Translating neuroscience: A critical perspective

Brown, Virginia 2023. Translating neuroscience: A critical perspective. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

In recent years there has been growing interest in findings from neuroscience research beyond the domain of the natural sciences. This study explores the translation of neuroscience research findings into what I describe as ‘prescriptions for practice’ in organisations. Translation refers to the process by which something is rendered from one language or form to another and Translation Theory (TT) hitherto comprises a range of different approaches which seek to understand and explain the flow of ideas, concepts, and practices in the organisational field. This research augments extant approaches by adopting a critical perspective toward translation in which it is suggested that ‘foreign’ knowledge is modified or adapted in ways which are commensurate with dominant interests and ideologies in the wider societal context. This perspective includes the significant (and constructive) role of language in translation, as well as the enlightening capacity of critique. Based on a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) the research examines the translation of neuroscience findings by interrogating empirical material comprising instances of such translations by way of published articles complemented by interviews with ‘translators’. In a CDA both are seen as ‘texts’ and come to represent micro occurrences of translation. Analysis shows how at a micro level the texts exhibit discursive features which initiate particular discursive practices employed by translators. These are underpinned by core assumptions and beliefs which can be connected through enacted discourses at a macro level to interests and ideologies in the wider societal context. Further, by establishing significant constituents of ‘untranslated’ neuroscience research findings the central contention of this study is that translated neuroscience is so appreciably distant from it as to effectively not be neuroscience at all, instead comprising a manifestation of the aforementioned dominant interests and ideologies. In addition, this research highlights recommendations for further research. Whilst findings from neuroscience research convened for an organisational audience might comprise an extreme case of translation, since they are moved from the domain of natural science to that of social practice, it is likely that other instances of translation in the organisational field are subject to the same dynamic, whereby wider social context levies a significant bearing on its ultimate configuration. This research contributes to the enhancement of translation ii theory by showing how a critical perspective on translation can shine a light on the previously unobserved connection between translation and societal context.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Translation, neuroscience findings, critical discourse analysis, critical research, scientism, neoliberalism
Funders:	ESRC
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	28 May 2024
Last Modified:	28 May 2024 09:48
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/169195

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