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English to Spanish: Article from the South China Morning Post on Hong Kong politics General field: Other Detailed field: Journalism
Source text - English HONG KONG OFFICIALS DEMONSTRATE HOW NOT TO LEAD
At first glance, the story of Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's attempt to visit the pope might seem just a bizarre anecdote about a bureaucrat turned none-too-successful political leader.
But, on closer examination, it betrays an attitude of mind which seems all too common in the upper echelons of a civil service born to believe in its right to govern yet also seldom capable of leadership.
Why else would Tsang imagine that should he, as a Catholic, wish to meet the church's leader, this entirely personal matter should be handled any way other than through personal church contacts?
Could he really be so innocent of civil service regulations that he would ask such servants to intercede for him - and not with the Vatican authorities but with an Italian politician linked to Silvio Berlusconi?
Could he equally have been so ignorant of the limits of Hong Kong's autonomy in dealing with foreign countries as to attempt to deal with a sovereign state (the Vatican) through Hong Kong's trade representative in Brussels?
It seems status had gone to his head, obliterating his sense of propriety, whether dealing with the church or Shenzhen tycoons.
But one should also ask why a civil servant - in this case Duncan Pescod in Brussels and presumably some others in Hong Kong - should have felt unable to point out that Tsang was making a fool of himself and, in any event, exceeding his authority.
Were they too afraid to speak up?
Were they unaware that, in any constitutional system, one of the tasks of the top permanent administrative officers is to advise the chief executive (or prime minister) of procedures and the limits of their personal power?
Tsang seems to have seen himself as unaccountable generally and the civil servants as more accountable to him personally than to society at large.
Note that we know of all this only thanks to court proceedings in Italy.
Self-protection seems to be built into an elite quasi-masonic structure.
For another example, look at what has not happened since the Lamma ferry disaster a year ago.
It took a judicial inquiry just six months to come up with a 270-page report following evidence from over 100 witnesses, some of whom found varying degrees of fault both with the captains and those involved in the construction, licensing and operation of the vessels.
But the government's own inquiry has been held back by official inertia.
Translation - Spanish LOS FUNCIONARIOS DE HONG KONG DEMUESTRAN CÓMO NO SE HA DE GOBERNAR
A primera vista, la historia del intento de Donald Tsang Yam-kuen de visitar al papa podría parecer solo una anécdota extravagante sobre un burócrata convertido en dirigente político no muy exitoso.
Pero, si se la examina con más detenimiento, revela una actitud mental al parecer demasiado común en los niveles superiores de un funcionariado convencido de su derecho a gobernar aunque pocas veces sea capaz de ejercer el liderazgo.
¿Por qué, si no, iba a imaginar Tsang que si él, como católico, quisiera visitar al máximo representante de la Iglesia, este asunto estrictamente personal habría de manejarse de otra manera que no fuera a través de contactos personales con la Iglesia?
¿De verdad puede desconocer tanto los reglamentos de la administración pública como para pedir a los funcionarios que intercedan por él, y no ante las autoridades del Vaticano, sino ante un político italiano ligado a Silvio Berlusconi?
Del mismo modo, ¿puede haber ignorado tanto los límites de la autonomía de Hong Kong en sus relaciones con países extranjeros como para haber intentado tratar con un estado soberano (el Vaticano) a través del representante comercial de Hong Kong en Bruselas?
Por lo que parece, el cargo se le subió a la cabeza, nublando su percepción de lo que es correcto ya sea a la hora de tratar con la Iglesia o con los magnates de Shenzhen.
Pero también deberíamos preguntarnos por qué un funcionario —en este caso Duncan Pescod en Bruselas y presumiblemente algunos otros en Hong Kong— habría de sentirse incapaz de señalar que Tsang estaba haciendo el ridículo y, en cualquier caso, sobrepasando los límites de su autoridad.
¿Tenían demasiado miedo como para decirlo?
¿No eran conscientes de que, en cualquier sistema constitucional, una de las tareas de los altos funcionarios permanentes es aconsejar al jefe ejecutivo (o primer ministro) de los procedimientos y los límites de su poder personal?
Tsang parece haber considerado que no tenía que rendirle cuentas a nadie y que los funcionarios debían rendirle cuentas a él más que a la sociedad en su conjunto.
Nótese que todo esto lo sabemos solo gracias a las acciones judiciales en Italia.
El corporativismo parece estar incrustado en una estructura de élite cuasi masónica.
Por dar otro ejemplo, fíjense en lo que no ha ocurrido desde el desastre del ferry de Lamma hace un año.
A la investigación judicial le llevó apenas seis meses elaborar un informe de 270 páginas que recoge pruebas de más de cien testigos, algunos de los cuales consideraron que tanto los capitanes como los responsables de la construcción, la concesión y el funcionamiento de las naves tenían diversos grados de culpa.
Pero la investigación llevada a cabo por el propio gobierno se ha estancado a causa de la inercia oficial.
English to Spanish: ACADEMIC ARTICLE ON OBJECT, SPACIAL AND TEMPORAL MEMORY General field: Social Sciences Detailed field: Psychology
Source text - English Tulving (1972) originally distinguished between episodic memory (the encoding and retrieval from memory of unique, personal past experiences) and other types of memory. This early distinction focused on the difference between personally experienced events and knowledge of general facts about the world (i.e., semantic memory). In particular, Tulving (1972) proposed that “Episodic memory receives and stores information about temporally dated phases or events, and temporal-spatial relations among these events” (p. 385). Therefore, episodic memory is defined by what happened, and when and where the event occurred.
Although knowledge of what, where, and when remains an important component of episodic memory (Nyberg, McIntosh, Cabeza, Habib, Houle, & Tulving, 1996), it is not the only feature of episodic memory. In particular, Tulving has focused on three additional features of episodic memory: the ability to recognize subjective time, autonoetic consciousness, and knowledge of a “self”, all of which are deemed necessary for mental time travel (i.e., the ability to subjectively re-experience an event). According to that perspective, the additional features distinguish between recalling a personal past experience and remembering an impersonal fact. However, the behavioral criterions (what-where-when) for episodic memory remain important test measures, especially in non-human studies.
Clayton and colleagues have argued that behavioral studies of episodic memory should focus on knowledge of what, where, and when as criteria for episodic-like memory in animals, instead of using subjective states of consciousness, which are difficult, if not impossible, to test in non-human, non-verbal animal subjects. In a series of experiments with rats, Babb and Crystal used Clayton’s paradigm to present evidence that rats have detailed knowledge of what, where, and when, and therefore provided evidence of episodic-like memory. These studies were the first published evidence of episodic-like memory in mammals using Clayton’s behavioral criteria of what, where, and when, and have been replicated by other researchers (Naqshbandi, Feeney, McKenzie, & Roberts, 2007).
Most studies of episodic memory focus on an integrated component consisting of all three what-where-when features. However, to understand the brain mechanisms responsible for each component of episodic memory, they must also be studied independently. Skov-Rackette and colleagues (2006) have shown that pigeons can perform well on tasks involving separate what, where, and when components, but there was no evidence that these components were bound together. Hoffman et al. (2009) found that rhesus monkeys can integrate the three components, but show different levels of performance for what, where, and when.
Translation - Spanish Tulving (1972) originalmente distinguió entre memoria episódica (la codificación y recuperación de la memoria de experiencias pasadas personales y únicas) y otros tipos de memoria. Esa temprana distinción se centró en la diferencia entre los sucesos experimentados personalmente y el conocimiento de cuestiones generales acerca del mundo (es decir, la memoria semántica). En particular, Tulving (1972) propuso que «la memoria episódica recibe y almacena información sobre sucesos o fases datados temporalmente y las relaciones espacio-temporales entre esos sucesos» (p.385). Por lo tanto, la memoria episódica se define por lo que ocurrió, y por cuándo y dónde ocurrió el suceso.
Aunque el conocimiento de «qué», «dónde» y «cuándo» no deja de ser un importante componente de la memoria episódica (Nyberg, McIntosh, Cabeza, Habib, Houle, & Tulving, 1996), no es el único rasgo de la misma. Tulving se centró, en particular, en otras tres características de la memoria episódica: la capacidad de reconocer el tiempo subjetivo, la conciencia autonoética y el conocimiento de un «yo», todas las cuales se consideran necesarias para el viaje mental en el tiempo (es decir, la capacidad de volver a experimentar un suceso de forma subjetiva). Según esa perspectiva, esas características distinguen entre recordar una experiencia personal pasada y rememorar un suceso impersonal. Sin embargo, los criterios comportamentales (qué-dónde-cuándo) de la memoria episódica siguen siendo importantes medidas de prueba, sobre todo en estudios no humanos.
Clayton et al. han argumentado que los estudios comportamentales de la memoria episódica deberían centrarse en «qué», «dónde» y «cuándo» como criterios de una memoria similar a la episódica en animales, en lugar de emplear estados de conciencia subjetivos difíciles, si no imposibles, de someter a prueba en sujetos animales no humanos y no verbales.
En una serie de experimentos con ratas, Babb y Crystal utilizaron el paradigma de Clayton para presentar evidencias de que las ratas poseen un detallado conocimiento de «qué», «dónde» y «cuándo», y proporcionaron así pruebas de una memoria similar a la episódica. Esos estudios constituyeron la primera evidencia publicada de una memoria similar a la episódica en mamíferos empleando los criterios comportamentales de Clayton «qué», «dónde» y «cuándo», y han sido replicados por otros investigadores (Naqshbandi, Feeney, McKenzie, & Roberts, 2007).
La mayor parte de los estudios sobre la memoria episódica se centran en un compuesto integrado por las tres características, «qué», «dónde» y «cuándo». Sin embargo, para poder comprender los mecanismos cerebrales responsables de cada componente de la memoria episódica, estos también deben estudiarse de manera independiente. Skov-Rackette et al. (2006) han mostrado que las palomas pueden desempeñar correctamente tareas que incluyen los componentes «qué», «dónde» y «cuándo» por separado, pero no hubo pruebas de que esos componentes estuvieran ligados entre sí. Hoffman et al. (2009) hallaron que los monos Rhesus pueden integrar los tres componentes, pero muestran distintos niveles de desempeño para «qué», «dónde» y «cuándo».
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Master's degree - University of Barcelona
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Years of experience: 23. Registered at ProZ.com: Jul 2013. Became a member: Jul 2013.
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English to Spanish (American Translators Association, verified)
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English to Spanish volunteer translator
I am a native Spanish speaker, born and raised in Argentina, and residing in Spain. For that reason, I can translate from English into Neutral Spanish, Latin American Spanish and European Spanish. I have been working as a translator for 23 years, I am an ATA certified translator, and the winner of the 2014 ProZ contest.
I hold a Master of Philosophy from the University of Barcelona, and a degree in Gemology from the Escuela Industrial de Barcelona.
SOME OF MY LATEST CLIENTS:
* Through their agencies: Several United Nations organizations (UNAIDS, UNHCR, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFCCC, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, UNEP, CCAC), European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), SDG Funders, Stop TB Partnership, Bell Pottinger, Assouline (publishers of photography, fashion, art, design and life style), Coca Cola, Tiffany, Omega watches, Karen Millen, Next London, Ingram Micro.
* Direct clients: University of Barcelona, Laurendor (cosmetics), OnlyApartments.com (luxury holiday rentals), Enagas (the main gas distributor in Spain), Brand New Days (design, development and supply of promotional products)...
I have translated the following published books:
FICTION:
• David Gemmell, Los dominios del lobo, Ediciones Gigamesh, 2003, ISBN 978–84–932702–1–6
• Steven Brust, La Guardia Fénix , Ediciones Gigamesh, 2002, ISBN 978–84–932250–3–2
• David Gemmell, Waylander, Ediciones Gigamesh, 2002, ISBN 978–84–932250–5–6
• Jack Vance, Maske: Taeria, Ediciones Gigamesh, 2001, ISBN 978–84–932250–0–1
PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE:
• Bruno Latour, Ciencia en acción. Labor, Barcelona, España, 1992, 84-335-5009-8 (translation in collaboration).
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