Angela Cora Garcia

Ethnographic Approaches to the Internet and Computer-Mediated Communication

In this article we review ethnographic research on the Internet and computer-mediated communication. The technologically mediated environment prevents researchers from directly observing research participants and often makes the interaction anonymous. In addition, in the online environment direct interaction with participants is replaced by computer-screen data that are largely textual, but may include combinations of textual, visual, aural, and kinetic components. We show how the online environment requires adjustments in how ethnographers define the setting of their research, conduct participant observation and interviews, obtain access to settings and research subjects, and deal with the ethical dilemmas posed by the medium.

Dispute Resolution Without Disputing: How the Interactional Organization of Mediation Hearings Minimizes Argument

Mediation is an institutional interactional system in which disputing parties discuss and resolve differences with the help of a third party. Conflicts can be resolved with minimal confrontation or argument in part because mediation de-emphasizes the adversarial nature of the situation and encourages cooperation. By analyzing the interactional organization of mediation hearings I show how mediation promotes agreement and minimizes argument. Mediation accomplishes these goals by an interactional organization that constrains how accusations and denials are positioned andformulated. Because this organization precludes the use of disputing techniques routinely used in ordinary conversation, disputes can be discussed and agreement reached without argument.

Listening to what is said--transcribing what is heard: the impact of speech recognition technology (SRT) on the practice of medical transcription (MT).

Medical records have become central to nearly all aspects of healthcare. However, little research exists on their creation. Using data from an ongoing ethnographic study of healthcare documentation production, this paper examines the process of medical record creation through the use of speech recognition technology (SRT) and subsequent editing by medical transcriptionists (MTs). Informed by ethnomethodology (EM) and conversation analysis (CA), the results demonstrate the professional knowledge involved in the work of medical transcription, which includes a combination of skilled worksite practices and an orientation toward the social order properties of recorded dictation. Furthermore, we examine how the advantages and limitations of SRTs can impact the work of transcription. We conclude with strategic recommendations for using SRTs to support medical records production and recommend against total automation.

Negotiating Negotiation: The Collaborative Production of Resolution in Small Claims Mediation Hearings:

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how participants in mediation hearings get ideas for resolution of the dispute on the table for negotiation and bargaining. The data used are 15 small claims mediation hearings which were videotaped, transcribed and analyzed using the conversation analytic method. While the tasks involved in producing suggestions for solution are tied to institutional role (mediators make proposals and solicit position reports from disputants; disputants produce position reports) the mediators and disputants collaboratively produce ideas for resolution, and use several techniques to control production of ideas and their placement. Mediators orient to the institutional requirements of neutrality and disputant empowerment as they engage in these tasks, but have ways of resisting these constraints. Disputants, in turn, can resist mediators attempts to infringe upon their autonomy.

Interactional Constraints on Proposal Generation in Mediation Hearings: A Preliminary Investigation

Previous research on negotiation and bargaining suggests that problem-solving strategies lead to more beneficial outcomes than contentious strategies. This paper asks whether participants in mediation hearings use problem-solving or contentious strategies to generate ideas for solutions to issues under dispute. Nine videotaped and transcribed mediation hearings are analyzed using an ethnomethodological conversation analytic approach. I found that mediators and disputants play different roles with regard to the generation of ideas for solutions to the conflict. Mediators are free to suggest solutions without committing themselves or others to that solution (a problem-solving strategy). Disputants, on the other hand, are seen to be committed to the suggestions they make (a contentious strategy). However, disputants could mitigate the potential contentiousness of their positions with various techniques. I explore the implications of these findings for the ability of disputants to creatively contribute to solution-generation in the context of mediation.

Understanding the work of medical transcriptionists in the production of medical records

Efforts to improve healthcare by reducing medical errors often center on the accuracy of medical records. At the same time, the impact of new technologies such as speech recognition technology on the process of producing medical records has not been sufficiently examined. In this article we analyzed interview data from medical transcriptionists (MTs) describing how they do the work of transcription to produce accurate medical records from doctors’ dictation. We found that medical transcriptionists rely on several types of skills that current speech recognition technology lacks. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings for the design and implementation of SRT systems for the production of medical records and for how the work of MTs can help reduce medical errors.

Understanding High School Students’ Sports Participation

Abstract In this paper we conducted a qualitative analysis of twenty-eight semi-structured interviews of college students. Interviewees were asked about their high school experiences with sports in order to discover the main factors leading to positive or negative experiences. We found that the influence of family and friends and the opportunity to participate in a competitive activity were the two most important positive aspects of students’ high school sports experiences. The most prevalent negative aspect of high school sports participation was a problematic experience with a coach. While both friends and family influenced students’ decisions to initiate and maintain participation in sports while in high school, family influence was much stronger than the influence of friends. Given the need to expand physical fitness on a national and global level, greater understanding of the factors impacting sports participation will be useful to a wide range of stakeholders, including students, teachers and educational institutions, and policy makers.

The Place of the Dog in the Family: A Comparative Case Study of Dog Adoption

This paper explores how perspectives on the appropriate place of the dog in the family shape the practice and experience of dog adoption. This research is based on a comparative case study of a traditional shelter and an independent animal rescue organization. The data were collected through participant observation and interviews with directors and volunteers at these organizations, and with people who adopted dogs through shelter or independent animal rescue organizations. The independent rescue organizations tended to use “dog-centric” discourse to describe the relationship between the dog and its prospective family, while the traditional animal shelter and some adoptive families used “human-centric” discourse. These perspectives were tied to the adoption practices of the organizations and individuals’ experiences while adopting a dog. The implications of these findings for the practice of dog adoption are discussed, and suggestions for shelters and animal rescue organizations are presented.

What Went Right: Interactional Strategies for Managing Crisis Negotiations during an Emergency Service Call

ABSTRACT This article is a conversation analytic investigation of an emergency service call in which a hostage in a school shooting played a dual role during the ongoing emergency—the role of 911 caller and the role of de facto crisis negotiator. The analysis will show how the caller used techniques such as footing shifts, tone of voice shifts, self-disclosure, and active listening techniques (including continuers, questions, repeats, and paraphrases) to successfully keep the conflict from escalating, maintain the autonomy of the intruder, and negotiate his surrender while working in collaboration with the 911 call taker.

Presidential campaign talk: Question-answering in ‘Neutral Informational Interviews’

This article is a dual-case analysis of presidential campaign interviews conducted with former President George HW Bush when he was campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980, and former President William J. Clinton when he was campaigning for the presidency in 1991. Both interviews were conducted at high schools in New Hampshire and are publicly available on the C-SPAN website. The purpose of this analysis is to investigate how the success or failure of political campaigns may be tied to candidates’ interactional competence and pragmatic skills. This will be done through an examination of the strengths and weaknesses of the answers each candidate produced in the context of these non-adversarial interviews. This conversation analytic investigation reveals key differences between the two candidates in the successful display of various types of knowledge, interactional competency, sensitivity to audience design, fluency of speech and organization of their responses. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of interactional skills for the success of political campaigns and the effectiveness of ‘Neutral Informational Interviews’ for educating the audience.