Sunday 20 March 2011

Tutorial two: Digital imaging, ethical issues

Going back to week 1 we learnt about 'Digital imaging'
Firstly we talked about the way digital images are stored, transferred and manipulated using technology.
Digital cameras, Video cameras, computers, Cell phones and usb devices all store images and can hold large amounts of information, this information can then be transferred to other devises, for example loading your photos from the camera then onto the computer. Once they are on the computer they can then be loaded onto facebook, YouTube, flikr and many other websites.
Manipulating photos is about changing the look of them and making them appear different (not there natural state) You can do this on some digital cameras by changing the colour of the picture or zooming in or making it look distorted. You can also do this when the pictures are on the computer by using photo shop, There are hundreds of things you can do to the picture to make it look better (However photo shop is a little hard to use if you are unfamiliar with it).

"A new technology is rearly superior to an old one in every feature"
Talking about cameras i think a lot more is captured these days because people have digital cameras so there is no limit to how many photos are taken. Also digital cameras are cheaper because you don't have to get the photos developed or buy film. A down side to this is that photo albums are not used as much anymore because people can organise their photos on the computer.

Taking photos and uploading them to the Internet is the easy part but there are ethical issues that have to be considered when doing this. Firstly taking photos of other people without their permission, for example, in schools, consent from parents needs to be given at the start of the year to allow teachers to take photos of their children.
Another issue is invading a persons privacy or ownership by taking photos or filming them without them knowing.
This becomes a problem for me when people put up photos of me on facebook that i don't like and then all my friends can see them!

Ways digital images are or can be used in occupational therapy.
-Monitoring sleeping patterns
-Taking photos of injury's to see the process of healing
-Giving cameras to clients to help with therapy or teaching them how to use technology.

http://www.rehabtool.com/- Shows how OT's are using technology to help enhance peoples lives.

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