Ambience

Ambience is used as a way of describing the feeling of the whole activity. The ambience here is therefore the gestalt (spirit) of the activity, it is an understanding that based on a sense of the whole, rather than of breaking it into its constituent parts. Ambience describes the feeling created by a particular nature of an activity when it is being done for itself.
This is a story which I have written about the feeling of my game of rugby.

The last time I was playing rugby it was a warm day, the ground was hard, my tags would hardly dig into the ground and sweat was dripping off of my face, I could hear the hum of the crowd and nothing else while I was watching the birds fly over my head. I was waiting for kick off, I was standing behind the posts looking into the grandstand at the people watching. I felt amazing I was amping to do my best and put on a show for the crowd. Just standing on the field waiting for kick off made me really happy to be alive. My team mates looked like they were ready to play out of their skins more than ever. I could tell that the weather was going to make this game so much more fun and enjoyable. It was nearly time to do everything I could to benefit my team. Making big tackles, good runs and doing what the coach asked for me. The combination of everything added to an overwhelming feeling of enjoyment. I was ready to do everything I could!! The whistle blew and the battle begun.

My needs and Rugby

In this blog I am looking at how me playing rugby fits my needs. To answer this I need to think about what would I do if rugby wasn't an option for me and how I would be affected without it.
I would need another means of exercise as rugby is a big part of keeping me physically fit. Without rugby i would probably be running in circles around a paddock with a whole lot of unused energy board out of my mind. Rugby encourages me to exercise more now. I need to exercise/get fit in order to put in the best effort for my team. Without rugby I wouldn't have a connection with my team mates/friends that I have made through the sport. I find it a need to meet new people and playing rugby encourages this by meeting a different group of people every year. I have my dad encouraging me and watching me. It gives him and my family a reason to come and visit me which means a lot to me. It is a need for me to have a common interest that my family and I share as it drags them to me otherwise there is no need for them to travel 4 plus hours just to see me for a while. The other weekend when my family was down to watch me, I injured myself in the warm up and I was upset with myself as I felt like I needed to play for them.

So a need is

Affordances 2 - Aesthetics

Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature and expression of beauty. The point of my blog this week is to look at the aesthetics of rugby. Certain activities have a larger amount 'beauty' such as arty activities.

Aesthetics in terms of rugby.
What is it that is appealing about rugby? For me when Im playing I love to see someone make a huge tackle on an opposing player. When I see this it makes me want to play harder and make a big tackle like the one I just witnessed. I really enjoy seeing/being apart of a really well constructed move that has been pulled off. Too me seeing that is a beautiful piece of work. Another beautiful thing is all the different kinds of rugby tops that my oppisition wear.

Spirituality
When I play I know it makes my Dad happen because he likes to come and watch me and I enjoy knowing that.

Linking with history
For me rugby is away to get out on the field and become one with my ancestors and do battle with only one intention and that is to win, I want to win and be the best I can be. How I play and act on the field is due to all the different coaches I have had and playing well is a way of thanking/honouring them for what they have taught me over the years.

Physical

What is the capacity for strength, fitness, endurance, skill, flexibility, speed, height, balance.

 In rugby it is far better if you are strong, fairly fit with some endurance to last 80 minutes of rugby, witha high level of skill in terms of catching, passing, running the ball, kicking and tackling, you have to be flexible ish in order to be able to be tackled without injury, you have to fast to out run the oppisition if necassary, you need to be roughly over 1.7m high with a weight of at least 75kgs in the premier grade and you have to be relatively good on your feet by being able to dodge opponents and run the desired lines when attacking with the ball. By just playing rugby you normally increase these things in the desired way.

Affordances

“The affordances of the environment are what it offers the animal, what it provides or furnishes either for good or ill” (Harris, 2009)

Affordances are about what the occupation/activity can lead onto. So by taking part in one activity you are getting involved in other things that only would have come about due to participation in that particular activity.  I will provide examples of how this sort of thing can happen/ has to happen at rugby.

Here is a grid that I worked on in class which briefly covers affordances that can come from playing rugby:

Communication	Connection (Whats the story)	Good & Bad aspects
Trust	Shared interest	Social misfit
Banter/joke	Bonding	Exploitation
Teaching/Learning	Fitness	Learning
Make plans	Learning	Rewards
Compliment(good pass/tackle)	Swapping	Inflicting damage

Communication:

Compliments are a big part of rugby as it encourages the individual to play better and also lifts the team spirit when they have been told what they are doing well. Normally when someone in the team does something well everyone gets in and lets them know by telling them. Just last weekend when we were playing the top team and we were down by 2 tries with 10 minutes to go one of my team mates scored a solo try and we all gave him a lot of compliments. Through these compliments we passed them onto each other to help lift everyones spirits. It worked because 2 minutes before half time we scored a massive team try to give us the win.

Planning is a big part of rugby as you always need to know what it is that your team is trying to achieve. You must also know all the moves and what the meaning of certain plays are. Trainings are a time for everyone to come together and have their say about what they think needs to happen and talk about the moves that people would like to incorporate into our game. this can lead to other conversations as well but it is best to stay on the topic. Every training I have taken part in this year has had a large part of planning in it for our weekend games. Every practice we talk about what we want to achieve on game day and look at the steps necassary for us to achieve the goals.

Trust is an important aspect of being in a rugby team. You have to be able to trust your teammates abilities at all times. You have to put your trust in them that they will make a the tackle and that they will help you if need be. You have to rely on them that they know what the moves are that have been called. Trust is built through team bonding that goes on at trainings and after the game. Nobody wants to be putting their body on the line for people that they don't trust. At trainings we all get together and before trainings start we have some yarns and talk some smack. The building of trust within a team does not just come from nothing, it has to be built throughout the year.

By taking part in rugby you are putting your name down for a sport that relies solely on the communication of the team members. Not only on the field do you have to communicate every second you are playing but also after the games and at training. Some of the things said at trainings is just some silly banter but helps to form bonds between the players which builds a stronger team. By being apart of this team I have made friends with common interests and have new buddies.

D. Harris (2009). Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics. New York: Springer

Ergonomics

Hey Hey!

" In early times man needed to use only simple tools to scratch out a living from the earth. With the comming of the industrial age revoulition the complexity and number of tools that man must use in the work place has increased astonomicaly"  (J, T. Talty, 1988)

To me ergonomics is about the relationship of the person, their occupation and how the environment that they work in has a particular affect on them. Basically all 3 must have a good relationship together in order to keep the person comfortable within that environment. According to MedlinePlus (2011), Ergonomics looks at what kind of work you do, what tools you use and your whole job environment. The aim is to find the best fit between you and your job conditions.
For me as an Occupational Therapist it is important for me to have knowledge on ergonomics because I will need to find the best relationship between the occupation, environment and occupation. Having knowledge will enable me to make changes to these aspects to find the best fit for my clients to enable smooth working. According to Caulton & Dickson (2007) the reason myself as an OT needs to have knowledge on ergonomics is so I can "constantly make slight invisible adjustments to an activity to adapt to the needs of those taking part and ensure that it continues to work for its intended purpose."

Breaking down the ergonomics of rugby league.

Person:

I enjoy playing rugby.

I know the basic game structure/play.

Have played some rugby before so am competent on tackling, passing etc.

I'm KEEN to learn new things.

I have free time when trainings are on.

I am willing to put my own time into getting better.

Need energy to play.

I have mouth guard and boots.

Activity/Occupation:

Certain skills are needed to play, need to be able to learn moves/plays fast.

Have to be able to time yourself and choose appropriate time to do certain things.

The team training has to be completed with the team.

Most shapes, sizes and skills have a specific role in the team.

There are 2 levels of occupational engagement:

Turning up to the trainings (90mins) and the game (60mins) and going for runs and to the gym outside of trainings to better yourself.

To play all you need is mouth guard and rugby boots. everything else is supplied: balls, uniform, cones etc.

Environment:

Rugby requires a clear space outside that enables movement of the players and the ball.

Trainings take place on the field as do the games. The field is 122m by 70m at its maximum.

Weather can affect the game.

On game days there has to be some opposition present.

Here is a rough look at the ergonomics of rugby and to me I think they suit me quite well. But for someone that doesn't have the money or is not physically fit then this may be an issue.



References
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ergonomics.html

Caulton, R. & Dickson, R. (2007). What’s going on? Finding an explanation for what we do. In J. Creek & A. Lawson-Porter (Eds.), Contemporary issues in occupational therapy (pp. 87-114). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

J, T. Talty (1988) Industrial hygine egineering. Noyes Data Corperation: New Jersey

An Introduction to Participation in Occupation 2

"The analytic process are ways of thinking used by occupational therapy practitioners to understand activities and occupations, their demands and therapeutic potential, the skills required to do them, and the potential meaning ascribed to them” ( Crepeau, 2003)

Participation In Occupation 2 carries on Participation In Occupation 1, except this time I have to Participate in an activity for at least 2 hours a week. Throughout this paper I will make weekly blogs telling you what I have been up to and what I have experienced.

The activity that I am going to spend time doing is playing rugby league. For me I have played rugby union for the last 8 years now and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I have have decided to make a code switch this season to rugby league because my placement for course prevented me from playing rugby this season. So here I am playing rugby league in the spring competition!!

For me playing rugby allows me to get my mind away from real life and gives me something else to focus on for at least 6 hours a week. It allows me to focus all my energy into playing out of my skin by making big tackles and running the ball as hard as possible at the opposition. Playing rugby is the only time where you are legally allowed to collide with another human being. Im allowed to be out of control on the rugby field.....well within reason that is. Rugby is also a way for me to keep fit as it motivates me to go to the gym, go for runs and  turn up to the trainings in order to do my best for my teammates. This leads to the social side of rugby. You create a bond with the other men in the team where you are willing to do anything on the field for them. You make many new friends from joining just one team. After so many years playing rugby i have meet so many awesome people and have been able to expand my social circle.

In class this week we looked at human occupation and where it falls: Food, Paper and Play. We look at food as being the things that need to be done such as cooking, eating, cleaning, self cares etc etc. Paper is the things that are man made which involve the likes of sewing, building and writing etc. Play are the things that we do together for enjoyment and they bring us together like playing sports, music/dance etc. We then had to decide on something we did already that fitted into one of these 3 categories and i choose rugby league which obviously fits under play.

Playing rugby has aspects that apply to being an Occupational Therapist, some of these reasons are: It shows that I am able to be apart of a team and work in a team, it shows that I am able to develop relationships(social skills) and I am able to add to the group and help it progress.

References
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

Tutorial 7 - Linking blogs of interest and exchanging comments.

I have to make a blog feed for some blogs of interest and to some of the comments i have made.
This my comment to Rebecca J who also does my course in Dunedin.
This is an awesome blog called TechnOT by VirtualOT which about all the ways that technology can help people with needs or anyone in general.
Here is another blog that interests me (B)e(LO)n(G), OT. This blog is about someones journey from OT school up until now.
This blog is about an OT that enjoys recycling things, in their blog it shows you their amazing different ideas that they have come up with recyclables. This blog is by The Recycling Occupational Therapist.
The last site is about general news everyday for Occupational Therapy. Looks at new research and other general OT things. This blog is called TodayinOT.com and you access it here.