The social uses of DNA in the political realm or how politics constructs DNA technology in the fight against crime

@article{citeulike:2770420, abstract = {Research has shown that the adoption and integration of new technologies in professional environments and daily lives depend less on their objective characteristics and “real” performance than on representations and hopes built into those technologies. This paper will focus on DNA technology and the meanings and expectations invested into it by actors who participated in the debate surrounding two bills on DNA identification in Canada. Through this process, we will uncover the symbolic conditions that allowed for the introduction of the National DNA Databank as a crime-fighting tool: first, the minimization of the power of the substance and the idealization of the DNA databank potentialities; second, the scientification and professionalization of the police through DNA; and third, the reconciliation of Canada's two identities, that of the criminal justice innovator and human rights defender. Those are some of the key symbolic elements that made the creation and expansion of the DNA databank possible.}, author = {Robert, Dominique and Dufresne, Martin }, citeulike-article-id = {2770420}, doi = {10.1080/14636770701843675}, journal = {New Genetics and Society}, keywords = {crime, dna, ndnad, representation, symbolic}, number = {1}, pages = {69--82}, posted-at = {2008-05-08 10:20:21}, priority = {2}, publisher = {Routledge}, title = {The social uses of DNA in the political realm or how politics constructs DNA technology in the fight against crime}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14636770701843675}, volume = {27}, year = {2008} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:2770420 TI - The social uses of DNA in the political realm or how politics constructs DNA technology in the fight against crime JF - New Genetics and Society VL - 27 IS - 1 SP - 69 EP - 82 PB - Routledge N2 - Research has shown that the adoption and integration of new technologies in professional environments and daily lives depend less on their objective characteristics and “real” performance than on representations and hopes built into those technologies. This paper will focus on DNA technology and the meanings and expectations invested into it by actors who participated in the debate surrounding two bills on DNA identification in Canada. Through this process, we will uncover the symbolic conditions that allowed for the introduction of the National DNA Databank as a crime-fighting tool: first, the minimization of the power of the substance and the idealization of the DNA databank potentialities; second, the scientification and professionalization of the police through DNA; and third, the reconciliation of Canada's two identities, that of the criminal justice innovator and human rights defender. Those are some of the key symbolic elements that made the creation and expansion of the DNA databank possible. KW - crime KW - dna KW - ndnad KW - representation KW - symbolic AU - Robert, Dominique AU - Dufresne, Martin PY - 2008/// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14636770701843675 ER -