Tutorial Two: Digital Camera Use And Applications

Some pros and cons of digital cameras compared to analoque 'film' based cameras:

Pro: Digital cameras offer immediate review of the picture taken to check for quality and suitability.

Con: Digital cameras compromise on quality compared to film cameras.

Pro: Digital cameras content can be uploaded onto a computer and displayed for free.

Con: Digital cameras have caused people to move away from photo albums, which are useful as a sentimental and physical record of display.

Pro: Digital cameras have settings that can be easily utilised to maximise environments or enhance moods and feelings.

Con: Digital cameras have put a strain on a lot of traditional camera businesses.

Pro: Digital cameras can store more information than a film camera.

Con: Digital cameras are less durable and more susceptible to water damage.

Ways Digital Images Can be Stored

Digital images can be stored, transferred and manipulated in a number of different ways:


Photos can be sent via fax, email and posts to the internet. They can be readily displayed on social networking sites such as facebook and added to peoples personal blogs. In this context, they can be viewed by other people and even saved to their PC's. A privacy issue can ensue here because of this ease of transfer.

Photos can be transferred to a digital format via a scanner onto the computer.

Video cameras can be used to capture images and this information can be posted on the internet in much the same way. YouTube offers people the opportunity to post personal videos that anybody with access to the web can watch.


Photos can be manipulated on computer programs such as photoshop. This can provide entertainment, increase the quality of old and scanned photos, eliminate red eye and be useful in creating montages. However, photoshop can be used for malicious intents and purposes as well.

Ethical Issues of using Digital Media

Ethical issues arising from the prevalence of image capturing devices are long and complex.


One of the main issues is one of permission. Videos and images painting people in bad light and compromising positions is one of the most common examples of ethics in transferring digital information. It is so easy to post an innocent photo of somebody, eg. on a tramping trip, that hundreds and possibly thousands of people will see. The thought of this can make people uncomfortable as it is seen as an invasion of privacy. Personal details of the subject of the photo such as name and residence often accompany photos compounding the breach of privacy.

People have found photos they posted on the internet have been used by dating agencies etc without the photo subjects knowledge or permission to create an example of clientele, this is done because it is effectively free media that the agency will not have to pay for.


Photoshopping images can create the impression that things that aren't real exist or paint people in compromising positions that never happened.

Here is a link that documents some of these instances: http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/fauxphotos/Photo_Fakery.htm

Ways Digital Images are Utililised in OT

Digital images are used on the internet to fast track information to other countries. Photos are useful to see what other OT's are doing all over the world. Most websites that are based around OT have pictures, typically of clients engaged in an activity. An example of this is http://www.otpracticeleader.ca/ which shows pictures of people performing activities such as tennis, kayaking and wheelchair racing. There are also pictures of families together. These pictures work by implying that these people have used OT intervention to become involved in activities and that OT intervention has brought them closer together. It is effectively selling OT and advertising some of its best points: The way the environment can be adapted to enable a person to do a chosen activity or to regain the functions they lost before they needed an OT.

Another way i have found in which digital images are used on the internet is at: http://www.freewebs.com/perkey30/myaccident21504.htm This man has documented the process and struggle he experienced getting back to health after an accident in 2004. This is an example of using digital images as a cathartic experience. Featured prominently are pictures of his OT rehabilitation.

Flickr

Flickr is an image and video hosting website. It is widely used around the world for people to share photos and also to blog about ther photos. A grander overview of flickr can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr. Another photo sharing forum is http://www.fotki/.com.

Digital and Optical Zoom

Digital Zoom is achieved by cropping an image down to a centered point whilst still maintaining the same aspect ratio. Digital zoom has a fixed focal lengh. Because of this ,the image, if zoomed in to far looks very pixilated and blurry.

Optical zoom is acheived by using lens on a camera or camcorder to narrow down the focal length of an object thus giving the impression that it is closer. The image will still maintain the same clarity as the lens has a variable focal length.

What exactly is a megapixel?

Mega = Large, 1 million. Pixel = The smallest piece of information in an image.

Thus we can discern that Megapixel '1 million pixels'. A megapixel is commonly ascribed to cameras as a way of discerning how powerful it is and how much clarity the subsequent image will generate. If a camera is a 5.1 megapixel model, we can safely say that it will cram a maximum of 5.1 million pixels into any image it takes.

Tutorial One: Information Technololgy and Ethical Issues

Information Technology (IT) is the giving, sharing and processing of information through a medium such as a computer. This medium can include many other things, such as TV, cellphone, fax etc.

Information technology is incredibly prevalent in society today. You cannot walk into many buildings without seeing a computer and various other forms of technology used to transmit, receive and share information.

I feel comfortable using many of the mainstream IT devices that are common in society today. If I encounter a new device, system or program I am willing to give it a go to further my knowledge.

IT has been embraced in most if not all Occupational Therapy settings and is being used in a number of ways. On my fieldwork 1 placement in 2008 I witnessed my supervising therapists using the computer to type clinical notes which were then pooled together with the notes from other health professionals in the hospital. My supervisor also used the computer for researching conditions that she encountered. She also contacted other therapists and liaised with other services such as enable, this was done via email and telephone and also fax.

There are ethical implications that arise from the relative with which we capture and share information via IT devices. Incriminating, embarrassing or compromising images of people or their property can be taken on mobile phones or digital cameras and uploaded onto the internet. Once there they can be duplicated by users all over the world and spread rapidly. This is a breach of privacy if permission was not gained by the person in the image or the owner of the property. However, there is not much that can be done against the sharing of this information.


Computer ethics is a branch of practical philosophy which deals with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct.
Retrieved February 27, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_ethics

Intellectual property (IP) are legal property rights over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law.
Retrieved February 27, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_Property

Social justice, sometimes called civil justice, refers to the concept of a society in which justice is achieved in every aspect of society, rather than merely the administration of law. It is generally thought of as a world which affords individuals and groups fair treatment and an impartial share of the benefits of society. (Different proponents of social justice have developed different interpretations of what constitutes fair treatment and an impartial share.) It can also refer to the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within a society.
Retrieved, February 27, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice

Informed consent is a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given consent based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the facts, implications and future consequences of an action. In order to give informed consent, the individual concerned must have adequate reasoning faculties and be in possession of all relevant facts at the time consent is given.
Retrieved February 27, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informed_consent

Understanding how to use IT is important in todays society as it allows fast and convenient sharing of information and communication with others. In an Occupational Therapy practice it saves time and money in its ability to provide convenient connections with people who are distances apart. It also saves time, as information can be sent rapidly and collated together into a file such as I witnessed on my Fieldwork One placement.
In terms of computer ethics, in practice we must be aware of the need to ensure client anonymity, keep others safe and not mix client files up. This can happen easily when information is being added to and collated electronically. We also need to manage who has access to the information.