Reflections on Critical Link 6 Ethics, mediation, research

1
Reflections on Critical Link 6Ethics, mediation,
research

• Dr Uldis Ozolins
• Adjunct Associate Professor
• University of Western Sydney

2
Brief background to Critical Link

• International conference on interpreting in
  Legal, Health and Social Service Settings. Begun
  1995 - Orilia, Canada Critical Link Canada
  organisation formed
• 1998 (Vancouver), 2001 (Montreal) International
  Committee formed
• 2004 Stockholm
• 2007 Critical Link 5 - Parramatta
• 2010 CL6 - Birmingham/Aston
• 2010 Critical Link Canada becomes Critical Link
  International, to give a permanent basis for
  Critical Link

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Evolving themes in Critical Link

• CL1 1995 - legendary debate on role and advocacy
• CL2,3 - greater representation of new countries,
  institutions serious research focus by CL3 in
  Montreal
• CL4 - Professionalisation in Interpreting
• CL5 - Quality in Interpreting - a shared
  responsibility
• CL6 - Interpreting in a changing landscape -
  insipid theme, but not an insipid conference!

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CL6 highlights, innovations

• Strong research - gt20 papers current or recent
  PhD work
• Sharper research focus eg Ethical challenges of
  interpreters in health research (Kaufert)
• Strong continuation of theme of shared
  responsibility eg Are ethics just for
  interpreters? (Phelan) Interpreter Training
  and Education is too important to be left to
  linguists alone (Trainor Bowes)
• Papers on role play writing about research
  cross-national collaboration critical
  perspectives on technology

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Some significant CL6 themes

• Ethics - of interpreters of others
• Mediation
• Growing research strengths
• The future of Critical Link

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Ethics

• Mary Phelan Are ethics just for interpreters?
• According to the World Medical Association
  Medical Ethics Manual (2009)
• If the physician and the patient do not speak
  the same language, an interpreter will be
  required. Unfortunately, in many settings there
  are no qualified interpreters and the physician
  must seek out the best available person for the
  task.

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Ethics ctd

• Justine Mason Ethical competency and public
  service interpreter training
• mental health interpreters may encounter ethical
  dilemmas that are not resolved by reference to
  the professional code of conduct. They may
  experience transference, questions of
  self-disclosure or be the subject of a patients
  psychotic delusion. They may see or hear things
  which compromise their personal moral codes and
  cause them some levels of distress
• ethical decision-making has mainly related to
  the prescribed code of conduct, rather than the
  development of independent ethical competency.

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Ethics ctd

• Krysztof Kredens Yvonne Fowler Towards
  interpreter competence in ethical emergencies
• public service interpreters are mostly left
  alone to deal intuitively with ethical
  emergencies that arise spontaneously and
  unpredictably in their work.
• Usually in training one works through critical
  incidents, but how does learning from critical
  incidents tie together into a permanent ethical
  basis?
• Interviewed focus groups of interpreters they
  stress neutrality, pre-empt problems
  (Interpreters declaration at beginning of
  assignment), emotional detachment
• But some ethical problems cannot be resolved to
  the satisfaction of all parties interpreters
  need discussion, support this is lacking
• Need interaction with other professionals

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Ethics ctd

• Several papers on shortcomings of Codes of
  Ethics/Conduct/Practice
• eg Maria Brander de la IglesiasFrom 'should' to
  'could' in the Ethos of the Interpreting
  Community Landscaping the Critical Garden
• we see most studies have sought to either
  describe or prove what it is that interpreters
  ought to do when confronted with ethical
  disjunctives.
• the identity of any community and its sense of
  cohesiveness may depend largely on whether its
  members are allowed to participate in the
  creation of its rules.
• Rita McDade Code of practice! Code of Conduct!.
  Ethics, Etiquettes! Which do I follow?

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Ethics ctd

• Gillian Trainor and Dawn Bowes. Interpreter
  Training and Education is too important to be
  left to linguists alone
• This course considered the interpreting process
  from the perspective of the healthcare
  professional and the service user/patient. It
  began by asking questions such as 'what is mental
  illness?' and 'what are the aims of mental health
  professionals?' and used the answers to show how
  - in terms of diagnosing, treating and managing
  risk the interpreter becomes 'part of the
  team'. In today's world, interpreter training and
  education is too important to be left to
  linguists alone public service professionals
  must be given a central role.

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Ethics ctd

• Also Uldis Ozolins Role-playing Pumpkin
• Importance of understanding role, skopos of
  social workers
• - establishing communication
• - gaining trust
• - creating empathy
• The interpreters would be expected to act
  proactively under the guidance of the
  professional.

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Ethics and mediation

• Marie Serdynska. Interpretation at intersections
  of mediation, advocacy, and social
  responsibility A pediatric hospitals experience
  (Montreal)
• how interpreter ethics can be reconciled to
  those of social responsibility, complex patient
  needs, limited resources and fast changing
  clinical and patient cultures
• Sociocultural Consultation and Interpretation
  Services linguistic and cultural interpretation
  and support, transcultural health education,
  library services
• interpreters are indispensable mediators in
  addressing patient barriers to services, cultural
  communication styles, health beliefs and
  practices
• Other clinicians see interpreters as team
  members. If you are in a team, what are your role
  boundaries?
• Experience of deviance when stepping outside
  traditional role.
• Obligation to disclose info when child (or mother
  /father/carer) is at risk.
• Recognising when neutrality may increase power
  imbalances.
• Future of interpreters as part of a complex team,
  fluid boundaries

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Mediation - what it means

• Barbara R. Navaza Filling cultural gaps in
  medical settings experiences of intercultural
  mediators in Spanish hospitals
• Blood tests perception in Sub-Saharan migrants,
  diabetes treatment for Muslim patients during the
  Ramadan, hospital diet for Muslim patients,
  mention of devils when explaining symptoms and
  different conceptions of infectious diseases as
  HIV/AIDS or Tuberculosis. Direct intervention of
  the intercultural mediator in cases like those
  mentioned can be a key factor to overcome
  cultural barriers that may be detrimental to the
  communication between health care providers and
  foreign population with different cultural
  backgrounds.
• In this context, professional interpreters find
  it very difficult to establish the limits of
  their role. The cultural distance is often
  reflected in medical settings involving barriers
  for an effective communication.
• Mete Rudvin From handcuffs to verdict Mediators
  and interpreters in different phases of the legal
  process

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Role and role relationships

• Perhaps the controversy over the role of the
  interpreter reflects the fact that circumstances
  and role relationships that are crucial for
  defining the role of the community interpreter
  are not always taken into account (Zimman 1994)
• The crucial role relationships are first with
  other professionals understanding how they see
  interpreters understanding what are their
  priorities and problems.
• The interpreter is there to enable communication
  to address the problems and issues of other
  professionals - and their clients.
• Most of these are cognitive as much as ethical
  issues

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The future of Critical Link

• Critical Link Canada has now become Critical Link
  International CLI.
• Individual and institutional members
• of each Critical Link conference registration
  fee will go to support CLI
• International Committee becomes sub-committee
• Call for CL7 proposals
• www.criticallink.org
• CL6 Abstracts
• http//www1.aston.ac.uk/lss/news-events/conference
  s-seminars/july-2010/critical-link/
• Or simply search Critical Link 6