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Dissertation Information for Nancy Roth

NAME:
- Nancy Roth
- (Alias) Nancy Lynn Roth

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Communication

SCHOOL:
- University of Texas, Austin (USA) (1990)

ADVISORS:
- Larry D. Browning
- Sim B. Sitkin

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Inspected

Title: Calendars on the wall: The influences of sexuality, disability and time on provider/client communication about HIV/AIDS

Abstract: "The discourses that arise when people with HIV/AIDS communicate with health care and social service providers address a wide range of emotionally charged topics including: sexuality, disability and death. Using Foucault's conception of discourse, Giddens' (1979) and Douglas' (1986) frameworks for identifying forces that influence social action and Burke's (1945) arguments framing communication as human action, this study explored the influence of forces that can be characterized as societal and personal on the topics that arise during such interactions and the manner in which they are spoken about.

Using participant observation to collect data during 35 provider/client interactions and grounded theory methods to analyze the data, the research yielded three middle range theories (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The first theory affirmed the theoretical expectations: Discourses that arise in the setting studied are influenced by societal and personal influences; such influences are in some cases acknowledged and in others more subtle and unacknowledged, and the interrelationships among the forces are reflected in the complexity of the discourses that arise. The second and third theories suggested interpretations that extend existing conceptualizations. One suggested a modification to Kubler-Ross' (1969) model of the stages of death and dying. The other proposed a partial answer to Douglas' (1986) query about the relative influence of societal and personal forces on social action; it suggested that their relative influences vary during an individual's lifetime.

In addition to proposing three middle range theories, the research suggests a contribution to grand theory: Combine the structuration approach suggested by Giddens (1979) with life cycle theories such as those proposed by Miller and Friesen (1984). Such combinations suggest that there may be discernable patterns in human action over the course of a person's lifetime--or that such patterns may repeat themselves each time an individual encounters a major life cycle event. The possibility of the emergence of such patterns in human action suggest new directions for communication research in organizational and health communication areas."

MPACT Scores for Nancy Roth

A = 0
C = 2
A+C = 2
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2010-11-02 23:32:48

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