"Therapy based on engagement in meaningful activities of daily life, especially to enable or encourage participation in such activities in spite of impairments or limitations in physical or mental functions"
Princeton University. (2011). Wordnetsearch. Receieved on 02/03/2011 from wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=occupational%20therapy.
What is Information Technology?
"Branch of engineering that deals with the use of computers and telecommunication to retrieve and store and transmit information"
Princeton University. (2011). Wordnetsearch. Recieved on the 02/03/2011 from wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=information%20technology.
If we consider the above definition of Information Technology we can come to terms with how prevalent technology is within society. It is the sharing and storing of mass information. I will be posting a YouTube video which truly depicts the explosion which has become The World Wide Web.
Change within society is overwhelming in terms of technology. Society always wants more, the better, the bigger and this is being enabled by technology. It has become particularly common placed and has diminished the use of general planning tools and forms of communication.
At current I feel comfortable in using a laptop, a PC, digital camera, cellphone and an old version Ipod. I find new versions of Ipod's quite confusing to use and I sometimes don't have the patience when my old version works perfectly well for my needs. I am also uncomfortable using most APPLE product as I find them hard to navigate, althought I haven't given them much time though. It is sometimes about finding the time to sit down and play with these devices to increase the use of IT.This renders the question as to whether the majority of society want to stick to old school use of technlogies or are we increasing each day to accept reality.
In relation to Occupational Therapy IT use has become important for practice because as a society we are susceptible to technology every day. "Occupational therapy relies on therapeutic use of purposeful and meaningful activities, which are aimed at achieving a person's functional independence" (Creek, 1998, Pedretti and Pasquinelli, 2001)......"Technology offers therapists new types of handiwork and enabling devices, which are being drawn from a virtual enviroment" (Verdonck et al, 2007). Technology is effective to use with particular clients as a therapeutic tool. Technology now offers a new scope and development to therapy and the use of internet, gaming consoles and portable devices including handheld play stations, cellphones and IPODs can be empowering to particular clients. Internet can be used for online shopping, internet banking, music, downloads, movies, social networking, buying and selling…the list goes on.
However, there are some issues that exist around OT's adoption of Information Technology systems and tools. There is a lack of knowledge in some areas, which can affect the effectiveness of intervention with clients that understand knowledge. Maybe the client can teach the OT a thing or two! Also, OT's as practitioners need to back their interventions with clinical reasoning and judgement and there are risks involved with different pieces of technology. We need to consider vulnerable clients and the negative effects gaming and internet surfing can have on these individuals. (Griffiths et al, 2003). There are online sites that now offer gambling and online gaming at a cost and this could be a vulnerable situation for clients with addiction problems.
It can also have positive effects on individual clients. For this instance I will focus on the positive impact it has on mental health clients. While working in the holidays at a forensic mental health unit, facilitating the Christmas programmes and day programmes alongside 4 Occupational Therapists it became evident how important technology has become to clients aged between 18-40 (if not older!). It was important to hone in on these clients abilities and interests to help build rapport and maintain a therapeutic relationship whilst I was there. I noticed some of the clients had their own Ipods, or music players and they had access to two computers, TV's and on two units there was access to Wii. In 'down time' I often got out the Wii and competed against some of the clients. At first it was noticeable that the clients were skeptical about this new piece of equipment, especially to those who had not left hospital in a number of years. Once they saw how fun it was, they joined in. But, it wasn't just about the fun, especially from my point of view. It was about motivating the clients to try something new, entertaining purposefully and engaging them in meaningful occupation, even if that was 'play'.
There are, however, ethics that play an important role when considering IT and sharing of information. Intellectual Property (IP), for starters, is a legal entitlement which is attached to certain types of information such as photos, data, or personal details held on the world wide web and often informed consent is necessary to access or use this data. Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. (World Intellectual Property Organisation. (2011). WIPO. Retrieved from http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/.
To me, intellectual property surrounds the arts, photos, films, plays, images, logos for companies and all the rest. For example...Google, a multimillion dollar company..their logo MUST be intellectual property, legally entitled to their company only. The blogger.com logo MUST be intellectual property. The photos taken by my self, on my own camera, MUST be MY own intellectual property when I display them.
What is social justice? Wikipedia (2011) notes that Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. (Wikipedia. (2011). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice). It surrounds fair treatment and is an ideal in society, however, is sometimes not adhered to. How often does this go astray when using IT? In terms of social networking, all the time. The amount of unjust information on the world wide web is astounding and often leaves an individual wondering whether the rest of the world knows more about them than they do.
This brings me to the next point of informed consent. There is a legal condition that must be given on the appreciation and access of facts and content. While Wikipedia is known to be a less than reliable source, it sums up 'informed consent' quite nicely. Well at least, so I can understand. Wikipedia (2011) says: "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." Wikipedia. (2011). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informed_consent. This, to me, means that when using information on the internet you must be given informed consent before appreciating the facts and using the information.
There is then the question around being able to access all data given on websites...there are consequences for not being able to fully utilise such websites. We lose information, feel isolated from the truth and have a decreased access to information. However, some sites can be adapted to utilise websites to full potential for those with impairments. Blind people can have text converted into electronic speech, colour blind may have colours altered and there can be deaf personnel available so people are able to access this information.
Ah, so much information. So little time. Onto the next venture my friends. Keep reading!
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