Personal Computer Applications in the Social Services

David Patterson, Ph.D.
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Comes a Revolution
Hardware: The Basics and Beyond
Software: Basic Tools
Spreadsheets: Multipurpose Tools
Databases: Information When and How You Want It
Graphics: Visual Representation of Practice Information
Beyond Word Processing
Presentation Software: Beyond Magic Markers and Posterboards
The Internet as a Tool of Practice
Ethical Applications of Information Technology in Social Service Practice

Table Of Contents

Chapter 1. Comes a Revolution.

History of Computing - http://www.computer.org/history/index.html
The Personal Computer as a Tool of Practice.
Computers in Mental Health - http://www.ex.ac.uk/cimh/
International Society for Mental Health Online - http://www.ismho.org/
Child Abuse Prevention Network - http://child.cornell.edu/
A Day in the Life of a Laptop.
Computer Aids to Mental Health Care - http://cpa.medical.org/arc/pubs/journal/1999/aug/marks.htm
Communication, Collaboration, and Cooperation.
National Action Plan on Breast Cancer - http://www.napbc.org/
National Youth Gang Center - http://www.iir.com/nygc/
Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development - http://www.siu.edu/~crhssd/
Battered Women and Their Children - http://cwolf.uaa.alaska.edu/~afrhm1/index.html
Information Serving the Practitioner.
United States National Library of Medicine - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/
Medline - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/
Uncover - A Current Awareness and Document Delivery Service - http://uncweb.carl.org/
Merck Manual - A Guide to Diseases -  http://www.merck.com/search/
RxList: The Internet Drug Index - http://www.rxlist.com/
Manuals for Empirically Validated Treatment - http://www.grohol.com/txmanul.htm
Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment - http://www.nida.nih.gov/PODAT/PODATIndex.html
World Wide Web Resources for Social Workers - http://www.nyu.edu/socialwork/wwwrsw/
Information Technology Tools for Community-Based Organizations - http://www.welfareinfo.org/Informationtechnology.htm
Daring to Imagine and Experiment.
Understanding and Using the Internet - http://www.pbs.org/uti/
Windweaver Search Pages - http://www.windweaver.com/searchpage3.htm#Email
Ask Dr. Internet - http://promo.net/drnet/
Webopedia - http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/
Cultivating an Attitude of Openness.
Meditation and Relaxation - http://www.healthy.net/library/articles/DanRedwood/meditat.htm
The Relaxation Response - http://www.coun.uvic.ca/personal/relax.html
Relaxation Tips - http://www.irelax.com/relax_tips2.htm
Self-Help: Relaxation - http://www.nmu.edu/www-sam/cnsel_ctr/relax.htm
Essential Limitations.
Electronic Privacy Information Center - http://epic.org/
The IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology - http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/j/jherkert/index.html
The Center for Democracy and Technology - http://www.cdt.org/
Internet Privacy Coalition - http://www.privacy.org/ipc/
Electronic Frontier Foundation - http://www.eff.org/


Chapter 2. Hardware: The Basics and Beyond.
In and Out of the “Black Box.”
Basic Personal Computer Forms and Functions.
Information In: Keyboards to Captured Video.
Information Out.
Storage and Retrieval.
Notebooks: A Desktop Alternative.
Purchasing a Personal Computer: Choices, Trade-Offs, and Sources.

Chapter 3. Software: Basic Tools.
The Changed Face of Software.
Operating Systems Basics.
Applications: Tools for Tasks.
Application Suites: Tools That Work Together.
Web Browsers.
Utilities.

Chapter 4. The Spreadsheet: A Multi-Purpose Tool.
Capturing Data.
Simple Random Sampling Procedure.
Systematic Sampling.
Stratified Sampling.
Survey Data Collection.
Data Analysis: Making Sense of It All.
Simple Statistics (Not an Oxymoron!).
Data Analysis Tools.
Bivariate Analysis.
Multivariate Analysis.
Budgeting: Managing Fiscal Resources.

Chapter 5. Databases: Information When and How You Want It.
Database Basics.
Database Applications in Social Service Practice.
Creating a Database.
Importing a Database.
Data Organization.
Data Selection.
Report Generation.
Mail Merge in Lotus Approach.

Chapter 6. Graphics: Visual Representation of Practice Information.
Thinking Visually.
Graphical Representation.
Tools for Graphical Representation of Information.
Data Selection Prior to Graphing.
Matching Data to Type of Graph.
Enhancing Graphs.
Exporting Graphs.
Spreadsheet Graphics Tools.
Ecomaps.
Genograms.
Organizational Charts.
Flow Charts.

Chapter 7. Beyond Just Word Processing.
Smart Documents — Finding and Linking Information.
Graphics — Beyond Charts and Graphs.
Templates — Frequently Used Document Forms.
Mail Merge: From One to Many.
Web Page Development.

Chapter 8. Presentation Software: Beyond Magic Markers and Posterboards.
Presentation Software: Fundamental Features.
Templates: Quick Steps to Producing Presentations.
Using Microsoft PowerPoint.
Using Lotus Freelance Graphics.
Using Corel Presentation.

Chapter 9. The Internet as a Tool of Practice.
The Essential Internet.
Gaining Access to the Internet.
E-mail as a Tool of Practice.
Communicating with Clients.
Communicating with Peers.
The World Wide Web as a Tool of Practice
    Please note correction: www.nyu.edu/socialwork/wwwrsw
Other Internet Tools.

Chapter 10. Ethical Applications of Information Technology in Social Service Practice.
Informed Consent.
Protecting Confidentiality.
Electronic Storage of Information.
Electronic Transmission of Information.
Ethical Use of Software and other IT Resources.

Computer Ethics - Cyperethics - http://www.siu.edu/departments/coba/mgmt/iswnet/isethics/index.html
Use of Intellectual Property.