The wonderful world of data protection – an academic odyssey

First of all, let me make one thing perfectly clear: I’m pro data protection. Point blank. Data protection is an important aspect of privacy, and I consider privacy to be one of the most important values of contemporary societies. Hell, I have even pointed out the detrimental potential of data collection, transfer, and processing in several articles on discrimination and trusted traveler programs. But right now, data protection is driving me nuts. How come? We might call this a chain of unfortunate circumstances, but data protection has successfully blocked my research for a couple months now. 

Speculate this!

I'm reading this right now... has anyone read this and would like to share their thoughts? (Here's some very little info on the book on the Duke University Press website)

RGS 2014 - a surveillance recap

It’s been a while since the last conference recap – so here we go again! Surveillance studies has been a multi-disciplinary field from the outset, and particularly geographers have investigated the production and transformation of space through techniques of surveillance and control.

Teaching resources

The STS & Surveillance Repository is slowly accumulating a useful list of teaching resources about surveillance for academic and non-academic education. Our latest addition: the SurPRISE documentary films. Please take a look at our list, and let us know if anything is missing!

CfP: 3rd International LAVITS Symposium, Rio

With the nuisance of the world cup gone, one might finally decide to go to beautiful Rio again - so here's that matching call for that: 3rd International LAVITS Symposium on "Surveillance, Tecnopolitics, Territories", 13-15 May 2015

"International Wave at Surveillance Day", 16 August

Alright, the blog has been rather quiet (not to say: abandoned) over the past couple months. For me personally, this was due to wrapping up one research project, starting two new grants and making the final push of writing my PhD - hopefully that's a good enough excuse! :) Nonetheless, here we are back on track, and with a neat little note: apparently, on 16 August, it's the 4th "International Wave at Surveillance Day!"

So let's not discuss the fact that most of the greeting actions likely won't ever seen by a human operator (but vanish in automated algorithmic video analytics instead), and just smile at a CCTV camera - turning the fact of being under surveillance into a playful pretense of an ol' times panopticon. Whatever the rationale behind this might be (I'm still trying to figure it out...), here's the announcement!

Springer Handbook on Internet Research

Just in case your writing schedule is not yet stacked to the maximum - here's another call for authors! Springer is looking to put together a second volume of their "International Handbook of Internet Research" and they need contributors. Here's the full details:

After the remarkable success of the first International Handbook of Internet Research (2010), Springer has contracted with its editors to produce a second volume. This new volume will be arranged in three sections, that address one of three different aspects of internet research: foundations, futures, and critiques. Each of these meta-themes will have its own section of the new handbook.