Needs assessment in translation teaching

Babel ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Defeng Li

As we are advancing into the new millennium, changes are taking place in translation markets and technology is fast becoming omnipresent. In the face of changes and new technology, translation programs and courses must respond to the changing needs of society. It is argued in this paper that in the process of planning/restructuring/innovating translation programs to address the changing social needs, needs assessment is crucial. Rather than sitting behind closed doors charting out the possible needs of our students, which often are considerably different from the actual needs of translators (Cheung, Xu, Chan and Yim 1993), we need to carry out serious needs assessment to find out what the real needs are. It is further argued that needs assessment should be a continual process and take place throughout the instructional program (Burnaby 1989;Savage 1993), thus influencing materials selection, curriculum design and teaching approaches. Major assessment methods for translation programs/courses are then described in brief for reference. The paper concludes that (1) Whatever the format and focus of the needs assessment, the basic purpose is to determine what are the real needs of our students:and (2) When curriculum content, materials, and teaching approaches match social needs, student motivation and success are enhanced.

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Skues

In 1892–3 Freud published his first substantial case history, which concerned a patient treated by means of hypnotic suggestion. For some years this has been one of the few remaining of Freud's dedicated cases histories where the patient has not been identified. More recently, however, two publications independently arrived at the conclusion that the patient was none other than Freud's wife, Martha. This paper sets out the reasons why this identification should always have been treated with suspicion, even if the real identity was not known. Nevertheless, the paper goes on to offer a more plausible identification from among Freud's known social circle. The second part of the paper questions the circumstances under which the original misidentification could plausibly have been sustained in the face of such glaring evidence to the contrary. It concludes that, among other reasons, recent tendencies in controversies about Freud's trustworthiness have the hazard of leading to unreliable assumptions about Freud's honesty being taken as a basis for sound historical investigation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 17-26
Author(s):  
Paul W. Merrick

The influence of Byron on Liszt was enormous, as is generally acknowledged. In particular the First Book of the Années de pèlerinage shows the poet’s influence in its choice of Byron epigraphs in English for four of the set of nine pieces. In his years of travel as a virtuoso pianist Liszt often referred to “mon byronisme.” The work by Byron that most affected Liszt is the long narrative poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage which was translated into many languages, including French. The word “pèlerinage” that replaced “voyageur” is a Byronic identity in Liszt’s thinking. The Byronic hero as Liszt saw him and imitated him in for example Mazeppa and Tasso is a figure who represented a positive force, suffering and perhaps a revolutionary, but definitely not a public enemy. Liszt’s life, viewed as a musical pilgrimage, led of course to Rome. Is it possible that Byron even influenced him in this direction? In this paper I try to give a portrait of the real Byron that hides behind the poseur of his literary works, and suggest that what drew Liszt to the English poet was precisely the man whom he sensed behind the artistic mask. Byron was not musical, but he was religious — as emerges from his life and his letters, a life which caused scandal to his English contemporaries. But today we can see that part of the youthful genius of the rebel Byron was his boldness in the face of hypocrisy and compromise — his heroism was simply to be true. In this we can see a parallel with the Liszt who left the piano and composed Christus. What look like incompatibilities are simply the connection between action and contemplation — between the journey and the goal. Byron, in fact, can help us follow the ligne intérieure which Liszt talked about in the 1830s.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Ghani Imad

The problematic addressed in this article is the challenge initiated by the Arab revolutions to reform the Arab political system in such a way as to facilitate the incorporation of ‘democracy’ at the core of its structure. Given the profound repercussions, this issue has become the most serious matter facing the forces of change in the Arab world today; meanwhile, it forms the most prominent challenge and the most difficult test confronting Islamists. The Islamist phenomenon is not an alien implant that descended upon us from another planet beyond the social context or manifestations of history. Thus it cannot but be an expression of political, cultural, and social needs and crises. Over the years this phenomenon has presented, through its discourse, an ideological logic that falls within the context of ‘advocacy’; however, today Islamists find themselves in office, and in a new context that requires them to produce a new type of discourse that pertains to the context of a ‘state’. Political participation ‘tames’ ideology and pushes political actors to rationalize their discourse in the face of daily political realities and the necessity of achievement. The logic of advocacy differs from that of the state: in the case of advocacy, ideology represents an enriching asset, whereas in the case of the state, it constitutes a heavy burden. This is one reason why so much discourse exists within religious jurisprudence related to interest or necessity or balancing outcomes. This article forms an epilogue to the series of articles on religion and the state published in previous issues of this journal. It adopts the methodologies of ‘discourse analysis’ and ‘case studies’ in an attempt to examine the arguments presented by Islamists under pressure from the opposition. It analyses the experiences, and the constraints, that inhibit the production of a ‘model’, and monitors the development of the discourse, its structure, and transformations between advocacy, revolution and the state.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1029.1-1029
Author(s):  
Y. Livshits ◽  
O. Teplyakova ◽  
A. Sarapulova

Background:Telemedicine counseling (TMC) has gained rapid development during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prospect of using this technology in rheumatology was based on the possibility of getting maximum information about the patient during the survey, examination and interpretation of laboratory and instrumental data, that is excepting direct contact with the patient. Several rheumatological clinics have reported on the success of using TMC. However, there is very little data of the difficulties that can be encountered when organizing this process.Objectives:To characterize the identified problems during TMC in rheumatology, to suggest potential directions for their elimination.Methods:Since June 2021, on the basis of the Medical Association “New Hospital”, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation, 76 TMCs have been performed on the profile of rheumatology in patients aged 29 to 71 years. Of these, 13 applied to the primary TMC, the other patients were preliminarily examined in person. The consultation included the preliminary acquaintance with the examination results, a 20-minute video communication and writing of a conclusion. After each TMC, a survey was conducted between the doctor and the patient, including the identified deficiencies in counseling. The frequency of identified problems is presented as an absolute indicator and as a percentage of the total number of TMCs performed.Results:We noted a high degree of patient satisfaction: 74 (97.4%) responded that they received answers to all. However, according to the doctor, the following groups of problems were identified.[1]Technical problems in 29 (38.2%): most often there were various problems with the Internet, but there were also registered: the end of the charge on the patient’s tablet, the patient was not registered in the electronic queue. Elimination of these violations depends on the work of IT-specialists, but each consulting physician should be prepared for an immediate transition to an alternative form of communication (for example - telephone).[2]Lack of objective examination, leading to the impossibility of correct remote diagnosis - 8 (10.5%). This problem was identified due to the inability to establish the presence or absence of arthritis during the initial diagnosis (6 cases) and to clarify the nature of the rash (2 cases). All patients are invited for a face-to-face consultation.[3]The need to write prescriptions for psychotropic drugs - 12 (15.8%), which under the conditions of national legislation cannot be done in the TMC regime.[4]The time spent directly on remote communication with the patient was 17.2 minutes (from 8 to 31), however, taking into account the study data and writing the conclusion, the total time was 40.7 minutes (from 21 to 73). Thus, it turned out that the average time for remote and face-to-face consultations is the same, while TMC’s payment is only about 50% of the face-to-face consultation. This situation reduces the doctor’s interest in carrying out TMC. The solution to the problem is associated with reducing the time for the documentation process through technical improvements. In addition, of the 9 patients in whom the TMC process lasted 60 minutes or more, 5 were diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It is possible that with a previously established diagnosis of fibromyalgia, only face-to-face counseling should be recommended to patients.Conclusion:The TMC system is promising, however, there are a number of problems that need to be improved, since they can reduce the doctor’s interest in using this technology.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110301
Author(s):  
Erin McCune ◽  
Jennifer Wojtowicz ◽  
William Adams ◽  
Garry Sigman ◽  
Collette Williams ◽  
...  

Background Loyola Medical Center is located in Maywood, IL, a community that faces high rates of poverty, violence, and barriers to healthcare. These factors can contribute to toxic stress, which has been shown to negatively impact children’s health. Objectives The goal of this project was to partner with community organizations to obtain a baseline needs assessment from families in Maywood regarding sources of toxic stress and to identify interventions of interest. Methods In total, 75 anonymous surveys were collected from the Loyola Outpatient Center Pediatric Clinic and a Maywood community center. Survey responses were statistically analyzed in order to determine toxic stressors most commonly impacting families in Maywood as well as interventions of most interest to the community. Results There were 78 respondents for a response rate of approximately 71%. The most common stressors were smoking in the home (33.3%), food insecurity (29.5%), and exposure to violence (26.9%). In this sample, Black respondents were 11.5 times more likely than non-Black respondents to report that their child was exposed to violence in the community – even after controlling for concern about their child’s behavior which served as a surrogate measure of the child’s exposure to toxic stress (P = 0.001). Further, those living with food insecurity were 7.40 times more likely to report that access to food and transportation vouchers were important ( P < .001). For every 1-point increase in the total toxic stress score, respondents were 1.35 times more likely to report that increasing access to mental health resources was important to them, though this was not significant ( P = .10). Conclusion The data demonstrate that toxic stressors, health risks and unmet social needs are prevalent in the Maywood community, which puts local children at risk for future adverse health outcomes. With this information, pediatricians at Loyola Medical Center can work with community organizations to allocate resources to address toxic stressors in Maywood.


2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-199
Author(s):  
Edgar Tello Garcia

The aim of this paper is to study the second person pronoun in the poetry of Randall Jarrell and Gabriel Ferrater. The main thesis goes against the commonplace that holds that the second person pronoun is a mere trace dependent on the poetic I. As we shall demonstrate, the You is absent or evanescent, and its relation to I cannot be reciprocal but shifting. Since both poets were conspicuous literary critics this article first draws up an outline of the possible theoretical implications for selecting that voice. The commentary on their poems is divided into four sections taking up Genette’s concept of palimpsest. Based on a comparison of Ferrater’s “La cara” and Jarrell’s “The Face,” second person clues lead us to comment on the different reading conventions they could have considered before writing a poem. The third section analyzes the second person anchorage, conceived less as an imprisoning structure than as an impossibility of naming (reading) the You properly. Studies of “Well water” and “Si puc” show how naming things that are open to the senses is the only way we can indirectly glimpse, reconstruct or interpret the original relation between first and second person pronouns —a relation we cannot help thinking of as the real— rather than phantasmal —overlapping realism.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Khayal Iskandarov ◽  
Piotr Gawliczek

The Russo-Georgia war in 2008 and the conflict in Ukraine in 2014 galvanized the countries, which are namely squeezed between NATO and Russia into considering their strategies again. The paper examines Russia’s efforts to maintain its influence in its “near abroad” in the face of NATO’s enlargement. It principally focuses on identifying the challenges particular countries face as obstacles to NATO accession. The arguments raised in the paper prove that, the primary reasons of Russia-Georgia War and Ukraine conflict are associated with these countries’ NATO aspiration. An argument regarding the Alliance’s reluctance to actively engage in partner nations is also presented. The objective of the study is to consider the repercussions of NATO aspiration and introduce the real prospects of cooperation with NATO. The research methods primarily used in the book are comparative analysis and synthesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (55) ◽  
pp. e12459
Author(s):  
Óscar Iván Rodríguez-Cardoso ◽  
Vladimir Alfonso Ballesteros-Ballesteros ◽  
Manuel Francisco Romero-Ospina

Engineering, understood as the gathering of scientific and technological knowledge for innovation, creation, advancement and optimization of techniques, as well as a set of useful tools to meet social needs and solve technical problems of both individuals and the community, makes its main actors, engineers, key players in sustainable development and in the creation of alternatives that minimize the negative effects of technology on society. It is in this sense that technology assessment approaches should take importance among those who manage technology development and implementation policies. Generally, the undesirable effects of the intrusion of a new technology are acted upon when they already occur, and technology assessment is intended to anticipate the risk. This paper presents a bibliographic review of technology assessment, its approaches and future study needs. Based on an articulating axis that positions technological change and innovation as an imperative need for social development, an exhaustive review of related articles in specialized databases was carried out. The most important results of this work reveal that the field of technological assessment has been strongly inclined towards the health or sanitary sector; however, research is being developed in central engineering topics such as the development of nanotechnology, robotics, and the handling of big data, where the European model stands out as a reference for technological assessment processes due to its inclusive and democratic nature.


2001 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Kozolanka

Abstract: When faced with privatization by the Ontario government, the public educational broadcaster TVOntario took a pro-active stance in the face of the neo-liberal ideology of reduced public expenditure and institutional restructuring. TVO won short-term salvation by embracing market model methods, but in so doing it may have lost its niche as a public educational broadcaster. It now faces two major policy challenges. It must balance its general-audience broadcast arm with its newly refocused educational arm and it must negotiate possible political interference from the imperative to connect the government's newly revised school curricula to its new technology-in-education arm. This paper also situates the TVO example as a rejection of the privatization agenda of the Government of Ontario. Finally, this paper uses the TVO example to raise questions about hybrid models of broadcasting. Résumé: Pour éviter que le gouvernement de l'Ontario ne la privatise, la station éducative publique TVOntario a adopté une position qui prend les devants face à la volonté néolibérale de réduire les dépenses publiques et restructurer les institutions. À court terme, TVO s'est protégé en adoptant des méthodes axées sur le marché, mais celles-ci lui ont peut-être coûté son créneau particulier à titre de diffuseur éducatif public. En effet, TVO doit maintenant relever deux défis politiques imposants. La station doit équilibrer le besoin de s'adresser à un auditoire général avec celui remis au point d'offrir des émissions éducatives. En outre, elle doit parer à des interventions politiques possibles émanant de son obligation de relier le nouveau curriculum scolaire à sa nouvelle branche consacrée à la technologie dans l'éducation. Cet article discute de TVO comme manifestant un rejet des projets de privatisation du gouvernement ontarien. Finalement, l'article utilise l'exemple de TVO pour soulever des questions sur des modèles de radiodiffusion hybrides.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document