Electronic Monitoring Technology Research Articles

The threat of electronic performance monitoring: Exploring the role of leader-member exchange on employee privacy invasion

Advances in digitalization have led employers to increasingly adopt electronic performance monitoring technologies that allow supervisors to observe, analyze and evaluate not only employees' work activities, but also their cognitive and behavioral data. This has significant implications for employees' perceptions of privacy, and, in turn, for their basic needs, intrinsic motivation, and turnover intentions. However, the extent of perceiving privacy invasion may also depend on the relationship with those individuals for whom information is shared. This relationship should play a pivotal role in defining and negotiating boundaries and establishing comfort levels in information sharing. Building on communication privacy management theory and self-determination theory, we examined in three studies (two experiments and one field study) how the relationship with the supervisor (LMX) shapes the associations between (a) supervisor's use of EPM, its perceived invasiveness, and privacy invasion (Study 1, 2, 3), and (b) privacy invasion and needs, intrinsic motivation, and turnover intentions (Study 3). Specifically, we theorized that a high LMX that builds on trust should mitigate privacy invasion from invasive electronic performance monitoring. In addition, we hypothesized that high LMX can help employees cope with privacy invasion and consequently reduce need thwarting, decreased intrinsic motivation, and turnover intention. While we found some support for the role of LMX in the emergence of privacy invasion from invasive EPM, our data did not reveal that a high LMX reduces need thwarting and related outcomes due to perceived privacy invasion. This research provides timely insights with a multimethod approach into if and how the social context shapes unintended consequences from using electronic monitoring.

Digitalization and alternative marketing channels in the Uruguayan fruit and vegetable chain

This study aims to delve into the potentials and difficulties of digitalization on the real commercial experience of some of the fundamental actors in the Uruguayan fruit and vegetable chain (producers, merchants, intermediaries, consumers, and private and public technicians). For that, these social actors and their projects were described and consulted in search of appreciations or points of view regarding technical innovations, barriers to commercialization, family labor, public policies, pressure for land use, and other complex problems. Through a “snowball sampling”, carrying out semi-structured questionnaires for more than 4 months from INIA Las Brujas, we obtained information mainly from actors in the south and some points in the northwest and east-central Uruguay. Opinions come from the complexity of people in their different roles, with the expected emergence of tensions and contradictions at different moments of the participatory-action research. We could appreciate that the Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolution are having a significant impact in the Uruguayan fruit and vegetable chain. Digital technology is providing new tools for marketing such as: electronic commerce platforms, mobile applications, traceability and monitoring technologies for data analysis, etc. Support in this transformation comes both from private initiatives and public projects, some of which are outlined. We discuss some causes of digitalization disparities and some solutions, debating the role of each one of the represented actors and their possibilities of change.

Research on electronic optical monitoring technology and system design for vacuum electron beam welding process

Electron beam welding technology is increasingly used in industrial manufacturing due to its high power density and the purity of welded joints. In vacuum environments, traditional optical and machine vision monitoring methods are susceptible to contamination by metal vapors, which hinders the monitoring effect. Due to the limitations of optical monitoring methods, electronic optical imaging technology is a new alternative monitoring method that has been introduced into the electron beam processing in recent years, but the complexity of the industrial electron beam welding environment makes it relatively less studied in the field of electron beam welding. In this study, a YAG scintillator detector is proposed to collect the backscattered electron information generated by the interaction of electrons with the sample, and an FPGA real-time processing system is used to realize the weld quality monitoring in the industrial electron beam welding processes. The distribution law of backscattered electrons in space is simulated by Monte Carlo method, and the results show that the number of distribution in the 40°∼60° angle region is more, the backscattering coefficient increases with the increase of the incident angle of the electron beam, and the backscattering coefficient of the samples with large atomic numbers is relatively high. The field monitoring experiments show that the designed system exhibits good sensitivity to the characteristic morphology, and the imaging resolution reaches more than 200 μm, and the weld hole defects are clearly visible. A good linear correlation between the current change curve during scanning and the actual shape profile is shown, while the image resolution is better when the spot current is 1 mA.

A Comparative Analysis of Feto-Maternal Monitoring Techniques Utilizing the Bio-Impedance Technique

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the fetal monitoring approach in the field of obstetrics. The review study illustrates the wide range of fetal monitoring techniques used, from basic feto scope auscultation to more sophisticated electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) technologies in Engineering Society. The survey highlights the significance of constant monitoring throughout labor to identify any indicators of fetal distress and act quickly to ensure that necessary interventions are made in a timely manner. Furthermore, the paper presents an experimental study for Fetal Monitoring, which system is based on the bio impedance principle. The innovative technique described in this work is noninvasive, user-friendly, cost-effective, and suitable for mass health care, and it may be used by the impoverished population and basic health workers. Finally, the review highlights the importance of standardized protocols, continuous research, and healthcare professional training in order to increase the accuracy and effectiveness of fetal monitoring approaches..

Surveillance Systems for Sustainable Fisheries: Perceptions on the Adoption of Electronic Monitoring in the Northeast US Multispecies Fishery

Amendment 23 (A23) to the Northeast Multispecies Fisheries Management Plan will remake monitoring systems for the Northeast US commercial groundfish fishery. In addition to substantially increasing monitoring coverage, A23 will provide fishers with the option to utilize electronic monitoring (EM) technologies in place of human at-sea observers. Based on twenty-six interviews with representatives of the fishing industry, nongovernmental organizations, regulatory agencies, EM service providers, and other stakeholder groups, this paper examines how the fishery is planning for the adoption of EM. We focus on the differing perspectives on the value of EM as an appropriate tool for protecting the fishery, and as a tool of surveillance that may transform the lives of fishers. We find that while most stakeholders support the use of EM in the future, mistrust within the industry—based on historical regulatory failures, perceived lack of information on technical feasibility, privacy and data ownership issues, and the unknown long-term costs to vessel owners—poses significant barriers to successful adoption of these technologies. We conclude that these barriers can be overcome by investing in co-management driven EM implementations that draw on the expertise of fishers and increase their autonomy over their vessels and their use of data. This study offers critical insights into the conflicting sociotechnical imaginaries that co-produce spaces of surveillance for natural resource management, as well as provides important findings for the fishery as A23 moves into implementation phases.

Trouble with big brother: Counterproductive consequences of electronic monitoring through the erosion of leader‐member social exchange

SummaryChanging workplace dynamics have led employers to increasingly adopt electronic monitoring technologies so supervisors can observe and ensure employee compliance and productivity—outcomes the monitoring literature has long supported. Yet, employee productivity depends on strong leader–member social exchange, and the relational consequences of electronic monitoring for supervisor and employee are not well understood. To help resolve this tension within the monitoring literature and add understanding in regard to the effects of electronic monitoring on employee productivity, we use social exchange theory to examine the implications of electronic monitoring for the supervisor–employee exchange relationship. We theorize that electronic monitoring facilitates (rather than inhibits) production deviance and inhibits (rather than facilitates) task performance by undermining the exchange of social benefits and, consequently, eroding leader–member social exchange. Yet, we also hypothesize that supervisors who give performance monitoring data back to employees in a developmental way (i.e., developmental feedback) compensate for the loss of certain social benefits, and, thereby, buffer the negative relational consequences of electronic monitoring. Across an experimental online study and a field study, we find converging support for our predictions and rule out alternative explanations. This research provides timely insights into how to effectively use electronic monitoring without promoting unintended consequences.

Emerging monitoring technologies to reduce illegal fishing activities at sea and prevent entry of fraudulent fish into markets

National and global priorities are increasingly focused on the concurrent marine fisheries challenges of food security, illegal fishing, and declining fisheries resources. Molecular genetics and electronic monitoring technologies can advance solutions to these challenges, particularly in fisheries surveillance and seafood traceability, and a growing number of studies continues to validate the utility of these tools. What is needed next is guidance to support their wider, more conventional adoption and implementation, either complementary to or in the absence of government policies. Here, we synthesize discussion held during the Borchard Foundation Colloquium held in July 2022 in Missillac, France on modernizing global fisheries with emerging technologies. Our aim is to provide perspectives to scientists, resource managers, and policy makers of emerging monitoring technologies, summarize the utility of these technologies in fisheries, and conclude with how the objective to modernize global marine fisheries is a prime opportunity to engage fresh talent in a new era of fisheries innovation.

Australian women’s experiences of wearing a non-invasive fetal electrocardiography (NIFECG) device during labour

BackgroundContinuous electronic fetal monitoring devices can restrict women’s freedom of movement and choice of positioning during labour and birth. Despite the use of continuous electronic fetal monitoring for the past 50 years, little attention has been paid to women’s experiences of wearing different fetal monitoring devices in labour. AimTo explore women’s views and experiences of wearing a beltless continuous electronic fetal monitoring device, the non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram during labour. MethodsA qualitative descriptive approach was taken. Recruitment was via a larger clinical feasibility study. Some women who consented to take part in the clinical feasibility study also consented to being interviewed during the postnatal period. Transcripts were thematically analysed. FindingsWomen reported improved comfort when wearing the non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram device. They appreciated how it enabled freedom of movement and an ability to actively participate in labour. They compared their experience with previous use of cardiotocography which they felt compromised their bodily autonomy. All forms of continuous electronic fetal monitoring experienced by women resulted in the unwelcome experience of ‘Poking and prodding’ by the midwife. DiscussionContinuous electronic fetal monitoring can negatively impact women’s labour and birth experience, particularly when the measurement of fetal wellbeing is prioritised. ConclusionThe way in which continuous electronic fetal monitoring technology is designed and used is an important component of optimising physiological processes and positive experiences for women during labour and birth for women with complex pregnancies. Non-invasive fetal electrocardiograpy is a promising additional option for women.

MyTPill: study protocol for a cross-over randomised controlled trial comparing novel strategies to monitor antiretroviral adherence among HIV+ prescription opioid users

IntroductionAdherence to HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains the cornerstone of HIV treatment. For individuals with suboptimal adherence, electronic adherence monitoring (EAM) technologies have become an important component of multimodal adherence...

Soil Pollution Detection and Waste Classification Management of Environmental Protection Enterprises Based on 5G Internet of Things

Soil is the foundation of human existence, the foundation of development, and an important part of the ecological environment. The current situation of soil pollution in China is severe, and the environmental hazards caused by soil pollution are endless. At present, soil testing mainly studies the basic soil environment through electronic technology and monitoring technology and cannot carry out in-depth research. In soil testing, due to some geological problems, it is impossible to accurately detect in soil testing. It has become a consensus to strengthen soil environmental protection and implement special laws on soil pollution prevention and control. In the absence of legislation, strengthening research on the legal system for soil pollution prevention and control is in line with the basic laws of legislation. This article uses 5G Internet of Things soil pollution detection; from the strategic height of soil ecological safety, combined with the current national conditions in China, it is necessary to strengthen the timely detection of the status of soil environmental quality and strengthen the evaluation of soil environmental quality. In addition, this article applies 5G Internet of Things to the waste sorting management of environmental protection companies. In recent years, with the advancement of urbanization, residents’ living standards and consumption levels have continued to improve. This has also led to a sharp increase in the amount of domestic waste. The disposal of a large amount of domestic waste has caused a huge burden on the ecological environment and has also caused some environmental problems. Under the background that the party and the state attach great importance to the environmental protection awareness of the whole people, local governments have also actively supported and promoted urban waste management and prevention work in order to achieve the purpose of “harmless, reduced, and resource-based” waste classification. In this article, environmental protection companies’ use of IoT 5G to classify garbage can provide impetus for the future development of garbage classification. The 5G Internet of Things provides new ideas for enterprise waste classification management and soil pollution detection.

Supplemental Material for Socioeconomic and job status differences in the experience of perceived unacceptable electronic performance monitoring.

Electronic performance monitoring (EPM) technologies are widely used by organizations, but research has shown that workers feel EPM is unacceptable when it violates their needs for autonomy and transparency. These negative consequences of EPM have the potential to contribute to broader issues of workplace inequality, such that more vulnerable workers are disproportionately affected. Reasoning about how worker status may affect perceived autonomy and transparency with regard to EPM led to the prediction that workers with lower socioeconomic status [SES] (education and income) and job status (job zone, job security, tenure) experience more EPM that they perceive to be unacceptable (perceived unacceptable EPM [EPM-U]). Additionally, we explored whether workers endorse justifications for EPM based on consent, transparency, and autonomy differentially based on SES and job status. Results from a sample of 267 diverse workers showed that tenure predicted EPM-U, but other indicators of SES and job status did not. Supplementary analyses examining different operationalizations of perceived EPM acceptability as outcomes also supported the effect of tenure. On average, participants endorsed the consent and transparency EPM justifications at a high rate but not the autonomy justification, and status differences did not affect these rates. Results showed that workers in general feel that EPM is only sometimes acceptable, depending on how the organization justifies it. We discuss theoretical implications for technology in the workplace, practical implications regarding how EPM should be implemented in ways that benefit all workers, and suggestions for future research.

Socioeconomic and job status differences in the experience of perceived unacceptable electronic performance monitoring.

Electronic performance monitoring (EPM) technologies are widely used by organizations, but research has shown that workers feel EPM is unacceptable when it violates their needs for autonomy and transparency. These negative consequences of EPM have the potential to contribute to broader issues of workplace inequality, such that more vulnerable workers are disproportionately affected. Reasoning about how worker status may affect perceived autonomy and transparency with regard to EPM led to the prediction that workers with lower socioeconomic status [SES] (education and income) and job status (job zone, job security, tenure) experience more EPM that they perceive to be unacceptable (perceived unacceptable EPM [EPM-U]). Additionally, we explored whether workers endorse justifications for EPM based on consent, transparency, and autonomy differentially based on SES and job status. Results from a sample of 267 diverse workers showed that tenure predicted EPM-U, but other indicators of SES and job status did not. Supplementary analyses examining different operationalizations of perceived EPM acceptability as outcomes also supported the effect of tenure. On average, participants endorsed the consent and transparency EPM justifications at a high rate but not the autonomy justification, and status differences did not affect these rates. Results showed that workers in general feel that EPM is only sometimes acceptable, depending on how the organization justifies it. We discuss theoretical implications for technology in the workplace, practical implications regarding how EPM should be implemented in ways that benefit all workers, and suggestions for future research.

Trouble with Big Brother: Counterproductive Consequences of Monitoring through Erosion of LMX

Changing workplace dynamics have led employers to increasingly adopt electronic monitoring technologies so supervisors can observe and ensure employee productivity—an outcome the monitoring literature has long supported. Yet, employee engagement and success depend on strong leader-member exchange (LMX), and the relational consequences of electronic monitoring for supervisor and employee are surprisingly unknown. To help resolve tension within the monitoring literature and add understanding regarding the effects of electronic performance monitoring on employee productivity, we use social exchange theory to examine the implications of electronic monitoring for the supervisor-employee relationship. We theorize that employee electronic monitoring facilitates (rather than inhibits) production deviance and inhibits (rather than facilitates) task performance by eroding the leader-member exchange relationship between supervisor and employee. Acknowledging the potential for electronic monitoring data to be useful to employees, we further argue that supervisors can buffer the negative relational consequences of electronic monitoring by using monitoring data for developmental purposes (i.e., developmental feedback). Across an experimental online study and a field study, we find converging support for our predictions and rule out alternative explanations. This research provides timely insights into how to effectively use electronic performance monitoring without promoting unintended consequences.

The (electronic) walls between us: How employee monitoring undermines ethical leadership

AbstractEthical leaders are coveted for their notable ability to inspire positive employee behaviours, an influence portrayed in the ethical leadership literature as robust to most organizational conditions. Yet, we argue that a primary mechanism by which ethical leaders influence their employees (i.e., trust) is disrupted by a company practice that has become nearly as ubiquitous as emphasising ethicality in hiring—employee electronic monitoring. Specifically, drawing from social exchange theory, we propose that electronic monitoring undermines an ethical leader's ability to offer social benefits and thereby erodes trust. We tested our moderated‐mediation model with multi‐wave data from an organisationally diverse field sample of supervisors and their employees. The results provide support for our predictions. Considering the accelerated pace at which electronic monitoring technologies are being adopted, this research makes timely contributions.

Application and Innovation of Electronic Monitoring in Chinese Criminal Justice

In the field of criminal justice, electronic monitoring technology has experienced the development of four generations of technology: fixed telephone, radio frequency tag, Global Positioning System, and biometrics. Today, Chinese criminal justice practice adopts a monitoring method based on cell phone positioning, supplemented by electronic anklets. The "Non-custodial Code monitoring system " is an innovative achievement of Hangzhou, China's judicial personnel on electronic monitoring, which has achieved good practical results and will be promoted nationwide. As an effective criminal measure, electronic monitoring reduces the number of detainees in prison, eases the supervision pressure on judicial personnel, reduces financial expenditures, and helps criminals rejoin society. Due to the lack of detailed legal provisions, the application of electronic monitoring in practice lacks specificity, and there is the possibility of violating the privacy of citizens. So electronic monitoring in China's criminal justice presents such a situation. On the one hand, the law clearly states that electronic monitoring can be applied only during the community correctional stage and the period of residential confinement. On the other hand, judicial officers actively try to apply electronic monitoring to the bail process. It is foreseeable that electronic monitoring will be widely promoted in the process of China's criminal justice reform. This process should adhere to the principles of legality, necessity, and judicial review.

Unintended responses to IT‐enabled monitoring: The case of the electronic logging device mandate

AbstractResearch shows that electronic monitoring technologies can reduce illicit agent (e.g., frontline worker) behavior along monitored dimensions such that principals (e.g., firms) benefit. Drawing on theory from criminology regarding the concept of offense displacement, we explain why the benefits from increased monitoring may be mitigated if agents subsequently increase other types of illicit acts not subject to greater monitoring. We investigate this possibility by examining how a mandate requiring millions of truck drivers to adopt electronic logging devices to record their working hours affected different safety behaviors and outcomes. Using data from millions of driver inspections and crash counts before and after the mandate and a differences‐in‐differences identification strategy, we find greater monitoring due to the mandate achieved its first‐order effect of reducing the frequency that drivers were in non‐compliance with work hour rules (the monitored dimension). However, drivers for small firms that were most affected by the mandate also appear to have increased their frequency of unsafe driving (e.g., speeding). We also find that crash counts for small firms did not fall relative to large firms, and may have increased. These results call into question whether increased electronic monitoring has improved safety in this industry.

A Fetal Heart Rate Signal Source Recognition Model Based on Fast Fourier Transform and Ensemble Learning

Fetal heart rate monitoring is a necessary routine examination item in obstetric clinic, which has important significance in the health examination of the perinatal fetus. Accurate extraction of fetal heart rate is a key technology in electronic fetal monitoring technology. There are still some difficulties and challenges in extracting the fetal heart rate from the ultrasound Doppler signals. The ultrasound Doppler fetal monitoring probe is difficult to maintain in the correct position, therefore, the Doppler ultrasound signals obtained may be the abdominal aorta signals which will cause fetal heart rate extraction error. In this paper, a signal source recognition model based on fast Fourier transform(FFT) and ensemble learning for ultrasound Doppler signals source recognition is proposed. The spectral features of the signals are extracted by FFT, and the spectral features are used as the input of ensemble learning model to decide whether the mother’s abdominal aorta signals are detected. The experimental results show that the proposed model can achieve the best recognition effect with the rule that the signals are regarded as from abdominal aorta if more than 93% of the signals get the negative output by the model within the time window of more than 13 seconds.

Measuring congruence between electronic monitoring and logbook data in Australian Commonwealth longline and gillnet fisheries

Electronic monitoring (EM) has the capacity to collect fisheries-dependent data to support fisheries management decision-making. Following successful pilot studies, EM was introduced into several Australian Commonwealth fisheries in 2015, including the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery (ETBF) and the Gillnet, Hook and Trap (GHAT) sector of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF). We compared two years of EM analyst and fisher-reported logbook data from the ETBF and GHAT sector to examine the level of congruence in reporting of both retained and discarded catch and protected species interactions. In general, congruence between EM analyst and fisher-reported logbook data in both the ETBF and GHAT sector was higher for retained than for discarded catch, and the ETBF had a higher level of data equivalency than the GHAT sector. Fishery-wide estimates of congruence, however, concealed a large amount of variation among individual and groups of species. EM analyst and fisher-reported logbook data were highly congruent for some species (e.g. tunas, swordfish and gummy shark), but for others there were clear taxonomic (e.g. escolar and rudderfish), identification (e.g. sharks, marlins) and reporting (e.g. draughtboard shark and elephantfish) issues, which reduced overall congruence. There was evidence of increased congruence through time, particularly for discarded bycatch species in the GHAT sector, due presumably to increased manager feedback and communication with fishers on their logbook reporting. While EM analyst and fisher-reported logbook interactions with protected species in the GHAT sector were equivalent, this was not the case for species other than seabirds in the ETBF. In the ETBF, a greater number of interactions were reported by fishers in their logbooks, suggesting a need to modify existing or install additional EM technology to improve on-board vision for the EM analyst. It is important to review the performance of any integrated EM system through time to ensure it is fulfilling the data requirements for the fishery and meeting the overall objectives of the program.

The use of electronic monitoring within tuna longline fisheries: implications for international data collection, analysis and reporting

Electronic monitoring (EM) consisting of on-board video imagery and on-shore analysis, offers an alternative or supplement to at-sea observer programs in commercial fisheries. In the western and central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), where observer coverage in most tuna longline fisheries has historically been < 5%, the advent of EM has been perceived as a tool for meeting international data collection and exchange obligations. However, the capability of EM to collect and support interpretation of records into data for all fields currently collected by at-sea observers is still under assessment. We use the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) as a case-study to evaluate the longline WCPFC regional observer programme minimum standard data fields, their current scientific application, the proportion of member countries exchanging data and the capability of EM technology to collect these fields. We identify that 78% of the longline fields can be collected with current EM technology, with 84% of these used in scientific analyses. For the 16% of fields not routinely used in scientific analyses, the introduction of EM may facilitate a sufficient increase in data availability to support their future use. Alternative tools would be required to collect fields that EM could not record to ensure data continuity and scientific rigour are not compromised. In examining the capability of EM in the context of WCPFC member state requirements under international law, we advocate for a holistic and integrated approach to the use of EM in future research and monitoring programs in both the WCPO and global longline fisheries.

Addressing the Impact and Unmet Needs of Nonadherence in Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Where Do We Go From Here?

Nonadherence to treatment, and its associated health and economic burden, is particularly problematic in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease management because of heterogeneous patient populations and the need for an inhaled route of drug administration. Symptom variability, comorbidities, and device switching further add to suboptimal adherence rates. As opposed to controlled clinical trials, real-life studies show consistently low inhaler adherence in daily practice, yet exact adherence rates have long been affected by disagreement on standardized definitions. The recently developed Ascertaining Barriers to Compliance taxonomy helps to address adherence research disparities by identifying 3 phases of adherence (initiation, implementation [including correct inhaler technique], and discontinuation). This review considers the reasons for and impact of suboptimal adherence, together with summaries of key studies that demonstrate how improving adherence can reduce exacerbations, inhaled corticosteroid use (in cases of better inhaler technique), hospitalizations, and treatment costs. Strategies to help ensure optimal adherence are discussed, including the choice of a patient-tailored inhaler, patient empowerment, education and training, and the potential of electronic monitoring and digital technology. It is concluded that a combined effort from payers, health care professionals, and manufacturers could make a real difference to asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease control, as well as to health care budgets.