Demand Control Schema

Dean and Pollards demand control schema (2013), or DCS, offers interpreters a

comprehensive approach to decision making. It breaks the process down into two parts

demands (factors that impact an interpreters work) and controls (solutions to those factors).

The process begins with demands, which can be understood as challenges or decisions

that come up during the assignment and that the interpreter must respond to. Demands are broken

down into four categories: environmental, interpersonal, paralinguistic, and intrapersonal.

Environmental demands are anything related to the place that the assignment is

happening in. For example, a post in the middle of the room that may block a Deaf person's view

of the interpreter would be an environmental demand.

Interpersonal demands are anything related to the interactions between the people present

at the assignment. For example, if the consumers do not get along, that would be an interpersonal

demand that the interpreter would have to navigate.

Paralinguistic demands are anything related to the consumer's use of language. For

example, an accent that makes the presenter difficult to understand would be a paralinguistic

demand.

Intrapersonal demands are present in the thoughts of the interpreter. For example,

constant thoughts of how hungry she is would be an intrapersonal demand for the

interpreter. The interpret can experience any number of demands simultaneously and must be

able to respond quickly and efficiently.

The next step in the DCS process is the controls. Controls can be best understood as

solutions to the challenges that came up as demands and can be utilized at any time before,

during, or after the assignment. The controls are the interpreters response to the demands of the
assignment. For example, a pre-assignment control for the above mentioned intrapersonal

demand would be for the interpreter to eat enough before the assignment that she will not be

hungry during the assignment and will be able to focus more closely on her work. The interpreter

can utilize any number of controls in response to the demands, or potential demands, of the work

she is doing.

Controls reside on a spectrum ranging from liberal to conservative. Controls that are very

liberal involve the interpreter doing a deliberate action which will affect the consumers, such as

interjecting her own opinion in an attempt to resolve a situation or even walking out of the room.

On the other hand, controls that are very conservative involve her taking little action outside of

the responsibilities of an interpreter, such as continuing to interpret, even if someones safety is

at risk. Ultimately, whether a control is viewed as very liberal or very conservative depends on

the situation and the people involved, including the interpreter. As professionals in the field of

interpreting, it is best to try and utilize controls that fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum

unless otherwise justified by the situation.

A continuation of the DCS process is another process known as DCCRD, which stands

for demands, controls, consequences, and resulting demands. When working through a problem

using this platform, there are certain steps that must be taken. These steps are in place to help the

interpreter better understand the situation from all angles and examine all the possible decisions

available to her. The interpreter can then choose the best decision, and be able to back it up with

a clear understanding of why it is the best decision.

The DCCRD process starts with demands and controls, as previously outlined in the

discussion of DCS above. The next step after controls is consequences, which are in response to

the controls. Consequences can be positive or negative, depending on the desired outcome of the
control. Next, the resulting demands are further demands that could come up as a result of

whichever control was used.

Both DCS and DCCRD break down decision-making and the analysis of those decisions

in a clear and accessible way. They make it easy to understand how the decision is meant to be

made (controls are used in response to demands) and what could come of the decisions

depending on the solution chosen. They are great tools that give interpreters the vocabulary to

both understand what they are doing when they make a decision and to discuss it with other

interpreters after the assignment.

References

Dean, R., & Pollard, R. (2013). The demand control schema: Interpreting as a practice

profession. USA: CreateSpace Independence Publishing Platform.