Merran Toerien and
Clare Jackson formed part of a symposium entitled 'Conversation analysis as critical analysis?', organised by Prof. Elizabeth Peel (University of Worcester) and chaired by Ryan du Toit (Rhodes University).
The four papers broadly focussed on the use of conversation analysis (CA) to examine decision-making in clinical contexts, showing how CA can be used to illuminate the micro-social production of healthcare. Data from different clinical contexts formed the bases of the presentations.
- Ryan showed the complex interplay between the lifeworld of a service user and the biomedical world in which she was interacting with staff in a diabetic clinic.
- Clare explored the ways in which healthcare practitioners can open up or close down the interactional space for women to make decisions during childbirth.
- Merran presented data from neurology clinics, showing the complicated nature and unintended consequences of enacting NHS policy for patient-led care in situated interactions between staff and service users.
- Liz examined productions of diagnostic information about dementia in interactions between doctors and patients, showing how doctors are sensitive to the needs of patients and their families.
Laurie Hanquinet has joined the Editorial Board of Sociology along with existing member Nisha Kapoor from our department. 
Laurie Hanquinet is delighted to announce that her new book the Routledge Handbook of the Sociology of Arts and Culture (co-edited by Mike Savage) will come out at the end of the month. 
Want to understand how people tick? Want to explore todays big questions about society? The Guardian has released an article arguing that social science is the answer.
The new issue of Discover Society magazine focuses on the 'Politics of Data'. Dave Beer has an article in the issue on 'The growing power of the data analytics industry'. You can read the article here - Discover Society
