What is community interpreting? What are the roles of the community interpreter? What are the standards, evaluation methods and accreditation procedures pertaining to community interpreting? What training is available or required in this field? What are the current issues and practices in community interpreting in different parts of the world? These key questions, discussed at the first international conference on community interpreting, are addressed in this collection of selected conference papers. The merit of this volume is that it presents the first comprehensive and global view of a rapidly growing profession, which has developed out of the need to provide services to those who do not speak the official language(s) of a country. Both the problems and the successes related to the challenge of providing adequate community interpreting services in different countries are covered in this volume.

Magical Progeny, Modern Technology examines Hindu perspectives on assisted reproductive technology through an exploration of birth narratives in the great Indian epic the Mahābhārata. Reproductive technology is at the forefront of contemporary bioethical debates, and in the United States often centers on ethical issues framed by conflicts among legal, scientific, and religious perspectives. Author Swasti Bhattacharyya weaves together elements from South Asian studies, religion, literature, law, and bioethics, as well as experiences from her previous career as a nurse, to construct a Hindu response to the debate. Through analysis of the mythic stories in the Mahābhārata, specifically the birth narratives of the five Pāṇḍava brothers and their Kaurava cousins, she draws out principles and characteristics of Hindu thought. She broadens the bioethical discussions by applying Hindu perspectives to a California court case over the parentage of a child conceived through reproductive technology and compares specific Hindu and Roman Catholic attitudes toward assisted reproductive technology. Magical Progeny, Modern Technology provides insightful ways to explore ethical issues and highlights concerns often overlooked in contemporary discussions occurring within the United States.

A first study from an archaeological perspective of the elaborate systems of Polynesian chiefdoms presents an original account of the processes of cultural change and evolution over three millennia.