Translating Multicultural Texts: Challenges and Solutions

Translating literary texts involves decoding not only the language but also the cultural elements integrated into the text. The situation becomes even more challenging if the translated text is multicultural. The original text may be full of references, allusions and subtexts that can present certain difficulties even for native speakers. The translator faces the double challenge: not only to convey the plot, which is the least difficult part but make the reader feel the subtleties and nuances of the cultures presented in the text. Cultures are not necessarily associated with different ethnic and religious identities. They may also refer to cultures of certain periods in history, cultures of age groups, cultures of local communities. Oversimplifications made by the translator rob the reader of the pleasure of reading and may create a distorted image of the writer and the text. We aim to analyse typical translation errors made by translators of contemporary Russian fiction into English. The analysis is based on Narine Abgaryan’s Three Apples Fell from the Sky and Dmitry Novikov’s A Flame Out in the Sea, both originally written in Russian and characterised by a high degree of multiculturalism. We also suggest practical ways to overcome the difficulties arising in the process of translating multicultural texts.

Using CycleGAN to Achieve the Sketch Recognition Process of Sketch-Based Modeling

Architects usually design ideation and conception by hand-sketching. Sketching is a direct expression of the architect’s creativity. But 2D sketches are often vague, intentional and even ambiguous. In the research of sketch-based modeling, it is the most difficult part to make the computer to recognize the sketches. Because of the development of artificial intelligence, especially deep learning technology, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have shown obvious advantages in the field of extracting features and matching, and Generative Adversarial Neural Networks (GANs) have made great breakthroughs in the field of architectural generation which make the image-to-image translation become more and more popular. As the building images are gradually developed from the original sketches, in this research, we try to develop a system from the sketches to the images of buildings using CycleGAN algorithm. The experiment demonstrates that this method could achieve the mapping process from the sketches to images, and the results show that the sketches’ features could be recognised in the process. By the learning and training process of the sketches’ reconstruction, the features of the images are also mapped to the sketches, which strengthen the architectural relationship in the sketch, so that the original sketch can gradually approach the building images, and then it is possible to achieve the sketch-based modeling technology.

TYPICAL INVESTIGATIVE SITUATIONS AT THE INITIAL STAGE OF INVESTIGATION OF FRAUDS COMMITTED WITH THE USE OF SOCIAL ENGINEERING METHODS IN THE FIELD OF INFORMATION AND TELECOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

In cases of social engineering fraud, the most difficult part of their organization is the initial investigation phase. The sequence and tactical features of the production of investigative actions aimed at identifying these frauds are largely determined by the investigative situations that develop at the initial stage. The article discusses typical investigative situations that arise at the initial stage of investigation of frauds committed using methods of social engineering in the field of information and telecommunication technologies. The sequence of investigative actions and other procedural measures in the course of a preliminary investigation within the framework of an initiated criminal case on the fact of committing such frauds, depending on the current investigative situation, is considered.

Wartime activities of the Vavilov Institute

Among the chronicles relating the heroism of the besieged Leningrad, there are pages dedicated to the deeds performed by the staff the world-famous All-Union Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR, now the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources). With the beginning of the war, even before the city was surrounded by the Nazi troops, the government decided to evacuate a number of factories and institutes from Leningrad, including VIR, but the plan failed. Only in winter did the Institute start partial evacuation, although preparations had been going on for a long time. The largest and most important part of the collection was left behind in the besieged city. The remaining employees were forced to work under the hardest conditions of the siege, in unheated premises. In the harsh reality of the winter in 1941–1942, the daily bread rationing was cut down, and hunger raged in the city, killing tens of thousands of city residents, including VIR employees who kept the stored seeds and tubers untouched. The most difficult part was preserving the potato collection. In the spring of 1942, preparations were made for sowing to restore the viability of seeds and tubers in the fields of Leningrad’s suburban area under the fire from the enemy artillery. Only the heroic efforts of VIR’s staff helped to save the collection from destruction and loss of germination. This heroism cost more than 20 experts and scientists their lives. So, the most dangerous period for the Institute was overcome at such price. Immediately after the siege was lifted, a group of experts was sent to Leningrad from Krasnoufimsk to help with selecting seed accessions for urgent reproduction. Working under extreme physical exhaustion in frozen premises, without water or electricity, under continuous shelling, they saved, many at the cost of their own lives, the collection of cultivated plants and their wild relatives, the herbarium, and the scientific library for future generations.

Hybrid gene selection method based on mutual information technique and dragonfly optimization algorithm

One of the most prevalent problems with big data is that many of the features are irrelevant. Gene selection has been shown to improve the outcomes of many algorithms, but it is a difficult task in microarray data mining because most microarray datasets have only a few hundred records but thousands of variables. This type of dataset increases the chances of discovering incorrect predictions due to chance. Finding the most relevant genes is generally the most difficult part of creating a reliable classification model. Irrelevant and duplicated attributes have a negative impact on categorization algorithms’ accuracy. Many Machine Learning-based Gene Selection methods have been explored in the literature, with the aim of improving dimensionality reduction precision. Gene selection is a technique for extracting the most relevant data from a series of datasets. The classification method, which can be used in machine learning, pattern recognition, and signal processing, will benefit from further developments in the Gene selection technique. The goal of the feature selection is to select the smallest subset of features but carrying as much information about the class as possible. This paper models the gene selection approach as a binary-based optimization algorithm in discrete space, which directs binary dragonfly optimization algorithm «BDA» and verifies it in a chosen fitness function utilizing precision of the dataset’s k-nearest neighbors’ classifier. The experimental results revealed that the proposed algorithm, dubbed MI-BDA, in terms of precision of results as measured by cost of calculations and classification accuracy, it outperforms other algorithms

Students’ Achievement on Institutional TOEFL an Evaluation at FBS Universitas Wijaya Putra

This study tries to describe students’ achievement on institutional TOEFL in Universitas Wijaya Putra. The test is meant as a means of evaluation upon the launching of a mandatory subject as a prerequisite towards final paper writing. The program begins with ten weeks of test preparation completed with a try-out test and the final test. This is a descriptive study since it tries to depict the result of their achievement and the most difficult section of the test. The data analysis uses the computation upon the results mostly applied for Excel Program, particularly in finding the Mean (X) and the Standard Deviation (S). The findings derived from the data analysis tell that 62.85% of the class belong to Grade D which means it is far below expectation. The finding also identified that Listening Section is to be the most difficult part of the test. Still, the findings say none of the students included into the level of either extremely excellent or failed. It is a big task to fulfill a better target for the coming classes by undergoing revision and development in many aspects, especially in time allocation and the module.

Common Problems in English Pronunciation Among Chinese Learners and Teaching Implications

In the process of learning any languages, pronunciation is an important part of language acquisition because pronunciation may influence a listener’s comprehension of one’s expression. An example is the classical mistake of pronouncing “sink” and “think.” Because Germans cannot pronounce /s/, the rescue worker cannot understand why a man who is “thinking” needs help. In China, English learners are also facing the problems of pronunciation. Gimson, a famous professor of linguistics in Britain, pointed out that when learning a language, one should understand 50%-90% of its grammar and 1% of its vocabulary, but it is necessary to fully master the pronunciation, thus highlighting the importance of pronunciation.[1] However, pronunciation is a difficult part of a second language acquisition. This article analyzes the problems of pronunciation and discuss some methods on how to resolve them.

A call for peacemaking: A perspective from the Sermon on the Mount

In a country burdened by violence and intolerance where many citizens claim to be Christians, a call to respond to a Christian ethics of peacemaking is appropriate. This article explores the instruction of the Matthean Jesus that his followers should be peacemakers amidst their exposure to violence. The point of departure is taken from the seventh beatitude ‘blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God’ (Mt 5:9). The motif of peacemaking is followed through in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount and then contextualised within the broader Matthean narrative. In the article the strenuous environment is considered in which the Gospel was written and the frequent occurrence of resistance, antagonism, violence and strife in the narrative. Instead of the endless and escalating chain of violence spawning yet more violence, Jesus breaks this chain. He instructs his disciples to be peacemakers. Peace starts with peace with God but ripples out to peace in families and among neighbours, until it comes to the most difficult part, peace with enemies.Contribution: Based on this investigation, the article offers pastoral guidelines for Christians on how they ought to deal with a violent and intolerant environment.

Tourism carrying capacity and Social Carrying capacity: A literature review

In driving sustainable tourism, the concept of carrying capacity in tourism needs to be applied. This concept of carrying capacity gives a comprehensive emphasis in the development of tourism whether in physical, social or economic aspects. If this concept is applied, it is in determining the situation in a tourist destination whether it is still in a state that can be accepted by the stakeholders in tourism, namely tourists, locals and tour operators. In this paper, emphasis is given to social carrying capacity in tourism which is one of the parts in tourism carrying capacity. This social capacity is the most difficult part to examine because it involves unequal perceptions and views from various parties. It involves interactions between tourists and tourists that cover issues of congestion and the quality of their tourism and interactions between tourists and locals or hosts that involve issues of their quality of life. Due to that, this social capacity is quite difficult to implement in some tourist areas.

A case report of schizophrenia with an atypical presentation of body dysmorphic disorder

Although body dysmorphic disorder is a psychiatric disorder. Sometimes, it can be a variant of a variety of psychiatric syndromes like schizophrenia, mood disorders, OCD etc. Here is an atypical case report of a 28 years old male patient who presented with body dysmorphic disorder later on diagnosed as having schizophrenia. The difficult part in this diagnosis is to make the difference between the psychotic and the non-psychotic form of the disorder. Finally, its successful treatment with antipsychotic drugs, thus contributing to what has been documented on the subject. Bang J Psychiatry 2018;32(2): 40-43