This volume examines this rapidly growing and changing field by applying a unified framework that integrates both interpersonal and mass communication investigations into theoretical and applied issues. Using a systems perspective as the organizational framework, relevant issues in the communication of health care, ranging from micro to macro levels, are discussed. The contributors recognize communication as a major factor affecting health today and therefore go beyond examinations of health communication as simply a dissemination of information regarding diseases, diagnoses, and treatments...

Technological development has changed the nature of industrial production so that it is no longer a question of humans working with a machine, but rather that a joint human machine system is performing the task. This development, which started in the 1940s, has become even more pronounced with the proliferation of computers and the invasion of digital technology in all wakes of working life. It may appear that the importance of human work has been reduced compared to what can be achieved by intelligent software systems, but in reality, the opposite is true: the more complex a system, the more...

This volume offers a social scientific look at humour's role in medical transactions, including excerpts of conversations between patients and caregivers. A close-up look at three medical case studies shows how humour is used to help a physical therapy patient overcome fear and queasiness.