Ambience and Practical considerations.

Practical considerations

I will be using ‘Getting ready for the game’ and ‘Setting the net’ postings to discuss practical considerations and ambience, so please refer to these for contextual understanding. Practical as defined by the Collins English dictionary is “involving or concerning actual use; not theoretical” (Hanks, 1979, p.1150). Consideration is defined as “the act or an instance of considering” (Hanks, 1979, p. 321). If we put these meaning together and relate it to the game of soccer we get what is needed to play the game. From the two postings mentioned above you know we need a ball, goal, net, team mates and opponents. But on deliberation during the games creation it was decided that it would be practical to have shin pads and boots to prevent injury. There are also practical considerations in the conditions to play the game in because, if the pitch is too wet then you risk ruining the grass for future games.

Ambience

Hanks (1979) defines ambience as “the atmosphere of a place” and Sadlo (2004) discusses the idea of “creating appropriate ambiance” (Sadlo, 2004, p.94). In relation to soccer ambience can be seen within the changing room, putting up the net, during the warm up and in the game. I the changing room we create an appropriate ambience by getting into our gear, talking about positions and how many goals we want score. During the game the ambience is also fueled by the supporters cheering for their respective teams. This also fuels the players to play harder; the atmosphere feeds us when we are on our last legs. This one characteristic of the game can be make or break for either team.

My peer review links:

Cara

Anna

Paula

Sarah

 References:

Arendt, H. (1958). The Human condition. New York, Doubleday Anchor Books. in Butler, M. 2011, lecture notes on Work, in Participation in Occupation 2 (BT238001)

Christiansen, C., & Townsend, E. (2010). The occupational nature of social groups. In C. Christiansen & E. Townsend (Eds.),Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.   

Elliot, M. (2008, June 19). The games that bring us together. Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1815747_1815707_1815705,00.html

Green, T. (1968). Work, Leisure, and the American Schools. New York:, Random House.

Hamilton, T. (2010). Occupations and places. In C. Christiansen & E. Townsend (Eds.), Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Hanks, P. (Ed.). (1979). Collins dictionary of the english language. New York, NY: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.

Law, M. (Ed.). (1998). Client centered occupational therapy. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK incorporated.

Sadlo, G. (2004). On watching paint dry: An exploration of boredom. In M. Molineux (Ed.), Occupation for occupational therapists. Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing.

SETTING THE NET

I arrive at the club and go into the changing rooms, everyone says hello and we are all catching up about what we have got up to over the weekend as we get changed into our strip (uniform). The socks are the hardest part to put on, this year they got new socks and they are so tight! After we are changed we head down to the field. (Start reading here for word limit) There is an art to putting up a soccer net, as you have to make sure the net reaches the ground on both sides of the goal, and the net must be attached to the top of the goal without any sags or holes that the ball can go though. The best way to insure you achieve this is to start at one side and make it all fit till you reach the other side. While still working together we lift up the goal and quickly tuck the net under the bar hoping our team mates won’t drop it on our fingers. This is all essential to the game to make sure that the ball is trapped when it goes in the net so there is no question a goal has been scored.

A key aspect of this part of the game is communication which we now know links to the framework of affordance but there also a link to Game theory. Which had its beginnings in the 1940’s through the works of John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern. Christiansen and Townsend (2010) discuss the importance of communication and cooperation in the evolution of human capacities and how this helps communities to evolve (Christiansen and Townsend, 2010). This can be related to my soccer team and putting the net up through the communication of older members to younger members of how best to put the net up. The older members know from previous experiences that to put the net up quickly and successfully you start at one side and work along to the other. If the younger/newer team members were left to put the net up without such information it would have taken a lot longer and several attempts to put it up properly. The cooperation is obvious in the lifting of the goal while other team members tuck the net under it. Without this we wouldn’t be able to secure the net to the ground as sufficiently.

Reference list:

Christiansen, C., & Townsend, E. (2010). The occupational nature of social groups. In C. Christiansen & E. Townsend (Eds.),Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.   

GETTING READY FOR THE GAME

When I get ready for a soccer game I make sure I have had a good breakfast, that I have my drink bottle, shin pads, boots and am wearing the club shirt and black pants when I leave the house. All of these objects have links to ergonomics and affordances. The drink bottle makes sure my thirst is quenched during the game, my shin pads protect my shins from getting kicked by the other players, the boots protect my feet from getting stood on or while kicking, they also provide grip while running on the field. According to Toby Hamilton (2010) these objects attribute to the “goal of ergonomics” (Hamilton, 2010, p. 262)  which is to “improve the fit between person and their working conditions while improving safety, productivity and comfort” (Hamilton, 2010, p.262). 

You may be wondering what working condition has to do with the game of soccer. Well in this case I am talking about work in the sense of personal choice, doing something because I want to do it (Arendt, 1958), as against necessity (labour). It is my personal choice that I play soccer; I play because I love the game, I enjoy the challenges and find pleasure in developing my skills for the game (affordance). As against necessity or labour which implies that there is a need to do this occupation or activity to survive (Green, 1968). I could survive without playing soccer, those that make a living from playing soccer or who have a deep unwavering passion for the game may not be able to live without it. I know that if I couldn’t play the game that I would not be as happy, but it’s not a necessity for me to be able to live.

Reference list:

Arendt, H. (1958). The Human condition. New York, Doubleday Anchor Books. in Butler, M. 2011, lecture notes on Work, in Participation in Occupation 2 (BT238001)

Green, T. (1968). Work, Leisure, and the American Schools. New York:, Random House.

Hamilton, T. (2010). Occupations and places. In C. Christiansen & E. Townsend (Eds.), Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.