My first posting for this blog is going to look at Information Technology (IT) and Ethical Issues around this.
What is information technology??
Information Technology is defiend as Communications Technology that refers to anything related to computing technology, such as networking, hardware, software, the Internet, or the people that work with these technologies. “Retrieved February 19. 2011, from http://www.techterms.com/definition/it
Impact of IT on society today?
Information technology has become common place in the 21st century, it is used by the majority of the population and it ranges from the use of small things such as cell phones to complex equipment that aid everyday life. In relation to this today’s world everyone, in particular 'generation y' have become increasingly dependent on technology. Most individuals in today’s world relay on such things as cell phones and social net work sites to communicate with the rest of the world. Below is a link to a YouTube clip that will help to understand the impact of technology in our society.
My Interpretion of IT?
My interpretation of Information technology (I.T) is technology that stores information and allows us to perform tasks in an effective manner. i understand it to be a very complex system and often think of information technology as a number of computerised systems used to organise, communicate, and store information.
What IT devices do you feel comfortable and competent with?
I feel comfortable using large amounts of modern information technology. The most common forms that i use are cellphone, laptop and eftpos machines. I am always happy to give new things a go, however often struggle to accept the number of changes that technology undergoes. Change however as I know that information technology is not going to slow down in years to come I can adapt to this change. There are a number of times that I often find technology to be frustrating due to my lack of knowledge on how to fix it if it goes wrong.
I believe that the use of information technology is a user friendly, affordable, and useful way to stay in contact with the world and definitely makes life alot easy in many aspects. I find that I tend to be limited to the amounted information technology that i can use due to such things as cost, time, and usability.
How is IT being used in occupational therapy practice?
The use of IT is being used in many different fields of Occupational Therapy (OT). Occupation Therapists use Information Technology to enhance client’s functional independence and occupational performance. This can be achieved through such things as wheelchairs to much more complex things such as individualised robotic limbs and other complex pieces of equipment. As new information technology is being developed it is occupational therapists that get the chance to test it out and see if any of the new inventions will assist any of their clients. OT’s focus on occupation’s that are meaningful in the people’s lives that they are providing therapy for and with the increase of importance IT has on society it is becoming key to incorporate this into therapy.
One of the main reasons that Information technology has become a large part in occupational therapy is due to the fact that Occupational Therapist needs to keep up with their client’s technology demands so that we are able to complete their Occupational Desires
Issues that exist around OT adoption of IT systems and tools?
Some issues that may result from using information technology within occupational therapy is
• The fact that both the client and the learner most likely have to learn and adapt easily to change which can be easier said than done for some individuals.
• Affordability is also a big problem within occupational therapy this is due to the fact that there is limited funding meaning that not everyone is entitled to the same thing which can often lead to some debates.
• Availability of resources
• Ethical issues- It is important to maintain the individual’s privacy as well as being aware to obtain informed consent for anything that could potentially be viewed by an outside party when using information technology.
Ways that you can envisage IT use becoming a potential tool of practice?
An Occupational Therapist needs to acknowledge the benfits thata dvancing technology ptovide. By doing this it ensures therapeutic activities are current and meaningful to their clients.
Occupational therapist can develop new ways to help people to achieve things such as in phone diaries ect. by doing this it helps the client to be more discrete about treatment as they are the only one who needs to know what is going on. Also technology is continuing to develop and improve the solutions and help people to live and achieve tasks that they at one time thought they may never have achieved.
Intellectual property
Intellectual property refers to the number of laws and rights that there are around creativity of the mind (Wikipedia, 2011)
My understanding of Intellectual property is is about ownership of a persons thoughts and feelings towards something and ensuring that no one else can claim these ideas as their own.
Social Justice
Social justice is defined as the fair and proper administration of laws conforming to the natural law that all persons, irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, possessions, race, religion, etc., are to be treated equally and without prejudice. (social justice, 2010). As an occupational theripest it is important to insure that all practice treats everyindividual fairly and equally.
Informed concent
"Informed consent is a phrase often used in law to indicate that the consent a person gives meets certain minimum standards. An informed consent can be said to have been given based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the facts, implications, and future consequences of an action" (Informed consent, 2011). When working with any client it is important ensure that they understand the facts, implications and consequences of any interventions, assessments, activities etc before they partake in them. This is to protect both the client and the therpist from anything that can happen due to the intevention. A basic but clear example of this was during my fieldwork 1 placement, my therpist had to ask the clients concent before any futher action was taken. another example of this also was when people had their photo taken they agreed to it and understood that the photos would be shared within the home.
References
Informed consent (2010). Retrieved March 30, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informed_consent
Social justice(2010) retrived march 30, 2011 from
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/social-justice.htm
Wikipedia (2011). Intellectual property. Retrieved 30 march 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property
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