Expanding the role of the interpreter to include multiple facets of intercultural communication

Intercultural communication difficulties include language factors handled well by interpreters, but the problems also include factors such as non-verbal behavior, different bases for making attributions about others, and biases stemming from the ingroup-outgroup distinction. Interpreters could expand their role by incorporating these additional facets of intercultural communication into their work. The job enlargement could have such beneficial effects as greater satisfaction, productivity, and pride in the profession. The enlargement would also increase the visibility of the profession, especially at a permanent organization where interpreters and elected representatives could form stronger relationships than those common at ad hoc meetings held in different places.     

A rational, successive g-index applied to economics departments in Ireland

A rational, successive g-index is proposed, and applied to economics departments in Ireland. The successive g-index has greater discriminatory power than the successive h-index, and the rational index performs better still. The rational, successive g-index is also more robust to differences in department size.     

IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY IN THE NEWSROOM?

In an attempt to produce more news stories, faster and on different platforms, the national Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DR, has introduced a new workflow. This new workflow is based on principles and practices known internally as “the news engine,” and it has brought with it changes in regards to both the news products, the news processes and the individual news producers. This article is based on newsroom observations, interviews with employees and content analyses, and it shows how the practice of journalism at DR News has been altered in several ways after the implementation of the news engine. The changes in DR News have become the inspiration for other television stations, and the study concludes by discussing how this particular workflow affects the profession of journalism. Rather than a proletarianization of the profession, this study points to a polarization where some journalists experience a deskilling and a decrease in autonomy, while others experience an increase in autonomy as part of a process of reskilling and multiskilling.     

Sport for Social Change and Development: Sustaining Transnational Partnerships and Adapting International Curriculums to Local Contexts in Rwanda

Abstract

Local Non-Governmental Organisations and sports organizations have been recognized as important and well positioned strategic implementing bodies by the ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ (SDP) sector. Whilst they may be experienced and knowledgeable of the historical and local sociocultural landscape, many seek to form transnational partnerships, for the purpose of expanding their capacity, sustainability, and expertise. Rwanda’s history of genocide frames much of its development objectives, and sport has been an integral method for implementing programmes that speak to social impact and reconciliation aims. This paper examines a transnational partnership active in Rwanda, that uses football as a tool to achieve its shared development goals. We conducted ethnographic fieldwork in Rwanda, by volunteering with the organizations as they delivered SDP programmes across the country. In doing so we were able to deconstruct the management and intricacies of this partnership and contextualize the important negotiations, management and style of approach when tackling difficult issues. This paper contributes to both expanding our knowledge of transnational partnerships and provides unique commentary that aligns the complexities of engaging with local populations in post-genocide Rwanda with ‘Sport for Social Development’ programming.     

Prevalence of poor sleep quality,sleepiness and obstructive sleep apnoea risk factors in athletes

Purpose: Despite the perceived importance of sleep for athletes, little is known regarding athlete sleep quality, their prevalence of daytime sleepiness or risk factors for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) such as snoring and witnessed apnoeic episodes. The purpose of the present study was to characterise normative sleep quality among highly trained team sport athletes.

Methodology:175 elite or highly trained rugby sevens, rugby union and cricket athletes completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Score (ESS) and Quality of Life questionnaires and an OSA risk factor screen.

Results: On average, athletes reported 7.9?±?1.3?h of sleep per night. The average PSQI score was 5.9?±?2.6, and 50% of athletes were found to be poor sleepers (PSQI?>?5). Daytime sleepiness was prevalent throughout the population (average global score of 8.5) and clinically significant (ESS score of ≥10) in 28% of athletes. OSA may be an important clinical consideration within athletic populations, as a considerable number of athletes (38%) defined themselves as snorers and 8% reported having a witnessed apnoeic episode. The relationship between self-rated sleep quality and actual PSQI score was strong (Pearson correlation of 0.4?±?0.1, 90% confidence limits).

Conclusion: These findings suggest that this cohort of team sport athletes suffer a preponderance of poor sleep quality, with associated high levels of daytime sleepiness. Athletes should receive education about how to improve sleep wake schedules, extend total sleep time and improve sleep quality.     

The breadth of peer relationships among preschoolers: an application of the Q-connectivity method to externalizing behavior

Preschoolers' (M(age) = 48.7 months) social breadth (the number of peer children interact with and the frequency of these interactions) and the relations between breadth and externalizing behaviors were examined using the Q-connectivity method. After considering age, sex, and classroom effects on social breadth, children's externalizing behaviors were studied in relation to levels of social breadth across variations in frequency of exposure to peers and to patterns of decline in social breadth. Externalizing preschoolers occasionally interacted with most of their classmates. However, their individual peer networks moderately to rapidly became selective, and they engaged in repeated interactions with a relatively small number of peers. Although there were no sex effects, significant age and classroom effects were obtained.     

Genome-Wide Polygenic Scores Predict Reading Performance Throughout the School Years

It is now possible to create individual-specific genetic scores, called genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS). We used a GPS for years of education (EduYears) to predict reading performance assessed at UK National Curriculum Key Stages 1 (age 7), 2 (age 12) and 3 (age 14) and on reading tests administered at ages 7 and 12 in a UK sample of 5,825 unrelated individuals. EduYears GPS accounts for up to 5% of the variance in reading performance at age 14. GPS predictions remained significant after accounting for general cognitive ability and family socioeconomic status. Reading performance of children in the lowest and highest 12.5% of the EduYears GPS distribution differed by a mean growth in reading ability of approximately two school years. It seems certain that polygenic scores will be used to predict strengths and weaknesses in education.     

Engagement: rhetoric’s tale from the field

‘Engagement’ has since the mid-1990s led to a series of initiatives and campus centers wherein many universities attempt strategies that are primarily administrative and programmatic. By contrast, our tale from the field points to an inherent and original connection between rhetoric and engagement; we propose that the fundamental principles of rhetoric and communication equip scholars to work effectively toward the goal of engaged research and teaching. Our stories from the University of Texas Intellectual Entrepreneurship Consortium and from the University of Pittsburgh’s Honors College indicate that there is significant value and power in taking to heart the lessons of the discipline for our own actions and lives as educators. Acting on what we know directs us toward such concepts as invention, discovery, argument, deliberation, advocacy, and intervention – the rhetorical instruments needed to change the academic culture and create environments for engaged learning.