http://www.reflexivity.us/wp/2009/08/moving-forward-for-a-noble-cause-rid-2009/ Interpretations by Stephanie Jo Kent Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:02:01 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 http://www.reflexivity.us/wp/2009/08/moving-forward-for-a-noble-cause-rid-2009/comment-page-1/#comment-1451 pomocommie Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:25:01 +0000 http://www.reflexivity.us/wp/2009/08/moving-forward-for-a-noble-cause-rid-2009/#comment-1451 We've discussed my objections to the powerful vs. powerless discourse before and in this context, too, I am not convinced by your reference to power differences as an explanation for the absence of hearing party representatives at the conference. Used in this way, the power concept becomes a blanket under which all sorts of mechanisms may be covered, it's simply not precise enough for me. The issue, as I see it, is the imbalance of stakes in the (outcome of) communication among the actors. The ones most acutely aware of having a lot to gain (or loose) in the communicative event, are naturally the actors who will take an interest in what is needed to guarantee the quality of the process, in this case, the interpretation process (which is, I gather, the red thread in the conference). In the end, it may come down to the same thing: the actor on the 'demanding' side is in a less powerful position, but by phrasing the issue more precisely the mechanisms at the origin of the perceived problem can be more clearly shown, which offers a lever for change. P.S. I noted down this comment before you published the post on Logical Teaming and I noticed that what I wrote has already partly been taken up there, so it seems we are thinking along the same lines, after all. We’ve discussed my objections to the powerful vs. powerless discourse before and in this context, too, I am not convinced by your reference to power differences as an explanation for the absence of hearing party representatives at the conference. Used in this way, the power concept becomes a blanket under which all sorts of mechanisms may be covered, it’s simply not precise enough for me.
The issue, as I see it, is the imbalance of stakes in the (outcome of) communication among the actors. The ones most acutely aware of having a lot to gain (or loose) in the communicative event, are naturally the actors who will take an interest in what is needed to guarantee the quality of the process, in this case, the interpretation process (which is, I gather, the red thread in the conference).
In the end, it may come down to the same thing: the actor on the ‘demanding’ side is in a less powerful position, but by phrasing the issue more precisely the mechanisms at the origin of the perceived problem can be more clearly shown, which offers a lever for change.
P.S. I noted down this comment before you published the post on Logical Teaming and I noticed that what I wrote has already partly been taken up there, so it seems we are thinking along the same lines, after all.

]]> http://www.reflexivity.us/wp/2009/08/moving-forward-for-a-noble-cause-rid-2009/comment-page-1/#comment-1450 Steph Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:20:45 +0000 http://www.reflexivity.us/wp/2009/08/moving-forward-for-a-noble-cause-rid-2009/#comment-1450 The "for a noble cause" phrase is a quote from RID's Office Manager, Elijah Sow. President Cheryl Moose explained that even with his background in a completely different field, Elijah finds working for RID his best job, because he "is working for a noble cause." And, the first part of the title, "Moving Forward," is taken from the workshop title from the NAD forum on Trends and Challenges for the interpreting profession, as seen from the Deaf point-of-view. The “for a noble cause” phrase is a quote from RID’s Office Manager, Elijah Sow. President Cheryl Moose explained that even with his background in a completely different field, Elijah finds working for RID his best job, because he “is working for a noble cause.”
And, the first part of the title, “Moving Forward,” is taken from the workshop title from the NAD forum on Trends and Challenges for the interpreting profession, as seen from the Deaf point-of-view.

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