The biometric imaginary : standardization & objectivity in post-apartheid welfare

dc.contributor.authorDonovan, Kevin P.
dc.coverage.spatialSouth Africaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-10-01T13:58:16Z
dc.date.available2014-10-01T13:58:16Z
dc.date.issued2013-12-22
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, Kevin P. (2013). <i>The biometric imaginary : standardization & objectivity in post-apartheid welfare</i> (CSSR Working Paper Series ; 335). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Social Survey Unit. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7908en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationDonovan, Kevin P. <i>The biometric imaginary : standardization & objectivity in post-apartheid welfare.</i> CSSR Working Paper Series ; 335. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Social Survey Unit, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7908en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationDonovan, K.P. 2014. The Biometric Imaginary: Standardization & Objectivity in Post-Apartheid Welfare. CSSR Working Paper No. 335. Cape Town: Centre for Social Science Research, University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.isbn978-1-77011-320-6en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Working Paper AU - Donovan, Kevin P. 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 - 2013-12-22 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Biometric identification KW - Fingerprints--Identification LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 SM - 978-1-77011-320-6 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/11427/7908 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/7908
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationDonovan Kevin P. The biometric imaginary : standardization & objectivity in post-apartheid welfare. 2013 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7908en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentSocial Survey Uniten_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.relation.ispartofseriesCSSR Working Paper Series ; 335en_ZA
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.subjectBiometric identificationen_ZA
dc.subjectFingerprints--Identificationen_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.resourceWorking paperen_ZA
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