Kitzinger2007c

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Kitzinger2007c
BibType ARTICLE
Key Kitzinger2007c
Author(s) Celia Kitzinger, Danielle Jones
Title When May calls home: The opening moments of family telephone conversations with an Alzheimer's patient
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Conversation Analysis, Telephone, Openings, Family, Alzheimers
Publisher
Year 2007
Language
City
Month
Journal Feminism & Psychology
Volume 17
Number 2
Pages 184–202
URL Link
DOI 10.1177/0959353507076550
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

Using conversation analysis, this article analyses the opening moments of naturally occurring telephone conversations between a woman with Alzheimer's disease and her daughter and son-in-law. Drawing on the large body of work on ordinary conversational openings between adults without cognitive impairments, we show that this Alzheimer's patient is a virtually fully competent interactant in the routinized aspects of call-openings (summons—answer, recognitions, greetings, 'howaryou', and the pre-emption of 'howaryou's to do urgency). We show, however, that in the very act of displaying these cognitive and social competencies in conversation with her daughter, she also reveals serious memory loss, which has devastating consequences for the mother—daughter relationship. In developing this research, we hope to enable families better to cope with the consequences of Alzheimer's disease.

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