Tutorial Two: Digital Camera use and applications

“A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature”. Briefly discuss this statement in relation to digital camera technology. What would you consider to be some of the pluses and minuses digital camera technology holds in relation to more traditional film based cameras?


"Film and digital do different things better and complement each other. Neither is going away, although film will decline in areas where digital excels, like news."

Retrieved on May 16, 2008, from http://www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm.

I think that for personal family use or for anyone really who is not a keen photographer but just likes taking some holiday and birthday snaps, then a digital camera is better. They are better because you can retake photos that don't quite turn out and people can see them straight away. You can choose which ones you want to print and which ones you want to delete. These are all handy features for an everyday camera, for someone just taking personal photos. For a professional photographer I belive film is better because it has a better finished product and doesn't come out pixelated as digital camera photos do. They can focus in different ways, to highlight different things. There are different lenses that you can put on to change the photos image. They leave room for more artisitic freedom.

List some of the ways that digital images can be stored transferred and manipulated using other communications technology.

cell phones
disks/memory sticks/cds
personal webpages eg. bebo, myspace photoshop (used to alter images and add features)
email

Given the prevalence of image capturing devices, and thinking about the issues discussed in tutorial one, consider what sort of ethical issues may arise with their use.

Ethical isues arouund the use of images are often in terms of a person involved in the image not giving informed consent. They then may not know how the material will be used, adjusted or who will be able to see it. A prime example of this is when Kate Winslet was made to look far skinnier than she is, on a magazine cover and she was outraged. She has always been an actress who advocated eating decent meals and being healthy rather than being ridiculously skinny. I find it sad to think that young girls are looking at these images and thinking that these people look as they do in the media.

Other problems are images that are taken privately and are sometimes exploited for money or out of spite. This leaves the other party feeling betrayed and often embarrased. Images being used inappropriately in this way is commonly done on the internet, as it is available to essentially the whole world on the web.

In many ways it is hard to control how your image is used and who can see this image. There are too many ways that these images can be stored, altered and displayed

Briefly discuss some of the ways that digital images could, or are, being used in occupational therapy practice.

Some images are used to advertise a service supplied by an occupational therapist eg. a day programme may be advertised by using some images of people who already come to the programme, doing some of the activities and having a good time.

Sometimes images may be used for education purposes, either for other occupational therapists or for clients. They could be pictures of the steps in a recipe for making a cake accompanied by the written instruction also. In the case of the other ocupational therapists that may be your colleagues, this could be something like pictures of manifestations of a certain diagnosis.

Provide a brief summary of the services offered by Flickr.com

"Flickr is an image and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community platform. It was one of the earliest Web 2.0 applications. In addition to being a popular Web site for users to share personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers as a photo repository. Its popularity has been fueled by its organization tools, which allow photos to be tagged and browsed by folksonomic means. As of November 2007, it hosts more than two billion images."

Retrieved on May 20, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr

Name one other photo storage website which offers a service similar to Flickr.com

Shutterfly

Explain what the difference is between a digital and an optical zoom

"Digital zoom crops your image and magnifies the result of the cropping."
"Optical zoom lenses physically extend to magnify your subject."

Retrieved on May 22, 2008, from http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-locale=en_US&pq-path=399


Explain what is meant by the term mega pixel

"Digital images are made up of thousands of these tiny, tile-like picture elements.... Digital cameras capture images as pixel elements, known as pixels. Simply put, a megapixel is equal to one million pixels."

Retrieved on May 22, 2008, from http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-features/camera-parts/megapixels.php

Tutorial One: Information Technology and Ethical Issues

Provide a definition of Information Technology/Information Communications Technology (APA reference required) "...the use of computers, telecommunications, etc. in electronic processing, storing, retrieving and sending information." Allen, R. (consultant editor). (2004). The penguin english dictionary. London: Penguin Books.

Consider the definition of IT you have provided. How is this form of technology prevalent in our society? How common place has it become? This technology has become very commonplace and it is expected that people have all the gadgets for 'survival.' At schools they expect pupils to have access to the internet, computers, cellphones, email and all that comes with these technologies. Some schools have set up text systems to inform pupils of sports cancellations, upcoming events etc. Assignments are expected to be typed up and handed in that way rather than hand written. It is more commonly used in younger generations however most workplaces have adopted the use of technology for advertising, communication etc.

What IT devices or system do you feel comfortable and competent using? I am comfortable using computers, cellphones, iPods, laptops, cameras and video cameras. In terms of computer programs I am comfortable with most Microsoft Office programs. I use the internet easily and have my own Bebo site. I am a member of an online music site (Yahoo! music) and use iTunes.

Thinking about your own fieldwork experiences consider how IT is being used in Occupational Therapy practice? It was used on my first placement for typing up notes so that they look more professional and the therapist could work from a saved template. Some wards had computers that were for the clients to use as this was an activity that some of the inpatients enjoyed using.

What ethical implications arise from the capturing, sharing and transferring of information via IT devices (e.g. mobile phones) or systems (e.g. internet) Some people don't like their image being used as evidence of something or as an example, for a number of reasons, mostly around identifying themselves and the fact that when the image is public anyone can use it, for anything. This can be very scary, especially if it is put on the internet. Also information can get passed on so quickly today that an email or text message can be forwarded in seconds to someone else, possibly not who the sender intended it to go to. Often people don't ask for permission to re-send these things either. So getting permission properly is a big ethical thing.

Provide a definition of Computer Ethics (APA reference required) "Computer ethics is a set of moral principles that regulate the use of computers. Some common issues of computer ethics include intellectual property rights (such as copyrighted electronic content), privacy concerns and how computers affect society." Retrieved May 15, 2008, from http://www.techterms.com/

Provide a definition of Intellectual Property (APA reference required) "...Refers to the ownership of intangible and non-physical goods. This includes ideas, names, designs, symbols, artwork, writings and other creations. it also refers to digital media, such as audio and video clips that can be downloaded online." Retrieved May 15, 2008, from http://www.techterms.com/

Provide a definition of Social Justice (APA reference required) "Fair and proper administration of laws conforming to the natural law that all persons, irrespective of their ethnic origin, gender, possessions, race, religion etc., are treated equally and without prejudice." Retrieved May 15, 2008, from http://www.businessdictionary.com/

Provide a definition of Informed Consent (APA reference required) "Consent given with full nowledge of the risks involved, probable consequences, and the alternatives." Retrieved May 15, 2008, from http://www.businessdictionary.com/

In your own words briefly summarise why (or why not) a great understanding of ITC and the ethical issues it encompasses will help us in our practice and daily lives. Having an understanding of ITC is beneficial in our practice as O.T's as there are many issues we face with clients about ethics, social justice and informed consent. Thinking about these in relation to information technology is useful as we use technology all the time now and should always keep a check that everything we are doing is above board. It is helpful for our clients to get educated on using some technology as it is a very much apart of our world today. In my daily life it is good to have an understanding of ITC issues because I use technology all the time as a part of my course, at my work, and in my personal leisure time.

My first post!

Hey everyone in cyberspace!

I'm a second year OT student down in Dunedin and loving every minute (except for the homework). Busy life atm, working, studying and of course partying as us students are supposedly notorious for doing.

It is my first year flatting and even though I am missing the family, I am loving the independence.

I am impatient to look at my blog now so I'll talk later.

Ciao!