ERGONOMICS!

Week 36

What is that you may ask? And what does it have to do with cooking?

Well ergonomics is defined by Caulton and Dickson (2007) as “constantly making 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”.

Ergonomics is all about the ‘fit’ between the person, activity and the environment.  In other words it is about creating the best relationship between the environment where the individual carries out their activity and the skills they use and need when participating in it. 

Person

·         I bring minimal skills to cooking as my knowledge base of this activity is very minimal. This is due to the fact that I have very little experience in this occupation

·         My preference of what to cook generally depends on the easiness of the recipe. I like to cook things that are not to difficult but of course need to taste yummy.

·         I tend to have about  4 or 5 dishes that i rotate between cooking each week and i always like to follow the recipe as i don’t want to take this risk of it tasting yuck because of the pressure of the flatmates eating it

·         Financial abilities- we are on a student budget, so this means nothing fancy. You use what is there

·         There is a sense of responsibility when i cook as i want to provide and give back to the flat a yummy meal

·         Energy will definitely influence what i cook as i will choose something very easy and quick if i am tired and can’t be bothered

Activity

·         Most of my cooking still needs a wee input from the good old handy cookbook. However through experience i am now able to cook easy simple things without the need of looking at a recipe. I still rely heavily on recipes as they do help in not making mistakes

·         This activity can be performed at anytime of the day. I have been speaking of cooking at night time however i cook my breakfast, be that eggs on toast or porridge. Lunchtime sometimes includes cooking, maybe pasta or a toasty. Cooking can occur at all times of the day and can take a few seconds or a couple of hours.

·         By cooking for my flat this means that it is a lot cheaper. This is because things usually come in bulk and the more people the more money getting put in. Also by cooking as a flat that means i only have to cook once a week and i therefore receive 4 other meals that week. YUM

·         Cooking acquires equipment. Luckily my flats kitchen is bulging because of this

·         Cooking can be an individual or group task

Environment

·         The physical environment in my kitchen- lots of bench space, lots of cupboards, the kitchen has a small floor space which can create havoc if more than three people are in there bustling around

·         Have lots of equipment available

·         Depending on the seasons will depend on what we cook. Eg- soup and stew for the winter and salad for summer. Seasons also effect the type of fruit and vegetables that are around and the prices of items

·         Cooking in the kitchen can provide a social environment as flatmates are always popping in talking and tasting. I think that when you are cooking this creates conversation as others know you will have time for talking so they generally come for that purpose knowing you will willing  talk and will have time to. I no if someone in my flat is itching to have a big chin –wag they will usually pop into the kitchen and chat to that person cooking. This is because it is easier than knocking on someone’s bedroom door. The kitchen is a communal place and everyone feels comfortable there

Well i hope that made sense to you all! By for now .....

References

Caulton, R & Dickson, R. (2007). What's going on? Finding an explanation for what we do. In J. Creek & A. Lawson-Porter (Eds.) Contemporary issues in occupational therapy. Chichester: John-Wiley & Sons Ltd