Post ffoooooooorrrrr

Work and Labour

In class today we went over the difference between work and labour. According to Arendt (1958) "Labour consists of those things that we do in order to subsist, they have to be done whether we like it or not". From this quote I understand labour as being the activities that need to be done whether we like it or not. The labour that I believe involved with my activity is brushing Bella and cleaning out her feet before we can go out for a ride. When I’m doing these tasks I feel that I am a carer, I am taking responsibility and looking out for my horse, making sure she doesn’t injure herself. I really dont enjoy doing these activities, for me I need to do these but I really dont want to. I need this activity as without it I wouldn’t be able to ride Bella as she could get rashes and stone bruises on her feet. If I didn’t have to do this activity I would enjoy going out for a ride more as doing these things beforehand reduces my motivation to do my activity. 
Arendt (1958) states that "Work is the activity which corresponds to the unnaturalness of human existence". My understanding of this quote meaning that I don't need to ride my horse to survive, I only do it because I enjoy it. When riding I feel like an adventurer when I ride. Like a little girl with no worries in the world. I feel that horse riding for me is work as i choose to do it not get made to do it. If looking at needing to do this activity for me it is because I enjoy it so much that I love to do it. I need this activity in my life as I feel it is a way to relieve stress and get away from the world.




Arendt, H. (1958).  The human condition.  Chicago: Chicago University Press

post frreeeeee

Ergonomics

According to Caulton and Dickson (2007) Ergonomics underpins the ability to “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”
To my understanding ergonomics is about the person’s environment and the way that it is set up to increase to person’s productivity and quality of their work.
According to American Occupational therapy association, Inc. (2004) having good ergonomics can help with preventing injuries and it "promotes health, safety, and comfort for employees."
When going to ride Bella there are quite a few things that apply to me and her that would fit under the title of ergonomics. A lot of the things I do, I do to keep both me and her comfortable and safe when out together.

A comfortable saddle is only one thing that important for both me and Bella. It affects both of our postures and is specially designed to increase our productivity and quality of our ride and time together. Also on the saddle it is quite important for the stirrups to be at the right height for my legs which reduces the strain on my legs. This allows for me to be able to sit comfortably on the saddle which Bella can feel when we are riding together.

American Occupational therapy association, Inc. (2004) Ergonomics: Occupational Therapy in the Workplace. Retrieved on the 3/01/2011 from http://www.promoteot.org/CG_E rgonomics.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.

Postt ttoooooo

Affordance 

According to Christiansen & Townsend (2004) Affordance was originated by a man by the name of J.J Gibson. He describes affordance as the “actionable properties between the world and a person (or animal).” Christiansen & Townsend (2004) also states that affordance is “represented a relationship that is part of nature. They do not have to be visible, known or desirable and may yet remain undiscovered”.

In class we talked about the communications, connections and the ethics to do with our chosen activity. All of these things are not actually visible. 

As mine activity is horse riding there are a number of different things in each of these categories but today I have chosen to talk about.

Communication      

Communication can be either verbal or non-verbal (Hagedorn, 2000). When engaging in horse riding I am communication to my horse both verbally and non-verbally. When riding I am constantly talking to my horse, saying wooo or get up or even praising her on her work. I am even sad to say that I am talking to her negatively when she is being naughty. Bella and I have a kind of bond that is full of trust and respect.

Bella and I communicate non-verbally as well. When I am wanting her to walk I will lightly kick her up with my heels and then when I am wanting her to move into the next gate I will kick her up again and she know what I mean, I also use reins that are in Bella’s mouth and I pull them back to make her slow down which is also non-verbal.

Christiansen & E. Townsend. (2004). Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

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

Semester twoooo

For this semester we needed to choose an activity that we would base our semesters on for our participation in occupation class. I have decided to choose horse riding for my activity as I really enjoy it and feel that it can have a real OT relevance.


I have been brought up around horses my whole life, it has always only been just a casual thing as I would just ride them around the house and garden with no saddle. Even if i wasn't riding I would go out into their paddock and brush them or clean out their hoof and just spend time being around them as they are such amazing animals.

When looking at occupational therapy and horse riding i feel that there is some really good links as horse riding is quite a therapeutic activity to be involved in. When sitting on a horse they are the only animal that moves the human body in the same way as it would move when a person is walking. Because of the companionship and trust between the riders it can teach people so much. Horse riding may also give people something to really look forward to in their weeks.


Practical considerations

• A horse
• Saddle(optional)
• Bridal (optional)
• Shoes
• Pants

Tutorial ateee

According to MedicineNet (2011), Assistive technology refers to devices that are designed to allow disabled people to function more easily in the world. 

So to my understanding a assistive device is something that has been modified to help a person with a disability to do tasks that they may not otherwise have done.

I have chosen to introduce a piece of equipment called a WII. 

The WII is a type of video game which allows people to play a number of different games such as bowls, tenis and golf in the comfort of your own home. The cost of this devise is $379.99 from Noel leemings. This device is the size of a large book. It has remote controls which allow you to play the games which fit easily in the hand. 

This piece of equipment increases the occupational capacity of a person for the user as they can do it in their own home and the games have different levels of physical requirement so for a person that has very low physical abilities they are still able to do some kind of movement and activity. 
Here is a video of what the WII can do.

MedicineNet, (2011). Definition of assistive technology. Retrieved on the 16.04.2011 from http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10951

Tutorial sevennn

This task I was to but links on my blog to 5 different blogs that had some kind of occupational relevance. These are positioned at the top left hand corner of my blog.

Task 4- Here is an example of record of a bloging post that I have had with a fellow occupational therapy student.

Tutorial siiix

The three online communities that I have choosen from my topic animal therapy is riding for the disabled , dolphin therapy and pet therapy.


Riding for the disabled
The riding for the disabled site is all about premoting RDA in New Zealand. What RDA is, where they are and what they all about. So it is premoting RDA in New Zealand.
the site is a interactive site as the viewer is able to click on different links and go to different pages.
People have contributed to the site as there are stories of peoples experiences of their riding time. There are photos of people that do the RDA.
There is a link on the page that alows the public to donate money to the service.
Here is an example of a topics that are discussed on this web site

Emma has been riding at Tauranga RDA over the past year. She is very enthusiastic in attending the sessions and her progress has been astounding. Riding has improved Emma’s capability in following instructions; she is now able to follow more than one instruction at a time, without confusion.

An ethical issue that i think has been considered when making this website would be the persons identity. In the stories on this website the names of the people in the stories may be a factitious name. Or if they are not the name is only the first name of the person and not the whole name.

Dolphin therapy
This wedsite is also all about premoting what the dolphin therapy does, who it will be good for and where it is. It also has stories and pictures on the site allowing people to read about real stories of what has happened at this servies.
Here is a example of a topic that is discussed on this website.


“You mean so much to me because since I’m weak I never thought I would be able to swim with dolphins. I really appreciate that you let my dream come true, now I’m not just Holli; I’m even more a dolphin lover”


An ethical issue that has something to do with this website is the photos. I think that this would have been considred when designing this website as photos on the site are a big part of it. The service would have had to get concent from the parents of the children on the camp to be able to put these up for the public to be able to see.


Pet therapy
Like the other two websites above this pet therapy website is another website that premotes what they do, where they do it and who it is for. It has a page which informs the reader of the process in which they will need to go through if they would like to be a member in this club to go with their dog and visit other people. It also has a page which educates people in how they can help as in sponsor a dog that is out and about in the community.
Here is a comment which is an overview of why this service is around.

Health research in New Zealand and overseas shows clearly that many people show great improvement in their health and attitude through interaction with visiting animals.   Many people benefit greatly from the natural affection that most dogs have for humans especially the elderly and unwell.


Ethical considerations for this site will be very similar to the other two sites as it also has photos. It also has a page in which has names and numbers of people involved in this service. These people will have needed to have given the website their consent for them to be able to publish their names and personal details.