ICT and Ethics ... considerations and consequences Continued!

Following on from the definitions of ethics and ICT, it now makes sense to look at how much ICT has become an integral part of the majority of people's lives. Here are some youtube videos exploring ICT and society today, they particularly highlight the human and technology relationship, the ever changing new technologies we are expected to adopt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyFpFQNk_-c&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcSzqm5Whwc&feature=related

I am undecided on how I feel about ICT ... there are so many benefits, but there are also many, many flaws. I find it all quite overwhelming: the endless possibilites (ethical or not). I find it hard to comprehend the enormity of the range of information that people can access through information technologies ... is it ethical that we can find, store and use SO much information? I also don't like that people seem to have forgotten the 'old' days, where one went to a library to research information, sent a letter to communicate, used to interact face to face everyday etc ... now everything is so fast, so accessible, getting smaller and supposedly better.

I only feel comfortable using basic mobile phones, telephones, basic computer programmes, Facebook, emailing systems, Moodle, Google search engine, TV, digital photography (Photoshop), video cameras. I think I feel comfortable using these because I have use for them in my daily life; therefore I have had to adapt/gain knowledge on how to use them; thus becoming familiar and comfortable.

I feel uncomfortable using ipods (even though I have one), iphones and ipads, complex computer programmes and complex computer systems. I have no use for these in my life; I am fairly ignorant about ICT, opting for simpler, basic styles over the ‘better, faster, newer’ styles that keep coming.

Am I a slight ‘technophobe’?; I realise that there is no escaping ICT, it will be the future way of life. I embrace the benefits and opportunities it gives me and others. I know it will be essential in my future practice,  which is why I will continue to keep up with what I can. ICT will be an effecient and practicle tool for communicating, storing data, processing data, recording as well as several other aspects within the OT practice. 


http://ajot.aotapress.net/content/59/6/626.full.pdf this website links to a PDF. article (from Chiu, T., Henderson, J. (2005). Developing Internet-based occupational therapy services. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59, 626–630), talking about developing OT services over the internet.

 

In my first placement, ICT was used to engage clients with educational games on the computer, it was used to process, store and manage clientele data, the internet was used to source information and communicate with other facilities regarding the clients and mobile phones were used to ensure direct communication between staff (especially on community outings). ICT provided many opportunities for both staff and clients to work together responsibly, but also have fun.

 

In my second placement, there was much of the same interaction with ICT. Computers were used by clients to access games and educational software. Staff used computers to store, send and retrieve information, as well as for communication purposes (emailing etc). Telephones were the preferable form of contact, and recording devices enabled both staff and clients to record information, stored for future purpose.

 

But ICT (in health services, especially) will always touch on big ethical implications ... privacy issues, social justice issues, too much access to too much information, sharing too much information about yourself or someone else, losing information, sending information to the wrong place, even hackers. It is vital for the therapist to ensure the above does not happen.

I still want to remain semi-detached, I don’t want to be consumed by gadgets and fastness and newness of the ever-changing ICT world ... and intend to hand write letters as a means of communication at times; the process of taking time to write a letter, seal it in an envelope and posting the letter a way, is a small gesture of appreciation towards that person whom you're writing to. Lately I have been seriously considering deleting my facebook profile; I am sick of how life consuming it has become for many young people today and concerned with how much information people can access about someone by simply "stalking" that person's profile.Where are the ethics in that?

It was all fun and games to begin with, but I'm starting to really not like how these social, mobile or communicative networks are replacing basic human interaction on a daily basis. Or am I being too naiive? It's just how I feel.

Here are some videos exploring aspects of ICT:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_HRxQ46fqI a professor from Oxford University

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07Ndh2y0m8E&feature=related an ordinary person's view on facebook

http://www.youtube.com/embed/6a_KF7TYKVc social networking in plain english

 

Define Intellectual Property:

Basically, some people have exclusive rights to have use of/own/access a given asset. Obviously there is a significant link between an individuals exclusive rights to an asset and ICT (storage of asset data, management of data, who has access to data etc) but what does this term mean in OT practice? Here is an article from "Occupational Therapy Now" journal exploring these factors: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7683/is_200705/ai_n32232270/

Define Social Justice:

"Social justice encompasses economic justice. Social justice is the virtue which guides us in creating those organized human interactions we call institutions. In turn, social institutions, when justly organized, provide us with access to what is good for the person, both individually and in our associations with others. Social justice also imposes on each of us a personal responsibility to work with others to design and continually perfect our institutions as tools for personal and social development." - Center for Economic and Social Justice (retrieved from  http://www.cesj.org/thirdway/economicjustice-defined.htm).

Social justice promotes equality, human rights, ethics and fairness. To me, social justice is a holistic set of quidelines for living, much like the holistic therapeutic and communication tools OT's use to guide their own practice. Again, ICT plays a part in social justice and OT (probably more so than I will ever comprehend), but it is not a holistic tool. It can be an enabler and a disabler, and I think therapists should always remain aware of the ethics and implications surrounding ICT when involving it with their frameworks for practice.

Define Informed Consent:

This site links to a PDF. outlining the laws in which informed consent applies with: http://www.eqs.co.nz/pictures/Informed%20consent%20.pdf

Informed consent is an essential aspect of health-care providing services (including OT), without informed consent from the required person issues regarding law, ethics, social justice, policy and procedure arise. With reference to ICT here is a fantastic article by Lawrence O. Gostin, an American law professor who specializes in public health law:
http://www.thehastingscenter.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/Primers/privacy_gostin.pdf

PS. This video is awsome! It's a rap about OTs! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDP1-gcDcAI