The dog that didn't growl: the interactional negotiation of momentary confabulations.

We examine from a discursive perspective momentary confabulations generated by patients in clinical interviews based on confabulation questionnaires. Commonly, neuropsychology treats such confabulations solely as evidence of patients' inabilities or deficits. Here we argue that patients' descriptions indicate the interaction of memory deficits with preserved interactional skills. More than this, however, patients' descriptions can be seen in part to arise out of the interviews themselves, in that the interviewer's turns (a) signal agreement rather than disagreement or challenge, and (b) lead to further development of descriptions instead of marking these out as problematic. These features mark out the clinical interviews as different from (i) everyday conversation, and (ii) other clinical settings such as the administration of verbal memory tests, and as a result the interviews allow scope for patients to develop unchallenged autobiographical narratives. Thus, ironically, interviews that rely on the standard use of confabulation questionnaires can provide settings that are especially conducive to the generation of the momentary confabulations that they aim to study.

'If they have a girlfriend, they have five girlfriends': Accountability and sexism in volunteer workers' talk about HIV/AIDS in a South African health setting.

Significant challenges remain in tackling the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Effective action requires both appropriate policy at a global level and informed practice on the local level. Here, we report how workers in a project in Johannesburg, South Africa, make sense of HIV transmission. Discourse analysis of data from interviews with 63 participants shows that project workers routinely attribute transmission to men's sexual relationships with multiple female partners. This explanation is so pervasive that it renders invisible other routes to transmission. Absence of consideration of other routes to infection potentially restricts front-line practice, so hindering local attempts to tackle HIV/AIDS.

Locals, incomers and intra-national migration: place-identities and a Scottish island.

In a trans-national context, immigrants are often described as essentially different from existing residents. However these descriptions of group differences are occasioned constructions of immigrants, and talk about nations provides frameworks of history and space within which immigration is understood. Claimed group differences and the proposed commonality of nation together present a challenging context for immigrants to negotiate identities and to gain acceptance. Drawing on the concept of place-identity, we examined here whether similar issues arise in intra-national migration to a remote Scottish island. We conducted semi-structured interviews with individuals who had lived on the island for periods ranging from 14 months to 20 years. The interviewees described island residents as comprising different groups, in terms such as residence, motivation, place of birth, and connections to other locations. The interviewees negotiated place-identities that compared favourably with others with more transitory connections but unfavourably with residents of longer-standing. Findings show that spatial connections can be used to account for varying degrees of social status in such locations. But some issues relevant to trans-national immigration still arise in intra-national migration, even in the absence of racial, ethnic, religious, or language differences. In short, 'incomers' cannot readily do 'being local'.

'What is it like to have ME?': the discursive construction of ME in computer-mediated communication and face-to-face interaction.

ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) or CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) is a debilitating illness for which no cause or medical tests have been identified. Debates over its nature have generated interest from qualitative researchers. However, participants are difficult to recruit because of the nature of their condition. Therefore, this study explores the utility of the internet as a means of eliciting accounts. We analyse data from focus groups and the internet in order to ascertain the extent to which previous research findings apply to the internet domain. Interviews were conducted among 49 members of internet groups (38 chatline, 11 personal) and 7 members of two face-to-face support groups. Discourse analysis of descriptions and accounts of ME or CFS revealed similar devices and interactional concerns in both internet and face-to-face communication. Participants constructed their condition as serious, enigmatic and not psychological. These functioned to deflect problematic assumptions about ME or CFS and to manage their accountability for the illness and its effects.

The micro and the macro: How discourse of control maintains HIV-related stigma.

In this article, we examine how HIV/AIDS caregivers negotiate stigma in their discourse of providing care to HIV-positive individuals. Using interview data, we demonstrate how participants employed discourse of control in attempting to avoid and counter HIV-related stigma: participants rejected fear of associating with HIV-positive individuals by drawing on their knowledge of HIV transmission and their ability to control and avoid infection. Such discourses backfire, however, as the concept of HIV infection being controllable and thus avoidable maintains accountability for the disease. Thus, participants' micro discourse of control can maintain the macro discourse that produces HIV-related stigma.

Committed to (un)equal opportunities?: 'New ageism' and the older worker.

In recent years the principle of equality of opportunity in employment has been widely promoted as a means of addressing the marginalization of various groups of workers, including older workers. Evidence suggests, however, that equal opportunities have not improved prospects for older workers. The present study employs discourse analysis to examine a variety of accounts of those responsible for employment within a number of organizations. Analysis shows that these accounts are rhetorically oriented towards potential attributions of age discrimination. As evidence of a non-discriminatory stance, participants attend to possible shortcomings in written policies by making explicit their organizations' equal opportunity practices. In describing their workforces as comprising predominantly younger employees, however, they make only implicit reference to practices involving older workers. When they account for the apparent age imbalances in their workforces, they attribute these imbalances to factors outwith their control so that the organization's practices become completely 'invisible'. The contrast between this 'invisibility' and explicit claims to be committed to equal opportunities allows participants to position themselves as non-discriminating employers and at the same time justifies the marginalization of older workers.

'They're more than animals': refugees' accounts of racially motivated violence.

Previous discursive research has found that minority group members may deny or downplay the existence of discrimination. However, to date, little research has addressed the issue of violence against minority group members. This study therefore draws on interviews with asylum seekers and refugees in a Scottish city to analyse their reports of violence committed against them. One form of reporting violence was by way of a complaint available to any speaker, in making no reference to attributes of attackers or victim. When racism was alleged, it was presented as a tentative, reluctant or 'last resort' explanation. The descriptions offered by interviewees reflected the contributions made by the interviewer, highlighting the ways in which these reports are interactional co-productions. The results suggest that accounts from victims of seemingly racially motivated violence may function in similar ways to 'new racism' in making racism seem to 'disappear'. These findings point to the potential difficulties that arise in identifying and looking to challenge instances of 'new racism'.

'This is ordinary behaviour': categorization and culpability in Hamas leaders' accounts of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

The present paper examines the talk of three senior figures from the Palestinian Hamas political movement. Data are drawn from a series of journalistic interviews that were conducted in the months leading up to the invasion of Gaza by Israel in December 2007. Using membership categorization analysis, we explore the membership categories and category-bound attributes that interviewers use in questions about responsibility for potentially culpable actions and the ways that these are taken up, challenged, or reworked by interviewees in presenting their own versions. The analytic findings show that interviewers deploy categories bound up with terrorism while interviewees develop alternative categorizations of resistance. Interviewers construct Palestinians as victims of Hamas' actions while interviewees construct them as victims of Israeli aggression and international indifference. In warranting these alternative constructions, the interviewees contrast current behaviours of the international community with those of the past and align current Palestinian actions with those previously taken by Western nations in resisting illegitimate occupations. Through these descriptions of categories and actions, the interviewees attribute to the wider international community responsibility for addressing the events of the ongoing conflict.

A discourse analytic study of ME/CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) sufferers' experiences of interactions with doctors.

The aetiology, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of ME/CFS are controversial. Doctors and sufferers often have opposing perspectives, leading to problematic clinical interactions. We use discourse analysis to explore ME/CFS sufferers' descriptions of interactions with medical professionals taken from an asynchronous, online sufferers' support group. Participants described themselves as experiencing limited medical care and attention but restricted criticisms to 'legitimate', pragmatic or ancillary matters such as a clinicians' unwillingness to prescribe untested treatments. Participants also described themselves as active in seeking a resolution to their problems. They thus attended to possible negative attributions of being 'complaining' or unmotivated to seek recovery.

The impact of early stroke on identity: A discourse analytic study.

This article examines the ways in which sufferers talk about early stroke and the effects this chronic condition has on identity. Traditional research into chronic illness has largely used medical, psychiatric or cognitive models. We adopt a social constructionist perspective and use a discourse analytic methodology to study data collected via focus group interaction. Analysis of the data collected shows that participants displayed sensitivity about having acquired a potentially 'damaged' sense of self by mitigating negative features of their experiences. Participants also attended to the issue of whether their accounts were persuasive or believable. Some carers were present in these discussions. As a consequence, participants who had suffered a stroke displayed sensitivity to the way that carers might respond to mitigation of the negative aspects of stroke.

Imaging the future: Does a qualitative analysis add to the picture?

Various studies report that patients with dense amnesia experience difficulties in simulating future events. It is argued that this resembles an inability to remember past episodes in that both indicate a deficit in mental scene construction. Such findings, however, rely upon quantitative content-based analyses of participants' verbal reports. Here, samples of verbal reports produced by participants with hippocampal lesions are subjected to a qualitative, discourse analysis of how participants and researchers negotiated the status of these reports. This shows that failure in mental scene construction can be viewed as an interactional achievement rather than the mere reporting of mental events. A multidisciplinary perspective which combines qualitative analysis with other forms of analytic technique may explain subtle differences between participants with hippocampal lesions and control participants.

Student nurses' attitudes towards working with older patients.

BACKGROUND: The ageing of the United Kingdom (UK) population means that the care of older people will become an increasingly important part of nurses' remit. However, employment statistics suggest that this is an unpopular nursing specialism. This may be due to a number of factors, one of which may be nurses' negative attitudes towards working with older people. This constitutes a potential problem, especially if such attitudes have an impact on the quality of care provided. AIM: To examine the attitudes held by student nurses towards working with older patients. METHODS: Questionnaires incorporating Likert-type scales, two vignettes and demographic questions were designed using the theory of planned behaviour. These were distributed to 172 student nurses undertaking preregistration nursing courses in the UK during the academic session 2000-2001. RESULTS: Student nurses displayed positive intentions towards working with older patients. These were based on their own attitudes and beliefs about what others would wish them to do. Participants believed that their behaviour towards older patients was to a large extent under volitional control. Analysis of the beliefs underlying student nurses' views showed that they differentiated between those participants who had a relatively positive approach to their work with older patients and those with a less positive approach. In addition, the results offered mixed support for the view that more knowledgeable or experienced nurses hold more positive views towards older people. CONCLUSIONS: The findings offer some support for previous studies that have looked at the more general issue of attitudes towards older people. However, the results also indicate that a more rigorous and more highly focused approach to the study of such attitudes is required if the research is to be relevant to the issue of working with older patients. The theoretical, methodological and practical implications of the findings are discussed.