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The recipients of the Ruth Zemke Honorary Lecture are given an engraved kaleidoscope in recognition for their contribution to the study of occupation. Occupation is made up of simple, everyday actions that can be combined in an infinite variety of ways. This variation creates a complexity that requires examination from many perspectives in order to understand its many facets and meanings in people's lives. According to Dr. Zemke, the kaleidoscope serves as a metaphor for occupation. It is a collection of simple, everyday items that can create beautiful and often complex images. People change their perspectives by rotating the kaleidoscope to see the endless variety of images created. Indeed, the kaleidoscope is a well-chosen keepsake for the recipients of the Ruth Zemke Honorary Lecture.
When finished viewing, please click on "X" in the top right hand corner of the document in order to return to this webpage. Ruth Zemke Lecture in Occupational Science: Clare Hocking, PhD, MHSc, AdvDip (OT), Dip(OT), NZROT The Challenge of Occupation: Describing the Things People Do Simply stated, occupational science is the study of human occupation. There are two elements to that definition – the human and the occupation. While the majority of occupational science scholarship and research has focused on human experiences of occupation, my focus is on occupation itself. Drawing support for my interest from Nelson’s (1988) separation of occupational performance and occupational forms as well as Clark and colleagues (1991) categorisation of the form, function, meaning and context of occupation, I propose the development of in-depth descriptions of human occupations. Using skate boarding, surfing the net, preparing a celebratory meal for the family, and tagging (a form of graffiti) as examples, I illustrate how such descriptions might synthesise historical, geographical, anthropological, sociological and critical perspectives. In putting forward this suggestion, I consider the contribution such knowledge might make to both occupational therapy and occupational science, the ethics of studying occupations, possible research strategies and the philosophical basis of this endeavour. References Clark, F. A., Parham, D., Carlson, M. E., Frank, G., Jackson, J., Pierce, D., et al. (1991). Occupational science: Academic innovation in the service of occupational therapy’s future. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 45, 300-310. Nelson, D. (1988). Occupation: Form and performance. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 42, 633-641.
Dr. Graham Rowles Place in Occupational Science: A Life Course Perspective on the Role of Environmental Context in the Quest for Meaning Graham Rowles, PhD Meyer Revisited:Connections Between Lifestyles, Resilience and Illness
Adolf Meyer, whose theory of psychobiology represented one of the most perceptive and important approaches to understanding mental illness in the early 20 th century, largely has been forgotten by contemporary American psychiatry. Yet, Meyer insisted that humans could be understood best through consideration of their activities as experienced on a daily basis and over the life course. During Meyer’s era, changes in society were occurring at an unprecedented pace and these included increased cultural diversity, social upheavals and technological advances. These, in turn, were associated with emotional, psychological, and behavioral problems that challenged American medicine’s ability to cope with them. In many ways, the changes wrought during the early twentieth century paralleled the challenges of our current age. This paper argues that Meyer’s century-old framework, which was holistic, integrated, and life focused, provides a timeless context for viewing the inextricable nature of mind and body, particularly as these explain the links between stressors of the modern era and illness. I attempt to review the emerging literature on psychoneuroimmunology and make the compelling case that lifestyle and daily occupations remain, as Meyer envisioned a century ago, important determinants of health and illness. Further, I take the position that lifestyle related stress results from our inability, through daily activity, to meet important and perhaps universal human needs. I discuss empirical evidence that supports this case. I conclude with a call for public efforts to create conditions and opportunities that promote resilience and foster the life balance necessary to sustain health and well-being. One Person's Thoughts in Mapping the Future of Occupational Science Florence Clark, PhD, OTR, FAOTA
Occupational science has had many accomplishments in its 16 years; however, in order to continue to thrive, the discipline must remain sensitive and responsive to the changing times and environment. This paper assesses the current health status of occupational science based on the plight of other academic disciplines such as sociology and geography whose future are presently threatened. The intellectual vitality of occupational science is strong, yet, the discipline must continue to strengthen its interdisciplinary commitment, increase its number of publications, and expand its scope of research. Beyond this, strategic planning to keep occupational science alive and well in the future will require nurturing the symbiotic relationship between the discipline and the occupational therapy profession because of the reproductive cycle in which they co-participate. To the extent that occupational therapy thrives, so too will occupational science be better-positioned to have the resource base and link to practice it needs to flourish. Finally, viewing occupation science as a kind of living organism whose survival can be described through principles of evolutionary biology can also help with the formulation of strategic initiatives. In this paper, I use this framework for conceptualizing and formulating long-term survival strategies for occupational science. I then present a heuristic model for developing customized plans for survival for occupational science programs nationwide and for the discipline in general. USC’s occupational science program is used to illustrate the implementation of the heuristic model in terms of national and global priorities, university/institutional culture, mission and values, university colleagues/networks/ and programs, and department research and educational programs. I believe that occupational science will thrive in the future if all of us develop and implement customized plans for survival for our programs that are receptive and reactive to the opportunities and challenges that are present in our everyday settings. Occupation
at the Center: Creating Authentic Lives in Social Worlds Jeanne
Jackson, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA
Abstract: Occupational scientists place occupation at the center of their discourse on identity. In constructing identities people engage in an ongoing negotiation between their personal vision for an acceptable life and the enabling and constraining forces of particular social traditions. The resolution of this tension is expressed in the occupational configuration that emerges on a day-to-day basis throughout one's life and in the interpretation ascribed to those actions. This research paper extends our knowledge about identities lived in occupations by examining how one group of individuals--lesbians with and without disabilities--creatively struggle to live authentically through the occupations in which they engage. These women's voices also underscore the necessity of weaving together various identities through occupation in order to attain a sense of authenticity. Furthermore, in their search to live authentic lives these women creatively design occupations that offer an opportunity for people of different cultures to find common ground. In keeping with the metaphor of the kaleidoscope that is central to this honorary lecture, this presentation will add new and complex images of the ways that identities are lived in occupation. The Infinite Distance Between the "I" and the "It"
Abstract: Science and medical practice in the 21st century often separate the "I" of consciousness, the one who experiences daily life, from the "It" of an object, in order to concentrate upon a body that can be probed, tested and fixed. This "flat" view of the world may also influence the development of occupational science and the practice of occupational therapy to the detriment of the profession and its potential contribution to humankind. For occupation, performed by a person, must be done and experienced by an "I" who initiates it and is conscious of its effects. Thus, occupational science needs to become an integral human science uniting the "I" of intention with the "It" of behavior, the "We" of cultures and the "They" of social systems. In order to create an integral science, occupational scientists need to discuss and debate the nature of our science, name our pursuit of wisdom, identify the ethics and values central to inquiry and intervention, and broaden and personalize the evidence sought to demonstrate the efficacy of occupational therapy practice. The mission of integral occupational science will be to promote human flourishing. 2002 Inaugural Lecture
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The ultimate focus of each human life is a quest for meaning. In this presentation, building upon and supplementing the perspective of Victor Frankl (1945), I suggest that this quest involves four overlapping domains: achieving a sense of worth through occupation, experiencing fulfillment through relationship, exercising the ability to choose one’s course of action, and developing an understanding and acceptance of one’s place in the cosmos. At different stages of life, each of these domains has different manifestations and assumes different levels of ascendency and priority. Each domain has a place in occupational science. The trajectory of the quest for meaning is shaped by personal circumstances and by context—the places in which the individual lives out his or her life. Adopting a life course perspective, I present an autobiographical case study analysis of the reciprocal relationship between place and person in the evolution of the four domains of meaning. I suggest that in its ongoing search for an orienting paradigm, the still fledgling discipline of occupational science might usefully focus on the evolving rapprochement of person and place in the search for meaning as expressed within the four domains. This would not only provide a theoretical core for occupational science and an agenda for empirical research but also would furnish an organizing framework facilitating the translation of theoretical and empirical insights from occupational science into specific strategies for effective occupational therapy intervention—the development of practice strategies that would support and nurture the continuing search for meaning that I suggest remains the core motivation of each person no matter what his or her circumstances might be.
Dr.
Jackson was the third recipient of the Ruth Zemke Lecture at the
Society for the Study of Occupation: USA's Third Annual Research
Conference. According to Dr. Jackson, occupational scientists place
occupation at the center of their discourse on identity. In constructing
identities people engage in an ongoing negotiation between
Dr. Yerza was the second recipient of the Ruth Zemke Lecture at the Society for the Study of Occupation: USA's Annual Research Conference. Dr. Yerxa's lecture, entitled "The Infinite Distance Between I and the It" focused on the need for occupational scientists to develop a better understanding of occupation through integral science. Drawing on Ken Wilber's theory of everything, Dr. Yerxa challenged occupational scientists to develop an integral science of occupation that considered internal as well as the external aspects of occupation for both individuals and groups. She explained that to develop an internal individual understanding of occupation researchers must explore occupation through the experiences of the individual and to develop an internal group understanding of occupation researchers should examine culture and group beliefs, values, and actions. Qualitative approaches would particularly enhance these studies, developing an emic understanding of occupation. Dr. Yerxa went on to explain the etic, or "it" perspective of research, that is, the generic person that is representative of a larger population. Researchers would use quantitative designs such as experimental and correlational studies, employing statistical analysis to develop the understanding of the external, generic individual, the "it." Social research using large data sets would allow researchers to understand the external group, the impersonal group. Dr. Yerxa asserted that occupational scientists need all four areas of research in order to develop a fuller understanding of people and their occupations. 
Ruth Zemke was the recipient of the first Ruth Zemke Honorary Lectureship awarded by the Society for the Study of Occupation: USA at the First Research Conference held in Galveston, Texas, November 14-16, 2002. She spoke about the history of occupational science from a nascent field of study to a recognized discipline around the world. Speaking in her relaxed, humorous style, Dr. Zemke shared stories about experiences with communities of scholars of occupation, from the beginnings at the University of Southern California to more recent ones in Japan. She told those in the audience that occupational science has developed in ways she would never had anticipated, but that process has been necessary to gain a better understanding of the complexity of occupation. She suggested that occupational science needs continue to develop in unanticipated ways and that those working in the field must adapt to this process. |
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