P.i.o

Tutorial Two: Occupational Engagement, Doing, Being, Becoming and Belonging.

Tasks associated with this tutorial

For my second Fieldwork placement I was at the Hamilton Group Riding for the Disabled. Their motto is "Confidence, independence and well being for people with disabilities through therapeutic horse riding and horse care” (Hamilton Group RDA, 2011). Through my PowerPoint presentation I wished to convey the Occupation of Therapeutic Horse Riding and Mastership. Also I wished to explain how Doing, Being, Becoming and Belonging are strongly shown through this in the Hamilton Group RDA.

Using this presentation we were asked to define the terms do, be, become and belong in relation to reference sources presented in the tutorial (direct references to be acknowledged and stated in full at the end of the post). Provide explanations of how your chosen images represent each of these concepts. Images are to be referred to in the order they appear in the presentation with a brief description e.g. image 5 shared meal (no more than 200 words excluding references).

The concept of doing “includes purposeful, goal orientated activities” (Hammell, 2004, p.301). Research has shown there are five dimensions to experiencing and expressing occupations through doing. These include the need/opportunity to keep busy (shown in many slide in particualar slide 5, independent riding), and explore new opportunities (Hammell, 2004) (this is shown in image 9, Playing ‘hoofball’.

The process of being involves “simply experiencing life and the environment around us, frequently in an accepting, non-instrumental way” (Hammell, 2004, p.301). For example this is shown in image 13 where the riders are experiencing the environment around them as they go on farm treks.

Becoming describes the idea that people envision what they want to become and how their lives might be worthwhile (Hammell, 2004). For example image 16 developing communication and social skills helps create more meaning in their life.

Belonging is a term used to describe the necessary contribution of social interaction, mutual support and friendship, and the sense of being included, to occupational performance and life satisfaction (Hammell, 2004, p.302). Image 18 shows how the volunteers belong to the RDA volunteers group this develops social interaction. Also image 19 shows how riders belong to a group that have the same interests and love of horses as they do, this develops friendships and mutual support for each other.

We were then asked to provide 3 examples of ethical considerations we made in relation to the images you chose e.g. creative commons material, informed consent, authenticity of online sources.

All photos not taken by me were off freely accessible sites off the internet (including the facebook site, therefore consent for these photos to be put up was already given. The RDA co-ordinator confirmed that any person in photos shown on the internet had written consent.

I also made sure online sources were authentic; the facebook site I used was created by the Hamilton Group RDA co-ordinator.

Lastly, I got consent from my friends to use the photos of them and did not include their face where not necessary.

Reference:

Hammell, K. W. (2004). Dimensions of meaning in the occupations of daily life. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71(5), 296-305.

Tutorial One: Information Technology and Ethical Issues

Hello blog followers, this is my first tutorial and in it I will be covering Information Technology and the ethical issues that surround it.

Information Technology is defined in Dictionary.com, (my source for definitions as I do not possess a hardcopy dictionary) as “the technology of the production, storage, and communication of information using computers and microelectronics” (Dictionary.com, 2012, para. 1). To me this means anything and everything invented to enable communication and information to be transferred in the world today.

Information Communications Technology refers to “the study of the technology used to handle information and aid communication...In addition to the subjects included in Information Technology (IT), ICT encompasses areas such as telephony, broadcast media and all types of audio and video processing and transmission” (Dictionary.com, 2012, para. 1). To me this basically means the study of all fields of information technology.

Consider the definition of IT you have provided. How is this form of technology prevalent in our society? How common place has it become?

Information technology (I.T) is hard to be missed in New Zealand society. It is so prevalent that it is uncommon to not have many I.T items in the average house, shop, office or car in the New Zealand Community. New Zealand Statistics says “Sales of information technology (IT) goods and services (excluding communication services) increased 0.6 percent to $7,015 million in the 2004 financial year” (Statistics New Zealand, 2012, para 1). This sounds like a lot of money, but technology has become a necessity in New Zealand Culture both in communicating with others and going about daily business. As a 19 year old my generation has grown up not knowing anything different than relying on information technology, and I believe those younger than me have been brought up with a heavier reliance on Information Technology. For example at my Intermediate school for students in the top class owning a lap top was made compulsory. In my life I find both my mobile phone for texting people (mainly to meet up) and my lap top (for facebook, receiving information form Otago Polytechnic, internet banking, skype, Youtube and finding quick facts of information) very important. Facebook for me is a really good way to communicate with others. I researched how many people are on Facebook currently and found Facebook reported there were 845 million monthly active users at the end of December 2011 on their blog page http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22. Thinking about this I wondered what the world would be like in the future and found this Youtube video of the world in 2021 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4bJEqoCAuI&feature=related , it really gets you thinking, where to next?

If I was asked what IT devices or system do you feel comfortable and competent using? I would say For my generation I would be classified in the technophob category because I find using technology does not come naturally to me. However I think I have just become comfortable with it just because it has become a compulsory part of my life, and although I found it hard to get used to at the start I get the hang of using it in the end. From having it as part of my core curriculum in year 9 and 10 i foguired out I am not quick when learning to use Information Technology, but as I use it today I rearly think about how much I am using IT today. I think with IT my main limitation is not believing I am going to master it and giving up easily. Also the expense of new IT and time I have to use it (e.g a play station) puts me off buying it. However, as technology changes, to keep up with the world so must I. Observing others and learning from them helps me expand my use of technology. A few examples of where I use technology to engage in purposeful occupation are using Skype and Facebook to talk to friends and family, using Youtube to do aerobics and other fitness programmes, using my I-pod to listen to music and of course using Moodle to prepare for classes, assignments and exams.

How have you seen IT being used in Occupational Therapy practice?

IT was very important to Occupational Therapists in community physical. Firstly, this is the most efficient way of easily assessing information. Secondly, the Intranet in the hospital was great for receiving previous information about the client and communicating with other health care professionals in the hospital. Thirdly, communication was made possible by using a phone to ring clients to arrange visits and emailing and ringing the builders and AcessAble about house renovating issues.

What issues exist around OTs adoption of IT systems and tools?

I believe ethics and confidentiality are very important when using I.T. When using I.T the OT must think of who can see the information of the client and whether this is in anyway exposing the client or breaching the OT code of Ethics. Secondly, with all good technology there will be a cost; therefore the effectiveness of the technology must over ride the cost. Thirdly, technology is technical and there is the issue of time and money spent to training the Occupational Therapists up and giving them tools to train the client.

What are some of the ways you can envisage IT use becoming a potential tool of practice. You should provide your own comments here as well as linking to examples of OT using IT in practice. This can be done by hyper linking to blogs, internet sites, You Tube videos, podcasts etc

In community physical I can forsee laptops or i-pads being used on all home visits and assessments and no hand written documents needed (especially since some handwriting is very hard to read). If clients live very far away from the OT’s workplace I can imagine Skype could be a better way of communicating then a telephone as you see their facial expressions and non verbal cues as the interview is conducted. Also teaching and education sessions can be recorded and posted on the internet for more clients to watch without leaving the comfort of their own home. I also believe assistive technology will be so beneficial with enabling communication, between clients and OT’s with a vast number of communication devices such as these two http://www.dakotabilities.org/services-programs/communication-resources/ and http://www.tilrc.org/assests/news/0211news/0211state20.html . These assist the client to share their thoughts and viewpoints on their intervention therefore developing a more client centred approach.

In your own words briefly critique why (or why not) a great understanding and use of IT will help us in our practice and daily lives if our goal is to enable occupation.

Like it or not Technology is all around us and it is rapidly advancing. As professionals we must adapt to the times and learn what IT will be beneficial to our clients and how our clients find meaningful occupation through IT. In our daily lives we must have a basic understanding of IT as it is becoming an efficient way to find information and communicate with friends and family. If we don’t ‘get on the boat’ we will simply be left behind.

What ethical implications arise from the capturing, sharing and transferring of information via IT devices (e.g. mobile phones) or systems (e.g. internet)

When capturing, sharing and transferring information via IT devices ethical implications can arise. This is mainly centred around privacy where a person may not want a picture or video taken of them, or any information that might identify them (e.g. their vehicle number plate). Putting information on the internet (unless it is securely made private) will make it public for anyone to see. Transferring of information can be a dangerous matter, for example it can be a source of either text or cyber bullying, which in extreme cases has lead to teen suicide. Also an example in class was sharing tips on how to cover up eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia conditions.

References

Dictionary.com (2012). Information and communication definition. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/information+and+communication+technology

Dictionary.com (2012) IT. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/information+technology

Statistics New Zealand (2012). Information Technology Survey: 2004 financial year Retrieved from

http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/information_technology and communications/InformationTechnologySurvey_HOTP04financialyr.aspx

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

Participation in Occupation 2012

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Tutorial Three

Tutorial Two

Tutorial One

Statistics New Zealand (2012). Information Technology Survey: 2004 financial year Retrieved from

Introduction to my blog