Digital Imaging

In this next posting I will cover some ways that digital images are stored, transferred and manipulated using information technology. I will then move on and briefly discuss the statement ' A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature' (this should be a super interesting topic to discuss!) Following this I will write about the ethical issues that arise given the prevelence of image capturing and and distribution using IT. Lastly I will briefly discuss some of the ways that digital images could, or are, being used in occupational therapy practice.....ENJOY!!

Before discussing what hardware and software that I am familiar with, I think it will be beneficial to briefly define what they mean. A computer system comprises hardware and software. Hardware is the physical medium, for example:

• circuit boards
• processors
• keyboard

Software are computer programs, for example:

• operating system
• editor
• compilers
• a Fortran 90 program

University of Liverpool. (1997) What is hardware and software. Retrieved on the 25th of March from http://www.liv.ac.uk/HPC/HTMLF90Course/HTMLF90CourseSlidesnode3.html

Some of the hardware that I use are computers, and with that comes the keyboard and mouse. I often take pictures using a digital camera, and to upload these on the computer I use a USB cord to place these on the computers. The hardware that I use everyday is my cellphone and ipod. With ipod I also use a USB cord to plug into the computer for charging and putting songs on. The software that I use would be web which includes: facebook, moodle, emails, skype and many other website. When editing photos and viewing them I use a software called picture viewer. Itunes is used for putting music on my ipod and for buying sonds from the itunes stores.

Here are three examples of digital imaging that used to provide information and recording:

1. A photo is used to capture memories and provide information of the event that happened at that time.
2. Photos complied on a disk means that information can be stored on a hard copy instead of a computer.
3. Digital information is also in the form of scanned document images.

Here is a youtube clip on some examples of digital imaging: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBVqBgz95Os

'A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature'.

Digital Imaging has changed hugely over the years and is now a very valuable piece of technology. With a digital camera now we can take a photo or movie, view whilst it's still on the camera, and then delete it. While old cameras are very expensive to run (paying for film and developing), they do allow for hard copies of memories that can be stored away and brought up to enjoy. Digital Imaging saves money as you can download photos and videos on the computer in order to make more on a memory chip. They are also not usually developed as they can be viewed on the computer. Even though this is cheaper, it's not the same as having printouts to view.

Some ethical issues that may arise from the distribution of image capturing are:

• Consent must be gained from people that feature in the photo when you place them on the internet. This is because the internet is a place of public viewing.
• Another issue could be that images posted on certain websites must be appropriate as quite often anyone is able to view them.

Ways that digital imaging is used in occupational therapy are taking images for clients that struggle in communication. On my placement we had a picture exchanging system which was used for the children to express themselves. There were pictures of different facial expressions and activities that they either pointed at or grabbed in order to show what they wanted to do or how they felt. Photos can also be taken of clients progress to place in reports or to give to families.