Theee end

Well that brings me to the end of my blogging career but definitely not the end of my cooking. I hope to continue with this special activity and build my skills to use in the future.This activity has increased my awareness of the meaning cooking has to me and all that it affords me to do. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my activity of cooking and the related areas. goodbye for now :)

My comments on other blogs

Hi Rachel,
i really like how you have considered how the links between cooking and culture might be relevant to Occupational Therapy and clients we might work with in the future. one thing i would suggest is maybe choose a font that's easier to read next time, other than that great job! :)


http://rachelmareethomas.blogspot.com/2011/10/connecting-with-culture-through-cooking.html#comment-form




Hi Jess,
i like how you have used the example of cooking in an unfamiliar environment to clearly explain ergonomics in relation to cooking. i would have liked to see you expand more under the person, occupation, environment in a broader sense but the specific example was very easy to follow and understand your point.
good job :)


http://jessica-ot.blogspot.com/2011/09/ergonomics.html#comment-form




Hi Leigh,
I enjoyed reading this blog as i hold many of the same views around cooking and it was really easy to follow. the only suggestion i would make would be to add some photos to liven up the page a little.
good work :)


http://leighmillward.blogspot.com/2011/10/affordances-continued.html#comment-form




Hi Tim,
I think you have linked the quote to cooking and how having an understanding of ergonomics is relevant to us as training OT's. I enjoyed reading your take on how ergonomics is specific to your life as i hold a lot of the same opinions.
good job :)


http://timsotblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/ergonomics.html#comment-form

My References

• Caulton, R. & Dickson, R. (2007). What’s going on? Finding an explanation for what we do. In J. Creek & A. Lawson-Porter (Eds.), Contemporary issues in occupational therapy (pp. 87-114). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
• Sunderland, J (2010). Adaptive living and occupation: food and culture. Unpublished, cited with the permission of the author. Otago Polytechnic School of Occupational Therapy, Dunedin.
• Sheldrake, P. (2007). A Brief History of Spirituality.  New Jersey: Wiley – Blackwell

• Green, T. (1968). Work, leisure,and the American schools. New York: Random House.
• McGowan, J. (1998). Hannah Arendt: an introduction. USA: University of Minnesota press.
• Visser, M. (1991).The Rituals of Dinner. New York: Grove Wiedenfield.

The need for cooking

The need for cooking

In class this week we discussed the need for our chosen activity although the need for cooking/eating is very much a human need for nutrients and energy, the need goes beyond this for me. A quote that describes how I feel about what we get from cooking is that of Visser (1991) who said “We turn the consumption of food, a biological necessity, into a carefully cultured phenomenon. We use eating as a medium for social relationships: satisfaction of the most individual of needs becomes the means of creating community.” For me the need for cooking mainly comes under two categories:

·         The need for nutrients and survival

·         The need for social interaction and spirituality.

As all humans need food to survive one of the reasons I eat it to be able to survive and have the energy to carry out daily activities. Not only do we need to eat, but we need to eat the things which will enable our bodies to work at a good standard. The main meal I cook is at dinner where I try to include a variety of veggies and make it as flavoursome as possible. Always making sure I have a meal with lot of vegetables is not the easiest of tasks, being a student I don’t often have the money to eat the things I’d like to which can be very frustrating.

Not only do I need food for my health I feel it has almost become a need for social interaction and connection with people. In my earlier posts I have talked about the personal significance cooking has to me and this activity has really solidified those feelings. Cooking and what it affords definitely reflects values held by my family and the person I see myself being.

Reference

Visser, M. (1991).The Rituals of Dinner. New York: Grove Wiedenfield.

Cooking and Labour...

Cooking and labour...

‘Labour is the effort required to secure the necessities of life”. (McGowan, 1998. p. 42)

Every person, no matter what their age, race, beliefs etc. is required to take part in some form of labour in order to obtain the necessities of life, in this case the form of labour being around food. Not only do we have to eat to survive, this biological necessity is the starting point for a number of other forms of labour such as a source of income, a source of socialisation and an expression of self. Whether it is through simply sustaining nutrients in our body or meeting our needs as social beings the act of cooking and eating is very much a form of labour. Although the act of cooking and what it personally affords to me is not necessarily a biological need, I believe what we as humans have manipulated from this form of labour is a pure example of what it is to be human. Green stated “the man is not free whose life is totally absorbed in labour.” I believe this is a good contrasting statement and example of what we have created from the labour of sourcing and eating food. Although we as living beings need labour to survive, we as humans demand more from the experience.

Reference

McGowan, J. (1998). Hannah Arendt: an introduction. USA: University of Minnesota press.

Green, T. (1968). Work, leisure,and the American schools. New York: Random House.

Affordances continued

Affordance continued

Aesthetics

My take on aesthetics is the potential that an activity possesses to express beauty. This can be a very personal and subjective experience. For me the beauty cooking affords is the togetherness it brings. One of the things I miss most from home is the Sunday roast that my family shares every week. The whole family gathers at my nanas house where a roast cooked to perfection is guaranteed, along with hours of fun, conversation and laughter (usually at my expense). This is the best example, personally, of the beauty that cooking affords. The beauty that I can see from this activity is very much subjective, being built by the experiences I personally have had. Along with this the presentation of fresh veggies of all colours is satisfying to me and is something I think I have taken on and is reflected in my own cooking. No matter what the dish is I always find myself putting a little extra effort to make sure the presentation of the dish is up to standard with the appropriate colours in the right spot.

Spirituality

As I have mentioned in earlier posts cooking has a real sense of spirituality to me and it is mainly to do with my family life. Sheldrake (2007) describes spirituality in relation to ones inner path which leads do the discovery of the essence of his/her being and states that it is shaped by the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” (p. 1-2). For me this is so true as I believe the majority of what makes me who I am has been shaped by the experiences I have had which cooking has afforded over the years. Every celebration, in fact, every gathering we have always involves food, for example whenever I go home for holidays I always get to pick the first meal we have which is usually with the whole family. A couple of days before I return I text my mum with my requests for the meal ranging from the starters right through to the dessert. Although I enjoy this process immensely, it is what follows and is afforded by this which has given me my fondest memories of my home life. My stay is of course followed by meals and drinks out with my mother, aunty, nana and usually a few of their friends where we have a good old catch up filled with all the latest dramas in theirs and everyone else’s lives. This is something I really look forward to doing when I go home and has become an unspoken tradition which I hope will continue.

Ambience

Closely linking to spirituality the ambience of an activity is concerned with a particular feeling which is associated with that activity. The ambience of an activity is very subjective and may never have the same association to another person. For my activity of cooking the ambience is a sense of being a woman and being in touch with my roots. As I have mentioned in other posts there is almost a sense of nostalgia, making me think of my family in the past and all of the times we have shared which have been afforded by this activity. At times I can be a little old fashioned and I feel this is a big part of why I get a real sense of being a woman through cooking as I believe it is a great asset to be able to prepare a meal and bring together groups of people. Not only does the actual activity bring about these feelings but also the activities which are afforded by cooking. The whole process of having a meal, for me, brings about togetherness essentially. This is really special as it reminds me of awesome times I’ve had with pretty much every person I'm close to as having a meal is such a common thing to do, if not for a celebration, then just for a catch up with those I haven’t seen in a while. This sense of togetherness is not limited to just those you know well. An example of this was on placement we ran a cooking group. Groups of four people would be given a budget and they had to work together on what they would cook, how they would do it on a budget, and who would be in charge of each role. This was an example of how complete strangers were afforded through this activity to work as a team and build relationships and talk about things that perhaps they may not have had they not have participated in the activity.

History

I believe I mentioned in my first post how one of the reasons I was so keen to get in to cooking was because of the history in my family. My Mother, Aunty and Nana are all fantastic cooks and even owned a catering business. My mother and aunty were taught how to cook by my nana and my nana taught by her mother, and so on (you know how it goes). I would love to be the one who cooks for them as I know it would be really special as they hold the same views and values as me around cooking and all it affords which I guess makes sense considering I have been exposed to it my whole life. When I cook a meal for others I almost get a sense of nostalgia as I am very aware of my values and the history of cooking in my family. I love to provide for those I care about and cooking gives me a real sense of being a woman. I hope to continue the long line of good cooks and bring the skills I am learning not only to by personal but also professional life in the future.

Reference

Sheldrake, P. (2007). A Brief History of Spirituality.  New Jersey: Wiley – Blackwell.

Affordances

Affordances

In class this week we covered affordances and what our chosen activity affords or leads to us doing focussing under three main areas of communication, connections (action properties) and moral properties. When looking at my chosen activity of cooking I have become much more aware of the affordances that this brings, and what kind of meaning and sense of spirituality this activity has to me. A quote I have found interesting and one that describes how I feel about cooking is that of Nigella Lawson (2004 as cited in Sunderland, 2010) who stated “Cooking has many functions, and only one of them is about feeding people.  When we go into a kitchen, indeed when we even just think about going into a kitchen, we are both creating and responding to an idea we hold about ourselves, about what kind of person we are or wish to be”. I feel this quote is really expressive of what I personally see cooking to be, I love how it brings so much togetherness and a real sense of achievement to me. Cooking has always been a really big part of my family life and there is so much more than just the aspect of eating. In my family it is tradition to have a big meal when we all get together or on special occasions and is a time which I consider really valuable. Working on and increasing my skill level in this activity will enable me to continue this tradition and build on the person I envision myself to be. Below I will explore the three main focus areas in relation to cooking and what it affords me to do.

Communication

With the cooking I do there is a lot of communication needed right from the initial stages of planning to have a meal as I cook both with my flatmate and boyfriend and sometimes all together. This means it is necessary for me to communicate with everyone to ensure no one thinks they need to wait for me and I don’t step on anyone’s toes. When this is sorted there is the need to plan what we will cook, where we will cook and what if we have what is needed. One this is all sorted out we shall begin and furthermore communicate on who will do what tasks.  Asides from the technical components of communication there is a large part of social communication that goes on with the task of cooking. It is a time where we catch up on what we have done in the day and just have a general catch up on what’s new for each of us.

Connections

In regard to connections or action properties I will look at what actions this task leads me to do and for me this is a really important part of the process...EATING! Not only do I get the satisfaction of filling my stomach, the eating leads to more communication and socialising with not only my cooking partner but also the rest of my flat. This is an important part of the process as it is a time where we often will all be socialising which is important to me as with such different schedules this is a time where we all get to be together.  Finally there is the cleanup which once again can afford more conversation and usually bring an end to the activity of cooking until the next day when you do it all over again.

Moral properties

Moral properties are all about the good and the bad which comes with cooking and for me the good outweighs the bad by far. Cooking, along with allowing me the opportunity to socialise with many people gives me a real sense of accomplishment when I’ve completed meals that I didn’t think I would have the skills to do. The bad things that can come about when cooking with other people is that everyone has different preferences and may not like what others do. This can cause me to run in to problems and sometimes arguments over what to have. Another bad side is the clean up can be difficult to be motivated to complete and I know in my flat this has caused a bit of uneasiness around people not cleaning up after themselves. All in all i know that these few small things wont change the passion i now have for cooking and i will continue with.

Reference

Sunderland, J (2010). Adaptive living and occupation: food and culture. Unpublished, cited with the permission of the author. Otago Polytechnic School of Occupational Therapy, Dunedin.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics

Before starting this course the only thing I could link ergonomics to was looking at how people sit whilst at the computer, thinking of it as more to do with posture and the individuals body rather than all the factors that contribute to completion of a task. I now understand it to be the ‘fit’ between the components of person, activity and environment and how these components either enable or create barriers to the successful completion of a task. If there is a good fit between these components then the task is considered to have good ergonomics and the task will deliver maximal comfort and satisfaction to the individual an enable the task to deliver its intended purpose. The perceived fit of these components will vary from person to person and is dependent on what is best or most preferred for the individual in the specific task. Caulton & Dickson 2007 state that if a therapist has good understanding of ergonomics then they will possess the ability to “constantly make slight invisible adjustments to an activity to adapt to the needs of those taking part and ensure that it continues to work for its intended purpose”.  One of the reasons I chose cooking as my activity was to gain a better understanding of cooking and to familiarise with all aspects of it which I may not be able to grasp had I not been carrying out the activity myself. I feel looking at ergonomics has enabled me to gain a better understanding of issues which can arise within cooking and will help me in future practice in providing good fit between the three components in relation to specific clients.

In relation to the cooking that I have been doing I have analysed the task and components which contribute to the decisions I choose to make within my cooking. I have broken these down in to the three components of person, activity and environment.

Person

I have recently discovered a love for cooking, one that has certainly not been there in the past, having previously being more focussed on the eating aspect of the task and preferring to opt. for the cleaning having grown up by the unspoken rule of the ones who don’t cook do the cleaning up. Recently cooking has been a task that my boyfriend and I have been doing a lot together which has brought in a social aspect for me which I hadn’t experienced with cooking before. I haven’t done a lot of cooking before and don’t have a lot of confidence in myself so I gain a lot of satisfaction when others say they have enjoyed what I have made. Being a student my budget doesn’t always afford for things I might like to cook but this has been good for me as I like exploring what I can do with limited funds and this is something which I believe will be valuable for practice.

Activity

Although I haven’t been the person cooking the meals for the majority of my life I spent a lot of time with my mother in the kitchen growing up helping her minimally by reading out recipes and gathering ingredients or equipment. This has allowed me to gain a pretty good idea of what may be best to use for certain tasks and different ways of doing things. I notice this now that I have begun to cook a lot more and I find recipes really easy to follow using this knowledge. One thing I like about cooking is that activities can easily be selected or adapted for different skill levels and my increased involvement in this activity has allowed me to have good insight into areas which may be difficult and alternative solutions which may be used when problems are faced.

Environment

In regard to environment I have been able to relate really well to how different environments can completely change the experience and possibilities within cooking. I live in a flat of six students with a really small kitchen and all coming from halls last year, not a lot of equipment. This proves to make the task of cooking very difficult and often crowded if more than one person is cooking at a time. On the other hand I do a lot of cooking at my boyfriends flat of seven people with a massive kitchen and all of the people living there having flatted before. The contrast between these two environments has really solidified the importance of the environment for me. At my flat cooking is much more of a necessity based activity due to the lack of space and equipment and is something I prefer to do without other people there simply because of these things. At my boyfriends flat I enjoy experimenting with different things and is often a very social experience for me and I like to have others around. The lack of equipment in my flat exemplified how difficult tasks can be if you don’t have the appropriate resources and made me think about how tasks can become increasingly difficult for someone who has a deficit which restricts them from carrying out an activity. I have however enjoyed the challenge of trying to make do with what I have as I love to use my mind to solve problems and think of alternative solutions, something which will once again be extremely useful in practice.

So that was my take on ergonomics with respect to my task of cooking, I found this task really interesting and useful and am discovering lots of things which will be really useful not only in my personal but also my professional development.   

Reference

Caulton, R. & Dickson, R. (2007). What’s going on? Finding an explanation for what we do. In J. Creek & A. Lawson-Porter (Eds.), Contemporary issues in occupational therapy (pp. 87-114). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Participation in Occupation II

The occupation i have chosen to focus on is cooking. Cooking is something i haven't really been interested in participating but this year, being the first year i have had to cook for myself, i have found myself thinking about new different things i could cook and wanting to make it myself. Cooking is something that is a big part of my home life, i come from a family of really good cooks with my Grandmother, Aunt and mother all being part of a catering business. as well as this when ever we are all together a big part of getting together is having a really nice meal that we all get to choose things we would like to have. Along with the personal significance i feel that cooking is a skill that will be really useful for myself as a training Occupational therapist. From experience both in theory and practice, i have found it to be a really good intervention and assessment tool for investigation of both cognitive and physical deficits alongside as providing what i consider important life skill. In developing my skills in these areas i will be able to work on my professional development and grasp a better understanding of what things might be appropriate for particular clients. This week for our out of class activity was to participate in our chosen occupation for two hours but when we do it, do it "mindfully". This proved to be quite difficult for me as i didn't really understand what it meant but i was instructed to think of the soles of my feet while i did it. When i tried i found myself keeping on wanting to go back to thinking about the cooking. As my skills in this area develop it may become easier but for now i will just work on improving. This activity is very good for me at the moment as i am a beginner and on a budget so these set backs at the moment will likely lead me to having a better understanding of how it is to be in this position in the future. As cooking is something i have to do to survive it also fits in quite well with my schedule. i look forward to exploring this area more.

Tutorial Eight

Assistive Technology can be described as “is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them”(Assistive Technology(Para. 1, n.d.).

 To be I see assistive technology as any kind of device which is given to a person to enhance, enable or improve of some kind of function they have lost.

One example of a piece of assistive technology is a hearing aid. This is an electro acoustic device which fits inside or behind the users ear it will be suited to a frequency and mould specific to the individual. Hearing aids range in cost and size and certain funding can be obtained by some individuals for a hearing aid. Having such a device would enable the user to maintain occupational functioning in social situations in which they may not have been able to if it was not available. It would also largely increase safety for a person as our hearing is a main sense in the detection of approaching items whether they be footsteps behind or a horn to warn them to move out of the way of approaching traffic.

Here is a YouTube clip which shows all the different types of hearing aids available

Tutorial seven

This week we were asked to link 5 blogs of interest...

These are some links to blogs of people in my year and they all provide very indepth information on various topics such as hand therapy, music, meaningful occupations and relaxation, in respective order. ther last is a blog which explores one of the latest fads a nintendo wii and how in can be used in therapy for rehabilitive purposes.
http://jessica-ot.blogspot.com/

http://alicesotblog.blogspot.com/

http://rachelmareethomas.blogspot.com/

http://jooneill.blogspot.com/

http://wiihabtherapy.blogspot.com/

Tutorial six

This week we looked at online communities and I have chosen to talk about three of personal interest to myself.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/    

Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are all social networking services. Facebook and MySpace allow individuals to create pages containing information about them. From these pages they can become friends with other users, post whatever they want on their profile, add photos and videos, and join and create groups or pages. I think the intention of these two is to create a fun and fresh way of communication and with the growing rate of the use of the internet these sites are extremely popular. Twitter is also a social networking service but is more like a blog where one individual will post either a comment, picture or video of whatever they like. The purpose of the site was to utilise texting to communicate with a small group. Twitter is used by a lot of celebrities to update fans on what they are doing, which isn’t necessarily important, in fact apparently around 40% of the points are “pointless babble”. However despite this Twitter remains a very popular service. 

All three of these sites are very interactive, they all work on the basis of communicating your own ideas with groups of others, they all have a sense of community to them and I feel people whom are consumers would feel a part of a community. Although these sites seem a bit egotistical there are a number of good causes which are represented. Groups for a large number of really worthy causes are made. These raise awareness of certain things people can do to help people and bring out human compassion where a group of complete strangers can come together and support something they have a common desire to fight for. These sites allow people to maintain contact with people whom may be live ten minutes away, in another city or even in another country at the click of a button. This is a strong movement which encourages, supports and offers communities to be built and maintained.

I feel people join these services to keep in the loop of what is happening in their social circles and keep in contact with friends and family they may not have as easy access to contact if these sites did not exist. I know I personally joined Facebook as all of my friends had it and as we were all going our separate ways after secondary school I wanted to easily keep in contact with them as a group. All three of the cites allow group interactions and I believe people enjoy the opportunity to monitor what is going on in the lives of others and also be recognised as a member through their input to the networks.

One problem which often arises in these types of communities is to do with ethical issues. It is so easy to create a profile and take on a completely different identity, age or gender. Unfortunately because of this these types of communities are often subject to fraud and hacking of profiles and innocent people are taken advantage of. The people running these sights are trying to minimise the chances of this happening as much as possible but unfortunately due to the nature of these sights it is really easy for people to provide false information as no real identification in required to join.

This type of community unfortunately doesn’t promote traditional forms of communication such as writing letters, talking on the phone or even meeting up face to face. When I look at it this way it saddens me as it leads me to believe people are coming very generic and the value behind more traditional forms of communication are something that may be lost in the vastly increasing technological age. Although this is true I feel it is important that the convenience and opportunity that this form provides is not forgotten. People whom may not have had contact for months at a time in the past are now offered to have contact at the click of a button.

Tutorial five

YouTube is a website where any users can upload and share their own videos as well as watching others. You will find videos of pretty much anything from “The drunkest guy ever” to the latest music from your favourite artist. It allows people to get their information out there and can for some provide an opportunity to develop a career. It is a free service and any one with the internet can access the videos on it and if you have an account you can upload videos of your choice.

On my first placement I was introduced to what is known as sensory modulation room. These rooms are used to stimulate senses and create a reaction in patients which will benefit them therapeutically. It is used for a range of individuals with lots of different impairments working specifically on specific senses, dependant on the individual. I was specifically working with mental health aiming at de- escalation or prevention but this is also an area used largely to work with children with developmental impairments. It is said that the stimulation and interaction of the senses can largely improve functioning and de- escalate stressful situations. Below are some examples of different kinds of sensory rooms and equipments.

This video is a quick run down on how sensory rooms work to improve functioning in individuals with some kind of developmental delay...

This is an example of a Snoezelen room

This is another Snoezelen room

This link will take you to a page which will tell you how to set up your own Snoezelen room...

http://www.ot-innovations.com/pdf_files/Starting_up_sensory_Room_web.pdf

Here is a link to a site which explains what a weighted blanket is therapeutically used for- on my placement we had these in our sensory room and it was used by patients who were feeling anxious. It was amazing to see the almost instant de-escalation of their mood.

http://www.ot-innovations.com/content/view/33/46/

Tutorial Three

This week we made our actual blogs with A LOT of help from James...help being step by tiny step instructions on what exactly to do. In the end it was actually really simple, no tears were shed and hopefully as you can see I successfully created my blog! Enjoy!

Tutorial Two

This week (week two) we looked at examples of software and hardware and the advantages and disadvantages of new technologies.

Information can be stored and transferred in a number of different ways. Some examples of hardware and software which I am familiar with are

·         USB

·         Memory cards

·         External hard drives

·         Computers

·         Facebook

·         YouTube

·         Microsoft word programmes

·         Compact discs

·         Norton anti-virus programmes

·         Cameras

·         Cell phones

Digital imaging is used in a number of different ways to provide information and recording. Three that are commonly used are digital cameras, video cameras and cell phones.

Digital Cameras are the latest and most common form of today. They are cameras that will take still and more than often video images which can be stored on the camera with the use of a memory card which thousands of images can be stored on "Digital Camera", n.d.). These differ from traditional cameras and instead of having a film which the images would need to be developed before being able to see them, you can see instantaneously and from there either save or delete the images to create more space. The introduction of Digital cameras has created a lot of convenience for the consumer and also cut down costs. They no longer have to worry about films, having to take them to get developed and then waiting for up to a day to get their photos back. Digital cameras also allow the choice of deleting unwanted photos and give instant results. They will also often come with re-chargeable batteries which would further cut down costs.

Video Cameras are most often a handheld device which is used predominantly to capture motion picture ("Video Camera", n.d.). Like a digital camera it has the ability to hold vast amounts of information which can be viewed instantly and if is unwanted can be deleted. Originally videotape was used to store the images but now there are things such as optical discs, hard discs and flash memory. It can be stored on these things and then either played directly through a DVD player or through the television or computer using specific chords. These can be a useful tool in Occupational Therapy in both teaching patients how to perform tasks by getting them to observe and mimic and also for the therapist to video a patient doing an assessment and then look back over what happened.

Mobile Phones have become an extremely common accessory in fact it is seen as abnormal if an individual does not have one. For those who don’t know mobile phones are devices used to make phone calls, recordings, text messages, emails, pictures and even videos across a wide geographic area unlike a telephone which is limited to phone calls within specific area which is not very big in size ("Mobile Phone", n.d.). These can be saved to the phone either to the actual phone or a SIM card in the phone an can be send to other mobile phones or computers and travel huge distances. Mobile phones can be extremely useful for the communication of individuals and are an extremely popular method of capturing, transporting and storing information.

“A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature”

I agree with this statement to a certain degree. Take the example of digital camera technology in comparison to traditional film based cameras. On one hand digital cameras offer a lot more convenience and quality from a technical point of view. They eliminate the need to buy films, batteries, printing and having to wait for the film to be developed to see the photos. Instant viewing of photos is available and if they are unwanted can be deleted with the click of a button. Although all these things are great I feel so much of the value is taken away from what once was a really treasured possession. People would take care not to waste their 30 pictures on the film and it was a really exciting thing when you got them developed. With this you would be more likely to have things like photo albums rather than just saving them to your desktop on computers which is generally people do these days.

Whenever pictures are taken there are instantly ethical considerations that need to be taken into account. With the rapid prevalence of image capturing and distribution of information technology certain problems can arise for example there is a lot on in the news at present talking about Facebook hacking. Individual’s pictures are being copied and used as the face on fake profiles made by scammers. Another example is the huge controversy which arose when Google street view was introduced with people worrying that their privacy would be intruded and inappropriate images may have been caught. These worries came true with an array of images popping up on the internet of people in their homes, people whom have been in accidents and a number of other scenes which were not ethically correct to be posted on the internet. These are just two examples of the ethical issue which arise due to the fast paced rate of image capturing of information technology.

Digital images are being used in Occupational Therapy to teach clients how to carry out certain tasks e.g learning by observing and mimicking. It is also used by OT’s in assessment where an OT will video the client performing a task and then use that footage to look back and further assess or pick up things they may have missed during the actual assessment. This can then also be used to show the progress of a patient taking videos of them at the start and end points of intervention.




References

Retrieved 3/04/11 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_camera

Retrieved 3/04/11 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_camera

Retrieved 3/04/11 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone

Tutorial One

The purpose of my first post is to focus on finding out what is meant by information technology, looking at the pros and cons of this and  the ethical issues that arise around the use of technology. Information technology can be defined as “Information technology (IT) is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications” (Information Technology n.d.). Personally I interpret it as the process of using technology to expand and simplify the aspects of the world we live in. I myself am a user of information technology for both convenience and pleasure for things such as internet banking and social networking. Ethics can be described as “a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality; that is, about concepts such as good and bad, right and wrong, justice, and virtue” ("Ethics" para 1, n.d.). Communication technology is more concerned with the communications side of technology such as telecommunications. To me I understand information communications to be technology in which people use to communicate with each other such as telephones and cell phones.

It has become extremely common place in first world society to have a life in which we are extremely dependant on information technology as a way of sourcing information, doing our work, communication with others and for entertainment. It has become the norm to possess things such as a cell phone, laptop, YouTube account, email and Facebook account among an array of other things. This YouTube clip gives a small taste of the rate information technology is growing. It illustrates the rate at which technology is increasing and provides statistics on the prevalence of technology using specific examples.

I personally feel quite comfortable using a cell phone, computer, telephone and the internet but only at a very basic level. If a cell phone, computer or internet site has too many steps or applications I tend to get overwhelmed and give up purely due to the fact that my knowledge and interest base with information technology is quite limited.

Information technology is a growing fashion in OT practice as there are so many more opportunities and convenience which comes with it. Along with this meaningful occupations have changed substantially and things that may have interested people twenty years ago may be very different now. The use of technology has now allowed OT’s of offer enabling equipment which is allowing patients to do far more than they have been able to in the past. Not only does it offer equipment for physically impaired individuals it also offers things such as blogs and chat rooms for people to seek support from their own homes when they are socially isolated. This however, can also cause potential problems as it can offer a place for individual’s to feed off others with similar problems to them. For example a group for anorexic or suicidal individuals may be used as a sight to offer each other hints on how to get away with not eating or a place to talk about different methods of suicide. I can see IT becoming u useful tool in OT for example the use if keyboard or mice activations for carrying out particular tasks. Things such as cell phones may be used as reminders to do things or communication systems such a Skype or video calling may be used for interviews.

A personal example I have is from my first placement. The members of the
multi disciplinary team would have their weekly meetings where client progress would be discussed. The information would be documented and out up for members to look back on or if anyone had missed the meeting to see. They also would use cell phones and email to communicate with other members of the team.

The use of IT will be good for convenience and time management as it will cut out things such as travel times and offer opportunities to people whom otherwise may not have been able to particular tasks without the assistance of particular technologies.  A good example of one thing that is often used is voice activated command systems this link provides a good example of an individual using a voice activated head unit to communicate through the phone.  This enables individuals who are cognitively capable to engage in occupations they may not have been able to had this technology not been available.

Although it can be a good thing it can also be the opposite. People whom are functionally able may be offered such things and therefore jeopardise their functional ability It will reduce the personal relationships that OT’s are known for and which are generally important to OT’s.

A range of possible implications can arise from the capturing, sharing and transferring of information via IT devices such a mobiles, internet, and street cameras. There is no stopping someone from taking and posting pictures of individuals on the street. The problem with this is the individual has not given consent to the posting of that particular information, whether it be something as simple as being in a particular place at a particular time. The individual reserves the right to have that information disclosed and this can have implications for the person whom has breached their informed consent.

Intellectual property can be described as a set of exclusive rights which are held by an individual whom has assets which cannot be brought for example musical, artistic and intellectual ability (Intellectual Property, n.d.). This is a concept often used in occupational therapy where occupational therapist will come up with adaptations for particular activities in order to enable an individual to carry out particular tasks.

Social justice is the idea of creating a society which is inclusive and of which each individual in that society is equal and has equal rights ("Social Justice", n.d.). This is again a common concept used in OT as a core belief of OT’s is that everyone is equal and should have equal opportunities to be involved in meaningful occupations.

Informed consent is consent obtained from an individual to disclose their personal information for example written, verbal ("Informed Consent", n.d.). When informed consent is obtained can be described as an individual’s clear understanding of possible implications or consequences of a particular action and the acceptance of those possibilities. This may be used in occupational therapy when a therapist may video or record a particular assessment so they can look back on it to grasp a better understanding of the clients abilities. Before recording the OT must obtain informed consent from the client to uphold the law and rights of the client

References

Retrieved 1/04/11 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology

Retrieved 1/04/11 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics

Retrieved 1/04/11  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property

Retrieved 1/04/11 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice

Retrieved 1/04/11 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informed_consent