Invest to Save: Report and Recommendations of the NSF-DELOS Working Group on Digital Archiving and Preservation

Digital archiving and preservation are important areas for research and development, but there is no agreed upon set of priorities or coherent plan for research in this area. Research projects in this area tend to be small and driven by particular institutional problems or concerns. As a consequence, proposed solutions from experimental projects and prototypes tend not to scale to millions of digital objects, nor do the results from disparate projects readily build on each other. It is also unclear whether it is worthwhile to seek general solutions or whether different strategies are needed for different types of digital objects and collections. The lack of coordination in both research and development means that there are some areas where researchers are reinventing the wheel while other areas are neglected. Digital archiving and preservation is an area that will benefit from an exercise in analysis, priority setting, and planning for future research. The WG aims to survey current research activities, identify gaps, and develop a white paper proposing future research directions in the area of digital preservation. Some of the potential areas for research include repository architectures and inter-operability among digital archives; automated tools for capture, ingest, and normalization of digital objects; and harmonization of preservation formats and metadata. There can also be opportunities for development of commercial products in the areas of mass storage systems, repositories and repository management systems, and data management software and tools.

Legal Terminology and Lesser Used Languages: The Case of Mòcheno

Since 2003 the Institute for Specialised Communication and Multilingualism of the European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC) offers education courses in legal terminology work, coupled with introductions in related/complementary disciplines, e.g. documentation, specialised translation and technical writing. Next to professional trainings, the Institute held also ad-hoc courses, such as a two-day course organised in 2008 for the Mòcheni, a Germanic minority living in the Italian Province of Trento. Since the passing of provincial law no. 6/2008, which foresees specific measures for the protection and promotion of local language minorities, the Mòcheno-speaking community has the right to use their language in all situations of social, economic and administrative life in both oral and written communications. Notwithstanding the recent compilation of a standard grammar, the Mòcheno language is not yet developed for the use in technical and specialised contexts. Indeed, the most urgent needs seem to exist in the translation of administrative terminology

An interpreter advantage in executive functions? A systematic review

The aim of this systematic literature review was to answer the question of which executive function is most affected by interpreter training and experience. We used the 'unity and diversity' framework of executive functions to distinguish between three executive components: Response and Distractor Inhibition, Shifting, and Updating. Among the seventeen studies included in the review, we only found evidence for an interpreter advantage on Shifting and Updating, but with a different pattern for each of these. With regard to Updating, groups of interpreters scored better than comparison groups, but general trend in longitudinal studies did not show an improvement for interpreter trainees. In contrast, for Shifting, scores improved as a result of interpreting training. Our systematic review stresses the importance of understanding the diversity of executive processes when investigating the relationship between interpreting and cognitive performance

Technical Conception and Implementation of an IT-System supporting the flexible Distribution of Documents within a large scale Sales Organization

This thesis aims to discuss and present an IT system to distribute documents within a large scale sales organization. Therefore, different sales applications on the market are analyzed and described. Based on this analysis, requirements for the IT system are defined. The requirements are divided into client-side and server-side requirements. The server application is realized using an existing ECM system to support the content throughout the enterprise content life cycle. Therefore, an evaluation of existing ECM systems is performed with a criteria catalog based on the requirements. Afterwards, the conception and architecture of the IT system is described, followed by further insights into the technical implementation of the mobile application. Finally, the features of the overall IT system are discussed and an outlook on how to extend the IT system is presented

ICT for the EU Multilingualism

“Multilingualism” is regarded as the ability of communities, groups and individuals to use more than one language on a regular basis in their daily activities, the way to unite “rich in diversity” Europe. ICT can make any necessary information available and accessible, help eliminate language barriers. The European Commission is developing 30 research and innovation projects of language technology which purpose is to help Internet users to get access to the information in their native languages. These projects include the protection of minor languages, the promotion of sign languages, the development of translation technologies

EU Services Directive - Design Approaches for Romania

Modernizing public administration is the basis for implementation of the EU directive, and in order to ensure this successfully, collaborative procedures between administrative institutions and countries must be put in place and further developed. This paper will present some technical design options for an architectural framework of the Point of Single Contact imposed by EU Services Directive that takes into consideration the specific e-Government background of Romania.EU Services Directive, Romanian e-Government, design, architecture, process, SOA

ELF at the European Commissione: a survey-based study on interpreters' perceptions

L\u2019inglese come lingua franca (ELF) si sta trasformando nel principale strumento di comunicazione interculturale al mondo. Il filone di ricerca ELF si \ue8 limitato finora all\u2019analisi di interazioni presenziali, discussioni in gruppo e incontri professionali, trascurando contesti pi\uf9 complessi e monologici come le conferenze (cfr. Reithofer 2010: 149). Tuttavia, ELF si fa strada anche in questo tipo di contesti, in cui le barriere linguistiche erano tradizionalmente superate ricorrendo all\u2019operato degli interpreti. ELF e l\u2019interpretazione si intrecciano in seno alle istituzioni europee, che rappresentano un campo di indagine particolarmente affascinante, alla luce della tensione che esiste tra politiche linguistiche consensualmente adottate ai pi\uf9 alti livelli e ispirate al multilinguismo e le scelte quotidiane volte a darvi applicazione, che possono inficiare il buon esito degli eventi comunicativi. La principale ipotesi di ricerca del presente studio \ue8 che ELF sia un fattore determinante, che esercita un\u2019influenza diretta sull\u2019applicazione del principio del multilinguismo all\u2019interno dell\u2019UE: sortisce un impatto sulla gestione del regime linguistico delle riunioni, sul servizio di interpretazione, sui diritti dei partecipanti alle riunioni e, non da ultimo, sul lavoro degli interpreti in cabina. Il presente studio esplora la percezione che gli interpreti hanno di ELF tramite un questionario (IPE, Interpreters\u2019 Perceptions of ELF). Gli interpreti sono testimoni diretti dell\u2019uso della lingua (Donovan 2009: 62): la loro opinione sull\u2019utilizzo di ELF \ue8 pertinente, dato che il loro lavoro \ue8 direttamente influenzato dall\u2019evoluzione delle politiche linguistiche in seno all\u2019UE. Il progetto di ricerca esplora le seguenti aree: l\u2019impatto di ELF sull\u2019efficacia comunicativa, sull\u2019attivit\ue0 degli interpreti e sul multilinguismo. Gli interpreti considerano ELF un fattore nocivo in termini di efficacia comunicativa. Ritengono che la maggior parte dei parlanti perda credibilit\ue0 e incisivit\ue0 esprimendosi in ELF e sospettano che ELF possa ostacolare una loro partecipazione attiva alle riunioni. I dati rivelano che sono ampiamente concordi nel ritenere che interpretare un oratore che si esprime in ELF sia particolarmente impegnativo, a causa di una fase di \u2018decodificazione\u2019 che va ad aggravare delle risorse cognitive gi\ue0 sovrastimolate. Gli elementi pi\uf9 problematici sono pronuncia, intonazione e sintassi che, a loro avviso, sono fortemente influenzati dalla L1 dei parlanti. Inoltre, esprimono un certo grado di frustrazione dinanzi ad ostacoli spesso insormontabili che rendono l\u2019interpretazione un compito ingrato. La posizione dei partecipanti alle riunioni \ue8 contemplata dallo studio tramite l\u2019analisi di dati derivati da un secondo questionario, il CSS (Customer Satisfaction Survey), un\u2019indagine sulla soddisfazione dei clienti organizzato dalla Direzione-Generale per l\u2019interpretazione della Commissione europea e rivolto ai partecipanti stessi. Il CSS e l\u2019IPE non sono direttamente raffrontabili, poich\ue9 si rivolgono a due diversi gruppi e sono stati redatti per scopi distinti. Pertanto, i dati del CSS sono stati analizzati solo nella misura in cui potevano confermare o confutare i risultati dell\u2019IPE.English as a lingua franca (ELF) is becoming one the most common means of intercultural communication around the world. The range of communicative events analysed by ELF research is mostly limited to face-to-face interactions, such as group discussions and business meetings, and does not generally include more complex and monologic settings, such as conferences (see Reithofer 2010: 149). Nevertheless, ELF is increasingly making way into these communication settings as well, where language barriers were traditionally overcome solely by means of interpretation services. Interpreting and ELF are naturally intertwined within the European Institutions, which represent a particularly stimulating scenario to investigate, as a tension is evident between language policies consensually agreed on a higher level and based on multilingualism and the daily choices on how to apply these policies, which affect the successful unfolding of communication events in various ways. The main research hypothesis of the present study is that ELF is a determining factor directly affecting how multilingualism is applied within the EU. More specifically, it affects language arrangements in meetings, the role of interpretation services, meeting participants\u2019 rights and not least the interpreters\u2019 work in the booth. The present study investigates EU interpreters\u2019 stance on the use of ELF by means of a questionnaire (the IPE, Interpreters\u2019 Perceptions of ELF). Interpreters are \u201cfirst-hand witnesses to actual language use\u201d (Donovan 2009: 62): their opinion on the use of ELF and effective communication is relevant, considering that they are in the front line when it comes to any evolution in the language policies adopted by the EU. Furthermore, it is their task and responsibility to make sure that communication between participants runs smoothly, to achieve the ultimate goal of ensuring that the European and national institutions can effectively exercise their right of democratic scrutiny. Three main areas are explored: the impact the use of ELF has on communicative effectiveness; the impact the use of ELF has on their interpreting; and the impact the use of ELF has on multilingualism and participation rights. Interpreters describe ELF as being a detrimental factor in terms of communicative effectiveness. They believe most speakers to lose credibility and incisiveness when resorting to ELF and question whether it might even represent a barrier to active participation. Interpreters also broadly agree that interpreting ELF speakers tends to be particularly demanding, due to an additional \u2018decoding\u2019 phase that ends up overloading already taxed processing capacities. The features they struggle most with are pronunciation/intonation and syntax, which, in their opinion, are heavily influenced by speakers\u2019 L1, thus conferring a higher degree of unpredictability to their speeches. Furthermore, interpreters admit to a certain degree of frustration, as they feel they are sometimes faced with unsurmountable obstacles, turning interpretation into a daunting task. Meeting participants are also accounted for, through the analysis of the data derived from a second questionnaire, the CSS (Customer Satisfaction Survey), the latest edition of a survey designed every two years by the European Commission Directorate-General for Interpretation and addressed to meeting participants, in order to assess their satisfaction with the services provided. The CSS and IPE are not directly comparable, as they address a different population and are drafted with different aims. Consequently, CSS data have only been analysed to the extent that they could confirm or refute IPE\u2019s results

Internationalisation and modern languages in Scottish Further and Higher Education

This scoping study investigated the impact of internationalisation strategies on modern language provision in Scottish further and higher education and was commissioned by the Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies. It follows on from the report by Footitt (2005), which explored issues of internationalisation and modern languages in England. The present investigation had the following aims: to identify the main policy documents related to internationalisation strategies and modern languages in Scottish further and higher education and explore to which extent internationalisation initiatives support or encourage the development of students' language and to explore the explicit and implicit messages given by institutional websites about international student support and about modern language study; to explore the views of selected stakeholders in Scottish further and higher education with regard to internationalisation strategies and in what ways international activities at selected institutions offer opportunities for language learning