Do New Technologies Improve Translation Pedagogy?

This contribution wants to add to the discussion if technology supports translator training and where its advantages and boundaries lie. It is by no means exhaustive; rather it is intended to serve to highlight the diversity of possible applications using a pedagogic focus.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Google translate and deepL: breaking taboos in translator training

Over the past years, whenever we read about using machine translation (MT) we were advised that it was not suitable for regular professional translation. Students were warned to use Google Translate in their assignments or exams, and would be punished if they did. The reason was that MT usually produced a poor outcome whenever it was not applied for controlled language of pre-edited texts within a specific field of expertise, and with post-edition of the target text. This situation led us to avoid using MT. Related to specialized texts, and after a time of training, meanwhile MT systems managed to produce quite acceptable results and help to translate faster. But in recent times, new systems have been developed called Neural Machine Translation (NMT), and the output quality is reasonably good. As translator trainers we asked ourselves: Why not use post-editing of automatic translated texts as a chance for translation pedagogy and focus on diagnosis and therapy of those errors still made by MT as a means to improve command in both, mother and second language?Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Audiovisual accessibility and translation practices in Spanish cinema and theatre: From regulations to screen and stage

In the last decade, very specific regulations have been developed in Spain regarding media accessibility. Public institutions and academic initiatives are also working to promote media accessibility. Regulative pillars for the implementation of accessibility practices in the audiovisual media are a reality in Spain. There comes the time to analyse if the practices correspond to their demands. This paper presents the results derived from the study of audiovisual accessibility and translation practices implemented in the cinemas and theatres of Malaga (Spain), Mediterranean paradigm of multilingual cultural offer, during the first quarter of 2019. The audiovisual offer, the accessibility and translation practices used, the technical means applied for the display of the final products and the languages involved in the process are studied consequently. The final results may contribute to foster social inclusion and fill in a theoretical gap in academic research

La Universidad al alcance de todos: contenidos audiovisuales accesibles para la docencia y el autoaprendizaje

El uso creciente de material didáctico en formato digital no es solo una “tendencia pasajera”, sino que obedece a un cambio de paradigma en la cultura educativa universitaria, pues sus beneficios frente a los materiales tradicionales son numerosos: gracias al material multimedia digital se atiende mejor a las necesidades individuales de los estudiantes, quienes disponen fácilmente de material auténtico y de actualidad, y se saca más provecho del tiempo disponible para la docencia. El proyecto de innovación educativa “Elaboración de material audiovisual accesible para la docencia y el autoaprendizaje” (PIE-65 de la Universidad de Málaga, 2015-2017) nace de la experiencia como docentes universitarias y de nuestro trabajo en otros proyectos de innovación educativa relacionados con el mundo de la discapacidad visual y auditiva. Observamos el interés que podía tener el material audiodescrito y subtitulado para este grupo de destino junto con lectores de pantalla específicos como JAWS. Nuestro proyecto tuvo como objetivo final la creación de vídeos breves que fueran píldoras formativas con objetivos de aprendizaje muy definidos. Estos vídeos fueron subtitulados con SPS (subtítulos para sordos) y/o audiodescritos. Con este material audiovisual se pretendía: crear material docente accesible para personas con discapacidad auditiva o visual y facilitar así el aprendizaje autónomo a estos alumnos y fomentarlo entre los demás, especialmente los de movilidad internacional, e impulsar la coordinación y colaboración entre docentes mediante la creación de actividades didácticas audiovisuales

El escape room como método para el aprendizaje de segundas lenguas

La didáctica ha reconocido ya hace tiempo que los juegos pueden desempeñar un papel importante en la educación y la formación, también en la dirigida a los adultos. Las causas por las que el juego nos atrae pueden residir en las habilidades y el dinamismo que exigen: el uso de estrategias, el pensamiento innovador, la capacidad de negociación, además del placer que nos aporta el mismo hecho de ganar. Sin embargo, el uso del juego no es de por sí una receta mágica. Las estrategias de aprendizaje sobre las que se basa un juego son las que deberían determinar si es conveniente utilizarlo para conseguir un objetivo concreto. En el marco de la innovación docente desarrollada por la Cátedra Estratégica de Interactividad y Diseño de Experiencias de la Universidad de Málaga, hemos trabajado la ludificación de contenidos relacionados con la historia de las matemáticas mediante una escape room o sala de escape, juego que consiste en ir solucionando diferentes tareas para poder “escapar” de la habitación en la que están encerrados los jugadores. En este trabajo se exponen en primer lugar la metodología y las estrategias de aprendizaje del escape room en general para, a continuación, esbozar las líneas directrices de nuestro proyecto “La habitación de Emi” y, finalmente, proponer una aplicación al aprendizaje del alemán como segunda lengua que incluye elementos para aprender sobre geografía, historia social, historia cultural y, por supuesto, sobre la lengua en sí, basándonos en las asignaturas de Lengua y Cultura I – IV (alemán) del Departamento de Traducción e Interpretación de la Universidad de Málaga.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Evolving trends in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 waves. The ACIE appy II study

Background: In 2020, ACIE Appy study showed that COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected the management of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) worldwide, with an increased rate of non-operative management (NOM) strategies and a trend toward open surgery due to concern of virus transmission by laparoscopy and controversial recommendations on this issue. The aim of this study was to survey again the same group of surgeons to assess if any difference in management attitudes of AA had occurred in the later stages of the outbreak. Methods: From August 15 to September 30, 2021, an online questionnaire was sent to all 709 participants of the ACIE Appy study. The questionnaire included questions on personal protective equipment (PPE), local policies and screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection, NOM, surgical approach and disease presentations in 2021. The results were compared with the results from the previous study. Results: A total of 476 answers were collected (response rate 67.1%). Screening policies were significatively improved with most patients screened regardless of symptoms (89.5% vs. 37.4%) with PCR and antigenic test as the preferred test (74.1% vs. 26.3%). More patients tested positive before surgery and commercial systems were the preferred ones to filter smoke plumes during laparoscopy. Laparoscopic appendicectomy was the first option in the treatment of AA, with a declined use of NOM. Conclusion: Management of AA has improved in the last waves of pandemic. Increased evidence regarding SARS-COV-2 infection along with a timely healthcare systems response has been translated into tailored attitudes and a better care for patients with AA worldwide

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.Peer reviewe

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030