Tuesday 18 October 2011

Paper/Craft, Labour or Play and Ambiance: 6/6

In class today we got into group of which activities fitted into specific frameworks.
As monopoly deal is a game is come under the framework of Play.
Within the framework of play we then considered how ergonomics and affordances fit in to the activity we have chosen to use.
Games come under the occupation of Play. Huizinga (1949) believes that in play there is something "at play" which transcends the immediate needs of life and imparts meaning to the action. All play means something....

We also briefly covered Ambiance.
Ambiance  describes the feeling created by a particular nature of an activity when it is being done for itself. 
If I were to describe ambiance whilst playing monopoly deal I would say that I feel competitive, relaxed but aware of what I am doing and anxious to see what my apponents next move will be. After playing the game I gain a feeling on contentment for doing something that I enjoy (especially if I have won!).
These are some examples of comment I have made about of students activity blogs

Comment I made to Alex about her blog on Ergonomics
Comment I made to Paula about her blog on Affordances
                                        Comment I made to Kate about her blog on affordance:
                                        Comment I made to Laura about her blog on cooking as Labour

References used throughout the six blogs:

Arendt, H. (1958). The human condition. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Burkhardt MA (1989). Spirituality: an analysis of the concept. Holistic Nursing Practice 3, 69–77.
Caulton, R & Dickson, R. (2007). Whats 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.
 Christiansen, C. H. & Townsend E. A. (2004). An introduction to occupation: The art and science of  living. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Dictionary.com (2011). Ambiance. Retrieved 18th of October from: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ambiance
 Hagedorn, R. (2000). Tools of practice in occupational therapy. A structured approach to core skills and processes. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
 Huizinga, J. (1949). Homo ludens: a study of the play element in culture. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. (Original work published 1944). 
Webster, M. (1996). Aesthetic. Retrieved from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aesthetics




Monday 17 October 2011

Affordance of Aesthetics and Spirituality: 5/6

Aesthetics  is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty (Webster, 1996).
is a type of affordance that refers to the sense of beauty within an activity.
When playing Monopoly Deal I like to play in a comfortable environment where I am able to have enough room to sit and place my cards out without clutter. I like things to be neat so when I place my cards down I lay them out evenly and in a neat, straight pile. This is the complete opposite to my opponent as she spreads her cards out and does not keep hers in order like I do. This effects the look of the game which bothers me slightly. As long as I keep my area tidy I am not to bothered by others.
A good hand of card is also aesthetically pleasing and I find myself smiling when I see are card I having been hoping to get.
The most properties that I put down means the closer I am to winning the game, so it is aesthetically pleasing to see more property cards than less in front of me.

Spirituality:  is described by Brukhardt (1989) as a journey of lived experience, characterised by a greater sense of peace, meaning, purpose and connectedness.
Personally the meaning of spiritually is anything in my life that is meaningful to me and gives me a sense of worth and within myself.
When I think of playing monopoly deal I get excited! I cannot wait to pick Sammi* up from school so we can start playing together. It is meaningful for me to play this game as I feel relaxed and confident in my abilities. It has now become an important routine for Sammi* and I to play this together each time I work with her. This game connects us in a way that we both love to play it so it is something we have in common, breaking down the 6year age barrier.


References:
Burkhardt MA (1989). Spirituality: an analysis of the concept. Holistic Nursing Practice 3, 69–77.

Webster, M. (1996). Aesthetic. Retrieved from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aesthetics