Enacting Occupation and Identity: Perspectives of Children and Their Parents

Children with disabilities are at risk for limited opportunities to engage in childhood occupations. Occupation is defined broadly as everything people need, want, or are obliged to do, and as understanding how social dimensions shape occupations and opportunities for participation. Emergent literature suggests that identities are shaped by what we do. This research examines how occupation is implicated in the shaping of identities for school-aged children with physical disabilities in light of the socio-cultural dimensions that shape opportunities for children to participate in childhood occupations. This work is comprised of five integrated manuscripts, in addition to introduction, methodology, and discussion chapters. The first manuscript contributes to disciplinary discussions about occupational identity as an emerging construct and calls for a socio-cultural theoretical perspective to considerations of occupational identity. The second manuscript examines a disability studies perspective, and introduces the concept of reflexivity as important for professional practice in occupational therapy. The third manuscript discusses photoelicitation as a promising method for eliciting children’s perspectives in research. In addition philosophical underpinnings, practical considerations, ethical considerations, and examples from this research are discussed. The fourth manuscript reports on the empirical work, examining how occupation is implicated in the shaping of identity for children with physical disabilities. In depth case studies were used to investigate participation in occupations and perceptions of identity with six children and their parents. Each case was analyzed using concept maps and coded for conceptual categories. Six categories are presented: Perceptions of Self and Other: Living with Disability; Family Identity, Tradition and Culture; Relational Identity: A Sense of Belonging; Pride, Success, and Seeing things through…; Growing up and Keeping Up; and Identity as Dynamic. Finally, the fifth manuscript revisits the topic of reflexivity, and discusses its merit in ethical research with children. This thesis contributes to knowledge pertaining to socio-cultural factors that shape opportunities for children to participate in occupations, and the relationship between occupation and identity for children with physical disabilities. In addition this work contributes to methodological and ethical discussions about conducting research with children. This work has implications for occupational science, health care professionals, policy, children and parents

Похибка розрахунку характеристик гармонійного сигналу

Встановлено основні джерела похибок програм визначення коефіцієнта гармонік для звичайної та подвійної точності розрахунку. Аналізуються похибки заокруглення, пов’язані із знаходженням тригонометричних функцій стандартними програмами, похибки розрахунку коефіцієнта гармонік гармонійного сигналу, на який накладено постійний складник, похибки розрахунку коефіцієнта гармонік від кількості дискретних відліків на періоді сигналу, похибки квантування по рівню, величина яких залежить від розрядності аналогово-цифрового перетворювача (АЦП). Шляхом моделювання визначено величину порогу чутливості по коефіцієнту гармонік.The basic sources of the errors of software for calculation of the harmonic factor for an ordinary and double accuracy of calculation are established. Errors in rounding, related to the calculation of trigonometric functions by standard programs, errors of calculation of the harmonic factor of a harmonic signal with an imposed permanent constituent, errors of calculation of the harmonic factor from the number of discrete counts on the signal period, errors of quantum by level the value which depends from the value ADC bits are analyzed. The threshold value of sensitivity by a harmonic factor was evaluated by modelling.Рассмотрены основные источники погрешностей программ расчета коэффициента гармоник с обычной и двойной точностью вычислений. Анализируются погрешности округления, связанные с вычислением тригонометрических функций стандартными программами, погрешности расчета коэффициента гармоник гармонического сигнала с постоянной составляющей, погрешности расчета коэффициента гармоник от количества дискретных отсчетов на периоде гармонического сигнала, погрешности квантования по уровню, величина которых зависит от разрядности аналого-цифрового преобразователя (АЦП). Путем моделирования определена величина порога чувствительности по коэффициенту гармоник

Utility of science, technology and innovation governance for occupational discourses from the perspective of occupational therapy students

BACKGROUND: Science, technology and innovation (STI) governance concerns itself with the societal impact of STI. Occupation, whether used with the meaning of paid, unpaid work or any activity that is considered meaningful to the individual on an everyday basis is one area of societal impact of STI. Fields such as occupational therapy, occupational science and occupational health and safety concern themselves with the relationship between occupation and the health and well-being of human beings albeit all with different foci. OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the knowledge of student from two Occupational Therapy programs on STI governance, specific STI products and their views on the impact of STI governance and STI products on occupational therapy and its clients. METHODS: Online survey employing Yes/No’ questions with comment boxes and open-ended textbox questions. Descriptive quantitative and thematic qualitative data was generated. RESULTS: Students were unfamiliar with STI governance discourses but felt that they should be aware of them. Students stated that how one governs STI impacts occupational therapy on all levels and that the occupational therapy community has expertise that would enrich STI governance discourses around occupation. CONCLUSION: Education actions seem to be warranted on the level of students and practitioners by the occupational therapy and STI governance communities

“This Is a Look Into My Life”: Enhancing Qualitative Inquiry Into Communication Through Arts-Based Research Methods

As researchers in communication sciences and related disciplines continue to embrace qualitative research methodologies, there will be a corresponding need for innovative methods and strategies for data collection and generation, reflexivity and knowledge translation to make qualitative research methods more inclusive. Historically, those who communicate differently from the status quo have been excluded from or spoken for in qualitative research. The resulting omission of these perspectives in the literature constitutes a critical research-to-practice gap as clinicians seek to deliver client-focused communication care. Arts-Based Research (ABR) offers researchers a means of augmenting potentially linguistically and cognitively demanding verbal interviews while inviting participants to share a window into their daily lives with researchers and knowledge users. Additionally, ABR offers participants alternative forms of expression and creates avenues for researcher reflexivity and participant-researcher reflexive dialogue. To illustrate how ABR can enhance communication research, we present reflections on a study that incorporated multi-media artistic materials in a reflexive arts-based collective case study design. Working with young people experiencing post-concussion communication changes, we used arts-based materials collected and created by participants to support and enhance data collection. These materials were analyzed as part of each case, across cases, and played a central role in sharing our findings. Additionally, arts-based materials facilitated participant-researcher reflexive dialogue and researcher reflexivity. The goals of this paper are to: 1) provide a brief overview of ABR as a method for researchers interested in communication; 2) discuss four ways to incorporate ABR in the research process; 3) provide a case example illustrating different types of creative works to illustrate the four ways ABR can enhance communication research; and 4) discuss benefits, considerations and implications of using ABR to support inclusive research design