Ergonomics

“Constantly make slight invisible adjustments to an activity to adapt to the needs of those taking part and ensure that it continues to work for its intended purpose” (Caulton and Dickson 2007)

In its simplest form ergonomics is the science of work. It is the study of work, how it is done and how it could be made better. In class today we took a look at three key aspects in regards to ergonomics; person, activity and environment and the relationships between these three factors which i am going to discuss in regards to shopping.

Person
As a student living in Dunedin away from home and no longer under the wing of the parents, it is now required for me to do my own grocery shopping for food, this is essential for my survival. I also shop for leisure and save up money so i can go out for the day with a friend or by myself to purchase new clothes, cosmetics, gifts etc. In regards to productivity, when i am buying food or clothes or whatever it may be i am putting my money in to the economy. Going to the markets on Saturday mornings and purchasing locally grown produce is a good opportunity to help support the local economy.
Shopping is something i am familiar with, i feel comfortable doing it and it comes to me quite naturally. Its something i can do independently or with others and can take me a couple of minutes to a few hours to do, depending on the situation. Its part of my weekly routine to go do my grocery shopping, generally every Tuesday and i occasionally go in to town for leisure shopping or just window shopping once a week. It can be quite chaotic or stressful at times, there are financial demands that come with shopping and keeping to a budget can difficult.
In terms of spirituality, I am motivated to shop by the fact that i need food to survive, the desire for something new and the experience it brings. It can be a great opportunity to bond with friends, to get inspired by new clothing styles and peoples creativeness and talent.
Occupation
 There are certain demands that are associated with shopping, depending on what type of shopping you engage in. There are physical demands such as being able to get around a supermarket, being able to try on clothes in a store, the ability to tolerate standing for a long period of time, being able to carry bags of items etc. However now days thanks to a wonderful thing called technology and internet, you can do online shopping which simply requires you to scroll down a page, select what you want and make an online payment for whatever goods you want. Online shopping has certainly taken off over the past few years and is becoming more and more popular for purchasing clothes, furniture, food, electronics; anything you can think of. online shopping takes away the physical requirements for shopping, you don't even need to leave your seat and you could purchase an entire new wardrobe. Having reduced the physical demands of shopping, it is now something that is more accessible to everyone, particularly those who may have physical restrictions
However online shopping is not the way for everyone, there is certainly a whole experience that is associated with shopping, whatever it may be for.
Environment
Shopping no longer takes place in a mall, a supermarket or down at your local markets. It is no longer limited to these physical environments however they do still exist. Online shopping has taken away from the physical aspect of shopping and the act of going out and being in the physical, cultural and social environment of shopping. There is still a demand for supermarkets, malls and shops however as we still see new ones popping up all over the place. There is real culture associated with shopping for example going to the markets on a Saturday morning there is food, live music, fresh produce and the exchanging of goods between locals. When it comes to clothes shopping the culture of the environment is consumerism. Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumerism). There is always something new when it comes to shopping, when you have purchased one thing there is always the next thing. This is where a competitive streak comes in to shopping, not only for the shop or service, but also for the client. There is a social demand to have the next big thing, the newest iPhone or latest fashion.

I have just touched briefly on ergonomics and i hope to get in to the more 'nitty gritty' aspects of it over the next few weeks. Shopping is a complex activity and there is a lot to cover as there are different 'types' of shopping but i hope to explore it in more detail. For me; shopping is something i do out of necessity but also as something i enjoy doing. There are no physical limitations for me when it comes to shopping as i can choose to go out to the mall, the supermarket or markets to go shopping or i can shop online. The only limitation would be financial which is often the case!

Affordance

I have always loved going to the Saturday morning markets. It is something I did often with my mum when I was younger before I had sport and work commitments. Since being in Dunedin for my second year now, I hadn’t once been to the farmers market which I had heard so much about. I had always been meaning to go but never got around to it mainly due to the fact that it was quite a walk from where I live. I had put some money aside during the week to save for the markets and I was looking forward to buying some locally grown produce. I knew that the fruit and veggie’s would probably be a bit more expensive then the fruit and veggie shop down the road however nothing beats organic, locally grown fresh produce so I was willing to pay a little extra.

We had a bit of a late start and didn’t end up getting to the markets till after 11, it was still very busy however and everyone was laden up with all sorts of interesting things. My sensors were working overtime taking in everything that was going on; the smell of freshly brewed coffee, an acoustic guitar playing in the back ground, the rushing of people around me, all the interesting looking stalls, all the interesting looking people. However, the one thing that overpowered all of these things and caught my attention the most was a particular smell, it made my mouth water and without even realising, I found myself walking in the direction of the smell along with the rest of the crowd. It wasn’t long before I found myself at the back of a line with a $5 note in my hand ready to order a world famous BACON BUDDIE! And it did not disappoint, I inhaled the entire thing and enjoyed every bite however I didn’t feel quite so good after… Feeling very full after eating a heart attack between two pieces of bread we figured it would do us some good to have a bit of a walk around the entire market to see what they were selling and what bargains we could find!

There were plenty of stalls scattered around and they all sold quite different things however considering how late it was many of the stalls were looking pretty scarce and owners were beginning to pack up. All the fruit and veges in particular had been well picked over and there wasn’t much left at all. I was a little disappointed as I was looking forward to getting some fruit and things but I guess I will know for next time that you have to get in quick! After doing an entire loop around all the stalls we found ourselves back at the food stalls and couldn’t help ourselves but get some dessert after our failed attempt at getting fruit and veges so with the money we had been intending to buy healthy food with, instead we all went and got waffles! A decision I am not proud of but I enjoyed every jam and cream filled mouthful.

Having not achieved anything we had intended to do or get, I was feeling pretty content with myself regardless. The bacon buddie and waffles alone are worth going back for! At least I know for next time that you need to get in quick to get the fresh produce but if not, there are still plenty of other things worth spending your money on! Well in my opinion anyways.
 "An affordance is a quality of an object, or an environment which allows an individual to perform an action".

Affordance relates to the activities we engage in and their ability to bring about changes in us. I had been thinking about this in relation to shopping this week and how engaging in this activity causes us to act in a certain way.There are three components of affordance that we looked at this week in class: communication, connections, good and bad. After going to the markets in the weekend i was able to see how this activity fits in to these three aspects or affordances. 
Communication can be defined as the activity of conveying meaningful information. While at the markets this was evident in a range of ways. The verbal communication between individuals was occurring all around. In my case we met up with some other friends when we arrived and we all grabbed something to eat together so it ended up being a real social thing where we caught up, talked about our weekend plans and discussed what stalls we were wanting to check out and suggested different ones to each other. 
There was the communication between the seller and buyer, a relationship quickly developed when the buyer took interest in what the seller had to offer, immediately the seller would strike up conversation or offer a taste test etc. There was often some negotiating that went on between the seller and buyer. 
The sellers obviously took pride in what they were selling, it was an expression of their hard work and skills which they were now able to receive credit for both financially and verbally. This was their way of communicating to others what they were capable of doing and an expression of themselves, people were able to show their appreciation for it by purchasing whatever it was they were selling. 
Connections are constantly being made. There is a evident culture at weekend markets, the exchanging of fresh food and home made goods. I felt an immediate connection to my child hood as the markets were something i did often with my mum when i was younger and it had the same feel about. 
Good and Bad aspects i guess would be the never ending need to purchase food and the constant spending of money. As a student i am very much limited by money and food from the markets can often be more expensive then purchasing from the supermarket. On the other hand the markets offer a great opportunity to give back to the community and support the local economy rather than buying from big supermarkets like countdown that import a lot of their produce from over seas. 

What Shopping Means To Me...

“Shopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection and/or purchase. In some contexts it is considered a leisure activity as well as an economic one.” (shopping-wikipedia, 2011)

Its Tuesday afternoon, I dare to check my watch and see that the time has come and I cannot ignore the cries of my stomach any longer. It’s been a week since I last ventured to that dreaded place and both my body and my wallet have only just recovered but I know what I need to do. Armed with my eftpos card, shopping list, coupon, fly buys and patients I am ready to face whatever the supermarket throws at me. Its 5pm and I know well and truly that it is going to be a feeding frenzy down there but this is what a have to do. I put on my sneakers to give me that extra grip and support I need for pacing up and down the aisles at a high speed; I’m going to need all the help I can get if I want to stand a chance out there. The giant glass doors kindly open up for me as they do for the other thousands of customers that have already been devoured by the supermarket. The special signs tower over me, the harsh artificial rays of the lights lining the entire interior of the shop make my eyes burn and the sound of trolleys being smashed together makes me jump. I keep my eyes fixed on my shopping list and don’t dare to lift my gaze to be tormented by the special signs and other products that I don’t necessarily need but would really enjoy. I keep my trolley close as I pace up and down each and every aisle, carefully selecting the items I need and figuring out the best possible deal from the wide range of different brands and products available. My brain is working overtime calculating what I have spent and how much I have left to work with, this is crucial if I mess up my calculations I could have a real issue on my hands. I gladly tick off the last item on my shopping list and eye up a potential check out to pay for my items. This part of the mission is key to a fast get away. First, I look for the shortest possible lines and consider who is in each to determine my final choice or whether I should just go for the self-check in. the elderly, mothers with kids and foreigners are the ones to watch out for, they are bound to take a significantly longer time to process their goods. I find “the one” and within a few short moments I am unloading my goods into very specific piles; my fresh fruit and veg, meats, dry food and cans, breads and soft foods, dairy products, cosmetics and cleaning products. After some standard small talk with the check-out chick she has put all my items through and I have my coupon and fly buys on hand ready to get whatever I can from them, I smile when I see I have saved $4.29 this week. I pay for my items and get out of their as quickly as possible!

Relevance to Occupational Therapy

Shopping is a necessary activity that we do in order to buy food, clothes, furniture, house hold items, presents etc and so it is important for individuals to be able to participate in this occupation. It requires a range of skills and at times can be difficult and frustrating or it can be very pleasing and enjoyable. Shopping requires problem solving skills, decision making skills, independence, creativeness, the use of memory, it also has physical aspects to it. Within occupational therapy it can be used as a intervention tool or as an end point of intervention. It is an activity that is relevant and essential to most and can be carried out in range of ways such as online, at the markets, in a supermarket and in the mall.
An occupation simply put is what we do to occupy ourselves. As shopping is an activity that can encompass a wide range of ideas and feelings i have broken in down in to three categories which fit quite nicely with occupational therapy. I will be looking at shopping in regards to self-care, productivity and leisure.

Practical considerations

The task of shopping is something I am required to do on a weekly basis for groceries. I also go to the farmers market on Saturday mornings and go to look around at the clothes shops in town about once a week or every second week so engaging in this task for two hours a week will not be an issue. Shopping is something I both love and hate, but continue to do out of necessity.