How Is Trust Possible? Case Study Of A Chinese Hospital

Li, Mi

Abstract

By examining the phenomenon of trust crisis, this thesis explores the connotation of trust in the context of a Chinese hospital. It brings together major literatures on Chinese hospital governance, systems theory, power, and trust. Combining with first-hand data collected in a Chinese hospital, this thesis produces a well-grounded analysis of how trust functions as a medium in a complex environment. With Luhmann’s systems theory, the circularity of the arguments this thesis puts forward is explained and justified. The thesis contends that, when a communication is overloaded with complexity and disrupted, trust can compound with another medium, power, to continue mediating communication. The compound form of trust is second-hand trust, a power-induced trust. Throughout the thesis puts a special emphasis on meaning: an attention to the very ‘grain’ of the mediating activity of trust.

Citation

Li, M. How Is Trust Possible? Case Study Of A Chinese Hospital. (Thesis). SOAS University of London

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 5, 2024
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.25501/SOAS.00042349
• Keywords: Hospital Governance, System Theory, Trust, Power, Second-Hand Trust
• Additional Information: Number of Pages : 189
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2024