HIV/AIDS Stories on the World Wide Web and Transformation Perspective
Authors:
Shaheed N. Mohammed a;
Avinash Thombre b
| Affiliations: | a Media Arts Department, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, New York |
| b Department of Speech Communication, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, Arkansas |
DOI:
10.1080/10810730590950066
Publication Frequency:
8 issues per year
Subject:
Communication Studies;
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Abstract
Survivor stories have been an important part of therapy and social support for persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS (PLWHAs), and the World Wide Web has made these stories accessible to a vast audience. These stories are examined in the light of the concept of “transformation perspective” defined as a self-communicative experience that changes an individual's life so that priorities and self-identity are refocused. The trigger event that alters the individual's life might be a diagnosis with cancer, HIV, diabetes, or some other serious illness; divorce; financial tragedy; unemployment; or retirement. The “disorienting dilemma,” according to Mezirow, leads to self-examination, and thus to changes in the individual's frame of reference. The present study found that PLWHA's stories with more details were more likely to reflect transformation perspective.
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