Concepts in Biology: Syllabus Essay

ATTENDANCE – It is important that you make every effort to attend all of the lectures. There is a high correlation between higher test grades and attendance. Please arrive on time and avoid leaving early. You are responsible for all lecture material and the assigned material in the text that is relevant to the topics covered in class. Preview the text before coming to class and have a framework for understanding the lecture material. After lecture read the parts of the text directly relating to lecture and review your notes before studying. You should study – at least – 3 hours for each 75 minute lecture. Attendance will be  taken – unannounced – throughout the semester. CELL PHONES AND TEXTING is a distraction to you, your neighbors and to the lecturer. Please turn off your cell phone before entering room 404E. Talking on your cell phone or text messaging during class is inappropriate behavior. LAPTOP COMPUTERS are also a distraction to others in the class. Please put your laptop away during lecture. You learn best by creating your own handwritten notes. EXAMINATIONS will be machine graded. YOU WILL NEED A #2 PENCIL for filling out the ScanTron forms. Exam scores will be reported to you on eLC. If you have any questions about your test  scores, check with Ms. Davis in the Biology Office (room 403). You should have a #2 pencil with you for every class! (attendance/ exams). Memorize your 810 number – you will need it for quizzes, exams and attendance checks. ACADEMIC HONESTY: â€Å"Whatever form it takes, academic dishonesty hurts everyone: It is unfair to other students, it diminishes the reputation of the University and the value of the degree it confers, and it can result in serious disciplinary action† (Dr. Robert Kirkman, Georgia Tech). As a student of the University of Georgia, it is your responsibility to become familiar with, understand,  and abide by the standards contained in â€Å"A Culture of Honesty†. Any person appearing to be academically dishonest will be reported to the office of the Vice President for Instruction. For more information regarding academic dishonesty, please consult â€Å"A Culture of Honesty† available on the web at www. uga. edu/ovpi/academic_honesty. htm. Ignorance of these regulations is not a defense in cases of infringement. The penalties for academic dishonesty can be severe. So, JUST DON’T DO IT! GRADES: There are four (4) fifty (50) question exams and a comprehensive final exam. Each correct  exam question is 2 points (100 points/exam). Exams will have a total value of 400 points. The final exam will have 100 questions worth 200 points. Total points for the semester are 600. 20 or more extra credit points will be available through unannounced attendance checks and quizzes. Final grades are based on your total accumulated points and will be awarded as listed below: Possible Points for the Semester Exams – 4 exams x 100 points / exam 400 points Final Exam 200 points Total 600 points Grade % Total points A 93 -100 558 A- 90 – 92 540 B+ 87 – 89 522 B 83 – 86 498 B-80 – 82 480 C+ 77 – 79 462 C 73 – 76 438. C- 70 – 72 420 D 60 – 69 360 F

Difference between memory and knowledge Essay

Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experience. It’s a very complex system and to understand it there have been many theories that attempt to explain it. In order to help me answer this question, I will look at the theorist JM Gardiner, along with other theorists such as Tulving, Mandler and Schacter in order to help me conclude if they are the same thing, inter-related or completely different. Tulving (1985), distinguished between two quite different recollective experiences: remembering, which is someone’s concrete awareness of oneself (autonoetic consciousness) in the past, which is driven by the prefrontal cortex, allows people to mentally represent past, present, and future experiences in a highly personal and subjective manner. And knowing, which is your abstract knowledge (noetic consciousness) of the past, which is the feeling that we know certain information and that the information is objective rather than subjective. Gardiner and colleagues (Gardiner & Java, 1990, 1993; Gardiner, Richardson-Klavhen, & Ramponi, 1997) developed a test in which participants are given a recognition task for a list of common words viewed earlier and classify each of the recognized items as something they remember (R response) or know (K response), was on the study list. Participants received detailed instructions so that their R responses and K responses reflect retrieval from episodic and semantic memory. For example, participants are told to make R responses to test items that they can consciously reexperience from the study list (e.g., participants make R responses to test items because in their mind’s eye, they consciously recollect seeing those words on the study list). In contrast, participants are told to make K responses to test items if they (a) are certain those were on the study list but (b) have no specific personal or contextual recollection of the items’ previous presentation. The use of this technique has shown that some independent variables (e.g., dividing attention at study) affect the frequency of R, but not K, responses, whereas other variables have the exact opposite influence. Memory of a personal life event may be categorized as a K response, which is  relatively impersonal and objective. A memory qualifies as a K response if people know a great deal about the details of a previous event but do not mentally reexperience the exact perceptual, contextual, and emotional details of the original event. Gardiner’s remember-know distinction maps are similar to that of Mandler’s (1980) distinction between recognition by retrieval and recognition by familiarity. Recognition by retrieval involves remembering an event as an event, including the personal, time and place context in which the event occurred; in contrast, recognition by familiarity involves a feeling that some event occurred in the past, in the absence of conscious recollection of that event. For Gardiner, Remember judgments reflect recognition by retrieval, while Know judgments reflect recognition by familiarity. An alternative framework is provided by Schacter’s (1987) distinction between explicit and implicit memory. The hippocampus is important in the formation of explicit memories. They involve the conscious recollection of an experience from the past. Due to the hippocampus not fully developing until about the age of 3, this explains why we can’t remember events prior to this, a condition known as infantile amnesia. The cerebellum seems important in the formation of implicit memories which are memory-based changes in behaviour that occur independent of, and in the classic case in the absence of, conscious recollection. Contexual information can be defined as information associated with memory which enables that memory to be distinguished from all others. Hewitt (1973) proposed a distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic context. A change in intinsic arises when some aspect of the target changes (ie the colour of their hair), whereas a change in extrinsic is the change in information accompanying the target (ie meeting someone in somewhere you wouldn’t expect them to be). In Gardiner’s case, remembering reflects explicit memory, while knowing reflects implicit memory. There are at least three varieties of recollective experience: firstly remembering which involves the conscious recollection of some past event, as an explicit expression of episodic memory; knowing which is the abstract  knowledge of that event, as an item in semantic memory; and feeling is the intuition that an event occurred in the past, as an implicit expression of episodic memory. So for example, semantic memory enables a man to know what the term birthday refers to and that he celebrated his last birthday by having dinner at a particular restaurant with his wife, whereas episodic memory allows that same man to reexperience from a personal and subjective point of view the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings that accompanied that dinner. Metamemory is our ability to know whether or not our memories contain a particular piece of information. An example might be failing to recall the capital of France (Paris) but knowing that you would recognise it if you saw it – this is an ability known as a feeling of knowing. These experiences are familiar to anyone who has ever taken a multiple-choice test. Sometimes, we choose a response because we remember the circumstances under which we learnt it. Or on other occasions, we choose a response because we just know the answer, it’s part of our knowledge about the world, and we don’t remember the circumstances under which we learned the answer. Tulving and Gardiner believe that remember and know judgments are based on retrieval from different memory systems: episodic and semantic memory, perhaps, or explicit and implicit memory. However, it could also be that â€Å"remember† and â€Å"know† are based on retrieval from a single memory system, and that the categories of remember, know, and so forth are substitutes for different levels of confidence associated with the recognition judgments. Both Tulving (1985) and Gardiner (1988) have rejected this interpretation, even though Tulving actually gathered evidence favouring it. Tulving’s subjects studied 36 words, and then made Yes/No recognition judgments, confidence ratings (on a 3 point scale), and Remember/Know ratings. The average confidence rating associated with Remember judgments was 2.74, while that of Know judgments was 2.08. However, Gardiner & Java (1990) argued that confidence ratings affect Remember/Know judgments. People may base their confidence ratings on their recollective experience, so that the two are not independent. In their 2nd  experiment, the subjects studied 60 items, 30 words and 30 non words, and then made Yes/No recognition judgments followed by Remember/Know ratings. The result was a double dissociation: more words received remember than know judgments, while the reverse was true for nonwords. In the 3rd experiment which was identical to the 2nd, except the people being tested classified recognized items into â€Å"Sure† and â€Å"Unsure† categories. This time there was no dissociation. Rajaram (1993) performed a similar pair of experiments, with similar results, and came to same conclusion. Substituting Sure/Unsure ratings for Remember/Know judgments got rid of the dissociations observed with Remember/Know, so both Gardiner and Java (1990) and Rajaram (1993) conclude that Remember/Know is not merely a substitute for confidence. Although the Remember/Know distinction is commonly interpreted in terms of different memory systems, it is suspected instead that these different memories reflect retrieval of different information from a single common store. Know judgments require retrieval only of information from a list, while remember judgments seem to require retrieval of information about spatiotemporal context, and you need to experience the event yourself. Knowing and remembering something are very similar, the definition of to know is to have fixed in the mind, recognize and have experience of, and the definition of remember is to retain in memory, to think of again. In order to know something it can be quite impersonal, general information about things such as the is the prime minister, this is the semantic memory, however in order to remember something you need to know specific details about the event such as going on holiday, you remember the sights and sounds and the feelings you experienced, this is the episodic memory. In order to remember you need to be able to retrieve information, remember an event as an event, whereas to know you need to just be familiar with it, have a feeling that some event may have occurred before. So to say there is a difference between knowing and remembering something is hard, there are clear cut differences as explained, however without one we couldn’t have the other, they are inter-related. It is all the same memory system in which we use to know or to remember something. It is the different  processes and different levels of experience or relation to you that makes them different. References †¢Gardiner, J.M., & Java, R.I. (1990). Recollective experience in word and nonword recognition. Memory & Cognition, 18, 23-30. †¢Memory and amnesia, 2nd edition, Alan J Parker, page 17-18,33, 36,116†¢Memory observed, remembering in natural contexts, 2nd edition, Ulric Neisser, Ira E. Hayman, jr. Page 109†¢Psychology powerpoint – Memory II – Lecture 3: Theories of Short and Long Term Memory, 2005, University of Glamorgan. †¢Rybash, John M.; Monaghan, Brynn E, Episodic and semantic contributions to older adults’ autobiographical recall, The Journal of General Psychology. 126 no1 (Jan. ’99) p. 85-96. †¢Schacter, D.L. (1987). Implicit memory: History and current status. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 501-518. †¢Tulving, E. (1972). Episodic and semantic memory. In E. Tulving & W. Donaldson (Eds.), Organization of memory (pp. 381-403). New York: Academic Press. †¢Tulving, E. (1985). Memory and consciousness. Canadian Psychology, 1-12. †¢Your Memory A user’s guide, Alan Baddeley, Page 13, 75-76,81,94-95,

Stress in American Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stress in American Society - Essay Example They are simply mirroring their parents' struggle for cars, boats, and bigger houses. Still, there is little compassion for the overloaded 15 year old. Stress is expected. Time is money. Americans too readily sacrifice quality family time in an effort to generate the success they need to buy their family quality things. If America really wants to pay more than just intellectual homage and lip service to the concept of 'family first' then they must take a good hard look at their real system of values. The postmodern world of technology has made American teenagers the most stressed out and overloaded generation in history. Students are groomed for success in a competitive world with everything from school to extra-curricular activities, and "staying up all night to finish routine assignments, to agonizing over falling grades because jobs crowd out homework" (Shellenbarger1). When work takes priority over grades, it brings on an additional source of stress. A recent study reported that the number of hours a student works is directly related to their "emotional exhaustion and psychological strain" (de man, Harvey, Ward, and Benoit 248). These tensions are a reflection of the seventy percent of parents who don't have time for their children, and the untold children who don't have time for their parents. ... in a hectic schedule, peers into the future and predicts, "We're moving fast as it is, and you know our kids are going to be moving even faster" (Shellenbarger 2). These children naively look to jobs and technology to save them, as if the problem will also provide the solution (Shellenbarger2). One 16-year-old boy is already plotting his future, isolated from his family, where they respect him for his money and little else (Shellenbarger2). Other than being wealthy the teen doesn't know what he wants to be. These are the children that America is producing in its rush to compete and produce. These are the children that are bombarded by a pop culture that idolizes wealth and has disdain for the real and mundane. These are the children that are raised by a generation of parents where average is not an option and failure is for losers. The solution to this national madness will only be accepted when America takes an honest inventory of their needs, and makes a real commitment to 'family values'. There is plenty of support for altering our schedules, slowing down, and making a decision whether to keep the BMW or the family. High school students overwhelmingly want to spend more time with their children than their parents did (Shellenbarger3). Parents need to reassess their priorities and make more time and 'mental space' for their children. It requires more than simply being present, and may not involve a super-sacrifice of time. Parents need to provide "a variety of behaviours that the child values: for example, closeness, warmth and being ready to defend the child's interests" (Lewis 297). This is not merely quantity time, but is the quality time that has been a time-honored goal of all parents. Students and institutions need to make a realistic evaluation of what is

The Financier Alwaleed bin Talal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Financier Alwaleed bin Talal - Assignment Example l who is currently fifty years old has being able to amass a lot of wealth since the year 1979 after finishing his university education and the latest Forbes ranking placed him as the 26th richest man in the world with a net worth reported to be approximately US $20 billion. Al Waleed Talal’s main investment vehicle is his Kingdom Holding Company where he owns 96% of the total shareholding. Khan (2005) further wrote that despite being a member of the Saudi’s royal family, Al Waleed Talal early childhood was not that rosy since a single mother raised him and this could be perhaps among the driving forces that have propelled him to be a successful man. According to Khan (2005), among the personal initiatives of Al Waleed Talal that have shaped him to become the most prominent Arab businessperson and investor is the military training that he received upon finishing high school that can be assumed made him a strict business man who is fully active on all of his business ventures. According to Khan (2005), the military training hardened him as a person and hence the reason why despite being a member of the Saudi royal family, he is the only member who has been able to amass a lot of wealth on his own, and even become the most influential Arab in the world. According to Khan (2005), in the business world Al Waleed Talal personal character is seen as an aggressive investor eager to tap on potential opportunities that may appear non-lucrative at the time, such as buying Citigroup’s shares while the company was in crisis. Al Waleed Talal is a philanthropic businessperson and through his foundation, he has made numerous donations mostly in a bid to further Islamic education in the world. Al Waleed Talal’s successful career has also being shaped up by his professional initiatives that have given him the skills required to run a successful business and even become a successful businessperson. To begin with, Khan (2005) stated that Al Waleed Talal has a Bachelor of

Final paper about the Marshall Plan Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Final about the Marshall Plan - Research Paper Example This was after the Second World War. The major aim besides the rebuilding is that it targeted to avert the percolation of the Soviet Communism. It is important to highlight that this plan was employed from April 1948 for a span of four years (Nicolaus, 2008, pg 32). This came into being after the European cities had underwent some serious destructions and even the individual families seriously affected. This was a serious incident and the trade in the continent was adversely affected. The people thereby lived in the refugee camps and got assistance from the United Nations Administration. This was consequently followed by food shortage which was experienced in the harsh seasons of winter. Various infrastructural facilities were attacked aerially while the sea vessels were sunken (John, and Nicholas, 2004, pg 42) This was a speech that was given when the United States could not hold it any longer for the several unsuccessful mediations with the Soviet Union. This was by George Marshall who was the Secretary of the state at Harvard University. In the speech, he assured of the support from America in the making the economic status of the European states to grow through a gradual recovery system. In the speech, what came out so clearly is that Marshall believed that for the country to recover, grow and be economically stable, there has to high levels of cool political climate in the sense that a country has to be peaceful with no form of political violence that would stimulate high massive investments to flow into the economy (Robert, 2008, pg 71). It is important to highlight that the negotiation with the Soviet Union was in January 1947.this was after Marshall was appointed into the office. The officials thereby had to make arrangements on how they could meet the Soviet Foreign minister. The move was aiming at the recovery of Germany for financial economic states. It is important to highlight that for the effective and efficient implementation

Interstate Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interstate Banking - Essay Example Economies of scale are realized since loan activity is increased with the merging of assets brought about by expanded business in different states. Another advantage to interstate banking is the convenience it offers to its clients. With interstate banking, more branches are within the reach of the clients (Berry, 2011). The flow of bank activities are easily facilitated which makes it easier for the clients to do business. A smooth flow in bank activities may result in increased revenues because of the ease in doing business. Interstate banking makes it possible for banks to offer a wider range of banking services to its clients because of the interstate acquisitions and branches (Berry, 2011). Some of these services include more ATMs, electronic banking options and varied loan products. Financial security and stability is one of the major off-shoots of interstate banking. Since banking consolidation is allowed provided that the capital requirements are met, this means that the resources of the banks increase, making it more stable and secure. The liquidity and solvency of the banks improve with interstate banking. Bank clients benefit the most from interstate banking. The increased competition brought about by interstate banking makes banks think of strategies to capture a bigger market; thus, improving their services and developing new products which are attractive to the clients. Aside from bank clients, banks also benefit from interstate banking. Operating costs are greatly reduced as the bank subsidiaries are converted to bank branches. Geographic diversification will help improve the risk-return opportunities of banks (United States General Accounting Office, 1995). The most likely loser in interstate banking is the Federal Reserve (Berger & Humphrey, 1988). Since there will be an improvement in the efficiency of the payment system, multiple bank payments will decrease because most checks will be

Comparative on Rock & Roll vs Rap Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comparative on Rock & Roll vs Rap - Essay Example Rap culture involved not only low-class adolescents, but a lot of teenagers from middle-class families Both trends had been popular among young people, but constantly rejected by their parents as "bad" taste music. Rock & Roll and rap are considered as a cultural phenomenon and social change agents bringing novelty and a new vision of cultural norms. Both of them created social movements changing the attitudes of all involved: fans, musicians, managers, record companies executives, critics and magazine editors included. Rock & Roll and rap affected all aspects of culture in a positive and negative way. How people dress, what music they listen to, and what they choose for entertainment. The difference is that rap fans were more aggressive towards others. This was caused by social and cultural context rap emerged. The policy of aggressiveness was important because rap was one of many other styles and had to compete with hip-hop, rock, etc. It encouraged lust, sex, suicide, rebellion against authority, etc.

Renaissance and Baroque Artists and Musicians Assignment

Renaissance and Baroque Artists and Musicians - Assignment Example Leonardo Da Vinci, who is one of the greatest celebrated artists of the Renaissance, was also a sculpture, architect, scientist and engineer. He was born in a small town of Vinci, near Florence. During 1940’s his family settled in Florence and he was given â€Å"the best education that Florence, the intellectual and artistic center of Italy, could offer†. His influences from other artists are not very defined, yet, his sound interest in science and â€Å"his in-depth study of human anatomy aided him in mastering the realist art form† (Leonardo Da Vinci's Life). While all other works of arts seem to be static arts, Vinci always tried to create movements in his works and all his works are considered examples of accuracy and perfection. His exposure to his father’s scholarly texts and his apprentice under Andrea del Verrochio in Florence boosted his talents. His most famous works included â€Å"The Last Supper, The Mona Lisa and Vitruvian Man: The Proportion s of the Human Figure†. He died in Cloux, France and legends reveal that â€Å"King Francis was at his side when he died, cradling Leonardo's head in his arms. prestigious St. Michael's School in Là ¼neburg and â€Å"it is almost certain that while in Là ¼neburg, young Bach would have visited the Johanniskirche and heard (and possibly played) the church's famous organ†.. Among many others, his major works that he is famous for includes â€Å"the Brandenburg concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B Minor, the St Matthew Passion†.

Literary analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Literary analysis - Essay Example Henry. This essay analyzes the story from a literary perspective, examining various literary devices the author has employed in the story. The main theme in the story is the triumph of the underdog. The captive also known as the Red Chief and his father are the underdogs in the story, who later emerge triumphant. They are oblivious of the plot by Bill Driscoll and Sam, to kidnap Johnny, also known as Red Chief and get a ransom of $2000 (Bendixen, and James, 25). These petty criminals, who are the masterminds of the kidnapping plot, are the favorites to execute their plan. Things, however, change from good to worse for them and they eventually suffer the loss they hoped to inflict on Red Chief and his father. O. Henry makes use of several literary devices in the story. The three main stylistic devices that standout in the story are humor, irony, and exaggeration. The first element, humor, is very prominent in the story. The whole plot of the short story is humorous. One instance of humor in the story is the description of the two criminals, Bill and Sam, who are portrayed as self educated. They end up using phrases and words that are humorous. The other humorous part of the story is the fact that the Red Chief is oblivious that he has been kidnapped. He enjoys the trip as if it is a camping trip and even feels more at home with his kidnappers that he does among his stern parents. One other instance of humor is when Johnny the Red Chief, confuses his kidnappers with his irritating antics prompting them to releases him back to his father. The use of irony is also very prominent in the story. This refers to the use of words and phrases to imply the exact opposite of their meanings (Bendixen, and James, 56). One example of irony in the story is the phrase ‘Johnny won all the local spelling bees and went to the State contest, only to misspell "train." (Henry, 88) This is ironic because Johnny is supposedly good at spelling, but fails to spell a simple word.

Reflective Essay Essay Example for Free

Reflective Essay Essay This essay aims to critically review my strengths and weaknesses as a self-regulated learner, in relation to key skills which demonstrate my ability to use reflective practice. Also, the essay will identify and implement the learning skills required to complete the modules in Year 2 of the programme. It will produce and make use of individual learning plans that reflect how I could improve upon my interpersonal skills and implement a personal development plan. Furthermore, a demonstration of application of key skills together with learning and interpersonal skills in a variety of settings will be made. The framework this reflective essay will follow has been adapted from the work of Borton (1970) Reach, Teach and Touch; along with Boud et al (1985) Turning Experience into Learning. A reflective essay is a piece of writing that basically involves your views and feelings about a particular subject. The goal of a reflective essay is to not only discuss what you learned, but to convey the personal experiences and findings that have resulted, Spinello (2012). However in order to critically evaluate and reflect the individual, must become a self-regulated learner. Students who are self-regulated learners collaborate with other students in exchanging ideas, eliciting assistance when needed, and providing support to their peers. They see the connection between their efforts and learning success, Trejos (2010). Zimmerman (2000) points out that, self-regulation is not a mental ability or an academic performance skill; rather it is the self-directive process by which learners transform their mental abilities into academic skills. These learners will monitor their behaviors in terms of their goals and self-reflect in order to increase their effectiveness. Self-regulation is important because a major function of education is the development of life-long learning skills, Zimmerman (2002, p. 66). In relation to the following key skills of, communication, numeracy, use of information technology, learning to learn and working with others, I have been able to identify my strengths and weaknesses. One of the areas in which I considered to be competent in was written communication, as I could  express myself more openly and creatively, this has been evident by the use blackboard discussions, emails and academic writing. Linked to this, my IT skills are also one of my biggest strengths, as I am able to utilize these skills to support and further develop communication, interpersonal and academic skills. My empathetic listening skill enables me to gain mutual understanding and supports me to work with others, where new knowledge and experience can be exchanged, which contribute to my ongoing learning. On the other hand, the identified areas that I need improvement in are my confidence in verbal communication, although one to one communication is not a problem, but communicating and presenting to larger groups is where I feel nervous. Building up confidence in this area is vital, as it is a key component of nursing practice, to ensure effective communication between patients, team members and multidisciplinary teams. From year one of the nursing programme to year two; I have seen an improvement in my general math’s skill, however I required further practice in this area, which will supported me to pass my drugs calculation exam for year 2. Additionally, exam preparation and revision techniques were another area which I needed to work on, as a result it facilitated towards preparing me for module 6 – immediate and continuing care examination. Last but not least, my academic writing skills which also required to be developed so that I would be able to produce work at level 5 standard, for additional module two – examining health and social care needs of vulnerable adults and module five understanding evidence-based nursing. Once I identified my strengths and weaknesses, I was able to set three goals for the academic year and produce an action plan for each goal, which was implemented in a personal development plan. A personal development plan is described as â€Å"a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development†, (LMU, 2001). The three chosen goals for year 2 of my nursing programme were specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (S.M. A. R. T). Goal one, was set out to help me become competent in critically appraising evidence and literature, which supports the learning skills of being able to produce academic work at level 5 standards. This goal required gaining understanding and knowledge of critical appraisal, as well as thoroughly comprehending the elements of critical appraisal and correctly identifying and using tool, frameworks and guidelines to critically appraise evidence and literature. The significance of achieving this goal was to help me complete year 2 modules of understanding evidence-based nursing and examining health and social care needs of vulnerable adults and achieving an overall good grade in both modules. What I generally thought was, for the understanding evidence based nursing essay I did not perform well with my critical appraisal, as most of my time was spent on formulating a PICO question and did not have sufficient time to write a powerful essay. However results showed that I gained an overall 55% mark, and comments that were given by the moderator were as follows ‘Critical appraisal You have identified the framework and the article for critical appraisal. In this part you have detailed the research process as reported in the article; although you have attempted to analyse the research validity and reliability but they should have been further developed. You should have critically analysed the quantitative research rigor validity, reliability and generalisability of the study findings supported with relevant literature’. So the importance of having constructive feedback is to make sure that I know which areas that I am potent in and which areas that I need to improve for the next essay, in order for me to critically appraise more coherently. As a result of this, for my examining health and social care needs of vulnerable adults module essay; which also involved critically appraising three research articles, I received an overall mark of 66%. The moderator’s comments for analysis and synthesis were that ‘You have made a good critique of the limitations of the studies. ’ And the quality of expression was indicated as ‘generally good. ’ Now I feel more confident in my critical appraisal skills, I believe with further practice I will be able to appraise articles and gain higher marks to help me progress on to year three. Goal two was aimed at preparing and passing module 6 – immediate and continuing care unseen examination, based on three patient journeys of diabetes, coronary heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis. This goal was linked to learning skills of exam preparation and revision techniques. The  steps that were taken in achieving this goal were to create a revision timetable to manage time; to use different revision and rehearsal techniques i. e. flow charts, mind-maps, revision cards, rehearsing exam papers in timed condition and having a study buddy. Combined with this, whilst reading literature and gathering information, I collected relevant references to create a reference list for the examination. What I thought was the daunting part of this goal was practicing exam papers in timed condition, as three hours seemed like a long time. What was interesting is that once I had all the suitable materials and information and began to do a timed essay, three hours seemed shorter than expected; with continuous practice this helped me to pick up my writing speed and also managing time per essay. With the use of mind maps and flow charts I was able to access information quick and easy, rather than going back to textbooks and online resources. Having prepared in this way prior to the exam made me feel confident and relaxed and I was able to manage my time efficiently. So the significance of preparing ahead is that it helps me to become proactive; managing time helps me to prioritise what is important and what needs to be attended in sequence. And using relevant resources is essential for learning success and achievement. Now I feel that I have generally performed well in my exam, as much of what I revised came up and I was prepared. Although time felt like an issue, I was able to use my time productively and efficiently. What I think I could improve for next time, is begin planning and revision sooner and rehearse more timed essay as practice makes perfect. Additionally, what I have learnt throughout this module I will be able to apply to clinical practice, and as an individual be prepared and have the ability to act accordingly when foreseen and unforeseen circumstances arise. Goal three demonstrates my ability to use my existing general maths skills with further practise, to pass drugs calculation examination for year 2. For this goal, the steps that were taken in order to achieve the goals were to use Authentic World (SafeMedicate) to revise for the exam, to do online mock exams in timed condition, and revise on general maths skills. What I didn’t realise was that the drugs examination was compulsory for every year throughout the nursing degree programme. However, as I had already passed my year one drugs calculation exam with full marks of 90/90, I didn’t find year two to be too difficult as it was on three areas from the previous year of tablets capsules, liquid medication and Injections. I found that accessing authentic world and revising the areas and completing the mock exams were easily within the comfort of home. I was able to revise where I wanted and when I wanted, support was available from other maths revision sites. So after revising the key areas and doing timed questions, I felt confident in sitting the actual exam. I completed the exam within the time limit, reviewed my questions and answer and received my final mark of 90/90 on first attempt, which I was very pleased with. Now that I have achieved full marks on my first attempt I am able use this knowledge of drug management to aid my drugs administrative skills whilst on second year placement. What I will aim to do for year three drugs calculation exam is to refresh and revise over previous areas, and also read ahead on the additional section that will be added to year three exam. On achievement of these three developmental goal, I have been able to make connection between the learning and interpersonal skills to a variety of settings. From goal one I understand being able to critically appraise in nursing practice means that patients can benefit from the best possible outcome with backup from reliable and valid researches that have been carried out. Thus, as a healthcare professional I am able to gain knowledge to ensure and/or provide effective and dynamic care. From goal two of understanding long-term illness of coronary heart disease, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis from journeys of simulation patients. I have been able to prepare myself to have knowledge and have the ability to cooperate in a situation where I will work with real patients with these types of conditions. Long-term illnesses and conditions affects vast majority of the population and therefore keeping knowledge update is an essential way to promote health and provide information to others. With support from goal three of safely calculating drug dosages for supporting drug administrative skills, is essential part of nurse training. To ensure that the right patients receive the right dose of the right medication, at the right time, through the right route, as drug errors can be fatal to the outcomes of the patient. In conclusion, this module has helped me to develop from being an independent learner to a self-regulated learner. Where I am able to identify my strengths and weaknesses in relations to key skills; and critique my competency and incompetency towards creating goals, and reflect upon the process in achieving these goals. Overall for year two of this programme I have achieved my set goals, and I have developed the ability to use key skills along with learning and interpersonal skills in providing best judgement in different settings. References: Borton, T (1970) Reach, Teach and Touch. McGraw Hill, London Boud D, Keogh R Walker D. (1985) Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning. Kogan Page, London. London Metropolitan University (LMU) (2001) Personal development planning (Online) available at: www. londonmet. ac. uk/library/z62053_24. doc. [Accessed last: 11 January 2012] Spinello, S. (2012) what is a reflective essay? (Online) available at: http://www. ehow. com/about_4576779_reflective-essay-paper_. html. [Accessed: 09 February 2012] Trejos, C. M. A. (2008) Using journals for learners’ reflection and self-assessment. The internet TESL journal. 14 (10). (Online) available at: http://iteslj. org/Techniques/Arciniegas-LearnersJournals. html. [Accessed last: 10 February 2012] Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attainment of self-regulation: A social cognitive perspective. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, M. Zeidner (Eds. ), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 13-39). San Diego, CA: AcademicPress. Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: an overview. Theory into practice, 41 (2), p. 64-70.

What Is The Ultimate Basis Of Religious Belief Philosophy Essay

What Is The Ultimate Basis Of Religious Belief Philosophy Essay In the article, Are Men ever directly aware of God, James considered mystical states of consciousness as the centre and root of personal religious experiences which encompasses spectrum of experiences, from the unspiritual to the most devotedly profound.  One of his arguments is that, we, humans, are in control of what we believe. This can be cross-referenced from his humanistic perspective in psychology. Moreover, he started his piece by defining the expression, mystical states of consciousness. He built his paper by creating a valid topic of investigation and study by defining mystical states of consciousness as real experiences, which is available to most people. And to prevent verbal disputation and recrimination of the loosely-defined words mysticism and mystical, he proposed four marks that an experience must have to be considered one. He started with ineffability which stresses the defiance of expression in order for the experience not to be mistaken as a state of feeling. Moreover, it must be directly experienced; cannot be transferred to others and the no words can be used to describe it. Noetic quality, on the other hand, which is also so similar to states of feeling, says that mystics experience a state of knowledge, not just an intellectual aha moment. It is all encompassing knowledge which is the knowledge of the Unity that fuses even contradictory thoughts to a whole which penetrates the mystics backbone. Subject claims that they have experience revelations and insights into virtual truths. Transiency and passivity are less sharply marked, but are also usually found in mystical religious experiences. Transiency is a state that cannot be sustained for long; it fades rapidly, and remains out of reach. However, some memory content always remains, and this can be used to modify the interior life of the subject between the instant of their recurrence. When in a mystical experience, individuals do not seem to keenly process the data. It is a passive experience; the subject feels a loss of control, and of being in the grasp of superior command James fourth mark. These four qualities mark is what he called, the mystical group. These four marks of mystics and mysticism state forms a distinct region of consciousness. Later, James goes on to suggest that these experiences occur as our field of consciousness increases. James offers variety of experiences that he wants to categorize as mystical, extending from the most trivial to the most important. And he cited examples of their lower grades. He relates this to the power of poetry and music. He also mentioned dà ©jà   vu, a sudden feeling which sometimes sweeps over us of having  been there before. He sees this sort of experience as making us imprecisely conscious of the likelihood of things beyond our normal perceptions. There are degrees of what James calls  mystical consciousness. For these, the writer merely quotes from people who have experienced them. One of the subjects describes being visited by trance states in which awareness of the world was annihilated, leaving a sharp awareness of the self. This brings him to the contemplation of what we to-day call drug-induced states, the consciousness produced by intoxicants and anaesthetics, especially by alcohol. The writer states that his own experience of  nitrous oxide intoxication  has led him to the conclusion that our normal waking consciousness is but one especial type of consciousness. Continuing his survey, James now reaches  religious mysticism pure and simple. This is where the experience is of the presence of God. As one of the writers quoted says, I was aware that I was immersed in the infinite ocean of God. He completes his survey of the range of mystical experiences by looking at  its methodical cultivation as a component of the religious life. He starts with yoga, the experimental union of the individual with the divine  and the various levels of contemplation in Buddhism. Then he goes on to quote at considerable length an account that offers insight into Sufism. Finally, the writer comes to the mystical theology of Catholicism as exemplified in three Iberian mystics, St John of the Cross, St Ignatius Loyola and St Teresa of Avila. Two concerns that the writer dwells on are sense of revelation and tonic effects of mystical states Illumination and Ecstasy. Thus St Teresa reports on the one hand on receiving privileged insights, and on the other hand on experiencing rapture of the mind and senses. Moreover, five negatives have been described; however, the main benefit that James seems to see in all this is an  overcoming of all the usual barriers between the individual and the Absolute. There is oneness and both parties are aware of it. Before concluding, he characterized the general traits of the mystic range of consciousness as whole pantheistic, optimistic, anti-naturalistic and harmonizes best with twice-borness and the so-called worldly states of mind. In conclusion, the writer made three points. First, the subjects of mystical experiences are themselves totally convinced by them. Second, there is no reason why other people should share that conviction for different subjects experiences generate different messages. James suggests that mystical experiences, viewed overall, are non-specific in doctrinal content. Third, mystical experiences prevent us from rejecting out of hand the possibility of a world beyond our senses. The supernaturalism to which they persuade us may, interpreted in one way or another. The significance of keeping the meaning of mystical states of consciousness value-neutral was pointed out by James. Furthermore, he explains that all mystical experience, whether positive or negative, deserves recognition as available states of consciousness. He does not debate whether they are a superior or inferior form of consciousness; instead he points out that mystical states include truth and deceit, gratification and pain. His approach is subjective rather than objective and I think he makes some valid points concerning how we judge the faith claim by other people. It was right to respect the personal belief of serious spiritual believers; likewise it is right that what they believe to be true should not be imposed on anyone for them to believe. We all have spiritual needs that somehow, someway when put together build our fragmenting self. Furthermore, he didnt investigate developed patterns of various religions rather he was interested on the experiences that formed the basis of the formal expressions. He has no time for time-honored religion, or theology, rather, he focuses on the mystical, individual life-changing experiences people have in sensing the presence of a higher power. He gave a humane analysis which cleared the empiricists. Indeed, he sets it as his task to evaluate whether religion is good as a social force, and concludes that it is, though with some important caveats. This leaves us with an essential account of what religion truly means and the way in which it is or can be intertwined with social, political and other factors. It lets us unravel such threads in an effective way, and shows us that religion in its essence is not the cause behind all the worlds evil and or good. Rather, religion is a fundamental dimension of consciousness. He concludes that there are other types of truth that we are not usually conscious of and that mystical states give us some hint. Moreover, it interesting that he appears to rebuff and demonstrate flaws in every proof of Gods existence but at the same time believes God is real because He has genuine effects. In his paper, religion was examined from a purely pragmatic perspective. It focused on the individual connection of one individual to the heavenly. Moreover, it was remarkable that the characteristics of religious experience were connected to a range of other phenomena such as drunkenness, ghostly visions, optimism and diseases without any anti-religious schema. It offers less in terms of experimental results since it is impossible to agree on an epistemological point of reference for spiritual matters. So, he provides a virtual catalog of anecdotal references from which to deduce his observations. His answer, of course, is an assorted bag, a cognitive dissonance that is tentatively positive, but not definitively so. This article is not just an assessment but a search for the legitimacy of religion, the reality, and the unity. It is neither an endorsement nor a tearing-down; it does not walk with a particular faith. It is a scientific and philosophic look at religion and one that does not simply dismiss faith as foolish primitive garbage. A foremost flaw in the work is that he dispatches entirely with the historical, institutional, and intellectual mechanisms of religious praxis. While it could be said that these components were anterior to his psychological concern, the manner in which they are done demonstrates a narrow purview of what religion is. Despite this admirable aspiration for reconciliation, he leaves the reader uncertain of what road to take. No matter what his convictions, systematic theology will never voluntarily submit itself to the methodological considerations of empirical science, nor vice versa. Perhaps only in the past decades has the passion for disproving religion subsided enough to allow researchers to make meaningful steps in dialogue between the disciplines. Additionally, his breakdown of four common attributes of the mystical experience primarily the noetic quality, have really been a useful in assessing ones mystical experience. On the other hand, the article A skeptical View of Mysticism by Bertrand Russell started with a presentation of another possible source of knowledge in religion aside from science, which may be properly described as revelation. According to him, we accept the results of studies as truths which we have never conducted or had firsthand experience, and so, mystics might also claim that their source of knowledge is also unquestionable. He admitted that this point is difficult to argue because, people who have mystical experiences would justify that their claim as unquestionable as so with scientific findings of people. Furthermore, he compared the verifiability of science over religion and says that it is useless to attempt an argument that will appeal to the man who has himself enjoyed mystic illumination. He emphasized the importance of the scientific ways of acquiring knowledge as opposed to mystical experiences which cannot be tested. He also stressed the point that mystical experiences are not transferable, so, science should have no expectation as to the result. Moreover, he raised the point on our acceptance of truth, that we, as critical thinkers should not recognize things/events as true without sufficient evidence and has not passed the intra- and inter- subjectivity tests. However, this can also be contradicted by mystics by saying that science should be neutral and should view theirs on their procedures. Furthermore, he stated that the chief argument in favor of the mystics is their agreement with each other. However, mystics vary in the way they give verbal expressions to their experiences, and so he enumerated three things that successful mystics maintain. First, all division and separateness is unreal, and that the universe is a highly indivisible unity. Second, the evil is illusionary, and the illusion arises through falsely regarding a part of self-subsident. And lastly, the time is unreal, and that reality is eternal, not in the sense of being everlasting, but in the sense of being wholly outside time. These traits, however, according to him are just representative sample of the whole. Russell built further arguments by instructing the readers to image that they are in a law-court, seeking to decide on the credibility of the witnesses who claims to assert these three assertions. He demonstrates an argument, makes the possible reaction of both sides, then critics it. He started with the differences of the belief of mystics wherein he cited examples such as the Virgin of the Christians which would be disagreed by Protestants, the Archangel Gabriel and such. Indeed, Christians, Muslims, Buddhist, etc. would discredit and brand each other as untrustworthy. However, he said that mystics would argue that everyone should respect each others belief and wouldnt focus in their differences but instead look unto their similarities to strengthen their claim concentrating on the above mention things they tend to uphold. Then he asks what test can be applied to their unanimous evidence. Russell said that first hand information is vital in order to make someone believe your claim and this is promised by scientific investigations. Nonetheless, this questions yields to various answers such as a receptive frame of the mind, humility, fasting religious mediation, and breathing exercise. And so, if we succeeded, according to Russell, to feel in a certain time that time is unreal and experienced a state of mind that they describe, how then, shall we assess its reliability when we reverse to our normal states? Furthermore, mystics agree about the unreality of time. Russell said that if time is unreal, there would be no sequence of events and the cause and effect relationship of what we do would be nonsense. Our time markers for time such as before, after, tomorrow would become just mere utterances. Therefore, there would be no events; were just lost in the vastness of the cosmos, embracing what is said to be real in the temporal world. And if so, there would be neither improvement nor deterioration, no distinction between sorrow and happiness. And such views, according to Russell exterminate not only science but prudence, hope and effort which does not go along with what is important to religion morality and worldly wisdom. Mystics, however, would not accept this conclusion but urge doctrines which teach such. Russell cited Dean Inges disagreement with the region that focuses on evolution that stresses temporal process. Russell found himself in harmony with Inge, however, sought more than that, more inferences. It is imperative not to distort the doctrine of mysticism, in which the author thinks, there is a core of wisdom. Let us see how it seeks to avoid the extreme consequences which seem to follow from the denial of time, said Russell. The philosophy from Parmenides to Hegel is an example wherein the distinction between what he calls, reality and appearance, the way of truth and opinion. Difficulties could arise, however, at this point because if the relationship between them would become so intimate, all things whether pleasant or not would have their counterparts in reality, and if the relation is too limited, inferences cannot be made about the character of appearance to reality and reality would be vague Unknowable. On the other hand, he said that pantheism would be very difficult to avoid for Christians because if the world is only apparent, God created nothing, and the reality corresponding to the world is a part of God; but if the world is in any degree real and distinct from God, we abandon the wholeness of everything, which is an essential doctrine of mysticism, and we are compelled to suppose that, in so far as the world is real, the evil which it contains is also real. The Bishop of Birminghan also rejected all sorts of pantheism because if a man is actually a part of god, the evil in man is also God. Russell then moves to another argument which is the mystics denial of the world of sense. Assuming that the world reality is used in the context of law-courts, there would be no doubts in rejecting their claims because of the inconsistency of their testimonies and mundane moments. This resulted to the scrutiny of another sense which is emotion. And what Russell claims is that mysticism is an emotion and not a fact which does not assert anything and cannot be confirmed nor contradicted with science. Furthermore, he reiterated that science only demands a person on normal eyesight, normal consciousness, and normal behavior as opposed to religion which demands physical, psychological and mental alteration. He therefore concluded that mystical states which demands abnormal physical condition are just abnormal perceptions while normal perception, which is proved to aid in our life have correspondence with fact. He said that mystical experiences as emotions may have been the one responsible for providing breath, calmness and profundity wherein self-centered desires are dead, and the mind serves as a mirror of the infiniteness of the cosmos. And the assertions from these feelings are inessential for he cannot accept any method of arriving at the truth except of science. And that evil and good may have rooted from false beliefs. This article remains too rigid makes it sure that science is the only way of knowing things. Russell, till the very end of his article asserted that he cant accept other ways to verify the truth of a claim. This I disagree. As much as philosophy is concerned, I am deeply inclined of why David Hume included emotions and ideas as source of truth and or knowledge. No one, till now have solved this misery, I guess. Indeed, we are aware of the development of the pragmatic theory of truth which however, failed because of the relativity of human behavior. As the famous quotation goes, Experience is the best teacher. And I believe that there are things which we cannot share or make other people to believe because of the individual differences and experiences we have. We are unique individuals not just in our thoughts but in the biological foundation DNA. We even dont know ourselves much thats why we still use Freuds unconscious mind. Freuds theories were never proven correct; however, it is still used because nothing was used to verify its credibility. Same goes with religion, the metaphysical concepts that they have introduced has affected our lives and thats why we believe in it. It is faith, and we dont question it. Moreover, the contemporary issues that have arisen were about the dispute between evolution and creationism. It is a common misconception that they are contradictory to each other. That one must believe and choose between the two. We must take into account that evolution answers the question HOW and creationism answers the question WHO. Furthermore, I believe on both yet I am more convinced on creationism. Just like mysticism which miracles comes on unexpected times, felt the power and the good feeling it brings, the innate satisfaction and joy which is beyond comprehension is a manifestation that there divine intervention. This I believe on religion that there is divine being who makes all things possible which also depends on the persons beliefs and acts. It is the core of wisdom and knowledge that is applied to do the right thing or the other way around. It is the application of what we learn and experienced that leads us to what we believe and wanted to happen. What we act, do is nothing unless we can discern if it is right or wrong. This is what keeps us moving, changing, and progressing. This, however, when not carefully considered also cause adverse effects. I would like to connect this with Julian Rotters Locus of Control which tests whether individuals are governed by themselves or by faith or destiny. Because of my assertions in this paper, you may say that I have low locus of control, that my philosophies in life are dependent upon external situations.. Actually not, I am in the middle. I believe that I am responsible for my life; I am in control of what happens in my life. However, we cannot deny the fact that we are cultured affected by social interactions. As Plato has said, we are social animals. Furthermore, everything happens for a reason, everything in life is so interconnected. I have met people whom I wasnt connected to for 6 years and now weve become best of friends. Though, I believe that I am the one in control of my life, my beliefs however, are affected by outside forces, I have learned much from Russells argument; however, I am firm with my stand that we are free to choose about our basis of religious belief. He should not be enmeshed in determining if religious experiences might or might not be true, but should determine whether anything practical results from them. Finally, both of the essays have classified religious belief as emotion, and it is. The only difference is that the first accepted it in a humanistic way and the other has done it otherwise. Now, what is my ultimate basis of religious belief? It is subjective spiritual rather than existential. We have our own beliefs but its how we act that matters, how it affect ourselves and the people around us. Its the truth of life that matters. Science itself does not claim that they are the ultimate truth; they only claim that they are presenting the best interpretation of things so far. So does with religion, it is the best way we have interpreted our faith so far.

Italian Renaissance Arts Affect on Todays Culture Essay -- Essays Pa

Italian Renaissance Art's Affect on Today's Culture World History Many of us today have things in our culture that we appreciate without thinking about where they have come from. The things we enjoy so much could be from another culture, and even another place in time. This document will explore the influence of Italian Renaissance art on today's civilization, which has greatly changed the art of today. The Renaissance was a time period that began in the early 1300's and lasted into the 1600's. It was a time when the philosophies of the ancient Greek and Romans were rediscovered, which took place after the Middle Ages. Many of the philosophies of the Middle Ages were no longer accepted, and the Renaissance brought about a revamped way of thinking and learning, based on the Greek and Roman culture. The thinkers and humanists had much to do with the direction of the Renaissance, but the artists also had significant importance. "Artists are not philosophers, although in the Renaissance they come very close to sharing in the philosophical enterprise"(Gardener 561). The Renaissance was about individualism. Renaissance painters were attempting to do the same as Renaissance writers, who wanted to interpret people and nature realistically ("World Book") . "Architects of the Middle Ages designed huge cathedrals to emphasize the majesty and grandeur of God. Renaissance architects designed buildings on a smaller scale to help make people aware of their own powers and dignity" ...

Guillvers Travels :: essays papers

Guillvers Travels Literary Techniques Socrates stated, "The unexamined life is not worth living." From the beginning of a man's life, he looks for a purpose or a calling that he has been placed on the earth to fulfil or become. Authors throughout the ages, aware of this knowledge, write with the intent helping man search inside his self to examine the purpose of his existence. Swift uses many techniques to spark this analysis. One technique Swift uses in Guliver's Travels is juxtaposition. An example of juxtaposition comes when Swift lands Gulliver on an island of giants. The comparison of the giants to Gulliver causes the reader to realize what small importance a single man has in the world. "...showing how diminutive, contemptible, and helpless an animal was man in his own nature..." (141). As Gulliver explains what he reads in an giant book, he explains how man cannot effectively protect himself from his surroundings. "...unable to defend himself from the inclemencies of the air, or the fury of wild beasts..." (152). Gulliver then reads that the author believes that man should have originally been made larger and more robust. Swift explains this to show that one man is a very small fish in a very large pond. Another example of juxtaposition lies when Gulliver and the Houyhnhnms are compared. This comparison illustrates how inhumane and savage mankind can act. Gulliver tries to explain the conc ept of war to his master. "Millions of Yahoos might have been killed in the whole progress of it, and perhaps a hundred or more cities taken, and thrice as many ships burnt or sunk" (265). The master did not understand this concept and could not believe that man could kill his own kind such as they do. "He asked me what were the usual causes or motives that made one country go to war with another" (265). Swift attacks the ridiculousness of war here. "Difference in opinions hath cost many millions of lives..." (265). Examples of Gulliver as the ingenuous narrator are numerous. Acting as an ingenous narrator becomes natural for Gulliver, being a naive and innocent person by nature. An example of this lies when Gulliver dances around in front of many people. "I turned about several times to the company, paid my humble respects, said they were welcome, and used some other speeches I had been taught" (111). Guillvers Travels :: essays papers Guillvers Travels Literary Techniques Socrates stated, "The unexamined life is not worth living." From the beginning of a man's life, he looks for a purpose or a calling that he has been placed on the earth to fulfil or become. Authors throughout the ages, aware of this knowledge, write with the intent helping man search inside his self to examine the purpose of his existence. Swift uses many techniques to spark this analysis. One technique Swift uses in Guliver's Travels is juxtaposition. An example of juxtaposition comes when Swift lands Gulliver on an island of giants. The comparison of the giants to Gulliver causes the reader to realize what small importance a single man has in the world. "...showing how diminutive, contemptible, and helpless an animal was man in his own nature..." (141). As Gulliver explains what he reads in an giant book, he explains how man cannot effectively protect himself from his surroundings. "...unable to defend himself from the inclemencies of the air, or the fury of wild beasts..." (152). Gulliver then reads that the author believes that man should have originally been made larger and more robust. Swift explains this to show that one man is a very small fish in a very large pond. Another example of juxtaposition lies when Gulliver and the Houyhnhnms are compared. This comparison illustrates how inhumane and savage mankind can act. Gulliver tries to explain the conc ept of war to his master. "Millions of Yahoos might have been killed in the whole progress of it, and perhaps a hundred or more cities taken, and thrice as many ships burnt or sunk" (265). The master did not understand this concept and could not believe that man could kill his own kind such as they do. "He asked me what were the usual causes or motives that made one country go to war with another" (265). Swift attacks the ridiculousness of war here. "Difference in opinions hath cost many millions of lives..." (265). Examples of Gulliver as the ingenuous narrator are numerous. Acting as an ingenous narrator becomes natural for Gulliver, being a naive and innocent person by nature. An example of this lies when Gulliver dances around in front of many people. "I turned about several times to the company, paid my humble respects, said they were welcome, and used some other speeches I had been taught" (111).

6 Months Later :: essays research papers

6 Months Later Now that Lennie is out of the way, I guess that I can actually do something with my life. But, It's been 6 months since leaving the farm and I still don't have a job. Oh, here's a sign. A mentally handicapped hospital needs an attendant. I can do that, and it pays well too. $150 a month. "At that rate, I'll be able to get that land soon enough. Ain't that right," I asked Candy? "We sure are," he replied with enthusiasm. As we stepped into the complex, the first thing I saw was the reception desk with a young, pretty, receptionist sitting behind the desk, polishing her nails. Lennie would have enjoyed watching her I pondered. She asked us what we wanted, and I told her that we were just here to find out 'bout the job. After getting a quick overview and job description, I was ready to work right away. Candy was also lucky enough to get hired as a nurse for $100 a month. I stepped into the bedroom and I saw about 25 kids sitting around a middle-aged man, listening to a story. As I stepped in, the story teller stepped over to me and told me what I had to do. Educate them and talk to them. That was it. I was getting paid $150 just to teach a group of handicapped kids. I sat down next to the story teller, Bob, and I looked around and carefully observed them. As I did this, I could see Lennie's face flashing in my mind. What was happening to me. Why couldn't he just leave me alone. I survived through my first day of work, reluctantly. The hospital also provided housing. That night, I had the most horrible dream of my life. I could see Lennie petting hundreds of rabbits, one at a time. But he was crying and screaming in rage. The rabbits were dying. "George, why do they die? Don't let them die George, please. Can I still tend the rabbits? I know I done a bad thing," exclaimed Lennie. I got up, screaming. "Lennie, please leave me alone, please," I asked. It was silent. Nobody was awake. I looked like a complete nut with all those kids, including Candy, staring at me. Candy just went back to sleep. He was the only one that could understand the pain that I was going through. This happened to me several nights after the first nightmare. Each one would consist of rabbits, lots of them, and Lennie.

Andrew Carnegie Essay

The rise of capitalism was characterised by exploitation and opportunity. Opportunities, if taken at the chance, enabled men to access wealth. Andrew Carnegie is the perfect example of an entrepreneur and man who built the roots of American infrastructure. He can also lived the ‘perfect’ American dream. He has a typical ‘rags to riches’ story, which makes him a historical icon and an admirable man. Carnegie is known to have built a fortune on steel. However, the ways in which he made money could be considered an abuse to ethics and moral rights. Toward the end of his life, Carnegie decided to use his wealth for the greater good of the community and encouraged learning. For the above reasons, he can be considered as a robber baron, but I believed that he also worked for the greater good of human nature. Carnegie was able to take opportunities to create a vast fortune. He came from absolutely nothing, but is known as a captain of industry. He monopolised wealth, transport and infrastructure. He was born in Scotland in 1835. His family migrated to America in 1848 when he was thirteen. As a young boy, he worked in a cotton factory in Pittsburgh. He did not have many years of schooling nor attended university but he became the richest man on the planet during the industrial revolution. In this sense, he is the incarnation of the American Dream. One of Carnegie’s sayings; â€Å"The first man gets the oyster, the second gets the shell† explains his career fully. Carnegie had the ability to identify and seize opportunities, to foresee what would happen to industries and to take risks. He also stated that; â€Å"people who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity no matter how impressive their other talents† show his ambitiousness. Carnegie was not content with commonplace. His ability to seize opportunities and invest in them helped greatly his career. He saw potential in telegraphing and transport. While he was working in the railroad industry, in 1859, he saw a connection between steel and infrastructure. Carnegie grabbed the opportunity and created a successful steel company, a great example of capitalist exploitation. Carnegie’s steel company, Carnegie Steel, which opened near Pittsburgh in the 1870s, is an example exploitation during the rise of capitalism. Carnegie created employment. The way he ran his company can be believed to be an  abuse of manpower and human capacities. His workplace was similar to modern day sweatshops. He made men work hard. They had long hours, twelve hours per day, six days per week, in extremely poor working conditions. Because steel was in demand at the time, due to the advancements in steam engines, Carnegie decided to keep costs low to attract more people. However that meant that he kept his workers’ wages low as well. This resulted in violent labour strike in 1892. Carnegie always preached for rights of workers and unions. However his actions did not match his rhetoric. A major strike at Carnegie Steel was a clash between capitalism and workers’ unions. It was bloody and violent. It lasted five month. During that time Carnegie went to Scotland and left the company’s general manager, Henry Clay Frick in charge. 300 Pinkerton armed guards were posted around the factory and ten men were killed. Carnegie’s only way out of this dilemma was to sell his factory. He sold it to J. Pier Morgan, for $480 million, in 1901. Andrew Carnegie turned his career from capitalism to philanthropy. When Carnegie sold his steel company to Morgan, he became the â€Å"richest man on earth†, said Morgan the day he bought the company. In 1889, Carnegie had published an essay, in which he stated that, â€Å"the rich have a moral obligation to distribute their money in ways to promote the welfare and happiness of the common man†. He also said that, â€Å"the man who dies rich thus dies disgraced†. During his life he gave away more than $350 millions. Carnegie supported education and reading. He donated money to 2500 libraries around the world. The particular thing about Carnegie’s philanthropist career is that he did not just want to help people; he wanted to help others help themselves. He gave away his money for the improvement of mankind. For example, giving money away to libraries instead of people allowed mankind educate themselves. Consequently, education became easier to access for everyone. Carnegie became one of the most famous philanthropists, a complete opposite to the man whom exploited people in his factory. Andrew Carnegie was both a robber baron and a philanthropist. In my opinion, he worked for the greater good of human nature. He was a man who took opportunities to make his career, as well as giving other opportunities. Even though he exploited people, and the working conditions in his steel  factory are an example of that, he offered them jobs, and a way to make money for their families. I agree that in the end he â€Å"helped others to help themselves†. His massive donation of $350 millions shows his change of heart towards the end of his life. As Carnegie, grew up in a poor social class, I believe that he wanted to give others similar opportunities as he strived for. Giving them a chance for education and free access to libraries. The millions of dollars that he donated gave others a chance to improve their lives. I believe that Andrew Carnegie is a man to be remembered as one whom sought better mankind.

Focus of the Final Paper Essay

Focus of the Final Paper You’ve just been hired onto ABC Company as the corporate controller. ABC Company is a manufacturing firm that specializes in making cedar roofing and siding shingles. The company currently has annual sales of around $1.2 million, a 25% increase from the previous year. The company has an aggressive growth target of reaching $3 million annual sales within the next 3 years. The CEO has been trying to find additional products that can leverage the current ABC employee skillset as well as the manufacturing facilities. As the controller of ABC Company, the CEO has come to you with a new opportunity that he’s been working on. The CEO would like to use the some of the shingle scrap materials to build cedar dollhouses. While this new product line would add additional raw materials and be more time-intensive to manufacture than the cedar shingles, this new product line will be able to leverage ABC’s existing manufacturing facilities as well as the current staff. Although this product line will require added expenses, it will provide additional revenue and gross profit to help reach the growth targets. The CEO is relying on you to help decide how this project can be afforded Provide details about the estimated product costs, what is needed to break even on the project, and what level of return this product is expected to provide. In order to help out the CEO, you need to prepare a six- to eight-page report that will contain the following information (including exhibits, but excluding your references and title page). Refer to the accompanying Excel spreadsheet (available through your online course) for some specific cost and profit information to complete the calculations. Final Paper Spreadsheet I. An overall risk profile of the company based on current economic and industry issues that it may be facing. II. Current company cash flow a. You need to complete a cash flow statement for the company using the direct method. b. Once you’ve completed the cash flow statement, answer the following questions: i. What does this statement of cash flow tell you about the sources and uses of the company funds? ii. Is there anything ABC Company can do to improve the cash flow? iii. Can this project be financed with current cash flow from the company? Why or why not? iv. If the company needs additional financing beyond what ABC Company can provide internally (either now or sometime throughout the life of the project), how would you suggest the company obtain the additional financing, equity or corporate debt, and why? III. Product cost: ABC Company believes that it has an additional 5,000 machine hours available in the current facility before it would need to expand. ABC Company uses machine hours to allocate the fixed factory overhead, and units sold to allocate the fixed sales expenses. Bases on current research, ABC Company expects that it will take twice as long to produce the expansion product as it currently takes to produce its existing product. a. What is the product cost for the expansion product under absorption and variable costing? b. By adding this new expansion product, it helps to absorb the fixed factory and sales expenses. How much cheaper does this expansion make the existing product? c. Assuming ABC Company wants a 40% gross margin for the new product, what selling price should it set for the expansion product? d. Assuming the same sales mix of these two products, what are the contribution margins and break-even points by product? IV. Potential investments to accelerate profit: ABC company has the option to purchase additional equipment that will cost about $42,000, and this new equipment will produce the following savings in factory overhead costs over the next five years: Year 1, $15,000 Year 2, $13,000 Year 3, $10,000 Year 4, $10,000 Year 5, $6,000 ABC Company uses the net-present-value method to analyze investments and desires a minimum rate of return of 12% on the equipment. a. What is the net present value of the proposed investment (ignore income taxes and depreciation)? b. Assuming a 5-year straight-line depreciation, how will this impact the factory’s fixed costs for each of the 5 years (and the implied product costs)? What about cash flow? c. Considering the cash flow impact of the equipment as well as the time-value of money, would you recommend that ABC Company purchases the equipment? Why or why not? V. Conclusion: a. What are the major risk factors that you see in this project? b. As the controller and a management accountant, what is your responsibility to this project? c. What do you recommend the CEO do? Writing the Final Paper 1. Must be six to eight double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. 2. Must include a title page with the following: a. Title of paper b. Student’s name c. Course name and number d. Instructor’s name e. Date submitted

Machiavelli: Fear

According to Nicolo Machiavelli, fear should play a very significant role when it comes to the world of politics because it is the central driving vehicle to success as well as power, control, and reliability; it is because of fear that societies agree to justice and security. He believed that fear was an essential aspect to politics because of its relation to love, control, and hatred. When taking in Machiavelli’s perceptions of both the concepts of fear and love, it is clear that fear takes precedence over love in his opinion. This is shown in his book, The Prince, when he wrote â€Å"since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved† (The Prince, 1994). Essentially Machiavelli is stating that although it is desired by many to be both feared and loved, it is very difficult to be both feared and loved by everyone, and that fear is more reliable since one of them must be lacking in some aspect (The Prince, 1994). In addition, Machiavelli argued that a Prince himself should not show fear, since it would weaken his appearance and/or his reputation which, according to Machiavelli, should be carefully monitored (The Prince, 1994). Machiavelli also argued that fear keeps the people of a society in line; it â€Å"preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails† (The Prince, 1994). Furthermore, Machiavelli believed fear to be an instrument that can provide a prince with great power because of its reliability and stability. In addition, Machiavelli argued that a person should only trust the things that he or she can control. That being said, a person cannot be forced or commanded to love another person. Therefore, a ruler should only rely on things he or she can control. This is because fear is a necessary means to being respected as a leader, and it is the responsibility of a leader to have control over his or her society; fear leads to obedience, a key aspect to having control over a society (The Prince, 1994). Furthermore, one thing a ruler (prince) can have control over is fear. This is because the people in a society are afraid of punishment and they are intimidated by the ruler, so they act in accordance with the ruler’s laws. Furthermore, fear is a necessary and a key aspect to being successful and powerful in the political sphere. Machiavelli was not someone who was interested in what was morally correct, but rather what was politically beneficial. That being said, just because Machiavelli argued that a Prince should be feared by society, he is not arguing that he should also be hated by his society. This is shown in The Prince when he wrote â€Å"Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred† (The Prince, 1994). This quotation is significant because it shows that Machiavelli viewed the concept of hatred as a very bad thing; he saw hatred as the end. That being said, in his view, it is important if a ruler is not loved by the people that they are also not hated by the people. Furthermore, through the eyes of Machiavelli, a ruler (prince) should be feared by the people, but never hated by the people (The Prince, 1994). In the mind of Machiavelli, fear is an important element of politics, not just for its own sake, but for many other reasons. Fear is an emotion of reliability, as well as an instrument for control over a society. Fear is necessary for the sake of the greater good of a society. Furthermore, fear ought to be used appropriately and it is not to be taken lightly, as it should not lead to hatred. In conclusion, Machiavelli viewed fear to be a means to effective leadership; he argued that it pushes people together and it results in security and stability of society (The Prince, 1994). Fear is a way to maintain power and authority over society, and thus it should play an important role in politics according to Machiavelli.

How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator

How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator Corinne McKay How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator by Corinne McKay ISBN 978-1-4116-9520-7 First Edition  ©2006 by Corinne McKay. All Rights Reserved. Published by Two Rat Press, a division of Translatewrite, Inc. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review, without permission in writing from the author. For information, contact [email  protected] com.Disclaimer: This book is published by Two Rat Press and Translatewrite, Inc. , who acknowledge all trademarks. All information contained in this book is believed to be correct at the time of printing. However, readers are advised to seek professional advice where necessary, as the information in this book is based on the author's experiences. The author of this book is not profes sionally engaged in providing legal, financial or career planning advice. Please send comments or corrections to [email  protected] com. For Dan, Ada and my parents, who sweeten every day. Contents Introduction Acknowledgments 9 15 An overview of the translation business 17 1. 1 What is a translator? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 17 1. 2 What does it take to become a translator? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 18 1. 3 Improving your language skills †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 21 1. 4 A translator's working environment †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 22 1. 5 What kinds of work do translators do? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 25 1. 5. 1 Software Localization †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 27 1. 6 Who do translators work for? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 28 1. 6. 1 Working for translation agencies †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦. 28 1. 6. 2 Working for direct clients †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 30 1. A bit about interpreting †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 31 1. 8 How do translators set their rates? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 33 1. 9 Professional Associations †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 34 1. 9. 1 American Translators Association †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 34 1. 9. 2 National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 35 1. 9. 3 Translators and Interpreters Guild †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 35 1. 9. 4 American Literary Translators Association 35 1. 9. 5 Federation Internationale des Traducteurs 36 1. 9. 6 International Association of Conference Interpreters †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 1. 10 Certification for Translators †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 36 1. 10. 1 American Translators Association †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 38 1. 10. 2 Federal Court Interpreter Certification Examination Program †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 39 1. 10. 3 State Court Interpreter Certification . . . . 41 5 CONTENTS 2 Starting and Growing your Business 2. 1 Preparing for your job search †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2. 1. 1 The basics of writing a translation resume . 2. 1. 2 A new resume for a new career †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2. 1. 3 The structure of your resume †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2. 1. 4 Your name †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. . 1. 5 Your summary of qualifications . †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2. 1. 6 The body of the resume †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2. 1. 7 What about a cover letter? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 43 43 43 44 45 46 47 49 50 2. 2 Finding your first clients †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 51 2. 3 Building up your business †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 56 2. 4 Starting a part-time translation business . †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 59 2. 5 Business skills you'll need †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦.. 61 2. 6 Setting up your office and your business †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 63 2. 7 Maximizing productivity †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 2. 8 For working parents †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 67 3 Home office setup 3. 1 Preparing for your home office †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3. 2 The ups and downs of worki ng from home . . . . 3. 3 Necessary office equipment †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3. 4 Organizing your business †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3. 5 Translation home office technology †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3. 6 Non-Western character sets †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3. 7 Speech recognition software †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3. 8 Translation memory software †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 69 9 69 71 73 75 78 79 80 Trados †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 82 3. 8. 1 3. 8. 2 SDLX †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 83 3. 8. 3 Deja Vu †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 83 3. 8. 4 Wordfast †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 83 3. 8. 5 Heartsome †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 83 3. 8. 6 OmegaT †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 84 3. 8. 7 WordFisher †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 84 3. 8. 8 across †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦.. 84 3. Choosing a computer system †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 85 CONTENTS 7 4 Rates, contracts and terms of service 4. 1 Setting your translation rates †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4. 2 R ate sheets †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4. 3 Contracts or work for hire agreements . †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4. 4 Terms of service †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4. 5 Researching your potential clients †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4. 6 Standard payment terms and methods †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4. 7 Setting the stage for payment †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4. When things don't go as planned †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4. 8. 1 Arbitration and dispute resolution †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4. 9 Cash flow issues †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 S etting up your business for growth 5. 1 Incorporating and planning for taxes †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5. 1. 1 Corporate Entities †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5. 1. 2 Tax planning †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5. 2 Key Questions Before the Project Starts †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5. 3 How to Raise Your Rates †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5. 4 Ten ways to please a translation client †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Resources Glossary Index 87 87 91 92 95 99 101 102 104 108 109 111 112 114 115 117 120 121 125 133 139 Introduction I decided to write this book because I love my job, and because so few bilingual people are aware of the high demand for qualified translators and interpreters, or of the lifestyle benefits of being a language entrepreneur. In 2002, I was looking for a new career after eight years as a high school French teacher, and hoping to find a work-from-home job using my language skills. I thought back to a translation internship that I had done in college, and remembered how much I had enjoyed it.At the time, I had almost no knowledge of the translation industry nor any job contacts, so I started out by calling every company listed under Translators and Interpreters in the local yellow pages. Over the next few months I became involved with my local translators association, the American Translators Association (ATA), and began getting some calls for translation work. A year and some 400 resumes later, I passed the ATA certification exam in French to English translation, and my business continued to grow, while still allowing me to work from home on a flexible schedule, earning a healthy income and spending lenty of time with my family. Although I spent most of that first year marketing my fledgling business, the effort paid off; after three years as a freelance translator I earned my highest gross income ever (including when I worked full-time as a teacher) while working 20-30 hours a week from home. I developed specializations in legal, financial and marketing translation, edited my local translators association newsletter, presented seminars at the annual conference of the American Translators Association and often found myself exclaiming, â€Å"This is so interesting! while working on a translation—in short, I had found my niche. At the same time, the path from that day with the phone book to the day I told a client, â€Å"Sorry, I'm booked for the next two weeks† 9 10 INTRODUCTION was harder than it had to be, because there is a real shortage of training materials on how to run a translation business. Most translators enter the field because they love languages and writing, not because they love marketing and bookkeeping, but many translators' businesses fail because the y lack basic business skills.If you'd like to succeed as a freelance translator, it's definitely important to pursue training in translation techniques, translation software, and other tools of the trade, but these types of courses are easier to locate. Part of the reason I decided to write this book was because, having never run my own business before, I struggled so much with these basic business questions: how and where to find prospective clients, how to pursue translator certification, how to decide whether expensive computer software would help my business, how to set my translation rates, and so on.This book is based on the article Getting Started as a Freelance Translator, which first appeared on my website and was picked up by several translation websites. Later, I expanded that article into an online course that has continued to be very popular with aspiring translators. Following the success of the course, I realized that there must be many more people out there wondering how to use their language skills to break into the translation industry, and the idea for this book was born. The good news about translation If you're considering a career as a translator, there's a lot to look forward to.Given the global reach of businesses in the 21 st century, translators are employed in almost every conceivable business sector, from banking to museums to health care to high-tech. If you have a special skill or interest in addition to being bilingual, you're almost sure to find clients who will pay for your services, and you'll get to work on materials that interest you. Overall, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics http://bls. gov projects that job prospects for translators and interpreters will increase faster than the average until at least 2014.Translators are usually well paid for their work, with the most recent compensation survey by the American Translators Association reporting 11 that the average self-employed full-time translator earns over $ 50,000 per year. Most translators, even if they work 40 hours a week or more, live a very self-directed lifestyle and can tailor their work day around other interests or commitments such as families. The good news about virtual work In publicizing their work-from-home newsletter The Rat Race Rebellion, the e-entrepreneurship specialists Staffcentrix http: //staffcentrix. om estimate that â€Å"There is a 30 to 1 scam ratio among home-based work ‘opportunities. ‘ † Although there are definitely some unscrupulous translation clients out there, translation itself is a great example of a legitimate work-fromhome opportunity. The vast majority of translators in the U. S. work from home, so translation agencies are used to this business model, and don't think it's odd to employ translators who work from home. Home work has a lot of advantages for you as the home worker, and for your community as a whole.By working from home, you'll probably experience greater job satisf action and less stress, since a relatively minor disruption like a dentist appointment or furnace repair won't derail your entire work day. Most of the time, you'll be able to structure your work day around your peak energy times and your family's needs, rather than your employer's policies. Your commute will be as long as it takes you to walk from your bedroom to your office and fire up the computer while still in your pajamas. Not surprisingly, most home workers experience a greatly improved quality of life.Likewise, working from home often has a very positive effect on your community and the world as a whole. Less commuting means less traffic congestion, less fuel usage and less need for parking areas. Home-based workers are around during the day, allowing them to volunteer for school and community activities and to be available for their families. A study by the International Telework Association and Council (ITAC) found that home-based workers are absent from work less than hal f as often as officebased workers, leading to greater work productivity in general. 12 INTRODUCTIONIs freelance translation for you? Despite all of these positive reports, it's very important to do some realistic self-assessment to determine if a career as a freelance translator is for you. Translators need a lot of skills besides fluency in at least two languages; translators need to be excellent writers in their native language and need to be interested in and skilled at terminology research using both paper dictionaries and the Internet. Translators also need to be avid readers in their native and non-native languages in order to keep up their language skills and their knowledge of world events.Equally important, and the subject that we'll focus on in this book, is a translator's ability to run a business. When you work full-time for an employer, you have one job title. When you work for yourself, you're not only the translator, but also the department head for sales and marketin g, technical support, customer relations, accounting and facilities maintenance. Unless you're willing and able to pay someone to do these tasks for you, you'll be doing them yourself, in addition to your regular job. Before you launch yourself into a ranslation career, it's important to ask yourself a few questions. Are you the type of person who is often described as highly motivated, driven, a go-getter; or do you have trouble following through on a plan once the exciting idea stage is over? Are you consistently able to meet deadlines with almost no supervision or direction, or do you head off to shopping websites as soon as the boss disappears? Do you have the multi-tasking skills necessary to manage multiple clients and deadlines at once, or does this type of work leave you feeling overwhelmed and wondering where to start?In addition, it's important to factor in a start-up period of at least six months to a year when launching your freelance business. Of course this is just an estimate, and the length of everyone's startup period will vary, but for translators who work in a relatively common language pair (for example French, Italian, German, Spanish or Portuguese paired with English), it's best to budget on at least six months of doing a lot of marketing and working less than full-time. For some people, for example parents 13 f small children or full-time students who are looking for some supplemental income, the spotty cash flow of a startup period may not be a huge concern. If you're planning on translation as your full-time income, you'll need to either continue your current employment while your translation business gets up to speed, or plan on living off your savings or a loan during this time. It can help to focus on the fact that with a consistent and reasonably aggressive marketing effort, you'll have years to enjoy your freelance lifestyle and income after your startup phase ends.So to all of you out there wondering, â€Å"What exactly does som eone with a degree in foreign languages do for a living? ,† I wish you happy reading, and hopefully, happy translating! Acknowledgments Very few books are truly solo endeavors, and this book is no exception. Special thanks go to the people who lent their enthusiasm to this project when it was just an idea to toss around over coffee or e-mail: Eve Lindemuth Bodeux, Beth Hayden, Thomas Hedden, Bruce McKay, LaNelle McKay and KarenMitchell for their insights and encouragement, and the students in the first two sessions of my course, Getting Started as a Freelance Translator for their excellent feedback on the course materials that this book is based on. My colleagues in the Colorado Translators Association, the American Translators Association and Boulder Media Women, and the readers of my e-newsletter Open Source Update are an ongoing source of knowledge and inspiration that every translator and writer should be so fortunate as to have. And Dan Urist†¦ where to start†¦ pent more hours than a recovering computer systems administrator should have to on the layout, design and editing of this book, learning at least two new pieces of software in the process and lovingly hounding me until the last word was written. 15 1 An overview of the translation business 1. 1 What is a translator? In a nutshell, a translator is a human being who changes written words from one language to another. If this sounds obvious, take another look! First, it's important to note that although computers play an important role in translation, professional translators are humans, not computers.Second, a translator works with written words, unlike an interpreter, who works with spoken words. If you're new to the industry, you've learned something important right here; that the phrase â€Å"speaking through a translator,† contradicts itself, since translators work in writing. While some people work as both translators and interpreters, most concentrate on one or the other. Translators are also, by definition, fluent in more than one language. In the industry, these are referred to as the source, or â€Å"from† language(s), and the target, or â€Å"into† language, which is almost always the translator's native language.So for example, a translator who is a native English speaker and learned Portuguese and Spanish might translate from Spanish and Portuguese into English. If you work in the most common language pairs, such as English paired with French, Italian, German or Spanish (known as FIGS in the translation industry), chances are that you will never translate into your second or third language. If you work in a less common language pair, you might find yourself as the exception to this rule.A client might need a document translated from Thai into English, a job that would usually be handled by a native English speaker who has Thai as a second or third language. However in practice, it's often easier to find a native Thai (or 17 18 AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS Lingala, Malayalam, Fulani, etc) speaker who has English as a second language since there are many more native Thai speakers who also speak English than the other way around. In this case, the job might be handled by a native Thai speaker, and then proofread by a native English speaker.In the United States, most translators work from one or two source languages; it's extremely common for translators to have only one working language pair, like Spanish into English, or Japanese into English. In other areas of the world where foreign languages are more widely studied, most translators work from at least two source languages, and often many more. It's not at all unusual to find Europe-based translators who work, for example, from English, Spanish and French into German, or from Norwegian, Swedish and English into Danish. 1. What does it take to become a translator? Being multilingual isn't the only skill a translator needs, but it's certainly the m ost important. Translators learn their languages in many different ways; many grew up in bilingual households or countries, some learned their second or third language in school and then pursued experience abroad, some took intensive language courses or worked in a foreign country for several years, and it is also quite common for translators to become freelancers after working as military or government linguists.Almost all translators working in the U. S. have at least a Bachelor's Degree, although not necessarily in translation. As a rule, most professional translators have at least some experience working and/or living in a country where their source language or languages are spoken; many translators lived and worked in their source language country for many years, or pursued higher education in their source language(s).In-country experience is a big asset for a translator, since translation work involves knowing not just the structure of the language to be translated, but the cu ltural framework that surrounds it. This isn't to say that classroom study doesn't produce excellent translators, but it's important to realize WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A TRANSLATOR? 19 at the outset that to be a successful professional translator, you need near-native proficiency in your source language(s); if you're starting from scratch, a few semesters of part-time language class won't be enough.As a point of reference, the U. S. Government's Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center offers a program to teach Middle Eastern languages to government employees, and the basic program involves 63 weeks of full-time study. Many people wonder how to tell if their language skills are good enough to work as a translator. While there are various language testing services that can tell you where you stand, probably the easiest way to get a feel for your translation readiness is to translate something.Go on the web and find a legal document, newspaper article or press release in your source language, then try to translate it. As we'll discuss later, professional translators make constant use of reference materials such as print and online dictionaries, terminology databases, etc. , so when you look at your practice document, don't assume that you should be able to whip out a perfect translation on the spot. The key points are: can you understand this document on both a word-for-word and a conceptual level, and can you convey its meaning in your target language?Translators today work in almost every conceivable language pair; while the market in the United States has historically been very strong in Western European languages such as French, German, Italian and Spanish, there is an increasing (and increasingly lucrative) market for translation in Asian and Middle Eastern Languages like Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Farsi, Pashto and Kurdish; Central and Eastern European languages like Serbian, Czech, Slovene and Macedonian; as well as the â€Å"languages of smaller iffusion† like Nepali, Hebrew or Somali. In most language pairs, the amount of work available is proportionate to the number of translators in the language. While there is obviously a great deal of English to Spanish translation work in the U. S. , there is a correspondingly large number of translators in this language combination; and while there may not be a great deal of work in Indonesian to English, there 20 AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS re also not many translators in this combination, resulting in a correspondingly small amount of competition for work. In addition to near-native source language proficiency, translators need other skills too; probably the most important are excellent writing skills in their target language, in-depth knowledge in one or more areas of specialization, and business management skills. Some would-be translators are in practice not very successful because they have weak writing skills in the ir target language, making their translations difficult or unpleasant to read.Highly specialized translators are among the highest-earning members of the profession; for example a bilingual intellectual property attorney, stock broker or biomedical engineer may earn many times the per-word rate of a â€Å"jack of all trades† translator with a B. A. in German. Some translators turn a previous career into an area of specialization, while others take additional courses in areas of specialization or learn specialized terminology from more experienced translators.Paradoxically, specializing can also lead to more work, not less, as the specialized translator becomes known as the go-to person in his or her area of expertise, whether it's environmental engineering, textile manufacturing or stage sets. The translation industry in the United States is moving more and more toward an independent contractor model, where the vast majority of translators are self-employed and work for a var iety of clients; in 2005, approximately 70% of the members of the American Translators Association were self-employed independent contractors.As such, translators need business management skills such as the ability to find and retain clients, work on tight deadlines with little supervision or management, handle increases and decreases in work flow and cash flow and perform tasks such as bookkeeping, tax planning and computer upkeep and maintenance. In fact, most self-employed translators spend 25-50% of their time on non-translation work, largely involving management of the day to day tasks of running a business, so these skills are just as important as translation-related skills in succeeding as a freelance translator.IMPROVING YOUR LANGUAGE SKILLS 21 1. 3 Improving your language skills If you'd like to work as a translator but your language skills are not yet up to par, you have a few options. The best, but most difficult, is immersion: living and working or going to school in a c ountry where your source language is spoken. If you want to improve your French, without a doubt the fastest way to do it is to move to a French-speaking country for a year, work or go to school with native French speakers, and speak only French while you're there.If this isn't possible for you, university programs in translation and interpretation do exist in the U. S. , although they are much less common than in other countries. However, nearly all medium or large colleges and universities will offer advanced courses in the more widely spoken foreign languages. The American Translators Association http : //atanet . org sells several publications listing translating and interpreting programs, and also has a mentoring program for its members, although the program is geared toward professional, not linguistic, development.If you're trying to improve your language skills, be realistic; although it's certainly far from impossible to learn a new language at age 30, 50 or 70, it's also n ot going to happen with a few semesters of night classes. If you're starting from a beginner level or close to it, two to three years of intensive language study in a college-level program is probably a bare minimum. However, if you have a solid foundation in a second or third language, for instance you studied it in school for 10 years including several trips to a country where the language is spoken, you might be ready to start translating right away.As mentioned before, simply knowing more than one language isn't enough to guarantee your success as a translator. While requirements for different translation jobs vary, nearly all translators have at least a Bachelor's degree, and often more education than this. If you would eventually like to earn certification from the American Translators Association, you'll need either a Master's degree or higher, or several years of work experience as a translator. The rapid expansion of the translation industry, flexible work possibilities and high earning potential have made freelance 2 AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS translation an attractive career for bilingual lawyers, accountants, doctors and scientific professionals, and many translators feel that specialization is extremely important to their success. This is especially true as the Internet has opened up work opportunities for translators who live in countries where the cost of living is relatively low, and where educated professionals may be able to make more money by working as translators over the Internet than by practicing in the professions they were trained for. 1. A translator's working environment The translation industry in the United States is moving more and more toward the independent contractor model. In the past, many large companies and even many translation agencies had staffs of in-house translators, but these jobs are now few and far between, and when they do exist would rarely be given to a beginner. In contrast to other professions wh ere newcomers are expected to pay their dues as in-house employees and then enjoy the â€Å"reward† of freelancing, the translation industry usually works in the opposite way.Most translators start out as freelancers and may even remain self-employed for their whole careers, while most wellpaid in-house translators are hired with years or even decades of experience. It's important to be realistic about whether the life of a freelancer is for you. While you'll have a great degree of control over where, when and how much you work, you'll also give up the security of a steady paycheck, benefits, paid time off, and a pension or employer-sponsored 401K. Most freelance translators in the U.S. work from a home office, and there is no stigma attached to working from home; translators who rent office space outside the home are definitely the exception rather than the rule. The vast majority of a translator's work is done on the computer, using either a word processing program or text editor, and possibly a computer-assisted translation program. Translators make extensive use of reference materials such as print and online dictionaries, terminology databases, and discussion with other translators.The almost constant use of a computer A TRANSLATOR'S WORKING ENVIRONMENT 23 makes repetitive strain injury one of the few work-related injuries that translators are at risk for. There are many positive sides to a translator's work environment. Compared to other work-from-home jobs, translation can be very interesting and well-paying. Although you probably won't get lavishly rich working as a freelance translator, translation industry compensation surveys report that the average self-employed freelance translator earns about $52,000 per year.Translators who are highly specialized in technical fields, or work with in-demand language pairs may earn much more than this, and in-house translators for certain branches of the U. S. government or international financial instituti ons may earn $70,000 a year and up. At the same time, it is important to be realistic about the time and effort involved in reaching this level of income.Unless you work in a language pair and/or specialization that is extremely in demand, it may take a year or more to develop a regular client base that will allow you to replace the income from a previous full-time job, and you will probably need to send out several hundred resumes during that time. Before starting your freelance translation business, it's important to determine if you have the financial resources, time and energy to get through the startup period to the point where you are earning a reasonable and steady income.Starting a translation business is a fairly inexpensive proposition. If you already have a home computer and high speed Internet access, you might make do with business cards, computerized fax service and a modest reference library, for a startup cost of only a few hundred dollars. To a large extent, freelan cers can determine when and how much they want to work. While it probably makes good business sense to accept as much work as possible from your regular clients, on a day-to-day basis many translators work on their own schedule rather than from 9 to 5.A translator's eight hour day might run from 7:30-11:30 AM and 4:30-8:30 PM. This flexibility makes translation an excellent career option for people who have young children, are semi-retired, or just want to work part-time. Today, most translation work hap- 24 AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS pens remotely, and translators can live almost anywhere. The up and down nature of most freelancers' work loads also lends itself to using free time to take classes, pursue hobbies, travel or spend time with family. On the downside (and of course there are some downsides to all of this! , as with other consulting or freelance work, some aspects of translation can be stressful and difficult to manage. Many translators describe their work as feast or famine, with months of little work and months of working every waking moment and more than a few moments that should be spent sleeping. Worldwide business acceleration has affected translation turnaround times, with agencies eager to have translations returned as soon as possible, sometimes within a few hours for a short project. Clients who pay late or don't pay at all can cause major financial problems, especially for translators who live paycheck to paycheck.Translators who work in common language combinations like SpanishEnglish may face pressure to lower their rates in order to remain competitive, especially if the client can find qualified translators in countries where pay rates are much lower. In addition, working from home has its ups and downs; even for an introvert, the life of the home office can be lonely, and time spent on (unpaid) non-translation work like accounting, marketing and maintaining computer systems can become frustrating when you'd much rather be translating!If you've never worked for yourself before, succeeding as a translator demands a high degree of self-discipline. With no boss in the next cubicle and a list of household errands to finish, it can be hard to focus on your work, and if you have a family or housemates, equally difficult to find a work-friendly time and space in your house. However, most translators enjoy their work and like to talk about what they do and how they got started. The ever-changing nature of the job appeals to many people, since no day â€Å"at the office† is exactly like another.Another positive aspect of the job is that most translation clients value their translators and treat them as professionals who deserve to be fairly paid for their work. Even in the most common language combinations, the supply of qualified and capable (emphasis here! ) translators often cannot WHAT KINDS OF WORK DO TRANSLATORS DO? 25 keep pace with the industry's demand, resulting in a generally positive employ ment picture for translators and interpreters. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employment prospects for translators and interpreters should grow faster than the average for all occupations until at least 2014. . 5 What kinds of work do translators do? As cross-cultural and multilingual communication become more important to the worldwide flow of business, translators and interpreters are employed in almost every conceivable business and government sector. From law to health care to finance, entertainment, information technology and advertising, translators and interpreters enable global communication. Some translators, especially those with specialized professional or technical training, might concentrate on only one subject area, such as pharmaceuticals, corporate finance, computer software or legal contracts.There are even translators who specialize in seemingly obscure areas like fisheries management, shopping mall construction, stamps, or groundwater hy drology. Still others position themselves as â€Å"jack of all trades† translators with concentrations in certain areas. In general, the more translators there are in a given language pair, the more specialization is required, and the smaller the translator pool, the less incentive there is to specialize. German to English translators in the U. S. almost certainly have specializations, but the same isn't necessarily true of the few Bosnian to English translators doing business in the same markets.Translators sometimes work in collaboration with other linguists, particularly if the work involves a large project that needs to be translated in a short amount of time. Today, translation teams almost always work together over the Internet, rather than in person. The size of translation projects can vary widely, from a single line of text such as a company slogan, to an entire book or website. Most translators who are self-employed work from project to project, with the average pro ject taking anywhere from 26 AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS n hour to several days, and some longer projects mixed in as well. Most translators working in the United States today work on business and technical documents, rather than literature. Although most translators in the U. S. are independent contractors, full-time jobs for translators and interpreters do exist, particularly in areas such as court and health care interpreting, web content translation, software localization, and translating and interpreting for the United States Government's various agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency.Translators who are experienced and/or qualified to work in more than one language pair may have a greater chance of being offered an in-house position. Literary translators (translators who work on books, poetry or short stories) make up a relatively small segment of translators in the United States. This is bec ause literary translation is typically not very well paid, and because Americans don't tend to read literature in translation, so there is a small market for the work of literary translators; in 2004, only 891 of the 195,000 new books printed inEnglish were adult literature in translation. If you translate into a language other than English, there may be a larger market for literary translation services, especially if you are qualified to work on textbooks, technical manuals, and other â€Å"non-literary† book projects. Localization translators are a rapidly growing group in the industry. Localization, or the complete adaptation of a product such as a web site, product marketing kit, software program or advertising campaign into another language, used to be confined mostly to computer software.Now, software localization is probably the largest segment of the localization market, but it's certainly not the only segment. Businesses may hire localization agencies when they want to take a new product global and need culturally-targeted marketing advice in addition to translation services. WHAT KINDS OF WORK DO TRANSLATORS DO? 1. 5. 1 Software Localization 27 A sub-specialty within the translation and localization industry is software localization, the process of translating software user interfaces from one language to another.For example, when a large software company produces multilingual versions of its applications, every piece of text displayed by the software must be translated into the target language, and in many cases the graphics must be altered as well. Software localization involves both bilingual software developers and document translators specialized in information technology, since the software's user interface, help files, readme files, screen shots and incidental files (such as warranty information and packaging) must all be translated.Software localization is an enormous industry in its own right, largely because computer users throughout the world now expect their software to be in their own language, and will naturally be more interested in purchasing software or visiting websites that they can access in their own language. Therefore, the software localization industry is a source of a large amount of work for bilingual software developers and for translators, and is currently one of the fastest-growing sectors within the translation industry as a whole. In addition, localization breeds localization; a localized web browser utomatically creates a need for localized websites; a localized piece of software demands a localized manual to go with it. Two useful resources for localization professionals are the Globalization and Localization Association. http: //www. gala-global . org and the Localization Industry Standards Association http: //www. lisa. org. Software localization is often completed using different tools than those that are used for document translation; some computer-assisted translation tools can cross over between these two types of translation, and some cannot.So, it is important to investigate what tools will be required if you would like to look for software localization work. 28 AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS 1. 6 Who do translators work for? 1. 6. 1 Working for translation agencies For a freelance translator, there are typically two types of clients: translation agencies and direct clients. First, let's look at how translators work through agencies. A translation agency, which may also refer to itself as a localization agency, translation company, or translation bureau, has its own roster of clients and sub-contracts their translation work to individual freelance translators.The agency handles the project management end of things, interacts directly with the translation client and (hopefully) pays the translator and deals with any collections issues. Ideally, the translation agency should pay its freelance translators when their invoices come due (normally 30 days after the agency accepts the translation) whether the agency itself has been paid by the end client or not. A translation agency is not an employment agency, and there is no fee involved for a translator to register with an agency.However, an agency normally cannot guarantee a steady flow of work to any one translator, and will normally pay the translator a good deal less than the per-word rate that the agency is charging the client, in many cases up to 50% less. Freelance translators are often required to sign a confidentiality and non-competition agreement which states that they may not work directly for any of the agency's clients for some period of time, or may not disclose who the agency's clients are, or the nature of the assignments that they work on.Like translators themselves, translation agencies can be either very general, â€Å"all languages, all subjects,† or highly specialized, for instance translating only for the medical industry, or only translating between E nglish and Korean. In the uncertain world of freelancing, translation agencies provide some measure of job security. When you work for an agency, you don't normally have to communicate with the end client directly, and in many cases the agency may even forbid you from contacting the end client. Instead, you translate the documents that the agency sends you, which means that you spend your timeWHO DO TRANSLATORS WORK FOR? 29 working instead of managing the project and handling the client's questions. Also, an agency that becomes a regular client may be able to provide you with steady work, and will often pay you even if the client is late in paying them. A good agency project manager understands the nature of translation work, and asks the client in advance to clarify potential questions, for example should currency amounts in Euros be converted to dollars, saving the contract translators a great deal of time. Many of the best agency project managers are or have been translators them selves.Agencies also provide some amount of â€Å"disaster insurance† in the event that you get sick in the middle of the project, suddenly find yourself in over your head on a very technical document, or another type of unforeseen event. If something like this happens, the agency can often find a replacement translator or editor to step in, which is a responsibility that falls upon the translator if an agency is not involved. In exchange for the services the agency provides, you will give up some freedom. The agencies you work for may have fixed pay rates, or may ask you to reduce your rates to stay competitive with other translators.When an agency becomes a regular client, you want to keep them happy, so it will be hard to say â€Å"No! † when they call you on Friday afternoon with a big project due Monday, disrupting your planned ski trip or home improvement project. Also, agencies vary in quality. While a good agency can effectively hand you work on a platter and d eal with all problems that come up between them and the end client, in practice this doesn't always happen. An agency may claim (rightly or wrongly) that you did a substandard job on a project for them, and then ask for or just go ahead and take a â€Å"discount† on the payment you agreed on.Or, an agency may not have much cash in reserve, and might not be able to pay you if the end client doesn't pay them. Agencies also have their own set payment terms, and in most cases the terms aren't negotiable. For example, agencies in the U. S. generally pay within 30 days from the date of the invoice (referred to as Net 30), or 30 days from the end of the month (30 Days EOM), while agencies in Europe take longer to pay, sometimes as long as 60 days from the end of the month or 30 AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS 0 days from the date of the invoice. 1. 6. 2 Working for direct clients The other main option for a freelancer is to work for direct clients, meaning working directly f or translation customers without a â€Å"middleman† involved. A direct client might be a shoe manufacturer in Sweden that wants to market its products in the U. S. , a patent law firm in Japan, a university in the U. S. with non-English speaking visitors, or an individual who wants her high school diploma translated into French so that she can study abroad.The income potential of working for direct clients is attractive; in many cases double the income of working for an agency. Direct clients may also be able to provide large volumes of work if their turnaround time allows for it. Whereas a translation agency will often split a large project between several translators to get it done faster, a direct client might be willing to let you translate their entire 50,000 word annual report, resulting in more income and less administrative overhead for you; or they might be willing to let you act as a â€Å"mini-agency,† subcontracting work to ther translators you know and kee ping a percentage for yourself. With a direct client the translator is often more in control of the payment terms involved; for example, the translator might be able to request payment in advance for certain services, an option that almost never exists when working through a translation agency. There are some disadvantages in working for direct clients as well. When you work through an agency, it's the project manager's job to explain the ins and outs of the translation process to the client.If the client doesn't know what source and target language mean, or the difference between traditional and simplified Chinese, or whether they want the company's name in all capital letters throughout the document, it's the agency's responsibility to deal with this, not yours. When you work for a direct client, for better or worse there's no one between you and the client. In cases involving a small project such as a birth certificate translation, it might take more time to explain the process t o the client than it does to complete the translation.If the client has an unrealistic A BIT ABOUT INTERPRETING 31 deadline, keeps changing his/her mind about the project specifications, or wants additional services such as desktop publishing, it's up to you as the translator to deal with it. If the direct client doesn't pay, there's no one else to lean on for the money—you simply have to handle it yourself, or hire a collection agency if things turn really sour. All of these aspects are worth considering before you decide whether to work through agencies or for direct clients.Somewhere between an agency and a direct client is a small but growing group of freelance project managers. These individuals function somewhat like one-person translation agencies, and may be handling outsourced translation for a larger corporation. This style of business combines some of the advantages and disadvantages of the agency /direct client model. Probably the most significant item to discuss up front is what happens if the end client doesn't pay or is late in paying the project manager who hires you, since unlike a large translation agency, this ndividual probably doesn't have the cash reserves to cover a large bill that goes unpaid. 1. 7 A bit about interpreting As you explore a career in translation, it's worth considering whether you would like to focus your business exclusively on translation, or include interpreting in your range of services. Like translation, the market for interpreting depends largely on your language pair(s), and unless you do over the phone interpreting, is more location-dependent than translation since you need to be in the same place as your clients.Interpreting has several â€Å"modes,† the primary ones being simultaneous, where the interpreter talks at the same time as the speaker; consecutive, where the interpreter listens to the speaker and takes notes, then interprets what the speaker said; and sight translation, where the interpr eter reads a written document in another language, for example taking a court document in English and reading it to a defendant in Spanish. Simultaneous interpret- 32AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS ing is probably the most common mode, since it is used at the United Nations, in court, and in various other conference-type settings. Interpreting demands very different skills than translation. While translators are stereotypically detail-oriented introverts who don't mind spending an hour finding the perfect translation for a word, interpreters must be able to think on their feet and work with little or no advance preparation.Translators most often work alone at home, while interpreters are often literally in the spotlight, standing next to a court witness, hospital patient or head of state and communicating for him or her. Until the advent of conference calling, interpreters had to be in the same place as their clients, and court and conference interpreting is still heavily de pendent on on-site interpreters. However, over-the-phone interpreting is becoming more popular, especially in areas where it's hard to find on-site interpreters.Many translation agencies also schedule interpreters, and courts, hospitals and schools may employ in-house interpreters. One major difference between interpreting and translation is that interpreters often work in both â€Å"directions† of their language pair, so must be highly proficient in speaking their non-native language; many high-level conference interpreters consider themselves to have two native languages, rather than one native language and one or more second languages. Interpreters are paid by the hour or by the day, and pay varies widely. In some areas of the U. S. English4-6panish court interpreters might make less than $15 an hour, while conference interpreters who are members of the elite AIIC (International Association of Conference Interpreters) might make close to $500 a day. If you are interested i n interpreting, one excellent way to assess your skills is to go spend a day as an observer in court. Most courts in the U. S. are open to the public, and you can sit in the viewing area and try to interpret as the proceedings go along; better yet take a notebook and make a list of words and expressions that you need to research.The major employers of interpreters in the U. S. are courts, health care settings and schools, so these are all good places to focus on if you would like to explore interpreting. HOW DO TRANSLATORS SET THEIR RATES? 33 1. 8 How do translators set their rates? Translators are generally paid by the word, with some variation in whether the word count is based on the source or target language, for a single word (most common in the U. S. ) or per thousand words (most common in the U. K. ), although payment is sometimes made by the line as well, with a line being comprised of a certain number of characters.For projects where charging by the word would result in a r idiculously low payment, for example translating an advertising slogan, translators are often paid by the hour. Translations of official documents such as birth certificates may be billed by the page. Many translators have a minimum charge for small projects, for example a flat fee for projects up to 250 words. It's also common for translators to add a premium for a rush project, or to offer a discount for a large project or ongoing work. The actual per-word rate depends on your language c)oamndbispe-tlz(),andsowhtyurcliensa willing to pay.Asking â€Å"How much do translators charge? † is like asking, â€Å"How big is a ball of yarn? † The variation in translation rates is enormous; if you visit online translation marketplaces such as Translators Cafe http://translatorscafe. com, or ProZ. com http: //proz . com, you'll see an abundance of translators willing to work for just a few cents a word, while a highly specialized medical, legal or technical translator working f or direct clients might make mid-double digits (cents, not dollars! ) per word.In addition, many translators are reluctant to publish or even discuss their rates for fear of being targeted by antitrust actions. If you work for translation agencies, there may not be much room for negotiation on rates, and â€Å"setting your rates† may be more a matter of finding agencies that are willing to pay what you would like to earn. Agencies will often ask you what your rates are, but just as often the agency already knows what it can or will pay for a typical project in your language combination, and is unlikely to give you work if you charge more than the â€Å"standard† rate.Some agencies will also tell you up front that 34 AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS you're welcome to specify your rates, but that the agency prefers to work with translators who charge less than a certain number of cents per word. Still, translation agencies as a group are not usually out to get tra nslators to work for an absolute rock-bottom price, and will usually offer a fair rate for a project. Reputable agencies may even look askance at translation rates that are more than about 10% below the average or standard rate in a certain language combination. 1. Professional Associations for Translators and Interpreters Professional associations are an excellent resource for both beginning and experienced translators and interpreters. At the international, national, and local levels, professional associations allow you to network with colleagues, pursue continuing education workshops and attend conferences related to the field. They also improve your credibility as a linguist. As one agency manager comments, â€Å"If a person is a member of a professional association, it shows that he or she has a network of colleagues to draw on and is willing to invest some time and money in the profession. Especially if translator or interpreter certification isn't offered in your languages, belonging to a professional association shows that you're serious about your work. Following is an overview of professional associations for translators and interpreters working in the United States. 1. 9. 1 American Translators Association The American Translators Association ht t p : //atanet . org is the largest professional association for language professionals in the U. S. , and offers membership to both individual linguists and translation companies.The Association also includes various language or specialization-specific divisions that members can choose to join. Benefits for ATA members include a listing on the ATA website, a subscription to the monthly magazine ATA PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS 35 Chronicle, reduced rates to attend ATA conferences and seminars, and various professional benefits such as credit card acceptance, retirement programs, etc. The ATA holds a large annual conference each year in the fall, and information about upcoming conferences is also available on the ATA website.The ATA administers its own certification exams, which are probably the most widely recognized translation credential in the U. S. As of 2006, candidates for the certification exam must also be members of ATA. For more information on certification exam dates, see ATA's website. 2006 individual dues are $145 per year. 1. 9. 2 National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators The National Association of Judiciary Intrpreters and Translators http: //najit . org is a professional association for court interpreters and legal translators.NAJIT holds an annual conference, publishes the newsletter Proteus, and advocates for positive changes in the court interpreting and legal translation professions. NAJIT's website also includes a helpful list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about court interpreting. 2006 individual dues are $105 per year. 1. 9. 3 Translators and Interpreters Guild The Translators and Interpreters Guild http : //ttig. org is the only nation al (U. S. ) union of translators and interpreters, operating as Local 32100 of the Newspaper Guild–Communications Workers of America.The Translators and Interpreters Guild operates a translator referral service that is open to members, and offers additional membership benefits such as a union credit card, life insurance, and legal services. 2006 individual dues are $120 per year. 1. 9. 4 American Literary Translators Association The American Literary Translators Association http: // literarytranslators. org is dedicated to serving literary 36 AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS translators and â€Å"enhancing the status and quality of literary translation. Members receive a variety of publications about literary translation, such as Translation Review and ALTA Guides to Literary Translation, and ALTA also holds an annual conference on literary translation. 2006 individual dues are $65 per year. 1. 9. 5 Federation Internationale des Traducteurs The Federation Internationa l des Traducteurs http: //fit-ift . org is an â€Å"association of associations† for translators, which gathers more than 100 professional associations for language professionals from all over the world. FIT does not accept individual translators as members, but does old an annual conference open to translators and interpreters throughout the world. 1. 9. 6 International Association of Conference Interpreters Membership in AIIC http://aiic. net is open only to experienced conference interpreters who have worked a minimum of 150 days in a conference setting, and must be sponsored by three active AIIC members who have been in the association for at least five years. The AIIC website contains many helpful articles and links for aspiring and experienced interpreters. 1. 10 Certification for TranslatorsAs we discussed in a previous section, for better or worse, you don't have to have any type of certification to call yourself a translator or interpreter in the United States. Vario us organizations offer certification, but the list of language combinations is far from comprehensive. For example, organizations in the United States offer certification only in language combinations that involve English, so if you translate or interpret German into French or Japanese into Korean, there simply is no certification available in the U.S.. Reliable and uniform certification is one of the most CERTIFICATION FOR TRANSLATORS 37 important issues facing the translation and interpreting professions today. Since no standardized certification for translators and interpreters exists, there is little agreement on what makes a â€Å"certified† translator or interpreter. In some cases, linguists who have earned a certificate in translation or interpreting refer to themselves as â€Å"certified,† while to others, â€Å"certified† means having passed a nationally standardized examination.There is a great deal of controversy over whether certification is a reason able guarantee of a quality job, or whether non-certified translators and interpreters are to be avoided. As a linguist, especially in a common language combination such as English with French, Spanish or German, becoming certified is one way to distinguish yourself from the pack of questionably qualified people offering translation or interpreting services in these languages, and certification may be required for certain types of work.In some court systems it is now difficult to find work as an English —Spanish court interpreter if you're not certified, and some translation agencies may insist that for certain end clients or certain types of translations, you have to be certified if the option is available for your languages. In addition, the American Translators Association's most recent compensation survey (published in January, 2006), found that certified translators earn approximately $6,000 per year more than their non-certified colleagues.On the downside, there are num erous translators and interpreters with excellent qualifications who have failed certification exams, or don't feel that they want to take them at all. As one translation agency manager comments, â€Å"Certification doesn't mean that the person can meet a deadline, work well with other translators or respond to client input and questions, and all of these are crucial to winning and keeping clients. † More practically, the certification exam itself represents a somewhat artificial environment in which you're asked to demonstrate your skills.For instance, although the ATA is currently pursuing the possibility of offering computerized certification exams, the exam currently must be handwritten, something a practicing translator would seldom if ever do. Hopefully, the computerized ATA certification exam will become a reality in the near future. 38 AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS Following is an overview of the main certifying organizations for translators and interpreters in the United States. If you work in a language combination that doesn't involve English, an Internet search can help you find certifying organizations in a country where your languages are spoken. . 10. 1 American Translators Association The American Translators Association ht t p : //atanet . org offers certification (formerly called accreditation) to translators in 27 language pairs as of 2006; passing the exam earns you the right to add the designation â€Å"ATA-certified for X to X translation† to your credentials. As of this writing, the available certifications are ( indicates that the test is available in eithe