Context Of Communication Research Articles

Elementi ratne propagande u kriznoj komunikaciji Volodymyra Zelenskog

Propaganda refers to the conscious or unconscious attempt to manipulate a specificgroup in order to achieve a desired goal. Particularly in English-speaking countries it becomes synonymous with deceit and falsehood. While scientific literature abounds with studies on wartime propaganda in various historical periods, only a small portion delves into the analysis of propaganda usage by individual politicians during wars. Similarly, a limited number of studies focus on the analysis of wartime propaganda in the public speeches of politicians during contemporary conflicts in a technologically advanced information and communication context. This paper examines the communication aspects of the Russian-Ukrainian War, with a specific focus on the communication of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. By analyzing publicly available speeches of President Zelenskyy, the study explores whether elements of wartime propaganda are recognizable in his speeches and to what extent they occur. The analysis is based on the systematization of Anne Morelli’s ten principles of wartime propaganda, serving as the foundation for a generic framework or analysis matrix. The research has shown that Zelenskyy consistently employs elements of wartime propaganda in his speeches, with a twofold higher occurrence in international compared to national speeches. In international speeches, Zelenskyy tends to strongly focus on accusing the enemy of atrocities and initiating war, while in national speeches, he leans more towards boosting the morale of his own people, emphasizing the struggle for justifiable goals, and highlighting enemy losses. The examination of the occurrence of propaganda elements throughout the analyzed period indicates a constant presence in national speeches, while in international speeches, the occurrence increases over time.

Explicitation and Implicitation in Arabic- English Translation of Institutional Academic Correspondence

Within the context of university communication, the choice of translation strategies can significantly impact the clarity and effectiveness of academic correspondence. This study investigates the role of explicitation and implicitation in translating from English (source language) to Arabic (target language). We explore how these strategies manifest in institutional academic correspondence (circulars and memos) and determine which strategy is more prevalent. Skopos Theory serves as the theoretical framework for this research. The study analyzed a corpus of 196 academic documents issued by the University of Sharjah between 2014 and 2020. An extended version of Klaudy's (2009) classification model was employed to identify instances of explicitation and implicitation across various linguistic levels (syntactic, semantic, stylistic, textual, and pragmatic). Our findings reveal a preference for implicitation in the English source texts compared to the Arabic translations. Furthermore, the analysis identified diverse manifestations of both strategies across different linguistic levels. The study concludes that explicitation and implicitation are both utilized in academic correspondence translation, but with varying frequencies.

Public Evaluations of Misinformation and Motives for Sharing It

Concerns around the definition of misinformation hamper ways of addressing purported problems associated with it, along with the fact that public understanding of the concept is often ignored. To this end, the present pilot survey study examines three broad issues, as follows: (1) contexts where the concept most applies to (i.e., face-to-face interactions, social media, news media, or all three contexts), (2) criteria people use to identify misinformation, and (3) motivations for sharing it. A total of 1897 participants (approximately 300 per country) from six different countries (Chile, Germany, Greece, Mexico, the UK, the USA) were asked questions on all three, along with an option to provide free text responses for two of them. The quantitative and qualitative findings reveal a nuanced understanding of the concept, with the common defining characteristics being claims presented as fact when they are opinion (71%), claims challenged by experts (66%), and claims that are unqualified by evidence (64%). Moreover, of the 28% (n = 538) of participants providing free text responses further qualifying criteria for misinformation, 31% of them mentioned critical details from communication (e.g., concealing relevant details or lacking evidence to support claims), and 41% mentioned additions in communication that reveal distortions (e.g., sensationalist language, exaggerating claims). Rather than being exclusive to social media, misinformation was seen by the full sample (n = 1897) as present in all communication contexts (59%) and is shared for amusement (50%) or inadvertently (56%).

Design and development of a mixed reality application for aphasia rehabilitation: The ICMR-MiRAR project

BACKGROUND: Aphasia is an impaired ability to use language for communication after a brain damage. The primary means of intervention for aphasia – Speech-Language therapy (SLT) – usually involves didactic interaction between the Speech-Language therapist and the client, often without regard to the real-life environments in which the communication occurs. The provision of SLT in natural environments is beyond the scope of the conventional, clinic-based intervention setups. Using the technological advances, the Mixed Reality in Aphasia Rehabilitation (MiRAR) aims to make persons with aphasia (PwA) use their language in an ecologically valid and meaningful manner in natural communication contexts. AIM: This report aims to delineate the design and development of a Mixed Reality environment (MR: i.e., augmented + virtual realities (i.e., AR + VR)) to provide social communicative intervention for PwA. METHODS: We describe the concept and provide the details of the development and deployment of a communication-based mixed reality application for PwA in the Indian context. For this purpose, we generated 20 distinct communication scenarios and their scripts. These scenarios were implemented into the Mixed Reality environment with the help of a hired technical team. RESULTS: The 20 scenarios were successfully developed and deployed into the Mixed Reality environment for the purpose of communication intervention for PwA. The program consists of a web-based admin panel (for SLPs) and a Mixed Reality application (for the PwA). CONCLUSIONS: The MiRAR program is expected to foster the delivery of speech-language therapy in a meaningful, controlled and simulated environments by the SLPs, thus alleviating the practical restraints of conventional clinical setups. The clinical trial of this intervention program is planned in the next phase of this ongoing project.

French medical memes: Themes, language, functions

The study concerns the organisation and content of both the visual and verbal elements within the polycode text of French-language memes that pertain to medical discourse. The meme’s connection to medical discourse is established through its subject matter, the incorporation of medical symbols in its visual elements, and the inclusion of medical terminology in its written content. It also involves depicting communication scenarios between doctors, between doctors and patients, and between nursing staff and patients at both the image and text levels. The study’s novelty lies in its dual approach: firstly, it examines French memes as subjects for linguistic analysis, and secondly, it explores them as a genre of polycode text within medical discourse. The research material comprises 100 French memes centred on medical themes, obtained through continuous sampling from the internet. Study results revealed that memes pertaining to medical discourse are dynamic, viral, and eclectic texts that encapsulate the distinctive elements of institutional medical discourse. Thematically, the meme encompasses various medical topics and addresses social issues prevalent in France. Deciphering the author’s intention behind the meme relies on a layer-by-layer examination of how the idea is expressed through the polycode text, as well as an understanding of the sociocultural context that informs the text, which requires presuppositional knowledge on the part of the recipient. Linguo-cultural characteristics observed in the verbal component, as identified through the analysis, include the use of language play at phonetic and lexical levels, inclusion of colloquial and slang vocabulary alongside emotionally charged expressions within doctor-patient communication contexts, and the utilisation of phonetic spelling. The visual component of the polycode text in French medical memes is distinguished by the incorporation of elements from civilisational phenomena, such as political figures from the country, film protagonists, and globally recognised actors. The analysis revealed that the meme serves various functions including comedic, informative, compensatory, and appellative roles. The article constitutes a segment of a broader study examining polycode texts within medical discourse across multiple genres including memes, medical posters, and demotivators in languages such as Russian, French, English, Chinese, and Arabic.

Pedagogical and teaching strategies used to teach writing to pre-licensure students enrolled in health professional programs: a scoping review protocol.

The objective of this review is to map the existing literature on pedagogical approaches and teaching strategies used to teach academic and professional writing to pre-licensure students who are enrolled in health professional programs. Health professional programs are intended to develop competence in both academic and professional writing. Effective academic writing skills prompt critical reflection and engagement with research communities, while professional writing skills are used to document interventions and communicate across health systems. Despite the importance of these 2 forms of writing, there are ongoing concerns that practitioners are entering practice without adequate writing skills. Given these concerns and the importance of writing across health disciplines, there is value in identifying the pedagogical strategies and approaches used in health professional programs to develop writing skills and to transfer such skills from one communicative context to another. This review will consider research on the pedagogical approaches and teaching strategies used to teach academic and professional writing in pre-licensure health professional programs. This review will be conducted in line with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. The search strategy will aim to locate published literature using MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase, CINAHL with Full-Text (EBSCOhost), ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health (ProQuest), and ERIC (EBSCOhost), along with gray literature (using databases/search engines). Papers published from 2010 onward in English and in French will be included. Extracted data will be reported in tabular format and presented narratively to address each review objective. http://osf.io/9raxp.

Assessing ChatGPT's Potential in HIV Prevention Communication: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Accuracy, Completeness, and Inclusivity.

With the advancement of artificial intelligence(AI), platforms like ChatGPT have gained traction in different fields, including Medicine. This study aims to evaluate the potential of ChatGPT in addressing questions related to HIV prevention and to assess its accuracy, completeness, and inclusivity. A team consisting of 15 physicians, six members from HIV communities, and three experts in gender and queer studies designed an assessment of ChatGPT. Queries were categorized into five thematic groups: general HIV information, behaviors increasing HIV acquisition risk, HIV and pregnancy, HIV testing, and the prophylaxis use. A team of medical doctors was in charge of developing questions to be submitted to ChatGPT. The other members critically assessed the generated responses regarding level of expertise, accuracy, completeness, and inclusivity. The median accuracy score was 5.5 out of 6, with 88.4% of responses achieving a score ≥ 5. Completeness had a median of 3 out of 3, while the median for inclusivity was 2 out of 3. Some thematic groups, like behaviors associated with HIV transmission and prophylaxis, exhibited higher accuracy, indicating variable performance across different topics. Issues of inclusivity were identified, notably the use of outdated terms and a lack of representation for some communities. ChatGPT demonstrates significant potential in providing accurate information on HIV-related topics. However, while responses were often scientifically accurate, they sometimes lacked the socio-political context and inclusivity essential for effective health communication. This underlines the importance of aligning AI-driven platforms with contemporary health communication strategies and ensuring the balance of accuracy and inclusivity.

<i>Santa-Barbara</i>: Semantic Transformations in the Russian Linguistic Culture

The article deals with the semantic transformationsSanta Barbara —the title of an American TV series — in the Russian speech. The study has been conducted on the texts dating back to 1992 (the beginning of the series’ broadcast on the Russian television) and up to the present day. Having carried out the contextual analysis of the use of the proper nameSanta Barbarain mass media, Internet communication, colloquial speech, and mass literature, we have determined certain figurative meanings, which have been consistently formed in the Russian linguistic culture for 30 years. At the same time, the name of the TV series has been expanding its semantic volume and application. The first meaning noted soon after the release of the series was positive:a high-rank neighborhood, comfortable for living. Nowadays, it has practically disappeared from speech, but it is preserved in the names of hotels, cafes, restaurants, and residential complexes in many Russian cities. The other figurative meanings that are still functionally active today are negative: 1) an endless melodramatic TV show; 2) complicated, intricate family/love relations; 3) scandals, conflicts, plots. The last meaning is no longer associated with the TV series and characterizes complex conflicts in a variety of communicative contexts. At present, Santa Barbara is used, in particular, as a political metaphor in popular Russian mass media. We also note the uniqueness of the listed figurative meanings for the Russian speech and their complete absence in the speech of Americans.

Artificial intelligence in Departments of Communication: A course proposal

When communication and mass media faculty returned from a kind of exile that COVID-19 had inflicted on them, they were hit almost immediately with the phenomenon of artificial intelligence (AI). The fall semester of 2023 seemed to usher in a new means by which students would complete assignments that left faculty scratching their heads. They faced a new form of information retrieval that students (as well as faculty) were using that, at once, yielded more substantive prose while at the same time posed new questions about authorship, trust, reliability, bias and even personhood. The discipline of communication and media studies bears a particular responsibility to contemplate the massive change underway with the use of AI. Most of us in the field have dedicated our careers to considering the human-media-culture interface. Media ecologists, in particular, routinely explore how media shape culture, conscience and communication. Yet many of us have not known what to make of the phenomenon suddenly surging in academics and in all sectors of society. This article seeks to offer a framework, cultivated out of media ecological sensibilities, for critically examining implications of AI in the realm of communication. Specifically, we have designed a graduate course that takes up the major lines of inquiry into how AI challenges conventions and urges new paradigms in our discipline. Our article offers a course proposal that communication faculty can adopt to their curriculum. It consists of a sample course syllabus, recommended textbooks and YouTube videos, sample assignments, a review of major AI themes in scholarly and trade journals, a suggested media ecology tool for critical application (the Tetrad), and an extensive bibliography. The overall objective of our course proposal is to guide reflection on the implications of AI in various communication contexts and environments.

The problems of the theory of the reference of signs in modern linguistics

The subject of the study is the history of the development and current state of the theory of reference, which reflects a variety of approaches and concepts. Some researchers believe that reference is a purely semantic phenomenon, while others emphasize the importance of context and pragmatics for understanding referentiality. The issue of the influence of cultural and social factors on reference in various languages is also being actively investigated. The history of the development of the theory of reference began with the works of Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russell at the beginning of the 20th century. Frege introduced the concept of semantic reference, arguing that every word has its own referent in the world. Russell developed this idea by proposing a theory of descriptions, according to which words indicate objects by describing their characteristics. The works of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Donald Davidson played an important role in the further development of the theory of reference. Wittgenstein proposed the concept of language games, arguing that reference depends on the context and use of a word in a certain situation. Davidson developed the theory of truth, according to which reference is determined through the connection between language and the world. The pragmatic and cognitive aspects of research methodology are important for the successful conduct of scientific research. The referential nature of signs plays a key role in this process, ensuring effective presentation and communication of research results. The scientific novelty of the research lies in a comprehensive examination of the classical works of philosophers, semiotics and linguists, including Plato, Aristotle, Charles Pierce, Ferdinand de Saussure and Umberto Eco, on the theory of reference. One of the key concepts in the study of sign systems is referential. Referentiality allows to associate words with specific objects and understand their meaning. One of the most relevant areas of research in the field of reference is the study of ways in which linguistic units interact with the context and situation of communication. This allows for a deeper understanding of the processes of notation and interpretation in language, as well as the development of new theoretical models explaining these processes. Thus, scientific novelty in the study of the referentiality of signs continues to be relevant and important for the development of linguistics and related disciplines. The author's contribution in this area may lead to new discoveries and understanding of the mechanisms of linguistic communication.

Language diversity across home and work contexts differentially impacts age- and menopause-related declines in cognitive control in healthy females.

Menopause is associated with declines in cognitive control. However, there is individual variability in the slope of this decline. Recent work suggests that indices of cognitive control are mediated by communicative demands of the language environment. However, little is known about how the impact of bilingual experience generalizes across the lifespan, particularly in females who exhibit steeper cognitive decline due to increasing age and menopausal transition. Thus, we investigated whether diversity of language use in distinct communicative contexts modulated the effects of aging and menopause on cognitive control in an adult lifespan sample of healthy females. We performed robust linear regressions on a sample of 120 females (age range 20-65 years) to characterize age- (n = 120) and menopause-related (n = 59) declines in cognitive control (as assessed by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) and to determine whether they are modulated by different facets of bilingual language experience, including the diversity of language use (i.e., language entropy) in home and workplace environments. Workplace but not home language diversity modulated age- and menopause-related declines in cognitive control, suggesting that females may compensate for decline by virtue of adapting to the externally imposed demands of the language environment. These findings have implications for identifying which aspects of bilingual experience may contribute to cognitive reserve in healthy aging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

From gesture to Sign? An exploration of the effects of communicative pressure, interaction, and time on the process of conventionalisation

Abstract This study explored how non-signers exploit their gestural repertoire during a process of handshape conventionalisation. We examined how communicative context, interaction, and time affect the transition from iconically motivated representations to linguistically organised, generalised forms. One hundred non-signers undertook a silent gesture-elicitation task, describing pictures in one of four conditions: (A) in isolation; (B) with a passive recipient tasked with identifying the objects gestured; (C) with an interlocutor, sharing addressor/addressee roles; (D) with a confederate, sharing addressor/addressee roles, where the confederate restricted her handshapes to four. Analyses focused on whether participants used their hands productively (proportion of ‘hand-as-object’ responses), and whether they generalised handshapes to similarly shaped but different objects (handshape range). High communicative pressure and interaction (C, D) generated the highest proportion of hand-as-object representations. The condition lacking these, (A), generated the smallest handshape range. Results did not change over time. At this incipient stage, individuals exploit their gestural repertoire productively, intent on depicting object characteristics accurately. Communicative pressure and interaction spur this exploratory process. However, they do not yet generalise their handshapes, a development requiring a loosening of the iconic mapping between symbol and referent. This aspect of conventionalisation needs time and might be more likely to emerge in isolation.

Selecting, avoiding, disconnecting: a focus group study of people’s strategies for dealing with information abundance in the contexts of news, entertainment, and personal communication

ABSTRACT Information abundance has become a defining characteristic of digital media environments. Today, people have to deal with a vast amount of news, entertainment and personal communication. This study investigates the strategies that people use to do so. Conceptually, we propose to understand information abundance as a macro-level phenomenon, i.e., an external state, which is neither positive nor negative per se. However, it may be experienced differently by individuals depending on what strategies they have to navigate abundance. Information abundance can be observed at the levels of content, sources, and devices as well as across the different media contexts of news, entertainment, or personal communication. Empirically, we conduct focus group discussions with 40 participants from Switzerland and examine what strategies people use to manage or withdraw from information abundance. The findings show that the strategies of selection, avoidance, and disconnection are applied similarly across the three media contexts, both temporarily and habitually, preventively and interventively, and are often used in tandem. Our findings also reveal that all strategies are used at the content, source, and device levels, which is important to consider because avoidance or disconnection from devices can inevitably affect media use more generally. The use of strategies seems to impact how individuals experience abundance, supporting previous research that avoidance and disconnection can mitigate information overload and enhance well-being. The study contributes to a better understanding of the multifaceted application of strategies as individual responses to the increase of information supply and the blurring boundaries between different media contexts.

Pedagogical Conditions for the Formation of Communicative Competence of Students of Higher Education

This article explains the concept of “communicative self-efficacy of university students,” emphasizing its pedagogical significance in fostering effective communication skills. The development and testing of an assessment diagnostic toolkit, incorporating criteria, indicators, and levels of communicative self-efficacy, are discussed. Pedagogical interventions for enhancing communicative self-efficacy are designed, implemented, and empirically evaluated. Communicative self-efficacy is posited as a meta-quality of personality, reflecting mastery of communication strategies, confidence in their implementation, and achievement of constructive outcomes. The process of forming communicative self-efficacy unfolds through distinct phases: “orientation,” facilitating students’ understanding of their communicative characteristics and competence; “enrichment,” consolidating confidence in diverse communicative contexts; and “activation,” fostering independent and flexible communicative behaviors through active participation in communication-oriented practices. This research underscores the importance of nurturing communicative self-efficacy among university students for effective interpersonal interactions across various situations.

Personal branding strategies in online hashtag communities: the case of #AcademicTwitter

Several studies have explored the uses and benefits of social media hashtag communities in higher education… Yet, more research is needed to examine communication structures and strategies for personal branding in educational social media hashtag communities. In otherwords, to understand the dynamics, characteristics, and strategies for faculty, university staff, and graduate students need to brand themselves professionally in social media hashtag communities. This research aims to explore social network structures, dynamics, influencer characteristics, and personal branding strategies of the #AcademicTwitter online community. X (formerly known as Twitter) data on #AcademicTwitter from 2021 were retrieved and analysed using social network and quantitative content analysis. Our study found that most of the recurrent users in the community were scholars (faculty and researchers) predominantly from the STEM field. However, the most influential users were media/fan pages (a profile account created for different purposes such as sharing tips in academia, publishers, etc.) and other professionals (freelancers or university staff). Our research sheds light on the current practice of disclosing specific teaching and research interests or expertise in social media bio profiles for personal branding, especially among scholars. Unique communication contexts such as social media hashtag communities still bring challenges to the dissemination of information, relationship building, and personal branding strategies. Our results also provide recommendations for scholars (faculty and researchers), graduate students, university staff, and practitioners to improve communication practices and personal branding strategies on social media hashtag communities.

Dual-Language Use and Cognitive Function Among Mexican Americans Aged 65 and Older.

Better English proficiency and higher frequency of using English among non-native speakers are associated with lower dementia risk. We investigated if Mexican American older adults who use English and Spanish to a more similar degree demonstrate better cognitive function than those who use one language more than the other. We used data from waves one (1992/93) to eight (2012/13) of the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly. At baseline, participants were asked what language they usually use across communicative contexts. We based dual language on participants' use of Spanish and English within and across contexts. We categorized participants as low (n = 1,145), medium (n = 717), and high (n = 702) dual-language users. Linear mixed models were used to estimate the association between dual-language use, baseline Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, and change in MMSE. Participants in the medium and high dual-language use categories scored 1.91 points and 3.03 points higher at wave one compared to the low dual-language use category. Adjusting for education reduced the association between dual-language use and baseline MMSE (medium B = 0.99 SE = 0.19 p < 0.01; high B = 1.41 SE = 0.21 p < 0.01). The association between dual-language use and decline in the MMSE was not statistically significant. Greater dual-language use was associated with higher MMSE scores but not change in MMSE scores among Mexican Americans aged 65 and older. Future work should characterize bilingualism with greater nuance and use more rigorous cognitive measures to identify the components of the bilingual experience that may benefit the cognitive functioning of older adult bilinguals.

Expanding Upon Critical Methodologies and Perspectives in Communication Studies

ABSTRACT Within this special issue, we turn our attention to critical perspectives within the communication discipline and seek to illuminate the implementation of critical methods across its broader contexts. While the communication discipline has historically been grounded in the normativity and centering of whiteness, critical perspectives, which are characterized by attention to communicative practices that attend to systems of power and hierarchy across social spheres, have been broadly integrated into and meaningfully shaped the study of communication contexts such as rhetoric, intercultural communication, and performance studies. We argue, however, that the incorporation of critical perspectives within the larger discipline remains underdeveloped. Therefore, in this special issue, we present articles that employ critical methodological approaches to offer important new ways of studying and centering marginalized identities, positionalities, and epistemologies across a range of contexts. Ultimately, we argue for a more expansive approach to thinking and teaching about methodology in general, and critical methods specifically, that inspires further “play” among communication scholars who value the need for social justice imperatives and epistemic delinking across all facets of communication studies.

The Impact of Emojis on Verbal Irony Comprehension in Computer-Mediated Communication: A Cross-Cultural Study

This study examines the influence of emojis on the comprehension of verbal irony in computer-mediated communication (CMC), with a focus on cross-cultural comparisons between Chinese and American participants. Verbal irony, often reliant on paralinguistic cues absent in text-based communication, poses comprehension challenges in CMC. Emojis, as nonverbal cues, are hypothesized to aid in conveying and interpreting ironic intent. The research involved 96 participants, equally divided between the two cultures, who were presented with scenarios containing verbal irony accompanied by either a winking or smiling emoji, or no emoji. The findings suggest significant cross-cultural differences in irony comprehension facilitated by emojis. American participants showed improved irony comprehension with the winking emoji, aligning with its conventional association with sarcasm in Western cultures. Conversely, Chinese participants better understood irony when paired with the smiling emoji, highlighting cultural variations in emoji interpretation. The study underscores the complex role of cultural context in digital communication.

Attentional Differences Between Males and Females for Emojis During the Emotional Stroop Task.

Introduction Cognitive load can be intensified by emotional components such as emotive words or facial expressions. Sexdifferences influence both emotional and cognitive functions for emotional facial expressions. Emojis, in contrast to human faces, serve as digital cues conveying emotional nuances in communication. The present study aimed to compare attentional differences prompted by emojis. Methods This study aimed to compare attentional differences in males and females elicited by emojis in 100 healthy adults (50 males and 50 females) within the age group of 18 to 40 years (mean ± SD: 27.87 ± 5.37 years) while performing the emotional Stroop task (EST). The EST comprised emojis depicting four emotions (happy, fear, sad, and angry) and emotionally charged words conveying similar emotions. An independent sample t-test was used to compare the reaction times among males and females. Results Results showed males had significantly longer reaction times than females across all task conditions. Both genders exhibited significant differences in reaction times across task conditions, except inhibition. Overall, reaction times increased notably from neutral to incongruent conditions for both genders. This suggests that response times increased significantly from neutral to incongruent conditions. Conclusion Emojis introduced in the EST revealed gender-related differences in attentional processing. This study showed the greater proficiency of females in emotional processing during EST compared to males. These findings contribute to our understanding of how gender is associated with cognitive responses to emotional stimuli in digital communication contexts.

“I never said that”

Abstract Police interviewers in England and Wales engage in the practice of investigative interviewing that is based on obtaining neutral, institutionally accepted account from suspects. This involves a process not only of eliciting information from suspects, but also of managing the interview by choosing topics for questioning, seeking clarification and additional details, and shaping the account to fulfil institutional requirements. Interviewers must therefore be sensitive to any unclear meanings from the suspect and avoid potential misunderstandings in order to avoid misrepresentation of account. This study uses authentic police interview data to exemplify the interactional process of meaning negotiation between police officers and suspects, examining how multiple constraints of this very restrictive communication context can affect which meanings are put on record and resolved, and which are ignored or left unresolved. The paper finishes by offering practical applicable insights about how interviewers can avoid misunderstandings in the interview room.