INTRODUCTIONThis article introduces the theory of occupational reconstructions. This new theory is intended to enable occupational science to describe, explain and study -in occupational terms -how people act to change their situations for what they believe will be for the better. Applying the theory to the American civil rights movement and the South African struggle against apartheid, the article aims to demonstrate how political activism functions occupationally. The theory is intended to provide a bridge between current thinking in occupational science and future occupational therapy practice for social change. Occupational reconstruction theory brings an actionoriented framework to occupational science and occupational therapy regarding social justice, occupational injustice, collective action, political approaches, and critical theories.The theory of occupational reconstructions builds on important steps to date. First, occupational therapy already holds social participation to be within its scope of practice 1,2 . Second, occupational science as an academic discipline has made it possible to conceive of occupations, such as social participation, more expansively than occupational therapy practice typically does in today's health care systems 3,4 . Consequently, it has become possible to glimpse a near future when occupational therapists will use occupational science theories and empirical research to help to change lives not only individually but more widely, in the aggregate, through public health policy interventions and community-based collaborations 5,6,7,8,9 . Further, concepts and theories in occupational science are emerging that re-imagine societal participation on a global scale. The literature concerned with occupational injustice, for example, addresses human rights and capabilities in the broadest possible sense 10,11 . The growing 'occupational therapy without borders' literature starting with the edited volume by Kronenberg, Pollard and Simó-Algado 12 describes innovative practice that treats not only individuals but social problems. These approaches may partly map onto community-based practice as currently described in occupational therapy 13 . But many take place outside of professional As occupational science expands its use of critical theories to analyse how inequality, injustice, and disempowerment are socially produced 15,16,17 , occupational therapists may desire increasingly to engage in politically informed practice. Toward such an end, Townsend calls for a critical literacy of occupation so that societies can address the effects of environmental changes on the world's aging population 18 . There is a need, further, for occupational science to study how people actually organise themselves to create social change. A THEORY OF OCCUPATIONAL RECONSTRUCTIONS: SOURCES, DEFINITION AND PRINCIPLESThe theory of occupational reconstructions draws on American pragmatism 19 as a starting point for empirical research and theoretical elaboration. Pragmatist philosophy contributed a disti...

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Date Presented 03/26/20 This presentation introduces the concept of occupational resilience in occupational science. Drawing from study outcomes revealing enduring performance of music by refugees in challenging circumstances, authors posit that focusing on the talents, skills, and aspirations of individuals enables researchers to recognize successful performance of occupation amid challenges. To advance the debate regarding performance of occupations in problematic situations, occupational resilience is a vital new concept. Primary Author and Speaker: Bernard Muriithi Additional Authors and Speakers: Jennifer Muriithi

This paper presents outcomes of a phenomenological study conducted to explore the lived experience of refugee musicians. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to identify six musicians who performed in the cities of Phoenix and Tucson and had been involved in music prior to entering the United States. The primary data gathering method was structured and unstructured interviews, but observations were made for the musicians who performed in public events during the study period. Audio and video recordings were made and photographs taken during these performances. Study outcomes show that the musicians have persisted in music performance as their primary method of healing trauma and negative emotions. Traumatic experience resulted in their fleeing from their homes and seeking refuge in other countries. After being resettled in the United States, they continue to suffer from the experience of loss, need to adapt and change, and struggle with trauma and negative emotions. Music is their method of healing trauma and facilitating integration. Music produces healing through 1) like a painkiller, enabling them to forget problems that result in distress, 2) being their means to communicate a message of hope, and 3) enabling integration, thus reducing isolation and loneliness.