Thursday 29 March 2012
Tuesday 20 March 2012
Information technology and ethical issues
To begin this post I want to define to topic I shall define both information and technology from Collins English dictionary
"Information- knowledge of facts" and
"Technology- is the application of practical or mechanical sciences to industry or commerce; scientific methods used in a particular field." (2009, pgs 304 and 596).
To put this into my own words:
knowing how to use different methods of putting information out to the world in a practical manner.
"Technology has made it possible for people to move to keep in touch with each other" as stated by Hendry (2008, pg 282). Hendry by in this quote has stated that technology is such common place now because of our human need to keep in touch with one another. A general example of this is facebook ( I have added a link her to facebook if you wish to make a profile www.facebook.com). This was created as a free means of people keeping in touch with one another. It is so easy to create a profile and find your friends, all you need is an Internet connection!
As a student I feel compelled to be totally familiar with the use of computers, however there are many things I can do on computers but not everything. In the big scheme of things I think that what I know doesn't even scratch the surface of what is possible with a PC or Mac. I am uncomfortable using the new types of digital cameras. For example, I was at my cousins wedding and I had her brand new $2000 camera to take photos of her on her wedding day........nek minit no battery! So no photos for the bride because to a technological issue. Now on the other hand, if I had a regular good old camera in which the photos had to be developed this would not have happened because they don't take batteries!
Now Occupational Therapists are using IT in practise. In many ways this has helped make the job of an OT that much easier. A great example of this is the use of computer games for treatment and rehabilitation for strengthening grip, teaching self care and improving motivation (Michele and Ryan, 2008). The idea that you can reach the idea of video games, find the right one and plan a session around this for a client rather than having to physically design and build something is fantastic because of the time saved. As great as these advances in technology are they can still fail. For example, a scratch on a game CD that will not read in the player. This would completely through a "spanner in the works" for this OT's session with their client. However, because we are OT's we are practical and will get around this issue (toot toot blowing the OT horn here). I have added a link here of a therapist using a digital game to help rehabilitate her client http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofm-dyjOu1s
If we as OT students can learn to embrace IT as we finish our studies and go out into the work force we will be making our own working lives that much easier. Also we can offer our clients a different range of rehabilitation techniques with technology.
Ethical implications regarding such things as photos, others comments, opinions and general information can be tricky because of the nature of the information itself. For example if I was to take a photo out of a text book and say that I had taken this picture myself that is plain and simple plagiarism. However, if I type "cat " into the google search engine hundreds of pictures of cats appear and they can be copied and pasted into a word document that I can claim as my own photo and as long as I referenced this as my own photo nobody would be any the wiser! Not so black and white eh (no pun intended).
References
Collins (2009). Collins english dictionary. Glasgow:Williams Collins & Co.
Facebook (2012). Home login page. Retrieved from: http://www.facebook.com
Hendry, J. (2008). An introduction to social anthropology: sharing our worlds.(2nd ed.). Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillian
Youtube (2012). Brain injury rehabilitation using wii. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofm-dyjOu1s
"Information- knowledge of facts" and
"Technology- is the application of practical or mechanical sciences to industry or commerce; scientific methods used in a particular field." (2009, pgs 304 and 596).
To put this into my own words:
knowing how to use different methods of putting information out to the world in a practical manner.
"Technology has made it possible for people to move to keep in touch with each other" as stated by Hendry (2008, pg 282). Hendry by in this quote has stated that technology is such common place now because of our human need to keep in touch with one another. A general example of this is facebook ( I have added a link her to facebook if you wish to make a profile www.facebook.com). This was created as a free means of people keeping in touch with one another. It is so easy to create a profile and find your friends, all you need is an Internet connection!
As a student I feel compelled to be totally familiar with the use of computers, however there are many things I can do on computers but not everything. In the big scheme of things I think that what I know doesn't even scratch the surface of what is possible with a PC or Mac. I am uncomfortable using the new types of digital cameras. For example, I was at my cousins wedding and I had her brand new $2000 camera to take photos of her on her wedding day........nek minit no battery! So no photos for the bride because to a technological issue. Now on the other hand, if I had a regular good old camera in which the photos had to be developed this would not have happened because they don't take batteries!
Now Occupational Therapists are using IT in practise. In many ways this has helped make the job of an OT that much easier. A great example of this is the use of computer games for treatment and rehabilitation for strengthening grip, teaching self care and improving motivation (Michele and Ryan, 2008). The idea that you can reach the idea of video games, find the right one and plan a session around this for a client rather than having to physically design and build something is fantastic because of the time saved. As great as these advances in technology are they can still fail. For example, a scratch on a game CD that will not read in the player. This would completely through a "spanner in the works" for this OT's session with their client. However, because we are OT's we are practical and will get around this issue (toot toot blowing the OT horn here). I have added a link here of a therapist using a digital game to help rehabilitate her client http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofm-dyjOu1s
If we as OT students can learn to embrace IT as we finish our studies and go out into the work force we will be making our own working lives that much easier. Also we can offer our clients a different range of rehabilitation techniques with technology.
Ethical implications regarding such things as photos, others comments, opinions and general information can be tricky because of the nature of the information itself. For example if I was to take a photo out of a text book and say that I had taken this picture myself that is plain and simple plagiarism. However, if I type "cat " into the google search engine hundreds of pictures of cats appear and they can be copied and pasted into a word document that I can claim as my own photo and as long as I referenced this as my own photo nobody would be any the wiser! Not so black and white eh (no pun intended).
References
Collins (2009). Collins english dictionary. Glasgow:Williams Collins & Co.
Facebook (2012). Home login page. Retrieved from: http://www.facebook.com
Hendry, J. (2008). An introduction to social anthropology: sharing our worlds.(2nd ed.). Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillian
Youtube (2012). Brain injury rehabilitation using wii. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofm-dyjOu1s
What my blog is all about
This blog is deigned for my participation in occupation for my second year Occupational Therapy studieds in 2012. My blog is based around the technology in relation to Occupational Therapy. The postings will discuss information technonlogy and ethics, digital imaging, video production internet and online communities and assertive technology. I hope you find the information useful and feel free to post a comment.
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