Assistive Technology, Tutorial Eight

Assistive Technology. Tutorial Eight

Assistive technology is defined as “the science or study of practical or industrial arts applied science and a method process etc. for handlings a specific technical problem” (WHO, 1980). It however does not state anything about the use of a device. It is based more upon the context in which this process is applied and the knowledge of the process. It could be assumed that it is the method in which people administer the use of assistive technology and the particular settings in which it can be used to address a problem that is evident in the environment. It is important in the practice of Occupational Therapy to use technological devices, service and strategies to improve the quality of functioning among some cliental. Assistive technology device is “any item, piece of equipment or product system whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized that is used to increase or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities” (Public Law, 100-407). There are two main divides in the use of technological devices. One being assistive technologies versus rehabilitative technologies. Technology that helps an individual to carry out functional activity is termed assistive technology, and technology that is used in the rehabilitative process is used as a tool for remediation or rehabilitation to develop skills.

“Perform functions that might otherwise be difficult or impossible. Assistive technology can include mobility devices such as walkers and wheelchairs, as well as hardware, software, and peripherals that assist people with disabilities in accessing computers or other information technologies. For example, people with limited hand function may use a keyboard with large keys or a special mouse to operate a computer, people who are blind may use software that reads text on the screen in a computer-generated voice, people with low vision may use software that enlarges screen content, people who are deaf may use a TTY (text telephone), or people with speech impairments may use a device that speaks out loud as they enter text via a keyboard”. (Acessit, 2002).

One particular technological device that is used and described is to facilitate performance in a unique area. Some examples of assistive technological devices used to assist communication are manual and powered wheelchairs, feeding devices, hearing aids. Powered wheelchairs can specifically be modify to suit the participant. For example the use of a joystick on a powered wheelchair to enhance the participation of the applicant. One particular powered wheelchair that has good recommendations is the TPX SP/SR Power wheelchair. There are particular things that need to be considered when buying a wheelchair. Factors such as the client going to be using the wheelchair, the purpose of it, and the technological devices that can be attached to aid the mobility of the client. This particular wheelchairs is made for rehab clients who demand performance

Width: 61cm

Length: 90cm

Turning Radius: 56cm

Seat to floor:                 - Power tilt: 45 cm

-  Super low: 50.5 cm

Curb Climbing: 7.6 cm

Chair weight: 143cm including battery

Chair weigh limit           - 136kg standard

-  180kg Heavy duty

Top speed: 9.6kph standard

Seat width: 30-60 cm

Seat depth: 30-55cm

Back height: 30-60cm

Electronics to add- MK6i MPS expandable controller

Total price including tax is starting at $7,205.00

References

University of Washington. (2002).What is assistive technology? , retrieved 13/05/2011, from http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?109   

World Health Organization: International classification of impairments, disabilities and handicaps, Geneva, Word Health Organization, 1980

Linking Blogs of Interest, Tutorial Seven

The five chosen blogs to follow are

1)    ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy

2)    OT tools for Public Schools

3)    Assistive Technology Blog

4)    Meta OT, Occupation Matters

5)    Thriving In School

All of these blogs have recent entries and people are commenting on what is being uploaded allowing for communication to occur between users. All of the information that is discussed is based on the practice of Occupational Therapy narrowing down to articles which outline specific settings, technologies, education,  and government support all to increase the knowledge of the reader.

The internet and Online Communities, Tutorial 6

Online Communities

A community is a group of nations having certain interests in common relevant to the public societies functioning and common causes. An online (virtual) community “is groups of people that may or may not primarily or initially communicate or interact via the internet” (Wikipedia, 2010). Manly online communities start off slow due to the lack of knowledge of the page and what it has to offer. However over a period of time people begin to become familiar due to word or mouth, the events and links to other social networking sites. 

Kids Wish Network http://kidswishnetwork.org/

My Child without limits www.mychildwithoutlimites.org

Live wire parents http://www.livewire.org.au/parents/

Online community supports for parents with disabled children 

Kids wish network is a national charitable organisation designed to creating hope, and improving the quality of life for those children with life threatening conditions.  It assists children and parents through programs, based upon granting the wishes of children aged between 13-18 years old 

My child without limits purpose is to provides parents of children whom suffer from disabilities, and chronic illness knowledge, resources, and support to ensure their love ones have a life without restrictions, encouraging participation through-out their lives. Their mission statement states “to advance the independence productivity and fill citizenship of people with disabilities though an affiliate network”

Live wire parents is an online community created to support parents and caregivers of children with disabilities the access to treatment plans, resources, projects and online shopping for equipment to benefit the life of their loved ones. Its purpose is to draw people together whom have a common interest in benefiting the life of children with disabilities, sharing advice and life stories to ensure they feel a sense of support. 

Services provided online communities relevant to children health care support networks 

Kids wish network members interact with each other via posting blogs uploading photos, videos, and stories of the children who have been through the programs offered. People contribute to this site by discussing their life situations the troubles that they have encountered. Members also participate by commenting and discussing the proposed news articles that are posted by other followers.

My Child without limits authorizes its supporters to in act together by  sharing experiences, celebrating accomplishments and talking about concerns via the use of creating a personal journal, posting blogs and messaging other members, by  selecting the setting in which they wish to disclose information. They have the ability to make their information public, for members only to read, friends that they have invited to retain the available information and no one which only allows information to be revealed to the team members. 

Live wire parents offers online chatting, the chance to post forums. The forums allow members to leave messages, ask questions, discuss topics and share advice. They can also contribute to the sire by creating a journal which acts like an online diary about what is going on in their life. Followers on the site are able to post articles based on current health issues a raised in the news, coverage on legislations, and products and services that are available to them. Participants in the site can also interact with fellow members through connect a search engine designed to search for people you want to connect with. As well as connecting through online games, completions, and fundraises in your local area.

What communities provide, in relation to what members seek

People who have join online communities contribute to the groups forums, disclose information and share ideas due to having genuine concern for people who are currently in the same or similar situations as themselves. They might have the desire to be recognised, and gain creditability for what they are doing. Watson &Johnson (1972), state “humans have a need to belong and be affiliated with others”. Online communities can provide this sense for people and their need to address self-identity through emotional concern, instrumental aid and appraisal. “Many studies state virtual (online) communities are places where people go to find emotional support, sense of belonging and encouragement (furlong, 1989; Hilts, 1984; Hiltz&Wellman1997).Often the information is reciprocal as information is often shared, and there is a common sense of sharing with each other their interests, issues and support each member can give.

Example of information shared in community for My Child without limits

My child without limits has an array of information, and topics in which members comment and share. The topic being discussed is assistive technology outlining what it’s purpose is and how it can improve the abilities of those with impairments.

"Assistive Technology, also known as AT, plays a vital role in the lives of children and adults with disabilities. But often when someone thinks of AT, they envision a large piece of equipment with an even larger price tag attached to it. That is not always the case. Technologies can be simple devices that are inexpensive.  Each year new devices are introduced to make lives of people with disabilities easier and more enjoyable. Assistive Technology can be divided into two main categories, assistive devices, and assistive services.

Assistive Technology Devices

An assistive technology device is an object that is used to improve the functional abilities of an individual with a disability. Assistive devices can be purchased from a specialty store or could be an everyday object modified to meet the specific need of the person.

Assistive Technology Services

Assistive technology service providers can provide many services to help determine what devices are best for your child. Services include evaluations, product demonstrations and training."

Potential Ethical issues around online communities

There is often a lack of accountability given to those who are volunteers who on, online communities. Much of the credit is given to the founders, and partnered sites who try may acknowledge the work of what isn’t actually theirs, resulting in members who post the comments, ideas or programs lose all identity and accountability for the work that they published. “When we interact with others online, we have no real way of knowing whether they are white or black, male or female, fat or thin, young or old. This could disembodied quality of the online world and lead to greater fairness” (2010 Markkula Center for Applied Ethics).

Some of the ethical issues that people face when observing particular communities that are based around health may come to this stand still of “What if some folks are disabled, to what extent are we obligated–or would we choose to be obligated if we were fully enlightened–to help these people. The "how much" issue is tricky, because new technologies make increasing levels of aid exponentially more expensive” (Blatner, 2006). There is the possibility that online communities’ in fact aren’t charitable organisations and use the title ‘charitable’ alongside clips, videos and stories in which make the viewer feel obligated to donate. Each of the chosen community groups had a link for viewers to make a donation. As technology advances these are the particular issues that people need to be aware off. Members of all of attached groups were made suggestion from the servers guidelines to use names and profile photos untraceable therefore resulting in people acting as someone they aren’t, and the lack of credibility given to those who require appraisal.

Traditional Geographical communities vs Online (virtual) Communities 

Online communities can compliment real life as people are disclosing information about their situation and what they face in everyday society. Online communities also provide considerable amounts of significant information on particular specialised topics. It also allows communication between members to occur over a wide spread geographical area allowing people to connect with similar interests, views, and concerns. The use of online communities can provides people to observe the movements of the groups activity before deciding whether to commit to the group or not. The speed in which information is exchanged is rapid, and it ensures each follow of the group is an equal and their information expressed can foster understanding among the wider group. 

However in relation to traditional geographical communities are “are defined by the local governments (e.g. towns, suburbs, or cities) or by the data (e.g. census Boundaries” (Diez-Rouz, 1999; Poland, 2005). What they can offer is considered to be a lot more reliable. “Online communities lack permanence, commitment, even the reliability of face to face social interaction” (Berg, 2008). Robert Putnam, (1999) states “In particular it is face to face connections which have been shown to have greater impacts than non-face to face relationships”. Traditional geographical communities provide strength in the local economy, encourages local prosperity, provides better advice and promotes employment and can help to counteract the negative impacts in society such as poverty, crime, and poor education. This is due to people interacting on a face to face basis increasing communicational skills, and outlook on general issues. 

References

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. (2010). Unavoidable Ethical Questions About Social Networking, cited in, Virtual Community Attraction: Why People Hang Out Online, retrieved, 13/05/2011, from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/social-networking.html

Blatner, A. (2006).Ethical issues in contemporary culture. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian retrieved, 13/05/2010 from, www.blatner.com/adam/psutbk/ethicalissues.htm

Berg, N. (2008). On the verge of replacement ‘Geographical community survives’. Retrieved, 13/05/2011, from http://www.planetizen.com/node/33561

Diez, R. (1999).Defining Geographical communities, cited Poland, M. (2005) Motu Working paper05-09 retrieved 13/05/2011, from, http://129.3.20.41/eps/urb/papers/0509/0509016.pdf

Community and virtual information, retrieved 21^st February 2011, from www.wikipedia/virtual community

Video Session, Tutorial Five

Youtube

Youtube is a worldwide organization which lets people upload and view majority of the videos and other auto visual clips for free. This video sharing website enables people to share views and interact with people worldwide, exchanging knowledge as well a rating, commenting on the videos viewed, and subscribing to their favorite producer. 

History

Youtube was founded early 2005 in America, and was later launched that year. Google in 2006 brought Youtube for approximately 1.6 billion dollars, at which point Youtube was a non- profitable company, and the user ratings were low. Since then there are almost 1 million have joined Youtube, and “Google is also reported to be planning a "major overhaul" of YouTube this year, with the introduction of channels for topics such as arts and sports” (Halliday, 2011).   

User content and accessibility 

What Youtube has to offer

There is a variety of auto visual clips which are available on Youtube and these include television series, movie clips, music videos, and an alternative section for amateurs to upload their videos. This section contains content such as video blogs, short original clips (personal experiences), movies and educational clips. Watching clips from Youtube can be done directly by accessing, www.youtube.com from the chosen search engine and searching material of your interest. Click on below link to connect with YouTube’s home page http://www.youtube.com/ . It can also be done through other websites such as blogs, social networking sites, commercial pages, or personal web pages. This network is supported by the main web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Fire Fox, and Safari, therefore automatically playing videos in the flash back format. There is however ‘a limit of the length of content to clips (music, movies) due to copy right violations, (Karch, 2011). Although within saying this Youtube has partnered with some commercial providers to allow legal viewing of some clips over a particular length.

In order to upload videos you need to create an account by registering with Youtube for free. Downloading videos is restricted and Youtube may not allow you to down load specific clips, and this is due to user settings. There are third party tools which allow you too, download the videos, however they are not supported by Youtube and may breach the copyright, and user agreements therefore it is not advisable for one to use them.

Guildelines

Youtube does outline an article posted on their main page called community guidelines, which is a brief summary of what is deemed acceptable use of this network. See attached link to read guidelines. http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines  

What Youtube has to offer in relation to Aspergers Syndrome?

To connect this use of Youtube to the overall purpose of this blog follows a slight description of a setting in which an Occupational Therapists may work in. This section is based on the practice of Occupational Therapy, and the variety of clips that Youtube offers, in relation to Aspergers Syndrome. This is a particular condition witnessed by many Occupational Therapists, working in a Pediatrics. This particular disorder I witnessed in the middle of last year, while working in a Community Pediatric setting, with children in local schools. Majority of the children displayed significant behavioral and learning difficulties, within the schooling environment.

 Aspergers syndrome is defined as “a Neurobiological disorder of an unknown cause, which cognitive and communication skills develop normally in the first few years” (Atchison, 2007). Heidi Shepherd defines it as “a lifelong learning difficulty so it affects people in the terms of social impairment, social interaction and communication”. Sensory Integration is used because majority of the children have difficulty knowing which sensations to take in and what sensory or information needs to be disregarded. This is due to them functioning with a lack of awareness of what is around them or they become over whelmed with what has occurred in their environment. Sensory Integration allows the child to deal with these issues and develop greater social skills.  

Located below are 5 different videos from Youtube which vary from interviews, education sideshows and videos demonstrating signs symptoms and treatments for children with 

Aspergers Syndrome. Clips on Youtube from different sources, in regard to children with Aspergers Syndrome. 

A 10 Year Old Boy with Aspergers

Link to cliphttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyprxFLr-Ms

To begin with the first one called ‘A 10 Year old boy with Aspergers’. This is a clip where someone is asking a boy POE (personal, occupation, and environment) questions, and the camera is fixated on the boy answering the questions. Some person questions that are asked of the boy are, what is your name, age, what do you like. Whereas an occupation question could be, what do you do with your time, do you have a job, finally an environment questions is based on the environment in which one lives. So asking questions like where you live, what school do you go too? These set of questions allow the occupational therapist gather a based on what his interests are, and the severity of his condition. Many of the answers boy displays in the clip was evident in a lot of the boys where were asked similar questions when I first came into contact with them last year.  

What is Aspergers Syndrome

Link to clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmOSMc2Sepg

This is an educational side show by Craig Kendall, who is the author of the resources called ‘The Aspergers Syndrome Survival guide. This is another method that people chose to post information for the other users to view. During the slide show presentation he outlines the four main symptoms children with Aspergers Syndrome may have. Which are difficulty in social functioning, sensory issues, obsessive interests, and insistence routines. When I working with children with Aspergers Syndrome, their social skills were poor as they have little to no understanding of others feelings, and how to communicate with their peers, this often resulted in them being ‘cut off’ from others within their school year.

Occupational Therapy Practice; Pediatrics’, (Sensory Integration)

Link to clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY_JKPt7spc

This is a short clip on Aki who works with children in a Pediatrics’ setting. He states early on in the clip that working in the felid of Pediatrics’ may result in Occupational Therapists practicing in schools, the community or clinical based practices. The clip also names some of conditions in which Occupational Therapists are faced with in this setting, in particular Autism, as Aspergers is one the Autistic Scale and both can be treated with sensory integrations. This therapeutic tools promotes social interaction, gross and fine motor skills, communication. It provides a challenge often due to placing the child out of their comfort zone, in a control environment.  

Aspergers Syndrome 

Link to clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgElUUJv1JY&feature=fvst

This is an interview that is conducted by a Manchester reporter, with Heidi Shepherd from the National Autism Society and David Robinson who is an Aspergers Syndrome sufferer. This interview was originally used for the Manchester news; it was then uploaded in 2009. The uploading of a news report means the viewers aren’t getting one particular structure of information being shared, and it ensures diversity among clips made reedy to users. This clip discusses David’s struggles, and the steps that he has taken to ensure maximum independence. It also allows Heidi to inform the viewers of what Aspergers is, its place in society, and new developments that have occurred. This clip is specifically set towards parents who currently have a child with Aspergers to inform them of some of the challenges their child may entail and how best to support them, with what resources, groups, and funding is made available to them. This is a supportive clip to watch as it is informative, information shared is relevant worldwide, and can be used to aid parents decisions much like the information, clips, pamphlets and books that were given to parents at the local schools I worked at over a 4 week period.  

Aspergers Syndrome explained for Children

Link to clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9eATBV-_lg

The use of cartoon animation allows children with Aspergers syndrome to understand their condition more, in a fun and educational manner. This is a television series created for children, and highlights there it’s not you but the way your brain grew. During the diagnosis process many children have little to no understanding of what condition they have been labeled with, let alone grasp supportive knowledge to know what is going to occur to their body functions. This ensures the child can relate, gain awareness and have over all more knowledge. 

Conclusion

This demonstrates a few techniques and methods that information based apon Aspergers Syndrome can be uploaded, viewed and commented. There is a array of clips, interviews, television series, all to display the content of what Aspergers Syndrome is, and its relevance to pediatric settings. 
 

References

         Halliday, J. (2011). Google ‘to boost spend on original Youtube content. Retrieved April, 28^th, 2011, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/apr/07/google-to-boost-spend-on-original-youtube-content

         Heidi shepherd online interview from Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgElUUJv1JY&feature=fvst

         Karch, M.(2011). Youtube Explained; Overview of the Google Video Sharing Tool. Retrieved April, 28^th, 2011, From http://google.about.com/od/moreaboutgoogleaps/p/youtubeprofile.htm

Video Production Session, Tutorial Four

The purpose of this was to allow ‘us’ (students studying occupational therapy) the opportunity to create a short film. This is due to technology developing becoming more prevent in the practice of Occupational Therapy. It is giving us a head start and chance to gain knowledge and skills around the different methods information can be obtained and used. There is also the chance that as Occupational Therapists we might decide to enter into a field that requires us to create a short films, or use it as a therapeutic tool for a vary of reasons.

The task that we were set was to choose a letter of the alphabet and create a thirty second film based around the letter. Planning took place in small groups where we brainstormed the ideas based around the letter D. We used a story board "which a sketch of how to organize a story and a list of its contents", (Stevens, 2011). We used a brief stretch of what we wanted the participant to do, in a particular order, and how he was going to use the props. This ensured that we had a structure film and didn't miss and of the requirements. We had to consider several factors which included the space, lighting, noise, access to equipment and resources. We filmed in small shots and used the program windows live movie maker. In the film we did not use any voice, and chose to put music in the back ground which wasn’t over powering, and allowed the viewers’ attention to still be focused on what was being observed.

We decided to film one person, wearing, doing, and playing with certain things that started with the letter D. This was done so the viewer would be able to understand, recognize and identify the use of things that start with the apposed letter. All of the actions and props that were used are a part of everyday living and are common to a person of every age. This allows it to be suitable for majority of the population.

References

Stevens, J.(2011). Multi-Media Storytelling, Retrieved, 13/04/2011, from, http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/starttofinish/storyboarding/

Blog Creations, Tutorial three

Linked to the purpose of this blog the third tutorial required several tasks to be completed and to maintain a structured order. I decided to inform you of the process of completing this blog relevant to the paper Participation Occupation.

Task one was to set up a Google account and email the lecture my user name and password. This was to ensure that there was another copy in case I had misplaced, or forgot it.

Task two was to create a blog through blogger.com. A template has to be chosen, in which we could change in the future and a blog title. The titled needed to have my name and incorporate the subjects title Participation Occupation, therefore opting for the title Participation Occupation 1 Sarah Bonnar. I also had to complete the purpose of the blog and this is the first post called over-all purpose of blog. There is also a brief over-view under the title. I also had to complete a blog profile. This consists of my name, gender, occupation and location as well as uploading a passport size photo of myself, or one that represents me.

Task three was to begin posting content of the tutorials that I attended and for fill the requirements of each session. 

Task four required me to create a flickr account and upload photos in the form of a photo badge, linking to the my second post called Digital Imaging

Digital Imaging, Tutorial Two

Purpose

The purpose of this blog is to understand the use of Digital imaging and the purpose that it has in society. It is also imperative to grasp an understanding of terminology within Digital imaging. This blog will also explore the pluses and minuses of digital imaging in relation to traditional film based and what some of the ethical issues might be with the distribution of digital imaging. Finally discussing the ways in which digital imaging is used in the practise of occupational therapy.

Introduction

Digital imaging is used through-out society to provide information to a particular audience. The certain devices that people in society today use to capture images for a variety of reasons consist of video cameras, laptops, and hand held devices such as camera phones or digital cameras. A digital camera is an electronic device which captures and stores the photos (some cases videos), electronically in a digital format. Ways in which information is stored, transferred and used.

Soft ware is the “collection of computer programs and related data that provides instructions of telling a computer what to do” (Wikipedia, 2011). Some examples of software’s are listed below.

·       Application Wares- These consist on programs that get down loaded onto the computer or inserted such as word processer, video games, media player or centre, photo shop and i tunes.

·       Middle wares are a form of soft ware which controls the distribution of information for instance the local memory and message passing among programs.

·       Test wares, are anti viral programs, or control programs to test the software.

·        Hard ware is the “general term for the physical artefacts’ of a technology, as well as the physical components of a computer system” (Wikipedia,2011). Some examples of hardware’s are listed below.

-          Terminals and connectors

-          Cable assemble

-          Switches

-          Resister

-          Power Sources

-          Display technologies.

Digital Imaging in the form of Work

Digital imaging is used through-out society for a range of purposes. People use it in work related situations to provide and record information. One particular work setting is in medical based practises. In this setting there are hundreds of digital images that are taken, however many can’t be retrieved. However in 2002 there was a new computer system called PACS which allows for digital images to be sent to multiple computers ranging from both inside and outside the setting.

PACS stands for,

P- Picture, digital diagnostic image

A-Archiving, electronic storage and retrieval

C- Communication, complete network with multiple access points

S-System, controlled by integrated technology

It is providing information to be analysed in a work related setting for the purpose of informing those whom are of concern as well as maintaining a record. This way if it is manually lost there is another coy, which is  easy to access. The main forms of imaging that go through this program are CT scans and MRIs.Link to Healthinformatics article called ‘Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine’. (DICOM). This article provides descriptions of DICOM and the application of them in the medical settings. Outlining the benefits it provides to the client and the successful running of hospitals, clinics, dentists, and others healthcare providers.   http://healthinformatics.wikispaces.com/Digital+Imaging+and+Communications

Digital Imaging in the form of Play

Digital imaging can be used in the form of play. Play is described as an “occupation selected for amusement, recreation, diversion, sport or frolic”, (Christiansen, Townsend, 2004). Therefore is could be assumed that uploading images on your face book, twitter, my space account or other sites is done for play, if this occupation is deemed enjoyable. This is a source that informs people of your latest actions, and acts as an archive, on your profile page.

Link to Picture Social The network for Photographs. On this site members share knowledge, and learn through displaying their photos, critiquing others, discussing equipments through blogging.

http://www.picturesocial.com/

Digital Imaging in the form of Record Keeping (Family)

The finial way that digital imaging can be used is in the way of family. Capturing photos of family have been around since people were painting pictures of the famous and adored. As technology has developed so has the method in which we obtain and store photos. The purpose has not changed, as it is still done to demonstrate growth and maturity of the ones involved. It holds a sentimental value to those whom it is important to, it an electronic way, followed by developing the digital image, opposed to traditional film. It allows for a record to be kept of the ones whom we love, and the ones we have lost creating an outline of ones achievements.

Link to HP Digital Photography which brings you an article called ‘Take better family Portraits and Photos’.Provides all the information on family photos the purpose, advise on taking them, how to use them, and share them.

http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/digital_photography/take_better_photos/tips/family-portraits.html

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

The statement “technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature” in relation to digital cameras could be implying that although every six months a new model of digital camera comes out, they still hold the same purposeful meaning as what they once did and that was to capture and retain information. They all have the ability to capture photos, however the most significant feature currently in the lime light in the size that they come in. It has been the latest ‘rave’ to have technological devices as small as possible, but maintaining the highest quality of picture.

With each product out there on the market there is always something similar that we chose to compare it to. In this case digital cameras verses traditional film based cameras what are the pluses and minuses of each of them. 

Digital cameras are currently, a ‘need to have’ product. The price of buying one is decreasing by the month. There are constantly new colours, functions, and models, but the most important factor that is the size in which they come, is said to be drawing the most costumers. There is no film that is required in a digital cameras and one memory card allows approximately 350 photos to be taken, which is around 15 rolls of film. Users have the ability to print the photos when they want, and have the ability to view photos for instance feedback on the quality of the shot taken, providing the user the opportunity to delete it before printing. They are portable and easy to share and you can take as many as you like without creating wastage. However though, there are potential drawbacks on digital cameras. Some would say the complexity of it makes them difficult to use, as there are so many functions on digital cameras these days, resulting in them having to learn more. Digital cameras were created with the intension of the buyer owning a computer to use in conjunction with it, and it can’t be assumed that everybody does own a computer. At the end of the day it comes down to personal preference and what you as the customer are going to use the camera for. Each writer, observer and user is bias in their view, and has their own justifications and reasoning’s behind what they value in and within a camera.

Ethical issues with distribution of digital images

Ethical issues seemed to arise over the “nature of creativity, representation, ownership, profit and service and the application of new technologies” (Katzensten, 2010). This is affected by cultural preference political view and individual personality.  

One particular issue that arises is the potential to be harassed by disturbing photos. Users are increasing the likely-hood of people finding out who they are, what they do, where they go, and who their friends are. All of these things can be expressed in a photo. There have been thousands of stories of people being picked on, abused, teased and humiliated through social networking sites. There have also been cases of predators targeting young girls, and pretending to be someone they are not resulting in law breaking actions. The access and security  can be weaken by the choices that users make, however it doesn’t stop the potential for things to occur. 

The other large ethical issue that society needs to be aware of is, photo manipulation. This technique is used to deceive or persuade the viewer, to want a particular product and this is done in the form of photo representation. It is widely used in magazine industry making the product subject more desirable resulting in self esteem issues among men and women. However it has the same affect online. Men and women are consistently wishing they were able to altar something in their life or body, and manipulation of photos can lead them into a false sense of security often resulting in them feeling worse, or have money stolen from them. The risks are high with disclosing information online such as name, age, town and phone and credits card numbers.

Link to New Zealand Herald article called ‘ School face new cyber bullying menace’

It outlines the potential problems when young children get hold of technology and misuse it. It is a story of a New Zealand boy who was affected by technology being misused.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10383882

Link to Occupational Therapy

Digital images are used to enhance clients learning in the practice of occupational therapy. They can be used to allow communication between the client and therapist and provide simple question and answer learning from the client. For example, asking the colour, shape, noise, and name. It can also be used with clients whom have memory disorders.

References
Christiansen, CH,. Towsend, EA. ( 2004). Introduction to occupations; The Art and Science of living, (2Ed), Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Katzenstien, B. (2010). Ethical Issues in photograpgy. Retreieved on 22nd March 2011 from

http://www.iconicphoto.com/pdf/ethical_issues_in_photography_0305.pdf

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