A new field of research commonly referred to as 'surveillance studies' has emerged over the past decade. Despite work being done in this area long before September 11, 2001, the acts of terrorism which occurred on that day, and the subsequent response by several states have spawned an explosion of interest in this area. This study looks beyond post-9/11 surveillance practices and technological obsessions, delving into the 'black box' to explore how CCTV surveillance is conducted within the institutions of everyday life. Drawing on ten interviews and covering eight sites that employ CCTV surveillance this research explores how camera operators organize and perceive their work. Of specific interest is developing an understanding of how CCTV operators determine whom and/or what requires their attention.
The researcher interrogates the 'selective gaze' of CCTV operators to reveal that their gaze is frequently directed by information they receive from other sources. This study also corroborates Norris and Armstrong's (1999) suggestion that an individual operator's own values and beliefs play an important factor with regard to their selectivity. In addition to exploring the gaze of CCTV operators as it relates to suspicion, this work also provides an understanding of how surveillance information flows within and through the surveillance sites.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/27513 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Derby, Patrick M |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 202 p. |
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