Category Archives: cApStAn updates

by Steve Dept, cApStAn CEO Apor Sajgő, Andrea Ferrari and Steve Dept had already been working together on PISA 2000 for almost two years when they founded cApStAn. And yes, for those who wondered, initials of our respective given names form the cApStAn name. The company of Apor, Steve and Andrea. A capstan is also …

“2000-2020: the secret sauce in cApStAn’s sustainable growth”

Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village In these disruptive and challenging times of the coronavirus pandemic, collective health must come first, followed closely by ensuring business continuity. At cApStAn, we have promptly taken the necessary measures to protect both our staff and the community at large, without creating bottleneck situations. Our services …

“Using communication technology across the Atlantic to keep that cApStAn flag flying and boost one another’s morale”

by Steve Dept – cApStAn CEO      Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village In these disruptive and challenging times of the coronavirus pandemic, collective health must come first, followed closely by ensuring business continuity. At cApStAn, we have promptly taken the necessary measures to protect both our staff and the community at …

“Ensuring health and business continuity at cApStAn during the Covid-19 alert.”

by Steve Dept, cApStAn CEO cApStAn has made in to the Top 100 on this year’s edition of the Slator LSP Index. We are listed in the category of the “Boutique Language Service Providers”. cApStAn is the only Belgian agency listed in this category, and is in the top 10 as regards growth rate from …

“Breaking news: cApStAn listed in the Slator LSP Index”

by Steve Dept, cApStAn CEO Language service providers rethink their business models to avoid being left behind the day machine translation output will have become a standard component of all localisation workflows. Which is now. While cApStAn does need to continuously streamline, upgrade and fine-tune, no overhaul is called for: almost 20 years ago, we kick-started …

“The 2020 Momentum”

Beyond the Occidental cliché of cold and snow, fireplaces and cosy indoor gatherings, Christmas and New Year celebrations come in many flavours. This year’s collection of cApStAn’s seasonal stories features sand-skiing in South Africa and picnicking on the beach in Australia, lighting bonfires and looking out for elves and fairies in Iceland, sprinkling lime on …

“cApStAn’s motley patchwork of traditions and rituals associated with the holiday season”

by Steve Dept – cApStAn partner At a verifier training workshop in Istanbul, our Kazakh colleague had a gift for me: a traditional Kazakh skullcap. This headgear was made from white felt and embroidered with gold thread. Wearing it would enhance my prestige and authority, he claimed, and I wasn’t sure whether the guffawing laughter …

“The cap nation”

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village If you are attending the 8th Conference of the European Survey Research Association, ESRA, taking place in Zagreb, July 15-19, do take the time to visit our booth: meet cApStAn CEO Steve Dept and questionnaire adaptation specialist Elica Krajčeva. Both are field practitioners, and at this …

“Meet us at ESRA 2019 at the Questionnaire translation sessions on Wednesday 17 July”

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village Assessments often depend on subtle wording choices, which are expected to trigger certain reactions in respondents (or not). For example, do you think the question “Should there be a trade-off between accountability and purposeful action?” could be translated into different languages and elicit similar response …

“Why psychometricians and linguists need to join forces to improve the validity of multilingual assessments – E-ATP 2019”

by Steve Dept – cApStAn partner Andrea Ferrari, one of the founders of cApStAn Linguistic Quality Control, coined that phrase a decade ago: excellence among friends. At the end of two-day training seminar for verifiers in charge of linguistic quality assurance of multiple language versions of OECD/PIAAC Cycle 2 and OCDE/PISA 2021 instruments, which took …

“Excellence among friends: 85 freelance linguists from 60 countries”

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village cApStAn LQC is proud to announce its official ranking as one of the Top 40 Language Service Providers (LSPs) in Western Europe by independent market research firm CSA Research. “CSA Research is perceived as a reliable source worldwide for business insights on the language service …

“cApStAn Linguistic Quality Control recognized Among Top 40 Largest Language Service Providers in Western Europe”

cApStAn Linguistic Quality Control is thrilled to co-chair a coordinated session at the NCME (National Council on Measurement in Education) conference in Toronto this week. The symposium “Test Adaptation, Translation errors, and Linking across Languages in International Large Scale Assessments” (ILSAs) will be held on April 8th and is co-chaired by Kadriye Ercikan, Vice President …

“National Council on Measurement in Education conference in Toronto, Canada”