Perspectives on occupation-based social inclusion: Collective occupation in the local, social world

Keynote lecture presented at the 21st Occupational Science Seminar: "Go back to the origin that links up Occupational Science with clinical practices - questioning 'occupational being' again". Japanese Society for Study of Occupation, 9 - 10 December 2017, Osaka, Japan. (Alternative title: 21st Occupational Science Seminar in Osaka. Theme: Origin regression to link Occupational Science to clinical –Question Occupational Being-)Sarah Kantartzis - orcid: 0000-0001-5191-015X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5191-015XThe construction of our social worlds through historical, social, cultural, and economic conditions has placed some people in un-just positions; positions which exclude them from full participation in the daily lives of their families and communities. The term social inclusion is used to describe a process that works to transform our societies, to re-construct 'societies for all'. However, this is a complex and multi-layered process, requiring change by all. While policy and economic change is an essential part of this, it is also recognised that change in the locally social world, the public world of the neighbourhood and community, is significant. I suggest that collective occupation, and our research and practice of collective occupation, is an important part of these processes. Following a general introduction to social inclusion, my first aim in this paper is to present the concept of collective occupation and its contribution to the construction and maintenance of the locally social world, including situations of both inclusion and exclusion. Following this I aim to discuss how collective occupation that supports social inclusion may be developed, including examples from Japan and Europe. Integral to this development is understanding of the importance of the public world, and the concepts of recognition and participatory citizenship. Enabling the social of all in our local neighbourhoods and communities through collective occupation can be part of the social transformation required to address the un-just conditions of many people's lives in our societies today.http://www.jsso.jp/courses_seminarsEn.html12pubpub

Sviluppo delle definizioni consensuali per la terapia occupazionale in Europa

The Tuning Project is directly related to the Bologna Declaration and the resulting process which outlined a framework for a common higher education policy within Europe. Of particular importance in the Bologna process is the implementation throughout Europe by 2010 of a degree system of three cycles of higher education (equivalent to Bachelor, Master and Doctoral levels) with access from one cycle to the next, with the recognition of degrees and study periods assisted by the implementation of the European Credit Transfer System and Diploma Supplements (Confederation of EU Rector's Conferences & the Association of European Universities, 2002).sch_occpub3071pub

CONCEPTUALISING OCCUPATION: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF DAILY LIFE IN A GREEK TOWN

Occupation is understood within the discipline of occupational science and the profession of occupational therapy to be a particular kind of activity with links to health. However, there has been little theoretical work exploring the construction of the concept and understandings are largely dependent on the writings of Western academics writing in the English language. Situated in contemporary understandings of cultural relativity, local narratives and issues of power, and my own 30 year experience of living and working in Greece, this ethnographic study was developed to explore the construction of the concept of occupation in Greece. Over a 30 month period I observed and participated in both celebratory and mundane occupation within the context of a small town. I explored the nature of occupation through the shared and largely tacit understandings of what was usual everyday life. The understanding of occupation that was developed was of an ongoing multi-dimensional process. Supported by the transactional theory of John Dewey (1949), occupation as process was an integral part of all elements of the situation (incorporating transacting individual, social, temporal, spatial and climatic elements), and worked to maintain the ongoing balance of the situation. Three plots of occupation in the town were configured - maintaining the self-in-the-world, maintaining the family, and maintaining the social fabric - that tell of what people were working towards, wanting to maintain, considered desirable and valued, as shared narratives underpinning on-going everyday life. The findings support the need for situated research that can explore local understandings of occupation. They challenge the ongoing position evident in much of the literature that views the individual as an active, knowledgeable agent, and support the importance of the developing scholarship incorporating transactional theories in understanding of occupation (Cutchin & Dickie, 2013). They also demonstrate that occupation is the process of people's engagement in the world and that health is not only expressed but also promoted through occupation.sch_occunpub4480unpu

The Dr Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture 2019: Shifting our focus. Fostering the potential of occupation and occupational therapy in a complex world

Kantartzis, Sarah - ORCID 0000-0001-5191-015X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5191-015XThe Dr Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture 2019, given on 18 June 2019 at the 43rd Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, held at the International Conference Centre, Birmingham.Challenges to health promoting occupation are experienced by many people in the UK today. It is suggested that the way we currently think about and so organise our practice may make it difficult to address some of these occupational needs. An alternative lens is proposed, drawing on the work of P. Cilliers and his discussions of the implications of thinking in terms of complex systems. Taking on an ‘attitude of complexity’ allows us to reconsider our work within the systems we are part of and encourages us not only to acknowledge but also to embrace the richness and diversity of our complex world. The discussion will focus on how occupational therapists can become part of, or strengthen their existing part, in change within these systems, developing their contribution as experts in occupation. This lecture is about ‘shifting our focus’, about fostering the potential of occupational therapy and contributing to individual and social transformation through occupation that will support the health of the population.https://doi.org/10.1177/030802261986489382pubpub

L’occupation collective dans les espaces publics et la construction du tissu social

Background. Contemporary research is expanding understandings occupation beyond that of the individual's doing, including the shared and social nature of occupation and the concept of collective occupation has been introduced. Purpose. A study aimed to explicate the concept of occupation in a Greek town Method. Ethnographic methodology was used and primary data included observation, participation and informal interviews. Analysis involved a hermeneutic process to develop a narrative of occupation in the town, including action, setting and plots. Findings. Occupation, a dynamic and multidimensional process, served to maintain the self, family and social fabric, and balance between and within them. Collective occupation maintained the social fabric through three forms: informal daily encounters in public spaces; organisation and associations; celebration and commemoration. Implications. Occupational therapists may consider engaging with the potential power of such collective occupation when working towards social change to enable just and inclusive societies.sch_occ84pub4688pub

Making secret hiding places: An occupation of childhood

From Crossref journal articles via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2023-01-31, accepted 2023-06-20, epub 2023-08-31, issued 2023-08-31, published 2023-08-31Article version: VoRPublication status: PublishedSarah Kantartzis - ORCID: 0000-0001-5191-015X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5191-015XPlace-making refers to the emotional attachment people have to a place and has been adopted as a concept in occupational science. In this paper, Relph’s perspective on place-making is associated with how place-making has been discussed in occupational science. Relph’s viewpoint serves as a basis for understanding secret hiding places from children’s perspectives. During data collection for a study investigating children’s perceptions of inclusive playgrounds (Wenger et al., Citation2021), secret hiding places were a recurring topic. This paper aims to explore secret hiding places from the children’s perspective, with a special focus on place-making. To accomplish this, a literature review was undertaken and findings combined with data from two previously conducted studies using qualitative content analysis. From the analysis three categories were developed describing the making of secret hiding places, the purpose of secret hiding places, and play occupations that children do in secret hiding places. The findings suggest that place-making can be seen as an occupation of childhood, related to the physical construction of the secret hiding place itself and the formation of attachment to the place through occupations that are shaped by social interactions and result in meaningful experiences.aheadofprintaheadofprin

Occupation, citizenship and participation

Occupational therapy is a health profession which centres on the significance of doing. It is a well understood principle that doing things can be good for your health. The treatment medium for many occupational therapists is activity. Occupational therapy uses the word ‘occupation’ in the broader sense of being occupied, rather than the narrower connection with work and employment. Many people assume that occupational therapy is linked to occupational health and so is primarily vocational. Occupational therapists rarely work in occupational health. The significance of doing and activity is that this is how people interconnect with others and the environment around them. It is the basis for individual and social engagement, for a participative society in which people experience health through a social exchange, which might be expressed as forms of citizenship. Through doing things in the world people gain experiences and develop the substance of their life narratives. Every day events are the basis of social interaction and give people the sense of belonging to a community. Health is not merely physical and mental health, but is expressed in a social context of experiences. People may be ill or dying, but they may still enjoy healthy participation in life through occupation, through opportunities to express themselves or be part of a community. The quality of health, participation and citizenship depend on a number of social determinants of health such as poverty, experience of relative inequality and of the institutional aspects of the health system, all of which contribute to the production of health inequities. This presentation will explore a couple of case studies which illustrate how issues of citizenship and rights are challenged by everyday experiences which impact on health, the experience of literacy and of accessing health services. It is based on work from the European Network of Occupational Therapy in Europe (ENOTHE) Citizenship Working Group which has been exploring the concept of “participatory citizenship” (Hoskins & Kerr, 2012) since the European Year of the Citizen in 2013

Educational materials on citizenship from an occupational perspective

Sarah Kantartzis - ORCID: 0000-0001-5191-015X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5191-015XThis booklet presents educational materials for teachers or educators and students of occupational therapy in higher education programmes. The materials can also be applied in interprofessional programmes, to enable an occupation-based approach to citizenship to be negotiated in the inter-curricula context. In addition, they will be useful for the continuing professional development of people working in health and social fields and in community development programmes. The general aim is to facilitate and highlight addressing issues of citizenship in the contemporary education of occupational therapists. The purpose is to bring the co-creation of knowledge, skills and values of participatory citizenship together with strategic political, cultural and critical thinking into education, particularly at the Diploma/Bachelor or pre-registration levels. The booklet is written in three sections, which present: Section 1: An introduction to the concept of citizenship and particularly of participatory citizenship (Chapter 2). Section 2: A discussion of competences and learning outcomes, as well as of the theoretical approaches that underpin these educational materials (Chapters 3 and 4). Section 3: A range of educational materials, enabling flexible, contextualised, approaches, for the exploration, understanding and development of knowledge regarding participatory citizenship (Chapter 5).This booklet has been published with the support from a grant of the European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE) for the Project: “Citizenship II”.https://doi.org/10.17979/spudc.9788497498142pubpu

Case studies for Social Transformation through Occupation

Sarah Kantartzis - ORCID 0000-0001-5191-015X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5191-015XWith the financial support of the European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE) as part of the work of the project group Social Transformation through Occupation

The occupation of accessing healthcare and processes of (dis)citizenship in UK Somali migrants: Sheffield case study

** From Crossref via Jisc Publications Router.In the UK free access to healthcare is regarded as a fundamental right accorded to all citizens, but there are significant health inequities experienced by ethnic minority populations. Accessing healthcare is an everyday occupation which can be made complicated by language issues and the design of communication systems. The example of people of Somali origin living in Sheffield is used to explore the occupational dimensions of access to healthcare as part of the participatory process of citizenship. Occupational analysis of healthcare access could contribute to better service provision.sch_occ75pub5238public