Institutional Interaction focuses on talk and interaction in institutional contexts. The first systematic book-length study on this expanding area, it discusses the theory and methodology of conversation analysis, focusing on studies of institutional interaction, before examining the basics of institutional interaction in selected fields. Cutting-edge new applications are assessed, such as human-computer interaction, the role of ethnography, statistics and the relationship of institutional talk to ordinary talk. Accessibly written and carefully structured to provide a sophisticated introduction to conversation analysis applied in institutional settings, the book offers a wealth of examples ranging from the classroom, to the courtroom, to the doctor's surgery. The book also features helpful suggestions for further reading, designed to appeal to students and academics in socio-linguistics, social psychology, organizational studies, management and information systems and applied linguistics.
'Conversation Analysis is making an enormously important contribution to the study of interaction and communication in such institutional settings as medical consultations, news interviews, counselling and courtroom examination. In doing so it is beginning to re-specify the sociolinguistic programme, and has re-engaged with more traditional sociological ethnographic inquiry. Arminen provides a lively and engaging introduction to this expanding and in some respects, controversial field of inquiry. He offers the student reader a clear picture of the scope of this field, including significant areas which have only recently emerged, such as interactional aspects of information systems.' Paul Drew, University of York, UK