The Biometric Imaginary: Standardization & Objectivity in Post-Apartheid Welfare

dc.contributor.authorDonovan, Kevin
dc.date.accessioned2016-05-05T09:20:58Z
dc.date.available2016-05-05T09:20:58Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.date.updated2016-05-05T07:25:17Z
dc.description.abstractStarting in March 2012, the South African government engaged in a massive effort of citizen registration that continued for more than a year. Nearly 19 million social welfare beneficiaries enrolled in a novel biometric identification scheme that uses fingerprints and voice recognition to authenticate social grant recipients. This paper seeks to understand the meaning of biometric technology in post-apartheid South African welfare through a study of the bureaucratic and policy elite's motivation for this undertaking. It suggests that biometric technology was conceived of and implemented as the most recent in a series of institutional, infrastructural, and policy reforms that seek to deliver welfare in a standardized and objective manner. This technopolitical imaginary has contributed to both the strengths and weaknesses of today's centralized welfare state.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationDonovan, K. (2013). <i>The Biometric Imaginary: Standardization & Objectivity in Post-Apartheid Welfare</i> University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Social Science Research(CSSR). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19441en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationDonovan, Kevin <i>The Biometric Imaginary: Standardization & Objectivity in Post-Apartheid Welfare.</i> University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Social Science Research(CSSR), 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19441en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationDonovan, K. P. (2013). The biometric imaginary: standardization & objectivity in post-apartheid welfare. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Working Paper AU - Donovan, Kevin AB - Starting in March 2012, the South African government engaged in a massive effort of citizen registration that continued for more than a year. Nearly 19 million social welfare beneficiaries enrolled in a novel biometric identification scheme that uses fingerprints and voice recognition to authenticate social grant recipients. This paper seeks to understand the meaning of biometric technology in post-apartheid South African welfare through a study of the bureaucratic and policy elite's motivation for this undertaking. It suggests that biometric technology was conceived of and implemented as the most recent in a series of institutional, infrastructural, and policy reforms that seek to deliver welfare in a standardized and objective manner. This technopolitical imaginary has contributed to both the strengths and weaknesses of today's centralized welfare state. DA - 2013 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 T1 - The Biometric Imaginary: Standardization & Objectivity in Post-Apartheid Welfare TI - The Biometric Imaginary: Standardization & Objectivity in Post-Apartheid Welfare UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19441 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/19441
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationDonovan K. The Biometric Imaginary: Standardization & Objectivity in Post-Apartheid Welfare. 2013 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19441en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentCentre for Social Science Research(CSSR)en_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/en_ZA
dc.titleThe Biometric Imaginary: Standardization & Objectivity in Post-Apartheid Welfareen_ZA
dc.typeWorking Paperen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceResearch paperen_ZA
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