Information technology and ethical issues

Information technology and ethical issues


The focus of my first posting is to explain what information technology is in my own words, provide examples and discuss the possible ethical issues I think surround information technology. I will also talk about the different information technology I personally use and weather I am comfortable or uncomfortable with the different information technology available. 
 
The definition for information technology –“refers to anything related to computing technology, such as networking, hardware, software, the Internet, or the people that work with these technologies”(Techterms,2012).I think information technology refers to computer technology but also refers to the internet and the information we can get off the internet, the information downloaded onto the internet and how easily accessible it is. It refers to different networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube or twitter etc. The different programmes needed to run the different internet sites or your computer/laptop.


Information technology has become prevalent in our society and has become so common that it is available easily and has become the norm of everyday life for most people in our society. Information technology provides such a wide range of purpose to our society and caters to a lot of individual needs. If we take social networking as an example Facebook has “845 million monthly active users at the end of December 2011, 483 million daily active users on average in December 2011 and more than 425 million monthly active users who used Facebook mobile products in December 2011”(Facebook,2012).This shows that millions and millions of people are accessing Facebook through a form of information technology each day. Another example is YouTube, it has millions of video uploads each day, under many different categories and subjects. It can be a form of communication, expressing your views and opinions, sharing your talents with the world, listening to music or just being creative. These can all be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/. All these show the different ways of using information technology for personal use.


There are many different information technology devices or systems that some people feel comfortable and competent using, and others which we feel uncomfortable using. Some personal example of mine are: I feel very comfortable using the internet for purposes such as skyping my family and friends, using Facebook for social networking purposes to again engage with friends and family. I use internet to browse and to look up information I want, I use email to contact people, I even use internet to shop online. I feel comfortable because I know how to use the internet for these purposes and have been for many years. I also feel very comfortable using my cell phone. I have had a cell phone since I was 11 years old so I am very competent in the services and apps that cell phones provide, such as speed texting and calling.


The information technology that I am uncomfortable using is downloading or understanding software and the purposes of them. I feel I am uncomfortable using software that is unfamiliar to me for that exact reason it is unfamiliar. This is feel could limit my personal use of information technology as generally I will not download any form of software, which could limit me for the potential or positives of having the software.


The purposeful occupations I use information technology for is on social networking sites to engage and express my opinions to friends and family. The second is skyping, because I have a family member who cannot speak but uses sign language as a form of communication, skyping is meaningful and creates purpose as I can see and understand what my family member is trying to communicate with me.


When I was on placement I saw information technology in an Occupational therapy practise with data logging into the computer programme JADE. This programme could bring up all patient information needed for the particular health professionals. Also in my second placement in another setting the computer was used in conjunction with different software’s and programmes to help educate and teach the clients in that particular setting. It was used to help some clients express their thoughts as some were non vocal. Also cell phones and Ipads were used to help communicate around appointments, as a diary and in fieldwork two they were used for social interactions. I can envisage information technology becoming a tool of practise in Occupational Therapy as it can help with clients interacting, being able to search for information independantly, social skills to be able to connect with family and friends, pay bills online, manage money via online banking and even shopping online. This can be seen in the Canadian association of Occupational Therapists website:http://www.caot.ca/default.asp?pageid=3749, which talks about information technology and its uses for the client base in Canada. 
 
To conclude my first blog I would like to end with information technology is becoming so frquently used and widely accessable and used by many, that as an Occupational therapist it is vital to take advantage of the tools and skills information technology has to offer ourselves and our future clients.

Reference list

Facebook. (2012). Newsroom. Retrieved from: http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22

M. Miyazaki,L. Liu.(2002).Tele-occupational therapy: Making occupational therapy services accessible. Retrieved from: http://www.caot.ca/default.asp?pageid=3749

Techterms. (2012). IT definitions. Retrieved from:http://www.techterms.com/definition/it