Occupational Science is an interdisciplinary enquiry into humans as occupational beings, every day occupations and health and wellbeing. It is based on a social-ecological health paradigm, which suggests that the context is a central determinate of health and wellbeing. Contextual adjustments remain a key dimension of occupational therapy interventions. The discipline of occupational science emerged from the needs of occupational therapists and others to better understand the nature of their practice with individuals and groups and the complex and transactive relationships between people, their occupations and the context. The discipline has attracted researchers from a range of disciplines and has integrated dynamical systems theory, complexity theory and chaos theory to generate understandings about the person- context-occupation relationships.

The sociological view of health has created a shift in the approach to health research with an increasing use of qualitative methodologies and historical enquiry to explore the person-context-occupation relationships. Such approaches have led Wilcock (1998) to propose an occupational perspective of health and others to suggest that health and wellbeing are related to occupational balance (Christensen, 1996) and to the flow experience (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975) and that client-centred occupational interventions significantly influence elder's wellbeing (Clarke, Zemke & Jackson, 1997). Occupational Science is a developing discipline that reflects changes in the approach to health research. The discipline is finding a voice through the national and international organisations such as the International Society of Occupational Science.

In Canada, the USA and the United Kingdom Occupational Science has been supported by annual Conferences and Symposiums to foster debate and provide a forum for research about occupation and health and wellbeing. While Australia and New Zealand academics have contributed to knowledge development through the establishment of the Journal of Occupational Science and their contribution to academic publications and books no tradition of a regular conference has emerged.

This Symposium attempts to establish an interest in an ongoing dialogue among academics and members of the community about better understanding the dimensions of participation and human health and wellbeing. Academics in the School of Occupational Therapy at LaTrobe University understand that there are many researchers and members of the community who can contribute to a better understanding of the dimensions of occupation that relate to wellbeing. We read with interest about the work being carried out in other institutions and experience in our own work place the impact of opportunities for participation.

This Symposium is our effort to break down some of the knowledge silos that exist within and between institutions in our community.