Year: 2009
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This thesis is an analysis of interactional practices through which the work of a mental\nhealth information line is carried out, utilising discursive psychology and conversation\nanalysis in the analysis of a corpus of calls to MIND Infoline. The aim of MIND Infoline\nis to provide information on mental illness, and the services in England and Wales which\nsupport those affected by mental illness. In negotiating access to the data, the call-takers\nof the line were encouraged to suggest topics for analysis such that the work of this thesis\nwould be of benefit to them. Three of these topics are the foci of the analytic chapters;\nhow callers are asked what it is they want from the line, how courses of action are\nproffered to callers, and how crying callers are responded to. In the analysis of these\ntopics, institutional restrictions are discussed as consequential for the actions engaged in\nby the call-takers, who are encouraged to refrain from giving advice, 'chatting' with\ncallers, and providing emotional support.\nIn the analytic chapters, empirically grounded observations are made about four recurrent\npractices engaged in by the call-takers;\n• The use of interrogatives which constrain callers' responses and make relevant a\nrequest for information\n.• The use of modal verbs and' If / Then Constructions' in the proffering of courses\nof action to callers\n• The use of ' Yes / No' interrogatives in the proffering of courses of action to\ncallers\n• Empathetic formulations which are deployed following occurrences of caller\ncrying\nThe reporting of the findings back to the helpline staff and the application of these\nfindings for their work are also discussed. The thesis as a whole contributes to the\nliterature on the analysis of institutional interactions, particularly to the literature on the\nmanagement of restricted practices in institutional settings.
Author: J. Carrick Moore
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W808798383