Standard Translation Research Articles

Swedish translation of the iSUPPORT rights-based standards to support paediatric patients having a clinical procedure.

Swedish translation of the iSUPPORT rights-based standards to support paediatric patients having a clinical procedure.

A Study on the Translation of Instructions for Heat-Clearing and Detoxifying Traditional Chinese Medicines under the Functional Equivalence Theory

Heat-clearing and detoxifying traditional Chinese medicines are an important part and distinctive advantage of China’s medical and health undertakings. Traditional Chinese medicine is an outstanding traditional culture of the Chinese nation and a unique and significant health resource in our country. The rapidly growing international market has created excellent opportunities for the export of heat-clearing and detoxifying traditional Chinese medicines. Currently, the English translation of instructions for proprietary Chinese medicines lacks unified translation standards and the guidance of translation theories. The existing English translations of instructions for proprietary Chinese medicines in our country have problems such as confusion and non-standardization. Therefore, the research on the instructions of heat-clearing and detoxifying medicines under the functional equivalence theory is highly significant. This paper takes several common heat-clearing and detoxifying medicines available on the market as examples, analyzes the problems and their causes in the translation of the instructions from the perspective of the functional equivalence theory, and finds more reasonable and standardized translation methods. It helps foreign consumers understand the characteristics and functions of traditional Chinese medicine, thereby stimulating their consumption desires. This paper studies the translation process using the functional equivalence theory, investigates the structure and language features of the instructions for traditional Chinese medicine, and discusses the corresponding translation strategies for the instructions of heat-clearing and detoxifying traditional Chinese medicines at the lexical and syntactic levels respectively to achieve functional equivalence.

Toolkit for Translating Health Information: A Resource for Crisis Health Communication and beyond

Abstract Issue/Problem Translating health information accurately and effectively presented a critical challenge in crisis communication during the pandemic. In linguistically diverse contexts, ensuring access to vital health information is essential for promoting public health outcomes. Addressing this issue, we summarized our experience in a comprehensive toolkit for translating health information, aiming to enhance accessibility, reliability, and relevance across various settings and countries. Description of the Problem Our initiative responds to the need for standardized translation practices in the dissemination of health information in Norway. Translation practices in the health sector often lack standardization, leading to inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and risk of less comprehension. Questions guiding our project included: How can lessons learned from the extensive translation work done during the pandemic improve the accuracy and consistency of health information translation in general? Results We have developed a practical toolkit tailored to diverse linguistic and cultural contexts. Our toolkit summarizes lessons learned from extensive translation work during the pandemic, supported by validation from experts in the field of translation. The toolkit has been welcomed by other organizations, which underscores the potential of standardized translation tools to mitigate barriers to health communication in multilingual settings. Lessons Lessons gleaned from translating information during the pandemic highlight the importance of evidence-based translation practices, knowledge of the target demographic and the integration of cultural considerations into translation workflows. Furthermore, our experience underscores the value of inclusive approaches in development, promotion and distribution of the translated materials. Key messages • Standardized translation tools can increase access to vital health information, fostering equitable health outcomes. • Collaboration and inclusive approaches are key drivers in advancing standardized translation practices for effective health communication.

The introduction of the concept of anxiety into China: a thematic historical study.

This article presents a thematic historical study on the introduction of "anxiety" to modern China. Based on seminal research conducted previously by European scholars on histories of psychological and psychiatric concepts, this article reviews the itinerary of "anxiety" to China by using multiple types of textual evidence. Alongside a detailed description of how "anxiety" was translated and introduced, a comparison between the notions of "anxiety" in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western psychoanalytic approaches was made. The processes of how "depression" and "anxiety" were introduced to China were also compared. Three types of textual evidence were meticulously analyzed. First, lexicographical works published since the 19th century were examined to trace the initial introduction and observe the standardized translation of "anxiety" in Chinese. Second, newspaper and periodical articles were analyzed to understand how knowledge of "anxiety" was communicated to the general public. Third, the evolution of psychological and psychiatric terminologies was observed through medical books. It was found that "anxiety" was initially translated into various Chinese terms, with "jiaolyu" eventually emerging as the standardized term after 1949. The textual evidence showed that "anxiety" began to be acknowledged as a disease concept in the early 20th century, though it was not formally recognized as a diagnostic category until the late 20th century. This article also highlights the differences between the Western psychoanalytic view on anxiety and the Chinese folk conception of it. It was observed that the introduction processes of depression and anxiety to China were similar, though their conceptual histories in the West showed much difference. The fading of neurasthenia marked a new era of psychiatric development in China, characterized by an enhanced specificity in the classification of mental disorders, which was never observed in the discourse about "xin feng," a corresponding TCM notion of "anxiety." The article also underscores the need for further exploration of corresponding TCM concepts of "anxiety" and the assimilation of Western psychiatric concepts in China.

An Instructional Module for Functional Dissociative Seizures (FDS) in Hindi: Enhancing Communication and Management in India.

Functional dissociative seizures (FDS) are very common in neurology clinics, they straddle both neurology and psychiatry. In India, scarce resources and guidelines are available for effectively conveying their diagnosis and management, which leads to a substantial gap in care. We aimed to provide an instructional module for FDS, tailored to clinicians, patients, and caregivers in Hindi, to enhance communication of diagnosis and facilitate suitable management strategies. The instructional module development process was based on clinical settings and expert opinions. A standard translation process was performed to ensure the linguistic and cultural equivalence. Validation was carried out by a panel of 15 validators, comprising 13 neurologists and two psychiatrists, to identify key psychoeducation components and their significance. They were provided a questionnaire consisting of five questions that were related to completeness, understandability, legibility, clarification, and usefulness of educational material for clinicians, patients, and caregivers. Items were rated using a 5-point Likert scale. There was agreement on four items (Q1, Q3, Q4, and Q5), whereas approximately 85% of the validators agreed on the remaining one item (Q2). The instructional module demonstrated high content validity as indicated by both item level-content validity index (0.98) and scale-level content validity index (0.97), alongside content validity ratio and modified kappa statistics. The developed Hindi instructional module for FDS serves as a valuable tool to enhance the communication of FDS diagnosis and dispel misconceptions. This offers a comprehensive resource for clinicians, patients, and caregivers in India, potentially bridging gap in FDS care.

Multi-tier captive relations in the global value chain of tuna: The case of Fair Trade certification of small-scale tuna fishery in Indonesia

Voluntary sustainability standards have been used as a governance mechanism to ensure the sustainability of fisheries products traded from developing countries. Different standards have become market forces that actors along the value chain are expected to follow to access markets and remain competitive. Recent attention is also being paid to small-scale fisheries, but there is relatively little information about the efficacy of the translation of standards by all actors in the value chain. This study examines how a voluntary sustainability standard is translated from an international buyer down to the producer and the effectiveness of this on social and environmental sustainability. The global value chain (GVC) modular framework is applied to assess the implementation of and compliance with the standard. The analysis is done at the micro, meso, and macro levels. We use the first-ever Fair Trade USA certification for handline small-scale tuna fishery in Maluku, Indonesia, as our case study. The findings indicate that the captive forms of governance prevailing at the micro and meso levels of the value chain vary considerably. This adds a layer of complexity to the extent to which a sustainability standard changes the structure and governance of the value chain. The efficacy of such changes in promoting social and environmental sustainability is constrained by the unequal power dynamics among the various actors operating at the different levels. The findings from this study may contribute to optimizing the value chain for greater sustainability outcomes by involving local actors and accommodating various governance mechanisms to organize the value chain.

An exploration of psychological and socio-cultural facets in perinatal distress of Pakistani couples: a triangulated qualitative study

The phenomenon of perinatal distress in terms of depression, anxiety, bipolar, and psychotic disorders is well-explored in the West but barely investigated in South Asia; particularly research evidence highlighting the cultural expression of couples’ mental health with respect to Pakistan is rare. The purpose of this research is to focus on the exploration of psycho-socio-cultural expression of couples’ perinatal distress and coping strategies used in the Pakistani context in relation to maternal and paternal mental health, with implications for the wellbeing of their unborn or born progeny. The research design focused on qualitative interpretative approaches. In data triangulation, reflexive thematic analysis and interpretative phenomenological analyses were applied on the verbatim of the semi-structured interviews conducted with the mental health professionals (n = 9) and the couples (n = 8), screened positive for perinatal distress. Four couples were screened out of 325 perinatal women visiting the gynaecological ward of Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital, Gujrat. Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 and Washington Early Recognition Center Affectivity and Psychosis Screen are the standardized instruments considered to be used for screening perinatal distress among couples. The Urdu version of WERCAP Screen was developed by a standardized forward-backward translation procedure. The rest of the four couples were purposively selected from the psychiatric ward of the same hospital. The Simplified Negative and Positive Symptoms Interviews were administered to the couples after getting approval for the Urdu version form. All couples were probed with an indigenously developed Structured Clinical Interview Schedule for DSM Disorders based on DSM-5-TR. The triangulation carried out with reflexive thematic analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed cultural conception of perinatal distress as perceived by the mental health professionals and experienced by the couples during the antenatal and postnatal period of their lives. They were enlightened with a constructive view aimed at promoting transformational change in terms of their mental health care and coping. The implications suggested implementation of a psychotherapeutic intervention for reduction in the level of distress and subsequent enhancement of well-being in couples during the perinatal period.

Pharmacomicrobiomics in precision cancer therapy: bench to bedside.

The burgeoning field of pharmacomicrobiomics offers promising insights into the intricate interplay between the microbiome and cancer, shaping responses to diverse treatment modalities. This review aims to analyze the molecular mechanisms underlying interactions between distinct microbiota types and cancer, as well as their influence on treatment outcomes. We explore how the microbiome impacts antitumor immunity, and response to chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy, unveiling its multifaceted roles in cancer progression and therapy resistance. Moreover, we discuss the challenges hindering the development of microbiome-based interventions in cancer therapy, including standardization, validation, and clinical translation. By synthesizing clinical evidence, we underscore the transformative potential of harnessing pharmacomicrobiomics in guiding cancer treatment decisions, paving the way for improved patient outcomes in clinical practice.

Putting GPT-4o to the Sword: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Language, Vision, Speech, and Multimodal Proficiency

As large language models (LLMs) continue to advance, evaluating their comprehensive capabilities becomes significant for their application in various fields. This research study comprehensively evaluates the language, vision, speech, and multimodal capabilities of GPT-4o. The study employs standardized exam questions, reasoning tasks, and translation assessments to assess the model’s language capability. Additionally, GPT-4o’s vision and speech capabilities are tested through image classification and object-recognition tasks, as well as accent classification. The multimodal evaluation assesses the model’s performance in integrating visual and linguistic data. Our findings reveal that GPT-4o demonstrates high accuracy and efficiency across multiple domains in language and reasoning capabilities, excelling in tasks that require few-shot learning. GPT-4o also provides notable improvements in multimodal tasks compared to its predecessors. However, the model shows variability and faces limitations in handling complex and ambiguous inputs, particularly in audio and vision capabilities. This paper highlights the need for more comprehensive benchmarks and robust evaluation frameworks, encompassing qualitative assessments involving human judgment, as well as error analysis. Future work should focus on expanding datasets, investigating prompt-based assessment, and enhancing few-shot learning techniques to test the model’s practical applicability and performance in real-world scenarios.

IRB Consent Guidelines: Potential Barriers to Diversity in Research.

Despite initiatives aimed at improving study participation and inclusion among ethnic and racially minoritized and marginalized populations, participation remains low. While necessary to ensure ethical practice in human participant research, certain Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines may introduce additional barriers in research involving these populations. This work outlines guidelines pertaining to consent translation for non-English speaking populations and offers discussion on a greater emphasis for more inclusive methods for marginalized communities. The University of Wisconsin's IRB approved alternative oral consent processes after the community partner determined that standard translation processes would be inefficient. Researchers used translated consent materials for four different ethnic groups (Hmong, Karen, Karenni, and Burmese). We provided recorded consents in each respective language to participants before study participation and obtained verbal consent prior to study participation at the study location. We experienced time and resource constraints in both access to translators and the consent-translation process itself. Furthermore, many participants were unable to read in their native language making standard written consent processes both difficult and impractical. Oral discussion and verbal consent processes were efficient. Adjustments to consent-related guidelines may prevent and eliminate time and resource-related barriers in consent processes. In eliminating such barriers, subsequent improved efficiency in both study design and study promotion areas can work to better promote diversity in research among populations that emphasize oral language and in instances where literacy rates in written non-English language may be lower.

An Intuitionistically Complete System of Basic Intuitionistic Conditional Logic

We introduce a basic intuitionistic conditional logic IntCK\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ extsf{IntCK}$$\\end{document} that we show to be complete both relative to a special type of Kripke models and relative to a standard translation into first-order intuitionistic logic. We show that IntCK\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ extsf{IntCK}$$\\end{document} stands in a very natural relation to other similar logics, like the basic classical conditional logic CK\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ extsf{CK}$$\\end{document} and the basic intuitionistic modal logic IK\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ extsf{IK}$$\\end{document}. As for the basic intuitionistic conditional logic ICK\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ extsf{ICK}$$\\end{document} proposed in Weiss (Journal of Philosophical Logic, 48, 447–469, 2019), IntCK\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ extsf{IntCK}$$\\end{document} extends its language with a diamond-like conditional modality ◊→\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\Diamond \\hspace{-4.0pt}\\rightarrow $$\\end{document}, but its (◊→\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\Diamond \\hspace{-4.0pt}\\rightarrow $$\\end{document})-free fragment is also a proper extension of ICK\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ extsf{ICK}$$\\end{document}. We briefly discuss the resulting gap between the two candidate systems of basic intuitionistic conditional logic and the possible pros and cons of both candidates.

Over-lexicalization and Under-lexicalization of Physical Violence Expression in Laut Bercerita and Its Translation by Leila S. Chudori

Although research on lexicalization has been extensively documented, little is known about over- and under-lexicalization in translation. "Laut Bercerita" and its translation contain mostly violent physical expressions, leading to either excessive or deficient lexical representation compared to the source text. This research aims to analyze over- and under-lexicalization in expressions of physical violence in the novel "Laut Bercerita" and its translation "The Sea Speaks His Name". The research method used is comparative descriptive, which combines comparing the meanings of the source text and target text. Data were collected using note-taking techniques. In the analysis stage, the data were first segmented or classified based on categories of physical violence. Subsequently, the data were analyzed by adopting a lexical variation of Fowler’s theory. The results of the study showed that over-lexicalization occurred in the form of physical violence such as (1) kicking, (2) torturing, (3) electric shocking, (4) slapping, (5) punching, and (6) stepping on, accounting for 47%. Meanwhile, under-lexicalization occurred in the form of physical violence such as (1) hitting, (2) kicking, (3) torturing, (4) electric shocking, (5) handcuffing, (6) punching, and (7) stepping on, accounting for 57%. Under-lexicalization occurs when there is a reduction of lexical items and simplification of meaning concepts, while over-lexicalization occurs with the addition of lexical items and complex meanings. Over-lexicalization and under-lexicalization imply that the translation may not meet standard translation norms through lexicon choices but still maintains equivalence.

Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder Screening Questionnaire in Persian: A Report on the Translation Process

Background: Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a condition where there are changes in muscle tone during REM sleep, leading to abnormal movements. This disorder is typically diagnosed using video polysomnography (VPSG), which is considered the gold standard test. However, a screening questionnaire for RBD (RBDSQ) has been developed, translated, and validated in various languages, and could be used as a low-cost alternative to VPSG. In this study, we followed a standard multi-step process to translate the RBDSQ into Persian. Methods: As per the guidelines suggested by Mapi Research Trust, we followed a four-step process for translation. The process included forward translation, backward translation, cognitive interviews with fifteen patients, and proofreading. We collaborated with Mapi Research Trust in each step of the process. Also, we conducted discussion and revision sessions for each step to ensure that the final translation was accurate. Results: After reviewing the forward and backward translations, some of the items were rephrased. Patients who participated in cognitive interviews found the translation to be generally clear, but some improvements were necessary to make it more expressive. The final proofreading process involved correcting some typing and spelling errors. Conclusions: The Persian translation of RBDSQ was approved by Mapi Research Trust through a standard translation process. This translation is now compatible with the original English version and is available for a future clinical validation study.

Translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of Numerical Pain Rating Scale and Global Rating of Change in Tibetan musculoskeletal trauma patients

Tibetan-speaking patients seeking care in predominantly Mandarin-speaking healthcare settings frequently face communication barriers, leading to potential disparities and difficulties in accessing care. To address this issue, we translated, culturally adapted, and validated the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and the Global Rating of Change (GRoC) into Tibetan (NPRS-Tib and GRoC-Tib), aiming to facilitate cross-linguistic and cross-cultural interactions while examining potential challenges in the adaptation process. Using standard translation-backward translation methods, expert review, pilot testing, and validation through a cross-sectional study with a short-term longitudinal component, we engaged 100 Tibetan patients with musculoskeletal trauma for psychometric validation, including 37 women (aged 22–60 years, mean age 39.1 years). The NPRS-Tib and GRoC-Tib exhibited outstanding psychometric properties, with an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) of 0.983 for NPRS-Tib indicating superb test–retest reliability, and expert review confirming good content validity for both instruments. A Spearman's correlation coefficient (Rho) of -0.261 (P = 0.0087) revealed a significant, albeit weak, correlation between changes in NPRS-Tib scores and GRoC-Tib scores. The adaptation process also presented notable challenges, including translation discrepancies from translators' diverse backgrounds and levels of expertise, ambiguity in scale options, and the lack of established tools for criterion validity assessment in Tibetan.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Portuguese Version of the SARC-F in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

(1) Background: The goal of this study was to analyze the reliability and validity of the Portuguese version of the SARC-F in older adults. (2) Methods: A total of 100 participants (77.1 ± 7.36 years, 73% women) were included in the study. In a first phase, the Portuguese SARC-F was adapted following the standardized forward-backward translation procedure, and internal consistency as well as inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the Portuguese SARC-F were analyzed. Secondly, clinical validation was evaluated by comparing the SARC-F total score with five operational definitions of sarcopenia and with other sarcopenia-related measurements. Discriminant validity, with respect to low muscle mass and strength and physical function were analyzed. (3) Results: The Portuguese SAR-F showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.82), excellent inter-rater reliability (total score), and substantial to excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.891 for the total score). Specificity ranged from 72.5% (FNIH) to 73.4 (IGWS), and negative predictive values went from 91.8% (EWGSOP1) to 97.3% (FNIH), but low sensitivity and positive predictive value were observed. The Portuguese SARC-F showed a moderate ability to discriminate people with low muscle strength (AUC = 0.78) and gait speed (AUC = 0.89). (4) Conclusions: The Portuguese SARC-F is a valid and reliable tool for ruling out sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults and can discriminate between people with low handgrip strength and gait speed.

Evaluation of the Turkish soundscape circumplex model, and the effects of sound source dominance, sequence, and gender on the perceived affective quality

The International Standard Organization (ISO) standards series onsoundscapefor the identification, data collection and data analysis present a general framework for the soundscape studies that are conducted globally. Perceived Affective Qualities (PAQs) including 8 soundscape perceptual attributes in ISO/TS 12913–2:2018 and ISO/TS 12913–3:2019 are published in English language. Therefore, the ‘Soundscape Attributes Translation Project’ focuses on the reliable standardized translations of the PAQs in other languages. In the previously published Turkish translation and validation study, the PAQs were presented as; ‘hareketli’ (eventful), ‘coşkulu’ (vibrant), ‘keyifli’ (pleasant), ‘sakin’ (calm), ‘durağan’ (uneventful), ‘tekdüze’ (monotonous), ‘rahatsız edici’ (annoying), and ‘karmaşık’ (chaotic). Within the scope of this follow-up study, firstly, sound sources in each audio stimulus are identified according to their dominance to explore their relation with the Soundscape Circumplex Model (SCM) quadrants and found that the human dominant audio stimuli are evaluated as ‘vibrant’ in SCM. Other noise dominating audio stimuli are categorized as ‘monotonous’ while traffic combined with other noise audio stimuli are evaluated as ‘chaotic’. When the audio stimuli evaluated as ‘calm’ are investigated, they are either purely dominated by natural sounds or mixture of each category dominated by natural sounds. Secondly, a comparison between the Turkish and the English participants’ evaluation of audio stimuli according to the SCM is done and found that they are similar except two audio stimuli. Furthermore, the effect of audio stimulus sequence and gender on 8 PAQs are statistically analysed through Kruskall-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests; respectively and found that both are significant. The sequences shifting from ‘chaotic’ to ‘calm’ or vice versa frequently are seen to be evaluated with higher scores whereas more homogenous ones in sequence, i.e. audio stimuli having the same dominating sound source are sequenced together mostly are graded with lower scores of 8 PAQs except ‘chaotic’ compared to drastic changes in the sound source and found that men grade ‘coşkulu’ (vibrant), ‘durağan’ (uneventful), ‘tekdüze’ (monotonous), ‘rahatsız edici’ (annoying) and ‘karmaşık’ (chaotic) more than women by 5, 11, 24, 8 and 10 points, respectively according to the median values. Finally, conformance to the SCM is evaluated by the principal component analysis (PCA) and found that it can be reduced to two dimensions named as “pleasantness” and “eventfulness” in expected order but the main PAQs pleasant-annoying and eventful-uneventful are not aligned indicating the lack of achieving the ideal circumplexity. It is believed that the results of this study could contribute to both national and international future soundscape research with a focus on listening tests applying PAQs.

Psychometric testing of the Chinese version of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health Measure of Participation and Activities Screener in people with stroke.

Clinicians need a validated measure to assess the activity and participation of Chinese people with stroke. To culturally adapt and psychometrically test the Chinese (Cantonese) version of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Measure of Participation and Activities (C-IMPACT-S) in community-dwelling people with stroke. We followed the standard translation procedures to culturally adapt the C-IMPACT-S. Then we administered the C-IMPACT-S to 100 people with stroke and 50 healthy counterparts for psychometric testing, including the ceiling and floor effects, internal consistency, test - retest, measurement error, minimal detectable change, correlations with other outcome measures, known-group validity and optimal cutoff scores. The C-IMPACT-S has no floor effects but ceiling effects in item 5. It has poor to excellent (Cronbach's α = 0.56-95) internal consistency and fair to excellent (Intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.58-1.00) test-retest reliability. The overall C-IMPACT-S mean score and activity and participation component mean scores had statistically significant no to weak correlations with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment, the Chinese versions of Geriatric Depression Scale, Fatigue Assessment Scale, Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale and Community Integration Measure. The stroke participants had lower C-IMPACT-S scores then their health counterparts. The optimal cutoff scores of the overall C-IMPACT-S and activity and participation domains were 88.02% (sensitivity 72%, specificity 80%), 80.56% (sensitivity 86%, specificity 68%) and 91.67% (sensitivity 68%, specificity 80%), respectively. C-IMPACT-S is a reliable and valid measure for assessing the levels of activity and participation of people with chronic stroke.

Evaluating optimal reference translations

Abstract The overall translation quality reached by current machine translation (MT) systems for high-resourced language pairs is remarkably good. Standard methods of evaluation are not suitable nor intended to uncover the many translation errors and quality deficiencies that still persist. Furthermore, the quality of standard reference translations is commonly questioned and comparable quality levels have been reached by MT alone in several language pairs. Navigating further research in these high-resource settings is thus difficult. In this paper, we propose a methodology for creating more reliable document-level human reference translations, called “optimal reference translations,” with the simple aim to raise the bar of what should be deemed “human translation quality.” We evaluate the obtained document-level optimal reference translations in comparison with “standard” ones, confirming a significant quality increase and also documenting the relationship between evaluation and translation editing.

An optimal framework for natural English translate processing: On the application of artificial neural network and Adam optimization algorithm

Traditional rule-based and statistical methods have limitations when dealing with complex language structures and semantics. In neural network machine translation algorithms, the objective function is usually to improve the accuracy of n-ary words. However, this does not guarantee a more natural and accurate translation. To overcome these challenges, this paper proposes an optimization algorithm for English natural translation processing based on neural networks, which combines Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) and Transformer models. In GAN, the generative model uses the Transformer model to generate false samples, while the discriminative model uses a binary classifier based on convolutional neural networks and attention mechanisms to distinguish between true and false samples. During the training process, reinforcement learning algorithms are added to evaluate and adjust the generated sentences, and the parameters of the generated model are updated. The classification results of the discriminative model are used together with the Bilingual Evaluation Basis Value (BLEU) objective function to evaluate false samples, and the results are fed back to the generating model to guide parameter updates and optimization. Extensive experiments were conducted on a standard English-Chinese machine translation dataset to evaluate our method. Compared with the benchmark model that only uses supervised learning methods, our neural network-based optimization algorithm for English natural translation processing has achieved significant improvements in translation quality. According to statistical comparison, compared with the Transformer model (BLUE = 33.63 and AP = 90%) and the deep learning model based on long-term and short-term memory (BLUE = 30.26 and AP = 83%), the GAN and Transformer models proposed as the best framework exhibit better performance in bilingual evaluation deficiency (BLEU) (34.35) and accuracy (AP = 95%).

Psychometric properties of the Sinhala version of the Bandura’s exercise selfefficacy scale in women

Introduction: Engaging in regular exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle has shown an array of health benefits for many decades. Building confidence in maintaining an exercise routine is e ssential for success. To support individuals interested in exercise, the availability of appropriate measurement tools is vital. Bandura's Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale (ESE) is an 18-item brief measure that assesses confidence in exercising regularly and is a valuable tool for measuring exercise beliefs. Objectives: To translate and adapt the Banduras ESE scale into Sinhala language and examine its psychometric properties Methods: Data were collected from 225 women who were aged ≥ 18 years and had an interest in or a reason to watch their weight, in Panadura Medical Officer Health (MOH) Area, Sri Lanka. They were recruited using a purposive sampling method. Standard forward-backward translation was performed to translate the English version of ESE. The construct validity was tested using exploratory factor analysis. Reliability of the scale was determined by Cronbach’s alpha. Data were analysed using SPSS version 22.0. Results: Through exploratory factor analysis, 18-item ESE scale sho wed three factors with eigenvalues ranging from 1.392 to 9.409. The three-factor model explained 70.59% of total variance of the model. All the items in the scale were retained. The reliability of internal consistency, as assessed by Cronbach’s alpha, indicated interpersonal, competing and internal sub factors as 0.92, 0.91 and 0.89 respectively, which were above the thr eshold level of 0.7. Conclusions & Recommendations: The Sinhala translation of ESE is a reliable and valid scale to assess the level of self-efficacy for exercise among Sinhala-speaking adult women in Sri Lanka.