If we go further and unpack this definition we begin to see that we has humans have become dependant on technology in daily life. For without technology what would we do? Some would find themselves struggling to survive without their ipod, laptop, cellphone? Ask the question: What would life be like without the availability of television? We have grown up with it, learnt from it, depended on it (a little too much perhaps?).
Information Technology is advancing at an insane speed! Click on the YouTube clip above to see what i mean...............
The generation I have grown up in has changed the way in which we communicate, it seems society now relies on Information technology to provide us with the ability to communicate with others and often replace the work of humans such as self checkouts. examples of IT may be: online chat (MSN), e-mail, Gaming, Facebook, My space, YouTube and Online dating sites (to name a few). It seems odd to now send letters or call someone, because of the social technology available to us.
The sources of information are multiple, such as various websites, computer programs and electronic resources.
"We live in a society exquisitely dependant on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology" - Carl Sagan
As a student i am exposed to new technologies relatively often. For studying the Internet has become a huge source of information due to its convenience, but can it be reliable? For example wikipedia is always an easy option to collect quick answers or definitions, but in fact this site is unsecured meaning that anyone who is anyone has the ability to change and alter any information written on the site.
As for my learning the Otago Polytechnic Occupational therapy department uses a online computer program called 'moodle'. This way of learning is online based and is the place where we listen to our lectures. This is different to universities around the world who still have set times and face-to-face lectures with their teachers. Using this online resource has provided me with the opportunity to become familiar using such information technology.
Limitations of information Technology for myself personally would be the cost factor. Many new technologies are at the higher price range which for students can become a problem :( Other factors which may prove negative about IT is the stress of keeping up with all the new products on offer such as I-pads, I-phones, Twitter etc, this all requires time! And why have we become so dependant on Technology? If it breaks down or becomes 'old' then what will we do...throw it away? As with IT something new is always better.
Information Technology and Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapists are problem solvers, and often Technology assists in solving problems. This is through using digital tools to enhance our work, manipulate the environment or adapt the activity to suit the client.
Because being occupied is the essence of being human we associate technology with 'occupying ourselves'. Lets face it we do spend a lot of our time using technology. This is where OT's come in .... we are interested in the occupations of our clients. We want to choose occupational medium that is relevant to today's society e.g. technology if we are going to be working in peoples lives, we need to know about the occupations of a persons life, therefore if that is technology we must learn it! Often the problem lies within the reliability of the technology, will it help our clients, will it be effective and positive for them, and do we need it or: matching the tools for the right job.
www.thelowdown.co.nz is an interactive website offered to clients who suffer from depression. It is a way for the client to become independent in using the technology themselves and deciding what they feel is useful. It provides power for the client and exposes them to different ways of overcoming their concerns. Visit this site to get an idea of how this happens.
Ethical implications involved in Information Technology
- Legal and control issues
- relevance and necessity of information
- misuse of tools
- consent from clients to be videos, used as examples
- accuracy of information
Intellecutal property in basic defintion addresses issues of ideas prtection and copyright. an example of this would be if a therapist has created a blog or article it may be of benefit to protect it so ideas are not copied or misinterpreted.
Social justice
For a quick definition click on the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice
Social Justice refers to an equality in society. In OT practice it is important for us as professionals to treat each individual client with respect, equal opportunities and provide fair treatment.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/saxarocks/3071057085/
Informed consent
Informed consent is a legal procedure to ensure that a patient or client knows all of the risks and costs involved in a treatment. The elements of informed consents include informing the client of the nature of the treatment, ppossible alternative treatments, and the potential risks and benefits of the treatment.
In order for informed consent to be considered valid, the client must be competent and the consent should be given voluntarily. Retrived from http://psychology.about.com/od/iindex/g/def_informedcon.htm
Informed consent is vital for working with clients. it is important to ask clients for consent if the therapist decides to use their work as examples or references. Also when citing an article it may be nessecary to use informed consent due to copyright.
References
Willcok,A.A (1993). A Theory of Human Need for Occupation. Journal of Occupational Science: Australia 17-24
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