Wednesday 16:00-16:30 Laurie Taylor discusses the latest social science research.
18 April 2007 Repeat 22 April 2007
TAXIS and GPS SURVEILLANCE Laurie Taylor talks to Sociologist Beverley Geesin about her research in Philadelphia, a city where, in a unique trial all taxis are compelled to have satellite navigation. The state authorities call it a ‘technology enhancement project’ promising greater efficiency for passengers.
But what about the social impact upon taxicab drivers themselves, as the satellite system constantly monitors their whereabouts. Is this a case of workplace surveillance going to far? Philadelphia taxicab drivers seem to think so and a new phenomenon of ‘resistance to workplace surveillance’ is now emerging.
DANCERS’ BODIES “Ballet dancers, their bodies and suffering for their art”. Professor Anna Aalten is author of an article entitled Listening to the dancer’s body and she debates with the ballet dancer Deborah Bull whether the motto No Gain Without Pain has problematic associations in the world of pirouettes.
Does the ballet world encourage a dangerous attitude towards physical pain, or does pain help the dancers attune themselves to the limits of their bodies?
Keeping eyes on the road and the driver: the debate of GPS in Philadelphia taxicabs Paper by Beverley Geesin given at the British Sociological Association Annual Conference 2007
Anna Aalten, Professor of Sociology at theDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology of the University of Amsterdam
Listening to Dancer’s Body from Embodying Sociology - Retrospect, Progress and Prospects Edited by: Chris Shilling Series: Sociological Review Monographs (The Sociological Review vol. 55, no. 1: 109-125) ISBN: 9781405167949 ISBN10: 1405167947
Deborah Bull, Dancer, writer and broadcaster, and Creative Director of ROH2 at the Royal Opera House
Totally Fit by Deborah Bull, Torje Eike Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd ISBN-10: 078942990X ISBN-13: 978-0789429902
