Social and economic actors in the evaluation of translation technologies. Creating meaning and value when designing, developing and using translation technologies

Evaluation of translation technologies is a social activity, which involves the establishment of knowledge communities as well as the creation of competition to produce better tools. Companies developing translation technologies need to encourage the evaluation of their tools (through online forums, discussion lists, blogs, product communities, community translation, etc.), since evaluating the technology implies spreading and sharing knowledge about it; and sharing the same knowledge or the same modes of thinking and operation, rather than sharing the same material resources, represents the basis of future economic competition. When exchanging knowledge about technologies, translators engage in social activity: they express their opinions and feelings about the technologies they are using, they make judgments about the worth or value of a specific technology, they influence others’ decisions or they believe their thoughts will have an impact on decisions companies will make. This article investigates the use of translation technology evaluation criteria as they are represented in several translators’ communities and it calls for a multidisciplinary approach when analysing translation technologies adoption, use and evaluation.

Historical Ecology: A Robust Bridge between Archaeology and Ecology

How can the disintegration of ecosystems, the foundation of life on Earth, be halted and these critical systems be rehabilitated? For scholars, the action list is long: increase the pool of expertise by engaging all relevant knowledge communities, collect rapidly disappearing data, analyze with both familiar and new methods, and apply the results of actionable science to policy and practice. This enormously complex and urgent activity requires an integrated research framework with the flexibility to accommodate the global diversity of places, peoples, and processes and to examine future options. Based on evidence of environmental change and human activity, the framework termed historical ecology assembles tools to construct an evidence-validated, open-ended narrative of the evolution and transformation of specific ecosystems and landscapes. Welcoming knowledge from scholars and communities of both heritage and practice, this comprehensive and systemic understanding offers insights, models, and ideas for the durable future of contemporary landscapes. The article evaluates how practitioners could adjust aspects of practice and improve access to policy makers, and the discussion applies to regions and localities everywhere.

Alternative Publications, Spaces and Publics: Revisiting the Public Sphere in 20th- and 21st-century China

Reviewing the extant literature on China's public sphere from the perspective of 20th-century history and social science, this introductory essay argues for the continued relevance of studying the publications and public practices associated with knowledge communities. By steering away from normative definitions and by envisaging publicness as a process, a connection can be explored between social discourses and political practices in China. Discursive communities, based on shared identity or sociability, may appear marginal, but at key moments they can play a unique role in modifying the dynamics of political events.

Building Success in Development and Peacebuilding by Caring for Carers: A Guide to Research, Policy and Practice to Ensure Effective, Inclusive and Responsive Interventions

The experiences and marginalisation of international organisation employees with caring responsibilities has a direct negative impact on the type of security and justice being built in conflict-affected environments. This is in large part because international organisations fail to respond to the needs of those with caring responsibilities, which leads to their early departure from the field, and negatively affects their work while in post. In this toolkit we describe this problem, the exacerbating factors, and challenges to overcoming it. We offer a theory of change demonstrating how caring for carers can both improve the working conditions of employees of international organisations as well as the effectiveness, inclusivity and responsiveness of peace and justice interventions. This is important because it raises awareness among employers in the sector of the severity of the problem and its consequences. We also offer a guide for employers for how to take the caring responsibilities of their employees into account when developing human resource policies and practices, designing working conditions and planning interventions. Finally, we underscore the importance of conducting research on the gendered impacts of the marginalisation of employees with caring responsibilities, not least because of the breadth and depth of resultant individual, organisational and sectoral harms. In this regard, we also draw attention to the way in which gender stereotypes and gender biases not only inform and undermine peacebuilding efforts, but also permeate research in this field. Our toolkit is aimed at international organisation employees, employers and human resources personnel, as well as students and scholars of peacebuilding and international development. We see these communities of knowledge and action as overlapping, with insights to be brought to bear as well as challenges to be overcome in this area. The content of the toolkit is equally relevant across these knowledge communities as well as between different specialisms and disciplines. Peacebuilding and development draw in experts from economics, politics, anthropology, sociology and law, to name but a few. The authors of this toolkit have come together from gender studies, political science, and development studies to develop a theory of change informed by interdisciplinary insights. We hope, therefore, that this toolkit will be useful to an inclusive and interdisciplinary set of knowledge communities. Our core argument - that caring for carers benefits the individual, the sectors, and the intended beneficiaries of interventions - is relevant for students, researchers, policy makers and practitioners alike.