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This paper argues that there are three separable but related dimensions that are important to the legal notion of consent. One is a consenting state of mind, the 'going along with' a plan of action, which may or may not be communicated or even reflected upon, but which certainly can be. A second is displaying behaviour which reveals or is an expression of consenting. Another is intentionally communicating consent. I illustrate how the communicative act is often vitally important as evidence of an underlying consenting state, but the underlying consenting state has to be postulated and brought to the fore since consensual actions (e.g. sexual intercourse) can, and more often than not do, take place without the communicative acts, and the communicative acts might for various reasons be made in the absence of the genuinely consenting state of mind. The arguments I put forward offer a reframing of cases in which an apparent intentional communication of consent was treated as consent, rather than as a piece of evidence which may or may not be indicative of a consenting state of mind. This paper emphasises that we must not allow the importance of something as evidential to eclipse the underlying phenomenon, which is itself, however hard to access otherwise, the thing of primary legal importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented which introduces a special issue of Communication and Medicine (C&M) that is a collection of written-up versions of presentations from the 19th COMET (Communication, Medicine, and Ethics) conference, highlighting various topics ranging from dental professionals' role perceptions to public and social media narratives about vaccination. It also discusses the longstanding relationship between the COMET conference and C&M journal.

This paper investigates the preference for Andalusian Spanish (second language, L2) over German (first language, L1) in bilinguals who have a lisp and do not encounter a feeling of belonging to their L1 society due to reactions such a divergent pronunciation provokes. This issue is novel due to its interdisciplinary nature within this unique language combination, and it draws particularly on the fields of speech (pathology), language preference, communication, bilingualism, phonetics, psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics. To test the hypothesis 'some bilinguals who have a lisp prefer to use Andalusian Spanish (their L2) over German (their L1) to avoid the noticeability of their speech divergence', within the boundaries of the present exploratory case study, interviews with participants were recorded. It was found that participants sacrifice the usage of their L1 in favour of their L2 in an attempt to vanish their phonetic divergence. Such a finding is important because in Andalusian Spanish the pronunciation of the/s/is significantly reduced during the conversation flow on account of many of the language's specific phonetic conventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To use a discourse analysis approach to identify salient features in the lived experiences of dental professionals in relation to explaining periodontal (gum) disease to patients. Methods: Interview data from 13 UK-trained and three internationally-trained dental professionals was examined using thematic discourse analysis. The first stage (discourse analysis) focused on the identification of language patterns in the interview data. This stage forms the focus of this paper. Findings: Six discourse categories (Clinician, Mentor, Educator, Collaborator, Rapport Builder, Professional) were identified that related to the participants’ perceived professional roles. The categories were associated with differing worldviews and language use patterns, but with some overlap. All interviewees used a variety of discourse categories in their accounts, but a few relied predominantly on one category, e.g., Clinician or Mentor. Conclusions: The local discourse categories identified in this study reflect broader discourses in healthcare relating to the roles of providers and patients, which have evolved through time. Practice implications: Practising dental professionals are faced with a diverse range of patients who have different communication preferences. A suite of discourse categories can act as a ‘toolbox’ that dental professionals can flexibly draw on when needing to adopt a role that could predispose a particular patient to positive oral health behaviour change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the health-related and practical-theological debate, it is increasingly recognized that the core task of healthcare chaplaincy is spiritual care. There is a focus on the fundamental importance and necessity of spiritual accompaniment. However, concepts relating to this are only described in outline. Concepts that develop healthcare chaplaincy more precisely and present specific methods for the concrete "how" of spiritual care are still rare. This article outlines a basic dimension for chaplaincy and a methodology that is committed to the spiritual reality of people in secular modernity, beyond the internal religious culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Students completing a healthcare degree can experience difficulties, both academic and non-academic. Early intervention for struggling students may present an opportunity for remediation. Students may be coached in academic performance, clinical communication, values-based learning and development of professional identity. The referred students' coaching programme at the University of Birmingham is a unique offering, encompassing eight different healthcare programmes. Referrals can be triggered by academic performance and 'concern forms' by stakeholders. Concerns by referrers include exam failure, performance anxiety, lack of confidence, poor team and/or patient/public communication or inadequate self-presentation as well issues with attitudes/values, study methods, organisation, writing, language, motivation and conduct. Each student referred to the programme receives a bespoke coaching service. Sessions may include role play, narrative reflection, review and revision of academic work, structured feedback and signposting of resources. Methods and analysis: A qualitative evaluation is carried out of students referred to the Interactive Studies Unit at the University of Birmingham for coaching support with language, communication and professional development. This evaluation explores the experiences of referred students via qualitative surveys. The results are examined using thematic analysis and corpus linguistics. There is a minimum target of 15 participants. Dissemination: The findings will be published and shared internally for training and internal process improvement purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers insights into Srikant Sarangi's views on communication as 'action/meaning-making practice' and challenges the confinement of communication to a template of skills and behavior. Topics include the metaphor of communication as a conduit, the importance of context in understanding communication, and the role of embodied face-to-face engagement in communication, emphasizing the potential of incarnate communicating to be linked to 'communing' and 'community'.

Doctor -couple interactions in the context of assisted reproductive medicine frequently include occurrences of laughter, especially patient-initiated. These have been examined in previous studies from a quantitative perspective and in relation to specific topics, but not as regards the functions that laughter realises throughout the interactions. Our study aims to address this underinvestigated issue by providing an analysis of a small sample of consultations (n = 10) about assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments. The analysis is set within a discourse-interactional perspective on clinical interactions, which focuses on consultations as advice-seeking activities in which advice-giving is the main discourse type. The consultations have been analysed through structural mapping, which has revealed five main phases: opening, information sharing, problem identification, discussion of the options and closing. Laughter tokens have been identified and their functions are described from the point of view of an incongruity-based framework. The interactional functions of laughter described in this framework, e.g., 'marking incongruity', 'softening trouble-telling', 'showing sympathy', 'marking irony' etc., have then been mapped onto the different phases of the consultations, yielding a fine-grained description of when laughter occurs and what participants are using it for. Our study expands on previous analyses of laughter in ART consultations, offering a novel methodological approach that could be applied to larger corpora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines what happens when two disparate types of genres collide, here the heterogeneous and illicit genre of threatening communications on the one hand and the fixed and institutional legal genres of legislation, indictments and verdicts on the other. By following the different uptakes (Freadman 1994, 2002) -- including the specific types of textual travels (Heffer, Rock and Conley 2013) -- of threatening communications into judgments from 50 Danish threat cases, the author both considers how this central piece of language evidence is relayed to the courts and how the overall genre of threats is taken up by the Danish legal system. The findings show that some of the instability of the genre of threats rub off onto the indictments, specifically in their task of relaying the linguistic evidence of oral threats as accurately and transparently as possible. The study concludes that each genre in the legal genre set (Devitt 1991) plays a distinctive role in managing the collision between the heterogeneity of threats and the stringency of the legal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to van Holten and Walton's critique (van Holten & Walton, 2020, 2022) of John Swinton's theological approach to time and disability (Swinton, 2016, 2020), John Swinton is joined by the theological ethicist Professor Brian Brock. Swinton and Brock argue that while van Holten and Walton claim to be attempting to open up a dialogue, this is debatable. Dialogue is necessary for conversations such as these, but the thrust of their work has been focused on criticism and argument, without any constructive proposals for theory or practice. This might be acceptable if we were simply discussing concepts and ideas. It is less convincing when we are dealing with real people. As per their previous work, van Holten and Walton constantly attempt to push their ideas into practice without actually taking experience into consideration, which leads to significant contradictions and problems. In this article, we explore van Holten and Walton's approach to theology and doing theology -- what theology is, who should be allowed to participate in its formation and what approaches are considered appropriate, and, importantly, who makes that decision. We examine some of the significant problems with their position when it comes to examining complex real-world issues such as the experience of dementia and disability. The current article engages with the various criticisms and concerns that are put forward, and highlights some of our concerns and worries about the flaws in their approach and their lack of awareness of or attention to its implications for practice. Despite the fact that we are far apart on many issues, the article concludes that there may actually be a way forward if the desire for dialogue is taken seriously. The article ends with a constructive proposition that has the potential to positively ground and encourage future conversations between practical and philosophical theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on patients' increasing interest in recording clinic consultations, driven by the widespread availability of technology, the anticipation of complex information, and a sense of ethical right to record interactions with professionals. It discussion delves into the impact of patient-led recordings on genetic counseling services, considering cognitive burdens and benefits for patients in the context of reliving and reviewing conversations.

Background: Language discrepancies may create barriers to healthcare, compromise the quality of care and worsen health outcomes. This study explored what European countries currently do to ensure that foreign patients receive sufficient information about their medications if they do not understand the country's national language. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to the delegates of two Council of Europe committees. The recipients were asked to provide insights on how their country facilitates access to the necessary product information when patients do not understand the national language. Results: Seventeen out of 39 delegates completed the questionnaire. The majority of the respondents indicated that all healthcare professionals experience difficulties in providing guidance and advice to foreign patients. The results also showed that different methods are used nationally to present the necessary information to foreigners. Finally, the observations from this survey suggested that electronic leaflets in the patient's primary language could be a valuable option to improve access to medication-related information. Conclusions: Healthcare professionals seem to encounter challenges in providing foreign patients with information associated with medication use. Electronic leaflets can be one of the tools for improving communication between these patients and healthcare professionals to ensure that medicines are used safely and effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cross-sectional study design explored the relationship between medical students’ Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) clinical communication ratings and their responsiveness to simulated patient (SP) verbal emotional cues in their qualifying OSCE. Data were collected from two cohorts of fourth-year medical students (n = 37), and responses to patient cues that facilitated further disclosure or related discussion – known as provide space responses – from two OSCE communication stations were measured by coding video footage with the Verona Coding Definition of Emotional Sequences (VR-CoDES). The 37 medical students were representative of the larger cohort (n = 508) in terms of age. A significant positive correlation with a medium effect was found between OSCE clinical communication ratings and provide space responses. OSCE clinical communication ratings could differentiate between students who adopted patient-centred facilitative behaviours and those who did not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]