Observation

SYSTEM 24 SURVEILLANCE SOCIETY
DOMAIN THE SIGNAL

DEFINITION:

The act, process, or condition of perceiving, detecting, noticing, monitoring, measuring, witnessing, recording, or becoming aware of an event, behavior, condition, object, individual, activity, or phenomenon.

FUNCTION:

Transforms events and conditions into information by bringing them into awareness, measurement, documentation, or analysis.

EXAMPLES:

Visual observation
Audio observation
Behavioral observation
Environmental observation
Scientific observation
Security observation
Digital activity observation

NOTES:

Observation may be direct or indirect, human or automated, visible or invisible, active or passive, temporary or continuous. Observation alone does not necessarily imply surveillance, but surveillance systems depend upon observation as their foundational process.

CONTROL TEXT OBSERVATION:

Information begins when something is noticed. Observation functions as a reality-acquisition mechanism that converts events, behaviors, conditions, and activities into perceivable information. Through observation, the unseen becomes visible, the unnoticed becomes recorded, and the transient becomes available for memory, analysis, classification, and action.