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E-book
Author Alley, Erica, author

Title Professional Autonomy in Video Relay Service Interpreting / Erica Alley
Published Washington, DC : Gallaudet University, 2019

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Description 1 online resource (xi, 131 pages) : illustrations
Contents Professions and society -- Professional autonomy and video relay service -- Provider tracking of communications assistant work -- Providing customer service -- Lessons from the past inform the future
Summary Video relay service (VRS) is a federally funded service that provides telecommunications access for deaf people. It is also a for-profit industry with guidelines that may limit the autonomy of the sign language interpreters who work in VRS settings. In this volume, Erica Alley examines how VRS interpreters, or "Communication Assistants," exercise professional autonomy despite the constraints that arise from rules and regulations established by federal agencies and corporate entities. Through interviews with VRS interpreters, Alley reveals the balance they must achieve in providing effective customer service while meeting the quantitative measures of success imposed by their employer in a highly structured call center environment. Alley considers the question of how VRS fits into the professional field of interpreting, and discovers that--regardless of the profit-focused mentality of VRS providers--interpreters make decisions with the goal of creating quality customer service experiences for deaf consumers, even if it means "breaking the rules." Her findings shed light on the decision-making process of interpreters and how their actions are governed by principles of self-care, care for colleagues, and concern for the quality of services provided. Professional Autonomy in Video Relay Service Interpreting is essential reading in interpreter education courses and interpreter training programs
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 117-125) and index
Notes Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed April 29, 2019)
Subject Interpreters for the deaf -- Government policy -- United States
Interpreters for the deaf -- United States
Telecommunications devices for the deaf -- Government policy -- United States
Telecommunications devices for the deaf -- United States
Deaf -- Services for -- United States
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Public Policy -- Social Security.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Public Policy -- Social Services & Welfare.
LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / General
Deaf -- Services for
Interpreters for the deaf
Telecommunications devices for the deaf
United States
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781944838461
1944838465