Building solidarity through interruption in face-to-face interaction amongst Iranian men

This paper investigates interruptions among upper middle-class Iranian men and the way they strategize and manipulate turns in face-to-face interaction. The recordings of informal conversations of these well acquainted men were transcribed and Beattie’s Interruption Model (1981) was adapted and applied as the framework of analysis. This study employed qualitative research design whereby natural-occurring conversation of participants from 15 participants from five groups, with each group comprising three participants, was recorded in the living room of one of the participants. The recorded conversations were transcribed according to an adapted version of Jefferson’s (1979) transcription convention and were qualitatively analysed. The transcribed data were analysed using Beattie’s interruption model (1981) and conversation analysis (CA) to examine the utterances and occurrences of interruptions based on turns being successful and complete at the time of interruptions. The findings of this study suggest that Iranian males interrupt each other cooperatively in order to show their support and solidarity. Although interruptions provide an opportunity for the interlocutors to dominate the interaction, there were no instances of dominance or any traces of intrusive behavior. In fact, the strategic use of interruptions denotes a collective effort to create in-group power that emphasizes solidarity amongst men in this study. This paper yields findings that go against stereotypical characteristics of men who exert power in their interactions. Such findings can be the result of the moderated patriarchal norms in Iranian society, which may have implications for studies on men’s interactional attitudes

Gendered Voices in Addressing Academic Needs Amongst Foster Children From Multicultural Society

Students from foster care are highly known for their poor performance in school and retention in grade. Nevertheless, female students in general achieve better academic results than male students. Studies on gendered differences among foster children seem to be scarce. Therefore, this study examines the use of linguistics features among male and female foster children in expressing their needs to improve their academic performance. For this purpose, semi-structured interview questions are used to gather data from foster children in Malaysia. The narratives elicited from the interviews are qualitatively analysed using content analysis approach. The data reveal that the use of adjectives, direct statements and accusation are common in the responses of both male and female foster children. However, the female foster children are more expressive in their responses as intensifying adverbs were frequently used when highlighting concern on their poor academic performance. Female foster children’s willingness to share problems and concern about their academic performance makes it easier for the teachers to assist. The male foster children, in contrast, tend to use denial as a strategy to conceal their problems and avoid displaying any signs of weaknesses. Ultimately, not voicing their problems may result in the lack of awareness amongst teachers and making it challenging for them to attend to the academic needs of these children

Strategies used and cultural considerations in seeking advice on in-vitro fertilisation online: a case of Malaysian women

Despite the growing literature on computer-mediated communication (CMC), the online communicative behaviour of specific communities remains largely unexplored. This paper aims to contribute to the existing body of literature by examining the strategies Malaysian women use when seeking advice related to in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in CMC. Messages posted in an online forum were analysed using the web content analysis method. The results of the study reveal that the advice-seeking strategies of the Malaysian women are tied in closely with their culture. This is largely shown in how the messages were constructed, as well as in the message content itself. As such, the findings suggest that despite the anonymity afforded by CMC, elements of cultural influence are still detectable in the ways Malaysian women seek advice online

REPAIR INITIATION STRATEGIES IN EVERYDAY INTERACTION BY SPEAKERS OF MALAY LANGUAGE

Everyday interaction is not a faultless process. It is possible for the process to experience troubles in speaking, hearing or understanding that can lead to interactional breakdowns between speakers. One available mechanism for speakers to address and resolve trouble is through other-initiated repair (OIR). Majority of OIR studies to date have used English language as data source. This may not entirely describe similar strategies employ by speakers of other languages when they participate in OIR. The present study aims to examine strategies for speakers of Malay language to initiate repair following troubles in everyday interaction. Three parent-child dyads of Malay language speakers were selected as participants. Their interaction over several homely activities (i.e. family meal time) were recorded and later transcribed following Jefferson Transcription System (2004). Analysis on strategies was quantitatively performed following Philip’s (2008) Clarification Request coding scheme. Overall result showed that parents and children employ different types of strategies when they are in position to initiate repair. Children largely depend on the use of open-class word that is known to be a weak repair initiator while parents are consistent with a more specific repair initiator. Result from this study provides novel discovery on how Malay speakers initiate repair in the context of parent-child interaction and it can serve as comparative data for future typological studies

SOLICITATION OF ONLINE SOCIAL SUPPORT: SELF-DISCLOSURE OF EATING DISORDER PATIENTS

This paper focuses on the online construction of self-disclosure of individuals suffering from eating disorders and demonstrates how strategies of soliciting online social support are mediated within the public sphere. McCormack (2010) indicates that participation of individuals suffering from eating disorders in online support groups, where they anonymously share their feelings and issues via the Internet, is more accessible and non-costly compared to offline settings. This serves as motivation for data to be collected from the discussion forums on the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) website. Relevant posts of self-disclosure containing instances of online solicitation of support dated from January 2018 to March 2018 were analysed using the computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA) method and North’s (1997) Strategies of Soliciting Social Support. The findings reveal that the sharing of experience is regarded as the most frequent strategy of soliciting support opted by ED patients. This result in a lengthier posts where detailed explanation of their problems were disclosed. It appears that the strategy utilized in online support-solicitation is merely a channel used in portraying the actual state of the support-seekers in handling their illness. In addition, as ED is perceived to be uncommon and unprioritized in Asia (Miller & Pumariega, 2001), the possibility of getting help from various channels may be scarce. Thus, this study’s outcome provides a vivid image on how online social support discussions can be considered as one of the potential effective platforms to help individuals in the Southeast Asia who suffer from ED in their recovery process. Keywords: Computer-mediated discourse, eating disorders, online social support, self-disclosure, soliciting. Cite as: Zulkarnain, N. A. & Mohd Jan, J. (2019). Solicitation of online social support: Self-disclosure of eating disorder patients. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 4(1), 344-364. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol4iss1pp344-36

A Pragmatic Analysis of Responses in Malaysian Parliamentary Discourse

This study employs the framework of responses proposed by Harris (1991), the notion of implicature as defined by Thomas (1995), and the dimensions of resistance introduced by Clayman (2001) to examine the types of responses in Malaysian Parliamentary Question Time. Analysis revealed the tendency of using direct, indirect, and evasive responses to specific questions for various reasons. Direct answers were observed in questions that could reflect positively on the government’s image. On the contrary, indirect answers were employed in questions that suggest clashing of goals between responders and questioners that could subsequently threaten the image of the government whereas negative presuppositions and the way questions are structured in parliament influence the production of evasion.Keywords: direct answer, evasive response, indirect answer, parliamentary discourse, political discourse

Violence and Sexual Harassment in Nigerian Novels: The Nego-Feminist Option

Taking advantage of women in most modern legal contexts is illegal. The unwelcome sexual advances have often been accompanied with violence of differing degrees. Such advantages from sexual abuse or sexual assault into forced marriages and to mild transgressions that include simple teasing, offhand comments, or minor isolated incidents in the life cycle of a female such as demonstrated in Buchi Emecheta’s The Bride Price (1976) forcefully calls attention to how they should be remedied. In the village of Ibuza, harassment is so frequent and severe that it creates a hostile and offensive environment for budding girls of marriage age – and a question shoots: what is the way out for novelists in deconstructing the life of such young girls as Aku-nna, the lead female character? While Emecheta takes the option of a strong backlash on the male class, new female writers like Ify Osammor in her The Triumph of Water Lily (1996) have made feminism to evolve by certainly bringing to disrepute the oddity of the male but in an amiable way that would appear to yield better results. This option of Nego-feminism charges both sexes to be willing-partners in progress. The option speaks in the monologic voice of unquestioned authority, determined by experience, knowledge and practice. Its dialogic (competing) voices speak in new official language and new official thought. In short, where the arrant feminism is a closed gender genre reflective of what has already occurred, Nego-feminism is open — to the present and the future. As such, the novel is almost by definition a progressive genre, which Osammor uses the different expectations that society holds for gender roles to twist the tragic situation of The Triumph of Water Lily into a tighter knot than radical events would otherwise permit

Constructing the subject, deconstructing the text: the feminist other in Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah

The paper begins with a reminder of early criticism on traditional feminism and then traces the beginnings of occasional opposition leading to provocative positions through representative works and criticisms of some writers and critics. The paper, therefore, identifies a trilogy and moves to uphold the last of the trilogy which might startle the revolutionary feminist because it is more accommodating in its gender approach than the revolutionist would aspire to in dismantling the hegemonic phallus. It submits that there is certainly revelation in deconstructing, transforming, re-inscribing and negotiating "male patriarchy" as this leads to a conversation that empowers its readers to soft-pedal on both anti-masculinity and anti-femininity, an argument towards policy reform on gender. In doing this, it uses nego-feminist theory to locate and critique Chinua Achebe's sudden change from anti-thesis of feminism to gender justice through his last novel, Anthills of the Savannah. However, it hypothetically praises Achebe's stand for being feminist and then questions it for being improperly feminist

Online support-provision in the self-disclosure of eating disorders

This paper highlights the importance of appropriate communication with individuals who suffer from eating disorders (ED). The negative perception that society has towards ED often leads its patients to conceal their problems and avoid seeking help (Perveen et al., 2017). Understanding the manners in which support-providers approach ED patients in order to eliminate the fear is therefore important. Data was collected from the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) website from January to March 2018, where support-providers’ responses to posts of self-disclosure were qualitatively analyzed through computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA) using McCormack’s (2010) Categories of Social Support and Blum-Kulka and Olshtain’s (1984) Cross-Cultural Study of Speech Act Realization Patterns (CCSARP). Drawing on the categories of social support proposed by McCormack, it was found that most of the strategies that the support-providers opted for were highly positive and indirect in nature. The findings also showed that the indirect support given was often complemented with words of encouragement and a number of suggestions that were offered as part of the support itself. This allowed the support-providers to appear unimposing on the ED patients while being able to ensure that they were guided on the possible means of recovery

Flowers in the garden: a glance on multilingualism in Malaysia

This paper examines the recent changes to the Malaysian linguistic situation that had grave implications for the modifying of the language use in education. It discusses the status of English in pre- and early independent years and how language was revolutionised and replaced due to the widespread communicative use of Bahasa Melayu. Issues that underlie teacher apprehension as a result of the policy change and their language preferences are also highlighted. Investigating and understanding their apprehensions will help policy makers understand the impinging forces that have an impact on any policy innovation