Framework of PLAY + Ambeince

This week in class we got in groups and developed a framework around our activity. The three frameworks were paper, food, play and other. Cards came under 'play'
Play is described as an occupation that is done for amusement; Play is self chosen and pleasurable and done in everyday life (Christensen and townsend).
In comparison to paper or food, play is something that has no lasting effect and is done for no specific purpose. Craft produces an end product that tends to remain after it has been built. Unlike play which doesn’t have an end product but an experience (Sunderland, 2010). Throughout my essay i will be discussing play in relation to playing cards.


We also briefly touched on Ambiance. Collins 2004 describes ambiance as the atmosphere of a place.  To me ambiance is anything the environment offers and the atmosphere in the environment. When playing cards the atmosphere can get prity intense and serious (depending on the game) or it can be a fun happy environment. Sometimes when playing cards i get nervous or anxious waiting to play my cards, i also can feel relaxed and pleased knowing i have good cards.


As this is my last blog post to conclude i have covered ergonomics, Affordances, Aesthetics, practical considerations and have participate in this occupation mindfully over the past six weeks.


5 References that have helped me to refelect on my activity
 Hagedorn, R. (2000). Tools for practice in occupational therapy. A structured approach to core skills and processes. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

Christensen & E. Townsend (Eds.), An Introduction to the Art and Science of Living. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

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

Collins, 2004. Compact Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers. Great Britain, UK

Crepeau E. ( 2003 ). Analyzing occupation and activity: A way of thinking about occupational performance. In Crepeau E., Cohn E, & Schell B (Eds.), Willard and Spackman’s occupational therapy ( 10th ed., pp.189-198). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins

R.Mathew, (2009). Mindfulness, helping patients discover moments of rest, relief and comfort in recovery, rehabilitation and beyond. Work for advance. ADVANCE Newsmagazines. Prussia

Posts to other blogs (I wasnt able to post onto peoples pages)


1. Gemma "More affordances".
 Good work Gemma! I enjoyed reading this post as our occupations are quite similar so it has given me some ideas that i hadn’t thought of. You have thought in depth about the physical aesthetics (I didn’t think cards was very physical) and you have come up with good ideas. Another one could be moving the furniture around before we start playing, this is a physical component as well as an environmental factor :) Hope this helps. Claire


2. Cara- "Affordance: cont"
Hi Cara. I have enjoyed reading your blog as I am very interested in you hebel sculpture. I like how you have put up photos, this has inspired me to put photos on my blog. It gives the reader a better understanding and idea of what kind of work you do.

3. Amanda - 'Practical considerations- 5. Gingewrbread men'
"Mmm your gingerbread men look delicious! I like how you have put in ergonomics and practical consideration into your story because it allows the reader to easily pick these out. I have enjoyed reading your blog.
p.s  check for spelling and grammar as you have a few mistakes in here.


4. Divika
Hi divika. This post shows you have a good understanding of what ergonomics is and how it fits in with baking. I also love baking so it was interesting reading you opinion about it.
A suggestion to improve your blog is maybe adding some photos of the types of things you bake :)

Playing cards

The last time i engaged in my meaningful activity (Cards) was last Saturday night. Me and my flatmates were having a night in at home so decided to watch a movie, we were just getting into it when suddenly the tv and lights flickers then turned off. Damn another power cut! the whole street was out!. we sat in the dark for while until i went and got some candles and set them up on the coffee table. we had just enough light to see each other. Hmm what to do now we thought, someone suggested cards and we all agreed. We decided on playing blackjack (a game we don't often play) two of my flat mates didn't really know how to play but i explained the rules and aim of the game then we had a practice. They picked it up prity fast and it wasn't long before it started to get competitive. Everyone seemed hyped up and excited, maybe it was because of the changed environment. Before we new it the lights came back on, its almost as though we were disappointed when the lights and tv came back on, we were having so much fun playing cards the time flew by. We played for at least an hour.

So remember if your ever have to go without power there are plenty of good card games to keep you occupied for a few hours.

This isn't the best picture but you get the idea. All the flatties sitting around the coffee table in our pajamas and blankets playing cards by candle light =) how romantic. This shows that cards can be played anywhere, in any environment.

Work and Labour

Humans occupy themselves in one way or another in everyday life. In society most people have the balance of work or labour, and leisure or play, and the activities of daily living.
Being occupied is one of the most important and distinct features of being human.

This week we looked at Work and Labour and discussed how these are different.
work is described as an activity which corresponds to the unnaturalness of human existence (Arendt, 1958)
Labour is described as the activity which corresponds to the biological process of the human body (Arendt, 1985).  I describe labour as being necessity's of life, eg. Eating, Drinking, having shelter, working for money etc and Work is something people choice to do


Playing cards is defiantly 'Work', i do not need to play cards to survive. I do it to have fun, relax and spend time with friends and family.
Everyone needs to have a balanced lifestyle and make time to do the things they enjoy.
If cards were taken away from me i may lose connections with friends and family, i may lose skill and forget how to play over time,  i wont be able to develop new memories, i would have less engagement with others.



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)

More Affordances..

Today we continued to talk about Affordances.We talked about Aesthetics, spirituality, memories and history, and physical components.  Aesthetics is described as relating to the appreciation of art and beauty (Collins, 2004). From this i understand aesthetics as being something pleasing and how you look at things. In relation to cards if you have been dealt a really good hand this may be pleasing to look at.
According to Hopkinson and Smith 1983 as sited in Crepeau 2003, The day to day practice of occupational therapy reflects the fact our activities, our behaviours and the product of the occupation combine to give us a sense of who we are and help define us a social beings.

I am going to use these photos to describe the aesthetics, physical components and memories and history.

Memory's- As stated in my first post i started playing cards at a young age with my family. I have found that certain games trigger memory's of where you were or who you were with at that time.

This photo was taken at our beach house in whitianga. My family and friends are playing spoons, which is a card game. I love this photo as you can see every ones facial expressions and you get an idea of what the atmosphere is like. Everyone is laughing and having a good time.

This next photo shows good body language.

As you can see here sometimes it gets a bit to competitive!. This shows that the connection between everyone is quit close, you can tell in this picture that we all know each well. (aaron is determined to win and is fighting Hannah to get the spoon). This shows the physical components.

Photos speak a thousand words.

References:
Collins, 2004. Compact Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers. Great Britain, UK

Crepeau E. ( 2003 ). Analyzing occupation and activity: A way of thinking about occupational performance. In Crepeau E., Cohn E, & Schell B (Eds.), Willard and Spackman’s occupational therapy ( 10th ed., pp.189-198). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins

Ergonomics and Affordances

This week we covered ergonomics and affordance's
Affordance is 'anything which the environment can offer the individual which is pertinent to the role challenge and can facilitate role competence' (hagedorn, 2000).


Ergonomics is about how the physical, social, physiological and environmental factors influence task performance.
For example playing cards is a social fun thing that is done in my flat with my friends. The environment influences if we play cards or not, eg. we usually play at night, we play if there is nothing good on tv and have nothing better to do, we play in areas where we have enough space and seats for everyone. (usually we play in the lounge on the coffee table, to do this we have to re-arrange the furniture so we are all sitting closely around the table).
Social factors include- If everyone wants to play or not, and the skill and knowledge others have.


In relation to playing cards:
Communications (relationships)- Winner/loser
                                                 Instructor/teacher
                                                 Competitiveness
                                                 Language
                                                 Non verbal communication, eg. smiles, cover ups,
                                                                                            poker face
                                                  
Connections: 
This is the game of black jack we are playing
These are my friends who are playing the game of black jack
This is my house where my friends are where we are playing black jack
This is greg who built the house where my friends are playing black jack


Practical considerations- According to Christiansen & Townsend (2004), practical considerations are objects and tools that are necessary to be able to perform and engage in occupations. These are things i need in order to engage in my activity.
- Other people to play with, A pack of cards, a flat surface, something to sit on, enough space and preferably some drinks and nibbles (although these arn't essential).

Ethics

Burden -Guilt
- Keeping a straight face
- Pressure
Joy- winning
-spending time with friends/family
-understanding the game

Good- learning something new
- eating/drinking
-Fun
Bad-Addiction
Time wasting
Distracting


References:
Hagedorn, R. (2000). Tools for practice in occupational therapy. A structured approach to core skills and processes. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone

Christensen & E. Townsend (Eds.), An Introduction to the Art and Science of Living. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

Week 2- choosen activity

This semester we have to choose an activity that we will participate in mindfully and be able to write about.
According to Mathew 2009, Mindfulness is a simple technique for increasing awareness of the present moment, moving away from the past or future to pay attention to thoughts, feelings and sensations with objectivity as they unfold in the present moment.

My chosen activity is card games. I started playing card games at a young age with my parents and sister, the most common games we played were: snap, go fish and memory. As I got older we started playing last card, cheet and slam. My parents are really into games so we would play after dinner or in the weekends. We also lived on our boat for 9 months and didn’t have a tv or any sort of electronics so cards is what kept us entertained. I was taught how to play black jack, 500, uka and have just recently learnt how to play poker. These games require a lot more skill, strategy and more thinking.
Cards is fun and social and can be played anywhere with anyone. I enjoy playing with my flat mates, friends and family. I like learning new games and teaching people the games I know.

The thing I like best about playing cards is the social side of it, everyone gets involved and it is fun and sometimes gets competitive!.


Me and my flat mates have been playing cards a lot lately. We go through phases of it, the game that is played most often is presidents and slaves and poker. We usually play at night when nothing good is on tv. 

Words that come to mind when playing cards are:
Fun
Competativness
StrategieTechnique
Skill
Social
Quick thinking
time waster
Friends
Learning
Family

Why cards would be good to use with clients:
Rapport
Teaching
Learning
Skill
Engaging
Focusing
Sensors- touch

References
R.Mathew, (2009). Mindfulness, helping patients discover moments of rest, relief and comfort in recovery, rehabilitation and beyond. Work for advance. ADVANCE Newsmagazines. Prussia.

Semester 2

Participation in Occupation 2
starting 5-9-2011

Tutorial 8

This week we had two guest speekers who came to talk to us about 'Assistive technology'. The class was very interesting and helpful to us becomeing OT's. According to the Interagency Committee on Disability Research 2001 -2002,  Assistive technology (AT) can be defined as any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

The first hour of the class was spent talking about all the differnt technologys out there and how they can be used in practice. The second hour was spent using the differnt devices and learning how they all worked, it was very hands on.

The technology that really intresed me was 'Wii', Wii is a motion controled game that has a hand held pointing device that detects movement.  you can play this individually or in teams.
I never thought it could be used for therapy but there are so many benefits of using it. It can help people with balance, hand eye coordination, motor skills, arm and leg exersizes, general fitness and memory.
It has been used to help poeple with TBI, Mental illnesses, and rehabilitation (wii-habilitation).
Wii is challanging, fun and helps you gain new skills. You are able to set goals for yourself and acheive these. It also helps with social interaction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2BYgQbhxmU here is a video of someone using wii as rehabilitation
http://www.wiihabilitation.co.uk/- This website has more information about Wii and how it is used.

Tutorial 7

Today we learnt how to make links to and from our blogs. I made links to websites that i frequently use and started a friends list so i can easily go their pages. I now have the direct link to the OT page and the NZAOT website. I also have google and YouTube on my page because i use these frequently.
I also commented on Gemma's videos she posted to give her feedback.

We also learnt how to use the snipping tool. This tools allows you to copy any piece of information or picture and copy it. This tool is located in the start menu, and is very easy to use. you just need to draw a box around whatever you want to copy then save it in your documents then upload it onto your blog by using 'insert image'.

Tutorial 6

This week i will be focusing again on Schizophrenia and mental health and find online community groups that link to these. i will be looking at what service they provide, ethical issues, and how information is shared.

An online community is a group of people with common interests who use the Internet (web sites, email, instant messaging, etc) to communicate, work together and pursue their interests over time  (Leelefever 2003).
 

http://www.mentalwellness.com/mentalwellness/sch_schizophrenia.html- This website is for people who have a menatl illness, or know someone with a mental illness. It gives support and helpful information. People can sign up and write about there life and share inspirational storey's with others.
This website would benefit people who dont have a lot of support or family to talk to.

http://ehealthforum.com/health/ask_a_doctor_forums.html On this website you can post questions and a doctor will answer them or you can read other peoples questions.
Ethical issues- This website is very private, no name or information needs to be given about yourself.

http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_index.php?idx=weblogs This website is similar to the first one, it allows you to sign up and post information and storys or just read what others have to say. It has a forum, blog, news and updates, and videos.


Ethical issues-  Anyone can sign up and read what you have said. People need to know what they are signing up for when they become members to sites like this, they need to understand that they will be protected by the privacy laws. The information being put on these sites needs to be relevant and appropriate for the topic.

These websites are made up of groups of people from all over the world who provide each other moral support, information, and advice on problems relating to some shared characteristic or experience. They can discus issues they may have and it gives them a sense of belonging. These groups are highly inntercative and very helpful for those users.



References
Leelefever. (2003), Common craft blog. retrieved on the 14/04/11/from http://www.commoncraft.com/archives/000208.html

 http://www.answers.com/topic/support-group#ixzz1JeiSrPfy Retrieved on the 16/4/11

Tutorial 5

YOUTUBE!!!!
Facts
-Every week YouTubers produce enough material for 60,00 full length films! That is alot of videos!
-20% of users are 20 or under
- Music is the most popular category of video
- The first video that was ever uploaded was on the 23rd April 2005 which was 18 seconds long
- 24 hours of video are uploaded per minute
-Exceeds 2 billion views a day
- In 2006 google purchased YouTube for $1.65 Billion

Services offered by youtube- youtube not only allows you to upload and share your videos but you can easily find videos on absolutely anything! All you do is type in key words and thousands of videos will come up relating to that search. you can also rate the videos and comment on them.



While on fieldwork Placement i did a lot of work with clients with schizophrenia.
Here is some information and videos that show how schizophrenia can effect some people. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLhmD2UYEdc  this video shows how two people deal with there illness, what medication they are on and how it effects their family's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTUMt05_nCI This is very interesting, it shows how schizophrenia can effect people at a young age. it is about a girl who has been diagnosed with this disorder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bih7RTB9u04 this video gives a breif over view of what schizophrenia is and what are the symptoms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwKGe-Si1jo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNxRFWzALdk&feature=related
These last two videos show poeple living with schizophrenia and how it effects them.

Amazing Video

Just practising uploading videos from youtube. This video is very inspirational!

Tutorial 4- Movie making

This week we had a lot of fun getting to make our own movies. Firstly we were put into groups and given a video camera, we then had to choose a letter of the alphabet and film whatever we wanted that related to that letter. I was in a group with Gemma, Anna, Cara and Godhelp. We decided on the letter L and filmed things such as 'Laughing', 'Love', 'Leading', 'Lonely' and we also took photos of lemons, lavender, leaves, and Light.
We then used windows movie maker to put the videos and photos together and make it flow. you can also cut out parts of the video and add music to it. our video had to be 30 seconds long so we had to do some cropping of the filming we did.
In the end our video turned out quite well, i will defiantly be using movie making more in the future.
Check out the video :)
(Video is located at the bottom of the page)

tutorial 3

My blog is looking a bit nicer, i have been playing around with the design of it and have even uploaded photos onto flickr and have now got a direct link on my page :) how convenient!

Tutorial two: Digital imaging, ethical issues

Going back to week 1 we learnt about 'Digital imaging'
Firstly we talked about the way digital images are stored, transferred and manipulated using technology.
Digital cameras, Video cameras, computers, Cell phones and usb devices all store images and can hold large amounts of information, this information can then be transferred to other devises, for example loading your photos from the camera then onto the computer. Once they are on the computer they can then be loaded onto facebook, YouTube, flikr and many other websites.
Manipulating photos is about changing the look of them and making them appear different (not there natural state) You can do this on some digital cameras by changing the colour of the picture or zooming in or making it look distorted. You can also do this when the pictures are on the computer by using photo shop, There are hundreds of things you can do to the picture to make it look better (However photo shop is a little hard to use if you are unfamiliar with it).

"A new technology is rearly superior to an old one in every feature"
Talking about cameras i think a lot more is captured these days because people have digital cameras so there is no limit to how many photos are taken. Also digital cameras are cheaper because you don't have to get the photos developed or buy film. A down side to this is that photo albums are not used as much anymore because people can organise their photos on the computer.

Taking photos and uploading them to the Internet is the easy part but there are ethical issues that have to be considered when doing this. Firstly taking photos of other people without their permission, for example, in schools, consent from parents needs to be given at the start of the year to allow teachers to take photos of their children.
Another issue is invading a persons privacy or ownership by taking photos or filming them without them knowing.
This becomes a problem for me when people put up photos of me on facebook that i don't like and then all my friends can see them!

Ways digital images are or can be used in occupational therapy.
-Monitoring sleeping patterns
-Taking photos of injury's to see the process of healing
-Giving cameras to clients to help with therapy or teaching them how to use technology.

http://www.rehabtool.com/- Shows how OT's are using technology to help enhance peoples lives.

Tutorial 1- Information Technology

Information technology and ethical issues
Information Technology (IT)- Refers to anything related to computing technology, such as networking, hardware, software, the Internet, or the people that work with these technologies.

Today we live in a society where technology is everything! I don't think i could survive one day without using technology. My cellphone is always with me and i rely on the Internet for basic daily tasks. I own a cell phone, ipod, laptop and camera although i do find it hard keeping up with the latest technology's, they are constantly changing and developing. I cant imagine what will be out there in 20 years time, it will be very interesting.
I have defiantly gained a lot of knowledge since i have started tech because this course is very technology based, I am more comfortable using word and have a better understanding of researching on the Internet.

Occupational therapists need to keep up with the latest technology to gather information, communicate with staff and clients and be able to show clients if they need to know anything.
While on placement i noticed that all written work and files were done on the computer, at the end of the day the OT's, Doctors, Nurses, Social workers and Counsellors would write there notes about the clients on the computer so that all information could be accessed by everyone.  Having all the information on the computer makes it easy to find things and access client information at the touch of the button, It also keeps information safe.

Social Justice- Fair and proper administration of laws conforming to the natural law that all persons, irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, possessions, race, religion, etc., are to be treated equally and without prejudice. See also civil rights.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/social-justice.html

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.
IP is divided into two categories:  Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs.  Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs

Informed consent is a legal procedure to ensure that a patient or client knows all of the risks and costs involved in a treatment. The elements of informed consents include informing the client of the nature of the treatment, possible alternative treatments, and the potential risks and benefits of the treatment


More information- http://www.web-friend.com/help/general/tech_history.html

All We Ever Wanted (Movie) Week 4/5

About me

Hi my name is Claire Fitzpatrick, i am currently living in hamilton and going to Wintec where i study Occupational Therapy. This is my second year and i have created this blog for a paper we are doing called 'Participation in Occupation' It is about focusing on how technology is used in engaging in meaningful activity and how it can be used to enhance therapy services.
This blog will show what we do each week and i will share my thoughts and reflections regarding technology.