Some blogs I have commented on and References

Hi Emma

I’m really enjoying your blog, I think it was brave of you to choose a subject which really interests you and not something like cooking or cleaning which would have been easier. I noticed you have used bullet points to list things here, I thought we went allowed to do this? Regardless I think it gets your point across :)

Hi Judith

I really enjoy reading your blog, I can tell knitting is something you really enjoy. I love all the stories but sometimes I find it hard to determine what questions from class are being answered in them. That aside thou they are very entertaining :)

Hi Rachael

I enjoyed reading your blog. I can tell you this is an activity you really get a lot out of. It would be great to see some pictures of your work in progress or of the finished product when you get there :)

Hi Emma

I have enjoyed your blog so far, I to enjoy cooking with Fresh produce so I will look forward to reading further. I’m not sure I can see the connection to occupational Therapy in your blog, I know there is plenty so perhaps you forgot to add this in. There is good use of references throughout your blog

Happy blogging :)

References  

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

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

Harris, R. H. (2004). A cognitive psychology of mass communication. Routledge: New York

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/iPad. Retrieved May 12, 2011.

Mannes, J. W (1998). Aesthetics. New York: M. E. Sharp, Inc.

Morrison, M K. (2008) Using humor to maximize learning: the link between positive emotions and education. Plymouth: Rowman and Leithfeild education. Pg. 16           

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

Tancer, B. (2007).Watch television, loose weight? TIME Business. Sept 19

What do i get from watching TV???

Friday afternoon rolls around and after a hard week of studying away I reward myself with an evening of viewing. Friday night also happens to be takeaways night in my flat, so once the pizza are well under consumption and we were all settled in for the night we switched on the X Factor, much to the despair of the male members of the house.  X Factor is a singing talent show and a faviourte in our home as it gives us girls a chance to judge and critique others. Although the boys kick up a fuss about it they always seem to stick around and watch it, maybe even enjoy it. As the show progresses and us girls compare our singing talent to those on the show the conversation turns to the appearance of the contestants on the show. Before I know it a comprehensive scale is developed for rating the contestants. So the scale worked like this 1 being less favorable to 10 being your idea of perfection.  This continued throughout the entire show and was a source of endless hilariously. Not only was it very funny it was very educational, I learnt what was appealing to the opposite sex and what wasn’t and I’m sure they learnt a thing or to as well.

 “Each of us have our own conceptions of what situations are funny, our own notions of the appropriateness of humor in various situations and our own sense of the importance of humor in our lives” (Morrison, 2008)

Watching TV gives me humor and social interaction the need for these things is as important to me as eating, sleeping and breathing. As unorthodox as this activity may have been, it was an enjoyable experience and was bonding for myself and flat mates. It derived from watching a TV show, one in which we all enjoy together, even if it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.  

Click Here to watch X Factor USA 

Morrison, M K. (2008) Using humor to maximize learning: the link between positive emotions and education. Plymouth: Rowman and Leithfeild education. Pg. 16 

 

I choose this quote for this particular blog about the need Watching TV fills in my life because I believe it to be relevant. The greatest need as I have outlined that TV fills for me is the need for humour and joy in my life. This quote depicts that what one person finds humorous another may not, that its importance on our lives is subjective and although it fills this need for me, Watching TV may not address the same need for others.

Affordances Contuined

Aesthetics 

Aesthetics "pertains to a sense of the beautiful" or "pertains to, involves, or is concerned with pure emotion and sensation as opposed to pure intellectuality" ("aesthetic", 2002). I like the latter. Asthetics is concerned with beauty and emotion that somthing provokes in one, whe one looks at a piece of art they can feel happy or sad and the same can be said for TV. A  romance can be so touching it makes you cry and comedy makes us feel happy and horror will make you jump with fright, Gray's Anatomy makes me cry frequently.Tv shows not only provoke emotion and beauty but they inspire also.Whenever I sit down to watch TV shows with my mum I know I am usually in for exciting night of south with Marcus lush and some sort of exciting gardening show. I always make a big fuss about it as it’s not my cup of tea, however 10 minutes into the show I often find myself as enthralled as my mother, Suddenly I am captivated by the beauty of my very own country right there on the TV screen or by some little old ladies garden in England, and my mind begins to wonder to the potential of one day having my own garden like that or exploring the beautiful country side for myself. Although some people might say the aesthetics of the actual TV its self is simply remarkable I suggest that TV viewing gives us the opportunity to imagine, dream and feel inspired to create our own little garden or expression of beauty.

Mannes, J. W (1998). Aesthetics. New York: M. E. Sharp, Inc     

I used this reference because I summed up what I was trying to say with this section of my blog. That Aesthetics is about beauty and emotion. The term sensation to me suggests it’s about provoking a feeling within one’s self. For me this is what watching TV can do.

Spirituality

I don’t consider myself to be a religious person, at times I struggle to find any sort of spirituality within myself and I know that I’m not alone in this. There is a programme which I enjoy watching intrepid journeys. It is about everyday New Zealanders traveling to a far afield country far removed from their own culture. I am always amazed by the different cultures and religions in these countries and how emotional these kiwis get simply being in the presence of such spirituality.  Watching this show and other educational documentaries has motivated me to one day step out of my own comfort zone and opened my eyes to some what the world has to offer. One thing I do hold close to my heart and I guess my sprit in a sense of enjoyment, everything I do in life is motivated by enjoyment. Watching TV fulfils these for me.

Linking with history

“Television has transformed the day to day life of more people in the last 60 years than perhaps any invention in human history” (Harris, 2004)

The Televisor sold in 1930–1933 is considered the first mass-produced television, selling about a thousand units. Before this people sat around there wireless radio to hear of news and perhaps a song or two. Otherwise you could go to the cinema or to a play for entertainment, these were very social experiences.  Now days TV is sadly often used as a substitute for many things. Parents can put on a cartoon instead of playing with their kids, teachers can put on a video instead of sharing there pearls of wisdom and kids can play video games instead of climbing tress. For me I was brought up with very strict rules around when I could watch TV and what I could watch on it. In fact my first memory of watching TV was at about age 9 watching Shortland Street. TV has done a lot for the way people live their lives both positively and negatively but it’s like anything……its good in moderation.

Harris, R. H. (2004). A cognitive psychology of mass communication. Routledge: New York 

 I choose this quote because I believe it portrayed the significance of the invention of TV and the impact it has had on society. I like that it does not take a stance on whether this has been a positive or negative impact, it leaves it up for the individual to decide.

Health

The invention of the TV seems to coincide perfectly with our downfall as a healthy and active society, but just like most things its not all bad as long as you watch it in moderation. Infact studies have proven that watching TV can have positive effects on our health. Time magazine (2007) cites that a research carried out by the journal of health communication showed that those who watched a series of episodes of the drama ER, in which a teenager is diagnosed with hypertension and is advised to eat more fruits and vegetables and to get more exercise, were 65% more likely to alter their eating habits than those viewers who never saw the episodes.Im not denying that people now days watch to much TV and dont enjoys the outdoors enough but for me watching TV is a way of relaxing and finding enjoyment which are two factor which contribute greatly to my overall health.

Tancer, B. (2007).Watch television, loose weight? TIME Business. Sept 19  

I used this reference because it was a fact that I personally found interesting and relevant to my topic of health as it provided some statistical information.  Time Magazine is also a reputable source. 

Ambience 

Ambience is the atmosphere created by the Activity or the feeling created by it.  There are variables which contribute to the ambiance of my activity. To main ones are the Program being watched and who is watching it with you.  At times the TV can be the source of arguments in our flat over who wants to watch what and this can create a tense atmosphere, giving the room a less than desirable ambience. At other times if we are all sharing a joke or some banter there is a light hearted felling in the air and the room has good ambience. It’s a fun place to be and can make you feel good while you’re in the room.  The Living room is the center of our house and the TV is the center of the living room so more often not the TV dictates the ambiance of that space. The reactions of those in the room often reflect the mood or tome of what’s on the TV screen. Take the Rugby world cup for example. Watching this on the TV created a tense atmosphere in not only our living room but in living rooms all across the country. The county was united in front of their TV screens and the ambience would have been very similar everywhere you went, tense, because what we were watching on TV was setting the tone for this.

Week 3 - Affordances

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

Affordance is the action possibility of one enviroment or in this case activity to another, So participating in one activity can lead to another activity, an example might be turning a door nob might lead to opening a door. If you read on you might understand a little better as I explain how watching TV can lead to other activities. 

I'm not sure if you have noticed, but there is a sporting tournament going on in New Zealand at the moment, it’s pretty hard to miss given that is splashed all over almost every TV channel. I personally love all the hype and the coverage (even if it does mean sacrificing Coronation Street), however given that we are a flat made up of 3 guys and 4 girls not everyone shares my view on the great Rugby World Cup. Some would rather watch paint try while others simply cannot miss a match, even if it is Russia Vs Namibia!

So we have one TV, half the flat wants to watch the rugby the other half wants to watch the Keeping up with the Kardashians what to do? We negotiate, thankfully we have My Sky which gives us the ability to record.

Team Rugby World Cup puts their argument forward, they mention that Sport must be watched live however their argument is mostly based on the fact that it is the Rugby World Cup!!!! A once in every 4 year opportunity, and a fair argument it was to. Then Team Kardashians puts their argument forward, do we really need to be watching Canada Vs Namibia after we have sat through 3 games in one day already???

After much discussion about what is more important we begin to negotiate, this results in recording the first half of the Kardashians while the game finishes then after the game finishes watching The Kardashians in its entirety. Not a bad outcome given that I am a fan of both.

Communication

This is an example of TV viewing providing opportunity for discussion negotiation and general friendly banter. As stimulating as the rugby is this is not the extent of our viewing, we do also watch educational programmes such as the news. This regularly sparks discussion about current events sometimes this can be heated and sometimes it is humours but it is always granted to be entertaining. One thing that is always happening in the living room in our house is joking and friendly banter. We are always having a joke and laughing. A common occurrence is 7 O'clock every night we all watch Shortland Street and we have an ongoing game to predict the plot and script, or when we watch Friends we have a race to figure out which episode it is going to be. Generally speaking in my flat most of the communication takes place in the living room in front of the TV.

Moral Properties

The Positive moral propitious for me is that I get to enjoy watching TV shows I enjoy, participate in friendly banter with my flatmates and am also provided with some education from discussion as well. The negative moral properties is that I miss Coronation street, when living with so many people and one TV there is always going to need to be sacrifices made, some might also say watching TV programmes such as Keeping up with the Kardashians is reversing any intelligence that I might have!

For those of you who dont know who the Kardashians are Click Here

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

Affordance was a term I wasn’t familiar with and struggled to understand. I used this quote because although unrelated to activity it gave me an idea of the meaning of affordance which I could then transfer to activity.

Ergonomics

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

My understanding of ergonomics is it is about the individual their activity and the environment, and how they can interact with one another. This quote above outlines how ergonomics are ever changing, our enviroment is ever changing and so we must adapt to the way we interact with it

As i mentioned in a earlier blog the Rugby world cup is a faviourte in our house, however with seven people and only 5 seats it is important to get in early. The activity is far more enjoyable when the enviroment around you is optimal. So the game started at 9 which ment i had to cement my place on the lazy boy right oppisite the tv around 7. This is a big commitment which intails very quick trips to the toilet and being well prepared with food and fluid to last the evening. The lazy boy is the best because it has the best view of the TV (avoiding stiff a stiff neck), it reclines (somewhat, its very old and ragady) the leg rest pulls out and overall its just you on the chair, no one elses legs creeping into your space or trying to lean on you. So now that I had my chair reserved it was time to take some other envirmental considerations into account such as the room temperature, our house is freezing ever since we turned offf time heat pump after a rather large power bill. So i have on hand my large fluffy blanket which i can wrap around me. Another thing to consider is that there is no outside distractions, this wasnt so much of a problem while watching the rugby but at times ill be trying to watch tv and other flatmates decide to do the dishes or something else in the kitchen, the noise produced by this is less than ideal when watching something like Gray's Anatomy!. Now that my Physical enviroment is all set it is time to think about the social enviroment. Given that I live with 7 people I have little control over the social enviroment. There is always going to be someone talking through your faviourte show, or in the case of the Rugby someone chearing for the oppisition, these things are unavoidable so I learn to embrace them. It doesnt matter who;s around but the most important thing is that they can join in on a joke and banter.....but in preferably in the ad break!

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

 This Quote to me clearly described the interaction between person activity and environment. How when one changes so must the others to so they can all work together in harmony. This was my understanding of ergonomics.