Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Madeline Maxwell. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Dortmund, 2004.

Thesis (M.A. (English Language & Linguistics)) - Rhodes University, 2007.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study aims at exploring speech acts. Actions via utterances are generally called speech acts. They are commonly given specific labels such as apology, compliment, - request, promise or warning etc. The usefulness of speech acts illustrates kinds of things we can do with words and identifying some of the conventional utterance forms we use to perform specific actions. This study examines speech act of complaints in a domestic context. According to Trosborg (1995) there are two different types of complaints. The direct complaint is when complainer diretly accuse the complainee of having committed the offence. The indirect complaint is when the complainer ask the hearer a question about the situation that she/he is in someway connected with the offence. This study illustrates how Xhosa people complain in a domestic context. Quationaires were distributed to the people of Kayamandi Township in Stellenbosch, Emgwali Location in Stutterheim and Kwalini Location in King William's Town. The focus was on Mothers and Fathers, Daughters and Sons, Brothers and Sisters. The family members complain to each other on different levels and according to their status. Trosborg (1995) has identified eight complaint strategies. The hint, annoyance, ill consequences, direct accusation, indirect accusation, modified blame, explicit condemnation of the accused's action and explicit condemnation of the accused as a person. The mother complains to the daughter more than when she is complaining to the son and the father. The father complains to the son more than when he complains to the daughter. The son and the daughter complain almost equaly to their parents. The daughter complains equaly as her sister. These members have some ways of responding to the complaints. Boxer (1991) has identified six types of responses to the indirect complaints. The question, the joke, contradiction, commisseration, lecture and advice. The father has used more strategies when responding to the mother. The mother has responded to the daughter more than when responding to the father and the son. the son and the daughter has responded almost equaly to their parents. The brother and the sister responded equaly to their parents. The examination of speech acts will help us understand how actions are carried out and interpreted wthin speech events and how more get communicated than is said. It has been established that speech acts of complaint in Xhosa playa crucial sociocultural role in our communities. This is being proved by the manner in which females and male have used the strategies in this data. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het as doelstelling die ondersoek van spraakhandelinge in Xhosa. Handelinge wat uitgevoer word via uitings word spraakhandelinge genoem. Hierdie spraakhandelinge word oor die algemeen bepaalde benaminge gegee, soos verskoning, komplimentering, versoek, belofte, waarskuwing, ens. Die gebruik van spraakhandelinge illustreer die soort dinge wat mense met woorde kan doen, en identifiseer sommige van die konvensionele uiting vorme wat mense gebruik om spesifieke spraakhandelinge uit te voer. Hierdie studie ondersoek die spraakhandeling van klagte in huishoudelike konteks. Volgens Trosborg (1995) is daar twee verskillende tipes klagtes. Die direkte klagte behels dat die klaer die klagte-hoorder direk beskuldig van 'n oortreding. Die indirekte klagte behels dat die klaer _'n vraag vra aan die klagte-hoorder oor die situasie waarmee laasgenoemde op 'n manier verbind is met die oortreding. Hierdie studie ondersoek hoe Xhosa-sprekende persone kla in huishoudelike konteks. Vraelyste is gegee aan inwoners van die Kayamandi wooongebied in Stellenbosch, Emgwali woongebied in Stutterheim en Kwalini woongebied in King William's Town. Die fokus was op vaders en moeders, dogters en seuns, en broers en susters. Die familielede kla teenoor mekaar op verskillende vlakke en dienooreenkomstig hulle status. Trosborg (1995) identifiseer agt klagte strategieë, naamlik die skimp, verviesing, slegte gevolge, direkte beskuldiging, indirekte beskuldiging, gewysigde blaam, eksplisiete veroordeling van die beskuldigde se aksies, en die eksplisiete beoordeling van die beskuldigde as persoon. Die moeder kla meer teenoor die dogter as wat sy kla teenoor die vader of die seun. Die vader kla meer teenoor die seun as teenoor die dogter. Die seun en dogter kla ongeveer in 'n gelyke mate teenoor hulle ouers. Die dogter kla eweveel as haar suster. Boxer (1991) identifiseer ses tipes response op indirekte klagtes, naamlik die vraag, die grap, die weerspreking, die lesing, en advies. Die vader het meer strategieë gebruik in response teenoor die moeder. Die moeder het meer response gehad teenoor die dogter as wat sy gehad het teenoor die vader en die seun. Die seun en dogter het ongeveer in 'n gelyke mate response teenoor hulle ouers gehad. Die broer en suster het ongeveer dieselfde mate van response teenoor mekaar gehad. Die ondersoek na spraakhandelinge lewer 'n bydrae daartoe om te verstaan hoe handelinge uitgevoer word en geïnterpreteer word binne spraakhandelinge, en hoe meer gekommunikeer word as wat gesê word. Daar is vasgestel dat spraakhandelinge van klagte in Xhosa 'n wesenlike sosio-kulturele rol speel in gemeenskappe. Hierdie feit word bevestig deur onder andere die wyse waarop mans en vroue die strategieë gebruik het in hierdie studie

This thesis analyses doctors empathising with patients in palliative care interactions. Historically, palliative care has treated not only patients physical pain but their emotional pain, as well. Although the importance of empathy (defined for the purposes of this thesis as The doctor s expressed understanding of the patient s emotional experience ) has been emphasised in this environment, however, there has been no prior research showing how palliative care doctors actually empathise with their patients in practice. Drawing upon 37 recordings of doctor-patient consultations collected in a UK hospice, this thesis addresses this omission by using conversation analysis (CA) to analyse several facets of empathy in this environment. The analysis begins in chapter four by considering the ways in which doctors can empathise with patients. It shows how doctors can empathise semantically, either by reworking what the patient has themselves said or by showing understanding on a normative basis. It also considers non-semantic ways of displaying empathy (e.g. response cries), showing how these are fundamentally different to the semantic type of empathic display. Overall, this chapter shows that empathy is not restricted to particular formats but, rather, is dependent upon the content of the doctor s turn. The analysis then moves on consider the wider context of doctors empathic responses. Chapter five, first of all, analyses cases where patients emotions become the topic of the interaction, either because the doctor asks about them directly or because the patient raises an emotionally-implicative topic. The emphasis here is on how palliative care doctors can talk to patients about, and empathise with, their emotions without necessarily having to do anything about those emotions. Chapter six then focuses on cases where patients emotions are discussed alongside the more task-driven aspects of the consultation, either because the patient s physical condition has had an emotional impact on them or because their presenting problem is inherently emotional. In contrast to chapter five, then, the source of the patient s emotions here can be treated by the doctor without the emotions being topicalised. The final two chapters of the analysis focus on doctors empathising with patients not in response to something that the patient has said but in the service of some task. Chapter seven shows how doctors can empathically bridge the gap between their medical and the patient s experiential perspectives at moments where it becomes clear that there is a disparity between the two. These include moments where the patient expresses expectations that go beyond what can realistically be provided, moments where the patient might take offence at the doctor s advice and moments where the doctor must reassure patients about their symptoms without seeming to criticise their emotional responses to those symptoms. Chapter eight, meanwhile, shows how doctors can empathically demonstrate that their practice is being driven by a due consideration of the patient s feelings. Specifically, it shows how doctors can draw upon patients feelings in helping them come to a decision about a treatment, cite those feelings when accounting for a treatment that they have recommended and frame a difficult topic as an outgrowth of sentiments that the patient has already expressed. In conclusion, this thesis shows how empathy is not clearly demarcated in palliative care. While there are cases where patients emotions are discussed and empathised with for the sake of discussing and empathising with them, more commonly, empathy and emotion are interwoven alongside and into the task-driven aspects of consultations. This thesis thus shows the interactional manifestation of palliative care s underlying philosophy, with patients emotional pain addressed alongside their physical pain in an integrated, holistic way.

Working at the intersection of medical sociology and the psychology of health, language and communication, in this PhD I use thematic analysis (TA) and conversation analysis (CA) to provide an insight into various aspects of doctor-patient communication that may be considered, or are constructed as, challenging and/or delicate for either the patient, doctor or both at a Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) in the UK. This project involves the secondary analysis of two existing data-sets: (i) 21 recorded telephone interviews between my PhD supervisor and transsexual patients who attended the GIC; (ii) 156 transcribed audio-recordings and 38 video-recordings (total = 194) of psychiatrist-patient consultations in the GIC. The first original research paper uses TA to investigate the views and experiences of transsexual patients regarding their communication with psychiatrists at the GIC. An important finding was that patients actually appreciated being challenged in this setting, subsequently the implications of this are considered with regards to the achievability and desirability of patient centred communication. The second research paper uses CA to consider how patients overtly challenge psychiatrists in the GIC in ways that have not been shown in conversation analytic research on medical interactions to date. Analysis of the data corpus revealed that there were three common ways in which patients challenged psychiatrists at the GIC, which are (1) by problematising their questions; (2) by disagreeing with statements that are made regarding their treatment; (3) and by initiating complaints. The findings of this study are considered in relation to the implications that they have for clinicians and for the persistence and desirability of asymmetry in clinical interaction in light of the current debates surrounding the concept of patient-centeredness. The final research paper also uses CA, in this instance to study how the topic of weight, which is often constructed and orientated towards as delicate in talk-in-interaction, is occasioned and discussed by psychiatrists and patients at the GIC. Whereas previous CA research on this topic has focused on how this is constructed by speakers as a moral issue, this paper is concerned with focusing on how psychiatrists (1) establish with patients that their weight is an issue, (2) encourage patients to lose weight by informing them that this is their responsibility and (3) offer advice on the behavior changes associated with weight loss. The results of this paper are discussed with regards to the implications that they have for clinicians who discuss the potentially delicate topic of weight with patients in a number of different settings. This project contributes towards the growing debates regarding the achievability and desirability of patient centred communication and the persistence of asymmetry in clinical interaction. It also contributes to medical conversation analytic literature to date on asymmetry and talk about weight in clinical interactions.

The aim of this study is to analyze the patterns of code-switching and more specifically repairs in Swedish-Persian bilinguals‟ talk. This would take a huge sample, considering the large number of Persians living in Sweden who are actually bilingual. Therefore, I have chosen to narrow the sample to make a manageable study. The study is based on a qualitative analysis of code-switching and repair patterns of an originally Persian family living in Sweden and whose children were born in Sweden. / conversation transcription

This thesis investigates how street performers entertain passers-by and audience members in exchange for money. Specifically, it investigates how this exchange relationship is accomplished in light of exchange happening outside the routine context of “the market”, where payment for goods and services is ordinarily enforceable. In this regard, this thesis seeks to uncover the ways that exchange in street performance is alternatively organised through donations, and how giving donations are produced and recognised as interactionally relevant and morally accountable actions. To that end, this thesis employs the allied approaches of ethnomethodology and conversation analysis. It empirically examines video recordings of street performances, mostly collected at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Three kinds of street performance encounter are considered: these are musical busking, living statue performing, and circle show performing. The order of the discussions of these performances reflects the extent to which the performers explicitly recruit interactional resources —including talk, gesture and material objects—to morally obligate audience members and passers-by to give donations. The main thrust of this thesis is that street performers, passers-by and audience members collaboratively produce and recognise street performances as gifts that should be reciprocated. The street performances are initially freely given, but participation entails indebtedness that in various ways make remuneration interactionally relevant. In this regard, this thesis also explores how money, value and materiality feature in the giving and receiving of donations. This thesis provides new knowledge about how street performance encounters are ordered, how moral obligation is interactionally worked up through the sequential organisation of social actions, and how money donations are exchanged in return for entertainment. It also provides new understanding about how different kinds of street performance encounters share organisationally similar properties for solving the “payment problem”, but at the same time possess properties that are distinct.

Ce travail de thèse s’intéresse au sujet de la normalisation dans le champ de la formation à distance. Parmi les multiples propositions de normalisation, notre intérêt porte plus particulièrement sur l’enrichissement du dernier standard de fait IMS-LD. Nous souhaitons de ce fait introduire la notion de pertinence de la normalisation qui signifie la capacité d’IMS-LD de prescrire des scénarios pédagogiques qui répondent réellement à certains principes pédagogiques. Pour notre recherche, nous nous sommes intéressés à une des composantes essentielles de l’apprentissage (Leontiev, 1981), il s’agit de la motivation à apprendre. Ce travail nous a permis d’obtenir trois principaux résultats qui ont été validés en effectuant des études de cas: il s’agit d’abord d’une démarche de scénarisation à posteriori fondée sur les théories de l’activité ; Elle décrit, à partir des traces, le déroulement effectif d’une activité d’apprentissage. Le deuxième résultat est une taxonomie fondée sur la théorie des actes de langage ; Elle permet de traduire quelques composantes de la motivation en un ensemble d’actes de langage observables dans une trace de discussion par « Chat ». Quant au troisième résultat, il s’agit d’un modèle descriptif de la motivation qui rend compte, à partir des traces, des perceptions et ses origines. Ce modèle se sert de notre taxonomie et repose sur le concept des paires adjacentes issu de l’analyse conversationnelle. Enfin, nos conclusions exposent de plus des résultats secondaires et ouvrent des perspectives pour la poursuite de notre question sur la pertinence des normes. / This thesis focuses on standardization in the field of distance learning. Among the many proposed standards, our interest focuses on the enrichment of latest standard proposal, which is the IMS-LD standard. We would therefore introduce the standardization relevance notion which means the ability of IMS-LD prescribes learning scenarios that actually meet certain educational principles. For our research, we focused on an essential component of learning (Leontiev, 1981), it is the motivation to learn. From this thesis, we obtained three main results validated by conducting case studies: first, is an activity theories’ posteriori design based approach; It describes, from traces, the actual learning activity scenario taking into account its human factors. The second result is a taxonomy based on the speech acts theory; it allowed us to translate some motivation components as a set of speech acts observed in « Chat » discussion. The third result is a motivation descriptive model that reflects, from the traces, the perceptions and their origins. This model uses our taxonomy and is based on the adjacency pairs concept derived from conversational analysis. Finally, our conclusions explain further, our secondary results and provide opportunities for continuing our question about standards relevance.

Simulators provide great promises of pedagogical utility in a wide array of practices. This study focuses on the use of a full-scale mannequin simulator in training of personnel at an intensive care unit at a Swedish hospital. In medicine, simulators are a means of doing realistic training without risks for the patient. Simulators for use in intensive care medicine are built to resemble as closely as possible the human physiology. In the studied sessions the simulator (a Laerdal SimMan) is set up to be an as-authentic-as-possible replication of the nurses regular, day-to-day practice. In examining the training-sessions, it was found that the participants often did other things than “proper” simulation, such as joking or making comments about the simulation. These “transgressional activities” were studied from a perspective of ethnomethodology, using video-recordings of the session. These were transcribed and analyzed in detail using ethnomethodologically informed interaction analysis. Several themes were developed from the recordings and transcripts. These have in common that they demonstrate the participants’ own achievement and maintenance of the simulation as a distinct activity. The analysis provides an account of how the local order of the simulation is upheld, how it is breached and how the participants find their way back into doing “proper” simulation. It is an overview of the interactional methods that participants utilize to accomplish the simulation as a simulation. This study concludes with a discussion of how this study can provide a more nuanced view of simulations, in particular the relation between simulated and “real” practices. Notions of realism, authenticity and fidelity in simulations can all be seen to be the participants’ own concern, which informs their activities in the simulation.