Tutorial Six: The Internet and Online Communities



I have recently been on a five week Fieldwork placement in two aged care facilities, so I decided to look at New Zealand based online communities for the over 50's. Grown ups (http://www.grownups.co.nz/) was launched in June 2006 after initial feedback from Senior Net and currently it is visited by 100,000 unique visitors each month. Senior Net is a well known community organisation who has helped hundreds of mature New Zealanders to learn to use computers. According to the website, Grown ups began as an idea to provide a New Zealand service for mature people, looking for other computer/technology savvy people of a similar age to interact with, in conversation and information sharing.



Services: The Grown Ups website provides useful and interesting information for the over 50's. It is an independant free site, maintained by advertising and sponsorship. Topics include lifestyle, health, food, travel, finance, retirement options and many more and participants are encouraged to contribute by adding articles, images, comments or information on clubs, organisations and events. According to one of the administrators, Grown Ups have little trouble with inappropriate material being added which he put down to the mature clients who were attracted to the website, however Grown Ups did have a disclaimer regarding information published (R. Poole, personal communication, 23 May, 2010).

In addition to the information pages, there are many interactive activities to enjoy on the site including competitions, games which are changed daily, opportunities to find other like minded people to to create online friendships, special offers from advertisers and live streaming to Solid Gold FM Radio Station.

However the most used page, according to the website, is the Discussion Groups, with threads created about a whole range of topics. I have also spent a few enjoyable hours on the chat room talking to other people around New Zealand, many whom have been 'chatting' for up to four years on Grown Ups. They were mostly very busy people in the community, enjoying a range of activities such as gardening, geneology, Senior Net, sports and involved in family activities.

so..."why do people choose to contribute to this community?"

This online community offers many hours of occupation in reading, discovering, listening and chatting. It can connect other computer/technology savvy peolpe of a similar age who are keen to share information and conversation.

It helps to seek out the ususual, linking groups and individuals in a range of interesting topics, that may not be available in their geographical area, such as geneology.

People can share life events, stay in touch and share photos.

They can remain informed without having to leave their homes, especially during cold winter months or due to illness, disability or immobility.

The hardware and software that is used, is very technical which stimulates problem solving and allows many hours of productive occupation.

Potential ethical issues:
There are a range of ethical issues on any website and these include:

• Lack of real identity in chatrooms
• Identities can be stolen
• Misuse of telecommunication tools
• Digitized information that can be easily copied, altered or transferred across borders.
• Copyright can be breached
• Information can be used or misused on the internet illegally, with little or no control.

With technology changing so fast, often ethical impacts have not been foreseen and methods of eliminating or reducing them have not been developed. Grown ups administrators advised me that the website is monitored and has a disclaimer however they have had few issues which they put down to the mature age of those attracted to the site (R. Poole, personal communication, 23 May, 2010).

There are also the social ethical implications to consider. Although the internet and social chat rooms can be wonderful in opening up the world for us from our table top, excess use of the computer can alienate us from our social contacts that are closest to home. Excessive use can reduce conversation and interaction with family and friends which can cause isolation and lonliness and be distructive to relationships.

so..."what are the benefits that this community holds over traditional notions of community?" Grown Ups provides networking, linking individuals and groups together, sharing of information and can foster understanding and unity.

It provides easy access to information without having to leave the house, although the reliability and validity of the informaton is not assured.

It allows a greater area of communication, such as the ability to talk to people from all over the world, connecting with family and new and old friends.

It increases our ability to engage in a range of occupations that may not be easily accessible on our own local community.

It exposes us to other cultures.

For a person with a disability, it can open up the world for them, allowing them to be involved in a community that may be difficult to access due to lack of mobility or health.

Essentially, an online community can compliment real life communities.

On the opposite side of the coin..."what does this community lack or cannot provide which traditional communities can?"

The most obvious one to me is, if the power fails or the computer breaks down, you are alienated from your online community leaving you isolated and alone. On my recent Fieldwork placement, I had no internet availability and I felt very isolated from my family and fellow students!

Online communities lack the personal interaction, such as the visual and aural stimuli of peoples smiles and laughter, the touch in a hug or a handshake or the smell of a familiar perfume or aftershave that that you associate with that person. It lacks the warmth of a good conversation and the feeling of a connection.

Syntax, which is commonly used in online conversations, can be misunderstood or messages can become confused which is less likely in face to face conversations.

The OT perspective : Online communities for the over 50's are certainly gaining popularity and serve as a wonderful communication site which can compliment other real life communities and provide meaningful and purposeful occupation.

Wii-Hab: Video Game Therapy

Bruno's enthusiasm

Wii Gaming

Wii gaming has great appeal to people because it is interactive, physical and you can do it at anytime, any weather. The player can be as active as they like, from a game of 10 pin to a powerful game of tennis. Even more importantly, you do not have to be an expert and you can do it in the privacy of your own home.

When you think of gamers, you envisage one or more bodies huddled around a TV screen with theur shoulders hunched and eyes glued to the screen. With the Wii game, people are upright and more physical, which attracts a different type of player.

Wii's are an excellent OT tool to help in the engagement of meaningful "and fun" occupation, which assists balance, executive cognition functions and balance to name a few. It can be used over a range of ages from children to the elderly, as a welcome relief to other more mundane therapies. It creates distraction for a client and an opportunity to compete and interact with others while giving their bodies a good "work out."

The developers of Wii are creating new applications continuously at the moment as this new game has taken over the industry. It is quite unique and there is great interst in being able to use the game in the health sector, particularly therapy.

One organisation using the Wii is the Medical College of Georgia, where a group of researchers have been studying Parkinsons Disease to determine if occupational therapy will enhance the treatment of the disease. Participants are playing sports, such as baseball in their therapy sessions (www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080407074534.htm).

Tutorial Four and Five: Video Production Sessions

These past couple of weeks we have been looking at video/movie production... and you guessed it, by next week we should have produced our own and uploaded them to You Tube and our Blogs!!!

You Tube Services:
You Tube displays a wide variety of user generated, video clips including movie, TV and music videos. It is also a forum for amateurs to upload original videos and blogs for anyone to view, in fact most of the content on You Tube has been posted by amateur.
You Tube has terms of service which specifically deal with defamation, copyright and pornography.

The Planning Process for our Videos:

Scripting and storyboarding are too very important processes in the planning phase of a video or movie.

Scripting is the writers method of telling the story through the spoken word, visual effects and music. A good script will include moods and expressions, movement, vocal expressions, interaction wiht other characters, special effects, lighting, camera angles and types of shots, sound track, background sound and setting and onsreen graphics and titles.

Storyboarding is a comprehensive plan of the sequence of shots required to produce a movie. It comprises of a series of detailed sketches or drawings in separate frames to outline the complete story. The director follows this plan to construct each scene, making efficient use of filming time. Other people involved in the making of the movie will also use the storyboard in their planning, such as sound and lighting crews.

So... stay tuned for the premier of our movie next week ! :)

Tute 3: The BLOG Creation!

Tute three is all about creating our own blog using Blogger.com.

So... heres a bit about the services offered by Blogger.

Blogger.com is a free online forum to allow anyone an oppportunity to speak or record information fr just themselves or the whole world to have access to.

With Blogger comments, you can choose to keep these private or allow other people to make comments and as the author of you blog, you have the ability to delete any unwanted comments.

Access controls also allow you to decide who can read or write on your blog, so it can be useful for group work where a number of people can contribute.

Blogger profiles allows you to find people and blogs that you share a common interest with and visa verser.

Blogger has all the usual design features such as templates, customised colours and fonts, drag and drop page elements so that you can move entries of interest around and post photographs. You can even send photographs and txts straight from your mobile phone when you are out and about with Blogger Mobile (Sunderland, J. personal communication, March 2, 2101).

Blog Hosts:

There are a number of Blog Hosts but not all of them are free. Many are designed for a particular purpose such as Blogs for professionals, for self confessed computer geeks and some just for the general population. Just host.com is a professional blog host where users pay for the service.

so...with my Flickr account up and running, my next task was to upload some photos to my blog .....and here they are...

Some summertime pic's at Matauri Bay in Northland and one of our little puppies.

Robinson, A.M. Personal photographs, January 12, 2009, unpublished source.

Informed Consent is respecting a person's autonomy to make personal choices based on the appropriate appraisal of information about the actual and/or potential circumstances of a situation (Butts & Rich, 2008, p. 43)

Therefore, in order for me to publish photographs of my family, as I have done above, I have to have their written informed consent before using the pictures (which I have done).

My Opinion: Will a great understanding of ITC and the ethical issues it encompasses help us in our practice and daily lives?

ITC certainly has its place in our world and will continue to do so. Therefore having a good, if not great understanding of ITC will certainly help, particularly in our practice. ITC brings with it opportunities for us as therapists to tap into and use as means to enhance the lives of the clients with whom we work. It allows us to become creative and use these advancements to overcome challanges of the daily occupations of our clients. If we dont keep up with new technologies, we may be missing out!

Ethical issues in relation to online activities are very important and should be paramount in all ITC training. In recent years, our private lives have suddenly become public knowledge with the use of digital cameras, mobile phones cameras, surveillance equipment and media such as facebook, bebo and my space. Ethical issues have not been addressed nor have many of the users been educated in ethics. In both our practice and in our daily lives, we must ensure that ethical issues are considered especially in respect of privacy, confidentiality and copyright.

References:

Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2008). Nursing ethics: across the curriculum and into practice. (2nd ed.). London: Jones and Bartlett Publishers International.