Books are silent ambassadors: The Noma award for the translation of Japanese literature

Summary Now more than ever good translations are proving to be vitally important to fulfilling Shoichi Noma’s mission of advancing good relationships between cultures. With the emergence of dozens of world-class Japanese writers, the translators of Japanese literature have acquired a new significance and a new importance. No longer are they required to simply handle the language like an exotic and precious commodity but they must prepare a writer’s work to compete with literature from around the globe and let others understand the issues at their very heart of the Japanese people. Indeed, the selection committee’s choice of Murakami’s Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is an apt example of how literature at its very best can span cultural divides to promote mutual understanding of very complicated and important world issues. Written for Japanese to help them understand the devastation of war, it is a rare and timely book that confronts Japan’s experience head on. Ironically, Noma’s idea that books are silent ambassadors, an idea born from agony and defeat, so many years later is helping the world come together towards a unified vision of peace and understanding. “Literature has been described as a means of exchange between the hearts of people. Literary translation, then, is the building of bridges so that all peoples of the world can interact in this way.” Ye Weiqu, Chinese Institute of Social Studies.     

如何认识和设计政务信息资源目录体系和交换体系

近年来,推动政府信息公开、资源共享,已成为政府信息资源开发利用的一项重要工作.许多领导人和专家都反复强调:该工作的核心是建设政府信息资源目录体系和交换体系.那么,什么是政府信息资源目录体系和交换体系呢?我们认为,正确理解这两种体系,是正确地设计和实施并使其有效地发挥作用的前提.……     

人性、人民性和先进性的和谐统一--兼评广播剧《女公安局长》

生活是文艺创作的源泉，英雄辈出的中原大地更是文艺作品生长的良田沃土。任长霞的英雄事迹见诸媒体之后，各种文艺作品争相涌现，在广播影视文艺界乃至全社会形成五彩缤纷的“任长霞现象”。在电影《任长霞》即将拍竣时，电视剧《任长霞》已于2005年4月在央视一套黄金时段播出。与此同时，由河南省委保持共产党员先进性教育活动办公室和有关部门主办的弘扬长霞精神的大型诗歌朗诵会《忠诚颂》在河南郑州举行。值得一提的是，由河南人民广播电台创作的广播剧《女公安局长》，在如何利用广播剧这一独特形式进行主旋律题材文艺创作方面进行了创新性的探索．收到了良好效果。全剧于2004年12月在河南电台播出后，今年5月1日又在中央人民广播电台重播．众多文艺作品之所以引起强列反响，原因之一是因为它们都凸显了一个鲜明特点：人性、人民性和共产党员先进性的和谐统一。     

Analysis of Statistical Question Classification for Fact-Based Questions

Question classification systems play an important role in question answering systems and can be used in a wide range of other domains. The goal of question classification is to accurately assign labels to questions based on expected answer type. Most approaches in the past have relied on matching questions against hand-crafted rules. However, rules require laborious effort to create and often suffer from being too specific. Statistical question classification methods overcome these issues by employing machine learning techniques. We empirically show that a statistical approach is robust and achieves good performance on three diverse data sets with little or no hand tuning. Furthermore, we examine the role different syntactic and semantic features have on performance. We find that semantic features tend to increase performance more than purely syntactic features. Finally, we analyze common causes of misclassification error and provide insight into ways they may be overcome.     

Sustainability of independent community archives in China: a case study

There are three models for community archives in China. The first one is where community archives are kept in government-funded/government-established museums or archives. The second is where community archives are kept by scholarly organizations such as universities. The third involves the community establishing its own archive. This last model is very unusual in China. The PiCun Culture and Art Museum of Migrant Labor (PCMML) provides an example of this model as it is the only independent community archives focusing on migrant workers in China. This paper explores the emergence and development of PCMML, its impact on community members and challenges faced including funding and staffing, but also those unique to China—PCMML is greatly influenced by a range of national and local government policies and regulations. Conclusions are that survival strategies for independent community archives in China are dependent on three dimensions: the community itself, society and the government. Cultural consciousness of the community is the premise for the establishment and sustainability of independent community archives, and independent community archives can be the public space to cultivate cultural consciousness of community members and thus activates community members’ agency to document, preserve and disseminate their own history. At the same time, independent community archives also need to engage with broader society to avoid involution and gain support and understanding. Independent community archives are constrained by government policies and regulations, so it is essential for them to develop strategic relationships with government.     

An Investigation of Textbook Vetting and Evaluation Process in Tanzania

Textbook vetting and evaluation process intends to ensure that the materials provided are relevant, of the required quality, suitable ad would enhance learning efficiency and effectiveness. The paper investigates the role of publishers and Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) in the textbooks vetting and evaluation process; examines factors used to vet, evaluate and approve primary and secondary school textbooks in Tanzania and proposes Strategies that would enhance the textbook vetting, evaluation and process. The study used a mixed method research design. Respondents were selected educational publishers; MoEVT, Baraza la Kiswahili Tanzania, TIE, and Publishers Association of Tanzania. Questionnaire and semi- structured interview were used to collect data which were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. Major findings of the study were; textbooks vetting and evaluation process is not professionally conducted although standard criteria have been established; there is not well established roles among key players involved in the vetting and evaluation process leading to conflict of interest between TIE and the publishers. The study recommends establishing an independent professional evaluation board and a well-defined timetable and effective communication among various players; enacting a book policy and adopting a limited multiple-textbook publishing system.     

The Motivations of Book Publishers in Germany and Australia: An Empirical Comparison

Our study compares the motivations of Australian and German book publishers. The results demonstrate remarkable similarities, but also a significant difference regarding the effects of the publishers’ self-concept. In the German case the publishers with a dominant economic orientation are more proactive than the publishers with a dominant cultural orientation. In the Australian case, this correlation does not exist. The same difference holds for the relationship between the economic orientation and extrinsic motivation. We discuss these results and examine empirical evidence and theoretical suggestions to explain the differing findings. The data stem from surveys conducted in the two countries with responses of 196 (Germany) and 54 publishers (Australia).