Yvonne Tse Crepaldi, PhD
East Asian Studies Department
University of Alberta
Research
“Good relationships keep us happier and healthier” concluded Harvard Professor Robert Waldinger in his Tedtalk, from possibly the world’s longest study of adult life.
Social interactions in our everyday lives serve as the engines through which we construct social relationships. Through the use of language and non-verbal resources, we engage with one another. During these interactions, we seek to understand each other, make sense of our conversations, integrate our knowledge, express ourselves, all while managing power dynamics and accomplishing the tasks at hand.
The power of language in action extends beyond mere communication—it can forge connections and create divides, convey knowledge, and evoke empathy. This profound impact inspires my pursuit of studying linguistics and social interactions. I am particularly drawn to examining the dynamics between caregivers and young children, as well as the interactions between doctors and patients.
Recognizing the importance of global connectivity, I appreciate the value of speaking more than one language. This ability not only facilitates understanding among diverse speech communities but also fosters an appreciation for their cultures. As a supporter for linguistic and cultural diversity, I have worked as a language instructor and cross-cultural trainer. My overarching mission is to enhance communication and promote healthier social relationships. Here are some notable projects that I have contributed:
Children in Interactions
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Storytelling: Exploring Children's Narrative Co-construction and Socialization in Collaboration with Prof. Younhee Kim: Our research delves into the intricate world of storytelling, focusing on how children co-construct narratives about past events with their parents. We investigate the deliberate design of adult inputs, their intended purposes, the ways in which children's knowledge becomes public during interactions, and the role of storytelling in the socialization of moral norms. Additionally, our inquiry extends to pretend-play narratives, where children, in collaboration with their conversational partners (be it a parent or peer), engage in constructing fantasy stories. These narratives serve as windows into the children's reasoning and sense-making processes, offering valuable insights into the cognitive and social dimensions of storytelling in early childhood. Through this interdisciplinary exploration, we aim to deepen our understanding of the multifaceted role storytelling plays in children's cognitive development and moral socialization.
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A Two-Year Old's Resistance to Responses-for-Action in Caregiver-Child Interactions [Doctoral Thesis]: Inspired by my first child's transition into the notorious 'Terrible Twos' phase, this project delves into the intricacies of caregiver-child interactions, specifically focusing on the child's resistance to responses-for-action. Contrary to common assumptions about toddler defiance, the findings revealed a nuanced perspective. The two-year-old did not consistently express a straightforward 'no.' Instead, a myriad of verbal and non-verbal strategies emerged, allowing for the delay, mitigation, or evasion of requests while skillfully navigating the activity context.These nuanced responses provide valuable insights into early social cognition, challenging preconceptions about the Terrible Twos behavior. This research contributes significantly to our understanding of how young children navigate social interactions and lays the groundwork for further exploration in the field of early childhood development.​
Multilingualism
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Family Language Policy (FLP) from a transnational family: In collaboration with Dr. Hadi Seyed Mirhavedi, we conduct a case study based on my own family. We use an ethnographic approach, taking interviews with each family member, and reviewing diaries from my doctoral research, as well as some interactions to review the development that took place and challenges faced by this cross-cultural family in Singapore and Italy.
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Multilingualism as an interactional resource: This observation was derived from my doctoral research on a trilingual child. I look at a two year old’s responses in which he resists adult’s imposition or persists his will by using multiple languages. (Poster).
Healthcare Communications
During my postdoctoral fellowship, I collaborated with the research team Communication in Healthcare @ NTU (COHEN) COHEN is a founding member of the International Consortium for Communication in Health Care (IC4CH). Here are a few noteworthy projects in which I participated:
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“Quality Healthcare delivery for the Elderly: Consent-Taking in a Cataract Surgery Clinic in Singapore” (PI: Prof. Kang Kwong Luke, Co-PIs: Dr. Augustinus Laude, Asst. Prof. Lim Ni Eng and Dr. Tanya Tierney): This is a collaboration between NTU and the Eye Centre, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. We collected 100 video-recordings on cataract patients as well as first-visit consultations. Some preliminary observations are related to mild cataract patients’ concerns (poster), family involvement and language barriers.
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“Conversational Practices in a Urology Clinic” (PI: Asst. Prof. Lim Ni Eng): Headed by Asst. Prof. Lim Ni Eng, our team collated a corpus of 150 video-recordings on first-visit consultations in the Urology clinics of Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. A number of interesting observations are made by our team, such as the dilemma on deciding for an endoscopy treatment, deference to doctors’ decision, the sensitive question of smoking and doctor-patient relationship in flux.
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“Feedback dialogue in clinical communication practicum: Investigating the relationship of interaction dynamics and medical students' experiences of the feedback process” (National Healthcare Group HOMER Grant; PI: Dr Ler Lian Dee, Co-PI Dr. Tanya Tierney): Our team worked with the NHG on data provided by the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine to examine medical students’ communication practice sessions with simulated patients (SPs). We found that medical students tended to focus on conveying medical information to SPs. This may be related to what they were learning at the medical school during that year. This preoccupation with medical narrative and knowledge transfer may lead to disattending to the patient’s history and emotional displays.