Hamad bin Khalifa University Press (HBKU Press) has published the latest issue of QScience Connect, an academic, peer-reviewed and open access journal, which aims at bringing academic research, knowledge, insight and inquiry covering subjects from all disciplines across science, health and medicine, as well as the humanities and social sciences, to researchers and the community alike.
QScience Connect takes an innovative approach to the academic journal, one which moves away from traditional editorial boards and empowers readers to determine the value and impact of articles, based on its usage and citations. This model ensures that interdisciplinary work – which has traditionally fallen between the aims and scopes of two journals – finds a home in the world of academic journals.
“By focusing on research that is valid, ethical and important rather than on perceived interest in a particular topic,” said Dr Alwaleed Alkhaja, senior editor at HBKU Press, “the multidisciplinary QScience Connect is an initiative that seeks to make research available to the broadest possible audience without barriers”.
Following the 6th Annual Translation Conference hosted by the Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII), which is part of of Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, QScience Connect published a special issue titled “Translating the Gulf: Beyond Fault Lines”. Holding the same title, the Translation Conference brought together a diverse array of scholars to explore – in workshops and presentations – how translation is integral to the creation of knowledge and the bridging of gaps within and across cultures, in and beyond the Gulf.
Supporting TII’s commitment to world-class education and the growth of the knowledge-based economy, the QScience Connect special issue published research papers tackling the challenges and the cultural and political divides faced by translation scholars in the Arab Gulf region.
“The Translation and Interpreting Institute is dedicated to advancing research in the field of translation studies and equipping students for successful careers as translators, interpreters or academics,” said Dr Amal Mohammed al-Malki, Founding Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, home of TII.
In “Instigating social change: Translating feminism in the Arab world and India”, Dr Alanood Alsharekh, a researcher, addresses the difficult but important issue of women’s representations in the Arab world and India, and the role of the translator in both revealing the problem and presenting an opportunity for change.
In another research paper entitled “Embedding TQM in UAE translation organisations”, Mariam Alhashmi, from the University of Leeds, explores how increased demand for translations in the Arab world has led to new models of ensuring quality and efficiency. The number of translation projects, Alhashmi writes, has grown exponentially in the region in recent years, which has created a demand for systemisation and computerisation, most notably a system called Total Quality Management (TQM).
In her study of translation projects in the UAE, Alhashmi interestingly found that TQM both encouraged and contributed to the enhancement of the knowledge economy. She then begs the question of whether TQM can be replicated in other Arab countries and if so, whether this could then bring the Arab world to another stage of education and scholarly advancement.
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