Raising International Discourse Rights in Translation and Interpreting Pedagogy

This research project aims at consolidating and revitalizing translation and interpreting pedagogy with dual emphasis on the cultural soft power and international discourse rights of China via emphasizing international competitiveness. In order to realize the significant needs of the current market requirements and the new era of China, this project proposes the “ICC” interpreting training model. It refers to the combination of intercultural communication competency with international competitiveness as the teaching and learning outcomes by means of integrating the following five components in the course content and the whole curriculum design: (1) interpreting competency – bilingual competence and interpreting skill-based training; e.g., short-term memory and note-taking; (2) national value – strengthening translation and the crucial roles and responsibilities of interpreter trainers and trainees in disseminating national culture; (3) expertise of subject matters – equipping students with expertise for work field and meeting the market requirements; e.g., specific professional knowledge and jargons demanded by the tasks; (4) professional ethics and image – extra-linguistic knowledge emphasizing a translator’s and an interpreter’s professional code of conduct and ethics in a way that can establish the “iconic” image of a professional interpreter; e.g., confidentiality, posture, and appearance; (5) practical assessment – evaluation of students’ performance in practical translation and interpreting opportunities and/or internship in organizations of various natures according to international standards. This research proposes a new training model to incorporate intercultural communication competency with international competitiveness. The significant role of interpreting pedagogy in contributing to a sound national name is investigated. The new “ICC” model that this research is proposing answers such a call for the significant role of raising cultural soft power and international discourse rights in China.

Assessing a Nation’s Competitiveness in Global Food Innovation: Creating a Global Food Innovation Index

While food innovation is heavily influenced by the myriad of policies, regulations and other environmental factors within a country, globalization means that food innovation is also a matter of international competitiveness. This benchmarking exercise uses 24 variables to compare the different innovation environments across ten countries: Canada, the US, Mexico, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, and Australia. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected from publicly available sources only to measure each variable and ultimately provide a ranking. Qualitative data was evaluated using thematic coding to establish baseline practices and then compare each country to the baseline. Quantitative data was evaluated by constructing an average to which each country was compared. Countries whose data showed they met the average were awarded two points, and those who performed above or below average were either awarded an additional point or saw a point deducted. A final ranking was established from the scores across all four pillars, and the ranking was weighted to account for lacking data. The final weighted ranking saw the UK rank first, followed by the US, Germany, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Mexico, France and finally, Italy in tenth place.

Key problems of increasing Russia’s rating in the world economy

The article presents the results of a comprehensive analysis of the key problems that prevent Russia from raising the rating in the world economy, affecting the problem of the Russian Federation joining the five largest economies in the world. When studying the problems of increasing Russia’s ranking in the world economy, based on data from the Humanitarian Portal, estimates were made of the relative (in world comparison) level of development of the Russian Federation in terms of demographic development, social development, institutional development, political development, economic development, scientific and technological development, communication development, reputation development, global development. A distinctive feature of the studies presented is the reliance not on the country’s rating itself in the international comparison system, but on the relative assessment of this rating, taking into account the total number of countries covered by the corresponding rating. The analysis of the relative ratings of the international competitiveness of the Russian Federation was carried out using the desirability function H. D. Harrington (also known as the universal verbal-numerical scale), which allows you to translate relative quantitative assessments into qualitative ones. Based on the analysis, it is shown that at present Russia does not have objective prerequisites for joining the fi ve largest economies in the world, since the Russian Federation does not have a very high level of assessment according to the Harrington method according to none of the groups of indicators of international competitiveness. Most of the assessment groups (level of demographic, social, institutional, economic and social development) have an average level. A number of assessment groups (the level of scientifi c and technical, reputation and global development) have an average level. And the group for assessing the level of political development has a low level. Analysis of the structure of «pain points» of international competitiveness of the Russian Federation, corresponding to a very low level on the Harrington universal verbal-digital scale, showed that most of them are associated with problems of social development (suicide rate, level of quality of life, level of alcohol consumption, number of prisoners, level of happiness), indicating an insuffi cient level of motivation of the population for development.

Potential of Kazakhstan’s grain export trade

ABSTRACT: Kazakhstan is located in the hinterland of Central Asia. Its virtuous geographical advantages and huge grain production potential make it one of the most important grain exporters in the world. The research on the problem of the grain trade in Kazakhstan is of great significance for food security. This study measured its international competitiveness using the International Market Share Index, the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index, Trade competitiveness index and calculated the international competitiveness and analyzed the influencing factors of grain export by constructing an extended gravity model and measured its export potential. Results showed that Kazakhstan has a low share of the international grain market; however, wheat, barley, and buckwheat have strong export advantages; the level of economic development and economic distance has significantly promoted the scale of grain exports. While geographical distance, the difference in GDP per capita, and the fact whether trading partner countries have joined the Eurasian Economic Union have caused obstacles to grain exports. Kazakhstan’s export potential to 6 countries including Russia, Kyrgyzstan and China shows an upward” trend, its export potential to 6 countries including Tajikistan and Ukraine showing a “stable” trend, and its export to 9 countries included Poland and Germany. The potential showed a “declining” trend.

The Impact of Carbon Pricing On International Competitiveness In The Case of Azerbaijan

This article examines the impact of carbon pricing on international competitiveness for Azerbaijan, utilizing different cointegration methods such as, ARDLBT, CCR, DOLS, and FMOLS to the data spanning from 1998 to 2019. The results of the various cointegration approaches are in line with each other. The estimation results revealed that carbon pricing has a negative and significant impact on the international competitiveness in Azerbaijan. The study concludes that the Azerbaijani policymakers should implement carbon pricing measures (implicit) to decrease energy heavy industries as well as use more renewable energy in order to prevent higher pollution effects of fossil fuels.