Crisis translation: considering language needs in multilingual disaster settings

Purpose: The purpose of this conceptual paper is to highlight the role that language translation can play in disaster prevention and management and to make the case for increased attention to language translation in crisis communication. Approach: The article draws on literature relating to disaster management to suggest that translation is a perennial issue in crisis communication. Findings: Although communication with multicultural and multilinguistic communities is seen as being in urgent need of attention, we find that the role of translation in enabling this is underestimated, if not unrecognised. Value: This article raises awareness of the need for urgent attention to be given by scholars and practitioners to the role of translation in crisis communication

Communities of practice and translation: An introduction

A community of practice is a concept that can be used to examine how groups of people share knowledge and learn. Researchers in Translation and Interpreting Studies have found value in the concept to study translator and interpreter education and to research knowledge sharing and collaboration among networks of professional translators, fansubbers, translation activists, and public service interpreters and translators. Many of these previous studies examined how translators and interpreters (or those who saw themselves as translators and interpreters) learned by doing and formed communities around a shared practice. Our motivation for this special issue was to explore settings in which individuals who might not identify themselves as translators or interpreters share knowledge about translation or interpreting. We use this introductory article to expand on this motivation, outline fundamental ideas related to communities of practice, summarise each contribution to the issue, and suggest themes and future directions that can be derived from the research presented

The international humanitarian sector and language translation in crisis situations: assessment of current practices and future needs

Assessment Focus During major social disruptions, such as civil conflicts, natural disasters, or other crises, access to information is of fundamental importance to response and recovery operations. Ability to understand the language in which information is disseminated is a key marker of social vulnerability to disasters or crises. Assessing the degree to which the service efforts of organizations involved in the humanitarian sector are informed by commitment to multilingual communication and language translation is important to understanding how these organizations contribute to risk reduction and improved community resilience. This short report provides an assessment of the current state of practice and key language access issues in the humanitarian sector. Guiding Questions Assessment of the efforts in the humanitarian sector in crisis relief and recovery work can be understood in the context of the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit’s Grand Bargain commitments to reform aspects of humanitarian organizations’ relief work. Among those goals are key pronouncements on accountability, localization, and participation; language is integral to each. Because of the importance of language access to risk reduction and resilience in crisis situations, the assessment here attempts to address three questions: (1) what is the significance of language access to international humanitarian assistance efforts?; (2) what constitutes effective practices or key challenges at present?; and (3) what is the prospect for humanitarian organizations’ managing language access needs in the future? Key Findings Study subjects voiced near unanimity that providing language access is fundamentally important to humanitarian operations, but, at present, the capacity to formalize or routinize such efforts is limited; There was wide-spread consensus that accommodating language needs is necessary for achieving the Grand Bargain’s aim of two-way communication for greater accountability of operational humanitarian organizations towards affected communities; Accommodating language needs is consistently seen as a complex task; currently, even when there is capacity to address the issue, there is no agreement on how language needs should be accommodated; Language access capabilities may go beyond budget or staff resources and include issues of modality, culture, politics, ownership within the organizations, etc.; Key gaps in practice render service delivery less effective. Implications & Recommendations Findings suggest defined “ownership” of language translation within an organization is key to effective practice; Incorporating more systematic efforts on language translation in humanitarian operations is directly relevant to the Grand Bargain goals of accountability, localization, and participation in serving affected communities; Establishing systematic provision for communication in local languages in humanitarian response plans is crucial as the world is facing increasing hazard vulnerability; Improving humanitarian assistance requires management solutions such as better integration of language access provision with the cluster system

Proprioceptive training and sports performance

One of the current trends in the field of sports training concerns the integration into training programs of exercises defined as "proprioceptive", which also include balance exercises, used to optimize performance, prevention or recovery from injuries. After introducing and describing the main characteristics of proprioceptive training in sports, the present review aims to set out and analyse the various flaws in this type of training as it is commonly practiced, in order to lay the groundwork for future improvements in proprioceptive training. Our research highlights that it is common practice to combine proprioceptive training with training on unstable surfaces, generally meaning the same for both situations. Such practices are indicative of the confusion surrounding the concepts of proprioception and balance. Indeed, until these two concepts and their respective performance benefits are clearly differentiated, it will be difficult to move beyond the controversy surrounding proprioceptive training and hence. to make advances in the field of proprioceptive training research. In conclusion, therefore, against the comforting theories that accompany the use of proprioceptive training in relation to the improvement of performance, unfortunately there is a literature that shows many variables not yet considered or treated in an approximate way