Time Tracking Systems Research Articles

Wage Theft and Technology in the Home Care Context

Home care workers (HCWs) are professionals who provide care to older adults and people with disabilities at home. However, HCWs are vulnerable and especially susceptible to wage theft, or not being paid their legally-entitled wages in full by their employers. Prior work has examined other low-wage work settings to show how technology is designed and deployed has the potential to both cause and address wage theft. We extend this work by examining the relationship between technology and wage theft in the home care context. We collaborated closely with a local grassroots organization to conduct interviews with workers and labor, legal, and payroll experts. We uncovered how the complex, volatile, and diverse nature of home care complicates the errors in time-tracking systems. Through design provocations and focus groups with workers and experts, we also investigated the potential of technology as a part of broader efforts to curb wage theft through educating and empowering isolated HCWs. While we found that approachable design could reduce errors in existing systems, make employer processes more transparent, and help workers exchange knowledge to build collective power, we also discuss concerns around burden, privacy, and accountability when designing technologies for HCWs and other low-wage workers.

Implementation of a Working Time Recording System as a Digital Management Tool in Public Administration

This theoretical scientific study explores using a working time recording system as a digital management tool in public administration. It explains why such a system is necessary in public administration and lays out the report’s goals. The main goal is to identify the possibilities of using modern technology, such as the system of recording the working time of public administration employees, to improve its efficiency and pro-client orientation. Recording the working time management ensures that most government and public administration duties are organised and arranged promptly for easier retrieval and allocation of tasks to different departments. A thorough assessment of the literature also looks at the current studies on working time tracking systems, particularly in the context of public administration and their possible effects on effectiveness, accountability, and transparency. Employee privacy-related legal and moral issues are also covered. The Materials and Methods section describes the system’s implementation in detail, covering system selection, employee training, data collection methods, and technological considerations. As a result, the use of time recording systems in public administration has been found to have various benefits, including better work–life balance, fairness and transparency. These solutions improve accountability and trust by streamlining workforce management and ensuring compliance with labour laws. The main result of our research is the design of a theoretical model applicable in public administration for monitoring an employee’s working time.

Challenges in Tracking Non- Punched but Worked Hours: A Deep Dive into Travel and Training Time

Purpose: This paper presents a comprehensive study on the challenges of tracking non-punched but worked hours, with a particular focus on travel and training time. These unregistered hours pose significant challenges in the realms of employee compensation and labor law compliance. Standard time-tracking systems are not equipped to handle the nuances of such non-traditional work hours, leading to potential disputes and financial grievances.
 Methodology: Using travel time as a case study, this paper discusses the multifaceted nature of the problem, including unpredictability in travel, compensation for unexpected delays, and the inadequacies of current systems to automatically recognize and adjust for these hours. We propose a solution utilizing a customized program within the Kronos Time and Attendance system to accurately categorize and calculate non-punched hours, ensuring fair compensation and compliance with labor regulations.
 Findings: The implications of these findings are profound, highlighting the necessity for advanced tracking solutions that align with labor laws while upholding fairness and transparency.
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: This paper aims to drive a paradigm shift towards integrating sophisticated time-tracking systems that respect and acknowledge every aspect of an employee's work life.

Enhancing Operational Efficiency in Energy Corporations: The Role of Integrated Time Tracking Systems

This paper addresses energy corporations' critical challenges in managing turnaround projects, focusing on accurately tracking and recording time spent by employees and contractors across diverse operational environments. It identifies the inefficiencies and inaccuracies arising from outdated or fragmented time-tracking systems, compromising financial integrity, operational efficiency, and stakeholder trust. The study proposes comprehensive solutions to enhance billing accuracy, project management, and resource allocation, highlighting the necessity for a sophisticated, integrated time tracking and billing system. The proposed system leverages advanced data integration, real-time monitoring, machine learning for discrepancy identification, and sophisticated algorithms for accurate time calculation. These technical solutions are complemented by organizational strategies for cross-departmental coordination, change management, and financial planning to ensure the system's successful implementation and adoption. The paper illustrates the system's multifaceted impact on improving operational efficiency, cost control, compliance, safety, and strategic resource allocation. Through detailed analysis and proposed solutions, it underscores the system's role as an indispensable tool for achieving operational excellence and strategic objectives within the fast-paced and complex landscape of the energy sector.

THE IMPA CT OF DIGITALISATION ON THE HR MANAGEMENT PROCESS

The efficiency of using information and communication technologies directly depends on how effectively a company implements these technologies. This highlights the need to develop a comprehensive strategy to achieve a successful digital transformation. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of digitalisation on the processes of recruitment, training and development management, as well as to identify changes in the motivation and remuneration system. The article has a theoretical foundation based on modern concepts of the theory of updating the process of personnel management in the context of digitalisation. The article uses general scientific methods such as cognition, generalisation, system analysis and synthesis. The study takes into account the scientific works of domestic and foreign scholars related to the analysis of trends in personnel management. The article is concerned with the impact of digitalisation on the process of personnel management. The main trends and tools of digitalisation in the process of personnel management are allocated. The digital technologies in the process of personnel management are presented, which include: HRM system; analytics and artificial intelligence in HR; electronic learning management platforms; electronic time tracking systems; electronic information exchange systems; electronic reward and motivation systems. The article provides recommendations aimed at creating an optimal environment for the use of digital opportunities in the field of HRM. It is determined that for effective personnel management it is necessary to constantly monitor all technological changes, study new methods and innovative digital tools. It is highlighted that the priority task is to study the best practices of using digital technologies by other enterprises. It is noted that it is important to cooperate with the technical support specialists of your own enterprise to determine the optimal set of digital tools that will be most effective for the activities of HR departments. It is also recommended to create a motivational strategy aimed at encouraging employees who use the latest technologies in the performance of their duties. Thus, the use of digital technologies and online tools is a promising direction in the work of HR professionals. However, it is noted that there are open questions regarding the protection of information in cyberspace.

Acute hypoxia induced dysregulation of clock-controlled ovary functions.

High altitudes or exposure to hypoxia leads to female reproductive disorders. Circadian clocks are intrinsic time-tracking systems that enable organisms to adapt to the Earth's 24-h light/dark cycle, which can be entrained by other environmental stimuli to regulate physiological and pathological responses. In this study, we focused on whether ovarian circadian clock proteins were involved in regulating female reproductive dysfunction under hypoxic conditions. Hypobaric hypoxia was found to induce a significantly prolonged estrous cycle in female mice, accompanied by follicular atresia, pituitary/ovarian hormone synthesis disorder, and decreased LHCGR expression in the ovaries. Under the same conditions, the levels of the ovarian circadian clock proteins, CLOCK and BMAL1, were suppressed, whereas E4BP4 levels were upregulated. Results from granulosa cells (GCs) further demonstrated that CLOCK: BMAL1 and E4BP4 function as transcriptional activators and repressors of LHCGR in ovarian GCs, respectively, whose responses were mediated by HIF1ɑ-dependent (E4BP4 upregulation) and ɑ-independent (CLOCK and BMAL1 downregulation) manners. The LHCGR agonist was shown to efficiently recover the impairment of ovulation-related gene (EREG and PGR) expression in GCs induced by hypoxia. We conclude that hypoxia exposure causes dysregulation of ovarian circadian clock protein (CLOCK, BMAL1, and E4BP4) expression, which mediates female reproductive dysfunction by impairing LHCGR-dependent signaling events. Adjusting the timing system or recovering the LHCGR level in the ovaries may be helpful in overcoming female reproductive disorders occurring in the highlands.

305 Awardee Talk: Application of on-Animal Sensors and Precision Livestock Management on Extensive Cattle and Sheep Ranches

Abstract Monitoring livestock and forage conditions on extensive rangelands is labor intensive and expensive, and often observations occur infrequently. Technological advancements have made real-time remote monitoring more feasible and less costly. Global positioning system (GPS) tracking data can be transferred from livestock to the internet using cellular phone technologies, low range wide area networks (LoRaWan) and satellite transmissions. With good coverage, cellular-based real time tracking systems work well. Rugged terrain and extensive pastures increase the cost of LoRaWan. Additional LoRaWan gateway towers are needed for data transmission, because these systems rely upon line-of-sight signals. Satellite systems are expensive but hold great potential for rugged terrain. Accelerometers can be used to monitor animal activity, and after on-device summarization the data summary can be transmitted to the internet. Changes in behavior from normal patterns are useful for detecting illness and wellbeing. Bovine ephemeral fever in heifers and perennial ryegrass staggers in sheep were identified by a decrease in activity during the morning and evening grazing bouts using accelerometers. In pen settings, accelerometers were able to detect the timing of lambing and illness associated with unexpected feeding of moldy silage. Continued congregation of livestock at water tanks may indicate water system failures. Normally, animals move away from water to rest after drinking. Tracking is a valuable tool to identify locations where new water developments can improve distribution. Tracking also has potential to notify managers where livestock are congregating and potentially overgrazing, but prediction of forage utilization at light levels is not exact. Tracking systems would also facilitate genetic selection for grazing distribution by providing terrain use phenotypes. Improvements in technology and associated cost reductions of sensors as well as development of algorithms and software potentially gives ranchers mechanisms to remotely monitor livestock wellbeing and rangeland conditions and allow them to respond promptly.

Post-translational Modifications are Required for Circadian Clock Regulation in Vertebrates.

Circadian clocks are intrinsic, time-tracking systems that bestow upon organisms a survival advantage. Under natural conditions, organisms are trained to follow a 24-h cycle under environmental time cues such as light to maximize their physiological efficiency. The exact timing of this rhythm is established via cell-autonomous oscillators called cellular clocks, which are controlled by transcription/translation-based negative feedback loops. Studies using cell-based systems and genetic techniques have identified the molecular mechanisms that establish and maintain cellular clocks. One such mechanism, known as post-translational modification, regulates several aspects of these cellular clock components, including their stability, subcellular localization, transcriptional activity, and interaction with other proteins and signaling pathways. In addition, these mechanisms contribute to the integration of external signals into the cellular clock machinery. Here, we describe the post-translational modifications of cellular clock regulators that regulate circadian clocks in vertebrates.

Siamese Tracking from Single Point Initialization.

Recently, we have been concerned with locating and tracking vehicles in aerial videos. Vehicles in aerial videos usually have small sizes due to use of cameras from a remote distance. However, most of the current methods use a fixed bounding box region as the input of tracking. For the purpose of target locating and tracking in our system, detecting the contour of the target is utilized and can help with improving the accuracy of target tracking, because a shape-adaptive template segmented by object contour contains the most useful information and the least background for object tracking. In this paper, we propose a new start-up of tracking by clicking on the target, and implement the whole tracking process by modifying and combining a contour detection network and a fully convolutional Siamese tracking network. The experimental results show that our algorithm has significantly improved tracking accuracy compared to the state-of-the-art regarding vehicle images in both OTB100 and DARPA datasets. We propose utilizing our method in real time tracking and guidance systems.

Altered Circadian Rhythms and Breast Cancer: From the Human to the Molecular Level.

Circadian clocks are fundamental, time-tracking systems that allow organisms to adapt to the appropriate time of day and drive many physiological and cellular processes. Altered circadian rhythms can result from night-shift work, chronic jet lag, exposure to bright lights at night, or other conditioning, and have been shown to lead to increased likelihood of cancer, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, and immune dysregulation. In cases of cancer, worse patient prognoses and drug resistance during treatment have also been observed. Breast, colon, prostate, lung, and ovarian cancers and hepatocellular carcinoma have all been linked in one way or another with altered circadian rhythms. Critical elements at the molecular level of the circadian system have been associated with cancer, but there have been fairly few studies in this regard. In this mini-review, we specifically focus on the role of altered circadian rhythms in breast cancer, providing an overview of studies performed at the epidemiological level through assessments made in animal and cellular models of the disease. We also address the disparities present among studies that take into account the rhythmicity of core clock and other proteins, and those which do not, and offer insights to the use of small molecules for studying the connections between circadian rhythms and cancer. This article will provide the reader with a concise, but thorough account of the research landscape as it pertains to altered circadian rhythms and breast cancer.

Peroxiredoxin 2 nuclear levels are regulated by circadian clock synchronization in human keratinocytes

Circadian rhythms are highly conserved time tracking systems regulating important biological processes at both systemic and cellular levels. The present study was aimed to identify proteins and biological functions circadian regulated in human keratinocytes.HaCaT keratinocytes were entrained by temperature cycles, and a proteomic study was performed on cell fractions isolated under free running conditions at constant temperature. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that molecular clock entrainment was associated with changes in molecular components regulating cell proliferation, energy metabolism, transcription, translation and redox balance. Nuclear levels of the antioxidant enzyme Peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX2) were found to oscillate rhythmically over two entire 24h long cycles. Donwregulation of PRDX2 resulted in upregulation of the mitochondrion-specific Peroxiredoxin 3 (PRDX3), all other members of the Peroxiredoxin family remained unaltered. Furthermore, PRDX2 knockdown increased intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and impaired cell cycle progression and proliferation. HaCaT cells transduced with a scramble shRNA were used as control.Our work is the first to show that nuclear levels of PRDX2 display circadian oscillation participating in the regulation of human keratinocytes redox balance.

Common threads: epigenetics, metabolism and the clock

Circadian rhythms govern a number of fundamental physiological functions in almost all organisms, from prokaryotes to humans. The circadian clocks are intrinsic time-tracking systems with which organisms can anticipate environmental changes and adapt to the appropriate time of day. Disruption of these rhythms can have a profound influence to human health and has been linked to depression, insomnia, jet lag, coronary heart disease, neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. At the heart of circadian regulatory pathways is the clock machinery, a remarkably coordinated transcription-translation system that utilizes also dynamic changes in chromatin transitions and epigenetic control. Recent findings indicate that regulation goes also the other way, since specific elements of the clock are able to sense changes in the cellular metabolism. Understanding in full detail the intimate links between cellular metabolism and the circadian clock machinery will provide not only critical insights into system physiology and endocrinology, but also novel avenues for pharmacological intervention towards metabolic disorders.

SP-0002 WHEN IS HYPOFRACTIONATION MANDATORY: THE RADIOBIOLOGIST'S AND CLINICAL POINT OF VIEW?

In the field of radiation oncology, equipments for fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy and single-dose radiosurgery have become increasingly accurate. Out of brain lesions, extracranial stereotactic treatments are more and more frequently considered. New imaging techniques (spect MRI, PET) provide further relevant information to slice images (CT-Scan, MRI). However, the treatment of extracranial lesions needs to take into account organ mobility (tumor and healthy tissue) whilst retaining the ability of stereotactically locating the target. Real time tracking systems allow to keep high conformality to moving and deforming targets. Currently, the most significant developments are in the field of extracranial stereotactic radiotherapy in lung, liver and prostate cancers, together with re-irradiation and oligo metastases. Recent data will be presented.

SP-0001 EXTRA CRANIAL STEREOTACTIC RADIOTHERAPY: FROM TECHNICAL AVAILABILITIES TO CLINICAL OPPORTUNITIES

In the field of radiation oncology, equipments for fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy and single-dose radiosurgery have become increasingly accurate. Out of brain lesions, extracranial stereotactic treatments are more and more frequently considered. New imaging techniques (spect MRI, PET) provide further relevant information to slice images (CT-Scan, MRI). However, the treatment of extracranial lesions needs to take into account organ mobility (tumor and healthy tissue) whilst retaining the ability of stereotactically locating the target. Real time tracking systems allow to keep high conformality to moving and deforming targets. Currently, the most significant developments are in the field of extracranial stereotactic radiotherapy in lung, liver and prostate cancers, together with re-irradiation and oligo metastases. Recent data will be presented.

Does evening sun increase the risk of skin cancer?

Circadian clocks are time tracking systems for all organisms, including mammals, to adjust to the day/night cycle in regard to physiological behaviors. Usually, a 24-h periodicity is observed in the rhythms of mammals related to feeding, sleep and other behaviors. However, the cycle can also be reset by light or other external signals. Circadian regulation involves a central clock in the hypothalamus and peripheral clocks located in most mammalian tissues (1). Circadian regulation has been observed in a vast array of genes involved in cell cycle and growth, metabolism, survival, and DNA damage responses. In mammals, circadian oscillation of specific genes has been observed in most but not all organs. Sancar and coworkers showed that UV damage repair in mammals via the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway is regulated by circadian rhythm (2). The UV part of the solar spectrum is relatively small but has profound impact on human health, primarily because of the damage UV photons cause to the genome (3). UV causes multiple damages in DNA bases, the predominant among which are pyrimidine photoproducts (PPs) including cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and (6-4) PPs (4). These lesions in the genome block replication (and transcription) and are highly toxic. Several specialized DNA translesion synthesis polymerases replicate these photoproducts (5) without using normal base pairing and often induce mutations at the photoproduct sites. Such mutations in tumor suppressor genes such as p53 and PTEN could lead to melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers (6, 7).

A Common Origin: Signaling Similarities in the Regulation of the Circadian Clock and DNA Damage Responses

Circadian clocks are intrinsic, time-tracking systems that endow organisms with a survival advantage. Studies of animal models and human tumor samples have revealed that the disruption of circadian rhythms is an important endogenous factor that can contribute to mammalian cancer development. The core of the circadian clock mechanism is a cell-autonomous and self-sustained oscillator system mediated by a transcription/translation-based negative feedback loop that relies on positive and negative elements. Recent studies have implicated these core circadian components in the regulation of both the cell cycle and DNA damage responses (DDR). Indeed, the circadian feedback loop controls the timing of cell proliferation by regulating the expression of key cell cycle genes. Conversely, several intracellular signaling cascades and post-translational modifications that play important roles in the cell cycle and DDR are also essential for circadian clock regulation. Importantly, alteration of a cell's reduction-oxidation (redox) state triggers the transduction of photic signals that regulate circadian clock gene transcription, suggesting that cellular responses to photo-oxidative stress may have been the evolutionary origin of the circadian clock. This review describes selected regulatory aspects of circadian machinery that are evidence of a molecular link between the circadian clock and DDR, focusing particularly on the signaling cascades involved in the light entrainment of the zebrafish circadian clock.

Topographical analysis of ablation centration after excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy and laser in situ keratomileusis for high myopia

Purpose: To evaluate the ablation centration after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) for high myopia and to assess the association between decentration and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), glare, monocular diplopia, and halo phenomenon.Setting: Mater Private Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.Methods: Corneal topography was used to analyze centration in two groups of patients with myopia of more than 6.0 diopters: 18 had PRK and 18, LASIK. A standardized questionnaire assessed the preoperative and postoperative prevalence of glare, monocular diplopia, and halo phenomenon.Results: “Significant” ablation decentration (0.5 mm) in the LASIK group (1.33 mm) was almost twice that in the PRK group (0.75 mm). Glare increased from 27% preoperatively to 42% in the PRK group; monocular diplopia increased in the LASIK group. Halo phenomenon decreased after both procedures.Conclusion: Laser in situ keratomileusis represents a step forward in the surgical correction of high myopia, but the accuracy of the corneal ablation location must be improved. Suction ring fixation of the globe or real time tracking systems may help improve centration.