Surveillance
Surveillance is close monitoring of behavior.
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Although the word surveillance literally means (in French) "to watch from above" (i.e. a God's-eye view looking down from on-high) the term is often used for all forms of observation, not just visual observation.
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However, the all-seeing eye-in-the-sky is still an icon of surveillance in general.
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The word surveillance is commonly used to describe observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment or other technological means, for example:
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- eavesdropping
- telephone tapping
- directional microphones
- communications interception
- covert listening devices or 'bugs'
- Minox subminiature cameras
- closed-circuit television
- electronic tagging
- military reconnaissance
- Reconnaissance aircraft, e.g. Lockheed U-2
- Reconnaissance satellites
- "trusted" computing devices
- Internet and computer surveillance
However, surveillance also includes simple, relatively low-technology methods such as postal interception, watching from nearby buildings with binoculars or similar and visiting properties in disguise.
Related Topics:
Postal interception - Binoculars
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The term can also be used to describe the monitoring of diseases by epidemiologists.
Related Topics:
Disease - Epidemiologist
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