AVIDICUS 2: Assessing videoconference interpreting in the Criminal Justice System

Start date

2011

End date

2013

Project website

Overview

Based on the outcomes of AVIDICUS 1, the AVIDICUS 2 project investigated a) the impact of factors such as such as training, familiarisation and quality of equipment on the quality of videoconference-based interpreting, and b) the potentially changing communicative dynamics in videoconference-based interpreting. The first strand replicated the AVIDICUS 1 studies, involving the same interpreters but providing them with short-term training in videoconference-based interpreting before they participated again. Moreover, better equipment was used. The findings of this research create a complex picture, making it impossible to say without reservation that training, familiarization and the use of better equipment resulted in a clear performance improvement. The second strand of research focussed on the analysis of the communicative dynamic in real-life court hearings that used videoconferencing and interpreting and revealed differences in the dynamics of the communication between traditional and video-mediated settings. Videoconference interpreting in court seems to entail a reduction in the quality of the intersubjective relations between the participants and a greater fragmentation of the discourse.

Partners

University of Surrey (lead partner)
Lessius Hogeschool Antwerp (BE)
Local Police Antwerp (BE)
Ministry of Justice (NL)
Legal Aid Board (NL)
TEPIS Polish Society of Sworn and Specialised Translators (PL)
Télécom (FR)
Ann Corsellis OBE (UK).

Principle Investigator

Professor Sabine Braun

Professor of Translation Studies; Director, Centre for Translation Studies; Co-Director, Surrey Institute for People-Centred AI

s.braun@surrey.ac.uk

Biography

I am a Professor of Translation Studies, Director of the Centre for Translation Studies, and a Co-Director of the Surrey Institute for People-Centred Artificial Intelligence at the University of Surrey in the UK. From 2017 to 2021 I also served as Associate Dean for Research and Innovation in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Surrey.

My research explores the integration and interaction of human and machine in translation and interpreting, for example to improve access to critical information, media content and vital public services such as healthcare and justice for linguistic-minority populations and other groups/people in need of communication support. My overarching interest lies in the notions of fairness, trust, transparency, and quality in relation to technology use in these contexts.

For over 10 years, I have led a programme of research that has involved cross-disciplinary collaboration with academic and non-academic partners to improve access to justice for linguistically diverse populations. Under this programme, I have investigated the use of video links in legal proceedings involving linguistic-minority participants and interpreters from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives. I have led several multi-national research projects in this field (AVIDICUS 1-3, 2008-16) while contributing my expertise in video interpreting to other projects in the justice sector (e.g. QUALITAS, 2012-14, Understanding Justice, 2013-16, VEJ Evaluation, 2018-20). I have advised the European Council Working Party on e-Law (e-Justice) and other justice-sector institutions in the UK and internationally on video interpreting in legal proceedings and have developed guidelines which have been reflected in European Council Recommendation 2015/C 250/01 on ‘Promoting the use of and sharing of best practices on cross-border videoconferencing’.

In other projects I have explored the use of videoconferencing and virtual reality to train users of interpreting services in how to communicate effectively through an interpreter IVY, 2011-3; EVIVA, 2014-15, SHIFT, 2015-18).

A further example of my work on accessibility is my research on audio description (video description) for visually impaired people. In the H2020 project MeMAD (2018-21) I have recently investigated the feasibility of (semi-)automating AD to improve access to media content that is not normally covered by human AD (e.g. social media content).

In 2019, the Research Centre I lead was awarded an ‘Expanding Excellence in England (E3)' grant (2019-24) by Research England to expand our research on human-machine integration in translation and interpreting. As part of this, I am currently leading and involved in a number of pilot studies aimed at better human-machine integration in different modalities of translation and interpreting.

The insights from my research have informed my teaching in interpreting and audiovisual translation on CTS’s MA programmes and the professional training courses that I have delivered (e.g. for the Metropolitan Police Service in London).

From 2018-2021 I was a member of the DIN Working Group on Interpreting Services and Technologies and co-authored the first standard on remote consecutive interpreting worldwide (DIN 8578). I am a member of the BSI Sub-committee Terminology. From 2018-2022, I was the series editor of the IATIS Yearbook (Routledge) and am currently associate series editor for interpreting of Elements in Translation and Interpreting (CUP) and a member of the Advisory Board of Interpreting (Benjamins). I was appointed to the sub-panel for Modern Languages and Linguistics for the Research Excellence Framework REF 2021.

See profile

Co-Investigator

Professor Margaret Rogers

Professor Emerita

m.rogers@surrey.ac.uk

Funder

Funded by the European Commission Criminal Justice Programme, Project JUST/2010/JPEN/AG/1558, 2011-13.