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36 Section II. Organizational Changeinal project proposal planned for the use of “client update push technology,” whichallows an administrator to update software from a remote server without having tovisit each machine in person.Although desired, the team was not able to purchase sucha system with the current funding.Outside the “In Loop”As the single staff member responsible for reimaging and technical support, Helenneeds to know when rooms change over and when new patients arrive. However,the children’s computer network is completely independent of the official hospitalnetwork, and Helen does not have access to the occupancy listings on the main hospitalinformation system. The nurses do not always inform her of room changes, andHelen’s only source for patient schedules comes from daily lunch meetings with herfellow child life staff.They inform her when new families are in the hospital and discussthe general issues and concerns of the patients they have visited.Because Helen does not work late nights or weekends, room reassignments can occurwithout her presence. Situations such as these can interfere with her ability to erasepotentially harmful downloads after a patient leaves.Single Username and PasswordThe method chosen for assigning user accounts on the network also contributes to thereimaging problems. In order to log on to the computers, patients are all given the sameusername and password. Because each user accesses the computer with the sameaccount, the downloaded files and settings on the desktop carry over between patientsunless the computer is reimaged. A potential alternative to this approach would be forHelen to (attempt to) assign unique usernames and passwords to the ever-changingcollection of users. Such a solution undoubtedly would add complexity to Helen’salready hectic job of keeping up with new patients.Is Locking Down the Machine a Solution?“I think we may lock it down. I know that sounds bad, but lock it down to the pointwhere the patients can’t save anything to the desktop,” Helen explains. “They can saveto a disk, or they can attach it to an e-mail.” She does not want to reduce the functionalityof the computers for honest users, but it is a choice she must make in orderto maintain the privacy and security of patients and their families. Because of the difficultiesshe has faced with reimaging in the current system, this may be a necessaryand acceptable compromise that does not limit the computers too severely.Freedom and Functionality vs. Security and SafetyIn practice, the decision to lock down the computers will shape Helen’s capacity tomanage the network without additional manpower. However, Helen’s hesitationtoward limiting downloads uncovers another issue that cuts to the heart of the entireproject’s goals: How much freedom can we give patients on the computers and on the