National identity cards are in the news. While paper ID documents have been used in some countries for a long time, today's rapid growth features high-tech IDs with built-in biometrics and RFID chips. Both long-term trends towards e-Government and the more recent responses to 9/11 have prompted the quest for more stable identity systems. Commercial pressures mix with security rationales to catalyze ID development, aimed at accuracy, efficiency and speed. New ID systems also depend on computerized national registries. Many questions are raised about new IDs but they are often limited by focusing on the cards themselves or on "privacy." Playing the Identity Card shows not only the benefits of how the state can "see" citizens better using these instruments but also the challenges this raises for civil liberties and human rights. ID cards are part of a broader trend towards intensified surveillance and as such are understood very differently according to the history and cultures of the countries concerned.

The Committee's report examines the Government's proposals for the introduction of an identify cards scheme (Cm 6020, ISBN 0101602022) published in November 2003, and the draft Identity Cards Bill (Cm. 6178, ISBN 0101617828) published in April 2004 for consultation. Issues discussed include: a brief history of identity cards in the UK; international developments including EU standards and schemes in Sweden, Germany, Canada and Australia; the aims of the Government's proposals in relation to preventing illegal working, immigration abuse, organised crime, identity fraud and terrorism; opposition to ID cards on grounds of principle and in practical terms; the 'voluntary' stage of the scheme; Parliamentary scrutiny and concern over 'function creep'; security issues; biometrics; and specific clauses of the draft Bill. The Committee draws 91 conclusions and recommendations, and judges overall that an ID scheme could make a significant contribution to tackling crime and terrorism, but its introduction carries clear risks, both for individual citizens and in practical implementation. Concerns are raised over the lack of clarity and definition in key elements of the proposed scheme, as well as the lack of openness in the procurement process. These concerns must be addressed if it is to secure public confidence and to work in practice.

One day, when Krishna wanted to board an aeroplane, he was not allowed to! All because he did not have an identity card. Then his friends Garuda and Sesha took him to meet Lata-kumari in Guwahati, who told him the story of Anasuya and the Ashwini twins, and why Rishi Chavan made a rule that all gods should carry a dhvaja—a flag with each god’s very own symbol. Did Krishna get his identity card so he could ride the aeroplane finally? o Why are identity cards important, even for gods? o How can you tell a Deva from a Manava? o How would you find a particular god in a crowd of gods?

The advance of identification technology-biometrics, identity cards, surveillance, databases, dossiers-threatens privacy, civil liberties, and related human interests. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, demands for identification in the name of security have increased. In this insightful book, Jim Harper takes readers inside identification-a process everyone uses every day but few people have ever thought about. Using stories and examples from movies, television, and classic literature, Harper dissects identification processes and technologies, showing how identification works when it works and how it fails when it fails. Harper exposes the myth that identification can protect against future terrorist attacks. He shows that a U.S. national identification card, created by Congress in the REAL ID Act, is a poor way to secure the country or its citizens. A national ID represents a transfer of power from individuals to institutions, and that transfer threatens liberty, enables identity fraud, and subjects people to unwanted surveillance. Instead of a uniform, government-controlled identification system, Harper calls for a competitive, responsive identification and credentialing industry that meets the mix of consumer demands for privacy, security, anonymity, and accountability. Identification should be a risk-reducing strategy in a social system, Harper concludes, not a rivet to pin humans to governmental or economic machinery.

This report focuses upon the Home Office's identity cards scheme, which uses various technologies including biometrics, information and communication technology (ICT) and smart cards. It explores the ways in which scientific advice, risk and evidence are being managed in relation to technologies that are continually developing. The Home Office has followed good practice by the establishment of advisory committees, the use of Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Gateway Reviews and the development of risk management strategies, along with a policy of gradual implementation. But the Committee has identified weaknesses in the use of scientific advice and evidence. There has been a lack of transparency surrounding the incorporation of scientific advice, the procurement process and the ICT system. Consultations have been limited in scope and their objectives have been unclear. Only some aspects of the scheme such as the biometrics have been determined. The Home Office's decisions demonstrate an inconsistent approach to scientific evidence, and the Committee is concerned that choices regarding biometric technology have preceded trials. With extensive trialling still to take place, the Committee is sceptical about the validity of projected costs. The Committee recommends that the Home Office seeks advice on ICT from senior and experienced professionals and establishes an ICT assurance committee. It is crucial that the Home Office increases clarity and transparency across the programme, not only in problem areas. The programme should also be flexible enough to change should evidence emerge that contradicts existing assumptions.

This publication sets out the responses to the Home Office consultation paper, issued in April 2004 (Cm 6178, ISBN 0101617828), which set out the text of the Governments draft Identity Cards Bill, along with accompanying explanatory notes, regulatory and race equality impact assessments. Responses to the consultation exercise, which ended in July 2004, are given from the general public and a wide variety of organisations, including legal bodies, local government, trade unions, organisations representing ethnic minorities, gypsies and travellers and refugees, police organisations, business organisations, and the Information Commissioner. The document also sets out the findings from other research, focus groups and external events undertaken to gauge public attitudes towards the Governments proposals for identify cards. The Governments draft Bill will now be reviewed in the light of these consultation responses, as well as the recommendations made by the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee in their report (HCP 130-I, session 2003-04, ISBN 0215019059) published in July 2004.

Paul Kapadia must take over the work of his scientist father when the man goes missing and the nanodust he invented for peaceful purposes falls into evil hands. Pursued by the CIA and a power-hungry colleague of his dad's, Paul enlists a deck of cards to help him rescue his little brother and try to save the world from a nuclear attack.

The concept of identity has become widespread within the social and behavioral sciences, cutting across disciplines from psychiatry and psychology to political science and sociology. Introduced more than fifty years ago, identity theory is a social psychological theory that attempts to understand person's identities, their sources in interaction and society, their processes of operation, and their consequences for interaction and society from a sociological perspective. In this fully updated second edition of Identity Theory, Peter J. Burke and Jan E. Stets expand and refine their discussion of identity theory. Each chapter has been significantly revised and chapters have been added to address new theoretical developments and empirical research in the field. They cover identity characteristics, the processes and outcomes of identity verification, and the operation of identities to detail in particular the role of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive processes. In addition, Burke and Stets explore the multiple identities individuals hold from their multiple positions in society and organizations as well as the multiple identities activated by many people interacting in groups and organizations. Written in an accessible style, this revised edition of Identity Theory continues to make the full range of this powerful theory understandable to readers at all levels.

Without social identity there is no society, because without such frameworks of similarity and difference people would be unable to relate to each other in a consistent and meaningful fashion. Richard Jenkins provides a clearly-written accessible introduction to this key concept for the study of society. Arguing that social identity must be seen as both individual and collective, Jenkins shows how the work of major theorists from Mead to Bourdieu can illuminate the experience of identity in everyday life. Major concepts covered include: * embodiment * social groups and social categories * difference and community * categorisation and resistance