AMSTERDAM, February 8, 2012 – A two-part Special Issue of the journal Information Polity (ISSN: 1570-1255) aims to revisit the 'surveillance camera revolution'. It presents contemporary thinking and research on the use of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), and draws out issues relating to governance and public policy.
The special issue consists of two issues: 16:4 and 17:1. 16:4 is available online now, 17.1 will be published in February 2012.
Video surveillance cameras and systems are a defining feature of modern society. Their widespread use is now unsurprising and generally accepted in most countries. In the first part of the special issue (16:4) theoretically informed contributions from a variety of academic disciplines are employed, as are comparative and case studies. The special issue places particular emphasis on studies of video surveillance in different national, institutional, cultural and linguistic settings, as they relate to the provision of these systems in public service and democratic contexts. Whilst current academic debates on CCTV are heavily influenced by Anglophone literatures and examples, this special issue brings together a more international collection of authors and studies, and provides insights into the modalities and developments of CCTV in a range of national and linguistic contexts. This approach elucidates specific national and institutional characteristics, and also highlights broader cross-cultural trends in current CCTV developments and policies.
The academic studies and discourses that have sought to comprehend this 'revolution' have been dominated by perspectives emanating from law, criminology, sociology and geography. Alongside the grand narratives about surveillance in society, have been descriptive studies of specific cases. There has also been a series of ethnographic analyses that have started to show the significance of context and the institutional settings in which cameras are deployed, as well as their importance as explanatory factors in how video surveillance works, is used, and is integrated into the broader polity. The second part of the special issue (17:1) contributes to this tradition of scholarship. But whereas issues of governance and public policy have rarely been explicitly addressed by social scientists, it also aims to fill this gap. It focuses on the ways in which the implementation of cameras and systems -and their operational and technical features- are the product of decisions and policies made in a variety of contexts and by a variety of authorities and interested parties.
About Information Polity
Information Polity - An International Journal of Government and Democracy in the Information Age (http://www.iospress.nl/journal/information-polity/) is dedicated to publishing work from two main sources: academic and practitioner. The journal publishes work from academics that is both of top quality and, equally, of high strategic relevance to practitioners. Secondly, the journal is intent on publishing work undertaken by practitioners – professional, administrative and political – who are actively engaged in the broad arenas of government and democracy, whether at local, regional, national or supra-national levels. The journal is a tangible expression of the awareness that ICT, including the Internet, is of deepening significance for all polities as new forms of government and democratic practice are sought throughout the world. This journal establishes a role for itself in these contexts, seeking both to capture and stimulate debate.
About IOS Press
Commencing its publishing activities in 1987, IOS Press (www.iospress.nl) serves the information needs of scientific and medical communities worldwide. IOS Press now (co-)publishes over 100 international journals and about 130 book titles each year on subjects ranging from computer sciences and mathematics to medicine and the natural sciences.
IOS Press continues its rapid growth, embracing new technologies for the timely dissemination of information. All journals are available electronically and an e-book platform was launched in 2005.
Headquartered in Amsterdam with satellite offices in the USA, Germany, India and China, IOS Press has established several strategic co-publishing initiatives. Notable acquisitions included Delft University Press in 2005 and Millpress Science Publishers in 2008.