Affordances

According to Hagedorn, (2000), Affordance is 'anything which the environment can offer the individual which is pertinent to the role challenge and can facilitate role competence'.

In light of this quote, I believe affordance is an important component of ergonomics in the way that it links a specific activity (cooking) with another activity, allowing us to make connections to factors such as spirituality, ethics, communication and memories that all play a part in my specific activity. From my personal experience of cooking I have identified that there is definitely a partnership between my family and I, and also a caring component as we have to be organised and think about the times everyone will be at home. There is also respect shown as I understand the importance of relaxing after a hard day of work and having dinner cooked for you. Moral sense is also an important factor, I do this by making sure I turn off the oven, washing dishes after cooking and washing my hands before touching any food.

Communication within the kitchen is a non-verbal sense of communication however if a family member is in the kitchen with me there is a verbal relationship. The primary relationship involved in the activity is parent / child and in some ways tutor / learner as if I am making a meal that is new to me I often ask my parents questions which allows me to learn from them.
There is definitely a spiritual side to my cooking, when I am organised and relaxed I can enjoy preparing, making and experimenting with new meals and take in the environment around me. Visser, (1986) quotes an interesting point; "as soon as we can count on a food supply (and so take food for granted), not a moment sooner, we start to civilise ourselves". I feel a strong connection to this quote as I believe in our society today food is something we take for granted and it is nice to stop, think and realise how special our food really is. I gain inspiration through magazines, recipe books and my mother as I love to learn to cook some meals that she makes especially her lemon cake and ouzo salad yum!


                                  

http://grannysuesnews.blogspot.com/2009/11/last-year-i-cooked-thanksgiving-dinner.html

References:

Hagedorn, R. (2000). Tools for Practice in Occupational Therapy: A Structured Approach to Core Skills and Processes. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone

Visser, (1986). Much Depends on Dinner. New York: Grove Press

Ergonomics

This is my second blog for the semester focusing on the activity of cooking. It will be based around ergonomics. Enjoy :)

Pheasant (1986) defines ergonomics as "the scientific study of human beings in relation to their working environments". The main factors around ergonomics are the interrelationships of person, environment and the activities the person participates in. As occupational therapists we are often called upon to make decisions about whether the competence of an individual has shifted in regard to their preferred and habitual activities.


In relation to my activity of cooking, I can make links to ergonomics as it influences the way I cook and view cooking. I have been continuing to try new recipes and put more effort into my meals. I do try to make meals that everybody in my family enjoys eating however we are all busy people and get home at different hours of the afternoon. We all make an effort to accommodate for this to make sure everybody gets dinner. When we have just been shopping and have fresh vegetables and delicious food to prepare I tend to have more time and am more adventurous when I cook. It really does depend on what is bought at the supermarket and what seasonal foods are cheap to what is made for dinner. It is common in our household that if there is little options or the day has dragged on, a quick easy meal is the best choice. Personally I feel that cooking is labour but has components of work linked within it as it is something I have to do to feed my family. However, I enjoy having that role/responsibility and it doesn't always feel like a chore as I get great satisfaction out of making a nice meal! According to Creek & Lawson-Porter (2007), "work requires self-investment, skill, craft and personal judgement. Work is purposeful and meaningful". It can also create community for me and my family as we help each other out with chopping the vegetables or whatever the task may be which is a time we can ask how each other's day went.

References:


Creek, J., & Lawson-Porter, A. (Eds.). (2007). Contemporary Issues in Occupational Therapy. Chichester. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Hagedorn (2000). Tools for Practice in Occupational Therapy: A Structured Approach to Core Skills and Processes. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone

PIO 2: Mindfulness

Activity: Cooking
In PIO 2 the main occupational activity I will be focusing on is cooking dinner. The purpose of this post is to introduce and share my previous experiences of cooking, being mindful while cooking and how cooking relates to occupational therapy. I will touch on how cooking can be used in occupational therapy and examples of how cooking can be hindered for my own personal cooking experiences. According to Baer, (2006), "mindfulness enriches the experience of the moment and brings new, accurate information about yourself and the world to life"

Experience
Preparing and cooking dinner is something I have recently started having more input into. Previously I have prepared and cooked basic meals such as pasta, salads etc however I am now starting to experiment with more complex meals/dishes. Since coming back from Wellington for my course placement I have gained more independence in cooking as I was cooking most nights and having to think ahead for the day. I am interested in learning how to make more recipies and I have made a starting point by buying a recipie book and I am writing recipies I like and collecting cut outs and recipies from magazines and newspapers.

Meaning
Cooking dinner can be enjoyable but can also sometimes feel like a chore. When I have succeeded in making a dinner meal I feel proud of my achievements and it is a nice way of helping out around the home. Cooking can also be relaxing especially when it is a nice evening and you are preparing a barbeque or outdoor meal.

How cooking can be used in occupational therapy
As preparing and cooking dinner for one or ones family is a huge part of daily occupation, to lose this ability can be a huge personal loss. Meaningful occupation is the main focus in occupational therapy, when a client needs to work on their motor and processing skills, cooking mindfully and focusing on making a meal can be a helpful and meaningful intervention technique for improving these skills. Cooking can also be a therapeutic intervention for clients and can work as a way of relaxing or improving confidence in getting back into their meaningful occupation.

Summary
Cooking mindfully (expanding your thoughts around a specific activity) could be hindered by time constraints, availability of food, distractions such as children, short attention span, visitors etc. If I have decided to make a meal with meat in it I will get it out of the freezer to let it thaw for the day however, I sometimes either do not have time or forget to do this so I will compensate and make a meal that doesn't require any preparation.

References:

Baer, R. (Ed.). (2006). Mindfulness Based Treatment Approaches: Clinician's Guide to Evidence Base and Applications. United States of America: Elsevier Inc.