Constructing cultural identities in multicultural workplaces in Hong Kong

Theme: Researching business communication: perspectives from scholarship, education and practicepostprin

Combining the macro, meso and micro in identity research in health care interactions

3-AM-1: Symposium 'On micro- /macro-, written-/spoken and other analytical binaries. Towards unpacking theories and methodologies for the study of 'identity' in health care researchIIn recent years there has been a splurge of sociolinguistic research that draws on authentic interactional data in various healthcare contexts. The typical practice in this research is to supplement the primary data with other sources (e.g. ethnographic data, such as participant observation or interviews) in order to obtain further contextual information about participants, their CoPs, etc. In this paper we wish to challenge this categorical dichotomy of ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ data and call for a more inclusive approach to collecting, analyzing and treating discourse data. We argue that because different kinds of data provide different insights into the phenomenon under investigation and thus produce a more rounded and more nuanced picture, they are particularly crucial for research on the complex and often contradictory processes ...postprin

Treat him as a normal baby: paediatrician's framing of parental responsibility as advice in the management of a genetic condition

Oral Presentation - Parallel Session 2: 2E Risk and Uncertainty/Ethics: no. 2E.4Parental responsibility in the management of genetic conditions has been the focus of both family-oriented interview-based research (e.g. Arribas-Ayllon et al. 2008; 2011) as well as real-life face-to-face genetic counselling research (Sarangi fc; Thomassen and Sarangi 2012). The current paper is an attempt to contribute to the latter tradition involving paediatricians and parents where parental responsibility is constitutive of professional advice. The genetic condition in question is G6PD deficiency (commonly known as favism), a mild hereditary disorder prevalent in Asia (Zayts and Sarangi 2013). We draw on 18 consultations in a maternal unit in Hong Kong (recruitment ongoing) where paediatricians communicate with mothers of newborns diagnosed with G6PD. We employ theme-oriented discourse analysis – comprising activity analysis and accounts analysis (Sarangi 2010) – to examine how the paediatricians frame their advice-giving trajectories – on to which elements of parental responsibility (in terms of future actions and moral selves) can be mapped. We show how 'causal responsibility' (Sarangi, fc) that concerns potential consequences of the mothers' actions in managing the condition emerges as a dominant thread in our data corpus. 'Causal [parental] responsibility' is embedded in the paediatrician's advice-giving trajectories which include, among other things, how to 'treat' these children, ranging from safeguards against certain medications and food to prevention of negative physiological scenarios (such as an acute hemolytic reaction). We examine closely the attendant discourse devices through which parental responsibility is framed, e.g., modalisation, contrast, character/event work. We conclude that, in terms of temporality, 'causal [parental] responsibility' is 'forward-looking' as the mothers' responsible actions can normalise the child’s immediate and future wellbeing.postprin

Physics and chemistry of producing silicon-hydroxylapatite-titanium composite materials

In the research, Si-HA poweders have been synthesized using SBF solution with different content of silicon. It was found that all the samples synthesized from the model solution of extracellular fluid under varying concentration of silicate ions are single-phase and repesent hydroxyapatite. The nature of the reagent containing SiO[44]- ions does not affect the hydroxyapatite structure. In the study of the surface and morphological characteristics of the phosphate coatings modified by silicon ions, it was found that as the degree of phosphate calcium substitution by SiO[44]- ions increases, the surface wettability on the titanium substrates deteriorates and cohesive energy decreases. It is shown that the titanium coating is formed in three stages. After irradiation of titanium substrates coated with Si-HA, the crystals can keep growing and the surface can keep regenerating

The power of suggestion: examining the impact of presence or absence of shared first language in the antenatal clinic

© 2019 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness Healthcare encounters involving participants from diverse linguistic backgrounds are becoming more common due to the globalisation of health care and increasing migration levels. Research suggests that this diversity has a significant impact on health outcomes; however less is known about how it is managed in the actual consultation process. This article presents an analysis of antenatal screening consultations video recorded in Hong Kong, using conversation analysis. We consider how the use of a second or subsequent language impacts on these consultations, and on discussions and decisions about further action. The presence or absence of shared first language did not appear to affect the extent to which particular courses of action were promoted or recommended. Recommendations were a common occurrence across consultations with and without shared first language. However, we argue that the routine use of recommendations can be consequential, as second language speakers may have more limited resources to interrogate or contest these. This finding has implications for the ability for professionals to maximise patient involvement in decision-making

Investigating prenatal genetic screening in Hong Kong as a discourse and an activity type

Colloquia CIn this colloquia we take a discourse analytic perspective and examine prenatal genetic screening (PGS) in Hong Kong. Available discourse studies of PGS have focused on monolingual (predominantly English) discourse. In this colloquia we examine Hong Kong data where PGS involve participants with diverse sociocultural backgrounds. These intercultural encounters present challenges to healthcare providers: clients bring in different cultural perceptions toward issues of, for example, having a child with genetic abnormalities or termination of pregnancy; they also display various language proficiency and levels of understanding. Our panel builds on a large-scale study of PGC in Hong Kong. Currently our data comprise over 100 patients originating from various parts of Asia-Pacific Rim, Europe and the USA. The study involves academic collaboration between linguists and healthcare providers around the world (Hong Kong, the UK and the US). Our objectives in this panel are two-fold: first, drawing on the concepts of activity type (as 'means of characterizing setting‘) and discourse type (as ‘way of characterizing the way of talk‘) (Sarangi 2000) we aim to depict how PGS is enacted discursively in the intercultural context of Hong Kong. Secondly, we discuss how the diverse sociocultural backgrounds of both healthcare providers and clients impact on the three ‘crucial activities‘ (Sarangi 2000) of genetic counseling, namely, information-giving, advice seeking and decision-making. Through a detailed analysis of PGS, we hope to get a better understanding of the complex relationship between the sociocultural context, the background of the participants and the accomplishment of the PGS activities in situ

"We can’t let it happen": Risk talk in telephone consultations between nurses and parents of infants with a genetic condition

Session 12: Communication and Decision-Making in Genetic CounselingIn Hong Kong all new-borns are routinely tested for G6PD deficiency, a mild hereditary disorder (commonly known as favism). Parents whose infants are diagnosed with the condition are informed about it via telephone by genetic nurses of a specialist clinic. This paper focuses on how risk information is communicated to the parents. Previous research on health risk communication has primarily dealt with communicating risk that is uncertain and probabilistic; while less attention has been paid to communicating risk that is certain and manageable. Using theme-oriented discourse analysis (Roberts and Sarangi, 2005) and drawing on a corpus of 50 audio-recorded telephone consultations, this paper examines how ’certain’ and ‘manageable’ risk is discursively managed by the participants of these encounters. The analysis shows that the risk management talk is framed around the notion of ‘knowing’ about a genetic condition, in particular the ‘benefits of knowing’ that are weighed against the ‘risks of knowing’. The benefits refer to the parents’ ability to manage the condition; and the risks refer to possible adverse scenarios and parents’ increased anxiety. The analysis shows that the risk talk is framed differently by the participants in terms of risk-benefit interplay. While the nurses’ talk focuses on the manageability of the condition, the parents’ talk typically deals with the incurable nature of the condition. We discuss a range of discourse strategies, such as contrast, foregrounding, hypothetical scenarios and accounts, through which the participants negotiate their different perspectives regarding ‘certain’ and ‘manageable’ ris

"It's like throwing a dice". The management of 'extreme' uncertainty and decision making in the age of genome medicine: the case of pre-conception counselling

Panel 1 - Researching genetic counselling in Hong Kon

Constructing parental responsibility in the management of a genetic condition in telephone consultations

Parallel SessionThis paper examines telephone consultations between genetic nurses of a specialised clinic and parents whose infants have been diagnosed with a mild hereditary disorder G6PD deficiency. This condition is life-long although adherence to certain lifestyle practices ensures a normal life for individuals with the condition. The specific focus of the paper is on parental responsibility in the management of a child’s condition. Previous studies have discussed parents’ accounts of their actions regarding the management of genetic conditions in interviews and face-to-face counselling sessions. These studies have shown that mothers and other female family members typically construct themselves as the primary care-givers responsible for the well-being of their families. Using theme-oriented discourse analysis (Roberts and Sarangi, 2005) and drawing on a corpus of 48 audio-recorded consultations, this paper examines how parental responsibility is constructed by the ‘second party’, the nurses, via advice-giving to the mothers. We show that the nurses do not hold the mothers solely responsible for the well-being of their children. The responsibility is ‘distributed’ among the two parents of a newborn child, other family members, the child and the nurses. While carrying primary responsibility for certain domains of care, the parents also serve as mediators between other ‘responsible parties’. In constructing the parents as mediators of future responsible actions by others in these interactions the nurses employ a range of discursive strategies, including modalisation, character/event work, reported speech, hypothetical formulations and rhetorical questions. We also examine how the nurses orient themselves to the mothers’ existing knowledge about the condition vis-à-vis advice giving trajectories. To conclude, we discuss how a more complex picture of responsibility reflects the context of a manageable but life-long condition