morphed

i was on a moodle discussion space where all new participants are begun with an image of a smiling yellow pill wearing sunglasses, you know, the smiley face of the 60's....with google i discovered it wasnt a pill at all but a bright yellow iced cake, anyway, i changed the pic for one of me, cept then i mucked about a bit and morphed and couldnt get out again, somehow the iconic mountain of the city where i live became my representation. transcended or IT illiterate clutz? Rangitoto in the Waitemata (water stars).

Environmental effects on thinking?

I was taken by this advert as an example of actor network at play
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simplifying summer @ youtube

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How far away from the beach do togs become undies? An aggragation of 'actors' support a construct, as these peel away, what's left is changed. Not all these 'actors' are human, the environmental factors hold influence.

txting heart and soul

The ubiquitous cell phone: Sherry Turkle talked about how her father would shout into a phone so as to cross the great divide, her daughters would giggle into it in the way teenagers do in using the medium to connect for company. My daughter plans to leave hers with a friend when she's away as it apparently needs someone to care for it!

Performing

I'm looking at how communication and computer technologies are being integrated within the health sector.
Seems that there is a lot being done, but its not adding very much and may even be distracting or detracting or even degenerative.
Is this as 'good as it gets”?
1. There is a lot that disseminates, info, its novel, and or available as and when wanted so it’s an improvement on pamphlets. It’s also pulled down rather than pushed at, so there might be an assumption of it being more effective as it gets to its target group.
2. There is a lot that seems to replace people with machinery, go to a clinic and instead of being interviewed we can have you directly input data.
3. There is connection: live chats, online forums, support groups. More info available and accessible, wider and more accessible Q&As, support of a different shape is possible.
But in our shaping of CCT use in the health sector just to do the same old in new ways, and if so, is it destructive, distracting or detracting from services that would be better provided? The number of self help initiatives, any self-help book could have provided. The support groups have always occurred, maybe the medium allows some different people to be involved - and maybe it’s excluding others. Are there real gains or is it a novelty factor that’s distracting funds and energies away ...
In these examples we appear to repackage. Is the new just better used to perform the historical ( Milio, 2001). ?

actor-network theory in a doctoral study

I am undertaking a study into change. The area I am focussing on is counselling and communicating care. I am using actor-network theory to look at how people's beliefs about change influence what they then do to enact and shape change as they integrate new uses of technology in their lives.
What I would like any reader to comment on, is there own beliefs regarding the use of technology such as TXT or email or online exchanges for sensitive areas of communications.
What are your beliefs about change related to this area?
How do these beliefs influence what you do in the use of newer technologies to communicate care?