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Life coaches benefitted from learning opportunities that increase their coaching effectiveness. Utilising critical self-reflection activities, life coaches created a continuing professional...

This lectureship explores how futures research might be used by occupational scientists to open up a dialogue about what people ‘will do’. Futures research offers alternative ways to explore ideas, viewpoints, schools of inquiry and knowledge that might contribute to the prevention of known, yet unsolved, occupational injustices experienced by groups of people in society. One such global injustice is the burgeoning work disparity of under- and unemployment experienced by young people. The goal of futures research methods is to create transformative spaces for thought, through multiple ways of knowing and analysis across paradigms of knowledge, to inform what groups of people or populations might do differently to achieve a better quality of life or circumstances. In this lectureship, the future of employment for young people in Canada is used as an example to introduce the potential of using Causal Layered Analysis (CLA; Inayatullah, 1998, 2004), a futures research method, in transformative thinki...

Background and Purpose: When life disruptions occur, people's occupational identity shifts to reflect their changed abilities and health. There may also be changes in the range of occupations judged as meaningful. The purpose of this study was to clarify the nature of the process that underpins shifts in occupational identity following a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Data Collection and Analysis: Participants were adults with TBI recruited from a centre for brain injury survivors. Interview data were analyzed through an objectivist grounded theory approach to uncover emergent categories. Findings: The nine participants suggested that the shift in occupational identity was impacted by occupational choices, re-engagement in occupations, and the development of competence. The shift was marked by Facing the Reality of Limitations and Challenges (returning to previous occupations, reflecting on changed abilities or performance), Grappling with Negative Labels (encountering labels and walls, discontinui...

This book examines the many influences of the digital revolution on the future of productive work occupations and who will work. The overall purpose of the book is to explore the way the lives of p...

Institutional ethnographers and occupational scientists share a common interest in studying what people do in their daily lives. Institutional ethnographers start inquiry at the standpoint of people as they are situated in the actualities of everyday life and then turn their gaze from the individual to the social. We aim to outline in this paper some key tenets of institutional ethnography to argue its relevance for studying human occupation. More specifically, we posit that institutional ethnography provides a promising social theory and method to further understandings of the situated nature of human occupation.

Drawing on data from a larger study, the aim of this paper is to illuminate how the everyday doings of women with disabilities are coordinated to and shaped by organizational processes and social context, particularly as these relate to the potential of being labelled disabled.An institutional ethnography was conducted with seven Austrian women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Interviews and participant observations were conducted, and texts about the historical development of disability policies were identified. Data analysis included grouping similar doings of participants together to subsequently explore links between what the women did and how their doings are shaped by disability policies and the social context.The women, who participated in this study, spent time and effort to keep the disease invisible, resist disability and negotiate a disability pass. By drawing upon the historical development of Austrian disability policies, the interpretation reveals how this development infiltrates into participants' lives and shapes their everyday doing.This study furthers understanding of how broader policies and practices, shaped over historical time, infiltrate into the daily lives of women with disabilities. It illustrates how full participation may not necessarily be a lived reality for people with disabilities at this point in Austria. Implications for Rehabilitation Maximising full participation for people with rheumatoid arthritis is important. This requires focusing not only on the bodily health of people with rheumatoid arthritis but also on their interaction with the social, cultural and political context in their daily lives. This requires also understanding how knowledge about disability is passed on from previous generations.

Public policy impacts on the occupational life spectrum of individuals and communities are ubiquitous. This paper explores the nexus between policy science and occupational science. Public policy is defined and the relevance to occupational life and occupational salience is explored. Two occupational science meta-value propositions are put forward to support interdisciplinary dialogue within policy science that can be used to respond to societal transformations and the development of public policy. Economic downturns and globalization are two scenarios used to provide examples of the intersections of occupational science and policy science. These scenarios are used to expand on the value and potential of occupational science to inform public policy through the application of policy levers. This paper opens the door for occupational scientists and public policy scientists to begin to engage in dialogue on the benefits of interdisciplinary approaches that can support the holistic consideration of knowledge ...

This study explored experiences surrounding hearing aid use and non-use in older women with hearing loss. A narrative approach was used to gain an in-depth understanding of the meaning and contextual issues that impact upon the adaptation process of older adults and their transitions in using hearing devices. Four women over the age of sixty who were identified as being consistent hearing aid users took part in three face-to-face interviews. Wengraf's (2001) biographic-narrative-interview guiding framework was used to gather data in this study. Data were analyzed both holistically and thematically from a phenomenological perspective to identify the meaning and essence of the participants' experiences. The results revealed an overarching theme of meaningful participation in life situations and events that were linked to purposeful use and non-use of hearing aids. Barriers and facilitators related to participation, which in turn affect hearing aid use and acceptance, were uncovered. The results of this study have implications for audiologic research, and practice.

Today, the distinction between cyberspace and real space represents a false dichotomy. Wireless laptop computers, personal digital assistant devices and similar emergent information and communication technology (ICT) objects, along with the cyberspace/ internet information they mediate, may be intervening between what and how we are able to ‘do’ in real places. This phenomenon is seen in many contemporary occupations in the westernized world and intensifies the connections among occupation, place, and the internet. In this article, we begin to examine this connection, starting from Hocking's person‐object interaction model. Advocating the addition of an informational domain to objects in the model, we discuss its application to internet informational mediating ICT objects. Examples are used to illustrate the complexities of introducing ICT objects and the information they mediate, to a place or across different places, and how their inclusion in occupational scientists’ conscious consideration may contrib...

This article presents personal reflections on experiences in constructing a cabin by the sea to explore enablers and constraints affecting women's participation in novel occupations, and to understand connections between place and occupation. Insights gained as a result of reflection suggest that catalysts for participation in new and unconventional occupations include elements such as being in a new place away from daily routines as well as feelings of freedom and safety. Resources in a place can support enactment of new skills and help to develop competence. The values espoused in a place can facilitate meaningful and ongoing participation. More research is needed in various settings to better understand how place and context can act as catalysts promoting the occupational participation of women in learning skills, meeting the demands of different occupations and gaining confidence when choosing to do something novel.

The 4th Canadian Occupational Science Symposium included a new feature – a community panel on economic occupational opportunities outside major urban centres. The panel connected symposium participants with the local community to generate a dialogue on the broad concepts of occupation and place relevant to employment transitions in Northern Ontario. Presentations on occupational patterns in Northern Ontario, and on what counts as occupation provided a backdrop to the dialogue. Small groups were invited to reflect on their daily and weekly occupations, possibilities for economic development, current approaches to economic occupational transitions, and possible research areas and partners to examine occupational transitions in the region. This paper summarizes the event, the two presentations, and key discussion points. It ends with a discussion of the benefits of involving the community at occupational science symposia and recommendations for panels with community involvement.

Context Emergence and burgeoning of specialized health care structures have contributed to the diversity in health services. Inadvertently, the separation and resultant independent functioning of health and rehabilitation organizations have impeded opportunities for health care workers to interact with one another. Consequently, providers may lack knowledge on available health services within communities in which they preside. Educational approaches that can assist health professionals improve awareness of services across organizational divides are needed. Objectives The new International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF), offers a multidimensional view of health, which can be used in education sessions to increase provider awareness of how health is mediated across health paradigms. This paper explores the conceptual basis of the ICF and its use in promoting a broader view of health essential for treating consumers with complex health problems and enhancing knowledge sharing amongst professionals. Methods A single case study design is used to demonstrate how the ICF's conceptual framework offers providers a means to promote mutual understanding of differences in health services and to assist them in sharing knowledge on the services provided with others. Conclusion Conceptually, the ICF can be used as a basis for structuring inter-organizational educational initiatives to increase knowledge sharing amongst organizations and health care workers. In addition, introducing health professionals to a multidimensional view of health can assist them to understand the breadth of health services in the community and to consider a more comprehensive set of health determinants and dimensions in caring for consumers.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate and discuss how individuals' subjective perceptions of personal and environmental issues influence return to work behaviour.A qualitative design utilizing in-depth interviews and maximum variation sampling of 11 individuals who either returned to work or withdrew from work after a health leave was conducted. Experiences elicited were analysed using the constant comparative method followed by a member check with participants to confirm findings and interpretations.Findings underscored the importance of two key constructs in understanding return to work from the individual's perspective: the personal meaning of disability and return to work relevancy. Throughout the experience of getting better and returning to work participants reflected upon the impact of personal and external factors that contributed to their work disability, sought clarity of their performance capacities and examined the importance of work and the consequences of work disability within their life circumstances.Insights into an individual's perceptions of their impairment and the personal relevance of work can promote a better understanding of return to work behaviour. Integrating individual perceptions is essential to advancing a multidimensional approach in return to work research.