Dialectical Theory Research Articles

Experiencing the relationship with a sibling coping with mental health problems: Dilemmas of connection, communication, and role.

Prolonged mental health problems of one family member influences the whole family system, including sibling relationships. The current research focuses on the way siblings of persons with mental health problems experience the relationship. The findings identify the challenges and difficulties these siblings face and can help mental health practitioners support siblings as well as their brothers and sisters with mental health problems. This qualitative research employs the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis method. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 14 adult siblings of persons coping with prolonged mental health problems. The sample included seven men and seven women, between the ages of 20-55. Three main themes were identified: (a) Connection: Between involvement and distance; (b) Communication: Controlled confrontation or cautious vagueness; (c) Role: Positioning in the sibling relationship. The discussion introduces the Relational Dialectics Theory in order to understand contradictory statements that arise from the interviewees' experience of dialectal tensions between: involvement versus distancing; direct confrontation versus cautious vagueness; and opposing positions in relation to the sibling coping with mental health problems. A multi-voiced discourse allows for dialogue that incorporates the contradictory poles of the dialectic, thus enabling the siblings to balance the tension in the relationship. In addition, the concept of ambiguous loss is used to interpret the findings. The study is limited by the small homogeneous sample. The results highlight the need for practitioners to give special attention to siblings of persons with mental health problems in order to help them process and cope with the challenges in the relationship, thus providing an opportunity for growth and empowerment.

Individual and Team-Based Medical Error Disclosure: Dialectical Tensions Among Health Care Providers.

Researchers from disciplines of education, health communication, law and risk management, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy examined communication tensions among interprofessional (IP) health care providers regarding medical error disclosure utilizing patient simulation. Using relational dialectics theory, we examined how communication tensions manifested in both individual-provided medical error disclosure and IP team-based disclosure. Two dialectical tensions that health care providers experienced in disclosure conversations were identified: (a) leadership and support, and (b) transparency and protectionism. Whereas these tensions were identified in an IP education setting using simulation, findings support the need for future research in clinical practice, which may inform best practices for various disclosure models. Identifying dialectical tensions in disclosure conversations may enable health communication experts to effectively engage health care providers, risk management, and patient care teams in terms of support and education related to communicating about medical errors.

Disrupting the humanities and social science binary: framing communication studies as a transformative discipline

ABSTRACTDebates whether communication studies should be housed with the humanities or social sciences have raged on for decades. In response to attacks on the humanities, we argue that the discipline has much to gain from seeing how the humanities contributes to the social sciences and the potential benefits of integrating humanistic and social scientific approaches. Specifically, we present two case studies that illuminate ways humanities-informed thinking has contributed to and benefited social science theory, method, and data. First, we review Jeffrey A. Bennett's Banning Queer Blood to illustrate the importance of reflexivity and practice when analyzing interview data. Then, we highlight how the philosophy of Mikhail Bakhtin influenced Leslie A. Baxter's most recent articulation of relational dialectics theory and development of contrapuntal analysis. Finally, we discuss obstacles and opportunities for engaging in transformative research.

“We’re Just Family, You Know?” Exploring the Discourses of Family in Gay Parents’ Relational Talk

ABSTRACTTo date, little is known about how gay male parents discursively create and sustain family identity and how they position themselves in relation to the dominant heteronormative discourses of the traditional family. Framed relational dialectics theory – this study explored the meaning(s) of family and fatherhood in married gay fathers’ relational talk. I interviewed 13 married gay parent dyads and conducted follow-up interviews to collect data across time as well as member check initial results. Using contrapuntal analysis, I identified the discourses of traditional family structure and nontraditional family structure at play. I argue that the couples’ talk reflected discursive struggles to generate relational meanings for their family identities.

Making Sense of Dissatisfaction during the Transition to Motherhood through Relational Dialectics Theory

ABSTRACT Motherhood is a complicated experience as well as concept in U.S. society, and while several notions of motherhood circulate in U.S. culture, they are not equally accepted. Their unequal circulation is the focus of our study. Using relational dialectics theory, we sought to identify dominant and marginalized discourses evoked by new mothers who are dissatisfied with their transition to motherhood. Twenty women with a first child under the age of two years old shared their experiences during semi-structured interviews. These mothers’ talk reflects a variant on dominant discourses of motherhood – the Discourse of Motherhood as Innately Desired (DMID) where wanting to be, as well as looking like, a “good” mother are subthemes. However, the Discourse of Motherhood as Learned (DML) served as a counterpoint for sense-making that offers space for alternative, albeit marginalized, understandings of motherhood where it is not assumed as the primary goal for women nor a natural extension of their womanhood.

A Linguistic (Stylistic) Reading of Ideological Discourse in Festus Iyayi’s Violence, The Contract and Heroes

This paper undertakes, through the prism of linguistic (stylistic) analysis, a reading of the ideological discourse in Festus Iyayi’s novels- Violence, The Contract, and Heroes, with the broad aim of establishing the nexus between literature and ideology, through the instrumentation of language, for societal transformation. The paper explores the symbiotic relationship between language and literature and how the former is used in the study and understanding of the latter. Attempt is made to identify the patterns of use of language with reference to the purpose of commenting on quality, the exegesis and interpretative meanings of the text. The scaffold upon which our analysis is anchored is the Marxist literary criticism based on socialist and dialectical theories. It is the contention of the Marxist theorists that literary works are a reflection of the social institutions from which they originate. Terry Eagleton has affirmed that Marxist criticism “is not merely sociology of literature” but paying attention to its forms, style and meaning with a view to grasping those forms, style and meaning “as the products of a particular history. In all, four major literary tools-narrative technique, lexical choice, dialogue and authorial comments are deployed as indices for our analytical framework, using the Critical Discourse Analysis. What is apparent is that no success can be achieved in the reading and understanding of a literacy text without a manifest use of language.

Accounts of Family Conflict in Home Hospice Care: The Central Role of Autonomy for Informal Caregiver Resilience.

End-of-life caregiving is a highly stressful experience often fraught with conflict and tension. However, little is known about the ways family conflict manifests for informal caregivers of home hospice patients (IHCs). Framed by relational dialectics theory, the purpose of this study was to provide nurses and other health care professionals with an empirical understanding of how IHCs experience family conflict and tensions associated with caregiving. A second aim was to determine what strategies IHCs use to manage these family conflicts. Data used in this qualitative secondary analysis were originally collected as part of a randomized clinical trial of an IHC support intervention. Based on thematic analysis of data from 25 IHCs who reported family conflict, a conceptual model of caregiver resilience was developed from the themes and categories that emerged during the coding stage. Autonomy was identified as a central tension. IHCs used several strategies to address family conflict including communication, formal support, and emotional self-care.

Tensions and Contradictions in Interns’ Communication about Unexpected Pregnancy Loss

ABSTRACTEarly miscarriage is an unexpected pregnancy complication that affects up to 25% of pregnant women. Physicians are often tasked with delivering the bad news of a pregnancy loss to asymptomatic women while also helping them make an informed decision about managing the miscarriage. Assessing the communicative responses, particularly the discursive tensions embedded within providers’ speech, offers insight into the (in)effective communication used in the delivery of bad news and the management of a potentially traumatic medical event. We observed and analyzed transcripts from 40 standardized patient encounters using Baxter’s relational dialectics theory 2.0. Results indicated that interns invoked two primary distal already-spoken discourses: discourses of medicalization of miscarriage and discourses of rationality and informed consent. We contend that tensions and contradictions could affect how women respond to the news of an impending miscarriage and offer practical implications for communication skills training.

Distinguishing the "Wei Qi Ying Xue" syndrome differentiation from the "three certificates and three methods" to the diagnosis of sepsis

The "three certificates and three methods" is a combination of Chinese and Western medicine for the treatment of sepsis proposed by Professor Wang Jinda, a pioneer in Chinese emergency medicine. The "Wei Qi Ying Xue" syndrome differentiation is a dialectical theory proposed by Ye Tianshi, a famous doctor in the Qing Dynasty, for the treatment of warm diseases. The "three certificates and three methods" theory of "toxin-heat syndrome" (inflammation storm) to the "blood stasis syndrome" (coagulation storm) conversion mainly focus on the "Wei Qi Ying Xue" syndrome differentiation of the "Wei, Qi syndrome" to "Ying, Xue syndrome", and poison. The conversion of "toxin-heat syndrome" to "blood stasis syndrome" is a watershed in the progression of common infections to sepsis. The timely application of Xuebijing injection can cut off this transformation, which is one of the reasons why Xuebijing injection can treat sepsis.

Changes in communication tensions for men facing prostate cancer: a longitudinal study

ABSTRACT Background: Communication tensions are experienced by men not only while waiting for a prostate biopsy, but also subsequently, whether they are diagnosed with cancer or cleared of prostate issues. This longitudinal study comprised an initial study (T1) and a follow-up study (T2), three years later. It followed 25 men waiting for the result of a prostate biopsy and explored the changes in communication tensions they experienced. Method: Using semi-structured interviews and relational dialectical theory, this study assessed (a) how the communication tensions identified at T1 evolved over the intervening three years, (b) what new tensions emerged at T2, and (c) the types of discourse the tensions were embedded in. Results: The study found that the form of communication tensions changed from T1 to T2. Furthermore, it found that the tensions were both time- and context-specific. The communication tension at T2 were embedded in two competing discourses of health and wellbeing and of individualism. Conclusion: Recognizing the tensions men with prostate issues face enables targeted support from family members and medical professionals, which, in turn, facilitates a quicker return to normality for the men.

Moderne finance and human freedom. Money and debt between Hegelian dialectic and game theory

Moderne finance and human freedom. Money and debt between Hegelian dialectic and game theory

Patheticness and the Mundane Phenomenalisation of Transcendence according to Kierkegaard

Abstract Referring to the Platonic division between the transcendent and the immanent world as but a manifestation of the former, Søren Kierkegaard grasped the phenomenal character of the earthly world. According to Kierkegaard, in Transcendence, God is, and the transcendent Ideas exist as patterns of beings given to us in temporality, the fontal phenomenal character of which (as manifestations) intertwines with the real mundane ontological character. Kierkegaard argued against the Hegelian theory of dialectics, as well as the pathos theory, presenting dialecticity and patheticness as two ways in which the existing subject refers to the immanent world of temporality and the spiritual realm of Transcendence. The process of phenomenalisation, accomplished along with the existence of all earthly beings, is accompanied by a singular, subjective response of each individual to the immanent world. This response assumes the form of a dialectical balanced reaction, or a pathetic, hyperbolic, in the aesthetic, ethical and religious stages of individual existence (in the religious stage, it is a response to the world of Transcendence). The paper is dedicated to discussing the relations of the process of the phenomenalisation of Transcendence to its individual, religious responses, particularly the relations to the pathetic type of religious response, as indicated by Kierkegaard.

The Inherent Tensions of “Instant Education”: A Critical Review of Mobile Instant Messaging

This paper critically reviews literature on the role of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) applications, such as WhatsApp, in supporting learning and teaching practice. Using formal qualitative synthesis as its methodology, and dialectical theory as an analytical framework, our main objective was to identify tensions, affordances, constraints, and resolution strategies in educational uses of MIM. In contrast to prior work, the analysis offers a nuanced and complex picture of the use of MIM in learning and teaching settings. Instead of facilitating the creation of educational outcomes in a straightforward manner, the realities of MIM use are socially constructed and the subject of conflictual negotiations. The educational use of MIM requires users to navigate the interdependent dialectical tensions of immediacy versus delays (temporal dimension), intimacy versus detachment (relationship dimension) and task versus ludic orientation (intellectual dimension). The findings also reveal a number of behavioural and technical resolution strategies that users deploy to manage these tensions.

The Learning Spiral: A Process Perspective on Paradox

AbstractParadox theory enables management research to replace either/or thinking with more integrative both/and approaches. Despite this achievement, greater theoretical complexity is needed to account for paradoxical tensions’ intricacies. We use dialectics theory to unpack the learning processes through which organizational members and collectives build their capacity to understand and cope with complex tensions over time. Building on these insights, we develop a paradox process model that resembles a learning spiral, in which organizations move through stages of convergence and divergence. During the convergence stages, they learn about and refine their current worldviews by constantly moving between the tension’s poles. During the divergence stages, they move beyond dynamic equilibrium to reach a higher understanding of tensions and their management. While organizations caught in equilibrium are prone to stasis and demise, those that move beyond equilibrium can achieve sustainability.

Examining Intercultural Differences in Close Friendship Maintenance on Facebook: A Relational Dialectics Perspective

Close friendship is a crucial and distinctive interpersonal tie that can survive a lifetime. Maintaining such friendships at a satisfactory level, even with the aid of social networking websites (SNS) such as Facebook, can be a challenging process. Previous research has shown that relationship satisfaction among close friends depends both upon relationship maintenance strategies (e.g., positivity, openness, supportiveness) and the management of dialectical contradictions (e.g., openness-closeness and autonomy-connection). Furthermore, cultural differences may also dictate how individuals choose to maintain close friendships online. Therefore, guided by the relational dialectic perspective, a key objective of this research was to determine whether the role of Facebook in friendship maintenance differs significantly across two cultures: the U.S. and Malaysia. All participants completed an online survey in which they were asked to think of a close friend with whom they communicated both face-to-face and on Facebook. Among others, findings showed that Malaysian respondents perceived their close friends as using certain maintenance strategies (i.e., positivity, interaction planning, openness, social information seeking, and avoidance) significantly more often than did Americans. Culture also influenced how relational dialectics moderate the relationship between maintenance strategies and relationship satisfaction among close friends. The implications of the findings for the role of Facebook in close friendship maintenance across culture, and the relational dialectics theory will be discussed. Keywords: Cultural value orientations, close friendships, relational dialectics, relationship maintenance strategies, social networking websites (SNS).

Imām al-Ḥaramayn al-Juwaynī and Jadal Theory in the Eleventh Century (A critical analysis of Imām al-Ḥaramayn’s al-Kāfīya fi al-jadal)

<p>This study presents a critical navigation and interpretation of the book <em>al-Kāfiya fī al-jadal</em> by Imām al-Ḥaramayn al-Juwaynī (d. 478/1085). In this book, he elucidates foundational thoughts of <em>jadal </em>(dialectic) theory and its application. Despite its importance in the development of <em>jadal </em>in Islamic scholarship and dialectical art, Imām al-Ḥaramayn’s <em>al-Kāfiya </em>unfortunately has never been studied. Existing studies on the art of Islamic disputation<em> </em>theory discuss <em>al-Kāfiya</em>’s position and contribution, but the discussion of its content is not comprehensive. In this respect, this article<em> </em>not only provides a more comprehensive understanding of Imām al-Ḥaramayn’s theory of <em>jadal </em>but more importantly demonstrates how Imām al-Ḥaramayn<em> </em>formulates <em>jadal </em>as a scholastic method. He shows that <em>jadal </em>is essentially scholastic for its orientation of finding truth in the forms of epistemological and psychological certainty (<em>al-yaqīn</em>) in juridical and theological knowledge. </p>

Lenin on democratic theory

Lenin’s State and Revolution is not only a project for imminent revolutionary policy and not only a legitimization argument for a revolutionary dictatorship, but also a theory of state and theory of democracy. Lenin points at the reduplication of state organs that is inherent in a democratic state. While the Russian revolutionary thinks of this reduplication as something transitory, we today increasingly see it as a durable condition coterminous with the late-modern democratic state. I use Lenin’s treatise as a point of inspiration to briefly characterize my dialectical theory of state.

Making Meaning of the Parent–Child Relationship: A Dialogic Analysis of Parent-Initiated Estrangement Narratives

ABSTRACTThis study employs relational dialectics theory to explore the meaning of the parent–child relationship from the perspective of parents who distanced themselves from their children. Contrapuntal analysis of 36 online narratives revealed 2 discourses competing to make meaning of the parent–child relationship. The discourse of inseparable connection (DIC) drew upon themes of unconditional love, biology, and permanent role identification, constructing parents and children as forever connected; the discourse of effortful transactions (DET) manifested through themes of reciprocal respect and positive emotions, work and support exchanges, and physical and emotional boundary negotiation. Overall, the DET worked to challenge assumptions of the DIC, undermining culturally dominant understandings of family permanence through talk of parent–child relationships characterized by a reciprocal give-and-take.

Discourses of Diabetes Management in Patient-Physician Interactions

Discussions of diabetes management are challenging for patients and physicians during treatment plan appointments—in large part because “diabetes management” has multiple, competing meanings. Our goal in this study was to examine talk between patients and physicians over multiple visits to: (1) determine the multiple meanings of diabetes management, and (2) determine the specific ways these meanings compete with each other. To accomplish this goal, we gathered data at a family medicine residency clinic in the Midwestern United States, video-recording the interactions of six different patient-physician dyads over multiple visits. Next, we performed in-depth analyses of these interactions using Baxter’s (2011) Relational Dialectics Theory 2.0, which focuses on discourses occurring within interpersonal interactions, rather than on the individuals within interpersonal interactions. Our results reveal meanings associated with two dominant oppositional discourses comprising the meaning of diabetes management: high self-efficacy and low self-efficacy. Additionally, we found that—during conversations between patients and physicians—the central discourse of high self-efficacy competed with the less-central discourse of low self-efficacy. Our results also reveal that both patients and physicians used both discourses. Finally, our results revealed that at times, both patients and physicians mixed these discourses, creating a new “hybrid” meaning for diabetes management: Moderation. Understanding these discourses and how they compete can help physicians focus on the cultural discourses that shape their own and patients’ views of diabetes management and realize the transformational possibilities that can occur in treatment plan discussions through a more moderate discourse.

Relational Dialectics Theory: A New Approach for Military and Veteran‐Connected Family Research

AbstractMilitary and veteran‐connected family scholarship focusing on transitions has a lengthy history across disciplines. Much of this research involves normative military families (i.e., a service member husband and civilian wife with biological children); however, military families are diverse, due in part to societal and military policy changes (e.g., marriage equality; repeal of “don't ask, don't tell”). Although theories used in the past might still apply, we argue that critical theories are useful, even necessary, for studying the experiences of normative and nonnormative military families (e.g., those with same gender spouses or parents, stepfamilies), as both are nontraditional relative to their civilian counterparts. We share an approach developed within communication, relational dialectics theory (RDT), that focuses on power from a critical perspective and offers ideas for potential positive social change. RDT also provides contrapuntal analysis, a method ideal for studying relational turning points and transitional periods of military and veteran‐connected families.