Title The end of forgetting: Strategic agency beyond the Panopticon Authors Jonah Bossewitch Communications Doctoral Program, Columbia University, USA Aram Sinnreich School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University, USA Abstract The rapid explosion of information technologies in recent years has contributed to a substantive change in the social dimensions of information sharing, and is forcing us to revise substantially our old assumptions regarding the knowledge/power dynamic. In this article, we discuss a range of strategic information-management options available to individuals and institutions in the networked society, and contrast these ‘blueprints’ to Foucault’s well-known Panopticon model. We organize these observations and analyses within a new conceptual framework based on the geometry of ‘information flux,’ or the premise that the net flow of information between an individual and a network is as relevant to power dynamics as the nature or volume of that information. Based on this geometrical model, we aim to develop a lexicon for the design, description, and critique of socio-technical systems. Keywords surveillance, privacy, transparency, sousveillance, panopticon, memory, new media, software studies, identity, quantified self Author Bios Jonah Bossewitch is a doctoral candidate in communications at Columbia University and a Technical Architect at the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning. He writes about surveillance and madness, and is investigating the politics of memory at the intersection of corruption in psychiatry and the pharmaceutical industry. He blogs at http://alchemicalmusings.org. Aram Sinnreich is an Assistant Professor at the Rutgers University School of Communication and Information.
    [Show full text]
  • Contemporary Irish Perspectives Kenny Doyle1
    Surveillance Privacy and Technology: 13Contemporary Irish Perspectives Kenny Doyle1 Abstract urveillance is typically envisaged as the act of a person being physically Swatched, their movements and behaviour monitored in a given space and time. While this type of watching undoubtedly takes place, there is also the more subtle and pervasive monitoring of people through the data they accumulate in their daily lives. Contemporary Irish society is mediated by digital technology; the daily life of the typical person creates a mass of data which can offer many telling clues as to the type of life they lead. This form of surveillance is called dataveillance (Clarke, 1988). It is unclear however exactly how much citizens know about these practices and how they negotiate with and respond to surveillance systems. This study aimed -by conducting focused interviews with Irish citizens – to explore the levels of knowledge regarding surveillance and privacy and to ascertain the importance placed on these concepts. Using Harper’s (2011) typology of subject positions, a further aim was to uncover any discursive repertoires used when defining or speaking about these concepts. It was found that widely used conceptions of privacy and surveillance are inadequate to describe contemporary reality; and that forms of sociality have changed with the widespread use of information and communication technologies (ICT). Keywords: surveillance, technology, privacy, Ireland, dataveillance the internet, social networking, ICT. 1. Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Ireland; [email protected] How to cite this chapter: Doyle, K. (2013). Surveillance Privacy and Technology: Contemporary Irish Perspectives. In C. Fowley, C. English, & S. Thouësny (Eds.), Internet Research, Theory, and Practice: Perspectives from Ireland (pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Control and Surveillance in the Society of Consumers
    International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 3(6) pp. 180-188, June 2011 Available online http://www.academicjournals.org/ijsa ISSN 2006-988x ©2011 Academic Journals Review Social control and surveillance in the society of consumers Massimo Ragnedda Dipartimento di Economia Istituzioni e Società (DEIS), Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Piazza Conte di Moriana 8, 07100 Sassari, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +39 079229654. Fax: +39 079229660 Accepted January 21, 2011 The new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) introduced a highly automated and much cheaper systematic observation of personal data. ICTs advance the intensification and the extension of surveillance, such that an expanding quantity of data can now be collected, tabulated and cross- referenced more rapidly and more accurately than old paper files. This process contributes to the building a "new electronic cage" constraining the individual, on the basis of his e-profile and data- matching. Especially two agents of surveillance are interested in collecting and using such data: government authorities and private corporations. Massive stores of personal data held on ordinary people are now vital to both public services and private business purposes. The new electronic cage is more all-encompassing and complete, being able to produce a complete profile of citizens and consumers in real time. Both public and private information agencies rely on one another for creating and modelling the profiles of good citizens/consumers who, by definition, are well integrated into social life, exhibiting predictable behaviour that conforms to the general needs of contemporary consumer/ oriented social relations.
    [Show full text]
  • Your Post Has Been Removed
    Frederik Stjernfelt & Anne Mette Lauritzen YOUR POST HAS BEEN REMOVED Tech Giants and Freedom of Speech Your Post has been Removed Frederik Stjernfelt Anne Mette Lauritzen Your Post has been Removed Tech Giants and Freedom of Speech Frederik Stjernfelt Anne Mette Lauritzen Humanomics Center, Center for Information and Communication/AAU Bubble Studies Aalborg University University of Copenhagen Copenhagen København S, København SV, København, Denmark København, Denmark ISBN 978-3-030-25967-9 ISBN 978-3-030-25968-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25968-6 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2020. This book is an open access publication. Open Access This book is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this book are included in the book’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the book’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permit- ted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
    [Show full text]
  • Koolhaas' Revision of Foucault's Panopticon
    Koolhaas’ revision of foucault’s panopticon; or, how architecture and philosophy just met ANDRÉ PATRÃO 1. To ask about the interactions between philosophy and architecture Architecture and philosophy have engaged with one other, directly, marginally, or just simply implicitly, in the works and discourse of academics, practitioners, and critics, most evidently in architectural modernism and postmodernism, but most intensively in the reactions to both. Philosophy has been avidly sought by architects to help question, disclose reveal, systematize, express, and expand the understanding of architectural works, the world upon which they intervene, the discipline itself, and the role of its practitioners and theoreticians. Architecture, in turn, has grown within philosophy from a passing example or an illustrative metaphor of some other matter, or a generally misfit artform within an aesthetic theory, into a topic in its own right—as testified by the recent development of a ‘philosophy of architecture.’ The particularly acute multiplication and radicalization of interactions between philosophy and architecture throughout the 20th century produced a number of well-known cases in which an author, work, school, movement, or approach from one discipline had a direct decisive effect the other. Famously, Norberg-Schulz relied heavily on Martin Heidegger’s philosophical writings to elaborate his own distinctive architectural phenomenological isparchitecture.com theories. Kenneth Frampton, also well-read in the German philosopher’s writings, was never shy about the effect Hannah Arendt exerted on him. At times philosophers and architects collaborated, such as in 1985 when Bernard Tschumi invited Jacques Derrida and Peter Eisenman to design a garden pavilion in Parc de la Villette (1982-1998), or when discussions between Jean Baudrillard and Jean Nouvel were published as the book The Singular Objects of Architecture (2002).
    [Show full text]
  • Which Side Are You On? a New Panopticon Vs
    Which Side Are You On? A New Panopticon vs. Privacy Miltiadis Kandias, Lilian Mitrou, Vasilis Stavrou and Dimitris Gritzalis Information Security & Critical Infrastructure Protection Research Laboratory, Dept. of Informatics, Athens University of Economics & Business, 76 Patission Ave., GR-10434, Athens, Greece Keywords: Awareness, Panopticon, Privacy, Social Media, Surveillance, User Profiling, YouTube. Abstract: Social media and Web 2.0 have enabled internet users to contribute online content, which may be crawled and utilized for a variety of reasons, from personalized advertising to behaviour prediction/profiling. One negative case scenario is the political affiliation profiling. Our hypothesis is that this scenario is nowadays realistic, applicable to social media, and violates civil rights, privacy and freedom. To demonstrate this, we developed a horror story, i.e., a Panopticon method, in order to reveal this threat and contribute in raising the social awareness over it. The Panopticon relies on data/opinion mining techniques; hence it classifies comments, videos and playlists, collected from the popular social medium YouTube. Afterwards, it aggre- gates these classifications in order to decide over the users’ political affiliation. The experimental test case of the Panopticon is an extensive Greek community of YouTube users. In order to demonstrate our case, we performed an extensive graph theoretical and content analysis of the collected dataset and show how and what kind of personal data (e.g. political attitude) can be derived via data mining on publicly available YouTube data. Then, we provide the reader with an analysis of the legal means that are available today, to a citizen or a society as a whole, so as to effectively be prevented from such a threat.
    [Show full text]
  • The Multicultural Panopticon
    The Multicultural Panopticon: Paradoxes of unity, identity, and equality in Canada Gerald P. Kernerman A thesis subrnitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in partial filfiIIment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Programme in Political Science York University Toronto, Ontario National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1*1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Canada Canada ro~rlilevotre rélérence Our lYe Notre refdrence The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or seli reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in rnicroform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronïc formats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retaîns ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fkom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. The MuIticulturaI Panopticon: Paradoxes of Unity, ldentity and Equality in Canada by Gerald P. Kememan a dissertation subrnitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of York University in partial fulfillrnent of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY O Permission has been granted to the LIBRARY OF YORK UNIVERSITY to lend or seIl copies of this dissertation, to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA to microfilm this dissertation and to lend or seIl copies of the film, and to UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS to publish an abstract of this dissertation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Digital Challenges to Democracy: Social Media and New Information Paradigms
    The Digital Challenges to Democracy: Social Media and New Information Paradigms Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Exact Humanities by Research by Neelesh Agrawal 201556015 [email protected] International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad - 500 032, INDIA September 2020 Copyright c Neelesh Agrawal, 2020 All Rights Reserved International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad, India CERTIFICATE It is certified that the work contained in this thesis, titled “The Digital Challenges to Democracy: Social Media and New Information Paradigms” by Neelesh Agrawal, has been carried out under my supervision and is not submitted elsewhere for a degree. Date Advisor: Dr Radhika Krishnan To Mom and Pop Acknowledgments This thesis benefits from many valuable suggestions and inspirations. The most valuable support was from my research advisor, Dr Radhika Krishnan. Her zeal and hard-working attitude was infectious. Each time I met her and discussed ideas or progress on my research work, I would not only get her inputs, but also a lot of motivation. I am extremely grateful for her support throughout my academic life. My friends and “co-researchers” at IIIT; Navya, Lata, Sarigama, Vishnu, Siddhartha, Namit, Tanmay, and Ekansh were wonderful company to be in, keeping me entertained, inspired, and providing the (occasional) useful distractions. My co-passengers on the CHD train including my co-advisee Devansh Manu, Kriti, Saumya, Srujai, Bera and Pravallika were also exciting company to have. My acknowledgement also extends to some of my senior friends at IIIT; Shreedhar, Shantanu, Ameya and Ghosh, who were instrumental in influencing my approach towards academic work.
    [Show full text]
  • THE SPATIAL DIMENSIONS of CONTROL in RESTRICTED SETTINGS a THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Division of Graduate Studies B
    THE SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF CONTROL IN RESTRICTED SETTINGS A THESIS Presented to The Faculty of the Division of Graduate Studies By Frieda D. Peatross In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture Georgia Institute of Technology June, 1994 THE SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF CONTROL IN RESTRICTED SETTINGS Approved? >7 VIOHR/Peponis, Chairman Craig Zi Ronald Lewcock Date Approved by Chairman II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 OWE A SPECIAL THANKS TO THOSE WHO HELPED ME IN THE RESEARCH AND WRITING OF THIS DISSERTATION, AS WELL AS IN THE TIME SURROUNDING IT. MOST OF ALL, I THANK JOHN PEPONIS FOR INTRODUCING ME TO THE SOCIAL LOGIC OF SPACE. HE OPENED FOR ME A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT BUILDINGS AND A MORE INTUITIVE MEANS OF THINKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE-SPACE PARADIGM. HE HAS BEEN A CHALLENGING GUIDE, MENTOR, AND COLLABORATOR DURING MY YEARS AT GEORGIA TECH, CONSISTENT IN HIS SUPPORT AND RELENTLESS IN HIS PURSUIT OF PERFECTION. HE TRULY GAVE ME "QUALITY" TIME. I ALSO THANK CRAIG ZIMRING FOR HIS INSIGHTFUL COMMENTS ON THE DRAFTS OF THIS THESIS, AND FOR HIS SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE IN MY STUDIES AND MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE. HE CONTINUOUSLY OFFERS FRESH INSIGHT INTO THE PRAGMATIC ASPECTS OF MY WORK, FOR WHICH I AM GRATEFUL. I AM INDEBTED ALSO TO RON LEWCOCK FOR OPENING MY EYES TO THE WORLD OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY AND FOR CHALLENGING ME TO READ "CRITICALLY" THE WRITINGS IN THIS FIELD. HIS COMMENTS ON MY CONCLUSIONS WERE PARTICULARLY HELPFUL. MY THANKS ALSO TO BILL HILLIER AND MARK GOLDMAN, MY EXTERNAL EXAMINERS, FOR THEIR CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS ON THE FINAL DRAFT OF THIS DISSERTATION.
    [Show full text]
  • The Effects of Virtual Panopticism
    Southeastern University FireScholars Selected Honors Theses Spring 2021 THE EFFECTS OF VIRTUAL PANOPTICISM Emma E. East Southeastern University - Lakeland Follow this and additional works at: https://firescholars.seu.edu/honors Part of the Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Science and Technology Studies Commons, and the Social Psychology Commons Recommended Citation East, Emma E., "THE EFFECTS OF VIRTUAL PANOPTICISM" (2021). Selected Honors Theses. 140. https://firescholars.seu.edu/honors/140 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by FireScholars. It has been accepted for inclusion in Selected Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of FireScholars. For more information, please contact [email protected]. i The Effects of Virtual Panopticism by Emma E. East Submitted to the School of Honors Committee in partial fulfillment of the requirements for University Honors Scholars Southeastern University 2021 ii Copyright by Emma Elizabeth East 2021 iii Dedication To Lee East iv Acknowledgements Thank you, Professor Dempster, for the countless hours you poured into this research. You helped me accomplish tasks that were impossible to complete alone. I am honored to study under your teaching and mentorship. To my parents, Dan and Michelle East, and my sister, Sarah East, thank you for keeping me balanced and protecting my dreams. v Abstract As technology further integrates into everyday life, the effects of technological advancement surface. The research contained in this thesis places philosopher Michel Foucault’s ideas of the panoptic, discipline, punishment and a carceral society in a virtual reality thus creating a virtual panopticon. Adapting Foucault’s theories to the present-day technological climate allows researchers to begin understanding the why behind humans’ interactions with various forms of technology (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethical Issues in Using Twitter for Public Health Surveillance and Research: Developing a Taxonomy of Ethical Concepts from the Research Literature
    JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH Conway Short Paper Ethical Issues in Using Twitter for Public Health Surveillance and Research: Developing a Taxonomy of Ethical Concepts From the Research Literature Mike Conway, PhD University of California San Diego, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, La Jolla, CA, United States Corresponding Author: Mike Conway, PhD University of California San Diego Department of Family and Preventive Medicine 9500 Gilman Drive # 0905 La Jolla, CA, 92093 United States Phone: 1 858 8224478 Fax: 1 858 3001099 Email: [email protected] Abstract Background: The rise of social media and microblogging platforms in recent years, in conjunction with the development of techniques for the processing and analysis of ªbig dataº, has provided significant opportunities for public health surveillance using user-generated content. However, relatively little attention has been focused on developing ethically appropriate approaches to working with these new data sources. Objective: Based on a review of the literature, this study seeks to develop a taxonomy of public health surveillance-related ethical concepts that emerge when using Twitter data, with a view to: (1) explicitly identifying a set of potential ethical issues and concerns that may arise when researchers work with Twitter data, and (2) providing a starting point for the formation of a set of best practices for public health surveillance through the development of an empirically derived taxonomy of ethical concepts. Methods: We searched Medline, Compendex, PsycINFO, and the Philosopher's Index using a set of keywords selected to identify Twitter-related research papers that reference ethical concepts. Our initial set of queries identified 342 references across the four bibliographic databases.
    [Show full text]