Thursday 15 March 2012

Tales of Technology


So this is it, my first venture into the great wide world of blogging. I am now a miniscule speck on the immense blogosphere spectrum.  My apologies to those who read this thinking ‘what the hell is this girl on about’, hopefully the eloquent and sophisticated blogger inside of me will emerge at some point and bring clarity to my future topics.

The focus of my first post will delve into the endless expanse of Information/Communication Technology. I will share my thoughts and opinions regarding all types of technology, and attempt to explain how prevalent technology has become in our day to day lives. I will talk about my own love/hate relationship with technology; what ethical dilemmas surround technology and how technology can relate to Occupational Therapy.

Information Technology, or I.T, is defined as, "the study, design, creation, utilization, support and management of computer-based information systems" (Informationtechnology.net. 2011). This is an extremely broad definition that can include all technological categories under the sun, a few examples of these are: cell phones, cameras, computers, the World Wide Web, social networking, hardware, software and data programming (Verdonck, M.C., & Ryan, S. 2008). I.T also encompasses communication systems by a certain technologies ability to retrieve and transmit, process and store information.

In this age, technology is everywhere. We have so many different types of technologies available to us at such an exponential rate that last months ‘new technology’ is old hat compared to this month’s brand new piece of fancy equipment. The video clip linked below is a great example of technological use and the changes that happen every day. As I look around my room I can spot multiple types of technology that I use on a daily basis. My cell phone is on my bed eagerly waiting to receive an electrical transmission from a friend. There’s a USB lying on my table dutifully storing my important documents, and an IPod playing music in my ears. There are GHD’s sitting on my bookcase – ready to come to my aid if humidity, rain or bed hair should strike. There’s a big lock on my door with a specific key designed especially to open it, and a cup of tea in my hand – which has been made with the amazing technology that is a Tea Kettle. My laptop is turned on around 5 times a day; it is used for playing games, researching and writing assignments, mindlessly clicking as I ‘stumble’ through the internet and connecting me with my friends and family via social and visual networks. Gone are the days of imaginary technologies like Wonka Vision, (although it still can’t transport chocolate) technology has advanced enough that we are now able to digitise ourselves, fly at incredible speeds as pixels through thousands of electrical networks, appear on another person’s computer screen, and have a conversation with them.





I can’t help thinking that life would be SO dreadful if technology didn’t exist. Without it, friends and families overseas trying to stay in touch would be waiting weeks for letters, which upon arrival are out of date anyway! Essays would all have to be written by hand, and instead of flicking a switch, the tea kettle would have had to have boiled over a fire. I have to say, I am rather fond of technology. I am part of the ‘instantaneous generation’; for example, I love how broadband internet works quickly and efficiently, on the other hand I hate it if I get stuck with a dial up connection, just five minutes with the annoying ‘eeeeeeeeeeee’ tone and the mouse in rainbow wheel mode, is enough to make me want to smash the thing with a very large and heavy object into teeny tiny little pieces.

I’m no Bill Gates, but I am confident using most types of technology – although we have our fallings out sometimes (My cell phone has frozen or the laptop has the blue screen of death) I find that if I fiddle around with it long enough, and have a go at using it, most technology is easy enough to understand.  I.T. is a huge part of meaningful and purposeful occupation; it lets people interact with others via communication devices, it provides a wide range of online activities through the use of the internet and it also can be heard and seen through music and art. It connects people with their chosen occupations that have a specific and special meaning to them.

However much I love technology it does have its downfalls. One aspect of this is described by none other than Drew Barrymore in the video linked below. I found her sad little rant to be quite true. At the rate companies are churning out new phones, half phone half cameras, phones with cameras and internet, and computers that can fit in your pocket, one can get lost in the whirlwind of expanding and improving technology, and feel left behind as the I.T. race is running way ahead of you; especially if you’re holding a 3310 Nokia – (with real buttons! and the classic game of all time: Snake!), while everyone around you has a touch screen IPhone 4 with cameras, instant internet, fancy games and even Skype loaded into its small and sleek interior.



I.T. is used in Occupational Therapy all the time, from the basics (like an easy reach) to super complex equipment (like motorised wheelchairs that are controlled by the slight movement of a person’s head). On my first placement I got to see technology in action. Everyday my supervisor and I would be using computers for filling and loading information, pagers for ward communication, and kettles for kitchen assessments. We would assign wheelchairs to those who needed them, arrange for housing adaptations (toilet and chair raisers) and phone patients for post discharge check-ups. Technology was a huge tool of our practice; it gave us the ability to facilitate the needs of our patients with ease.

We all know that with great new technology there has to be an opposite downside to it lurking just beyond our vision waiting to strike at the most inconvenient moment. The worst of all technological issues would include malfunctioning hardware, age, viral infections, and also a fail in electricity – most technology is reliant on electricity and occupations can come to a screeching halt in its absence. I believe a good base knowledge of technology is crucial to the functionality of daily living and enabling occupations. As a budding OT I can already see the positive impact technology has on people, by allowing them to participate in their chosen occupations independently and with ease. This is expertly shown in the cutest clip EVER below. Here the occupation of Mother and Son is being enhanced by astounding technology. Makes you go all warm and fuzzy inside doesn’t it?




There are many ethical battles fought on a daily basis involving the use and misuse of I.T. Copyright laws are put in place to try and protect peoples private intellectual property but loop hole finders, file sharers, hackers and the like illegally download, copy and misuse information technology like there’s no tomorrow. With the right knowledge and determination a hacker can get into your personal Facebook or email and spam everyone on you know, bombarding them with The Best Viagra Pills Ever! and Time Shares Available in the Canary Islands! and you won’t even realise its happened until it’s too late. Sometimes ethical boundaries are crossed while doing assignments as a student. Plagiarism is, in reality (and taking all the niceties out), the purposeful stealing of another person’s work. Students have to struggle to understand the hated APA reference system to reference another’s work to give full credit to the author, or all hell will break loose and you’ll be done for cheating. Ethical dilemmas have even been seen In the new Google Mapping technology – some people were outraged at the breach of privacy, some were angered at the activities captured on camera (funerals, cheating spouses and murder scenes), while some couldn’t care less, and are happy not to have to flick through the many pages of out dated maps.  


References:


Informationtechnology.com (2011). Everything you want to know (but were afraid
to ask). Retrieved 14th March 2012 from: http://information technology.net/.

Youtube.com (2009). Did you know? Retrieved 14th March 2012 from:

Youtube.com (2010). Rejected by 7 different technologies. Retrieved 14th March 2012

Youtube.com  (2010). 8 month old deaf baby reaction to cochlear implant being
activated. Retrieved 15th March 2012 from: http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=HTzTt1VnHRM.

Verndonck M. C., & Ryan. S. (2008). Mainstream technology as an occupational
therapy tool: technophobe or technogeek? British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71(6), 253-256.