Raising
the standards - Why is it important to evolve transcription standards?
Tim
Finch talks about why it is important to evolve transcription standards.
So far, so good? The DDA has been up and running for 10 years with various
amendments. We have seen numerous transcription companies and agencies
formed in this time along with a range of new formats and new ways of
producing them. But so far we have had very little advance in the way
of standards or regulatory bodies.
Due to this lack of rules & regulators the range of products, methods, quality, speed and price for alternative formats, and it’s industry, is vast.
Currently the transcription industry has a number of ‘overseeing’ bodies. These are divided depending on which format you transcribe or require. We have UK Association of Braille Producers & Braille Authority UK Guidelines for Braille, COTIS provide a Transcription Quality Assessment Scheme (TQAS) for Audio. Plus various information leaflets from the RNIB.
Lesser-known formats
After the more common formats we move into newer and more highly debated
format’s such as Easy Read.
At present Easy Read has several ‘guideline’ documents each produced by a different organisation. One of these has been produced by the DRC, and is promoted as the ‘official’ guidelines (as the DRC is the official Government Commission to campaign for disability rights) however this is hotly debated by other organisations, some of which are led by or informed by people with learning difficulties and consider their ‘guidelines’ to be better informed and constructed.
With so much variation, and with each organisation championing their own guidelines, the process of sourcing Easy Read is not always straight-forward. A non-disability focused organisation wishing to outsource their Easy Read transcription have no official guidelines for sub-contracted transcribers to adhere to and therefore cannot be guaranteed a useable or recognised format.
Knock-on effect.
An instant effect is that the groups this format was designed to benefit
do not receive it, and do not receive the information that would have
been sent to them if the format had official standards.
In an ideal world the Government would fund a department or new body which could be informed by users and transcription providers to create standards and oversee the transcription industry as a whole.
Policing the industry
Currently we have a number of organisations, some of which are government
funded, others are charitable/voluntary organisations, which are the closest
thing to a regulatory body the industry has. None of these organisations
have in place any Government or BSI recognised standards and none of them
are willing to provide one.
Until we have a government funded, disability led organisation that is willing to take the challenge of forming ‘Natso’ (National Transcription Standards Organisation © Adept transcription Ltd). We, as transcribers, format users and organisations providing transcribed material have no option but to create the standards as we go. This can be done by ensuring that the format users are the one’s who inform & develop our service.
At present this is the only way we can ensure that
formats will serve their purpose and be understood by the recipients (and
the people who keep us in business)… The user’s!
March
2006