Tutorial One: Information Technology and Ethical Issues

Information technology. What is it? How is it used, and what ethical concerns does it pose?

 Information technology is defined as “the production, storage and communication of information using computers and microelectronics”  

So IT is about using technology as a medium of sharing information and way of communication

 IT is associated both with the hardware or devices used, such as your computer, iPod, cell phone, USB sticks, digital cameras, T.V. as well as the software or programs you may use. Software can be things like Photoshop, facebook, Skype, trade me, websites for banking or grocery shopping or couchsurfing or YouTube.

There are endless more examples of information technology but from looking at this list you can see that information technology has become very much part of daily life for most individuals in their work, daily living, social life and leisure. As we can see by the definition of Information technology it is how we communicate. It’s the way in which we are able to keep information and to pass it on, and this information includes movies, photos, written information and music.  IT has not only become a way in which we share information and communicate but it has become increasingly the predominant way.

For myself personally I use regularly and confidently the Internet for banking email, social networking sites such as facebook and moodle as an educational platform. I use a computer for writing assignment and sending them on and I use an iPod. With these various types of IT my knowledge does definitely have a finite point. That is I have no interest in furthering my knowledge beyond what I need to know for my own needs. In fact often If I don’t believe I will need the skill or knowledge often I will get someone else “who knows about that sort of thing” to do it for me. So a user must see IT as a way of filling a need. My use of IT is also limited by having others with the patience and knowledge available to teach me (and time for me to learn) and also by financial limitation limitations in accessing various technologies.

So how is IT used in occupational therapy practice? Occupational therapists primary domain of concern is meaningful occupation. Some of the more traditional meaningful occupations of the past are becoming less meaningful to the majority of the population and being replaced by IT based occupations although the still address the same occupational needs of leisure, productivity and self care.

 Vendock and Ryan (2008) recognize that information technology is becoming part of everyday meaningful occupations for clients and therefore those technologies used, be it digital photography, online shopping, wii or mobile phones, can be used as therapy tools. Information technology can be used in occupational therapy practice both to increase functional independence and to improve occupational performance (vendock & Ryan). As an OT therapy student I have seen IT being used in the form of wii computer games that improved occupational performance of students by increasing focus and concentration and social interaction. Also the use of a communication device is a very common example I have seen of IT being used to increase functional independence. Although I believe there is a need to consider a risk falling for fancy or new gadgets that are potentially not necessary or are not best suited to a client’s needs, for example a client becoming overly dependent on a communication device rather than developing his own verbal skills that he is capable of. Vendock and Ryan identify the Internet as a valuable tool of self care and can be used for online shopping or banking and also that of communication.

Occupational therapists should have an understanding of Information technology as it is a valuable therapy tool for increasing independence and improving performance and it is increasingly a becoming commonplace a large part of meaningful occupations of clients. Without an understanding of IT occupational therapists are at risk of overlooking potential solutions to occupational therapy problems and of lacking understanding of what are the meaningful occupations of a client.

With the use of IT becoming more commonplace there are many ethical concerns to consider with its use

Computer Ethics “is a branch of practical philosophy which deals with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct” ("Computer ethics," 2011, para. 1)

One important consideration when looking at computer ethics is that of intellectual property intellectual property can be defined as

“Property (as an idea, invention, or process) that derives from the work of the mind or intellect” ("Intellectual property," Mirriam-Webster online dictionary).

 So intellectual property is what belongs to you because it was your idea and was a result of your thought process. This can include your thoughts, photos, stories or perhaps a song you wrote.  with the use of information technology information or these ‘ideas’ can be captured, shared and transferred very easily to a huge number of people mainly through the internet but this also applied to other devices such as cell phones. With such a lot of information and intellectual property flying around the internet there is very little that can be in the way of controlling the use in particular the unauthorized use of any intellectual property on the internet. For example this blog can be considered my intellectual property but it is open to anyone to see and therefore plagiarize. Which opens the question that if you put something up on the internet can you really maintain your intellectual property rights or do you forgo those rights as soon as you upload something to the internet?

 Another important concept to consider is that of informed consent which can be defined as
“Consent given with full knowledge of the risks involved, probable consequences, and the alternatives.”  ("Informed consent," BussinessDictionary.com)  

This may arise in the use of OT practice using IT to capture videos, photos, recordings with a client. It is important that the client fully understands and consents to what will be done with that information this is an important aspect of maintaining privacy.

What is social justice? “Social justice is an ethical concept related to the equitable division of assets among members of society. In the area of health care, it addresses the importance of assuring access to care to all persons in need of it”(Beauchamp & Childress, 2009, as cited by Ashe, 2010, para. 1 ). When considering social justice in the use of IT in occupational therapy practice it therapists need to consider equal access and distribution of resources in relation to the needs of clients. For example an organization may fund IT such as the use of assistive technology. A therapist may feel that devices A,B,C and D would be suitable and all helpful for a client but perhaps C and D are not essential to the client’s needs. If the therapist proceeds to order all this expensive equipment they may use a large proportion of allocated funding. The therapist may that for the next client there is not enough funding for the technology that is essential to their needs. This is not equal distribution of resources and therefore not social justice and can provide an ethical dilemma for therapists.

 Here is an interesting article on social justice in occupational therapy by the American Occupational Therapy Association http://www.aota.org/Practitioners/Ethics/Advisory/Social-Justice.aspx

Ashe,  M. ,(2011). Social Justice and Meeting The Needs of Clients [Electronic version]. American Occupational Therapy Association.

Computer Ethics. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved  April 2, 2011 from 

         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_ethics 

 

Hanks, P. (ed). (1989) Collins Concise Dictionary. Glasgow: Bath Press.

"Informed consent." 2011. In BussinessDictionary.com. Retrieved April 2, 2011 from

         http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/informed-consent.html

"Intellectual property." 2011. In Merriam-Webster  Online Dictionary. Retrieved April 2, 2011                from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/intellectual%20property

Ashe,  M. ,(2011). Social Justice and Meeting The Needs of Clients [Electronic version]. American Occupational Therapy Association,  Retrieved April 4, 2011 from http://www.aota.org/Practitioners/Ethics/Advisory/Social-Justice.aspx