Technology and occupation: Beneath my feet

The occupation of taking walks on the beach is the focus of this blog post.

Growing up in New Zealand I have spent a lot of my time at the beach swimming, running, walking, boating and fishing. During my first year as an occupational therapy student I was lucky enough to have a fieldwork placement at IDEA services in Dunedin. Every Monday afternoon during my second semester I would attend outings with the clients at the service and would frequently drive down to the sea take walks on the beach.

Doing:

Hammell (2004) explains that doing includes purposeful, goal-orientated activites. Walking on the beach is an occupation most commonly used to relax onseself.

Being:

Being is described is defined in Hammell (2004) as time taken to reflect, discover the self, meditate, savour the moment and appreciate nature. Walking on the beach is well known relaxing occupation. Many people find the feel of the sand under their feet and the sounds of the wave calming. In picture 11 you can see someone walking alone taking their time perhaps clearing their head and savoring the moment.

Belonging:

Belonging is used to describe the necessary contribution of social interactions, friendship and the sense of being included in occupational performance and life satisfaction (Hammell, 2004). Pictures 9, 16,17,18 and 19 of my slideshow show people romantically sharing the occupation of walking on the beach. Sharing this with another human being has been viewed as an desirable occupation that enhancing the sense of belonging and life satisfaction.

Becoming:

This is the idea that people can envision future selves and possible lives and explore new opportunities (Hammell, 2004). Pictures 3 and 4 of my slideshow communicate this.

Beneath my feet

View more PowerPoint from Amyvanderheyden

There where some ethical considerations when choosing the images for this blog posting:

· * Considered whether the photos were copywriter

· * Asked permission from the people I took the photos of if they minded them being put on the internet.

· * Considered whether the photos were inappropriate for the audience for this type of blog.

References:

Picture 1: Body boarding

(unpublished, 2010)

Picture 2: Body boarding

(unpublished, 2010)

Picture 3: Exploring beach