During last semester’s design studies our assignments focused on secondary research methods whereas this semester focused on primary. For our final assignment for this semester we were asked to look back on what we learned in the 1st semester paying particular attention to the essay we wrote and applying the primary research skills we learned from this semester to see if there was anything that we could have done differently to improve on the research already carried out.
My essay last year was based on biometric systems and how they are used to combat i.d. fraud. I looked at both sides of the argument and read various journals and books on biometric systems and i.d. fraud.(Cohn L jul 2009, Jain A K, Pankanti S Sep 2008, Lyon D 2009, Wagner P Apr-June 99)
To be honest the more I read up on the subject the more I realised how serious a problem i.d fraud really is. Not that I wasn’t already aware that i.d. fraud is a major problem but I think it’s one of these things that you tend not to think about very often or maybe we deliberately try not to think about it, or possibly we never really think that it’ll ever happen to us. Whatever way you look at it, it is a serious problem that continues to grow and although technology is advancing at a rapid rate the people who are steeling people’s identities and committing i.d fraud only seem to be a step behind.
Whilst doing research for this essay I found some of the proposed biometric systems that could come into everyday life in the future quite scary and in my opinion somewhat an invasion of personal privacy. I know these systems are supposed to be in place to protect us but the thought of a database holding a massive amount of information on everyone is for me disconcerting and also poses the question who exactly and how would this database be regulated, who would do it, and very importantly who would be in control? This brings on the further question of who would have access to it, why would they have access and what would they do with the information once they had it?
Kind of makes you wonder what ever happened to anonymity?
It would be interesting to see what other people think about this, whether they have similar concerns over these particular biometric systems as I do or whether they think that they would be a good thing and why?
So by using the primary research methods I learnt this semester how would I improve on the research I did for last semester’s essay? Well, first of all I think I would go out and interview people after carefully considering the questions I might ask and how to put the questions as it would be pointless to appear subjective on the matter. The answers given would hopefully indicate their opinion on this subject without me steering them towards a reply. This may even allow me to discover whether or not they are actually aware of biometric systems, because not everyone will be. I’d also hope to hear what they think might improve this ever growing problem. I’d also ask them if they have experience of encountering biometric systems and if so does this happen on a regular basis, i.e. at work.
I think it would be really interesting to find out everyday peoples’ views on this. To see if they are actually aware of how major this problem is.
I suspect the results might be quite surprising.
It would also be a good idea to interview someone who either works with biometric systems or someone who works in some area of fraud prevention, although this might be tricky to organise as they may not be able or allowed to freely talk about their work. However if it was possibly to interview someone in this sector I would ask them questions that I raised from my previous research for example what is the future for biometric systems? Will they become more common place in our society? How or who would regulate them and how secure is the information they hold? Have they conducted their own research into how the general public feel about biometric systems? If so what kind of feedback did they receive?
I may also do an experiment like show people a list of various biometric systems and ask them which ones they think are already in use or which ones do they recognise or do they even recognise any of them. I think this would give me a better understanding of how aware people are of these technologies.
The observation skills we learned this semester would also be helpful in seeing how people react to using biometric systems. Again I think this might prove tricky to achieve as most biometric systems are used in places where you really need to be authorized to be there i.e airports, government offices or maybe science labs. So possibly a combination of the secondary research I did last semester, looking at various books and journals, and the interview methods I learnt this semester would on the whole provide a more productive outcome even although it is not primary in nature.
Out of the different research methods we explored this semester I definitely think that for this particular topic (biometric systems/i.d. fraud) interviewing people would be the best way of gaining more insight into how the general public feel about this topic and also what they know. It would require careful consideration before the interviews took place and careful handling during the interviews.
I may also conduct a poll (this would again necessitate very careful compilation and fairly large numbers to have a meaningful result) to see how many people have actually experienced i.d. fraud, whether it be stolen bank details, passports or national insurance numbers etc and ask them how they dealt with the situation. Was it rectified, was it rectified quickly, how, if at all it affected them on a personal level and what measures they take now to insure that it doesn’t happen again. I would also need to conduct this poll in a variety of different areas to see if there were any places where this problem is particularly prominent or even where there is little or no problem.
It would also allow me to see if there is any particular type of i.d. fraud that stands out more than the others and by asking a variety of different age groups this would allow me to see if there is a particular age group that is targeted more than others. I might also try and interview an equal amount of men and women just to see if more women than men or visa versa have experienced i.d. fraud in some shape or form.
Bibliography
Cohn, L (jul 2009), What you need to know about identity theft, Kiplinger’s personal finance, Business source premier Jain A K, Pankanti, S (Sep 2008)
Beyond Fingerprinting, Scientific American, Business Source PremierLyon D,(2009),
Identifying Citizens i.d cards as surveillance, Polity PressWagner, P (Apr-June 99) Technology for anonymity: Names by other nyms, Information society, Taylor and Francis
Studio Brief essay
For the second part of my design studies essay I was asked to choose a studio brief I tackled this year. Then by applying the primary and secondary research methods I learnt this year during my design studies module discuss how would I utilise these techniques during the research and design process if I was to do this brief again?
So far our studio briefs have been quite diverse. We started off with the vessel project where we had to design and make some kind of vessel for holding things. It could be absolutely anything and was left up to your interpretation as long as it was a vessel. I made a small copper teapot, or should I say treepot, based on the trunk of a tree with the feet of the teapot being the roots. The second brief was the wire project where we had to design and make an item of jewellery incorporating wire in an interesting way. For this project I designed and made two brooches taking design inspiration from Miro paintings as his paintings are full of bold shapes and more importantly are very linear.
The third studio brief was the catwalk project where we were asked to design and make a flamboyant colourful piece, based on a culture or period of time. It’s main reason for being was to be effective on a catwalk as a fashion statement. I decided to make a headpiece and based it on African culture. I chose African culture because of the bright colours they use and because they adorn their bodies in interesting ways. The project we are working on at the moment is stone setting. We had to design and make an item based around symbolism and incorporate an unusual and interesting stone setting into the design. Out of all the projects I’ve found this the most interesting, maybe because stone setting is an art form in itself and most times can be very tricky, requiring much care, taking a great amount of time and much patience.
To be honest I already apply secondary research skills to my briefs. If I take the stone setting brief for instance I started off researching in the library and then online looking at the different qualities of gemstones. I then went on to look at gemstone hardness, how they are formed, different types of cuts and settings. If I was to apply primary research at this stage I think I would have interviewed a stone setter to get more insight into the various different ways of setting stones. This would also have helped me to decide which stone setting or possibly stone would be most suited to my final design.
I then moved on to researching different symbolism through the ages and the ways gemstones and jewellery have been used. I focused my research on ring symbolism looking at various and different types of rings through the ages. This again involved using secondary research looking at a wide range of books and websites. I then moved on to looking more closely at wedding rings, paying particular attention to Jewish betrothal rings, how they came about, their role in ceremonies and how they have been used over the decades. Again I used secondary research at this stage in the form of a mind map to help generate ideas of what marriage might signify to the people involved. Possibly I could have also at this stage conducted interviews to see what marriage actually means to people.
The primary research methods could also have came into play after coming up with a few design ideas. By showing a number of people these ideas and asking them to choose the one which they find the most attractive or the most appropriate for this particular brief.
I think the primary and secondary research methods I learnt in design studies this year would actually be more use when it comes to designing for the public rather than researching a brief. Here it would be imperative to use various primary and secondary research techniques.
For example if a client commissions me to make an item of jewellery I would start off by asking them what exactly they are looking for i.e is it a ring, a bracelet, pendant etc. Then I would asked them what they are in to with careful questioning to try and gain more insight into what design ideas I might come up with which might hit the spot and gain real approval.
Sometimes when designing for people it can be hard to get to the bottom of what they are really like just by asking them questions. Depending on the person people can sometimes seem almost like a closed book so I think this is where the observational skills come into play. For example I would observe their body language, dress sense and their reaction to certain questions I ask. All of these would help me gather a better picture of what they might really be looking for. I would also show them examples of my previous work and gauge their reactions to the pictures I show them. Paying particular attention to the items of jewellery that they find the most attractive and asking them what is it about these items that they like.
Personally I already think I use these techniques in my research process to help me with the design process although possibly before now I wasn’t completely aware that I was doing this. It had just sort of developed and I found it worked for me. So I think the one thing this semester has done for me is that it’s made me more aware of these techniques and how I use them within my discipline and I also feel a sense of pleasure that intuitively I was already sensing the need to do all this to achieve a satisfactory client outcome.
Showing posts with label biometric systems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biometric systems. Show all posts
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Design Studies Assignment 4
Well here's my first attempt at an essay in about 8 years I think. Scary to even think that.So I can only hope that I've done a half decent job.
This essay was part of our design studies module and so far this is the only assignment that I can really see the point in. Can't say I've been all that enthused by the other ones.
This essay relates to a previous assignment where I had to come up with a product that would help store and keep safe personal information. My essay focuses mainly on I.d fraud, i.d cards and biometric systems. Doing the research for this essay has been quite an eye opener and to be honest I'll never really look at i.d in the same way again.
Karen Smith
Design Studies Assignment 4
The journal I chose to look at more in depth for this assignment is Jain A K, Pankanti, S (Sep 2008) Beyond Fingerprinting, Scientific American, Business Source Premier
This journal examines biometric systems such as fingerprint, face, voice and iris scanning and how these systems are used in combating identity theft. It also looks at how efficient biometric systems are stating that they are far more difficult to abuse than more traditional methods such as using passwords and ID cards.
According to the authors biometrics is not a new phenomenon. In fact it has been around since 1879 when a French police inspector called Alphonse Bertillon discovered that taking body measurements, such as arm and foot lengths, of inmates were helpful when identifying repeat offenders. In 1896 it was also discovered that every fingerprint is unique to the person which prompted Scotland Yard to start collecting fingerprints from every crime scene.
Although this journal is very much in favour of biometric systems it does however touch on the fact that they are actually not 100% accurate and points out that ‘Experts generally agree that neither the false accept rate nor the false reject rate of a biometric authentication system should exceed 0.1 percent’ Jain A K, Pankanti, S (Sep 2008). However it was discovered during an evaluation from 2003-2006 by the National Institute of Standards Technology that ‘error rates for systems based on the fingerprint, face, iris and voice - another commonly used biometric trait - all exceeded the 0.1 percent level’ Jain A K, Pankanti, S (Sep 2008).
People in general have many concerns about biometric systems and I am inclined to agree these concerns do seem to be justified.
This journal does talk about how these systems are more secure method of protection than ID cards and passwords but it also states that there is no iron clad solution as yet to making ID theft a thing of the past. However the authors do think that it’s only a matter of time before a system is developed that will not only be secure but will regulate itself thus eliminating the concern over who actually has access to these files.
My impression of biometric systems is mixed. On one hand they seem a good thing and on the other not so good. I find it quite scary that ID theft is becoming more and more common which leaves society with the constant need to be constantly developing new methods to try and tackle this major problem. Anyone can be affected and now it can and does happen almost anywhere.
It’s also scary that no matter what new technology has been developed to combat this problem there always seems to be some clever person somewhere who is able to hack into and abuse this information for their own end and profit. It kind of makes you wonder whether or not the battle of ID theft will eventually be won or even can be won. This also leads to the question will identity no longer truly exist?
The book I chose to look at more in depth was David Lyon’s ‘Identifying Citizens, ID cards and Surveillance.’
This book examines how today’s society is constantly striving to establish a national id system and also the current status of identity systems and looks in great detail at surveillance systems - CCTV, biometrics, intelligent transportation systems, smart cards, on-line profiling and examines what is the potential future for biometrics in this day and age. It covers various angles such as historical, technical, political and sociological.
Lyons believes identification is the first step towards surveillance and points out ‘New ID card systems are a species of surveillance but they also share a key characteristic of much contemporary surveillance in that they facilitate forms of social sorting. This is a large-scale and far-reaching trend, enabled in fine-grain form by the use of searchable databases and associated techniques such as data mining, characterized by the classifying and profiling of groups in order to provide different levels of treatment, conditions or services to groups that have thus been distinguished from one another.’ Lyon D (2009) p41
In other words the intention of using ID cards is not only to prevent identity fraud but also to provide us with a better, more personalised service in our daily lives such as personal tastes, places we like to shop, better deals etc.
The rise of e-government, the 9/11 atrocities and global mobility has caused an upsurge in concerns over identity theft thus creating a need for a more secure form of ID system. However Lyons does conclude that the current system of ID needs a total re-think and a total re-think which will become a long term process.
I found this book really interesting especially the part about ID cards not only serving as purely for ID purposes but also this whole notion about companies being able to tap into your personal information i.e. spending habits in order to offer you better deals. Lyons seems very for ID surveillance and I do agree that the world we live in with all its current problems begs some form of identification for safety reasons alone. However I also admit to finding this a bit scary and in my comments earlier about the journal ‘Beyond Fingerprinting’ I felt it necessary to ask whatever happened to anonymity? Surely it should be a person’s right whether they would want to be part of this or not? Surely individual choice should remain an important part of any society or is this becoming unattainable in the current and developing situation?
This journal and book were very similar in the fact that all the authors were very much in favour for some kind of identity biometric system. Both also agree that there are inconsistencies with these systems and as yet they are not 100% reliable.
The other journals I previously referenced were also all in favour of biometric systems. In fact during my research I only came across one journal,(Wagner, P (Apr-June 99) Technology for anonymity: names by other nyms, Information society, Taylor and Francis), that focused more on the negatives of biometrics. The author of this journal was in favour of anonymity and pointed out how the systems that are currently in place to protect it are not entirely reliable. Most of them however did admit that people have major concerns with the biometric and before they can really be fully integrated into society there has to be a lot more research done into this area.
Another of the journals I looked at (Cohn, L (jul 2009) What you need to know about identity theft, Kiplinger’s personal finance, business source premier) looked at how to prevent identity theft in other ways such as always shredding personal documents with a cross shredder. This journal also gave statistical information on how much ID theft costs the consumer each year.
I always knew that ID fraud was a major and ever growing problem. However doing this research has opened my eyes even more to how wide scale and enormous ID theft really is. It’s also brought to light the pros and cons of biometric systems and raises a lot of questions which I’m sure the majority of people would have. I suspect they would ask if biometric systems can ever be 100% secure and reliable? Or will biometrics inadvertently open the door further for fraudsters to assume other people identities more readily?
It also makes you wonder what is wrong with society when we have to go to such lengths just to protect our identity?
Although we live in a technology obsessed society and technology is evolving at a rapid speed when it comes to ID fraud and biometric systems there needs to be more research done before it can be successfully used in everyday life.
Like David Lyon the author of the book ‘Identifying Citizens’ mentioned this will be a long term process. I also have concerns over how much information these identity systems should hold for example holding information on spending habits and personal tastes seems a bit extreme to me.
The main problem seems to be as technology advances so does the skills of the hackers so it poses the question whether biometrics will ever really be completely safe from corruption?
From my reading I am inclined to accept that society is currently placed between a rock and a hard place with a need to ensure safety, protect personal finance and information against fraud, misuse, etc. plus the problem of ever more personal invasion which will almost certainly be resisted by many people.
Bibliography
Cohn, L (jul 2009), What you need to know about identity theft, Kiplinger’s personal finance, Business source premier Jain A K, Pankanti, S (Sep 2008)
Beyond Fingerprinting, Scientific American, Business Source PremierLyon D,(2009),
Identifying Citizens i.d cards as surveillance, Polity PressWagner, P (Apr-June 99) Technology for anonymity: Names by other nyms, Information society, Taylor and Francis
This essay was part of our design studies module and so far this is the only assignment that I can really see the point in. Can't say I've been all that enthused by the other ones.
This essay relates to a previous assignment where I had to come up with a product that would help store and keep safe personal information. My essay focuses mainly on I.d fraud, i.d cards and biometric systems. Doing the research for this essay has been quite an eye opener and to be honest I'll never really look at i.d in the same way again.
Karen Smith
Design Studies Assignment 4
The journal I chose to look at more in depth for this assignment is Jain A K, Pankanti, S (Sep 2008) Beyond Fingerprinting, Scientific American, Business Source Premier
This journal examines biometric systems such as fingerprint, face, voice and iris scanning and how these systems are used in combating identity theft. It also looks at how efficient biometric systems are stating that they are far more difficult to abuse than more traditional methods such as using passwords and ID cards.
According to the authors biometrics is not a new phenomenon. In fact it has been around since 1879 when a French police inspector called Alphonse Bertillon discovered that taking body measurements, such as arm and foot lengths, of inmates were helpful when identifying repeat offenders. In 1896 it was also discovered that every fingerprint is unique to the person which prompted Scotland Yard to start collecting fingerprints from every crime scene.
Although this journal is very much in favour of biometric systems it does however touch on the fact that they are actually not 100% accurate and points out that ‘Experts generally agree that neither the false accept rate nor the false reject rate of a biometric authentication system should exceed 0.1 percent’ Jain A K, Pankanti, S (Sep 2008). However it was discovered during an evaluation from 2003-2006 by the National Institute of Standards Technology that ‘error rates for systems based on the fingerprint, face, iris and voice - another commonly used biometric trait - all exceeded the 0.1 percent level’ Jain A K, Pankanti, S (Sep 2008).
People in general have many concerns about biometric systems and I am inclined to agree these concerns do seem to be justified.
This journal does talk about how these systems are more secure method of protection than ID cards and passwords but it also states that there is no iron clad solution as yet to making ID theft a thing of the past. However the authors do think that it’s only a matter of time before a system is developed that will not only be secure but will regulate itself thus eliminating the concern over who actually has access to these files.
My impression of biometric systems is mixed. On one hand they seem a good thing and on the other not so good. I find it quite scary that ID theft is becoming more and more common which leaves society with the constant need to be constantly developing new methods to try and tackle this major problem. Anyone can be affected and now it can and does happen almost anywhere.
It’s also scary that no matter what new technology has been developed to combat this problem there always seems to be some clever person somewhere who is able to hack into and abuse this information for their own end and profit. It kind of makes you wonder whether or not the battle of ID theft will eventually be won or even can be won. This also leads to the question will identity no longer truly exist?
The book I chose to look at more in depth was David Lyon’s ‘Identifying Citizens, ID cards and Surveillance.’
This book examines how today’s society is constantly striving to establish a national id system and also the current status of identity systems and looks in great detail at surveillance systems - CCTV, biometrics, intelligent transportation systems, smart cards, on-line profiling and examines what is the potential future for biometrics in this day and age. It covers various angles such as historical, technical, political and sociological.
Lyons believes identification is the first step towards surveillance and points out ‘New ID card systems are a species of surveillance but they also share a key characteristic of much contemporary surveillance in that they facilitate forms of social sorting. This is a large-scale and far-reaching trend, enabled in fine-grain form by the use of searchable databases and associated techniques such as data mining, characterized by the classifying and profiling of groups in order to provide different levels of treatment, conditions or services to groups that have thus been distinguished from one another.’ Lyon D (2009) p41
In other words the intention of using ID cards is not only to prevent identity fraud but also to provide us with a better, more personalised service in our daily lives such as personal tastes, places we like to shop, better deals etc.
The rise of e-government, the 9/11 atrocities and global mobility has caused an upsurge in concerns over identity theft thus creating a need for a more secure form of ID system. However Lyons does conclude that the current system of ID needs a total re-think and a total re-think which will become a long term process.
I found this book really interesting especially the part about ID cards not only serving as purely for ID purposes but also this whole notion about companies being able to tap into your personal information i.e. spending habits in order to offer you better deals. Lyons seems very for ID surveillance and I do agree that the world we live in with all its current problems begs some form of identification for safety reasons alone. However I also admit to finding this a bit scary and in my comments earlier about the journal ‘Beyond Fingerprinting’ I felt it necessary to ask whatever happened to anonymity? Surely it should be a person’s right whether they would want to be part of this or not? Surely individual choice should remain an important part of any society or is this becoming unattainable in the current and developing situation?
This journal and book were very similar in the fact that all the authors were very much in favour for some kind of identity biometric system. Both also agree that there are inconsistencies with these systems and as yet they are not 100% reliable.
The other journals I previously referenced were also all in favour of biometric systems. In fact during my research I only came across one journal,(Wagner, P (Apr-June 99) Technology for anonymity: names by other nyms, Information society, Taylor and Francis), that focused more on the negatives of biometrics. The author of this journal was in favour of anonymity and pointed out how the systems that are currently in place to protect it are not entirely reliable. Most of them however did admit that people have major concerns with the biometric and before they can really be fully integrated into society there has to be a lot more research done into this area.
Another of the journals I looked at (Cohn, L (jul 2009) What you need to know about identity theft, Kiplinger’s personal finance, business source premier) looked at how to prevent identity theft in other ways such as always shredding personal documents with a cross shredder. This journal also gave statistical information on how much ID theft costs the consumer each year.
I always knew that ID fraud was a major and ever growing problem. However doing this research has opened my eyes even more to how wide scale and enormous ID theft really is. It’s also brought to light the pros and cons of biometric systems and raises a lot of questions which I’m sure the majority of people would have. I suspect they would ask if biometric systems can ever be 100% secure and reliable? Or will biometrics inadvertently open the door further for fraudsters to assume other people identities more readily?
It also makes you wonder what is wrong with society when we have to go to such lengths just to protect our identity?
Although we live in a technology obsessed society and technology is evolving at a rapid speed when it comes to ID fraud and biometric systems there needs to be more research done before it can be successfully used in everyday life.
Like David Lyon the author of the book ‘Identifying Citizens’ mentioned this will be a long term process. I also have concerns over how much information these identity systems should hold for example holding information on spending habits and personal tastes seems a bit extreme to me.
The main problem seems to be as technology advances so does the skills of the hackers so it poses the question whether biometrics will ever really be completely safe from corruption?
From my reading I am inclined to accept that society is currently placed between a rock and a hard place with a need to ensure safety, protect personal finance and information against fraud, misuse, etc. plus the problem of ever more personal invasion which will almost certainly be resisted by many people.
Bibliography
Cohn, L (jul 2009), What you need to know about identity theft, Kiplinger’s personal finance, Business source premier Jain A K, Pankanti, S (Sep 2008)
Beyond Fingerprinting, Scientific American, Business Source PremierLyon D,(2009),
Identifying Citizens i.d cards as surveillance, Polity PressWagner, P (Apr-June 99) Technology for anonymity: Names by other nyms, Information society, Taylor and Francis
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
