Developing qualitative criteria for assessing the impacts and acceptability of border control technology

Abstract

Recent European proposals to broaden the use of automated border control (ABC) systems for non-European citizens are expected to lead to a significant increase in such technology. This Master's thesis aims to develop a set of qualitative criteria that can be used for assessing the impacts and social acceptability of ABC technology. While quantitative assessments of items such as cost are relatively easy to ascertain, the qualitative aspects of how a technology impacts on social participation or the privacy of an individual are much more difficult to assess. Taking into account a number of key findings from previous EU-level projects, along with the needs of the current research, a number of key areas of investigation were outlined. These included making the criteria more relevant to the current research, reducing the number of criteria, supporting the criteria with academic research and dividing the criteria into categories. Furthermore using a common scale of measurement, eliminating overlapping criteria where possible, and assessing whether some criteria could be emphasised as more important than others and assigned a minimum threshold were also areas to investigate.

The research utilises data from previous EU-level projects, along with other important literature to define a set of qualitative assessment criteria that can be utilised in combination with quantitative means such as Cost-Benefit Analysis and Risk Reduction Assessments. Using Q Methodology, a qualitative research method that allows results to be a combination of quantified data and qualitative interpretation, these criteria were then converted to statements and assessed by 25 stakeholders. An online Q Methodology programme was utilised to allow the stakeholders to rank the statements, on a 9-point scale of perceived importance whereby -4 equalled most unimportant and +4 most important.

The results of the research are thus two-fold. Firstly, they indicate that using such a method to develop a criteria set is feasible, even though it is difficult to address all of the areas of investigation satisfactorily. Secondly, the results of the empirical side of the research reveal three main groupings of stakeholder perceptions, each of which focuses on slightly different aspects of the given criteria. The findings emphasize a need for involving a wide range of stakeholders in any assessment of technology. Furthermore, the stakeholder views identified here are shown to be relevant for understanding the process of performing qualitative assessments of ABC technology. By combining these qualitative methods with quantitative ones, an interactive approach to technology assessment has the potential to bring wide benefits.