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Currently, the deployment of tracking devices is one of the most frequently used approaches to study movement ecology of birds. Recent miniaturization of light‐level geolocators enabled studying small bird species whose migratory patterns were widely unknown. However, geolocators may reduce vital rates in tagged birds and may bias obtained movement data. There is a need for a thorough assessment of the potential tag effects on small birds, as previous meta‐analyses did not evaluate unpublished data and impact of multiple life‐history traits, focused mainly on large species and the number of published studies tagging small birds has increased substantially. We quantitatively reviewed 549 records extracted from 74 published and 48 unpublished studies on over 7,800 tagged and 17,800 control individuals to examine the effects of geolocator tagging on small bird species (body mass <100 g). We calculated the effect of tagging on apparent survival, condition, phenology and breeding performance and identified the most important predictors of the magnitude of effect sizes. Even though the effects were not statistically significant in phylogenetically controlled models, we found a weak negative impact of geolocators on apparent survival. The negative effect on apparent survival was stronger with increasing relative load of the device and with geolocators attached using elastic harnesses. Moreover, tagging effects were stronger in smaller species. In conclusion, we found a weak effect on apparent survival of tagged birds and managed to pinpoint key aspects and drivers of tagging effects. We provide recommendations for establishing matched control group for proper effect size assessment in future studies and outline various aspects of tagging that need further investigation. Finally, our results encourage further use of geolocators on small bird species but the ethical aspects and scientific benefits should always be considered. Tagging slightly reduces only apparent survival of treated birds. The authors found stronger tagging effects when relatively heavier tags were used and no differences between published and unpublished studies. Finally, they call for the control group establishment in all future studies and provide guidelines for the selection of control individuals.

A large number of activity-tracking devices have recently dominated the fitness world. These devices typically track different forms of activities and are argued to encourage more active lifestyles. The devices encourage and incentivize change in behavior through mechanisms including personal goals, gratifying representations, and social features. However, both current research and anecdotal evidence about the real impacts of these devices point to mixed outcomes. Many users enjoy positive experiences, while others are reported to have abandoned these devices without generating lasting value for themselves. Through a qualitative study of 29 users of Fitbit activity-tracking devices, we explore how different types of pre-existing motivation shaped people’s perception and adoption of the device. Building from the affordance perspective, our findings suggest that users’ pre-existing motivations, derived from unique life priorities, personal situations, and personalities, may interact with different aspects of the tool, and result in disparate outcomes. Two primary conclusions of this research are (1) the motivational features of activity-tracking devices may only complement already existing motivations of the users but do not create incentive for more physical activities on their own. (2) The value of informational affordances of activity trackers diminishes over time for most users (except the quantified selfers), and without motivational affordances, informational affordances do not sustain long-term use of the device.

Moisture damage in hot mix asphalt pavements is a periodic but persistent problem nowadays, even though laboratory testing is performed to identify different moisture-susceptible mixtures. In this study, a Hamburg Wheel Tracking device (HWTD) was used for rutting tests which were conducted on control and a high percentage of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP), i.e., 30%, 50% and 100% of virgin mixtures, under air dry and water-immersed conditions. Similarly, the extracted bitumen from RAP was tested for binder physical properties. Results showed that the asphalt mixtures containing RAP have less rut depth as compared to the control mix both in air dry and immersion conditions and hence showed better anti-rutting properties and moisture stability. Stripping performance of control and RAP containing mixtures was also checked, concluding that the RAP mixture was greatly dependent on the interaction between the binder (virgin plus aged) and aggregates.

Recent public cooperation between the Federal University of Technology – Parana (UTFPR) and the Toledo Municipality plans to implement the concept of smart cities in this city. In this context, one of the applications under development intends to track the recyclable garbage collector trucks in real time over the Internet. Actually, fleet vehicle tracking is one of the main applications for smart cities. LoRaWAN stands out among network technologies for smart cities due to operating in an open frequency range, covering long distances with low power consumption and low equipment cost. However, the coverage and performance of LoRaWAN is directly affected by both the environment and configuration parameters. In addition, tracking devices must be able to send its coordinates to the Internet even when the vehicle goes through zones where there are obstacles for electromagnetic waves such as elevated buildings or valleys. In this paper we perform experimental investigations to evaluate four LoRaWAN tracking devices, two available out of the box and two assembled and programmed. The behavior of each tracking device is analyzed when moving at a constant speed through three representative urban areas totaling 10.71 k m 2 . The two most efficient tracking devices are analyzed in a stretch of 3.5 km with speeds ranging from 0 to 30 km/h, 0 to 50 km/h and 0 to 100 km/h. Results include a quantitative and qualitative aspects, including the received signal strength indication (RSSI), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), packet delivery ratio (PDR), and spreading factor (SF) for the received geographic coordinates. As the devices depend on the quality of the signal offered by the network, we also present the results of the development and evaluation of the LoRaWAN network, by planning its coverage throughout the city.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine consumer data acquired by branded prescription drug websites and the ethics of privacy related to the interconnected web of personal information accessed, packaged and resold by tracker technologies. Design/methodology/approach The research used the DMI Tracker Tool to collect data on the top 17 branded prescription drug websites, with a specific interest in the tracker technologies embedded in those websites. That data was analyzed using Gephi, an open-source data visualization tool, to map the network of trackers embedded in those branded prescription drug websites. Findings Findings visualize the interconnections between tracker technologies and prescription drug websites that undergird a system of personal data acquisition and programmatic advertising vehicles that serve the interests of prescription drug marketers and Big Tech. Based on the theory of platform ethics, the study demonstrated the presence of a technostructural ecosystem dominated by Big Tech, a system that goes unseen by consumers and serves the interests of advertisers and resellers of consumer data. Research limitations/implications The 17 websites used in this study were limited to the top-selling prescription drugs or those with the highest ad expenditures. As such this study is not based on a random sampling of branded prescription drug websites. The popularity of these prescription drugs or the expanse of advertising associated with the drugs makes them appropriate to study the presence of tracking devices that collect data from consumers and serve advertising to them. It is also noted that websites are dynamic spaces, and some trackers within their infrastructures are apt to change over time. Practical implications Branded prescription drug information has over the past three decades become part of consumers’ routine search for information regarding what ails them. As drug promotion moved from print to TV and the Web, searching for drug information has become a part of everyday life. The implications of embedded trackers on branded prescription drug websites are the subject of this research. Social implications This study has significant social implications as consumers who are searching for information regarding prescription medications may not want drug companies tracking them in a way that many perceive to be an invasion of privacy. Yet, as the Web is dominated by Big Tech, web developers have little choice but to remain a part of this technostructural ecosystem. Originality/value This study sheds light on branded prescription drug websites, exploring the imbalance between the websites under study, Big Tech and consumers who lack awareness of the system that operates backstage.

Eye-tracking is an important approach to collect evidence regarding some participants’ driving fatigue. In this contribution, the authors present a non-intrusive system for evaluating driver fatigue by tracking eye movement behaviours. A real-time eye-tracker was used to monitor participants’ eye state for collecting eye-movement data. These data are useful to get insights into assessing participants’ fatigue state during monotonous driving. Ten healthy subjects performed continuous simulated driving for 1–2 h with eye state monitoring on a driving simulator in this study, and these measured features of the fixation time and the pupil area were recorded via using eye movement tracking device. For achieving a good cost-performance ratio and fast computation time, the fuzzy K-nearest neighbour was employed to evaluate and analyse the influence of different participants on the variations in the fixation duration and pupil area of drivers. The findings of this study indicated that there are significant differences in domain value distribution of the pupil area under the condition with normal and fatigue driving state. Result also suggests that the recognition accuracy by jackknife validation reaches to about 89% in average, implying that show a significant potential of real-time applicability of the proposed approach and is capable of detecting driver fatigue.

Nocturnal roosting sites are integral to bird habitats, with their use and selection by birds serving as indicators of behavioral adaptations to environmental pressures. Black‐necked Cranes (Grus nigricollis), which typically roost in shallow water, have exhibited an unexpected “terrestrialization” of nocturnal roosting sites within their eastern wintering population of southwest China. Despite this phenomenon being documented since the late 20th century, research on terrestrial nocturnal roosting behavior remains limited, hindered by technological challenges. To address this knowledge gap, we combined GPS‐GSM tracking data from 14 individuals monitored between 2015 and 2022 in northeastern Yunnan and western Guizhou with remote sensing imagery to systematically analyze their nocturnal roosting patterns. Our results indicated that area of water body, the location of foraging grounds, and individual behaviors influenced the proportion of terrestrial nocturnal roosting in Black‐necked Cranes. On land, Black‐necked Cranes preferred to roost on highlands (headwaters, uphill terraces, mountain tops, and local ridges) and avoided valleys (canyons, shallow valleys, and U‐shaped valleys). Notably, nocturnal terrestrial roosting sites were associated with increased nocturnal mobility compared to shallow water (11.6% vs. 0.8%). These findings suggest that terrestrial roosting behavior may reflect adaptive trade‐offs under habitat pressure. We recommend that regional conservation strategies should prioritize the following: (1) Protect existing large wetlands, (2) Connect and restore fragmented small wetlands, (3) Strengthen nighttime monitoring of the Black‐necked Crane, and (4) Strictly manage free‐ranging dogs to minimize anthropogenic disturbance on terrestrially roosting cranes. The choice of roosting sites is crucial for organisms. Our results indicate that the Black‐necked Crane's terrestrial roosting behavior may reflect adaptive trade‐offs under habitat pressure.

PurposeThis paper aims to explore factors impacting wearable fitness tracking (WFT) device continued usage intention from perspectives of technology attributes (autonomy benefits), health attributes (self-health management benefits, diet-control benefits and health self-efficacy), and consumer attributes (age, gender, technological innovativeness, symbolic benefits, social benefits and hedonic benefits).Design/methodology/approachThe study integrates constructs from the technology acceptance theories and the health promotion model to develop the research model and hypothesis. The empirical analysis was conducted using data from 217 respondents from India. Logistic regression was used to identify factors that discriminate between groups with low and high continued usage intentions.FindingsResults indicate higher continued usage intention for WFT devices is driven by perceived benefits-health, autonomy, social and hedonic, and individual characteristics-technological innovativeness and perceived health self-efficacy. Further, perceived symbolic benefits, diet control benefits, age, and gender does not discriminate between the groups with low and high continued usage intentions.Research limitations/implicationsThe results may be limited to the context of the sample and the factors considered. The study suggests future research areas.Practical implicationsThe paper offers insights for marketers, governments, insurance firms, and related healthcare services on promoting higher usage of WFT devices to yield dual benefits of preventive healthcare and higher profitability.Originality/valueThe study extends existing research by examining factors across consumer, health, and technological domains in a single framework and adds to the limited research in the context of usage of WFT devices in developing countries.

In recent years, the number of bedridden patients, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, has been increasing with the aging of the population, owing to advances in medical and long-term care technology. Eye movements are physical functions that are relatively difficult to be affected, even if the symptoms of ALS progress. Focusing on this point, in this paper, in order to improve the quality of life (QOL) of bedridden patients, including ALS patients, we propose a drone system connected to the Internet that can be remotely controlled using only their eyes. In order to control the drone by using only their eyes, a control screen and an eye-tracking device were used in this system. By using this system, for example, the patients in New York can operate the drone in Kyoto using only their eyes, enjoy the scenery, and talk with people in Kyoto. In this drone system, since a time delay could occur depending on the Internet usage environment, agile operation is required for remotely controlling the drone. Therefore, we introduce the design of the control screen focused on remote control operability and human eye movements (microsaccades). Furthermore, considering the widespread future use of this system, it is desirable to use a commercial drone. Accordingly, we describe the design of a joystick control device to physically control the joysticks of various drone controllers. Finally, we present experimental results to verify the effectiveness of this system, including the control screen and the joystick control device.

Tracking mandibular movements is essential for the production of personalized gnathologic and prosthetic devices. The market offers several solutions of optical systems aimed at tracking the jaw, instruments that, using a camera and specific markers, allow reconstructing free mandibular movements. The purpose of this study is to analyse the measurement uncertainty of one of these new systems through comparison with a reference technique on simple linear displacements.