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
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
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.