Medical error and patient safety have become important issues. It is clear that medical error is more influenced by systemic factors rather than human characteristics. Communication patterns, in particular interruptive communication, maybe one of the systemic factors that contribute to the burden of medical error. Objective: An exploratory study to examine interruptive communication patterns of healthcare staff within an intensive care unit during ward rounds. Methods: The study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Sydney, Australia. Nine participants were observed individually, for a total of 24 hours, using the Communication Observation Method (COM). The amount of time spent in conversation, the number of conversation initiating and number of turn-taking interruptions were recorded. Results: Participants averaged 75% [95% confidence interval 72.8-77.2] of their time in communication events during ward rounds. There were 345 conversation-initiating interruptions (C.I.I.) and 492 turn-taking interruptions (T.T.I.). C.I.I. accounted for 37% [95%CI 33.9-40.1] of total communication event time (5hr: 53min). T.T.I. accounted for 5.3% of total communication event time (56min). Conclusion: This is the first study to specifically examine turn-taking interruptions in a clinical setting. Staff in this intensive care unit spent the majority of their time in communication. Turn taking interruptions within conversations occurred at about the same frequency as conversation initiating interruptions, which have been the subject of earlier studies. These results suggest that the overall burden of interruptions in some settings may be significantly higher than previously suspected.

The present research aims to obtain a more complete view of couple relationships. In particular, it investigated the manner in which attachment styles (and more specifically the combination of attachment styles to one’s partner and one’s primary caregiver, such as the mother) are related to conflict beliefs, conflict resolution styles, relationship satisfaction and communication accuracy. Two studies were conducted to explore these relationships. In Study 1 individuals in couples relationships (N = 83) were asked to participate in an online questionnaire regarding primary caregiver and partner attachment, conflict resolution, and conflict beliefs. Study 2 saw the recruitment of twenty-two couples from public advertisements. Couples were asked to participate in a ten minute videotaped discussion around a major disagreement. The discussion exercise and accompanying self-report questionnaires indicated each couple’s communication accuracy. Trained post-graduate raters also coded the observable conflict styles of the couples on a scale developed for the purpose of this research. These were compared with self-reported conflict resolution styles. Couples were also asked to complete questionnaires individually to identify their parent and partner attachment styles, relationship satisfaction, conflict resolution styles and conflict beliefs. Qualitative questions around attachment and conflict resolution provided a more in-depth perspective of more and less securely attached individuals’ relationships. Results from both studies indicated that there is some difference between ongoing influence from current models of primary caregiver attachment and the influence from current models of partner attachment on relationship variables. Relationship satisfaction and conflict beliefs were influenced by specific attachment to the partner. Conversely, conflict resolution styles, in particular positive problem solving, withdrawal and compliance, were heavily influenced by more general current conceptualizations of primary caregiver attachment. Additional results regarding quantitative and qualitative findings, including gender differences are discussed in the thesis. Finally, limitations regarding both studies are noted, and suggestions for future research are made.

In this thesis I explore the relationship between the mobile phone and its user and argue that this relationship is crucial in merging the contexts of public and private, the physical and virtual, imagined and real, past and present, author and audience. I view this relationship as crucial to understanding the shift in the role of the audience from passive receivers of content to active producers ('Mobile Produsers'). Further, I argue that the diverse contexts of mobile content production and the definition of the content itself have become the central means by which mobile phone practices are emerging. I draw on anthropology, social science and media studies in order to explore the impact of mobile contexts, content, and use on identity. I propose that this approach allows for a new understanding of mobile practices as a form of spectacle, especially what I refer to as the spectacle of the self. Produsership theory informs an understanding of mobile practices, content production and performance, and the Bahktinian concept of carnival becomes a useful term in analysing the mobile as both performance and spectacle. Through an analysis of mobile content within cinematic culture, social interaction, and mixed media environments I consider the ways in which the mobile functions not only as a tool for positioning the individual, but also as performing an integral part in a multi-user process of mobile content production. In this sense, mobile content can be understood as a map, and the mobile as a compass used by the produser to navigate the mobile?s diverse contexts. Furthermore, I demonstrate that mobile content is collectively constructed while being individually absorbed. It is reflective of both the context and its user and open to constant questioning and interpretation, which is then shared with others. Finally, this thesis explores the notion of being t/here as mode of participating with the mobile in time and space, where one's identity is distributed across virtual and physical spaces, simultaneously locating the user as both here and there (t/here).

Friendster.com was launched in California in 2002 with 20 users. Today, it has more than 27 million members and it is especially popular among Southeast Asian women. It differs from other online dating sites in that users must be approved before they can become part of a user’s personal network. This study explores what may have made the site so attractive, as well as how its users represent themselves in their personal profiles. Drawing on social constructionist and feminist theories, this thesis employed qualitative content analysis and survey methodologies to address the following questions: (1) How does Friendster.com portray its role in terms of getting people together? As a dating site or otherwise? (2) How do Southeast Asian women in these two age groups (18-21 and 27- 30) construct themselves on Friendster.com? (3) Do Southeast Asian women join Friendster.com to connect with the one? If not, what are their reasons for joining the site? (4) What are Southeast Asian women’s on- and off-line blind-date standards and practices? The research examines the choice of words and pictures from 60 Friendster users’ profiles by using qualitative content analysis as the methodology. Preliminary findings suggest that the site serves as a new safer form of an online dating service, and that its users aggressively sell themselves as a result. Moreover, the definition of blind-date is socially constructed. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Elliott School of Communication / "May 2006." / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 74-80).

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1982.

Women who have experienced depression are vulnerable to future depressive episodes as well as emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal difficulties. Several theoretical models have explored the link between maladaptive anger expression and women's depression (Jack, 1991; Davanloo, 1980; Cox, Bruckner, & Stabb, 2003), but the existing research examining this relationship has primarily relied on self-report methods. A growing area of research has begun assessing women's communication styles in the context of interactions with their romantic partners. This field of observational research has studied communication patterns in couples with marital conflict, but no studies have yet examined anger expression in women with a history of depression. Therefore, the present study examined anger expression in 26 formerly-depressed (FD) and 30 never-depressed (ND) women and their partners. Couples were a part of a larger community study investigating cognitive and interpersonal factors in depression. Participants completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID; Spitzer et al., 1988) on the telephone to screen for eligibility and determine FD/ND group status. Women and their partners completed self-report measures of depressive symptoms, emotional expression, relationship conflict, and relationship intimacy. Couples also completed an observational interaction task to assess patterns of communication. An observational coding system was developed in collaboration with Deborah Jacobvitz, Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin to assess couples' direct anger expression, hostility, and emotional attunement. The results indicated that contrary to predictions, women expressed more direct anger but similar levels of hostility compared to their male partners. Second, findings supported the prediction that self-reported emotional expression would be associated with relationship intimacy and inversely related to relationship conflict. However, the observational patterns of direct anger, hostility, and emotional attunement were not associated with the relationship outcomes. Results also indicated that FD and ND women did not differ in their patterns of direct anger and hostility expression during the observational interaction task. Exploratory analyses found that individuals' behaviors exhibited during the interaction task were consistent with self-reported ratings of these behaviors. Finally, exploratory analyses also indicated that individuals' patterns of behavior such as hostility impacted their partners' perceptions of the quality of their relationships. / text

Research in second language acquisition has typically focused on classroom and laboratory settings. This study explores second language use in a non-classroom setting. It is based on research from divergent fields including theories of social interaction from sociology, theories of practice from anthropology, and nonlinear dynamics from the physical sciences. This study is a qualitative study, which employs both ethnographic and discourse analytic methods. The study examines native and non-native English speaker interactions on a MUD, a text-based online game. Data was collected for one year. The data for analysis consist primarily of logs of online interactions. The major conclusion of this study was that individuals acquire language appropriate to a particular environment by interacting with others in that environment. As individuals come to an environment and strive towards particular non-linguistic goals, they necessarily interact with others in the environment. As they do, they create shared ways of interacting. Through interaction, they refine the ways in which they speak. By employing multiple perspectives to guide the analysis, new insights into second language use and interaction can be obtained. This broadens our understanding of second language use in non-classroom settings. Implications for pedagogy in foreign language education are discussed.

The predominant use of mobile media such as SMS and MIM across various sectors in Ghana is incontrovertibly influencing and reshaping interpersonal communications. This paper looked at the use of the Esoko SMS and WhatsApp MIM platforms and how the use of these two dominant platforms are enhancing and reshaping digital communication in the rural and urban Ghana respectively, as barriers of socioeconomic factors limits the use of sophisticated technologies in the rural setting. This is done by employing Madianou and Miller's notion of polymedia” to draw on the moral, social and the emotional use of mobile media in enacting interpersonal relationships and communications whilst keeping in focus the recursive repercussions.

Several prominent rhetoric and composition scholars have called for researchers to forefront the activity of an interaction (see Shipka, 2005; Yancey, 2009; Spinuzzi, 2011). This focus is particularly needed in the study of online writing instruction; with its emphasis on the unit of analysis being the action itself, activity theory proves useful to analyze the human-computer and human-human interaction that occurs in the online environment. Drawing from Haas’ (1996) assertion that technology is a site to examine “the relationship between culture and cognition,” this dissertation presents findings from an ethnographic case study that investigates CMS tool use in an online FYC writing course. Using activity theory as a theoretical and methodological frame, findings show how students made CMS tool-use decisions based not only in function, but also on culturally shared beliefs held about interaction in the online instructional environment itself. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, this dissertation discusses two findings: students overwhelmingly use instructor direction when making navigation decisions and when complying with implicit rules. From the findings, this dissertation analyzes how the perceived assumptions that students and instructors in the online writing course make about the intended and unintended motivations of tool use reflect their actual practices. The dissonance that exists within the spaces created between intention and outcome are highlighted by this methodological and theoretical frame. Additionally, analyzing online writing course tool use can have larger programmatic applications in that by understanding what happens in an online writing course and what motivates its users, instructors can better deliver a course and administrators can better assess both a course/instructor and a course management system. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only. / Department of English

In this thesis I explore the relationship between the mobile phone and its user and argue that this relationship is crucial in merging the contexts of public and private, the physical and virtual, imagined and real, past and present, author and audience. I view this relationship as crucial to understanding the shift in the role of the audience from passive receivers of content to active producers ('Mobile Produsers'). Further, I argue that the diverse contexts of mobile content production and the definition of the content itself have become the central means by which mobile phone practices are emerging. I draw on anthropology, social science and media studies in order to explore the impact of mobile contexts, content, and use on identity. I propose that this approach allows for a new understanding of mobile practices as a form of spectacle, especially what I refer to as the spectacle of the self. Produsership theory informs an understanding of mobile practices, content production and performance, and the Bahktinian concept of carnival becomes a useful term in analysing the mobile as both performance and spectacle. Through an analysis of mobile content within cinematic culture, social interaction, and mixed media environments I consider the ways in which the mobile functions not only as a tool for positioning the individual, but also as performing an integral part in a multi-user process of mobile content production. In this sense, mobile content can be understood as a map, and the mobile as a compass used by the produser to navigate the mobile?s diverse contexts. Furthermore, I demonstrate that mobile content is collectively constructed while being individually absorbed. It is reflective of both the context and its user and open to constant questioning and interpretation, which is then shared with others. Finally, this thesis explores the notion of being t/here as mode of participating with the mobile in time and space, where one's identity is distributed across virtual and physical spaces, simultaneously locating the user as both here and there (t/here).