Tutorial Two: Digital Imaging

Today we are looking at Digital Imaging!!

Digital images can be stored, transferred and manipulated using information technology. Some of the terms used in Information Technology are hardware and software. I will provide you with some examples of each that I am familiar with but before I do that I will tell you what they mean. 

A computer system comprises of hardware and software (Liverpool, 1997).

Hardware is the physical medium for example: Circuit boards, keyboards and processors (Liverpool, 1997).

Software are computer programs, for example: operating systems, editor and compilers (Liverpool, 1997).


We use hardware and software in our everyday lives. Some of the hardware that I use is my laptop, my external hard drives, my iPod and my cellphone. With my laptop, I have a mouse that I can connect up through a USB connection. My external hard drives and my iPod are all linked up or connected to my laptop through USB cords. This allows me to use my hardware on my laptop's software. Some of the software that I use regularly are Facebook, iTunes, moodle/blackboard, emails, Skype and so many other websites that are out there.


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

• Digital information can also come in the form of scanned documents.
• Photos are used to capture memories and provide information of an event that happened at a certain time.
• Photos and digital information can be stored as hard copies on USBs or disks rather than on a computer.

 An Introduction to Digital Imaging - follow this link for a little bit more information on Digital Imaging.

The clip below shows some examples of digital imaging:

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

Digital vs. Film

Some people love the old film cameras where you can get the photos developed and then some people love digital cameras because you can see the photos before you pay to get them printed. Here are some pros and cons of both types:

Film Cameras/Photos

Pros

• Fun to develop
• Clearer colour tones 
• Surprise at the final product

Cons

• If you lose the negatives you can't get the photo's back
• Photos are easily damaged
• Can't get film rolls developed anymore

Digital Cameras/Photos

Pros

• You can take more pictures
• Can delete unwanted pictures
• Easy to use

Cons

• You need a place to store the pictures
• Risk of losing photos that are stored on the computer.
• Non standard batteries/cables 

Ethical Issues

With all the information technology that is available to us in today's society, it is quite important to know the types of ethical issues that surround the use of photos. I will be discussing privacy and getting informed consent to use a picture with people in it.


Privacy is a very important ethical issue as some people may feel that a picture of them on a website might be an invasion of there privacy, so this is where informed consent comes in. If you are taking pictures in a public area and are going to use those pictures on a website you need to get informed consent from any people that are captured in your photo. This article discusses New Zealand's perspective on taking photos in a public place. It presents a court case where the defendant was convicted of behaving in an offensive manner in a public place for taking inappropriate photos of people without their knowledge.

Photos in Occupational Therapy

 Photos can be used in several ways to enhance occupational therapy practice. For example when working at a hospital most staff are required to wear ID badges so that patients and other staff can identify them and what their role within the hospital is. Here is an example of a photo ID.

Photos are also used for capturing moments so that places like rest homes and schools can use the photos to advertise their business through pamphlets and websites.


References:

University of Liverpool. (1997) What is hardware and software. Retrieved on April 13th, 2011 from http://www.liv.ac.uk/HPC/HTMLF90Course/HTMLF90CourseSlidesnode3.html