Background: Outdoor adventure can offer meaningful occupations that enhance health and wellbeing. Theory in relation to the meaning of outdoor adventure from an occupational science perspective, and the process by which people become engaged in occupation, is underdeveloped. Methodology: Phenomenological philosophy underpinned the methodology. Five elements are presented in this thesis, data were explored from: a systematic review and meta-synthesis of research exploring the meaning of outdoor adventure; focus groups exploring factors affecting sustained engagement in walking in a community context; adventure autobiographies as exemplars of engagement and outdoor culture; and interviews with participants who engaged in outdoor adventure. Concepts arising from the findings were thematically synthesised. Findings and discussion: The meaning of outdoor adventure was associated with a sense of connection to self, others, nature, the environment, time and place. Meaning was associated with engagement that was congruent with aspirations for identity, health and wellbeing, values, and beliefs. The meaning and process of engagement in outdoor adventure were influenced by the ability to establish confidence in relation to developing social networks, physical skills and the knowledge required to participate in chosen occupations. The process of engagement in outdoor adventure was influenced by convenience and the ability to accommodate participation alongside other work and family routines, in terms of time, location and priorities. The process of engagement in outdoor adventure was influenced by context. The findings also suggest a change in the meaning of engagement in outdoor adventure over time. Conclusion: The implications of the study are that these aspects of meaning and dynamic process could be considered within health promotion and occupational therapy practice to enhance initiating, sustaining and returning to occupational engagement in outdoor adventure. Further research would be beneficial in relation to evaluating the application of these concepts in occupational therapy practice.

This study explores the meaning of occupation, defined as a “conceptual entity… [which] includes all the things that people do in their everyday life” (Sundkvist & Zingmark, 2003, p. 40). Using a phenomenological hermeneutic method informed by the writings of Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) and Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002), this study provides an understanding of the meaning of occupation interpreted from the perspective of 12 New Zealand adults who experienced a disruption to their occupations. The review of the literature suggests that early writers from the time of the Bible identified that occupation is not ‘wide open’, there are many factors that shape how and when a person engages in an occupation, which in turn shapes the meaning of occupation. Within the occupational therapy literature, discussion of the meaning of occupation is overshadowed by describing and defending practice. In occupational science scholars and researchers have focused largely on understanding occupation from a conceptual perspective rather than the ontological meaning of occupation. The exploration of the meaning of occupation is being advanced by only a few. In this study participants told their stories about their occupations. Data were analysed by indentifying key themes and engaging in a hermeneutic thinking process of going back to the work of Heidegger and Gadamer. Writing and re-writing was the method used to bring new understandings to the data. The findings of this thesis suggest that the meaning of occupation is complex, and tends to remain hidden. Analysis focuses on the call, Being-with, and possibilities. The call to occupation seems to be in response to what it is we care about or what concerns us. Being-with others while engaging in an occupation creates a bond and mood; the meaning of occupation changes depending on who the occupation is done with or without. The meaning of occupation is also revealed in the possibilities that are opened up or closed down. Occupation shows both ourselves and others what it is we are capable of in the journey of who it is we are becoming. Each of these facets of meaning work in unison and can be likened to three cogs in a wheel, each interconnected with the others. The thesis concludes by recognising that not all voices have been heard and argues for uncovering more about the meaning of occupation from the perspective of lived experience. A challenge is made to consider the meaning of occupation not as something that is individually derived but as something that is connected to the broader context of the world and others in the world.

Dr Alex Mihailidis - Presentation at UBC Thursday, March 26, 2009

Operating under the rubric of sport-for-development, nongovernmental organizations have mobilized sport activities as a tool for international development. Along with these initiatives, a scholarly analysis of the phenomenon has emerged. However, this body of research has not included analysis from a critical occupational perspective. This is a conspicuous shortcoming since, in the language of occupational science, sport-for-development initiatives are occupation-based programs. This study explored sport-for-development using a critical occupational approach to research I constructed, wherein the central site of knowledge production was occupations used in sport-for-development programs. Through five case studies with sport-for-development organizations in Lusaka, Zambia, I describe how staff and youth participants spoke about and understood the use of sport occupations in sport-for-development programs and the sport-for-development ideologies and practices in Zambia and how these shaped the participation of youth. Data generation included observing program activities, interviewing participants, and analyzing organization documents. The findings drew attention to the form, function, and meaning of the sport occupations used in sport-for-development, and illuminate that football, which is a heavily gendered and segregated sport, was constructed as the preferential activity for programs. This prioritization of football, in conjunction with a hierarchical, authoritative approach to decision making, and focus on the development of youths’ sports skills, led to athletic, non-disabled boys living in urban areas being the primary beneficiaries of the programs. I argue that the ideological beliefs that re/produced these understandings contributed to occupational injustices by (1) contributing to the practice of sport being used uncritically as an activity for all youth, (2) perpetuating what were considered acceptable activities for boys and girls in the local context to do, and (3) defining boys in opposition to girls, rural youth, poor youth, and youth with disabilities from both genders. Finally, I propose directions for institutionally-orientated actions to address occupational injustices and consideration of the wider uses and implications of a critical occupational approach within health and social research.

A phenomenological study was undertaken to explore the lived experience of community based farmers using ecological farming practices. These farmers support and are supported by their local communities through marketing their products directly to eaters and use farming practices that mimic and seek to enhance the vitality of natural systems and cycles on their farms. Farmers’ experiences are characterised by hard work for little pay, engaging the fullness of human capacity, living in harmony, spirituality, and a socio-political awareness of food and farms in society. Farmers’ experiences contribute to the development of concepts of doing, being, belonging and becoming, and have implications for concepts of occupational justice and occupational ecology. Further study of other forms of occupation that promote engagement in dialogue with the natural world is encouraged in order to develop these concepts and help to integrate theories of justice, ecology, and occupation.

Operating under the rubric of sport-for-development, nongovernmental organizations have mobilized sport activities as a tool for international development. Along with these initiatives, a scholarly analysis of the phenomenon has emerged. However, this body of research has not included analysis from a critical occupational perspective. This is a conspicuous shortcoming since, in the language of occupational science, sport-for-development initiatives are occupation-based programs. This study explored sport-for-development using a critical occupational approach to research I constructed, wherein the central site of knowledge production was occupations used in sport-for-development programs. Through five case studies with sport-for-development organizations in Lusaka, Zambia, I describe how staff and youth participants spoke about and understood the use of sport occupations in sport-for-development programs and the sport-for-development ideologies and practices in Zambia and how these shaped the participation of youth. Data generation included observing program activities, interviewing participants, and analyzing organization documents. The findings drew attention to the form, function, and meaning of the sport occupations used in sport-for-development, and illuminate that football, which is a heavily gendered and segregated sport, was constructed as the preferential activity for programs. This prioritization of football, in conjunction with a hierarchical, authoritative approach to decision making, and focus on the development of youths’ sports skills, led to athletic, non-disabled boys living in urban areas being the primary beneficiaries of the programs. I argue that the ideological beliefs that re/produced these understandings contributed to occupational injustices by (1) contributing to the practice of sport being used uncritically as an activity for all youth, (2) perpetuating what were considered acceptable activities for boys and girls in the local context to do, and (3) defining boys in opposition to girls, rural youth, poor youth, and youth with disabilities from both genders. Finally, I propose directions for institutionally-orientated actions to address occupational injustices and consideration of the wider uses and implications of a critical occupational approach within health and social research.

This study explores the meaning of occupation, defined as a “conceptual entity… [which] includes all the things that people do in their everyday life” (Sundkvist & Zingmark, 2003, p. 40). Using a phenomenological hermeneutic method informed by the writings of Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) and Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002), this study provides an understanding of the meaning of occupation interpreted from the perspective of 12 New Zealand adults who experienced a disruption to their occupations. The review of the literature suggests that early writers from the time of the Bible identified that occupation is not ‘wide open’, there are many factors that shape how and when a person engages in an occupation, which in turn shapes the meaning of occupation. Within the occupational therapy literature, discussion of the meaning of occupation is overshadowed by describing and defending practice. In occupational science scholars and researchers have focused largely on understanding occupation from a conceptual perspective rather than the ontological meaning of occupation. The exploration of the meaning of occupation is being advanced by only a few. In this study participants told their stories about their occupations. Data were analysed by indentifying key themes and engaging in a hermeneutic thinking process of going back to the work of Heidegger and Gadamer. Writing and re-writing was the method used to bring new understandings to the data. The findings of this thesis suggest that the meaning of occupation is complex, and tends to remain hidden. Analysis focuses on the call, Being-with, and possibilities. The call to occupation seems to be in response to what it is we care about or what concerns us. Being-with others while engaging in an occupation creates a bond and mood; the meaning of occupation changes depending on who the occupation is done with or without. The meaning of occupation is also revealed in the possibilities that are opened up or closed down. Occupation shows both ourselves and others what it is we are capable of in the journey of who it is we are becoming. Each of these facets of meaning work in unison and can be likened to three cogs in a wheel, each interconnected with the others. The thesis concludes by recognising that not all voices have been heard and argues for uncovering more about the meaning of occupation from the perspective of lived experience. A challenge is made to consider the meaning of occupation not as something that is individually derived but as something that is connected to the broader context of the world and others in the world.

Magister Scientiae (Occupational Therapy) - MSc(OT) / Occupational justice empowers individuals, especially the previously disadvantaged, to have their basic needs met, as well as turn their potential into reality, through human rights and labour legislation, which provides access to equal opportunities. However, with the amount of different choices, in terms of occupational roles, facing the individual to fill their time with, effective management thereof to preserve one’s health and well-being on a daily basis, is not necessarily guaranteed. Occupational science, and more specifically, occupational therapy education imparts the importance of occupational balance, a concept which denotes a balance between the person, their environment and their occupations, some of which are strenuous and others relaxing. Occupational balance can be achieved by adapting the physical, mental, social and rests occupations.

This participatory action research project enabled service users to influence the modernisation of local mental health day services. The modernisation programme was based on principles of social inclusion, and there were limited understandings of how it could be applied locally. Interpretations of policy gave priority to the relocation of services and facilitating individual recovery. An occupational perspective informed the design, implementation and analysis, emphasising what people chose to do. Critical ethnography informed the role of the researcher. Service user involvement was understood as a democratic process, drawing on direct experience for service development. A forum, established for four years, worked on and supported three research strands, focused on social networking. Service users captured their use of a social lounge using photography in Strand A. In Strand B a checklist was used to investigate social activities. Userled social groups were explored in Strand C through individual interviews. All the findings were systematically analysed and service users were involved in this for Strands A and B. The findings of this research emphasised the importance of social networking within the day services. Strand A indicated the benefits of a safe space, before getting involved and moving on. The final report from this strand led to ongoing funding being allocated for a safe space. For Strand B many social and recreational activities were identified by service users. Stigma was recognised as an ongoing barrier to sustained inclusion. A poster was designed and displayed locally to share the findings. Themes from Strand C demonstrated that user-led groups required active collaboration with mental health services to survive and thrive. A final stage of analysis aimed to uncover the details of taking an occupational perspective. The findings indicated that varied occupational forms involved different service users in different ways, enabling more people to participate. Making the functions of the different events explicit was important for negotiating participation. Meanings were expressed in shared and individual reflection as the research unfolded. Understanding and attending to these aspects facilitated meaningful service user involvement in this research, enabling many people to influence the development of the services they received.

Magister Scientiae (Occupational Therapy) - MSc(OT) / Historically travelling was an option only for the affluent; however, with the turn of the 20th century, travelling shifted to an important form of free-choice learning by means of discovery. Travelogues of able-bodied travellers state that travelling offers them an opportunity for constructing new identities as it broadens their perspectives of self. This caused the researcher to question if the same experiences could be prompted amongst people with disabilities. Various disciplines recognise that travelling is a valuable opportunity for growth, but no literature could be found within Occupational Therapy. This led to the research question explored in this study: what is the shared, lived experience of travelling for people with disabilities? The objectives of this study are to describe and explore the purpose and overall experiences of travelling for people with disabilities, explore how people with disabilities perceive, understand and make sense of their experiences of travelling, and lastly to explore the meaning that travelling has for people with disabilities. The theoretical framework underpinning this study is the Peron-Environment-Occupation Model and the Model of Human Occupation, with specific reference to the philosophy of occupational science. Embedded in a philosophical worldview of social constructivism, a Hermeneutical Phenomenological design was chosen using a qualitative approach. Through purposive sampling, six participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was applied to analyse data subsequent to cross analysis, thereby developing a composite understanding of the meaning of travelling to the participants. The findings present three themes, namely: a Double edged sword which highlights the contradictory effects that travelling can have, followed by People are part of the package, which emphasises the participants’ interpretations of the immense role that society plays in disability, and lastly the most prominent theme Pilgrimage to self-discovery. Additionally, an Integrated Model was developed which integrates two prominent models within Occupational Therapy. Conclusively this study provides insight into how travelling facilitated the participants to develop a new identity.