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.

AFFORDANCE!!!!!

What is it? 

Mary Law defines affordance as the "characteristics of the environment that are uniquely identified by the person based on their cognitive style, experiences and abilities" (Law, 1998,p.111).

Toby Hamilton explains that affordance is the interaction between an object and a person and the experiences they have within this interact (Hamilton, 2010).  

In both of these definitions the core of affordance is the persons experience of something or with something. From this my understanding is that no one persons understanding or feeling of affordance is the same and that everyone’s experiences of affordance is different. In class we discussed what affordance means to us and from this came ethics, connection, communication, aesthetics, spiritual and of course physical. I will choose one of these and use my chosen activity of soccer to help explain what affordance is.

Connections

Thursday nights mean its training night, I grab my boots bag, hop in the car and head to our training pitch. On the way my boots stink out the car because no matter how much you clean them and scrub them there's still that well worn smell of a hard fought 90min game of soccer from the Sunday just been. Once at the park I pull my gear out of the bag and start putting it on. First is the shin pads with the strategically places ankle guards, I always wear these because I’m reminded of a time when watching you tube clips of people playing soccer. The players I was watching weren’t wearing any shin pads and one guy got tackled quite hard and you could see his shin bone break and stick out in an unnatural position under the skin. Next are my socks and then my boots. Boots are so expensive especially if you want them to last more than one season, and then getting the right boot for your foot is a mission in its self because all the boots are in men’s sizes (hello women play the game as well). Though this year while I was boot shopping I saw there were three pairs of women’s boots and I saw able to find some in my size. I didn’t get them though because they were ugly and had small blades/sprigs.   

Reference list:

Hamilton, T. (2010). Occupations and places. In C. Christiansen & E. Townsend (Eds.), Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

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

ERGONOMICS

What is Ergonomics?? 

According to Toby Hamilton (2010) ergonomics is a means of "determining how the psychological, physical and social characteristics of people and environments influence task performance". Let’s relate this to soccer. For one to play soccer they would have to have an interest in the game an ‘I want to learn to play’ or an ‘I need to play’ attitude (psychological). They would need to be able to move around on the field, kick and throw a ball (physical). They would also need to be able to interact with others in the team and on the field. The environment has a big impact on the game too because it’s normally played in all weather. Therefore when it’s nice and sunny with a cool breeze these are perfect conditions for the game, it gets everyone in the right spirit and the right mind frame. But if it’s cold, raining and blowing a gale the mood or energy for wanting to play can become snuffed out. These all impact on the person’s performance when they are playing the game because the person who is playing on the nice day is going to enjoy the game more than the person on the bad day. This will illicit motivation and drive from the player. 

In an article by Michelle Elliot she writes how play and games is "something that allows us to explore and share our common roots and sensibilities, where ever we live and whatever culture we are from (2008, p.1)". This links well into social characteristics of ergonomics.

References:

Hamilton, T. (2010). Occupations and places. In C. Christiansen & E. Townsend (Eds.), Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living (2nd ed.). 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 

PARTICIPATION IN OCCUPATION 2

This is a new paper for semester two but what is it all about? What will we learn???

In short we will be looking at the value of meaningful engagement in occupation through mindfulness, frameworks and philosophies. This will be done through an occupation of our choice, which we will be regularly posting about over the next six weeks. The occupation of my choice is women’s Soccer.

What is soccer and why do I love playing it?

For those of you who are unsure or only have I general idea about this sport I will give you a little overview of the game now. Soccer is a sport played on a large patch of grass with two goals (one at each end of the field). The goals make the outline shape of a bus shelter and have a net that hangs down the back of the goal. The aim of the game is to get the ball through your opponent’s goal and into the net as many times as you can without your opponent scoring in your goal (something our present team has trouble with at the moment). There are 11 players on each team including your goalie, a referee and two linesmen (if you’re lucky). The game is played for 90 minutes, two 45 min halves, you’re only allowed to use your feet, legs, and chest or head to control the ball and you cannot take the persons feet out when going for the ball. I love this game because it is very much a team sport and gets many different people with a similar interest working together. It keeps me fit over the winter months, I get to improve my repertoire of skills every time I play and I get to play with many of my friends.

Can you see any themes relating to OT in there? I can!!

Social interaction, self efficacy, motivation, personal improvement, group/team work, structure, boundaries, physical/mental and emotional well being…. the list goes on!

Until next time this is Megan signing out!!       

Tutorial Eight

This post will introduce Assitive Tachnology (AT), what these are and how much they cost to get for the department you may be working for. What is Assistive Technology??? Cook and Hussy (1995) define assistive technology as "any item, piece of equipment, or product system whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized that is used to increase or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities" (Cook & Hussy, 1995, p.5). My understanding of this definition is that assistive technology is anything that enables and enhances a person’s ability to perform necessary and meaningful occupations. I will now introduce a piece of equipment I learnt about in the assistive technology presentation. During this presentation I found the assistive switches very interesting because of the verity of applications you could use them for. The prices range depending on there capabilities the cheapest and simplest switch is the Jelly Bean prised at $70 and the most dearest switch being the Jelly Beamer SLAT twist switch at $430. These switches can be used with any pre adapted toy or appliance and depending on the capabilities of the switch, it can allow the user to have three different modes of control over the toy or appliance. This device was introduced to us with the example of being used with children who have limited strength, ROM and mobility. With the use of this device they are able to play with electric toys or remote controlled toys like anyone else is able to, with a switch of a button. Because this device has the capacity to be attached to any pre adapted electric deviece, it means that most people’s capabilities can be allowed for. Here are some you tube clips that shows the switch beinging used.

References Cook, A., & Hussey, S. (1995). Assitive Technologies (pp. 4-44). Missouri, AL: Mosby.