DEMAND-CONTROL SCHEMA

GallaudetJune, 2010

Encounters with Reality

“Once one has mastered sign language, the mechanics of interpreting, and internalized the Code of Ethics, the really difficult work begins.”

How do you sign…“What’s going on with you?”

• In a psychiatric hospital between night nurse and patient

• In an emergency room between patient and doctor

• In the police station between mother and son• Between close friends who haven’t seen each

other for a long time

“Interpreting…is not merely transposing from one language to another. It is, rather, throwing a semantic bridge between two different cultures, two different thought worlds.”

---Claude Namy (1977)

A person’s thought world is shaped by their experiences throughout their life. It is their mind set, their reality, their “thought world.”

“I was interpreting in a church…..”

Demand-Control Theory

• Developed by Robert Karasek and Tores Theorell• Basis for Dean & Pollard’s Demand-Control Schema for

Interpreters• Looked at jobs in relation to two continua: demands and

controls

High Control IV Low-strain I Active

Low demand--------------------------High Demand

IIIPassive II High-strain

Low Control

Demands Controls

BALANCE = WELLNESS

Demands

Requirements of the job; those factors which “act upon” the worker

• What factors are impacting the work? - Not necessarily “demanding”

• Demands are about the job

Categorizing Interpreting Demands• Environmental: That which is specific to the

setting, (e.g. professional roles, terminology, physical surroundings)

• Interpersonal: That which is specific to the interaction of the consumers and interpreter

• Paralinguistic: That which is specific to the expressive skills of the consumers, deaf or hearing

• Intrapersonal: That which is specific to the interpreter (e.g. thoughts, feelings, physical states

Environmental Demands

• Physical Surroundings- Room temperature- Smells and odors- Seating arrangements/sight lines- Visual distractions- Background noise- Space (people, furniture, equipment)

• Goal or Purpose of the Setting• Terminology• Personnel or clientele

Interpersonal Demands

• Interactional dynamics (authority, power)• Communication style and goals• Emotional tone or mood• Role and cultural differences• Communication flow (e.g., turn taking)• Relationship nuances (new, familiar, intimate,

tension power, etc.)• “Thought worlds”

Paralinguistic Demands

• Idiosyncrasies of signing/speaking• Volume• Pace• Accents• Clarity of Speech• Physical Position• Physical Limitations

Intrapersonal Demands

• Feelings or ruminations one may have about:- one’s safety- one’s interpreting performance- liability- the people and the dynamics- the environment

• Physiological distractions• Psychological responses or distractions

Example of Demand Analysis

First Grade ClassScenario:

The teacher has called the children over to her on the carpet for a story about penguins. The students are seated on the carpet and listening to the story. There is an interpreter seated next to the teacher and a deaf child seated in the middle facing both teacher and interpreter.

Environmental Demands• Goal: education, entertainment• Personnel/Clientele: 20 first graders (can

describe ethnic characteristics), teacher (can describe age and ethnicity)

• Physical Surroundings: students seated on a carpet, crowded, teacher in front on rocking chair, visually busy, door to the hallway is open.

• Terminology: specific character names, place names, penguin related vocabulary

Interpersonal Demands• Teacher uses facial expressions and gestures for

correcting children• Teacher will insert the name of a child while reading

the story to correct behavior• A student complains she can’t see the picture• Teacher asks students to predict what might happen• The story is visually interesting and students are

fascinated watching the interpreter• A student calls out, “How do you sign ‘penguin’?”• Teacher is unaware of a child sneaking candy from his

pocket and passing it to a few selected children

Paralinguistic Demands

• “Read” material• Teacher has an accent• She reads slowly and pauses for emphasis• The Deaf child signs with one hand, using his voice• Kids are whispering to each other about the candy• Intermittent noise from the hallway makes the

story hard to hear

Intrapersonal Demands

• Interpreter feels qualified for this setting.• Interpreter feels frustrated with the children’s

inattention.• Interpreter feels cramped with so many

children around.• Interpreter feels good that the deaf child is

attending to the lesson.

Picture Analysis Assignment

New employee orientation

Deaf consumer has Ushers Syndrome.

The presenter often refers to handouts and reads from them.

Controls

• Skills or resources that the worker can bring to bear in response to the demands of the job

• Controls may involve:- Behavioral actions and interventions- Particular translation decisions- Internal /attitudinal acknowledgments

Controls of the Interpreter

Three time periods• Pre-assignment controls: controls that are

employed before or in preparation for the formal assignment

• Assignment controls: controls that are employed during the interpreting assignment

• Post-assignment controls: controls that are employed after the assignment is over.

Pre-assignment Controls• Physical, cognitive, and psychological

attributes such as gender, age, ethnicity, etc.• Interpreting education, direct and indirect• Credentials, such as certifications or QAS• Experience, both work-related and personal• Direct preparation for the assignment- Clothing- Contacts (team, hearing and deaf consumers)- Readings, prep materials, Internet

Assignment Controls

• Identifying demands• Positive self-talk• Direct interventions• Interpretations/Translations• Code of Professional Conduct• Role metaphors (machine, window, telephone

line, Bi-Bi, ally)

Post-assignment Controls• Supervision- Formal (with supervisor)- Informal (with colleagues)

• Debriefing/venting- With support system

• Follow up- With people involved- With further education- With referring party

• Self-care

Ethical and Effective Decisions

Too Liberal Too ConservativeTherefore Therefore

ineffective ineffectiveand/or and/or

unethical unethical

Liberal: favoring action, creativity, assertivenessConservative: favoring inaction, reservation, patience

Controls Exercise

• Suppose you are working a group discussion assignment, and from where you are sitting, you cannot hear the person who is talking.

• Best practice process doesn’t start with “what do I do” but starts with “what’s going on.”

Group Activity

Based on the controls you came up with in the picture analysis, construct a list of controls in all three categories:

Pre-AssignmentDuring AssignmentPost-Assignment

GGoGoalaGoal

AsAs

Picture Analysis Assignment

• High school Chemistry class• One Deaf student, in black shirt• Teacher is demonstrating a machine that

measures air quality